After leaving Tsukishiro's office, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at Kaoru.
"Is the White Room that frightening?" Kaoru asked.
Ayanokoji shook his head.
How could he possibly be worried about a few people from the White Room?
"Even if you do get expelled, my promise to you still stands."
Kaoru patted his shoulder solemnly.
"A local assemblyman can't affect me at all. Not even mold can take me down, so don't worry."
Ayanokoji's face darkened.
This guy was making it sound like he was actually going to be expelled.
"You should worry about yourself instead. If they want to pressure me, you'll be the first target."
Regardless, Kaoru was a Class A student.
If Ayanokoji didn't want to be expelled, he would have to confront Ryuen, Ichinose Honami, and Kaoru.
"You've actually reminded me."
Kaoru stroked his chin. "If you truly make them wary, those White Room students would first consider cooperation—joining forces with us to deal with you."
After all, freshmen couldn't cross grade boundaries to directly confront Ayanokoji Kiyotaka themselves.
They would need to borrow upperclassmen's strength.
Meaning it was highly possible that White Room students might actively approach Kaoru, seeking to cooperate with him.
"Kaoru-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly spoke. "You'd better not forget what you promised me."
Ayanokoji tactfully began to turn away, only to be stopped by the girl's voice.
"Ah, that's right, Ayanokoji-kun. You're next after I deal with this guy."
Facing Sakayanagi's threat, Ayanokoji and Kaoru exchanged glances.
This girl seemed to have swallowed gunpowder—her tone was really aggressive.
Yet Sakayanagi Arisu kept her eyes fixed intently on Kaoru's figure.
He still hadn't answered her previous question.
...
The afternoon sun was radiant, its warm rays making people drowsy.
Students gathered in small groups at the café and Keyaki Mall.
Most were first-year students who had just survived the recent crisis.
While some looked dejected, others were naturally cheerful—like the several girls currently surrounding Kaoru.
"Cheers!" Hasebe Haruka raised her coffee cup, "This toast is to our friendship and everyone's safe return! We also want to thank Kaoru-kun for his help. We've decided to reward you with our idol's selfie!"
Yamamura Miki hurriedly raised her cup, while Sakura Airi was already blushing intensely, waving her hands frantically.
"I-I never agreed to such a thing!"
Ever since she followed Kaoru's advice and shared her secret with Hasebe Haruka and Yamamura Miki, these two friends had become her fans.
Particularly Hasebe Haruka, whose gaze toward her was growing increasingly peculiar.
"What's the big deal? Didn't you say Kaoru-kun has seen your photos too?"
Hasebe clinked her cup with Yamamura Miki's and took a casual sip, "Besides, I was thinking we should take group photos together sometime."
Sakura Airi felt tempted - she had always wanted photos with her friends!
"Don't you often take pictures of us together normally?"
Kaoru drank his black coffee, remembering how Hasebe Haruka would sometimes pull out her phone to photograph desserts, or even drag Yamamura Miki and others into selfies.
"Eh, Kaoru-kun really is a boy. Girls treat digital cameras with much more respect than regular phone cameras, you know~"
Hasebe Haruka deliberately drew out her words, then pretended to be prim as she extended her small hand toward Kaoru.
"Airi says you're really good at photography. How about you take some photos for us, Mr. Photographer?"
Kaoru looked at the small hand pretending to be a microphone before him - the clean, pale wrist with nails painted in cute colors that made one want to give them a lick.
"My rates are quite expensive."
"How can you be like that, Kaoru-kun? Aren't we friends?"
"Even if we're friends, you still need to bribe me a little."
"Such a sly Kaoru-kun!"
Sakura Airi watched their playful exchange with envy.
She had something to say but didn't know how to bring it up.
"Ahem, I almost forgot the main matter."
Hasebe Haruka suddenly cleared her throat, "Kaoru-kun, we have a very serious question for you."
To be honest, ever since they called him here, Kaoru had known what they were curious about.
He said straightforwardly, "I knew this would happen days ago, so I already voted for Airi."
"Does that mean you've been watching us all along?"
Perhaps thinking of something, Hasebe Haruka's tone became strange.
Sakura Airi nearly choked on her coffee, coughing repeatedly.
"Are you okay, Airi?"
Yamamura Miki patted her back.
"I-I'm fine!"
Sakura Airi said quickly, her gaze accidentally meeting Kaoru's.
The fading blush returned to her face as she lowered her head, holding her coffee cup like a model student, as if this could calm her down.
"You've frightened our little idol again, Kaoru-kun should reflect on yourself."
Hasebe Haruka said, "That sounded just now like some stalker fan who's always following and watching their idol."
"Is that really all you think of me?"
Kaoru was utterly speechless.
Though he had followed a few idols before, the circumstances were completely different.
Hasebe Haruka, on the other hand, said with a grin, "If it were you, the perverted fan would become the hero behind the scenes. I'd actually love it if you occasionally stalked me."
How did this guy become so cringey?
Kaoru said irritably, ''I don't stalk anyone. Please don't assign me strange settings based on the past.''
''Is that so?''
Hasebe Haruka smiled gently, her voice softening gradually.
''I actually feel quite secure having someone by my side. When a girl is feeling down, suddenly appearing from beside the park - that behavior scores major points.''
''Isn't that the prelude to a crime?''
Kaoru remained unimpressed.
''What a coincidence, I think so too.''
Hasebe Haruka agreed profoundly. ''When someone asked if they could become an idol, he heartlessly rejected a girl's request.''
Kaoru couldn't continue the conversation.
It wasn't like having a good figure guaranteed debut success, especially since his expertise was in singing and dancing idols - he'd never handled business like Sakura Airi's.
''Are you two discussing something that Airi and I can't understand?''
Yamamura Miki tilted her head. ''I feel like you're talking about things outside of school.''
Hasebe Haruka said wistfully, ''Have you ever followed idols?''
Yamamura Miki wanted to nod, but considering how Extroverts like Hasebe Haruka pursued celebrities, she hesitantly shook her head instead.
Thus, Hasebe Haruka laughed.
''Oh dear, let's not talk about this then. Let's discuss taking photos instead. I remember the graduation ceremony is in two weeks, right? Why don't we take a group photo to celebrate moving up to second year!''
''T-taking photos... in front of everyone...?''
''Well yeah, what else would we do during spring break? We can't go out anyway.''
''Th-that's terrifying.''
Compared to the two Introverts, Hasebe Haruka's smile appeared more youthful and radiant than usual - perhaps this was some kind of magical chemical reaction.
Watching the beaming Hasebe Haruka, Kaoru couldn't help but recall encountering a middle schooler in the past who seemed to have argued with friends and was sulking alone in the park.
Compared to when she had excitedly declared she no longer needed any friendships, she seemed much more normal now.
Perhaps she even considered those memories part of her Embarrassing past now.
Kaoru suddenly felt someone gently nudge him under the table.
Looking up, he saw Hasebe Haruka resting her chin in her hands, smiling brightly at him.
'I'm done pretending. If I keep this up, someone might steal the initiative.'
'You couldn't make a move on a middle schooler, but now that she's a high school student, you should be able to, right?'
'Calling yourself a life coach while peeking at a middle schooler's chest - you haven't changed at all, you perverted old man.'
Kaoru took a sip of coffee.
He thought he had grasped Hasebe Haruka's Embarrassing past, but this woman didn't seem to care at all.
Probably from their first meeting on the cruise ship, Hasebe Haruka had already recognized him, pretending to show him a producer's photo while asking if he knew this person.
Thinking back carefully now, she might have been hinting at her identity, observing whether Kaoru remembered her.
No, perhaps even before they formally met, Hasebe Haruka had already confirmed his identity.
Kaoru felt heavy-hearted.
Given all these circumstances, how was he going to explain everything clearly to the idols who were about to come charging in?
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