52: Awareness of Crisis

"Since we left the school gate, I've noticed. What exactly are you looking at?"

In the family restaurant, Kazusa, finally finding a comfortable position for her injured rear, asked Chisato while waiting for their food to be served.

Since it was after school hours, people were coming and going outside. If Chisato's gaze was following short-skirted girls or OLs in black stockings, Kazusa wouldn't have bothered asking.

But Chisato had tilted his head several times, not looking straight ahead, but slightly upward toward the sky.

Kazusa also glanced up at the sky but saw nothing noteworthy.

"Nothing. I just think the weather is nice today, and the sky looks good," Chisato said, returning his gaze and lying smoothly.

He wasn't a melancholic literary girl; he wasn't interested in the scenery. He'd rather focus on observing Kazusa's striking profile from the corner of his eye.

There are many pretty girls in society, but not many as strikingly beautiful as her.

The real reason Chisato looked at the sky several times was to check on the whereabouts of the Dark Wing.

Earlier, he wanted to put it in the closet during gym class, but it refused, so he had to repeatedly instruct it to stay within his sight. The Dark Wing flew around him freely.

It seemed to enjoy flying in the sky more than hiding in his pocket, so it stayed nearby but out of sight after school.

Before leaving school, he could still see it flying from the trees by the roadside.

But after leaving the school, he hadn't seen it at all.

Chisato grew a bit worried.

After all, no matter how impressive the system product, it was only one day old. It shouldn't run into trouble, right?

His worries proved unnecessary. When the waiter brought their food, he finally spotted the Dark Wing perched on a utility pole with several other crows.

It must have made some new friends to play with.

"Thanks. Next time, I'll treat you in return," Chisato said, picking up his chopsticks and enjoying a piece of juicy and delicious pork cutlet.

The bill for the pork cutlet rice was 860 yen.

Chisato intended to pay for the meal himself, but Kazusa had already taken out her wallet and paid swiftly, not giving him a chance to refuse.

This action made Kazusa's image in Chisato's mind rise even higher.

A pretty and cool girl willing to treat him to a meal was even rarer in this society.

"If you really want to thank me, no need to treat me. Just head home after eating. I'll be fine." 

Kazusa said, with dessert of an ice cream sundae and mango pudding drizzled with chocolate sauce, looking incredibly sweet.

She had no resistance to sweet foods.

"Don't worry. After I see you home, I'll go home obediently and won't shamelessly ask you to invite me in for tea," Chisato assured.

"Isn't it better to go home early and do what you want? Why waste time with me?"

"I don't think helping a classmate is a waste of time. I know you don't like socializing with others. I'm the same. As fellow outsiders in the class, let's not be so distant. Let's get along."

The polite suffixes were omitted, and for the first time, he addressed her by her surname directly. 

Kazusa felt a hidden joy but appeared resigned as if unable to change reality, murmuring, "Troublesome guy."

At a nearby table a few meters away, Utaha and Eriri sat together, straining their ears to hear the conversation between Chisato and Kazusa.

"Tsk!"

Eriri frowned in dissatisfaction after listening for a while and said quietly, "We're too far away to hear anything! We should have listened to me and chosen a closer table."

Utaha mocked her complaint, "And then we would have exposed ourselves without understanding anything? Be quiet. I can vaguely hear their conversation."

Eriri was about to argue but fell silent after hearing Utaha's last words.

Two minutes later, she gently poked Utaha's shoulder, looking expectant.

Utaha's face darkened as she summarized what she had heard, "After dinner, he plans to take that girl home."

"Take her home?!" Eriri's reluctant mood flared up instantly.

'Why was that!?'

'Can't she go home by herself!?'

'Does she have no legs!?'

'And now she needs someone to take her home!?'

Kasumigaoka Utaha added slowly, "He volunteered to do it."

"!"

Eriri's angry expression instantly turned into one of resentment, her mood changing rapidly.

She bit her small fangs and asked unwillingly, "Why? What were their exact words? Tell me."

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head, "The conversation details aren't important. What matters is the result. Also… I've noticed you've been acting strangely."

"Strangely? How?"

"You called him 'Chisato' very familiarly, didn't you?"

"!!!"

Eriri turned away, "I didn't."

"Don't try to deny it. Your hostility towards the girl was quite obvious."

"I wasn't hostile!"

"Clearly, like a cat guarding its food, you looked ready to pounce and kick her away."

"…"

"Can you satisfy my curiosity and tell me why you reacted that way?"

Eriri, feeling guilty, took a sip of her drink. After a few breaths, her emotions settled, "I can't."

"…"

Utaha chuckled at her attempt to deflect. She knew Sawamura Eriri well—she couldn't hide her emotions, and her feelings were always apparent on her face.

Even if this blonde idiot was hiding something, Utaha was confident she could gain the upper hand, or at the very least, not be at a disadvantage.

The tricky part was the girl with long black hair, who looked excellent, just like her.

Listening to their conversation, it seemed Chisato was taking the initiative, which set off an unprecedented sense of crisis in the usually calm Kasumigaoka Utaha.

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