People bring their own maids to the training camp

I'm sorry to make you think that way.

"If I apologize now, my position will become increasingly... well, I guess I made a mistake by defining what a 'young lady' is rather strange."

"Hehehe, then let's call it a draw."

The two chatted about everyday things for a while, and soon it was time for dinner.

So the two left the coffee shop.

"I hadn't noticed before, but I didn't expect this store to be so good."

"Considering the time it takes me to and from the dormitory, the Palette area is probably already full. It's really hard to find a seat there after school."

"Haha, yeah, but if it were Chihaya, maybe someone would be willing to give you their spot?" Honami joked.

"Fanbo, it's the same, isn't it? Don't think you can stay out of it just because I'm in first place and you're in second."

"Hehehe, we've been found out."

"Alright, shall we go eat?"

"It is my honor to have dinner with my older sister."

"Why is Honami imitating Ai too?" Chihaya was quite exasperated, feeling that Honami was unusually lively today.

"Because I'm also a member of the fan club~" Honami pulled out her membership card and waved it in front of Chihaya. "I'm a formally registered member!"

“In that case, let Honami, a genuine member, decide what’s for dinner,” Chihaya said decisively. “Shouldn’t that be considered a fan perk for members?”

"Mmm, that's a great perk." Fanbo suppressed a laugh. "How about we go get the tempura set meal with mayonnaise that Big Sister has been craving?"

"...You have a pretty good memory. I almost forgot about this myself if you hadn't mentioned it."

"So what do you think? This is a chance to 'come true'!"

Chihaya chuckled upon hearing this.

"Since we can 'fulfill our dreams,' shall we set off?"

“Okay~” Honami took Chihaya’s arm and said, “Let’s head to the cafeteria then, hopefully it won’t be too crowded right now.”

What if that meal deal isn't available today?

"Then I'll have to trouble you, big sister, to eat the barbecue set meal without the barbecue meat~"

"The mountain vegetable set meal includes vegetables!"

"Okay, let's hurry up and go, otherwise we'll only have the mountain vegetable set meal?"

......

Not far away, Kamuro picked up his phone and made a call.

"After leaving the coffee shop, the two went to the cafeteria. There was nothing special going on; it was all just casual conversation."

"..." The person on the other end of the phone said something.

"What's different about the other party? Hmm... does that concubine who wasn't wearing a school uniform but her own clothes count?"

"..."

"Understood, I will continue to follow."

38. Catching a worm in a jar (Part 1)

Kikyo Kushida has been in an extremely bad mood lately.

He had been turned away from Horikita Suzune all along, but this time, in order to get closer to her, he gritted his teeth and spent 10000 points to participate in the knowledge quiz competition.

As a result, not only did he not do well on the test, but he also failed to get a single word out with Horikita Suzune.

Kushida believed he had no chance of getting into the top three.

Let alone knowledge quizzes, she might not even be able to get into the top three in a test based on textbook content. The other two contestants from Class D are already much better than her.

It's a waste of both time and money. Kushida now wishes she had a dozen or twenty glass bottles on hand so she could smash them over Horikita's head to vent her anger—obviously, this can only be achieved through wishful thinking.

What's even more infuriating is that her attempt to turn the tables turned out to be a complete blunder—she couldn't find the other person at all, the money was withdrawn from the card without any transfer record, leaving her with no leads whatsoever. Furthermore, she later discovered that the surveillance footage from the location of their last conversation had mysteriously disappeared.

She had initially thought the boy named Hasaka was quite distinctive, and that a little inquiry would reveal his true identity. However, she found herself completely stumped. Especially since she had indeed received 50000 points, she felt greatly reassured—why would she pay if she had nothing to hide?

However, it turned out that she seemed to have been tricked again, and she was even smug about her cleverness.

After reviewing the situation, Kushida concluded that the other person was definitely not a first-year student. After all, he was a very handsome and outstanding young man, and if he were a classmate, there would be no reason why she wouldn't recognize him.

As for whether it's second-year or third-year students, she wasn't very sure. After all, it had only been two weeks since the start of the semester, and she had only made many friends in the first year. It was too far away for her to keep up with the second and third-year students.

The original idea was to proceed steadily and cautiously, taking things one step at a time, because you have to eat one bite at a time.

Now look what's happened, we've lost everything.

Sustainable exploitation through overfishing is also unsustainable.

Kushida racked his brains but couldn't figure out how the other person had managed to disappear without a trace. Surely they couldn't have just gotten a school uniform to deceive him? But the other person's age clearly indicated a high school student—schools prohibited students from working, and there were neither students from the school nor any outsiders. All the staff at the Keyaki Shopping Center were adults.

However, Kushida still took a chance and visited all the shops, casually trying to get information out of the shop assistants.

Got nothing.

It was said that the student council had a roster of all the students in the school, but Kushida couldn't think of a suitable reason for it. She knew that the rigid student council president would not let her see it easily.

Using lies to cover up lies will eventually be exposed, which is why Kushida is in a stalemate.

The imagined life of being successful and extravagant has vanished from her, and she even dreams of being threatened into doing unspeakable things.

As the saying goes, ideals and reality are not the same thing.

The reality is that she can only hold a cup of milk tea, feign regret, and chat about shopping with a few silly women. And because of her faint dark circles, she has to use makeup to cover them up.

Hmph, ignorant fools. Spending money like this will cause problems sooner or later. On the surface, Kushida was chatting happily with his companions, but in his heart, he looked down on Karuizawa Kei and her group.

"Excuse me, everyone in Class D~" a voice suddenly rang out.

"You're Hayasaka from Class B, right?" Kushida recognized the newcomer immediately.

Although they hadn't interacted much before, the gold and silver sisters, Chihaya Himemiya and Ai Hayasaka, from Class B were quite a topic of conversation among the first-year students; basically, everyone in the entire grade knew them.

"Eh? So Kushida-san knows me~ That makes things easier!" Hayasaka clasped her hands together, looking delighted. "Even so, please allow me to introduce myself—Hayasaka Ai from Class 1-B. Nice to meet you all."

After exchanging names and contact information, the girls from Class D made room for Hayasaka.

"Is there something you need, Hayasaka-san?" Kushida asked with a smile.

"Ah, it's really nothing serious~" Hayasaka took a letter out of her bag. "Since someone happened to leave this here, I thought I'd like to inquire about it anyway."

"Hey! Is it a love letter!?" The girls immediately became excited. "As expected of Hayasaka-san!"

"Hey, unfortunately, I found this in Chihaya's shoe closet." Hayasaka said, raising her index finger in a "shh" gesture. "As her older sister and best friend, of course I have to help her check it out!"

"Yes, yes, that's right." Kushida nodded repeatedly. "So, this letter was delivered by the boys in our class?"

"Yes, although it wasn't very good, I secretly opened it and looked at it," Hayasaka said softly. "I want to ask, what kind of person is Yamauchi from Class D? I don't know him very well."

Upon hearing the name Yamauchi, the expressions of the rest of Class D, except for Kushida, became quite subtle, or rather, they turned into disdain.

The group exchanged glances, and Karuizawa Kei spoke first.

"I suggest that Hayasaka-san just tear up this letter and not let Himegami-san see it."

"Eh?"

"Yamachi-kun has a good sense of humor," Kushida added.

"Isn't that great?" Hayasaka began to play dumb.

In reality, the love letter was forged by Hayasaka, and the name Yamauchi was a "lucky one" that Hayasaka deliberately chose from among the people in Class D with questionable evaluations.

Although Hayasaka wasn't very familiar with the members of Class D, she offered to refill the drinks of Karuizawa Megumi and Kushida Kikyo, which immediately won them their favor.

As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to be grateful," and no one will harbor ill will towards someone who offers to treat them.

Hayasaka, in particular, was a master of rhetoric, praising several people so much in just a few words that they were overjoyed and wished they could become sworn brothers on the spot.

In return, the girls in Class D, led by Karuizawa Megumi, told her almost everything about Class D. Although Kushida Kikyo wanted to stop them, she was outnumbered and outmatched. Karuizawa Megumi had already gotten carried away and started to criticize the boys in Class D.

"Although Yukimura has excellent grades, he is too rigid and not nearly as good as Yosuke."

This is a classic Karuizawa-style statement; after commenting on the boys in Class D, she always uses Hirata Yosuke as a point of reference to put them down.

"Hahaha, Karuizawa-san has a good eye~ I heard Hirata-san is quite popular." Hayasaka went along with what the other person said, but in his heart he didn't think so.

The fact that they could become a couple in just over half a month suggests that he's not a very reliable person. He's probably just a guy who's superficial and only started dating Karuizawa because she's pretty.

39. Catching a cricket in a jar (Part 2)

The fact that they could become a couple in just over half a month suggests that he's not a very reliable person. He's probably just a guy who's superficial and only started dating Karuizawa because she's pretty.

"Speaking of popularity, isn't the most popular person in the entire first year Hayasaka-san and Himegami-san from your Class B?"

“Indeed, that’s why I’m holding the love letters from Chihaya’s shoe cabinet. She’s always attended an all-girls school and isn’t very good at handling these kinds of things.”

“Hayasaka-san and Himegami-san are very close,” Kushida said.

"Yes, we both grew up drinking the same mother's milk."

"Eh?!"

"Don't get me wrong, my mom and her mom are best friends, so she also breastfed Chihaya—it's not that kind of half-sibling relationship!" Hayasaka quickly explained.

"Hahaha, it's all because Hayasaka-san herself said something too ambiguous!"

"Hime-kun is indeed very popular, but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to become friends with her yet."

"That's easy! I'll introduce you to Chihaya next time!"

"really?"

"We're all friends! I'm sure Kushida-san and Chihaya will get along well too."

The girls chatted amongst themselves about clothing, accessories, and skincare products.

When they parted, Kushida said he was going back to his dorm, while the Karuizawa group decided to go shopping at Keyaki Shopping Center.

Hayasaka then said he wanted to go back, and he and Kushida went together.