Chapter 109: The Unstoppable Urge to Investigate

Thinking of Kanzaki Sou, Xiao Chun Miura subconsciously took out her phone from her pocket and glanced at it.

There were no new messages in the notification bar, and LIME hadn’t popped up any alerts either.

“The next few months…… ”

She muttered softly.

If you can’t show off, and need to build up strength.

Then make good use of this period of ‘daily life.’

To gather intel on that idol.

To solidify her relationship with Kanzaki Sou.

Besides that, just enjoy it…

A life of Xiao Chun Miura, with Parents, with Friends, and hot meals.

The long-haired girl lay on her side, feeling the soft cushion at her waist.

Drowsiness quietly crept in.

***

The first ray of morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, scattering like fine sand over the head of the bed.

Xiao Chun Miura opened her eyes and, unusually, stared at the ceiling in a daze for a while.

Though she’d thought about some plot-related problems before sleeping last night, she didn’t find any clues.

As for her memories of the Game Plot, she wasn’t sure if she simply hadn’t cared back then, or if too much time had passed now.

In any case, without finding anything particularly valuable, Xiao Chun Miura drifted off to sleep.

When morning came, she still felt a bit dazed.

But soon, a feeling completely different from usual, a sense of fullness, welled up inside.

The girl rolled off the bed lightly, careful not to make any noise.

She left her bedroom; the hallway on the second floor was quiet.

She passed by a bedroom door that used to always be half-open, with no one inside.

“Hu… snore… ”

A deep snoring sound faintly seeped through the door.

If it were in the Reality World, she might have found this snoring a bit overwhelming.

But in this moment, in this World of Fiction, the snoring she’d never heard before somehow sounded like the sweetest music.

It was the sound of ‘Existence.’

The breath of ‘life.’

The once empty home was now thoroughly filled by this snore.

Xiao Chun Miura stood at the doorway, silently for a moment.

She didn’t knock or try to wake those Parents.

Feeling the ‘Peace of Mind’ that flowed from the gap in the door, she walked contentedly towards the bathroom.

Like a ship that had drifted for so long, finally departing the port to the sound of the harbor’s whistle—not alone.

***

With a good mood, Xiao Chun Miura stepped through the School Gate.

The heat of the Sports Day still hadn’t fully faded, and a sense of tiredness mixed with lingering excitement remained on the students’ faces.

“Xiao Chun –! Morning!”

Just as she reached the Classroom door, Yui Hori’s energetic voice came flying toward her.

“Yui, good morning; Mio, Yuzuki, good morning.”

Xiao Chun Miura smiled in reply, feeling a natural sense of belonging that made her whole body relax.

The morning classes passed peacefully.

For Xiao Chun Miura, this kind of peace was the most luxurious enjoyment.

No need to worry about the plot, no need to be wary of the Heroine’s gaze—just be an ordinary high school student, sprinting to the store at break to join the Bread Run.

***

Until lunchtime.

Yui Hori was pulling Xiao Chun Miura and the others into a discussion about the afternoon’s Club Activity when a commotion suddenly came from the Classroom door.

“Hey, isn’t that Kondo Haruka from Class 1?”

“Why’d she come to our class?”

“She looks fierce—did she come to pick a fight?”

At the mention of that name, Yui Hori’s expression changed instantly.

She shot to her feet, blocking Xiao Chun Miura like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

“She even dares to come?! ”

Yui Hori gritted her teeth.

“We haven’t even settled yesterday’s score for knocking you over!”

Mio Sato also frowned, setting down her Bento Box with a serious look.

But Xiao Chun Miura wasn’t surprised.

She patted Yui Hori’s shoulder, signaling her to relax.

“It’s fine, Yui.”

“What do you mean, it’s fine! That person is……”

Before she finished, Kondo Haruka had already entered the Classroom.

Today, she didn’t hold her head high like usual, nor did she have yesterday’s aggressive air from the competition.

Her foot was wrapped in thick bandages, and she walked with a limp, but she still refused the help of a girl who tried to support her.

She walked straight to Xiao Chun Miura’s group.

The Classroom instantly fell silent.

All eyes focused on this small corner, the air tense with a sense of ‘is another battle about to start?’

“Hey, Kondo Haruka, what are you here for?”

Yui Hori put her hands on her hips, tone unfriendly.

“If you came to pick a fight, we’re not afraid of you!”

Kondo Haruka glanced at Yui Hori, a complex mix of arrogance, frustration, shame, and resolve in her eyes.

She took a deep breath, as if making a huge decision.

Then, under the shocked gaze of the whole class, she bowed deeply to Yui Hori.

“-I’m sorry!”

Her voice was clear and loud, without a hint of hesitation.

“Eh…?”

Yui Hori was completely stunned, her hands frozen on her hips, her mouth shaped like an O.

“W-what are you doing?”

“During the Borrowed Item Race yesterday, I deliberately blocked you.”

Kondo Haruka straightened, her cheeks flushing but her gaze steady.

“For my own selfishness, for victory, I did something against sportsmanship.”

“Not only did I keep you from finishing the race, I almost got you hurt.”

“That was my fault. I don’t want to make excuses.”

“Really… I’m very sorry!”

After speaking, she turned to Xiao Chun Miura, her eyes a little softer but still tinged with that awkward pride.

“And you, Miura.”

“For pushing you before, and for letting others target you… even if I didn’t do it myself, it was still because of my attitude.”

“I admit, I didn’t like you before, and I was jealous, so I targeted you.”

“That was my fault too. I’m sorry.”

The Classroom was silent.

No one expected the always prideful Kondo Haruka—who never cared about anyone—to apologize publicly.

And so honestly, so straightforwardly.

Yui Hori stared for a long time before she finally snapped out of it.

Looking at the girl who, even while apologizing, stood with her back straight, all the anger inside her deflated like a pricked balloon.

“You… well, since you said all that…”

Yui Hori scratched her head, looking away awkwardly.

“What else can I say? I’m not that petty…”

“Hmph.”

Kondo Haruka snorted softly.

“Whether you forgive me is up to you, but apologizing is my business. I just don’t like owing people.”

After that, she turned to Xiao Chun Miura, a challenge in her gaze.

“And, Miura.”

“I haven’t forgotten about that matter.”

“Even though I apologized this time, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost. From now on… we’re still rivals.”

“No matter what it is, I won’t lose to you!”

Leaving that vague declaration—one only Xiao Chun Miura could truly understand—Kondo Haruka flicked her chestnut curls and strode out of the Classroom.

Her back was still proud, still stubborn.

Only when her figure vanished at the end of the hallway did the Classroom burst back into life.

“Oh my god, Kondo Haruka actually apologized?”

“Is the sun rising in the west?”

“But what did she mean by that last sentence? Rivals?”