"Hey, tell me, isn't this... a love triangle? Utaha, Eriri and I are just acquaintances, not even friends. It's just... our parents have a good relationship."
Reaching out to pat Kasumigaoka Utaha on the head, Nakano Yu could feel the faint hostile intent Kasumigaoka Utaha emitted toward Eriri, but it was not very strong.
Nakano Yu was not stupid; he could sense that Kasumigaoka Utaha's hostility toward Eriri was not entirely because of him. After all, Kasumigaoka Utaha knew that beside him there were also the Quintuplets and the others.
She would not behave so abnormally just because of Eriri. As for the hostility toward Eriri, Nakano Yu had the feeling... like the same poles of magnets, naturally incompatible.
Logically speaking, Eriri and Utaha had no previous conflict, but Nakano Yu was not too familiar with the details.
"Well, I was only joking with Yu-kun. No matter how I think about it, Yu surely wouldn't be interested in a little girl with that kind of figure."
Enjoying the young man's touch, Kasumigaoka Utaha completely lost her earlier sharp and aggressive attitude. She smiled faintly, glanced toward Eriri, and then turned her head away, clearly not considering her a threat at all.
"You can't really say that... Eriri, it's late, hurry to school."
Rubbing his nose, Nakano Yu did not completely deny it. He did not particularly like Eriri, but that was mainly because of her awkward personality. Nakano Yu actually liked petite girls like Rem very much.
Moreover, beside him there was also Kiyoura Setsuna, a quiet loli girl. So the problem was not Eriri's figure; he simply did not like her clumsy personality.
"Ha? Ah, ah..."
Hearing that, Eriri, who had been staring darkly at Nakano Yu and Kasumigaoka Utaha, jolted back to her senses. She quickly answered twice, then turned around and started to leave.
However, before taking more than a few steps, Eriri suddenly turned around and bid farewell to the young man:
"Um... Nakano-kun, see you later."
After saying that, without waiting for a response from Kasumigaoka Utaha and Nakano Yu, Eriri quickly ran away.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu scratched his head, feeling that something was not quite right, but he could not determine exactly what.
"Oh-ho? That girl even wants to see you again next time, Yu-kun."
Unlike Nakano Yu's indifference, Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes. She watched Eriri's figure enter Toyonosaki Girls' High School, then turned back toward the young man and spoke in a tone whose meaning was unclear.
Her tone sounded like a joke, but also like jealousy.
"I feel like you're pretty hostile toward Eriri, Utaha. What, are you jealous?"
Moving closer to Kasumigaoka Utaha, Nakano Yu smiled mischievously, resting his chin on her shoulder as he spoke, and even reached out to grab the girl's full breasts, causing Kasumigaoka Utaha to blush.
"No, I'm not. I just... don't like hypocritical people."
Although embarrassed, Kasumigaoka Utaha did not push Nakano Yu away. She only glanced shyly at the young man, then expressed her opinion of Eriri.
In the past, Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri did not have much contact. Although they were both known as the two great beauties of Toyonosaki, she did not have many friends because of her cold and unapproachable attitude at school.
Until one day, while passing by a store, she spotted Eriri. At that time Eriri had tightly covered her face, but Kasumigaoka Utaha knew she could not mistake her for someone else. Eriri was snatching up a magical girl figurine.
At first, Kasumigaoka Utaha did not pay much attention to it, only feeling surprised that Eriri had such an unusual hobby. But not long after that event, Kasumigaoka Utaha heard Eriri talking with her close friends at school.
At that time, Eriri's disgust toward two-dimensional things made Kasumigaoka Utaha wonder whether she had mistaken the person. But in the end Kasumigaoka Utaha realized that Eriri was merely worried about being isolated if her hobby was exposed.
Kasumigaoka Utaha did not like such people. If a hobby could not be openly shown, then what was the point of having it? If you liked something, then simply do it. What was the point of hiding? What Kasumigaoka Utaha could not tolerate most were not even those things, but Eriri's words, syllable by syllable, as she spoke about how disgusting two-dimensional otaku were.
Kasumigaoka Utaha did not understand how Eriri could smile while saying those words, nor did she wish to understand.
From then on, the impression Kasumigaoka Utaha had of Eriri was not particularly good.
That was also the reason why, when she had just seen Nakano Yu and Eriri together, Kasumigaoka Utaha showed hostility toward Eriri.
"She... really does have a bit of that side."
After thinking briefly, Nakano Yu nodded in agreement. Eriri's personality really did have a somewhat hypocritical side.
"Let's not talk about her anymore. Utaha, why are you here?"
Waving his hand, Nakano Yu had no intention of lingering too much on the topic of Eriri. He also did not like gossiping about people behind their backs. Compared to Eriri, Nakano Yu was more interested in why Kasumigaoka Utaha had appeared here. If he remembered correctly, Kasumigaoka Utaha had already completed the transfer procedures to Sobu High School.
The transfer period was not short, but lasted at least half a month, or roughly one month.
Counting now, not even half a month had passed, right? Then why had Kasumigaoka Utaha returned to Toyonosaki?
"Well, I came back to school to collect the transfer certificate. Now I'm truly a transfer student of Sobu High School. Originally the transfer certificate wasn't necessary, but if the transfer period lasts long and something happens to me, with this certificate Sobu High School will be responsible."
Hearing that, Kasumigaoka Utaha had no intention of hiding anything. She took a document from her bag, waved it in front of the young man, and spoke.
Nakano Yu nodded in understanding. Japan's suicide rate was not low, and most of them were workers and high school students. After the collective suicide case that shocked the entire country, various universities and schools across Japan introduced similar documents.
Most of them were statements declaring that students' actions after leaving campus had nothing to do with the school, and the transfer certificate in Kasumigaoka Utaha's hands was one of many such certificates.
"So, Utaha, you're not planning to go to school today?"
Nodding, Nakano Yu seemed to remember something. He raised his hand, wrapped it around the girl's slender waist, and asked.
"Mm-hmm~ Yu, if you want to do anything, I can stay with you today."
Feeling the young man's small gesture, Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke seductively with a smile. If the students of Toyonosaki or nearby schools saw this side of Toyonosaki's untouchable beauty, they would surely be shocked.
Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha like this, Nakano Yu wasted no time with words. He reached out and touched the girl's body, then a powerful Wind wrapped around both of them. Carried by the Wind, Nakano Yu and Kasumigaoka Utaha flew toward the apartment she rented.
In an instant they appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha's bedroom. The girl lay there with a shy expression, eyes filled with moisture, no longer hiding her intentions.
Looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression, Nakano Yu took a deep breath, then raised his hand. A gentle breeze softly lifted the girl's clothes, while Wind carefully closed the curtains.
At that moment, it was time for the dazzling White Horse to gallop through the dark forest until reaching rivers and seas.
When Nakano Yu left Kasumigaoka Utaha's apartment, it was already afternoon. After spending quite a bit of time with Kasumigaoka Utaha, Nakano Yu made lunch for her, talked with her for a while about the plot of light novels, then spent more time with her before leaving.
The sun was already hanging in the west, clearly showing that it was late.
Thinking about how he had not gone to school today, Nakano Yu knew that the Quintuplets would definitely scold him when he returned home.
After all, he had righteously told the Quintuplets that studying must not be neglected and sent them to school, while he himself disappeared for most of the day.
"I'll buy some snacks as an apology. Speaking of which, there are almost no snacks left at home."
Rubbing his hair, Nakano Yu stopped heading toward home and instead walked toward the largest shopping mall in the Shinjuku district.
Itsuki was not picky when it came to snacks, because she was a true little foodie. Nino, however, had extremely high standards regarding taste.
It was not that Nino was spoiled, nor that the Nakano family had pampered her too much over the years.
The reason was Nino's dedication to her own dream.
Nino's dream, naturally, did not need special explanation: to open a bakery and café, and make desserts that both she and customers would enjoy.
Therefore, Nino often bought delicious and popular desserts, ate them while thinking about how they were made, then improved them according to her own ideas.
After all, Nino did not directly ask others for recipes. Perhaps one day they would become competitors on the same street, and then it would not be pleasant to meet. Besides, Nino had her own ideas and did not like being restricted by recipes.
Nakano Yu naturally supported that. And how did he support her? Naturally, by taking responsibility together with Itsuki for eating Nino's leftover desserts.
After all, Nino would only taste them, then begin studying the recipe and improving it, which resulted in many cakes being left over. Nino felt it would be wasteful to throw them away. Although the Nakano family was wealthy, the Quintuplets had received a good upbringing from Nakano Reina since childhood, so naturally they did not do such wasteful things.
Therefore, those cakes were simply handed over to Nakano Yu and Itsuki. Fortunately, the amount Nino bought each time was not large, so Nakano Yu and Itsuki could eat everything without wasting food.
Thinking about it, Nakano Yu quickly arrived at the shopping mall and immediately began buying, buying, and buying.
He did not lack money, since people could hardly wait to give him money, and there was also the absurdly rigged gacha roulette of that dogshit system. It looked as though it feared he would run out of yen and starve to death on the streets if it did not give him money every single time.
Nakano Yu was also completely aware of the nature of that dogshit system, since he had already become accustomed to it.
After choosing gifts for the Quintuplets and Tsurara, the shopping mall staff helped Nakano Yu package and pay for the purchased items. Originally they wanted to help him send everything home, but Nakano Yu had a system storage space, so with a wave of his hand he stored everything inside.
The shopping mall staff were not surprised, after all, the person before them was Nakano Yu! The young Onmyōji who fought against yōkai and was willing to sacrifice his life!
No matter how strange Nakano Yu's behavior was, the staff did not feel surprised.
After leaving the shopping mall, Nakano Yu headed toward home. However, while walking, he passed by a street park. He had already passed it, but as though he had seen something from the corner of his eye, he took several steps backward and stared directly into the park, as though he had seen something completely unbelievable.