Yamamura Miki

The look on Suzuki Tsubame's face right now was nothing short of spectacular.

"With guts this small, you still try tailing people?"

His tone carried a hint of teasing.

As he spoke, he casually withdrew the Presence Regulator from his hand back into the System Space.

That talent you pride yourself on... before my effort, it's utterly pathetic.

Yamamura Miki slowly lifted her head, her expression helpless as she looked at the man who had just startled her.

The girl nervously swallowed her saliva, her voice coming out in fragments:

"Umm... I, I was just a little bored."

"I wasn't tailing you, I just wanted to come up... well..."

As she trailed off, her eyes darted away, no longer daring to meet Suzuki Tsubame's gaze.

Was that practically a confession?

Suzuki Tsubame grinned, letting out a light laugh. "Did I say you were tailing me?"

The words Yamamura was about to speak caught in her throat.

"You're Yamamura from Class A, right? Did Sakayanagi send you?"

"No, I'm not... I mean, yes, my name is Yamamura."

"But... but I wasn't sent by Sakayanagi. I really just... wanted to come up and see the view."

Yamamura's expression was flustered beyond measure, her words starting to tumble out incoherently.

"Is that so?"

His tone carried obvious uncertainty.

Suzuki Tsubame bent down, bringing himself face-to-face with the crouching Yamamura in an ultra-close, super-intense stare.

"Yamamura, don't lie to me, okay~"

The boy's half-smiling gaze, combined with a warm, sun-like aura radiating from him—like a pure, comforting heat—washed over her. (With his physique at the peak, having a Pure Yang Body was only natural, right? wags dog head.jpg)

It melted Yamamura Miki's thoughts into a puddle of mush.

"I... I..."

Yamamura's face flushed crimson, her pupils instantly spinning like two little whirlpools.

His warm breath enveloped her in an instant, and she felt her thoughts spiral into utter chaos, a tangled mess in her mind.

"Heh... since you're here for the view."

Suzuki Tsubame straightened up and extended a hand in invitation.

"...then it's fine if we enjoy it together, right?"

"..."

Though Yamamura's heart was in turmoil, Her right hand, as if bewitched, tightly grasped the hand he offered.

By the time Yamamura came back to her senses, she was already standing beside Suzuki Tsubame at the railing of the rooftop.

"How does it feel? First time up here, right?"

Compared to the surrounding buildings, the school building's rooftop stood out like a crane among chickens.

From here, you could faintly make out the bustling Tokyo cityscape in the distance.

And next to those towering skyscrapers far away, Advanced Nurturing was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

"Uh... yeah, not bad."

Yamamura nodded. Her thoughts were churning, her mind completely unable to focus on the distant scenery.

"By the way... Yamamura, you really weren't sent by Sakayanagi to keep an eye on me?"

Suzuki Tsubame's gaze locked onto the girl's flushed face.

"No... not at all. I wasn't following anyone's orders."

The girl shook her head, denying it with firm resolve.

Sakayanagi... I'm sorry, I think I might have messed this up, the girl thought to herself, convinced she couldn't fool the man beside her.

"I see."

"So that means... these past few days, you've been acting entirely on your own whim?"

Suzuki Tsubame pretended to have a sudden realization.

"Mm..." The girl nodded. Sakayanagi, it looks like I haven't messed it up yet.

"Yamamura, I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

Yamamura looked at Suzuki Tsubame with a bewildered expression, not understanding why he had suddenly started apologizing.

Shouldn't the one apologizing be her instead?

"I've been overlooking your feelings all this time. I hope Yamamura-san... you can forgive me."

His tone was sincere, and Suzuki Tsubame's gaze toward the girl carried a hint of apology.

"Huh?"

The girl's pupils dilated violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

"Suzuki-kun, it's not..."

Yamamura's expression was flustered, and she urgently wanted to deny this notion.

"Can I call you Miki?"

Suzuki Tsubame spoke directly, cutting off the words of denial she was about to say.

"Of course... in exchange, you can also call me by my first name."

The girl's expression was dazed, and as if possessed, she nodded.

"Mm..."

A sound resembling "mm" was squeezed out from her vocal cords.

"Miki, please take care of me from now on."

Yamamura seemed not to hear, her expression unchanged.

Looking at the girl's blank, dazed face, it seemed she wouldn't snap out of it anytime soon.

"If you ever have any worries, you can always come talk to me..."

"No, if it's Miki... you can come find me even if there's nothing wrong."

Suzuki Tsubame reached out his hand and gently patted the girl's head.

Yamamura's expression remained the same, completely oblivious to both Suzuki Tsubame's words and actions.

Suzuki Tsubame scratched his head—it seemed she had completely shut down.

After Suzuki Tsubame left.

The girl finally snapped back to reality, suddenly reaching out to tightly press her hand against her chest.

Her heart... couldn't help but pound wildly.

Everything that had just happened was a brand new experience for her.

Nor had she truly fallen into a daze.

It was just that... she didn't know how to face him.

For as long as she could remember, the gazes of her peers had rarely lingered on her.

Whether in elementary school, vocational school, or even high school, it was the same.

She had never had a proper friend by her side, always alone.

She had once forced herself to believe this was her strength, and even after growing up... she continued living such a quiet life.

...It didn't seem like a big deal.

Though that was indeed what she thought.

But... when Suzuki-kun's gaze pierced through, what exactly was this strange emotion?

She didn't know.

She didn't know.

It was just... that she hadn't known before.

Until today, that was the end of it.