Chapter 62

"Oh! Lingmeng, will you be taking classes here from now on!?"

Nodding in response, Tohka spoke excitedly.

After all, neither Kotori nor Shido had mentioned that Lingmeng would be coming today as a transfer student, so she was somewhat surprised.

Maintaining her original smile, Lingmeng asked casually.

"Yes, I only came because someone threatened me. Otherwise, I'd probably still be in bed sleeping right now."

As she spoke, Lingmeng gave Shido a wink, making him quite embarrassed.

Was this really a deliberate act of revenge against me?

Looking at the almost hostile gazes around him and Lingmeng's smiling face, Shido thought to himself.

However, Tohka clearly didn't notice any of this and just continued speaking with even greater emotion.

"That's great! With Lingmeng joining my team, Origami will definitely be defeated!"

Waving her hands excitedly, Tohka looked very happy.

"Origami?"

After silently repeating the name Tohka had spoken, Lingmeng paused for a moment, then looked around.

Sure enough, not far away, a girl with short white hair, blue eyes, and an aura of coldness emanating from her entire body, who was expressionless and looked like a doll, was staring at her with the same eyes that she would look at a dangerous object.

Lingmeng remembered this Origami Tobiichi.

She remembered Tohka because she had appeared on both Shido's dates with Tohka and her own dates with Tohka.

Besides, it's hard for her to forget that she wanted to take Shido to Hotel and drug him!

When their Origami met, Lingmeng was momentarily at a loss for words. She simply offered an awkward greeting.

"Um... hi, we meet again... what a coincidence..."

"..."

Origami remained silent.

(He really is a strange person.)

Seeing that her words seemed to have no effect, Lingmeng could only sigh slightly and then take her seat.

"Hmph, Origami, you're scared now, aren't you! Let me tell you, Lingmeng is very strong~ If you beg for mercy now, I might let you off the hook."

With her arms crossed in front of her chest, Tohka slightly raised her head and let out a soft breath.

"..."

Origami didn't react much to Tohka's words. She just glanced at Tohka silently before turning her gaze back to the blackboard.

"What kind of magical artifact do you have?! It's really annoying!"

Finding that Origami seemed to completely ignore her presence, Tohka frowned and forcefully turned her head to the side.

Looking at the two people who seemed to be at odds with each other, Lingmeng tugged at Shido's clothes and asked.

"Hey... Shido, do those two often do this?"

"Hmm... it happens often."

With a smile that looked more like a grimace, Shido replied.

To be honest, he didn't know why Tohka and Origami had such a bad relationship.

Ever since Tohka Transfer, the two of them have often had disagreements.

Whether it's a big deal or a small matter, they'll start arguing if you're not careful.

Shido often acts as a peacemaker, is starting to find it hard to cope with this.

"I see."

She nodded as if she understood, and Lingmeng said nothing more.

"Um... since Lingmeng is ready, let's begin class now!"

Seeing the awkward situation, Ko-tama, the teacher, gently patted her hand to ease the tension.

Maybe it's because he's quite popular in class?

After Ko-tama finished speaking, the classmates also cooperated by turning their gaze away from Shido and the others and turning it towards Ko-tama.

----------------This is the dividing line for the transfer time

"Shido, I've made a food called 'cookies,' would you like to try some?"

Time flew by, and several classes passed after Lingmeng arrived in the classroom.

The cheerful school bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

A stunningly beautiful Purple-Haired Girl was smiling, as if surrounded by tiny flower effects, and was holding a box-shaped container in her hand as she spoke to the boy in front of her.

"Ah... this..."

The boy—that is, Shido —his gaze shifted between Tohka's smile and the contents of the box, his expression somewhat troubled.

How should I put it? Although it was certainly something to be happy about that a beautiful girl had specially made cookies for him, Shido began to hesitate as he looked at the black, burnt-looking objects in the box that could no longer be called cookies.

As for why Tohka made cookies for Shido at school?

That's because the last class was a cooking class.

Furthermore, in order to allow every student to experience the joy of cooking firsthand, the school specifically grouped a small number of students together for the class.

Simply put, today is a day when only girls have to take cooking classes.

Looking at the unidentified object in the box, Shido's body instinctively resisted eating it, but he was afraid that his refusal would upset Tohka.

Therefore, Shido is now in a state of indecision.

Just then, Shido seemed to have thought of a way to temporarily escape this matter, and a glint of gold appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, Tohka! You can let Lingmeng try it first--"

But Shido had barely finished speaking when he felt an impact on the back of his head.

"Snap--"

"Are you trying to get me killed? You can't betray a friend like this!"

"Waaah..."

Shido clutched his head in pain and turned away.

She realized that Lingmeng had appeared behind her without her noticing.

She was holding a paper fan that appeared out of nowhere, and looking at him with a displeased expression.

Chapter Five Cookies

"Aya... Lingmeng, when did you arrive?"

Covering his head where he had just been hit by a paper fan, Shido asked blankly.

"Yeah... when exactly?" Lingmeng asked rhetorically, smiling with her eyes half-closed. "It was probably around the time Tohka treated you to cookies, right?"

(Wasn't that already there from the beginning!?)

As he silently complained to himself, Shido's lips twitched involuntarily.

But Shido doesn't have time to think about those things right now; what's important is—

Looking at Tohka, who was placing cookies in front of him with a big smile, Shido felt that this was the most troublesome thing.

Shido scratched his cheek, speaking awkwardly.

"Which one... Tohka... Look, Lingmeng is here too, why don't you let her try it first?"

In order to buy time, Shido pulled Lingmeng out directly.

Although he felt somewhat guilty towards Lingmeng, he truly couldn't bring himself to eat this unidentified object called "biscuit."

To this, Lingmeng simply narrowed her eyes and smiled, displaying a fearless expression.

It was as if they were saying, "We knew you'd do this."

"Shall we give some to Lingmeng?"

Tohka glanced at Lingmeng.

Just as Shido that Tohka would put it in front of Lingmeng just like he expected, Tohka's next words left him completely dumbfounded.

"I already asked Lingmeng during cooking class if she wanted to try it."

But Lingmeng said, 'She'll eat Shido you've finished, Shido.' That's why I Shido you to try it first."

After saying that, Tohka once again revealed an incredibly bright smile.

Damn it, they beat us to it!

Shido silently murmured to himself, only then realizing that Lingmeng seemed to have dragged him into the water long before he could drag her in.

However, Shido then shook his head helplessly.

But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. As a girl, it's natural for Lingmeng to take cooking classes with Tohka and the others.

Lingmeng definitely knew that Tohka was making cookies before she did. But--

What's with this feeling of frustration and resentment?

Seeing Lingmeng's smug expression, Shido gave her a deadpan look.

Seemingly sensing Shido's inner thoughts, Lingmeng extended her right index finger and whispered.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you actually dare to dream of fighting this elf? Give me a hard time! Go back and train for eight years, you brat! Hahaha..."

As she spoke, Lingmeng let out a soft, triumphant whisper.

Although he had very mixed feelings, given the current situation, Shido had no choice but to obediently eat it.

With trembling hands, he took out a cookie. Even though he had gone this far, Shido still couldn't bring himself to speak.

Just then, a question suddenly popped into Shido's mind—

Since Lingmeng was there when Tohka was making cookies, shouldn't Lingmeng, being a culinary expert, have taught Tohka how to make them? If that's the case, why are the cookies still...?

With this question in mind, Shido inquired about Tohka's situation.

"Tohka... didn't Lingmeng teach you how to make cookies?"

Tohka simply chuckled in response.

"Because I want to give Shido and Lingmeng a surprise! If I ask Lingmeng to help, wouldn't that ruin the surprise?"

Hearing Tohka's answer, Shido suddenly felt as if he had been struck in the chest.

This answer certainly sounds like something Tohka would say. However Shido his mind with just this one simple sentence.

Because Tohka worked so hard to make this for him.

(Ah, if I had been there to teach them, the cookies wouldn't be like this now.)

Lingmeng thought to herself.

So--

Lingmeng slapped Shido hard on the shoulder, and Shido let out a "pfft--" sound.

"A beautiful girl specially made cookies for you, so why don't you eat them all with gratitude?"

For some reason, Lingmeng emphasized the word "all" when she said that.

Although that's what she said, Lingmeng still had her own plans in mind.

Because Tohka also made her own portion of cookies, but like Shido, she couldn't bring herself to eat them because of their unappetizing appearance.

If that's the case, as long as Shido finishes eating it all, then everything will be fine, right?

Completely oblivious to the hint of smugness in Lingmeng's tone, Shido simply nodded slightly.

"Shido, you should try it!"