"Come on, I'm exhausted right now. I'll go find them later." Senba Gari lay weakly on the closed piano, panting.
"All right, then I'll go find my friends first." As she spoke, Kira Tsubasa was about to leave, but Senba Gari suddenly called out to her.
"Wait."
"What is it?"
"Though it might not be my place to say this, don't be fooled by that idiot Geki acting all carefree like a moron all the time. The truth is, he's... just an idiot. And a lolicon too."
"Huh?" Kira Tsubasa was left at a loss by Senba Gari's completely unexpected words.
"But, well, he's actually just like me. He always likes keeping things bottled up and not telling anyone, so try to be a little understanding of that idiot." Paying no mind at all to Kira Tsubasa's speechless expression, Senba Gari said what he had really wanted to say.
"...Thank you." After a brief silence, Kira Tsubasa smiled sweetly and said, "Geki is really lucky to have a friend like you."
With that, she turned and left. With half the knot in her heart untied, her departing figure seemed much lighter.
"Geki, I've given you all the assists I can. Handle the rest yourself."
Watching Kira Tsubasa's back as she left, Senba Gari slowly straightened up, then called toward a shadow outside the door.
"Hey, you've been listening for so long. Shouldn't I charge you a fee?"
As soon as Senba Gari finished speaking, a woman in an office-lady outfit slowly walked out from the shadow outside the door. She showed not the slightest panic at being caught eavesdropping; instead, she said calmly.
"Let's forget about the money. After all, you were using our school's piano, so let's call it even."
"Heh! Even? You think I don't know you took