Yui Hori’s energetic voice, though it was now afternoon on a crowded street, still reached Koharu Miura’s ears quite clearly.
She subconsciously looked back.
With heads moving everywhere, it was absolutely impossible to see Arisa Kiyono’s figure.
Fortunately, it was better for as few people as possible to know about her and Arisa Kiyono.
“Huh? Yui? Mio? And Yuzuki…”
When facing her friends again, Koharu Miura quickly put a slightly awkward and cramped smile on her face, her hands nervously clasped behind her back.
It was exactly the reaction of someone caught in a lie.
“Heh heh…”
Yui Hori hovered around Koharu Miura, her fresh short hair bouncing with her movements. Then, she stood still in front of Koharu Miura, crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes slightly, striking the pose of a great detective interrogating a suspect. “Truth time! Where is Sou Kanzaki!”
“Sleepwalking is actually that fast, being able to get here directly from home,” the spacey Yuzuki Yasuda’s commentary was as sharp as ever. “If I learn to sleepwalk in the future, wouldn’t I be able to sleep until one minute before class starts every morning and just sleepwalk my way to school?”
Mio Sato pushed up her glasses from the side, shook her head, and smiled helplessly.
“That… I’m sorry!”
Koharu Miura’s shoulders slumped, revealing a sense of self-abandoned obedience, and her voice became very small, carrying a kind of shame that made it hard for anyone to scold her.
“Actually… I wanted to go to a shop.”
“But that shop… how should I say this… it’s the kind of place that’s a bit embarrassing to let you guys know about.”
“So I thought, since I’m sneaking out alone, it’s safer to lie and say I’m at home. That way, if I bump into an acquaintance on the road, I can just say I only just stepped out…”
“A — a shop you’re embarrassed to talk about?”
Yui Hori’s eyes instantly lit up like two light bulbs, her gossip soul burning fiercely. “Could it be that kind of… shop that sells that kind of underwear? Or the kind of shop specially prepared for… well, that kind of naughty interest?”
“Ooh?!”
Yuzuki Yasuda responded immediately.
“Y — Yui?! What are you saying!”
Koharu Miura’s face flushed red. “And Yuzuki, don’t play along at a time like this!”
This part wasn’t an act. With her current body, Koharu Miura would occasionally have thoughts she shouldn’t have… If she said she wasn’t interested at all, it was definitely a lie — even if she had stared at herself many times while bathing. If it weren’t for the excessive daily pressure, she might even…
No, it’s better not to keep thinking about it.
After all, high school girls actually make such bold statements.
Koharu Miura shook her head and explained, “It’s not that kind of thing! It’s just… alright, I’ll tell you the truth.”
Really unable to stand the direction of the conversation, she spoke while mixing truth and lies to make it more believable, telling her friends the processed ‘fact.’
“I just happened to run into an old middle school friend while shopping, so we went to a shop to grab a drink and chat about our lives. Now I’m just getting ready to head home.”
“I was a bit tired, so… I lied about being at home. I didn’t really want to go out and play.”
“A middle school friend?”
Yui Hori circled Koharu suspiciously, as if sniffing for some non-existent scent. ” — A boy?”
“Absolutely not!”
Koharu Miura raised her hands in surrender, her tone as sincere as it could be. This was the truth and didn’t need to be faked, so her voice sounded very genuine. “It’s really a girl.”
“She had other things to do later, and I was planning to go home, so we parted ways.”
“Of course, of course, I understand, I understand. This scent is definitely that of a girl — “
Yui Hori wore a deep expression of someone who had ‘been there,’ patted Koharu’s shoulder, and teased her earnestly. “And she must be a fairly ‘high-spec’ girl, right?”
Huh?
Koharu Miura’s brow twitched.
High-spec?
She meant?
“What do you mean…”
” — Indeed.”
Unexpectedly, even Mio Sato, who had been silent, agreed. “This perfume smells unusual. Even if it’s not a luxury brand, it’s a very high-quality one.”
Nodding in agreement, Yui Hori narrowed her eyes.
” — So you were on a date.”
“In this diverse era, we understand.”
“Understand your head!”
This time Koharu Miura truly gave Yui Hori an annoyed white-eyed look. “My sexual orientation is perfectly normal! In the future, I plan to… well, anyway, I don’t plan on being with a girl!”
When she said this, a subtle sense of incongruity welled up in Koharu’s heart.
With this current body…
“Hahaha, I’m just kidding.”
Yui Hori stepped back from Koharu Miura’s side. “Alright, alright, you pure-hearted high school girl.”
“But Koharu, since you’re already out and haven’t gone home yet — and you just lied — shouldn’t you do something to atone for your sins!”
“No, I don’t feel like I’ve committed a crime… Hey, Yui, wait, what are you doing…”
“Since everyone is here, then nobody goes home!”
Yui Hori dragged Koharu forward without giving her a choice, waving her other hand to summon Mio Sato and Yuzuki Yasuda. “Goal! The KTV we agreed on! We’re going to sing to our hearts’ content today!”
“Wait! I didn’t say I was going!”
Koharu Miura struggled in despair. Her mind was currently full of the Anonymous Report Letter Sou Kanzaki had received and Arisa Kiyono; how could she be in the mood to sing?
“Protest denied!”
Yui Hori announced. “Perfect timing. Mio just said she wanted to hear you sing that idol single that’s been popular lately. She thinks it suits you perfectly — no resisting, let’s go, let’s go!”
“There’s no such thing…!”
While the two girls were pulling back and forth, Yuzuki Yasuda turned her head to look at Mio Sato.
Mio Sato only smiled gently.
Yuzuki Yasuda sighed.
“KTV! KTV!”
The energetic girl led her friends toward the agreed-upon location.
……
“Welcome!”
Amidst the welcoming voices of the front desk staff, Yui Hori recited the reservation number.
“Ah, right.”
Yui Hori suddenly turned her head and winked at the gloomy-faced Koharu Miura. “I asked someone specifically to help us get this room. After all, it’s a rare chance to sing in a large room, so we must enjoy it properly to avoid the atmosphere being too dull.”
“Huh? Who?”
Hearing Yui Hori say this, an ominous premonition rose in Koharu Miura’s heart.
Among the people Yui Hori’s friends and she both knew, the person capable of doing this was…
“It’s me.”
A very recognizable voice came from around the corner of the VIP Private Room corridor.
Koharu Miura turned her head sharply.
She saw a girl wearing a sports jacket, her crimson curly hair tied into a neat ponytail, leaning against the wall.
“Classmate… Kondo?” Koharu Miura was completely stunned.
“Good afternoon, Miura.”
Haruka Kondo’s feet were still a bit unsteady, but she could walk smoothly now.
As she approached, she tucked both hands into her pockets, her eyes scanning Koharu Miura with a somewhat complex look.
She curled her lip, her tone carrying a forced sense of tsundere. “Tch — don’t look like you’ve seen a monster, okay?”
“I’m not that scary.”
“Ah, sorry…”
Koharu Miura apologized subconsciously.
“It’s because this person kept sending me messages to harass me, saying stuff like ‘best sisters should relax together.’ I really couldn’t stand her perseverance in sending fifty emojis in a row, so I reluctantly came over.”
Haruka Kondo pointed her thumb back at Yui Hori.
“Hehe, Classmate Kondo is really a good person.”
“Hey, I can’t act like I didn’t hear that.”
Yui Hori triumphantly pushed open the door to the largest VIP Private Room. ” — Classmate Kondo’s premium Membership Card smells so good.”
“That’s clearly the smell of bananas, thank you very much.”
“We get to enjoy the largest room and a free Drink Tower. There’s no reason not to take advantage of such a bargain!”
“You… are you really treating me like an ATM?”
Haruka Kondo followed the girls into the room in a huff. Although she sounded dismissive, she didn’t show any signs of actual dissatisfaction beyond her sarcasm.
She turned her head, looking at Koharu Miura who was still standing at the door dazed. Her eyes flickered slightly, and her tone softened a bit.
“Just to be clear, even though I have a membership, I’m not some convenient woman who comes whenever called. If it weren’t because — “
She stopped suddenly.
“…?”
Koharu Miura blinked.
” — Cough, anyway, it’s because I also felt like singing to vent today, otherwise I definitely wouldn’t have agreed to let you guys tag along in this room.”
After saying this, Haruka Kondo walked into the room.
Only then did Koharu Miura snap out of it.
…What was Haruka Kondo about to say just now?