When Takeshi heard Aoi’s voice, he turned around.

Aoi stood four meters away, right in the middle of the sidewalk with Eclipse in her right hand. She wasn’t pointing it directly at him, but holding it downward, the blade aimed at the ground, gripping it with the same firmness she used in combat. The streetlights cast a cold, steady gleam across the blade.

Takeshi slowly put away his phone.

"Aoi."

She didn’t answer immediately. She stared at him with a threatening expression.

"Calm down."

Said Takeshi.

"I am calm."

Aoi replied.

Her tone was calm, but the situation said otherwise.

"E-Eclipse..."

Takeshi stammered.

"What about Eclipse?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"You’re holding it."

"I know."

Takeshi evaluated the distance between them.

It was four meters Aoi could close in less time than he would need to do anything useful. Running wasn’t an option, and summoning the sword didn’t make any sense either since Aoi already had it, not to mention his trust level still wasn’t back at 100%.

The chat appeared in his field of vision.

[Good evening to everyone except Takeshi]

[Play dead]

[Someone calculate how many seconds he has left to live]

[Aoi’s sanity must be scraping the floor right now]

Takeshi ignored the messages and focused on Aoi.

"Why did you lie to me?"

The question came straight out, without any buildup. Aoi had been holding everything in for hours, and she released it all in that single sentence.

"You said you were going to discuss magic stuff..."

She continued.

"But that picture of you leaving a fancy restaurant with her has nothing to do with magic."

"I can explain."

"I already know you can explain. I’ve spent all day listening to your explanations."

Aoi took a step forward.

"I want to know which one is the real one."

Takeshi thought fast.

"I went there to check the place out..."

Takeshi began.

Aoi stopped.

"To check the place out?"

"I wanted to see if it was good before suggesting it for the student council group."

The silence that followed lasted exactly long enough for Takeshi to realize that answer hadn’t worked.

"That’s your excuse?"

Aoi finally said, sounding offended.

"Is that seriously the best you could come up with!?"

"It’s not an excuse, it’s what—!"

"Like your sister’s birthday party?"

Takeshi shut his mouth.

The memory surfaced immediately. He had made up that excuse on the spot to buy time, but it had never existed, and Aoi hadn’t forgotten.

[Oh. She pulled out the historical records]

[Takeshi is calculating his options and every single one sucks]

[He forgot he used that excuse lmao]

[Aoi’s sanity: confirmed critically low]

Aoi took another step.

Takeshi used that moment to glance at his stats quickly and discreetly, as if he were just processing the situation. What he saw did not reassure him.

[MIZUHARA AOI]

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 35%]

[Trust: 40%]

"How long have you been meeting her alone?"

Aoi asked.

"Aoi..."

"Answer me!"

[Sanity: 30%]

"We only talk once in a while!"

"And today you suddenly decided to have dinner alone at a restaurant...?"

The question was simply Aoi arranging the facts in front of him.

"After lying to me?"

"When you put it like that..."

"Why?"

Takeshi didn’t answer immediately, and that was enough for Aoi to take another step.

[Sanity: 27%]

"What kind of relationship do you have with her?"

Aoi asked.

"She’s only helping me with basic magic."

"That’s all?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn’t you tell me from the start that you were going out to dinner?"

It was a fair question, and Takeshi knew it.

"You’re asking me like the answer is simple..."

Takeshi replied.

"It is simple."

"No, it’s not."

Aoi stopped and tilted her head slightly.

"Explain to me why it isn’t."

[Takeshi is completely cornered]

[This is the most tense the stream has been since the mansion arc]

[Somebody send a morale support donation because he needs it]

[Sanity 27% and dropping]

Takeshi looked at Aoi, who now stood two meters away with Eclipse in her right hand.

His options were limited, and all of them came with a price.

He could keep trying to justify the dinner, and every answer would only lead to another question. Aoi wasn’t going to accept any version of the story that wasn’t complete, and the complete version would tank her sanity even further than it already was.

He could tell the entire truth, and that came with its own obvious risks.

Or he could shift the focus of the conversation.

Not dodge it or ignore what Aoi had asked, but redirect it toward something concrete that would give her something else to focus on.

"Are you planning to keep meeting her alone?"

Aoi asked.

Takeshi made a decision.

"Aoi."

"What?"

He walked toward her and took her left hand.

"I’m going to take you somewhere you choose."

Aoi didn’t respond.

"I’ll do whatever you want..."

Takeshi continued.

"Any place you want, whenever you want, and you decide everything."

The silence that followed was different from before. Aoi reacted like someone who had just received something unexpected and was trying to figure out what to do with it.

Takeshi didn’t add anything else in case he accidentally made things worse.

Aoi stared at him for several seconds. Her expression didn’t visibly change, but something in her posture did. Her shoulders lowered slightly, and the hand holding Eclipse didn’t loosen all at once, but gradually, in a process that took nearly ten seconds to complete.

"Anywhere?"

Aoi whispered softly.

"Anywhere."

"And what if it’s expensive?"

"Anywhere."

Takeshi repeated.

Aoi stared at him once more. Then she lowered her gaze toward Eclipse, and the sword disappeared with the same calm motion she always used to put it away.

Her sanity was still low, and her trust hadn’t recovered the points it had lost throughout the day, but the number had stopped going down, which was the most important thing right now.

"Okay..."

Aoi finally said.

Takeshi released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

"But..."

Aoi looked at him with a completely serious expression.

"If you cancel, there won’t be any excuse that works."

She said it like a threat.

"I won’t cancel."

Takeshi swallowed after saying that.

Aoi nodded once and, without saying anything else, started walking away.

Takeshi stayed at the corner until she disappeared from sight.

He had promised something he couldn’t cancel to someone who would remember it with absolute precision at the most convenient moment for her and the least convenient moment for him.

’That’s tomorrow’s problem.’

For now, he was still alive.