The next day, inside a high-end room in a certain girls' academy in Amamiya City, this was a room that the school had built specifically for someone.
The owner of this room is Yosuga Miku. Although her identity is a student of this academy, she has more rights than the principal.
She didn't need to go to class. In the room, she drank the brewed black tea while calling her manager and asking about the things she had told her to do.
"Have you found the information about that child?"
"How could it be so fast, my lady? It's only been less than half a day, even if the address you gave me isn't vague, how could I find someone so quickly?"
Her agent was also quite helpless; she was only Miku's agent, and besides helping with work-related matters, she unexpectedly had to do such things.
Even if the girl Miku wanted her to find had many excellent songs, it wasn't enough for them to go to such great lengths to do this, was it?
"Could it be that she's also your target, Miku?"
"Oh my~ Don't you think that child is very cute? Even though she looks so petite, she tries to act like an adult; isn't that a charming point?"
"Uh... never mind, never mind. I won't talk about such things with you. Anyway, none of the girls from before ever complained, so as long as nothing too difficult happens, do whatever you want."
Since none of the girls Miku had sought out before showed any signs of dissatisfaction, in the agent's eyes, Miku probably hadn't done anything too outrageous to them.
As long as things weren't taken too far, she didn't want to meddle in those affairs; Miku could do whatever she pleased.
"Oh, right. The person you're looking for seems to have released something new. This time it's also a good song. Go see if you're interested."
"Really? I understand."
Miku's eyes lit up. After a few perfunctory words with her agent, she quickly found Inaba Tsukiyo's newly released song.
"KOKORO," translated from Japanese, means "Heart." The song's background is about a lonely scientist who creates a miraculous robot, but this robot lacks a program called "Heart."
This program only successfully activated centuries later, when only the robot remained.
Upon successful program activation, the robot understood what joy, sorrow, loneliness, and gratitude were.
In just a few minutes, these emotions were perfectly expressed.
Finally, Inaba Tsukiyo, as the robot, expressed her gratitude, then fell to the ground with a smile and tears.
Against a pitch-black background, the originally deceased scientist Motoari Niya came to her side, gently picked up the robot, and walked into the darkness.
The video ended at this point. Miku stared at the black screen without speaking. After a long while, Miku finally calmed down.
She touched her chest, feeling a little unsettled; the emotional outburst in the final part of the song had made it difficult for her to breathe.
Compared to the alluring voice she produced through her own power, Inaba Tsukiyo's technique, which contained emotion purely within her voice without any supernatural power, surpassed her by an unknown margin.
Undoubtedly, Inaba Tsukiyo's ability could easily outshine other singers.
This made Miku a little excited, and her desire to meet Inaba Tsukiyo grew stronger, as did her wish to make her her own.
At Laichan Middle School, Illya, during her break, was checking the video's release status on her phone.
Every time she saw comments like "My wife" or "My daughter" in the bullet comments, she would disdainfully curl her lips. "These shameless people, who's your daughter and wife?"
"Hehe~ It seems this video also received a good response. If I were those people, I'd also want a cute daughter like you, wouldn't I?"
Kurumi smiled and hugged Illya, teasing her. This was one of the few times Illya was at a loss for words, and she wanted to tease her properly.
Seeing Kurumi's little scheme, Illya pouted unhappily, leaning against Kurumi's embrace, holding her hands, and constantly complaining to Kurumi.
Many people were discussing Nia's identity, and everyone expressed confusion about this girl who had never appeared before.
It must be said that Nia's appearance was too deceptive. If it weren't for the note below the video specifying that Nia was a girl, everyone would have mistaken her for a Boy.
As a loyal viewer of Inaba Tsukiyo, Shiori had naturally watched this video. Regarding the robot's emotions in the video, she naturally thought of Spirits.
The robot, having gained a heart, understood many emotions it couldn't comprehend before. This made her complete, but also exceptionally fragile.
So, who was the lonely scientist? And which lonely scientist created the program called "Heart" for Inaba Tsukiyo, making her complete?
While Illya and Kurumi were chatting intimately, Origami, sitting near Shiori, looked at their figures, her mind wandering.
During the afternoon's physical education class, Illya and Kurumi changed into the girls' athletic wear. They never got used to these shorts, which resembled panties, no matter how many times they wore them.
Moreover, when they wore these shorts, the Boy Students' gazes in the class would all focus on the girls.
The gazes of these adolescent Boy Students made some girls uncomfortable. If the teacher hadn't promptly stopped their stares, some girls in the class might have started an argument with them.
The class content was actually very simple: usually, the class would start with some exercise, and then the students would be free to act on their own.
However, this PE class was different. Because the end of the semester was approaching, PE class also had to start physical fitness tests.
This PE class required Boy Students and girl students to run a long-distance race, several kilometers long.
Of course, the students all groaned, but they only complained there. In the end, they could only helplessly start running under the teacher's arrangement.
For these people who usually stayed at home as shut-ins, running a long-distance race was undoubtedly an impossible task.
Although that was true, it didn't have much impact on Illya and Kurumi. They ran at the front with relaxed expressions, barely breaking a sweat.
"According to the anime plot, as those running at the front, in order to determine the first place, we would run at full speed to the finish line, Kurumi."
"Yes, but with your and my stamina, do you think running at full speed for the entire distance is a difficult thing for us, Illya-chan?"
"Yeah, if we accidentally set a record, we'd definitely be pestered by the teacher to join the track and field team or some other messy club. I don't have time for running."
"I agree. Even if I die, I won't run."
Illya and Kurumi ran, chatting and laughing, which made the eyes of those running behind them widen. One person, unable to catch their breath, collapsed directly to the ground.
This run was not separated by gender; it was a mixed-gender run.
Some Boy Students saw that Illya and Kurumi, two girls, were running ahead of them, which felt a bit humiliating. They wanted to push themselves to run past them.
But after seeing them talking while running, they finally couldn't hold on and collapsed to the ground.
The teacher was also a bit exasperated by this situation.
Originally, she just wanted the Boy Students to motivate the girls, to have the Boy Students lead the girls in running, but the situation was completely opposite to what she expected.
By the time Illya and Kurumi finished running, everyone else still had some distance left to cover.
As Illya and Kurumi, having finished their run, were about to choose a place to rest, they noticed Miss Shiori, at the very end of the line, slowly jogging, looking weak.
Watching Shiori still running, Illya's crimson eyes shifted, and her lips formed a cat-like smile. Under Kurumi's puzzled gaze, she ran towards Shiori.
Miss Shiori, running at the back of the line, was still struggling. Although Tohka's spiritual power was sealed within her, this power did not improve her physique. Moreover, she herself was a complete klutz when it came to sports.
"Are you alright, Classmate Itsuki?"
Just as Shiori's breathing became increasingly difficult, a slightly worried voice came.
She turned her head and saw Illya, who had already finished running, now running alongside her.
Noticing Illya's worried gaze, Shiori forced a slight smile.
Although she wanted to say, "I'm fine," she dared not speak, worried that once she opened her mouth, she might not be able to keep going.
Just then, Shiori felt her left hand being held.
It was Illya who held her left hand, and she was smiling at Shiori like an angel, completely without her usual impish demeanor.
"Don't worry, Shiori. I'll run with you until you finish. So, keep going!"
"...Mm, thank you, Miss Illya."
"You can just call me Illya, Shiori."
Shiori felt a surge of strength from Illya's arm, and her previously exhausted body immediately found the motivation to persevere.
Kurumi stopped Tohka, who was about to grab Shiori's other hand, reassuring her that Illya had a way to make her feel better, and that for Shiori's sake, she shouldn't act too excited.
Tohka, not wanting to cause trouble for Shiori, could only pout, stomp her foot in displeasure, and watch Illya and Shiori's smiles.
With Illya's help, Shiori quickly finished the entire run.
After finishing, Shiori gripped her knees with her right hand, breathing in large gulps of fresh air.
It was then that she realized she had been holding Illya's hand the entire time. She looked up and saw Illya watching her, and she scratched her head a little awkwardly.
Seeing Shiori's amusing expression, Illya couldn't help but laugh, and throughout this, their hands remained clasped.
Unbeknownst to them, the people around them were unwittingly fed a dose of public display of affection. Most of those without boyfriends or girlfriends looked at them enviously, especially Shiori.
Kurumi, finally understanding what Illya intended, shook her head helplessly. Was she planning to make it impossible for Shiori to stay at this school?
However, with them protecting Shiori, even those guys from DEM Industries wouldn't be able to harm her.
It just meant that Shiori's days at school would become increasingly difficult.
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