The words lingered on the screen, burning themselves into Eriri Spencer Sawamura's retinas. Her cheeks, already warm, flared into a full-blown inferno that reached the very tips of her ears. She fumbled with her phone, thumbs flying in defensive retaliation.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Do you think I'd believe that line?! You already have a girlfriend! You're being ambiguous with Kasumigaoka! You're a certified, capital-S Scumbag!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Correct. I am a scumbag. I am interested in Utaha-senpai. And is it a crime to also be interested in you?"
His reply was a study in shameless, disarming honesty.
Hozuki Nozomi: "You already know what I am. So, what does it matter if I lean into it a little more?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Pervert! I'm done talking to you! I'm going to sleep!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Remember to come tomorrow. If you don't, I'll have to give the manga adaptation to someone else."
The threat, swift and merciless, pierced her indignation. She jolted upright in bed.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "You can't do that!"
Anxiety, sharp and immediate, overrode her pique. However much she cursed his character, she never doubted his talent. And the desire to be the official artist for Magical Girl Misaki—to step into the legitimate manga industry with a story she genuinely adored—was a fierce, burning ambition.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "You promised it to me before! I've already started drawing character sheets and sample panels! You can't just give it away!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Then answer the question. Will you come to Sakura Dormitory on your own tomorrow, or do I need to come fetch you from your house?"
There was a long, agonizing pause. She could almost see his infuriatingly calm smile through the screen.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "I… I'll come myself! Alright?!"
She capitulated, but not without planting her flag.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "But if you dare try anything weird, I have that evidence of you bullying me! If it gets out, you'll be despised by every girl you know!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Interesting. Why is it you never consider that I might have leverage on you?"
The message sent a chill down her spine. Leverage?
Hozuki Nozomi: "You are 'Kashiwagi Eri-sensei,' the acclaimed doujinshi artist. I wonder how your adoring classmates at school would react if they found out?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura froze, the blood draining from her face. It was checkmate.
Hozuki Nozomi operated with a social armor of sheer, audacious thickness. Being exposed as a playboy might earn him scorn, but it wouldn't break his world. For her, it was a different story.
At school, she was Eriri Spencer Sawamura—the beautiful, talented, slightly tsundere campus idol, admired from afar. The revelation that this dazzling persona secretly authored and illustrated explicit doujinshi under a pen name… it would be social annihilation. The whispers, the stares, the utter collapse of her carefully maintained image—the mere thought made her want to spontaneously combust.
Hozuki Nozomi: "See? You accuse me of threatening you, yet you sit there holding your own little blackmail photo. Pot, meet kettle."
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "What do you want from me?!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Why are you so afraid? I didn't actually do anything to you today, did I?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "You—! You kissed my cheek!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Because I like you. And given how you looked at that moment—blushing, eyes half-lidded, that expression of utterly feigned resistance—it would have been stranger if I hadn't been tempted. A single kiss on the cheek is the very picture of restraint."
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Ugh… Shut up! I wasn't expecting anything!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "Fine. Then I was expecting it. Come early tomorrow. I have another appointment in the afternoon."
The casual mention of another commitment stoked a fresh, irrational spark of something that felt suspiciously like possessiveness.
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Scumbag! Even while meeting me, you're scheduling someone else?! Who is it?!"
Hozuki Nozomi: "My fiancée. Yukino Yukinoshita."
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "!!!!"
The chat ended there, but the explosion of punctuation marks hanging in the digital void perfectly captured the seismic shift in Eriri's mental landscape. Her head buzzed with static.
What in the actual—?!
Yukino Yukinoshita? The Second Daughter of the Yukinoshita Zaibatsu? His… fiancée?!
Her mother, Sayuri, hadn't breathed a word of this! Wait, no—that wasn't the point!
The point was… he had gotten to Yukino Yukinoshita, too?! No wonder the elegant, ice-princess heiress was a frequent presence around Sakura Dormitory… How many stunning, high-caliber girls had this one boy managed to entangle himself with? The scale of his audacity was mind-boggling.
…
Having successfully navigated the conversational minefield and left Eriri suitably flustered, Hozuki Nozomi placed his phone on the nightstand. A deep sense of satisfaction, clean and uncomplicated, washed over him. He closed his eyes, ready to embrace sleep.
In his arms, Kamiigusa Misaki stirred. She nuzzled closer, her silvery hair tickling his chin, and murmured a sleep-slurred confession into his chest.
"Kohai-kun is so bad… Senpai likes it…"
A soft, genuine smile touched Hozuki Nozomi's lips. He raised a hand, gently stroking her head until her breathing deepened once more into the rhythm of peaceful sleep.
…
The next morning arrived with merciless clarity.
At the hotel, a weary Eriri Spencer Sawamura, sporting faint but undeniable shadows under her eyes, endured the amused, knowing gaze of Kasumigaoka Utaha over breakfast. Eriri met the look with a defiant glare, but words failed her. With a final, dismissive hmph, she gathered her things and stalked off toward school, the weight of her promised visit to Sakura Dormitory already hanging over her.
…
On Hozuki Nozomi's side, the school day began with its usual rhythm. The campus was abuzz with its own micro-dramas. The little maid, Ayano Kimishima, had now officially transferred in.
True to her diligent nature, she'd seamlessly integrated, even volunteering as secretary for Yuki Suo, who was campaigning for Student Council President while managing the Publicity Department. Both girls were a whirlwind of focused activity, their eyes set on the summit of student governance.
Class F maintained its peculiar, harmonious equilibrium. Hachiman Hikigaya was, as ever, immersed in his uniquely profound (or profoundly unique) conversations with the angelic Saika Totsuka. Hayama Hayato held court with his usual effortless charm, laughing with his friend Tobe Kakeru, seemingly untouched by the subtle undercurrents shifting around him.
One of those undercurrents was named Miura Yumiko. Seated with Shiina Mahiru and Sayu, she was the vibrant center of a lively discussion about limited-edition cosmetics and the merits of various pudding shops. Yet, amidst the chatter, her warm, honey-brown eyes would drift, again and again, to a specific desk.
Unless one was deliberately obtuse, it was impossible to miss the soft, unwavering affection in Miura Yumiko's gaze as it settled on Hozuki Nozomi.
This shift in focus did not go unnoticed by their classmates. Their collective attention then subtly pivoted to Hayama Hayato. Once, it was him who received those fervent, longing looks from the Queen of Class F. Now, the spotlight of her attention had decisively moved. The unspoken question hung in the air: Had the legendary succubus, Hozuki Nozomi, charmed yet another queen? To some, it painted Hayama in a tragic, cuckolded light.
The reality, of course, was far less dramatic and more poignant. Hayama had never truly cherished Yumiko's feelings, too preoccupied with maintaining his own popular image and his complicated, distant admiration for Yukino Yukinoshita. He had used her affection as a comfortable shield. Hozuki Nozomi had simply seen through the façade, exposed the hollow dynamic, and in doing so, had shown Yumiko a more genuine form of attention. The beauty had, in turn, made her own choice.
And to be fair, Yumiko was still incredibly cute.
This was proven moments later, during the short break between classes. She had boldly invited Hozuki Nozomi to accompany her to the vending machines. But instead of stopping there, she had tugged him by the sleeve, leading him to a deserted science preparation room down a quiet hallway.
The reason was simple, whispered against his lips before she stood on her tiptoes: "I missed you."
And, with a pout that was both jealous and endearing: "It's not fair. Mahiru and Sayu get to be with you every night in your room. You have to make it up to me. Here. Now."
Girls, after all, needed to be pampered and reassured. Hozuki Nozomi was more than willing to comply. He gave Miura Yumiko a kiss that was as passionate as it was tender, a silent apology and promise rolled into one. He even managed to share a piece of strawberry milk candy he had in his pocket, feeding it to her in a sweet, lingering moment.
IYKYK
Only then, her lips slightly swollen and her heart appeased, did a satisfied, blushing Yumiko allow him to lead her back to class.
However, her attempts at nonchalance were immediately foiled.
"Yumiko-chan," Ebina Hina asked, her voice laced with innocent curiosity, her eyes sharp behind her glasses, "why are your lips all puffy?"
Miura Yumiko's face flamed anew. She shot a fleeting, guilty glance toward a perfectly composed Hozuki Nozomi before waving a dismissive hand. "Ah, it's nothing! I just… tried a new, really spicy snack earlier!"
Ebina Hina's expression turned deeply skeptical. That was not the swelling caused by spice. That was the distinctive, well-kissed look of someone who had been thoroughly attended to. Her analytical gaze swept from Yumiko's flustered face to Hozuki Nozomi's serene one, and understanding dawned. Ah. Of course.
When lunchtime arrived, Hozuki Nozomi claimed his usual spot on the bench by the vending machines. He pulled out his phone, intending to message Yukinoshita. He needed to check on her and Haruno's progress with their… unconventional 'bride training.'
Before he could type, a new notification popped up.
Asaka Mayama: "Um, Hozuki-kun… are you free to meet this afternoon?"
Hozuki Nozomi: "What's wrong? Is that Ono Yu bothering you again?"
Asaka Mayama: "No, it's not that. He… he doesn't dare come near me anymore. Actually, every time he sees me from a distance now, he bows and calls me 'Big Sis'…"
Hozuki Nozomi blinked at the screen, momentarily nonplussed. What was this development? Was Ono Yu trying to pledge fealty? To establish some kind of gangster pecking order? The thought was almost amusing. Hozuki Nozomi had zero interest in becoming any sort of delinquent boss. His kingdom was built of scripts, novels, and the delicate, complicated hearts of beautiful girls—a far more challenging and rewarding domain.