Night.
In the countryside, the star-studded sky was exceptionally bright, with sacred glimmers dotting the black canvas.
Chiba Shimizu sat by the bed, gazing through the window at the distant starscape.
Inside the room, an electric fan whirled, blowing over a pair of pure white, beautiful legs on which a large orange cat nestled snugly.
The chubby-cheeked face radiated contentment, eyes closed as if sunk into sleep.
Every now and then, it would flick out its tongue to lick its face, and the gentle mewling relaxed the mind.
In the ten-square-meter room lived four people, and though slightly cramped, they slept in peace.
Reiko Onodera, Mariko Akiyama, and Rika Onodera, three generations, lived in another bedroom.
And Misaki Saki, Arisugawa Hoshina, Chiba Shimizu, and Haruka Yuzan shared this one.
Misaki Saki had clamored to stay with little Rika, but had been flatly rejected by Haruka Yuzan.
That had upset the little one for quite a while.
