Sunlight seeped through the open window of a small yet comfortable room. The curtain ruffled from the breeze, dancing to greet the morning. It hit my face and roused me from my sleep.

  For some strange reason, I felt a bit hot even though spring had just arrived. The blanket felt stuffy. There was no room to move at all and I felt something soft yet heavy on top of me.

  Did I put two blankets last night? I couldn’t really remember because I hit the bed as soon as I returned. Or did my cat jump onto me this morning? Must be the latter.

  “Urg, Coco, move away. I will feed you soon.” I said groggily and opened my eyes slowly.

  When I looked down, I saw a naked girl hugging me while pressing her body against mine. Her long black hair hid most of her skin, but it couldn’t hide her curvy and sexy experience.

  As I thought before, it’s my cat.

  “Coco… Move away.” I tried to wake her up by shaking her body, but she only grunted and hugged me tighter.

  “Come on. If you don’t wake up now, I won’t make breakfast for you.”

  Upon hearing that, the girl raised her body suddenly while looking half-asleep. Drool dripped from her lips, which she wiped using her arm, her panic apparent from her voice.

  “I-I am awake.”

  Even so, she still sat on my body so I couldn’t move. My meager physical strength was nothing compared to her. Her bare abs showed how strong she was.

  This girl was Coco, my senior and she wanted to treat me like a cat every morning. Her hair was even shaped like cat ears.

  “Move away from my body. You’re pressing me down.”

  “Hnn?”

  Coco tilted her head at my request. I had to admit, she looked cute doing that, but I had to move now.

  “No breakfast.”

  “I am moving away!”

  As expected, the threat worked pretty well against her. She disappeared from my sight and appeared at the corner of the room, sitting on her knees with her hands on her thighs like a good girl. I would appreciate it if she covered her bare body.

  Sighing, I stretched and headed to the bathroom first. Coco followed me, just like the usual, and we washed our faces. At first, I was flustered, panicked, and happy when a pretty girl intruded into my room. But now? I got so used to it that I even wished she stopped.

  It’s just tiring waking up like this. And she’s only here because she likes the food I cooked, nothing more.

  After that, I made the breakfast I promised as a bribe. Nothing too fancy, just a simple fried rice from yesterday’s leftover added with sunny side egg and sausage. Even so, Coco looked pretty happy and we devoured it instantly.

  “You need to wear your clothes properly. Are you sure that you’re a year older than me?” I said as I helped her get dressed.

  “It’s troublesome to wear it in the morning.” Coco said, throwing her face away, “And I am indeed your senior. You should call me big sister.”

  “Ah, you’ve returned?” I exclaimed as I stepped back, nodding at her.

  Once again, I felt like I should introduce her. She was Coco, my senior in Rakuen and an Advanced Psion user, an Esper with an ability called Possession. Every morning, or when she was hungry, she would be possessed with a cat and acted like one until she was full.

  And now, she returned to her usual self and got dressed.

  “Thank you as always, Ciel. You’re the only one who I can trust with my morning self.” Coco smiled seductively and looked at him, “Should I give you a reward? But again, you aren’t even excited when I press you down. I am slightly disappointed. Am I not your type?”

  “Oh, please. You remembered everything from the first time we met and asked that?” I rolled my eyes, my voice filled with sarcasm.

  Even when she got possessed, she remembered everything that happened. Which meant, she knew my flustered reaction and the fact that I did try to accept her advance, only for her to return to normal and smirk mischievously after she ate my bread.

  Let me say this. There was no way someone wouldn’t be interested in Coco. Albeit everything and her sudden possession, she was a beauty that could turn everyone’s eyes on her when she walked down the street.

  “Hahaha, I am just joking. But really, I am thankful to you. Thanks to your money, we can eat that A5 wagyu. That was so delicious.”

  “Wait, A5 wagyu?” My ears perked at a certain word she mentioned, eyes narrowed staring at her. “Did you… use my money to buy it?”

  “The meat was melting in my mouth.” She licked her lips and smacked her tongue.

  T-this girl! I screamed in my mind. Poor Luna, having a senior like this. The precious money that should’ve gone to renovate our school went into buying A5 wagyu and filling this glutton’s stomach.

  Calm down, me. What happened can’t be reversed. I can only think of something that can make her pay for it.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Like working or helping me to pay for her meal.

  Then, an idea came to me. For a brief moment, I considered this a bad idea, but then I needed some help today.

  Free labour sounded good.

  And so, I decided to grab this opportunity.

  “Hey, is the meat that good?”

  “Hmm? Yeah. It melted into my mouth with an explosion of umami. I wanted to invite you and Luna too, but you were busy yesterday so we went alone, just the three of us.”

  “Is that so? Must be nice, right? I wish I were there with seniors to enjoy the beef.”

  “You should. It only takes around 2 thousand Silas each person so we can go next month when you get paid. Everyone is looking forward to it too.”

  “I see. So it’s just 2 thousand Silas, huh?” I nodded and approached her when her guard was down. Then, I took her arm and held it firmly, “Then we can go now. Do you want to eat more with me, senior Coco?”

  I flashed a smile and sealed the deal. Her eyes literally shone upon mentioning beef and she nodded repeatedly like a broken toy. The sight of her cat ear-like hair was unreal but cute.

  Now, I secured my slave- I mean free labour.

  “Then, let’s go. I need to stop by the student council first if you don’t mind. I have some documents I have to finish first.”

  “I will help.” Coco cut me off and wiped her drool, “So the beef comes faster.”

  It seemed like I found a cheat code.

  ***

  Located in the center of Cypherion, District 10, the student council office could be seen from far away. The tree growing on the building made it a pretty good landmark for the locals to know where they were going.

  The building wasn’t used solely for the student council but also for the public moral committee. That’s why, many students with different uniforms enter and leave the building in real time. Some wore red armbands like me, while some wore blue armbands, the proof they were PMC’s members.

  Meanwhile, guests were given lanyards and an ID with them. I gave Coco the ID I prepared. She was also wearing Rakuen Academy’s white blazer like me, but she wore it sloppily. The blazer was unbuttoned and rested on her arms.

  Public moral committee, in charge of everyone’s conduct, eyed her intently. However, upon seeing me walking next to her, they averted their gazes immediately. For some reason, they didn’t want to get close or have anything to do with me except for a few people.

  “Ciel, are you bullied?” Coco, noticing the strangeness, asked me worriedly.

  My lips twitched at her genuine worry. If she used that worry to think about our monetary situation, I would appreciate it more. Rather, she asked where it hurts.

  “I am not bullied,” I replied shortly, “I also don’t know why they evade me, but it’s always like this everytime I visit. However, they do follow my instructions when we’re on duty, so there is no problem.”

  “Isn’t that what people call bullying?” Coco tilted her head after telling me a bitter truth.

  Even though I know that! She doesn’t need to tell me directly! I complained in my mind and decided to ignore her.

  A top student in Cypherion getting ignored and bullied. Who would’ve thought about that? But I was used to it so I didn’t think too much. I had a few friends and a maid cafe to heal my wound. That’s enough.

  We entered the elevator and went to the top floor where the office was located. Someone without permission wouldn’t be able to reach the top floor but the armband I wore had a chip embedded in it that served as my identification and pass to enter the floor.

  When we reached our destination, the door opened, and the office lay in front of my eyes. Two people were inside. Sibyl, just as I expected, sat behind her desk as usual. But there was also Tina, an unusual visitor at this time.

  Is she reporting about yesterday’s incident? I thought but quickly shook that away.

  From the heavy atmosphere in the room, I guessed that there was something more, a pressing matter they didn’t like yet couldn’t refuse.

  “Are they hungry?” Even Coco, who never met them before, could feel something wrong with them.

  Two pairs of eyes looked at me as I entered the office. I quickly averted my gaze, turned around, and waved my hand.

  “It seemed like I entered at the wrong time. Excuse me.”

  Woosh!

  Just when I took a step away, a red Psion ball brushed past my hair and bounced off the elevator’s door, disappearing like a wisp in the middle of night. I shuddered and turned my head slowly like a broken robot. Cold sweat drenched my back like a fountain.

  There, Sibyl smiled like an angel with fire dancing on her palm. The fire formed a skull, as if sealing my fate if I dared to take one more step away from her.

  “Ciel, where are you going? Also, please explain why you bring an outsider into the office in such an important time. Can you do that for me?”

  I nodded at her. Making her mad in this situation wasn’t ideal, so let’s just listen to what she wanted to say right now.

  “Can I leave?” Coco whispered to me as we sat on the couch.

  Sorry, but you’re here with me. I shook my head to answer.

  And then, I explained why I brought Coco with me, assuring that she was trustworthy.

  “If she can’t stay, then I will escort her back for now.” I offered, but Sibyl shut down my proposal immediately.

  “No, if you trust her, then she can stay. We will need all helping hands that we can trust in this mission.”

  Upon hearing the word mission, my brows furrowed and my smile disappeared. I narrowed my eyes on Sibyl.

  “The old fucker try to use you again?” A curse escaped my lips, surprising Tina and Coco who had never seen this side of mine.

  I meant, I tried my best not to curse. But when it came to these old broad directors, my limiter essentially disappeared. They thought that we, Espers who lived in Cypherion, were their slaves, giving unreasonable command by saying it’s for the Academy City’s safety.

  Yet, their hidden plan was the initial cause for everything.

  In short, they treated us like their janitors who took care of the aftermath of their problems.

  “Language, Ciel.” Sibyl scolded, “But yes, Tina brought the details for me because Travis is busy.”

  “So?” I asked, growling in displeasure, “What kind of a mess do we need to clean up?”

  Sibyl and Tina exchanged glances. The latter nodded and handed me a paper document, something rare in the Cypherion where everything used technology.

  I read it carefully. There were some disturbing images that made me squint my eyes, but I continued until I reached the third page and exhaled,

  “I am sorry, senior Coco. But can you return by yourself today? I am afraid I can’t buy you a meal today.”

  Coco tilted her head at my words, confused why I suddenly changed my tone. But that was just a front. I knew she realized why I said that.

  And Sibyl, who had observed since earlier, spoke.

  “Ciel, we need every trusted person-”

  “Don’t argue with me about this, Sibyl.” I cut her off and glared at her.

  Yes, I wouldn’t allow anyone to argue with me in this, even Sibyl. Need a helping hand? If needed, I could force myself to handle this alone.

  I didn’t want to drag anyone in this. Not this case.

  Why? It involves Cypherion’s dark side. These old men really made a mess.