With the back walking service concluded, the little episode finally came to an end.
Under Izumi Sora's urging, Elf dawdled while putting on her clothes, and then the two went out together.
The insect repellent had been placed for a few days, and the cockroaches in the house should have completely disappeared. Unfortunately, Elf didn't dare to come back for the time being and could only continue staying at Mahiru's house.
"I'm back."
Izumi Sora took out his key and pushed open the door.
"Welcome back."
Angel-sama, already changed into her casual loungewear, stood in the entryway. Her voice was gentle, her eyes bright:
"Sora-kun, you've worked hard today. Give me your schoolbag."
"Okay..."
Izumi Sora subconsciously handed his schoolbag to Mahiru, suddenly feeling that the conversation just now was filled with a subtle sense of déjà vu.
It was just like a conversation between a husband returning from work and his wife in an urban TV drama?
Angel-sama's voice was soft as she continued:
"Sora-kun, the bathwater is ready, you go take a bath first."
"I am deeply grateful."
Izumi Sora sincerely expressed his thanks.
What?
You ask why Angel-sama has a key?
Even Izumi Sora had forgotten when he gave Mahiru the key. Anyway, he didn't know since when, but Mahiru possessed the key to Sora's house and could freely enter and exit without prior notice.
"Is Sagiri not in the living room?"
Yamada Elf walked in with her hands on her hips, looking left and right, searching for Sagiri's figure.
"Sagiri is in her room. She didn't come downstairs this evening, so I made the food and brought it up to her."
Angel-sama responded softly.
Sagiri liked Elf very much.
Every time Elf came over to play, Sagiri would almost always leave her room. But she seemed to hold a strong sense of wariness towards Mahiru and would never spend time alone with her.
"I'll go call Sagiri down to play games." Elf ran upstairs with a thump thump thump, full of energy.
"Silent Hill hasn't been cleared yet, we can't give up halfway."
Hey, hey, if you applied this perseverance to reading books, your tutoring progress wouldn't be so slow!
"Mahiru, I'm going to take a bath."
Izumi Sora informed Angel-sama.
Arriving at the bathroom.
Izumi Sora swept his gaze around and realized that a change of clothes had already been prepared in advance...
When Izumi Sora came out after his bath, Elf had already called Sagiri downstairs. The two lolis sat together, nervously playing Silent Hill, while Angel-sama watched quietly from the side.
"Sora-kun, have a cup of tea first."
Angel-sama pointed to the barley tea on the table, her voice gentle and sweet:
"It hasn't been out of the fridge for long, the temperature should be just right."
Barley tea is a traditional beverage, mainly made from roasted barley. You can buy various tea bags in convenience stores. During summer, it's common to brew a large pot in advance and keep it in the fridge, pouring a cup when you want to drink it—simple and convenient.
"Thank you, Mahiru."
Izumi Sora softly expressed his thanks.
Sitting on the sofa, he picked up the poured barley tea and took a sip. The refreshing coolness quietly spread, quickly driving away the post-bath heat.
"Sora-kun just got out of the bath, don't drink it too fast." Angel-sama softly instructed. "Take small sips slowly, otherwise your body might feel uncomfortable."
"Mahiru-sensei makes a valid point."
Izumi Sora drank the tea in small sips. His gaze fell on the polished, mirror-like floor, and he suddenly felt a bit dazed.
Wait.
How long has it been since I mopped the floor?
I completely can't remember...
Izumi Sora couldn't help but look sideways at Angel-sama. Under the bright light, the girl's skin was snow-white, her nose and lips were delicate, her eyelashes were long, and her eyes were bright. Her profile could be described as absolutely flawless.
Helping take his schoolbag right when he walked in the door, drawing the bathwater in advance, pouring barley tea in advance when he came out of the bath... During these days of being taken care of by Mahiru, he had unknowingly turned into half a useless person!
"Mmm?"
Noticing Izumi Sora's gaze, Angel-sama tilted her head slightly, looking over in confusion. A lock of hair slipped past her ear, the small movement indescribably cute.
"Sora-kun, what's wrong?"
Izumi Sora complained in a low voice:
"I'm worrying about how long it'll take before I turn into a useless person."
"Sora-kun shouldn't say such strange things..."
Shiina Mahiru raised her right hand, gently tucking the stray hair by her ear, and murmured softly:
"I will always take good care of Sora-kun, so there's no need to worry."
"..."
In comparison, Elf and Sagiri were not worth mentioning.
"Ahhhh, Idiot Sora, hurry up and come help."
Yamada Elf gripped the controller, her body swaying left and right as if she could control the female character in the TV to dodge along with her.
"Nii-san, you play." Sagiri covered her ears with her hands, complaining verbally.
"Elf is always yelling, my ears are going to break."
"..."
After playing games for a while, the time unknowingly reached 8:00 PM.
Izumi Sora decisively saved and quit, then went out for a night run with Mahiru.
The night passed without words.
The next day.
The sky was clear and bright; it was another beautiful day.
Izumi Sora, along with Elf and Mahiru, arrived at the school gate, just in time to witness a chaotic scene.
A middle-aged man in a suit with stubble on his face, looking flushed and agitated, seemingly wanted to force his way into the school. Several security guards were blocking him, and the atmosphere was quite tense.
Loving gossip is human nature. Encountering this kind of situation, absolutely no one could turn a blind eye. They all stopped to curiously watch the drama unfold.
Of course, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, everyone had a tacit understanding and didn't get too close.
"Sora, Sora, what happened over there?"
Yamada Elf widened her eyes, eager to watch the drama, but unfortunately, being small and short, she couldn't see anything. She stood on her tiptoes and tried hard to peer inside, but still couldn't see clearly.
"Damn it, I can't see anything."
Yamada Elf gritted her silver teeth, preparing to squeeze inside.
"Don't go in." Izumi Sora grabbed Elf.
"We don't know what's going on inside yet, be careful of danger."
Watching the excitement is fine, but getting too close makes it easy to suffer collateral damage, which would just be stupid.
"I'm so anxious not being able to see." Yamada Elf turned to look at him.
"Sora, hurry up and lift me up, I want to sit on your shoulders."
Don't even think about it. In broad daylight with everyone watching, who would lift you up high! Even if you don't care about your reputation, I still care about mine!
"Don't worry, Elf. We can see if we find a place with fewer people."
Shiina Mahiru softly comforted her.
"There are fewer people over there."
Izumi Sora scanned the area and quickly found a 'sparsely populated' corner.
"Let's hurry over there."
Yamada Elf urged anxiously.
The group walked to the corner, and a girl with long straight black hair and a teardrop mole by her eye happened to come into view.
"Ruri, good morning."
Izumi Sora raised his hand in greeting.
"Good morning..."
Gokou Ruri responded while standing on her tiptoes, peering inside.
Gossip is human nature, and Lord Kuroneko was no exception.
"Ruri-chan, what's the situation inside?"
Yamada Elf asked curiously.
"I just arrived not long ago, I'm not clear on the specific situation yet." Gokou Ruri responded in a low voice.
"That middle-aged uncle is the father of a second-year senpai. In the midterm exams after Golden Week, the second-year senpai apparently went to the office to steal exam papers and was discovered by the school. She's currently suspended and at home... That uncle says his daughter was falsely accused, so he came to demand an explanation."
Didn't you just say you weren't clear on the situation?
You clearly know it inside and out!
"I see." Yamada Elf was full of curiosity.
"Did that second-year senpai actually steal the exam papers or not?"
"My [Eyes of the Dark Night] have already seen through the truth..."
Gokou Ruri crossed her left arm over her chest, pressed her right hand over one eye, parted her fingers to reveal a beautiful burgundy eye, her tone deep and full of chunibyo:
"It's been over a week since the midterm exams. That uncle must have definitely found some kind of evidence, which is why he came, right?"
Humans naturally sympathize with vulnerable groups.
Compared to the security guards and the school, the down-and-out middle-aged man seeking justice for his daughter was undoubtedly more sympathetic.
But regarding the specific truth, Izumi Sora wouldn't make arbitrary guesses. He just looked curiously at Kuroneko.
"Today isn't a day off, why is Ruri wearing color contacts?"
As a chunibyo girl, color contacts were naturally an indispensable and important prop.
When going out to take on commissions on weekends, Ruri basically always wore red color contacts, activating her 'Kuroneko' form. Right now, Gokou Ruri's eyes were as beautiful as rubies; she was clearly wearing color contacts.
"Hmm?"
While speaking, Izumi Sora suddenly saw something on Kuroneko's collar, so he instinctively reached out his right hand.
"Mortal, cease your overstepping..."
Gokou Ruri frantically took a half step back, her pretty face quickly flushing red, her voice panicked:
"W-Wait a minute... don't get so close, Idiot Sora!"
"It's the surge of my magic power that changed the color of my pupils, I'm not wearing color contacts!"
As she spoke, Izumi Sora's right hand had already reached right in front of Kuroneko's chin.
Kuroneko's pretty face was burning hot, like a thoroughly ripe apple. Thinking Izumi Sora was going to touch her chin, her imposing aura involuntarily wilted rapidly, and she hurriedly tried to dodge backward.
"Don't move."
Izumi Sora's voice was low.
"..."
Gokou Ruri involuntarily stopped in her tracks.
"Lift your chin up."
Izumi Sora continued.
"Y-You detestable mortal. I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night, how dare you speak to me in that tone..."
Gokou Ruri's eyelashes fluttered in a panic, her voice tense. She changed from a chunibyo girl into a timid little girl, her chin involuntarily lifting up:
"N-No... there are so many people..."
What do you mean, there are so many people?
What do you think I'm going to do to you at the school gate!
"There's something on your collar."
Izumi Sora reached out and pinched off a grain of rice from the collar below Kuroneko's neck, then held it out in front of her:
"You must have accidentally gotten it on your clothes when eating breakfast this morning."
"Phew..."
With the crisis averted, Gokou Ruri couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, lightly gritting her silver teeth, her burgundy eyes with color contacts glared at him in shame:
"To actually dare to look directly at this lady's Eyes of the Dark Night with those mortal eyes. Idiot Sora, you have been hit by the Dark Curse!"
Izumi Sora took his time:
"What are the contents of the curse?"
"Hmph... If you go buy cup noodles today, they definitely won't have seasoning packets!"
Such a terrifying curse, I'm truly scared by you!