After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Ayakoji Chiyoko's face grew so hot that even she was surprised.

According to what Kagura Hikaru said, she was clinging to Kagura Hikaru because she couldn't stand losing to Kiryu Hina, which practically sounded like she truly liked Kiryu Hina.

How could that be possible!

Nonsense was not enough to describe it; it was just picking on her, deliberately trying to upset her!

Ayakoji Chiyoko's face turned red with restraint, "I don't know what you've misunderstood, but it's definitely not like that. Believe me, it's absolutely not!!"

"Maybe."

Kagura Hikaru looked at her skeptically.

Ayakoji Chiyoko was so angry she wanted to stomp her foot, "I truly like you; it's definitely not because of some silly competitive spirit!"

"Even your tone is becoming childish. Are you embarrassed and angry?"

"No!!!"

"Alright, alright, whether it is or not, you should go home for today."

"I, you...!"

Kagura Hikaru turned Ayakoji Chiyoko around, and pushing her forward, ignoring her protests, he bizarrely shoved her out the door.

After closing the door, Kagura Hikaru exhaled a breath of relief, finally succeeding in tricking her away.

The atmosphere just now was too much on the yandere side; it was unsettling. Ayakoji Chiyoko's emotions were fickle, capable of exploding at any moment.

He had a feeling, if they had continued on that topic, he might have gotten stabbed.

So he randomly made up an excuse to crack a joke, sending Ayakoji Chiyoko home first to clear her head.

A true heart-to-heart should start when she realizes the abnormalities in her behavior. Only then could they have a normal conversation.

Kagura Hikaru turned around.

Komori Ai was standing behind him with her hands behind her back, tilting her head with a grin.

"Komori Ai."

"Big~bro~ther~"

"Thanks for yesterday," Kagura Hikaru said as he passed her, his hand brushing over her head.

He was referring to yesterday afternoon, when Ayakoji Chiyoko had choked him unconscious.

After his memory recovered, he remembered.

But that morning Ayakoji Chiyoko had no recollection of it, even thinking the red mark on his neck was a sleep-induced one, Kagura Hikaru then knew, Komori Ai must have handled things after he lost consciousness.

And now, he could roughly guess the reason he was attacked.

Indeed, if there was a shortcut in their relationship, that would be one of them, but no sane person would think of trying it out.

Ayakoji Chiyoko had completely lost her senses.

Probably the pressure Kiryu Hina and her friends were applying from the outside had cornered her; who knows what happened in that time.

Shortly after, his stepmother came back from grocery shopping, very pleased to learn about Kagura Hikaru's memory recovery, and cooked him a big table full of delicious meals.

The next morning.

Kagura Hikaru woke up on time, and when he opened his eyes, he suddenly felt a soft, warm presence leaning against his shoulder.

Thinking it couldn't be, he pulled back the covers.

To his surprise, he discovered Komori Ai sleeping right beside him, facing him and snoring, looking irresistibly cute.

Kagura Hikaru slowly sat up, covering his forehead.

Waking up early with a beautiful girl by his side, Kagura Hikaru wondered from which harem anime this plotline had sprung.

Last night, Komori Ai had already shown this tendency. When it was time for sleep, she had swiftly climbed onto the bed, skillfully acting as if she had been living there all this time, which sent shivers down Kagura Hikaru's spine.

It took him half the day to get Komori Ai out of his room, yet somehow, she managed to appear under his blanket in the morning.

This young girl was simply elusive, absolutely incredible.

After he got out of bed, Komori Ai also groggily got up, clinging to the hem of his clothes. Wherever Kagura Hikaru went, she followed, even attempting to follow him into the bathroom.

Through observing Komori Ai's actions, Kagura Hikaru realized that she had been sticking closely by his side all this time. When he brushed his teeth, she brushed hers; when he washed his face, she did the same; when he went to the bathroom, she also...

Kagura Hikaru didn't know how it was before, but now they had to be separated.

While eating, Kagura Hikaru thought back to waking up in the hospital after his amnesia and learning about the fate of the Happiness Cult from the TV.

The cult had now been destroyed by the police. The leader, Master Tanaka, had died accidentally, impaled by broken window glass in a car accident. Bucktoothed Man, the cult's second in command, was initially on the run but oddly appeared hanged from a tree in front of the police station the day after the accident.

The first incident could be explained as an accident, but the latter seemed far from normal.

Kagura Hikaru didn't believe that the man would commit suicide out of guilt, especially not in a location easily discovered by the police.

It had to be someone's doing.

And that person could very well be right beside him.

Kagura Hikaru glanced at Komori Ai, who was sitting next to him, eating demurely.

She looked as young and innocent as when he first met her, her appearance sweet and naive, but her behavior hinted at something more sinister.

If Komori Ai had really killed someone, it must have been for his sake.

Kagura Hikaru reminded himself not to blame her.

Given Komori Ai's personality, it was hard for her to hold grudges against others, because she simply didn't care about the outside world.

Even though the Happiness Cult had imprisoned her for so long, making her fold origami in that shrine, covering an entire floor with paper cranes, she showed no hatred towards the villains when Kagura Hikaru went to rescue her.

Besides, the cult members had ways to restrain Komori Ai's abilities, yet she still managed to gain the upper hand using certain methods.

Kagura Hikaru guessed that perhaps during the time he was hospitalized after the accident, she controlled a large number of people and, using a sea of operatives, located Bucktoothed Man, then captured him using puppets, and then...

However, after all, this was just speculation. Kagura Hikaru had not witnessed Komori Ai's act of murder, nor did he have evidence. He couldn't prove that she was the killer.

Kagura Hikaru stopped thinking and gave up on pursuing the matter further.

The killer deserved to be killed.

As the second in command of the cult, Bucktoothed Man not only perpetrated tyranny but also bore his own sins, and he deserved his fate.

Since it was a satisfying ending for everyone, why bother distinguishing so clearly?

Something else deserved his attention now.

After waking up in the hospital, Inspector Yamazaki, who was his contact person, had visited him. Although at the time, Kagura Hikaru didn't remember him, he still shared some follow-up developments.

At that time, something that now greatly concerned Kagura Hikaru was mentioned. When talking about providing evidence for the crimes of the Happiness Cult, the Shrine Maiden of the cult's name wasn't mentioned by Inspector Yamazaki. Not only that, but he also ambiguously skipped over the topic.

It didn't seem like a deliberate change of topic because that would seem too abrupt. It was more like being hypnotized into forcibly forgetting the matter, and moreover, the hypnotist had intentionally downplayed their presence.

That's right, he was talking about Komori Ai; only she could pull off something like that.

After entering the police station, Komori Ai had registered with the national authorities. The police recorded her blood type, fingerprint, and even issued her a resident's certificate, transforming her from an unregistered to a registered citizen of the Island Nation.

However, after the accident that day, Komori Ai evidently disappeared from society's view yet again using her abilities, unrestrained and now a true invisible person. Unless she wished it, no one but Kagura Hikaru could see her.

How, then, should Kagura Hikaru view her?

Should he simply keep her home like a zashiki-warashi, or...

After the ordeal with Ayakoji Chiyoko, this would be the second matter to trouble Kagura Hikaru.