Chapter 235: Ai-chan: Kaguya-sama, you…?
Lately, Hayasaka Ai noticed that her Ojou-sama, Shinomiya Kaguya, was acting a little strange.
The way she had been looking at her these past few days was very odd, like a child who had done something wrong but didn't dare to say it out loud.
But Shinomiya Kaguya was never able to hide the thoughts in her heart.
Ever since joining the student council, her personality had softened, every emotion was written clearly on her face, easy to read.
When happy, the corners of her lips would unconsciously curl up.
When sad, tears couldn't be held back.
When angry, her poisonous tongue would lash out, and she would return to her old "Ice Kaguya" style.
"She should be acting more normal than this…" Hayasaka Ai sighed inwardly.
Just who had changed her?
Well… that boyfriend-kun. And also President Shirogane.
Both of them had to take responsibility.
"Kaguya-sama, you're hiding something from me, aren't you?" In the end, Hayasaka Ai couldn't hold it in anymore.
Sitting in front of her, Shinomiya Kaguya lifted her head from the smartphone she was using to chat with the student council members.
"Hayasaka, what did you just say?"
Ever since switching to a smartphone, Kaguya had quickly become a skilled net surfer.
She even slipped into forums, learning all sorts of debate tricks, preparing them to use when arguing with Sakurai Saki.
Of course, she never went so far as to "dig up info" or attack anyone in real life. Kaguya still drew a clear line between the virtual world and reality.
But that feeling of wearing a mask, escaping the shackles of the Shinomiya family, and running wild online had become an addiction.
Normally, Kaguya was bound by heavy chains, but on the internet, it was like stripping off all her clothes, feeling free and strangely light.
Getting lost in the internet was completely understandable.
If she didn't still have that bit of pride pushing her to beat Sakurai Saki and Shirogane Miyuki in academics, she might have already given up and turned into a total net junkie.
"I'll ask again, Kaguya-sama, what are you hiding from me?"
Hayasaka: ( 。 •̀ ᴖ •́ 。)
Kaguya: (,,¬﹏¬,,)
"…" Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes immediately darted away, clearly flustered.
"Ah~ Hayasaka, you really love to joke. How could I possibly do anything behind your back, especially anything related to Sakurai-san."
Kaguya: ( ᵕ ◠ᴗ◠)
"Got it, you confessed on your own." Hayasaka Ai stopped the recording on her phone.
"Eh!"
"Kaguya-sama, your lying skills have gotten so bad lately."
"What are you doing?! Don't record me!"
Kaguya: (。っ>﹏<)っ
"『How could I possibly do anything behind your back, especially anything related to Sakurai-san.』" Hayasaka played back the recording.
Shinomiya Kaguya immediately covered her face with both hands.
In truth, she had already been planning to just ignore that "compensation" with Sakurai Saki.
At the time, Kaguya hadn't thought too much about it, just saw the three of them going to see a movie together as normal, plus she really wanted to see that film.
But later she realized she had secretly hidden it from Hayasaka, going on a vague "date" with Sakurai Saki without her knowing.
That alone was already totally out of line!
"Alright… I promised Sakurai-san to go see a movie this weekend…" Kaguya had only said halfway when she noticed her maid's expression had turned frightening.
Hayasaka: ʰᵘʰ (ꐦ○_○)✧
This was the first time she had ever seen Hayasaka Ai visibly angry.
"Of course! It's not just the two of us! I said you'd be coming too!" Kaguya quickly jumped up, rushing to her maid's side.
She waved her hands in explanation, and only after Hayasaka's expression gradually returned to normal did Kaguya let out a sigh of relief.
'That was dangerous, it felt like Hayasaka was about to kill me.'
Was it just an illusion?
'…That was dangerous, I almost wanted to stab Kaguya-sama just now. I mustn't do that, that would make me a bad maid.' Ai-chan also secretly sighed in relief in her heart.
Right after that, Kaguya explained everything about that day in detail.
"I've actually never been to the theater before." Shinomiya Kaguya lowered her voice, sounding a little sad.
"…Since you've said it like that, how could I refuse?" Hayasaka Ai had no choice but to give in.
What else could she do? The promise was already made, and it wasn't the first time the three of them had gone out together, plus Kaguya was showing such a disappointed face.
'But it feels more like Kaguya-sama is acting…' Hayasaka Ai told herself.
[Ah~, we're just going out to play, don't worry Hayasaka~]
[We're like sisters, borrowing your boyfriend for a little bit isn't a big deal, right?]
[It's just going out for a meal, and you're asking why? Hayasaka, that's terrible, boys don't like girlfriends who get jealous~]
Situations like these would surely be endless in the future.
'I must have hidden it perfectly.' Kaguya glanced at Hayasaka from the corner of her eye.
She really, truly was just curious because she had never been to the theater before, and who she went with didn't matter at all!
...
On Saturday, Sakurai Saki and Fujiwara Chika had arranged to hang out in Jinbocho.
Sunday would be the movie outing with Shinomiya Kaguya and his girlfriend.
The area centered around the Jinbocho intersection, stretching from JR Suidobashi Station up north to Ochanomizu Station, and extending east to JR Kanda Station, contained more than 180 bookstores.
This place was known as the largest second-hand book district in the world—there was almost no book you couldn't find here.
In front of Jinbocho Station, Sakurai Saki glanced at the time on his phone.
He had arrived early.
When going out with a girl, a boy should absolutely never make her wait. Girls going out had to pick clothes, put on makeup, and prepare all sorts of things; while all he needed to do was wash his face and leave.
Besides, waiting for a girl was also a form of gentlemanly conduct.
"Saki-kun!"
♡ヾ(^ ∇ ^).
Hearing that familiar lively voice, Sakurai Saki looked up and saw the girl stepping out of the station.
It was autumn, mid-October was no longer hot. The weather was cooling, and the girls were dressing more modestly.
Chika was wearing a long white dress, with a long-sleeved pink cardigan over it. Her style was irresistibly cute.
Meanwhile, Sakurai Saki wore only simple khaki pants and a black varsity jacket.
"Let's go." Chika said, then slipped her arm through his.
...
The two walked together toward Jinbocho's book district.
Today was October 8, a beautiful sunny day.
On the street, they looked no different from an ordinary couple, except… both of them stood out far too much in appearance.
Standing at a traffic light, Sakurai Saki observed the crowd across: a few young men joking around, a few housewives, and some elderly men walking their dogs.
After walking more than ten minutes, the two chose a bookstore.
The first floor had no air conditioning, so they went down to the basement.
There were fewer people below, with a spacious and pleasantly cool atmosphere.
They found an empty corner and began browsing.
Here, everything was second-hand books, each with a yellowed price label attached. The labels, marked with clear prices, gave the whole place a faint air of money.
To be honest, normally no boy would take his girlfriend to a bookstore on the weekend.
And Fujiwara Chika wasn't the type of girl particularly into literature, so Sakurai Saki didn't pick out any poetry for her.
There were plenty of other genres here.
"Chika, do you usually read books?" Sakurai Saki asked, seeing her flipping through some classics.
"Something like Gitanjali?" Chika casually picked up a poetry collection by Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet.
"…Planning to cram all at once?" Sakurai Saki laughed at her.
"Hmm… maybe we should look at something else." Chika said, putting the book back.
Sakurai glanced over the shelves, and finally picked something more interesting.
"The Little Prince," Japanese edition.
"Have you ever read it?"
Chika shook her head.
As a child, she had been too absorbed in piano practice, rarely reading books.
"Come sit here." Sakurai sat down on the floor, patting his thigh.
Chika glanced around carefully. Making sure no one was paying attention, she leaned gently into his arms.
"It's clearly not that cool in here, but somehow it feels strangely comfortable."
After a brief moment of quiet, Sakurai began to read.
"Once when I was six years old…"
In the bookstore, his gentle voice flowed steadily like a stream for a long while.