"I already told you last time, it's true."
Byakuya spoke frankly. "That said, being wary of you is also true. The two aren't mutually exclusive."
"Then it can only count as liking me a little bit, right? If you really liked me—if you were head over heels for me—you wouldn't have refused my request."
Rize said this with a hint of complaint.
"I'm definitely not brainless enough for that. I'm not a masochist. Letting you eat my flesh whenever you want? That would be insane."
Byakuya replied with an exasperated look.
"But speaking of which, if you really do like me, shouldn't I respond properly?"
Rize suddenly asked.
"That's up to you."
Byakuya could boldly tell Rize he liked her without caring whether she accepted or rejected him.
Most transmigrators could probably maintain this kind of attitude when facing characters they admired.
"That casual attitude of yours really doesn't match what you claim to feel."
Rize immediately shot back.
"But I do like you. That much is definitely true."
Byakuya said it just as directly as before.
"Fine, I get it. But comparatively speaking, I'd still rather see you as food for now."
Rize smiled. "So when I develop those kinds of feelings for you—or when you're completely head over heels for me—I'll give you a proper response then."
"Mm. By the way, have you ever thought about going to school?"
Byakuya suddenly changed the subject.
"Not interested. Sounds boring."
Rize replied offhandedly.
"Fair enough..."
...
After hanging around campus for a while, Byakuya and Rize headed back.
They parted ways along the route, each returning to their own home.
After lunch, Byakuya took a short nap, then left on time to catch the subway to Ward 23, preparing for the afternoon's internship.
He'd agreed with the other interns yesterday to meet at the Ward 23 subway station.
When the train reached a certain stop along the way, Byakuya happened to encounter Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa boarding at that station.
This wasn't too much of a coincidence—as long as he and the Yasuhisa sisters took the subway during this time window, they'd naturally end up on the same train.
"Kurona-san, Yasuhisa-san."
Byakuya greeted the sisters as they approached.
Kurona didn't respond, silently taking a seat beside Byakuya.
Nashiro also sat nearby but did reply. "Why do you call Kurona 'Kurona-san' but address me as 'Yasuhisa-san'?"
"Because Kurona-san asked me to call her that last time. I couldn't just casually use the same address for you."
Byakuya explained.
"Wait! I didn't ask you to—I allowed you to. There's a difference."
Kurona corrected him, seeming somewhat embarrassed.
"Right, right."
Byakuya smiled but said nothing more.
"That's not fair. Call me Nashiro-san too."
Nashiro said with a neutral expression.
Normally, the more introverted Nashiro would never say such things to someone she wasn't close with like Byakuya.
But she was now very invested in Kurona's situation with Byakuya. To better understand him, she couldn't afford to be as reserved as usual.
"Nashiro, you..."
Kurona looked at her sister in surprise.
She hadn't expected Nashiro to say something like that to Byakuya.
Could Nashiro be...?
While Kurona's mind raced, Byakuya responded to Nashiro: "Alright then, I'll call you Nashiro-san from now on."
"..."
Hearing him say "Nashiro-san," a faint blush crept across Nashiro's face.
Though she'd mentally prepared herself, actually hearing it from his mouth still made her feel somewhat shy.
"Ahem..."
Nashiro cleared her throat softly, forcing down her embarrassment. "So, how old are you? And what's your family situation like?"
Kurona was puzzled. Why was Nashiro asking these questions?
"Why the sudden interest?"
Though somewhat confused, Byakuya answered anyway: "I'm eighteen. As for family—it's just me."
Hearing that he lived alone, Nashiro immediately assumed she'd touched on a painful past. "Ah... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine, really. It's nothing."
Byakuya smiled faintly.
It wasn't like his parents had actually died—the System had simply given him this background in this world.
House, car, money—the System had actually provided him quite generously.
So this was hardly a "painful past" for Byakuya. If anything, it was pretty sweet.
"Okay, I hope I didn't offend you."
Then Nashiro continued: "What I want to know is—how do you view Kurona?"
Since Kurona had told her she liked Byakuya, Nashiro naturally needed to know how Byakuya viewed her sister.
"You mean, what do I think of Kurona-san?"
Byakuya asked.
"You could put it that way."
Nashiro nodded.
"Cute."
Byakuya answered immediately.
So fast that Nashiro didn't even register it at first.
Sitting nearby, Kurona immediately turned her face away, not wanting Byakuya or Nashiro to see her flustered expression.
"Um... Kurona is indeed cute, but is there nothing else?"
Nashiro blinked, taking a moment to process.
Though she had a strange feeling about it—since she and Kurona looked almost identical, Byakuya calling Kurona cute felt like he was calling her cute too.
"Something else..."
Byakuya said plainly: "She's so cute that I can't think of a more fitting description."
Kurona's shoulders trembled slightly. Just turning away wasn't enough anymore—the blush had already spread to her ears. Unless she covered those too, there was no hiding it.
"Alright... I can tell you're being sincere..."
Byakuya's directness left Nashiro unable to doubt him.
But now Nashiro found herself averting her gaze as well.
Because Byakuya had been looking directly at her the whole time, and since she and Kurona looked nearly identical, it felt like everything he'd just said was directed at her.
If she held eye contact any longer, her own face would probably turn red too.