Chapter 29: I Just Did It Casually, Nothing Impressive…

The footsteps weren’t too light or heavy, as if intentionally maintaining a calm, ordinary rhythm.

Even so, each step seemed to tread on Xiao Chun Miura’s taut nerves.

Kanzaki Sou clearly heard it too. He withdrew his gaze from the screen and looked up toward the source of the sound, his brows lifting.

“To borrow or return a book, please present your Student ID for registration, classmate…——Haruka?”

Xiao Chun Miura’s lips tightened.

So she really came.

Almost instinctively, she moved her chair a little away from Kanzaki Sou, increasing the distance between herself and the boy.

This subtle movement was like a needle, but Kanzaki Sou, still seated in place, noticed it.

However, Kondo Haruka seemed oblivious.

“——Sou-kun? What are you doing, sitting so close with Miura-san?”

She walked to face the two and spoke softly.

…Much gentler than when she faced me earlier—if anything, it proved she already knew the situation and had managed her emotions before coming over.

Facing the other’s smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Xiao Chun Miura felt a chill.

If it were an accidental encounter, she would have already made things difficult for me.

As if in line with Kanzaki Sou’s earlier warning, Kondo Haruka also kept her voice low this time.

…Which only made it feel more deliberate.

“I just made a Poster… Mainly encouraging students to use the Library for self-study during the Midterm Exams. I wanted to get Miura-san’s opinion.”

Without another word, Kanzaki Sou turned the laptop screen in front of them toward Kondo Haruka.

“What about you, Haruka? Are you here to study?”

“—Ah, mm, yes.”

Kondo Haruka’s eyes darted quickly, “I thought your shift would be ending soon… so I wanted to study here while waiting for you to go home.”

“It is almost over.”

“Ehh~ Then on our way home, come with me to the supermarket, okay…?”

Once their conversation began, it was full of the familiar ease and comfort between childhood friends.

Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t find a reason to interject and decided not to bother.

Since Kondo Haruka hadn’t targeted her yet, it was better not to provoke her.

She couldn’t just sit here doing nothing, but if she carried a stack of books to the shelves, it would look like she was fleeing…

In the end, Xiao Chun Miura simply pulled Kanzaki Sou’s laptop screen over and turned it toward herself.

She gazed at the bright Poster draft displayed on the screen, hesitated for a moment, then moved the mouse.

To be fair, this was part of her real-world professional duties.

…Creative Design was a skill set she’d mastered as a modern all-around office worker.

PS and AR came easily, and beautifying various styles of tifo and tittle was no challenge.

While the two high schoolers chatted nearby, Xiao Chun Miura immersed herself in her own analysis.

…When Kanzaki Sou had spoken to her earlier, she’d been distracted and hadn’t looked at his Poster design.

Now, viewing it with a professional eye, she saw issues everywhere.

Adjusting the page size for proper cropping…the overall image and text layout shrank, making the original arrangement feel cramped—the tagline was unnecessary…no, better to lower the opacity and place it under the image…

These small captions could be deleted—the Poster should be concise and direct.

Xiao Chun Miura silently listed the necessary changes in her mind, efficiently and skillfully making basic edits in the window Kanzaki Sou had opened.

Use a simpler font for the decorative text… a little distortion effect would be good—after all, hourglass shapes are more appealing to high school students, right?

Warm up the color a bit for a softer visual effect… Since it’s a Poster, you can’t have people lose interest at first glance.

After five minutes passed, Xiao Chun Miura found herself smiling faintly, satisfied with the work, and instinctively ready to hit save—then suddenly realized she wasn’t in an Office doing her dreary job.

“……”

And what made her more uneasy was that the voices beside her had stopped.

She didn’t know when it happened.

What’s going on?

…What now, are they staring at me?

Xiao Chun Miura didn’t dare look up, keeping her gaze glued to the laptop screen, pretending to be absorbed.

But there was a clear difference between being focused on work and feigning concentration after finishing.

“Miura-san, what are you doing on Sou-kun’s computer without permission——”

Startled, Xiao Chun Miura snapped her head up.

She saw a girl with chestnut-red curls standing outside the counter, arms crossed, fixing her with a stern gaze.

“No, Haruka, it’s not my laptop—it was lent to me by Sakura-sensei.”

Kanzaki Sou spoke up, “Students aren’t allowed to bring personal laptops to school.”

“Oh, right, that’s true.”

Kondo Haruka frowned, pressing her temples, “I’m so mad I could faint…Xiao Chun Miura!”

“Eek! Here!”

“Haruka!”

Kanzaki Sou immediately intervened, “Keep your voice down, this is the Library——what are you about to say?”

“What do you mean what am I about to say——she’s using the computer you used, doing whatever she wants…”

Kondo Haruka still frowned at Kanzaki Sou, “Isn’t that your Poster? She even altered it so much…”

“Eh? N-no…it’s not like that…”

“Haruka, I told you, didn’t I?”

Kanzaki Sou’s tone was firm but gentle, “I wanted Miura-san’s feedback, so I let her see it.”

“Then wasn’t she still moving things around on your computer——”

“Kondo-san, I’m sorry, I got carried away. I’ll change it back now…”

In a panic, Xiao Chun Miura grabbed the mouse and found the history file.

“——Wait, Miura-san.”

Just as she was about to revert to the previous version, Kanzaki Sou stopped her.

“…Wh-what…”

“Please let me see.”

Kanzaki Sou moved closer, then, seeing Xiao Chun Miura hadn’t reacted, realized it might be too close, so he adjusted the screen slightly toward himself.

“Ah——it’s fine.”

He stared at the screen for a moment, then spoke thoughtfully.

“What? What is it?”

Kondo Haruka, already watching, leaned over the counter to see the screen.

Then, seeing the display, her eyes sparkled instantly.

“——Wow!”

“Sou-kun! It looks amazing, did you make this? As expected of you!”

While Kanzaki Sou’s childhood friend’s praise was heartfelt, he didn’t look especially happy—almost as if it didn’t concern him.

“No, Haruka, this…I made the initial version, but the current result is completely different from mine.”

“…Eh?”

Kondo Haruka was stunned.

“This is mostly Miura-san’s work.”

The boy looked away from the screen, avoiding his childhood friend’s gaze, and turned toward Xiao Chun Miura.

“——Miura-san, you’re incredible!”

This time, the admiration in Kanzaki Sou’s voice was genuine.

“If I’d known you were this skilled, I would have recommended you for Sakura-sensei’s job…”

“That’s not right, Sou-kun, is it?”

Kondo Haruka forced a laugh, “Even if she edited it, the original design is yours, so you’re still amazing——”

“My version is here.” Kanzaki Sou simply tapped a few times, and the initial draft he’d shown Xiao Chun Miura appeared for Kondo Haruka.

“That looks great too…ah…”

“You can see the difference, right, Haruka?”

Kanzaki Sou said helplessly.

“…Ugh…”

Kondo Haruka looked frustrated.

But honestly, anyone could see the quality gap. One side was, at best, amateur; the other was outright professional—you could tell at a glance it was someone who really knew how to use the software.

She didn’t want to admit how good Xiao Chun Miura’s version looked.

But…

If she really refused to acknowledge it, Sou would just think she was being unreasonable.

“…Hmph, hmph.”

“I…if I…no, if Sou-kun practiced more, he could definitely make something better than this——”

“…Really.”

Kanzaki Sou shot Kondo Haruka a look.

“……”

Xiao Chun Miura watched all this unfold.

A plain, long-haired girl, eyes behind glasses fixed on the two as they talked.

…And inevitably.

Beneath the hair tucked behind her ear, her delicate ears were visibly tinged pink.