To Counterattack Ayano, Kiyoharu Decides

"Ayano?! You, how... how are you here..."

Shimaura Hitomi froze, turning her head mechanically to Ayano with a forced smile.

She instinctively hid her backpack behind her, trying to bury her head in the sand. However, Ayano had no intention of letting her off the hook. She walked closer and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Little Hitomi just took something from inside and put it into her own bag... What could it be? Can you let me see?"

Her voice was still gentle, but it was like a cunning fox spotting a weak, pitiful, and helpless little rabbit in Shimaura Hitomi!

"It's nothing, oh right, when I was throwing out the trash earlier, I accidentally threw away a sticky note. Yes, yes, a sticky note, and then I just remembered it was still useful..."

Shimaura Hitomi, thinking quickly on her feet, managed to string together a plausible explanation. Although her trembling state made it hard to believe, it was still a significant improvement.

"That's truly touching, Miss Shimaura."

Kitahara Ayano sighed to herself, then suddenly snatched Shimaura Hitomi's shoulder bag. Before Shimaura Hitomi could react, she accurately pulled out Kiyoharu's old phone case.

The air felt like hot, sticky asphalt clinging to the road.

Shimaura Hitomi's face turned bright red, and she swayed precariously, on the verge of a breakdown.

However, under Kitahara Ayano's gloating gaze, she finally calmed down and let out a weak sigh.

"Ayano, you won't tell Airi, will you?" Shimaura Hitomi's tone was pleading, but more than that, it was a guess.

Kitahara Ayano raised her eyebrows slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, I just feel like Ayano wants to negotiate with me, and you don't seem angry or like you're sticking up for Airi, even though I did something so... so..."

Disgusting.

Shimaura Hitomi felt too embarrassed to say it, but Ayano understood perfectly.

Ayano was smart, and she knew that Shimaura Hitomi was inherently smart as well. Since they were both smart, there was a possibility for negotiation, exchange of favors, and peaceful resolution of conflict.

"Disgusting, was it? For a cool and reliable senior like Kiyoharu, it's perfectly normal for a junior to admire him... Watching Kiyoharu live through the misfortune caused by the young lady Airi every day, Little Hitomi must have had a hard time."

"I didn't..."

"As long as Little Hitomi agrees to one thing for me, I'll pretend I didn't see anything today."

Gulp!

Shimaura Hitomi moved her slightly chubby, cute cheeks, swallowing nervously, as if facing a demonic contract.

"Ayano-chan, please, just name your price. As long as it doesn't make Airi and Senpai hate me, I'll do anything!"

"Hmm... Then, how about trying to pursue Kiyoharu?"

"Eh?"

"You know, Little Hitomi, I've been looking for creative inspiration lately, so please provide me with some rare inspiration. After all, we're best friends."

"But what does this have to do with inspiration?"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Who knows? We have to try it out... Besides, from your perspective, wouldn't you be tempted to get closer to Kiyoharu, and have me help cover for you so you don't have to worry about Airi finding out?"

Kitahara Ayano's words were full of temptation.

However, her ingrained sense of morality made Shimaura Hitomi instinctively refuse, "No, Ayano-chan, we can't do this... We can't betray Airi... They're already engaged..."

"It's just an engagement, they're not even truly married yet. Little Hitomi, you've never owed Airi anything. In other words, you've tolerated enough, and now you're just providing a little warmth to the unfortunate Kiyoharu-kun. There's no need to hesitate."

As she spoke, she put Kiyoharu's old phone case back into Shimaura Hitomi's bag.

Every word Kitahara Ayano spoke struck Shimaura Hitomi in her most vulnerable and hesitant spot. She was terrified by how quickly she was wavering and could no longer bear the pressure in the air. She turned and fled.

Oh dear.

Such a timid little mouse, Kitahara Ayano shook her head slightly, feeling a bit helpless. However, the overall development of the situation had not exceeded her expectations.

Ayano didn't expect to reach a cooperative relationship with Shimaura Hitomi in one go. Since she had caught her in a compromising situation and planted the seed of rebellion, it was only a matter of time before things progressed to Ayano's desired state.

Kiyoharu accompanied Airi to look at the new spring bags. When they saw Ayano again, Shimaura Hitomi was nowhere to be seen.

"Little Hitomi wasn't feeling well, so she went back. She asked me to apologize to you both."

"So formal..." Airi pouted. "Never mind, Little Hitomi is always so polite, unlike some people."

"What about me?"

"Tch, I didn't name names. I wasn't talking about you."

"But when the young lady is being sarcastic, she's usually talking about me. If it were someone else, she'd usually just curse them out directly."

"Shut up!"

Airi glared at him. How dare Kiyoharu act like he understood her so well.

The original purpose of their shopping trip today was the "Shimaura Hitomi Makeover Plan." With the main subject gone, the mood became somewhat listless.

This weekend gathering of best friends dispersed without any ripples.

... The so-called "without any ripples" was merely a superficial appearance. In reality, if Kiyoharu had slipped up in any one aspect, for example, if he had lost his composure during the cocktail-making lesson, or if he hadn't managed to appease the young lady in the fitting room, the consequences would have been dire.

Perhaps next week, he should hint to the principal at school about increasing his workload, and just spend the weekends working overtime.

Going through this tribulation once a week, Kiyoharu really couldn't handle it.

Going home.

Airi went to answer the phone; it seemed to be from her father. Chihaya Genichiro, that old geezer, often assigned his daughter work at all sorts of times. Kiyoharu didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he opened the system interface to check Shimaura Hitomi's task progress.

Shimaura Hitomi's charm value was temporarily frozen at 77, still 3 points away from the task requirement of 80. This indicated that besides changing her hairstyle, the clothes he bought later also had an effect.

"Anyway, I just need to temporarily boost it to 80 points. I'll find an opportunity at school to give her a hairpin or something... No, giving it directly might cause misunderstandings. I should find an excuse to have her try it on."

Just as Kiyoharu was deciding on his strategy, the system couldn't help but pop out and complain, "Host, you're too cowardly. Giving a small gift between friends is perfectly normal."

"Am I cowardly? I'm cherishing my life, okay? Nobody understands the 'kitchen knife' threat better than I do."

A kitchen knife could come from any angle, in any way.

Kiyoharu was determined to sever all emotional ties and eliminate all ambiguity in this life.

"System, if you're bored, you might as well scan more and help me find tasks to gather Energy Points."

"Host, this is precisely what this system was about to report! The scan and analysis of Chihaya Airi are nearing completion. This means the host will soon be able to unlock her task line!"

This news made Kiyoharu a little happy.

Originally, he didn't care if Chihaya Airi didn't have a task line. After all, Airi had already served her purpose as a shield and a source of gold. It was truly unnecessary to provoke her further for task rewards.

Now, Kiyoharu needed Energy Points to counter-attack the "Cao thief" Ayano. Therefore, if Airi could provide him with some Energy Points, it would be a timely solution to his urgent need.

Young ladies from wealthy families were not to be trifled with, but there was no risk of a "kitchen knife" when dealing with her. Even if all the women in the world fell in love with Kiyoharu, Airi would definitely be an exception. Kiyoharu was so certain of this.

Regarding Chihaya Airi's task, Kiyoharu had been urging the system for several days. He hadn't held out much hope, as she was originally an un-targetable character, and the system was a "Rake System," which seemed unrelated at first glance.

He didn't expect such a pleasant surprise, making his efforts to pressure the useless system these past few days worthwhile.