Idiot!

[Saionji Nanase: Natsume-kun, didn't I say I'd add you to the group when we were heading back? I'll add you now.]

[Natsume Chikage: Then I'll leave it to you.]

[Saionji Nanase: Okay.]

Soon, his phone vibrated and the screen lit up with a notification that he had been added to the class group chat.

He tapped the screen and entered the group, only to find that despite it being late at night, the chat was surprisingly active, with quite a few classmates still chatting enthusiastically.

Natsume Chikage briefly replied to a few messages welcoming him, then stopped speaking in the group and remained silent.

Meanwhile, the students in the chat group continued talking about all sorts of things, messages constantly popping up at the top of his screen.

After thinking it over, Natsume Chikage decided to mute the class group.

After all, he needed to write, and having messages constantly pop up at the top of the screen was annoying.

As for group messages, he could check them whenever the homeroom teacher @'d the whole class. There was no need to look at them otherwise.

At that moment, a new message popped up in his private chat with Saionji Nanase.

[Saionji Nanase: Natsume-kun, when I saw you in class today, you didn't seem to look very well. Are you really okay?]

[Natsume Chikage: I'm fine. Thanks for asking.]

[Saionji Nanase: (^▽^) That's good. But why are you still up so late, Natsume-kun? Did you just get back from your part-time job?]

[Natsume Chikage: Not quite. I got off work at ten. I just stopped for a late-night snack on the way home, then washed up and tidied things up after I got back. Before I knew it, it was this late.]

[Saionji Nanase: I see... Then I won't keep you from resting any longer. Good night, Natsume-kun.]

[Natsume Chikage: Good night.]

After ending his conversation with Saionji Nanase, he opened the message Sakai Shion had sent him a little after eight.

[Sakai Shion: Remember to send me some photos or videos from the venue after you arrive at the competition tomorrow.]

[Natsume Chikage: Mm, okay.]

At that moment, Sakai Shion was still at her desk, focused on preparing lessons, when she heard a soft notification from her phone.

She picked it up and glanced at it, seeing Natsume Chikage's concise reply. Then she noticed that the time at the top of the screen had already passed eleven.

He was still awake this late?

Surely Natsume Chikage wasn't staying up all night playing games?

She let out a helpless sigh.

She did not reply again. After muting her phone and placing it face down on the desk, she refocused on the lesson plan before her.

Seeing that Sakai had not replied again, Natsume Chikage put away his phone as well. He skillfully opened his document app and continued writing in the quiet night.

The next morning, dawn was just beginning to break.

The platform was filled with the crisp chill unique to early morning.

As usual, Natsume Chikage and Natsume Ruri stood side by side in their neat, clean school uniforms, waiting for the train to arrive.

Just like yesterday, Natsume Ruri gently wrapped her arms around her brother's waist from behind, pressed her cheek against his back, and closed her eyes. She looked drowsy and utterly dependent on him.

"Didn't you go to bed earlier than I did last night? Why do you still look like you haven't woken up?" Natsume Chikage asked softly, turning his head slightly.

Natsume Ruri mumbled, "Ruri is still growing, so it always feels like I haven't slept enough."

"I see..." Natsume Chikage fell silent for a moment.

It was true that his sister was at a crucial stage of development and needed plenty of nutrition and rest.

She was not particularly tall right now. If her nutrition fell behind as well, she might really stay tiny forever.

He quietly made up his mind that, within what they could afford, he would do his best to make sure his sister ate better from now on.

As for the money, he already had a preliminary plan.

As long as he could win at least three matches in a row at this shogi tournament, their basic living expenses for next month would be secure.

Combined with the wages the café would soon pay him, they should have no trouble holding out until his novel royalties came through.

So for the time being, there was no need to be overly frugal when it came to food.

At that moment, accompanied by the rhythmic rumble of the tracks, the train slowly pulled into the station.

This was the line his sister took to school.

As he watched the train come to a steady stop, Natsume Chikage sank into thought.

His destination today was the venue for the Rising Star Shogi Tournament, which was actually on his sister's school line.

But he absolutely could not get on this one. He had to wait for the next train!

The reason was simple: he could not let his sister find out that he had secretly spent twenty thousand yen to register for this competition! Otherwise, she would definitely explode on the spot!

This was no exaggeration.

Natsume Ruri had long kept a crystal-clear account of every bit of income and expenditure in their household.

According to her carefully calculated plan, as long as she scrimped and saved, the café wages would be just enough to cover the rent when they came in.

As for food, clothing, and other expenses afterward, she had already prepared herself to tighten her belt and barely scrape by.

If she found out that he had "splurged" on such a "huge sum," she would absolutely tear him to shreds!

What if he explained that he had entered a shogi tournament to make money?

His sister would never believe him!

In Ruri's mind, he did not understand shogi at all. Rashly entering a tournament would be no different from handing money to the organizers for free.

Therefore, before he had actually won a few matches and firmly held the prize money in his hands, Natsume Chikage resolved to keep this secret tightly guarded.

Otherwise, it would only make the atmosphere in their already struggling household even tenser.

His sister might usually be as obedient as a gentle little kitten, but once she got angry, her power rivaled a volcanic eruption. Worst of all—she was extremely, extremely hard to coax!

Unless absolutely necessary, Natsume Chikage had no desire to step into that "minefield."

He checked the time on his phone.

It was just past seven. The tournament would not begin until nine.

The ride there would take around half an hour, so he had plenty of time.

The train doors opened with a hiss.

"Big brother, Ruri's heading off now." Natsume Ruri waved at him.

Natsume Chikage raised a hand in return. "Mm. Be careful on the way. If anything happens, call me right away."

"Got it. You should get going too—your train's here as well." Natsume Ruri rose onto her toes and pointed at another train slowly pulling into the station behind him.

Natsume Chikage froze for a moment, then turned to look.

It was indeed the train he normally took to school.

But he did not need to board it today.

Still, to keep up the act, he could only pretend he was about to get on and slowly walk toward that platform.

"Okay, then I'm off too."

"Mhm!"

Under his sister's watchful gaze, Natsume Chikage walked to the platform opposite hers, stopped there, and pretended to wait patiently.

Since his sister's train had arrived first, it also departed first.

Before long, the doors closed, and the train carrying his sister gradually accelerated before disappearing at the end of the tracks.

Watching the train vanish into the distance, Natsume Chikage secretly breathed a sigh of relief—at least he did not have to actually get on that train and head to school to keep up the act.

Meanwhile, the train heading toward his "school" was still stopped at the platform in front of him.

Naturally, Natsume Chikage did not board. He was about to turn back and head for the platform he had just left.

At that moment, inside the carriage, Yukimura Suzune, who had been reading a paperback book with her head lowered, suddenly looked up for some reason.

Her cool gaze swept across the somewhat crowded carriage. She frowned slightly, as though she had failed to find something.

Then, almost instinctively, her eyes turned toward the window, where they happened to catch Natsume Chikage's retreating back as he turned to leave the platform.

A clear trace of confusion flashed through her eyes.

Wasn't he supposed to take this train to school? Why had he gone to the opposite platform?

Could he have forgotten which train he was supposed to take?

He had clearly found the right place, and the train had even arrived, yet he ran to the other side... Did such an idiot really exist in this world?

The train doors slowly closed.

Through the spotless window, Yukimura Suzune's gaze followed the figure on the platform as he gradually moved farther away, heading toward the entrance in the opposite direction.

Even after the train started up and slowly pulled away, she saw that Natsume Chikage was still on the wrong platform, playing with his phone as if he had not noticed that he was waiting for the wrong train.

Yukimura Suzune's expression turned strange. "So idiots like that really do exist..."