Having suddenly come into a fortune didn't go to Bai Yuze's head, because he still had trouble to deal with.
"Y-You killed someone!"
Kamuro took several steps back. The cold disgust in her eyes was gone, replaced by the terror of having witnessed a death.
"He broke the rules himself. How's that my fault?"
Bai Yuze felt no joy at getting revenge over the basketball guy's death. Instead, he was a little troubled.
Though he'd yearned for the world of anime, with its romance and youthful adventures, wasn't this plot going a little off track?
Bai Yuze got to his feet. He wasn't in the mood to shop anymore, and he wasn't worried about how to transfer the 450,000 points in his hands into his account.
If the basketball guy had dared to plot against him so openly, then there had to be a way to transfer points at this school.
Remembering that he still had to attend the opening ceremony, Bai Yuze brushed off his clothes and prepared to return to the classroom.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Kamuro Masumi asked. The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. The guy in front of her had just killed someone; not immediately running as far away from him as possible was already proof of how brave she was.
Now he was clearly leaving, yet she'd gone and called after him. Did she really not want to live that long?
"Back to the classroom. I'm going to the opening ceremony."
Bai Yuze replied flatly, then headed back the way he'd come.
When Kamuro saw Bai Yuze leave, she breathed a sigh of relief. But when she saw the body on the ground slowly disappearing, she gritted her teeth and decided to follow him.
Bai Yuze felt his head growing heavy.
"Is it a side effect of that orb?"
He reached for the orb, but no matter how long he searched, he couldn't find it.
"Did it merge with my body?"
Bai Yuze pondered...
"Um... I'm sorry... and thank you for stopping me."
Kamuro walked up behind Bai Yuze and lowered her head, thanking him in a quiet voice.
"Heh, you actually know how to apologize and say thank you?"
Bai Yuze was a little surprised. He'd thought that a girl like Kamuro Masumi, who was always wearing a cold expression, would only say things like "Disgusting," "Trash," and "Go die," while looking down on people as if they were garbage—and then plant her foot right on their faces.
"What's that supposed to mean? You're so rude! It took me a lot of courage to say that!"
Bai Yuze's words infuriated Kamuro. Her face, already flushed with embarrassment, turned an even brighter red.
"I just killed someone, you know. Aren't you scared of me?"
Before, he'd only judged people's personalities from what he'd read. In his mind, Kamuro Masumi was just an aloof student with a stealing habit.
But after actually interacting with her, Bai Yuze found Kamuro Masumi pretty interesting. His playful side took over, and he decided to tease her.
"Heh, if you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have saved me!"
Kamuro wore a confident expression. Seeing how sure of herself she was, Bai Yuze couldn't help laughing, though the sound came out a little...
"Kyahahaha! Congratulations, you guessed wrong. I saved you because I want to torture you properly!"
Bai Yuze put on a menacing, calculating expression to scare Kamuro Masumi. The results didn't disappoint: Kamuro backed away in fear and raised her hands to her chest in a defensive stance.
Still, perhaps it was his imagination, but Bai Yuze felt the look in Kamuro's eyes wasn't fear at all. It was... excitement...
"Maybe I'm just imagining it."
Bai Yuze shook his head.
"Th-Then what do you want to do?"
Kamuro watched Bai Yuze warily.
"If you're apologizing, shouldn't you at least show some sincerity?"
"You want points?"
"No, no. I mean, when you apologize, you should at least show..."
Bai Yuze edged closer to Kamuro. They were close enough to smell each other.
"What! No! Absolutely not!"
Kamuro's face turned bright red. Whether from embarrassment or anger, she shook her head like a rattle drum.
"If that's really not possible, then the other way works too."
Bai Yuze was starting to enjoy playing pranks. Teasing an aloof girl like Kamuro was pretty fun.
"I take back what I said about thanking you. You really are trash!"
Kamuro put on that garbage-disdain look again. Bai Yuze just shrugged.
"I was only making a suggestion. Whether you do it or not is up to you."
With that, Bai Yuze quickened his pace.
At that moment, Kamuro stepped in front of him.
"Let's add each other as friends. I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
Bai Yuze paused, then exchanged contact information with Kamuro. Once they were done, the two returned to the classroom together without saying a word.
Back in the classroom, Bai Yuze slumped into his seat like a heap of sludge.
"Oh my! Isn't that Bai Yuze, who went shopping for supplies? Why do you look so unmotivated? Did I ask you to buy too many things?"
Sakayanagi Arisu turned around and teased him. The smile on her face made Bai Yuze feel as if she could say "You little shrimp~" at any moment.
"Don't ask. I almost didn't make it back."
Bai Yuze waved a hand, showing that he didn't want to linger on the subject.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me when it's time for the opening ceremony. Thanks."
With that, Bai Yuze could no longer resist his exhaustion and fell asleep at his desk.
The boy quickly drifted off.
"Hehe, you just went through a life-or-death moment, and you're already letting your guard down?"
Sakayanagi reached out and stroked the boy's cheek.
"Looks like you trust me a lot~ Then get some good rest~ Bai Yuze~"
Sakayanagi patted the boy's head, then leaned down and whispered.
"I'll be watching you the whole time~"
Dark, damp, oppressive.
That was how Bai Yuze would have described the place he found himself in. He knew he was dreaming, but he couldn't control the whole dream the way he could in a lucid dream.
So all he could do was feel his way cautiously along the chilly, damp corridor.
Drip... drip...
Every so often, droplets fell onto the floor. Even though he was dreaming, Bai Yuze didn't dare stride forward openly. He could only feel his way along the wall so he wouldn't slip as easily.
He had a feeling that if he fell, something bad would definitely happen.
His footsteps echoed through the corridor, making him restless and terrified.
Bai Yuze fought the urge to run, continuing to feel his way forward carefully.
Then another sound joined his footsteps in the corridor.
It was the sound of someone sobbing. Just from the sound, he could tell its owner was deeply aggrieved and in pain.
"Please! Give me some kind of light! A flashlight, a candle, anything!"
Bai Yuze was on the verge of tears. It was so dark around him that he had to feel his way along the wall as he walked. The fact that he hadn't already lost it was a miracle.
Perhaps his plea had been answered.
Bai Yuze felt he could see in the dark.
The whole corridor suddenly came into view.
But Bai Yuze couldn't bring himself to feel happy.
Now that his vision had cleared, the creature making that crying sound would appear before his eyes.
Bai Yuze looked at the creature crying in the distance and couldn't stop himself from blurting out:
"What... the... hell...!"
Before you continue