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Asakura was originally a little worried that Yukinoshita Yukino would skip school for several days because of what happened that day.
But she only rested at home for one day, and the next day, she reappeared in the club room, though her left hand wore a thin, fingerless glove to conceal the scales on the back of her hand.
"What a shame, I quite liked that design."
Asakura lamented.
What he received in return was naturally the girl's fierce glare.
Fortunately, no one else paid much attention.
After all, as the Founders' Festival approached, the school could already clearly feel the restless excitement of 'the festival is coming soon,' and for those responsible for preparing the festival, it became even busier.
The reason why Asakura and Yukinoshita Yukino didn't join the preparation work was, naturally, because their play rehearsals had to be put on the agenda.
"Oh, Juliet, why are you called Juliet…"
"That line isn't in the script, is it?"
Yukinoshita Yukino retorted, "And that line is supposed to be said by Juliet anyway."
"Well…"
Asakura pouted.
The rehearsal results were not very smooth.
Of course, it wasn't an issue with the lines.
After all, both Asakura and Yukino were top-tier honor students; memorizing lines was completely trivial for them.
The problem was that during their scenes, their performances always felt subtly out of sync.
Asakura, as the prince, was too frivolous, while the princess, who should have been love-struck, was overly serious. When they performed the originally lighthearted and pleasant prince and princess play, it somehow had a sense of black humor.
Although Asakura thought it wasn't bad this way—why shouldn't black humor count as humor?
But Yukino believed it would be too rude to Sakiko-sensei, who wrote the script, and she was determined to reproduce the original effect of the script.
So Asakura had no choice but to throw all his rest time into rehearsing, whether it was lunch break, class breaks, or after-school hours. They were almost completely squeezed dry, not a single drop left.
"That's enough for now, it's almost dark—"
Asakura mumbled: "It's said that due to complaints from a student's family, even students responsible for the Founders' Festival preparations are not allowed to stay in school too late."
As a side note, although it wasn't confirmed information, Amakusa Shino had once hinted to Asakura that the person who complained was Yukinoshita Haruno.
This made Asakura momentarily doubt his own judgment. Could it be that Yukinoshita Haruno and Yukino were actually on very good terms, and Yukino just got annoyed by her sister's clinginess, which was why she didn't answer the phone?
"Based on the current progress, we won't make it for the Founders' Festival."
Yukinoshita Yukino, however, had no intention of stopping.
"But even if we stay here, the security guards will come and kick us out, you know?"
Asakura said, "Are you suggesting we find a park or something outside of school to continue rehearsing?"
"Isn't there a place in school where we definitely won't be disturbed by security guards?"
Yukinoshita Yukino packed up her things, wiggled her gloved left hand, and said loudly.
Asakura was stunned for a moment, then helplessly rubbed his forehead and shook his head: "You really hold a grudge, don't you…"
"This isn't holding a grudge; it's just the spirit of an explorer who remains fixated on an insurmountable mountain.
Yukino righteously corrected him, "The progress of humanity depends entirely on the adventurous spirit of daring to climb the peak of knowledge!"
"I, on the other hand, think the main driving force behind human progress is laziness…"
Asakura mumbled.
"Enough with the nonsense, let's go."
Yukinoshita Yukino, having packed her things, picked up her school bag and dragged Asakura, full of vigor, to the Clubroom.
"So this is what it looks like to you…"
Yukino looked at the entrance, which seemed to be entirely embedded in the hallway wall, a moss-covered wooden cabin facade with a Miyazaki animation style, and said with a surprised expression.
"Let me warn you first, don't expect too much from the inside."
Asakura said.
"Excuse me."
When she actually stood at the door, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had seemed a little excited earlier, now appeared much calmer. She quietly said a word, then looked at the dark doorway, hesitated for a moment, as if the shadow of her previous failed attempts to enter still bothered her slightly.
Just as Asakura couldn't stand it and was about to push her in, the girl had already raised her face, stepped forward, and entered the door.
Asakura followed closely behind her.
Then he heard someone exclaim.
"Yukino, how did you get in?"
Once his vision stabilized, Asakura realized that there were already people in the Clubroom.
Yuigahama Yui and Asagumo Chihaya were inside making tea. Judging from the transparent glass teapot and the blooming dried flowers inside, it seemed to be the tea that Asagumo Chihaya had been practicing for some time.
At this moment, both of them looked at Yukinoshita Yukino in surprise.
"I, I, I didn't slack off, I was just having some tea and resting here after finishing my work…"
Yuigahama Yui said guiltily—unlike Yanami, her work results were clearly not as outstanding.
After a brief moment of distraction, Yukino also surveyed the room.
Just as Asakura had said, there was nothing special about the cabin. If anything, besides that cauldron that looked like an old witch's pot for brewing poison in a cartoon, the only other special thing was the huge fruit still life oil painting directly opposite.
And on the other wall, there was an idol poster that seemed out of place with the atmosphere of this magic cabin. The girl on the poster, who looked somewhat familiar to her, was now observing her with curious and playful eyes.
"Something happened, so I temporarily gained access to this place."
Yukinoshita Yukino briefly explained, then her gaze fell on Asagumo Chihaya: "I didn't expect Asagumo-san to be a witch as well."
"Because Takuma-kun said not everyone should join the Magic Club. Many times, a sufficiently reliable and dependable surprise force can yield greater gains."
Asagumo Chihaya revealed a gentle and amiable smile, like a well-behaved child, her shiny forehead gleaming under the mysterious light source on the ceiling.
"I see. As an outsider, I won't comment on the Magic Club's affairs."
Yukinoshita Yukino spoke calmly, as if she hadn't noticed Asagumo Chihaya's hostility: "The reason Asakura-kun and I came here this time is just to have a place to rehearse 'The Prince and the Princess'. Please don't mind us."
"Alright, stop with the boring talk, come have some candy to relax."
Asakura lightly tapped the table with his finger. The table, which had been empty except for the teacups and teapot, suddenly had a pile of black, cockroach-like candies, meticulously made by house-elves, appear out of thin air.
They scattered and crawled away.
Immediately, the three girls screamed in unison.
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