Eriri, you wouldn't want to be exposed, would you?

"So, writing a love letter was your way of getting Eriri Sawamura to come out here?"

On the rooftop of Toyosaki Academy, Luo Shu sat on a bench after finishing his dull morning classes, eating the pork cutlet bento Utaha Kasumigaoka had bought him.

Beside him, Utaha Kasumigaoka stirred her tuna salad with a fork, wearing the delighted expression of someone whose prank had succeeded.

"You only said I was responsible for getting her here. You never specified how I had to do it, did you?"

"I suppose I didn't." At this point, Luo Shu could only admit that he hadn't been careful enough, allowing Utaha Kasumigaoka to take a shortcut. "So, whose name did you use for the love letter? Not mine, surely?"

"Of course not yours," Utaha Kasumigaoka said as though it were obvious, then added playfully, "After all, if I'd put your name on it, Luo Shu, Sawamura probably wouldn't have dared to come."

At that, Luo Shu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "All I did was beat up the guys who tried to bully me when I first enrolled. Did that really deserve three years of rumors that still haven't died down?"

"Would our distinguished transfer student from China please try to understand the rotten senior-junior hierarchy here in Japan?"

Utaha Kasumigaoka ate a little salad, pursed her lips, and said:

"To students who grew up in Japan, your act of defying your seniors was about as intimidating as storming a kindergarten with a gun."

Luo Shu was utterly speechless.

Just then, his newly awakened psychic senses suddenly picked up approaching footsteps.

"Someone's coming upstairs."

Utaha Kasumigaoka paused at his words, then smiled faintly.

"It looks like our future club member has arrived."

At the same time, on the stairs leading to the rooftop, Eriri Sawamura held the envelope, her expression a mixture of exasperation and pride.

"Honestly, another love letter. Middle school or high school, there are always so many boring boys like this."

Although she secretly drew adult doujinshi, Eriri Spencer Sawamura was publicly regarded as an unattainable beauty in both middle school and high school.

Her father was a member of the England Foreign Office and belonged to the Spencer family, a noble lineage with some renown in England, while her mother came from the locally prominent Sawamura family.

She was half English and half Japanese, with naturally blond hair, delicate, attractive features, and a carefully crafted public persona that perfectly fit an exemplary young lady from a wealthy family.

Though her English was terrible, she excelled in her other subjects and had plenty of talents, including drawing.

Eriri Sawamura had stood at the very top of her school's social circles since childhood. She was truly the most popular of the popular.

Naturally, she never lacked female friends eager to get close to her, nor boys who tried to confess, believing they had fallen in love at first sight when they were really just attracted to her looks.

Eriri already had a detailed procedure for turning these people down.

"So, should I say, 'You're a very kind person, but I don't think we're right for each other,' or, 'Sorry, I don't want to date anyone before I get into university'?"

Eriri idly waved the supposed love letter as she rounded the corner, glanced at the rooftop door at the top of the stairs, and muttered:

"Actually, why the rooftop? I heard the upperclassmen had claimed this place for themselves. Why choose somewhere like this to confess? Could it be an upperclassman?"

The thought made Eriri a little uneasy. She worried that whoever it was might do something dangerous after being rejected on the rooftop.

"Whatever. I'll take a look, and if there aren't many people, I'll just leave."

With that, Eriri climbed the steps and peered through the glass in the door to check the rooftop.

But when she saw the boy and girl sitting on the rooftop bench, Eriri Sawamura couldn't help widening her eyes.

"That girl is... Utaha Kasumigaoka from the second year? There's a boy sitting beside her?"

"Huh?! So that whole 'Utaha has a boyfriend now' thing the boys were making such a fuss about during this morning's breaks was actually true?"

"Who's the boy? Huh, I can't quite see his face from this angle. She's blocking him."

But just as Eriri tried to get a better look, Luo Shu called out from the rooftop:

"Since you're already here, come on over."

"Eek!" Eriri startled and nearly fell at the doorway.

By the time she barely managed to steady herself, she had already pushed open the stairwell door, leaving half her body exposed on the rooftop.

Now Eriri was in a real bind.

What do you do when a couple catches you spying on them? Answers needed urgently!

But while Eriri panicked, Luo Shu's calm voice reached her.

"Eriri Spencer Sawamura."

"Close the door and come sit down."

"Ah..." Eriri instinctively looked up at Luo Shu and Utaha Kasumigaoka, then lowered her head in apology. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you two."

"Why would you spy on us?" Luo Shu paused, then turned to Utaha Kasumigaoka. "Did word of what happened on the subway this morning spread that quickly?"

At that, Utaha Kasumigaoka teased him. "It looks like you don't have a single friend in your class."

After all, if he had any friends, they would certainly have come over to ask him about it out of curiosity. Since Luo Shu knew nothing about it, that

meant none of his classmates had dared to mention it in front of him.

Catching Utaha Kasumigaoka's implication, Luo Shu couldn't help complaining, "Why do I feel like I've become Toyosaki's delinquent boss?"

Shaking his head, Luo Shu pointed to another empty bench nearby and told Eriri:

"All right, sit over there. And don't wonder why the person who wrote the love letter isn't here. We arranged the letter."

Luo Shu emphasized "we." Thanks to Utaha Kasumigaoka's reminder, he now knew he was seen as the school terrorist, so he was a little worried that claiming he had written it would scare Eriri away outright.

Unfortunately, Utaha Kasumigaoka was far too devious. The love letter's tone and wording were entirely masculine. Otherwise, Luo Shu would definitely have said she had written it.

"You arranged it?" Eriri was a little stunned.

How had a perfectly ordinary love letter turned into something arranged by a boy and a girl?

After a moment's hesitation, reassured by the fact that Utaha Kasumigaoka was also there, Eriri obediently walked over, sat on the bench next to theirs, and asked:

"So, what did you two want to see me about?"

Seeing Eriri sit down, Luo Shu smiled and said:

"The two of us want to start an astronomy club at school, and we're currently one member short."

"Huh?" Eriri was dumbfounded. You tricked me into coming here with a love letter just for that? Have you lost your mind?

At that thought, Eriri instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, she was already in the art club. Although each student could join up to three clubs, she didn't think she had that kind of energy.

But just as Eriri was about to refuse, Luo Shu said casually:

"I'm sure Kashiwagi Eiri wouldn't turn down such a small favor, would she?"