Can I call you little Shizuku? Ice cream wielding warrior appears!

The campus in July was already a bit hot, with the midday sun making one want to flee.

Another weekend, in a small private room at a KTV, Tennoji Kaede was comfortably escaping the heat.

"Ibuki, could you pour me a glass of iced cola... and, turn the air conditioning down a bit more. It's hot outside, and when she gets here, she can also cool down."

"Are you disabled?" Ibuki Mio poured herself a drink and sipped it silently.

Sigh~ Kaede shook his head. As expected, he didn't have the commanding presence of Ryuen...

Shiina Hiyori, sitting to his right, stood up and started twisting bottle caps.

"Uh, I'll do it, I'll do it! Pouring water is such a small thing, how could I trouble Hiyori with it~"

Ibuki snorted and turned her head away. Hiyori, smiling, sat back down and watched Kaede pour three cups.

"What's the deal with that girl from Class D?"

Kaede took a big gulp of his cold drink, closed his eyes, and savored the chilling sensation before saying, "She's Sakura Airi from Class D, you should at least remember her name."

"Last weekend, I accidentally ran into her while Ryuen and I were talking. Luckily, I intervened, or something big would have happened."

Ibuki's expression soured; it seemed she still had a strong opinion of Ryuen.

Hiyori said, "So? You asked us to come today not just to change clothes, right?"

It had to be said, Hiyori's observation skills were sharp.

The moment Tennoji Kaede took out Sakura's damaged school uniform, she noticed it was women's wear.

"I plan to invite her to join our Tennoji Group... Hear me out first, of course, it's completely different from the situation with classmates."

Hiyori and Mio simultaneously cast doubtful glances. Kaede's words were indeed puzzling.

"What are Kaede-kun's thoughts?"

Hiyori wondered if romantic motives could be ruled out, so was it to plant a spy in Class D? But that didn't seem like it either...

"Don't worry too much. Just do as I say later and slowly build a relationship of true friendship with Sakura-san."

The KTV door opened, and Sakura Airi, still wearing her decorative red glasses and carrying a small bag, quietly slipped in.

"Um, hello Class C's Shiina-san, Ibuki-san, and Tennoji-san."

Sakura's timid attitude made it seem like she was there for a job interview.

"No need to be so formal. It's so hot outside, I'm sorry to have made you come all this way. Please, sit down." Kaede said politely.

"Okay, okay... Um, Tennoji Kaede's jacket, I had it dry-cleaned."

"Um, I haven't touched it since that day! I'm returning it now, thank you, Tennoji Kaede."

Sakura held out her hands, taking out Kaede's school uniform jacket from her bag, neatly placed in a plastic garment bag.

Ibuki and Hiyori exchanged a silent glance. Sakura's outward demeanor was indeed one of extreme nervousness in the presence of strangers.

Ibuki even thought of a classmate in Class C who was very similar to Sakura, Morofuji Rika, who also had a very timid personality towards others.

But, according to Tennoji, Sakura actually had another side that was so contrasting?

Having seen it with her own eyes, Ibuki was now quite interested in Airi.

Kaede calmly took his jacket and smiled, "Thank you. Actually, returning it as is would have been fine."

He then took out a replacement jacket of Sakura's size, which Hiyori had bought with points, and handed it back to her.

"Uh, this is a brand new school uniform, isn't it? Tennoji Kaede, won't you be spending too much? The 10,000 points from before..."

Kaede quickly interrupted, "You can keep those points, Sakura-san. Don't mention returning them again. Also, this school uniform was actually bought for you by Shiina-san with her points, so if you want to thank someone, thank her."

Of course, in reality, Kaede was the one who paid the points. A whole set of school uniforms only cost 10,000 points, let alone just a jacket.

"I see..." Sakura secretly glanced around. With white hair and purple eyes like glass, she felt an incredibly sacred radiance emanating from Shiina-san. Sakura stood up and bowed, "Thank you so much, Shiina-san."

Hiyori also stood up and returned the bow, then sat back down. "Just call me Hiyori. I'll call you by your name too, Sakura-san, Airi-san, is that okay?"

"Ah, okay... Hiyori-san."

Sakura spoke Shiina's name, feeling a strange emotion, a mix of joy and excitement.

After all, this was the first time since she enrolled that she had been addressed by name by a peer of the same gender, which represented at least a possibility of their relationship progressing further.

Hiyori beamed a sweet smile, and Kaede subtly gave a signal.

"Airi-san, I have a rather embarrassing question I'd like to ask you... It might intrude on your privacy, but I really want to know the answer, could you let me ask you a couple of things?"

Little stars sparkled in Hiyori's eyes, as if she were looking at an idol.

Tennoji Kaede scratched his head inwardly. Little Hiyori... this doesn't seem like acting!

Why does Kaede feel like this isn't going according to the script... I'll just watch and see.

"Eh! Huh? Yes... Hiyori-san, what do you want to ask?"

Sakura seemed completely startled by Hiyori's unexpected enthusiasm.

In fact, it wasn't just her; even Kaede had never seen this side of her.

"So, I asked... I'm a fan of Little Airi-chan! Can I call you Little Shizuku?"

A COMPLETE FAN'S STATEMENT!

Kaede couldn't help but want to applaud wildly. He had never seen Hiyori like this before!

"Eeeek~~~!!!"

Sakura Airi let out the most tragic scream since arriving at this school!

Little Shizuku? Was it the "Little Shizuku" she knew?

Her body trembled a couple of times, and Sakura looked towards Tennoji Kaede.

Could it be... that Tennoji-kun, who had seen all the photos on her camera, had recognized her true identity first?

As Sakura and Kaede made eye contact, Sakura denied this possibility from the bottom of her heart.

Because he looked completely clueless!

At some point, Hiyori had arrived beside Airi. While Airi was still stunned, Hiyori clasped her hands together and gripped Sakura's left palm.

Her eyes shone with a brilliant, holy light, and she said joyfully, "Did I mistake you? Aren't you the famous print model, Little Shizuku-chan, Sakura-san?"

"No, no, no, I am, no, no, I'm not Little Shizuku, but Little Shizuku isn't me either..." Sakura Airi fell into confusion.

Ibuki finally made her move, and with a monotone voice, she said, "Ahhh, I remember now~ Airi-chan, you're 'Little Shizuku' from the fashion magazine the school sold last week, right?"

Sakura Airi: "Eh?"

"I bought that magazine to use as a reference for makeup~"

Ibuki also walked forward, and Sakura Airi was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Although Ibuki's acting was a bit clumsy, she wasn't entirely making things up. She did have a habit of buying magazines to look at.

However, she only looked; the makeup part was pure bluffing. It was too difficult for her, she didn't understand it.

With Ibuki and Hiyori on either side, the three girls soon ended up on the other side of the private room, causing a commotion.

Next, it was up to their social skills...

While their attention was elsewhere, Kaede quietly left the private room.

After dealing with a small matter, Kaede urgently needed to find another cool place to escape the heat.

He arrived at a relatively dense wooded park and witnessed a truly magical scene.

A girl with short, purple-blue twin ponytails, a dignified and gentle face, and a poker expression.

At this moment, she was holding a slowly melting ice cream cone in each hand, standing perfectly still under the shade of a large tree.

Hmm?

Is she... meditating with her eyes closed?