Chapter 057 Kushida Made It Public? / Asahina Nazuna: Does My Kouhai Have Feelings for Me?
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka picked up his phone and glanced at it; clearly, he had received the same message.
"Should we go take a look together?"
"Let's wait and see. Someone will probably post a screenshot in the class group chat soon."
This Uninhabited Island Special Exam only announced the top three and the bottom five rankings. There were bound to be many people curious about the specific rankings of their own groups and those of their classmates.
Shimizu Akira thought that since the school had just released the news, there would likely be a crowd rushing over to see. Even if they went now, it would definitely be a wall of people, packed tight. Since the school hadn't forbidden taking photos, it was better to wait for a kind classmate to post the rankings directly in the group.
Of course, Akira also admitted that his own laziness was a factor.
The two waited for about half an hour, and as expected, Kushida Kikyo soon posted the organized images in the group chat.
'Gotta love having her as a girlfriend', Akira thought.
He clicked the image link and gave it a quick scan.
Well... the top three went without saying. Fourth place was Ryuen's group, only 20 points behind Sakayanagi's group in third; no wonder he held such a grudge.
Kiriyama's group took fifth. Akira remembered they were quite high up a few days ago, in the top three. It seemed that in the last two days, in order to focus entirely on intercepting Koenji Rokusuke, they hadn't participated much in the tasks, allowing Sakayanagi to seize the opportunity.
As for other familiar groups—Kanzaki's group from 2nd-Year Class D took 7th, Hirata's group from their own class took 9th, and then Akira's own group took 10th. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka placed 17th, Kushida Kikyo's group 15th, Matsushita Chiaki 40th, Morishita Ai 57th, and Shiina Hiyori 66th...
According to the reward rules for this Uninhabited Island Special Exam, in addition to the top three, the top 50% of groups were rewarded with 50,000 Private Points. Since Akira had a "Double Card" in his possession, he directly received 100,000 Private Points.
Of course, 100,000 points was still a small amount to him now. This money wouldn't be distributed until they returned to school.
"Ayanokouji. You made it into the top thirty; the penalty from that Trial Card should be cancelled now, right?" Akira asked on a whim as something occurred to him.
"Yes. The school sent me a special notification. The specific penalty of the Trial Card was a remedial measure for expulsion, and it has been restored to the usual 20 million Private Points." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nodded.
'Was that Trial Card really such a trap?'
If he hadn't made the top thirty and ended up in the bottom five groups, he would have likely been expelled.
'That guy Tsukishiro... no wonder he deliberately arranged the Trial Card for Ayanokouji.'
"Personally, I feel that Tsukishiro's desire to expel us isn't actually that strong."
In fact, Akira felt the same way. It felt more like Tsukishiro just wanted to have a fight with the two of them.
Commonly known as: a duel between men.
However, the opponent currently had two temporarily useless arms and a broken rib, lying in the infirmary. He wouldn't be able to pull any stunts for a while.
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The clock struck eight, and today's intelligence refreshed on time.
Yamada Albert from 2nd-Year Class C enjoys collecting national flags. Nagumo Miyabi from 3rd-Year Class A is extremely dissatisfied with the results of the last Uninhabited Island Special Exam. He plans to revoke the verbal "ticket" given to Kiriyama Ikuti to graduate from Class A and is sending people to monitor Koenji Rokusuke. So far, there are six people in the first year who know about Kushida Kikyo's past: Osamu Takahashi, Tsubaki Sakurako, Utomiya Riku, Tsubasa Nanase, Amasawa Ichika, and Takuya Yagami.
Albert Yamada likes national flags? Akira saw him always wearing sunglasses and almost thought he liked glasses.
Nagumo doesn't plan to let Kiriyama enter Class A anymore?
Wait, judging by the wording, this Vice President has only given a verbal promise until now? The guy didn't even give him 1 million points, let alone 20 million? He was just dangling a carrot?
No, is Kiriyama really that easy to fool?
Akira felt that Kiriyama had done a great job in the last Uninhabited Island Special Exam. He gave up competing for the top three and led his group to continuously intercept Koenji Rokusuke; it was only because his own Suzune showed up with people that the plan failed.
Isn't this Nagumo guy being way too petty?
Those fourteen people who were expelled yesterday were also given empty promises by him. Seeing that they were expelled and had lost their utility, Nagumo heartlessly abandoned them immediately. Come to think of it, last year he promised those third-year students he'd help them transfer to Horikita Manabu's Class A, and it seems he didn't deliver on that at all either.
Akira really wanted to ask: this guy has issued so many verbal checks and hasn't cashed a single one—how are these senpais still following him so blindly?
Could it be that in the third year, there isn't a single person like Sakayanagi Arisu or Ryuen who knows how to resist? Even his own gentle and kind Honami definitely wouldn't allow something like this to happen.
Could it be that in Nagumo's year, except for Kiriyama and Kiryuin Fuka, everyone's comprehensive ability is so weak that they don't know how to resist, giving him the opportunity to amass wealth like this?
Akira felt he was probably nine times out of ten close to the truth. Otherwise, how could Nagumo—who could only be considered relatively excellent—have the confidence to always treat himself like some grand figure?
He shook his head and looked at the last piece of intelligence again. This piece of information was crucial.
He hadn't met the first person but had heard of him; apparently, he was one of the leaders of 1st-Year Class A. The other five were old acquaintances.
Given Nanase Tsubasa's personality, she probably wouldn't say anything casually. As for the others, it was hard to say. Perhaps they would be like Takuya Yagami, taking advantage of everyone being on this luxury cruise to secretly come to the door and threaten his Kikyo, or inadvertently leak the matter.
He needed to have a detailed talk with Kikyo about this.
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10:00 AM.
Akira planned to visit Ike Kanji, Sudo Ken, Hirata Yosuke, and Yamada Albert. Since the Uninhabited Island Special Exam had just ended yesterday, he definitely had to go today. After all, they were classmates, and several of them were injured while trying to protect Kikyo.
It would be somewhat embarrassing to visit empty-handed. So, Akira went to the luxury cruise's shop. He bought two fruit baskets for the visit, and remembering Albert's love for national flags, he specifically bought a lot of flag stickers.
It cost him about 20,000 Private Points in total. The fruit took up the bulk of it. But since it was Japanese fruit on a luxury cruise, the price wasn't too outrageous.
Ten minutes later, Akira arrived at the floor where the infirmary was located.
After a quick inquiry with the nurse, it turned out Ike Kanji and Sudo Ken were arranged in the same room.
When Akira pushed the door open, Ike Kanji was lying on the bed, boredly scrolling through his phone with his leg in a cast. Sudo Ken was sitting on the bed by the window, his left wrist wrapped in bandages. His complexion looked better than yesterday, but he still had a gloomy expression.
"Yo, it's Akira! Come to see me?" As soon as Ike Kanji saw Akira, his eyes lit up. "What did you bring?"
"Fruit." Akira placed one of the fruit baskets on the bedside table. "Also, I'm not here just to see you; I'm here to see both of you."
"What's the difference!" Ike was already reaching for the fruit basket.
Sudo glanced at Akira and said dully, "Thanks."
"How are your injuries exactly? When will you recover?" Akira asked.
"Hairline fracture plus a break, I have to rest for two months," Ike sighed. "But luckily I didn't hit my head, otherwise I'd be a goner."
"Sprained left wrist, two weeks," Sudo shook his bandaged wrist. "Much lighter than this guy."
Akira scanned the room and noticed several fruit baskets already on the table between their beds.
"Have other classmates come to visit you too?"
"Yeah! Kushida-san brought some classmates for a visit. Satsuki also came, but she stayed with me all night last night, so I told her to go back and rest."
"I was forced to watch these two show off their affection all night. If it weren't for his broken leg, I would've punched him by now."
"Shut up! You're just jealous that I have a girlfriend to stay with me!"
Watching the two bicker, Akira couldn't help but laugh. No wonder Sudo was in a bad mood when he first arrived. As a single dog, having a classmate you know in the next bed who always has someone with him—especially a girlfriend—is indeed a depressing matter. Those who know, know.
However, it seemed neither of their injuries was too serious, and their spirits were good.
Akira thought for a moment, walked up to Sudo, lowered his head slightly, and said seriously, "Sudo. Thank you for protecting Kikyo this time. I owe you one. I've transferred that one million to you."
Sudo scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Akira, it's already come to this, why are you being so polite? Regarding that time I hit someone during the midterm last year, you helped me find Sakura Airi as a witness. When I was cornered by Ryuen's lackeys, you saved me too. I'm just repaying the favor. Besides, Kikyo also fought for me to avoid punishment at the meeting last year. Isn't it only natural for me to do things for you two? Plus, I only need to rest for two weeks; it won't affect my studies or club. I'll be fine by the end of summer break."
"Even so, I should still thank you. Don't be polite, take the one million Private Points."
After this year and a half, Sudo's personality had almost completely improved. With his brain, he probably wouldn't bother with social pleasantries, so what he said was likely the truth.
Seeing Sudo's hesitation, Ike Kanji chimed in at the right time: "Alright, Sudo, just take it! You don't want to see Akira feeling guilty and being overly polite to you from now on, do you?"
Sudo looked at Akira, then at Ike, and finally spoke grudgingly.
"That would be pretty annoying. Fine, I'll take it."
Ike then asked teasingly, "By the way, Akira! Kushida told me when she came yesterday—she said you two are dating, which is why you asked Sudo to protect her. You've got moves, man! To take down our class's famous beauty without a sound! When did you get together?"
"Uh... well, it just started recently."
In fact, Akira himself was a bit stunned.
Wait, his Kikyo actually made public their relationship? What was going on? Was she giving up being the school idol?
Sudo also laughed along. "I was actually quite happy to hear the news. After all, since last year, I've felt you two were a good match. That way, that woman Horikita should know when to back off. If she dares to harass you, just come find me."
Because of the meeting last year, Sudo and the blunt Suzune Horikita had always been somewhat at odds.
But Suzune was his girlfriend too! She even let him "eat" her three times yesterday. Although she turned cold when they woke up, she was obedient and cooperative throughout the process. If she came to "harass" him, logically, he could only apologize with a smile.
Akira was somewhat speechless and had to change the subject: "What about Hirata? Is he also in the infirmary?"
"Hirata is next door," Ike pointed at the wall. "His injuries are lighter than ours. Oh, and Albert Yamada from Class C is in the same room as him."
Akira nodded, checked the time, and seeing he'd been in this room for about twenty minutes, he stood up. "Alright, I'll go check on the two next door and then head out. If you two need anything, don't be polite, just call me or Ayanokouji."
"Okay!"
"Take care, Akira!"
After Akira walked out of the room, he stopped in front of the next door and knocked twice.
"Please come in," Hirata Yosuke's voice came from inside.
Upon entering, the room layout was almost identical to the previous one. Hirata was lying on the bed near the window, his face a bit pale, but his spirit seemed decent. Albert Yamada was sitting on the other bed, shirtless, with no obvious injuries at first glance, still wearing his sunglasses. After seeing Akira, he nodded slightly.
"Akira." Hirata propped himself up. "What brings you here?"
"To see you guys." Akira placed the fruit basket he brought on the cabinet by Hirata's bed and put the bag of flag stickers by Albert's bed. "How are the injuries?"
"I'm fine. The doctor said I was just hit in the heart area, and the sudden inability to breathe caused the fainting," Hirata smiled. "I can leave the infirmary in a couple of days."
'Takuya Yagami was aiming for the heart.'
Come to think of it, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka did say the White Room taught martial arts that could instantly knock someone down.
Akira nodded and looked at Albert. Albert Yamada looked down at the bandages on his chest.
"I am fine!"
At first, Akira thought it was spoken English, instantly bringing him back to middle school "plastic English." But he scanned him and indeed saw no obvious injuries. He often worked out with Albert and knew his physical fitness was far superior to an average person's. Yagami likely couldn't break his defense and used a move similar to hitting the heart to knock Albert down.
Albert looked down and discovered the small flag stickers Akira had brought, immediately revealing a happy, child-like smile.
"Thank you! Akira!"
"No need for such thanks. If anything, I should be the one thanking you two." Akira thought for a moment and quickly added, "By the way, I've transferred 1 million Private Points to each of you, please accept it."
Hirata immediately moved to refuse. "Akira, Kushida is my classmate. For me, protecting a classmate..."
"Enough, Hirata, don't say anything more. You're neck-deep in debt right now, just take it. You don't want the class's reputation to suffer because of you alone, making it so others can't borrow money either, right?" Akira was waiting for him with that logic!
"...This... Alright, thank you, Akira. I'll accept it then." Hirata Yosuke was silent for a few seconds before nodding helplessly.
The guy even brought up the class's reputation—what else could he say to counter that!
He had also only found out about Kushida Kikyo and Akira dating yesterday. Last year, Kikyo had once told him something like "You wouldn't want to see Sudo..." when she found a witness for him.
As expected of a couple—even their way of cornering people with words was exactly the same.
As for Albert, he also thought for a few seconds, but before he could speak, the door to the infirmary was suddenly pushed open. Ryuen Kakeru walked in with Ishizaki Daichi.
"Albert! Take it! It's not easy to get Private Points from this guy, and you got injured—why wouldn't you want it!"
Ryuen strode to Albert's bedside, hands in his pockets, looking down at him. Ishizaki followed behind, carrying a fruit basket, nodding awkwardly to Akira.
"You're here too."
"What, you can come but I can't?" Ryuen shot him a sidelong glance. "Albert is one of mine; it's only natural for me to see him."
Akira didn't bother arguing with him and just looked at Albert. Albert had his head down, fingers rummaging through the bag of flag stickers, seemingly looking for a few he was missing.
Hearing Ryuen's words, he looked up, glanced at Ryuen, and then at Akira.
"Take it," Ryuen said again. "Because of your absence, we couldn't take third place. What's wrong with taking a million from him? He's getting off easy."
"But, Big Bro Ryuen..." Ishizaki whispered from the side, "Actually, on the last day, there weren't really any physical tasks, so Albert actually—"
"Shut up, I didn't ask you."
Ishizaki shrunk his neck and stopped talking.
Watching this scene, Akira found it somewhat amusing. After all that effort, they were still fourth without Albert. Although Ryuen Kakeru had a foul mouth, he did care about his own people. He had specifically bought a fruit basket to visit his classmate today, and just like the one Akira bought, it was the most expensive kind.
But even so, Akira wouldn't go easy on him.
"What's it to you? I'm talking to Albert."
Ryuen was so angry he glared at him. "You!"
Albert didn't want to see the two of them fight and quickly said one word: "Gloves."
Akira was startled. "You only want boxing gloves?"
Albert nodded.
Even expensive boxing gloves would cost at most around 100,000 to 200,000 points.
Akira thought for a moment and said, "That's not enough. How about this: I'll get you a new set of sunglasses, sports shorts, a sports vest, and a pair of shoes? The whole set should be around that price. I'll ask the club managers to help arrange it for you so you can box better."
Albert felt tempted and nodded. "OK!"
Ryuen clicked his tongue but didn't say anything. If they bought the most expensive versions of everything, it would indeed be around that amount.
He sat down on a nearby empty chair and crossed his legs. He glanced at Hirata, then at Akira, his lips curling into a meaningful arc.
"I heard you and that Kushida woman are dating?"
Akira remained unfazed. "You're well-informed."
"In a place like the infirmary, news travels fastest," Ryuen smiled. "But I also heard you're close to several women? Walking on multiple boats—you've got guts. I finally understand why that woman protected you so much during the VIP Special Exam last year and even cursed at me—could it be you two were already hooked up back then?"
'Good guess, Ryuen.'
Akira didn't care to respond. Seeing that the two weren't in any great danger, he waved his hand. "Alright then, I'll be going first. Hirata, Albert, if you need anything, just contact me anytime."
"Wait!" Ryuen Kakeru called him back again.
"You want to schedule another rooftop fight?" Akira countered.
"...It's not that!" Ryuen suppressed the urge to hit him and gritted his teeth. "I wanted to ask—about the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, I heard Albert was knocked down by that Yagami kid?"
"So what?"
"Was he knocked down by you?"
"Don't know."
"You!" Ryuen felt like he couldn't get a straight answer to anything. "Wait, Hiyori wanted to find Ike Kanji to ask some questions for her investigation; you should be able to cooperate with her, right?"
"Sure," Akira agreed. After all, how could Ryuen compare to Hiyori Shiina? Besides, he had asked her to investigate this matter in the first place.
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3:00 PM.
Akira had pretty much walked around the entire luxury cruise ship. Because it was the first day, the swimming pool was overcrowded, the gym was full of third-year students venting after the exam, he had no interest in the movies showing today, and there was a long line at the entrance of the concert hall.
He wandered around and finally decided to sit at the open-air cafe to have a drink and rest. The cafe was on the seventh-floor deck with a great view of the endless sea. Akira ordered an Iced Americano and found a seat by the railing with his tray. The sea breeze blew over, carrying the scent of the ocean; it was quite pleasant.
He had just taken two sips when a figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight. The person was wearing a white jacket over an orange swimsuit, long hair draped over her shoulders with a sunflower clip pinned in it, exposing her fair legs. She was holding a cup of juice and looking around the cafe, seemingly searching for a seat.
Akira was stunned. Isn't this Asahina-senpai?
Before he could say hello, she looked over. Their eyes met.
Akira quickly greeted her: "Senpai, there's a vacancy here!"
Asahina nodded and walked over with her juice. "Akira-kouhai? Alone?"
"...Yes."
"Is it convenient to sit? You aren't meeting a girlfriend for coffee or anything, right?"
"No, otherwise I wouldn't have called out to you."
Asahina sat down opposite him, placed her juice on the table, and said with a chuckle, "I thought you'd forgotten about me, Kouhai."
"Nonsense, how could I forget you, Senpai?"
"After all, the two of us haven't spoken in a long, long, long time." To emphasize, she repeated "long time" three times.
Akira took a sip of his coffee.
'Has it been that long?'
They had clearly eaten together at the end of the first semester, when she complained about Nagumo. But then again, they hadn't seen each other at all during the entire Uninhabited Island Special Exam; that was the truth.
"I actually intended to find you for a talk these past few days," Akira said.
Asahina blinked and then burst into a laugh, her smile much brighter than before. "Really? It's not good to lie. Tell me, exactly when did you plan it?"
"On the fifth day of the island exam, after I ran into Nagumo Miyabi, I had the thought."
"Oh... I see." Asahina seemed to feel a bit hot and couldn't help waving her small hand to fan her face. "So specific, it seems it's true then. Mm."
Asahina took a sip of juice, and after steadying her mood, she asked, "You met Miyabi? He didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"
Akira thought for a moment and said, "He definitely did. But don't worry, your kouhai isn't one to take a loss; I gave him a good scolding."
Asahina covered her mouth and giggled. "Right!" Her first reaction wasn't sympathy for Nagumo being scolded. She knew her childhood friend's character all too well; she could only say he deserved it.
"By the way, Senpai, how did you know I have a girlfriend?"
"Ah, Honami told me during a private chat. She also said you're a flirtatious scoundrel, a man walking on seven boats."
Akira was stunned, not knowing what to say. "..."
Asahina giggled. "Just kidding. Although Honami said you have seven or eight girlfriends, she never complained and said you treat her very well."
Akira shook his head at this mischievous Asahina-senpai. "So, were the words after that actually your own thoughts, Senpai?"
Asahina waved her hand dismissively.
"Ah, personally, I've kind of gotten used to boys having a girl on each arm. Because Miyabi often does that in front of me, intentionally or unintentionally. Hmph, you boys always like to be surrounded by beauties, don't you? Being in the Student Council, I often see Suzune-chan, Kikyo-chan, and Honami-chan. Since you take good care of them, it's actually not a problem."
'Is she really that open-minded?'
Nagumo had actually done something good for once. Although Akira felt that guy likely did it to provoke Asahina or to pave the way for his own harem, from the result, it kept his relationship with Asahina as it had always been.
"What? You look relieved?" Asahina teased with a smile and naturally reached out to tap his head. "Stupid kouhai, you helped me find my charm and ran with me, you helped me so much—don't think too much! Why would I distance myself from you? I can't thank you enough."
Akira didn't dodge; after all, it was a lesson from his Senpai. "You're right, Senpai. I overthought it this time. But you've also helped me a lot, buying me chocolates and leaving me a reminder note during the Forest School exam. If anything, I should be the one thanking you properly."
"Hooray! I was waiting for those words!"
Normally, the next step would be the polite exchange between Senpai and kouhai. However, this very cute Asahina-senpai was clearly not a "normal" person; she suddenly stood up and pulled off her white jacket.
She didn't have an exaggerated hourglass figure, but her proportions were excellent, with all the right curves in the right places. Her chest was full, almost overflowing, and she looked like a model straight out of a magazine.
Akira's gaze lingered for a second before naturally moving away. "Senpai, what are you doing?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to thank me?" Asahina draped her white jacket over the back of the chair, hands on her hips, looking at him with a beaming smile. "Then come swimming with me! It's boring to go alone."
"...Now?"
"Yeah, now." Asahina nodded. "What, do you have something else to do?"
He didn't have any plans for the afternoon. However, Akira thought for a moment and said, "Senpai, I actually just came here after checking out the pool. Since today is the first day of summer break, it's very crowded. The pool is almost at full capacity."
"Eh? That many people? Right, after all, there are four or five hundred people on this luxury ship. I was thinking that since I rarely run into you, we could go swimming together and maybe play some volleyball; I didn't get to play on the uninhabited island because Miyabi was being annoying. Do I really have to give up?"
Asahina seemed to lose all her fighting spirit and sat back down immediately. Although she was a Senpai, her inner feelings were really easy to see on the surface.
Akira said with some amusement, "Don't be in a rush, Senpai, I haven't finished. Although the public pool is overcrowded, you can actually rent a private pool."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Asahina seemed to have reignited her hope and stood up immediately, grabbing Akira's hand to run off.
Unexpectedly, her cute kouhai increased the grip on her hand instead, gently stopping her. "Senpai, no need to be so hasty. To reserve a private pool, you just need to use your phone. Why don't you sit and enjoy your juice for a few minutes while I handle the reservation?"
"Oh, okay, I'll leave it to you then."
Nazuna Asahina's face flushed slightly, feeling both shy and embarrassed. She sat down, pretending nothing was wrong, and bit her straw.
'Oh dear, as a Senpai... she's always so impulsive.'
Akira-kouhai wouldn't look down on her, would he? She felt inexplicably worried.
Akira didn't actually think much of it and didn't feel Asahina was impulsive at all. On the contrary, he felt her personality was very refreshing and vigorous, which even gave his naturally lazy personality some energy.
After operating his phone for a few minutes, he nodded and said, "Senpai, I've booked it. On August 6th, I've reserved two hours. We can meet up then."
Nazuna Asahina frowned. "August 6th? Isn't that the day after tomorrow? So late?"
"Yeah, after all, many other students have also made reservations."
"I see." Although Asahina was a bit disappointed she couldn't play with him today, she thought a couple of days later would be fine too.
When she came back to her senses, she realized she had been holding Akira's hand the whole time without letting go. Her kouhai's palm was quite nice—broad and warm, wrapping her hand up all at once. If they interlaced their fingers, it would probably be even more comfortable?
No, no, no! Even if it was comfortable, she couldn't keep holding it. She quickly let go. They were just in a Senpai-kouhai relationship, not a couple.
However, why didn't her cute, steady, humble, and handsome kouhai—who also spoke so comfortably—remind her? Could he have forgotten too? He was usually someone who acted with such propriety.
Speaking of which, when she took off her jacket, he did look a few times. This time for swimming, he didn't go with those seven girlfriends; instead, he was going to play volleyball with her.
'Hmph, could it be that my kouhai has feelings for me?'
Asahina was startled by her own thought and quickly shook her head to toss those messy ideas away. Her kouhai had so many girlfriends, all young and beautiful—why would he be interested in a third-year Senpai like her? Besides, she was a year older than him; a sister-brother romance or something... And she would be leaving this school in two semesters!
'No, no, what is she thinking!'
Asahina bit the straw hard and took a big gulp of juice. The ice-cold liquid slid down her throat, finally cooling her burning cheeks.
Akira finished with his phone and looked up to see Asahina staring blankly while biting her straw. "Senpai? What's wrong?"
"Ah? No-nothing!" Asahina quickly let go of the straw, straightened her back, and tried to act as if nothing had happened. "The reservation is set, right? Can you say the time again?"
"Yes, it's set." Akira put away his phone. Knowing she could be a bit airheaded, he thought for a moment and added, "August 6th, 2:00 PM, two hours. I'll send you a message to confirm later, and I'll contact you in advance on that day."
"Okay! I'll leave it to you!" Asahina nodded, and then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Kouhai... will your girlfriends mind?"
Akira was stunned for a moment. "Mind what?"
"Just... you swimming with me and all." Asahina twirled her hair with her finger, her gaze drifting. "What if they get jealous?"
Akira thought for a moment and then shook his head. "They won't."
"You're that sure?"
"Because we have an agreement. None of them will interfere with my social life with the opposite sex—including new girlfriends."
Asahina's mouth hung open.
She and Nagumo had been in the same school from elementary through middle school. Plus, Nagumo always liked to bring girls around her, so she had seen plenty of times where his "official" girlfriend caught him on a private date with another girl, leading to a disaster. At best, he'd get a slap; at worst, a kick where it hurts; or just a straight-up breakup.
'Is this the difference in "tier"?'
No, wait—shouldn't the more concerning part be the phrase "including new girlfriends"?
'Hmph!'
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