A week later.


    Monday, February 8th.


    Having discussed the topic of Measurement evolution in great depth with Yuu Shimura over the past week, the I.M.E. drug v2.0 has made huge strides in terms of progress.


    If it were a couple of weeks ago, I would have claimed that success was not far off.


    However, considering what happened with Liam despite my confidence in the stability of the drug at the time, I knew that I couldn''t afford to be careless.


    Still, so long as I have time, it will undoubtedly see perfection further than that of version 1.0, so there is no need to rush just yet.


    Walking into class as usual, I gave a brief nod to Teacher, whose mood seemed to have improved considerably lately, and took a seat at my desk.


    The moment registration was taken, Teacher stood at the front of the class and made an unexpected announcement.


    "Alright class, we have a new student joining us today, so please make sure to give them a warm welcome and treat them well~"


    Although the rest of the class cheered excitedly at her words, they caused me to flinch. It obviously wasn''t the first time a transfer student had arrived in our class, but wasn''t it rather late at this point?


    As the classroom door opened and the new student to be joining us was revealed, my brain froze over.


    The blonde girl walked to the class podium and introduced herself with a beaming smile.


    "Good morning, it''s nice to meet everyone. My name is--"


    Her violet eyes glanced in my direction.


    "Araceli Arévalo."


    ...Really?


    "I''ve heard a lot of good things about this class, so I hope we can get along~"


    Everyone gave a round of applause at her self-introduction. Then, Teacher told her.


    "Because there''s a free seat next to Oscar at the back there, you can sit there, Araceli."


    She pointed at the empty seat to my left.


    "Yes, thank you."


    I could only observe the ongoing events as Araceli approached the seat right beside my own―the seat that used to belong to none other than the deceased Tarou Fushigimi―and took it as her own.


    What was going on?


    And why?


    Ring~!


    Everyone seemed to want to get to know the pretty girl who just joined the class but had no choice but to remain seated in silence because of the bell signalling the start of lessons.


    As class started for the day, Araceli smiled knowingly from beside me and let out a whisper.


    "Like I said, I''m a fan, right?"


    "..."


    "It''s okay. I won''t do anything here to compromise your identity or anything; I''m only here to protect you in an emergency in case anything dangerous happens."


    "...So it seems."


    Leaving it at that, I turned my head away and rested it atop my desk.


    Her words weren''t lies, and it indeed seemed to be that she was telling the truth, but it felt exasperating nevertheless.


    I don''t know what she is after.


    Whatever the case, I''m certain that her intentions are not to harm me.


    Nevertheless, no matter how on my side she appears to be, the fact alone that she possesses the Forbidden Knowledge I desire, yet refuses to give me even a hint of what it could be, automatically makes her suspicious.


    She herself cannot deny it, and she admitted so herself when we first talked at the birthday party.


    For my sake, my safety, she says. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ''As a fan.''


    Even if that were all true, if she cannot give me sufficient reason to trust her through the veil of Forbidden Knowledge that surrounds her existence, then my uncertainty about her will never settle.


    The reason she knows so much.


    The reason she claims to be my ''fan''.


    The reason she keeps wanting to intervene in my plans.


    If Araceli told me the truth behind any of these, I would be far more inclined to trust her.


    It''s true that, until now, she continuously has acted in a way to help me.


    However, it''s also true that she has acted contrary to my own wishes.


    It doesn''t matter if she truly does have my best interests at heart or whatever.


    She clearly doesn''t want me to continue doing what I''m doing, but of course, that isn''t something I will simply give up on.


    It''s something I have to do regardless of anyone else''s intentions.


    Thus, whether it''s true that she is on my side or not.


    Araceli Arévalo has no place next to me.


    ?─────?─────?


    Wednesday.


    After Araceli transferred to my class from Sacchim Girls'' Private School, the same school Sana and Sona attended, she kept to her word and acted like an ordinary student separate from me.


    There was no reason for a rich girl of some affluent foreign family to transfer from such a renowned school like that to an ordinary one like Weinstell High, but it turned out to be true that she was only here because I was here.


    Seeing what she was doing, I suddenly thought the situation wasn''t so bad.


    After all, if she spent most of her time near me, then I could keep an eye on her and what she was doing.


    Although it''s impossible for me to ask any questions about what she''s thinking due to the prevention of Forbidden Knowledge, I can still judge whether her intentions are pure, and for the moment, they seem to be, so it''s probably safe to let my guard down a little.


    Since her claim that she was here to protect me was confirmed to be true, I moved my focus back to the development of the I.M.E. drug v2.0.


    At least, that''s what I had planned on doing.


    "Surprise~!"


    Not long after I arrived home from school with the others, Araceli herself stood at my doorstep.


    Considering how she knew what school I went to despite my secret identity as Oscar Itou, I wasn''t even surprised any more that she knew where I lived.


    Abruptly, I had a thought.


    Araceli Arévalo.


    She was no fan.


    No, she could never be.


    In fact, she was something else.


    Something far worse.


    "..."


    ―A stalker.


    "H-hey, don''t look at me like that. Anyway, are you not going to let me in?"


    "No."


    "Ah! Hey!"


    Trying to shut the door in her face, she stuck her foot out to block it.


    "...What are you doing?"


    "It''s my birthday, so I came to celebrate."


    "Celebrate with someone else."


    "Ah, hey, come on! I didn''t tell anyone else from school that today''s my birthday because it can be a bit of a pain...! Please, just let me in..."


    "..."


    Her words weren''t a lie, meaning that today was genuinely her birthday.


    Still.


    Is that a reason for me to care?


    "You have family, don''t you? Leave."


    "No, I can''t! I told my parents I''d be celebrating at a friend''s house!"


    Just as I was thinking of going to grab a gun, I realised such a method would inevitably fail. She has the ability to nullify any one of my attacks, after all, so something basic like that would be useless.


    I contemplated how to make her leave since she was so annoyingly persistent, but in the midst of that, a rough yet crisp voice rang out from behind me.


    "Oh, it''s you...!"


    Sophie approached, her hair damp and a towel sitting around her neck; she seemed to have just stepped out of the shower.


    "What''re you doing here?"


    She looked at Araceli, whose face lit up at her sudden appearance, and asked.


    "Hello! It''s my birthday, and I came to celebrate, but a certain grumpy person won''t let me in. Can you help?"


    My face contorted as I listened to her words. I knew that nothing I said now could change the outcome.


    Was it a mistake on my part?


    The only people I warned in regards to Araceli were the twins; Sana and Sona were the only two I had...


    From everybody else''s perspective, Araceli was merely someone unknown who had appeared and helped protect me and Selina during the confrontation in the park.


    I hadn''t told anyone else to not interact with her; that she was suspicious.


    I''m sure they wanted to ask me who she was after that day but kept quiet because I never said anything about it.


    Thinking about it seriously, would they even believe me if I said she was not to be trusted...?


    For all they know, she simply appeared and shielded me and Selina whilst everyone else was battling, keeping us safe.


    There would be no reason for them to assume she was suspicious, even if I warned them directly...


    "Oh, thank you very much! Yes, I turn 18 today."


    Araceli''s silvery voice resounded behind me.


    "..."


    Before I realised it, I was standing in front of an empty doorstep.


    Araceli invaded my house.


    I had to accept it.


    There was nothing I could do.


    It wouldn''t be possible for me to force her to leave.


    Even if I tried, Sophie and the others, who are bound to have a positive impression of her, would want to stop me.


    I don''t think she would stay for too long, but I have an instinctive feeling.


    It''s that kind of feeling, you know.


    That, no matter the length of time she ends up spending here.


    By the time she eventually leaves,


    It''ll already be too late.