"...What?"

  Arisu's words left Masumi momentarily stunned.

  This wasn't something she had expected at all.

  The Sakayanagi family's car wasn't just any ordinary luxury car, it acious enough in the backseat to fit several people fortably. Normally, even with multiple passengers, she and Arisu would sit together in the back.

  But this was the first time Arisu had explicitly asked her to sit up front as the co-pilot.

  It caught Masumi off guard, though she quickly pieced things together.

  Her gaze flickered to Ryuji, then back to Arisu, a knowing look crossing her face.

  "I get it," Masumi said with an exaggerated eye roll.

  Arisu's meaning was clear. She could already see how things were going to py out.

  "She really does fet her friends the moment a man shows up," Masumi muttered to herself, sighing in resignation.

  Still, she wasn't the type to be overly stubborn or cause unnecessary drama. Insisting on sitting in the backseat at this point would just make her look like a fool.

  With a quick shrug, she closed the back door and jogged to the passenger seat, slipping ih a huff.

  Even the driver gave her a strange look, as though he found her sudden relocation odd.

  "Just drive," Masumi muttered, not b to expin further.

  "Uood," the driver replied simply, starting the car without further questions.

  Meanwhile, in the backseat, Arisu reached over and pressed a button, raising the partitioween the front and rear partments of the car.

  "Of course," Masumi grumbled quietly, notig the s rising. She already had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but seeing it firmed still made her click her tongue in annoyance.

  Arisu, sitting fortably in the baow, didn't pay any mind to Masumi's rea. Her focus shifted eo Ryuji, who sat beside her, his expression calm and posed as always.

  "So," Arisu begaone casual yet probing, "there's something I've been wanting to ask you, Ryuji."

  Ryuji tilted his head slightly, his arms crossed as he gnced her way. "You're talking about your heart ditiht?"

  His words hit the mark immediately, catg Arisu slightly off guard.

  Still, she smiled faintly and nodded. "That's right."

  She shifted a bit closer, closing the small gap between them.

  "Teically, my father already has pns to find a patible donor heart for me. But if possible, I'd prefer to keep my inal heart."

  Her tone softened as she spoke. Though she always carried herself with an air of fidehere was a vulnerability to her words that she rarely showed.

  "The success rate for these kinds of surgeries isn't high. Finding a matg donor is a challenge in itself. And even if the surgery succeeds… there are no guarantees."

  Arisu's gaze dropped slightly, as though lost in thought.

  For all her posure, her genital heart dition had always been a shadow looming over her life. She had learo mask it well, never showing any outward signs of weakness or disfort.

  But deep down, she couldn't help but wish for a life without those limitations, a life where she wouldn't have to force herself to stay calm just to protect her fragile heart.

  Some moments in life were meant to be exg, after all. A, for her, even a surge of stroion could be dangerous.

  "If it's you, Ryuji…" she said softly, her eyes meeting his with a glimmer of hope. "I'm sure you heal me."

  Her fiden him wasn't baseless. She had seen his power before, how effortlessly he had healed others. If he could restore someone like Nishimiya, surely her heart dition wouldn't pose a problem.

  Of course, that was just her assumption. She didn't know the specifics of Ryuji's abilities. All she could do was look at him with quiet anticipation.

  "Of course," Ryuji said without hesitation, his tone calm yet reassuring.

  He leaned back slightly, giving her a small, knowing smile. "Heart disease, injuries, anything like that, it's just a matter of how much cursed energy I o use."

  His words weren't boastful, merely factual. With his mastery of teiques like Rd Idle Transfiguration, he had every reason to feel fident in his abilities.

  Still, while he was willing to aowledge his capability, that didn't necessarily mean he would agree to help without question.

  Ryuji tilted his head slightly, his eyes glinting with a hint of curiosity. "But… why should I help you? What's in it for me?"

  His tone wasn't cold, but there was an edge of practicality to it. After all, when he had helped Shouko, there had been a clear be gaining Sadako, the special-grade cursed spirit.

  But in Arisu's case, there didn't seem to be any tangible reward.

  Arisu, unfazed by his question, simply smiled.

  It was as if she had expected him to ask that. In fact, if Ryuji had immediately agreed to help her without hesitation, she might have found it strange.

  "Money isn't something that would i you, is it?" she said thoughtfully.

  Though her family was wealthy, she doubted that a man like Ryuji could be swayed by something as simple as financial gain.

  A moment of silence passed as Arisu seemed to sider her options. Then, her smile turned pyful, and she leaned in slightly.

  "To borrohrase from certaihusiasts," she began, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "someone like me would probably be sidered a loli, don't you think?"

  Ryuji blinked, staring at her with a raised brow.

  Her petite frame and youthful appearance did give her a certain look, though he refrained from enting. Instead, he nodded slightly, signaling his uanding.

  "So," Arisu tinued, her voice dropping just enough to be suggestive, "would you like to try a different fvor for a ge?"

  As she spoke, she set aside the e she had been holding, making her iions abundantly clear.

  Ryuji's gaze remaieady, though his lips curled into a faint, amused smile.

  "You're bolder than I expected," he remarked, his tone light. "I suppose the title of Little Tyrannosaurus fits you well."

  Not everyone could say such things so directly and with such fidence, after all.

  Arisu's pyful demeanor faltered just slightly, her eyes betraying a hint of nervousness.

  "What? You don't like me like this?" she asked, trying to sound casual but clearly seeking reassurance.

  She had always been fident in her charm and appearance, but what if Ryuji wasn't ied?

  For a brief moment, she even sidered the possibility of pushing Masumi toward Ryuji instead. Though, of course, she doubted Masumi had any idea she was being sidered for such a role.

  Ryuji's calm expression softened into a smile as he met her gaze.

  "The ditions you're …" he said slowly, his voice carrying a hint of teasing, "are very appealing."

  His answer was clear, though it carried just enough ambiguity to leave her guessing.

  After all, trying something different could be… iing.

  ***

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