[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): That's true, Nanami-chan. You should just follow Kaguya-chan's exchange plan.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 2): The exchange rate's already there—it's up to you whether you want to do it or not. If you really enjoy working, I won't stop you.]
[Aoyama Nanami (Level 3, Stage 5): Alright then…]
In the end, Aoyama Nanami agreed to exchange her points for gold.
After all, no one willingly wakes up early and juggles multiple part-time jobs unless they have to survive. Her earlier refusals had all stemmed from pride. But now that everyone had said so much, refusing again would've felt ungrateful.
So, Aoyama and Kaguya made the transaction directly in the chat group.
The amount wasn't large—she simply exchanged ten points for one kilogram of gold.
For Aoyama Nanami, money didn't need to be excessive. As long as it covered her daily expenses and tuition fees, that was enough.
That one kilogram of gold would easily sustain her for a long time.
...
The next day arrived quickly.
As promised the previous day, after breakfast, Eriri opened a World Gate leading to the world of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.
In the story, Aoyama Nanami only moved into Sakurasou during her second year of high school because she couldn't afford the rent for the regular dorms. So, as of now, she was still living in another school dormitory provided to students.
Although it was also a dorm, compared to Sakurasou, the one Nanami currently lived in was far better.
Not to mention, Sakurasou carried the infamous nickname of being a "nest of problem children." No sane person would willingly move there.
That was precisely why the rent was cheaper than the other dorms.
Knowing that Eriri would be visiting, Aoyama Nanami stayed quietly in her room, waiting.
Then, without warning, a mysterious dimensional portal appeared a few meters in front of her.
Seeing this, Nanami immediately jumped up from her bed. Though she had never seen a World Gate with her own eyes before, she wasn't ignorant about such things—she knew instantly that Eriri had arrived.
In the next moment, under her expectant gaze, a fair, slender leg stepped out from the portal, followed by a breathtakingly beautiful face.
As Eriri stood gracefully before her, Aoyama Nanami felt her heart start pounding uncontrollably.
She knew Eriri was attractive, but seeing her in person made her realize just how overwhelming that charm truly was.
Even as a self-proclaimed "steel-hearted straight girl," she couldn't help but be swayed.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Nanami forced her thoughts back in line, then smiled warmly and greeted her.
"Eriri, welcome!"
"Mm-hmm, I'm here~" Eriri replied with a soft smile, nodding lightly before turning her gaze around the small room.
"So, Nanami-chan, this is where you're staying now?"
The room wasn't large. After fitting in a bed, a desk, and a wardrobe, there was barely any space left.
At least it had a private bathroom—but even so, the room could only be described as modest.
"Yeah," Nanami replied casually. "I only come back here to sleep at night anyway, so I don't really mind the living conditions."
Eriri understood what Nanami meant, but still smiled faintly. "I see. Most student dorms are like this~ But have you ever thought about moving out?"
"Hmm… not really. I don't think it's necessary."
After a brief moment of consideration, Nanami declined Eriri's suggestion.
"Alright, suit yourself. I'll be buying a house near your school later to use as a base for group members. If you ever want to move there, you'll be welcome anytime."
Eriri didn't press further—she respected her members' choices.
"Mm-hmm, got it!" Nanami smiled and took a few steps closer to Eriri.
"There's no rush to set up the World Gate yet. Since you're here in our world, let me take you around first."
"No problem, let's go!"
...
After deciding, Aoyama Nanami led Eriri out of the dormitory.
Since it was the weekend and still only around eight in the morning, there weren't many people moving about in the dorm corridors.
Most students were either still asleep or had gone out early for their part-time jobs.
Unlike Sakurasou, which allowed mixed-gender housing, the standard student dorms were strictly separated between male and female residents.
So, during the short walk through the building, the few people Eriri encountered in the hallways were all sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girls.
However, not a single one could compare to Aoyama Nanami in terms of looks.
Naturally, when those girls caught sight of Eriri, they froze, their expressions turning from surprise to outright admiration.
By the time Nanami returned later, she would likely be bombarded with questions from her dormmates about the mysterious beauty she'd been seen with.
At this rate, there was a good chance that Nanami might eventually decide to move out of the dorm because of the attention—but that wasn't Eriri's concern.
Right now, she was walking leisurely beside Nanami, taking in the surroundings near the school.
"Eriri, since you're here, how about we go take a look at Sakurasou?"
Nanami stopped walking and turned to Eriri with a small smile.
Having watched her own memory projection, Nanami knew that in the original timeline, she would eventually move into that infamous dormitory full of so-called "problem children," though she would later move out.
She didn't particularly care about her future, but she was curious about Sakurasou nonetheless.
She had wanted to visit it for some time now but hadn't had the chance due to her busy schedule.
Now that Eriri was here, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
"Sure, let's go check it out. My schedule's in your hands today anyway~" Eriri replied casually, nodding with an easy smile.
In truth, aside from Aoyama Nanami and Shiina Mashiro, Eriri wasn't especially interested in anyone else from this world.
Nanami was now destined not to move into Sakurasou, and Eriri herself planned to prevent Mashiro from ever living there in the first place.
After all, the students living in Sakurasou were quite the odd bunch.
Misaki Kamiigusa, for instance—though attractive and talented—was the ultimate simp.
Mitaka Jin truly loved Misaki, but he was also a complete scumbag.
In Eriri's opinion, both of them had serious issues.
Because he thought he wasn't good enough for Misaki, Jin went around sleeping with various women—many of whom were married.
He even dated Misaki's own older sister as a "substitute."
The ridiculous part was that Misaki didn't resent him in the slightest. She even went out of her way to offer herself to him, and in the end, she happily married him.
All Eriri could think was—simps really were terrifying!
As for Ryuunosuke Akasaka, she didn't have much to say. He was an otaku, but compared to Misaki and Jin, he was far more tolerable.
The most outrageous of them all, however, had to be the dorm manager, Sengoku Chihiro.
As Mashiro's cousin, she knew perfectly well that Mashiro had almost no common sense, yet she still entrusted her to the care of a male high school student.
There was no sense of responsibility whatsoever—she didn't even care if her cousin might be taken advantage of.
Currently, there was still almost a year before Shiina Mashiro would transfer from England to Japan, so Eriri wasn't in any rush to seek her out.
When that time came next year, she would simply intercept Mashiro before the original protagonist could and bring her away.
After all, they were both half-British, both artists—clearly, fate had tied them together.
Since Mashiro wanted to learn manga techniques, Eriri had already decided she would make her her assistant.
Sakurasou wasn't far from where they were, and before long, the two arrived at an old apartment building marked with two signs: "Suimei University of the Arts" and "Sakurasou."
The building was old and worn, constructed entirely of wood, looking as though it might collapse at any moment.
The entire apartment complex was painted red and consisted of only two floors. Outside, there was a small courtyard surrounded by a low wall. Several large cherry blossom trees stood within it, from which Sakurasou took its name.
It was late April—the height of cherry blossom season—and the trees were in full bloom, their pink petals dancing in the breeze. The falling blossoms covered the courtyard in a soft carpet of pink, while even the street outside the walls was lightly dusted with petals.
The scene was, admittedly, quite beautiful.
"So this is Sakurasou… it really is just as rundown as it looked in the memory projection," Aoyama Nanami remarked, gazing up at the weathered sign with a sigh.
"What? Don't tell me you actually want to move in like in your original future?" Eriri teased with a faint smile.
Nanami quickly shook her head. "No way. I have no intention of living here."
In her original future, she had moved into Sakurasou not only because of her financial troubles, but also because of the male protagonist—Sorata Kanda.
Naturally, Nanami knew Sorata; they were classmates, after all. In fact, even before she joined the Multiverse Chat Group, they had interacted a few times.
But to her current self, Sorata Kanda was nothing more than an ordinary classmate. She felt no affection toward him.
When she saw her own memory projection and realized that she would one day fall for Sorata, she had been utterly shocked.
Still, that revelation hadn't changed her feelings. On the contrary, after learning that he had rejected her confession, she completely lost interest in him and decided to keep her distance.
Over the past half month, she had barely spoken a word to Sorata.
And now that she had received one kilogram of gold from her transaction with Kaguya, she no longer had any financial concerns.
There was absolutely no reason for her to live in Sakurasou anymore.
Just then, the door of the old apartment creaked open, and a mature woman with heavy makeup and a seductive outfit stepped out.
From inside the building came the faint sound of chatter.
The red-haired woman was none other than Sengoku Chihiro, the dorm manager of Sakurasou. Judging from her flashy attire, she was clearly on her way to a mixer.
After all, every evening after work, Chihiro would dress up glamorously to attend such events—especially on weekends.
However, the moment she saw Eriri and Nanami standing by the entrance, her steps froze midair.
Her expression instantly turned to one of astonishment.
Her reaction must have drawn attention from inside, as a lively female voice soon called out from within the building.
"Chihiro-sensei, why did you stop all of a sudden? Did you forget something?"
Hearing the voice, Chihiro quickly snapped out of it.
"It's nothing. I just saw an unbelievable girl."
"What? Really? Let me see!"
With that, a flurry of footsteps echoed from within, and moments later, a head of short orange hair peeked out from behind Chihiro.
The girl was none other than Misaki Kamiigusa—the eccentric and overly excitable "simp" of Sakurasou.
Following Chihiro's gaze, Misaki's eyes quickly landed on Eriri, standing elegantly before the sign.
The instant she saw Eriri's face, Misaki's jaw dropped. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Wow! What a beautiful girl!"
Under the two women's stares, Eriri remained completely unfazed. Her expression didn't change in the slightest.
Nanami, on the other hand, politely greeted them. "Good morning, Chihiro-sensei, Misaki-senpai."
Since Nanami was wearing her Suimei High School uniform, both Chihiro and Misaki naturally assumed that Eriri was also a first-year student there.
Misaki, ever the energetic one, squeezed past Chihiro and skipped toward the still-closed gate, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Good morning, you two! You've been standing here for a while—don't tell me you're thinking about moving into Sakurasou?"
Despite the noble aura radiating from Eriri, Misaki showed no sign of hesitation, her curiosity shining brighter than ever.
—
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