Once the footsteps faded away, Lirina whispered softly, “And… and things like this… please, from now on… don’t… don’t do that anymore.”

“Oh…” Anya replied, cheeks flushed.

“I’ll go out first. You can come out after a while, okay?” Lirina turned her head, avoiding Anya’s gaze. Her voice tried to sound composed, but it couldn’t hide her shyness at all.

“Oh, okay.” Anya drew a few sigils in the air, murmured an incantation, and dissolved the soundproof barrier.

~~~~~~~

This morning, classes were Classical Literature, Math, PE, and English.

Nothing unusual happened all morning… except during PE, when some students sneaked glances at Anya while changing.

Of course… more students were sneaking glances at Lirina. Even Anya herself couldn’t help watching Lirina a little.

After all, Anya, aside from her white hair, didn’t have much that stood out physically… but Lirina’s full chest, paired with that shy, cute expression… it was just too sinful.

Lirina knew she was being watched, subconsciously shielding her chest—but it was mostly futile. And besides, most of the onlookers weren’t just interested in her body—they were captivated by her unbearably cute, flustered expression.

~~~~~~~~

At noon, after the teachers left, students took out their lunches. Most left the classroom to eat elsewhere or to grab something from the campus shops.

“Phew…” Anya exhaled.

All morning, after each class, several students would swarm over, asking questions… not as intense as the morning assembly crowd, but still relentless.

Now it was lunchtime… finally some peace, she thought. But she was wrong.

Three girls, blushing, hurried toward her with their lunches. Others had the same idea but had lost the chance, so they sat back down or left the classroom.

Seriously? Anya thought, staring at the three approaching girls.

“H-Harts-san…” “Uh… c-can we… eat with you?” “W-we won’t disturb you…”

Anya frowned and glanced past them to Lirina, who was looking over at her.

This is my chance… I’d much rather eat with her.

“I…” Anya bit her lip. She hadn’t fully decided how to refuse, but the words slipped out.

“Huh?” The three girls froze, waiting for her answer.

…Anya Harts. Here in this world, nobody knew her, nobody could force her to do anything. She didn’t have to cater to everyone, didn’t have to smile for appearances.

If it’s uncomfortable, just say it. I don’t have to be friends with everyone… I’ve endured this morning already.

A small voice in her head urged her, and she cast a quick glance at the three girls standing before her.

“…Hah.” Anya held her forehead. “U-uh… can you give me a break? This morning… it’s been… quite troublesome.”

“Eh…” The three girls, and even Lirina, were momentarily stunned.

The atmosphere froze for a moment. Just as Anya prepared to explain further—

“I-I’m so sorry…” said the girl with round glasses, who seemed to be the spokesperson. “We really wanted to get to know Harts-san better, so we thought we could have lunch together… but we didn’t consider whether it would bother you… really sorry.”

“Uh…” Anya looked at them, slightly surprised.

“So, um… could we… maybe have a chance to eat together another time?” another energetic girl asked.

“Oh… okay.” At this point, Anya hadn’t expected the round-glasses girl to apologize so sincerely. Refusing now would make her seem rude.

“Yay! Then we won’t bother you. Let’s go find a place to eat.”

“Hey…don’t push! It’s dangerous…”

Anya watched them leave, and the classroom was left with just her and Lirina.

“Haah—” Anya sighed, carrying her lunch to Lirina.

“An… Anya.” Lirina looked at her, momentarily at a loss for words.

The three girls had no idea, and even Lirina didn’t realize—this was Anya’s first real refusal to someone.

And surprisingly, it was accepted without any fuss.

…Forget Heaven and all that nonsense.

“Uh… hehe, want to have lunch together, Lirina… uh, Rina.” Anya said, realizing mid-sentence something felt off. Both of their cheeks instantly flushed red.

Lirina’s name was shortened—from “Lirina” to “Rina”—and in Anya’s culture, calling someone directly by their first name was extremely intimate.

And she didn’t say “Rina-chan” or “Rina-san,” just plain “Rina.”

From either Japanese name conventions or their world’s norms, using just her first name… it’s far too intimate.

“…Uh, can we add a suffix?” Lirina said after a moment, still red-faced.

“What suffix? Like everyone else in class calls you… Rina-chan… uh…” Anya thought, tried it, paused, and shook her head. “Not quite used to it.”

“Uh… just calling me by my name…” Lirina turned her head, voice small.

“…Then you can try calling me Anya?” Anya smiled resignedly.

“An… ya.” Lirina started, but stopped halfway.

“Not used to it, huh?” Anya chuckled. “…Afraid people will know what it means?”

“Yeah, it’d reveal… that we’re… living together.” Lirina pressed her lips.

“Ah? How would it?” Anya blinked.

“To everyone else, calling me that… seems so intimate… uh.” Lirina lowered her head.

“Then we just tell everyone we know each other.” Anya scratched her cheek. “It’s just a name—it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Then… how do we tell them?” Lirina frowned.

“I know you’re bad at lying, so I’ll handle it.” Anya smiled. “Now… can we have lunch together, Rina?”

“Uh… okay… uh… you probably want somewhere quiet, right?” Lirina looked up, cheeks still flushed.

“Best if no one’s there,” Anya said. “We have a lot to talk about… but you know, we can’t have others listening.”

“Uwaa…” Though she knew Anya didn’t mean anything, Lirina couldn’t help overthinking, her mind spinning for a moment.

 Anya looked puzzled.

Lirina took a deep breath. “Uh… then the rooftop. Though it’s off-limits to students…”

“That’s fine.” Anya drew some sigils in the air, muttering a few incantations. 

Poof! 

“The lowest level concealment spell, but no one here will see us.”

“Uh… okay.” Lirina hadn’t told Anya this was her first time breaking school rules.

“Shall we go?” Anya lifted her lunch.

“Yes.” Lirina stood, and together they walked to the rooftop.