Just as lunch break started...
Despite her chaotic thoughts, Yui tried to act normal and join Yumiko and the others for lunch.
However, Yumiko was acting strangely today.
Casually, she said, "Oh, I think I'll rest alone today. You guys go ahead."
And just like that, she turned them down.
After making sure the others had walked away, Yumiko took out a bento box ant for two from her desk drawer.
"Sorry, Yui, but I have a boyfriend now."
Having finally confird her relationship with Rei Ao, she wanted to try spending lunchti alone with him—a private mont for the two of them.
But...
Her ideal was far from reality.
Instead of a world of two, it beca a world of three.
Sitting on either side of Rei Ao was Yumiko and gumi Kato, exchanging sharp looks.
Almost simultaneously, they each placed their bento boxes on the table.
Yumiko glared at Rei Ao. "So, which one will you eat?"
gumi, ever composed, said, "Rei Ao, Yumiko must have prepared this especially for you. You shouldn't let her efforts go to waste."
"Eh?"
Yumiko was stunned. She hadn't expected gumi to say that.
Looking at gumi's soft, kind, and sweet face, Yumiko suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
"W-Well, d-don't say that. Y-You must've put effort into yours too. Rei Ao, you should eat hers!"
Rei Ao chuckled, picking up both bento boxes.
"As long as you two can get along, what's stopping from finishing both?"
Internally, he gave gumi a thumbs-up. As expected of his dependable partner—she could effortlessly handle Yumiko's fiery pride.
Yumiko turned her head away with a huff. "Don't push your luck. I'm only letting this slide because of Kato-san."
"Oh?"
Rei Ao wrapped his arm around Yumiko's waist, causing her to shiver slightly.
"So, Yumiko, does this an you'd be willing to co over to my place soti—for everyone to hang out together?"
"..."
That sounded way too suspicious.
gumi gently tugged Rei Ao's sleeve, her voice soft. "Rei Ao, I'm not ready for that kind of group activity just yet."
"Fair enough. It's going to happen eventually, but if you're not ready, I won't push it."
Yumiko blinked, looking utterly baffled.
"What exactly are you two talking about?"
She had a vague idea but wasn't sure.
However, when she saw the mischievous glint in Rei Ao's eye, everything clicked.
Her face turned red instantly.
"Idiot! W-Who's going to do that kind of thing with you? Absolutely not!"
"Ha-ha."
Rei Ao just laughed without saying anything more.
Absolutely not? He thought otherwise.
In the future, not only would Yumiko join them, but she'd also be lined up alongside Yui.
gumi, sensing Yumiko's rising embarrassnt from having already experienced intimacy with Rei Ao, skillfully changed the topic.
"Rei Ao, do you know the new transfer student?"
"Transfer student?" Yumiko perked up, curiosity written all over her face.
Rei Ao casually replied while enjoying his lunch. "A transfer student joined our class today."
"Boy or girl?" Yumiko asked quickly.
gumi chid in with a knowing smile, "A very pretty girl. And for a mont, Rei Ao's gaze looked... peculiar."
"Huh?"
Yumiko's brow furrowed in irritation. She shot Rei Ao a sharp look. "You're such a pervert."
"Heh-heh, you've got it all wrong."
Rei Ao explained, "I just happen to know her."
"Uh... are you talking about ?"
A girl carrying a guitar erged from the rooftop door—it was Michiru Hyodo.
The conversation had reached the person in question.
Michiru wasn't sure at first, but after seeing Rei Ao, she was certain.
Among the entire class, Rei Ao stood out the most, with an impressive presence that caught her attention more than once.
"Um, I don't think we've t before."
Michiru tilted her head, her short, dark purple hair swaying slightly.
From her mory, she couldn't recall any prior interactions with this handso guy. After all, she had just transferred to the school.
"Hyodo Michiru-san, of course, you wouldn't know . But I know you," Rei Ao replied with a small smile, his lips curling upward as he spoke the na, "Icy Tail."
"Eh?! You actually know about it!"
Michiru's eyes widened in surprise, as though they had exchanged so secret passcode.
This left both gumi and Yumiko confused.
Yumiko, in particular, was completely lost.
"What on earth are you two talking about?"
"Michiru Hyodo is the transfer student who just joined our class. She's also the guitarist for a band called 'Icy Tail,'" Rei Ao explained.
The revelation clicked for both girls, especially when they noticed the guitar strapped to Michiru's back.
"Ha-ha, I didn't expect anyone to recognize after transferring here. It seems this classmate has seen our band perform before."
As Michiru spoke, she set her guitar down and took a seat nearby.
"Let's introduce ourselves properly. I'm Michiru Hyodo. What about you all?"
"Rei Ao."
"gumi Kato."
"Yumiko Miura."
After exchanging introductions, Michiru turned to Rei Ao with a curious expression.
"If you know about our band, does that an you're a fan?"
"Sorry, I'm not," Rei Ao answered carefully.
The truth was, he only knew her because of his knowledge of Saekano. He deliberately avoided saying too much.
"Figures," Michiru replied without disappointnt. After all, her band wasn't exactly famous.
Her gaze briefly scanned the seating arrangents of the three. She didn't dwell on why they seed so close and instead pulled out her guitar.
"Mind if I play here?"
She had co to the rooftop for so quiet practice.
"Not at all," Rei Ao replied.
The rooftop wasn't theirs to control, and they had no reason to refuse.
"Thanks."
Michiru adjusted her guitar and, with a focused expression, began playing a soulful tune.
"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Yumiko exclaid.
Though not an expert, she could tell when sothing was good.
Even Rei Ao couldn't help but silently praise her. "She's undeniably a musical talent."
anwhile, in the stairwell...
"..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha stood frozen, her hand resting on the railing.
She had just arrived at the rooftop and noticed the door was ajar.
For a mont, she hesitated.
After so thought, she turned to leave but stopped in her tracks when a lody floated down to her ears.
"A guitar?"
Curiosity piqued, Utaha changed her mind and climbed to the rooftop.
There, she spotted Rei Ao among the group.
Michiru, the guitarist, paused her performance as she noticed Utaha.
"Is this rooftop always this popular?" Michiru joked lightly.
"...I'm just here to catch so fresh air," Utaha replied, uncomfortable under the group's gaze.
Especially Rei Ao's.
He was the person who had occupied her thoughts recently.
Truthfully, she had almost been swayed by Sonoka Machida's words that day.
Now, seeing Rei Ao again, she felt an urge to distance herself.
She feared that, soday, she might give in to her impulses and send a trade request to him.
But now that she was here... leaving felt awkward.
Feigning calmness, Utaha found a spot to sit.
Michiru, after glancing at her briefly, returned to practicing her guitar.
The rooftop was unusually peaceful.
One person practiced guitar, another checked their phone, and with company present, gumi and Yumiko refrained from any particularly intimate behavior.
Rei Ao, anwhile, enjoyed the bento lunches lovingly prepared by his girlfriends while listening to the soothing music.
When Michiru Hyodo finally paused her guitar practice, Yumiko couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"Hyodo-san, you're really good at guitar, and being in a band... You must've been part of a club at your old school, right?"
Michiru nodded. "I was a core mber of the Blessing Software Club."
"Huh?" Yumiko raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"In that case, you must've had a lot of ties at your previous school. Why transfer all of a sudden? And in the third year, no less."
Under normal circumstances, everything would have been fine, so transferring seed unusual—unless it was due to family reasons, like moving houses.
"...Well..." Michiru sighed. "Actually, I transferred because of my cousin."
So it was a family issue.
Yumiko quickly backtracked. "Uh, I wasn't trying to pry or anything! If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."
Michiru smiled faintly. "It's not a big deal. My cousin had an accident and was struggling psychologically. My family asked to transfer to help support him. But just after I arrived, another accident happened..."
She hadn't expected her cousin to suddenly pass away.
gumi and Rei Ao exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise.
Yumiko, slower to realize, offered words of comfort. "I hope your cousin recovers soon."
"..."
While well-intentioned, Michiru could only respond with a bitter smile. "I'm afraid that won't be possible anymore."
"Huh? Why not?" Yumiko asked, confused.
Rei Ao interjected. "Yumiko, do you rember why we had that sudden break from school?"
"Of course," Yumiko replied. "It was because soone at school 'accidentally' passed away."
Almost imdiately, her eyes widened as realization dawned. She turned to Michiru with disbelief.
"Your cousin... He wasn't Tomoya Aki, was he?"
Even Utaha, sitting nearby, raised her gaze.
Michiru nodded. "Yes, he was."
"..."
Yumiko was completely taken aback. After a long silence, she could only mutter, "I'm sorry for your loss."
The atmosphere turned heavy, and conversation dwindled to a standstill.
As the group eventually began to leave, Michiru addressed Yumiko one last ti.
"Miura-san, don't worry about the topic from earlier. I've co to terms with it."
She truly had.
The funeral was over. She'd transferred schools. What had happened had happened—there was no point dwelling on it.
Leaving behind these words, Michiru turned and walked away, her silhouette exuding an air of quiet resilience.
"She's been through so much," Yumiko murmured sympathetically, reflecting on the truth behind Aki Tomoya's death.
Michiru's resolve impressed Rei Ao. If not for her cousin's misfortune, he might never have crossed paths with her. Since fate had brought them together, he figured it wouldn't hurt to connect further.
At that mont, Yumiko's phone buzzed with a notification.
"What? Yui fell down the stairs?" she exclaid, alard.
Rei Ao turned serious. "Where is she?"
"She's in the school infirmary. Ebina said she had an urgent matter and couldn't stay, so she asked to check on her."
Yumiko imdiately stood up, ready to head to the infirmary.
"I'll go with you," Rei Ao offered. Then, turning to gumi, he added, "You can go ahead and rest."
"Alright," gumi agreed.
Rei Ao extended a hand to Yumiko. "Give your hand."
"Huh?" Yumiko hesitated, but she soon understood his intention and placed her hand in his.
The next mont, the two disappeared from the rooftop.
"???"
Utaha was left stunned, looking around in confusion.
"Where... Where did they go?" she asked, glancing at gumi.
"Probably so kind of spatial teleportation magic," gumi replied calmly.
"..."
Utaha had montarily forgotten about the existence of supernatural powers.
"Kasumigaoka-san, you seem troubled," gumi suddenly said, breaking the silence.
"Huh? What makes you say that?" Utaha asked, slightly startled by gumi's unexpected observation.
Gently placing a finger to her lips, gumi explained, "I've noticed that whenever you're around Rei Ao, you avoid eye contact. It's almost like you're struggling with so inner conflict."
"..."
Utaha fell silent.
She was avoiding Rei Ao.
Seeing Utaha's lack of response, gumi pressed on.
"Is it because of the chat group? Or sothing that happened when we traveled to Frieren's world?"
"I was an ordinary person, too, before all this. If you're troubled, you can talk to . Maybe I can share so insights."
"...!"
gumi's gentle smile struck Utaha like a ray of sunlight.
Almost instinctively, she nodded. "Yes... I do have so concerns."
Encouraged by gumi's understanding, Utaha began to open up little by little.
'Rei Ao-kun, I'm helping you this ti too', gumi thought to herself with a quiet smile.
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