Not just Yuu—even Yuigahama froze at the classroom doorway in shock.
"Masuzu, why are you…"
"Good afternoon, Yui-san, Tenkuji-san."
Masuzu gently nodded toward them. She smiled softly and warmly like a spring breeze. Her voice was friendly: "Sorry for coming unannounced. Must be surprising."
"Uh, it is surprising, but you're still welcome…" Recovering, Yuigahama instinctively stepped forward. As she entered the clubroom, she deliberately—and unintentionally—blocked Yuu behind her.
Masuzu sharply noticed the move but only smiled, unbothered. She didn't even glance at Yuu, openly staring at Yuigahama instead.
"Though two weeks have passed, I'm mainly here to repay your kindness from before."
"Repay?"
Yuigahama's mouth fell open in shock. She nearly blurted: "Your repayment is trying to force-kiss the guy I like in front of me?!"
Honestly, even Dio wasn't this extreme back then! At least he didn't force-kiss Erina in front of Jonathan!
Still, Yuigahama didn't harbor hostility toward Masuzu. She still considered her a friend at heart… If the attack had succeeded that day, her mindset might be different now.
Of course, she still had to stay vigilant.
She'd stopped it last time. Who knows if Yuu might react differently next time?
No normal girl wants to see her boyfriend kiss another girl—though, if it were Yukino, Yuigahama thought she might endure it for a bit.
Thinking this, she suddenly gained deeper insight into how her character was starting to warp.
"Yes, this small token of gratitude isn't much, but please accept it."
Without explaining her reaction, Masuzu simply pulled two small cookie packs from her school bag. She sincerely offered them with both hands. Her eyes showed a flicker of fear and hope.
"Homemade cookies. They should taste decent. If you don't mind, how about trying them and giving feedback?"
Both reaching for the cookies froze, showing identical shocked expressions.
"Homemade?"
Yuigahama was shocked—the cookies from fairy-princess-like Masuzu looked delicious. The packaging was beautiful, basically no different from store-bought.
But thinking again, even elegant, Yamato Nadeshiko-like Yukino was a cooking expert. So it wasn't strange for this noble lady to make cookies.
Meanwhile, Yuu was shocked: Could Masuzu's homemade cookies actually be edible?
His first doubt was her skill. From memories of those fifty days, Masuzu—who hated eating and never cooked—had zero cooking ability. Her lower limit arguably surpassed Yuigahama's—expecting her to make cookies was less likely than fixing a nutrient jelly recipe.
Precisely because of this, past Masuzu was self-aware and never touched kitchen tools. She seemed aware eating matters were left to him.
Meaning, unless a miracle happened, these cookies were definitely store-bought—or pretty outside but tasting worse than strawberry-flavored rotten tofu.
Of course, Yuu considered another possibility.
If in these two weeks, Masuzu had practiced hard to thank them and succeeded in making two packs of tasty, edible cookies—
He still couldn't eat them calmly. He'd inevitably worry if non-standard ingredients were added.
Not poison, of course—but weird fluids, weird hairs, weird spells, weird potions, etc. After eating, they might "unite" in their stomachs.
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Yuu knew doubting his ex like this was excessive.
Besides the post-amnesia forced kiss attempt, Masuzu hadn't done anything bad. Why act like a delusional victim and suspect her with maximum malice?
Think carefully—past Masuzu wasn't a yandere. She'd only sneer at overly perverted acts like this.
But what could he do? Despite finding so many excuses, Yuu's hand reaching for the cookies hung in the air. He hesitated, unable to move an inch.
This sharply contrasted with Yuigahama happily taking hers nearby, thanking Masuzu with a beaming smile.
Seeing their attitude difference, Masuzu slightly bowed her head. The light in her eyes vanished momentarily.
Then she inhaled. She bit her soft lower lip. She lifted her beautiful face again. Smiling as if nothing happened, she admitted frankly: "Sorry, I lied."
"I can't make cookies at all. I queued at a highly reviewed shop and bought these. I still have the receipt. Want to see if you're unsure?"
By the end, her tone carried a hint of pleading and pity. She carefully extended the cookies. Her fingertips even trembled slightly.
At this point, Yuu could only sigh and blame his soft heart. He comforted himself—this was just accepting a thank-you gift; no need for so much inner drama.
Right, perverts who add weird stuff to cookies and give them to others don't exist in real life!
"No need. I just don't like sweets much."
Seeing Yuu accept, Masuzu's eyes instantly sparkled—like a clear blue sky after winter rain.
Her lips curved. Unable to contain her joy, she told him: "Don't worry! I know you dislike sweets, so I purposely chose coffee flavor. Not too sweet."
"I see, you really thought this through…"
Yuu nodded instinctively and thanked her. Immediately after, he realized—
(Wait, damn. You have amnesia—how do you still know I hate sweets?!)
But before he could glare suspiciously, the beautiful long-black-haired girl still sitting by the window cleared her throat softly. The cute little cough drew his attention.
"Don't stand there—let's sit and eat lunch first." Yukino paused. She showed a hard-to-describe hesitant expression.
"There are a few things I need to explain to you both."
Yuigahama, who'd been watching their interaction, couldn't help staring at Yukino in confusion.
"Explain? So Yukinon brought Masuzu here? Masuzu has a request for the Service Club?"
Yukino rubbed her brow. She looked slightly dizzy—or unsure how to explain to her.
"Well, I suppose you could say that…"