On the last day of October, God’s bladder was probably punctured by Nino’s sword, as continuous rain poured down from the clouds.

Alan stood on the top of the school’s back mountain, wearing a raincoat, letting the rain patter against him.

The air was a bit cold, making his face somewhat flushed.

But then, the system’s notification sound suddenly rang in his ear:

[Love Check-in for 30 days complete, 1,000,000 yen deposited]

[Current Love Check-in duration: 30 days, next stage at 60 days, reward: 2,000,000 yen.]

Alan took out his phone and glanced at the amount deposited in his bank account, immediately feeling a warmth in his heart, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

A few drops of rain landed on his lips, and he subconsciously licked them, inadvertently recalling Nozomi’s kiss that night.

Once bitten by a snake, one fears a well rope for ten years, it was probably like that.

But to be honest, upon closer reflection, that kiss was a little soft and sweet.

It was probably because Nozomi had just had a drink then, but compared to Hojo, it was still too inexperienced.

His mind uncontrollably compared the two, even vaguely starting to think in Nino’s direction... He wondered if it was an auditory hallucination, but Nozomi’s voice seemed to echo in his ear.

’How are you so skilled?!’

Alan frowned, quickly pulling his thoughts back.

When he went home that night, a thought inexplicably popped into his head, ’Maybe I should just break up.’

He was a little worried that Nozomi Sakura might be as love-struck as Akari Hojo, and it would all be a wasted effort after all the back and forth.

After all, sunk costs do not participate in major decisions.

But after sleeping on it, he quickly flushed that thought away, along with his morning excretions, down the toilet.

Nozomi Sakura was not Akari Hojo, as it stood, the factors driving her were not entirely himself.

She had been incredibly diligent this past month.

Leaving Akari Hojo aside for now, Nozomi’s level of effort even subtly rivaled Nino’s back then.

Furthermore, her attitude towards money also somewhat reassured him.

Take the situation after that day, for instance, she continued to train as usual, and according to Teacher Fujiwara, she had made great progress.

Could it be that kissing him really improved her acting skills?

Alan couldn’t help but wonder, but then an even more complex question arose, How should he handle the relationship between Nozomi and Nino?

He had originally thought that by telling Nozomi directly about his intention to marry Nino that day, she would retreat, but unexpectedly, she pressed forward instead.

And Nino was the same, despite knowing he was currently dating Nozomi, she still agreed to his three-year promise... If things continued this way, would he end up with a harem?

Everyone has selfish motives, and Alan was certainly no exception.

If he were to rely on the money Nozomi earned through the system to support Nino... it didn’t seem entirely unfeasible?

With this thought, Alan felt a path he had never considered before appear before him.

But then he subconsciously thought of Akari Hojo again, wouldn’t it be a bit unfair to leave her out?

Yet, recalling Akari Hojo’s personality, which even got jealous of his own sister, wouldn’t she explode if she ever met Nozomi?

Feasible or not, even if it did happen, living under the same roof would likely involve daily struggles that would tear the roof off.

Speaking of living under the same roof, he had been helping Nozomi Sakura look for an apartment these past two days.

Although she used the unreliable excuse of ’being pierced through the heart with a sword,’ a promise was a promise, and there were quite a few vacant apartments in his own complex.

It would also be convenient for supervising her work and such.

However, today was Sunday, and she was still training. He could bring it up when he picked her up tonight and choose a day off next week to look at apartments... As he was thinking, his phone suddenly buzzed.

Alan snapped back to reality, opened his phone, and saw that the caller ID was [Nino].

Staring at the phone screen, he was momentarily unsure why Nino was calling. Ever since the Kendo Club incident, she had only sent him messages on Line, usually photos of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which could be said to be very nutritious content.

Why the sudden call?

He couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled, but he still pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

As soon as the call connected, he had barely uttered a word when he heard a faint ’splash’ of running water from the phone.

Then, the girl’s voice rang in his ear:

"Alan, Nino might drown."

"Huh?"

She said she was going to drown, but there was no sense of urgency in her tone.

Alan unconsciously frowned and couldn’t help but ask.

"Did you fall into a river?"

"Nino is at home."

"So how can you drown at home?"

"Hmm..."

The girl’s thoughtful hum, along with the splashing sounds, came through the receiver.

Alan frowned and said, "Switch to video call."

"Oh. Yeah!"

The phone screen went black, and then the girl’s face, adorned with water droplets, came into view.

Nino saw him in the video and couldn’t help but giggle foolishly, her eyes full of joy, and she waved at him, asking.

"Can Alan see Nino?"

Alan was startled, realizing that the scene in the video did indeed seem to be at home, but what was with her obviously drenched appearance?

"What happened to you?"

Hearing this, Nino pursed her red lips, turned the phone screen, and pointed to the ceiling, saying.

"It’s like this..."

In the video, rainwater continuously dripped from the ceiling. The dripping speed was extremely fast, forming a curtain of rain the size of a dressing mirror, especially in one corner where a thumb-thick stream of water incessantly dripped down...

Nino, are you living in the Water Curtain Cave? Is God so rude as to directly pee into your house?

Alan was dumbfounded, then quickly reacted and said.

"What’s going on? First, turn off all the electricity in the house, then use basins to catch the water..."

"Nino isn’t that stupid."

The girl’s voice came from the phone, and then the view shifted again. She pointed to two basins on the floor, but they were already full, with water constantly overflowing.

"..."

Alan opened his mouth, then said.

"Send me your address, I’m coming over right away."

"Sweet~!"

...Twenty minutes later, on the outskirts of Tokyo.

As Alan got out of the car, an unpleasant stench assaulted him.

He turned his head and saw a pile of garbage nearby, along with a dozen houses constructed from blue tarpaulins and corrugated iron.

Calling them houses was a stretch, they looked more like coffins.

Even in Tokyo, there were beggars on the outskirts, and countless more under bridges.

Alan had long grown accustomed to it, but as he surveyed the surroundings, he clenched his fists, and an uncomfortable feeling welled up inside him.

He took out his phone, glanced at the location Nino had sent, turned around, and saw several detached bungalows nestled together. A familiar figure came into view.

Nino recognized him from dozens of meters away. As if afraid he wouldn’t see her, she waved at him while jumping in place.

Alan looked at the girl smiling in the rain, his eyes stung, and he couldn’t help but curse ’Silly,’ then quickly ran towards her.

Seeing him run towards her, Nino stopped waving and also started running towards him.

This silly goose!

Alan quickly waved, signaling her to go back inside, but she seemed to have misunderstood, accelerating her run towards him.

In just a few seconds, the two stood face to face on the roadside.

The girl’s long, raven hair was completely soaked with rain, clinging to her scalp like seaweed and framing her face.

Her clothes were also drenched, wrinkled and clinging tightly to her skin... Despite her disheveled appearance, the smile on her face shone even brighter.

Looking at the young man in front of her, her clear eyes twinkled, and she asked charmingly.

"Alan, have you come to save Nino?"