Yukinoshita Hotel.
Yukinoshita Haruno, who had just gotten up, opened her room door only to see Mrs. Yukinoshita standing outside.
Their gazes met, and Yukinoshita Haruno vaguely noticed a strange look in her mother's eyes. It seemed to be... envious?
Yukinoshita Haruno quickly shook her head, dismissing the absurd thought from her mind.
"Mother..."
Her beautiful eyes lowered slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed to make eye contact with Mrs. Yukinoshita.
Mrs. Yukinoshita nodded her delicate chin.
Her cool voice then reached Yukinoshita Haruno's ears.
"I had someone prepare throat-soothing medicine. Remember to drink some later."
As expected, Mrs. Yukinoshita had heard her voice last night.
This made Yukinoshita Haruno, who had rarely lost composure in front of her mother since becoming an adult, blush crimson immediately.
She wished she could travel back to last night and cover her own mouth!
"..."
Yukinoshita Haruno's pretty face turned slightly red as she quickly nodded, then hurriedly left Mrs. Yukinoshita's sight and headed toward the restaurant.
Mrs. Yukinoshita watched Haruno's retreating figure, which now carried a more charming air, and felt several emotions flash through her heart.
Her daughter had truly grown up now... and under her witness, no less.
At this thought, Mrs. Yukinoshita's cool beautiful eyes flashed with an indescribable expression, and faint dark circles appeared under her eye bags.
Last night, she had barely slept at all.
With her long-neglected body and as a devoted follower of Kuzeha, how could she not desire such favor?
If her rationality hadn't controlled her, it probably wouldn't have stopped at just...
At that moment, Kuzeha emerged from his room.
Mrs. Yukinoshita's heart skipped a beat, then she stepped back and bowed slightly to the young man.
"Good morning, Master Kuzeha."
"Morning."
As Kuzeha's voice reached her ears, Mrs. Yukinoshita exhaled softly, pushing the crimson thoughts from her mind.
Her gaze and demeanor gradually returned to their usual cool composure.
"Master Kuzeha, this morning I received contact from the Hero Association. They said they've approved the Yukinoshita Family's application to join the Hero Association..."
Kuzeha looked at her with surprise.
"You submitted an application?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita shook her head, her expression equally puzzled.
Seeing this, Kuzeha chuckled lightly.
"This Hero Association is quite interesting."
"No application submitted, yet they've approved our membership..."
"How did you respond?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yukinoshita's red lips parted, her cool voice revealing a coldness that kept others at a thousand miles' distance.
"I rejected them directly!"
She naturally understood the Hero Association's intentions all too well!
Not coming early, not coming late, but choosing to notify them the day after they had produced the potion.
Even using the word "approved" - clearly coveting their potion while still maintaining a condescending attitude.
Naturally, Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't be bothered with such behavior.
"No need to pay attention to those without self-awareness. Just focus on preparing for the auction in a few days!"
Kuzeha said casually.
"These next few days, I'll have Yuta stay behind. If there are any troublesome people you can't handle, just have her call the Council of Swordsman."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yukinoshita's heart inexplicably produced a lovesick thought: He's caring about me!
This startled even herself.
The emptiness from last night was something she ultimately couldn't fill on her own.
Mrs. Yukinoshita's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, though on the surface she maintained her cool demeanor.
"Understood, Master Kuzeha!"
After finishing breakfast at the hotel, Kuzeha took the Yukinoshita Hotel's private car to school.
Throughout the journey, he was replying to messages from Kasugano Sora and Sakura.
He had rarely stayed out overnight.
Although he had given advance notice, it had still left the two girls feeling lonely.
Especially Kasugano Sora.
Last night, after not checking his phone for half an hour, his message box had been flooded by Kasugano Sora.
Kuzeha had no choice but to let Yukinoshita Haruno handle it herself.
Then he lay underneath replying to messages.
This had exhausted Yukinoshita Haruno as well.
But precisely because of this, Yukinoshita Haruno's proficiency had improved dramatically.
The car stopped at the school entrance.
The weather was somewhat gloomy, with fine rain falling.
"Master Kuzeha!"
The car door was opened by one of Mrs. Yukinoshita's secretaries, who stood at the door holding an umbrella.
"I can handle it myself."
Kuzeha took the umbrella from her hand and walked toward the school.
He had arrived relatively early today.
Combined with the rain, there weren't many students visible on campus yet.
"Kuzeha-kun!"
Just then, a cheerful shout came from behind.
Kuzeha turned around to see a girl with silver-long hair who stood out remarkably against the cloudy, rainy day.
"Alisa-san, good morning."
At this moment, Kujou Alisa was looking at Kuzeha with surprise.
In her memory, Kuzeha usually arrived just on time or was even late.
This was the first time she had seen Kuzeha appear on campus so early.
Kujou Alisa looked around.
There weren't many people on campus, so she immediately quickened her pace toward Kuzeha.
Her small shoes stepped in puddles on the road, splashing water onto the white stockings on her calves, slightly dampening them with darker spots.
"Kuzeha-kun, this is the first time I've seen you arrive so early!"
Kujou Alisa slowed her pace as she neared Kuzeha, speaking naturally.
"If Alisa-san says so, it seems you arrive early every day?"
Upon hearing this, Kujou Alisa let out a slightly proud hum.
"I'm a student council member. I always arrive half an hour early to handle affairs!"
"Alisa-san sacrifices herself and quietly contributes for us all. That's truly wonderful!"
Kuzeha praised with a smile.
Early in the morning, with her mind not entirely clear yet, Alisa's ears reddened slightly upon hearing these words.
Then, her gaze drifted elsewhere as she spoke meaningfully:
"So, shouldn't Kuzeha-kun do something?"
Kuzeha immediately responded.
"Don't worry, I've always been someone who repays kindness!"
"What does Alisa-san need to do next? Let me help you!"
Upon hearing this, joy flashed in Kujou Alisa's beautiful eyes as she nodded with feigned indifference.
This Friday would be the charity event for supporting orphanages, jointly organized with Shuchi'in Academy.
Kujou Alisa had voluntarily taken charge of one of the projects.
Collecting donations of extracurricular books!
The main work involved encouraging students to donate unneeded books, which Kujou Alisa would then collect and organize.
After the activity project was decided, the school had also donated a batch of books.
Today, Kujou Alisa needed to first select the books donated by the school from the library.
They would all be transported together later!
After Kuzeha and Kujou Alisa returned to the classroom, they put down their bags.
"We need to bring umbrellas!"
Kujou Alisa reminded him.
"One will be enough!"
Kuzeha had just picked up his umbrella when, hearing Kujou Alisa's words, he turned and took her umbrella instead.
Seeing this, Kujou Alisa asked somewhat strangely:
"Why isn't Kuzeha-kun using his own umbrella?"
Kuzeha said with a light smile:
"My umbrella is quite large."
Kujou Alisa didn't understand the meaning behind Kuzeha's words at first.
However, a few minutes later, the two were walking almost shoulder to shoulder under her not-very-large umbrella.
As they walked, they would occasionally touch each other.
Kujou Alisa instantly understood why Kuzeha hadn't taken his large umbrella earlier.
The girl's pretty face bloomed with a rosy glow.
Soft Russian words escaped her lips:
"Hmph, if you want to be close to me just say so directly. It's not like I wouldn't agree!"
As soon as her words fell, Kuzeha leisurely added:
"I didn't expect Alisa-san's umbrella to be so small..."
Kujou Alisa's heart suddenly jumped.
After being stunned for a moment, she came to her senses.
Kuzeha wasn't responding to her words.
She had thought Kuzeha understood what she had just said and was responding to it.
At this moment, the two were walking almost shoulder to shoulder.
Combined with Kuzeha's already tall stature, Kujou Alisa's small umbrella couldn't cover both of them.
"After all, this is meant for one person."
Kujou Alisa wrinkled her delicate nose and replied softly.
"But my shoulder is getting wet."
"And I didn't bring a change of clothes..."
Kuzeha's innocent voice reached her ears.
Just as Kujou Alisa was feeling apologetic, Kuzeha's tone shifted.
"Well, but to contribute to the student council, none of this matters."
As his words fell, Kujou Alisa's apologetic feelings immediately turned to guilt.
After all, Kuzeha was here to help her.
And she was the one who had said one umbrella would be enough.
"Kuzeha-kun, please tilt the umbrella more toward your side."
Kujou Alisa said earnestly.
"But then Alisa-san would get wet from the rain?"
Kuzeha shook his head and said:
"I have a way for both of us to stay dry!"
Then, Kuzeha directly grabbed Kujou Alisa's hand and placed it on his waist.
He also put his arm around Kujou Alisa's waist.
In Kujou Alisa's bewildered state before she could react, the two were instantly pressed closely together.
A moment later, Kujou Alisa came to her senses.
Her fair, pretty face visibly turned crimson.
Being held by Kuzeha, she could clearly feel those warm, large hands on her waist.
Their chests pressed tightly together, allowing the girl to clearly sense her own heartbeat.
Obviously, the previous princess carry had been more intimate contact.
But that had been due to her injured foot - an objective circumstance.
Now, the two were sharing an umbrella, tightly embracing like lovers.
Doing the same things as lovers - didn't that make them no different from lovers?
At this thought, Kujou Alisa's head felt dizzy!
"What's wrong? Are we pressed too close together? Getting a bit warm?"
Kuzeha felt the girl's soft waist and said with a half-smile.
Upon hearing this, Kujou Alisa raised her flushed face and glared at Kuzeha slightly.
"It's hard to walk like this..."
Just as Kuzeha thought the girl was embarrassed and was about to let her go, he heard murmured words reach his ears:
"Like last time, carry me while I hold the umbrella..."
"What?"
Kuzeha was slightly stunned and instinctively asked.
Upon hearing this, Kujou Alisa came to her senses as if waking from a dream.
She had actually spoken her thoughts aloud just now!
And in Japanese!
The girl's ears turned crimson.
"No, I didn't say anything..."
Before her words finished, the next moment Kuzeha crouched slightly, stuffing the umbrella into her hands.
His other hand passed through her knee covered in white stockings.
In Kujou Alisa's dazed moment, she was already lifted in a princess carry by Kuzeha.
"Alisa-san, hold the umbrella properly!"
Kuzeha's voice reached her ears.
Their faces were barely ten centimeters apart.
Their breathing could brush against each other's faces.
She looked around and, not seeing any other students, felt relieved.
Alisa curled up in Kuzeha's arms holding the umbrella, her entire body tinged with a faint rosy color.
But last time she had been injured, and Kuzeha had been forced to carry her princess-style.
Although Kujou Alisa had felt embarrassed then, she was more moved than anything.
Combined with Suou Yuki's appearance, she had been almost entirely absorbed in denouncing Suou Yuki at the time.
This time, however, Kuzeha had taken the initiative.
Though the action was nearly identical, Kujou Alisa's emotions were completely different.
She gazed at Kuzeha's profile, her wildly beating heart stirring the girl's hormones.
Her gaze gradually became dreamy.
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