That night, Mori Shinra stepped out of the hot spring pool.
As soon as he pulled open the changing room door, he saw Hikigaya, wearing only a pair of boxers, staring at Totsuka Saika, who was changing.
"Wai-wait! It's not what you think!" Hikigaya heard the wooden door slide.
He turned his head and saw Mori Shinra looking at him with an expression of utter disgust.
He immediately held out his hand, trying to explain.
Mori Shinra, with great detail, tightened the bath towel around his waist, calculating the distance between himself and Hikigaya.
If he dares to enter within three feet of me, I'll have to let him see what a system-enhanced body is truly capable of.
"Is that so? Saika." Mori Shinra ignored Hikigaya Hachiman, turning instead to Totsuka Saika.
"Um, it was my fault. I came in without knocking and happened to see Hachiman changing..." Saika's face flushed slightly as he helped explain.
Wait, why are you blushing?
Mori Shinra felt that there was something seriously wrong with both of them.
Based on the principle of 'a gentleman does not stand under a collapsing wall', he picked up the basket with his clothes, walked behind a locker, and, blocking their line of sight, quickly put on his underwear.
Then he threw his own bathrobe on.
Although the camp provided bathrobes, Mori Shinra generally preferred to wear his own clothes.
By the time he came out, Hikigaya had already left.
The sound of water from the hot spring pool proved that Totsuka Saika was now bathing.
Phew. Safe.
Returning to the dorm, Mori Shinra threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine and took a hairdryer out of his suitcase.
His hair wasn't short, and if he didn't dry it in time, he might risk catching a cold.
Then again, with his current physique of 12, he was probably immune to things like the common cold.
Plugging the dryer into the dorm's outlet, Mori Shinra held it to his hair with one hand.
His other hand wasn't idle; he was playing on his phone.
He first opened LINE to see if anyone had messaged him while he was bathing.
The first thing that caught his eye was a photo from Sakurajima Mai.
It was a selfie of her in a nightgown.
It was a conservative style, but 'conservative' or not, the allure was all there.
After all... what kind of good person wears black stockings under their nightgown! Where is the morality? Where is the law? And where is the address?
Alright, Mori Shinra knew where Sakurajima Mai was.
Likewise, she knew he was at a club activity and couldn't just rush over.
That's why she sent a selfie, letting him look but not touch, leaving him high and dry.
Her intentions were truly sinister.
In return, Mori Shinra also sent her a selfie, half-showing his abs.
You're kidding. She has beauty, but I don't have 'male beauty'? Don't think for a second that only men are lecherous. When women get lecherous, they can be even more terrifying than men.
After a round of long-distance mutual harm with Sakurajima Mai, Mori Shinra saw a new message pop up.
Yukinoshita Yukino?
Mori Shinra was a bit surprised to see who the sender was.
Messaging him at this hour?
Yukinoshita Yukino: You there?
Hmm... normally, starting with 'you there?' either means borrowing money or something dumb.
Needless to say, Yukinoshita would definitely not be asking him for money. It's also unlikely she'd confess to him over the phone. So, she probably really needs something. Maybe it's about Tsurumi Rumi?
Mori Shinra: Just got in bed. What's up?
Yukinoshita Yukino: ...You're going to sleep?
Mori Shinra: Getting in bed doesn't necessarily mean sleeping. I could be doing other things.
Mori Shinra: I mean playing on my phone, of course.
On the other end, Yukinoshita didn't overthink his message and continued typing.
Yukinoshita Yukino: I had another... disagreement... with Miura-san just now.
You mean you two had a Round 2 after getting back?
Mori Shinra: You two argued again?
Yukinoshita Yukino: I spent thirty minutes completely refuting her, and as a result, I made her cry. I'm wondering if I went too far...
Mori Shinra thought Yukinoshita wanted to discuss Tsurumi Rumi, but he didn't expect this.
Mori Shinra: How did you two even run into each other? I thought you weren't in the same room?
Yukinoshita Yukino: She's in the room next to mine. Yuigahama-san happened to be visiting my room, and she came over to get Yuigahama-san to go back for a 'girls' night'.
Mori Shinra: And you didn't want to 'give' Yuigahama back to her?
Yukinoshita Yukino: What are you talking about? But Yuigahama-san didn't agree right away, probably out of consideration for me. Then Miura-san assumed I was the one stopping her from going, and we started arguing.
Mori Shinra: What's the situation now?
Yukinoshita Yukino: Right now, Yuigahama-san is consoling her. I went out for some fresh air, and then I saw your room light was still on.
She saw my room light was on... which means Yukinoshita is outside right now?
Almost without hesitation, Mori Shinra walked to the entryway to put on his sandals, typing a reply as he went.
Mori Shinra: Wait for me.
As he stepped outside, the sound of summer insects seemed to rise several decibels, becoming clear and distinct.
It instantly felt like summer.
The night air had lost the sweltering heat of the day and carried a hint of coolness, which felt very comfortable against his skin.
In front of Mori Shinra's dormitory building was a small grove of trees, with a man-made brick path and streetlights.
The lights weren't dense; there was a dark patch between each one.
Yukinoshita Yukino was standing under one of these lights.
The light wasn't harsh, probably due to a lack of maintenance.
It was just a fraction brighter than the moonlight spilling from the sky.
The young woman bathed in the light, her pale skin even more dazzling than the bright moon.
A gentle breeze occasionally rustled through the woods, making her long, waist-length hair dance.
She was holding her phone, the screen still lit, but her attention was no longer on it.
"..."
Neither of them spoke.
Mori Shinra noticed Yukinoshita was wearing a familiar white nightgown.
The hem was long, nearly reaching her mid-calves.
On her feet was a pair of black, low-heeled sandals.
She clearly had just come out for some air.
As for why he called the white nightgown "familiar"?
They're neighbors. Of course he'd be familiar with her casual, at-home skin.
Just as Yukinoshita was unfazed by the dark blue bathrobe Mori Shinra was wearing.
"Let's walk over there. If we just stand here, the mosquitoes won't be polite," Mori Shinra said, pointing to the path in the woods.
"I sprayed mosquito repellent before I came out," Yukinoshita said, full of experience.
"I didn't." Mori Shinra felt Yukinoshita was being a bit selfish. Besides, the mosquitoes out here are wild. Even with repellent, it might not work. Especially for someone like Yukinoshita, with her delicate, flawless skin, mosquitoes would love her.
To be honest, Mori Shinra wasn't worried about being bitten.
He was thick-skinned. Literally. When his physique broke 10 points, he did an experiment. He tried to prick himself with one of Nurse's embroidery needles. The result was that it could go in, but it took some force to break the skin. If an iron needle had that much trouble, what about a mosquito's proboscis? Ridiculous. It couldn't break his defense at all.
But Yukinoshita didn't know this.
So, after hearing Mori Shinra's words, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Then you can stand closer to me."
Yukinoshita meant that he could stand closer so the mosquito repellent would cover him, but given their current situation, the sentence seemed to take on a different meaning.
"But not too close," Yukinoshita quickly added, as if she, too, realized the ambiguity.
Seeing this, Mori Shinra, who had been about to "stick" to her, settled for keeping half a fist's distance between them.
For a walk, this was already very close.
It was definitely closer than the normal walking distance for friends of the opposite sex.
If either of them shifted slightly, their shoulders would touch.
Mori Shinra could even smell the faint fragrance from her body... okay, it was actually the smell of mosquito repellent mixed with shampoo. Her natural scent? He'd probably only be able to smell that if they were pressed skin-to-skin. In any case, he wouldn't be finding out anytime soon.
"I'm surprised you have a weakness for tears," Mori Shinra said.
Yukinoshita replied, "I just didn't expect her to actually cry. She was the one who started the fight."
But in the end, it made her look like the villain, which left Yukinoshita feeling a bit gloomy.
"Even though Miura-san is so aggressive, she's still a girl at heart."
Besides, with Yukinoshita's poisonous tongue, if you really go up against her... forget girls, even guys probably couldn't withstand her at full power. It's not impossible for someone with a slightly weaker psyche to be scolded to tears.
"Am I not a girl?"
"You're different, Yukino. You are far stronger than Miura-san, both mentally and in terms of ability."
"That's only natural, isn't it?"
Yukinoshita showed no modesty; after all, she believed so too.
It was just that hearing these words from Mori Shinra's mouth made her feel inexplicably happy.
She clearly didn't want to dwell on this issue.
She brushed her hair back and changed the subject to the discussion they'd had that evening.
"That child... what are your thoughts on her?"
Because of her argument with Miura, the discussion had been shelved before Mori Shinra could give his opinion.
Taking the opportunity of this night walk, Yukinoshita wanted to ask his opinion.
"The general direction is similar to Ebina's. The specific implementation is more like Miura-san's. But not by having Rumi take the initiative to speak. That's too difficult. For now, we can find a way to make others invite her," Mori Shinra said.
"Make others invite her? Is that possible?" Yukinoshita felt he was overthinking it.
Once an atmosphere like that is formed, it's very hard to break. Trying to get another clique to actively invite the outcast from a different clique... it's not just 'hard', it's 'basically impossible'. Forget elementary schoolers. Even in middle school, high school, or even at a company, once an atmosphere of exclusion forms, others will unconsciously avoid the outcast, regardless of whether that person is actually at fault. To use an inappropriate example, the ostracized person is like chocolate shaped like poop. Even if it's chocolate, aside from a few with unique tastes, almost no one will want to try it. Even looking at it feels dirty.
So, until the problem of Tsurumi Rumi being excluded by her current group was resolved, Yukinoshita didn't think any other group would be willing to accept her.
"Nothing is impossible. An atmosphere, as long as the timing is right, is actually much easier to pop than you'd think," Mori Shinra said, shaking his head.
He had a success story in this area.
Besides, if he really couldn't find a suitable clique, Mori Shinra had a backup plan.
It was just that this plan required his superpowers, so it wasn't convenient to tell Yukinoshita.
In the end, 'ostracization' is just the use of deliberate neglect, alienation, and cold treatment to cause immense psychological pressure and negative emotions in the target. And the 'One Leaf Blocks the Eye' in Mori Shinra's skill bar can achieve a similar effect. This ability can be used not only on himself, but also on others.
The downside is that it consumes a lot of 'mana'. With his current Spirit, he could only maintain it for about half a day. But even half a day is enough to let the other four in that group have a taste of their own medicine.
What goes around, comes around. When the bullies get a taste of being bullied, Mori Shinra was curious to see how they would react. As for moral issues like 'they're just children', Mori Shinra didn't consider them at all. They're children, but Tsurumi Rumi isn't?
Besides, starting to bully classmates in elementary school... these aren't 'normal' children. They must be dealt with severely!
"So that's what you think..."
"Am I wrong?"
"I can't judge."
"Then just watch me."
"Mhm."
For some reason, when Yukinoshita saw Mori Shinra's confident appearance, she instinctively believed he could do it.
Her gaze even softened considerably, like a clear spring.
When Mori Shinra saw her like this, his heart skipped a beat.
He quickly recovered and said with a smile, "I thought you would refute me."
Yukinoshita tilted her head, confused. "Why would I refute you?"
"I just felt that with your personality, you wouldn't be optimistic about my plan."
"It's not the plan that determines success or failure, but the person executing it."
Translation: Although Yukinoshita isn't optimistic about the plan, she believes in Mori Shinra himself.
Damn it, who taught her to say things like that?
Mori Shinra felt like he was being played.
Coming from Yukinoshita's mouth, that sentence was far more powerful than any sweet talk.
Can he handle it? Not in the slightest!
"If I succeed, you'll lose the bet, you know."
Yukinoshita stopped walking, turned to face him, and a confident smile bloomed on her face.
She said, "You will succeed. But I will succeed before you do."