September 30th.
The last day of September happened to fall on a Monday. On this day, Kuroha Akira didn't head to the Literary Club to advance the light novel's progress as usual. Instead, he told the class president he had something to take care of and went home early.
This was all part of a carefully planned operation—codename: 'Arrest Tashiro Kurenai.'
Yesterday and the day before had been holidays, so Tashiro Kurenai should have been home. But Kuroha Akira didn't catch even a glimpse of her shadow for the entire weekend.
Moreover, Kuroha Akira had noticed something suspicious. Tashiro Kurenai usually wore her treasured red high heels whenever she went out for work. But over the weekend, those high heels had been sitting untouched in the shoe cabinet. Which meant she hadn't actually gone to work overtime on the weekend, despite what Shinomiya had conveyed.
That was when Kuroha Akira realized the truth: overtime was just an excuse. She was clearly hiding from him.
This made Kuroha Akira feel a strange sense of nostalgia. He remembered when he first met Kurenai-san half a year ago—she had always avoided him back then too, trying to minimize any contact between them.
Perhaps she felt unsafe living with a young man she didn't know well. That was understandable.
So Kuroha Akira had only become properly familiar with Kurenai-san after the drunken incident a while ago. But for some reason, they had recently reverted to their original state—distant, awkward, avoiding each other.
He already had some vague suspicions about why this was happening… but currently, he had no decisive evidence to confirm his theory.
In any case, to have a proper, honest conversation with Kurenai-san, he had rushed home earlier than usual today.
Upon returning to the Kobayashi residence, Kuroha Akira first checked the shoe cabinet by the entrance. Tashiro Kurenai's red high heels were still there. She hadn't gone to work yet.
"Akira-kun, you're home so early today!"
Shinomiya was like an NPC that respawned at the door every single day—she came out to greet him immediately, her face lighting up. And today, her mood was noticeably better than usual.
During this past week, Kuroha Akira usually hadn't gotten home until eight because of Literary Club activities. Shinomiya had been a bit displeased—the time she could spend with him had decreased significantly. So seeing him return early today made her very, very happy.
Kuroha Akira put his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
"Shh…"
Shinomiya quickly covered her mouth with both hands and nodded, her expression also becoming tense. Her eyes widened with curiosity.
Although she didn't know what was happening, it was best to do as he said for now. When Akira-kun got serious like this, it was best not to ask questions.
Then Kuroha Akira leaned close to Shinomiya's ear and whispered,
"Shion, is Kurenai-san home?"
"Hmm…"
Feeling the warmth of his breath on her ear, Shinomiya felt her body go soft—like a marshmallow left out in the sun. She wanted nothing more than to just lean into his embrace and stay there forever.
"Shion?"
Shinomiya quickly pulled herself together, pushing the rosy thoughts aside. After a moment of concentration, she replied,
"Hmm… yes, she should be home. Kurenai-san came back this morning, and I haven't seen her go out since."
"Alright, I understand."
"Akira-kun, are you looking for Kurenai-san about something?"
"Yes, it's about her becoming your manager. Has she mentioned anything about this to you?"
"Ah, actually, I asked Kurenai-san about it before…" Shinomiya's expression dimmed slightly. "But she didn't give me a direct answer. She just said she hadn't thought it through yet."
"Didn't give a direct answer…"
If she truly didn't want to switch to being a manager, Kuroha Akira thought, she could have just refused outright. Why hesitate for so long?
She must be waiting for something.
But today was the last day of the month, and she still hadn't thought it through?
No—it definitely wasn't that she hadn't thought it through. It was that her 'ideas were diverging,' like two different people pulling in opposite directions.
Kuroha Akira pondered for a moment, then turned back and took the red high heels out of the shoe cabinet.
He then instructed Shinomiya, his voice low and serious, "I'm going upstairs to find Kurenai-san now. Shion, you stay here. If she tries to escape downstairs later, help me stop her."
"Okay!"
Shinomiya nodded obediently, without any hesitation whatsoever. Between Tashiro Kurenai and Kuroha Akira, she would unconditionally choose to help her beloved. There wasn't even a question.
Then Kuroha Akira, carrying the red high heels like a trophy, tiptoed upstairs and arrived in front of Tashiro Kurenai's room.
He had originally intended to just burst in without knocking—dramatic, like a police raid—but he felt that might be going a bit too far. So he knocked and called out instead,
"Kurenai-san, are you there? I'd like to talk to you about what we discussed before…"
No response.
Kuroha Akira turned sideways and pressed his ear against the door.
He couldn't hear a sound from inside.
Is she not here?
No, she must be pretending not to be!
But this time, she wasn't going to get away with it.
Entering someone else's room without the owner's permission was certainly not good manners—but at this moment, Kuroha Akira couldn't care less about social niceties. He had been patient long enough.
He grabbed the doorknob and barged in.
"Kurenai-san! Let's have an open and honest talk!"
The curtains were drawn in the room, and the lights weren't on. It was dim—like a cave or a dungeon. Coupled with Kurenai-san's room being as messy as ever—clothes everywhere, books stacked in towers—Kuroha Akira couldn't clearly see where she was hiding.
Perhaps she's in the closet, he thought. That's where people always hide in situations like this.
He walked further into the room, intending to conduct a proper search.
But as soon as he entered, Kuroha Akira heard a rapid shuffling sound from behind him.
Just as he started to turn around, someone pushed him hard from behind—shove!—fully sending him stumbling into Tashiro Kurenai's room. He lost his balance and fell forward.
Kuroha Akira, who had fallen, quickly rolled over and sat up. He caught a glimpse of Tashiro Kurenai standing there with a complex expression… but he only saw her for a moment, because she immediately slammed the door shut.
Kuroha Akira instantly understood what was happening.
Kurenai-san must have anticipated that he would come looking for her today. So she had hidden in the bathroom beforehand, waiting. When he walked into her room, she rushed out from her hiding spot behind him—and then locked him inside the room.
Sure enough, Kuroha Akira immediately heard a metallic scraping sound. Tashiro Kurenai was locking the door with a key from the outside.
Likely considering the residents' safety, the bedroom doors at the Kobayashi residence also had security locks. If locked from the outside with a key, the person inside couldn't open the door without a key.
It's over! he thought dramatically. I'm going to be imprisoned!
Just kidding.
Seriously, though—what was the point of locking herself in the room? Granny Kobayashi had a spare key. She could open the door anytime.
Rather, did she really need to go to such extremes?
As long as Tashiro Kurenai didn't move out of the house entirely, there would always be a time when she encountered him. Even if she escaped for a while, could she really keep running forever?
And why run away in the first place? If she really didn't want to become Shinomiya's manager, couldn't she just refuse directly…?
Kuroha Akira was genuinely confused. He felt completely bewildered, unable to understand what she was thinking. He got up, knocked on the door, and called out,
"Kurenai-san, I just want to hear your answer. There's no need to go to such lengths, right? Hello? Kurenai-san, are you still out there?"
A long pause.
Then, a voice—quiet, almost hesitant.
"…I agree…"
"Huh?"
"I will become… Shion's manager."
Isn't that a good thing? Kuroha Akira's confusion only deepened. "Then why did you lock me in? Let's talk face-to-face, okay?"
"…"
She didn't reply. But he could still hear her breathing—she hadn't left.
Kuroha Akira hesitated. He knew this was his chance. He had to ask the question that had been hovering in his mind for weeks, the one he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to.
"Um, Kurenai-san…" He took a breath. "Are you still the 'Kurenai-san' I know right now?"
"…"
She still didn't answer.
But this time, he heard hurried footsteps—fast, panicked, retreating.
She fled as if escaping from something terrifying.
And Kuroha Akira finally confirmed it.
The Tashiro Kurenai at this moment—the one who had locked him in, the one who had agreed to become Shinomiya's manager, the one who had run away without answering his question—was not the Kurenai-san he was familiar with.
She wasn't acting strange for no reason.
She really did have two personalities.