At first, I suspected that when Iroha said Makoto and I might get along, she was taking a roundabout way of insulting me.
But after thinking it over, that did not seem likely. Otherwise, since she claimed she herself was on the same wavelength as me, would she not be insulting herself as well?
Then I recalled Seia's past evaluation of the Pandemonium Society President, and that made me feel that what Iroha said probably did come from the heart.
In other words, Makoto might not be as unbearable as the impression I currently had of her.
But earlier, Iroha had also said that all of this was Makoto's own doing. Putting the two together, I could not help growing curious and quickly pressed her on what she meant exactly.
Yet at that very moment, Iroha showed a meaningful smile and started playing coy again.
"Well, about that, when you officially meet her, you will naturally find out, right?"
"Hey, are you deliberately stringing me along?"
"Yes." Iroha admitted it frankly, then looked at me in puzzlement and said as if it were only natural, "Did you forget already that I am here on a mission?"
Even though it felt like I had been outmaneuvered, the attitude she showed left me unable to feel angry at all. Instead, I found myself liking this slightly lazy girl even more.
I thought for a moment and replied, "In that case, I am free in the mornings the day after tomorrow or the day after that."
"Oh, okay. I will tell Makoto-senpai when I get back."
Iroha nodded casually, then set her coffee cup down and looked at me sitting beside her.
"Alright then, that settles the reward for you helping me make coffee. If you do not stand up soon, I am going to use your legs as a footrest however I like."
I froze for a moment, my gaze unconsciously drifting to the girl's fair, slender, gracefully curved legs, and the black short socks that contrasted sharply with her skin. After a bit of thought, I asked hesitantly,
"Is this… the reward for helping you complete your mission?"
Hearing that, Iroha froze as well.
But soon, she shifted a bit to the side, held her book up with both hands to cover the lower half of her face, and looked at me warily.
"So that part of the intel was true too? Honestly, your tastes are kind of gross."
"Uh, sorry."
I awkwardly rubbed my nose and was about to stand up to leave when I heard a helpless sigh.
"Please wait a moment." As she spoke, Iroha gently placed both feet on my legs, then curled up on the sofa in a reclining position. Her feet moved now and then, as if she were still searching for a comfortable posture.
After a while, she showed a satisfied smile and commented, "It does not feel bad."
Then Iroha said in a warning tone, "Since you put it that way, let us count this as a reward. But do not move around, okay? Otherwise, there will not be a next time. Understood?"
…There is a next time too?
My blood immediately rushed to my head, and I hurriedly promised that I absolutely would not take advantage of the situation.
"…Hehe, what is this? So you really have no resistance to this kind of thing."
Iroha chuckled quietly, seeming quite pleased with my reaction.
As expected, she is coveting my good looks.
Thankfully, I am coveting hers too.
I retorted righteously, "I am not like this with just anyone. It is completely because Iroha is too cute!"
Iroha raised an eyebrow, her smile growing even wider. "I feel like you say that to everyone, but this time I'll take it that way. Alright, I am going to keep reading now. Since you are feeling so relaxed, please slack off together with me for a bit."
With that, she opened the book she had brought along and continued reading.
I stayed in that seated position, feeling the weight and warmth coming from the girl. After the excitement faded, drowsiness gradually returned, and I dozed off a little.
Until the alarm I had set in advance went off.
"Got work?" Iroha asked casually, her tone very familiar, like she was chatting with a longtime friend.
I nodded regretfully. "Yeah. Looks like today can only go this far."
"Oh, then go on ahead."
Iroha withdrew her legs and waved her hand at me as if shooing me away, her gaze returning to the pages as she said lazily,
"I will head back after I finish this book. Whether it is tomorrow or the day after, I will message you on momotalk tonight."
Only then did I realize I did not have her added yet, and hurriedly did so.
I seriously suspected that she had been deliberately hinting at something, hoping I would take the initiative to add her.
Thinking back on it, it might be that from the moment Iroha saw me at the Prefect Team x Pandemonium meeting, she had already harbored feelings for me. This time, she might have fought tooth and nail to secure the chance to come to Schale on official business, all while putting on an indifferent front, yet secretly using every possible means to tempt me…
The thought made me suck in a sharp breath.
At the same time, I hoped Iroha would step it up even more.
While I was at it, I could not help questioning just when that busted bug of the card, sometimes working and sometimes not, was ever going to get fixed.
In any case, after briefly saying goodbye to Iroha, who was still lying on the sofa reading, I headed to Trinity.
About ten minutes before school ended, I arrived smoothly at the Make-Up Work Club classroom and carried out the final preparations.
Not long after the poem that served as the dismissal bell finished playing, the Make-Up Work Club students began arriving one after another.
The first to arrive was Azusa.
She brought many questions that could not be clearly resolved over momotalk and asked me about them in person. Her attitude toward studying was very proper, and her rate of improvement was obvious at a glance.
Unfortunately, Azusa's foundation was still too weak. Her chances of passing the first makeup exam were not very high, but she would definitely make it within three tries.
Next was Hifumi. Seeing that I was guiding Azusa with her studies, she greeted me, then sat down at her seat and buried herself in her textbook to study on her own.
After that came Hanako.
She walked into the classroom with a smile, seemingly in a very good mood. She gave me a playful wink and did not say anything teasing.
But as she passed by me, Hanako suddenly bent down. Her smooth hair fell, carrying with it a faint fragrance, whether from shampoo or her natural scent, brushing past my nose.
"Oh, I know how to do this problem," Hanako said softly. "Azusa-chan, if you do not mind, let me teach you, okay?"
…Such a deep and calculating mind.
The innocent Azusa, however, handed the choice over to me.
"Sensei, what do you think?"
Normally, I might have tossed the question back to Azusa or thought it over more carefully, but today was different.
"Perfect timing." I stood up. "Hanako, you take over guiding her for me, I…"
At that moment, I noticed a girl with a tense expression, her eyes fixed straight on the floor, walking in.
"Koharu, I need to talk to you about something. Come out with me for a bit."
"Eh? Oh…"
Without even putting her bag down, Koharu obediently followed me out into the hallway.
Feeling that we were far enough from the classroom, I turned around and looked at the girl. She was clearly showing signs of unease, probably already guessing why I had called her out alone, yet still forcing herself to stay calm.
I took out a graded test paper and handed it to her, saying calmly,
"Explain this score to me."