Several days later, after school on Friday, inside the Class 1-B classroom at Shuchi'in High School Department.
The first week of school was generally uneventful, with just a small interlude in between.
One day during lunch break, as Asagiri Utsunomiya walked out of the Class 1-A classroom, a pure student from Class 1-C deliberately stuck out his leg to trip him, wanting to see him fall awkwardly to the ground.
The result was—
That boy suffered a fractured tibia, was sent to the infirmary, and then went directly to the hospital.
Asuna Yuuki felt no sympathy for that male student. After all, bullying is bullying. Even without direct physical confrontation, even if it's just sticking out a leg to trip someone, or pretending it's an accident to splash water on someone, this kind of behavior, on par with kindergarten students, still doesn't change the essence of bullying. Those who engage in such behavior and are punished are only getting what they deserve.
"Asuna~" Hearing this energetic, sweet voice, Asuna Yuuki looked up and saw the beautiful girl sitting in front of her.
This girl had long, light pink hair tied with a pure black bow, a very cute face, and a sweet smile that instantly made people feel good. She was resting her chin on one hand, looking at her with her deep blue eyes.
"Do you have plans after school today? Want to come over to my place?"
"Today... I can't today, sorry, Chika."
Asuna Yuuki and Asagiri Utsunomiya had already signed up for the dungeon two days prior. Once midnight passed tonight, it would be Saturday, and they would enter the second dungeon at an unknown specific time.
"Eh? Is that so? That's too bad, but, could it be...." Chika Fujiwara paused here, looked directly at Asuna Yuuki's face, and smiled with interest. Then she said, "Could it be... you've already made plans with someone else today? That Utsunomiya from Class A?"
"Eh?"
"How about that, did I guess right?" Chika Fujiwara first asked this, then looked like she understood everything, reached out and patted Asuna Yuuki's shoulder, and said pretentiously, "Hehe, in this world, no romance can escape the keen eyes of me! After all, I'm the Great Love Detective, Chika Fujiwara!"
"Romance... Hahaha…" Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but laugh wryly and shook her head, explaining, "Chika, you've misunderstood. Utsunomiya and I aren't like that."
"Is that so? You just aren't like that 'yet', right?"
As soon as the topic of gossip came up, Chika Fujiwara's eyes sparkled with excitement. And from who knows where, she suddenly pulled out and put on a detective hat, and even put a pipe-shaped candy in her mouth. It felt like she was playing dress-up as she patiently analyzed, "No matter what, you're special to Utsunomiya, right? I heard he usually doesn't interact with anyone and hasn't joined any clubs. I also heard that a few girls from other classes tried to ask for his contact information, but he flat-out refused them. It seems the only person he's willing to talk to at school is you~"
Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked hesitantly, "Girls from other classes asked for his contact information?"
"Yeah, yeah. Huh? Are you jealous?"
Hearing Chika Fujiwara's words, Asuna Yuuki's face flushed slightly. She turned her head away, not daring to face Chika Fujiwara's intense gaze, and mumbled softly, "Jealous of what... I don't have any special relationship with him... I just didn't expect that it's only the first week of school and girls are already asking for his contact information..."
Chika Fujiwara shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, "That's not surprising, is it? After all, Utsunomiya is so handsome, and although his personality is a bit unconventional, he also has a mysterious coolness about him~"
"Coolness, huh..." Asuna Yuuki muttered, her face flushed slightly.
Chika Fujiwara coughed lightly twice, raised her right index finger and wiggled it in the air, as if she were a perceptive detective who had finally uncovered the truth of a case. She said slowly, "Only when you like someone, and they are clearly very handsome, will you refrain from actively praising them out of shyness."
Asuna Yuuki didn't know how to refute Chika Fujiwara's words, so she just changed the subject, saying, "Although you call yourself a love detective or whatever, you've never actually been in love, have you?"
"Precisely because of that, I am the greatest love detective!"
Chika Fujiwara crossed her arms over her chest. The slightly exaggerated size for a high school girl made even the well-figured Asuna Yuuki feel inadequate.
"As the saying goes, 'the player is confused, the bystander is clear.' Only I, who have never been in love at all, am most suited to give love advice!"
"You really have a lot of twisted logic..."
Just as Chika Fujiwara and Asuna Yuuki were chatting, a female classmate suddenly walked over and said with a smile to the two of them, "Fujiwara, Yuuki, someone's looking for you."
"Oh, okay."
Chika Fujiwara and Asuna Yuuki stood up together and walked to the classroom door, only to find Kaguya Shinomiya and Asagiri Utsunomiya from Class 1-A standing there. Seeing the two of them appear together, Chika Fujiwara couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
"Eh? Utsunomiya, and Kaguya? How come you two are together?"
"Not together." Kaguya Shinomiya said in a flat, emotionless tone, "It's just a coincidence. I came to find you, Chika."
"Is that so? Okay, well, Asuna, I'll be going now~ See you next week~"
"Okay, bye-bye, Chika."
Before Chika Fujiwara left with Kaguya Shinomiya, she also waved to Asagiri Utsunomiya with a smile and said, "Utsunomiya, bye-bye~"
"Mm, bye-bye."
After Chika Fujiwara and Kaguya Shinomiya left, Asuna Yuuki saw Asagiri Utsunomiya staring at their retreating figures. Remembering what Chika Fujiwara had just said about girls asking for his contact information, she suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, and even her tone became a little sulky as she said, "Chika is very cute, isn't she?" Asagiri Utsunomiya nodded first, deeply agreeing, then said frankly, "Yes, not only cute, but her bust is also big."
"You... your focus, as expected..."
Asagiri Utsunomiya waved his hand, interrupting Asuna Yuuki, and shook his head with a light chuckle, saying meaningfully, "Oh, come on. You don't actually think Chika Fujiwara is some naive airhead, do you? As a young lady from a political family, she has a calculating and dark side. I was just simply answering your question. I don't have... any interest about her 'yet'."
Asuna Yuuki mumbled softly, "You paused halfway and then added 'yet', which makes it seem very suspicious."