Nighttime.
10:47 p.m.
Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward.
Inside a high-end apartment.
Sawamura Haruno sat on the living-room sofa, glancing toward the bathroom where the sound of running water continued unabated.
—Miyazawa Maki was taking a shower inside.
"The fifty thousand yen from the system reward was gone in an instant…
and on top of that, I even put in another fifty thousand of my own."
Haruno felt a dull ache in his temples.
What on earth am I doing…
He glanced at his phone again.
The screen was still on the last chat log between him and his ex-girlfriend, Miyazawa Mana.
Neither of them had deleted the other's contact information.
Their breakup had been peaceful—adult, even. There had been no need to erase everything.
"…I'd better call her first."
Haruno opened his contacts and found Mana's number, pressing call without hesitation.
Her ringtone had been changed—to a piano piece called Golden Hour.
The gentle melody calmed him slightly. When the call connected, he spoke first.
"Hey, Mana. It's Haruno."
"…Haruno?"
Mana sounded surprised. "Why are you calling so late?"
Their first conversation since breaking up wasn't awkward—
but it wasn't emotional either.
Haruno took a deep breath.
"I ran into Maki."
He then explained everything that had happened that night, omitting the system entirely.
In his version, he had merely encountered Maki by chance on his way to the convenience store and brought her home out of concern.
After listening, Mana fell into a long silence.
Only after a while did her sigh come through the phone.
"I see… I'm sorry. I've caused you trouble."
"No, it's fine. We were classmates before, after all."
Haruno looked toward the bathroom again.
The sound of water had stopped.
"So what do you plan to do?" he asked.
"Are you coming to take her back? Do you need my address?"
"…No." Mana hesitated.
"Maki probably doesn't want to go home right now. She had a huge fight with Mom tonight. If I go get her now, they'll just argue again."
She paused, then said softly,
"If it's not too much trouble… could you let Maki stay with you for one night? I really don't feel safe letting her wander around outside alone."
Her meaning was obvious.
Haruno had already anticipated this request on the way home.
"Good thing I paid attention to whether the apartment had a guest room when I rented it," he said with a helpless sigh.
"Staying over isn't a problem. But you should explain things to your parents. I'd rather not wake up tomorrow to the police knocking on my door."
Mana laughed lightly.
"I understand. I'll talk to them. I'll leave Maki in your care for tonight, Haruno."
"Alright. We'll talk again tomorrow."
Haruno nodded and ended the call.
The bathroom remained quiet.
Maki still hadn't come out, and he had no idea what she was doing in there.
"How did things end up like this…"
He rubbed his brow—and that single motion dragged the system text back into view.
[You now understand the meaning of "what is seen is not entirely the same,"
yet you still cannot grasp the root cause of why Miyazawa Maki became this way.]
[The girl's problem lies not only in identical appearances,
but also in completely different hearts.]
[Some problems cannot be expressed or resolved through words alone.
Perhaps even Miyazawa Maki herself cannot understand her sister's true thoughts.
If you dig deeper, you may discover a truth you once deliberately ignored.
(Reward: 100,000 yen)]
"Thanks a lot. Couldn't you explain it in a simpler way?"
Haruno couldn't help complaining.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again a moment later, the text had vanished.
The system's intent wasn't hard to understand—
it wanted him to ask Maki how she viewed her sister, and why she had chosen to give up and leave home.
What confused him was why the system insisted on involving him,
even mentioning "a truth you deliberately ignored."
"Are you hungry? Do you have anything to eat at home?"
Maki's voice suddenly sounded behind him.
She had finished her shower.
She was wearing a brand-new set of Haruno's pajamas.
Whether they were too big—or intentionally worn that way—half her shoulder was exposed, her soft skin glaringly eye-catching under the light.
It looked like she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
Her pale, smooth thighs were completely bare, exposed without restraint, making it hard to look away.
"Did Mana never let you see this?"
Noticing Haruno's gaze on her legs, Maki suddenly looked smug.
She liked it when he looked at her—
it felt like she'd finally won against her sister.
"Doesn't feel as good as Mana's, right?" Haruno said lightly.
"You're twins, after all."
The instant those words left his mouth, Maki's expression darkened.
He'd hit her sore spot with brutal precision.
She hated being compared to Mana—
academically, personally, in any way at all.
Her running away from home had everything to do with that.
What right did he have to say this?
He only understood Mana—never her.
Just because they were twins, did he think their hearts were the same too?
Damn it.
Why was this man so infuriating?
"…There's only instant noodles. You don't mind, right?"
Seeing her expression sour, Haruno didn't continue provoking her. He stood up.
"I just moved in recently, so I haven't bought much. You'll have to make do, Missy."
"Call me young lady."
Maki's expression softened slightly, but she stubbornly corrected him anyway.
She really wanted to beat Mana—even over something as trivial as how she was addressed.
Faced with her stubbornness, Haruno chose to ignore it.
In his memory, the cold, aloof girl had gradually turned into a willful, troublesome brat.
He had taken her in out of consideration for his ex-girlfriend—but that didn't mean he intended to indulge her endlessly.
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