I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Huh? Your love story, senpai?" Like a cat that had just seen a foxtail grass, Iroha Isshiki's eyes lit up immediately, and she said with great interest, "I'm very curious! Next time you come, please tell me while we're making black tea, and I'll be responsible for eating snacks and listening to your stories!"

"Keep dreaming. How dare a mere junior be so arrogant?"

Tenkuji Yu flicked her forehead, then looked away.

Raindrops pattered incessantly on the umbrella, the streets were shrouded in a hazy mist, and the light and shadows were slanted, creating a mirage-like illusion.

As he stepped out from under the eaves and his toes touched the puddles on the ground, Yuu Tenkuji heard her voice again:

"By the way, senior, I have a friend..."

He turned around in confusion: "Friend?"

"...Never mind, it's nothing!"

Iroha Isshiki shook her head, then laughed and waved her fist at him: "Next time we meet, the cookies will definitely taste better than today! Get ready to praise my progress!"

"Well, having confidence is a good thing, so I'll just have to wait and see."

"Then, be careful on the road?"

"You too, be careful on your way home. Remember to say hello to the manager for me."

"Hi--"

With a drawn-out, sweet voice, the adorable junior with short, flaxen hair turned around, her skirt playfully billowing up halfway, revealing her still fair and slender thighs.

Yuu Tenkuji suddenly realized that he hadn't asked her why she started making cookies.

However... well, the reasons don't matter, it's none of my business anyway.

He put aside his question and walked home with his umbrella.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

He took out his phone and saw a message from his girlfriend, Natsukawa Masuzu.

"My infidelity radar is on fire, and I'm itching all over and want to nibble on someone—do you know why?"

"It's probably broken. I suggest taking the person along with it to get it repaired."

"Get it fixed in your room? If this is what they call 'the terms of the deal,' I'm already prepared."

"No way, there are probably only two possible outcomes."

"?"

"Between you and my door, one of us will leave me forever."

"??? Just how much of a commotion are you trying to cause?!"

This silver-haired woman with dirty thoughts probably misunderstood something else.

Yuu Tenkuji didn't offer much explanation, gave a few perfunctory words, put away his phone, and continued walking.

What I just said wasn't meant to scare Natsukawa Masamichi—cough cough, at least half of it wasn't.

During his first mission, he was able to tell Kasugano Sora that he had a girlfriend and received a barely acceptable response from her.

But for some reason, as the third mission approached, Tenkuji Yu became increasingly hesitant to tell her about his "romantic affairs" outside, unable even to hint at it...

Intuition. He always trusts his intuition and therefore acts cautiously in all matters.

His intuition told him that since everything would be "reset" after the mission was over, it would be better to keep all of this a secret until he had a girlfriend who wouldn't disappear, and then slowly tell her everything. This was the best choice for both of them.

There was no way around it; his little sister was such a jealous person. Since she was more important than his own life, he naturally had to take care of her feelings first, no matter how troublesome it was.

Fortunately, the turmoil involving my girlfriend won't spread to my home for now... right?

……

Nighttime, a luxury apartment building.

Her slender arm slammed against the wall with a loud thud.

The door had barely closed when Yukino Yukinoshita was cornered in the entryway by her older sister, pinned against the wall.

"Are you sick?"

Miss Yukinoshita, who had let the wolf into the house, remained expressionless.

She had already made up her mind that from now on, she would never allow this guy to come into her house again without making him sit on the ground for at least half an hour.

"Maybe. Even if it is, it's a disease that can't be detected."

Miss Yukinoshita smiled gently, lifted her younger sister's delicate, snow-white chin, ignoring her cold gaze, and spoke softly:

"Yukino, I've come to make a deal with you."

"……trade?"

"That's right. As long as you do me a favor, I'll immediately disappear and won't bother you for a while."

"Ha, I never thought you'd have to ask me for help one day."

Her impatient expression quickly transformed into a mocking sneer, but a hint of satisfaction of having her pride spurred surfaced in her eyes.

She raised an eyebrow with composure: "Alright, I'll take pity on you and listen to your plea. But let me make it clear beforehand, whether I help or not depends on my mood..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yang Nai interrupted her rapidly:

"Just tell me everything that Tenkuji Yu did with his girlfriend during the autumn outing, including whether they kissed or not! Photos would be even better, and please be as detailed as possible so I can imagine the scene."

"...?"

The world has come to a standstill.

Yukinoshita frowned.

"Didn't you hear me? Then I'll say it again, tell me all the scenes you've seen (details omitted)! ...Tsk, if my mother hadn't stopped me halfway, I wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble."

"..."

Yukino stood there blankly, blinking her eyes twice in a daze.

Excessive shock can indeed cause a normally calm and rational person to experience a brief mental blank.

Looking at her older sister, whose expression was serious and without a trace of joking, she felt as if she could hear her own worldview beginning to crumble...

"By the way, don't ask about the reasons, I won't tell you anyway. Just tell me the answer."

"I don't want to ask either!" Coming back to her senses, Yukino gritted her teeth, her expression a mixture of disappointment and cold anger. "To avoid spreading mental illness, can you leave my house as quickly as possible? I never expected you to be such a pervert. Do you skip school all the time to be a stalker?!"

Retorted to this, Yukino immediately started to fake cry: "Waaaaah~ Yukino actually said that about my sister? I'm so sad, I'm heartbroken! My heart has been ripped open, and the story of Yukino wetting her pants at five years old is about to spill out!"

"..."

Taking a deep breath, Yukino Yukinoshita covered her face with one hand.

You don't even need to look in the mirror to know that her expression is absolutely distorted right now.

If she is guilty, let the law punish her, instead of letting her sister, whom she both respected and hated, become this broken person she is now.

As for why... it seems there's no need to ask anymore.

The culprit is obvious, but it's hard to believe—hard to believe that guy's charm is so great, it's like a contagious virus, specifically affecting the mind.

"...Next time, spray some alcohol in that guy's face."

Under her sister's relentless pressure, Yukino Yukinoshita raised her lifeless eyes and silently made this decision.

Chapter 62 The Pain of Yang Nai

About half an hour later.

After being ruthlessly kicked out of the house by her younger sister, Yukinoshita Haruno didn't have time to feel sentimental and returned home as quickly as possible.

As soon as she entered, she headed upstairs in such a hurry that Mrs. Yukinoshita's voice almost couldn't keep up with her.

"Yinno, are you going to see Yukino again?"

"Yes, I'm a good older sister who cares about my younger sister."

She casually brushed off her mother's question, then quickly closed and locked the door, tossing her bag and coat onto the bed as she did so.

Then he plopped down in front of the dressing table and began to calm his restless mind.

"call……"

She exhaled all the air from her lungs until she felt a suffocating burning sensation in her chest, then slowly inhaled the cold air back into her body.

Looking at her solemn expression in the mirror, Yukinoshita nodded slightly as if to confirm, and took out a comb from her breast pocket.

Spring-themed paintings are inexpensive and simple.

But it gradually became her talisman. She would feel inexplicably uneasy if she didn't carry it with her, and she got used to taking it out and playing with it from time to time. She could even stare at it and laugh for up to ten minutes without realizing it.

Even so, since the day she woke up in the hotel, Yukinoshita Haruno has never used it on a proper basis.

Rather, it's because using it to comb her hair makes her feel very depressed that she won't do it unless she intends to self-harm.

"It's practically a cursed comb..." she muttered unconsciously as her fingers traced the painted surface.

Even the rational and realistic Yukino Yukinoshita had to admit that there might really be things and objects in this world that she couldn't understand and that defied common sense.

And at this moment, she is personally experiencing these wonders.

It was as if she was gradually stepping out of a false world and touching the reality hidden beneath the fog. This sense of the unknown did not frighten her. Instead, a strange sense of anticipation and excitement filled her heart, urging her to "go for it!" and stop living in such a daze.

"Well then, let's begin..."

In the room where only one person was present, the light was a stark white, and the night was deathly still, as if it were about to be swallowed by thick ink.

His heartbeat remained rapid, but his breathing gradually became steady, and his fingers did not tremble at all.

Yukino slowly lifted the comb, its teeth plunging into her highlighted black hair, and gently combed it down from the top of her head.

At the same time, she quietly closed her eyes, and began to simulate various scenarios that her sister had told her not long ago.

"Carrying her up the mountain, they flirted and teased each other all the way..."

"They're showing off their affection even while eating, and they're all sticky and messy while shopping..."

"We walked back hand in hand in the rain, and when we took the photo booth pictures, our cheeks touched..."

In fact, because she had little interest in those two people, Yukino's description of the scene was very thin, basically just a few words and that was it.