After nearly three days of sleepless revisions, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Utaha finally sent off the revised manuscript via email.
Even if Tomoya still had complaints, she didn't plan to revise it any further. After what had happened last time, she truly felt she had done everything she could.
It was finally over.
Looking back, not just these past few months, but the entire past year had felt like one long nightmare.
At least from now on, there will be no more nightmares.
There wouldn't be any sweet dreams either, but a dreamless sleep was probably not so bad…
Utaha stared quietly at the untitled document on her desktop, then blankly closed her laptop, turned around, and climbed into bed.
She wouldn't cry anymore—she'd already cried all she needed to. Constantly crying was just too pathetic.
Although she wouldn't smile like that again either, life still had other kinds of joy. There were still plenty of reasons to laugh.
An ordinary girl's life wasn't bad at all.
Well, maybe not entirely ordinary.
After all, she had come to understand the supernatural and even become someone's lover. That didn't seem very normal.
Well then—good night, slightly unusual Utaha.
Come to think of it, since that deal was off, the originally agreed-upon "three months" and "twice a week" could also be canceled.
But they'd forgotten to talk about how long she'd continue being a lover now.
She'd bring it up next time she visited.
If the duration could be shortened, that would be great—because honestly, that sort of thing was kind of scary.
The scariest part being… that even while scared… she still wanted…
With that seemingly peaceful thought, a completely exhausted Utaha fell into a deep sleep.
That night, she really didn't dream at all.
…
"The work on my end is finally done. Ha… the rest is up to you two now."
After school the next day, Utaha yawned as she spoke to Eriri and Megumi, then pulled out a form.
"This is my club withdrawal application. Please help pass it along. Oh, and don't include my name in the staff credits—just list it anonymously, or don't list it at all."
Megumi took the form and said with concern,
"Senpai, you've worked hard. You seem even more tired than usual. Did you stay up really late last night?"
Hearing the word "tired," Utaha yawned again, covering her mouth.
"It wasn't that I stayed up late—it was more like I went to bed early. That's why I didn't sleep through class today. Gotta focus on studying properly now."
Megumi hesitated. "I was going to suggest taking it easy today, but if that's the case… maybe going home and sleeping early is the better idea after all."
"Hmm… true. What should I do…"
Utaha actually looked conflicted.
With the sudden end to the pressure, she felt a bit empty.
Her instincts told her to head over to Akira's place.
But no matter how much trust her parents had in her, staying out overnight too frequently still wasn't a good look.
At the very least, she should wait until the weekend.
So she settled on a half-and-half plan—drop by Akira's place first, then head home early and get a good night's sleep.
Even if she got so relaxed there that she didn't want to move, she could just ask Mr. Ogiwara to drive her home.
They were lovers, after all—it wasn't like she was asking for money.
A little pampering and requesting a favor wasn't too much, right?
Besides, wasn't "being pampered and asking for things" part of what lovers do?
Having made up her mind, Utaha's smile softened. "Alright, I'll head home early to rest today. I'm off."
Her footsteps felt lighter than usual.
That wasn't just her mood—her bag was lighter too, since she hadn't brought her laptop.
"Huh? But we could've walked together…"
Megumi, who was also getting ready to go home, felt a little awkward.
She'd been just a step too slow, so catching up now would feel weird, but staying behind with nothing to do wasn't much better.
Trying to ease the awkwardness, she turned to Eriri for a casual chat—only to find her staring off into the distance, watching Utaha's back with a gentle, motherly smile.
That was more surprising than the gloomy expression she'd worn earlier. After all, Eriri was usually the one receiving that kind of smile—not giving it.
Megumi waved her hand in front of Eriri's face. "Eriri? You're smiling so weirdly."
Eriri slapped her hand away and returned to her usual scowling self. But then that mysterious smile crept back onto her face.
Which made Megumi worry that something might actually be wrong with her.
And maybe seriously wrong.
After pressing her hand to Eriri's forehead and not feeling any fever, she got her hand swatted away again. Eriri finally snapped with an annoyed look.
"Hey! Megumi, what's your problem?!"
"Ah, nothing, nothing. You just seemed really happy. Did something good happen?"
Megumi swapped out "sick" for a kinder word.
Eriri smugly placed her hands on her hips and gave what she thought was an enigmatic smile.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. It's not that something good happened to me—it's that something amazing is about to happen to Utaha."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"I'm not telling you! Ha ha!"
Eriri spun around dramatically in what she assumed was a bold, carefree exit—but it looked more like an awkward flail.
Her twin tails practically bounced with smugness as she cheerfully walked off campus.
Megumi seriously began considering whether she should walk Eriri home today—and possibly inform her parents of her condition.
"Hm?"
Just then, a familiar and unpleasant silhouette seemed to flicker near the school gate.
Megumi instinctively looked in that direction—but saw nothing.
Startled, she clutched her schoolbag and jogged toward the gate, quickly passing Eriri.
"Huh? Megumi?"
Ignoring Eriri's call, Megumi ran from the school building all the way to the gate, looking in the direction where that figure had disappeared—but again, there was nothing.
Eriri jogged to catch up and patted her on the shoulder from behind.
"Hey! What are you looking at? I'm right here!"
Megumi turned around, wearing a slightly surprised expression. "Ah! There you are, Eriri."
"What's that supposed to mean?! You seriously didn't see me? No way, right? I'm not that short, am I?!"
With that sudden burst of mischief, Megumi lightly covered her mouth to keep from laughing, then glanced again in the direction where the figure had vanished.
It had been a fleeting glimpse, only caught in the corner of her eye. Megumi couldn't be sure she hadn't imagined it.
After all, all the boys wore the same black autumn uniform. From that distance, it should've been impossible to recognize anyone without seeing their face.
Besides, wasn't the direction Utaha-senpai usually went home the opposite way?
"Megumi, I'm talking to you. Why are you so jumpy today? Are you sick?"
Eriri reached from behind and pressed her palm to Megumi's forehead.
That made Megumi a little annoyed.
"Hey, you're the one who's sick, Eriri."
"Says who?! I'm not sick! You're the one acting all weird!"
"Then should I imitate the way you smiled and turned just now? Something like… this?"
"Hey! Was I really smiling that weirdly… and I didn't strike a pose like that!"
"Ah, is that so? Who knows…"
In the golden glow of after-school, the girls' laughter echoed around the school gate, gradually fading with the scattering crowd of students heading home.
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