It was after school in the afternoon.
The four of them gathered again at the Service Club.
As soon as they met, Kashi leaned over and asked Tanaka Masao.
"Nana, Masao, I have something to ask you."
Tanaka Masao frowned; for some reason, he had a bad feeling.
But looking at Kashi's expression, she didn't seem to be up to mischief, so he asked cautiously.
"What do you want to ask?"
Kashi truly had no intention of being mischievous; she was genuinely curious.
The curious Kashi didn't care about the external environment and spoke directly.
"Why are all the people in your computer and in the books in your room not wearing clothes?"
Kashi's expression was innocent, full of a desire for knowledge.
Looking at her clear and moving eyes, Tanaka Masao was already sweating profusely.
Because he could already feel two gazes, like knives, shooting towards him.
Tanaka Masao's whole body stiffened, cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his brain was working at the fastest speed it ever had.
At this moment, Tanaka Masao's IQ had surpassed Einstein's.
He forced a stiff smile and said in a strained voice.
"Ka… Kashi… what are you talking about? I don't understand.
What do you mean, people not wearing clothes? Ah~, you're not talking about my health education book, are you?
Oh, that was given out when the school was promoting health education, and I just casually put it in my room after I finished studying it.
That book is for better understanding the human body structure; you'll learn about it later too, ah haha~"
"I'm so clever; this excuse is simply perfect.
Everyone has had health education class, so having a book isn't strange."
Tanaka Masao breathed a sigh of relief, reaching up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Oh, I'm sweating from overthinking, but I finally got past this hurdle."
Tanaka Masao didn't care whether Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka believed him or not.
Even if they didn't believe him and knew the truth of the matter.
As long as he could find a suitable excuse, given their personalities, they would certainly not be interested in digging for the truth about such a matter.
"Oh, so it's a book about the human body; then I should study it properly."
Kashi became interested upon hearing this, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a book.
"Come, teach me."
When she left Tanaka Masao's room, she thought it might be useful, so she just grabbed a random book.
She didn't expect it to actually come in handy now, allowing her to learn more about humans.
The moment Kashi pulled out the book, Tanaka Masao's heart stopped, and only one thought remained in his mind.
"I'm doomed."
If Kashi had pulled out a gravure idol photo collection, Tanaka Masao would at most just be a bit perverted.
For a boy his age, that's normal.
But the cover Kashi now held depicted a beautiful girl drinking more than a dozen bottles of milk.
It was truly a sight too horrible to behold.
Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze turned extremely disgusted, and she said coldly.
"Disgusting."
All the goodwill Tanaka Masao had accumulated with Yukinoshita Yukino was completely wiped out, and even decreased significantly.
Hiratsuka Shizuka had originally intended to say a few good words for Tanaka Masao, thinking it was normal for someone his age to read such books.
But now, Hiratsuka Shizuka no longer planned to say anything.
At this moment, Kashi still hadn't realized that she had inadvertently killed Tanaka Masao once.
She still asked somewhat innocently.
"Is something wrong?"
Kashi's words broke the awkward atmosphere on the scene.
Hiratsuka Shizuka coughed and took the book from Kashi's hand.
"Let me have this for now; it's not something you should be looking at."
As she took the book, Hiratsuka Shizuka saw the cover again, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
Upon hearing this, Kashi frowned.
"I can't look at it? Why? Is it forbidden knowledge inside?"
She decided to study it thoroughly when she had the chance.
…
On the other side, Tanaka Masao had no time to concern himself with the eager-to-learn Kashi.
At this moment, he was facing a crisis, an unresolvable crisis.
His image was completely ruined, and it was utterly impossible to salvage it.
"Oh, my sunny, upright, brave, kind, pure, innocent… image is gone."
Everyone: No, no, no, you never had such an image to begin with.
Looking at Tanaka Masao, who was silent and almost a pile of ashes.
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed, covering her forehead helplessly.
"Tanaka-kin, can I say a few words?"
"Yes, please do."
"I know boys are interested in the opposite sex, and I won't comment too much on your special hobbies.
So you don't need to take this matter to heart.
Just be careful in the future, put these things away, and don't let Kashi see them again.
She's still just a child, after all, and shouldn't be looking at these things."
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's words, Tanaka Masao looked up, covering his mouth with both hands, so moved that tears almost flowed out.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, are you an angel? You can actually understand my hobby."
Yukinoshita Yukino folded her arms across her chest and took a step back with a hint of disgust.
"Stop, hold it right there. I admit I am an angel.
But let me be clear, I don't understand your hobby, and I don't want to understand it. It's best if your hobby stays far away from me."
"Haha."
Seeing the awkward scene resolved, Hiratsuka Shizuka laughed aloud.
"Indeed, it's normal for Tanaka to be looking at these things at his age, but…"
Hiratsuka Shizuka paused, then reminded him.
"As a teacher, I still have to remind you.
It's fine to look at normal things, but it's better to avoid those that are… hmm… not quite in line with mainstream values."
Many children and young people nowadays are influenced by novels, comics, and TV shows.
They might imitate the content within them.
So Hiratsuka Shizuka felt it was necessary to remind Tanaka Masao not to embark on a path of no return for the sake of so-called excitement.
"Okay, I understand."
Tanaka Masao verbally agreed; he indeed no longer planned to look at such things.
On one hand, he was very tired now and didn't have time to look at them every day.
On the other hand, Tanaka Masao felt that his knowledge base was already sufficient and he didn't need to continue learning.
…
Afterward, the three of them tacitly avoided mentioning the matter again.
Kashi was also drawn to Tanaka Masao's training.
So, the so-called weight loss was actually training.
She finally understood why Tanaka Masao was so tired when he went home.
Although she knew that such training could make her stronger, Kashi had no interest in it at all.
She only needed to collect demon stones to regain her lost power and didn't need to undergo such arduous training.
Moreover, for her, this method of improvement was too slow and completely not worth the effort.
Today's training ended, and Tanaka Masao dragged his exhausted body home.
Today, besides Yukinoshita Yukino, Kashi also went home with him.
Hiratsuka Shizuka also drove her beloved car home alone and didn't join them.
They parted ways at the familiar intersection. Today, Yukinoshita Yukino lingered a bit longer before reluctantly leaving.