After enduring a thousand hardships, Sora finally arrived at the Service Club located in the Special Building.
However, only she had struggled. Yuu handled being surrounded by greeting people quite calmly. He didn't hesitate to refuse others or leave when needed, successfully escorting his sister to her destination quickly.
In the quiet, empty corridor, two pairs of footsteps sounded very clearly.
Sora sighed wearily. From behind, she watched her brother pull out a key and open the classroom door lacking any class plaque.
"I thought your popularity had limits, but now it seems almost the entire school is your fan..."
"Not that dramatic. Though I suppose I do have an actual 'True Fan Club,' there are actually more people who don't care about me, fear me, or hate me... Honestly, I was surprised how many people greeted me just now."
Entering the Service Club, Yuu opened the window to clear out the stuffy air inside and said casually, "Either the festival atmosphere made them overly excited, or perhaps your cuteness caught their attention."
Accustomed to Yuu's spontaneous praise, Sora didn't feel happy or embarrassed at all; she merely pointed at her own face disbelievingly, "I'm wearing a hoodie and mask—how could they know I'm cute?"
"The aura, plus this cloak really suits you." Pulling a chair and placing it behind the long table, Yuu waved at Sora still standing in the doorway. "Just sit here. If it's cold, close the window. There's a hot water kettle over there, and snacks in the cabinet. As long as you don't make a mess, you can do whatever you want."
"A creature confined at home wouldn't mess up its territory... unless it has bad living habits." Muttering, Sora closed the door and, while walking toward him, looked up and around.
The back of the classroom resembled a storage room, yet items were arranged extremely neatly, not appearing messy at all. Lights were only on in the front rows, hiding piles of scrap in shadow, while the other side was brightly lit like a meeting area.
The arrangement of several chairs, the long table, and the whiteboard was very simple and clear. Both window frames and cabinet corners reflected a clean white shine, surely cleaned and maintained meticulously every day.
Every object was placed neatly in its place. A faint jasmine scent from somewhere drifted by, carried with the cold wind from outside the window through her fringe, giving the entire room a comfortable impression.
This room's decor style made Sora reflexively think of someone.
"Yukinoshita Yukino—that girl is the club president here."
Yuu shrugged: "So she's also the one most concerned about the cleanliness and comfort of this clubroom."
"I can tell from her two visits to our house... That girl isn't just germ-phobic, she has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." Sora couldn't help sneering. The scene of Yukino and her older brother sulking was still fresh in her memory, making her mood hard to brighten.
But... was this the place where Yuu usually ate, did club activities, and flirted with other girls?
Her steps toward the long table inexplicably halted. Sora stopped her casual glance and seriously swept every corner of the Service Club, as if wanting to memorize everything deeply in her mind.
Not to find evidence of his infidelity, but to imagine what expression Yuu would show, and what kind of time he'd spend here, when he left home, when he left her.
It was another side Sora, as mere family, would never understand without taking a step forward.
"Yuu..." Sora suddenly spoke, lowering her head, her fingers gently sliding across the smooth tabletop. "Are you happy here?"
Yuu looked at her, surprised. After thinking for several seconds, he slowly showed a sincere smile.
"Very happy—just as happy as at home."
"Because they're so important to you?"
"No, because I met the people important to me here."
"I see..."
Her voice softly fell to the floor, devoid of emotion.
The next second, Sora turned around, her silvery-gold hair fluttering in the air.
On her cute, pretty face, as if spring sunshine were shining, a gentle, genuine, calming smile was etched.
"Hmm, then that's good."
For this alone, she had to thank those evil women.
After all, this was something Sora, closest to him, might never accomplish.
Without using the chair Yuu specially prepared for her, Sora sat in her usual spot, then pulled out snacks, drinks, and a game console from her bag, quickly establishing her territory.
"Roughly when will you pick me up?"
"Opening ceremony at eight, official Cultural Festival start at nine—probably around then."
Returning the phone he'd just lent her, Yuu carefully reminded: "I've installed the single-tap emergency alarm app I wrote myself for you. If danger arises, just press it—it'll emit a loud sound to disturb others and notify me to come rescue you as fast as possible... Honestly, I still think live-streaming is safer."
"I want to play games—when would I have time to livestream with you?" Sora rolled her eyes, showing extreme disgust at her brother's mother-like nature, speaking mock-coldly: "Stupid Yuu, I'm not a little kid anymore—do I still need you to teach me self-protection?"
"So now, leave the key, turn around, and return to your class. I'll remember to lock the door and ignore anyone knocking except you lot. That's enough."
"...Alright, in hikikomori experience, maybe I truly can't match you."
Yuu sighed resignedly, grabbing his school bag heading for the door. His steps were very slow, as if still worried, glancing left and right.
"Seriously..." Sora scoffed helplessly, looking down to power on her game console, preparing to visit that adorable little animal with a tachi to collect protection money—not much, just all their body parts.
Yuu suddenly turned again, his eyes sparkling with excitement as if getting a great idea, pure and innocent like a child.
"Sora, do you want to pee now? Or should I accompany you to the toilet first, so you won't need to later—"
"K-Kick out—!"
The next second, the girl's embarrassed, angry shout exploded in the silent air. The powerful sound wave seemed to shake the entire Special Building twice.
After being mercilessly kicked out by his sister, Yuu looked back three times, sighed, and walked toward the main school building along the small path.
"This is the first time I've left my little sister alone outside like this... What if something unexpected happens! Like a tornado destroying the Service Club, or a Light Giant accidentally stepping on the building..."
Shaking his head, Yuu discarded the paranoid thoughts, slapping his face trying to cheer himself up.
He knew he was worrying too much.
But what could he do? Sora was the most precious family member to him—his concern surpassed sibling bonds. Placing hands and feet in an empty classroom, even if locked, no one could stay calm.
After all, this wasn't the familiar, safe home, but school.
A school filled today with many outsiders wandering the campus.
Fortunately, only a little over an hour remained, and his sister was mature enough. Otherwise, he'd definitely take Sora with him and guard her, even if it meant becoming the center of attention.
What Sora feared, he didn't fear; what Sora didn't fear, made him uneasy.
"Hmm? This..."
While walking with a heavy heart, a flyer caught his attention.
It wasn't pinned to a tree nor pasted on a wall—the flyer lay conspicuously in the middle of the path, as if afraid he wouldn't see it, even weighed down with a stone so wind wouldn't blow it away.
Exactly like a tiny fishing hero on a forum, his hook straight, bait salty.
"Meant for me?"
Raising an eyebrow, Yuu walked toward the flyer but didn't immediately pick it up. Instead, he gathered his concentration, closed his eyes, and activated all his abilities to detect movement around him.
*SASS—*
The world instantly became silent.
Bushes rustled, dry branches swayed left and right. All sounds stopped simultaneously with the flow of time and wind, frozen in rapidly spreading awareness.
The gray, silent scene grew increasingly clear, as if a model of the entire world was printed in his mind. Even ants crawling on the ground weren't missed. An invisible circle enveloped the dozens-of-meters radius around him, slowly expanding.
Birds flying from the forest, distant commotion, gradually lost their original forms, transforming into purest information.
At this moment, his heart was as clear as a mirror—every movement would appear clearly, like ripples on a lake's surface.
When he got truly serious, he could do things like this now.
Even if someone hid behind a tree, desperately holding their breath and making no sound, Yuu in full concentration could still hear their heartbeat and instantly lock onto their position.
This wasn't a specific ability granted by the system, but a special skill naturally achievable with Yuu's current physical condition, enhanced by bonuses from various mixed skills and statuses, all synchronized.
Top Clear Mind—a pity he wasn't some passing chūnibyō youth, so he wouldn't give this move such a chūnibyō name.
"Haaah..."
Yet, it didn't last long. Yuu exhaled dirtily, opened his eyes, pressed his temple as if having a headache, and wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"Too much information—my brain isn't enough... Feeling insects too, this is weird."
There's a kind of death called 'knowing too much,' and he felt it deeply now—if he kept observing, his brain might explode from information overload.
Though he'd likely enter unconsciousness as a defense before that happened, overall it was still very prone to damaging consciousness. If one day he accidentally became stupid, regret would be too late.
Luckily, this skill should be continuously trainable.
As long as he learned to classify wanted versus unwanted information and gradually strengthened his mental power, someday every movement around him wouldn't escape his senses. His sister wouldn't need to fear being murdered again!
...Though no one would probably come to murder her, and he might not survive a sniper's bullet anyway.
"No one nearby. Was it planned I'd pass here... or just a trial?"
After his aching head eased, Yuu squatted. Carefully, he didn't pick up the flyer to look, but pressed the paper's corner with his foot, observing its contents like that.
"Wish to know your future's form? Want to protect yourself and family from the unknown? Third-year Fortune Telling Shop—answers for love and career alike can be found here... You who are different, were once thus, the future shall be too. Rising and falling fate is already written in the world's notebook."
This a Cultural Festival flyer?
Muttering, Yuu frowned in contemplation.
Thanks to his previous help with Yukino, he quickly recalled that the stall opened by seniors from Class 3-A for this year's Cultural Festival was indeed a fortune-telling shop.
So the question was, why was this flyer here?
Even weighed down with a stone and placed on this quiet path, it couldn't be coincidence.
For instance, if someone knew he'd pass here at this moment, didn't that person deliberately do this to convey some message through the flyer, or invite him to meet at the fortune-telling shop?
Was this a joke, or was there something important to discuss?
Various possibilities crossed his mind. Yuu stood and kicked the small stone, stretching his body as if tired.
Just then, a gust of wind swept past his side, wrapping the flyer and blowing it toward the woods, quickly disappearing among distant dry branches.
"Tch... Class 3-A? I don't know anyone there..."
Muttering, he continued his steps toward the school building.
While climbing the stairs, as if suddenly enlightened, Yuu stopped.
Finger on chin, eyes wide open, he whispered slightly disbelieving:
"Right, there's Kasumigaoka Utaha too—the stalker senior... She's indeed from Class 3-A."
"But she has no reason to seek me out like this..."
Last time they met, Utaha was terrified and ran away. Yuu truly couldn't think of any reason why that leggy senior in black stockings would go through such trouble to find him...
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
School Building, third floor, girls' restroom.
Utaha flipped the last page of the black-covered notebook.
"7:20 AM, after Tenkuji Yuu and his younger sister Sora passed by, you emerged from behind the large tree where you hid, placed a flyer on the small path from the Special Building to the school building, weighed it down with a stone, and immediately fled the scene."
"7:31 AM, Tenkuji Yuu noticed the flyer and used extremely strong sensory powers to check movements around, finding no one."
"7:33 AM, after confirming the flyer's content, Tenkuji Yuu kicked the small stone, letting the flyer fly away, and left immediately..."
"Extremely strong sensory powers? Does he think he's Saint Seiya... Ugh, luckily I ran off after placing it, otherwise it'd be troublesome."
Scratching her smooth, straight black hair, Utaha sighed wearily, putting the notebook back into her school bag, then rose from the toilet seat.
"Overall, glad the plan went smoothly."
She narrowed her eyes, those pomegranate-red eyes flashing sharply, like the brightest star in the night sky.
Opening the restroom door, accompanied by a cold sniff, the pride and confidence of the bestselling teenage girl writer returned to her beautiful, captivating face.
"—Your unlucky fate? I'll rewrite it for you!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Sōbu High's Cultural Festival opening ceremony would be held at 8:00 AM.
Around 7:35 AM, Yuu returned to Class F. The classroom door was wide open, inside and outside filled with lively, cheerful atmosphere, like an exhibition or festival frontline.
Yuigahama was chatting with Yumiko and her friends, so Yuu didn't hesitate to approach and interrupt. He hung his school bag beside a desk, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
Not far away, Totsuka smiled and waved at him. After saying a few words to his friend beside him, he walked over.
"Yuu, good morning."
"Good morning, Totsuka."
After accidentally glancing outside, the handsome silver-haired youth asked curiously: "Yuu, I heard from someone—you brought your little sister to visit the Cultural Festival today?"
"Hah?" Yuu raised an eyebrow, unable to suppress a wordless twitch of his lips. "I just entered the school gate—how did this news spread so fast..."