After that, time seemed to shift into a higher gear.
June's sunlight grew hotter by the day, like a blazing fire scorching the earth.
The hours spent in class became long and tedious, like an unskippable cutscene that everyone had to endure.
Most of the time, Kazehara Tetsu sat by the window, his gaze fixed outside while his thoughts drifted somewhere farther away.
Apart from classes, the library became the place he visited most often. After all, he still hadn't finished his goal of reading every book in the library.
Now and then, he'd run into Shiina Hiyori at a corner of the shelves, immersed in a world of words.
They didn't need to say much to each other. A nod and sharing a new book were enough to make for a comfortable, mutually enjoyable exchange.
The duties of being a "boyfriend" also took up part of his schedule.
He would regularly "invite" Sakayanagi Arisu on a "date" that didn't feel much like one.
They might go to the school café and play a game of chess.
Or they might sit on a campus bench and make small talk.
So far, though, things hadn't gone very well.
And then there was Morishita Ai.
She would show up in all kinds of unpredictable ways, in places both likely and unlikely.
Kazehara Tetsu had grown used to tacitly approving of all this.
At night, his room would welcome a "visitor."
Kamuro Masumi never gave him advance warning. Her arrival was a "surprise attack" in itself.
And the "disciplining" she received in return would leave her utterly defeated.
As all these relationships intertwined, time moved on into July.
The temperature kept climbing, and even the wind carried a scorching heat.
The upcoming Luxury Cruise was still the hottest topic among the students. Everyone