Sakura Airi

Meanwhile, hidden somewhere out of sight, the pink-haired girl desperately covered her mouth in fear.

She had no idea how to handle what was about to happen.

She had only wanted to find a place to take pictures, but she had never expected to accidentally overhear such information. It was over—they had discovered her!

In her panic, the girl could only hide, avoiding their gaze while also cutting herself off from observing the outside.

The tapping footsteps drew closer and closer, as though they were stepping directly on her heart.

It was about to leap out of her chest!

The girl's fingers trembled slightly.

Then, the footsteps outside suddenly vanished.

Holding her breath, the girl cautiously poked her head out to see where the person had gone.

A low voice came from directly above her.

"Oh? Found you, Sakura."

Sakamoto looked down at the girl curled into a ball—Sakura Airi. One hand held a digital camera, while the other covered her mouth. Even her gaze froze in place.

Looking at the two men before her, she instinctively wanted to escape, but she had no way to do so.

Her feet kicked weakly against the ground as she pressed herself against the wall. Her small hands curled together, holding the camera in front of her chest. She looked terribly frightened, like a startled little lamb.

Sakamoto could not help laughing at the sight and shook his head slightly.

"Sakamoto, this girl was eavesdropping on our conversation just now. Who knows how much she heard? She might have even taken pictures with that camera."

Hashimoto made the severity of the situation clear and suggested taking the camera from her.

Hearing Hashimoto's stance, Sakamoto did not respond immediately.

Looking at the pitiful girl sitting there with her legs tucked to one side, he thought they might have frightened her too much. He had Hashimoto rein himself in and gave the girl enough space to feel safe before speaking gently.

"This is indeed a bit troublesome. Although I know a kind girl like Sakura would never secretly take pictures, just to be safe, please hand me the camera in your hands."

Hand over her camera...

Sakura's guard lowered slightly because of the man's gentle attitude, only to rise to the extreme again the next moment.

My camera... there are my...

But when she looked into his eyes—

Though he was polite, there was an unquestionable air about him. And in this situation, if she did not hand over the camera, there was no way she could leave. But... but...

The girl struggled endlessly inside, and her body began trembling on its own. She lowered her head, not daring to answer at all, completely missing the amusement in his eyes.

The cold evening wind swept through the forest path. Sensing that the girl was nearing her limit, Sakamoto sighed inwardly and straightened up.

To avoid putting too much psychological pressure on her by standing too close, he moved away and looked at the scenery from a distance.

Sakura raised her head in confusion and realized that he was now quite far away from her.

She stared blankly at his tall back. Seeming to sense her gaze, he turned around and smiled.

Sakura hurriedly lowered her head and kept trying to prepare herself mentally.

At last, she made up her mind. Sakura raised her head and spoke timidly.

"Um... um..."

Though her voice was very soft, Sakamoto reacted immediately.

He approached the girl again.

"You're feeling much calmer now, right?"

"Mm."

Sakura nodded hard in response, and the scene fell silent again.

Sakamoto suddenly understood.

"Sakamoto Junichi, from Class A. Just call me Sakamoto."

Without knowing his name, Sakura, who was not good at communicating with others, might keep silent because she would feel too embarrassed to ask even if she really wanted to speak.

"Sa... Sakamoto, do you really have to check my camera?"

"Well, if Sakura is unwilling, then there would be no way to rule out the possibility of leaked information."

The girl hesitated.

"Hey, why make this so troublesome? Just take the camera and look at it."

Hashimoto, who had been standing to the side, was growing impatient and walked over directly.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't mean to spy on you! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sakura hurriedly began apologizing. Her voice was pleasant, carrying a trace of innocent awkwardness along with a pure sweetness that made it impossible to get angry at her.

Hashimoto was both impatient and too embarrassed to snatch it from her, so he simply walked away to the side.

"I believe Sakura would never do something like that. You're a very kind girl, after all."

Sakamoto stopped him.

"However, considering the possibility that there may be photos of us, it is necessary to check the memory on your camera. Don't worry, I would never casually reveal private things like photographs."

Sakamoto stated his firm position with great politeness.

There was no point in refusing any longer under these circumstances.

In the end, with a hesitant expression, the girl agreed.

Taking the camera from the girl's hands, Sakamoto began seriously checking the photos inside.

Hmm. Just as he had expected, there really was a photo that had accidentally captured them, and it was quite blurry. He could practically imagine Sakura's panicked expression when she noticed the two of them in the shot while taking pictures.

Such a blurry photo would have almost no impact on them, but to be cautious, Sakamoto deleted it in front of Sakura.

The rest were all Sakura's selfies. Maintaining a serious and practical attitude, Sakamoto carefully checked them all.

Some were innocent pictures of her in a school uniform, likely test shots taken while she searched for a photography spot. Others were idol photoshoots.

Every photo was perfectly angled, highlighting Sakura's figure and face. Most notably, she was very well-endowed indeed. (The details shall not be described further.)

After finishing the inspection, Sakamoto's expression did not change, though his eyes carried a smile as he looked at Sakura.

Her face, meanwhile, was bright red, filled with the embarrassment of having her secret exposed.

"After my careful inspection, I can confirm that Sakura only captured it by accident. The misunderstanding has now been cleared up."

Sakamoto extended a hand, gently took Sakura's hand, and pulled her up from the ground.

"It's not good to sit on the ground for too long at this time of day."

"Thank you..."

Sakamoto placed the camera back into Sakura's hands.

"Hey, Sakura, photography is a perfectly normal hobby. You don't need to hide it like this. The pictures you took are very beautiful too."

"You... you saw them all!"

The girl was shocked as well. If he had not said it aloud, she could have ignored it for the time being. But now that she thought about it... her entire face flushed crimson, and she could not say a word.

Her thick bangs and glasses happened to conceal her unease, keeping her from fleeing the scene outright.

Sakamoto only smiled without speaking. It would not be a good thing to pursue this topic any further.

"Sakura, we really were at fault for disrupting your personal activities. I'm sorry."

"N-No, it's actually my fault. If I hadn't been taking pictures here and accidentally overheard your conversation, none of this would have happened. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Rarely having anyone show her such concern, Sakura's emotions surged violently. She repeated "I'm sorry" over and over like a broken record, accidentally flinging her glasses away.

With the thing concealing her face gone, the broken-record girl crashed. Her bangs had become messy from bowing, but this instead revealed her true appearance.

Her skin was fair with a peach-blossom flush, and without her glasses, her bright, star-like eyes were fully revealed. Her slightly messy hair and dazed expression only made her impossible to look away from.

At that moment, a strong, steady arm gently picked up the glasses from the ground.

"It's not your fault, Sakura. Look, your glasses fell off."

Sakamoto carefully wiped the dust from the lenses with a handkerchief before handing them to Sakura.

"There, they're clean now."

The girl seemed unable to react. She accepted the glasses instinctively and even forgot to thank him.

Seeing that her mind seemed overloaded, Sakamoto felt too embarrassed to disturb her further.

"Sorry for troubling you, Sakura. This is my contact information. If you have any problems, you can find me."

Sakamoto took a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sakura.

Sakura silently nodded and accepted the slip with both hands.

Seeing this, Sakamoto did not intend to say anything more. It was getting late, and it was time to go back and make dinner.

The two boys picked up the bags of vegetables from the ground again and walked step by step along the stone path.

Only after their figures had completely disappeared—

Did the crashed girl's mind finally begin working again.

Looking at the slip of paper in her hands—

Sakura gently ran her fingers over the row of numbers.

"Ah, braised fish is so delicious."

Hashimoto patted his stomach and burped with satisfaction, once again praising Chef Sakamoto's excellent cooking.

Sakamoto took off his apron and sat down with him to enjoy dinner. Although Japanese cuisine had its own outstanding qualities, he was more familiar with and receptive to the long-standing cuisine of China.

That was why he had specifically bought a whole set of cooking utensils and a stove. Compared to ordinary students, who could only eat at the cafeteria or stores, the taste was far superior. Even students who wanted to cook were generally limited by their equipment to making simple food. They had no means to prepare complicated dishes like braised fish.

It could be said that this was completely one of a kind. The nearby students had it rough, having to endure this fragrance every night. Fortunately, there usually were not many students in the dormitory building at this hour.

"Sakamoto." Hashimoto Masayoshi suddenly looked at Sakamoto with a serious expression.

"Will that girl really not leak our information? Even if the photo was deleted, she definitely heard our conversation."

"No, it's fine."

Sakamoto took out his phone and opened a certain website.

"That girl would never do that."

Sakamoto looked at the image on his phone.

"Shizuku isn't a little mouse."