A day passes surprisingly quickly. It’s already noon now.

The classes up through fourth period had ended.

I was feeling annoyed this morning because it felt like another day had started, but it’s already 12 o’clock, so I’m surprised.

Although something happened yesterday, time kept moving forward as if nothing had changed. The school carried on with classes as usual, and another ordinary, unremarkable day was passing by.

For young people who love sensational topics, what happened yesterday seemed to have a very sweet taste, and they wanted to savor it even more. They were eager to analyze the flavor further.

In other words, what happened yesterday had already grown its own exaggerated rumors and was spreading on its own, jumping from class to class through social media.

Even if the school tried to censor information, it wouldn’t mean anything to the students.

It had already permeated so deeply that there wasn’t anyone in the school who didn’t know about yesterday’s incident.

That’s probably exactly why the school decided to make yesterday’s incident public, because they predicted things would turn out like this.

If they could’ve kept it hidden, they would have.

I mean, wouldn’t you?

The world is in a recession.

It’s bad enough that even a student can tell how rough things are out there.

If they anger the parents and new students stop enrolling, the only thing waiting down the line is the school shutting down.

And the ones who’d suffer most are the people running the place, the chairman, the principal, the vice-principal, and all the other teachers.

Losing their jobs in times like these, and on top of that having a negative reputation hanging around their necks like some kind of disgraceful medal… their future would be pitch-black.

So, the school must have wanted to keep this incident under wraps. 

But it couldn’t.

After all, every classmate was a witness. 

No one could stop the eager chatter of curious children.

That’s why the teachers exposed what happened. On the surface, everything seemed normal, but I bet there was chaos behind the scenes…

“Hey, Taku-chan, are you daydreaming?”

“No, not really… Just thinking that things seem so normal despite yesterday.”

We’re currently eating lunch on the open rooftop.

It’s not Fuyunagi-san’s homemade bento. It’s just a regular one made by my mom with mostly frozen foods.

I like frozen food and wouldn’t complain about something she went out of her way to make anyway. Not that I ever intended to complain in the first place.

If you think it’s sad that I can’t eat Fuyunagi-san’s homemade lunch, then you’re mistaken.

She lives alone, so her cooking skills are above average, but what gets put in the bento is unpredictable, and giving feedback could be stressful. 

If I always say things like “it’s delicious,” she might take it as hate speech or something.

I’d rather have a peaceful convenience store lunch than some dreamy homemade one from my girlfriend.

“Miyo and her friends are quite malicious. This was bound to happen.”

“You’re pretty cold, aren’t you?”

“We’re not really friends. We don’t think of each other that way. That’s why we can bully each other without hesitation.”

“I guess girls can be cruel…”

“I’m not denying it, but boys can be just as scary from my perspective.”

“Really? I thought Fuyunagi-san saw boys as nothing more than pebbles on the side of the road.”

“I won’t deny that they’re only worth about as much as pebbles. But even a pebble hurts if you step on it, and you can trip on one and fall. If you don’t pay attention, you might find yourself facing unexpected misfortune.”

“I see…”

Just as men are wary of women, women are also wary of men.

When it comes down to physical strength, it’s an undeniable fact that men are simply stronger.

Throughout history, women were expected to defer to men, which is evident from phrases like “men are superior and women are inferior.”

But in today’s increasingly diverse society, dismissing women isn’t just considered a serious issue anymore, and it’s reached the point where such attitudes are outright condemned.

If you say something like “women should serve men!” on social media, it will inevitably cause an uproar.

You’ll be publicly shamed for generations.

What I’m trying to say is that women already hold social positions on par with men, and clinging to outdated thinking will only destroy you.

Japan even has female prime ministers now, and in my class, the top of the social caste was, until recently, ruled by Fuyunagi-san.

So the fact that Fuyunagi-san viewed men as something to be wary of struck me as a bit surprising.

“Come to think of it, there’s something I just can’t accept.”

“Huh? Something you can’t accept?”

While I was lost in thought, Fuyunagi-san suddenly spoke up.

“Natsume-san’s way of reading… I just can’t understand it. Predicting the story from the table of contents, reading efficiently — it’s an insult to books.”

“Oh… you’re referring to that?”

I was surprised she paid attention to Natsume-san and Katou’s conversation.

She looked like she wasn’t interested at all.

“When I read a book, I don’t want to cram in unnecessary analysis. I just want to enjoy the story as it is.”

“You’re always saying you’ll kill anyone who spoils a movie for you, too.”

“Yes. Anyone who spoils something is trash! Even you wouldn’t be forgiven.”

“Owh…”

I’m reminded that spoilers are strictly forbidden.

“Oh, right. Come to my house today. I baked some cookies, and I really want you to try them.”

“Cookies?”

“Yes, I’m confident in it.”

…Seriously?

I’ve been doing everything I could to avoid having to give feedback… Well, she is good at cooking.

The taste is guaranteed. The real problem is whether I can come up with a decent comment… and also…

“You didn’t put any hair in it or anything, right?”

…that particular concern.

“It seems Taku-chan thinks of me as some yandere stereotype, but there’s no way I’d do anything a menhera would do, right?”

“Y-yeah, of course… ahaha…”

I pretended not to notice all the countless times she acted like a menhera, and just gave her an obligatory agreement.

Honestly… who does she think she is to say that?

While thinking that, I suddenly realize just how much our relationship has changed.

Looking back, we originally agreed on conditions like meeting outside of school four times a week, but now all three conditions have lost their meaning, such as.

Fuyunagi-san would maintain a public relationship with Sado.

We would hide our relationship while at school.

We would meet after school and on weekends — at least four times a week.

None of those promises mean anything to us anymore.

And so, after school, I head to her place, the apartment where she lives alone, together with her.

Going to her place isn’t anything new, and there’s nothing special about it anymore.

We’re already going back and forth between each other’s homes almost every day.

It’s a situation I couldn’t have imagined back when those three conditions were still in effect.

But since there aren’t any parents around to get in the way, we tend to choose her place more often.

So I’ve grown used to it, and it’s become a routine.

And because of that, my sense of caution gets sloppy.

When something unexpected happens, I freeze and can’t react.

“Huh…?”

“What’s wrong…? This is…?”

At the entrance of Fuyunagi-san’s apartment.

There was a pair of shoes there that was never there before.

Shoes I didn’t recognize.

What that meant was that someone besides the two of us was in this apartment.

And not someone like a burglar, but someone who came in here normally.

“You’re late. Where have you two been wandering around?”

“M-Mom…”

Standing in the entrance was a beautiful woman with sleek black hair.

It was Fuyunagi-san’s mother.