"Huh? Why are you staring at me? I asked where you're staying."
Hakuto frowned. He had a feeling that Nao's gaze wasn't exactly friendly—it carried a clear intention…
"I'm staying at your place," Nao said slowly.
"Huh? Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)? What? My place?"
"Your place."
"No, I didn't ask you to repeat it."
Hakuto felt like giving up on life. How could Nao be staying at his house? This was a disaster waiting to happen!
Last time, she merely laid on his bed for a bit, and he almost got chopped to death.
Now she was moving in—wouldn't that just send him straight to the heavens?!
"President… I'm a normally developed guy, you know. There's still a difference between men and women. Isn't this kind of inappropriate?"
"Huh~? Normally developed? You?"
"Why are you so shocked?"
"It's just... we've known each other for so long, and this is the first time I've ever heard you talk about boundaries between men and women."
Nao frowned. "And when you pinned me to the ground and bullied me, did that concept even cross your mind?"
"Do you want to recall why I pinned you down?"
"( ｰ̀εｰ́ ) Wasn't it just because I kicked you…"
Nao clearly knew she wasn't a match for Hakuto, yet she always had to mess with him.
It was like an SM relationship—asking for a beating!
"I'm wondering why you have to stay at my place..." Hakuto paused. "You're not short on money, are you?"
"Being not short on money and saving money are two different things, okay? I learned this from you."
"I'm not that extreme with saving—certainly not to the point of staying at someone of the opposite sex's house."
"Can't I just take it a step further than you in frugality? Don't you always say the younger generation surpasses the old?"
"That's not how that phrase is supposed to be used..."
Hakuto thought he'd already butchered classical sayings pretty badly, but Nao took it even further!
"Just say yes or no!"
"What if I say no?"
"Then I'll pick the lock."
"...Incredible..."
Hakuto took a deep breath—he almost choked to death on the spot.
He thought no one could surpass his level of shamelessness, but apparently, someone had.
Pick the lock?! No wonder she was from the Hoshino Umi. She just casually said illegal stuff like it was nothing.
"We've been sleeping at the base for months. Why's this different now?"
"It's not the same..."
Private and public situations aren't the same, right?
Nao knew perfectly well about Hakuto's shady activities. Saying this now—was she declaring war?
"Relax, you can still bring girls home. I'll pretend I didn't see anything~" Nao said, arms crossed, looking very magnanimous.
Someone might've thought it was Hakuto staying at her place!
Sure, you can pretend you didn't see anything—but can the other girl pretend she didn't see anything?
"Pretend you didn't see it? Who do you think you are, my body double?"
"Then give me a heads-up before you bring girls over? So I can avoid them?"
Looking at Nao's beautiful face, Hakuto felt something was off.
This whole conversation... really felt like the plot of a jilted lover.
Nino already left the stage, and now Nao entered?
Sometimes, Hakuto genuinely didn't believe Nao was a girl. What kind of girl says stuff like this?!
"You can bring girls home, I'll pretend I didn't see it…"
Hakuto thought that line deserved to go down in history. Pretend you didn't see it—and then what? Eavesdrop behind the wall?
"Do you absolutely have to live at my place?" Hakuto raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Honestly, ever since the whole superpower incident, Hakuto's mindset had changed a lot.
At the very least, he didn't keep saying "this has a price" all the time anymore, nor did he value money as heavily as before.
Hakuto had been through life and death. Money became something external. Though he wouldn't say he didn't need it, it clearly wasn't his top priority anymore.
Now, he felt like there were many things more important than money.
Like the people around him—and his own life.
In the past, Hakuto didn't think he was worth much. He was the type who would do anything for money.
But things had changed. Back then, he had nothing and no one—aside from Ginko.
So now, what he carried on his back wasn't just his own burden anymore.
Back then, Hakuto could accept Sayuri's contract without any emotional weight.
But now? If Sayuri came looking to renew it, he'd refuse without hesitation.
If he agreed, he'd hurt a lot of people.
Hakuto wasn't some cold-blooded creature. If you treated him sincerely, he would treat you sincerely in return.
It's just that his sincerity has now been divided among many people...
Hakuto looked at Nao and shook his head.
Although he used to say that anyone who could fall for Nao had to be some kind of god... it seemed like he had become that god himself.
In truth, Hakuto could sense her feelings very clearly by now. He felt like he ought to respond... right?
"...Wait. Am I turning into a tsundere?" Hakuto muttered, surprised.
"A tsundere?"
"President..." Hakuto gently poked Nao's forehead, just like he used to.
"Huh? Why're you poking my head?"
"Nothing. I'll explain it to you later. For now, let's move that table."
"So weird..."
"Enough weirdness. Remember how you said if I brought a girl home, you'd avoid it? Well, maybe go avoid it tonight."
"Huh~? Your execution speed is that high?"
"You've known me long enough."
...
Because Hakuto had been away for a few months, he had to deal with a backlog of school matters.
And due to what he said earlier, Nao really did avoid the situation, choosing to stay at a hotel for the night.
After finishing the paperwork, Hakuto walked out of school and looked up at the thick night sky, sighing.
"I should've known not to take so many clients..."
"I'll find time to settle it..."
The meaning behind "settle" was clear—he was going to cut ties with his past self. At the very least, he wouldn't do that kind of stuff anymore.
Like getting paid to be someone's simp or whatever.
He felt it was time to lay everything out. Now that the biggest trouble was resolved, there was no need to keep things hidden.
"I wonder how Ginko will react when she finds out about the superpowers..."
At the mention of Ginko, Hakuto smiled. As the one who had been with him the longest, the emotions tied to her went without saying.
Ginko was, in the truest sense, Hakuto's first client!
Back then, after Hakuto crushed her in shogi, Ginko just wouldn't stop pestering him for rematches.
At first, Hakuto could still play along. But as time went on, he grew tired of it.
As a transmigrator, Hakuto didn't want to waste time on such things.
But he still remembered the complex expression on Ginko's face when she handed over her pocket money.
Hesitant, worried, even a little angry...
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