Especially Rei Ao's.
He was the person who had occupied her thoughts recently.
Truthfully, she had almost been swayed by Sonoka Machida's words that day.
Now, seeing Rei Ao again, she felt an urge to distance herself.
She feared that, someday, she might give in to her impulses and send a trade request to him.
But now that she was here... leaving felt awkward.
Feigning calmness, Utaha found a spot to sit.
Michiru, after glancing at her briefly, returned to practicing her guitar.
The rooftop was unusually peaceful.
One person practiced guitar, another checked their phone, and with company present, Megumi and Yumiko refrained from any particularly intimate behavior.
Rei Ao, meanwhile, enjoyed the bento lunches lovingly prepared by his girlfriends while listening to the soothing music.
When Michiru Hyodo finally paused her guitar practice, Yumiko couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"Hyodo-san, you're really good at guitar, and being in a band... You must've been part of a club at your old school, right?"
Michiru nodded. "I was a core member of the Blessing Software Club."
"Huh?" Yumiko raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"In that case, you must've had a lot of ties at your previous school. Why transfer all of a sudden? And in the third year, no less."
Under normal circumstances, everything would have been fine, so transferring seemed unusualunless it was due to family reasons, like moving houses.
"...Well..." Michiru sighed. "Actually, I transferred because of my cousin."
So it was a family issue.
Yumiko quickly backtracked. "Uh, I wasn't trying to pry or anything! If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."
Michiru smiled faintly. "It's not a big deal. My cousin had an accident and was struggling psychologically. My family asked me to transfer to help support him. But just after I arrived, another accident happened..."
She hadn't expected her cousin to suddenly pass away.
Megumi and Rei Ao exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise.
Yumiko, slower to realize, offered words of comfort. "I hope your cousin recovers soon."
"..."
While well-intentioned, Michiru could only respond with a bitter smile. "I'm afraid that won't be possible anymore."
"Huh? Why not?" Yumiko asked, confused.
Rei Ao interjected. "Yumiko, do you remember why we had that sudden break from school?"
"Of course," Yumiko replied. "It was because someone at school 'accidentally' passed away."
Almost immediately, her eyes widened as realization dawned. She turned to Michiru with disbelief.
"Your cousin... He wasn't Tomoya Aki, was he?"
Even Utaha, sitting nearby, raised her gaze.
Michiru nodded. "Yes, he was."
"..."
Yumiko was completely taken aback. After a long silence, she could only mutter, "I'm sorry for your loss."
The atmosphere turned heavy, and conversation dwindled to a standstill.
As the group eventually began to leave, Michiru addressed Yumiko one last time.
"Miura-san, don't worry about the topic from earlier. I've come to terms with it."
She truly had.
The funeral was over. She'd transferred schools. What had happened had happenedthere was no point dwelling on it.
Leaving behind these words, Michiru turned and walked away, her silhouette exuding an air of quiet resilience.
"She's been through so much," Yumiko murmured sympathetically, reflecting on the truth behind Aki Tomoya's death.
Michiru's resolve impressed Rei Ao. If not for her cousin's misfortune, he might never have crossed paths with her. Since fate had brought them together, he figured it wouldn't hurt to connect further.
At that moment, Yumiko's phone buzzed with a notification.
"What? Yui fell down the stairs?" she exclaimed, alarmed.
Rei Ao turned serious. "Where is she?"
"She's in the school infirmary. Ebina said she had an urgent matter and couldn't stay, so she asked me to check on her."
Yumiko immediately stood up, ready to head to the infirmary.
"I'll go with you," Rei Ao offered. Then, turning to Megumi, he added, "You can go ahead and rest."
"Alright," Megumi agreed.
Rei Ao extended a hand to Yumiko. "Give me your hand."
"Huh?" Yumiko hesitated, but she soon understood his intention and placed her hand in his.
The next moment, the two disappeared from the rooftop.
"???"
Utaha was left stunned, looking around in confusion.
"Where... Where did they go?" she asked, glancing at Megumi.
"Probably some kind of spatial teleportation magic," Megumi replied calmly.
"..."
Utaha had momentarily forgotten about the existence of supernatural powers.
"Kasumigaoka-san, you seem troubled," Megumi suddenly said, breaking the silence.
"Huh? What makes you say that?" Utaha asked, slightly startled by Megumi's unexpected observation.
Gently placing a finger to her lips, Megumi explained, "I've noticed that whenever you're around Rei Ao, you avoid eye contact. It's almost like you're struggling with some inner conflict."
"..."
Utaha fell silent.
She was avoiding Rei Ao.
Seeing Utaha's lack of response, Megumi pressed on.
"Is it because of the chat group? Or something that happened when we traveled to Frieren's world?"
"I was an ordinary person, too, before all this. If you're troubled, you can talk to me. Maybe I can share some insights."
"...!"
Megumi's gentle smile struck Utaha like a ray of sunlight.
Almost instinctively, she nodded. "Yes... I do have some concerns."
Encouraged by Megumi's understanding, Utaha began to open up little by little.
'Rei Ao-kun, I'm helping you this time too', Megumi thought to herself with a quiet smile.
Chapter 132: Yui's self-depracation
If Rei Ao knew that Megumi was genuinely trying to forge bonds for him, as she often claimed, he would certainly reward her handsomely.
Perhaps with some "immersion-based rewards."
And knowing Megumi, she would probably like that.
With a brief shift in vision, Rei Ao and Yumiko appeared in the school infirmary.
Thanks to her experience with world travel, Yumiko wasn't startled by the sudden teleportation.
As she was about to search for Yui, a faint muttering came from behind a white curtain.
"Ugh, I'm such an idiot."
Yui's voice was filled with frustration.
"How could I trip on the stairs like that?"
Looking at the bandaged scrape on her knee, Yui's expression grew gloomy.
"I'm so clumsy; no wonder I can't even bake cookies properly."
Her self-deprecation deepened.
"Someone like me has no business being in the same world as Rei Ao... It's like comparing dirt to the sky. There's just no way."
Yui was overwhelmed with self-doubt.
Learning about Rei Ao's special identity hadn't shattered her perception of realityshe had been able to accept it.
However, it had created a profound sense of distance.
Rei Ao wasn't just exceptional in every way; he was someone who could converse with angels and demonsbeings straight out of fantasy.
And in contrast?
She was painfully ordinary, an unremarkable person with no special qualities.
The thought of this gap between them terrified her. If she admitted it to herself, she would never be able to approach him again.
And Yui couldn't bear that.
So she chose to pretend that nothing had changed, hoping everything could stay the same.
But she underestimated just how much Rei Ao had impacted her.
The whole day, her thoughts were consumed by him.
That distraction was why she had tripped on the stairs.
"Ugh, I was so lost in thought about Rei Ao that I fell down the stairs. Yui... you idiot."
She lightly smacked her thigh, chastising herself.
Unbeknownst to her, Rei Ao and Yumiko, standing behind the curtain, heard every word.
"Look at what you've done," Yumiko whispered, glaring at Rei Ao like he was a complete scumbag.
Rei Ao coughed lightly, drawing Yui's attention.
Then, in a deliberate tone, Yumiko called out, "Yui, are you in there?"
"Yumiko?"
Yui's ears perked up at the familiar voice. "I'm here, Yumiko!"
The curtain was drawn back abruptly, revealing two figures.
Although Yumiko stood in front, Yui's gaze immediately locked onto Rei Ao.
Her eyes widened, and she muttered in disbelief, "Rei... Rei Ao-kun?"
"Am I dreaming? Have I missed him so much that I've started hallucinating?"
Her astonished tone caused Yumiko's skin to prickle with goosebumps.
Missed him so much?
Yumiko shuddered.
It's only been a day! Could she really miss him to this extent?
In Yumiko's mind, Yui was simply too weak. She was utterly at Rei Ao's mercy.
If Yumiko hadn't interrupted that one day, Yui would likely have been seduced into bed and molded entirely into Rei Ao's shape.
The irony was that Yumiko had already been "reshaped" herself.
At least I got there first. I win!
Though inwardly smug, she maintained her calm demeanor. Hands on her hips, she smirked and teased Yui.
"Yui, are you stupid or what?"
With a sharp slap, she playfully smacked Yui's thigh.
"Smack!"
Though she avoided the injured knee, the slap still made Yui wince in pain.
"Ouch!"
"If you can feel pain, then you're not dreaming," Yumiko quipped.
"Ugh, Yumiko! Couldn't you tell me that in a less painful way? That really hurt!"
Yui pouted, her eyes watering.
Deep down, she wished the illusion of Rei Ao could be broken in a gentler manner.
But her teary, pitiful expression only irritated Yumiko further.
"Seriously? If you're so scared of getting hurt, maybe you should've thought twice before spacing out and falling down the stairs. Why didn't you just knock some sense into yourself while you were at it?"
Though her words were sharp, Yumiko's concern was genuine. She had been worried sick when she received Ebina's message.
Finding Yui mumbling about her boyfriend in the infirmary only fueled her exasperation.
"Ugh... S-sorry," Yui mumbled, shrinking into herself.
Yumiko grew even more frustrated seeing Yui apologize unnecessarily. Her soft, timid nature only made people worry more about her.
Just as she was about to launch into another lecture, Rei Ao gently tugged on her hand, stopping her.
"Alright, save the scolding for later. Let's check Yui's injury first."
Rei Ao stepped forward to inspect Yui's injury.
But even such a simple action made Yui feel as if she were sitting on pins and needles.
His gaze on her, particularly on her legs, made her extremely self-conscious.
"Haha, it's just a little scratch. It's nothing serious. The school nurse said it'll heal in a couple of days," she said, trying to laugh off the tension.
"That won't be necessary."
To her surprise, Rei Ao placed his hand gently on her injured knee.
"!!!"
Yui braced herself for pain, her body tensing.
But instead of hurting, a soothing, cool sensation spread through her leg.
A faint white glow emanated from Rei Ao's hand.
In less than two seconds, he removed it.
"All done. It's healed now."
"Eh?!?"
Yui and Yumiko both stared in shock.
The nasty-looking wound on Yui's knee was gone, replaced by flawless, unblemished skin.
Unable to believe her eyes, Yui rubbed them and reached out to touch her knee.
There was no pain, no trace of the injury.
"It's... it's healed?!"
Her mind swirled with emotionsconfusion, amazement, and above all, happiness.
Meanwhile, Yumiko's surprise quickly gave way to mischief.
"So," she teased, "how does Yui's leg feel?"
"Yumiko! What are you even saying?!" Yui exclaimed, blushing furiously.
But what made her even more embarrassed was Rei Ao's completely serious response.
"Well, I didn't feel much since it was the knee. For proper tactile feedback, I'd have to touch the thigh instead."
"Eh?!?"
Yui's face turned bright red as she stammered, unable to keep up with the teasing.
After some time, she carefully got off the bed, testing her leg.
To her delight, it was fully functional, and there wasn't a hint of discomfort.
"Thank you, Rei Ao," she said, bowing deeply.
"You're welcome," he replied with a calm smile. "But tell me, Yui, do you still doubt that I'm only performing magic tricks?"
"Um..." Yui hesitated, fumbling for words.
She had wanted to keep pretending that everything was normal, but now she had no choice but to confront the truth.
"Sorry... I wasn't doubting you. I just... didn't know how to accept it yet."
Her uncertainty and hesitation were written all over her face.
Her timid demeanor exasperated Yumiko, who finally snapped.
"Are you really that useless, Yui?"
"Yui, look at this!"
Before Yui could react, Yumiko leaned forward and planted a kiss on Rei Ao's lips.
"???"
Yui froze, her mind going blank.
Even Rei Ao was caught off guard by Yumiko's bold move.
The kiss was brief but impactful.
As Yumiko pulled away, her ears and cheeks were tinged with pink. Despite her embarrassment, she had done it with purpose.
She wanted Yui to see the truth clearlythat she and Rei Ao were in a relationship.
Yumiko wasn't one to hide things or beat around the bush. Being straightforward and upfront was her style.
This wasn't about flaunting her relationship or rubbing it in Yui's face. It was about honesty.
She had seen the way Rei Ao looked at Yui and knew that her childhood friend wasn't immune to his charms.
She didn't intend to stop itshe knew she didn't have the right to. After all, she herself had once been "the other girl."
By being upfront now, she hoped to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings in the future.
Yui, however, was utterly stunned.
She stared at the two of them for a long moment before finally managing to speak in a dry, strained voice.
"Are you two... dating?"
Rei Ao gave her a calm nod.
"Yes, we are."
"..."
Yui felt as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.
The excitement and joy she had felt moments ago evaporated, leaving her cold and numb.
Her hands and feet felt like lead as she lowered her gaze, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair.
When she looked up again, it was with a forced smile.
"Haha, that's great. I'm so happy for you, Yumiko. Your dream finally came true."
"..."
Yumiko frowned, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Yui, you haven't changed one bit."
Reaching out, she cupped Yui's cheeks, forcing her to look directly at her.
"Why do you always hide behind fake smiles and go along with what others want? Can't you be honest about what you want for once?"
