Ch 166. The Night Before the Date

Tuesday passed uneventfully, with nothing significant occurring.

In the afternoon, during the last class of the day, Hoshimi as promised, pulled Kasumigaoka into the dream world.

The two of them finalized their plans to meet tomorrow in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The meeting was set for the morning, though the exact time wasn't specified since Hoshimi wasn't sure how long it would take to travel from Chiba to Shinjuku.

Additionally, Kasumigaoka asked Hoshimi for his contact information, reasoning that they needed a way to find each other when they met. They couldn't rely on the dream world to communicate—that would be too risky.

Hoshimi agreed with her, so he gave her his LINE account.

He didn't share his phone number or email, as these could reveal too much about his real-life identity. But LINE, being a social networking app, posed no such risks. Besides, Hoshimi wasn't very active on social media, so he didn't have to worry about exposing any personal information.

At this point, he wasn't ready for Kasumigaoka to enter his real-life world, especially since he was already dealing with Yukino and Kotoko, two girls with strong personalities.

If another strong-willed girl like Kasumigaoka entered the mix, the fragile balance between the three could be shattered, leading to a scenario too chaotic to contemplate.

Maybe, once Yukino and Kotoko softened a bit, he would consider bringing Kasumigaoka into his life.

It might be a bit selfish, but given his eternal life and freedom from mortal concerns, couldn't he afford to be a little selfish?

After all, he couldn't die, so why not live a little dangerously?

…

After school, before heading to the Service Club, Hoshimi went to the teachers' office to request time off from Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei.

On his way, Hoshimi pondered what excuse he could use. By the time he reached the office, he had finally come up with a plausible one.

However, upon entering the office, he found that Hiratsuka-sensei had already left, rendering his excuse useless.

"Sigh..."

Hoshimi sighed softly and turned to leave the office.

It looked like he would have to ask Yukino to request leave on his behalf tomorrow. On the bright side, Yukino would be easier to convince than Hiratsuka-sensei, although he would need to tweak his excuse a bit.

As he strolled toward the Service Club, Hoshimi's plan began to take shape.

…

The Service Club had no requests today, and the fragile balance between Kotoko and Yukino remained intact. Everything seemed peaceful.

Hoshimi had expected Yuigahama, who had been emotionally shaken, to show some sign of vulnerability. He had been prepared to discreetly address any unusual behavior she exhibited. However, to his surprise, Yuigahama acted just as cheerfully and naively as usual, showing no signs of weakness.

Her smooth performance made Hoshimi reevaluate her. Though Yuigahama might seem a bit dim-witted, she certainly knew how to play her role as a girl without a hitch.

Take her natural acting skills, for example. Weren't they impressive?

On any other day, Hoshimi would have been tempted to tease Yuigahama a bit under Yukino's watchful eye, just to see how she would react.

But unfortunately, Kotoko, with her sharp intuition, was also present, preventing him from doing as he pleased. All he could do was watch as the amusing Yuigahama moved about before him.

What a pity...

Even as the club activities ended and they parted ways at the school gate, Hoshimi still felt it was a missed opportunity.

Soon after, Hoshimi returned home, only to receive a call from the bookstore asking if he was home.

He answered, "Yes."

Half an hour later, a store employee delivered a box of light novels to his doorstep.

After thanking the delivery guy, Hoshimi closed the door and carried the box of novels up to his bedroom.

Among the first six books he had received yesterday was Kasumigaoka's novel "The Strange Dream Chronicles". He had placed it in the middle of the stack to hide the cover from Yukino, lest she become curious about the white-haired, red-eyed little girl on the cover.

If Kasumigaoka was telling the truth and the female lead "Hoshi" was indeed modeled after him, this novel wouldn't hold up to close scrutiny.

Yukino, with her sharp mind, would likely suspect a connection between him and the author after reading it.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to be cautious.

"The Strange Dream Chronicles", huh? Let's see what Utaha wrote..."

Lying on his bed, Hoshimi began reading "The Strange Dream Chronicles".

Since he was meeting Kasumigaoka tomorrow, it seemed like a good idea to familiarize himself with her book. At the very least, it would give them something to talk about.

A light novel typically has fewer than 100,000 words, so Hoshimi finished reading it in about two hours.

"Damn it, cliffhanger!"

After finishing the novel, Hoshimi couldn't help but curse.

Kasumigaoka's writing was excellent, and the plot was cleverly designed. However, in the first volume, "Hoshi", the character based on him, was more of a background figure—a small, unremarkable girl hiding in the male lead "Uta"'s dream.

From the way Kasumigaoka described "Hoshi", it was clear that this character was special, but she had so little screen time that it was hard to form a strong impression of her.

It wasn't until the end of the volume, when the male lead "Uta" faced a life-threatening situation, that the little girl, who always seemed to be half-asleep, finally stood up. She yawned, snapped her fingers, and effortlessly crushed the "Heart Demon" that had almost killed the male lead into dust.

And then came the most infuriating cliffhanger!

"Hoshi" turned around, looked at "Uta" with disdain, and was just about to say something...

But the volume ended right there!

This cliffhanger was just ridiculous! Sure, it's common to end on a high note, but cutting off just as a key question is about to be answered? And right when she was about to speak?

It had been half a year since he last saw Kasumigaoka, and her wicked sense of humor had only gotten worse. He couldn't imagine who she might have learned this from.

Well, definitely not from him—he would never string someone along like this, making them itch with curiosity but unable to do anything about it.

"Time for some gaming, then bed!"

Hoshimi decided to stop thinking about "The Strange Dream Chronicles". He tossed the book aside, got up, and went to play some games on his computer.

…

Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka was carefully reading the third volume of "Love Metronome".

She had entered Hoshimi's dream world while working on this volume, and most of its content had been revised time and again under his sarcastic guidance.

This volume was the best-reviewed and best-selling of the five volumes in the series.

For her, it was also the most special volume, even more so than the first volume of "The Strange Dream Chronicles"...

"Hoshimi Kiyokawa..."

Kasumigaoka murmured, her fingers gently brushing the pages as a complex and indescribable emotion flickered in her wine-red eyes.

Tomorrow would be their first meeting, wouldn't it?

Hoshimi, I hope you won't disappoint me...

===

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