Kato Marumi

At night, Satsu lay alone in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. It wasn't for any other reason—he was simply too excited.

He had earned one hundred thousand in two days; anyone would be excited. He had come to this school with a plan to make money, but he hadn't expected it to happen this quickly.

Staring at his massive point balance, Satsu excitedly buried himself under the covers and rolled around on the bed to his heart's content.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, inside a high-end hotel.

A young girl was lying on the sofa, engrossed in reading a copy of Les Misérables.

Her white hair cascaded down like moonlight, resting softly on her delicate shoulders and contrasting beautifully with her silk-like skin.

A few unruly strands of hair rested against her rosy cheek, trembling slightly with her gentle breathing.

Perhaps feeling annoyed by the distraction, the girl puffed out her cheeks slightly, turned her head, and blew the mischievous strands away. The sight was so charming it stirred a sense of affection in anyone who saw it.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in."

Hearing the knock, the girl replied in a sweet voice.

"Miss, Snow Spider sends her greetings," Snow Spider said, bowing slightly and respectfully.

Seeing that it was Snow Spider, the girl's eyes lit up. She quickly got up and trotted over to her.

"Are you my brother's mother? Nice to meet you, I'm Kato Marumi."

As she spoke, Marumi leaned forward slightly, tilting her head to stare intently at Snow Spider. Her curious expression was even more endearing.

"It is my honor to meet you," Snow Spider replied respectfully.

Marumi straightened up, and the curious light in her eyes vanished. "I only called for you because I wanted to see you."

"Grandpa said you possess an ageless beauty. If I recall the files correctly, you're already thirty-six, aren't you?"

"Yes, Miss," Snow Spider replied. She remained bowed throughout, seemingly waiting for Marumi's permission to move.

Marumi clearly noticed this, but she had no intention of letting Snow Spider relax.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The sound of knocking echoed again. This time, it was an elderly man dressed in a butler's uniform.

The old man's posture was straight and tall; the saying that time spares no one seemed not to apply to him. Every white whisker and strand of hair only added to his air of composure.

"Miss, news has arrived."

The old man's voice was magnetic and pleasant to the ear. "That person has agreed to become our eighteenth umbrella. Codename: Yi."

"Congratulations, Miss. You have once again successfully completed the task assigned by the Master."

Marumi listened patiently to the old man's report, then turned away, leaving the two of them with only her back.

She clasped her hands behind her, lifted her left foot slightly, and looked down at the floor, asking while lost in thought.

"How is my brother doing at that school?"

The old man replied immediately, "The young master seems very busy. He has already caused two students to drop out in just two days of school."

"Eh~ really!" Marumi asked excitedly, but soon she began to complain.

"I wanted to go to that school too, but it's all your fault, Uncle Xiao, for not letting me!"

"Hahaha, Miss, you jest," Xiao replied with a smile.

"At the time, no one expected the young master would actually go to that school. If you had gone and the young master hadn't, wouldn't that have been a pity?"

"Then I'm going now!"

"That won't do, Miss. The earliest you can go is next school year, and besides, you would find it boring."

"With my brother there, I wouldn't be bored at all."

After saying this, Marumi turned to look at Snow Spider. "Does he know about me? What kind of person is he? I've only ever seen him in photos."

"Satsu..."

"Slap!"

Snow Spider had barely uttered Satsu's name when Marumi raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

The force of the blow was significant, leaving a clear red handprint on Snow Spider's face.

"My brother's name isn't for you to say," Marumi's tone remained unchanged, just as sweet as before.

Xiao took a handkerchief from his pocket and stepped forward, meticulously wiping Marumi's right hand. She did not resist, allowing Xiao to tend to her.

"Let's go, Uncle Xiao! Let's go play at Yi's place." Marumi had lost interest in staying here and said indifferently.

"As you wish, Miss."

After the two left, Anderson rushed into the room. "Are you alright? I heard a noise."

"Where is the young lady?"

"She went to Yi's place," Snow Spider replied.

"Yi? I recall he is the governor of X State in the United States."

"I haven't been in long, so I only just found out about information at this level."

Snow Spider nodded slightly, acknowledging Anderson's words: "What else do you know?"

Seeing that Snow Spider was turning the question back on him, Anderson was slightly stunned, but he still Kaidō: "These are our Umbrellas; there are seventeen of us in total, each using a number as a codename."

"You've been in longer than I have, so logically, you shouldn't be unaware of this, right?"

Snow Spider did not respond, instead replying to herself: "Just a moment ago, we gained our eighteenth Umbrella."

Daytime, on campus.

Kato Satsu hadn't slept well all night—he'd barely slept at all—and he couldn't help but yawn the moment he stepped out of the dormitory building.

"Kato-kun!"

"Ah!!!"

Kikyo suddenly hopped out in front of Kato Satsu, scaring the sleep right out of him.

"Oh, it's Kushida-san. You gave me a start."

Kato Satsu let out a long sigh and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Did I scare you? I'm so sorry."

Kikyo apologized with apparent sincerity before continuing: "I wanted to ask if we could exchange contact information, because I want to be friends with everyone."

"If I can appear with you often and make it look like we have a good relationship, it should help me get more attention at school." (Kikyo)

Hearing Kikyo's inner thoughts, Kato Satsu replied without hesitation: "If you let me press your thumbprint, I'll exchange with you."

"A thumbprint? What kind of thumbprint? Are you trying to make a promise with me, Kato-kun?" Kikyo asked, looking puzzled.

Kato Satsu naturally couldn't explain the meaning of the thumbprint to her; he only dared to say it because he was bullying her for not knowing what it meant.

"It's this!"

As he spoke, Kato Satsu extended his left hand and gave a thumbs-up. Kikyo immediately understood what he meant, smiled slightly, and followed suit with a thumbs-up of her own.

The two thumbs touched and pressed against each other, seemingly symbolizing the establishment of a friendship.

"Childish games." (Kikyo)

"As expected, the easiest character to handle—she came crawling to me herself." (Kato Satsu)

"If you don't mind, you can call me Satsu from now on."

"Of course. In that case, I hope you'll call me Kikyo."

Although both of them had their own agendas, at least for now, in the eyes of outsiders, they were the perfect example of how to make friends.