Near the entrance of a small park, a beautiful young girl with long, glossy black hair draping over her shoulders crouched down.
"Meow~"
A yellow tabby cat lay lazily in the grass beside her, while a slender, fair hand gently stroked its fur, making it purr in satisfaction.
"Meow~"
This time, however, the sound didn't come from the plump tabby cat—it was mimicked by the girl's soft voice. The owner of that hand, of course, was Yukinoshita Yukino, the one currently petting the cat.
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
As Yukinoshita meowed, the chubby tabby responded in kind. The usually cold and aloof girl now wore a gentle expression, she simply adored cats.
The round, fluffy cat before her was so irresistibly cute that she wanted nothing more than to scoop it up and rub her face against it. But she held back, not wanting to startle it.
"Meow~"
Once again, she let out an adorable meow. If anyone who knew her saw this, their eyes would probably pop out of their sockets. After all, to them, Yukinoshita was an unapproachable, strict ice queen. How could she possibly act like this?
The cat, thoroughly enjoying itself, purred happily.
Yukinoshita, too, wore a look of utter contentment. Her throat moved slightly, she felt the timing was just right. The cat wouldn't resist, right? She planned to pick it up and fully indulge in its cuteness.
"Meow~" x3
Yet, just as she was about to move, another cat's meow echoed behind her.
Oh? Was there another cat? Double the cuteness, double the joy.
"Meow~"
She turned around with a warm smile, letting out another affectionate meow from her soft lips.
But in the next instant, her expression froze.
Because what appeared in her eyes was not another adorable cat.
It was a repulsive pig-faced idiot.
In a flash, Yukino's face reverted to its usual cold, expressionless state.
"That was the most disgusting sound I've ever heard."
From those delicate lips came an unrelenting voice, causing the person opposite her to shrug his shoulders.
"Smack—"
A heavy step on the ground.
"Meow—!"
Accompanied by a startled cry, Yukinoshita saw the adorable, plump, and fluffy cat scurry away. Her gaze toward Yazuki grew even colder, it was him who had scared it off.
"Looks like you've done your fair share of scumbag deeds today."
Yukinoshita looked at him with a gaze full of contempt. From the scratches on his face, she could tell they were likely made by a girl's nails.
There were also bruises in the shape of women's shoe prints on his clothes, clearly not from the same person who scratched him but still from a woman. Even his hands bore deep, beautiful bite marks, also from a woman.
Did he get beaten up by a group of women? What on earth did he do to incur such wrath?
Yazuki merely shrugged in response.
He hadn't expected her to be a cat lover. Without further ado, he began walking toward the nearby station, heading home.
As he walked, he noticed that Yukinoshita was following behind him again. Was she stalking him? No, that wasn't it.
He quickly figured out what was going on. There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that Yukinoshita had gotten lost, so she had no choice but to follow him back.
Lost, huh? Maybe calling her directionally challenged would be more accurate.
Yazuki contemplated whether or not to mess with her.
A mischievous smile crept onto his lips.
Ten minutes later, he could clearly sense an intense gaze boring into his back. Obviously, Yukinoshita had realized he was leading her in circles.
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of her shoes striking the asphalt grew heavier, and her pace quickened.
A whiff of fresh shampoo drifted over as he saw her black hair sway slightly. Her frosty expression remained unchanged as she briskly walked past him. S
he had clearly figured out that he had been deliberately leading her astray.
Understanding that, she was no longer willing to follow him. With her strong sense of pride and refusal to ask for help, she had decided to rely on herself to find the way home.
After passing through the intersection ahead, Yukinoshita found herself standing in the middle of the road, momentarily stunned. She recognized the surroundings—if she just followed a straight path, she would reach the station.
At that moment—
"Honk— Honk honk—!!!"
"Screech—"
A blaring horn, followed by the piercing sound of tires skidding against the pavement.
It was right behind her.
Yukinoshita's blue eyes widened, her pupils contracting in shock.
In her vision, a large truck was speeding toward her, about to shatter her fragile body into pieces.
For the first time, her face turned deathly pale.
However, before the truck could hit her, a body lunged at her, pulling her into an embrace. Just before the impact, they rolled across the ground together.
"Screech————"
The truck screeched to a stop. The driver peeked out, grumbled a few curses under his breath, then quickly restarted the engine and drove off.
This was the closest Yukinoshita had ever been to death.
"Stop spacing out!!!"
The slightly annoyed voice snapped her back to reality. She found herself lying on top of Yazuki, it was him who had saved her.
And not only that, he had used his own body as a cushion to protect her from injury.
Shouldn't this be the kind of moment in a galgame where a subtle sense of attraction develops?
Yeah, right. Yazuki was only feeling the pain throughout his body, he had no energy left to appreciate her fragrance or softness.
Getting up, he dusted off his clothes, then walked over to pick up the backpack and shopping bags he had set down earlier.
"What?"
He raised an eyebrow, noticing Yukinoshita's face was still a little pale. Was she still in shock?
"It's nothing… thank you."
Yukinoshita shook her head. Her tone was as mechanical as ever, as if saying thanks was just a formality.
To someone unfamiliar with her personality, she might come off as inconsiderate or insincere.
But Yazuki, who understood her somewhat, could tell that this was a genuine expression of gratitude. Compared to her usual cold responses, this was a huge improvement. Besides, he did have some responsibility for what happened.
Since she seemed fine, he turned to leave. The signs around here were clear enough—she should be able to find the station on her own. Surely, she wasn't that bad with directions.
However, after walking just a few meters, he stopped and backtracked.
He had just realized what was going on, she had clearly sprained her ankle
------------.
Somewhere in Another World
"What's going on?! After all that effort to interfere with that world's mechanics, that person was supposed to get into an accident and be transported here!"
"I don't know. We're still investigating."
"Hurry up and fix it! That was the purest soul we've ever found, our top priority. If we could have him descend into this world as a hero, then sacrifice him as an offering, we would finally be able to awaken our Demon Race's Ancient King's Sin Armament!"
"And don't forget our deal—Ariadne, that wretched woman, must suffer a slow, torturous death!!!