"Damn it, this is really annoying. Is there really no way to leave this group?" Hachiman grumbled.
The young man was sitting back on his home sofa, still exhausted after just experiencing supernatural events. His fingers were busy fiddling with his flip phone with a sour look on his face.
"First, I was suddenly dragged into a weird chat group. Then, there's a crazy vampire grandpa who wants to make me his magic apprentice. And now... my world has changed too. Even though I thought my life would just be that of an ordinary high school student," he complained, letting his back sink deeper into the sofa cushions.
"Fortunately, that old vampire can't cross over to this world yet. According to the system, as long as the first mission hasn't been completed, other members' worlds cannot be visited," he muttered, feeling a little relieved.
He recalled his friends' reactions.
"Yukinoshita seemed very shocked earlier, she must be having a headache thinking about it right now. Meanwhile, Yuigahama... she acted like usual, even overly enthusiastic. Well, even though the two of them actually looked quite scared of that grandpa when offered to be his apprentices."
"Ugh..." Hachiman groaned softly while massaging his throbbing temples.
"I've never even joined a normal chat group, and now I'm dragged into a supernatural and fantasy group."
"How unlucky my fate is," he muttered in resignation.
He looked back at his flip phone's screen, but this time opened a different menu.
"If I'm not mistaken, they said group members can do a daily login to get random rewards."
"Should I just give it a try?" Hachiman seemed to consider.
"Who knows, I might get something useful to save me from this crazy situation."
With a little hesitation, his thumb pressed the login button.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a holographic text projection beamed out from his small flip phone screen.
"What the hell is this?" Hachiman narrowed his eyes, trying to read the glowing letters floating in the air.
"A—anti..."
---
(Transition)
Yuuto and Belfast finally arrived at their apartment. After finishing a training session in his workshop, Yuuto intended to rest immediately. However, a knocking sound was suddenly heard from the front door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Yuuto turned his head, seemingly already guessing who the guest was.
"Belfast, could you please prepare our dinner? Let me get the door."
"Understood, Darling," Belfast replied gently. The loyal wife and maid stepped gracefully toward the kitchen.
Yuuto also stood up. Before heading to the door, his hand took a moment to grab a prepared food box.
Click!
As soon as the door opened, Mahiro's figure was already standing in front of him. Yuuto smiled warmly.
"Good evening, Mahiro," he greeted while slightly lifting the food box in his hand. "The usual?"
Mahiro nodded slowly.
"Here, please," the girl said while handing over her own food box.
The two of them exchanged food boxes with movements that seemed accustomed. Yuuto looked at the box given by Mahiro with a faint smile.
"Even though you didn't need to bother preparing food too."
Mahiro immediately shook her head.
"It can't be like that. You've taught me various cooking recipes. How could I accept your kindness for free? I have to repay it," Mahiro stated firmly.
"Well, it's up to you. But if you want to learn more cooking recipes, my apartment door is always open," Yuuto said casually.
"Eh... is that really okay?" asked Mahiru hesitantly.
"Of course, you can drop by anytime. Even now, if you want. Coincidentally, there is someone inside who is very suited to teach you—"
Yuuto's words were cut off by an exclamation from inside the apartment.
"Darling! Dinner is ready!"
Mahiru flinched hearing the affectionate call from behind Yuuto's back. Footsteps were heard approaching, until finally, an elegant woman's figure appeared in the doorway.
"Darling, what's wrong—"
The woman stopped her sentence upon seeing another girl's presence.
"Who is this?"
"Oh, Belfast," Yuuto turned casually. "Let me introduce you, this is our neighbor, Mahiru Shiina. And Mahiru, this is Belfast. She is my lover, and from now on, she will live with me."
Mahiru's body immediately tensed up, as if she had just been splashed with ice water. Her eyes widened stiffly, staring at the woman.
"L... lover?"
Belfast fell silent for a moment, immediately noticing Mahiru's facial expression which looked deeply shaken hearing the news. The silver-haired woman then glared sharply at Yuuto.
Instead of explaining, Yuuto averted his face to the hallway ceiling while whistling softly, pretending not to know anything and trying to escape the awkwardness.
Sighing softly, Belfast carved a polite smile.
"Nice to meet you, Shiina-san. My name is Belfast. I'm sorry if my presence interrupted your business with Darling."
"Oh... a-ah, eh, yes! I-it's nothing," Mahiru replied, stuttering, her face turning red as she hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
Belfast's gaze then shifted to look at the food boxes in Mahiru and Yuuto's hands alternately.
"So... is the business between you two finished?"
"Y-yes... it's finished," Mahiru squeaked.
She turned around with movements that looked stiff like a robot. However, just as she was about to step away, Yuuto's voice stopped her again.
"Mahiru! Do you not want to learn cooking now? If you want, Belfast can teach you. She is very great at it, you know," Yuuto offered.
Mahiru's steps halted for a moment.
"N-no need," she refused quickly.
Without looking back, the girl hurriedly walked towards her apartment and slammed the door very hard.
Slam!
Seeing their neighbor's departure, Belfast stepped closer to Yuuto.
"Darling... could it be that girl..."
Hearing Belfast's murmur, Yuuto could only nod resignedly.
"Unfortunately, it seems so."
"Oh my. To such an innocent girl, what did you actually do to her?" Belfast complained while slowly massaging her temples.
Yuuto hurriedly chimed in with a defensive tone.
"B-but don't worry! Mahiru's symptoms aren't as severe as Kotori, Umi, and Honoka's. Besides, Mahiru doesn't spend as much time with me as those three."
"Darling!" Belfast reprimanded with a raised and firm tone.
"Comparing two bad things doesn't make either of them sound any better."
"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Yuuto replied, suddenly panicked seeing Belfast's expression starting to look angry.
Belfast took a long sigh.
"But why did you have to honestly say that I am your lover? You could have actually kept our relationship a secret from her. What happened just now must have really hurt her feelings."
"No. I don't want to do something like that," Yuuto replied in a firm tone.
"I will not hide our relationship. Even if someone ends up getting hurt, I refuse to hide the truth."
Belfast stared intently into Yuuto's eyes, then smiled resignedly.
"Darling, you really are... well, never mind."
The elegant woman then wrapped her arms around Yuuto's arm.
"So, you will also take responsibility for Shiina-san, right?"
Yuuto nodded firmly.
"Yes."
After that, the two of them stepped inside the apartment.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Mahiru was still standing frozen with her back against her apartment door.
Slowly, her back leaned against the door until her body slumped down weakly and sat on the floor.
Her head bowed deeply, hiding her face behind the strands of her hair.
The food box given by Yuuto was hugged tightly to her chest.
With trembling clenched hands, the girl murmured softly,
"It hurts..."
---
(Transition)
Inside a dimly lit room, a loud exclamation was heard.
"Kagebunshin!!!"
The shout came from an anime broadcast on the computer monitor. Kuroneko was sitting, staring intently at the screen.
"Damn it! This jutsu turns out to be very difficult, even though the hand seals look simple," Kuroneko grumbled.
"Argh... I give up!"
She let out a rough breath and then dropped her back against the backrest of the chair.
"Watching it in the anime makes it look so easy, but when practicing it directly, it's insanely hard."
Her eyes now stared blankly at the room's ceiling.
"If only I had the Second Hokage's forbidden jutsu scroll, everything would surely be much easier," she muttered.
Her gaze then shifted to the flip phone lying nearby.
She grabbed the object.
"I'd better check the chat group, who knows if there's any new information."
Kuroneko opened her phone and swiped the screen to the notification menu.
"Oh, it seems Hikigaya has logged in for the first time. Let's see what reward this new member got."
However, right as her eyes read the lines of text displayed on the screen, her breath hitched.
Her eyeballs widened in horror, and her hand movements instantly froze stiff.
"T-this... is impossible, right?"
Kuroneko swallowed her saliva with difficulty, falling silent and freezing while staring at her phone screen.
"Damn! I have to contact him right away before he carelessly tries out his new power!"
In a panic, Kuroneko pressed the voice call button to Hikigaya.
Beep... Beep...
A ringing tone was heard, feeling incredibly slow to her ears.
"Come on, pick it up fast! Don't tell me that idiot has already done something. Please don't die a ridiculous death yet, New Member!" she cursed with hurried breaths.
The girl started biting the tips of her nails anxiously, imagining the worst-case scenario.
"Please... don't accidentally annihilate my favorite character who is also your own sister."
Cold sweat dripped down Kuroneko's temples as her brain reprocessed the text from the system earlier.
This was absolute madness.
Unlike Yuuto's power which still had elements of magic, creation, and life, what the cynical young man just got was a deadly anomaly.
Something purely created to erase the existence of anything it touches.
"What kind of login reward is that..." Kuroneko muttered with a trembling voice.
"Anti-Matter power... This is truly going to be a massive disaster!"