Chapter 18

The dark circles under her eyes were quite heavy, so the makeup on her face was a little thicker than usual.

These past few days.

Because of some minor troubles, she hadn't been sleeping well and wasn't in the right state of mind.

This led to her nearly falling off her bicycle while turning on the way here.

Although Eriri's father was a diplomat and her family background was illustrious.

Back in her home country, the British Empire, the Spencer family was also a top-tier, thousand-year-old noble house that had even produced figures like a Prime Minister.

However, Eriri's father did not like to engage in special treatment.

Eriri had attended public schools for both elementary and middle school, only transferring into Shuchiin for high school.

She also didn't have a car to pick her up and drop her off like many other female students; Eriri always came on her own.

Because it was the start of the new school year.

Eriri was surrounded by quite a few first-year students who were deeply curious about Shuchiin.

Like a country bumpkin entering the Grand View Garden, they were filled with wonder, looking around and chatting everywhere.

Eriri only felt it was a bit annoying and wanted to finish reporting in quickly so she could go home.

"Look quickly, isn't that Eriri?"

"Eriri..."

As she was walking, two female members of the Art Club caught up to Eriri from behind.

"Good morning."

Eriri squeezed out a smile, but as soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't suppress the sleepiness in her body and let out a yawn.

Eriri, who had always maintained a cold and aloof persona in front of outsiders, hurriedly covered her mouth.

Fortunately, she was quite familiar with these two Art Club members.

"Eriri didn't sleep well, huh?" said the female member with her hair in a bun.

"Good morning, Eriri," the long-haired female member greeted.

After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the three of them walked side by side.

Seeing that Eriri was sleep-deprived and seemed absent-minded, the two female members began chatting among themselves.

"Did you hear? During the field trip a few days ago, Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai's panties and stockings were stolen!"

"I heard. At first, the news was just circulating privately, but then someone posted it on the Shuchiin forum, and it blew up instantly!"

"By the time the moderator deleted the post, it was already too late; it had spread completely!"

"Right, right. I heard from others that the culprit is named Kitakami Yoru, a second-year like us. He's a total fat otaku, really disgusting..."

Walking right beside the two female members, Eriri's footsteps faltered, and she quietly pricked up her ears.

"Right, right. What's even more disgusting is that someone is looking for him, anonymously offering one million yen to buy Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai's used stockings at a high price," the girl with the bun said with disgust.

"Wow, that's really disgusting. Who knows what many of these boys are thinking? So lewd, so perverted!" the long-haired girl chimed in, putting on a retching expression.

"And there's more. Someone has put the word out that they're going to teach him a harsh lesson and beat him up!"

"Some people are even saying they envy him. It's truly disgusting."

"By the way, do you know how the school is going to handle him? For something this serious, they should expel him, right?"

"Not really sure... Wait... I remember, Eriri, weren't you in the same field trip group as Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai?"

The girl with the bun looked at Eriri with a curious expression and continued, "Eriri, you were there too, you must know something, right?"

"Ah?!..."

Eriri, who had been a bit distracted and lost in thought, was startled and stiffly shook her head.

"I don't know anything about this at all, and I have no interest in learning about it. You asked the wrong person," Eriri replied, turning her head to the side.

Her little eyes, however, couldn't help but observe the expressions of the two classmates beside her.

"What a pity. If you ask me, the school should just expel someone like that. Just thinking about it is annoying!"

"Right, right, I agree. And they should arrest him and let the whole school know. It would be best if it got into my family's newspaper; I'd have my father print a million copies!"

The girl with the bun and the long-haired girl chatted enthusiastically as they walked into Shuchiin.

"So... so, was he actually expelled or not?"

"I feel like... expelling him... that might be a bit much..."

Eriri had long since turned her head back, asking tentatively and stuttering.

The girl with the bun and the long-haired girl didn't notice Eriri's state, and even if they had, they wouldn't have taken it to heart.

"Eriri, you're just too kind. Expelling him wouldn't be excessive at all!"

"But... isn't there no direct evidence to prove he's the culprit?" Eriri countered weakly.

"Oh, whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. That fat otaku is finished!" the long-haired girl sighed, resting her hands behind her head.

"How is he finished?"

Eriri widened her clear blue eyes, her cute face filled with curiosity and a hint of urgency.

"Haha, obviously because..."

The long-haired girl laughed, then sighed, her expression looking very regretful, though in reality, it was full of mockery, like someone kicking a man while he was down.

"Just think about it. A disgusting fat otaku like that, nobody likes him."

"After stealing Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai's stockings and panties, does he even dare to come to school?"

"Even if he dares to come to school, everyone hates him to death. Whether it's us girls or those boys, will he have any good days left?"

"If everyone insults him once or bullies him a little, he definitely won't be able to stand being pointed at by thousands of people and being stripped bare. He'll definitely drop out in shame."

"Aha, by then, his life will be over," the girl with the bun interjected.

"Thump, thump, thump—" Eriri's heart was pounding.

"That's still the best-case scenario. Maybe he's already at his breaking point. With such immense mental pressure, maybe he'll become mentally ill, develop schizophrenia, or something..."

"Right, right. Aren't there many middle-aged salarymen outside who jump in front of trains to commit suicide? Maybe it wouldn't be strange if he couldn't take it and suddenly committed suicide."

"Suicide is so common in our country; too many people imitate it. Rather than suffering, it's better to find relief early."

"Suicide is... that's too..."

Eriri took a deep breath, her chest heaving, wanting to interject.

But her voice was too small, and she gradually fell silent again.

The girl with the bun and the long-haired girl chatted more and more excitedly, not noticing Eriri's abnormality.

A while later, the three of them parted ways at the bottom of the school building.

Today is the first day of school, so there are no classes.

But they need to report in, participate in the opening ceremony, and receive new textbooks and uniforms.

It will likely last until noon before they can go home.

There are no classes in the afternoon; formal classes start tomorrow.

18: Year 2, Class C

The apartment, the living room of Kitakami Yoru's home.

"Hoo~ hoo~ hoo~"

Kitakami Yoru, wearing a quick-dry sports t-shirt, shorts, and shock-absorbing sneakers, finished a set of mountain climbers and collapsed onto the yoga mat, panting heavily.

"Meow meow~"

The fat cat, Sansan, on the side, stared with curious, large amber eyes and walked over.

"I'll feed you in a bit, don't be impatient." Kitakami Yoru smiled when he saw this and petted Sansan, who had actively come over to him.

Sansan immediately showed an expression of enjoyment, squinting its eyes, getting on all fours, and arching its back to stretch its body.

Yesterday afternoon.

After Gabriel left, Kitakami Yoru remembered he had fed Sansan some fish.

This gluttonous, round, fat cat didn't seem to be afraid of him anymore, appearing very close to him and even actively coming over to rub against him.

Perhaps it was tempted by the food?

Kitakami Yoru withdrew his hand, muttering to himself as he climbed up from the floor.

Seeing that it wasn't too late and Gabriel hadn't come to find him, he planned to do another round of planks.

For someone with his heavy weight, the most important thing is to control his diet and avoid high-impact aerobic exercise.

With such a heavy weight, running and jumping rope are not friendly to the knee joints and can very easily cause permanent, irreversible damage.

In fact, Kitakami Yoru didn't lack experience in losing weight; he had tried to lose weight several times before.