As soon as Leonard finished making the announcement.As expected, Nay disappeared from Lucy and the others' sight like a ghost in the blink of an eye.
By the time they registered her absence, she was already sitting at the dining table, her legs swinging under the chair, eyes shining with excitement.
Leonard barely reacted. After feeding this child every single day for the past four months, her bizarre speed when it came to food was something he no longer questioned.
"Meal!"
"Meal!"
"Meal!"
Nay chanted excitedly, her voice growing louder as she rhythmically tapped her spoon and fork against the table. The clang clang clang echoed through the dining hall like a war drum signaling an incoming feast.
Lucy exhaled sharply and rubbed her temples.
"Sigh… This creature… When it comes to food, she moves at the speed of light. If she ever betrays us, it'll probably be because the food itself commanded her to," Lucy muttered under her breath, narrowing her eyes at the absurdity she had witnessed time and time again.
Crack.
A faint sound made Lucy shift her attention to Haru, who was sitting beside her.What she saw nearly stopped her heart.
"For God's sake—!"
Haru had turned into a literal statue. His mouth was slightly open, his face frozen in sheer disbelief. It took several seconds before he finally snapped out of it, his expression filled with exhaustion, as if his soul had just left and returned to his body.
Lucy sighed, shaking her head.
If Haru wanted to survive in this household, he had to get used to Nay.
Did Nay teleport?
No one knew.
If it wasn't teleportation, then what was it?
Well…look after the previous question.
If you asked her, she'd just tilt her head and reply with, "Oh? I can teleport!?"—and in that moment, you would realize just how much intelligence you actually had.
Lucy spotted Lia making her way to the dining area, and she immediately decided she wouldn't be left behind. Her stomach had been waging a full-on protest since earlier. Besides, she needed to hurry—because if she was too slow, she might not even get a bite before the little demon child devoured everything.
"Haru, come on! If you're late, you're gonna starve!" Lucy urged, eyes blazing with urgency.
Haru blinked, stunned for a moment. But after hesitating briefly, he quickly got up and followed after them.
---
At the Dining Room,
As expected, the dining hall was massive—nearly four times the size of a typical dining space. Despite its grand size, it had a surprisingly simple design. A long, elegant wooden dining table stretched across the center, surrounded by chairs with cushioned seats. The lighting was warm and inviting, making the whole atmosphere feel strangely homely.
Everyone was already in their seats.
Nay was eating with a vigor that could put professional competitive eaters to shame, stuffing her cheeks like a squirrel preparing for winter. Lia and Haru, on the other hand, were eating at a normal pace—one with calm elegance and the other with quiet appreciation.
Haru hadn't expected the kitchen to be so… humble. After seeing the luxurious and futuristic main hall, he had assumed the kitchen would be just as extravagant. But instead, it was rather simple, blending warmth with practicality.
His eyes fell on the dishes laid out on the table. They weren't extravagant, but they all looked delicious. The one that caught his attention the most was the plate of steaming Japanese curry.
A pang of nostalgia hit him.
His mother used to make Japanese curry.
Haru swallowed thickly, his throat tightening slightly. He hadn't tasted home-cooked food in so long. Without a second thought, he clasped his hands together in a small prayer before reaching for a spoon.
He scooped up a mix of rice and curry and brought it to his mouth.The moment it touched his tongue, his eyes widened.
"Delicious…!"
He took another bite. And another. The rich, deep flavors of the curry spread across his taste buds, filling him with warmth. It was as if he had been transported to a different world—one where angels sang and golden light bathed everything around him.
"Told you, right? Leader's cooking is the best! Shishishi!" Nay giggled between mouthfuls, nudging Haru with her elbow. Lia simply smiled knowingly.
Haru nodded vigorously, unable to deny it.
Leonard, seeing Haru's reaction, smiled softly.Haru had forgotten what it was like to eat food that felt like home.
Was he dreaming?
Did he even deserve this?
His mind raced with countless questions, but his hands never stopped moving, spooning more curry and rice into his mouth.
The food was so good, he felt like crying.
---
Back to Lucy.
"Oh, just Japanese curry?"
Lucy asked, eyeing her uncle as he casually wiped his hands with a small towel.
"Yeah, I didn't have time to make anything complicated since it was already late. Just eat what's available and don't complain."
Lucy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms with a slight pout.It wasn't like she cared whether the food was fancy or not. As long as it filled her stomach, it was fine. Apparently, asking was a mistake.
"Itadakimasu!"
With that, everyone dug into their meals, eating until they were completely full.
---
The Next Morning,
"ALL LIVING CREATURES, REPORT TO THE MAIN HALL IMMEDIATELY. THAT IS ALL.—Beep."
Leonard's voice suddenly blasted through the speakers in each room, shaking the entire household awake. The sheer volume was like a war declaration, causing the walls to tremble slightly.
In Lucy's Room,
She had been in the middle of a beautiful dream—until she was violently yanked back into reality.
Her eyes shot open, her body jolting upright like she had just been electrocuted. Her heart pounded against her ribs.Something wet trailed down her chin.
Drool.
She groggily wiped her mouth, blinking in confusion before squinting at her surroundings.
"Wtf…"
Still dazed, she reached for her phone on the bedside table.
4:13 AM.
She stared at the screen, her expression darkening.Who the hell calls a meeting at this ungodly hour?!
His uncle or course.Her eye twitched.
Killing someone in the early morning suddenly didn't seem like such a bad idea.
---
Meanwhile, in Nay's Room…
THUD!
A heavy object fell from the shelf above Nay's bed—landing directly on her face.
"Ow, ow, ow—!"
She shot up with a yelp, clutching her nose as a dull ache spread across her face.
"What just happened…?" she mumbled groggily, rubbing her sore cheek.
However… something was off.Her head shape had… changed.It was no longer its usual round, soft form.
Instead—it was now a perfect square.
Yes. A flawless, symmetrical square.
It looked as if her face had been freshly molded into a cardboard box.
Yet, despite this utterly bizarre transformation, Nay remained completely oblivious.She continued rubbing her face absentmindedly, yawning as if nothing had happened.
And at same time in Lia's Room,
Unlike Nay, Lia woke up much more gracefully—though that didn't mean she was spared from nearly having a heart attack. Her body jolted as her heart slammed against her ribs, but instead of screaming, she sucked in a sharp breath and quickly assessed the situation.
Her brows furrowed in pure annoyance.
Her face, carefully wrapped in multiple layers of high-end skincare products, felt a little stiff—a necessary sacrifice for eternal beauty. A lifting mask covered her jawline, separate patches rested under her eyes, and a different hydrating mask coated the rest of her skin. Paired with her heatless curling rods, she looked less like a girl getting her beauty sleep and more like a high-class mummy.
Her drowsy gaze flickered to the wall clock.And the moment she saw the time, her whole body tensed.
4:13 AM.
Her expression darkened immediately.Her precious sleep—ruined.And if her sleep was ruined… her skin was also will ruin.
"..."
A dangerous glint flickered in her eyes. An act of war had been committed. A combination of fatigue, frustration, and sheer, unhinged rage built up inside her like an active volcano on the verge of erupting. Her nails tapped against the bed frame in slow, calculated movements as she tried—really tried—to suppress the burning urge to set something on fire.
"Tornado is good too."
Also last but not least ,Haru's room—
the room he had only just received last night—Haru woke up as if he had just barely escaped death. His breath hitched as his body jerked forward, his pulse hammering against his skull. His gaze darted wildly around the dimly lit room, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
His brain, still half-asleep, took a full ten seconds to register reality.With a long, exhausted sigh, he collapsed back against his pillows.
"If this keeps happening, I'm going to die early..."
Last night, the moment he touched his bed, he had passed out instantly. It was soft. It was warm. It was easily the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in.
And yet… here he was. Awake. At 4 AM.
His body begged him to go back to sleep, but he knew better.If Leonard had called them, it wasn't for nothing he guess?Dragging himself out of bed, Haru ran a hand through his already messy hair and stumbled toward the door, still half-asleep.
---
The moment Lucy and Haru stepped out of their rooms, they screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAA!!"
Lucy and Haru instantly clung to each other, their bodies tensed as they stared at the horrifying figure emerging from the darkness.
A shadowed silhouette. A floating head wrapped entirely in bandages.
A mummy.
Or worse—some kind of undead creature straight out of a nightmare.Their breath hitched. Their hearts pounded violently.And then—the "mummy" spoke.
"...What?"
The voice was low. Cold. Filled with thinly veiled irritation.Lucy and Haru instantly recognized it.
Lia.
And from her tone, she wasn't asking a question—she was making a threat.Her words carried the silent but deadly message:
"If you say anything, I will personally make you regret it."
Lucy and Haru immediately slammed their mouths shut, nodding furiously to show their compliance.They still wanted to live.
Before they could fully recover from their near-death experience, another figure emerged from the hallway.Nay, looking completely unfazed, greeted them with her usual, bright-eyed enthusiasm.
"What are you guys doing?"
Lucy and Haru turned to her—and froze in absolute horror.
Her head…
Was a square.
For a moment, silence hung heavy in the air as everyone processed the atrocity before them.
Lucy blinked.
And she blinked again.
Then—
"PFFFT—"
Lucy completely lost it.She collapsed onto the floor, clutching her stomach as uncontrollable laughter overtook her.
"Nay—your head—" Haru started, visibly distressed, but before he could finish, Lucy cut him off.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—SPONGEBOB!!"
Her fists weakly slammed against the floor as she gasped for breath between wheezes. The sight of Nay's perfectly cubed head was too much.The moment was short-lived.Lia, still unamused, smacked Lucy hard across the back of the neck.
Smack!
"Shut up."
"A-Augh!"
Lucy winced, rubbing the sore spot with a pout. She wanted to complain—she really did—but one more glance at Nay's geometrically incorrect head, and she was once again fighting for her life trying not to burst into laughter. Her eyes watered as she struggled to keep it together.
Meanwhile, Lia had made a decision.
She would never look at Nay again.
Not until she figured out a way to fix that disaster of a head.
'Sorry, Nay… My faith isn't strong enough,' she thought, forcing herself to maintain her usual, cold composure.
Haru, still caught between worry and pure disbelief, hesitated before carefully pointing at Nay's blocky head.
"Your head is… square. Are you okay?"
Curious, Nay lifted her hands and traced the edges of her skull.
She blinked.
Then, in the flattest, most uninterested tone possible, she stated:
"...Oh no. My head is square."
Her sheer lack of reaction somehow made everything so much worse.Haru's concern only grew.
"What exactly happened?"
Nay blinked again before casually answering, "Oh, well, you see, bla bla bla… and then bla bla bla… and you know, bla bla bla—"
A thousand years later~
"He only asked what happened to her head, but she went ahead and told a whole story from ancient history," Lucy muttered in disbelief, crossing her arms.
Her half-lidded eyes held a tired, unimpressed look, as if she was trying to process the situation but couldn't bring herself to care.
"Does Haru not get tired of listening? If it were me, my ears would've started bleeding by now," she added with a sigh.
Lia, standing nearby, crossed one arm over her chest while resting her other hand on her chin. Her fingers tapped lightly, a habit she had when deep in thought.
"It's just meant to be," Lia replied dryly, narrowing her eyes slightly.
By the time they arrived at the main hall, they looked like absolute wrecks.Deep, dark circles clung under their eyes, making them appear as if they hadn't slept in three whole days.
Leonard, already seated, took one look at them and nearly burst into laughter.
Nay's completely cubed head.
Lia's fully wrapped-up "mummy" face.
It was… an incredible sight.
"I'm so tired…"
"Same…"
"Yeah…"
Too drained to sit upright, everyone collapsed onto the table, resting their heads against the surface like lifeless dolls.Leonard, still chuckling, leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
"Alright, thanks for waking up, everyone."
He paused for few seconds before continued.Leonard's gaze swept across the room before he spoke.
"We have a mission."
His voice suddenly shifted to see which mean there'll be a mission for them.A heavy one.Since the announcement everyone except Haru who still new know that the announcement isn't for fun but it's still annoyed them.
But instantly, everyone snapped to attention.A holographic data screens flickered to life around them, displaying various pieces of information in a high-tech, seamless projection.
Haru's eyes widened as he took in the sight, but this time, he remained surprisingly composed.From the moment he arrived here, nothing had ever failed to shock him.
And yet, somehow… he was starting to get used to it a bit.
"A mission?" he echoed.
Leonard nodded, his expression turning serious.
"Yes. Recently, the number of student deaths due to suicide has been increasing at this school."