The Paradise of Reincarnation Begins with Eriri

Chapter 24 Eriri: I was first! I was first!

"Okay, senior, you rest for a while. I'll go check if the cat is still there."

Kiyono Makoto silently raised his hands, turned around and took his leave.

He hadn't forgotten his real purpose for coming to the park last night: to hope that the trapped orange cat hadn't been discovered yet.

A moment later.

In a secluded corner of the park.

A chubby orange cat tangled in a kite string came into view.

"Meow~ Meow meow meow!"

Upon seeing Kiyono Makoto appear, the weak orange cat lying on the ground immediately began to meow.

"100,000 yen, here I come."

Kiyono Makoto's eyes lit up. He quickly stepped forward, easily untangled the kite string that was wrapped around the orange cat's hind legs, and then took out his phone to make a call—he had seen a lost cat notice posted at the entrance before entering the park yesterday, which had the owner's phone number on it.

The call connected, the identity was confirmed, and the other party sounded both surprised and delighted, saying they would arrive within ten minutes.

Kiyono Makoto put away his phone, picked up the orange cat, walked through the park, and returned to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"Senior, the cat has been found."

Kasumigaoka Utaha, arms crossed, had sat up straight again, transforming into a cool, aloof beauty. However, the blush on her pretty face hadn't completely faded. Hearing this, she glanced at the orange cat and explained expressionlessly:

"...That was low blood sugar."

Kiyono Makoto slightly twitched the corner of his mouth:

"If that's what you say, then it is."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kick someone:

"It's already dawn, junior, are you still going to school?"

"I'm not going." Kiyono Makoto shook his head. "I just want to go home and get some sleep. I'll send a message to my homeroom teacher to ask for leave later."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took out her phone:

"Tell me your contact information... We'll meet again after you've rested well, and then we'll discuss our respective areas for improvement."

"Senior's appearance is justified."

Now that a formal team has been formed, it is essential to define the team's role and responsibilities.

Just like in competitive games, if all five positions are filled by mages or marksmen, the roles are unclear and the abilities overlap, the game will almost always end in defeat.

After exchanging contact information, Kasumigaoka Utaha put away her phone and gracefully took her leave.

Kiyono Makoto stayed in the park to wait for the orange cat's owner. Not long after, a female office worker rushed over. Upon seeing the orange cat, she was extremely grateful and, without any hesitation, offered a reward of 100,000 yen. Then, amidst the woman's profuse thanks, she took her leave and went home.

Speechless all the way.

After returning home, Kiyono Makoto first took a refreshing bath, and after eating and drinking his fill, he cast a healing water spell on himself.

"Strange... I don't feel anything."

Kiyono Makoto looked puzzled.

After casting the water magic, apart from feeling a faint cool sensation flowing into her body, there was nothing unusual, but her previous behavior was clearly abnormal.

"So, is it that water magic is ineffective against me, or is it that senior's constitution is special?"

Unable to draw conclusions from mere speculation, Kiyono Makoto quickly put his doubts aside and went to sleep.

"...The school bell has already rung, why isn't that idiot Seino here yet?"

Eriri twirled her pencil between her fingers, her gaze sneakily drifting towards the window, observing the back of the classroom through its reflection.

Why aren't you coming to class?

Looking at the empty seats, Eriri couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Are you feeling unwell?

"Or have we encountered a real-world counterpart?"

"That guy's luck can't be that bad, right..."

"Damn it, I can't even send a message without a way to contact them."

"Once that guy gets here, I'll definitely find a way to add him on LINE..."

"..."

Silent all night.

the next day.

After Kiyono Makoto woke up in the morning, the daily intelligence was updated again.

[Today's Info 1: Yukino Yukinoshita is currently challenging the Slay the Spire]

[Today's News Item 2: Customer service representative Xiao Xiang's complaint hotline is 2333...]

"Slay the Spire?"

"It feels like a dungeon of Paradise..."

"As for the complaint hotline... I see absolutely no use for it."

Kiyono Makoto silently closed the daily information panel, then got up and washed up.

It doesn't matter if the intelligence in real life isn't reliable; as long as the intelligence in the instance is reliable, that's enough.

After half an hour.

Kiyono Makoto sat down in the classroom.

The students in the classroom were laughing and playing, discussing celebrity concerts, new comics, upcoming games, and so on. As it turns out, the world will continue to function normally even without someone; his absence yesterday did not cause any ripples in the classroom.

"Good morning, Kiyono-kun."

As I was casually flipping through my textbook, a girl's clear and pleasant voice suddenly rang in my ears, like an evening breeze rustling through a bamboo forest, leaving no trace, calm and natural.

Kiyono Makoto looked up at the bob-haired girl who had spoken and responded politely:

"Good morning, Kato-kun."

"I was trapped in the sports storage room the day before yesterday, and I was only able to get out thanks to Kiyono-kun. I've been wanting to thank Kiyono-kun ever since." Kato Megumi said calmly, placing a box of cookies on the desk and saying lightly, "Please accept this box of animal crackers."

Kiyono Makoto said politely:

"It was nothing, don't worry about it."

Kato Megumi tilted her head slightly, her eyes clear and bright, her tone unhurried:

"It was just a small favor for Kiyono-san, but it was a huge deal for me... If Kiyono-san hadn't shown up in time, I might have been locked up until the next day."

"And later I even had to trouble Kiyono to run errands and explain things to me, which made me feel really bad."

"So please accept this box of cookies."

Kiyono Makoto then agreed: "I'll accept it, thank you Kato-kun."

“I should be the one thanking Kiyono-san.” Kato Megumi tilted her head and looked over, her tone unusually natural. “Speaking of which, Kiyono-san didn’t come to class yesterday. Were you feeling unwell?”

"...I have a slight cold."

Hearing Kato Megumi's concern, Kiyono Makoto felt a little conflicted.

Having been in the classroom for a while, Kato Megumi was the first person to ask why he hadn't come to class yesterday.

"The temperature difference between day and night is quite large now, it's really easy to catch a cold." Kato Megumi nodded slightly, her tone light and airy. "Mom caught a cold, Kiyono-kun, take care of yourself."

"..."

at the same time.

Two girls walked into the classroom together.

The girl on the left has a slender figure, snow-white skin, and her signature golden twin tails; she is Eriri.

"Hey, Kiyono-kun is here at school."

Seeing Kiyono Makoto sitting in the corner, Eriri's eyes lit up, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since you're at school, it means you haven't encountered any danger."

After relaxing, Eriri's gaze shifted and landed on Kato Megumi.

Who is that girl with the bob haircut?

"Strange... I don't remember it at all?"

Eriri tried hard to remember, but her mind was blank, and she couldn't even recall the other person's name.

"Eri-chan, let's go shopping together after school!"

The girl next to him extended an invitation.

"Ah..." Eriri snapped out of her daze and quickly flashed her signature rich girl smile. "Okay, let's go shopping together. I was just thinking of buying a set of cosmetics."

Eriri chatted with her friend as she walked to her seat, but her eyes couldn't help but sneak glances behind her.

Should we go and ask Kiyono for his contact information now?

No.

If I did that, the whole class would definitely gossip about me.

"Don't rush, wait a bit, there will be plenty of opportunities..."

A day passed quickly.

Before we knew it, it was time to get out of school.

Seeing Kiyono Makoto grab his schoolbag and prepare to leave, Eriri, who had been waiting for a chance, finally panicked and quickly sneaked out.

"They haven't gone far yet."

Eriri opened her eyes wide and found Kiyono Makoto's figure at the entrance of the building. Just as she was about to chase after him, she suddenly saw a tall girl with long black hair appear and quietly meet up with Kiyono Makoto.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha?!"

Chapter 25 What? The plump woman in black stockings is also a player?

"...There's something wrong! There's definitely something wrong!"

Eriri's deep blue eyes suddenly widened, like a cat suddenly turning into a hamster, its hunting instincts instantly activated.

The ability to read the air is an essential skill for people from the Japanese islands. Simply put, reading the air means having good judgment and awareness.

Eriri had been pretending to be a well-behaved young lady at school for so long without being discovered, so her ability to read the room was naturally exceptional. Therefore, she could tell at a glance that the atmosphere between Kiyono Makoto and Kasumigaoka Utaha was different.

"The day before yesterday in the multimedia classroom, that fat woman in black stockings clearly didn't recognize Kiyono, but now she's actually taking the initiative to chat with me..."

"And the distance is too close."

"If we're just ordinary friends, we'll definitely maintain a tacit social distance."

"Damn it, what on earth happened?"

Eriri furrowed her brows slightly, feeling as if something had slipped out of her control.

"...Should I ask Kiyono about this tomorrow?"

Eriri hesitated and bit her lower lip.

Just then, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was at the end of the corridor, happened to turn around and look over.

Eyes facing each other.

Kasumigaoka Utaha showed no sign of panic or guilt on her pretty face. Instead, she revealed a playful smile, and then, under Eriri's gaze, she reached out her right hand and gently took the hem of Kiyono Makoto's clothes.

"what?!"

"What is that fat woman in black stockings doing?"

"It was clearly intentional!"

Eriri suddenly clenched her fist, her little tiger teeth gleaming coldly at the corner of her mouth.