Before the Second Class, the School Swimming Pool (Continued)

Masumi Kamuro.

At that very moment, Masumi Kamuro stared at Airi Sakura's back, utterly confused.

What was going on?

Was this girl following Keima Katsuragi too?

But...

Why was she acting in a way that practically exposed her?

S-she was so conspicuous!

Masumi Kamuro realized that Airi Sakura was a complete amateur.

Not only that, Airi Sakura's various actions were attracting far too much unnecessary attention, which was also interfering with her own tailing.

What was this girl's deal?

No...

Judging by Sakayanagi Arisu's reaction yesterday, Keima Katsuragi seemed to have far greater abilities than an ordinary student.

Could this red-haired girl actually be acting on Keima Katsuragi's orders?

Had he deliberately sent this clumsy girl to follow him, indirectly preventing anyone else from tailing him?

This guy...

He really was no ordinary person.

Masumi Kamuro narrowed her eyes slightly and stopped walking.

She could only put her tailing plan on hold for the time being.

Meanwhile, at the very front, Keima Katsuragi was completely baffled.

What was Airi Sakura trying to do?

Of course he'd noticed Airi Sakura behind him.

It was hard not to notice her, to put it mildly.

Her presence was completely unexpected.

Why was she following him like some kind of creepy stalker?

And even if she was going to tail him, couldn't she at least try to be discreet?

Did she think taking off her glasses and changing her hairstyle counted as a disguise?

Come to think of it, he had said something like that yesterday...

He couldn't let Airi Sakura keep following him!

This was his time alone with Shiina Hiyori. If the two routes became entangled, it might trigger a disastrous "affection level decrease" event.

Spending time alone together on the weekend was fundamentally different from an ordinary study session.

He had to make sure that didn't happen!

Keima Katsuragi's mind raced as he slipped a hand into his pocket and deftly typed on his phone.

He'd long since mastered the ability to type without looking, wherever he was.

"Huh?"

Shiina Hiyori also seemed to notice something behind them and started to turn around—

"Hiyori, how are you finding the game?"

Keima Katsuragi immediately spoke up, forcibly drawing Shiina Hiyori's attention back to him.

"It's great. It's been a really interesting experience."

"In that case, I can recommend a few more games with puzzle and mystery elements."

Keima Katsuragi promptly started telling Shiina Hiyori about various games.

From Airi Sakura's perspective, Keima Katsuragi and Shiina Hiyori seemed to be chatting quite intimately.

They looked like they were having fun.

No, wait!

Hiyori had said earlier that she wanted to ask Keima-kun about games, so it was only natural for them to talk.

But...

What if they started talking about other things afterward?

While Airi Sakura was fretting over it, Keima Katsuragi and Shiina Hiyori had already entered a café and found a table.

Even though it was the weekend, the café wasn't very busy at this hour.

Airi Sakura picked the seat farthest away—but soon realized she couldn't see Keima Katsuragi and Shiina Hiyori from there, so she got up and moved to another seat.

From this angle, she could keep a much better eye on Keima Katsuragi.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Just as Airi Sakura was engrossed in watching them, the server came over to her.

"I, uh, I, I..."

The server's words forcibly brought Airi Sakura back to reality, and she reverted to her old self.

"I-I-I-I, I..."

Airi Sakura's face flushed bright red.

All the progress she'd made so far had only been in front of Keima Katsuragi.

"P-please... please give me a latte..."

Airi Sakura's breathing quickened, and she summoned all her strength to force the words out.

"Certainly. Please wait a moment."

The server soon left.

She quickly turned her gaze back to Keima Katsuragi and Shiina Hiyori.

The two were talking about games.

Shiina Hiyori was earnestly sharing her gaming experiences from the past while remaining completely unaware of Airi Sakura's presence.

Keima Katsuragi, meanwhile, was forcing himself not to look in Airi Sakura's direction.

But her stare was just too obvious!

Airi Sakura was openly staring right at them.

Couldn't she at least pretend to be subtle...?

Keima Katsuragi felt helpless. All he could do was pray that the person who could change everything would hurry up and arrive.

She was the only one who could help now.

Keima Katsuragi and Shiina Hiyori kept talking about games.

For Shiina Hiyori, it had been a long time since she'd had such an enjoyable conversation with someone—no, she'd never had one before.

Keima Katsuragi talked at length about everything: the problems she'd encountered in games, how playing them felt, and even their history and stories.

That kind of information took a lot of effort to gather.

Although they weren't discussing novels, Shiina Hiyori felt their essence was the same: both were engrossing stories.

And among the games Keima Katsuragi had recommended, there were quite a few Easter eggs referencing famous mystery novels.

It felt wonderful to share Easter eggs she'd discovered.

Come to think of it...

She'd been preparing for a day like this all along.

"Keima-kun, thanks so much for your time today. You told me so much—I learned a lot."

"It was no trouble. I rarely meet anyone I can really talk to, either."

"Friends..."

Shiina Hiyori repeated the word, then, as if she'd made up her mind, took several books out of her schoolbag.

She'd brought along many of her own books because she'd thought, "If I ever meet someone I can talk to about a shared interest, I'll lend them these."

She'd never had the chance to meet anyone who really clicked with her, so the books had stayed in Shiina Hiyori's bag all this time.

Until now.

"Keima-kun, these are novels I really love."

As Shiina Hiyori took out the books, she fixed her gaze on Keima Katsuragi.

"These are all my personal books. I thought that if I ever met someone I could talk to about our shared interests, I'd lend them the books, so I've been carrying them around with me. I started with one, but the number gradually grew before I found anyone to lend them to."

Keima Katsuragi looked at the books Shiina Hiyori had taken out, a little surprised. She seemed even more unusual than the literary girl in a game.

"Please, take whichever one you like!"

Shiina Hiyori looked at Keima Katsuragi, her eyes full of anticipation.

Farther away, Airi Sakura's gaze was still fixed on them.

It looked like Hiyori was about to give Keima-kun something!

I-I'm so curious!!!

I want to know what they're talking about!

Will Keima-kun accept Hiyori's gift?

Should I move to another seat?

Keima Katsuragi was thinking.

If he accepted Shiina Hiyori's gift, Airi Sakura's affection level might decrease.

A target must never witness a gift being accepted or a confession!

But if he refused, Shiina Hiyori's affection level might drop too.

That was why Keima Katsuragi had tried so hard to avoid "progressing multiple routes at once."

He hadn't expected Airi Sakura to follow him today.

This was completely unexpected...

But if something this minor was supposed to stump me, the God of Conquest, then you're dreaming!

"Sorry, Hiyori, but I wasn't planning to take one."

"I see..."

Shiina Hiyori lowered her eyes slightly.

"I used to think books were the least efficient medium. It takes too long to get information from them, and stories lack immersion. I'd read a few novels before, but only to get better at clearing games—"

Keima Katsuragi's expression was completely serious.

"I can understand how you feel, Keima-kun... Everyone thinks differently..."

Shiina Hiyori politely said that she understood, but Keima Katsuragi knew she must have felt a little disappointed.

This was his chance to press his advantage!

"—But my mind has changed recently."

"Hm?"

Shiina Hiyori raised her head, curiosity showing in her violet eyes.

"After getting to know you, Hiyori, I realized that maybe we're alike. You chose to learn about games, so naturally, I should settle down and try reading."

A faint smile appeared on Keima Katsuragi's face.

"Because of you, Hiyori, I've also gotten a taste of reading. I still think books fall short of games in most respects, but there are things they can do that nothing else can replace. When I get tired of gaming, I read books too. The reason I can't borrow yours is that I've already borrowed these books from the library! I haven't returned them yet!"