The café area had started to thin out as students drifted toward the various festival attractions scattered across the entire school. Akira was still seated with Mia, Rina, and Aoi, nursing a now-cold coffee.
He was trying to process Valerius's chilling departure when a sudden movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention.
Sakura Hanamura approached the outdoor café with a thick clipboard in her hand.
She was dressed in her pristine Student Council uniform: sharply pressed blazer, perfectly hemmed skirt, and her dark hair pulled back into a neat, severe ponytail. All business.
Then she saw Valerius.
For just a second, maybe less than a heartbeat, she froze mid-step.
Her eyes widened slightly, her clipboard lowering just an inch. Then the professional mask snapped firmly back into place, and she continued forward, straightening her posture to compensate for the slip.
