Yuu laughed, half mocking himself and half genuinely amused.
A fragrant aroma quickly wafted from the kitchen. After preparing two servings of breakfast, he went upstairs and knocked on his younger sister's door, then returned to the living room without waiting for a reply.
By the time half the breakfast was gone, a silver-haired girl hugging a rabbit doll, with sleepy eyes and unsteady steps, finally wandered into the dining room.
"Why didn't you wait for me?"
"I have school." Yuu pushed a glass of milk toward her. "Were you up late gaming again last night?"
"One in the morning isn't staying up late." As if stating an undeniable truth, Sora answered honestly, then without even glancing at the milk, went to the kitchen to fetch a glass of barley tea before pulling out a chair and sitting down.
Yuu could only finish the milk and bread himself.
Noticing the dark circles clearly visible under his sister's pale, flawless skin, he stroked his chin and murmured thoughtfully:
"Hmm… If I dragged you to school, your messed-up sleep schedule would definitely go back to normal, right?"
"Onii-chan, don't have such dangerous thoughts." Sora picked up a fried egg, uttering the most fearful words in the flattest tone possible: "There's no way I'm going to school—unless one day I actually become interested in it. Otherwise, I'll stay in my room, even if an earthquake hits, I won't come out."
Every word radiated the pride of a shut-in, yet utterly unimpressive.
Yuu shook his head and sighed, but suddenly remembered something and smirked mischievously.
"What if your big brother had a girlfriend at school? Would you be interested then?"
"..."
Her chopsticks froze mid-air. Sora stared at him motionlessly, her bright, deep eyes quiet and unreadable.
Yuu instinctively wanted to take back his words, but in the end, he met her gaze honestly, the smirk still on his face.
Breakfast had barely begun, yet the dining table was already shrouded in midnight-like silence.
"...Later. If you actually get a girlfriend, maybe I'll consider it."
To his surprise, Sora's expression remained completely flat. She said it so casually, then lowered her head and continued eating.
Yuu frowned, confused. He had no idea what she was thinking, so naturally, he didn't press further.
It was just a spur-of-the-moment tease. Whether he got a response or not wasn't really important.
After all, whether she went to school or not was her choice. Whether he had a girlfriend or not was his business. Neither wanted to meddle too much in the other's affairs.
But Sora's minimal reaction was truly strange...
In the quiet atmosphere, the plates were soon empty. Yuu cleaned up and prepared to leave for school.
Sora stood by the entrance, hugging her rabbit doll as she watched his tall figure in uniform and leather shoes. Her cherry-blossom lips remained tightly closed.
"...Be careful on your way."
Yuu opened the door. "I'm going to the café today. I'll be back before dinner."
"Not going to tutoring?"
"...No." Yuu paused briefly. He couldn't help but ask, "Sora, why did I used to go to tutoring?"
"You forgot?" Sora's confused voice came from behind. "You said you were annoyed seeing the top-ranked student in our grade, and wanted to stand above them and mock them in the next exam, so you signed up for tutoring to improve your academics... But the next exam hasn't even happened yet, right? Giving up this quickly isn't like you."
"Of course..."
(Not like me? What kind of cheap villain dialogue is this? Has the system altered my world's storyline like this?!)
Yuu's cheek twitched. He stared at the road outside, unable to smile.
—Damn system, messing up his character. He'd remember this debt!
"...It's because now I can already stand above the top student and mock them. So I'm too lazy to waste time there anymore."
Saying this calmly, Yuu stepped out the door.
"Is that so? You're really impressive then." After offering a clearly insincere compliment, Sora covered her mouth with one hand, yawned, and turned to go upstairs. "Come back early, ha-ah~ If you don't care about my progress on the assignments, just pretend I said nothing."
Although she didn't go to school, Yuu didn't let her become a full-time gamer either. He had long given her assignments like a teacher, and her current progress was nearly equivalent to a first-year high school student.
"Don't worry. You have to finish your assignments before I get back—don't just play games." A slightly amused voice faded away as the door closed behind him.
Sora stood with her back to the entrance, pausing in front of the wooden staircase.
"Such a nag..." She sighed, complaining under her breath, then stepped up with her small, slender white feet. "But... school, huh..."
Muttering, she unconsciously hugged the doll tighter. Her thin, soft lips turned pale from biting.
"It feels like Yuu is drifting further away from me."
Since this summer vacation, the lingering anxiety and loneliness in her heart had slowly grown; more and more about him, she no longer understood.
Even though they were the only two living here, in this empty house, she could no longer sense his presence.
(If I go to school… could I get closer to him?)
With conflicted thoughts, Sora angrily smacked the doll, deciding to stop thinking about it for now.
Going up to the second floor, she didn't return to her room. Instead, she took out a spare key, opened Yuu's bedroom door, and slipped inside.
Soon after, soft sighs of satisfaction and slightly irregular breathing could be heard in turn.
"Yuu..."
"Don't leave me."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Autumn—neither as scorching as summer, nor as bitterly cold as winter, nor as warmly blooming as spring.
Autumn was just autumn. Loneliness discarded by other seasons hid behind its beautiful scenery—neither hot nor cold, full of emotion yet heartless.
Late September. Walking down the path to school, the atmosphere of autumn growing ever thicker.
Hands in his pockets, Yuu gazed at the leaves spiraling down from the sky, pondering who his third target should be.
Generally, there were three people he least wanted: first, Yukinoshita Yukino; second, Natsukawa Masuzu; third, Hiratsuka Shizuka.
He unilaterally disliked Yukino, didn't want to deal with Masuzu—who seemed even more troublesome than Yukino—and absolutely didn't want to get involved in a teacher-student romance with a thirty-year-old single woman from a Jump series.
Then, there were three people he could more easily accept: first, Yuigahama Yui; second, Isshiki Iroha; third, some random background character he didn't know.
First, Yuigahama was his classmate from middle school, who once confessed her feelings to him—and he actually liked her quite a bit.
If Yuu accepted her feelings naturally and they shared a fulfilling relationship, he might quickly complete the mission while also leaving behind sweet memories for himself.
Second, Iroha was his junior at both school and his part-time job. She was cheerful and obedient, and called him "senpai" in the cutest way.
Though their relationship was nothing special, the senior-junior dynamic made interaction easier, and her smile was truly beautiful—even his boss had raised his wages because of it. Overall, dating a girl like her should be far easier—at least easier than with a gaming-obsessed college girl or noble daughter.
As for the background character, there wasn't much to say. Yuu just hoped her personality wasn't too bad, so he could enjoy this boyfriend mission and have a similar experience to the previous two times.
A cool, gentle breeze brushed his bangs aside, revealing a pair of serious eyes beneath.
Yuu, currently in "love slave" mode, took this matter very seriously.
"It feels like a lottery... Can't I just choose my target myself?"
The path ahead uncertain, he let out a long sigh.
Yuigahama seemed to be running late today. She wasn't waiting for him at the usual hilltop. Yuu didn't stop, quickly boarded the train, and headed toward Sobu High School amid the growing crowd of students.
As he drew closer to the school gates, glances from all around became more noticeable, and occasionally, he caught whispers.