Chapter 272

"Is Eriri okay?"

Distressed, he failed to notice the stunning beauty with plump black-stockinged legs standing behind him, her expression frozen in place.

Silly, stiff, disappointed, resentful, regretful, jealous...

Clutching his hair, Aki Tomoya just wouldn't turn around to look.

“Didn't you say you'd be down soon?”

Taking a light, deep breath, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt her chest heave, and with a cold face, she began to retreat slowly.

Her footsteps were extremely light, incredibly light...

Maintaining this movement, she retreated back to the shoe lockers of the third-year building.

“You can't go three sentences without mentioning Eriri, can you?”

“Tomoya-kun, you’ve disappointed me so much...”

Squatting on the ground, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly didn't want to be with Aki Tomoya anymore; she just wanted to be alone.

“Didn't you say you'd be down soon?”

Aki Tomoya kept counting the time, glanced at his phone, and let out a wail.

“If Utaha-senpai has something to do, I probably won't be able to wait for Eriri today.”

Holding onto this thought, he sent a message to urge her.

“Senpai, aren't you down yet?”

“I have something else to do temporarily, forget it... no need.”

Attaching a yellow smiling emoji—the kind recently used for complaining and cursing—Kasumigaoka Utaha tapped her finger and hit send.

“It’s fine now?”

Aki Tomoya stood stunned, tugging hard at his hair, the words on his lips stuck.

He stood in place for a while before quickly typing a reply.

“Alright, Utaha-senpai, so what was it you wanted to see me about?”

“Ding-dong...”

Kasumigaoka Utaha, on the other end, had absolutely no desire to deal with Aki Tomoya’s messages, but in this age where phones never leave one's side,

when a phone pings, anyone would subconsciously take it out to look.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was no exception.

“Accompany me home.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha replied, holding her phone against her plump chest with her hands.

“Just... just for this?”

Seeing this message, Aki Tomoya nearly jumped.

Can't she go home by herself?

She didn't even say it directly, delaying him from going to find Eriri.

“Utaha-senpai, you can perfectly well go home by yourself, why look for me?”

Aki Tomoya then thought that perhaps Kasumigaoka Utaha wasn't feeling well.

Maybe she was on her period, or running a fever, or something.

The weather had been chilly lately, making it easy to catch a cold or fever, and the news even said the flu was spreading.

“It’s about the stalker.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha replied.

Suddenly.

Aki Tomoya froze, kicked a nearby tree in extreme frustration, and simply stopped typing.

He used voice messaging.

“Utaha-senpai, the stalker is just your imagination, a delusion!”

“It’s because you made Kitakami Yoru steal your panties and stockings, causing you so much stress and pressure that you’re having these feelings!”

“If you just listen to the doctor and take your medicine, wouldn't that be better? Wouldn't it?!”

The more Aki Tomoya spoke, the more anxious he became, until his voice was practically a roar.

On one hand, he was concerned for Kasumigaoka Utaha; on the other, he felt a trace of resentment toward her for this.

The implication was clear to anyone who wasn't a fool.

“Tomoya-kun, it’s real, someone really is stalking me, hiding in the crowd!”

“It’s real, why don't you believe me?”

Kasumigaoka Utaha replied with a voice message, her voice trembling with agitation.

“On this point, I believe the doctor!”

“Utaha-senpai, you say every day that someone is stalking you, that your sixth sense is as sharp as Superman’s, that you feel someone following you—but have you found anyone?”

“After so many times, you still haven't found them?”

“You don't even have a single suspect?”

“With no clues at all, isn't that a sign of illness? Utaha-senpai?!”

Aki Tomoya stood under the tree, roaring back.

A single voice message, lasting a full minute of him shouting.

When he sent it, a server-processing spinning icon appeared.

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned on the speakerphone and listened.

At first, she frowned and reflected—could she really be wrong?

But halfway through, she chose to believe her intuition, suppressing her anger and pain to listen to the entire rant Aki Tomoya had roared out!

“Tomoya-kun, you don't believe me?”

Once it finished, Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed the record button with the speed of a human fleeing an earthquake.

It was tense and ridiculously fast!

She sent a challenge!

“Why, Tomoya-kun, don't you believe me? And why don't you support me?”

“He wasn't like this before, Eriri... it’s always Eriri...”

“Eriri is the real culprit who stole my stockings and panties, that kind of person...”

Regardless of Aki Tomoya, Kasumigaoka Utaha’s nose felt sour.

Her wine-red eyes were slightly reddened, looking aggrieved.

She desperately needed strong comfort.

Aki Tomoya, on his end, forced himself to inhale and exhale, trying to calm his tone and his impending rage, clutching his hair tightly.

He racked his brains!

How could he convince Kasumigaoka Utaha?

After pulling out several strands of hair, Aki Tomoya tried hard to recall.

The first time he accompanied Kasumigaoka Utaha to the hospital for a diagnosis.

Aki Tomoya had found a case online.

An anxiety patient with autonomic nervous system dysfunction, suffering from inexplicable leg pain.

They had visited every top-tier neurosurgeon, internist, hematologist, orthopedist, and dermatologist in the country...

They had seen countless specialists without finding the cause.

Finally, a psychiatrist diagnosed it: mental illness.

And guess what?

They prescribed some medicine, and in a month, they were cured!

The human body is truly miraculous.

Conversely, Kasumigaoka Utaha’s delusions were the most common form of mental illness, something any ordinary person could guess.

Yet, people suffering from mental illness don't believe they are ill; they think they are perfectly normal and that their minds are fine.

A flash of inspiration hit him, and Aki Tomoya searched the keywords in his browser.

On the first page, he found the news story.

An interview with the patient.

Relieved, he forwarded it directly to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

39: So What If I Have No Hair?

Tomoya Aki made one mistake.

That is, never try to persuade someone using a mobile messaging app.

Especially a woman who is stubborn in certain ways and currently fuming.

It won't be of any use; instead, it will only escalate the conflict between the two.

"Senior Kasumigaoka, please calm down and take a look."

After Tomoya Aki sent the message, he let out a sigh of relief.

With such a bizarre and strange case as a reference, surely Utaha Kasumigaoka would cooperate obediently and take her medicine, right?

"What is this? News?"

Her chest heaving with anger, the round, snow-white fullness nearly bursting the buttons on her blouse, Utaha Kasumigaoka resisted the urge to smash her phone and tapped to open it.

After just a glance, Utaha Kasumigaoka ignored it completely and shut it off with a dark face.

"Why? Does Ethics-kun refuse to believe me?"

"You'd rather believe a stranger, a doctor, than me?"

"Have I ever had a mental illness? I am certain my sixth sense is sharp and accurate!"

"Back then..."

Just as she felt restless and pained, Tomoya Aki sent another message.

Utaha Kasumigaoka took a look, her delicate fingertips tapping on Tomoya Aki's profile picture and nickname.

With a hardened heart, she swiped with a slight tremor.

A virtual bright red button appeared.

Delete!

"Ethics-kun, you're annoying me to death. Go find your Eriri."

"Before, you supported me unconditionally, believed in me unconditionally, and now you don't even care about my safety..."

"You've changed..."

Tomoya Aki's profile frame turned gray, and Utaha Kasumigaoka buried her head in her knees, her mood sinking to the absolute bottom.

"Senior Kasumigaoka?"

"Also, you're not coming out?"

"Didn't finish your cleaning duty?"

Tomoya Aki typed out a long paragraph and chose to send it again.

What he got back was a red exclamation mark!

"Senior Kasumigaoka deleted me?"

"No... no way, right?"

His expression froze, and he muttered uncertainly, but Tomoya Aki didn't feel the panic or fear he might have imagined.

Because he felt that Utaha Kasumigaoka liked him!

So she deleted him as a friend, what was there to fear?

If it were anyone else, having finally added the cold and noble Senior Kasumigaoka, they would only be regretting it and crying tears of blood after being deleted for being annoying...

"I still hope Senior can accept the reality of being sick; her grades have even dropped."

"Let her be for a while, and I'll talk to her about this another day."

After a moment of thought, Tomoya Aki pushed up the black-rimmed glasses beneath his thick bangs.

He left from under the tree to wait for Eriri, and on the way, he re-added Utaha Kasumigaoka as a friend, attaching a note:

"Senior Kasumigaoka, I have something to take care of. Please relax."

The latest model iPhone in her hand chimed with a notification.

Utaha Kasumigaoka hung her head, looking ashen; the once high-and-mighty, cold, and beautiful goddess was radiating waves of dejection.

She gave off a lifeless feeling.

She wanted to keep sitting, but before long, someone came down from upstairs, making noise.

It forced her to pick up her school bag and leave.

She wandered aimlessly through Shuchiin, buying a bottle of black bitter coffee she had never drunk before—the same kind as Yoru Kitakami.

After taking a sip, Utaha Kasumigaoka stared intently at the black coffee in her hand for several seconds, then let out a scoff.

"Ethics-kun, you've disappointed me so much..."

"Do you really like Eriri that much..."

Draining it in one go, Utaha Kasumigaoka tossed the empty container into the trash can.

Her fair, delicate hands wiped the fine beads of sweat from her gorgeous face, and she elegantly picked up her bag and left.

Perhaps?

It was the effect of the concentrated caffeine; her mood improved a little.

Walking out of the Shuchiin gate, a cool autumn breeze blew past.

Her hair fluttered...

Utaha Kasumigaoka shivered inexplicably, used her hand to tidy her hair, and walked slowly toward the station.

On the way, she would turn her head from time to time, casting her gaze into the eyes of every strange passerby.

As for the students wearing Shuchiin uniforms, she had long since formed a habit and naturally skipped over them.

It was subconscious. Subliminal.

"The stalker isn't here."

Utaha Kasumigaoka let out a breath of relief; the time from leaving Shuchiin to the station every day was the moment she feared most.

At this moment, a rich, wonderful aroma of bread and desserts wafted out from the Angel Cafe.

Mixed with the floral scent at the entrance, the coffee aroma...

It hooked Utaha Kasumigaoka's feet, keeping her from moving an inch.

"It smells so good..."

Stopping outside the cafe's glass, Utaha Kasumigaoka turned her head to look inside.

As far as she could see, there were about a dozen customers.

Except for a few passersby and nearby residents, they were all Shuchiin students.

They were gathered at the counter, buying the last batch of freshly baked bread and desserts.

The cafe made its money selling coffee, bread, and desserts...

Kaho Yuigahama owned three cafes under her name, and the oldest one had been open for over ten years.

It stood firm, becoming even more popular.

The replicated branches were guaranteed to have quality products; they wouldn't be bad.

Utaha Kasumigaoka had no intention of drinking coffee or eating dessert, but she needed a place to sit and soothe her mood.

Simply put, she carried her bag inside.

She sat in the most secluded corner, near the window.

A part-time waiter immediately came up to serve her, politely asking, "Senior Kasumigaoka, would you like to order?"

"A glass of lemon water."

It wouldn't do to not order anything. Utaha Kasumigaoka rested her chin on one hand, gazing out the window.

Before long, a glass of lemon water and ice water were brought over.

Casually picking it up for a sip, Utaha Kasumigaoka caught a glimpse of the menu out of the corner of her eye and was slightly surprised:

"Yoru Kitakami?"

The image of a boy with long hair tied in a bun and a slightly textured face leaped into her eyes.

"It's actually him? Heh..."

With two dry laughs, Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't bother checking the menu.

It was still early.

The cafe closed at six.

But basically, few customers visited after five-thirty.

At this time.