143. Kyaaa!

"What is this? A box?"

Yukinoshita Yukino's voice carried a thread of curiosity as she eyed the ornate box before her. The gleam in her eyes betrayed a rare interest—one not easily roused.

Hozuki Nozomi smirked slightly, releasing her delicate hand with a trace of reluctance.

"It's not just any box," he said, with an air of playful mystery. "This little thing is basically a cheat item out of a fantasy game. Put something in, and it'll give you something else back in return. Think of it as a gacha machine blessed by the gods."

Yukino blinked. "...What?"

"Come on, haven't you read isekai light novels before? It's a legendary treasure chest! Limited to three exchanges per day, but the rewards are sometimes incredible. Totally worth it."

Her expression shifted from skepticism to faint awe. "Seriously? That sounds too good to be true."

She hesitated. "Wait—should you really be showing me this? Isn't it, like, top secret or something?"

Nozomi shrugged, casual as ever. "You said you wanted to know me better, didn't you? Well, this is part of me. My weird and possibly otherworldly life."

Yukino's cheeks flushed pink. She bit her lower lip and looked away, clearly battling her internal tsundere instincts.

Seeing her flustered made Nozomi smile wider. He decided to stop teasing—for now.

"Look, the chest has already been used once today. That means you can still try it twice. Want to give it a shot?"

Despite herself, Yukino's heart skipped. Who wouldn't be curious when standing before something that practically radiated mystery?

But she remained cautious. "Hold on. How did this even come into your possession?"

"It just... appeared one day," Nozomi replied with a lazy tone. "Right place, right time. And I happened to know how to use it."

She narrowed her eyes. "That sounds incredibly suspicious."

But she didn't press further. Something told her she wouldn't get a straight answer even if she tried.

"So... what do I put in?"

"Anything. Got leftover cat food? Even a drink bottle works. It's the randomness that makes it fun."

Yukino nodded and quickly returned with a small pack of leftover cat food.

She knelt beside the chest, placed the food inside, and waited.

The box began to tremble faintly, glowing with a soft light. Then—

Ding! [Reward Generated.]

"You can open it now," Nozomi said, arms folded as he watched her reaction.

With a mix of hesitation and excitement, Yukino lifted the lid. A shimmer of white light filled the room—and a mysterious-looking potion bottle emerged.

She picked it up, examining it with a frown. "What... is this?"

Nozomi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, uh... it's a potion that lets you see through clothing."

Yukino froze.

He immediately added, "I-I wasn't planning to use it or anything! Seriously!"

Her glare could've frozen lava. "Confiscated. Immediately."

"Hey now, if I wanted to use it, I wouldn't have told you about it," Nozomi reasoned.

"That just makes you sound more guilty! What kind of perverted item is this anyway?"

Still, her fingers tightened around the bottle. The rational part of her brain screamed dispose of it, but the curious part—fueled by the same curiosity that led her to open the chest in the first place—held her back.

"So... what are you going to do with it?" Nozomi asked cautiously.

Yukino's brows furrowed. "Obviously, throw it away—wait... no. What if someone else finds it? Or drinks it by accident?"

"Exactly my point," he said smoothly. "Let me hold onto it. I'll lock it away. Out of reach."

She gave him the look again. That one that said I know you're up to something, you suspicious creature.

"You're just finding excuses to keep it, aren't you? Pervert."

Nozomi sighed dramatically. "Do I even need this kind of thing? Think about it. I've got Mahiru, Sayu, Sumireko... and even you."

"Don't lump me in with them! I'm not showing you anything!"

Flustered, Yukino crossed her arms tightly over her chest and took several steps back.

Nozomi held his hands up. "Alright, alright. Peace. Look, just leave it here. Better me than someone who doesn't know what it does, right?"

After a moment's pause, she nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But if I catch you even sniffing around this bottle—"

"I get it, I get it!"

Yukino huffed and turned back to the treasure chest.

"We still have one more try, right? I want to see what it gives this time."

Nozomi rolled his eyes at her.

Yukinoshita Yukino snorted haughtily, arms crossed like a proud tsundere. "Isn't there another try left? I'm going to invest in it this time! Any objections?"

With an expression both daring and defiant, she grabbed the big-breasted ecchi manga Yuigahama Yui had secretly gifted him and waved it like a dangerous spell. The buxom onee-san on the cover seemed to mock Yukino's modest figure, and the second lady's brow twitched in quiet fury.

Nozomi's mouth twitched in return. "That was a thank-you gift Yui gave me... after I saved her. It's not what it looks like."

Yukinoshita Yukino froze, her pupils quivering with emotion.

So that airheaded, sunshine-smile girl had more than just friendly intentions?!

She thought Yui joined the club to get close to her, to bond over tea and books, to forge a genuine friendship... but now it seemed the girl's real goal was Hozuki Nozomi! And she had even slipped him a manga like this to curry favor!

Yukino's expression darkened with jealousy.

"What if," she said sweetly, eyes narrowing dangerously, "I use this comic book as my offering to the treasure chest?"

The room chilled by a few degrees. Even the cat froze in place.

Nozomi, aware of the storm clouds gathering, gave a tactful shrug. "If you really want to toss it in, I'll just tell Yui I lent it to a friend. She probably won't mind."

Satisfied for a moment, Yukino seemed to relent… only to surprise him by carefully placing the comic back on the shelf.

"That's Yui-san's token of appreciation. I won't disrespect her feelings... no matter how ridiculous the content is."

Her voice was soft but firm. Nozomi blinked, a bit impressed.

Then she rummaged through her bag with determined fingers and pulled out the half-eaten bag of cookies Yui had also gifted her.

Nozomi raised a brow. "Didn't you just say you didn't want to trample on other people's feelings? Shouldn't you eat the cookies, then?"

"I'm a picky eater," she said bluntly. "They look too sweet. It'd be a waste to force myself. And... I wouldn't give them to you either. What if you got food poisoning?"

A rare warmth filled her words.

Yukino cared.

Nozomi didn't argue further.

With elegance befitting a lady of her pedigree, Yukino dropped the bag of cookies into the treasure chest.

It trembled, glowing faintly.

[Ding! The mysterious treasure chest has generated a reward!]

Nozomi nodded with a soft grin. "Alright, open it."

Yukinoshita Yukino slowly lifted the lid.

A flash of white light surged into the ceiling.

Again? White?

Apparently, Lady Luck wasn't on her side today.

Inside, nestled on a velvet-like cushion, was yet another small potion bottle.

"Another potion... what is this one?" she asked warily.

Nozomi rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh… this one dissolves clothes on contact."

Yukino's entire being froze. A single vein throbbed on her temple.

"...Are you serious?"

She glared at the treasure chest as if it had personally insulted her honor.

"What is wrong with this perverted treasure chest?! Is it obsessed with stripping people?!"

Nozomi chuckled nervously. "It's random! Like a gacha! White light usually means lower-tier rewards, so… we're kinda stuck with whatever weird stuff pops out. Still, potions like this are rare, even if they're a little, uh... niche."

But before he could finish, Yukino—curious and skeptical—twisted open the potion.

"Wait, don't—!"

Too late.

The cap was stubborn, and as soon as it gave way, a few drops of the liquid splashed out...

Directly onto Yukinoshita Yukino's school uniform.

In mere seconds, her clothes sizzled with magical energy, the fabric melting away like mist. A chilly breeze tickled her bare skin.

Nozomi's eyes went wide as saucers.

There, before him, was the snowy-white skin of the elegant second lady—fragile and lovely like freshly fallen sakura petals.

"S-So cute!" he muttered like a spell-struck character from a romantic comedy.

"Kyaaa!"

Yukino let out a shriek and hurled the potion at him before diving headfirst under the covers. Only her face peeked out, cheeks burning a fierce crimson as she wrapped the quilt around herself like a defensive spell.

Nozomi caught the potion mid-air and resealed it with practiced calm.

"Hey now, that was an accident! You're the one who opened it!"

Still hidden in the covers, Yukino hissed, "P-Perv! Don't look this way!"

Nozomi chuckled under his breath, his expression warm.

But in his heart, he agreed:

Yukinoshita Yukino... really was insanely cute.