“Here, Senpai.”
Hiiragi Shuichi handed a glass of warm water to Aoba Tomoyo, who was sitting on the sofa.
She had taken some time to recover, and her expression and mood were now back to something closer to normal.
For instance, the look in her eyes when she took the cup was like when she had been discussing the rent with him that morning—dismissive and cold.
But it wasn’t exactly the same as before.
Her gaze was much gentler now, tinged with a hint of melancholy.
Only after she took a sip did Hiiragi Shuichi sit down on the sofa at a distance and ask if she was feeling better.
Aoba Tomoyo shot him a cool glance but said nothing, simply setting the cup down on the coffee table.
She paused for a moment before slowly speaking.
“Aren’t you going to sit closer?”
Hiiragi Shuichi hesitated before replying.
“Senpai… this sofa… it’s pretty narrow, so…”
“Can’t you just listen to me for once!”
Aoba Tomoyo was, as he had heard and witnessed, someone you couldn’t talk back to, couldn’t refuse, couldn’t…
But even so, her fierce words sounded undeniably tough, yet carried a strange hint of coaxing.
Hiiragi Shuichi steadied the panic in his chest and reluctantly inched toward her.
Yet the moment he actually closed the distance bit by bit, Aoba Tomoyo turned her head away, afraid to look in his direction.
So he didn’t dare get too close, leaving only about a finger’s width between them.
After a long silence, Hiiragi Shuichi felt the situation had reached a stalemate.
Believing he couldn’t let it continue, he spoke up.
“Senpai, it’s quite late. Won’t your family worry?”
Aoba Tomoyo slowly turned her head.
Hiiragi Shuichi could no longer see the shyness or the coldness in her eyes.
The two seemed to have blended together, giving her an ordinary, calm look.
Her ability to regulate her emotions was perhaps stronger than he had imagined.
Aoba Tomoyo let out a heavy breath, releasing the stagnant air from her chest.
She hunched forward slightly, pressed two fingers together, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples as she said.
“Worrying about my affairs… why? Are you someone important to me?”
“I told you, I won’t help anyone except…”
“Except those close to you, right?”
Hiiragi Shuichi gently cut her off, finishing the answer ahead of time.
Aoba Tomoyo was a bit irritated by the interruption, but when she opened her eyes and met his warm yet resolute gaze, her pupils unconsciously widened.
Her expression shifted into something almost incredulous.
“You… what are you trying to do?” she asked hesitantly.
“Senpai said this morning that I missed a golden opportunity because I didn’t accept the word ‘girlfriend’…”
Hiiragi Shuichi said this while feigning a look of regret and lowering his head.
“So then I…”
As he spoke, he lifted his head, but the words in his throat caught as his eyes landed on the scene before him.
Aoba Tomoyo tilted her face up slightly, her breath drawing closer to him.
Her glossy lashes shimmered faintly under the indoor light.
Beneath her gently furrowed brows, a pair of clear eyes that didn’t seem to belong to her were washed with tears, lending them a sense of warmth.
Along with the natural blush rising on her cheeks like after a drink, she seemed to be waiting for him to finish the rest of his confession.
That expression, which should have naturally belonged to any young girl, carried a striking contrast on Aoba Tomoyo.
It reminded Hiiragi Shuichi that she was only one year older than him—still in the bloom of youth.
And so, the maiden’s stirring heart, revealed beneath that harsh exterior, stirred a sour ache in his chest.
‘Had anyone else ever seen her like this…?’
Hiiragi Shuichi found himself doubting.
He had only written a few words, and he had forcibly dragged someone’s inner self out from beneath their outward shell.
Watching her shed her mask, a pang of bitterness rose in his heart.
Hiiragi Shuichi understood this well.
He knew that people rarely chose to understand another’s heart.
They preferred to define someone by the fleeting words of their exterior.
Understanding a person was troublesome—labels and stereotypes were far more convenient.
It was the kind of thing Hiiragi Shuichi didn’t want to see again, because it always reminded him of himself.
And besides, this was merely love manipulated by the notebook… it wasn’t real.
If it wasn’t real, he didn’t want it.
Nor would he entertain any indecent thoughts.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t qualify as a “perfect young man.”
‘Was there any way to undo the affection…?’
‘Once things were settled, could he take away her chance to reveal her true heart…?’
He hadn’t finished reading the notebook’s rules.
He could flip through them later.
Maybe there was something.
Aoba Tomoyo saw that he was taking too long and urged him.
“Go on.”
“Well… Senpai was obviously joking before, and I wouldn’t dare entertain any such notions, so this will be fake…”
“Even if it’s fake, say it! I…”
Aoba Tomoyo caught herself getting worked up and quickly reined in her emotions before slowly speaking again.
“Liars, and the words of liars… I’ve seen plenty.”
“It’s fine…”
Hiiragi Shuichi received her affirmation and also heard her unexpectedly candid confession.
This was a reaction only someone deeply in love would have.
The feeling was like an undercurrent, yet it surged like ocean waves, relentlessly battering a person’s inner defenses and causing them to unconsciously do things they never would otherwise.
So this notebook could easily manipulate interpersonal relationships…
Hiiragi Shuichi didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried.
After all, being able to manipulate relationships didn’t sound like a bad thing, but it didn’t sound like a good one either.
However, a way out of his current predicament had appeared, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
He slowly spoke.
“Senpai, can I become someone close to you?”
That sentence didn’t specify what kind of relationship they would have.
After all, Hiiragi Shuichi couldn’t possibly say something offensive like “Be my girlfriend!”
Since she had never clearly confessed her feelings, even now, he had to maintain his persona.
Aoba Tomoyo’s expression seemed utterly devoid of emotion, yet a single tear slipped uncontrollably from her eye.
It fell onto the wooden floor—and onto her own heart.
“…Mm.”
She didn’t react as intensely as Hiiragi Shuichi had anticipated.
Instead, she simply gave a soft “mm” and said nothing more.
“You mean… the rent can be completely waived?”
“Surprised? Hah, it’s nothing difficult… The Aoba family doesn’t lack this kind of money, and you’re the only tenant.”
“Mother wouldn’t even care…”
“As long as you don’t go telling the other tenants about your rent being waived… I can help you. Understand what I mean?”
After some careful probing, Hiiragi Shuichi heard the news that the rent could be fully waived.
He was so excited he nearly shot to his feet, but he held himself back, letting only boundless joy rush through the wide chambers of his heart.
‘Great… great…’
‘That means I won’t have to work three jobs anymore… haha…’
Hiiragi Shuichi furrowed his brows slightly, closed his eyes, and secretly rejoiced without showing it.
“Got it!”
‘No… I can’t just rejoice silently.’
‘I almost got too carried away…’
“Uh, th—thank you, Senpai!”
Hiiragi Shuichi hadn’t thought to express his gratitude at first.
He snapped back to reality, remembered, and bowed to Aoba Tomoyo in thanks.
“Is that the behavior of someone close?”
Aoba Tomoyo sat elegantly on the sofa, graceful as a peony.
Ever since receiving Hiiragi Shuichi’s indirect “confession,” Aoba Tomoyo had slowly regained her composure, along with that scheming glint in her eyes.
Hiiragi Shuichi didn’t respond, only sheepishly rubbed the back of his head to show her how foolish he was.
Though Hiiragi Shuichi had a slight PTSD moment, now that the distance between them had closed, looking at that face again somehow felt much more comforting.
She hadn’t debased herself because of this affection.
It seemed the notebook’s power was already terrifying enough, but it couldn’t go too far beyond the pale.
Hiiragi Shuichi didn’t want anything too extreme to happen either, since he wasn’t keen on getting tangled up in strange relationships with too many women—it would interfere with his path to higher education.
Aoba Tomoyo finished the water in her cup, even though it might have gone cold by now.
“However, I still have conditions. Hiiragi-kun, you remember what you promised me earlier, right?”
“Promised? What… would that be?”
“Hah, forgotten? Try recalling what you said to me this morning?”
Hearing that, Hiiragi Shuichi replayed the conversation he’d had with her that morning.
Girlfriend, deadline, negotiation…
‘Negotiation?’
Hiiragi Shuichi swallowed.
“Senpai means… joining the student council?”
“Correct. The student council still needs an accountant.”
“Aren’t you good at managing money and pinching pennies? It’s you, then.”
“Once school resumes, come report to me within a week. Understood?”
“U—Understood!”
Aoba Tomoyo flashed a satisfied smile.
Afterward, Hiiragi Shuichi walked Aoba Tomoyo all the way to the street.
He asked if, given how late it was, a girl walking home alone was safe and whether she needed an escort.
The answer was no.
Then she slipped into a black sedan that happened to pull up.
“Oh, right, Hiiragi-kun. Do you know what this is?”
After getting into the car, Aoba Tomoyo suddenly rolled down the window and held out an eraser.
Hiiragi Shuichi naturally didn’t recognize the object, so he shook his head.
After seeing Aoba Tomoyo off and returning to his room, Hiiragi Shuichi couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about that eraser.
So he checked his pencil case, only to find everything normal and nothing amiss.
Unable to figure it out for the moment, and with the rent problem finally resolved, Hiiragi Shuichi opened the , looking for a rule about whether affection could be removed.
Then his eyes went wide as he carefully read that rule.
[The notebook comes with a special ‘Love God’s Eraser’. By using it to erase a name from the notebook, the effects of the affection can be revoked.]