Kamuro Masumi's Sense of Crisis

"Let's go, we still need to buy some food." Kazehara Tetsu's voice broke the silence in the air. He pushed the shopping cart, leading the two girls, and continued forward.

Thus, a strange procession appeared in the supermarket aisle.

Kazehara Tetsu led the way, steering the direction, with Shiina Hiyori following beside him, occasionally glancing at the snacks on the shelves.

Meanwhile, Kamuro Masumi was forced to maintain a close distance to him.

"Tetsu-kun, you told me last time that some things can't be judged by the surface, that you have to dig deeper to find the fun in them. I finally started to understand that recently!" Shiina Hiyori looked up at Kazehara Tetsu as she spoke.

The "things" she referred to were a certain complex mystery novel.

But in Kamuro Masumi's ears, this sentence was automatically decoded into something completely different.

Deeper... find the fun... these words combined were full of ambiguous implications.

Cheating cat!

Kamuro Masumi's gaze once again fell on Shiina Hiyori.

She needed to assess.

Assess this woman's value, her threat level.

This girl, from the outside, was practically the embodiment of harmlessness.

A petite figure, a cute face, eyes so clean they held no trace of impurity.

Her tone of voice was innocent, and the way she looked at Kazehara Tetsu held undisguised admiration.

Was this a hunter disguised flawlessly?

Or an idiot too stupid to be saved?

Kamuro Masumi leaned toward the former.

In this school where strength reigned supreme, a true "silly sweet girl" couldn't possibly survive.

The excessive "purity" in Shiina Hiyori, in her eyes, was itself the greatest unnaturalness, the most brilliant disguise.

Kazehara Tetsu pushed the cart, leisurely turning past a shelf and arriving at the snack area.

"Want anything to eat?" His voice pulled Kamuro Masumi's thoughts back to reality.

"Potato chips, spicy flavor." Kamuro Masumi answered almost instinctively.

Kazehara Tetsu reached out, took a bag of the chips she'd specified from the shelf, and tossed it into the cart.

Then, he looked toward Shiina Hiyori on the other side.

"Hiyori? Anything you like?"

"I, I'm fine with anything!" Shiina Hiyori seemed unfamiliar with snacks; she stared at the dazzling array of packages, unsure what to pick.

"Then let's go with this."

Kazehara Tetsu picked up a box of elegantly packaged chocolate cookies. "When you're reading, a little sugar helps your brain think."

Shiina Hiyori looked at the silent Kamuro Masumi, as if trying to find some topic to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Um... Kamuro-san, do you usually like reading too?"

Kamuro Masumi's gaze shifted from the shelves to her face.

"No."

One word, crisp and clean, instantly blocked all the words Shiina Hiyori had prepared to follow up.

Shiina Hiyori's smile froze on her face. She looked at Kazehara Tetsu in slight bewilderment.

"Kamuro, she's not interested in that kind of text."

Kazehara Tetsu smiled as he smoothed things over. The hand resting on Kamuro Masumi's shoulder gave a light squeeze—half soothing, half warning. "She prefers... something more direct, something that gives sensory stimulation, right?"

His words carried strong implications. Kamuro Masumi's cheeks flushed faintly, almost imperceptibly.

She didn't refute him, just turned her head to the other side, avoiding his line of sight.

"Sensory stimulation?"

Shiina Hiyori clearly hadn't caught the deeper meaning. She asked curiously, "You mean... like horror novels?"

"Something like that."

Kazehara Tetsu answered vaguely, picking up a carton of milk and placing it in the cart. "Let's go, it's getting late."

They continued forward, but Kamuro Masumi's mind was racing.

Was this Shiina Hiyori really not understanding, or was she playing dumb?

Every question she asked, every expression she made, seemed so flawless.

If this was an act, then her skill level was far too high.

So high that even she couldn't spot any flaw.

Kamuro Masumi decided to probe once more.

When they passed the refrigerated section, Kamuro Masumi's footsteps stopped.

"I want to eat ice cream." She spoke, her voice not loud, but clear enough.

Kazehara Tetsu stopped the shopping cart and looked at her. "What flavor?"

"The same as yours," she said.

The moment those words left her mouth, she locked onto Shiina Hiyori's reaction with her peripheral vision.

This was a declaration.

She was telling the girl before her, "He and I share a common preference that you don't know about."

Yet, Shiina Hiyori's reaction once again defied her expectations.

Shiina Hiyori simply wore an expression of "I see," and said, "Tetsu-kun, I didn't know you liked ice cream. I thought someone like you would prefer something more invigorating, like coffee."

Her focus had completely veered off course.

She hadn't even considered the possible deeper meaning behind Kamuro Masumi's "the same as yours."

Kamuro Masumi's heart sank little by little.

She began to waver.

Perhaps... in this world, there really existed such single-celled organisms whose minds held nothing beyond books?

Or maybe, her skill level was truly so high that she could perfectly conceal all her emotions and true thoughts beneath that innocent, harmless facade?

Just then, Kazehara Tetsu had already taken two boxes of vanilla-flavored ice cream from the freezer and placed them in the shopping cart.

Then, he took out another box—strawberry flavor.

"Hiyori, this is for you." He handed the pink box of ice cream to Shiina Hiyori.

"Huh? I, I don't need it..."

"Take it. Think of it as thanks for keeping me company while shopping."

Kamuro Masumi watched this scene, watching the different flavors of ice cream in her own and Shiina Hiyori's hands.

"We've bought just about everything."

Kazehara Tetsu's voice rang out as he pushed the cart full of goods toward the checkout counter. "Let's go, time to pay."

The line at the checkout counter wasn't long, and soon it was their turn.

The cashier skillfully scanned the items, numbers jumping on the electronic screen.

Kazehara Tetsu took out his phone, and after a soft "beep," paid for everything with his points.

The three of them walked out of the supermarket carrying shopping bags. The evening breeze carried a hint of chill, blowing away the slightly stuffy air from inside.

The sunset dyed the sky a warm orange-red, and the shadows of buildings stretched long.

"It's getting late. If we don't eat this soon, the ice cream will melt."

Kazehara Tetsu stopped by a bench meant for passersby to rest on.

He took the three boxes of ice cream from the shopping bag, tore open the packaging, handed one of the two vanilla boxes to Kamuro Masumi, and kept the other for himself.

Finally, he gave the pink strawberry-flavored box to Shiina Hiyori.

The three of them sat on the bench, quietly eating their ice cream.

Occasionally, they chatted about recent amusing events.

One box of ice cream was finished quickly.

Kazehara Tetsu tossed the empty box into the nearby trash can and stood up.

"Hiyori, where are you headed?" His voice broke the silence.

"Uh... I'm planning to go back to the dormitory and read."

"Then let's walk together—it's on the way!"