How Can Such a Thing Be Sold

Night.

Girls' Dormitory.

Kamuro Masumi absentmindedly flipped through the extracurricular book in her hands, the characters on the page swimming like tadpoles, none of them entering her brain.

A few days now.

That bastard Kitagawa Kai, ever since their last meeting at the gymnasium, hadn't sent her a single message.

At first, she'd breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she'd finally shaken off his annoying harassment.

But after a few days passed... the terminal's silence made her a little uncomfortable.

"Tch." She snapped the book shut in irritation, her fingertips unconsciously gliding across the terminal's cool screen.

What did he mean?

Hit and run?

Or had he found a new, more "interesting" "kitten"?

Should she... send something?

Just a period? Or ask what he was doing? No, no, wouldn't that be admitting defeat?

He'd definitely be insufferably smug!

Or should she curse him out?

Curse him for not messaging her these past few days? But why did he have to message her anyway! They weren't anything to each other!

Kamuro Masumi fell into a new round of agonizing, completely unaware that she'd been staring blankly at the empty input box for ten minutes.

"Ding-dong."

Kitagawa: Kitten, kitten, you there, you there?

Kamuro: Not there, not there!

The reply was almost instant.

Kitagawa: If you're not there, how can you reply? My kitten's amazing.

Kamuro: Who's your kitten! Can't it be an auto-reply?! Do you think everyone's like you, glued to their terminal all day?!

Sent.

Kamuro Masumi held her breath, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the "Typing..." indicator at the top of the screen.

For the first time, she found this feature incredibly useful.

Kitagawa: An auto-reply that curses people out? Pretty smart feature.

"..." Kamuro Masumi choked. This guy always found some twisted angle!

Kamuro: If you've got something to say, say it. If not, begone! This young lady is very busy!

She deliberately used an extremely impatient tone, trying to overwhelm him with attitude, even though her heart was racing like crazy.

Kitagawa: Oh? Busy with what?

He actually followed up!

Kamuro Masumi's brain raced, fabricating a plausible excuse.

Studying?

Reading?

Working out?

No, all too fake. This guy would definitely see through it.

Kamuro: Busy thinking about which way of blocking you would be more satisfying!

Kitagawa: And? Did you come to a conclusion?

Kamuro: I'm weighing whether to just block you directly, or keep you around to mock you.

She sent it, feeling a little smug. This reply, showing indifference while provoking him, should let her win this round, right?

The "Typing..." prompt appeared again, pausing for a few seconds.

Kitagawa: Looks like the latter's winning for now.

Kitagawa: But, I kind of want to pet the kitten. I got my hands on some great mint candy. Want to come to my dorm and try some?

It was worth noting that Advanced Nurturing had co-ed dorms—the lower floors were the Boys' Dormitory, and the upper floors were the Girls' Dormitory.

Male students were not permitted to visit the girls' floors without reason; violators would be dealt with seriously.

Female students, however, faced no such restrictions.

"..."

Kamuro Masumi stared at this latest message, her fingertip hovering over the screen, pausing slightly.

Want to pet the kitten.

Mint Candy.

Does he really think I'm a cat who likes catnip?

What does he mean by this?

Is it genuinely just sharing a snack, or does "mint candy" have some other meaning? Like something cool, refreshing, or something you eat before a kiss?

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!" Kamuro Masumi startled herself with the last thought that suddenly popped into her head, her cheeks warming slightly.

But she couldn't deny it—this "mint candy" thing piqued her curiosity just a little.

Refuse outright? That seemed like an overreaction, since it was just "want to try some candy?"

Agree? No way—going to the boys' dormitory late at night would make her look like a pet that came when called!

After a few seconds of hesitation, she decided on a relatively middle-ground response.

Masumi: I'm not going to your dorm, but we can meet downstairs.

Masumi: Remember, you'd better actually have some great mint candy.

After sending the message, Kamuro Masumi stared at the screen, her fingertips tightening slightly.

The "typing..." indicator flickered a few times.

Kai: Downstairs at the dorm? By the vending machines? Or the little grove?

He was actually seriously considering the location? Kamuro Masumi pursed her lips and typed quickly.

Masumi: By the little grove near the dorm is fine. There aren't many people there at night.

Masumi: Don't get the wrong idea! It's just more convenient there—I'll take the candy and leave!

She added that superfluous denial, then felt stupid after sending it.

Kai: Okay.

His reply was surprisingly concise.

Kai: Ten minutes, is that okay?

Ten minutes, that fast?

Kamuro Masumi's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively glanced down at her pajamas, her hair just casually loose.

Looking like this... even if it was just going downstairs for candy...

Masumi: Twenty minutes! I... I need to change clothes!

As soon as she typed that, she suddenly realized what she'd revealed, and her cheeks flared up.

Sure enough, Kitagawa Kai's reply came through with a smile she could almost see through the screen.

Kai: Mm, no rush. Take your time, little cat. I'll wait.

"Who, who's in a rush!"

Kai: Okay. Twenty minutes, then. See you there.

Those four words, "see you there," were plain and ordinary, but somehow made Kamuro Masumi's heart skip another beat. She tossed aside her Terminal, sprang up from the bed as if burned, and rushed to the wardrobe.

Room 308.

Kitagawa Kai sat at his desk, tapping his fingers absently.

Mint candy?

He didn't have any, of course.

Kitagawa Kai glanced down at the "by the vending machines" and "twenty minutes" on his Terminal screen, the curve of his lips deepening.

He turned off the screen, grabbed the jacket draped over the back of his chair, and walked out of the room.

"Hey, Kitagawa, heading out this late?" a classmate who was visiting another room asked casually from the hallway.

"Yeah, buying something." Kitagawa Kai didn't look back, his voice carrying a light tone. "Be back soon."

Convenience store.

At this hour, there were hardly any customers, just the clerk on duty yawning behind the counter.

Kitagawa Kai walked straight to the candy shelf and carefully picked out a pack of lemon mint.

As he turned toward the register, his gaze casually swept over the bottom shelf of an open display rack nearby.

In an inconspicuous corner, several low-key colored square boxes were lined up.

Condoms.

Would he need them?

...Better safe than sorry.

Kitagawa Kai casually picked up a few boxes. How could a convenience store sell things like this? So evil. He'd better take care of them.

The clerk on duty glanced at the items, a flicker in their eyes, then returned to professional numbness and picked up the barcode scanner.

"Beep."

"Beep."

"That'll be six thousand points total."

Kitagawa Kai took the Terminal from his pocket, scanned the code, and paid.

He picked up the bag, pushed open the shop door, and walked with steady steps toward the vending machine.

Kitagawa Kai opened the candy box, picked up a piece, peeled off the silver wrapper, and placed the ice-blue candy into his mouth.