Eriko tried her best to hold back her tears, but it was pointless.
They fell anyway—quiet, trembling droplets that turned into a steady stream, like rainwater finally finding its way down.
I quickly pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket and offered it to her.
"Here…"
She didn't refuse.
She took it with shaking fingers, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed and sniffed softly.
Between those broken breaths, she muttered in disbelief, "Why…? How can I be selected…?"
Watching her, I suddenly realized something I had overlooked—she was still wearing her school uniform.
She must've come straight home when she got captured.
Meaning… she had no other clothes with her.
And judging from the hollow look in her eyes, she probably hadn't eaten anything since lunch, either.
I stood up immediately and went to fetch one of my spare towels.
When I returned, I handed it to her gently.
"Eri," I said softly, "if you feel like it, go take a bath. Use my clothes for now. All the outfits are in my room—the wardrobe there… that's my room."
Still wiping her swollen eyes, Eri looked at me, then toward the room I pointed at.
She nodded slowly, her movements small and fragile.
In that moment, none of her usual delinquent attitude remained.
She looked nothing like the fiery, stubborn girl the school knew—only a scared, exhausted fifteen-year-old trying to hold herself together.
That's how completely messed up her situation was. But I didn't try to comfort her again—not right now.
If I pushed too much, it might seem like I had some ulterior motive, and the last thing I wanted was to make her even more anxious.
So I kept a bit of distance and simply said, "I'll go buy something for us to eat… okay?"
She nodded again, quiet and obedient in a way that didn't suit her at all.
I gave her a reassuring smile before stepping out.
Luckily, the department store was close to the apartment. I headed straight there, picking up new clothes for her.
Most of the displays were full of premium brands and high-quality outfits with ridiculous price tags, but honestly, money was the least of my concerns right now.
I just needed her to have something clean and comfortable to wear.
I selected four sets of casual clothes, using her measurements from the package paperwork to remember her size.
A store clerk helped me double-check everything—once she heard the body details, she guided me through options that would fit Eriko comfortably, even adding suggestions for a simple, slightly formal set.
I also grabbed five sets of underwear.
I'm not entirely sure how she'll feel about me after this, but there's no way I can ask her to come with me to choose clothes while she's still wearing that love-doll collar around her neck; that would only make her feel even worse.
So I decided to handle it myself.
The total cost for everything—four sets of casual outfits, three formal sets, one high-end party dress, and five sets of underwear—ended up being 283,500 yen, which was more than what I spent to buy her in the first place.
The irony of that made me let out a dry, helpless smile right there in the aisle.
While looking through the regular clothing sections, my eyes drifted to a nearby rack labeled Love Doll Apparel, where they were selling maid outfits and some pretty revealing, borderline erotic costumes.
I paused for a moment, stared at them, then simply shook my head and walked away. That was the last thing she needed to see anywhere near her right now.
After finishing up the clothing purchases, I headed to the electronics store next door and bought her a phone—a Samsung Galaxy S6 (32GB)—along with a prepaid physical SIM card.
The entire set cost me around 120,000 yen, which felt surprisingly cheap compared to everything else I had spent today.
On the way back home, I didn't forget to buy food.
I picked up two Gyudon—beef bowls—and two Katsudon—pork cutlet bowls—just in case she was really hungry.
By the time I reached the apartment, almost three hours had already passed.
My hands were completely full of bags, so I opened the door with a gentle kick.
As soon as it clicked open, Eriko—who had fallen asleep on the sofa—shot awake with a startled expression, blinking in confusion as she looked at me.
"Oop—sorry, I didn't know you were sleeping…"
The moment she recognized it was me, the tension drained from her face.
She rushed over without hesitation and relieved me of the bags, her movements quick and almost instinctive.
Seeing her like that brought an involuntary smile to my face.
She had changed into my spare clothes—a loose black shirt and a pair of shorts I used to wear last year.
On her, they looked oversized, soft, and unexpectedly cute.
Standing there, blinking sleepily while holding the bags, she looked absolutely adorable… like a small, timid rabbit trying her best to act calm opposite to her real personality.
I felt something inside me snap—some deep instinct urging me to pull her into a warm hug just because she looked so damn cute.
But I held myself back. Barely.
Did I really still have those clothes in my cupboard?
How did she even find them?
"What are these?"
Her gentle, melodic voice snapped me back to reality.
When I looked at her, she was staring up at me with those round, curious eyes, holding the bags in her slender hands.
"Those are your clothes," I said, smiling faintly, "and this is your phone."
I took out the phone I bought for her and held it out.
She didn't take it immediately.
Instead, she hesitated, her expression tightening into something complicated.
"W-why would you… buy those…?" she murmured softly.
"What? You don't want the clothes and the phone?" I raised an eyebrow, pretending to be disappointed.
"I picked every single one of them carefully for you… Since you don't like them, I guess I'll just return everything, then."
She stiffened instantly, eyes widening in panic.
"W-wait! I didn't mean—"
Seeing her flustered, cheeks turning pink as she tried to explain herself, I couldn't help it.
The laughter burst out of me.
"Pff—hahaha…"
I lightly karate-chopped the top of her head with the newly bought phone while laughing, not hard enough to hurt—just enough to snap her out of that overthinking spiral.
"Don't think too much," I said, grinning.
"Here, the food—eat it while it's still hot. I'm going to take a bath."
I didn't give her any chance to answer; I just slipped into the bathroom and shut the door.
When I came back out, wearing a casual T-shirt and shorts, I found her sitting on the sofa with the beef bowl.
She was devouring it with her chopsticks like someone who hadn't eaten in days.
I picked up the remaining beef bowl and one pork cutlet bowl for myself, pushing the last katsudon toward her.
Then I sat beside her and started eating.
She kept glancing at me between bites—not cautiously like before, but more… curious. As if she was slowly getting used to having me around. Maybe she really was.
After a few more moments, she finally asked in that soft, sweet voice of hers, "Kiyoshi… how did you have so much money to buy all of these things?"
Of course. Asking about money right away.
"I saved it from my pocket money," I said casually.
"Heh~ your parents must be rich then…" she muttered.
'Not as much as me, but still…'
I shrugged. "Yeah, they are. Both of them work as stock-broking agents."
"Where are they now…?" she asked.
I've never shared my story with anyone, so nobody really knows about me.
Eri's voice finally sounded closer to the Eri I knew from school, not the broken girl who just woke up from a nightmare.
That alone made me smile.
"My parents divorced when I was five," I explained.
"I lived with my dad—at least, until four years ago. After that… it pretty much became rare to even see him."
She chewed another piece of beef and rice before speaking again.
"So you've been living here alone since our middle school?"
"Pretty much… yeah."
"How lucky~ you get to live here by yourself, without worrying about paying bills…" she said, sounding almost envious.
Seeing her personality slowly returning—the tone, the expressions—I felt a bit relieved.
"Financially, I was blessed," I admitted with a small smile.
But then her expression shifted.
Her brows tightened, lips pressed into a thin line.
Her voice became quiet, serious.
"So… what will become of me? What are you planning to do with me?"
I paused, chopsticks halfway to my mouth. The question hit harder than I expected.
"Honestly… I don't know," I said slowly.
"When I got the message saying you were going to be captured for the love doll program, I panicked. I didn't want anything to happen to you. I ran straight out of class and went to the government facility to buy you as fast as I could."
I lowered my gaze a little.
"I didn't think about what happens after. Really… I still don't know."
Eriko's expression stiffened the moment I mentioned the message I had received.
"Y-you knew that I was going to be captured?!" she shouted, her voice cracking with anger and disbelief.
"Yeah…" I replied quietly.
Her face twisted with frustration as she snapped, "Why didn't you tell me?!"
Instead of reacting to her anger, I simply looked at her and asked in a calm tone, "What would you have done if I told you?"
The question hit her harder.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Her glare softened, her shoulders slowly drooping as the fight left her.
She knew—painfully well—that she couldn't have done anything.
There was no running, no hiding, no resisting once the government marked someone.
Her silence said everything.
And as she looked down, struggling to swallow the truth, I could feel the weight of the situation settling between us.
What I did… was the only possible choice back then.
And she understood that too.