Take Off the Glasses, Two Bodies Become One, Live Confidently!

The night was already deep.

Not long ago, Tennoji Kaede had personally devised a plan and easily obtained evidence of Kamiki Ansei's crimes in the act.

After luring the tiger away from the mountain, Hiyori had also searched the Digital Store where Kamiki worked and unearthed the tools he used for his other illicit activities.

Immediately following that, Kaede forced Kamiki Ansei to sign an unequal agreement for full compensation of points, once again accidentally achieving his casual goal of earning a million points per month.

Finally, it was up to Ibuki, Hiyori, and the others to contact the Student Council to come and handle the aftermath.

Although the evidence was a mix of truth and fabrication, there was so much genuine material that it was more than enough to get Kamiki Ansei expelled from this school and sent off to eat prison food in the outside world.

In a small park plaza, Kaede twirled a Recorder, waiting quietly.

This Recorder was the one obtained from Kushida; it also contained a compilation of the apologies she had made after the time Kaede and Ryuen had run into Sakura.

Kaede had previously lent it to Ibuki to use as a disguise.

As for the Recorder that had been sent for repairs, that was one Kaede had bought on the fly after receiving the mission issued by Queen Hiyori.

Kaede had intentionally broken it, using it as one of the bargaining chips for this drama.

It had now been handed over to the Student Council, and as Kaede had expected, a Tracker had been installed inside.

"Whew... um, Tennoji, sorry to keep you waiting!"

Kaede stopped twirling the pen; the person he was waiting for had arrived.

Sakura Airi looked as if she had run all the way here, and she was currently panting for breath.

Her face was flushed, and she was wearing cool summer casual clothes. Her chest was as magnificent as ever, though Kaede's gaze did not rudely linger there.

"Thank you for your help, Tennoji, and also to Hiyori and Mio."

Sakura already knew that the fanatical stalker who had been harassing her for so long since enrollment had been captured by these people from Class C.

Although she didn't know the specific details of the process, there were still faint streaks of bright red dye on the tips of Tennoji's hair.

As someone who paid attention to fashion, Sakura knew very well that it certainly wasn't something done for the sake of decoration...

"Before I came here, I went to the Student Council to see that person..." Sakura said, looking ashamed.

"Hm?" This actually surprised Kaede quite a bit. He said, "I recall not having Ibuki call you over, right?"

"...Did you want to see him yourself?" Could it have been Little Hiyori?

"Well, I suppose you could say that." Sakura nodded, then shook her head.

After receiving the message from Hiyori, she had felt an irrepressible urge to take one last look at that bad person.

And so, she went. The result left her feeling sad, disappointed, and hateful...

"Xiaoshui, you shouldn't have gone to see those things." Kaede spun the Recorder again.

This, in truth, had exceeded his expectations.

Kaede's original intention was to resolve this trivial little incident quietly; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of disguising his plan in advance or secretly recording Sakura's voice for a rainy day.

Sakura smiled, her expression unreadable. "As I thought, Tennoji recognized me back then, didn't he?"

Kaede nodded. Then, amidst her shocked and bewildered gaze, he turned and bowed to her.

"I'm sorry."

"Actually, before I checked the camera that day, I had already recognized that Sakura was 'Xiaoshui'."

"Not only that, but when Ryuen suddenly invited me to meet that day, I brought a Recorder for self-defense."

"After discovering that it was Xiaoshui eavesdropping on our conversation, I recorded and backed up all your screams and cries of distress in advance, just in case I might need them in the future."

"The meeting with Hiyori and Mio at the KTV that day was also something I had informed them about beforehand, regarding the true identity of 'Xiaoshui'."

"However, I believe they chose to befriend you voluntarily only after truly understanding who Sakura Airi is. That has nothing to do with me."

"Today, with their help, we resolved the trouble of you being harassed, and I had intended to keep that hidden from you."

"I'm sorry."

After Kaede finished his confession, he waited for Sakura's response.

To him, the reasons for everything he had done for Sakura were actually quite simple.

Sakura Airi looked up and stared directly at Kaede, asking in a trembling voice: "Why... go to such lengths for me?"

"Because... the idol I support is you, Sakura Airi."

Eh? Me? An idol?

Kaede shrugged, looking slightly shy himself. He continued, "The photos Xiaoshui takes are actually quite good."

"And isn't everything I've done just the small things a normal friend and a normal fan should do?"

A night breeze blew through Sakura's hair, causing her beauty—already perfect as a gravure idol—to be on full display.

Even with the seal of her glasses frames still in place, what did it matter?

Sakura Airi was speechless.

Friend... fan...

Hiyori, Mio, are they her friends?

She thinks, yes.

Kamiki Ansei, Tennoji Kaede, are they her fans?

She thinks, they are too.

It is just that, while their methods may be similar, the emotions they invest are completely different.

Then, can Xiaoshui be her friend, her fan?

Will Xiaoshui be Sakura Airi's friend, her fan?

Perhaps... it is possible...

Sakura Airi's tangled thoughts were stirred up...

"Sakura, it's time to reward me with some merchandise as a loyal fan~"

Re... reward?

"Eh eh~ but, I don't have anything on me right now..." She was slightly flustered.

Kaede pointed to the bridge of his nose, then reached out his hand.

"That decorative pair of glasses would be perfect. But I'm warning you, if you really give them to me, I'm not giving them back, okay~"

Sakura Airi wore a faint smile, and for the first time in front of an outsider, she took off those pink glasses.

The glasses were placed into Tennoji Kaede's hands.

On Sakura Airi's delicate, pale face, her eyes sparkled with starlight.

"Thank you, Tennoji Kaede."

This time, it was Airi who bowed.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. I've figured it out."

"I am neither Xiaoshui, nor that shy Sakura."

"From now on, I am Sakura Airi!"

"I want to be a School Idol!"

Kaede thought to himself, that would actually be pretty good...

From now on, Xiaoshui and Sakura will become one.

Tennoji Kaede raised his other hand. "I look forward to that day. If you don't mind, you can join my group, the Tennoji Group."

Sakura Airi shook his hand lightly before letting go.

"A group named after Tennoji? Then the other members..."

Just as Sakura Go was about to agree, Kaede pointed behind her.

"They're already here."

Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio came running over; they must have finished dealing with matters at the Student Council.

Ibuki said, "You two seem a bit off, don't you think~"

Hiyori said, "I actually think Airi looks really good without her glasses. She truly lives up to being a great model."

"No, a great model or anything like that..."

Kaede pondered to himself on the side. They really are big... truly big, aren't they?

During the subsequent conversation, Kaede showed off his fan gifts to Ibuki.

"Huh? That's not fair! I almost sacrificed myself for Airi today, didn't I!? Didn't Tennoji just lie to the side and sleep?"

Ibuki was dissatisfied. "Airi, give me one too!"

Hiyori also raised a fair, white arm. "To be fair, Airi, I want one too~"

Sakura deeply felt the hardships of being an idol, but drawing on her recent experience, a bright idea struck her.

She tilted her head and flicked it, undoing the hair ties on her twin tails, letting her long, dark hair cascade down like a waterfall.

"This is all I have right now. If you don't mind... Hiyori, Mio, can I give you one each?"

Ibuki and Hiyori took the hair ties with satisfaction, and the three of them began laughing and playing with each other's hair.

Tennoji Kaede, watching silently from behind, marveled at the scenery of this moment...