Right Off the Bat, I Picked the One Most Likely to Set Off Landmines

Because of the existence of the Diary, he chose to contact and reconcile with her, and they became friends, thus protecting Kushida Kikyo's safety?

"... I need to make her thank me," she thought.

However, before that, there was another statement that is quite intriguing.

' Dragon Boy isn't even bothering Red Hair anymore!'

Who is this referring to?

Chapter 171 immediately chose the one most likely to make a mistake.

The scorching sun, the sweltering air, and the sweat soaking through my shirt.

As summer approaches, the weather has subtly turned fierce today.

Although it seems a little early, Asakusa Toru feels that it's just the right time for it to get hot.

If it gets too hot when we get to the Uninhabited Island, that would be a big problem.

If it gets really hot to 40 degrees Celsius, he'll definitely copy Ryuen's plan, dump the supplies on Class D, and have the whole class forfeit the competition.

With the previously signed agreement in place, as long as a few supplementary clauses are added, the profits generated from the transported supplies will not be much less.

As for the ranking in Class A?

He doesn't care at all.

Sakayanagi Arisu likes it, she can take it back.

--If she could take it.

Asakusa Toru had already heard that she had taken advantage of the fact that Class A had been demoted to Class B to increase her power and severely suppress the Katsuragi Faction, temporarily becoming the 'sole' leader of their class.

But given her physical condition, not only would she never want to disembark, but even if she were determined to leave and take command, Asakusa Toru didn't think her father would allow it.

So, when the day of the Uninhabited Island Exam actually arrives, she'll probably get a lot of disapproving looks.

They made a lot of boasts, but they withdrew from the game before even starting.

After casually making a mental rant about the Little Princess, Asakusa Toru calmed himself down a bit.

After all, today's home field isn't really the Little Princess's.

It's a small mascot.

"Sorry to keep you waiting--" A smiling girl named Shiranami Chihiro appeared in front of Asakusa Toru: "Thank you, Asakusa- kun, for taking the time to keep me company."

Yes, that's right. Not long ago, Asakusa Toru wrote in his diary, "I'm going on a date," and now he really is going on a date.

... It can't really be called a date, although in a sense it was the two of them shopping together, which could be considered a date in a broader sense.

At first, Asakusa Toru thought it was a group activity of the 'Ichinose Group'.

After all, aside from being classmates, this was the only connection he had with Shiranami Chihiro.

But soon, Shiranami Chihiro revealed her true intentions.

'Choosing a gift'.

It wasn't Asakusa Toru's gift, but Ichinose Honami's.

Ichinose Honami's birthday is July 20th.

Although Asakusa Toru felt that choosing a gift more than a month in advance seemed a bit too early, Shiranami Chihiro felt that this was just the right time.

After much hesitation and deliberation, torn between Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Hayate, Shiranami Chihiro resolutely chose to message Asakusa Toru and ask him to come and advise her.

So, Asakusa Toru came.

But...

Although she said it was to pick out a gift for Ichinose, Shiranami Chihiro's outfit was surprisingly well-thought-out.

Her signature short hair and hair clips remained the same, but the lips beneath seemed to have a slightly muted, dull sheen.

The clothes beneath her beautiful collarbones had changed from her usual school uniform to casual wear; a cute, elegant dress wrapped around her body, the fluffy skirt's curves subdued by the small bag she carried.

She wore a little makeup, but not much; her clothes were cute, but not overly formal.

Asakusa Toru subconsciously have the thought that she might actually be planning to use the excuse of buying him a gift to get him on a date.

But Shiranami Chihiro is a female contact in my phone, you know? And now she's suddenly turning her attention to me...?

It's not impossible, actually.

After all, his diary rewards for today had just been calculated.

[Today's record completed, this record is rated 'A', currently drawing rewards]

[Draw successful! Congratulations on obtaining the item 'Affinity Aura']

The long-awaited A rating reward has returned.

[Name: Affinity Aura]

[Category: Skill]

[Effect: Greatly increases others' initial favorability towards you]

[Note: "A kind expression, an approachable attitude, a friendly atmosphere that everyone loves—yes, I am Angel!"]

Considering the existence of this Skill, it's not impossible that Shiranami Chihiro might fall for someone else.

In short, let's try to handle this as a friend first.

The little mascot's feelings for him won't matter before the official confession. Instead of speculating about whether the girl likes him, it's much better to focus on the important things.

Speaking of which, next month is Ichinose's birthday.

Kikyo's birthday is in January, Sakura's birthday is in October.

As for the Shiranami in front of us, its birthday is in November.

Asakusa Toru can still remember this kind of information, and sometimes jotting it down can be surprisingly useful.

"What's wrong?" Perhaps sensing Asakusa Toru's gaze lingering on her pretty face, Shiranami Chihiro put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, revealing a bit of her body's curves. "Does it look good?"

"Pretty good." With that, Asakusa Toru looked away.

Seeing that he had looked away, Shiranami Chihiro straightened up again and chuckled, "Hehe, I spent quite a while choosing these clothes, wouldn't it be a waste of time if they didn't look good?"

"Ah, you're smitten? You're so close to Honami, yet your heart still races for other girls?"

Unexpectedly aggressive words came out of the girl's mouth one after another.

But just as Asakusa Toru Tetsu was about to say something, Shiranami Chihiro decisively took a step back.

"Okay, okay, no more joking around, hahaha." She casually patted Asakusa Toru's lower back with her small hand, then walked briskly to him, turned around, and said, "Let's go, don't forget we invited you to be my advisor today."

This isn't a date.

Shiranami Chihiro didn't say the last sentence aloud, but Asakusa Toru could clearly sense the meaning from the subtle expression on her face.

It's very easy to pull; as expected, pretty girls always seem to have a natural talent for this kind of thing.

It can be used for both offense and defense.

"Advisor..." Asakusa Toru followed with his hands in his pockets, his footsteps making a soft sound on the brick pavement, "Let me make this clear, I've never picked out a birthday present for a girl before."

Ultimately, he's never even celebrated his own birthday, let alone anyone else's.

He does remember the birthdays of friends he's not very close to, but at most he'll just send a "Happy Birthday" message on the day itself.

As for close friends... whether or not they receive a gift is not that important.

He might say he wants to give it, or he might say he doesn't.

... But to be honest, Asakusa Toru didn't have any particularly close friends before enrolling in school.

Most of them are just ordinary friends who have connections in their daily lives.

Saying "Happy Birthday" is enough.

"It's okay, it's okay. You definitely know Honami's preferences better than I do." With light steps, Shiranami Chihiro turned and walked into a shop that seemed to sell all kinds of bright little trinkets.

The girl pushed open the shop door, the wind chimes jingling crisply, and the cool air accumulated inside rushed out, instantly dispelling the heat outside.

Shiranami Chihiro crouched down and casually picked up a hair clip.

"How about this one?" She turned to look at Asakusa Toru standing to the side, holding up the hair clip in her hand. "It looks quite similar to mine, so we can make a pair."

It was a hair clip very similar to the petal hair clip that Shiranami Chihiro wore, except that its color was closer to Shiranami Chihiro's hair color.

If this were a gift for any other girl, Asakusa Toru would think it would be quite nice.

However, the recipient of the gift was Ichinose Honami.

"... Well, all I can say is, you've got a good eye for things." Asakusa Toru said quietly, his expression quite subtle.

I immediately chose the one that was most likely to cause a problem.

Thanks to his Ichinose, Nise didn't escalate to the point of stealing hair clips like a younger sister, nor did she develop any psychological trauma as a result.

But that "hairpin" from the "promise" will still be the most direct trigger for the conflict between her mother and sister in her memory.

Asakusa Toru didn't think she could easily let it go.

To this day, Ichinose Honami still doesn't wear any hair accessories, which is a testament to this.

"Uh... is it good or bad?" Shiranami Chihiro pouted, clutching the hair clip in her hand, but still put it back in its original place.

No matter what, she could still tell the difference between good and bad tone. Asakusa Toru's subtle tone meant that she had definitely made the wrong choice.

But... why not a hair clip?

"Well..." Asakusa Toru squatted down and picked up the hair clip again. "There's nothing wrong with the hair clip itself, and I also think it would look good on Ichinose, but..."

He paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words.

"She doesn't like wearing hair accessories." Asakusa Toru finally chose a relatively tactful way of putting it, not wanting to overstep the boundaries and easily reveal Ichinose's privacy. "Since she enrolled, have you ever seen her wear any hair clips or hair ties or similar hair accessories?"

"...Ah." Shiranami Chihiro looked enlightened. "Now that you mention it... Honami always wears her hair down."

"Because she looks especially good with her hair down, I never paid attention to it. I thought she just liked it that way."

If it's because you don't like it, then it's understandable.

"I don't like hair clips..." After thinking for a while, Shiranami Chihiro raised her head again. "Hmm! I understand!"

"Thank you, Asakusa. It was definitely the right decision to ask you to be my advisor this time."

If Asakusa Toru hadn't been there, she might have given the hair clip as a gift.

Although, given Ichinose's style, she would probably accept the gift with a happy expression even if she didn't like it, it would only be out of politeness—not wanting to disappoint her friend.

"You're welcome." Asakusa Toru and stood up.

If we exclude hair accessories, the other gift options suddenly seem much fewer.

At least in this store, there aren't that many.

Upon closer reflection, even the oddly shaped trinkets seem a little cheap.

Shiranami Chihiro also stood up, patted her thigh, and naturally took Asakusa Toru's hand, turning and leaving the store.

"Then let's go check out the next one!" she said.

Going around in circles, coming and going, going up and down.

I walked from the sweltering street-side shops into a large shopping mall with central air conditioning, and then wandered around to the roadside stalls that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Picking, thinking, discussing.

"So, what do you think is better, Asakusa- kun?" After a slight pause, Shiranami Chihiro turned and asked.

They had visited quite a few stores along the way, but to be honest, none of them were quite satisfactory enough to give a gift that made them instantly think, "This is it!"

Although there's still a full month until my birthday, and I'm not in a rush to confirm it today, the feeling of not getting anything out of it is still a bit discouraging.

"No, I should say... if it were Asakusa- kun, what would he be planning to give Honami as a birthday present?"

Asakusa Toru stopped in his tracks.

After strolling around for most of the day, the midday sun had long since set, and it wasn't so hot even outside the shopping mall.

"If it were me?" He raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and shrugged. "A megaphone, I guess."