"You really came out!"
Tachibana Akane couldn't contain her excitement, hardly believing that Kaoru was standing before her.
"Your voice is too loud."
Kaoru took her luggage. "The cost of coming out like this - probably only a few students in the whole school can afford it."
There were several graduates on the bus who were curiously watching them.
Tachibana Akane realized she was drawing too much attention and buried her face in Kaoru's chest.
After a while, she began rubbing against Kaoru's clothes, emitting a strange giggle.
"Really, what am I going to do with you? You could've just let me leave alone."
Tachibana Akane was like a cat, so comfortable in his embrace she was almost purring. "Walk me to the train station, but no following me after that."
"Why?"
Kaoru stroked her hair. Through her thin clothing, he could feel the girl's soft body radiating a slightly feverish warmth.
Below her fair neck was her small but full chest, gently rubbing against him bit by bit.
"It's too early... I'd be embarrassed..."
Akane still remembered him mentioning visiting her parents - there was no way she'd actually let him go through with that.
"Actually, high school students can get married," Kaoru teased her deliberately.
Akane bit her lip and shot him a glare.
"Hmph, be careful or you'll get arrested for polygamy."
Given their current situation, forget marriage - they probably couldn't even get past the parental approval stage.
"I'm amazing enough that I might be able to change the laws," Kaoru pinched her cheeks.
Akane didn't believe him at all - this guy was just daydreaming.
When the bus arrived at their stop, they got off with the crowd, and the familiar Tokyo cityscape appeared before them.
"Give me the luggage," Akane said softly. "You didn't come out just for me, right? If there's something you want to do, you should go do it quickly."
Kaoru glanced toward a nearby love hotel, making the girl blush and punch his arm.
"Not that! I still need to go home!"
Kaoru said: "I just feel like I haven't spent enough time with you. We've never even been on a proper date outside."
Akane hummed a few times, already too tired to scold him: "Didn't you say you can come out every month? You can accompany me next time - it's not like we'll never see each other again."
"Did you bring the photos I gave you?" Kaoru asked again.
At this, Akane perked up.
"Ehehe, of course I brought them! I never thought you'd actually do something nice for once!"
The photos themselves weren't particularly meaningful - what mattered was everything captured in those frames: the places she used to live, the people she used to know, and the person she ultimately fell for.
Akane really loved his farewell gift - loved it beyond words.
Compared to the distant and unattainable Horikita Manabu, she genuinely preferred this person right before her eyes whom she could actually touch.
Akane looked at him, then cupped his face, stood on her toes, and kissed him on the lips.
"Mhm, this is your reward," the girl said with a slight curve at the corner of her lips. "See you next time, Kaoru."
Kaoru held her slender waist and gently kissed her back.
After a while, Akane's eyes shimmered with tenderness as she whispered softly.
"I really have to go now, dummy."
...
As dusk approached, Kaoru had already left the Honke residence.
Indeed, the reason Sakayanagi Seishiro valued him was because these financial conglomerates and nobles were also paying attention to him.
Kaoru suspected every detail about him had been dug up - after all, the temptation of returning from death was too great.
Even if it wasn't the miracle of resurrection, his current extreme youth was enough to drive certain people mad.
Kaoru didn't care.
He had originally considered using [Explosion magic] on these people, but then he witnessed an unexpected scene.
Kaguya-sama and her little maid - wishes had appeared upon both of them.
Regarding this, the Wish-Granter's explanation was that wishes would manifest at specific times and places, appearing on specific individuals, just as he had said before - once an old story ends, a new one begins.
Kaoru's emotions were in turmoil.
"It seems I can only continue forward. I don't possess complete absolute power at the moment."
Someone had already been targeting him back at the agency, and now that he had returned from death, those people were probably going insane.
Facing such blatant malice, Kaoru needed absolute power - a single [Explosion magic] wasn't enough.
In other words, if Kaoru wanted to become stronger, their rewards were absolutely essential.
Kaoru took a deep breath.
He had already accumulated over a hundred rewards, and from Tachibana Akane, Sakayanagi Arisu, Sakura Airi, and others, he had collected twenty lottery opportunities.
The reason it was only twenty was because he had used six lottery opportunities earlier to have the Wish-Granter help with chess.
Moreover, this was the result without Kaoru deliberately collecting them - most were wishes accidentally fulfilled while cooking for them.
Since certain people were filled with malice, Kaoru decided to stop pretending.
He would simply leave them with some lasting impressions while completing the conditions for the [Bloodstained Holy Grail].
Miracles beyond human capability - his [Explosion magic] would probably meet the requirements.
Just then, Kaoru suddenly felt a soft impact on his shoulder.
Before he could avoid it, he heard a surprised "Oh!"
"Sorry for bumping into you so suddenly. My apologies."
The other party apologized first, their voice somewhat familiar. "I didn't notice you earlier."
After all, they were on the street, so accidentally bumping into someone was reasonable.
Kaoru instinctively glanced over.
The person wore a baseball cap, had neck-length short hair, large sunglasses covering half their face, a black leather choker around their neck, and was wrapped tightly in a coat, yet still showed traces of a petite figure - like a tomboy.
He looked at them, and they were staring back at him.
Kaoru averted his gaze, but then his hand was suddenly grabbed.
"It's just me here, don't worry."
They held on tightly, very firmly, continuously staring at Kaoru.
"Producer."
Kaoru reached out and removed their sunglasses, indeed revealing a familiar face.
"Long time no see, Toru."
This tomboy before him was none other than Asakura Toru, who had always had the appearance of a handsome, androgynous type since childhood, often popular with girls.
Since becoming an idol, her female fans had been endless.
The reason for this disguise was probably to avoid fans - many idols tried to hide themselves like this.
Being a handsome girl, Kaoru rarely saw her crying.
"It's really you."
Asakura Toru stood motionless, her shoulders trembling, tears welling in her eyes. "I thought I was mistaken earlier... the previous letter was from you too, they always thought it was a joke..."
She had lost her former composure - the distance of death was enough to shatter even the strongest heart.
"Don't cry. You won't look cool if you cry."
Kaoru wiped away her tears with his finger. "People will think I'm bullying you."
The more he acted this way, the harder it was for Asakura to restrain herself.
She had only intended to come up and test the waters, but seeing the familiar person right before her eyes, all she wanted at this moment was to hold onto him tightly.
This time, she had to hold on and not let go. If she loosened her grip, he would run away or something.
She had to grasp this person's hand as if she were holding onto a star.