The slogan for that thing was "An Irresistibly Rousing Flavor."
It was just a hot dog dyed in the colors of ketchup and mustard, wrapped gently in a golden-brown bun, with a sprinkle of fresh green lettuce—priced at 198 yen.
It wasn't expensive, but to Haruto, it tasted utterly mediocre. A thick bun with a single sausage inside—nothing more.
Sure, it did the job if you just needed to fill your stomach. But for Haruto, who would be eating dinner soon after returning home, there was absolutely no need for it. He wasn't remotely interested—
"An... an irresistibly... rousing flavor..."
The moment he saw the convenience store clerk, cheeks flushed red, trembling as she whispered the promotional line and bagged the hot dog, he suddenly felt a spark of interest.
He walked up to the counter, ordered one hot dog—and, just for the hell of it, also pointed at another item called "A Pillar of delicacy."
Watching the clerk's reaction was almost magical: she was so embarrassed that her face nearly disappeared into the collar of her shirt, which looked like it was about to pop its buttons.
"T-Thank you... your i-irresistibly r-rousing flavor... and... and... your Pillar of delicacy..."
Satisfied, Haruto took the hot dog and sausage and left the shopping arcade.
_ _ _ _
"Hey, Haruto... if you became a dad, would you prefer having a daughter or a son?"
He was just about to internally sigh over how Sekai's fashion was getting more and more mature—shifting from plain cotton clothes to lots of black and purple lace—wishing she'd return to her simpler roots... when she suddenly dropped that bomb of a question, leaving him frozen in place.
His gaze slowly drifted downward to Sekai's, flat stomach.
The serious expression on her tightly knitted brows and narrowed eyes made her question sound anything but casual—and even Sekai herself fell silent under his heavy stare.
"You... Are you... pregnant?"
The weight of his voice hit her full-on, causing her playful smile to vanish instantly. Sekai shook her head quickly, a little intimidated by this serious side of Haruto.
"No! I was just asking randomly! I just wanted to know if you'd prefer a girl or a boy!"
His suspicious gaze lingered on her for a moment longer. Seeing no sign she was hiding anything, he finally relaxed a little.
He picked up his clothes from the floor and made his way toward the bathroom, answering her as he walked.
"If it's about my family's expectations, then they'd probably want a boy. But personally, I'm not too hung up on gender. Boy or girl—either is fine by me."
At the bathroom door, he casually tossed his clothes into the laundry basket, then doubled back to the living room.
He pulled a random shirt from his closet, threw it on, and went to sit by the bed, where Sekai was waiting, her full attention still on him.
"But right now, I don't plan on having kids. Sure, I can take care of myself... but raising a kid? That's a whole different level. I don't want to bring a child into the world without being able to guarantee them a proper life."
"You're really... responsible, Haruto. And you really don't care if it's a boy or a girl?"
Sekai looked a little surprised. Even she knew that most people naturally wished for sons.
"Boy or girl, it doesn't matter. What matters is how they're raised. If the parents mess up, it doesn't matter what gender the kid is—they'll still be a mess."
Haruto's depth of thought stunned Sekai. She hadn't even considered things that seriously herself. Watching him, she got a little lost in admiration, staring at him longer than she realized.
"That's... such a unique answer. Most people our age wouldn't think that far ahead. Haruto... did you ever think about that stuff with... Setsuna, too?"
Her words trailed off awkwardly before she could finish.
"In Itomori, life was pretty dull. If I wasn't watching TV or reading, I was just staring at the sky. There was nothing else to do but think about the future. And seeing the ups and downs of the people around me... well, it kind of forced me to grow up."
Hss calm gaze held Sekai's without flinching. He wasn't bothered by the post-conversation atmosphere—he answered her with the same steady patience.
Unlike his usual casual replies—"Maybe,""Could be,""Who knows," or "Forget it"—today he was different. Clear. Focused.
"Observing people around you, huh..."
Sekai murmured thoughtfully, her curiosity about the place Haruto grew up in deepening.
Haruto simply turned back to his desk, pulled out a stack of manuscript papers from a drawer, and began writing again.
At this point, trying to rely on Angel with a Stigma Name to boost his income was basically hopeless. The initial print run was only six thousand copies. Unless a miracle happened, he had no chance of hitting the bestseller levels.
Even hitting twenty thousand copies would be a miracle in itself.
So, he could only fall back on his "main job." Even if he was growing tired of writing erotic novels, it was undeniable: they sold. Seven to eighty thousand words was enough for a release, and a catchy title could guarantee a bump in sales.
It was the best way to make money—and with his experience, he had a whole template ready to crank out two or three books a month, no problem.
"A paperback edition sells for around 700–800 yen..."
Based on his past experience, he had a rough idea of the sales and income he could expect. The real hurdle was negotiating with the publishers—and he was still underage.
Even though Mai had agreed to help him handle it, he still felt a little guilty burdening her, given her own busy work schedule.
Still, if they went under Mai's name, with Haruto handling negotiations directly, it might work out...
As he sat at his desk, deep in thought, Sekai emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. She walked over to him, peeking at the manuscripts scattered across his desk.
"Is that... your new book?"
"It's something I started before, but put on hold when I got a new idea. Now that the other project's done, I'm back to working on this one. I've got about fifty or sixty thousand words so far."
"Fifty... sixty thousand?!"
Sekai's eyes widened at the hefty stack of paper. Compared to her own 600–800 word scribbles, Haruto's output was on another level.
Just writing a few hundred words was exhausting for her—thinking about tens of thousands made her dizzy.
"These... sound effects... they're kinda weird. What's this even about?"
"Dream whispers," Haruto said casually.
Setting his pen down, he slipped the manuscript back into the drawer. Then he reached out, plucked a little ball of hair from her hairline, and tossed it into the trash.
"I'm heading over to Setsuna's place. Wanna come?"
"It's almost time for me to go home."
Picking up on the hint in his words, Sekai tactfully said she'd head back. She leaned forward, closing her eyes.
Chu~
After a quick kiss, she left, looking satisfied.
Haruto watched her go, then sat back down and pulled the manuscript out again, deep in thought.
"I really need to buy a computer. It's just too inconvenient without one."
After a brief silence, Haruto shoved his manuscript back into the drawer, stood up without a word, and left his apartment. His destination: the Kiyora household...
_ _ _ _
"You keep acting like you want to keep your distance from me at school, but you're perfectly fine getting close to everyone else. Don't you think that's a little unfair?"
Dragged up to the rooftop, Haruto sighed and sat down on a bench. His gaze drifted lazily—not at the blonde twin-tail girl in front of him, but past her long, slender legs. He stared through the gap between her black stockings and short skirt, off toward the rooftop's green safety netting, clearly not paying her any real attention.
Eriri had once been so different. Now, seeing Haruto like this—so far from the boy she thought she knew—she felt a strange discomfort. She took a step closer, grabbed the collar of his uniform, but Haruto just casually brushed her hand away.
"It's not like I'm being that close with anyone," he said.
"You're having lunch with that so-called genius girl in the lab every day. That's not 'close'?"
"We just chat. Pure, innocent conversations. Don't make it sound so dirty."
Eriri gave a hollow laugh. "Oh please. When I tried to see you as some pure, innocent boy, you went and did what you did with my mother. You do remember that, right?"
Hearing that, Haruto could only sigh. He looked up at her—at the girl towering over him—and raised his index finger, wagging it lightly.
"Back then, Sayuri was single. I was single. A single man falls for a single woman. What's wrong with that? Saying 'what you did to Sayuri'—that's not just insulting me. It's insulting her too."
"Yeah, well, falling in love with your classmate's mother isn't exactly normal, you know."
"Can't help who you fall for."
"Then why are you dating other women now?"
Haruto stared at Eriri with a strange look, a small, knowing smile creeping onto his face.Eriri realized too late—she'd just said something she shouldn't have.
"Would you rather I got back together with Sayuri?" Haruto asked, voice low. "Go back to the kind of relationship you really don't want to see?"
"...T-That's not what I meant."
"My father would never approve of me and Sayuri. No matter how much we reminisce about the past, it wouldn't change a thing. And if you're suggesting we relive everything that happened..." He let the words hang.
"You know that's not what I'm saying!"
"Yeah, I know. But what's the point? Even if I got together with you... what would change?"
Eriri bit her lip hard, glaring at Haruto. The old anger had faded long ago. What was left was a messy tangle of emotions that even she couldn't fully untangle.
"You don't even know what you want yourself, do you?"
Haruto stood from the bench without waiting for an answer, heading toward the rooftop stairs. Without another word, he disappeared from sight.
When he stepped back into the classroom, a few curious glances turned his way. It wasn't exactly a secret anymore that Eriri had feelings for him. But even so, nobody could quite figure out what their relationship really was, and Haruto's love life remained an unsolved mystery.
The few people who did know... weren't the kind to gossip.
_ _ _ _
"Does Sakura Publish erotic works?"
"Huh?"
Haruto's sudden question caught Mari completely off guard. They had just finished discussing the final details of his manuscript when he dropped that bombshell, and she blinked in stunned confusion.
"Canon?" she guessed uncertainly.
"No, no—the other kind of adult content," Haruto clarified with an utterly serious face.
"Wha—?! Hold on, Miyamizu-kun, you're still a minor, aren't you?"
Once she realized Haruto was indeed talking about that kind of adult material, Mari felt her head spin. This boy, who always seemed so calm and mature for his age... how could he be casually asking about something like this?
"Maybe I just have a talent for it," Haruto said nonchalantly.
"No, no, no! That's not something you're supposed to have 'talent' for! Publishing explicit content for minors is illegal—a crime, you know?!"
"I'm not selling it. I'm creating it. Selling is your job, isn't it?"
"Well, technically, yes... but still, you're a minor! And for you to even be able to create something like that—"
"I have a girlfriend."
"A-ah... I see... that's, uh... good for you...?"
His simple statement nearly broke Mari's already fragile defenses. She had been using work to numb herself all year, trying to ignore the looming threats of matchmaking and marriage her parents kept bringing up every holiday.
Thankfully, her years of corporate survival kicked in, and she managed to maintain a strained smile as she answered:
"The thing is, Sakura Publishing doesn't deal with that kind of content. We handle normal publications, yes, but adult works are outside of our scope. Even if you were eligible, we wouldn't have a way to publish the kind of... material you're talking about."
"It's a profitable market though. You sure you don't want to set up a subsidiary just for it?"
"That's up to the higher-ups to decide. As an editor, I have no say in that kind of management decision."
"Alright then. Well, best of luck with your promotion, Kazaoka-san. Anything else we need to go over?"
"...No, that's all."
"Bye-bye."
After hanging up, Mari stared at her phone for a moment, lost in thought. She replayed her conversation with Haruto in her mind, still doubting — was he really just a high school student?
Erotic fiction.
She understood well enough that there was serious profit to be made in that field.But sadly, it clashed with the philosophy behind running Sakura Publishing, and they had no intention of venturing into that side of the industry.
"What a waste," she sighed.
Meanwhile, Haruto, who had stepped outside for the call, returned to the restaurant.He spotted Itsuki at the table, frowning deeply as she stared at her workbook, and quietly took a seat across from her. Without a word, he sipped his lemon water and casually flipped open the book he had brought with him.
Itsuki, her brows furrowed tight in frustration, had been stuck on the same problem for a long while now, unable to find a solution. When she glanced up and saw Haruto sitting across from her, leisurely reading as if he hadn't a care in the world, a surge of indignation welled up inside her.
Why can he solve it so easily, when I'm sitting here completely stuck?
Gritting her teeth, Itsuki lowered her head again, stubbornly attacking the problem.Without realizing it, she began letting out little frustrated sounds—"Mmm—" and "Ugh—"—completely oblivious to how she sounded.
From Haruto's perspective, it felt eerily like sitting in a public restroom while the person in the next stall was... struggling. He actually started feeling the urge to go to the bathroom himself.
Sighing lightly, he looked up from his book at Itsuki. Sensing his gaze, Itsuki snapped her head up, eyes wide with alarm, and stared at him fiercely.
"What?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Haruto replied calmly. "Just thought I should let you know—you were making some pretty weird noises."
"Weird noises?" she echoed, confused.
Instinctively, she glanced around the restaurant.
It wasn't a busy time of day, so the place wasn't packed, but there were still a few customers here and there—and sure enough, a couple of them were sneaking glances at her table.Realizing this, Itsuki's cheeks flushed a vivid red, and she hurriedly ducked her head.
"If you hit a problem you can't solve," Haruto said casually, "it's okay to skip it. No point wasting too much time. Exams aren't going to give you all the time in the world. Your friends might lie to you sometimes, but math won't. If you don't know it, you just don't know it."