The red marks were startlingly vivid.
Kato Megumi gently touched the streaks with her fingertips.
They felt burning hot.
She couldn't tell if it was residual warmth or if she could somehow feel her sister's lingering pain.
But that wasn't all.
Through her sister's loosely opened collar, Megumi could see more marks on her neck.
A series of kiss marks lined up like fish scales.
Seeing all these marks together, Megumi finally understood why her sister had been wearing a long bathrobe instead of just a towel when she returned home.
Which meant...
Had her sister invited a boy over before she came back?
This would also explain why the bathroom had been so carelessly cleaned.
Megumi gazed at her sister's peaceful sleeping face, thinking pure thoughts.
You have a boyfriend, yet you did such things without telling me... What would our parents think if they knew?
Noticing the crumpled bedsheet piled at the foot of the bed, Megumi ultimately decided not to tidy up.
Sister must have her reasons for keeping this from me.
After tucking her sister in properly, Megumi quietly left the room, gently closing the door behind her.
Click.
The moment the door shut,
Megumi's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Somehow, somewhere, pieces seemed to connect in her mind.
Nanaya hadn't been at school this afternoon.
Her sister had been home all afternoon, covered in those marks.
No... it couldn't be!
There's no way Nanaya and her sister could have...
I must be too tired lately—Nanaya's bullying has given me hallucinations. How could I even think such things?
Megumi scolded herself internally, trying to push away these thoughts as she headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner for both of them. Focusing on another task would keep her from scaring herself with wild speculations.
Yet this idea had already quietly taken root in Megumi's heart. With time, it might inadvertently grow...
Nanaya walked toward Machida Sonoko's house while examining his newly acquired skills.
[Photography Mastery] was straightforward—he could now take perfect photos using any device, with naturally impeccable composition and framing.
But the real focus was [World Map].
Nanaya discovered this reward was directly integrated into his system interface.
It worked like a high-definition navigation map—a blue cursor marked his position, with arrows indicating his direction. Surrounding buildings and roads were clearly labeled.
Was that all?
Noticing a search bar at the top of the map, Nanaya tested it by inputting Machida Sonoko's address, which accurately displayed the route.
Next, he tried entering "Kato Ran."
A yellow dot immediately appeared on the map!
It can track people too?
Nanaya was pleasantly surprised.
He tried searching for "Kato Megumi," "Kasumigaoka Utaha," "Eriri Spencer Sawamura," and others.
However, inputting "Eriri" yielded no results, even with her full name.
Does it only work on people I've met?
Moreover, Kato Megumi's cursor was green, while Kasumigaoka Utaha's was red.
Nanaya guessed the colors represented different levels of affection toward him.
This [World Map] had given him an enormous surprise!
Searching for "Machida Sonoko," he saw she had just left Futabasha Publishing and was heading home.
Nanaya quickened his pace, planning to surprise Sonoko with another home-cooked meal.
The next day at school, before even entering the classroom, Nanaya heard rumors about a girl claiming to be his girlfriend after a kiss yesterday.
After a brief meeting in the principal's office, he learned she came from an ordinary family with no notable background.
The girl had naively assumed kissing him made them a couple.
Why is it that out of so many girls, you're the only one loudly proclaiming this?
Nanaya couldn't even remember what she looked like.
After a discussion between the principal and her homeroom teacher, the girl voluntarily transferred to another school.
And just like that, the rumor vanished without a trace.
The outcome of this incident showcased Nanaya's influence to Kato Megumi.
When Megumi told Kato Hiromi about it, Hiromi became fully convinced Nanaya could indeed change their parents' job positions.
Several uneventful days passed.
Nanaya never laid a hand on Megumi during this time, which Hiromi took as proof of his integrity.
So whenever she checked on Megumi, she would unconsciously slip in a few praises for Nanaya.
This left Megumi increasingly puzzled—why has sister's opinion of Nanaya changed so drastically?
After discussing with Machida Sonoko, Nanaya decided to delay informing Kasumigaoka Utaha about her series being canceled.
During these days, Nanaya spent his breaks on the rooftop but never encountered Utaha again.
Surprisingly, Utaha didn't seem to have submitted the photos or videos she took to the school administration.
Nanaya couldn't guess her intentions, but at least it gave him peace.
"Nanaya-kun... are you free this afternoon? A new café opened near the school. Would you like to go together?"
A girl looked at Nanaya with hopeful eyes, eagerly awaiting his agreement.
"Sorry, I have plans."
Nanaya declined with a wave of his hand. As the girl walked away dejected, he stood up to leave.
Having ignored Megumi all this time, it almost felt like he'd forgotten about her entirely.
Megumi felt an indescribable discomfort.
Even when Nanaya bullied her, at least she had his attention. Now, he treated her like a stranger.
How could this not unsettle her?
Moreover, lately, every time she returned home, her sister looked utterly exhausted. Whenever Megumi secretly checked her sleeping sister's body, she found the same marks as before.
Or rather, the same marks every time.
Those blush-inducing traces covered her sister's body, and Megumi even felt her sister had started developing again...
The timing aligned too perfectly with Nanaya's absences.
Combined with her sister's daily praises for Nanaya...
Today, Megumi was determined to uncover the truth!
Watching Nanaya's retreating figure, Megumi gritted her teeth and followed.
She knew Nanaya might have changed his attitude toward her, but that didn't mean he wouldn't notice her.
Thus, Megumi trailed him cautiously.
To everyone else, the low-profile Megumi remained invisible, even as her movements turned stiff and awkward.
Nanaya glanced at his map interface, where a green dot labeled "Kato Megumi" glowed brightly behind him.
A cold smirk tugged at his lips.
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