Chapter 156: Sakura Airi: Just Keep Stalling!
After saying goodbye to her friends, Kikyo took out her phone and walked toward Yuto's seat in the back.
Kei was packing up her stationery.
She immediately looked warily at the sweetly smiling Kikyo.
What was this woman trying to do now?!
"Yuto~ I figured you'd probably want to know what's happening in Class C, so I'm already contacting Manabe Shiho for you~" Kikyo said with a bright smile.
Kikyo was more useful than Airi or Kei when it came to gathering information.
Yuto had once held her smooth, delicate body in a student dormitory room one night and told her about his grudges with Nagumo and Ryuen.
So Kikyo assumed Yuto would want to know Ryuen's current situation in Class C.
It also gave her a perfectly legitimate excuse to talk with Yuto right in front of Kei.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Kikyo. Ask her for as much detail about Ryuen as possible," Yuto said with a smile.
"Mm~ Leave it to me."
In truth, Yuto was not especially interested in Ryuen's situation.
He already knew the examination-paper incident would not be enough to get Ryuen expelled.
At most, it would make the Class C students dislike him even more.
What Yuto truly anticipated was the announcement of the midterm results.
Because Ryuen had been suspended, he had not attended lessons, and the papers he obtained from Nagumo had also been useless.
Would Ryuen fail because of that?
If he failed even one subject, the school would forcibly expel him.
While Kikyo chatted with Manabe, Yuto looked toward Kei.
"Kei, let's go sit at a café for a while. We'll bring Kikyo too."
Kei's cheeks puffed slightly.
She glared unhappily at the sweetly smiling Kikyo.
This troublesome woman had interrupted her alone time with Yuto again!
"I don't mind. Yuto, you can decide."
Yuto smiled at his jealous girlfriend.
She clearly disliked the idea but reluctantly accepted it anyway.
Her awkward expression was honestly rather cute.
"What about you, Kikyo? Want to sit at a café?"
"Of course. Whatever you arrange is fine with me, Yuto," Kikyo answered sweetly.
Since neither girl objected, Yuto led them out of the Class D classroom.
While walking, he took out his phone and messaged Airi through Line.
[Airi, Kei, Kikyo, and I are going to sit at a café for a while. Want to come too?]
Airi, who was heading back to the detached apartment, immediately replied.
[No, no! I'd be too nervous.]
[What are you nervous about? You're my official girlfriend. If anyone should be nervous, it should be Kei and Kikyo.]
[No means no! And if they find out about our relationship, it'll definitely cause trouble for you. Let's keep the relationship between the four of us like this for now!] Airi quickly replied.
[All right. I'll listen to you.]
Yuto had already tried more than once to get Airi to meet Kei and Kikyo properly so the three could become familiar with one another.
Unfortunately, Airi kept postponing it.
Airi, Kei, and Kikyo were all Yuto's girlfriends.
Eventually, the three girls would inevitably discover the other relationships.
Actually, Airi already knew that both Kei and Kikyo were Yuto's girlfriends.
Kikyo did not know about Airi, but she knew Kei was Yuto's girlfriend.
So...
Kei was actually the most unfortunate one.
She had no idea that both Kikyo and Airi were also dating Yuto.
The shy Airi had absolutely no desire for anyone else to know about her relationship with Yuto.
Her current idea was simple—
Just keep things as they were!
All the way until graduation!
Once everyone had graduated, if Kei and Kikyo still wanted to remain beside Yuto, Airi would decide what to do then.
So Airi, despite being Yuto's official girlfriend, had no intention of meeting Kei and Kikyo properly anytime soon.
Stall!
Just keep stalling!
[Yuto, are you coming home for dinner tonight?]
[Definitely. So you and Chabashira-sensei better prepare a feast for me.]
[Mm!]
A happy smile appeared on Airi's face.
Ever since Yuto began dating Kei and Kikyo as well, he had returned to the apartment for dinner less often.
Airi was not angry about it.
She had already mentally prepared herself for this situation.
At the same time, she felt a bit relieved and happy. With Kei and Kikyo helping to "share the load," she felt much more relaxed. Even the number of times her waist felt sore and weak had decreased.
After all, when a man is strong, the woman needs a wall to lean on.
And Yuto happened to have the stamina and ability to make all three of them—including Airi—so sore they had to lean on a wall.
Yuto ended his conversation with Airi and casually looked toward Kikyo.
"Kikyo, the pictures Manabe sent you turned out to be useless. Did she refund the ten thousand points?"
"Nope," Kikyo answered with a sweet smile.
"Manabe went back on her word?"
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
"Want me to talk to her?"
Ike had asked Yuto to help confront Tokito and recover his fifty thousand points.
Yuto refused.
But if Manabe refused to return Kikyo's ten thousand, he was willing to intervene.
After all, Yuto was Kikyo's boyfriend.
Kikyo immediately noticed that he was looking out for her.
Her smile became even sweeter.
"She didn't go back on her word. I decided not to ask for the refund."
"Manabe Shiho is basically our eyes and ears inside Class C."
"Spending ten thousand points to keep her happy and make her more willing to provide us with Class C information is worth far more than ten thousand points."
Kei, who was holding Yuto's arm, looked at the sweetly smiling Kikyo in surprise.
Those words sounded...
Completely different from her usual little-angel image.
Eyes and ears.
Information and value.
It sounded surprisingly sophisticated!
"That was a pretty good decision, Kikyo," Yuto said with a smile.
He genuinely agreed.
Ten thousand points was almost nothing.
Yet that amount could make Manabe more willing to provide information about Class C.
It was absolutely worth it.
"As long as you think it was a good decision. I was a little worried you might scold me for wasting points."
"It's only ten thousand. Why would I scold you?"
Kei watched Yuto and Kikyo happily chatting.
What was with this atmosphere where she was the only one who could not contribute?!
She could gather information from other classes too!
Uh...
Actually, she probably couldn't.
Kei had decent influence and popularity, but almost entirely within Class D.
Students from the other classes barely knew who she was.
Kikyo was completely different.
The cheerful little angel could quickly become friendly with almost anyone.
Whether in Class D, the other first-year classes, or even among upperclassmen, Kikyo possessed influence and popularity among both boys and girls.
Jealous and unwilling to let Kikyo keep monopolizing Yuto's attention, Kei interrupted.
"Yuto, which café are we going to? How about Pallet?"
Pallet was one of the school's most popular cafés.
It had a pleasant atmosphere, excellent drinks, and attractive staff.
Unfortunately, it was also crowded.
Yuto did not particularly like busy cafés.
"Let's go to the one near the library."
"I like their honey latte, and I've finished the classic novel I borrowed from the library. I need to return it too," Yuto said.
"Mm, sounds good~" Kei happily agreed.
Because they had been preparing for the midterm, Kei and Yuto often studied at the café near the library.
It had practically become one of their usual dating spots.
The three left the first-year building and headed toward the café near the library.
As usual, Yuto led Kei and Kikyo toward a table in the corner.
Yuto sat down.
Kei immediately took the seat beside him, while the sweetly smiling Kikyo sat across from them.
A server brought three menus.
Before Yuto could even look at his, Kei said, "Two honey lattes."
"Three honey lattes~" Kikyo corrected with a smile.
"Hmph!"
Kei snorted toward the girl sitting across from her before opening the menu and choosing cakes and snacks.
At that moment, a slightly strange expression appeared on Yuto's handsome face.
He glanced toward Kikyo.
Kikyo knew her actions would draw his gaze. She flashed him a flirtatiously aggressive smile while her slender, bare foot rubbed against his calf under the table.
That's right—Kikyo was up to no good beneath the table...
She had already slipped off her shoes and was now caressing Yuto's calf with her delicate foot.
Doing this right under Kei's nose filled Kikyo with a thrill of excitement and pleasure. Her eyes sparkled with a seductive, coquettish charm.
Watching the smile Kikyo revealed to him, Yuto raised an eyebrow. He reached down with his right hand and grasped her slender, bare foot, which was flailing about.
"Ngh~"
"Hmm? Kushida-san, what's wrong?" Kei asked, surprised by the strange sound Kikyo had just made.
'What was with that cat-like, seductive moan?'
"N-Nothing's wrong," Kikyo replied, struggling to maintain her composure. She used the menu to hide her face, preventing Kei from seeing the bedroom eyes she was making.
Yuto, smiling, continued to play with Kikyo's foot before casually ordering a cream puff.
Suddenly, Kikyo, her heart racing with a mixture of pleasure and agitation, yanked her foot away. She quickly slipped on her shoes and stood up, clutching her phone as she hurried toward the cafe's restroom.
"I'm going to the restroom for a moment. Yuto, Karuizawa-san, you two sit here."
Kei watched Kikyo walk away somewhat hurriedly and frowned.
"Yuto, why is Kushida Kikyo acting so weird?"
"Is she?"
Yuto smiled.
"I don't think so. Maybe she just really needed the restroom."
"Hmm... It doesn't feel like that."
Nearly ten minutes later, Kikyo returned with a faint blush still lingering on her cheeks.
A few strands of hair near her face were slightly damp.
Apparently, she had washed her face in the restroom.
Returning to the table, Kikyo shot a coquettish glance at the smiling Yuto. She sat down, now behaving herself, no longer daring to tease him privately.
She was worried that if she kept acting up, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from dragging Yuto to the student dormitory!
"Kikyo, this is your honey latte." Yuto pointed toward the drink waiting on the table.
"Mm~"
Kikyo took a sip.
The sweetness of honey and richness of milk spread through her mouth, making her show a faintly satisfied expression.
"Yuto, I already asked Manabe about Class C and Ryuen's situation."
"Then tell me what you learned."
"Mm~"
In a sweet voice, Kikyo relayed everything she had learned from Manabe.
The Class C students were furious with Ryuen.
The students led by Tokito Hiroya were especially hostile toward him, forming what could essentially be called an anti-Ryuen faction.
Because the incorrect examination papers had affected every single Class C student, Ryuen's reputation within the class had fallen sharply.
Aside from Ishizaki Daichi and Yamada Albert, almost nobody in Class C viewed Ryuen favorably anymore.
After finishing her report, Kikyo looked curiously at Yuto's calm expression.
"Yuto, Ryuen is being hated by the Class C students, but you don't look particularly happy."
"Well, because this barely matters to Ryuen," Yuto replied.
"The Class C students already hated him because of his violent leadership."
"The bad examination papers only made them dislike him even more."
"For a delinquent like Ryuen, that doesn't really change anything."
Yuto looked toward Kikyo.
"Does Manabe know how Ryuen performed on this midterm?"
"Does she think he passed every subject?"
Whether Ryuen passed was what Yuto actually cared about.
"Give me a moment. I'll ask her."
Manabe quickly replied to Kikyo's message.
Kikyo looked regretfully at Yuto.
"Manabe says she doesn't know. She didn't pay any attention to Ryuen during the exams."
"I see. Then forget it."
"We'll know once the midterm results are announced anyway."
…
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