Shirayuki Academy’s outer tree-lined path had begun to shed its late-blooming cherry blossoms under the rain.

That day, after finishing lunch, Toudou Mizuki headed to the boys’ restroom.

On his way back, a small group of girls was waiting for him in the hallway.

“Hey, can we talk for a sec?”

The first to speak was Kurosaki Ren from the same class. She had three girls behind her.

“Um… you’re Kurosaki-san, right? What’s wrong?”

“…You actually remembered my name.”

A hint of delight flickered across her face.

She immediately glanced toward Mikado Rei, who stood behind Mizuki, as if offering an excuse.

“Since you always have people around you, I wanted a chance to talk properly, so… I waited.

Rei said nothing. She only continued to observe them without hesitation.

“Is it something hard to say? Should we move somewhere else?”

“No… um…”

Ren averted her eyes, then forced the words out.

“If you’re okay with it… I was thinking maybe we could grab a meal sometime. I—I’ll prepare something as thanks, too.”

At the word meal, Mizuki blinked several times in surprise.

During lunch break, he always ate surrounded by many people, yet it struck him only now that he had never once gone out to have fun with his classmates.

He had gone out to eat with Kaminari Nene, but that had been merely incidental to the gene-donation appointment—it didn’t feel like hanging out with a friend at all.

“Is everyone coming?”

He looked at the girls behind Ren.

They were all relatively flashy-looking girls in the class.

“Oh, yeah. It’s not like we’re going to be alone, so you can relax. A lot of people wanted to talk with Toudou properly.”

“Have you decided the time and date yet?”

“I, uh… whenever is fine. I’ll adjust everything to your schedule.”

“Um… then, I’m free after school today, how about that?”

He didn’t have any social service scheduled today.

It seemed like a perfect chance to get to know his classmates better.

“To-today?”

Ren looked anxiously at the girl behind her.

They all nodded nervously.

“Yeah… it’s fine.”

“Have you decided on a location?”

“Um… since I don’t really know what Toudou likes… I figured maybe somewhere near the station— you know, a place students can get into…”

Ren’s words trailed off awkwardly.

They hadn’t settled on a date yet, so of course she had nothing concrete planned.

Sensing the situation more or less, Mizuki thought for a moment, then spoke lightly.

“Then, do you want to come over?”

◇◆◇

“E-excuse me…”

Kurosaki Ren and her group took off their shoes at the entrance. They looked visibly tense from an outsider’s perspective.

Mizuki led them into the living room and pointed toward the sofa.

“Just sit wherever you like. I’ll bring tea.”

“S-sorry for the trouble.”

He went to the kitchen, took a green tea bottle and juice from the refrigerator, and lined them up with paper cups on a tray.

Mikado Rei stood quietly in her usual position behind him, maintaining a discreet, watchful posture over their guests.

Kurosaki Ren and her group sat at the edge of the sofa, occasionally exchanging glances while looking around the room with curiosity.

“Here you go. Sorry, there’s no snack.”

Placing the tray on the table, Ren cautiously took the paper cup. The other girls followed suit.

There were four of them in total.

At the front was Kurosaki Ren — the de facto leader of the group, recognizable by her bleached hair and sloppily worn uniform.

Next was Himura Ririka, quiet and reserved, her eyes fixed on her phone as if to fill the silence.

Aoyama Haruka looked restless, unable to sit still.

And Momohara Nao sat there with a bright smile, openly watching Mizuki.

None of them held the same influence as the Houjou faction, but they were still one of the more noticeable groups in the class.

“This is my first time entering a boy’s house. It’s surprisingly… normal.”

“But it’s huge, isn’t it? Wow, it’s for second-class citizens, right?”

Momohara Nao leaned forward in agreement with Ren.

“I-I’m nervous…”

Aoyama Haruka looked around the room restlessly.

“It’s my first time inviting classmates over to my place too. We don’t really get many chances to talk outside school, do we?”

“Y-yeah, true… You’ve always got your aide and all around you…”

Ren glanced at Rei.

Rei remained standing expressionless and did not respond.

“By the way, do you all go to Shirayuki from middle school?”

At Mizuki’s question, Ren and her group exchanged glances.

“No… we’re all external students.”

“Mm. I think so?”

“Yeah.”

Seeing them all nod, Mizuki smiled.

“Yeah… we’re all external students, right?”

“Mm. Isn’t that the case?”

“Pretty much.”

Seeing them all nod, Mizuki smiled.

“I see. That means you’re all really smart.”

“Well… we still ended up shoved into Class K, but back home we weren’t bad.”

“I actually felt pretty good about the entrance exam, you know? But honestly, getting placed in Class K turned out great—I get to be in the same class as Mizuki-sama!”

“Right, right! Super lucky!”

While the three of them chattered excitedly, Himura Ririka alone looked sluggish, staring steadily at Mizuki.

“Toudou… why are you in Class K?”

“…Hey.”

Ren gave her a reprimanding look, but Mizuki answered without seeming to care.

“I barely attend middle school… I couldn’t even do social service.”

“I know that… but seeing it in person makes it hard to believe.”

Then, after hesitating slightly, she said.

“I was wary of it being a fake diagnosis.”

“…Yeah.”

“But… judging from the way Isshiki and Houjou have been acting, that doesn’t really seem to be the case.”

“It’s true. I was too scared of girls’ stares and couldn’t do anything. It’s gotten much better now.”

“…It seems… real.”

The other girls nodded, and the atmosphere slightly softened.

At that moment, memories from the euthanasia facility suddenly came to mind.

“Oh right. I was thinking about having food delivered, but since we’re here, maybe I should make something.”

Ren and her group’s eyes widened at the sudden proposal.

“Wait—you’re gonna cook? Seriously?”

“Yeah. I have ingredients. I’ve been cooking by myself since middle school.”

The memory of the euthanasia facility moved Mizuki.

That old woman’s unforgettable story, a man’s home-cooked meal.

There was a big difference in values between men and women.

Mizuki thought that even something trivial to him might be important to them. 

Rei standing by the wall, slightly furrowed her brow, but Mizuki ignored it and headed toward the kitchen.

“I’m not sure what everyone dislikes, so I was thinking of making something safe—maybe curry? What do you all think?”

“A-ah! You guys are fine with that too, right?”

“Of course! No complaints at all!”

“Wow, looking forward to it!”

Affirmative voices came from the sofa.

He took onions, carrots, potatoes, and pork from the refrigerator.

After heating oil in the pot and starting to stir-fry, the girls gathered around the kitchen, watching with interest from behind.

“You’re surprisingly skilled. Did someone teach you?”

“No. At first I just threw things in without measuring… I messed up a lot back then.”

As he dissolved curry powder, the aroma of cooking spread through the room.

Ren murmured, sounding genuinely moved.

“…If the rest of the class found out about this, they’d be kicking themselves.”

“In that case, I’ll just cook for everyone too.”

“…You shouldn’t be giving something like this away so cheaply.”

While chatting, the curry was finished and placed on the table.

The girls took spoons and brought it to their mouths with a sense of awe.

“…It’s delicious.”

“Yeah, feels special.”

“It’s the best I’ve ever had in my life!”

Mizuki smiled wryly at the exaggerated girls. He had only used store-bought curry powder and done nothing special. Indeed, men’s cooking seemed to be viewed as something special.

After dinner, the girls left home happily.

As they were leaving, Ren handed him an envelope at the entrance.

“…What is this?”

“It’s a thank-you gift. I told you.”

Opening the envelope revealed a bundle of cash.

Stunned by the unexpected item, he froze slightly.

“W-what’s going on?”

“…If you’re in trouble, I hope you’ll use it.”

Mizuki stared quietly at the stack of bills sticking out of the envelope.

Then he tucked it back inside and returned the envelope to Ren.

“Did I make you feel obligated? Really, it’s okay.”

“…Is that true? If you need anything, I can prepare as much as needed.”

“Thank you. But I can’t accept it.”

“…Is that so?”

After carefully observing Mizuki’s expression, Ren turned around and left.

“If you have any problems, say so. Goodbye.”

“Yeah. See you.”

Watching them leave, Mizuki returned to the kitchen.

“By the way, I made curry for Rei-san too. Do you want to eat it?”

“Mizuki-sama…”

Beside him, helping with the cleanup, Rei gave a gentle, cautioning remark.

“…It’s unwise to let unfamiliar women into your home. You might be misunderstood.”

“I understand that… but since they’re classmates, I wanted to talk.”

While reheating the pot and stirring it around, he continued to mix it.

Then from behind, Rei hugged him gently.

“Did anything happen while I wasn’t looking?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Rei buried her face in Mizuki’s neck.

“Mizuki-sama…”

Leaving a mark, Rei’s lips lingered on him for a long time. Then she slowly pulled away and whispered near his ear.

“Can I stay over tonight too?”

◇◆◇

Kurosaki Ren and her three companions quietly entered the elevator of the apartment building.

“Somehow… Toudou was more normal than I thought.”

“Normal…?”

Ren’s murmur made Haruka tilt her head.

“No, like… he’s just natural, you know? I thought guys would be more… well…”

“Ahh, I get what you mean. He’s super defenseless, right?”

“Yeah. I figured someone like us wouldn’t even get the time of day.”

“…And in the end, he didn’t take the money either.”

As they exited the entrance, it was already completely dark outside.

Looking back and gazing up at the apartment building.

“…I was a bit scared of Houjou’s actions, but Toudou doesn’t seem to care much about the eighteen families?”

“At least he didn’t use that as a factor.”

“Mizuki-sama seems really genuine.”

The four exchanged glances there.

“Don’t go spreading what happened today, alright?”

“Yeah. It’s better for us if things stay the way they are — everyone holding back around Mizuki-sama on their own.”

“He said we’re the first classmates he’s ever invited to his place, after all. That puts us way ahead right now.”

“…Yeah.”

Especially not Houjou, Ririka whispered.

“Right, and Kaminari hasn’t been invited to his home yet either. I think we’re really lucky.”

Ren thought she might have a chance.

Depending on how they handled things from here, even Isshiki Shizuku of Houjou’s faction would surely be no problem.

“…Okay. Don’t get too anxious and do anything reckless.”

“What kind of reckless thing?”

“I mean, don’t touch him just because he’s unguarded.”

“…It seems like he’d let us though.”

Ren stopped walking.

In truth, she agreed with that assessment

Toudou Mizuki had a big weakness. He was tolerant and would probably allow most things.

But the people around him were a different story.

“Even if he’d let it go… his assistant wouldn’t.”

“His assistant?”

“She is the type who’ll do anything for her master. Best not to show any openings.”

Recalling Mikado Rei’s persistent gaze from behind, Ren made a bitter face.

That was not the look of someone holding the mere position of an assistant—it was the look of a woman.

She had a strong feeling Rei would be far more troublesome than Isshiki Shizuku, Houjou Noa, or Kammari Nene.