That night, the three of them shared a bed once again.

Yukino and Utaha seemed completely used to it by now. After changing into their pajamas, the two beautiful girls lay down without showing the slightest sign of awkwardness.

As for Haru, he was naturally unfazed—his skin was pretty thick after all.

But he also understood that their calm tonight wasn't just habit; they still had important things to discuss.

"Haru, have you thought of how to build hype for the commercial?" Utaha leaned against the left side of the bed, her long hair cascading casually over her shoulders, filling the room with a soft fragrance.

"I was just thinking—we could film a few extra clips of Jelly over the next few days and then edit them into something fun," Haru already had a few ideas brewing.

"You've got the whole plan in mind?" Yukino was also sitting up, having undone one of the buttons on her pajama top. The heating was a bit too warm, making the pajamas feel a little stuffy.

"Not the whole thing—just some fun concepts."

"Explain."

"We'll call it something like 'The Ultimate Cat Ownership Deterrent Guide'. The video content will play around that title, but the core idea is to be entertaining. Like putting a cat on a desk with two ping pong balls beside it—it won't be able to resist swatting them off."

By now, both girls understood where he was going with this.

Even though the title suggested "reasons not to get a cat," the actual intent was to showcase just how adorable they are.

Utaha's eyes lit up with interest. "So, whenever Jelly tries to knock the balls off, we stop her. There's a lot we can play with using that concept."

Yukino nodded slowly. "That's true."

Seeing they were on board, Haru didn't feel the need to elaborate much more. "That's basically it. As for promoting the videos, that part's simple—we can either pay the platform for recommendations or ask some influencer friends of mine."

"You mean those… dancing live streamers promoting it during their streams?" Yukino's tone paused slightly as she said it.

Her mind flashed back to a certain annoyingly catchy song that she once hated—but begrudgingly admitted was addictive: Under the dim yellow streetlights...

"If they promote it directly, it'll feel too forced."

Haru had a better idea. "What I'm thinking is, during their downtime in a stream, they pretend to take a break and 'accidentally' click on one of our videos."

Utaha couldn't help but chuckle. "That's exactly like the scripted stuff on variety shows."

"But you can't deny—it works." Haru replied flatly.

He wasn't wrong. It was an old trick, but still incredibly effective.

When big-name streamers start their own companies and want to push a new talent, they'll use tactics like co-streaming or "random room visits" to create the illusion of a chance discovery. It puts the newcomer into the spotlight.

Then after the stream ends, they spend a bit of money on social media to boost it further—or even edit it into a parody documentary like 'The Rise of a Mysterious Genius Streamer' to generate buzz.

After hearing Haru's plan, both Yukino and Utaha nodded in agreement. They could see clearly that while the method was old-school, its effectiveness was undeniable.

With that matter settled, the three of them began casually chatting about the kinds of content they'd shoot.

The atmosphere was easygoing, lighthearted—even Yukino was smiling often.

It was almost as if the three of them sharing a bed hadn't caused any awkwardness at all.

Though Haru loved Bunny-senpai's shapely hips and had a weakness for Miss meow's aloof charm, now that they were focused on the shoot, he reined in his less appropriate thoughts.

Like… Sprite.

This peace lasted all the way until the lights went out for the night.

Haru thought they'd have a quiet evening. But Utaha suddenly stirred the pot.

She hit Haru with a move she called the "Eternal Grasp!"

Just that one little act was enough to make Yukino notice—and then all hell broke loose.

So much for a peaceful night.

_ _ _ _

The next morning, the three of them headed to school together.

On the way, Haru noticed a surprising number of girls wearing "Skin coloured tights."

The weather was still quite cold, yet the streets were dotted with these magical glimpses of "summer legs."

Of course, truly nice legs were still the minority. Many girls were short with stubby legs.

But the long legs? They were all walking beside Haru.

On his advice, though, both Utaha and Yukino had opted for thick leggings instead of illusion tights.

As they neared the school gates, they ran into Hayakawa and his group.

"Yukinoshita-san, Haru—morning! Wait… why is Kasumigaoka-senpai with you?!"

They all looked visibly shaken at the sight of Utaha.

"Good morning," Utaha greeted them gracefully. She remembered these boys—they'd helped out a lot with the club last year.

Seeing his friends still stunned, Haru stepped in to smooth things over. "Didn't you guys already know Senpai joined the photography club? What's the surprise now?"

"That's not the point! Even if she's in the club, she's still a year ahead of us. Why is she walking to school with you guys?"

"That's the charm of the photography club!" Haru declared.

"What the hell are you rambling about?! Answer the damn question!"

"Yes! This is the photography club's burning passion!"

"…The hell?"

As Haru got playfully dragged away with arms thrown over his shoulders, Utaha turned to the calm Yukino beside her.

"Are they always like this?"

"Mm." Yukino nodded. Then, as if reading Utaha's mind, she added, "I know what you're wondering. But I don't really understand boys' friendships either. So I can't give you an answer."

"Yeah, I don't get it either," Utaha agreed.

Then she chuckled softly and lowered her voice. "Still, I'm surprised you answered me at all."

Yukino's tone remained cold. "Senpai, please be mindful of your surroundings. I'd rather not have to pin you down in public."

Utaha didn't flinch—in fact, she smiled even more radiantly. "You won't do it."

Yukino suddenly stopped in her tracks and shot her a glare. "Wanna test that?"

She had been looking forward to a good night's sleep—but that ridiculous "Eternal Grasp" had ruined everything!

"Nope," Utaha replied instantly. "I'm not an idiot. I don't dance on the edge of death."

Yukino looked away and resumed walking. "So that's the extent of your courage, huh?"

"It's called tactical retreat. Haru taught me."

Yukino said nothing more—but made a mental note:

Next time we play co-op again, when Senpai is naked, I'm going to use a submission hold on her.

A fully naked Senpai, pinned and flailing?

Now that would be hilarious.

And that… was Yukino's powerful revenge plan!

~~~~~~~~~~

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