Chapter 50: A Love Letter?

“Isn’t it?”

Wan Mie smiled faintly, a trace of pride appearing on her face.

Her hometown boasted a five-thousand-year history, with countless delicious dishes, and this bowl of porridge was just the tip of the iceberg.

“I didn’t expect Miss Ayase’s cooking to be so amazing.”

Shiori praised as she swallowed a bowl of porridge without hesitation, but still felt unsatisfied, and asked weakly, “Miss Ayase, is there any more porridge…?”

“I knew you wouldn’t have enough, so I cooked a big pot. Serve yourself. You should know that back then, Shinomiya finished three bowls in one go.”

Remembering Shinomiya’s wolfing-down manner, Wan Mie couldn’t help but find it funny, though at the time, Shinomiya’s appetite had truly startled her.

Who would have thought such a petite Shinomiya would have such a huge appetite?

Upon hearing this, Shiori looked strangely at Shinomiya, who sat beside Wan Mie, quietly drinking porridge.

Could she be a hidden big eater?

Shinomiya’s face flushed with embarrassment.

She balled her small pink fists and gently thumped Wan Mie’s chest.

Wan Mie just laughed and let Shinomiya have her fun.

Soon, the big pot of porridge was completely finished by Shiori.

After breakfast, it was already late. Shiori said goodbye to Wan Mie and left for home.

Today wasn’t a day off, but it was already past school time.

Whether to go or not didn’t matter.

At worst, she could make up an excuse to skip and treat it as a rest day.

As soon as she opened the door, Shiori saw Kanzaki Kotori sitting in the living room, boredly flipping through a manga.

Today, her headband was white, and Shiori sighed in relief. If it had been Commanding Officer Mode Kotori, she would have been greeted with a fierce scolding upon return.

“Kotori, I’m back.”

After saying this, Shiori changed her shoes. Kotori looked up energetically.

“Welcome back.”

Then, Kotori closed the manga in her hands, slowly took off her headband, and replaced it with a black one…

Ah, this…

Shiori’s body stiffened.

Sure enough, some things just can’t be avoided, no matter how hard you try…

“Shidou, you should know better than to drink from strangers. Didn’t you learn that in kindergarten?”

Kotori crossed her legs, looking at Shiori with cold, queenly eyes.

This was Kotori in Commanding Officer Mode.

When Shiori first encountered this mode, she was completely dumbfounded, but over time, she got used to it.

Shiori gave a wry smile.

“I didn’t know Miku would tamper with the tea. If I’d known, I’d have never drunk it…”

“Saying that now is useless.”

Kotori casually picked up a green apple-flavored lollipop from the table, unwrapped it, popped it in her mouth, and continued,

“If not for Wan Mie, your fate would have been miserable. If Miku really is a Diva (Songstress), even with Efreet sealed inside you, you might not have stood a chance. Remember this lesson.”

Hearing Kotori’s words, Shiori’s expression turned slightly serious.

“Miss Izayoi—is she really a Spirit?”

“Right now, I can’t be certain. But she does resemble the Diva (Songstress) Spirit we discovered.”

Kotori answered indifferently.

“We’ll closely monitor Miku’s actions for now. If she really is a Spirit…”

She looked Shidou up and down in his female disguise and smiled slightly.

“You might have to keep living as Shiori for a while.”

“I…”

Shiori felt like crying.

How did a proper man end up having to live in such a humiliating way?

Who knew, maybe one day he’d awaken some strange new trait…

Wait, what am I even thinking?!

Seeing Shiori’s expression, Kotori’s mischievous side awakened.

“Don’t be so gloomy. Let me show you something.”

With that, Kotori took out her phone, swiped a few times, and handed it to Shiori.

Shiori didn’t know what Kotori was about to show her, but she was sure it wasn’t anything good.

Still, curiosity got the better of her, and she took the phone and checked the contents.

Raizen High School Top 10 Beauty Ranking

1st place: Itsuka Shiori

2nd place: Yatogami Tohka

3rd place: Origami Tobiichi

***

On the phone’s screen was a post with a huge headline, below which were various names and corresponding photos.

Shiori’s eyebrow twitched violently.

How did she end up in first place?

And who posted this?

It was on the Raizen High School campus web, so didn’t the school intend to do anything about it?

Kotori giggled.

“Click your name and see?”

Shiori had a bad feeling, but still tapped it.

She was shocked by what she saw.

The page was filled with photos of herself at school—eating, attending class, talking with classmates, all kinds of scenes.

Worst of all, one photo was taken under her skirt.

Luckily, she’d worn safety shorts underneath, or her reputation would have been destroyed.

Below the photos were comments from various students.

“Shiori-chan is so cute!”

“Shiori-chan’s rise to the top is incredible—just transferred and already number one. Unbelievable, but definitely cute.”

“Shiori-chan is mine! Nobody else can have her!”

“Hey, Shiori-chan belongs to everyone! Say that again, and I’ll take my fan club brothers to your classroom!”

***

Shiori stared at the comments, lines of frustration appearing on her face.

What the heck is all this?!

“Oh, right.”

Kotori seemed to remember something.

“Tohka just emailed to say your desk drawer was filled with love letters. I’ve already asked her to pack them up and bring them home after school.”

“No way! Tell Tohka to throw them in the trash immediately!”

The thought of so many boys writing love letters to her made Shiori’s skin crawl.

Her body instinctively rejected it.

Even though she was currently cross-dressing for various reasons, her true self was a real man.

Seeing love letters from boys to boys was enough to make her want to vomit…

Ding dong…

As soon as Shiori finished speaking, Kotori’s phone received another email—from Tohka.

Shiori curiously opened it and saw a photo of Origami standing next to a bonfire, expressionless but with a faint murderous glint in her eyes.

Below was a line of text.

Origami just burned the pile of love letters.

Couldn’t bring them back.

Seeing this, Shiori finally breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked Origami.

But… was it really okay to play with fire at school…