Chapter 48

Everything is fine, just a bit noisy.

Kato Megumi turned her head to look toward the classroom door.

Aki Tomoya-kun is preaching about 2D culture again.

Usually, Kato Megumi doesn't really think much of it.

She also doesn't understand why some girls in the class don't like Aki Tomoya-kun anymore.

Recalling the impolite Aki Tomoya from that day and the very noisy person before her now, Kato Megumi frowned slightly and suddenly understood those girls.

"So noisy," Kato Megumi muttered to herself.

45: Gathering Courage

Lunch break.

Kitakami Yoru was at his seat, eating the weight-loss lunch he had prepared for himself with varying recipes.

It wasn't delicious, but it wasn't exactly hard to swallow either; he was used to it.

After finishing lunch, he took out his phone to check the message Kato Megumi had sent back, then stood up to leave his seat.

"Whew~ The weather is nice."

Kitakami Yoru walked out of the classroom through the back door and sighed at the blue and white sky.

Then, he headed down toward the school building.

While passing the next class, Kitakami Yoru was involuntarily drawn to Eriri, who was sitting by the window.

His guess was wrong.

The mysterious golden treasure chest appeared, and it had nothing to do with the bad woman.

Thinking of this, Kitakami Yoru sighed slightly.

Otherwise, following his previous line of reasoning, the possibility that the culprit was Eriri would have been too high.

But since Kato Megumi also had a golden treasure chest on her head, it definitely couldn't be the bad woman.

Furthermore, Hayasaka Ai, who had once pranked him with a fake confession, also had one on her head.

He had absolutely no connection to Hayasaka Ai.

Of course, Kitakami Yoru didn't know that yet.

Hayasaka Ai was Shinomiya Kaguya's personal maid; they were close, and she had once stalked him and thoroughly investigated all his privacy.

"How could this guy be walking with a blonde girl..."

Eriri also spotted Kitakami Yoru and secretly watched him leave, her small hand propping up her chin, her expression very conflicted and complex.

Kitakami Yoru went to the vending machine as usual to buy a bottle of black coffee.

"Click~"

Gently pulling the tab, Kitakami Yoru took a sip with an expressionless face.

The smooth black coffee, carrying a rich bitterness, slid down his throat.

"Seems like bitter coffee isn't very popular?"

Kitakami Yoru muttered to the same brand of black coffee on the vending machine shelf and took out his phone to check it again.

After thinking for a moment, he bought another bottle of fruit juice with a sweet and sour taste that suited the general public, which made his pocket bulge.

When he left, he ran into two old acquaintances.

Only, they didn't recognize him.

Kitakami Yoru, however, remembered them very clearly.

The girl with the red ribbon tied in an inverted twin-tail style had the same name as his cat; they were both called San-san.

"Right, San-san, shall we go see it together this weekend?"

"I'm not going; I'm not in the mood after running into something like this."

"It's all my fault for not looking after it well..."

As he passed by them, Kitakami Yoru could faintly hear their conversation.

Not long after, Kitakami Yoru arrived at the top floor of the school building with some anticipation.

"Kitakami-kun." Kato Megumi was holding a small bag; seeing Kitakami Yoru walk up, she pointed to the rooftop door lock.

"This door lock is broken; just pull it open," Kitakami Yoru said, watching the golden treasure chest slowly emerge on Kato Megumi's head.

Estimating the progress bar, it was about ten-something percent.

Soon, it would be open very soon.

"Is that so?..."

Kato Megumi was slightly stunned; she tentatively pulled it with her hand, and the door lock made a creaking sound.

Immediately, she applied more force and pulled the lock open quite easily.

"Huh..."

Kato Megumi was slightly surprised.

Kitakami Yoru walked up, saw the lunch in Kato Megumi's hand, and suddenly asked with some embarrassment: "Kato-san, did I interrupt your lunch?"

"Not at all, I was just going to eat here."

Kato Megumi walked onto the rooftop and looked down at the beautiful Shuchiin Academy.

This was the top private high school in all of Japan, bar none, with nothing that could be compared to it.

"Sorry, I didn't know you hadn't eaten lunch yet when I asked you to come here." Kitakami Yoru pulled the door half-shut and pointed to the bench.

Fortunately, he had discovered this prime spot earlier.

"It's fine, it's actually quite nice to have someone to eat lunch with."

Kato Megumi actually didn't like the noisy classroom.

"Hmm?"

"Is there no one to keep you company?"

Kitakami Yoru nodded, then realized something was wrong.

"Yeah, I'm always by myself," Kato Megumi nodded with a calm expression.

"How can that be? Shouldn't Kato-san be very popular?"

Kitakami Yoru sat on the bench and asked doubtfully.

"Well, about that..."

Kato Megumi tilted her head quietly, facing Kitakami Yoru.

Suddenly remembering that Kitakami Yoru had praised her as very cute earlier, she felt a bit embarrassed and turned her head away.

"Actually, I'm just a very ordinary girl, my name is ordinary, and my presence is too faint; I'm not popular at all."

"And I don't really have any friends..."

The girl beside him explained while opening her lunch.

"I actually envy Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai for being so popular and attracting attention wherever she goes..."

After finishing, Kato Megumi silently added a sentence in her heart.

She didn't say it out loud because she knew Kitakami Yoru didn't like Kasumigaoka Utaha.

If Kitakami Yoru were meeting Kato Megumi for the first time and knew her inner thoughts, he would probably suspect Kato Megumi was the thief.

"Is? Is that so?"

Kitakami Yoru blinked his large eyes, seemingly a bit disbelieving.

However, was this actually a benefit for him?

It meant that no one was in contact with Kato Megumi, which made things easier for him.

"Then... Kato..."

"Kato-san, can we become friends?"

Kitakami Yoru asked tentatively.

His hope was only this much.

He couldn't possibly fantasize that a fat otaku like him would have a girl fall for him, right?

Perhaps he was destined to regret this for the rest of his life...

"Sure," Kato Megumi smiled in a good mood, without the slightest hesitation.

Getting along with Kitakami Yoru was actually quite pleasant and happy.

Although Kitakami Yoru's reputation at school wasn't good, Kato Megumi knew those rumors were all fake.