February 7th!
"Oh~ Looking for the Committee Chairman? There, he's working in this office. You can wait here, and I'll call him over!"
Fujiwara Chika led Eriri into the Judgment headquarters office.
"Eh… Is it okay to wait here? There aren't any sensitive documents lying around, right?"
"Relax~ The Chairman doesn't keep secret files here. We deal with small stuff, and the real documents are all on the computer… Just wait here. I've got some things to handle, so I won't stay!"
"Mm…"
As Fujiwara Chika left, the spacious office was left to Eriri alone.
"Ugh…"
Eriri glanced around like a thief, then pulled a neatly wrapped gift box from her bag.
Her trembling hands placed it on the desk and opened it, revealing a bound stack of drawings.
Her face flushed crimson, her eyes spinning as if dizzy, steam practically rising from her head.
She slowly flipped through the pages…
With each page, her blush deepened, yet the more embarrassed she felt, the more determinedly she kept looking.
This was the "repayment gift" she'd promised Samuel.
Back then, in a daze, she'd agreed. At home, her mind swirled with chaotic thoughts—regretting her promise yet unable to stop imagining wild scenarios, her hands instinctively sketching it all.
In that haze, she completed the work in her hands.
Page after page…
Eriri's face glowed like a ripe apple.
She hurriedly stuffed the drawings back into the gift box, her heart racing with panic.
Overwhelmed by shyness and worry, her eyes wavered before she tucked the box into a desk drawer.
Grabbing her bag, she fled the office.
…
"Hm? Got it. I'm patrolling with Kaguya right now! Eriri, right? Alright, I'll head back!"
"Who? Eriri? Sounds like a girl!"
Kaguya Shinomiya narrowed her eyes, her red pupils glinting with a dangerous light.
"Yup, a very pretty girl."
"Oh~ How pretty?"
Kaguya's smile was sharp, her red eyes reflecting a blood-like sheen, radiating danger.
Flowers materialized in Samuel's hand, deftly woven into a crown and placed on Kaguya's head.
"Hm… Suits you perfectly…"
"Uh… thanks… Wait, why are you so good at this?! And you still haven't explained!"
Kaguya was thrown off by Samuel's sudden move, her earlier momentum fading.
"What's there to explain, my little fool?"
Samuel gently brushed Kaguya's cheek, his gaze sincere and pure, free of ulterior motives, making her doubt herself.
"Right! What's to explain… This Eriri is probably just a regular friend. Normal interactions, Kaguya. You're a big-hearted person, it's all normal!"
"Ohh~ Quietly… Isn't that the Committee Chairman? Deceiving girls again? Last time, I saw you sweet-talking a pretty girl…"
A soft, cute voice interrupted from nearby.
"Oh my! Megumi-chan, your presence is as subtle as ever! Such a cute girl, though!"
Samuel's gaze landed on Katou Megumi, sitting at a nearby stall, casually raising her drink.
He promptly sat down with Kaguya in tow.
"Oh no! The Chairman's not holding a grudge, is he? Should I flee Academy City… no, Japan entirely?"
Despite her words, Katou Megumi was unfazed, calmly sitting across from Samuel.
"Hahaha, I'm always gentle with beautiful, cute girls—in every sense!"
"!!! No way! You're not targeting me, are you? Oh no, if I refuse, will the scary Chairman-senpai abuse his authority to force me?"
Katou's face remained expressionless, her hands propping up her cute cheeks as she spoke alarming words without a hint of panic.
"Oh, Megumi, you're the same as always! That adorable face—expressionless is cute, but a smile would be even better!"
"I'm not smiling for you…"
"Wait a sec… You two know each other?"
Kaguya was momentarily confused.
"Of course, we're good friends!"
"Just met once."
Two different answers. Kaguya's instincts told her Samuel's claim was unreliable, and Katou's seemed unlikely too—people who'd only met once wouldn't be this familiar.
But that didn't matter. She was more concerned about something else…
"Um… What Katou Megumi-san just said…"
Kaguya looked at Samuel.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. She wasn't even there…"
"Oh… eh?"
Kaguya sensed something off.
"Relax, Kaguya. You'll always have a place in my heart!"
"Eh, eh, eh… (Is he confessing to me? Should I accept?)"
Kaguya's brain short-circuited, plunging into chaos.
"Hm… So, how many hearts do you have?"
Katou Megumi continued her deadpan dismantling.
"Depends on the situation!"
"…"
"…(Depends on the situation? What's that mean?)"
Kaguya's sharp intellect plummeted below average.
"I don't buy it… Unless you show me…"
Katou's lips curved slightly, her beautiful eyes half-lidded as she looked at Samuel.
"No problem… Look…"
Samuel's right hand crackled with lightning. He dramatically plunged it into his chest, pulling out… a sparkling, multicolored crystal heart, like a toy symbolizing "love," not the anatomical kind.
"This one's for Kaguya… This for Megumi… This for Ai… This for Misaki…"
"Wait… So many names I don't know. Am I dreaming? What's going on? So many? And this heart… it's way too flashy!"
Too many strange things were happening today. Kaguya's brain was overwhelmed—or rather, it didn't want to process, preferring to play the fool in this moment!
***
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