Caught off guard by Eriri's direct question, Yumiko was stunned for a moment before letting out a calm, faint smile.
"So that is what you wanted to ask. How much do you know about the specific situation?"
Eriri had not expected Yumiko's reaction to be so placid, let alone that she would answer with a question of her own. How could she possibly know the specifics? Upon seeing Yumiko enter, her brain had heated up, and she had blurted it out without caring about the consequences. Left with no other choice, Eriri turned to seek help from the initiator, Kasumigaoka Utaha.
I knew Sawamura-san would not only be useless but would actually drag us down.
Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed at Eriri without making any attempt to hide it. The words "I am very disappointed in you" were practically written on her face. She took out her inspiration notebook, flipped to the page filled with names, and read them out one by one.
"Komine-san, Miss Irisu, Matsushima-san, Suou-san, and you... classmate. You all have that kind of relationship with Jhin, correct?"
Eriri swung her golden twin-tails around, turning back to ask Kasumigaoka Utaha in confusion, "What kind of relationship is that kind of relationship?"
To think you draw doujinshi, yet you can't even understand a hint of this level.
Relying on the fact that everyone present was a girl, Kasumigaoka Utaha made a circle with her left hand and inserted her right index finger into it, moving it back and forth twice. She then lowered her hands and looked at Eriri as if looking at a moron.
"Now you should understand, Sawamura-san."
"Who is Kawamura?! My name is Sawamura! And don't treat me like a three-year-old kid; I can understand at least that much!" Eriri's pretty face flushed bright red, though it was unclear whether it was from shyness or anger.
Yumiko pulled out a chair from under the table and sat down. She nodded, admitting to Kasumigaoka Utaha's speculation. "You are correct, Kasumigaoka-san. However, your intelligence gathering ends there, doesn't it?"
"Yes. I truly cannot comprehend that such... at least in my view, completely inconceivable matters would occur in modern society."
Kasumigaoka Utaha snapped her black leather notebook shut with a pa sound. The button on the tail of her ballpoint pen clicked repeatedly—kacha kacha. She had originally thought Yumiko would say something else, but judging by her current demeanor, she did not intend to discuss the details with them.
Her guess was correct. Yumiko did not plan to chat with them about specific reasons because this was not a story she could explain clearly on her own. Therefore, she left the trio with a clue.
"If you want to figure it out, go ask the others. By the way, it is best not to ask Jhin about this matter yet. I do not wish for that little girlfriend to find out about our situation unprepared, nor do I want you to disrupt my man's arrangements."
When Yumiko spoke the last part, her cold purple eyes revealed a few degrees of seriousness.
How to respond when their relationship was discovered by others was a question Kazami Kazuki and Yumiko had discussed countless times. Combining this with Jhin's attitude, they had reached a conclusion.
As long as it did not affect the relationships between them or Jhin's plans, they would only give verbal warnings to those in the know. Of course, this conclusion only applied to people they were relatively close with.
If it were strangers, there generally wouldn't be much of a problem either. Unless they acted like the "Pacific Police"—policing the ocean and meddling in everyone's business—in which case they would receive a Memory Deletion Gift Pack from Synapse. Painless, zero side effects, and very environmentally friendly.
"She... she just left like that?"
"Otherwise, did you expect her to stay and eat with us? Sawameshi-san." Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her eyes at Eriri in annoyance. She had heard the warning implied in Yumiko's tone.
It seems that directly confronting Scum-kun is the worst possible method. Let's follow her suggestion and ask them one by one.
"Ka~su~mi~ga~oka~ U~ta~ha~, are you addicted to arbitrarily changing other people's names?!" Eriri's eyes slanted upwards as she glared viciously at Kasumigaoka Utaha. "You are definitely doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"I really don't want to waste brain cells on you; it's simply too wasteful. Kato-san, could I trouble you to contact Komine-san? See if she is free."
*
After finishing two days of theoretical classes, it was time for practical application. Led by Gin Toudou, the group headed to the mountainside of a nearby high mountain for a field combat exercise.
The groups remained as teams of four. Based on the lottery results, Jhin was teamed up with Satania and Gabriel.
The moment he saw the results, Jhin's head began to buzz. These two... an Angel and a Demon were naturally incompatible. Although it hadn't reached the point where they would quarrel upon meeting, expecting them to cooperate to complete a mission was less reliable than believing Melody could dodge a headshot using the swaying boxing style.
Each group received a map, a walkie-talkie, a flag, a compass, and a GPS locator. They needed to plant the flag at the marked location on the map and then reach the finish line. The specific coordinates of the location were not written out; they had to calculate them based on the actual situation.
"Jhin, how do you use this thing?" Satania picked up the compass and played with it curiously, holding it like a handgun.
"Satania, you definitely didn't listen seriously during class these past two days, did you?" Gabriel snatched the compass from her hand. "Stop messing around. This is a compass; we use it to determine direction."
"Is that so? Then who will be in charge of using this to check the direction? Gabriel, do you know how to use it?"
"I don't."
The corners of Satania's mouth twitched slightly, and she grabbed the compass back. "You don't know how to use it, yet you act so high and mighty. Let me try."
"At least I can guarantee I'll pass the theoretical exam later, unlike you, an idiot who gets zero on tests."
"I won't get a zero! For a mere exam, I'll just scribble a few things and pass."
Jhin pressed his index and middle fingers against his thumb, brought them together, and knocked Satania's head with a bit of force. "Satania, even if you are a Demon, you cannot be so negligent about safety knowledge. Antarctica is a very dangerous place; do not treat safety as a joke."
"S-Sorry..."
Seeing that Satania was seriously reflecting on her actions, Jhin nodded in satisfaction. "You will use the compass. Gabriel, you are in charge of planting the flag. I will handle the calculations."
"Leave it to me! I'll show you an Angel's grasp of distance!"
"Hmph, a Demon's grasp of direction is equally amazing. Just you watch, Jhin!"
The two started competing again, but both were consciously completing their assigned tasks and did not act carelessly for the sake of speed.
Jhin hadn't expected the matter that gave him the biggest headache to be resolved so simply. Although his face showed no expression as he seriously calculated the coordinates, he was actually laughing loudly in his heart.
Their group ended up being the first among all to complete the mission. This made Satania and Gabriel incredibly happy; they walked with their heads held high and chests puffed out, their noses pointing so high they almost touched the sky.
____
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