Even though the club hadn't even settled on a name or mission statement, the first activity of the day for the new interest club began that very afternoon.
And that activity was—
The Great Cleaning!
Each club at the school building was responsible for cleaning its own room. The small classroom that the interest club now occupied hadn't been used for quite some time. Hara Kei and Yukinoshita Yukino had both tidied it up a bit, but to the eyes of Fujiwara Chika—the daughter of the Fujiwara household—it was far from enough.
Incidentally, Hara Kei was outright barred from this activity.
And it wasn't just a polite "no entry."
Fujiwara Chika didn't even let him into the room.
"No entry! Today's activity is strictly for girls!" She stood at the door like a gatekeeper, arms crossed in a big "X." She wasn't wearing her usual school uniform, but the standard gym clothes issued by the school.
"How come I didn't know about this?" Hara Kei raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. It had been called a "unified activity" at lunchtime—how had it changed so abruptly in the afternoon?
"I coordinated with Yukino over the phone. Hara Kei, you've already contributed so much to the establishment of this club, so we decided you should take the day off," Fujiwara Chika said with a bright smile, holding up her smartphone. "But neither of us are on your friends list, so we couldn't notify you—so I came early to block your way."
For a normal person, this might feel like a slight, maybe even a little exclusion.
But Hara Kei was not a normal person.
He even felt a twinge of happiness.
After a slight nod, indicating he understood, he was about to turn and leave—
"Wait a second." Fujiwara Chika, who had previously seemed determined to refuse him, blocked his path. "I already told you—[not being on your friend list is inconvenient]." She emphasized the last part. "I think rejecting the progress of civilization is a rather foolish thing, don't you agree?"
"…I don't have 'e'" (a messaging app similar to WeChat), "so I can't add you." Hara Kei naturally understood her implication, but that didn't mean he would comply obediently.
With Yukinoshita Yukino, it would be simple. Handing over her 'e' would just invite Fujiwara Chika to check in with him constantly.
That was not something Hara Kei wanted.
"You're lying. Isn't an 'e' account automatically linked to your phone number?" Fujiwara Chika had spent the past month or so learning to tell when Hara Kei was truthful and when he was bluffing. "Come on, shake it now."
"…(shakes)"
"I said shake the phone, not your head!"
In the end, Fujiwara Chika got Hara Kei's 'e.'
At St. Eden Academy, dismissal came early, like at other high schools in Sakurajima.
Around three o'clock, the day's classes ended, and it was officially "club activity" time.
At St. Eden, students who didn't belong to any club were extremely rare. And students like Hara Kei, leaving school this early, were even rarer.
The slope outside the school was empty, white petals drifting lazily to the ground with a faint, sweet fragrance.
Hara Kei had grown used to this scene over the past month.
But in this familiar, tranquil view, a slightly discordant note appeared.
A luxury car silently entered Hara Kei's line of sight.
He frowned.
Vehicles were prohibited around St. Eden Academy, and this slope—used by students entering and leaving school—was doubly forbidden.
The rule had originally been established to preserve reverence for the divine; now it was seen as a symbol of St. Eden's dignity, reflecting respect for knowledge and education.
That's why, despite nearly all students being wealthy or noble, almost none of them drove into or out of school.
Anyone caught breaking the rule would face fines (which was minor) and have their vehicle displayed on the school's giant screen for a week—a punishment that was far more shameful.
For most families here, the latter was completely unacceptable. Being publicly embarrassed in elite circles was unthinkable.
The wealthier and more self-important a family was, the more they valued such abstract notions of honor.
Hara Kei didn't know car brands. He wasn't a car enthusiast, couldn't rattle off the names of luxury vehicles—but he knew one thing:
The prettier the car, the more expensive it was.
And the car slowly gliding toward him was exceptionally beautiful. A winged "B" gleamed at the very front of the hood.
The car stopped beside Hara Kei. The window rolled down, and he finally got a clear look inside.
Driving this luxury car was a woman.
She wore sunglasses, her black hair tinged faintly with purple, styled into a high bun that cascaded down the back. Her burgundy suit looked expensive, though the white shirt beneath was casually worn, exuding effortless sophistication. And her hands—resting on the steering wheel—were beautiful.
Not the Mona Lisa kind of beauty, but a peculiar kind.
Slender yet strong—contradictory qualities that somehow harmonized perfectly in those hands.
Noticing Hara Kei's gaze, she let out a faint laugh, removed her sunglasses, revealing slender, elegant eyes and a small beauty mark at the corner of her right eye.
"I've been waiting for you. Get in."
She acted as if they were familiar, even leaning over to open the passenger door.
Hara Kei, of course, didn't move.
What was this? A femme fatale in a luxury car seducing a young gentleman? Or was this some unspoken rule of Tokyo?
Wait—shouldn't she be parked safely? And where's your water? The water on the car roof?
"Hara Kei, right?" The woman eyed him up and down, clicking her tongue. "No wonder she's been talking about you nonstop."
"…She?" Hara Kei asked, confused. His 'she's in my life' list wasn't long.
Without a word, the woman took a phone from a special mount on the dashboard and handed it to Hara Kei.
The lock screen showed two women.
The woman in the photo held a girl's arm affectionately, her other arm extending out of frame—clearly a selfie.
The girl being held, though slightly awkward, had a faint smile at the corners of her lips. Hara Kei recognized her immediately.
They'd been going to school together recently, and she always tried to snatch his headphones.
"Let me introduce myself," the woman said, a faint smile on her lips, the beauty mark adding charm. "I'm Tōma Yōko."
"As you can see… Wasa's mother."