Early the next morning,
Along the path to the library, trees lined both sides of the road, and plenty of benches stood by the wayside.
It was probably because there was still some time before class, and because this place was out of the way, that almost no one came here.
Of course, except for Yuki Gyakukai and Ai Morishita.
Smack~
"So, did it satisfy that feeling you had inside?"
Ai Morishita slowly opened her eyes, still composed, though her pupils were a little unfocused.
She slowly reached out her right hand and touched the warm spot in the middle of her forehead.
Her fingertips brushed it lightly, and she still felt a flutter inside.
Was Ai Morishita offering herself up in order to make contact with an abnormal life-form?
Yuki Gyakukai had no idea why that thought had crossed his mind. Right now, he could only find it amusing.
After all, Ai Morishita had initially approached him to observe him as an abnormal life-form.
They had been in contact for over a month. Although they hadn't spent as much time together as he had with Tomie, it was already far more than he had with Masumi Kamuro.
After all, Kamuro still had some shame. Whenever she wanted to do something exciting with Gyakukai, she always arranged it with him in secret beforehand.
As for Ai Morishita, this naturally absent-minded girl seemed completely harmless, and her thought process was rather odd, so everyone trusted her.
In everyone's eyes, Gyakukai spending time with her was no different from looking after a little kid.
That was why she had spent the second-most time with Yuki Gyakukai.
Although they had spent a long time together, this was the first time he had kissed her forehead.
After a long while, Ai Morishita came back to her senses. Blinking her big eyes, she stared curiously at Gyakukai's lips.
"I couldn't tell what it felt like. Could you kiss me again? I got distracted just now."
How could he refuse such a request from an adorable, absent-minded girl? It was practically a gift.
Feeling that warm touch on her forehead again, along with his hot breath, Ai Morishita couldn't help wrapping her arms around Gyakukai's waist.
A little while later, she watched those lips pull away from her forehead again, looking a little disappointed.
"Why was it so short? Were you teasing me on purpose? I couldn't feel anything at all. How am I supposed to study you, this unknown life-form?"
This was already one of Ai Morishita's usual tricks. Gyakukai felt like he'd gotten used to this excuse.
"Class is about to start. We'll do this another time. If Tomie gets to the classroom before me, people will definitely get suspicious.
You wouldn't want this to be our only chance, either."
Oh no, that came out kind of weird.
He had a vague feeling he'd heard something similar in some entertainment industry circle in Japan.
"Private Morishita, return to class now. Do you understand?!"
"Understood, sir!"
Although Ai Morishita was a little disappointed, she still decided to follow Gyakukai's advice.
She knew the difference between having something sweet once and having it sweet every time.
Back in the classroom,
Luckily, he arrived just a little before Tomie.
He had barely reached his seat when Tomie walked into the classroom with a large group of people.
"Good morning, Gyakukai."
Amikura Asako smiled as she came over to greet him, but her eyes kept drifting toward the inside of Gyakukai's desk.
"How come you're not opening love letters here today? Usually, the boys around you watch enviously first thing in the morning. Why are you acting so differently today?"
Yuki Gyakukai gave a quiet laugh and reached into his desk with his right hand, pulling out a purple envelope.
At the sight of that familiar purple, Amikura Asako tensed for a moment. Feeling rather guilty, she immediately circled around to Gyakukai's side.
The best defense was a good offense. She snatched the letter, randomly pulled a cherry-blossom-colored love letter from his desk, and stuffed it into Gyakukai's hand.
"Read this one first. This color's rare, so I want to see what's inside."
That was close! There were so many people in class right now. Reading it in front of everyone would've been so embarrassing. Good thing she'd switched it.
Gyakukai didn't say anything, simply taking the cherry-blossom-colored envelope.
"Sure. It doesn't matter which one I read, anyway."
Just as Yuki Gyakukai was about to open the envelope, another hand quickly snatched it away and handed him a different one.
"Um... Yume, what are you doing?"
With the two of them staring at her, Kohashi Yume blushed slightly and awkwardly scratched her head.
"How should I put it? I actually saw Gyakukai open an envelope of this color yesterday, so I wanted to pick a different one today."
"Is that so?"
Amikura Asako felt as though she were playing Werewolf. They were only anonymous love letters, and yet she had guessed who wrote them right away.
"Right?"
Kohashi Yume glanced at Amikura Asako's meaningful look and shifted her gaze away.
The morning passed in a noisy blur, but he didn't read a single letter.
He took all of them back to his dorm.
In the afternoon, they had another swimming lesson.
After their warm-ups, everyone was in their swimsuits, playing around in the pool.
Yuki Gyakukai and Tomie sat at the edge of the pool, their feet in the water as they watched everyone swim.
Yuki Gyakukai looked at the girls in their school swimsuits, which covered all their figures perfectly.
He couldn't help commenting, "Those kids' swimsuits really kill the mood."
"What do you think of what I'm wearing?" Tomie tilted her head and looked at Yuki Gyakukai with an amused smile.
His powerful body tensed up in an instant, every hair standing on end as if he were facing a threat to his life.
"You look great. Tomie looks good in anything. But the clothes are only an accessory. What matters is you."
"Hahaha!" Tomie laughed happily.
It seemed Yuki Gyakukai's crisis had passed—for now.
The library
"Let's play another round."
Yuki Gyakukai had barely stepped into the library when Sakayanagi Arisu came over with a chessboard.
But she didn't look nearly as relaxed as she had the day before.
The faint dark circles under her eyes made it seem as though she'd stayed up all night. Her slightly messy hair was completely hidden beneath her Beret.
Looks like she'd taken yesterday's defeat pretty hard.
"What is it this time?"
"I was careless yesterday. Today, I'm ready to give it everything I've got."
"Fine."
And then Sakayanagi Arisu lost!
Yuki Gyakukai couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Even the backdrop behind Sakayanagi Arisu seemed gray and lifeless now.
Yesterday had been all right, but today Sakayanagi had been far too eager to attack, so she'd lost by the twentieth move.
"That can't be right. Aren't I supposed to be a genius?"
Unable to believe she'd lost so quickly today, Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane tightly with one hand and ruffled her hair with the other.
The two girls beside her, Emi Tamiya and Miki Yamamura, couldn't help worrying about her.
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