Lying on her bed, a girl, dressed casually, stared at her phone screen after a shower. Her long black hair spread around her as she engaged in a relaxed conversation with her friend.

— Are you sure it's worth buying at twice the price? — she asked, releasing a microphone icon on her phone.

After waiting a few seconds for her audio to be heard, the girl received an almost immediate response in the form of text.

"Without a doubt."

— But is it really possible to make a cheese bread so delicious that way? — she wondered, uncertain about what her friend had said. — Tomorrow I want to try one to see how it is.

After sending the audio, the girl set her phone aside for a while, allowing herself to get lost in thoughts while staring at the ceiling. The silence around her brought great relief to her mind, a momentary refuge from her everyday life.

— I better go have dinner... — she thought, getting up from the bed with a serene expression.

As she left the room, she walked through a long corridor before starting to hear voices. Due to her unique ability, she occupied a separate room in her parents' house and only approached them to get her dinner, maintaining a necessary distance to preserve their privacies.

— How can she do that... — she heard her mother's thoughts while watching a soap opera in the living room.

Her father was not present, and neither was her brother, so the girl just grabbed dinner and returned to her room, following the usual routine she had created for herself.

— To have someone whose thoughts I can't hear... — she murmured to herself, displaying a slight smile.

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After so many years living a life permeated by others' thoughts, she finally found someone with whom she could act like a normal girl, without the need to pretend ignorance about the hidden desires of people around her.

— ...Still, Verônica started having some strange thoughts...

Even though she was her best friend, the girl never shared about her ability, aware from her own experience of the consequences that could arise if she revealed this secret.

— Lies... Everyone is lying... What's happening to her?

If Lucas were aware of this, he would immediately recognize that Verônica's arc was beginning, but he also didn't have many memories of this specific part of the anime. His actions, indeed, were delaying the events, as the characters were currently focused on him.

— Also, I only heard in parts, but for that Lucas to call Lara a flea... What a rude guy. — she recalled, remembering her friend's thoughts about the bracelet.

While savoring dinner in her room, she looked at her phone and saw that she had received a message from Lara.

"no money"

Revisiting the chat history, the girl realized that she had asked Lara if she wanted to buy the cheese bread that Verônica had tried.

— No money... She's the person I worry about the most...

A faint memory surfaced in the girl's mind as she muttered these words. When entering her friend's kitchenette for the first time, she heard some strange thoughts as Lara unlocked each cabinet and examined its contents.

— To even lock the cabinets... Why do I feel like everyone I hang out with has problems?

With this thought, she finished dinner and took the plate to the kitchen, momentarily ignoring that she herself faced a series of problems.

[To be continued...]

S — Really, only in anime can you have so many problematic people together.

??? — That reminds me, but Lucas is the most problematic since he doesn't even belong to this world.

S — True... I guess that's why he got along with the others.

??? — Well, at least we now have a glimpse of the anime's heroine, who seems to be aware of others' problems.

S — If she knows about them, then why doesn't she help solve them?

??? — Because of her own problems that she can't resolve.

S — So the protagonist, coming from outside, is the one who can help them?

??? — No, the protagonist only serves to help the heroine, the rest is her role.

S — So, isn't she the true protagonist!?