However, when Kamijou Mutsuki woke up the next day, he discovered the breakfast the Wakaba Mutsumi had made, along with a small note she'd left behind.
She really—she really got me. I'm going to cry.
Kamijou Mutsuki felt like he was getting reverse-captured by the Wakaba Mutsumi. Meanwhile, on the other side, a certain Miss Soyo, who radiated the aura of a resentful divorcée, was not in a very good mood.
Although her initial impression of that scummy guy who went straight for a face-to-face provocation right from the start wasn't particularly good, unfortunately for her, he happened to be holding her fatal weakness in his hands—information about Sakiko's whereabouts and situation.
So no matter how unhappy she felt, she could only play along for the time being.
It was only after she got home that she suddenly realized—
She seemed to have forgotten to exchange contact information with Kamijou Mutsuki.
…It was really awkward!
For Soyo, finding Kamijou Mutsuki was even harder than finding Sakiko—at least she still had Sakiko's LINE. It was just that Sakiko never replied to her, seemingly having blocked her.
Of course, Soyo was absolutely unwilling to admit that last part.
The only comforting thing was that Kamijou Mutsuki knew where she was, and if he hadn't been lying, then he would definitely come to find her… right?
Could what happened yesterday have just been a dream?
Soyo was the kind of person who lacked a sense of security to begin with, and the loss of initiative magnified the unease in her heart to the extreme.
Yesterday, Kamijou Mutsuki had only barely managed to persuade her by leaning on Sakiko.
And now, this carelessness-induced accident made doubt begin to grow in the girl's heart.
If Kamijou Mutsuki was lying… what should she do?
Compared to pure despair, what was even more painful was being given hope—only to have it taken away again!
Then, with her mood in turmoil, the girl arrived at Tsukinomori's Gardening Club under the instinctive pull of muscle memory.
This place would, at a fixed time every day, spawn a cute cucumber spirit.
Looking at the Cucumber Hero standing there watering the little cucumbers she'd planted, Soyo finally snapped back to her senses.
Aside from Kamijou Mutsuki, the Wakaba Mutsumi could also help her contact Sakiko.
You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket—and right now, Kamijou Mutsuki's credibility did indeed seem questionable.
Although on the Wakaba Mutsumi's side, she'd always brushed off Soyo's requests…
The girl, whose smile usually looked gentle and even carried a hint of maternal warmth, suddenly had her gaze darken.
If the Wakaba Mutsumi were actually reliable, why would she ever place her hopes on someone as obviously unreliable as Kamijou Mutsuki?
Back when Sakiko quit the band, too—it was all…
Her fault!
However, Soyo quickly forced those negative emotions down into the depths of her heart. When the Wakaba Mutsumi looked over, she instantly managed her expression and put on the mask called "gentleness."
"Little Mutsumi, about Sakiko—"
Just as she was about to step forward and begin today's round of CPU, the Wakaba Mutsumi struck first.
"After school today… Soyo, come to RiNG with me."
"Go to RiNG?"
Because of the Wakaba Mutsumi's words, Soyo froze for a moment, then quickly became a little excited.
Because before this, the Wakaba Mutsumi had never once taken the initiative to invite her.
Did this mean that she was finally willing to help her?
"Could it be that Little Mutsumi wants to tell me about Sakiko—"
"…It has nothing to do with Sakiko."
Soyo's mood immediately plunged back to rock bottom with the girl's words.
"Mutsuki… asked me to go with you."
"Eh?"
Soyo had absolutely not expected to hear that name come out of the Wakaba Mutsumi's mouth.
That guy…
Just when did he hook up with the Wakaba Mutsumi?
-----------------------------------
Soyo's side was handed over to the Wakaba Mutsumi. On Kamijou Mutsuki's side, he naturally chose to go squat and wait for Ano-chan and secretly ambush Tomori.
These two didn't make Kamijou Mutsuki wait long. But when he looked at Anon standing beside Tomori, forcing an awkward smile and making small talk just to fill the silence, and at the little penguin with her head lowered and a gloomy expression, his gaze turned a bit strange.
Ano-chan… what happened? It's only been one day and you've already been possessed by Soyo?
He realized that the Joker and the Ace in the deck of cards in his pocket now both had their uses.
"Ano-chan!"
Kamijou Mutsuki quickly sorted out his subtle feelings and waved at Anon.
"Don't call me something so intimate. Are we that close?"
Seeing Kamijou Mutsuki, Anon's eyes couldn't help but light up slightly.
After hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's story yesterday, she'd gotten carried away today and couldn't resist launching a second offensive against Tomori at school—and the result was, of course, very obvious.
The awkward small talk just now had been so embarrassing her toes were about to dig out an entire livehouse. Kamijou Mutsuki's appearance was basically her salvation.
Even so, despite being happy inside, the girl's words were full-on tsundere.
"Then… Miss Ann?"
Anon's face darkened instantly.
Are you fucking picking a fight on purpose?
But the girl was already used to this scumbag's style. She turned her head, preparing to introduce Kamijou Mutsuki to the Tomori beside her.
"Hello, Tomori—"
However, before Anon could even open her mouth, Kamijou Mutsuki directly stepped past her and greeted the Lamp Emperor himself.
"Y-you're… hello."
Tomori was a bit withdrawn, but she wasn't a hardcore social phobic like Bocchi. Normal conversation was still no problem for her.
"My name is Kamijou Mutsuki. I'm sixteen years old, currently not attending school, and I'm the president of an animation company."
Looking at the Tomori in front of him, who was as cute as a small animal, Kamijou Mutsuki—an absolute Tomori one-push—began his self-introduction.
"Besides that, my family also has various industries, several houses and cars. I don't smoke or drink, I live positively and optimistically, and even the doctors say I'm very healthy."
"Unmarried."
Even though he had a fiancée, hey, it wasn't marriage yet, right?
"I hope my ideal partner is a first-year at Haneoka Girls' School, preferably 155 cm tall, preferably a Scorpio."
"Stop!"
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's self-introduction, Tomori hadn't reacted much yet, but Anon was already at her limit.
What are you doing, going on a blind date here?
She knew Kamijou Mutsuki had ideas about Tomori, but wasn't this way too rushed?
"…I like ash-gray hair and amber eyes, the kind of cute aura like a small animal."
However, Kamijou Mutsuki didn't stop talking because of Anon.
"…It'd be best if she's played in a band before, and I also support my wife continuing to play in a band after marriage…"
"I said stop, stop!"
Watching Kamijou Mutsuki completely ignore her and start reciting Tomori's ID info, Anon finally snapped.
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki knew he'd already teased the girl to her absolute limit, so to avoid getting beaten up, he wisely shut his mouth.
"Um… I'm Takamatsu Tomori."
Meanwhile, the single-threaded Tomori didn't feel like anything was wrong at all and continued introducing herself to Kamijou Mutsuki.
"…Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you… Tomori, could you help me with something?"
Seeing that Tomori didn't seem to dislike him, Kamijou Mutsuki immediately pressed the advantage.
"I'll treat you to a parfait later…"
"Huh…?"
Tomori had never encountered someone asking for a favor right after meeting, so she was a bit confused.
"It's nothing troublesome. Just help me sign your name on this."
Kamijou Mutsuki smiled as he handed Tomori a document and a pen.
"Sign… on this?"
Tomori opened the white document and searched for where to write.
"Just write Tomori's name here…"
Kamijou Mutsuki very enthusiastically pointed out the spot for her.
"What are you making Tomori sign?! Stop right there!"
Seeing the Two red characters —Marriage Registration—inside the white paper, Anon's brain completely shut down. She immediately reached out and snatched the marriage application from Tomori's hands.
...................