10 years later.
The Oreki household.
This time the dream entry was later. When Houtarou opened his eyes, he found Suzune already walking out of the neighboring children's room in her pajamas.
Then she returned to their room.
"Are Rinrin and Nene already asleep?" Houtarou asked.
"Yes." Suzune nodded gently.
It would be embarrassing to consult in front of the children, but now that they were asleep, he could speak without saving face.
The current Suzune was extremely gentle, making one feel completely at ease.
"I've encountered a difficult problem." Houtarou said, "It's about contact with the opposite sex."
"Contact, huh." Suzune pondered for a moment, "Today is September 11th. It reminds me of our time at Advanced Nurturing High School. That day, you suddenly burst into my dormitory, then forcibly took my first kiss. That's when you made me realize you were of the opposite sex."
Oh. I see.
Only after kissing you, you began to see him as someone of the opposite sex?
Wait a minute. Was he really that bold? Directly breaking into the dormitory, then forcibly kissing her? What kind of script is this?
Suzune was so honest and reliable, so why did he need to do something like this to her?
"I see... you're reminiscing about that time..." Houtarou said.
Then. Isn't September 11th today?
He was startled.
〖 Do you want to deactivate Precognitive Dream? 〗
Yes!
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Houtarou quickly opened his eyes and saw the now-familiar dormitory ceiling. He glanced at the clock on the right side of the bed.
"September 11th, 22:45."
He opened his phone and saw two messages.
| Maya Satō |
| Thank you for accompanying me today, Houtarou. |
| Kei Karuizawa |
| Want to have dinner together tonight... oh no, never mind. My sense of shame is overwhelming today. |
"..."
These were from the girls he had contacted today.
Houtarou checked the time on his phone again. September 11th, 22:45:56... no, while looking at it, the time had already changed to 22:46.
According to the Precognitive Dream, just as Suzune said, he would boldly break into her dormitory and kiss her, making her realize that although they were collaborators, they were also of opposite sexes.
But was he really that kind of person?
Houtarou fell into self-doubt.
Should he do nothing?
The information from the Precognitive Dream showed that he would date Kei but eventually marry Suzune.
Dating Kei without eventually marrying her seemed somewhat cruel. That's why he had been gently rejecting her.
As for Suzune, he didn't want to change their future together. Their future life wasn't bad at all.
Moreover, they already had children in that future. If he changed his actions now, wouldn't their future change as well? For example, their two children, Rinrin and Nene, might become just one child because of what he did or didn't do today.
That would be quite sad.
Although he's not good at interacting with girls or dealing with children. But Houtarou actually quite likes his two children.
Now that he had obtained information about his actions on this day from Suzune, should he recreate them?
This was what he needed to consider.
After careful thought, Houtarou put on his clothes, left his dormitory, and headed to the girls' dormitory.
It was already quite late. He took the elevator up.
One or two lone female students noticed him, but they were Class B students, so they didn't say anything.
Houtarou arrived at Suzune's dormitory, Room 505.
The girls' room numbers were actually quite interesting. Arisu's was 605. Kei's was 606. Kikyō was on the seventh floor. She only bothered Suzune before school, not now — which was helpful in this situation.
With this in mind...
Knock Knock—
Houtarou knocked on the door.
When he had called Suzune on his birthday before, it was past midnight, and she said that was her sleeping time. But it wasn't 11 PM yet, so she might still be awake.
Thud—
The door opened.
Black straight hair framed an exceptionally beautiful face looking at him. This was Suzune.
In her dormitory, she had already changed into casual clothes — a dark green long-sleeved pajama. It wasn't revealing at all, consistent with her conservative personality.
Houtarou noticed that Suzune appeared to have been reading. Her window was open, she was sitting by her desk, and a cup of coffee was placed beside her.
At her feet was a stack of books. It was clear her summer vacation had been very productive, as she had probably already completed half of her coursework.
"What do you want?" asked Suzune with a stern, rigid face.
Her expression was cold and disdainful. She made no effort to hide her annoyance at being disturbed, completely disregarding social etiquette.
Unlike Kikyō, who would display a cute smile even toward someone she deeply disliked — that's proper social courtesy.
"Actually, I'm caught up in the topic of love." Houtarou said, "Can I come in now?"
Though no girls were currently walking in the hallway, standing there still felt awkward.
Suzune made a dismissive gesture, "I have absolutely no interest in matters of love. And I have no experience to share or advice to give you."
Houtarou found himself bewildered by the contrast between this ice-cold Suzune and the gentle, accommodating woman from his dream ten years in the future. He wondered if he was still dreaming.
Still, he had a mission. He forced himself not to look at her moist lips.
"No, that's not what I meant." Houtarou said quickly, "I just want to talk to you. Since you have no interest in emotions and don't have much judgment ability, there are many things I can tell you without worry."
"..." Suzune immediately thought this man was incredibly idle, and his comment about her lack of judgment ability seemed deliberately provocative.
But she truly had no interest in matters of love.
"I'll listen to your complaints for now." She released her hand from the doorknob.
The door opened, and Houtarou entered.
Her room was simpler than Arisu's, with minimal decoration. Yet it was clear she knew how to live well. Various small details revealed her excellent housekeeping skills.
Suzune looked at him expectantly.
"Speak."
As a former Class D student now in Class C, she knew her classmates couldn't protect their hard-earned Class Points. Failure was just a matter of time.
She had long prepared to go solo, and Houtarou was her important collaborator.
During the previous sports festival, she'd thought she could handle everything but was nearly sabotaged by Kakeru. This made her recognize her shortcomings.
Consequently, Houtarou became even more valuable. If her brother believed she needed guidance, then Houtarou was the person who could provide that support.
Even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew her heart was changing bit by bit. In this environment, she could at least listen to his concerns and build a good relationship.
"Actually, I went on a date with a girl today and kissed her." Houtarou said, "But I kissed two people. I originally thought people should be faithful to one person, but now I feel like being with two people doesn't seem that bad."
? What nonsense was this guy talking about?
"..."
This was definitely not the kind of help she wanted to give!
"I think Kushida would probably listen to this kind of complaint." Suzune took a step back, "She seems quite good at handling these things."
"Forget it." Houtarou said, "She would definitely call me a scumbag. Then block me."
This didn't seem like Kikyō's approach; she was gentle to everyone, but her true personality would indeed do something like this.
"So what do you want from me?" Suzune felt this was not the time to build a relationship with Houtarou.
He had become troublesome. She urgently wanted him to leave her dormitory.
"I've lost my way." Houtarou said, "On one hand, I used to want to be faithful to one person, but now I feel like being with two people doesn't seem to be a problem. I wonder if my true nature is really that bad."
"So?" Suzune's expression remained cold.
"I want to test it." Houtarou said, "That's why I came to find you, Horikita."
"Find me?"
"Yes, you're beautiful but super cold and distant." Houtarou said, "I think if I even want to make a move on you, then I might really be that kind of person."
'Heh…' Suzune almost smiled.
But she maintained her straight face. This guy had said too many inappropriate things to her.
"I don't want to help with this." She said, "And whatever you want to do to me, I will definitely retaliate."
"What if I kiss you?"
"Then I will definitely hit you." Suzune said mercilessly, "Because I really have no interest in you."
Is that so... No interest, huh.
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The next day, when Houtarou went to the cafeteria for breakfast, everyone noticed a piece of gauze taped to his left cheek.
... As if someone had hit him.
"Did Oreki get injured?"
Some acquaintances were curious.
"Probably some kind of punishment." Houtarou replied vaguely.
"Punishment?"
"This has nothing to do with you, thank you for your concern." He said.
He noticed the same super beautiful girl with black straight hair walking past him, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Suzune was indeed extremely cold. She even refused their usual daily handshake.
Thinking this, Houtarou encountered the early-rising silver-haired little princess, Arisu.
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