The pristine blue of summer, untainted, with sunlight casting a bright day.
At 9 a.m., Tokyo awakens with its bustling energy. The city's veins pulse rapidly, and the day begins for office workers.
In a suite at a luxurious inn near the city's outskirts.
On a double bed, a 20-year-old young woman sleeps soundly, serene like a painting.
But soon, a sparrow outside the window folds its wings and begins chirping on a power pole, like an alarm clock too far to smash.
"Ugh…"
The peaceful sleeping face slowly shows unease. The young woman clicks her tongue in displeasure, grabbing another pillow to cover her face, trying to block out the noise.
Unfortunately, it's no use.
The birds' chirping still pierces clearly into the room, and like an octopus musician in the deep sea, the birds are completely unaware of how annoying they are.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh—!"
Irritated, the young woman crosses her legs, her hair a mess, rolling around on the bed for over ten minutes.
Only then does she sit up reluctantly, yawning lazily.
"Haaah~ So annoying, this inn's soundproofing is awful. How dare they call it a luxury inn? I'm going to report them…"
Grumbling a few complaints, Haruno rubs her right eye, slumping against the headboard like a lump of clay, her eyes dreamy, trying to clear her mind by letting it wander.
"This isn't my house? Why am I here?"
"To tease my little sister who didn't have time to go to Disneyland, I wandered around the amusement park alone until midnight. Too lazy to find a taxi and not wanting to go home, I randomly found an inn to stay at."
"Wait, was I stupid yesterday? Why did I do something like that?"
Haruno shakes her head, pressing her temples in mild frustration.
Her head aches slightly, probably from drinking too much yesterday, and without realizing it, she did things that—as youth itself would say—were foolish and meaningless.
Too lazy to think further, she sighs and moves on, looking down at her body.
Since she fell asleep right after showering yesterday, wrapped only in a towel, she's now completely bare, warmed by the morning light streaming through the window.
Though her figure is stunning, the sight of her snowy peaks rising and falling has grown boring. After confirming nothing's amiss, Haruno slaps her cheeks, preparing to get up and freshen up.
"Hm?"
As she raises her hand, she notices her left hand holding a comb.
It's a wooden comb, not expensive-looking, adorned with a spring painting.
"Where did this come from?" She frowns in confusion.
Neither the style nor the design seems like something she'd buy… Was it from the inn?
Haruno tries to recall yesterday's events. Everything up to finishing her shower is vaguely clear, but she doesn't remember how she got or bought this comb.
Did she just toss it into her bag absentmindedly?
Unable to make sense of it, Haruno decides not to dwell on it. It's not important anyway.
"Just throw it away, so tacky."
Saying so, Haruno gets out of bed. Her hand passes over the trash can, but she places the comb on the vanity table beside it.
"I'll use it to brush my hair first, then throw it out after," she mutters, as if explaining to someone.
In the room, besides an empty beer can, there's an unopened sports drink.
The amount of snacks also doesn't seem like something one person could finish. Every corner of the place hints at an unusual strangeness.
As if… she didn't come to the inn alone.
But how could that be?
Yesterday, she was indeed alone all day and didn't call anyone.
"Ah, ah, was I really drunk? Or drunk from morning to night."
Scratching her hair, Haruno enters the bathroom with a strange, heavy feeling.
She has a habit of morning showers. While showering, she can also wash her face and brush her teeth, saving time.
About ten minutes later, with a towel wrapped around her head, she sits at the vanity without makeup, bare, and feeling much fresher. She no longer frets over the oddities.
With one hand holding a hairdryer and the other unlocking her phone, Haruno dries her hair while checking today's calendar.
"No schedule today? Tch, I should've slept in…" She purses her lips in disappointment, closes the calendar, then opens Instagram and scrolls, liking every post to maintain her social popularity.
As she scrolls to a food blogger's account, her finger pauses unconsciously.
"New Spicy Ramen, the Craftsman's Strongest Creation? Wow, it looks insanely spicy, this won't kill anyone…"
She mutters in horror, yet can't help swallowing hard.
A curious smile creeps up, and Haruno murmurs, "But it's worth a try!"
"It's fine if I can't handle it, let him…"
"Him…"
Her voice suddenly stops, like a poorly edited song, falling silent and unable to continue.
Haruno opens her mouth, her expression confused and helpless.
"Him… who?"
Was there someone kind enough to help her finish spicy food she couldn't handle?
From birth until now, there's never been such a person…
Besides, the Spicy Journey was her own plan for thrills. She never told her friends, mother, or sister. How could there be someone willing to join her in something so meaningless?
"Huuh…"
Pressing her chest, Haruno takes several deep breaths, ensuring her heart is still there and hasn't vanished due to the strange pain.
She closes Instagram, puts down her phone, and decides to ignore the confusing, frightening feeling. Later, she'll take some hangover medicine to ease it.
Though she's strong with alcohol and rarely gets drunk, there are always exceptions.
The steady hum of the hairdryer slowly stops.
Haruno shakes out her still-warm hair, soft black strands falling messily over her shoulders, exuding a lazy beauty.
Usually, haircare is a hassle, but since she's staying out, she's too lazy to care. As long as it's dry, that's enough.
She picks up the cheap wooden comb on the vanity and begins brushing slowly from the top.
"Pffft!"
For some reason, her scalp feels itchy. Haruno can't hold back a small laugh, looking like a fool in the mirror.
She doesn't put the comb down, instead raising her slightly trembling hand and brushing a few more times.
Each time the comb passes over her scalp, it's like an electric current tickling her nerves, making her whole body itch.
Finally, unable to hold back, she puts the comb down and bursts into uncontrollable laughter like a madwoman.
"Pffft, pffft hahahahahahaha—"
Her crisp laughter echoes endlessly in the room.
After gasping for a while, Haruno's face flushes, and she begins to steady her breathing.
But the tears streaming from her eyes don't stop even after her laughter ends.
"Hey, what's this…"
"Huh? Why am I crying for no reason?"
"Wait, this is too funny… Me? Crying? Huh?"
"Just a cheap comb, I don't even know where it came from… Ugh, so stupid, not like that crybaby Yukino."
"…"
"Ugh…"
"So, why…"
No matter how many words she says, she can't control the tears that keep flowing.
"Why… Can someone tell me?!"
No one responds.
Pressing her eyes, Haruno bites her lip tightly, the bitter and salty tears overwhelming her senses.
No mask, no lie, not even the intent to pretend to be strong can surface.
She's just like a child bearing countless grievances, yet not knowing who to complain to.
In this quiet room, she sobs softly.
"You're such a big liar…"
Who you are, and what lie you told, Haruno still doesn't know.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Up early for once."
Yuu pulls open the floor-to-ceiling curtains, stretching as he steps onto the balcony, leaning against the dew-dampened railing.
Disneyland seems to be in the east, so when he turns his gaze that way, the sunrise rises exactly from that direction.
Almost in an instant, golden-white light colors the clouds. Warm rays and gentle birdsong together lift the curtain of a new day. All beautiful things slowly awaken at this moment.
Some people love watching the sunrise, captivated by the scene where everything begins anew, full of hope in the silence.
There's no such thing as an eternal night.
As long as someone is willing to wait, sooner or later, the morning sun will rise from the eastern peaks, illuminating all darkness and fear, urging those hesitant to move forward to take today's first step.
Yuu leans on the railing like this, watching the soft morning light bathe the city, and seeing the night melt away like snow.
His eyes squint slightly in the light. After a long moment, Yuu whispers:
"Good morning, new life."
In his eyes, yesterday's and today's morning sun never change.
[Target: Yet to be determined.]
Volume Afterword
Honestly, I never expected to write the first girlfriend character to 260,000 words.
Initially, the story outline was a breakup crisis before the novel's publication, but after some thought, the background felt weak, and the impact wasn't dramatic enough. So, I decided to extend it a bit to flesh out the character more.
And so, the story stretched to a hundred chapters.
Many complained that the first arc was too long, the harem vibe was lacking, and they felt misled by the synopsis… Hmm, personally, I think despite the length, Haruno's character has a solid foundation in the story. I'm not worried she'll become a generic protagonist who leaves no impression on readers.
Reaching this point, with plenty of positive feedback from readers and the book's performance not dropping drastically, I feel that despite flaws, it's still acceptable—after all, it can't be changed now, hehehe.
However, the number of readers following this story has indeed decreased due to my unstable update schedule and slow pacing… I understand, I totally understand!
So, for readers who haven't fully subscribed, please support us! Let's start "cutting" (finishing) the story!
In the second volume, the entire story will officially unfold, and the number of characters will increase significantly.
After school starts, not only the main heroine but also other heroines who aren't main heroines will appear, whether they're targets or not…
Complex relationships will intertwine like tangled threads, and the protagonist's special abilities won't just be used to charm women…
I can assure you, this is a story that will fill readers with anticipation.
As for what happens next, I won't spoil it here. You can imagine it yourselves—after all, I won't cheat by copying from book reviews! (Proudly)
And as a heads-up, there won't be any death games! This world doesn't have a Kayaba Akihiko, but for plot needs, virtual reality games will be highly advanced!
If I wrote a death game in a daily life genre, the story would collapse, wouldn't it… Of course, regular virtual games will still exist, and the planted plot twists will also be revealed.
Please look forward to it… My twenty-seven extra updates (crying emoji).