10 Red Strings At Your Service - Chapter 4 - Template Cliche

“Hnghh~ Akkai-shamaa… I-I’ll definitely help you… mmnyaa…”

Lily mumbled in her sleep, her voice soft, like a kitten mewling in a dream. She clutched the blanket closer to her.

“…What is this girl even dreaming about?”

I let out a sigh, watching her sleep peacefully on my bed. Her face, relaxed and completely defenseless, had none of the full of energy she displayed when she was awake. She mumbled softly in her sleep, occasionally letting out tiny whimpers, something that, under normal circumstances, would probably make any guy my age lose his mind. A cute girl, sleeping in your bed, calling your name in her dreams.

Yeah, this should be the kind of situation where the beast in me kick in. But sadly I had bigger things to worry about.

I have too many things on my mind to even think about indecent stuff towards angels. Ignoring my responsibilities and getting comfy is one of my not-so-proudly attained skills, but it looks like I’ve finally met my match. No matter how much I try to relax, the weight of these almost weightless red strings feels unbearably heavy.

But at the very least, one problem has been reluctantly solved. Where she’s going to stay during her time here.

That’s right. Here in the house. Specifically, my room.

Apparently, returning to wherever she came from wasn’t an option. Maybe traveling between the human world and the heavenly realm isn’t as simple as flapping her wings and taking off. That actually makes sense—after all, if it were that easy, she probably wouldn’t have crashed through my window.

Or maybe, she’s just not allowed to go back until she finishes investigating this whole red string shenanigans.

Either way, I’m stuck with her.

It’s not like I’m against on her staying here. I have a cute angel girl staying by my side. People would kill to have this. It’s just I’m worried about how the hell I’m supposed to keep this under wraps.

When I brought this concern up to her earlier, her response was… Well, it was very Lily-like.

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“Don’t worry Akai-sama! Be surprise! I can transform myself into a thread!”

“Huh…?”

Before my brain could even begin to process whatever nonsense she just spouted, she suddenly puffed out her cheeks, clenched her fists, and—

“Witness this Akai-sama! Hnnnnnggghhh! Hyaa!”

I’m still in daze about what she said about being able to transform that I was surprised when a brilliant flash of light erupted from her, so blinding that I instinctively shielded my eyes with my arm.

“Look, look, Akai-sama!”

I hear Lily’s voice pestering me to look at her, but my eyes still adapting to the sudden flash of light. It felt like that moment when you’re peacefully browsing the internet in dark mode at night, only to have some obnoxiously bright pop-up ad assault your vision.

As my vision slowly adjusted, I lowered my hands, bracing myself for whatever ridiculous thing she was about to show me.

And then—

Nothing.

“…Lily?”

“Down here, Akai-sama!”

I followed her voice—only to find a single, shimmering white thread floating in the air before me, glowing faintly.

No way.

I reached out instinctively, my fingers hesitating just above it. “…You actually turned into a thread?”

“Hehe~! Surprised? Lily-chan’s special transformation magic!”

Her voice echoed directly into my head, which was, frankly, more disturbing than impressive.

“Lily.”

“What is it Akai-sama!”
Lily answered full of energy, probably expecting some kind of praise from me.

“I’ll be frank with you, since we’re probably going to be stuck together for a while.”

“Y-Yes?” Lily tilted her head or at least, I imagined she did, since right now she was nothing more than a glowing thread hovering mid-air.

“Okay, let me ask this properly—do you have any other amazing powers? Like going invisible, making objects float, or, I don’t know, shooting light beams from your fingers?”

I wasn’t asking for much here. Just a little something to make all of this sound more divine and less… gimmicky.

Lily, still floating in her string form, wobbled slightly. “Hauuu… I-I’m sorry, Akai-sama… I can’t do any of those things…”

Her voice, echoing directly in my mind, sounded so sad. Goddamn it. Now I feel so bad for her.

“A Halo Holder Angels probably have some fancy abilities like that… but for a failure like me…” Her voice wavered, and I swore I could feel her trembling. “This is the best I can do…”

“…Look, I didn’t mean it like that.” I tried to rephrase. “It’s just… I was expecting something a little more.”

“Hauuuu…” Lily let out a weak whimper, as if my words had dealt critical damage.

Crap. I’m bad at this.

“Okay, okay, don’t cry. I didn’t say your ability is useless. It’s just unexpected.”

“S-So… you’re not mad?”

“I was never mad.”

“Uuuuuu… I knew I wasn’t good enough…”

“Oh come on, don’t say that. I mean, that’s already pretty impressive. You literally turned into a thread. That’s not something a normal person can do. And, honestly, it’s kind of convenient. At least I don’t have to worry about hiding you.”

Her thread-like form twitching slightly. “Eh?”

Her glow brightened, and I could almost feel the warmth radiating from her, like a little firefly flickering with happiness.

“R-Really? You think so?”

“Yeah, it’s plenty useful, so don’t put yourself down like that.”

Lily let out a small gasp, and for a moment, the little thread floating before me pulsed with a soft glow, and suddenly circling around me with excitement.

“Uuu… Akai-sama…!”

Her voice trembled with emotions, and the faint glow surrounding her thread-like form keeps getting brighter. It was like watching a tiny firefly trying its hardest to shine.

“I will do my best to be useful to you, Akai-sama!”

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After going way overboard showing off the many things she could do in thread form—which, to be honest, was pretty impressive—Lily eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Traveling from heaven to land probably played a part. Not to mention, her crashing through the windows.

Watching her breathing softly in sleep. Her expression was peaceful. Vulnerable. Even kind of innocent, if you ignored the fact that she just shape-shifted from angel to a thread showing off her second transformation.

Still… I couldn’t help but wonder.

Why her?

Why was someone like Lily sent down to handle something this serious?

We’re talking about a global-level phenomenon. A divine-level incident. The entire red string system—the foundation of fate and romance made by Gods themselves—has glitched out according to her. Shouldn’t this be a job for someone higher up? Like one of the “Halo Holders” Lily mentioned. Those angelic elites with broken cheat skills and glowing auras and probably health bars that don’t move even when hit with dark type attack.

It’s not that I’m underestimating her. Really. But even she admitted it herself—she’s an apprentice angel. An intern at best. If someone like her is being sent to deal with a world-bending incident, that means one of two things:

One, the Heavenly Realm has way too much faith in on their trainees. Talk about power harassment.

Or two… they’re testing me.

“…Are they seriously using her as a sacrificial lamb?”

The thought tasted bitter in my mouth.
Sending Lily alone might’ve been their way of poking the unknown creature with a stick. If I snapped and harmed her in any way—physically, emotionally, spiritually—they’d have their confirmation that I’m a harmful existence. Then boom, send out those Halo Holders to get rid of me using their Archangel Holy Swords used to get rids of impure beings. Case closed. That sounds so cool except the fact I’m the one receiving the attack.

I looked at Lily again. Still fast asleep, breathing softly. Completely unaware of the weight she might be carrying on her shoulders.

Maybe I am overthinking this. No, I hope I’m overthinking this. Because if the Heavenly Realm really did send her here knowing the danger, then they’re far scarier than I gave them credit for.

For now, the only thing I can do is investigate and find the one responsible for this red string. And if my gut’s right—and unfortunately, it usually is—the answer lies with one of the girls on the other end of these strings.

I glanced at my hand, still laced with threads, tugging faintly in various directions.

And then—

Grrrrooowwlll.

…My stomach roared in hunger putting a stop on my thoughts. So much for the dramatic inner monologue.

“It’s already this late, huh… Might as well grab something to eat.”

You know what they say—can’t think straight with an empty stomach.

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Birds were already chirping outside, their cheerful tune completely at odds with the mess that was me. A morning light slipped through the gap in the curtain, casting a pale line across the room—and across the mountain of books scattered in front of me. In the center of that, sat a worn-out version of myself, eyes heavy with fatigue and zero trace of sleep in sight.

Yeah. I didn’t sleep.
Not even a wink.

You’d think I’d pass out the moment I hit the floor, considering all the chaos that unfolded last night. A strange girl with wings breaking into my room, a divine revelation involving red strings of fate, and somehow, me becoming Wanted: Dead or Alive in the Heavenly Realm. If anything, my mental exhaustion should’ve steamrolled my insomnia.

But no. Apparently, my brain thought it was the perfect time to hold an emergency strategy meeting.

Lily hogging my bed wasn’t really the issue. I’ve slept on floors before. I’m no stranger to discomfort. It’s just… every time I closed my eyes, my mind would boot up like a potato laptop running ten tabs at the same time. I tried shutting it down, but the intrusive thoughts just kept buffering. Hypothetical conversations, worst-case scenarios, mental simulations of what could go wrong and how I’d definitely embarrass myself in front of one of the nine supposed fated partners. You name it.

Eventually, I gave up trying to sleep and did what any completely sane person would do under this level of stress: Picked up a light novel.

Yes. Escape through fiction. The most effective stress medicine. I don’t even remember when I stopped reading. All I know is, I blinked—and it was morning.

“Hnghh… Good… morning, Akai-sama…”

A soft voice tugged at my consciousness, followed by the slow rustling of sheets. Lily sat up on my bed, rubbing her eyes with the grace of a sleepy kitten. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her wings now turned into mini ver drooped slightly behind her back, twitching with every drowsy movement.

I turned from my pile of books and dead motivation. “Good morning, Lily. Did you sleep well?”

“Mmh! Yes! It’s been so long since I last slept in such a soft, comfortable bed!” she replied with sparkling eyes. Seems like she finally sober up with how lively she replied.

So… just what kind of treatment are they giving her up there in Heaven? Is the furniture in the Heavenly Realm made of clouds? Apparently, clouds are painful to fell through according to the documentary I saw before.

Before I could say anything else, she suddenly gasped—loudly.

“A-Akai-sama!? Y-Your eyes! You have dark circles under your eyes!” Her face contorted into a mix of panic and guilt. “D-Don’t tell me… you didn’t sleep at all?! Was it because I took your bed?! Awaah~ I’m so sorry, Akai-sama!”

She was waving her hands wildly. I held up a hand to calm her down. “Relax. It’s not your fault. I couldn’t sleep for other reasons.”

“B-But still…” she looked like she was about to cry. “If I wasn’t such a bother, maybe Akai-sama could’ve slept…”

“It’s fine,” I said, rubbing my temple. “If anything, I’m more worried about how comfortable you are after sleeping in a stranger’s room.”

“Oh! But you’re not a stranger, Akai-sama! You’re the one I’m fated to help!” she said proudly, puffing out her chest, completely putting her trust to me.

Grroowwlll

Suddenly, a stomach growling sound echoed through the room. For a moment, I thought it was my own stomach again, but then I noticed Lily with her hands pressed firmly against her belly, her face flushed that could be mistaken as ripe tomatoes from how red it is.

“I-I’m sorry!” she squeaked, “I haven’t eaten for days since I traveled from Heaven to here…”

Apparently, angels still starve. Maybe they’re not that amazing after all. Heavenly Realm might need to rethink their policy if they’re sending agents down to the mortal world with an empty stomach.

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“Hwaaaaaaah~…”
A long, exhausted groan slipped past my lips as I dragged my feet down the empty school hallway, each step heavier than the last. My back ached, my eyes feels heavy, and my soul… well, that probably gave up somewhere around the third round of mental simulations last night.

“Akai-sama, are you okay? You seem really tired…”

Lily’s worried voice echoed sweetly inside my head. Yep. Still not used to this telepathic thing. It’s like having a second consciousness narrating. But hey, her voice is really beautiful and cute.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered aloud, keeping my voice low. Turns out this telepathy channel is one-way only. She’s the broadcaster and I’m the guy holding a broken walkie-talkie. I have to actually say my replies out loud like some weirdo talking to himself. Wait… Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?

Thankfully, We’re alone in the hallway. Just me, my thoughts, and a talking thread that’s actually an angel.

“I’m really sorry, Akai-sama…”

Before I could brush it off again about don’t worry about the bed thing she went on.

“Because of me… you’re going to be late to your class…”

…Oh. That’s what she’s apologizing now.

Technically speaking, we started the day earlier than usual. So it’s not her fault, right?
Except—Cooking breakfast for two, sneaking it back into my bedroom like I was feeding a stray cat I picked up secretly and doing amateur window repair to hide the damage from last night, trying to delay of Mom’s finding it out as much as possible.

“Don’t worry. I usually go to school around this time anyway.” That’s true. It’s just a few minutes difference. I could just toss out a recycled excuse and no one would question it or anyone would even care.

Now, if you’re wondering where’s the thread angel who’ve said nothing besides “I’m sorry” is right now—

She’s currently my uniform button.
Yes. You heard that right.

After last night’s Lily’s transformation show-off, I learned that she could not only turn herself into a thread—but also merge with other fabrics, so long as they were made of thread-based materials. Apparently, this was new territory for her too. Which made sense, given she’d spent her entire life in Heaven, there’s no way she’d have encountered human made clothes before to try these stuff. I bet there’s more to her powers, but for now, this is good enough for her to lay low.

That also explains why I was running behind. Try teaching a flustered, overly enthusiastic angel how to sew herself into a buttonhole early in the morning. Just with that sentence, it really feels like my life have gone crazy.

“We’re here, Lily,” I muttered under my breath as I came to a stop in front of the familiar door with the sign Class 2-C hanging above it.

“Uuuuuh… I’m getting nervous… This is my first time seeing a human class.” came Lily’s anxious voice, echoing directly into my mind. She sounded genuinely uneasy.

Relax, it’s not like you’re about to introduce yourself as a transfer student in front of everyone.

I ignored her worried whimpers and stepped up to the sliding door, silently reciting the excuse I had already prepared for my tardiness.

*chatter, chatter, chatter*

That’s when I noticed it.
The noise spilling out from beyond the door wasn’t a teacher blabbing some boring lesson. No, this was louder. More excited. And most importantly… unusually unified.

If I had to guess, the teacher hadn’t arrived yet. That much was a relief for me. But the weird thing was, it wasn’t just the usual leader groups making the noise. It felt like everyone was involved. The whole classroom buzzed with anticipation like something interesting was about to go down.

“Akai-sama? Why did you stop?” Lily’s soft voice cut into my thoughts before I could spiral into yet another unwarranted monologue.

She had a point. Standing still wouldn’t get me any answers. And since I couldn’t hear exactly what was being said here anyways, I figured I’d just dive in and see for myself.

“Ah. Yeah” I replied, then grabbed the door’s handle.

With the familiar screech of metal sliding against metal, the door opened—and the entire room fell into an eerie silence.

All eyes turned to me.

It wasn’t unusual for me to arrive just as class was about to begin, but this was the first time I’d been met with this much attention. Eyes filled with expectation locked onto me. From anticipation to disappointment.

They were clearly waiting for someone else.
I stared back, equally confused. This wasn’t the kind of welcome you gave a teacher, either. What on earth were they all waiting for? A transfer student angel that’s in my button right now, perhaps?

Then, realizing it’s just me, everyone quickly averted their gazes, returning to their conversations like nothing had happened. The room returned to its previous lively chatter.

…Huh…

“Umm… Akai-sama, are you perhaps hated by your classmates?” Lily asked, her voice filled with innocent concern, clearly just as baffled as I was by what she’d just witnessed.

Hated, huh?

No. That’s giving me way too much credit.

Hatred implies they’re thinking about me enough to develop such emotions. It requires effort, investment.

This? They probably just don’t care. Plain and simple.

As I made my way toward my seat, I dialed up my hearing a little just enough to catch some conversation floating across the room.

“I wonder what she’s gonna be like!”

“I saw this gorgeous woman get out of some black luxury car earlier this morning maybe that was her?”

“Yahooo! A new cute girl in class! Sorry, Rihito, but this time, I’m not letting you hog the spotlight! I’m going all in on this one!”

So that’s what all the excitement was about.

I pulled out my chair and sat down.
Seems like the transfer student rumor was true after all. Judging by their reactions it’s probably happening today. That would explain the absent of the teacher too.

“Everyone looks so excited, Akai-sama! Is something special about to happen?” Lily’s voice rang cheerfully in my head again, brimming with genuine curiosity.

“Lily… Just so you know, I can’t exactly talk to the voice in my head when there’s a ton of people around me,” I muttered under my breath, hoping my words would get lost in the ocean of noise.

“Ah, that’s right! I’m sorry…” she replied in disappointment.

It’s fine. Really. I bet no one is paying attention to me anyways. But still, talking to the air would probably bump me up from quiet background character to walking red flag. I rather avoid that.

“You.”

Suddenly, a voice from beside me pierce my ears.

I turned my head reflexively toward the source of the voice, only to meet a pair of sharped-eyes behind her glasses lenses.

The girl that sat next to mine, a hardcover book open in her hands as usual, though her attention was clearly no longer on the page.

Kiritani-san.
The Class Rep.

“You’re late.”

Before I could even crack a joke about how rare it was for her to initiate conversation with me, she wasted no time and launched straight into her next sentence.

“I’ve refrained from commenting on your habitual last-minute arrivals thus far since, technically, you’ve always arrived on time before the class begins. But today, you’re exactly fourteen minutes late. I understand the teacher has yet to arrive, which lessens the impact, but as class representative, I’m obligated to address it. That is—unless you have a legitimate excuse?”

She delivered her lines at a steady, deliberate pace—It felt like she was reprimanding me using a passage straight out of a conduct manual with her perfect posture and unflinching gaze.

For a moment, I considered using the excuse I had originally prepared to tell the teacher.

But I put a stop on that thought immediately.

This is Class Rep we’re talking about.

She’d see through it in two seconds and proceed to point out the holes in my story with precision.

So instead, I gave her the only answer I could offer.

“…No, I don’t.”

“I see,” she replied calmly. “Then that’s all I had to say. Please do be careful and be more punctual next time.”

With that, she turned her eyes back to the pages of her book, her tone neither cold nor annoyed—just… fair.

She probably don’t enjoy this kind of confrontation. That much was obvious. She wasn’t trying to show authority or superiority, she was simply doing what she believed her role required of her. Even though she hates it so much, she intended to see it through.

Such an upright person.

“She’s so cool…” Lily whispered inside my head with awe, clearly impressed by the class rep’s presence.

I was planning to ask the Class Rep about all this excitement regarding the supposed transfer student. But after that exchange just now, the idea of approaching her again felt ill-advised. She didn’t say anything particularly cold, but she had that aura of ‘conversation terminated’ that made you think twice about pushing your luck.

Youhei might’ve been another option, but he was already in one of the louder groups. Probably comparing notes on who caught a glimpse of her or placing early bets on who’d get her LINE first.

With nothing better to do, I leaned back and let the noise wash over me.

Then something… caught my attention.

I looked down.

One of the red strings—specifically the one tied around the middle finger of my left hand—was… moving.

Now, red strings doing weird things wasn’t exactly new to me anymore. I don’t really think much of it now.

But this time… it was different.

There were no exaggerated movements or anything like that.

It was a steady pull. A slow tension, like someone on the other end was drawing closer.

The thread floated upward slightly, as though being drawn by an unseen force. The string that is loosen up until now, with every passing second, it shortened—inch by inch.

Whoever was on the other end…

Was coming closer.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

They’re walking towards here.

Right now.

“A-Akai-sama! The red string!” Lily’s panicked voice rang out in my head, after noticing the red string behavior herself.

Unlike the rest, which still sagged lazily across the floor and piled near the corner of the classroom door, this one became so short that’s it’s now floating above.

Before I could fully process what’s happening, a familiar sound rang through the air.

The front door slides open, metal scraping against metal. That noise alone was enough to gather everyone’s attention and turn their heads in unison towards the source of the sound just like what they did to me earlier. I also turned my head towards the door for a completely different reason from the rest.

First, came the face of our homeroom teacher. A guy in his mid-forties who looks like he lost his enthusiasm for this job ten years ago.

Though, that only lasted for a moment.

As she stepped inside the room and into our view, the air itself seemed to change. Everyone was captivated.

Her soft, honey-blonde hair flowed gently with every step. Her uniform, perfectly ironed and modest. It’s like elegance was simply her default state.

Delicate features framed by neatly trimmed bangs, pale skin, and her—pure, amber-gold eyes—that scanned the room with just the right amount of curiosity and composure.

No doubt, her appearance was enough to draw every eye in the room.

But there’s something only, I, can notice.

It was her hands.

Specifically, her left hand—the one gently clutching the strap of her school bag, held neatly in front of her like she had practiced proper posture. They were slender, and pale.

But that wasn’t what caught me off guard.

It was the thread.

The red string.

There, wrapped around her left middle finger, was the same thread that had been shortening and drawing closer just now.

The thread didn’t dangle anymore.
It was stretched.
Connected.
From me… to her.

She stopped beside the podium, where the teacher had already positioned himself, and turned to face all of us.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m Himemori Chie. I look forward to studying with you all.”

A soft, clear voice flowed through the room. Not loud, not trying too hard—but each word landed gently in everyone’s ears. There was something oddly soothing about it.

She bowed with perfect grace, her golden hair fall forward just slightly. Then, she raised her head and smiled—a soft, dazzling smile.

And just like that…
She finished us all off.

Boys looked smitten.
Girls were stunned.

While I just stared at the red string connecting us, completely dumbfounded.
My eyes were so wide, I feel like my sockets were about to fall off.

They actually did it.
The classic, overused, overplayed, worn-to-the-bone trope… The transfer student cliche.