The next day, during lunch break.

My peaceful, empty life was on the verge of complete collapse, battered by the unreasonable aftershocks still lingering from yesterday.

"So? Mawaru. Since when did you get into that kind of relationship with the 'Ice Princess'?"

At my desk in the classroom, I found myself flanked on both sides by my best friend Ryuki and his girlfriend, Rui Takimine.

Normally, Rui would be chatting with other girls, but today she had deliberately stationed herself next to Ryuki and was peering at me with an expression of intense curiosity. The sparkling aura unique to extroverts radiated from point-blank range, needling and chipping away at my emptiness-coated psyche.

"...That kind of relationship? What kind of relationship? We're just a victim of coercion and the perpetrator."

"You're lying! I've never once seen Himuro-san go out of her way to talk to a guy before, you know? And dragging someone off by their tie, of all things... There's definitely something going on! Mawaru-kun, did you maybe confess to her or something!?"

"I didn't. I've already retired from the high-calorie game known as three-dimensional romance. Besides, if I got close to a venomous, unattainable flower like that, the tiny bit of mental HP I have left would be instantly wiped out."

"But you were dragged off yesterday. Ah."

As if he'd just figured something out, Ryuki clapped his hands together with a pon, then lowered his voice and brought his face close to my ear.

"Wait, don't tell me... Himuro found out about that 'creepy four-dimensional pocket' of yours?"

"...You hit the nail on the head."

When I confirmed it with a deep sigh, Ryuki burst into uproarious laughter, exclaiming "No way!" Rui tilted her head, asking, "Four-dimensional? What's that?", but Ryuki just brushed it off with a casual "It's just this guy's little party trick."

"So, she's got something on you and now you're her gofer, huh? Hang in there, man!"

"This isn't funny. Seriously, she's mistaken my personal sanctuary for some kind of 'convenient locker'."

"Hey, isn't it fine? The other party is the most beautiful girl in school, you know? Normally, you'd have tons of guys lining up, dying to carry her bags for her... Oh, speak of the devil."

Where Ryuki turned his gaze—at the classroom entrance—stood Rin Himuro, the frigidly beautiful girl who, just like yesterday and the day before, seemed to freeze the very air around her.

Completely ignoring the buzz in the classroom, she walked straight over to my desk.

And then, without the slightest hesitation, she slapped her smartphone down onto it.

"...Kageya. You're late."

"Huh? Lunch break only started five minutes ago."

"It's the duty of the 'Storage' to be waiting at the designated spot before I come to get you. Come on, let's go."

"...You've gotta be kidding me."

The moment I opened my mouth to protest, Himuro's crimson eyes sharply skewered Ryuki and Rui, who were on either side of me.

It was just a gaze. Yet, I could clearly see both Ryuki's and Rui's shoulders jolt with a start. Deep inside Himuro's eyes lurked a clear, sticky exclusivity that silently declared, ‘Would you mind not chatting so casually with what's mine?’

"...Is there something else you still need to do?"

"Ah, no! Not at all! Mawaru, just go!"

"Y-Yeah! See you later, Mawaru-kun!"

Bowing under the overwhelming pressure, the cheerful couple hastily beat a retreat.

After watching them go, Himuro let out a short, sharp "Hmph!" through her nose and looked down at me once more.

"Now, get up, quickly. The real work officially starts today."

"...What do you mean 'work'?"

"I told you yesterday. The nap set."

So saying, she pointed to the screen of the smartphone she had slammed onto my desk.

Displayed clearly on it was a delivery completion notification from a shipping company.

"...Wait, you're kidding? It's already here?"

"I picked it up first thing this morning and shoved it into a locker at the entrance. Let's hurry up and retrieve it."

A few minutes later, I stood at the entranceway with a look of complete despair on my face.

In the locker Himuro was pointing at, a gigantic cardboard box, unnaturally bulging to the point of bursting, was jammed in with a force that looked like it was about to break the door down at any moment.

"...Hey. What is this? No matter how you look at it, this is way too huge."

"I don't see the problem, it's perfectly normal. A high-grade down blanket, an oversized low-resilience cushion, and a portable cooler/warmer. Oh, and I also bought a beauty steamer, just in case."

"...What? A steamer? For the rooftop? How are you planning to power it?"

"There's a portable power supply in there too. Naturally."

I pressed a hand to my forehead.

This girl seriously mistook my shadow for her own personal second room or something.

"...This is impossible. My capacity's going to burst."

"It'll fit. Come on, just open up already."

Himuro pointed at the cardboard box and jutted her chin out like a queen.

I knew that resistance was futile. Letting out a deep, profound sigh, I checked to make sure no one was around, then reached a hand toward the shadow at my feet.

I concentrated my mind, holding a clear image of "accepting."

Then, the shadow slowly expanded, readying itself to swallow the giant cardboard box.

"...Here goes."

I lifted the cardboard box and pushed it into the shadow.

With a strange shlurp sensation, as if mass itself was being erased, the enormous box completely vanished into my shadow.

"...See? It fit, didn't it."

Himuro folded her arms smugly and puffed herself up with satisfaction.

"...Yeah, it fit. Thanks to that, my mental HP is now completely zero."

"You're so dramatic. Come on, let's go. The weather's nice today, so I'm going to take a nap in a well-ventilated spot on the rooftop."

"..."

And so, my stomach-churning daily life as the "Ice Princess's Exclusive, Super Convenient Four-Dimensional Locker and Gofer" began.

My heart may be empty, but I felt absolutely certain of one thing: going forward, I would definitely develop a stomach ulcer.