The story takes a step back in time, to around noon.
— “Oh, wow…”
Himari noticed a notification on her smartphone and sighed in exasperation. A message from her older brother, Shinnosuke, wasn’t the issue itself—it was the content. He was praising her for going out with friends, encouraging her to cherish her friendships, and to have a good time with everyone.
It was excessively overprotective.
Seeing Himari’s stunned expression, her friend at the adjacent table noticed.
“Hey, Himari. Who’s it from? Could it be your boyfriend? Traitor!”
Half-jokingly, her friend leaned in, trying to peek at the screen. Startled, Himari quickly turned off her phone—this message would be way too embarrassing to show.
“No, it’s my brother! I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Of course not. So, what did he say? Come home soon or something?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just his usual overprotective nonsense. Honestly, he just can’t let go of his little sister. You’d call this a sis-con, right?”
Despite her words, Himari wore a smile. Everyone around tried to hold back laughter, knowing well that Himari herself was a bit of a bro-con.
They were taking it easy, occupying a corner of a fast-food restaurant and spending a relaxed lunch.
Located near a residential area rather than a busy downtown, this place barely had parking spaces, making it a convenient stop for students on their way back from school. It had become a student hangout spot.
Today, too, all the customers inside, including Himari and her friends, were students.
The varied uniforms added to the lively atmosphere, and the chatter was mostly about rumors: who’s dating whom, thoughts on teachers, complaints, reactions to yesterday’s drama, and whether this or that actor was attractive.
A cat-shaped robot server came by and placed a tray with drinks. At that moment, the topic shifted.
“Himari, are you putting out new artwork on SNS again?”
“Of course! Look at this, ta-da!”
Himari slid her phone across the table.
Displayed on the screen was an illustration she had drawn. She would sell her artwork or print it on T-shirts and sell those, all while streaming her creative process.
However, her friends’ reactions to her artwork were less than enthusiastic.
“Oh, wow… Another absurdly blasphemous, incomprehensible… wait, is this labeled as a cat…?”
“The concept of a cat has completely fallen apart. Apologize—to all cats, please.”
“I can’t believe something like this actually sells. The world is wrong. But somehow, I don’t know… staring at it kinda makes me feel like it’s growing on me.”
“Hold yourself together! You have to face this psychological threat head-on.”
Listening to her friends, Himari remained unfazed, even wagging a finger in the air with a slightly smug expression.
“You just don’t understand. I’m recognized as a contemporary artist.”
As an influencer, she was making a few tens of thousands of yen a month, which she added entirely to her living expenses.
“Ha-ha-ha. So? I’ll draw a portrait at a friend’s discount price—500 yen a piece. It’ll be worth hundreds of thousands in the future, so get it now while you can!”
However, no one raised their hand.
“Ugh, you artless people,” Himari sulked, sipping her drink and blowing bubbles in the straw. When she glanced outside, she caught sight of someone with delicate, Nadeshiko-colored hair, a sure sign of noble heritage.
“Huh? It’s the princess.”
It was a girl from their class at the academy.
Coming from an esteemed family, she avoided mingling with anyone, always quietly reading a book and maintaining her solitary aura. Even the teachers were cautious around her, and hardly anyone had ever spoken to her. She was the kind of young lady who had her own chauffeur for pick-ups and drop-offs.
It was surprising to see her alone in a place like this. What’s more, she was dragging a heavy-looking suitcase.
Everyone noticed the person Himari was looking at.
“Oh wow, it’s the Cool Beauty who reigns over our academy.”
“The school princess, talented and beautiful. She looks amazing when she’s reading a book.”
“That super-privileged lady always gets picked up by her chauffeur. I wonder what’s up.”
“Maybe she ran away from home? Though she doesn’t look the part.”
Listening to her friends’ comments, Himari continued to watch as the ultra-refined young lady crossed the street and entered the bookstore across the way.
But soon, the conversation shifted, and everyone’s attention turned elsewhere. They quickly moved on from talking about tests to discussing the latest idols, popular samurai dramas, delicious sweets, and dessert shops, finally beginning to wrap up their time at the café.
“Ahh, what a beautiful day!”
After chatting to her heart’s content, Himari stepped out of the shop, squinting in the bright sunlight as she stretched her arms up high.
It was Saturday.
She suddenly wondered if her brother Shinnosuke had managed to eat lunch properly. He could be surprisingly lazy, always worrying about others but rather careless about himself.
“I should pick up something for him on my way home, just in case. Yeah, that’s the right move.”
She could easily picture him grabbing an onigiri from the convenience store and calling it a day. Mentally planning what food to get on her way back, Himari’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a piercing scream.
From her recent experience with the phantom beast incident, she knew immediately that this wasn’t a normal scream—this was serious.
Himari’s expression shifted as she braced herself.
“That scream just now… something’s definitely wrong! We need to get to safety, fast!”
But even after the recent phantom beast incident, her friends were laughing, unaffected by the scream, showing no sense of urgency.
“Hm, maybe it was a street slasher?”
“Scary! Maybe we should run. But if it’s a creep, I’ll knock him out.”
“Yeah, if we spot him, we’ll deliver some justice.”
“Though it’s annoying when we worry, and it just turns out to be some prank.”
The traffic light at the intersection changed.
People nearby cast uneasy glances around but soon prioritized their own plans, crossing the street as usual.
The city resumed its daily rhythm as if nothing had happened. A passing shuttle bus momentarily blocked the view. Then, at the corner where a fast-food gyudon shop stood, an enormous white creature appeared, its body towering over the area.
