Sorry

A gentle, literary young woman mustered the courage to launch a war, while a poised and elegant lady from a prominent family defended and fought back.

The idea of two stunningly beautiful girls fighting over one man is sure to pique people's curiosity and become a huge piece of gossip.

Yes, the students in Class A dispersed, and they stopped shouting about whether they were jealous or not.

But there were people from all three classes, B, C, and D, on the deck.

With just a few greetings, half the class was brought over!

Upon closer inspection, everyone exclaimed, "Oh wow!" Asakusa Toru and Ichinose Honami, the absolute top leaders of Class A, Ryuen Kakeru and Shiina Hiyori, the power center of Class C.

Something just doesn't look right.

So you were just pretending to be jealous, but actually planning to collaborate?

Is it a case of feigning an attack on one side while secretly advancing on another?

Are they trying to play military strategy with us students?

Although no voice could be heard, people looking from various angles could see Ryuen Kakeru's expression change several times.

At first glance, it doesn't seem like a discussion about cooperation at all.

More like an argument?

It's still Ryuen and Asakusa arguing.

The cooperation talks fell apart?

I don't understand, but just watching the changes in their expressions is very interesting.

So, the students in Class B stared at Asakusa Toru's face, trying to analyze his lip movements; the students in Class C stared at their leader's grumpy face for amusement; and the underlings in Class D were still waiting for the pretty girls to fight over him, fantasizing that they were the protagonists of a romantic comedy.

There are definitely too many eyes.

Whether it's about discussing something serious or clarifying matters of the heart, this is clearly not the right place.

What they clearly lack is not the courage to be lifted high in the spotlight and under the expectant gaze of the masses.

Instead, she rested her forehead against his back and whispered her feelings as if talking to herself.

Clearly, Asakusa Toru intended to make things clear.

The riddle teller gets a moment of pleasure, and the more riddles one keeps solving, the more pleasure one enjoys...

Cough, no.

Riddlers have their own kind of joy, and wise people have their own kind of efficiency.

Asakusa Toru wasn't deliberately keeping Shiina Hiyori hanging on.

As he said before... oh, I don't think he said it out loud.

In short, it was the wicked woman Shiina Hiyori, who was stringing this innocent high school boy along.

In that case, wouldn't it be alright to just slightly stir a girl's heart and then ignore her?

It's not because I'm too busy with time management that I'm so overwhelmed.

However, upon closer inspection, it does seem that the number of people has indeed started to increase.

From the very beginning, Little Kikyo, to the love she brought, followed by Chihiro Onodera and Honami, who had just played with the Little Princess, and then there was Amazawa, whom she hadn't had a proper conversation with in a while.

And then there's the NPC lady's words...

Oh, so you can count them on your fingers.

Then there's no rush.

My goal is to become Happy Hero.

When I'm happy, I become Superman.

Theater.

Cruise ships have many facilities, and a theater is clearly one of them.

Although few students have the taste to appreciate art, the performers will get ready and go on stage as soon as someone enters the venue.

They get paid to board the boat; they only perform if there's an audience.

Even if there are only three people.

It was a group of guys with one man and two women, one on each side.

I envy these young high school students; they can date, and even their Luxury Cruise Ship vacations are covered by the school.

Composing themselves, the actors went on stage.

The curtain slowly rose, the lights shone on the stage, and the afterglow diffused into the audience.

The three audience members seemed to be watching a play, but then again, they didn't.

"Is the Hide and Seek Game over?" Shiina Hiyori, sitting to Asakusa Toru's right, asked softly.

She didn't turn her head, but asked the question while looking at the stage.

"Hide-and-seek... Ah, that thing, that thing should have ended in the first month." Asakusa Toru didn't turn his head, but simply followed the conversation and answered casually:

"That thing was just a pretext, a kind of provocation? If everyone doesn't read the diary carefully, I might get really bothered."

"But now it seems it's not as troubling as I imagined." He shrugged. "I seem to care about a lot of things, but then again, I don't really care that much."

If Ryuen Kakeru were still here listening to Asakusa Toru say these things, he would definitely seize the opportunity to turn the tables and yell at him without hesitation.

"Are you fucking stupid? Have you reached your 'wise old age' and started whining without any real illness?"

Unfortunately, it's Shiina Hiyori here.

She would only raise her left hand and grab Asakusa Toru's hand.

"Can I be someone you care about?" the girl asked directly.

Shiina Hiyori finally understood that the man beside her, the man she liked, was more timid than she had imagined.

He wasn't cowardly in the conventional sense; he wasn't afraid of authority or anyone, and he probably wouldn't back down no matter what.

But when it comes to matters of the heart, unless he's absolutely certain, he'll only make superficial, tentative attempts.

Don't you see that Ichinose only went public with their relationship today?

So, straight ball, straight ball, a fierce straight ball attack.

"... You've always been someone I care about." After a moment of silence, he grasped Shiina Hiyori's hand, then extended his left hand to Ichinose's, taking both of their hands in his. As he spoke, Asakusa Toru said:

"How you like to do it, how you want to do it, and how you can do it."

"Life is full of disappointments, and we will always encounter obstacles. The higher we climb, the more difficulties we will face, and the more we see, the more we realize our own powerlessness."

"In the past, the obstacle in my way was money," he said. "Now, what stands in my way is mostly common sense."

His thumb extended alone, rubbing back and forth between the girl's palms. Asakusa Toru paused slightly, then suddenly spoke softly as if starting a new topic:

"I like a lot of people, surprisingly."

"Not just one or two, but the kind that might expand endlessly."

"Because we've met, because we've spent time together, because we've clicked, because we've found our rhythm, I've developed feelings for them."

"But similarly, I also experience possessiveness, wanting things to belong to me, wanting them to belong only to me, wanting them to be mine."

"Is that too much?" He suddenly turned his head to look at Shiina Hiyori.

Shiina Hiyori: "..."

After a moment of silence, Shiina Hiyori met Asakusa Toru's gaze and said softly:

"That's excessive."

"Ah, that's quite excessive." His slightly raised tone abruptly fell, and Asakusa Toru's posture subtly shifted from its previous uprightness. He turned his head away, looking back at the stage.

"But this may be the inevitable outcome."

"Once the bound body is freed, the retaliatory compensation will become excessive."

"... It's also possible that I'm just like this." Asakusa Toru's voice softened slightly at this moment.

He didn't seem as 'confident' as usual, but his words still sounded quite righteous.

People are different from each other.

Kushida Kikyo doesn't care that much, or rather, she actually cares a lot, but she can pretend not to care.

Sakura Airi, but the things she cares about are very small, very light, and easily satisfied.

Shiranami Chihiro is probably the most normal girl, although she may seem a little abnormal, but she has probably been corrected to be normal.

It was only slightly distorted by the equally excessive Ichinose Honami.

She may not have fully accepted it, but she is willing to accept it.

Ichinose Honami, however, was tolerant; she embraced him from behind without hesitation and chose to accept everything without hesitation.

However, Shiina Hiyori is not quite the same.

Or rather, everyone is different, and Shiina Hiyori stands out as a bit more unique among them.

She...

That's fairly normal.

His values, beliefs, temperament, and preferences were all so reasonable, yet completely out of place in the Advanced Nurturing environment.

She has no obvious flaws, no need for attachment, and her life would be perfect even without romantic relationships.

It's not that Shiina Hiyori needs Asakusa Toru, but rather that Asakusa Toru needs Shiina Hiyori.

It's not necessarily due to some kind of attachment need that makes it impossible to leave.

Perhaps it's simply for... 'perfection'.

Asakusa Toru had no intention of having any more regrets.

So he needs to make things clear, and then make things clear.

"However, even so, I will still say it." He turned his head and looked directly at the girl beside him once again.

Long, smooth, light blue hair; an elegant and serene profile; full red lips; white teeth; and alluring collarbones.

It's so beautiful.

Asakusa Toru raised the hand that was clenched behind his back.

"Shiina Hiyori, I like you." He said these words, which were perhaps the first time he had ever confessed to her face-to-face.

He raised his clenched hand and held it in mid-air, drawing her body to turn around so their eyes met.

"Yes, I can hear you."

With a radiant smile, Shiina Hiyori said this.

Chapter 242 I'm sorry

"..."

They were retaliated against.

Two days later, Asakusa Toru never expected that the boomerang would spin around and hit him back.

... How many times has this happened?

They used the very words they said to their advantage and then used them against them.

Aren't you guys holding grudges way too much?!

Although he couldn't help but shout this in his heart, Asakusa Toru quickly felt relieved when he saw Shiina Hiyori's smiling face.

A light, bell-like laugh rang out, and the girl's charm shone even brighter beneath her smile.

So I really do like Shiina Hiyori.

Asakusa Toru.

"I like you too." Wiping away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, Shiina Hiyori gave a definite answer.