Chapter 6: The Strong and Unapproachable Flower
"You're late. You're about 13 minutes and 30 seconds behind your usual agreed time. The club activities each day are already so limited—you might as well not come at all."
"Ahaha~ Sorry, sorry~ Ayano, we had something to take care of earlier~"
"Yeah, Satoru kept us back just now and said some unspeakable things. That's why we ended up like this~"
Upon seeing the cold-faced, long black-haired girl in front of them, Mei and Nia, who had just entered the classroom, quickly laughed it off and started shifting the blame, making Satoru roll his eyes beside them.
He hadn't even said anything yet, and he was already being labeled as "unspeakable"?
If a stranger heard this, they'd probably be keeping their distance from him by now.
"No need to shift responsibility. You two are always this lazy anyway."
Fortunately, the black-haired girl sitting calmly in the classroom, reading a book, wasn't fooled. She knew their nature all too well and replied indifferently, earning a nod of agreement from Satoru.
That's right—the innocent need no defense. There was no need for him to rush to clear his name.
Because the eyes of the masses are naturally sharp...
"You're no better, Satoru. Do you really think you're any better than them? What gave you such baseless confidence?"
Unfortunately, this girl wasn't part of the "masses." She was a strict, sharp-tongued critic.
"Ayano, no need to be so serious, right? It's just a few minutes late. Life has moments like this—you're living too rigidly."
So Satoru could only shrug helplessly and try to reason with the black-haired girl.
"Life must have strict discipline. Someone who can't even follow the most basic rules in front of them has no right to talk about life. I think you're deluding yourself, Satoru. If you keep acting recklessly just because of your talent, society will teach you a lesson sooner or later."
"..."
That was way too harsh.
Watching the long black-haired girl lecture him with such irrefutable logic, Satoru turned his face away slightly, feeling a headache coming on.
It wasn't that he didn't understand these things. But precisely because he had suffered enough from society in his past life, he wanted to enjoy life more now.
Life is short—one should seize the day.
Unfortunately, the current her was even more stubborn than her "daughter" and wouldn't listen to such words at all.
This was the clubroom of a group called the "Service Club," founded by Satoru.
Its members were the four of them present here.
And this long black-haired girl was named Yukinoshita Ayano.
Hmm, just one character off—quite the subtle coincidence.
In fact, her features slightly resembled that strict, no-nonsense woman from the original work, just with a different hairstyle and a younger appearance.
Her looks were almost identical to the original's Yukino, but her presence was even more domineering, carrying an aura that brooked no refusal.
The atmosphere was starting to grow heavy...
"Come on, there aren't any guests today anyway. No need to be so serious~"
Fortunately, just as the atmosphere was getting tense, Mei, who was nearby, smoothly stepped in to mediate as if nothing had happened.
In situations like this, her cheerful personality really seemed like a perfect remedy.
"Whether we have guests or not, we should always uphold our behavior and do our best. Yuigahama-san, it's precisely because you're too indulgent with yourself that you come across as so careless. You were supposed to be a much more outstanding woman. If you keep going like this, sooner or later, you'll end up as hopeless as Satoru-kun. And since you don't have his luck or abilities, your situation will only get worse—you won't excel in anything and will eventually become a societal failure, forced to bow to fate, only to regret it when it's already too late."
"Eh?! That sounds terrible! Nooo, save me, Ayano-sensei!"
But under Ayano's relentless scolding, even Mei quickly crumbled, clinging to Ayano's arm while whining and begging for guidance.
Based on past experiences, Ayano would usually take a stricter stance and lecture her sternly.
"Then just take it step by step and improve. Yuigahama-san, there's still hope for you."
But this time, Ayano wasn't as stern or cold as expected. Instead, she was surprisingly accommodating, her voice much gentler, as if she were a different person—even the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
Well, even though Ayano wasn't in the same class as them, they had all known each other for over a year now and got along quite well in daily life.
That serious aura earlier was just Ayano expressing a bit of dissatisfaction, though her delivery came off as stiff. Someone unfamiliar with her might think she was genuinely furious.
In reality, she was just lightly "teasing" them.
"These two really have such a great relationship, huh? You could say they complement each other~ How nice, youngsters~"
"You sound like an old man, Nia."
"At least say I sound like an auntie."