gumi Kato estimated the ti Kotomi had been gone and was just about to take a step forward to follow her.
Technically, if she wanted to tail soone, she shouldn't have waited this long.
Letting Kotomi walk this far ahead was practically playing with fire—skirting the edge of failure, dancing on the line of disaster. One wrong move, and the entire tracking mission would be botched.
Not that gumi feared being caught. If Kotomi discovered her, so be it. At worst, she'd just knock her out with a karate chop while she was distracted and carry her ho.
She refused to believe that once she pinned Kotomi down on the bed, this little penguin wouldn't obediently spill everything—where she was going, what she was doing, all of it.
But gumi wasn't completely reckless. This kind of approach was too forceful and might scare Kotomi.
If possible, gumi preferred to hold her in her arms and spoil her with gentle affection.
"Of course, if Kotomi refuses to behave… then a little firmness is necessary—for the sake of our future happiness, of course~"
As she spoke, a fleeting glint of light flashed in gumi's eyes.
anwhile, Kotomi had turned right after leaving the school gate. Based on the length of the walls on either side, gumi hadn't yet seen Kotomi's figure appear from the side fence, aning she was still walking straight.
After quickly deducing Kotomi's direction, gumi picked up her pace, preparing to leave the school and follow her.
Just as she was about to step past the school gate, a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind:
"gumi, wait up!"
Even though she really didn't want to stop, the distance was too short to pretend she hadn't heard. With a heavy sigh, gumi reluctantly turned around to see Yui Yuigahama and Yukino Yukinoshita standing nearby.
She maintained her usual polite smile and asked, "Yui, Yukino, what's up?"
"I finally learned how to make a Yule log cake! I wanted to invite you and Yukino over to my place to try it today. I originally planned to invite Kotomi and Mashiro too, but Kotomi left too quickly after school—I didn't even get the chance to tell her before she disappeared. And Mashiro is waiting for her cousin, so she can't co either."
"Even if Kotomi hadn't left early, she probably wouldn't have co anyway. She absolutely despises chocolate, and a Yule log cake's main flavor is chocolate." Yukino Yukinoshita reminded her matter-of-factly.
"Oh, right! Kotomi doesn't like chocolate… Hmm…" Yui Yuigahama frowned, contemplating how she could make Kotomi like Yule log cake.
Then, as if a light bulb had gone off, her expression brightened with realization. "Oh! I've got it! Next ti I make one for Kotomi, I just won't use chocolate!"
"…If it doesn't have chocolate, can it even still be called a Yule log cake?" gumi muttered, unable to stop herself from comnting.
"You could make a tiger roll cake instead." Yukino Yukinoshita offered helpfully.
"Got it! gumi, Yukino, thanks for the idea! When you both co over later, I'll make a huge Yule log cake—so don't hold back and eat as much as you like!"
Yui Yuigahama bead, her cheerful enthusiasm shining through.
After all, when it ca to running a shop—especially a family business—having a warm and engaging personality was essential. Yui, having helped her mother with their bakery since she was young, had naturally picked up so skills in hospitality.
But—wait a minute.
gumi suddenly realized—she didn't have ti to be standing here chatting or going to eat cake!
If she didn't leave soon, she might lose track of Kotomi entirely!
She quickly interrupted the conversation—
"No need, I'm having dinner out with my parents tonight, so I need to head ho early and change. Yui, once you finish making the Yule log cake, send a picture, okay? Since I can't have any this ti, I'll just feast with my eyes instead."
"Huh? Oh, I see! Alright then, once it's done, I'll send you a photo, gumi."
"Yukino, after you've eaten, let know how it tastes, okay?" gumi turned to Yukino Yukinoshita with a gentle smile.
"I'm not exactly skilled at describing food… but I'll try."
It was rare for soone to ask her to do sothing, so when gumi requested it, Yukino was montarily surprised. After quickly composing herself, she nodded in agreent. She wasn't great at this sort of thing, but she'd give it a shot.
"Bye-bye." gumi waved her hand before hurriedly turning away and walking off.
Yui Yuigahama watched gumi's rushed departure with a curious expression. "Huh? When we usually walk ho together, gumi always turns left. Why is she going right today?"
"I don't know… But she did seem to be in a hurry."
"Could it be that she's rushing off to follow soone? Like… maybe she's tracking Kotomi?"
A voice suddenly chid in from beside them. Without warning, Seiko Kirigiri had appeared next to them, casually voicing her thoughts.
Regardless of what she said, her sudden appearance was what startled Yui and Yukino the most.
"Whoa! Seiko, when did you get here?!"
"I didn't even hear any footsteps…"
Hearing an unexpected voice out of nowhere had put them on edge, but realizing it was Seiko Kirigiri made them relax—a hot and cold shock that left Yukino rubbing her temples.
She sighed and muttered in frustration about how Seiko had no presence before massaging her forehead.
Seiko, looking entirely innocent, simply tilted her head. "Hmm? I was just walking over like normal. You two were just too focused on chatting to notice ."
"More importantly, why did you say gumi was following Kotomi?" Yui, still intrigued, pressed on.
"Oh, that?" Seiko let out a carefree laugh. "I was just ssing around after overhearing your conversation."
She casually brushed off her earlier remark.
She wasn't about to admit that she had recognized gumi's expression—because it was the exact sa look she had when she had secretly followed her sister before.
...
After rushing out the school gates, gumi quickly glanced to the right—but Kotomi was nowhere to be seen.
Even though she had only been delayed by a minute or two, that brief mont had cost her everything—
She had lost track of Kotomi.
Frustration surged within her. gumi clenched her fists and suddenly punched the nearby wall, her teeth lightly grinding as if she couldn't accept her failure.
"If only I had gotten out a minute earlier, I definitely wouldn't have lost her."
After letting out a long sigh, she realized that trying to find Kotomi now was as impossible as searching for a single penguin in the vast ocean.
She had missed her best chance to follow her.
With no other choice, gumi abandoned her pursuit and started heading ho in another direction.
As she walked, she pulled out her phone, opened Amazon, and clicked on two items she had already added to her cart.
After confirming the paynt, she murmured to herself with a mischievous grin:
"Since Kotomi got into the first round of the art exhibition, I need to prepare her gift too… Hehe~"
When Kotomi arrived at Chiba City Private Middle School, she once again experienced firsthand the feeling of being envied by third-year middle school students.
As a first-year high school student, her classes were already over, whereas Iroha Isshiki and Aimi Izumi were still stuck in school.
Checking the ti on her phone, Kotomi smirked in satisfaction. "Ehehehe…"
It felt just like those tis during long vacations when she saw her younger sister struggling to finish her howork, and she could gleefully gloat from the sidelines.
I get out of school earlier than Iroha and Aimi! This is amazing!
Kotomi humd proudly, her small face glowing with self-satisfaction.
Since there were no special circumstances, even as an alumna of Chiba City Private Middle School, she couldn't just walk through the school gates without permission. Not wanting to waste ti on unnecessary explanations, she simply stood by the outer wall of the school and waited.
A beautiful girl standing alone was, in itself, a captivating sight.
So might think such a statent was an exaggeration, but anyone who saw Kotomi standing outside the school gates would imdiately believe it to be true—no matter how skeptical they were before.
Kotomi was the perfect embodint of that statent.
Her silken white hair, delicate and stunning features, petite nose, rosy lips, and charming, expressive eyes all blended together into a breathtaking display of beauty.
Every passerby couldn't help but be drawn in by this enchanting sight.
One middle school student, who happened to be passing by, was so srized by Kotomi's beauty that he completely zoned out.
Bang!
Before he knew it, he had walked straight into a utility pole.
...
Ever since entering the third year of middle school, class periods had been extended by thirty minutes.
With this extra half-hour tacked onto the schedule, the official dismissal ti ca much later. And, as everyone knew, the closer it got to the end of class, the more teachers suddenly rembered things they hadn't covered.
So they would say things like, "I'll just briefly explain this last point, and then class will be over soon."
But in reality, that "brief explanation" would drag on for another full hour.
Fortunately, today's final period was history class, and their history teacher wasn't the type who liked to drag out lessons.
This particular teacher was a 31-year-old woman, still unmarried. However, she had recently been introduced—through acquaintances—to a decent-looking man with a great personality. Tonight, they had planned a movie date.
Determined to get married before the end of next year, she had absolutely no intention of staying late at school today.
She had ticulously planned her lesson in advance, ensuring that she covered all the necessary material without a second wasted.
From the mont the class bell rang, she didn't pause for even a second—she didn't even call on students to answer questions. She simply powered through the lecture, highlighting key points as she went.
By the ti the final bell rang, she had just finished the last topic, assigned howork, and announced the quiz topics for tomorrow before rushing out of the classroom faster than ever.
"Huh… Did our history teacher just evolve or sothing? This is the first ti I've ever seen her go an entire lesson without calling on students to answer questions. It was a bit boring, sure, but at least we didn't have to be on edge the whole ti."
Aimi Izumi put down her pen after finishing her history notes and stretched her wrists.
Their history teacher had a habit of randomly calling on students. If soone answered incorrectly, they'd have to write it out three tis.
But if they weren't paying attention and couldn't answer at all…
Well, Aimi knew exactly what that ant.
At minimum, she would have to rewrite the entire class notes five tis.
Not that Aimi didn't pay attention in class—she was actually a top student who frequently received awards. However, this particular history teacher had also been the sa teacher who taught Kotomi Izumi's third-year history class.
Anyone who knew Kotomi's history teacher also understood what this ant.
Back in third-year middle school, Kotomi barely paid attention in class. She was either sneaking snacks, planning what snacks to buy after school, or sleeping soundly at her desk, her arms folded as a pillow, lost in dreams where she always seed to fail at fishing.
Without fail, every history class, the teacher would call on Kotomi, and because she never paid attention, she could never answer correctly. Sotis, she would even show up to class with a first-year history textbook instead of the third-year one.
"Kotomi, where's your third-year history book?"
Kotomi: …I have no idea where I put it."
The worst punishnt she ever received? Writing the entire class notes 20 tis.
Normally, such an assignnt would be impossible to finish in one night. So how did Kotomi manage it?
Simple—she went ho and clung to Aimi's leg, crying and begging for help until Aimi felt sorry for her.
And, because Aimi had a soft heart, she agreed to help.
That night, Aimi copied 15 out of the 20 pages on her sister's behalf…
She had done this many tis.
But, in an ironic twist of fate, helping Kotomi copy so many history notes ended up massively improving Aimi's own history skills.
By the ti she entered third-year, every history topic looked familiar, and any question she saw instantly triggered a mory of the answer. Thanks to this, she had beco the top history student in her class.
Back to the present—today's history teacher not calling on students at all was definitely unusual.
She also assigned very little howork.
Aimi had no idea what was going on, but less howork was always a good thing!
"Yes! With this much free ti, I can finally play so gal gas on Onee-chan's laptop! Let's gooo!"
...
"Iroha, want to walk ho together today?"
After packing her bag, Aimi turned to ask Iroha Isshiki, who had also finished packing up.
Iroha had just opened her mouth to say yes when she caught a glimpse of soone outside—
Standing by the school wall was Kotomi.
Senpai?!
Seeing Kotomi waiting outside the school, Iroha's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, walking ho with Aimi didn't seem as important.
But even though she hesitated, her mouth moved on its own:
"Aimi, I have cleaning duty today. Sorry, I can't walk ho with you. Let's go together tomorrow instead."
"…Since when do you have cleaning duty today? I thought your turn was on Thursday?" Aimi asked, looking puzzled.
Iroha was her best friend. There was no way she could have misrembered her cleaning schedule.
"Oh, right! My shift was originally Thursday, but Hashimoto—who had today's duty—wanted to go on a date at the arcade with her college boyfriend. She asked to cover for her."
Iroha spoke smoothly, and when Aimi glanced at Hashimoto's empty seat, she found no reason to doubt Iroha's explanation.
Since she couldn't walk ho with her best friend, Aimi sighed in disappointnt, grabbed her bag, and said:
"Alright then, I'll head ho first. Finish up quickly and don't stay out too late. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Aimi had only taken a few steps before she suddenly turned back:
"Oh, Iroha! My sister's heading to Kyoto tomorrow. Think about what souvenirs you want, then call later so I can ask her to bring them back for you."
Senpai is going to Kyoto tomorrow…?
Iroha processed this information silently.
Then, with a bright smile, she nodded and said cheerfully:
"Kotomi-senpai is going to Kyoto? That sounds amazing! I wish I could go too."
"Ha! In your dreams! If anyone's going, it's and Onee-chan! Hmph!"
Aimi crossed her arms, puffing out her chest proudly.
After all, when she was in elentary school, she had already gone to Kyoto with her sister once!
Thinking about this, Aimi placed her hands on her hips and let out a satisfied hum.
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