"In regard to this event proposal, I believe it should..."
"Is that so? I think... if we do it this way, it would better suit your school."
At this moment, two of Sobu High School's and Toyogasaki Academy's top students—Yukinoshita Yukino and Kasumigaoka Utaha—were engaged in an intense verbal battle.
No matter what kind of event plan was proposed, after modifications, one of them would always be able to pinpoint a minuscule flaw, magnify it, and then refute the opponent's argument.
"Ahhh~"
Yazuki yawned loudly, sleepiness creeping in. These two had been at it for almost two hours now, with zero progress. Neither was willing to back down, and their debate remained deadlocked.
Opposite him, Eriri, who had been glaring at him since the beginning, had already reached her limit. She had long since given up and was now sprawled across the table, fast asleep. Her soft pink lips parted slightly, revealing a tiny fang as she mumbled in her sleep.
Yazuki had noticed earlier that Eriri looked sleep-deprived. She had probably stayed up all night rushing to finish an illustration deadline. This was a common occurrence for her.
But seriously, how long were these two going to keep talking?
At this rate, they could keep debating until next year without reaching a conclusion.
He couldn't take it anymore. With their endless chatter lulling him to sleep like a lullaby, Yazuki's eyelids grew heavier. After blinking a few times, his vision faded to black.
...
Half-asleep, he nuzzled into his pillow. Wait—when did his pillow become this soft, smooth, and warm? This felt so comfortable that he didn't want to move.
Slowly, he opened his hazy eyes. The room was slightly dim, with a warm golden light filtering through the window—probably the light of the setting sun.
As his vision cleared, he realized he wasn't in his room. The place resembled a lounge... or maybe a clubroom?
Wait, wasn't this the reception room where he and Yukinoshita had been received at Toyogasaki?
He must have fallen asleep after being overwhelmed by their endless debate. And now, there was no one else in sight.
Suddenly, Yazuki's black eyes widened in shock. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what he was resting on—two round shapes wrapped in black silk, pressed together. Through the slightly translucent fabric, he could faintly see the smooth, fair skin underneath.
Was this... the legendary lap pillow?!
Whose lap was he resting on?!
First, he ruled out the golden-haired "loser dog"—she was too petite. Next, he ruled out Yukinoshita—there was no way she'd give him a lap pillow. The sun would have to rise in the west for that to happen.
That left only one person—Kasumigaoka Utaha.
As if sensing that he was awake, she leaned over slightly, blocking out the light. Silky strands of hair brushed against his face, and a soft, sweet scent filled his senses. Looking up, he saw her beautiful face smiling gently at him, her crimson lips parting slightly.
"Awake now, Kiryu-kun~?"
Her voice was as clear and soothing as a flowing stream, warm enough to reach his heart.
At that moment, Yazuki's entire body stiffened, and panic set in. He scrambled to get up—
"Bang! Thud!"
He tumbled down, hitting his head on the table.
Thud! Bang!
He fell, his head knocking against the corner of the table.
Quickly, he shot to his feet, keeping a one-meter distance from the girl before him, who looked at him with slight concern, about to say something.
"I'm fine. Also, my apologies, Utaha-senpai, for troubling you and wasting your time!"
Clearly, school had long since ended. If not for him still sleeping, she would have left ages ago. She must have stayed behind to look after him. Naturally, Yazuki felt he owed her an apology.
As he spoke—initially flustered but gradually regaining composure—his erratic heartbeat also settled down.
However, his gaze remained evasive, unable to meet the wine-red eyes of the girl before him.
This was way too embarrassing!
"Well then, I'll be leaving now!"
The moment he finished speaking, Yazuki bolted like a rocket, disappearing from the room in an instant, leaving behind a slightly stunned Utaha.
After a brief pause, Utaha's lips curled into a sly smile.
"Eriri, how did it go?"
As she spoke, a small figure crawled out from inside a cupboard opposite them, holding a tiny camcorder.
"Hehe, here, take a look at this idiot's dumb sleeping face!"
Tossing her twin-tails, Eriri displayed the recorded footage to Utaha. When zoomed in, the screen showed Yazuki sleeping soundly, even nuzzling into her lap.
By the way, didn't that other girl from his school try to stop them? Sorry—she had try waking him up before leaving, but he had been dead asleep, so she had just let them do whatever they wanted.
"Looks like our 'scumbag-kun' has an unexpectedly cute side. Taking him down should be pretty easy~"
Utaha smiled charmingly, but there was a mischievous glint in her wine-red eyes. Also, she hadn't expected that the idiot she had encountered that day was actually him. Luckily, she had been wearing large sunglasses back then, or he would have recognized her.
Eriri pouted in response.
"That's only because he doesn't know your true nature. If he did, he definitely wouldn't see you as a woman."
If they hadn't known each other for years, Eriri would have wanted to prank him herself.
For now, however, the two girls decided to call a truce to take down their common enemy.
…
At the entrance of Toyogasaki Academy, Yazuki, who had just stepped outside, rubbed his growling stomach.
He needed food—fast.
Might as well wander around the area and find a good place to eat.
A short while later…
He felt satisfied. After devouring several spicy burgers, two boxes of fries, a full teriyaki pizza, and—
"Huh?"
The ground shook slightly. An earthquake? Not a big deal. This country was in a seismic zone—earthquakes were common.
"…Huh?"
Yazuki frowned. Was he seeing things? Just now, he had noticed a shadow pass overhead. Normally, that wouldn't be strange, but it looked like a dragon? Probably just a plane's shadow…
He rubbed his temples. Had he spent so much time in other worlds that he could no longer differentiate between reality and fantasy? Was his subconscious mixing things up?
Wait—why did that shadow appear again? And why was it changing shape, as if something was falling from the sky?
He instinctively looked up.
Before he could make out what it was, something enveloped him—then, with a heavy thud, he was crushed under a massive impact.
It was as if something had just used him as a landing cushion.