The first rays of the morning sun filtered through the bedroom curtains, illuminating the peaceful scene inside.
After a deep sleep, Kamiki slowly opened his eyes.
He was completely surrounded.
Shiro was sleeping peacefully under his right arm, while Yuki was curled up on his left.
Kiyone lay with her head resting on his chest, fast asleep with an expression that blended utter exhaustion and pure bliss.
A unique, indescribable scent filled the room, washing over Kamiki’s senses.
The girls weren’t wearing perfume, yet the natural, floral, and subtly sweet fragrance radiating from their skin enveloped the entire space.
Kamiki took a deep breath.
*’Not even the finest perfume could be this captivating,’* he thought to himself.
His attention shifted to Yuki, who was curled up right next to him.
Seeing her looking so relaxed stirred a mischievous urge inside him.
Reaching out, he gave her hip a light but firm slap.
“Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead,” Kamiki said, his voice echoing softly yet authoritatively in the morning quiet.
“It’s our first day at ANHS.
We don’t want to be late.” Yuki slowly blinked her eyes open at the sudden impact.
A look of surprise crossed her face, quickly turning into a whine.
She rubbed her eyes, trying to sit up.
“Mmm…
Kamiki-honey…
just a few more minutes,” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep and a bit cranky.
“Come on, hop to it,” Kamiki said, pulling himself out of bed.
“Time to get moving.” Yuki groaned and flopped back onto her pillow, pulling the blanket over her head.
But when she saw Kamiki actually getting up, she threw in the towel.
“Fine, fine…
I’m up.
But you owe me ice cream today because of that slap,” she said with a giggle.
Meanwhile, Shiro opened her eyes slightly.
Without uttering a single word, she just watched Kamiki.
Her gaze was sleepy but filled with her usual affection.
As for Kiyone, she flinched slightly at the sound of the slap.
When she opened her eyes, there was no trace of last night’s shyness.
She looked at Kamiki and smiled.
Slowly sitting up, she tried to adjust her clothes, looking into his eyes with a mix of embarrassment and absolute peace.
Kamiki sat on the edge of the bed.
The girls were all still half-asleep.
“Up, everyone,” Kamiki said cheerfully.
“We’re burning daylight.” Yuki kicked off the blanket.
“I’m hungry,” she whined.
Shiro sat up and brushed her hair into place.
“Breakfast is ready,” she said succinctly.
They all headed to the bathroom together to brush their teeth, turning it into a silent, unspoken race.
Afterward, the girls put on their school uniforms.
They all looked flawless.
Kamiki watched them, bursting with pride.
“We’re ready,” Shiro said, checking her reflection in the mirror.
When they went downstairs, the table was already set.
Matsuo stood there, straight-backed as always.
“Good morning, Shirogane-sama,” Matsuo said, bowing.
“Good morning, young ladies.” “Good morning, Matsuo,” Kamiki replied, pulling out a chair.
“Breakfast looks amazing,” Yuki said, taking her seat.
Matsuo smiled.
“I prepared it specifically for you.” “Thank you, Matsuo-san,” Kiyone said, reaching gently for her plate.
Matsuo stepped closer to Shirogane.
“Would you like me to drive you to school, sir?” he asked.
“The car is ready.” Kamiki set his fork down, looked at Matsuo, and shook his head.
“No, Matsuo,” Kamiki said.
“I want to try taking the bus.” Matsuo bowed his head.
“Understood, sir.” Kamiki stood up.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Time is ticking.” The girls stood up and grabbed their bags, their excitement palpable.
“We’re off,” Kamiki said.
“Are you nervous?” Kamiki asked, looking at Yuki.
“Incredibly,” Yuki said.
“Can you hear my heart?” She placed her hand on her chest.
It was indeed racing.
“ANHS awaits us,” Kiyone said, her eyes sparkling.
“Three years,” Shiro added.
“For our freedom.” After walking for a bit, they reached the bus stop.
While the girls sat on the bench, Kamiki stood, as there were no seats left.
“When is the bus coming?” Yuki asked.
“Very soon,” Shiro replied, checking her watch.
“Here it comes,” Kiyone pointed out, standing up.
“Finally,” Kamiki said, taking a deep breath.
“Let’s go,” Kamiki said, boarding first.
The girls followed him inside.
Finding empty seats, they sat down side by side.
Kamiki scanned the bus for familiar faces.
Sitting right in front of Yuki and Shiro was Amikura Mako.
Further back, that idiot Ishizaki was shouting at someone.
Yuki leaned forward and tapped Mako on the shoulder.
“Hi there,” Yuki said with a smile.
Mako turned around, startled.
“Hello?” “I’m Tsubaki Yuki,” she said.
“You’re going to ANHS too, right?” “Yes,” Mako said.
“I’m Mako.
Amikura Mako.” “Mako,” Yuki said.
“Your name is so cute.” “Thank you,” Mako replied.
“Yours is too.” “First day,” Yuki said.
“Are you excited?” “You have no idea,” Mako said.
“What about you?” “Super excited,” Yuki said.
“My heart is pounding.” Mako smiled.
“Tsubaki-san, which class are you in?” Yuki shook her head.
“You can just call me Yuki-chan, Mako-chan.” Mako beamed.
“Okay, Yuki-chan!” “I’m in Class B,” Yuki said.
“What about you?” Mako practically bounced in her seat.
“No way!” she gasped.
“I’m in Class B too!” “Really?” Yuki’s eyes widened.
“Yes!” Mako cheered.
“We’re in the same class!” Yuki clapped her hands.
“We’re so lucky!” Mako then turned to Shiro.
“What about you?
Are you in Class B too?” Shiro fixed her eyes on Mako.
“No,” she said coldly.
“I’m in Class C.” Mako’s smile faded slightly.
“Oh, that’s a bummer.” “It’s fine,” Shiro said.
“We’re in the same school.” “True,” Mako agreed.
“We can still hang out.” As Kamiki was listening to their conversation, a crumpled piece of paper smacked him right in the head.
He snapped his head back, but everyone was acting innocent.
The paper ball fell to the floor.
Kamiki picked it up and slowly smoothed out the wrinkles.
It was completely blank.
Nothing was written on it.
Kamiki looked back again, scanning the rows.
Morishita Ai was sitting directly behind him, staring intently out the window.
Her face was completely expressionless, practically screaming that she was hiding her guilt.
Kamiki smiled faintly.
“Did you throw this?” he asked.
Morishita acted as if she hadn’t heard him, keeping her head turned away.
“I’m talking to you,” Kamiki said, his voice low but clear.
Morishita slowly turned around and fixed her eyes on him.
“Me?” she asked, her voice completely flat.
“Yes, you,” Kamiki said, holding up the paper.
“I didn’t throw it,” Morishita said.
“Paper likes to fly.” Kamiki twirled the paper between his fingers, locking eyes with her.
“Paper likes to fly,” he repeated.
“But this one landed directly on my head.” Morishita Ai continued to stare without blinking.
“Perhaps your head is an attractive center of gravity,” she deadpanned.
“Like gravity itself.” Kamiki smiled internally.
This girl was exactly as he had imagined.
Her bizarre personality was precisely what made her one of the most beloved characters in this universe.
Kamiki widened his smile, letting his gaze soften into something a bit more mysterious.
“Gravity, huh?” Kamiki said.
“Interesting theory.
But gravity pulls objects down.
This paper, however, took direct aim.” Morishita stared back without a single blink.
“Taking aim requires intent,” she said.
“An inanimate object has no intent.
Therefore, I cannot be the culprit.” Kamiki was taken aback.
He stared at her face; not a single muscle twitched.
“You’re a very strange person,” Kamiki said.
“But I like you.
What’s your name?” Suddenly, Morishita Ai froze.
Her entire body went rigid.
She locked her eyes onto Kamiki’s, her gaze deepening as she went completely serious.
“My name is Doctor Steven Strange,” Morishita said, her voice icy cold.
Kamiki raised his eyebrows, thinking she was joking.
But she wasn’t cracking a smile.
“Excuse me?” Kamiki said.
“I am here on a journey through the multiverse,” Morishita said in a deadpan voice.
“This bus is an anomaly.” Yuki laughed from the front seat.
“Kamiki-honey, she’s pulling your leg.” “I think she’s completely serious,” Kiyone said, watching in sheer bewilderment.
Kamiki narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the girl.
Was Morishita really like this?
He racked his brain, remembering that she was an eccentric character with a unique style in the original series, but he didn’t recall her going so far as to claim she was literally Doctor Strange.
Kamiki smiled faintly.
He didn’t want to drag this out and draw a massive scene in the middle of the bus.
With a sudden movement, he clapped his hands together.
A sharp *slap* echoed.
“Alright,” Kamiki said cheerfully.
“Enough games.
You played the part beautifully, Doctor.
But seriously, what’s your real name?” Morishita Ai paused for a second.
The cosmic, deep, and mysterious aura she had just put on evaporated into thin air.
“I am Morishita Ai,” she said, her voice returning to its initial monotonous, stable drone.
Kamiki couldn’t help but be inwardly impressed by this sudden shift.
“So that’s your real name,” Kamiki said.
“Nice to meet you, Morishita-san.” “Likewise,” Morishita said, though there wasn’t a single hint of pleasure on her face.
She prepared to look back out the window.
Mako turned around from the front seat and giggled.
“Morishita-san is really fun!” Yuki chimed in, laughing along.
“I totally agree!
For a second there, I actually believed she was a wizard.” “Our definitions of ‘fun’ seem to differ a bit,” Shiro muttered.
Kiyone offered a gentler smile.
“I think she’s just trying to be friendly.
In her own way, of course.” Inwardly, Kamiki agreed with Kiyone.
He figured an emotionally detached, robotic character like Morishita Ai was trying to establish communication in her own style because she found them interesting.
For someone like her, that was a huge step.
Yuki called out to the back in a cheerful tone.
“Morishita-san, which class are you in anyway?” Morishita Ai slowly turned her head away from the window.
“A, I believe,” she said, sounding slightly puzzled.
Hearing this, Kamiki smiled.
“Then we’ll be in the same class,” he said, looking at Morishita.
“Our journey continues even after we get off the bus.” “Let us get along well then, Harem-kun,” Morishita said.
Kamiki froze completely.
The words caught in his throat.
“Pffft, Hahahahaha!!” It was the first time the three girls had ever seen Kamiki completely dumbfounded like this.
Yuki giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Harem-kun?
Wow, Morishita-san figured out the situation in seconds,” she teased.
Kamiki quickly tried to compose himself.
He cleared his throat and looked at Morishita.
“Harem-kun?
Isn’t that a bit of a hasty analysis, Morishita-san?” Without breaking composure, Morishita Ai looked at the girls, then back at Kamiki.
“I think not,” she said, without even raising her voice.
“You are surrounded by many females.
This is a harem formation.” Kamiki raised an eyebrow.
He wanted to beat this girl’s logic using her own weapon.
“Well, that may be true,” he said, leaning forward slightly.
“But right now, you are also surrounding me, Morishita-san.
Does that mean you are part of the formation too?” Morishita Ai stopped dead in her tracks.
Within seconds, her eyes widened to dinner plates.
She threw her head back in an exaggerated motion and recoiled into her seat as if she were facing a fatal virus, pulling away as far as possible.
“Do you wish to go out with me?” she asked.
Her voice sounded horrified, but her facial features were so rigid that the bad acting screamed volumes.
Kamiki’s patience was pushed to its limit.
“No, that’s not what I said!” he snapped.
“I was just pointing out the flaw in your logic.” This time, Morishita Ai pulled a sudden maneuver, screwing up her face.
She brought her hands to her eyes, making strange, sobbing noises.
“Am I not beautiful?” she said in a tearful tone.
“You rejected me instantly.
My heart has shattered like a fragile leaf.” Everyone on the bus was watching her “tragic” performance, but there was one glaring issue: her acting skills were utterly atrocious.
Not a single tear fell from her eyes, and the fake sorrow in her voice wasn’t fooling anyone.
She looked exactly like an elementary school child being forced to perform in a school play.
Yuki couldn’t hold it in and burst into a loud laugh.
“Hahaha!
Morishita-san, you are unbelievable!” she cried, clutching her stomach.
“That might be the worst acting I’ve ever seen in my life!” Mako was doubled over in the front seat, laughing hysterically.
“Oh, Morishita-san…
Please don’t ever change,” she gasped, wiping away tears.
“Stay exactly like this.” Even Shiro couldn’t maintain her strict, distant demeanor.
The corners of her lips tugged upward.
“Kamiki-kun, looks like you’ve met a formidable opponent,” she teased.
“She’s already got you cornered.” Kamiki took a deep breath to calm down.
This girl was proving every second why she was one of the author’s favorite characters.
“Alright, Sorcerer Supreme,” Kamiki said, raising his hands in defeat.
“Let’s retire your acting career right here.
Otherwise, everyone on this bus is going to get the wrong idea.” Morishita Ai instantly dropped her hands from her face.
The tearful tone vanished in an instant.
“Understood,” Morishita said.
“The drama is over.” Kamiki breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good.” “But I have a question,” Morishita said suddenly, locking her eyes onto Kamiki.
Kamiki sighed patiently.
“Fine, shoot.” Morishita leaned forward, her gaze turning dead serious.
“What did you do to gather these girls around you?” she asked.
Kamiki was surprised.
He hadn’t expected her to ask that.
Morishita stared at Kamiki like a curious student hanging on a teacher’s every word.
She didn’t even blink.
She wanted to know the secret.
Kamiki laughed internally.
He decided to answer her using pure anime logic; she was exactly the type to buy into it.
He wiped all emotion from his face, letting his voice drop into a mysterious tone.
“Every single day, 100 push-ups,” Kamiki said.
Morishita listened intently.
“100 sit-ups,” Kamiki continued.
The girl nodded in approval.
“And a 10-kilometer run,” Kamiki concluded.
Morishita Ai froze.
Her eyes lit up as if the gates to a new world had just swung open.
Looking at Kamiki with profound awe, as if she had just been granted access to a supreme secret, she quickly stood up and faced him directly.
She bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle, lowering her head in deep respect.
“Sensei!” Morishita declared solemnly.
“I will absolutely give it my all.” Kamiki froze.
The girl had just called him ‘sensei.’ “You don’t need to call me that,” he stammered.
“No, you have earned it,” Morishita insisted.
“I begin tomorrow.” Mako was practically crying from laughter in the front seat.
“Morishita-san…
You are amazing!” Just then, the bus lurched to a halt with a heavy hiss of air brakes.
It pulled through the massive main gates of ANHS, and the sprawling campus buildings came into full view.
“We’re here,” Shiro said, taking Kamiki’s hand.
“Alright,” Kamiki said.
“Time to head to class.” Yuki bounced out of the front seat, grabbing Mako’s hand tightly.
“Come on, Mako-chan, Class B awaits!” She turned back just as she reached the bus doors, winking and waving.
“See you later, Kamiki-kun!
Take care of yourself!” With that, she stepped off the bus.
Right behind them, Shiro and Kiyone made their move.
Shiro leaned in close to Kamiki’s ear.
“Be careful in Class A.
Especially around your new…
student,” she whispered mischievously.
Kiyone also offered a slight bow with that sweet smile still playing on her lips.
The two girls stepped off the bus together, blending into the crowd as they went their separate ways.
As Kamiki watched them go, a sudden silence fell over the bus—or at least, over his row.
Taking a deep breath, he was about to head for the door when that familiar, mechanical voice piped up from behind him once again.
“Harem-kun,” Morishita Ai said, matching her stride to his as she pulled up alongside him.
“Shall we walk to class together?” Kamiki paused, turning his head to look at her with an incredulous look.
“Weren’t I just your ‘sensei’ a moment ago?” he asked.
Morishita Ai shrugged indifferently, as if she were stating the most logical fact in the world.
She didn’t blink once.
“That was then,” Morishita deadpanned.
“Furthermore,” she continued, her tone completely unchanged.
“Since your harem has departed, would you like me to be your temporary girlfriend until they return?” Kamiki took a step down the bus stairs.
This girl’s unpredictable outbursts and absurd logic chains were starting to drive him completely insane.
*Fine,* he thought.
If Morishita wanted to play a game by her own rules, there was no harm in playing along.
In fact, it would be much more entertaining this way.
He paused right as he stepped off the bus, turning slightly toward the girl trailing behind him.
“Sure,” Kamiki said, his voice low but firm.
“You can be my girlfriend.” Morishita opened her mouth to speak, but Kamiki cut her off by raising a finger.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“But on one condition.
You have to keep it a secret.
No one can know.” Morishita Ai went entirely rigid for a moment.
Within seconds, her eyes practically sparked.
It was as if a massive revelation had just shattered her monotonous facade.
She brought her hands up to her chest, clenching them into small fists.
“How thrilling,” Morishita whispered.
For the first time, the robotic edge in her voice gave way to a childlike excitement.
“Sensei has assigned me a top-secret mission.
Secret Agent Girlfriend Phase: Active.” Kamiki just chuckled softly at her over-the-top reaction.
Without pressing her any further, he turned on his heel.
Striking out into the dense crowd of students filling the courtyard, he headed toward the Class A building, leaving Morishita behind to simmer in her own fantasy world.
“Wait for me, sensei!” Morishita called out after him.
Paying her no mind, Kamiki kept his stride steady and kept moving toward the classroom.
Hoping to drown out the voice of the “secret agent” behind him and avoid drawing curious glances from the courtyard, he quickened his pace.
He slipped like a shadow into the thick crowd of students.
He veered right, slipped past a tree, and sharply cut left.
When he glanced back a few seconds later, he saw Morishita Ai marching with her rigid, exaggerated gait in the exact opposite direction—likely having turned down the wrong corridor according to her “target tracking” rules.
“Finally,” Kamiki muttered, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Creative intelligence only goes so far; pure speed wins every time.” Turning back around, he took a wide stride toward the main entrance of the Class A building.
Right at that moment, he failed to notice a figure suddenly emerging from the crowd.
He was moving too fast to stop.
He crashed right into something.
Or rather, he *thought* he crashed.
Because what he felt wasn’t a solid chest or a jarring impact.
It felt as though a soft, fluffy cotton ball had gently tapped against his chest.
Kamiki knit his brows, slowly lowering his gaze.
The first thing to enter his field of vision was a cascade of pure white, smooth, wavy hair.
Immediately following that was an elegant school beret and a slender, graceful cane held tightly in her hand.
Before he could help himself, the first words that crossed Kamiki’s mind slipped past his lips.
“A child?” Kamiki blurted out, unable to hide his surprise.
The petite figure before him slowly lifted her head.
Those ice-blue, deep eyes that seemed to see through everything locked directly onto Kamiki’s.
At the corners of her lips, that famous, arrogant, yet enchanting smirk appeared—one that managed to be both mesmerizing and chilling all at once.
She tapped her cane lightly against the ground.
Tap.
“How rude, Kamiki-kun,” Sakayanagi Arisu said.
Her voice was so melodic, so calm, that the bustling noise of the courtyard seemed to vanish in an instant.
“Is that really the first reaction you give upon meeting a lady?” Kamiki froze on the spot.
He knew exactly who the girl standing before him was.
The absolute ruler of Class A, a genius, and the most dangerous figure outside of the White Room: Sakayanagi Arisu.
And what’s more, she knew his name directly.