The next day, lunchtime, dormitory.
[Door opens]
The screen of his Personal Terminal lit up, and then a message popped up.
Simple and direct. No beating around the bush.
Getting up unhurriedly, Asakusa Toru gently opened the door.
As expected, standing outside was their Miss Kushida Kikyo.
She wore a hoodie with the hood up and a mask on, dressed like a popular idol having a secret underground romance.
After glaring fiercely at Asakusa Toru, Kushida Kikyo hurried into the dorm room and closed the door behind her.
She casually pulled off her mask and let out a long breath.
"I'm suffocating."
"Then why did you bundle yourself up so much?" Asakusa Toru shrugged and turned to open the freezer where he kept his Mind-Calming Popsicles. He took out two, unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth, then pressed the other against Kushida Kikyo's apparently still sweaty cheek. "Here, want one?"
It was the middle of summer, and she'd still dressed like that. He had to give her credit.
"..." After silently glancing at the popsicle pressed to her face, Kushida Kikyo raised her head and gave Asakusa Toru a strange look. "Put it away."
"I can't have anything cold."
Yesterday, she'd said she ought to trust him more, and then the first thing he did when she showed up today was ask if she could eat something cold?
Not a chance he'd get a kind word out of her!
"Too bad." Asakusa Toru wasn't upset. He opened the freezer again and put the extra popsicle back.
He wouldn't just hand one of his popsicles to someone at any other time.
Sure, it was a D-Rank Item, and sure, it came in a bulk pack, but there were only forty in total.
The calming effect was surprisingly useful. Everyone