Yukimura Suzune!

The train was packed with students in all manner of school uniforms.

This line passed several high schools, and during the morning commute, students vastly outnumbered ordinary passengers.

The carriage doors opened.

Yukimura Suzune stepped inside.

She had long, straight black hair and a cool, aloof air. Wearing Moonlight Academy's uniform, the gap between her skirt and black stockings formed an eye-catching "absolute territory."

Most of the boys in the carriage couldn't help glancing her way, inwardly marveling at Yukimura Suzune's exceptional poise and beauty.

Most of the girls, meanwhile, narrowed their eyes and looked her over with appraising gazes.

Yukimura Suzune was lucky. Someone got up to get off as soon as she boarded.

She took the seat, pulled out a literature book from her schoolbag, and quietly began reading.

Seeing her focused on her book, many of the surrounding gazes soon withdrew, leaving only a few boys still sneaking looks at her.

Before long.

The train slowly pulled into the next station. Its brakes gave off a faint hum as the doors slid open to either side.

Natsume Chikage stepped inside.

The moment he entered.

The air seemed to freeze for an instant.

Whether boys or girls, everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn toward him, a hard-to-describe sense of amazement flashing through their hearts.

He wore an ordinary summer school uniform too—a simple shirt, tie, and slacks—but on him, it looked entirely different from the uniforms worn by the other boys from the same school in the carriage. He somehow made it look like a top male model's outfit.

But Natsume Chikage's mind was entirely on his phone. When he noticed someone stand up, he naturally took the seat beside Yukimura Suzune and continued typing away on his phone.

Even after he sat down, quite a few people in the carriage kept staring at him.

The boys muttered:

"Isn't he wearing Moonlight Academy's uniform too? Could he be a freshman like us?"

"He should be an upperclassman. Just looking at his bearing, he doesn't seem like a freshman."

"Do you think this upperclassman might be some kind of model?"

"Probably."

The girls were whispering as well. Quite a few of them even shoved each other around, urging one another to go strike up a conversation.

"That guy is totally my type!"

"Too bad he's wearing Moonlight Academy's uniform. He isn't from our school..."

"So what? Our schools are only one or two stops apart anyway. It wouldn't be hard to go on dates after school."

As for Yukimura Suzune, who had originally been reading quietly.

Ever since childhood, she had grown accustomed to other people's stares because of her looks and the fact that she came from a famous literary family.

Not long ago, she had also won the Literary Newcomer Award and appeared on television.

As a result, people would sometimes even approach her on the street to ask for an autograph.

Even so, the gazes today were a little too intense...

Yukimura Suzune glanced around and discovered that quite a few people, male and female alike, were looking in her direction. She couldn't help sighing, temporarily closed her literature book, took out her earphones, and put them in.

Once the world had become much quieter, Yukimura Suzune intended to reopen her book and continue reading.

But at that moment, she noticed two girls approaching her, both looking this way with shy, nervous expressions.

Seeing that, Yukimura Suzune guessed that they had probably recognized her.

If boys approached her, they were not necessarily asking for an autograph. More often than not, they were trying to flirt with her.

But if girls approached her, they were basically always there to ask for her autograph, without exception!

"Um..." One of the girls spoke first.

Hearing her, Yukimura Suzune habitually took out the fountain pen she usually used from her schoolbag.

"I've... been watching you ever since you got on... Could I have your contact information?" the fairly cute girl asked shyly.

Yukimura Suzune was dumbfounded.

What was going on? This girl wasn't here to ask for an autograph, but for her contact information?

Could she be into girls?

But Yukimura Suzune had no interest in that...

"Uh... well..." Even someone as aloof as Yukimura Suzune couldn't help feeling awkward in this situation. For a moment, she couldn't think of any way to refuse.

The other girl spoke up, her eyes shining as she asked, "Um, me too!"

"Huh?"

Yukimura Suzune froze in place. She had never expected this girl to be into girls too.

Were high school girls these days really this bold? They were already a couple, and they were inviting her in?

But she really wasn't that kind of girl!

Could there have been some kind of implication in one of her novels?

There wasn't, right...

She wrote perfectly serious literary works. There hadn't been any lesbian plotlines at all!

Just as Yukimura Suzune was agonizing over it.

The two girls shyly held out their phones before... the boy sitting beside Yukimura Suzune.

Witnessing this scene, Yukimura Suzune stood there in a daze. A faint, embarrassed blush visibly spread across her cool face. She pressed her lips tightly together and immediately turned to look at the boy beside her.

The instant she saw Natsume Chikage's profile, she fell silent and finally understood why today's gazes had been especially intense.

"Sorry..." Natsume Chikage shook his head and briefly refused them.

After hearing the rejection, the two girls left dejectedly.

Watching their retreating backs, Natsume Chikage felt rather helpless too.

It wasn't as if he had no desire to find a girlfriend.

But the enormous upheaval at home left him with no mind for that sort of thing.

Right now, food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all problems for him. Every one of them required a great deal of money.

If he were alone, he could cut corners and get by frugally in many ways. He could endure it, and it wouldn't be a problem.

But he had a younger sister now!

He was broke and had his sister with him. If they lived poorly and ate cheap food, then without working desperately hard, even next month's rent would become a problem, let alone next semester's tuition.

Under such immense pressure just to survive, he had no room in his heart for romance.

Compared to finding a girlfriend, making money was what truly filled Natsume Chikage's mind right now.

At that moment.

Natsume Chikage noticed a particularly conspicuous gaze beside him and turned to look.

When his gaze met Yukimura Suzune's.

Rather than her cool beauty, his eyes were immediately drawn to the tiny ink bottle ornament hanging from her schoolbag.

[Literary Trinket]

[Level: White] (White < Blue < Green < Purple < Gold)

[Effect: The scenes and characters you describe can be reflected slightly more vividly in your readers' minds.]

[Description: How should I write this part... — a literary girl chewing on the end of her pen.]

The moment he saw this piece of equipment, however, Natsume Chikage couldn't help feeling delighted—this was exactly what he needed right now!

He was writing The Devotion of Suspect X. With this Literary Trinket, it would definitely elevate this work, already destined to become a bestseller, to an even higher level!

He wanted it. He wanted it very badly!

However, when Yukimura Suzune noticed Natsume Chikage's gaze resting on her, she paused slightly, narrowed her eyes, and shot him a glance tinged with faint irritation before looking away.

She put away her fountain pen, turned on music and navigation alerts on her phone so she would not miss her stop.

Then she turned sideways and focused her attention on the literature book in her hands once more.