Not long after, Airi walked down first. Seeing Ryunosuke sitting near the stairs, she walked toward him with a smile.
"May I sit here? Akasaka-kun~"
Ryunosuke shifted his position slightly, indicating she could sit.
Airi didn't waste that opportunity. She straightened her skirt, sat casually beside him, then expressed thanks.
"Hasebe Haruka she... is fine now."
"Thank you... Ryunosuke... kun."
Airi seemed not yet accustomed to the sudden change in how she called him, her face also felt hot. This was the first time she called a boy so familiarly—more precisely, the first boy besides her female friends.
Ryunosuke seemed to think for a moment. "Have you two reconciled?"
Airi nodded slightly. "You could say that... Haruka still can't forgive herself, but that's not a big problem, I trust her."
"I see..." Ryunosuke breathed a sigh of relief.
Airi tilted her head and leaned on Ryunosuke's shoulder. Her face had turned completely red; clearly such an action was still too bold for her.
Ryunosuke didn't reject the beautiful girl's leaning. He gently wrapped his arm around Airi's shoulder, pulled her closer, then whispered softly.
"After graduation, I'll give you an answer... Before that... let's just remain ordinary classmates..."
Airi's gaze dimmed slightly.
Ryunosuke was afraid the other party would misunderstand, so he immediately told part of the truth to her.
"I have a debt of over one hundred million yen out there. Before that debt is paid off, I can't take responsibility for you... So, can you wait for me for two years?"
Hearing that sentence, Airi's mindset changed 180 degrees. She immediately took out her phone, checked the savings she had accumulated from being an idol to see if it was enough to pay off Ryunosuke's debt.
Ryunosuke beside her felt strange, not knowing what Airi was fiddling with on her phone.
After fiddling for quite a while and seeing the final balance, Airi's expression instantly became listless, her eyes even welled up.
"Sorry... the money from my work as an idol, it seems not enough to pay off."
Ryunosuke "😐"
He curiously craned his neck to peek at Airi's balance, and instantly he jolted in shock.
"Wow, 98 million!!! Almost one hundred million!!!"
Ryunosuke felt his heart almost fell out from shock, but Airi still hadn't awakened from her reverie and kept muttering to herself.
"Sorry, forgive me. I can't pay off Akasaka-kun's debt, I'm not worthy of being with Akasaka-kun."
Ryunosuke sighed in relief in his heart.
(Fortunately you can't pay it off, otherwise, I don't know what other excuse I'd have to find to delay...)
That's right, to avoid Nice Boat (murder due to jealousy), Ryunosuke chose one strategy: Delay!
Delay as long as possible. At least for three years in this school, he could live peacefully without having to worry too much about romance.
And that's what he told Megumi; keep delaying until graduation then resolve it. He couldn't let this interfere with his plans at school, besides he had to work hard to earn money to pay off debts, he couldn't be distracted by women.
Ryunosuke stood up, preparing to escort Airi back.
Airi signaled it wasn't necessary; she could walk by herself. The act of leaning on his shoulder earlier was already her maximum effort. If she had to walk together back to class, she might not be able to take it and faint from embarrassment.
Airi immediately bowed to Ryunosuke then ran away hurriedly.
Seeing that shy girl, Ryunosuke actually felt relieved. At least this girl wouldn't be intimate with him openly in public, while Megumi—because of her thin presence—no one cared at all.
After all, the relationship between Ai, Megumi, and Airi he could still control.
The world... it seemed wouldn't end yet...
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
On the roof, Haruka gripped the boundary fence tightly. She seemed to have found the answer.
After exhaling a long breath, she prepared to descend from the roof. Coincidentally, she saw Ryunosuke's figure contemplating near the stairs. She smiled, secretly approached behind that man, then slapped his shoulder very hard.
"What are you thinking about, Ryunosuke~?"
"Ssh! That hurts!" Ryunosuke felt his back like being whipped.
Currently, he hadn't activated his Chunibyo mode, his physical strength wasn't even stronger than an ordinary woman.
At the same time, he hadn't yet realized how serious this situation was. Because Haruka had also changed how she called him, even using a more familiar nickname.
Ryunosuke rubbed his back while grimacing in pain, then scolded her irritably.
"What are you doing! This really hurts, you know?"
Haruka blinked her eyes mischievously, smiled while jumping back a little, then stuck out her tongue.
Added with her captivating beauty mark, and her perfect appearance, at this moment Haruka looked very seductive like a Succubus. Making anyone want to conquer her.
Ryunosuke averted his gaze and sighed in his heart.
The visuals of girls in this school were really terrifying...
If it weren't for frequently interacting with beautiful women, maybe he wouldn't be able to resist Haruka's current temptation...
"Hmm?" Seeing that reaction, Haruka smiled mischievously and placed her hand in front of her mouth.
"Ahaha~ Could it be Akasaka-kun is charmed by me?"
Haruka approached and whispered right in Ryunosuke's ear. "That's not allowed, you know~ You already have Sakura, you can't play around with hearts~"
After saying that, Haruka left that place with cheerful steps. Not long after she hid in the corner, covering her face that was completely red from embarrassment.
"What was that 'Ryunosuke' call earlier?! Why could I call him so familiarly? What if Sakura finds out?"
Haruka now felt regretful, but seeing Ryunosuke's reaction which seemed not to notice her oddness, she felt relieved while slightly annoyed and cursed softly.
"Idiot!"
On the other side, Ryunosuke touched his ear that had just been blown by Haruka, he could still feel the remnants of its warmth...
"Haaah..." He sighed again.
"Just live with what's there first, I hope it's not like what I'm thinking... If it is, I won't be able to handle it..."