Troubles, What to Do When You're Too Popular?

The next morning, On the path leading to the library, a dense growth of trees lined both sides, with several benches scattered along the road.

Probably because there was still some time before class, and even more so because this route was out of the way, almost no one came here.

Of course, except for Yuki Gyakukai and Ai Morishita.

Mwah~

"So? Did that satisfy what you were feeling inside?"

Ai Morishita slowly opened her eyes, still maintaining her composure, though her pupils were slightly unfocused.

She slowly raised her right hand and touched the warm spot in the middle of her forehead.

Her fingertips brushed lightly, and she still felt a ripple in her heart.

Was Ai Morishita sacrificing herself like this to make contact with an abnormal being?

Yuki Gyakukai didn't know why he was thinking that way; he just found it amusing.

After all, from the very beginning, Ai Morishita had approached him with the goal of observing him as an abnormal being.

Over a month, their time together still couldn't compare to Tomie's, but it had already far exceeded Masumi Kamuro's.

Because Masumi still had some sense of shame—every time she wanted to do something exciting with Gyakukai, she'd arrange it sneakily in advance.

But Ai Morishita, with her airheadedness, seemed completely harmless, and combined with her oddly wired brain, everyone felt at ease around her.

To everyone else, her interactions with Gyakukai looked like he was just looking after a child.

So she spent the second most time with him.

But even though they spent a lot of time together, something like a kiss on the forehead was still a first.

After a long moment, Ai Morishita snapped back to reality, blinked her big eyes, and stared curiously at Gyakukai's lips.

"I didn't really feel it. Can you do it again? I spaced out."

Faced with such a cute, airheaded girl, how could he refuse a request that was practically a freebie?

Feeling the warm touch on her forehead again, along with the scorching breath, Ai Morishita couldn't help but reach out and hug Gyakukai's waist.

After a short while, she looked a little disappointed at the lips that had once again left her forehead.

"Why was it so short? Are you messing with me on purpose? I couldn't feel anything at all. How am I supposed to observe you, this unknown creature?"

This was Ai Morishita's usual tactic by now; Gyakukai felt he'd already gotten used to this excuse.

"Class is about to start. Let's leave this for another time. After all, if Tomie gets to the classroom and I'm not there yet, I'll definitely be suspected.

You don't want this to be our only chance, do you?"

Damn, that sounded a bit weird.

He felt like he'd seen a line like that somewhere in the Japanese entertainment industry.

"Private Morishita! Get back to class now. Is that understood?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Though Ai Morishita was a little disappointed, she still chose to listen to Gyakukai.

One taste of sweetness, or sweetness every time—she could still tell the difference.

Back in the classroom, Fortunately, he arrived just a little bit earlier than Tomie.

Because no sooner had he sat down in his seat than Tomie walked into the classroom with a large group of people.

"Good morning, Gyakukai!"

Amikura Asako walked over with a smile and greeted him, but her eyes kept darting toward the inside of Gyakukai's desk.

"Why aren't you opening love letters here today? Usually, first thing in the morning, the guys around here are all staring enviously. What's with the change today?"

Yuki Gyakukai chuckled, reached his right hand into his desk, and pulled out a purple envelope.

Seeing that familiar purple, Amikura Asako tensed up for a split second, then quickly and guiltily circled around to Gyakukai's side.

Striking first, she snatched the letter out of his hand, randomly grabbed a cherry-blossom-pink love letter from inside the desk, and shoved it into Gyakukai's hand.

"Read this one first. This color is rare. I want to see what's written in it."

Close call! With so many people in the class right now, reading it in front of everyone would have been way too embarrassing. Good thing she swapped it.

Gyakukai didn't say anything; he just took the cherry-blossom-pink envelope casually.

"Sure, it's all the same to me anyway."

Just as Yuki Gyakukai was about to open the envelope, another hand quickly snatched it away and handed him a new one.

"Uh... Yume, what are you doing?"

Stared at by the two of them, Kohashi Yume's face flushed slightly, and she scratched her head awkwardly.

"How should I put it... actually, I already saw Gyakukai-kun opening an envelope of that color yesterday, so I thought I'd pick a different one today."

"Is that so?"

Amikura Asako felt like she was playing Werewolf—even though these were just anonymous love letters, she'd instantly guessed who wrote them.

"Right?"

Kohashi Yume avoided Amikura Asako's meaningful gaze, a little evasive.

The whole morning passed noisily like that, but not a single letter was read.

All the letters were taken back to his dorm room.

In the afternoon, there was another swimming class.

Warm-ups were already finished, and everyone was playing in the pool in their swimsuits.

Gyakukai and Tomie sat at the edge of the pool, their feet dangling in the water as they watched the others.

Yuki Gyakukai looked at the girls' school swimsuits, which perfectly hugged every girl's figure.

He couldn't help but complain: "Really, such a desire-killing kids' swimsuit."

"Then how do I look?" Tomie tilted her head with a faint smile, staring at Yuki Gyakukai.

His powerful body instantly bristled with goosebumps, as if facing a death threat:

"Beautiful. Tomie looks beautiful no matter what she wears, but clothes are just an accessory—what matters is you."

"Hahaha~" Tomie laughed with delight.

It seemed Yuki Gyakukai's crisis had passed for now.

Library

"One more round."

The moment Yuki Gyakukai stepped through the library entrance, Sakayanagi Arisu walked over carrying a chessboard.

But her face no longer looked as relaxed as yesterday.

Faint dark circles under her eyes, as if she'd stayed up all night without sleep, slightly disheveled hair all tucked under her beret.

It seemed she'd taken quite a hit yesterday.

"And what's the reason today?"

"Yesterday I was careless. Today I'm fully prepared to give it my all."

"Fine."

Then Sakayanagi Arisu lost!

Yuki Gyakukai felt a little sorry for her—the background atmosphere around Sakayanagi Arisu now seemed drained of color, gray and white.

Yesterday was one thing, but today Sakayanagi's offensive drive was too strong, so she lost by the twentieth move.

"No way... Am I not a genius?"

Unable to believe she'd lost so quickly today, Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane tightly with one hand while messing up her hair with the other.

Emi Tamiya and Miki Yamamura, who were accompanying her, couldn't help but look worried.