Even though Hanako did not ask, I still walked her back to the dormitory building. We remained silent the entire way.
Only at the very end did she smile and say, "See you tomorrow." Before I could respond, she turned and stepped lightly through the doors.
On my way back to Schale, it suddenly occurred to that Hanako might have been replying to what I said to her outside the classroom earlier.
…And my heart skipped a beat.
Just thinking that I may have glimpsed a side of Hanako that is neither the flawless honor student nor the absurd troublemaker, a side of her that no one else has seen, made feel oddly proud.
So what if she lost her composure after being seen through and acted rebellious? In the end, even Hanako could not resist my charm and revealed such an endearing, girlish side.
Just like Hoshino, once the conflict is resolved, she starts coveting my good looks again.
Ah, pink hair.
Today she asked to walk her back to the dorm. What will she ask next? I almost dare not imagine it.
Of course, I know very well that this is only the beginning.
I still have not truly broken through Hanako's defenses. She has rely decided to give a chance, and to give herself a chance, carefully inching closer to where I stand. That is all.
In other words, if I want to bring happiness to this sowhat peculiar girl, I still have a long road ahead.
But with my outstanding looks and unparalleled wisdom, that will hardly be a problem.
The hardest first step has already been taken. As long as I remain true to myself and do not make any mistakes, the rest will follow naturally.
Just imagining the day when Hanako willingly removes her mask and bares her heart to the she loves fills with indescribable excitent.
However, I paid a painful price for that.
Because I was distracted by thoughts such as what we might na our child, my work efficiency suffered a devastating blow, and I finished much later than expected.
Fortunately, Rin was also working overti. The photo she sent, supposedly taken casually but clearly with carefully chosen angles, provided with considerable psychological comfort.
Unfortunately, when I awoke from my refined post-work sleep, I was greeted by new tasks Rin had sent in the early hours of the morning.
All of a sudden, it felt like the new additions to last night's secret collection were truly soaked with my blood and sweat.
Even so, today's workload was significantly lighter than yesterday's.
Perhaps it was always ant to be so, or perhaps it was Rin's thoughtfulness.
I prefer to believe the latter.
In any case, it only took half the morning to finish most of my work.
After lunch, there was still so ti before I had to head to the tutoring club. But instead of taking a nap or finding so other way to pass the ti, I remained in the office.
Leaning back in my chair, the warm afternoon sunlight shone on the back of my head, making drowsy.
I yawned and narrowed my eyes. I had only ant to rest them briefly, but perhaps because I stayed up late last night and now felt too relaxed, my consciousness drifted uncontrollably into the distance.
Until a knock at the door startled awake.
I stretched with lingering reluctance, then said, "Co in," and the visitor entered.
"Excuse ."
At a glance, I recognized her.
A petite figure in a uniform that looked slightly too large, ssy red curls spilling beneath a military cap, a calm expression, gray eyes that revealed no emotion.
Although I had only t her once half a month ago, her performance while giving the Prefect Team trouble had left an impression. I still rembered her na.
"Iroha, it's been a while."
"So you still rember my na. Since I didn't get the chance last ti, I'll follow proper procedure and introduce myself."
One of the Pandemonium Society's council mbers removed her cap and gave a slight bow.
"Natsu Iroha, second year. I've been sent by Makoto-senpai again to carry out official business."
From her tone, it was not hard to detect a subtle irritation toward Makoto.
Thinking back to last ti, when she had been dispatched to audit the Prefect Team's finances in Hina's absence, I seriously suspected that Makoto often assigned her strange tasks.
This ti was probably no exception.
A few days ago, in order to ease Hina's burden, I responded to the Pandemonium Society's daily emails and tentatively agreed to et Makoto in the near future.
Makoto seed to take this very seriously. Even though the matter could have been settled through email, she insisted on sending soone to discuss it in person.
When a president pursues ceremony, the subordinates pay the price. And clearly, Iroha had beco the unlucky one.
Seen that way, her resentnt was understandable.
Rather, the fact that she could still maintain such outward composure showed remarkable resilience.
…But thinking more deeply, could a task that allows her to et actually be a reward from Makoto for her hard work?
After all, this is a precious opportunity to spend ti alone with under perfectly legitimate circumstances.
"All right, Sensei, your ti is valuable. Let's begin."
"Ah, right."
Pulled back from my imagination, I got to the point.
"Then let's confirm the details of this eting first."
Iroha nodded slightly. "First, I'm here to confirm your schedule and set a ti for you to et Makoto-senpai."
"First?"
"Ah, and then."
She paused, her tone flat.
"If possible, I could also take you back with right now by other ans. Threats, persuasion, hostages, seduction, whatever works. The idea is to use any thod necessary to get you to join us."
The more I listened, the more confused I beca. When she finished, I could not help but ask, "Is that sothing you're allowed to tell ?"
Also, regarding the seduction part, I would appreciate further details.
However, Iroha looked up and down with a puzzled expression, as if observing sothing incomprehensible.
After a mont, she let out a long sigh.
"You're really troubleso, you know…"
I froze for a second, then barely suppressed a laugh.
Iroha's personality might actually be quite interesting.
Although this was our first proper eting and my initial impression had been average at best, in just a few exchanges I found myself growing fond of this girl with her peculiar aura.
"What's with that expression? You don't get it? I an, wouldn't that just make things more troubleso…"
Iroha narrowed her eyes and sighed again. "Forget it. I'll explain."
After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, she continued.
"Honestly, I just think there's no point in trying to cut off your options or devise elaborate sches to probe you. Based on the intelligence the Pandemonium Society has, you're not likely to fall for tricks at that level."
Hearing that, I felt a bit curious about how I was perceived by the Pandemonium Society.
Still, I decided to accept Iroha's assessnt as a complint.
"So instead of playing clever little gas, it's better to lay everything out openly from the start…" She smiled slyly. "That way we won't provoke hostility. I don't see any downside."
The more she spoke, the more I appreciated her honesty.
But her next sentence finally made laugh.
"And it's less trouble."
"That's the main reason, isn't it?"
Iroha shrugged noncommittally. "Besides, no one likes dealing with soone who has hidden motives, right? So rather than scheming, it's better to be straightforward."
I completely agreed.
But recalling what happened with Hanako earlier, I found myself saying,
"Actually, even if you did hide sothing, I wouldn't mind."
The mont I said it, Iroha looked at in disbelief.
Surely she was moved by my magnanimity and about to unleash so hidden power.
"What are you talking about?"
She frowned. "If soone with ulterior motives approaches you, shouldn't you feel disgusted? Wouldn't you think you're being used? Don't you find that kind of Trinity-style behavior repulsive?"
What does that even an, Trinity-style behavior?
I almost laughed again.
Suppressing my smile, I replied, "I deal with people like that all the ti. I'm used to it."
Privately, I reflected that in Kivotos, it would be stranger to find a student who had absolutely no ulterior motive toward .
"And besides, if it's you, Iroha, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."
Iroha fell silent again, then sighed in what seed to be a habitual gesture.
"…We already knew from the investigation, but I didn't expect you to really be this kind of person."
"There's nothing wrong with that. Otherwise, life would be exhausting."
"Hm."
She studied again, her expression turning serious.
"Since you say so, I won't worry about that aspect… In that case, I'll try asking you directly once more."
Before I could respond, she looked at intently and said in a low voice,
"Sensei, please lend the Pandemonium Society your strength. Even partial support is fine. Of course, we will offer you generous compensation. You've heard Makoto-senpai's proposal."
"Which one?"
"After we conquer Kivotos together, we'll share half the land and authority with you. Well, normally that would just be rhetorical exaggeration. But if you were to beco engaged to Makoto-senpai, it wouldn't be entirely impossible."
It certainly sounded sincere, assuming they could achieve it.
More importantly, I do not have such an overwhelming thirst for power.
Or rather, wouldn't it be far more convenient and feasible to simply have those in power fall for ?
"So, what do you think?"
Faced with Iroha's proposal, there was only one answer I could give.
"I'm sorry."
She did not seem surprised. She nodded.
"I see. Understood."
To my surprise, the petite red-haired girl then walked over to the sofa.
She took off her boots, revealing her feet in black ankle socks, then lay down and curled up on the sofa like a cat, wriggling slightly.
"Iroha?"
I could not help calling her na.
"Please wait a mont. I'm finding the best position."
Soon, she stopped moving and smiled in satisfaction.
"…Yes, this feels about right."
Then she casually opened the book she had brought and began reading with interest.
"Wait a second!?"
This sudden developnt left stunned, though I also felt an odd sense of amusent.
"As for the eting ti, just pick a slot. Makoto-senpai will make ti for you. Oh, right."
Iroha lazily turned a page, then glanced at .
"There's coffee here at Schale, right? I'll have a hot, strong one. Thanks."
…Isn't she a little too comfortable ordering around?
Still, I had nothing better to do, and I quite liked her personality. If she wanted to order around, so be it.
So I made her a cup of coffee at the machine, set out milk and sugar beside it, and placed everything on the coffee table next to the sofa.
"You actually made it?"
Her tone was surprised, though her eyes held a smile. She sat up and lifted the cup, gently blowing on the steam.
I sat down beside her.
She glanced sideways at . "Hmm? Does this an I can lie on you later?"
"If you want, I don't mind. But since you're slacking off at Schale and making brew coffee, could you help think through sothing first?"
"…You sly adult. I feel like I'm the one losing out."
She clicked her tongue. "Well, as long as it's not too troubleso. Go ahead."
"I'll be straightforward. I'm eting Makoto this ti because I want to lighten Hina's burden."
"…Is that sothing you're allowed to tell ?" Iroha teased, then blinked and smiled brightly. "Hehe, maybe we're not completely out of sync after all."
Perhaps that was true.
I found myself smiling as well.
"Still, you seem to have so misunderstanding about Makoto-senpai… though she did bring it on herself."
Iroha took a small sip of coffee and looked at with playful interest.
"You and Makoto-senpai might end up surprisingly compatible."
At that, my brow lifted slightly.
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