Several days later, after school on Friday, inside the B Class classroom at Private Shuchiin Academy.
The first week of school was generally uneventful, with just a small interlude in between.
One day during lunch break, as Asagiri walked out of the Class A classroom, a Pure Academy student from C Class deliberately stuck out his leg to trip him, wanting to see him fall awkwardly to the ground.
The result was...
That boy suffered a fractured tibia, was sent to the infirmary, and then went directly to the hospital.
Asuna felt no sympathy for that male student. After all, bullying is bullying. Even without outright physical violence, acts like sticking out a leg to trip someone or pretending to accidentally splash water still amounted to the same thing. Such petty, childish behavior—no matter how masked—didn't change the harsh truth: it was bullying. Those who stooped to such levels and faced consequences were simply getting what they deserved.
"Asuna~"
Hearing the energetic voice, Asuna looked up to see the beautiful girl sitting across from her. She had long, light pink hair tied with a neat black bow, a charming face, and a sweet smile that immediately put people at ease. Resting her chin on one hand, she looked at Asuna expectantly.
"Do you have plans after school today? Want to come over to my place?"
Asuna shook her head gently.
"Today...I can't, sorry, Chika."
She and Asagiri had already signed up for the dungeon two days ago. Once midnight passed, it would be Saturday, and they were set to enter the second dungeon at an unknown, specific time.
"Eh? Is that so? That's too bad. But, could it be..." Chika's eyes sparkled with interest as she looked directly at Asuna's face.
"Could it be...you've already made plans with someone else today? That Utsunomiya from Class A?"
"Eh?"
"How about that, did I guess right?"
Chika looked like she understood everything, reaching out to pat Asuna's shoulder with a mock-serious expression.
"Hehe, in this world, no romance can escape the keen eyes of me, the Love Detective Chika Fujiwara!"
"Romance... Chika, you've misunderstood."
Asuna let out a wry laugh, shaking her head as she explained,
"Asagiri and I aren't like that."
"Is that so? You just aren't like that yet, right?"
The moment gossip came up, Chika's eyes sparkled with excitement. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a red-striped hat and put it on, then popped a pipe-shaped candy into her mouth, as if playing dress-up. Patiently, she analyzed the situation,
"No matter what, you're special to Asagiri, right? I heard he usually keeps to himself, and hasn't joined any clubs. A few girls from other classes tried asking for his contact info, but he flat-out refused. Looks like you're the only one he's willing to talk to at school~"
Asuna frowned slightly upon hearing this and hesitated.
"Girls from other classes asked for his contact information?"
"Yeah, yeah. Huh? Are you jealous?"
Chika's teasing caught Asuna off guard. Her pretty face flushed a little, and she quickly turned her head away, avoiding Chika's sharp gaze as she muttered softly,
"Jealous of what… I don't have any special relationship with him… I just didn't expect that it's only the first week of school and girls are already asking for his contact info…"
Chika shrugged casually, a relaxed smile on her lips.
"That's not surprising, is it? After all, Utsunomiya is so handsome, and even though his personality's a bit unconventional, there's a mysterious coolness about him~"
"Coolness, huh…"
Asuna's face flushed a little more at the comment. Chika coughed lightly twice, then raised her right index finger and wiggled it in the air like a clever detective finally solving a mystery. She spoke slowly, with exaggerated seriousness,
"Only when you like someone, and they're clearly very handsome, will you hold back from praising them because you're shy."
Asuna didn't know how to argue with that, so she quickly changed the subject.
"Although you call yourself a Love Detective or whatever, you've never actually been in love, have you?"
"Precisely because of that, I am the strongest Love Detective!"
Chika crossed her arms over her chest. The slightly exaggerated size for a high school girl made even the well-figured Asuna feel inadequate.
"As the saying goes, 'the player is confused, the bystander is clear.' Only I, who have never been in love at all, am most suited to give love advice!"
"You really have a lot of twisted logic..."
Just as Chika and Asuna were chatting, a female classmate suddenly walked over and said with a smile to the two of them,
"Fujiwara, Yuuki, someone's looking for you."
"Oh, okay."
Chika and Asuna stood up together and walked to the classroom door, only to find Kaguya from Class A and Asagiri standing there. Seeing the two of them appear together, Chika couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
"Eh? Utsunomiya, and Kaguya? How come you two are together?"
"Not together."
Kaguya said in a flat, emotionless tone,
"It's just a coincidence. I came to find you, Chika."
"Is that so? Okay, well, Asuna, I'll be going now~ See you next week~"
"Okay, bye-bye, Chika."
Before Chika left with Kaguya, she also waved to Asagiri with a smile.
"Utsunomiya, bye-bye~"
"Mm, bye-bye."
After Chika and Kaguya left, Asuna saw Asagiri staring at their retreating figures. Remembering what Chika had just said about girls asking for his contact information, she suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, and even her tone became a little sour.
After Chika and Kaguya left, Asuna noticed Asagiri still staring at their retreating figures. Remembering what Chika had just said about other girls asking for his contact information, a sudden unease crept into her voice, making it a little sour.
"Chika is really cute, isn't she?"
Asagiri nodded in agreement, speaking frankly,
"Yes, not only cute but she's got a big chest too."
"You... your priorities, as always..."
"Oh, come on."
Asagiri waved his hand dismissively, cutting her off with a light chuckle,
"Do you actually think Chika's some naive airhead? Coming from a political family, she's got a calculating, darker side beneath that sweetness. I was just answering your question honestly. There's nothing particularly interesting about her yet."
Asuna muttered softly,
"You said that 'yet' at the end…which makes it sound pretty suspicious."
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