A girl with a remarkable talent for performance art stood before Tennoji Kaede.
She held two cups of ice cream and faced the thick tree trunk, eyes closed in deep thought.
Was she really from Earth?
Kaede felt like he'd seen her somewhere before, but for a moment, he couldn't remember...
A classmate?
Kaede ventured, "Sorry, may I ask what you're doing? Some new kind of yoga?"
The mysterious girl: ...
Kaede tried again. "Um, your ice cream's about to melt. If you're not going to eat it, can I have it?"
It seemed he'd hit a keyword. Morishita Ai turned her head, glanced at Kaede, then turned back.
Holy crap, isn't that my Ai-jie?
Kaede finally remembered the girl's name.
"You're Morishita Ai from Class 1-A, right? I'm Tennoji Kaede from Class C."
[Detected a passing work featuring Morishita Ai, rated 61 points by the Black House.]
[The Causal Mark for Morishita Ai has been deployed.]
[Cause: The way of nature lies within the heart. Morishita Ai is comprehending the forest's breathing and doesn't mind you interrupting her. However, she has heard your name from her classmates.]
[Effect: +5 Charisma, +10 Forest Breathing, +10 Nature Encyclopedia]
[Under normal circumstances, an ordinary person's potential is measured in units of 10.]
Huh? Forest Breathing? You're serious, System?
Coach, I want to learn this!
Meanwhile, Morishita Ai seemed to have finally finished her strange activity. She lowered her hands, then turned around again.
She introduced herself simply. "Morishita Ai."
"I've heard of you, Tennoji Kaede... Here, take this."
The Class A girl, shrouded in mystery, held up the ice cream in her left hand for Kaede.
"Oh, thanks."
Kaede didn't hesitate. One was bold enough to offer, and the other was bold enough to eat.
Morishita Ai was a Class A girl who appeared in the original work. After Kamuro Sumire was expelled, she seemed to become Sakayanagi's new best friend.
Given Morishita's seemingly intriguing background and her cool, expressionless beauty, she was unexpectedly popular and had plenty of potential.
She also didn't appear much in the original work, so Kaede remembered very little about her.
"Mind if I borrow this spot to cool off?"
"Go ahead."
The two of them stood beneath the same tree and fell into a strangely quiet eating session...
Before he knew it, Kaede had been assimilated.
Inside the KTV Room.
Ibuki exclaimed, "Wow, you really do look pretty! Airi, if you took off your glasses, wouldn't you become the most popular girl around?"
At the moment, Ibuki Mio was somewhere between acting and sincerity, and she was genuinely quite interested in how Sakura Airi lived.
"Um, I don't dare take them off... I don't know how to interact with everyone. Dealing with people is scary..."
Shiina Hiyori gently patted Sakura's head. She had returned to her usual poised and graceful manner.
"Everyone has two sides. There's no such thing as someone who never hides their true self. Or rather, living so honestly is bound to bring pain."
Sakura turned to look at her, gripping the glasses she used as a disguise.
She asked Hiyori, "Then, Hiyori, what should someone like me do in the future, when my true self exists in a virtual world?"
In her heart, "Shizuku" was the other half of Sakura Airi, but "Shizuku" shouldn't be equated with the timid Sakura Airi. She was supposed to exist independently.
"What do you mean, true self and false self?"
Ibuki spoke bluntly. "Airi, I think you're great just the way you are now... But you really do need someone to protect you. Otherwise, those sleazy guys will swarm around you like bees."
Like that underhanded schemer Tennoji, who actually had the nerve to plot against a pure girl like Airi.
He deserved to be punished!
Meanwhile.
"Cough, cough, cough." Tennoji Kaede coughed several times in a row beneath the tree.
He patted his chest, and once his breathing had settled, Kaede sighed to himself.
...So this was what they meant by choking even while drinking water!
Ice cream water should count as water, right?
"What's wrong?"
Before he knew it, Morishita Ai had polished off the entire cup of ice cream.
She sat down with her legs folded, striking the standard meditation pose.
"Um, Ai-jie, can you really comprehend the breathing of the forest by doing this?"
With the mysterious help of the Haigoku System, Kaede had actually learned a strange breathing technique just now.
He figured the Haigoku System had swiped it from Ai-jie.
"Less talk. Do it."
"Oh, right."
Kaede hurriedly took up the same pose and silently practiced the mysterious breathing technique, gradually entering a meditative state.
Meanwhile, Morishita Ai rose and relaxed out of her pose, looking puzzled.
She crouched beside Kaede and studied him closely.
...How could he actually do it?
Kaede, in his Mirror Still Water state, remained completely unaware.
There was no denying that Class D was full of students with all kinds of social shortcomings.
For example, Horikita Suzune, who put on airs and was so arrogant that she didn't care about anyone else;
Kushida Kikyo, who used the most perfect social manners as a disguise;
Ken Sudō, who was insecure and had no idea how to put on a social front;
"Saint," Hirata Yousuke, who ruled the class through extreme hypocrisy;
And Kouenji Rokusuke and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who couldn't care less about socializing...
As for Sakura Airi, she desperately wanted to open her heart to others.
She hoped someone would uncover the real "Shizuku" inside her, then turn around and accept Sakura Airi herself, whose personality was the complete opposite.
This was Sakura Airi's true desire, one she hadn't even realized herself.
To be fair, the unusual way she'd learned to socialize through years of mental turmoil was indeed quite twisted.
Kaede thought the best solution was to make the two of them become one completely.
Sakura, stop testing people with that "show them the best, then the worst" routine. Most people can't handle it!
Even if someone managed to handle the contrast on the surface, they might end up like Ayanokoji, thinking she was easy to manipulate and taking advantage of her.
When you talk to people, just show them the best side of yourself. That's all there is to it!
Today, Sakura Airi had truly felt the heartfelt care Ibuki and Hiyori, her two female friends from Class C, had for her. They were both completely sincere.
That also made her like Kaede even more, since both of them were his good friends too.
That was exactly the task Kaede had given them beforehand—
Accept the virtual side of "Shizuku" and get to know the real Airi.
Today, Sakura Airi had officially made three people she could acknowledge as "friends."
Sakura blushed and said softly, "Thank you, Mio, Hiyori, and Tennoji." Though she wasn't sure when he'd left.
Ibuki said with genuine feeling, "I wish you could come to Class C. To be honest, Hiyori's the only girl I know in my class..."
Hiyori smoothed a lock of silvery-white hair. "Airi, if you don't mind, come spend time with us whenever you like. It wouldn't affect the interests of Classes C and D."
"Exactly. Besides, aren't Classes C and D both near the bottom of the school rankings? It'd be perfectly normal for us to work together and spend time with each other."
Hiyori agreed. "Mio's right. Airi, if you feel uncomfortable, you can come to us whenever you're having trouble. I'm sure Kaede will do his best to help you too."
Sakura was deeply moved.
But speaking of trouble...
Ever since enrolling, Sakura had actually had a private matter that caused her great distress and pain. She'd never told anyone about it.
For some reason, she found the courage and blurted out what was on her mind.
"Um! There's actually something that's been really troubling me... In fact, it's been painful!"
So there really was something!?
Ibuki and Hiyori exchanged a glance. Tennoji had never mentioned this to them...
Before you continue