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Student Council.
Office.
"Heh-hoo~"
As Amamiya Natsuki entered, he saw Chika secretary jump out from the doorway.
"Too much, absolutely too much." Fujiwara Chika had her hands behind her back, her body leaning slightly forward, her pink cheeks puffed out, and her voice clear as she said, "You went to eat cold drinks with Moeha after school yesterday and didn't even call me to eat."
"First, let me correct you, I didn't eat cold drinks with Moeha; we just happened to run into each other." Amamiya Natsuki said speechlessly, "I already explained it to you yesterday."
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening." Fujiwara Chika raised her hands to cover her ears, "Anyway, I'm the only one who didn't get cold drinks."
It was the height of summer.
Outside, the sun was bright.
Fujiwara Chika had arrived earlier and had already opened the curtains and windows. A gentle breeze blew in, and the sunlight was warm.
A ray of bright summer sun fell upon Chika secretary, and the gentle breeze stirred the girl's hair, making her lips appear even redder and her teeth whiter, and her overall appearance more charming and adorable.
Amamiya Natsuki's heart fluttered, and he couldn't help but reach out his right hand.
"Eh heh!"
Fujiwara Chika had sensed it early and swiftly dodged with a flash.
"Don't even think about bullying me." Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips, proudly raising her chin, "Kaguya-chan will be back soon, what if she sees us?"
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Please trust my Time Stop ability."
Fujiwara Chika: "Don't use Time Stop for weird things!"
Amamiya Natsuki, unable to catch Chika secretary, didn't pursue her. He walked behind the desk and asked, "Want to get a cold drink together after school this afternoon?"
Fujiwara Chika turned her head, "It's too late to invite me for a cold drink now."
"Just the two of us, alone," Amamiya Natsuki tempted her, "Yesterday, I saw a new super-sized planetary cup. You'll definitely like it."
"Hmm..." Fujiwara Chika covered her lower abdomen with her right hand, hesitating, "Won't eating so many sweets make me fat?"
"It won't make you fat," Amamiya Natsuki said seriously, "Cold drinks have no calories, how can they make people fat?"
Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up, "...That makes sense!"
Buzz.
The phone suddenly vibrated.
Fujiwara Chika picked up her phone and quickly said, "Hey, Kashiwagi-chan just messaged me. She said she's not feeling well and is taking the day off at home to rest, so she won't be coming to the Student Council."
Not feeling well is fake; being too ashamed to show her face at school is the truth!
Amamiya Natsuki thought of the explicit words Kashiwagi said yesterday. It was perfectly normal for her to be too ashamed to show her face.
Fujiwara Chika looked over, asking, "President, should we go visit Kashiwagi-chan after school this afternoon?"
"Not yet," Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand, "Let her rest well for a day. If she still doesn't come to school tomorrow, then we'll go visit her."
Shame needs time to cool down.
Visiting her now would only make Kashiwagi embarrassed.
"Alright then," Fujiwara Chika nodded, "I'll message Kashiwagi-chan to tell her to rest well. I'll take care of the Student Council's work today."
As she spoke, Shinomiya Kaguya walked in from outside the door.
"President, the list has been compiled."
The Sheltered Young Lady handed over a form.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Amamiya Natsuki took the form.
Forest Camp is a three-day event, scheduled for Friday and the two weekend days. The Student Council has been quite busy these past few days, for example, compiling the list of participants for Forest Camp. Every year, some people are unable to attend for various reasons. Then there's collecting registration fees, renting buses, making tip booklets, and communicating with the Forest Camp staff, etc. In short, it's all trivial matters.
"We already contacted the bus company yesterday," Shinomiya Kaguya stood nearby, dutifully saying, "They promised to arrive at the school gate before 8:30 AM on Friday."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said, "Notify them again on Thursday afternoon, just in case there's an oversight."
"Mm," Shinomiya Kaguya nodded lightly, "Also, I've already told the class leaders about the Precautions for Forest Camp."
"Just class notifications, some people might not take them seriously," Amamiya Natsuki mused for a moment, then said, "After school, I'll create an electronic tip sheet and send it to all participants via email."
Shinomiya Kaguya continued, "And the communication with the person in charge at Forest Camp, should we call now to confirm again?"
"Okay."
"Now, only the final payment collection work remains..."
"..."
"Wait, wait a minute," Fujiwara Chika, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but raise her hand and say, "You two have finished all the work, so what do I do?"
The Sheltered Young Lady tilted her head and thought for a moment, "A mascot?"
Amamiya Natsuki interlaced his fingers and said, "You can just be in charge of eating, drinking, and having fun."
"How mean!" Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks, "I'm not a mascot!"
"..."
The Student Council's trivial matters were handled.
Amamiya Natsuki had just arrived in the classroom when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate gently in his pocket.
He took it out and saw it was a message from Tsubame.
Koyasu Tsubame: "Natsuki-kun, are you free this afternoon?"
Amamiya Natsuki: "I'm free for a date."
Koyasu Tsubame: "It's not a date."
Amamiya Natsuki: "Then I'm not free (greatly disappointed jpg)."
Tsubame sent a disgusted emoji: "It's my cousin. She's been discharged from the hospital, hasn't she? She wants to treat you to a meal to thank you in person and asked me to see if you have time."
Amamiya Natsuki: "Just me and your cousin?"
"What are you thinking?" Tsubame tapped his head, "Of course I'm going too."
Amamiya Natsuki: "I accept."
"..."
In a blink of an eye, it was time for school to end.
Amamiya Natsuki went to the Student Council office and told Shinomiya Kaguya and Chika about Tsubame's dinner invitation.
Since he had already said "I want them all," there was no need to hide anything anymore.
"Do you two want to come along?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.
"I won't go," Shinomiya Kaguya gently shook her head, "I still have to go home and walk the dog."
Others were treating him to a meal to express gratitude, and since Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't helped, she naturally wouldn't go to freeload.
"What about Chika?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Chika secretary again.
"No, no," Fujiwara Chika quickly waved her hand, her tone resentful, "I was away for an entire weekend, and Mom and Dad are very angry now. They almost put me under house arrest. I have to eat dinner at home with them during this period."
"..."
The Student Council's trivial matters were finished.
Fujiwara Chika didn't plan a 'two-person date.' Instead, she directly called Shinomiya Kaguya, and the three of them went to the cold drink shop together for cold drinks.
After finishing their cold drinks, the three parted ways. Amamiya Natsuki then went to see Mizuhara Chizuru to help her with a healing skill. Learning from yesterday's experience, Mizuhara Chizuru chose a location quite far from the school this time, a forest park, to avoid causing trouble for Amamiya Natsuki.
"Natsuki-kun, wait a little longer," Koyasu Tsubame messaged, still at school, "Club activities are almost over. I'll message you when I'm done."
Amamiya Natsuki put away his phone and, having nothing to do, strolled around the park.
He hadn't walked far when the figure of a black-haired girl suddenly caught his eye.
Under the shade of a tree not far away stood a black-haired girl with long hair reaching her waist. Despite the hot weather, she was still wearing black tights. At this moment, she was looking up at the tree with a worried expression on her pretty face.
A small kitten with mottled fur was clinging to the tree, meowing incessantly.
Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but smile. He walked behind the black-haired girl and lowered his voice, saying, "Excuse me, do you need help?"
"..."
The black-haired girl was startled, like a frightened the timid girl. She quickly turned around timidly to look. When she saw it was Amamiya Natsuki, her eyes instantly brightened.
"Natsuki-kun..." The timid girl's voice was faint and hopeful, "The kitten is stuck in the tree."
"I'm sorry," Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression, "I don't know the person you're talking about."
"Huh?"
Komi had a question mark above her head.
"I'm actually a demon from another world, and I love making deals with humans," Amamiya Natsuki lowered his voice, speaking nonsense with a straight face, "To make me save the kitten, you must make an equivalent exchange."
Komi blinked and took out her wallet from her pocket.
"Waste paper is meaningless to me," Amamiya Natsuki said sternly, "If you give me a kiss, I'll save that kitten."
Komi: "..."
And you say you're a demon? A real demon wouldn't want a human's kiss!
"No."
The timid girl's pretty face quickly flushed red, and she quickly shook her head.
"Are you sure you don't want to make a deal?" Amamiya Natsuki looked up at the tree and reminded her, "Such a small kitten falling from a tree would definitely get hurt, wouldn't it?"
"The life of a stray cat is already very difficult. Once it loses the ability to move and cannot find food, the outcome is imaginable."
Amamiya Natsuki withdrew his gaze, looked at the timid girl, and smiled, "Shoko, you wouldn't want an innocent kitten to lose its life just for a kiss, would you?"
Komi: "..."
Although Komi knew Amamiya Natsuki was being unreasonable, she still hesitated.
If she hadn't seen it, it would have been fine, but now that she encountered a kitten trapped in a tree, if she just left it alone, she would indeed be responsible, wouldn't she?
"Hurry up and decide whether to make the deal," Amamiya Natsuki urged, "That little kitten is about to fall."
The hesitant Komi quickly looked up and saw the kitten trembling as it stood up, meowing incessantly. While meowing, it also looked at her, clearly begging her for help with its eyes.
A gust of wind happened to blow, and the tree branch and the kitten swayed together.
Komi's heart immediately leaped into her throat. She quickly grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's sleeve, her voice faint, "Save, save the kitten."
Amamiya Natsuki said, "You agreed to the deal?"
Komi's pretty face was flushed, her voice almost inaudible, as she stammered, "I, I agreed..."
"Good that you agreed."
Amamiya Natsuki immediately smiled. Without climbing the tree, he simply extended his right hand towards the kitten on the branch.
Target locked.
Skill activated... Accio!
The kitten on the tree looked bewildered, completely unaware of what was happening, and dropped from the tree into Amamiya Natsuki's hand.
"Meow?"
The little kitten stared with wide, round eyes, blankly looking at Amamiya Natsuki and Komi, seemingly still not comprehending what had just occurred.
Only after a few seconds did it finally snap out of its daze, suddenly leaped from Amamiya Natsuki's hand to the ground, and then, without a word, took off running, disappearing in a flash.
"Deal done," Amamiya Natsuki clapped his hands and looked at Shoko, "It's time to fulfill your promise."
Komi's gaze was still following the kitten's retreating figure. Hearing this, she nervously lowered her head to look at her toes.
This the timid girl had a commendable quality: she kept her promises and never reneged. If it were Hayasaka, she would have already found an excuse and prepared to slip away by now.
"Sit down and talk," Amamiya Natsuki took the timid girl's right hand, pulled Shoko to a bench, and sat down, "Why are you here?"
Komi's voice was soft as she whispered, "There's a bookstore nearby. I came to buy a book."
Amamiya Natsuki said in surprise, "You dare to talk to the cashier?"
"That, that..." The timid girl stammered softly, "I haven't bought the book yet..."
Damn it!
It's been so long since school ended, and you still haven't bought the book. How severe is your communication disorder?!
Amamiya Natsuki played with the timid girl's slender fingers and said, "Hurry up and fulfill the deal. Let me kiss you, and after I kiss you, I'll take you to buy books."
"Mm..."
Komi's eyelashes fluttered rapidly, and she quickly raised her hands to cover her pink lips.
Amamiya Natsuki looked over, speechless, and asked, "What are you doing?"
She hadn't even been kissed yet, but Komi's pretty face was already crimson, her earlobes dyed a scarlet hue, and she stammered in a low voice, "Ch-cheek..."
Amamiya Natsuki said, "Only on the cheek?"
The timid girl nodded quickly, confirming.
It must be said that the desensitization therapy had quite good results. If it were before, Komi would never have said that she could be kissed on the cheek.
However... Amamiya Natsuki was not satisfied.
Tokyo is so big; to meet by chance on the street could be said to be a tremendous stroke of fate. Of course, he had to properly train this the timid girl.
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and pinched the girl's tender, bouncy cheek, then straightened his face and said, "That's too much. Go out of the park and ask on the street, see who thinks a kiss is just on the cheek?"
"..."
Komi quickly shook her head when she heard this, covering her pink lips with both hands. She neither spoke nor would she let go of her hands, clearly still haunted by the terrifying memory of a demon entering her mouth that day.
"Since that's the case, I'll give you two additional options," Amamiya Natsuki said softly, holding up two fingers and looking at the timid girl. "First, as long as you actively kiss me, even if it's just on the cheek, the deal will be considered fulfilled."
A-actively kiss a boy?
Komi's eyes widened, and a faint wisp of steam seemed to rise from her head, then she shook her head quickly.
"Listen to me finish," Amamiya Natsuki said unhurriedly, holding up his second finger. "The second additional option is that you don't have to kiss me, and I won't kiss you. As long as you say 'I like Natsuki,' the deal will also be considered complete."
"L-like..."
The timid girl's breathing hitched, and her pretty face instantly turned into a ripe tomato.
Confessing to a boy... she couldn't do it.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't do it!
"Three options: one is a real kiss, the second is you kissing me, and the third is saying 'I like you,'" Amamiya Natsuki said, holding up three fingers. "You have ten seconds to choose. If you can't make a choice, then I won't be polite."
Hearing these words, Komi immediately panicked.
She was inherently a gentle girl, often plagued by decision paralysis. Asking her to make a choice within ten seconds was completely impossible.
To increase the pressure, Amamiya Natsuki also started a countdown.
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight."
"Seven..."
Listening to the countdown, Komi became even more flustered. She looked left and right, even feeling the urge to run away, but she was ultimately a person of her word and couldn't do something shameless.
"Three, two, one..."
T-too late!
As the countdown slowly reached its end, Komi felt her head spinning. Her body, following its instincts, made a choice before her consciousness did.
In the cool evening breeze.
The black-haired the timid girl suddenly looked up, one hand covering her chest, the other pressing down her skirt, and leaned forward, kissing Amamiya Natsuki on the cheek.
Amamiya Natsuki was startled, feeling a cool, moist, soft touch on his cheek that was gone as soon as it appeared.
(S-she really kissed me...)
Komi quickly looked down at her toes, steam hissing from the top of her head.
(W-why, why did I make the most impulsive choice...)
(Mother, I'm sorry, Shoko's brain just broke.)
Amamiya Natsuki touched his cheek, looking in surprise at the bowed-head the timid girl. He truly hadn't expected Shoko to have the courage to kiss him, and shamelessly said, "That didn't count. I didn't feel anything at all. Kiss me again."
"...! !"
Even the extremely good-natured Komi couldn't help but get angry at such a shameless request. She puffed out her pink cheeks, stood up, and picked up her school bag, ready to leave.
Amamiya Natsuki stepped to follow, smiling, "Let's just forget about today for now. Come on, let's go to the bookstore to buy books."
"..."
Because of the spontaneous kiss just now, Komi had returned to her initial state of communication disorder from when they first met. She didn't say a word, just walked forward with her head down.
The two left the park together.
After walking for a while, Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but pull the timid girl's hand and ask, "Didn't you say the bookstore was nearby? Why aren't we there yet?"
Komi looked up, blinked in confusion, looked around, and her expression quickly changed from bewildered to nervous. She stammered, "W-we took the wrong turn..."
Amamiya Natsuki sighed, then took the timid girl's right hand and led her back.
The girl's sense of shame was quite severe, and she struggled pitifully: "Th-there are so many people on the road..."
Amamiya Natsuki said, "I'll let go of you when we reach the bookstore."
"Mm..."
There was only one road from the park entrance, so Komi didn't need to give directions. Amamiya Natsuki quickly led her to the front of a bookstore.
"Is this it?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.
Komi, who had kept her head down the whole way, wishing she could hide her head in her chest, finally lifted her face. After clearly seeing the bookstore sign, she nodded gently.
This was a bookstore that mainly dealt in second-hand books. Amamiya Natsuki asked curiously, "What book are you here to buy?"
"It's a book Mother wants to read," Komi's voice was faint. "The owner is Mother's friend and once had dinner at my house. This morning, when I left, Mother said a book she really liked had arrived, but she was too busy with work and didn't have time to come, so she asked me to pick it up after school."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the sound of camera clicks suddenly rang out.
A woman with a dangerous Yuuko's mother hairstyle appeared at the entrance at some point, holding her phone and clicking away non-stop. As she filmed, she smiled and said, "Big news! Shoko actually got a boyfriend! Tonight's drinking snack is ready!"
The timid girl: "...!!!"
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