Classes were going normally, with no visible issues.

Takeshi was watching Aoi Mizuhara from his desk.

She was three rows ahead, her notebook open, writing something in neat handwriting. At one point she took out a water bottle, took a sip, and went back to writing. She didn’t look to the sides or frown, nor did she do anything that suggested she had killed a person the night before.

Takeshi looked away.

’She’s fine.’

He looked at her again.

’She’s completely fine.’

It wasn’t that he expected her to come in crying or with blood-stained clothes, but Aoi was taking notes during the break between classes as if yesterday had been a completely normal day.

Takeshi twirled his pen between his fingers and stared at the ceiling.

He reconstructed what he remembered from the moment the fight in the construction building ended. Aoi had emerged from the darkness alone, put away her weapon, and hugged him without saying a word. The impression had been so strong that he hadn’t said anything either.

Afterward she let him go, took his hand without asking, and they both left the place. She walked him all the way to the entrance of his apartment building, where she finally released his hand, said "rest up," and left.

That was all.

Takeshi had entered the apartment, barely greeted Akari with a few short words, and locked himself in his room. At some point he had fallen asleep.

And now here he was, watching Aoi take notes.

He opened the stats panel out of curiosity.

[AOI MIZUHARA]

[Life: 90%]

[Sanity: 58%]

[Confidence: 100%]

Aoi’s health and sanity were better than last night.

’Did the system heal her too?’

Takeshi closed the panel.

’Should I buy sanity now, just in case?’

In the end he decided to save his points for something that truly justified spending them.

The bell rang and the students started moving. Takeshi slowly gathered his things. When he looked up, Aoi was already standing next to his desk.

"Good work."

She said.

"Yeah."

Takeshi replied.

Aoi looked at him for a second longer than necessary before turning around and leaving the classroom. Takeshi followed her without saying a word.

The opportunity came during history class.

The teacher asked them to go downstairs one by one to retrieve their folders from the archive room on the lower floor. Takeshi raised his hand before anyone else.

He stepped out into the hallway, went down the stairs, and suddenly heard the sound of a party popper.

[You have received a donation from Senpai2: good stream]

Takeshi sighed.

’I still can’t get used to the donations...’

And before he could keep walking, the donation alert sounded again.

[You have received a donation from Light_Salvatore: surprise]

This time Takeshi yelled in fright.

"Are you serious!?"

After recovering from the scare, he decided to keep going, but instead of heading to the archive room, he slipped into the first-floor bathroom. He locked the door, leaned against the wall, and spoke in a low voice.

"I need to talk to you."

After an awkward silence, the deity’s voice echoed.

"How unusual for you to want to talk to me this early."

"Why isn’t anyone asking about Yuki?"

There was a brief pause.

"Because no one remembers Yuki."

Takeshi processed that.

"Did you erase their memories?"

"I erased the memories of everyone who knew her inside the game. I also made the body disappear without a trace. There are no questions."

"Why?"

"Because Aoi would have ended up arrested or expelled, and that..."

The voice sounded slightly more animated.

"Is way less entertaining than having her running free."

Takeshi didn’t answer right away.

"So you didn’t do it so the people who knew her wouldn’t feel bad?"

"No."

"You did it so the show could go on."

"Correct. Aoi free generates more content than Aoi locked up. The viewers will appreciate it, and that shows in the donations that went up this morning, in case you’re interested."

Takeshi stared at the bathroom floor.

"Is Yuki actually dead or is the system going to reset her at some point?"

"That depends on decisions I haven’t made yet, but for now, she’s out of the game."

"And Aoi remembers Yuki?"

"No."

"Is this what the viewers want or what you want?"

"The viewers want to see blood and I just give it to them."

Before Takeshi could respond, he heard footsteps in the hallway outside and waited for them to pass.

"One more thing,"

He said.

"Aoi was badly hurt last night and today her health is at 90%. Did the system do that?"

"The system resets your physical condition, not everyone else’s."

"So she healed herself!?"

"She comes from a powerful family, so they probably have some kind of healing magic."

"I see."

"Is that all?"

Takeshi thought if there was anything else he needed to ask right now.

"For now, yes."

Takeshi waited ten seconds and then left the bathroom. He went to the archive room, grabbed the first folder he found with any name on it, and headed back upstairs.

The rest of the morning passed without incidents.

Takeshi paid enough attention in class not to draw attention and used the rest of the time to organize what he knew.

The deity wasn’t someone understandable, and that had already been clear before, when it had forced him to reject Yuki. But erasing the memories of an entire school was on another level. It meant the deity could rewrite what a group of people knew about another person.

’How much can it actually change?’

Takeshi jotted something in the margin of his notebook so he wouldn’t lose track of the class and kept thinking.

’Having Aoi’s trust at one hundred percent lets me access part of her power, and as a bonus, I can summon Eclipse.’

The midday bell rang.

Takeshi closed his notebook and looked forward. Aoi was already standing, putting her things away. She turned, saw him, and waited.

He stood up, grabbed his backpack, and walked over to her.

"Want to have lunch together?"

Aoi asked.

"Sure."

Takeshi replied.

They left the classroom together. Aoi walked beside him with her backpack on one shoulder, looking straight ahead, and they passed through the hallway without either of them saying a word.

Takeshi glanced sideways at the floating stats above Aoi’s head.

[AOI MIZUHARA]

[Life: 90%]

[Sanity: 58%]

[Confidence: 100%]

’This isn’t right. None of this is right.’

But she kept walking as if everything was fine, and that was exactly what unsettled him.