Ichin's seat was by the window, so he could indeed see outside to the school gate. However, Utaha's seat was on his right, which shouldn't have given her a view of the gate at all.

  As Ichin met Utaha's gaze, he noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed. Smiling slightly, Utaha propped her chin up with one hand and said, "What's wrong? Staring at a girl like that is quite rude, you know!"

  Ichin rolled his eyes in response. "It's nothing. I just happened to run into Sawamura. She had really dark circles under her eyes, so I asked if she'd stayed up all night pying games."

  "Oh, I see~~," Utaha said, nodding thoughtfully. Knowing Eriri's personality, it wasn't far-fetched that she might have pulled an all-nighter after the game's release, so the dark circles were to be expected. The thought seemed to lift Utaha's spirits a little.

  After gncing around the cssroom and noting there weren't many students around, Utaha lowered her voice and called out, "Ichin-kun."

  "Hm? What's up?"

  "Golden Week is coming up soon. Will you be free then?" she asked.

  "Oh, right, the holidays are almost here," Ichin replied, having nearly forgotten. "I don't have any pns. I'll probably spend most of my time at home working on game updates. Why, do you need something?"

  "Just a little. There's something I need your help with," Utaha replied, her face lighting up with a smile. "Since you won't be busy, could you set aside a day for me?"

  Although he wasn't sure what she needed help with, Ichin nodded in agreement. "Sure, just let me know when. I don't really go out much anyway."

  Hearing his response made Utaha even happier. "Thanks a lot," she said, then seemed to drift into her own thoughts, her mood noticeably brightened.

  As for Ichin, he took out his phone and logged into Bilibili to check the game's popurity. Thanks to the fact that no deck-building roguelike games like Sy the Spire existed in this world yet, Ichin's game was gaining significant traction just two days after its release.

  After browsing through some domestic websites and forums, Ichin logged into a few international streaming ptforms. There, he also saw quite a few streamers pying his game. It seemed like releasing the English version from the start was the right choice. Without it, the game wouldn't have gained such global momentum.

  He popped into a few streams and watched briefly, seeing that these streamers were doing quite well. But with csses about to start, Ichin had to put his phone away after a quick look.

  At noon, neither Ichin nor Utaha went to the club room. Instead, they stayed in the cssroom to eat their lunch. Just as Utaha was taking a few bites of her bento, her phone buzzed.

  She picked it up and saw it was a message from Eriri. Unable to help herself, Utaha let out a small ugh.

  Putting away her phone, Utaha closed her bento and slipped it back into her bag. She then looked over at Ichin and said, "Ichin-kun, can I borrow the key to the clubroom?"

  "Hm? The key?" Ichin swallowed his mouthful of food and took the key from his pocket, handing it over to Utaha. "You need to use the clubroom?"

  "It's not me, it's Eriri," Utaha replied with a soft ugh. "She stayed up te st night and is really exhausted. She wants to use the clubroom to take a nap."

  "Sure, go ahead. Just make sure you lock the doors and windows when you leave. The wind's been strong these days, and it'll be a pain to clean up if dust blows in."

  "No problem, I'll remember," Utaha promised. She took the key and, with her bento bag in hand, left the cssroom.

  Meanwhile, Ichin continued eating his lunch while watching a livestream.

  Outside the cssroom, Utaha headed to the fifth floor where she saw Eriri waiting by the clubroom door. Leaning against the wall, Eriri looked like she was on the verge of dozing off, her eyelids drooping heavily. She was clearly struggling to stay awake.

  "You got here quickly. Did you fly up the stairs?" Utaha teased.

  Surprisingly, Eriri didn't respond with her usual retort. She yawned and mumbled, "You're alone? Where's Ichin-kun?"

  "What, you need a guy to keep you company during your nap?" Utaha smirked. "If you want, I can make an announcement over the school's PA system to find a volunteer."

  While speaking, Utaha unlocked the clubroom door and stepped inside.

  "Wait, keep me company?" Eriri, who was still hovering between sleep and wakefulness, needed a few seconds to process the comment. She snapped back to her senses and hurriedly followed Utaha into the clubroom. "Don't say weird stuff! I only asked because this is his clubroom!"

  "Is that so?" Utaha replied, noncommittal, and sat down in her usual seat. She opened her bento box and said, "Ichin-kun is eating in the cssroom, so he won't be coming. You should get some rest."

  Exhausted, Eriri slumped onto a nearby table. As she watched Utaha unpack her lunch, she mumbled, "You're not going back to the cssroom?"

  "It's the same no matter where I rest during lunchtime," Utaha said casually, taking a bite of her food. "Besides, I wouldn't leave a half-asleep girl alone in an empty room."

  Eriri, hearing Utaha's response, slowly closed her eyes. She muttered under her breath, "You're more dependable than you look…" And with that, she fell silent.

  Utaha gnced at Eriri, surprised to see she'd already fallen asleep. "Wow, she must not have slept at all st night. The consequences of being addicted to a game, huh," she mused.

  Soon enough, Utaha finished her lunch and tidied up her things. She made sure to lock the clubroom door from the inside before settling back into her seat. She took out her phone, put on her headphones, and started pying a game since she hadn't brought her novel.

  Lunchtime passed quickly, and with ten minutes left before css, Utaha decided it was time to wake Eriri up.

  "Eriri, it's almost time for css," Utaha gently called out.

  "Mm? Where am I?" Eriri groggily rubbed the drool from the corner of her mouth and blinked at Utaha, slowly piecing together her surroundings. "Oh, right. I'm in the clubroom."

  Seeing that Eriri was fully awake, Utaha stifled a ugh as she pointed at the red marks on Eriri's face from where her clothes had pressed against her skin. "It's time to head back to css."

  Eriri nodded, rubbing her eyes as she stood up and followed Utaha out of the clubroom, returning to her cssroom. The moment she stepped inside, the whole css turned to stare at her.

  The red marks on her face were far too obvious to ignore.

  …