"Ding-a-ling—"
The crisp sound of the alarm shattered the quiet of the dormitory at dawn and roused Sakayanagi Arisu from her light sleep.
She slowly opened her amethyst eyes. At first, they were clouded with the haze of waking, but they soon regained their usual clarity and sharpness.
She glanced at the digital clock beside her bed. It read [06:00].
Today was the first official day of school, and her first class began at eight. She had given herself a full two hours to get ready.
She had set her alarm so early because Sakayanagi Arisu knew her body's "routine" all too well.
Every morning, she usually had to spend a considerable amount of time fighting the weakness and dizziness that came with waking up. Sometimes, she even felt slightly nauseous.
Getting dressed and washing up—things most people found effortless—took extra energy and time for her. She had to move slowly and carefully.
But this morning felt completely different from all the others.
The moment her alarm rang, she didn't feel the usual haze in her head or tightness in her chest.
Instead—
"I feel... wonderful."
She spoke softly, her voice tinged with disbelief and wonder.
Her mind felt unusually clear, as if it had been washed clean by a spring.
Everything in the room looked remarkably vivid, every detail crisp and clear.
Most importantly, she could clearly feel her heart beating in her chest—steady, strong, and rhythmic, pumping warm, vibrant blood throughout her body.
The heavy, sluggish feeling that had clung to her for years, as if she were underwater, along with the faint, persistent aches, had eased considerably. In their place was a long-forgotten sense of lightness and comfort.
With this strange and delightful sensation, Sakayanagi Arisu tried sitting up without using her cane for support. Then she slowly moved her feet to the edge of the bed and placed them on the cool floor.
Her small, delicate feet, like finely carved works of art, held her body's weight steadily.
The graceful arches of her feet rested against the floor, and her rounded toes curled slightly as they felt the solid ground beneath them.
She had actually... managed to stand.
Her body was still frail and slender compared with most people's, but the feeling that she might topple over at any moment had eased considerably.
A flicker of excitement rose in her heart, and she tried taking a step forward.
But the habits formed from years of relying on her cane and weakened muscles, along with a sense of balance that might not have fully adjusted yet, betrayed her.
Her body tipped slightly backward against her will, and she lost her balance.
"Mm..."
With a soft groan, she fell backward onto the soft, fluffy mattress behind her.
But the frustration or discouragement she had expected never came. Lying on the bed, Sakayanagi Arisu instead lifted the corners of her mouth in a faint but genuine smile.
"As expected... years of accumulated ailments couldn't possibly be cured overnight."
She looked up at the ceiling and analyzed the situation rationally. "But... this good feeling, this vitality coming from inside my body, is something I've never experienced before."
She closed her eyes and savored the brief but genuine sense of stability she had felt while standing, as well as the flutter in her heart from its strong beat, as if she had been given a new lease on life.
"So... is this what it feels like to be healthy?"
She murmured to herself. Complex emotions flickered in her violet eyes: amazement, longing, and a faint, barely perceptible hope for the future. "It didn't last long, but this feeling... really is wonderful."
After resting for a while, she gathered her spirits and began getting ready for the first day of school, calmly and methodically.
First, she changed her clothes.
She slipped off her nightgown and picked up the neatly folded school uniform beside her.
The fitted white shirt was made of soft, comfortable fabric.
She carefully put it on and buttoned it up, one button at a time. Her movements were still slower than most people's, but they felt less difficult and awkward than before.
Next came the delicate blue bow tie. She tied it carefully in front of the mirror and adjusted it until it sat perfectly.
Then she put on the red blazer, which made her silver hair and pale skin stand out even more.
Her white pleated skirt fell just above her knees, outlining her slender waist and straight legs.
Next came the part that required the most patience and care—putting on her thigh-high stockings.
She sat on the edge of her bed and picked up the pair of fine, pure-white thigh-high stockings.
First, she gently stretched the opening, then carefully slipped one dainty foot inside.
The silky fabric softly embraced her ankle and arch, then slid up over her slender calf.
She raised her leg slightly and slowly pulled the stocking upward, careful not to tug at it.
The stocking gradually covered her knee and reached the middle of her thigh.
Then she adjusted the lace-topped band around her upper thigh to make sure it was comfortable and wouldn't slip. She gently fastened the delicate suspender attached to the stocking to the specially designed button on the side of her underwear.
Throughout the process, she stayed completely focused. Now and then, her fingertips brushed her smooth skin, bringing a faint ticklish sensation.
After putting on the other stocking, she stood up and gently stamped her feet, feeling the fabric fit snugly against her skin and offer an elegant, slightly restrictive support unlike going barefoot. The white stockings blended almost perfectly with her fair skin, with only a faint hint of flesh showing above her knees and around the edges, lending them a subtle sensuality.
Finally, she bent down and picked up her pair of small, gleaming calfskin shoes.
She tentatively slid one foot into the opening, then gently pushed until her heel slipped inside.
She adjusted the angle and tried rising onto her toes.
The shoes fit well. Standing and walking were still a challenge for her, but today, putting them on seemed less strenuous than usual.
"Phew..."
After completing each step, Sakayanagi Arisu let out a soft breath.
A fine sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and her cheeks were faintly flushed from the effort.
But she noticed something at once—she wasn't as tired as before.
The breathlessness and utter exhaustion that usually followed getting dressed, as if she'd used up half a day's worth of energy, had clearly eased.
She felt only a normal warmth and slight breathlessness after some activity.
"So that means..."
Her gaze drifted to the desk, where about six-sevenths of the milky-white nutritional supplement remained in its delicate glass bottle, quietly gleaming in the morning light. "That nutritional supplement... really works."
She had taken only one-seventh of the dose, yet it had brought such obvious, positive changes to her body in just one night.
It hadn't cured her, but it had genuinely improved her overall condition.
An enticing thought surfaced in her mind.
"If one-seventh had this much effect... what would happen to my body if I drank the rest?"
But reason immediately intervened.
"No... perhaps I should have Father analyze the ingredients first. If he can figure out the formula, reproduce it, or even improve it, and make an unlimited supply... then maybe my body really could recover completely. I might finally stop being dependent on others..."
It was the most instinctive and reasonable thought for someone who had seized a lifeline while drowning—to try to turn that "lifeline" into a sturdy "lifeboat" of her own, so she would no longer depend on the person who had given it to her.
However, she then recalled the calm, confident expression on Mazumi Mami's face when he had given her the supplement, as well as the deeper meaning hidden in his words.
He didn't seem... worried she would do that at all.
"Could it be... some kind of 'secret formula' that modern science can't analyze?"
Sakayanagi Arisu furrowed her brow slightly, a thoughtful glimmer in her violet eyes. "If he's already anticipated and accounted for even that... then this man really is frighteningly shrewd."
She shook her head, putting aside her tangled thoughts for the moment.
"But in any case, I still need to have it analyzed."
She made up her mind.
"Still... he has such a miraculous supplement, yet he handed it over so generously. Was his only goal to get me to 'stop disagreeing with his opinions'? He's already remarkably capable, and those three maids around him are no ordinary people either..."
Standing before the mirror, Sakayanagi Arisu gave her silver bangs one last adjustment. The girl in the mirror wore a complicated expression as she murmured, "Mazumi Mami... you really are a mysterious and dangerous person."
Deep in her heart, beyond her own awareness, her curiosity about the mysterious male transfer student quietly spread and deepened, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, becoming ever harder to ignore.
A new day of school was about to begin, and the story between them was destined to unfold in ever more tangled ways beneath the new sunlight.