Coming out of the office, Symon let out a bored yawn and said with a laugh in his mind, 'Alright, from the look on Ryūen's face, I've got him spooked. He probably won't bother us about the student council for a while.'
'What you said was a bit sensational, Mr. Ghost,' Hiyori remarked softly in his ear. 'To be honest, it wasn't just Ryūen-kun; I was a little scared too.'
'And I was being very restrained.'
'Yes, yes,' Hiyori Shiina said with a smile, her voice gentle and reassuring. 'I'm not blaming you.'
She was no fool; on the contrary, she was very intelligent. Having read so many crime and mystery novels, she knew just how low human morality could sink. Symon's claim of being restrained was clearly not a lie.
With that, the two of them switched back.
Taking back control of her body and seeing it was still early, Hiyori didn't rush back. After a moment's thought, she walked out of the building, headed towards the shopping mall, and decided to see if there was anything she needed to buy.
Arriving at the shopping district, she browsed through the mall. As she passed the clothing section and saw the dazzling array of summer clothes on the racks, Hiyori Shiina paused to think. Realizing it was indeed time to prepare for the change of season, she stopped to patiently pick something out.
After a good while, Hiyori Shiina finally tried on a black-and-white short-sleeved top and skirt set. She stood before the fitting room mirror, twirled a couple of times, and admired it for a moment before asking for Symon's opinion in her mind: 'Mr. Ghost, what do you think of this one?'
'It looks great,' Symon replied positively in her mind without hesitation, then added, 'The problem is, I don't want to wear a skirt.'
'Oh, I see,' Hiyori said, sounding a little disappointed. 'It's alright. I don't usually go out much anyway.'
'Then again,' Symon changed his tune, feigning seriousness, 'I think it would go well with a pair of ribbon sandals. Or, if you don't mind the heat, white over-the-knee socks or pantyhose with a pair of round-toed leather shoes would also work.'
'I see, I understand now.' As she said this, the girl glanced doubtfully at the gray over-the-knee socks she was wearing. After a moment's thought, she temporarily dropped the subject and went back into the fitting room to change back into her casual clothes.
When she came out of the fitting room, Hiyori Shiina waited until she was at the checkout counter before casually picking up a few pairs of stockings—gray ones.
Symon was shocked. 'What the hell! Heresy!'
'Ara, so you really don't like them,' Hiyori chuckled inwardly. Having confirmed her suspicion, she followed his preference and chose something else.
After that, Hiyori Shiina browsed through several more shops and, prompted by someone's repeated hints, added several more summer outfits in different styles, as well as two pairs of women's shoes.
By the time the girl emerged from the mall carrying bags big and small, Symon spoke up with a tinge of regret: 'And just like that, we're out of points. I have to say, I'm really curious how those Class D students manage to get by.'
'Normally, we definitely wouldn't have spent this much.' Seeing he had the nerve to bring it up, Hiyori Shiina couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Recalling the recent shopping spree and seeing the less than 10,000 points remaining on her terminal, the girl couldn't help but say plaintively, 'If we just wear our school uniforms, we don't need to buy so many clothes. And those two pairs of shoes... we didn't need to buy them either. They were so, so expensive... '
Heaven have mercy. The skirt set she had chosen, including the stockings, cost less than 8,000 points. But when Symon started picking out clothes, it was like water flowing from a sieve. Just those two pairs of round-toed, high-heeled leather shoes with bows cost her a whopping eighty thousand points. Who knows how much he must have liked them to have such a deep obsession. To say he was rooted to the spot would be an understatement.
'That won't do. Let me think about the points...' As soon as she brought it up, Symon's mind started racing. 'Let's switch bodies when we get back. First, I'll go get today's consultation fee from Ryūen. Then there's the fifty thousand from last time. Does that kid even know the rules? He still hasn't paid it back. I can also try collecting the debt from Suzune Horikita, and while I'm at it, I can sound out Manabu Horikita... '
Listening to him ramble on in her mind, Hiyori Shiina walked towards the dorms with a gentle smile on her face, carrying all her bags.
Just as Hiyori Shiina was lost in thought, a girl with long red hair came up from behind her, not too far away. Her head was bowed low, obscuring her face, and she walked with hurried, short steps.
As they passed each other, the girl bumped into the paper bag in Hiyori Shiina's hand, almost causing her to lose her grip.
The sudden collision broke Hiyori Shiina out of her reverie and also interrupted Symon's rambling in her mind.
Through the girl's eyes, Symon instantly saw the girl who had turned around, seemingly ready to apologize:
Her red hair was tied in a low ponytail, and her delicate face was adorned with red-framed glasses. Her blue-green eyes darted left and right, quickly looking down after making eye contact. Beneath her deliberately hunched shoulders was an exceptionally prominent feminine feature. The girl's every move exuded a profound sense of timidity.
Symon chuckled teasingly, 'Hiyori, I'll give you one minute. I want all her contact information.'
Hiyori Shiina was taken aback by his words. She looked at the red-haired girl before her with curiosity and asked in her mind, 'Mr. Ghost, do you think this girl is very pretty?'
After all, the last person who had elicited such a comment from Symon at first glance was named Honami Ichinose, currently the most popular girl at the Advanced Nurturing High School.
Symon explained with an amused tone, 'Don't doubt my eye. The low ponytail and thick-framed glasses—even with two 'seals' like that, her beauty can't be hidden. If this girl stood up straight, took off her glasses, and let her hair down, she'd be an absolute stunner.'
A glint appeared in Hiyori Shiina's eyes. As her thoughts raced, she looked at the stammering, flustered girl before her and asked in a gentle voice, 'It's nice to meet you. I'm Hiyori Shiina from Class 1-C. Are you in a hurry for something?'
Hearing her gentle tone, the red-haired girl clearly hesitated. Her gaze darted furtively behind the girl before her, then she looked down in an obvious panic and bowed in apology. 'I... I'm Airi Sakura from Class 1-D. I'm very sorry.'
'Ara, is there something behind me?' Noticing her panic, Hiyori Shiina turned around to look:
Three girls walking together, a boy with his arm around another walking away, and a man in a staff uniform standing at the entrance of a home goods store, chatting with an employee while his gaze occasionally drifted over.
With the answer in her mind, Hiyori Shiina turned back and asked curiously, 'Is that person stalking you?'
'!!!' Airi Sakura's pupils contracted.
'Looks like you guessed right,' Symon said, equally shocked. 'Hiyori, you have this kind of skill?'
'Mr. Ghost, I'm very good at observing, you know,' she replied to him in her mind. A smile appeared on Hiyori Shiina's face as she tentatively said to Sakura, 'It seems I wasn't mistaken. Since you're in Class D, you probably know who I am, right? Do you need my help?'
'I... I...' The girl seemed hesitant. Of course, she knew Hiyori Shiina and had no doubt she could help her, but...
Seeing her still hesitating, Hiyori Shiina thought for a moment, then handed her the bags she was carrying and said with a gentle smile, 'If it's something difficult to talk about, just walk with me for now. You can tell me the details once we get back to the dorms.'
Hearing this, Airi Sakura took the paper bags she offered. Tears welled up in her eyes as she quickly bowed and said, 'Th... Thank you! Thank you so much.'
_____
We made it! We hit our goal of 55 supporters on P@tre-... Hehe~
And here's my part of the promise! 5 extra chapters for everyone! Yayyy!
New goals:
🔥 New stories are out! 🔥
🪦 Save 25% on my P... page right now.
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead on all series.
✅ Get exclusive content and updates.
Help us hit our targets:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 bonus chapters (all stories)!
👻 P - Walnutchan