When Yami Tsukishiro returned to reality, he found himself standing on the school rooftop.
But night had already fallen.
"It's fine now… there's no need to go back to class anymore."
Buzz buzz!
The phone in his pocket vibrated wildly the moment the signal came back.
Lighting up the screen, he saw a flood of notifications. Among them, only one contact had left notes—his teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka.
Hiratsuka Shizuka:
"Where did you run off to? What Happened?Your class is gone. Did your wings stiffen after becoming a superpowered brat?"
Five minutes later
Hiratsuka Shizuka:
"Fine, Shinomiya will personally ask for leave on your behalf. Just remember to reply if nothing happened. That's a teacher's concern."
Yami chuckled softly.
"Haha, if you're worried, just say so."
During those five minutes, she had called over a dozen times. Shaking his head, he couldn't help but laugh before finally typing out a reply.
Yami Tsukishiro: "Sorry, I had to deal with a few things and forgot to request leave in advance. That's my fault."
Within seconds, a reply popped back.
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "So you do know how to reply to messages. You can't have been that busy. What, were you out fighting monsters?"
Yami Tsukishiro: "Not quite. Like I said, just some personal matters. I'll be more careful next time."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Forget it, forget it. As long as you're not hurt. I really don't want to one day be stuck collecting the corpse of my own student."
Yami Tsukishiro: "You're overthinking. Honestly, I worry more about my great teacher, an ordinary person, getting eaten by a monster one day."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Tsk… get lost."
Closing Hiratsuka-sensei's message box, Yami noticed two other numbers.
They were unfamiliar at first glance, but the texts clearly introduced themselves—Utaha and Eriri.
Without hesitation, Yami added them as friends. Almost instantly, they invited him into their chat group.
The moment Yami Tsukishiro added Utaha and Eriri, the group chat lit up.
Chisato: "? Why are there two new members joining so late at night? Did DA arrange this?"
Takina: "Impossible. This is a private group we made ourselves."
Eriri: "?? Excuse me, why is this group called 'Yami Harem'?! For the record—I'm Yami-kun's girlfriend!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Oh? Then maybe we're short one more member to complete the set."
Chisato: "…So it really is you."
Kurumi: "Fufufu~ they were invited in by Yami. Guess that makes them special."
Yami Tsukishiro: "Yeah, I brought them in to keep communication simple."
Yami Tsukishiro: "@Eriri, @Utaha — don't worry. I'm safe. I just got back."
Eriri: "…Good. I was worried, you know."
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "So Yami-kun didn't get into any real trouble?"
Yami Tsukishiro: "Nope. If anything, things turned out in my favor."
Mizuki: "Heh. Judging by how you're dodging the details, something did happen this afternoon."
Yami Tsukishiro: "Let's not dig into that now. Anyway—introductions. Chisato, Takina, Kurumi, Mizuki—they're my official contacts. We'll be working together from here on."
Yami Tsukishiro: "And when they're not in the field, they're part-timers at LycoReco Café. If you need anything, you can go through them."
Mizuki: "Part-timers, huh? That's a nice way of putting it."
Chisato: "Ehh? Yami-kun, don't make us sound like sketchy mercenaries. We serve great coffee too, you know!"
Eriri: "…Wait, what kind of group did I just join?"
Utaha: "Judging by the name, a rather obvious one."
Kurumi: "Exactly. Yami Harem. Very fitting, don't you think?"
Eriri: "Not fitting at all!"
Mizuki: "By the way, Yami. Didn't you say you'd help me out with some private work? The kind that doesn't involve money changing hands?"
Yami Tsukishiro: "Haha, relax. I'll come by in two days. I won't let your request go unpaid."
Mizuki: "Then let me know in advance. I'll need time to prepare."
Eriri: "…Prepare what?"
Mizuki: "…Wedding."
Eriri: "???"
Yami ignored Kurumi's joke, slipped his phone into his pocket, and got ready to leave.
But just as he stepped off the rooftop, he spotted a shadow sneaking into the campus.
"…Yukino?"
Even in the darkness, Yami Tsukishiro's eyes remained sharp. He instantly recognized her figure.
Why is she here at school so late?
He watched as Yukinoshita Yukino walked across the courtyard, heading toward the school garden.
Curious, Yami trailed behind at a distance. He saw her crouch down, shining the light from her phone into the grass, then moving to another spot.
"Where did you go…?" Yukino murmured, her voice tinged with quiet frustration.
"Meow~"
A sudden cat's cry broke the silence. Yukino's expression lit up instantly.
She hurried toward the sound and stopped beneath a large tree.
The meow came again—from above.
Shining her phone's flashlight upward, she spotted a small white kitten curled on a high branch, its thin body trembling.
"Found you…" Yukino whispered with relief.
She had first seen the kitten earlier that evening while leaving school. Its frail, pitiful appearance had stayed in her mind.
She couldn't ignore it, so after going home she bought some cat treats and returned to campus.
But now, the little stray had climbed up the tree.
"Kitty, come down," she coaxed softly.
Of course, the cat didn't understand. Instead, it shrank back, pupils narrowing into vertical slits, wary of her presence.
"…." Yukino bit her lip, unsure of what to do next.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
The sudden voice behind her made her jump. She spun around, accidentally shining the flashlight directly into someone's face.
"Yami… Tsukishiro?" she said in surprise.
"Oh, Yukinoshita-san. Out so late at night? Why come back to school instead of heading home?" Yami greeted her casually, pretending ignorance as though this was just a chance encounter.
"…." Yukino didn't reply right away. Instead, her brows knitted in faint suspicion.
"And you? Why are you here, Tsukishiro-kun?"
"Well…" Yami lifted the bag in his hand as proof. "I had something to do at home this afternoon, so I asked for leave. But I forgot something important at school, so I came back to pick it up."
That explanation was, at least, close enough to the truth.
From Yukino's perspective, it made sense—after all, Tsukishiro hadn't been in class that afternoon.
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