"If I can walk out of this room alive today, you don't have to do those hundred sets of test papers."
"Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)? Really?" Yotsuba was a little surprised, as those hundred sets of test papers were truly unbearable.
"Shiratori-sensei, I don't know what's going on, but is it still possible for me to carry you and run now?"
"Yotsuba, it's best if you don't do that..."
Itsuki watched as Nino walked into Hakuto's room and shook her head.
Although she had no idea what had just happened, she could tell that their tutor was definitely in for a rough time.
"Yotsuba… Itsuki, you two are the most obedient students I've ever met..." Hakuto muttered to himself, tilting his head back.
"Shiratori-sensei, don't start leaving your last words now!"
"If I die, tell your dad to burn this month's tutoring fee for me..."
"So you're really going to die, Shiratori-sensei?"
Yotsuba scratched her head, completely confused about the situation.
All she knew was that Rikka had run out of Hakuto's room, and then Ginko kicked Hakuto to the ground while shouting something about beheading.
Itsuki, on the other hand, knew a bit more.
She had just heard Rikka yelling "ghost! ghost!" as she rushed out of the room.
And seeing Hakuto looking like he was waiting for death, Itsuki had every reason to suspect that there was someone else in his room... or maybe, it really was the ghost Rikka had mentioned.
Meanwhile, Nino aggressively pushed open Hakuto's door and turned her gaze toward the balcony.
Just as Rikka had said, a bright and conspicuous rope was hanging there, standing out in the room.
"Miku, did you see this rope the last time you came in?"
Hearing this, Miku shook her head, indicating that she hadn't.
However, Miku felt like something was off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it—just an instinct.
Nino first checked inside the wardrobe, then got down on the floor to inspect under the bed.
Her movements were just like a wife catching a cheating husband.
But after searching everywhere, Nino found nothing unusual. In the end, she could only look at the messy bed and comment calmly.
"Seriously... at least make your bed in the morning."
Now that she had verified Rikka wasn't lying and there was no one else in Hakuto's room, Nino finally sighed in relief.
Most of her anger faded away. However, just as she was about to tidy up Hakuto's messy bed, Ginko, who had been watching from the side, placed her hand on it first.
As Hakuto's childhood friend, Ginko knew every little detail about his daily routine—even the exact time he went to the bathroom at night.
And to her knowledge, Hakuto would never leave his bed unmade in the morning!
Sure enough, the moment Ginko touched the blanket, she felt warmth. At the same time, an unfamiliar scent that didn't belong to Hakuto entered her nose.
"Hmph!!"
With a snap, Ginko broke the folding fan in her hand, her expression turning terrifyingly dark! In the next second, she stormed out of the room.
Nino and Miku, watching Ginko's retreating figure, were momentarily stunned.
But in the next moment, the faint fragrance lingering on the bed reached their noses.
Nino's pupils shrank, and she instinctively placed her hand on the blanket.
"It's warm..." Nino murmured.
This warmth definitely wasn't just the blanket retaining heat—it was the warmth left behind by someone who had recently been sleeping there!
Which meant that not long ago, someone had been lying on this bed—and judging by the scent, it was a girl!
"Shiratori Hakuto!!"
"Hakuto..."
At the same time, the culprit behind all of this was sitting on the balcony of Rikka's room, listening to the commotion downstairs with a victorious smirk.
That's right, Nao had promised Hakuto not to appear in front of everyone.
But the lingering scent and warmth on the bed?
That was beyond her control.
This way, even if Hakuto was questioned later, Nao could claim complete innocence! A perfect plan!
However, just as Miku was about to chase after Nino, she suddenly sensed something odd.
She walked over to the balcony, leaned over the railing, and looked up toward the upper floor.
At that moment, Miku and Nao locked eyes.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Nao hadn't expected Miku to lean out of the balcony to check the floor above.
This led to her failing to activate her ability in time, resulting in a direct stare-down with Miku.
Nao sat on the railing, holding onto it with one hand while gripping her shoes with the other.
Her black-socked feet dangled in the air, swinging lightly.
Looking at Miku's curious face, she greeted her naturally.
"Hello... is there something you need?"
"Hello..." Miku shook her head, momentarily dazed by Nao's calm demeanor.
She didn't know this girl. Initially, she had assumed that Nao was the girl who had been in Hakuto's bed.
But her completely natural attitude made Miku second-guess herself...
"Do you live upstairs?"
"Sort of... why do you ask?"
"It's nothing... sorry for disturbing you..."
Miku wasn't great at socializing. If it had been Nino or Ginko here, they probably would've outright called Nao a sneaky homewrecker.
Miku pulled her head back. She was sure that Rikka had said she lived upstairs...
So who was this other girl upstairs? Rikka's sister? But their hair colors were different...
After thinking it over carefully, Miku concluded that Rikka had lied.
After all, earlier, when Ichika had asked if there was anyone else in Rikka's room, Rikka had said there was a ghost.
If she ruled out supernatural phenomena, then Miku was more inclined to distrust Rikka.
Of course, it wasn't entirely her fault for being skeptical—Nao did have supernatural abilities, after all...
Meanwhile, back with Hakuto, he had been waiting for a long time but hadn't heard any noise from Nao. Not even an argument.
Just as he started wondering if she had found a good hiding spot, Ginko suddenly came flying in with a kick—if he hadn't dodged in time, he would've been dead for real!
"Gin... Ginko..." Hakuto barely avoided the attack. He could tell from the sheer force behind it that this kick could've actually killed him—even though Ginko wasn't wearing shoes.
"You said you didn't know?"
"I really don't know!" Hakuto swallowed nervously, forcing himself to stay calm.
Ginko pointed at Rikka with the broken half of her folding fan.
"Hakuto... did she really climb down from upstairs?"
Ginko had assumed that the scent and warmth on the bed came from Rikka.
After all, she hadn't seen anyone else.
"Didn't Rikka already explain?"
"I want you to say it!"
"I really don't know!"
For a moment, Hakuto thought that Ginko had caught Nao, but then he realized that Nao hadn't actually left his room. So he decided to keep playing dumb.
As for why Ginko was questioning him, he figured it was because she had noticed something unusual about the bed...
"Still playing dumb?" Ginko's expression darkened even further. She couldn't believe Hakuto was still pretending.
"I really don't know... It's always just been me in my room. I don't even know when Rikka climbed down..."
In his mind, Nao didn't count as a person, so technically, he wasn't lying...
But then Nino and Miku stepped forward, picking up where Ginko left off.
"Then whose scent is on the bed?!"
"And the lingering warmth..."
Hakuto was done for!
If he had known this would happen, he would've thrown Nao into the bathroom!
At least in there, people go in one at a time, and with her abilities, she could've handled it!
Now, he absolutely could not admit to her presence. He even considered using his computational abilities to escape...
To think that he, the top student of both Toyonosaki Academy and Hoshinoumi Academy, the feared school tyrant, the genius with computational abilities, and a future world savior—
A former cold-blooded killer in his past life—
Was now being interrogated by three girls.
What kind of nonsense was this?!
And worst of all, he couldn't escape, or the consequences would be even worse!
More importantly, if he ran, he'd lose three paying clients!
Money! His precious money!
This was the biggest crisis in Hakuto's career! Even worse than when Ginko visited his school...
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