As time passed, the sun began to set.
The glow of the evening sun gradually dimmed, and clouds of sunset appeared in the sky.
Only then did the temperature on Itogami Island start to noticeably drop, and the heat of the day began to fade bit by bit.
And before the sun completely set, Nagisa finally ran out from the middle school building.
"Oh no, I spent too much time on training, I'm going to miss making dinner!"
There was a trace of anxiety on Nagisa's face.
"Is it still in time to go buy ingredients now? At this time, there probably isn't much meat left, right? And today there's a special offer too! I totally missed it!"
Even though the girl was running fast, she kept chattering nonstop, so much so that she didn't notice someone appearing in front of her and ran straight into them with her head down.
"Watch out!"
By the time Nagisa reacted, it was completely too late, making her cry out in surprise.
However, the person who appeared in front of her seemed especially relaxed.
"Oh my?"
With a light twist of the body, that person effortlessly dodged the oncoming Nagisa.
"Ah!"
Nagisa only felt a blur before her eyes, then her whole body lunged into emptiness. She completely lost her balance and was about to fall to the ground.
Before her frightened expression could even appear, she felt someone grab her hand, and her body was pulled in, falling into an unfamiliar embrace.
"The one who should be more careful is you, you know?"
As this somewhat familiar voice came from above her head, Nagisa looked up with lingering fear.
What entered her vision was a face that wasn't quite unfamiliar, but also not really familiar.
"It's you?"
Nagisa immediately recognized the person.
Wasn't this the neighbor she met yesterday?
"Hello, Akatsuki-chan, we meet again." Kaiser, holding the girl who still looked shocked, smiled and looked down at her as he spoke: "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"I-I'm fine." Nagisa first shook her head in a daze, then finally came back to her senses and realized her current situation.
Feeling the boy's warm embrace and his scent so close, the girl blushed without surprise.
"S-sorry! It's all my fault for not watching where I was going!"
Nagisa quickly pulled away, retreating from Kaiser's embrace with a red face.
"It's fine, you didn't actually hit me anyway." Kaiser said casually, "But you—why are you still at the academy at this hour, and running so frantically?"
"Ah!" Reminded by Kaiser, Nagisa immediately remembered her business and became flustered again. "I was rushing home to make dinner… no, I have to buy the ingredients first!"
Saying that, Nagisa was about to turn and run again, but was caught by Kaiser.
"Are you sure it's still in time to go buy groceries now?" Kaiser pointed to the sun about to set and the gradually darkening sky. "Even if you barely make it, running around like this is too dangerous."
"It was lucky it was me this time, but what about next time?"
"What if you run into a child, or crash into a vehicle? That would be a huge problem."
Kaiser's words slowly brought Nagisa back to calm.
"Alright then…" The girl became a little dejected and said gloomily, "Looks like I really won't make it to cook dinner today. I'll have to order takeout."
"But… ugh, I really don't want to eat takeout. Takeout isn't healthy at all. Especially for Kojou-kun—what if he ends up like Mimori-chan and gets addicted to it?"
"I'm worried… really worried!"
Nagisa started muttering like a nagging aunt, making Kaiser a little speechless.
"It's just takeout once. No need to get so worked up, right?" Kaiser said with a wry smile, "Kojou-kun does seem a bit lazy, but he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd fall into ruin just because of one takeout meal."
"That's because you don't know Kojou-kun. That guy—" Nagisa began to instinctively complain about her unreliable brother, then suddenly froze. "Wait, you know my Kojou-kun? And why is the neighbor big brother here?"
"Oh? So you didn't know?" Kaiser blinked and said, "I just transferred today. I'm in Class 1-B of high school, same class as your Kojou-kun."
"Really?" Nagisa finally realized and then, half happy and half annoyed, said, "Kojou-kun is too much. A new neighbor transferred into his class and he didn't even tell me. If he had told me in advance, I would have thought of throwing a welcome party, and then I wouldn't have forgotten the time, missed the shopping, and missed the chance to cook dinner."
"It's all Kojou-kun's fault!"
Seeing the girl start to chatter and complain about her own brother, Kaiser really wanted to tell her, "Your brother is a hopeless siscon and would never mention me to you."
Forget it, better leave the guy a little dignity.
"No need for a welcome party. It's just a transfer." Kaiser smiled. "Besides, since you've already missed the chance to cook dinner, why not just eat out with me?"
"I just happened to want to grab a bite. If a familiar face could introduce a nice place, I'd really appreciate it."
Hearing that, Nagisa didn't think much and simply nodded.
"If you don't know where to go, I can take you to one of the places I usually go!" Nagisa was just as enthusiastic and talkative as yesterday, but then hesitated a little. "But what about Kojou-kun?"
She seemed worried that her brother wouldn't have anything to eat.
"Want to invite Kojou-kun too?" Kaiser suggested. "Don't worry, I'll treat. No need to worry about the cost."
"How could that be okay?" Nagisa had been tempted, but hearing that Kaiser would pay, she immediately shook her head. "You just transferred in, and you haven't been on Itogami Island long either. There's still a lot of places where you'll need money. You can't waste it on treating people!"
"Don't be fooled by how this island looks—living expenses here are high. I'm always racking my brain to save money."
People who can settle in a special zone for demons are certainly not from poor families.
The Akatsuki family wasn't ordinary either. Kojou and Nagisa's father was an archaeologist, their mother a chief researcher in the medical department of a world-renowned magecraft industry complex, and even their grandmother was a priestess of a local shrine in Japan. Their family income wasn't low, and the siblings were given a comfortable allowance.
However, due to their parents' divorce and poor relations between their grandmother and mother, Nagisa grew up worrying about everything. Though she was only a middle schooler, she already lived like a thrifty housewife.
In such circumstances, combined with her naturally kind and overly concerned personality, Nagisa would never let a kind neighbor spend money on her and her brother.
So Nagisa ultimately chose to let her brother fend for himself.
"I'll send a text, let Kojou-kun find his own dinner. I can't keep taking care of him. It's time he grew up!"
Nagisa had clearly built up resentment toward her brother and decided to use this opportunity to give him a little trouble.
This girl's initiative was truly strong—she didn't even give Kaiser a chance to object before taking out her phone and rapidly tapping away, sending the message.
"Alright, let's go together, neighbor big brother!"
Nagisa smiled at Kaiser. Her smile might not be breathtaking like Kanon Kanase's, but it was still so cute it made people want to protect her.
"Let's go then." Kaiser naturally wasn't going to dwell on a man's dinner situation and nodded. "Oh right, just call me by my name. Being called 'neighbor big brother' feels weird."
"Then I'll call you Kai-kun!" Nagisa cheerfully said. "Kai-kun can call me Nagisa too!"
"Are you sure?" Kaiser said meaningfully. "We haven't known each other long. Are you okay with me calling you by name?"
In Japan, calling someone by their first name was a fairly intimate act.
"But you've known Kojou-kun for even less time, and you're calling him by name, aren't you?" Nagisa said brightly. "Almost all my friends call me that. Kai-kun can call me that too, no problem!"
"Alright." Kaiser shrugged. "Then I won't be polite."
"Mhm!" Nagisa nodded vigorously.
Only then did the two of them leave Saikai Academy and head outside.
...
At the same time, in the Akatsuki family's apartment…
Right now, Kojou Akatsuki was lying on the sofa, looking completely drained.
"So hungry…"
Kojou groaned feebly.
"My stomach's churning… it's twisting… I'm going to starve to death…"
The starving older brother of the Akatsuki household began to complain.
"Nagisa, where the heck is she?"
Just as he said this, his phone rang.
He feebly reached for it, took a look…
"'Kojou-kun Kojou-kun, I'm going out to eat with the neighbor big brother, so I won't be coming home to make dinner. You should order takeout for yourself. But… no instant noodles, no burgers or cola—just no junk food! I'll check the trash when I get home. If I see instant noodle cups or burger wrappers, I'll tattle to Mimori-chan and have her scold you.'" - Nagisa
Reading the message, Kojou was stunned.
"Going out to eat… with the neighbor big brother?"
Kojou's mind was instantly wiped blank by a surge of inexplicable fury and panic.
"Ha… hahaha…"
After a while, Kojou let out a dry laugh.
"This is a joke, right? It has to be a joke!"
"We're talking about Nagisa here! That Nagisa! Just a while ago she was still a little kid with a backpack, who believed in Santa Claus until fifth grade…"
"That Nagisa is actually saying she's going to eat out with some guy next door…"
Kojou tried to convince himself, but the more he spoke, the angrier he got, and his whole body began to tremble.
"WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THIS—!!!"
With his siscon instincts fully awakened, Kojou shot up from the sofa and, gripping his phone, began frantically sending messages and calling nonstop.
Unfortunately, his little sister had clearly decided to let her brother fend for himself, and since she had muted her phone during club activities, she didn't answer or read the messages.
Kojou collapsed back on the sofa in despair.
"Neighbor big brother…"
Thinking of Kaiser, who had just become his classmate today, Kojou's favorability toward him instantly dropped to negative.
"Bastard! If you dare lay a finger on my little girl, I won't forgive you!"
In the Akatsuki apartment, the angry roars of the defeated big brother echoed through the entire house.
Meanwhile, Kaiser and Nagisa had already left Saikai Academy and entered dinner time.
...
In the southern district of Itogami Island, a family restaurant not far from Saikai Academy…
This was a very popular restaurant in the area.
Due to its proximity to Saikai Academy, most of the regulars were students from there. Even though it was already near sunset, there were still many students in uniform sitting inside.
Some were eating, some chatting, some had even spread out notebooks and textbooks, diligently doing their homework, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
The place Nagisa brought Kaiser to was this restaurant.
In a relatively cool spot, the two sat facing each other, ordering food while chatting away happily.
More accurately, it was Nagisa who fully unleashed her talkative side and was chattering non-stop to Kaiser.
"Let me tell you, Kai-kun, you have no idea how unreliable my family is."
Nagisa, either genuinely trusting or completely lacking in wariness, once again began complaining to Kaiser.
"Let's not talk about Kojou-kun—he lives a totally lazy and sluggish life. He doesn't participate in any club activities, barely does any chores, and spends every day fooling around with Yaze!"
"Gajou-kun is also ridiculous. He's already a dad, yet he hangs around a bunch of pretty women all day, always making Mimori-chan angry. I seriously don't know what's so great about that messy middle-aged man who keeps both his room and research lab in total chaos!"
"And Mimori-chan—she's in her thirties already, yet still acts so childish. She loves playing pranks, sexually harasses girls, can't cook at all, and lives in a complete mess. Don't you think her personality and lifestyle are just problematic?"
"Geez, why can't my family be a little more reliable? If only someone like Asagi-chan, such a gorgeous lady, could be my big sister…"
The girl's complaints fired off like a machine gun, making Kaiser chuckle bitterly.
Listening to all that, this girl really does sound kind of pitiful…