"Is everyone going to eat together?"
After changing clothes, Sora took out his phone and sent a message to the girls, inviting everyone to go to the restaurant for a meal together tonight.
After several time rewinds, aside from him and Mahiru, the others had probably forgotten the original plan.
Elf: "Okay~ I want to eat Nanyue cuisine!"
Clearly, the Nanyue cuisine they had last week left quite a good impression on Elf. After the time rewind, the first restaurant Elf thought of was still Nanyue cuisine.
Ruri: "Since Sora sincerely invited me, I shall temporarily halt my progress in conquering another world."
The so-called conquering another world likely refers to a newly released game, such as Ninja Gaiden 4 or Little Nightmares 3.
Mahiru: "See you at the school gate later."
Without any surprises, the girls all agreed, and Kuroneko was not absent either.
Only Anna's message was very strange.
'Inmate Eight', who was usually the most enthusiastic about eating, actually replied with a completely unrelated message:
"Sora, where are you?"
Sora was slightly taken aback and naturally told the truth:
"In the classroom."
Anna: "Don't run around, wait for me to come find you."
"..."
Looking at the message popping up on his phone, Sora slowly typed a question mark.
Why is Anna suddenly coming to find me?
Could it be because of the confession earlier?
No.
After the time rewind, Anna's memory has been 'reset'.
Even if Elf revealed the secret of the rewind, Anna wouldn't know what had happened.
Unable to figure out the situation, Sora quickly gave up thinking and sat quietly in the classroom, playing on his phone.
A moment later.
Slide.
The classroom door was opened, and a blue-haired girl with an ahoge on her head appeared outside, panting heavily. It was none other than Anna.
"Why the rush, did something happen?"
Seeing 'Inmate Eight' running out of breath, Sora immediately stood up and went to meet her.
Anna quickly scanned the room. Seeing that the classroom was empty, leaving only Sora alone, her eyes lit up slightly, and she reached back and closed the door.
Bang.
The door was shut tight, not leaving a single crack.
"Phew..."
Anna clutched her chest and took a deep breath. She stepped onto the podium and stood still. When Sora reached her, Anna suddenly spoke:
"Sora, catch me!"
"Hmm?"
Sora stopped in confusion.
The next second.
Anna leaped over with a 'heave-ho'.
"A surprise attack, huh?"
Sora instinctively opened his arms and caught the gluttonous girl.
Thump.
Anna turned into a koala, her whole body hanging onto Sora. Her arms wrapped around the boy's neck, her pretty face flushed crimson, but her voice sounded a bit aggrieved:
"Sora is so mean~"
Sora was bewildered:
"I didn't do anything, did I?"
When saying someone is mean, you should use a cold tone and a disgusted look, not jump into their arms and hug their neck!
"Ah-woo~"
Anna opened her mouth and took a bite out of Sora's shoulder.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch."
Sora exaggerated his pain.
"I didn't even use any force." Anna quickly let go, her bright eyes looking over. Disliking beating around the bush, she got straight to the point. "Has time rewound many times?"
Sora was taken aback: "How did Anna know?"
Thump!
Anna puffed out her pink cheeks and directly bumped her small head against him:
"This is exactly where Sora falls short. If I didn't ask, you weren't planning on telling me, were you?"
Sora's expression remained normal, feeling no guilt:
"Some things, without proof, no one would believe them even if said out loud... For example, if I said the whole world is actually a light novel, and we are just characters in a light novel, Anna definitely wouldn't believe it, right?"
"That kind of thing doesn't matter at all." Anna gave a light snort, her eyes sparkling brightly, the blush on her pretty face quietly deepening. "Right now, I just want to personally take back what I lost."
"What you lost?"
Sora was completely baffled.
After a time rewind, everything reverts to its original state.
The only thing lost... is memory, right?
The problem is, how am I supposed to give that kind of thing back to you?
Just as he was wondering, Anna suddenly launched a sneak attack, tilting her head to kiss him:
"All thieving cats, disperse!"
"..."
Faced with 'Inmate Eight's' sudden attack, Sora naturally had nowhere to hide.
When Anna clumsily and greenly invaded, Sora was completely shocked.
No, what exactly happened?
How did 'Inmate Eight' suddenly turn into a runaway locomotive!
Ten minutes later.
Only when the last bit of oxygen in her lungs was depleted did Anna finally stop, panting heavily.
With a soft pop, 'Inmate Eight's' pretty face flushed crimson, her voice shy:
"So mean... Sora is thinking about lewd things again..."
Sora coughed lightly twice. Naturally, he knew his body's changes:
"That's a phone."
"Ptooey~"
Anna spat lightly, crinkling her cute nose.
"I'm not an idiot, that's not a phone."
"Well... Anna is so cute, it's normal not to be able to help it, right?"
"Ehehe~"
Hearing herself being praised, a smug smile instantly appeared on Anna's face, but she suddenly remembered the contents of the diary, and a refusal to admit defeat quickly surged in her heart.
(Cute and all that... Sora definitely praised the other me too, right?)
(If it's just ordinary kissing and hugging, I definitely won't be able to 'win' against the other me...)
(Time might rewind again later, and the later me might go even further, so... I must secure all of Sora's first times!)
At this thought, Anna's already rapid heartbeat accelerated again, almost jumping out of her throat.
"U-Umm..."
Anna's gaze wandered, her voice trembling, and even her neck turned crimson:
"Sora... do you want me to help?"
Sora didn't process it at all, looking over curiously:
"Help with what?"
"Just... well... it'll be very uncomfortable, right?"
Anna stammered, neither daring to make eye contact with Sora nor able to voice her shameful words. She could only take a deep breath, preparing to let her actions speak for themselves.
(Steady!)
(Don't panic!)
(If I flee in panic now, the later me will definitely get ahead of me, right?)
Anna took a deep breath, fighting down her exploding sense of shame, and stealthily reached her right hand downward.
Sensing the girl's small movement, Sora was instantly shocked.
Hey, hey, what are you doing?!
This is a classroom. Kissing and hugging is one thing, but you actually dare to reach out? Have you been possessed by a monster with a magical crest on its abdomen!
"Don't act recklessly, we're finished if we get caught."
Sora drew a sharp breath and hurriedly grabbed Anna's wrist to prevent his own reason from collapsing.
When soaking in the hot spring, you only dared to say 'the moon is beautiful', your courage is way too big now!
"T-Touched it..."
Anna's pretty face was burning hot, her head already turning into a bowl of mush.
I actually touched it... Now I won't lose to the other me, right?
Sora suddenly thought of a possibility, his expression turning serious:
"Anna, did you drink some weird beverage given by a stranger?"
Anna snapped back to reality slightly, hurriedly shaking her head:
"I would never drink a beverage given by a stranger."
"That's not necessarily true." Sora's tone was faint. "I remember in elementary school, Anna would even take unfinished drinks that others threw away..."
"Ahhhh! Hurry up and forget about elementary school!"
"..."
As they spoke, footsteps suddenly sounded in the hallway.
Anna jumped in fright and hurriedly hid behind Sora.
Fortunately, the person didn't enter the classroom, and the footsteps quickly faded away.
"Phew..."
Anna clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Having calmed down a bit now, the girl's sense of shame rapidly took the upper hand, making her feel so ashamed she wanted to explode on the spot:
"I-I'm going to the restroom!"
Sora was a bit worried:
"I'll go with you?"
"No need!" Anna secretly glanced down, then quickly turned her pretty face away, revealing a crimson neck. "Besides, Sora can't leave the classroom at all right now, right?"
Sora: "..."
4:30 PM.
Sora met up with the girls at the school gate, and then they took the train together to the shopping street.
However, during the train ride, the atmosphere was inexplicably subtle.
Elf and Anna both acted a bit unnaturally.
Only Kuroneko didn't know what happened, occasionally casting confused glances at them.
The journey was silent.
Fortunately, after arriving at the restaurant, the girls were quickly captivated by the various dishes, and the atmosphere quietly returned to normal.
"Sora, Sora~"
Sora was drinking oolong tea when Elf's voice suddenly rang in his ear. The blonde loli held the menu, leaning her small body close:
"It's clearly Nanyue cuisine, why is there Russian red sausage on the menu? If I remember correctly, Russia is in the north, right?"
Sora put down his teacup, looked at the menu, and revealed a cruel truth:
"Because Russian red sausage has absolutely nothing to do with Russia."
"Eh?"
"The trademark name is 'Russian Red', not that the place of origin is Russia."
"Russian Red is a trademark?" Anna was instantly shocked. "This is clearly consumer fraud!"
Sora picked up the topic:
"I've seen similar news before. It was something like 'Free-range eggs from the mountains'. The eggs were real eggs, but 'Free-range from the mountains' was the trademark."
There's also the 'Number One Free-range Pork' sold in supermarkets. It's not actually free-range pork, because 'Number One Free-range' is the trademark.
There are many other products that play word games.
For example, Qinghai-Tibet Lake Salt, where 'Qinghai-Tibet Lake' is the trademark. 'More Than Half a Bucket' instant noodles, the portion size hasn't increased at all, because 'More Than Half a Bucket' is the trademark. And supermarket 'Hand-rolled Noodles', 'Hand-rolled' is also a trademark; they are actually machine-made noodles.
The most egregious is Qianhe Zero-Additive Soy Sauce. You'd think it's zero-additive, but 'Qianhe Zero' is the trademark. Not only is it not zero-additive, but it's full of technology and hard work, and even carcinogens were detected!
"That's so mean, doesn't anyone manage this?"
The more Yamada Elf listened, the angrier she got.
"It's like this in countries all over the world." Sora wasn't angry. "Ordinary people's voices are too weak. If you want to manage it, Elf will have to become the Prime Minister of Japan."
"Managing just one country is too weak."
Yamada Elf crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her proud chin:
"If I become the King of the United Nations, I can ban merchants worldwide from abusing trademarks, right?"
Sora: "..."
The girls: "..."
What a massive fish that slipped through the net of compulsory education!
Even an elementary schooler wouldn't say that!
As they spoke, the dishes were brought out one after another.
Kuroneko and Angel-sama, trying it for the first time, both gave it a perfect rating.
"As expected, everything is delicious."
Anna swallowed the food in her mouth, her eyes already curving into crescents:
"Ah, I suddenly remembered a joke!"
"What joke?"
Elf looked over curiously.
"Ahem~"
Anna quickly sat up straight, holding up a slender jade finger, the ahoge on her head swaying gently, her voice crisp:
"What kind of meal does Louis XVI not have to pay for?"
"Umm... who is Louis XVI?"
Yamada Elf tilted up her small face, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth.
"Elf, wipe your mouth." Angel-sama handed over a tissue, her voice gentle. "Louis XVI was the monarch during the French Revolution."
Kuroneko looked over curiously: "As a king, Louis XVI wouldn't have to pay for food anyway, right?"
"Ruri-chan answered incorrectly." Anna proudly lifted her chin, quickly revealing the answer. "It's a buffet. Louis XVI doesn't have to pay for a buffet, because buffets charge by the head."
Sora: "..."
Alright, alright, alright, dark humor, huh?
Careful Louis XVI might climb out of Sleepy Hollow!
Sora interlaced his fingers, resting his chin on them:
"During the Revolution, if Louis XVI wanted to escape for his life, which road would be the safest?"
"Eh?" Anna blinked. "A secret country road?"
"It's the highway." Sora's tone was faint. "Because U-turns are prohibited on the highway."
The girls: "..."
As they were finishing up, Sora got up to find the proprietress and asked for a cured meat claypot rice to go, intending to bring it back for Sagiri's dinner.
"Mmm~ I'm so full."
Anna clutched her stomach, leaning back in her chair, her pretty face completely filled with happiness.
"The taste is indeed very good." Angel-sama's voice was gentle. "Completely different from common cuisine flavors."
Kuroneko gulped down the oolong tea in her cup and suggested softly:
"It's completely dark outside, let's head home?"
"Going home, going home." Elf stretched expansively, her voice crisp. "The Sports Festival was so exhausting, I'm going home to rest well tonight."
"..."
Stepping out of the restaurant.
Outside, the twilight was already vast, and the streetlights had just come on.
Sora and the girls headed to the train station together, and then each went home.
"Sora-kun, rest well tonight, we won't go running at the lakeside park."
Arriving at their front doors, Angel-sama looked up, her voice gentle:
"Let's talk about it on Monday, okay?"
"It was indeed exhausting today." Sora agreed. "We'll continue on Monday."
Yamada Elf raised her small hand: "Sora, I'm coming over to play games."
Sora looked at her: "Go take a shower first, you're covered in sweat."
"Hmph~"
Yamada Elf gave a light snort, putting her hands on her hips:
"Beautiful girls don't sweat."
Why don't you say beautiful girls don't need to eat!
"Elf, let's go back and take a shower first. You'll feel much more comfortable after washing." Angel-sama's voice was gentle. "We'll go to Sora-kun's house to play later."