"You evil, conniving black-haired woman."
On the slope near Toyosaki Academy, Sawamura Eriri, who had woken up not long ago and realized it was already close to 6 PM, marched along with her bag slung over her shoulder, glaring furiously at the girl beside her—Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"Are you a child? Holding a grudge like this?" Utaha sighed with visible exasperation. "Didn't I apologize to you already in the clubroom?"
"If an apology could fix everything, why would we need the police?" Eriri huffed, shooting Utaha a look that made it clear she'd considered her as her archnemesis.
"As fellow club members, I don't think there's any deep hatred between us," Utaha replied calmly, glancing sideways at her with a faint, mischievous smile. "Unless... are you scared?"
"Scared I might read your mind and expose all your little secrets with my ability?"
At that, Eriri's composure shattered. "So, you admit it! I knew it was you!"
"Huh?" Utaha blinked in confusion, unable to follow.
Eriri stomped her foot in frustration, then glanced around warily before lowering her voice. When she saw the nearest person was across the street, she hissed, "I just couldn't figure out how Luo Shu knew that I was Kashiwagi Eri—so it turns out you were the shady mind-reader feeding him intel!"
"Wait—what?" Utaha's expression twisted into pure disbelief.
She had just been hit with a metaphorical flying pan—blindsided and scapegoated for something Luo Shu had done himself. Why was she getting blamed for his reveal?
"See? You're speechless now, aren't you?" Eriri scoffed, her eyes practically saying 'That proves it'. "You didn't just pry into my heart; you even scared me into passing out! Unforgivable. I'm not letting this go."
"…So, you're really blaming me?" Utaha murmured, stunned.
She truly hadn't expected to be saddled with this absurd accusation. But even if she wanted to deny it, she had no solid way to clear herself—after all, if she were in Eriri's shoes, she'd probably assume the same.
Talk about awkward.
Under Eriri's intense glare, Utaha had no choice but to follow her silently into the nearby park just outside the school. There, sitting at the edge of the fountain, was Luo Shu. He had likely arrived ahead of them using Wind Manipulation to sneak in unnoticed.
"Yo~" Luo Shu raised his hand in greeting and flashed a bright smile. "You know, people still lingering around campus are buzzing about how the two beauties of Toyosaki left school together. So, ladies—any thoughts?"
"Hmph." Eriri turned her head away, clearly irritated at the idea of being lumped in with Utaha.
Meanwhile, Utaha sighed and redirected her frustration toward Luo Shu. "If you hadn't been trying to avoid attention, you could've just left school with us."
"You said it yourself—I was avoiding attention. If I had walked out with you two, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?" Luo Shu replied, rolling his eyes. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out two finely-crafted silver bracelets, tossing them toward the girls. "Catch!"
"Eh?" x2
Both Utaha and Eriri scrambled to catch their bracelets. Once they had them in hand, they stared at Luo Shu in confusion.
"These are access passes to the base," Luo Shu explained. "Normally, if you go to the classroom door and think about entering the base, you'll be transported in automatically."
"Beyond that, they also link to our internal system—so you can message each other or browse the internal forums. I've just credited your accounts with your first monthly 50 points."
"Oh, and they come with an emergency escape function. It costs 5 points to use, so I recommend keeping at least 5 in your account at all times. I tested it myself—it works."
(Though honestly, teleporting back from here and then running back wore my legs out...) Luo Shu thought.
Eriri and Utaha both examined their bracelets in astonishment. After poking around with the interface for a while and confirming the forum projection appeared directly in their field of view, Eriri slipped hers on and commented, full of admiration, "I have to admit, gloomy girl—you were right. Our president really does have some serious leadership talent."
It hadn't even been that long since they parted, and he was already rolling out high-spec gadgets like this. Was Luo Shu secretly some kind of magical version of Doraemon?
"Now, now, don't call me gloomy girl. At least show some respect and say 'Kasumigaoka-senpai,' okay, Sawamura-san?" Utaha retorted lightly, then turned to Luo Shu and asked, "So, how many points did these bracelets cost?"
Luo Shu stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. "About 1,000 points each—not too bad."
"Think of them as extra benefits for official employees."
"You…" Utaha gave him a look full of resigned affection—the kind of look a wife gives a husband who's always blowing money and leaving her to clean up the books. He hadn't even seen a return on investment yet and was already throwing points around like they were pocket change.
Standing beside them, Eriri gave the two a sideways glance, her expression shifting as a realization dawned.
(Wait a minute… are these two involved with each other or something?)
Even though she had learned earlier that Luo Shu and Utaha had a superior-subordinate relationship, the way Utaha was talking now? She clearly didn't see herself as an outsider. That "You…" line alone had enough subtext to fill a 200,000-word romance novel in Eriri's imagination.
Luo Shu, meanwhile, was trying not to dwell on the odd flutter he felt at the sound of Utaha's voice. He waved it off and addressed both girls, "Alright, you've got your bracelets. I'll be heading off."
"Where to?" Utaha asked on reflex, only to catch herself. Right—Luo Shu had his own home and didn't have to go back with her.
"To work." Luo Shu shrugged with a sigh. "I dipped out of my shift at the bookstore yesterday, so I need to explain that to the manager—and submit my resignation while I'm at it."
(A leader of a secret supernatural organization… still working a bookstore job…) Eriri couldn't help but marvel at the absurdity of it all.
She, the straight-A student and closet doujinshi artist; he, the mysterious club president moonlighting as a bookstore clerk.
The world really was a strange place.
And as Utaha realized she might be getting a little too attached to Luo Shu, she tried to play it cool. "Oh, I see. You've got proper business to take care of. In that case, I won't keep you."
"Take care, senpai."
"I will."
(That exchange sounded a bit too domestic...) Luo Shu muttered mentally, then waved to them and turned to walk out of the park toward the train station.
As his figure receded into the distance, Eriri watched him go and asked, "So… this is where we part ways?"
"Yep. And you should probably take some time to sort out your thoughts too, right?"
Eriri pouted at Utaha's response but didn't argue. The two went off in opposite directions.
And so, the three founding members of the Astronomy Club each returned to their separate lives, going their separate ways from the park.
The evening sun dipped below the horizon, and their shadows stretched long across the ground. As if nothing had changed—yet something had already begun to shift.