Several days later, after school on Friday, in the classroom of Class B at Shuchiin Academy.
Overall, the first week of school was calm and uneventful, save for a small incident in the middle.
One day during lunch break, as Asagiri was walking out of Class A's room, a regular Shuchiin student from Class C deliberately stuck out his foot to trip him, hoping to see him fall flat on his face in a state of embarrassment.
The result was...
The boy suffered a fractured shin, was sent to the infirmary, and then immediately transferred to the hospital.
Yuuki Asuna felt no sympathy for the male student. After all, bullying is bullying. Even if there was no direct physical conflict, even if it was just sticking out a leg to trip someone, or pretending to be clumsy and trying to splash water on them—such elementary school-level behavior still did not change the nature of bullying. It was their own fault that they were punished for this behavior.
"Asuna~"
Hearing the cheerful voice, Yuuki Asuna looked up. She saw a beautiful girl with long, light-pink hair, a pure black bow tied in her hair, an extremely cute face, and a sweet, captivating smile, leaning on her hand and looking at her. The girl was sitting in the seat right in front of her.
"Do you have any plans after school today? Want to come over to my house to hang out?"
"Today... I can't today, sorry, Chika."
Yuuki Asuna and Asagiri had signed up for the Instance a couple of days ago. After midnight tonight, when it turned Saturday, they would be entering the second Instance at an unknown time.
"Huh? Is that so? What a shame. But, could it be..."
Fujiwara Chika stared intently at Asuna's face and smiled with great interest.
"Perhaps... you've already made plans with someone else today? That Utsunomiya-kun from Class A?"
"Huh?"
"How about that, was I right?"
Fujiwara Chika assumed a knowing expression, reached out to pat Yuuki Asuna on the shoulder, and spoke in a faux-profound tone.
"Hmph hmph, no romance in this world can escape the discerning eye of me, the Love Detective!"
"Romance... Chika, you misunderstand."
Yuuki Asuna laughed self-deprecatingly and shook her head, explaining,
"Utsunomiya-kun and I are not in that kind of relationship."
"Is that so? Maybe you're just not in that kind of relationship yet, right?"
Whenever the topic turned to gossip, stars practically sparkled in Fujiwara Chika's eyes. She suddenly pulled out a red-striped hat from somewhere, put it on, and stuck a candy shaped like a pipe in her mouth. She looked like she was playing dress-up as she persuasively analyzed the situation.
"No matter what, you must be special to Utsunomiya-kun, right? I heard he usually doesn't associate with anyone, nor has he joined any clubs or anything. I also heard that a few girls from other classes tried to ask for his contact information, but he flat-out refused. It seems the only person he's willing to talk to at school is you~"
Yuuki Asuna frowned slightly upon hearing this, and hesitated,
"Girls from other classes asked for his contact information?"
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, are you jealous?"
Hearing Fujiwara Chika's words, Yuuki Asuna's face flushed slightly. She turned her head away, unable to meet Fujiwara Chika's sharp gaze, and mumbled softly,
"Jealous of what... I don't have any special relationship with him... I just didn't expect girls would be asking for his contact information after only the first week of school..."
Fujiwara Chika shrugged, her tone light.
"That's not surprising, is it? After all, Utsunomiya-kun is so handsome, and while his personality is a bit unconventional, he still has a certain mysterious handsomeness to him~"
"Handsome, you say..."
Seeing Yuuki Asuna's slightly flushed face, Fujiwara Chika cleared her throat twice, raising her right index finger and wagging it in the air, like a sharp-witted detective who had finally cracked the case, and slowly declared,
"You only hold back from actively complimenting someone who is obviously handsome because you like them and are shy."
Yuuki Asuna didn't know how to refute Fujiwara Chika's words, so she simply changed the subject.
"You call yourself a 'Love Detective,' but in reality, you haven't dated anyone yourself, have you?"
"That is precisely why I am the strongest Love Detective!"
Fujiwara Chika crossed her arms over her chest, displaying a slightly exaggerated bust size for a high school girl that made even the well-endowed Yuuki Asuna feel a little envious.
"As the saying goes, 'The participants are confused, the bystanders are clear.' Only I, who has absolutely no dating experience, am best suited to give love advice!"
"You certainly have a lot of twisted logic..."
Just as Fujiwara Chika and Yuuki Asuna were chatting, another female classmate walked over and smiled as she spoke to the two of them.
"Fujiwara-san, Yuuki-san, someone is here to see you."
"Oh, right, okay."
Fujiwara Chika and Yuuki Asuna stood up together and walked toward the classroom doorway, where they found Shinomiya Kaguya from Class A and Asagiri standing there. Seeing the two of them appear together was a bit of a surprise for Fujiwara Chika.
"Huh? Utsunomiya-kun, and Kaguya? Why did you two come together?"
"We didn't come together."
Shinomiya Kaguya stated in a detached, emotionless tone.
"It's just a coincidence. I came to see you, Chika."
"I see. Well then, Asuna, I'll be off now See you next week"
"Okay, bye, Chika."
Before Fujiwara Chika left with Kaguya, she smiled and waved to Asagiri.
"Utsunomiya-kun, bye~"
"Mm, bye."
After Fujiwara Chika and Shinomiya Kaguya left, Yuuki Asuna watched their backs as Asagiri stared at them. Remembering what Fujiwara Chika had just said about girls asking for his contact information, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, and her tone became slightly sour.
"Chika is very cute, isn't she?"
Asagiri nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly and stating bluntly,
"Yes, she's not only cute, but her chest is also quite large."
"You... your focus, as expected..."
"Just drop it."
Asagiri waved his hand, interrupting Yuuki Asuna, and chuckled, shaking his head with an air of profound meaning.
"You don't really think Fujiwara Chika is some kind of naïve sweet girl, do you? As a young lady from a political family, she has a calculating and somewhat dark side. I was merely answering your question honestly; I don't have... I don't have any particular interest in her, for now."
Yuuki Asuna muttered under her breath, "The fact that you paused halfway through and added 'for now' makes it very suspicious."