My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

After Naoto and the others waited for a while, Yukino and the others arrived shortly after.

They showed great surprise at the fact that there was only this one cherry blossom tree in the empty surroundings.

After all, in Tokyo, where land is incredibly valuable, having a place specifically for planting a cherry blossom tree is practically like seeing a ghost.

However, no one thought much of it; they simply assumed it was just a slightly special place that had been found by everyone.

"We owe it all to Nanko. Naoto and I searched for ages, and it was only because of Nanko that we found this place."

"So, you two just waited there like that, letting Nanako-chan come out alone?"

"Well, it's a little embarrassing to say, but as the saying goes, great people always support each other. As Naoto's girlfriend, I believe Nanko is quite capable. Finding such a place was a piece of cake for her."

Sakuta, hearing Mai's somewhat lecturing tone, quickly began to beg for mercy, but Mai, at this moment, revealed a playful smile.

"You mean I'm not good enough?"

"Huh? How could that be?! In my eyes, Mai-senpai will always be the best. It's just that Mai-senpai is so outstanding that I seem too ordinary."

The single guys listening to the two flirting felt like they were already full before they even ate anything.

Especially Yukino, who had previously thought that her senior was a cold person like herself.

It turns out that after spending time with Sakuta, that pig-headed boy, he seems quite enthusiastic.

I don't quite understand why Mai is so fond of Sakuta, this pig-faced boy who talks a lot of nonsense.

Meanwhile, Akito and Moritaka, standing to the side, looked as if they had learned something.

Sakuta-sensei is really all about basic attacks and critical hits! It looks like he's doing nothing but basic attacks, but it turns out to be all ultimate moves.

No wonder he managed to win over the nation's goddess Mai; his level is simply amazing!

They seem to need to study harder.

"Nanzi, how did you get this cherry blossom tree?"

Seeing everyone chatting happily, Naoto secretly asked Nanko where the cherry blossom tree came from and why he had never seen it around here before.

"Where did it come from? It was just planted today."

"kind……"

Well, planting a tree instead of flowers is quite something, isn't it? With Nanzi's abilities, it's really not a troublesome thing.

Besides, these falling cherry blossoms do look quite beautiful, so let's just pretend nothing happened.

As noon approached, everyone took out what they had prepared and quickly filled the picnic blanket.

"Did you prepare all of this, Naoto?"

Looking at the exquisite food on the picnic blanket, Mai-senpai was somewhat shocked.

Although Sakuta had always told her that Naoto usually prepared her lunch, she never expected that Naoto's cooking skills were so good.

"Did Naoto make this? Are you sure it wasn't Nanako who helped?"

Yukino was also quite surprised by Mai's words; she had thought that someone like Naoto wouldn't usually cook.

Upon hearing Yukino's words, Kusunoko gave Yukino a very subtle look. While Kusunoko could cook, she had actually been spoiled rotten by her mother and Naoto. Expecting her to cook well without using her superpowers was pure fantasy.

"Hey, Naoto's cooking skills have always been excellent. Oh, by the way, I've prepared some too. Let's all eat together."

"Oh? My mom also prepared some and asked me to bring them over."

"I also……"

At this point, the group of people took out the food they had prepared at home, only to find that there seemed to be an absurd amount of food.

Moreover, many things seem to be repetitive.

Looking at the food on the picnic blanket, everyone fell into deep thought for a moment.

Can they finish all this food?

At that moment, Yukino picked up a cherry blossom mochi made by Naoto and carefully took a bite.

Instantly, the aroma of cherry blossom mochi filled Yukino's mouth, along with an unparalleled sweetness.

"good to eat."

Yukino was surprised that Naoto's cooking tasted so good. Even the family chef could only manage this level of skill. She felt like she had lost in some way.

Not only is he such an excellent painter, but he's also incredibly good at cooking? Who is this guy anyway?

"Pfft."

Just then, Nanzi seemed to see something very funny and couldn't help but laugh.

"Nanzi, you seem very happy. Did you hear something interesting?"

Seeing Nanzi's happy expression, Naoto was a little curious. What could have made Nanzi so happy?

"It's nothing, I just feel happy that we're all together."

Nanko did not tell Naoto what she had heard.

Everyone has their own little secrets. Although Nanzi can hear these secrets, she will not reveal them.

Just like now, Yukino is amazed by Naoto's excellent cooking skills and wants to cook for Sakuta, but feels that she is no match for Naoto's Mai.

Akito is thinking about whether he should learn a skill from Naoto, while Moritaka is preoccupied with how to share today's events with Azuki.

Sakuta was thinking about sharing the food with his younger sister later, while Hachiman was only thinking about eating.

These people gathered together, and although they all had different thoughts, they were all very interesting.

Compared to the chaotic thoughts she used to experience in crowds, Nanzi now feels a sense of warmth from everyone around her.

As the cherry blossom petals began to fall slowly, the restlessness in everyone's hearts seemed to be completely washed away.

In the distance, the sound of cherry blossom songs seemed to echo continuously.

Sakura

Sakura

Under the clear sky in March

An endless expanse of cherry blossoms!

Flowers like a sea of ​​clouds, like colorful clouds

Incredibly fragrant and beautiful as a painting

快来吧

快来吧

Come see the cherry blossoms!

It's unclear who started it, but gradually, everyone began singing this cherry blossom song that's so popular in Japan.

"It's so great! It's my first time seeing flowers, and I'm so happy to be here with everyone. I'm really excited."

After the song ended, Naoto couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

This statement was met with agreement from everyone.

This is my first time going out to enjoy the flowers, and I'm really happy to be able to come out with everyone.

Even just talking together makes me feel much happier than lying in bed alone at home.

"I hope to see such beautiful cherry blossoms next year too."

Such a small wish, it seems, inadvertently reached the ears of a certain deity.

Chapter 115: Sports Festival? What's that?

It was lunchtime again, and Moritaka and Akito arrived at the creative club as quickly as they could.

Lately, the two of them have practically made the creative club room their own home. Now they feel that agreeing to let Naoto join the creative club was definitely a wise decision.

In the past, when they created comics, they had to be careful about their influence and prevent their classmates from watching.

However, within the creative club, they can draw comics with complete peace of mind, and even if something special happens, they can use the excuse of club activities to escape directly.

This place is like a special area prepared just for them to draw comics; it's really amazing.

Especially in this atmosphere, their creative speed has also increased. What would have been a period of time to create a new comic has actually resulted in the creation of two or three chapters.

When the two opened the club's door, they were surprised to find that there were already people inside.

On the windowsill, Naoto was drawing a comic on a draft paper with a paintbrush.

"Hey Straight Man, why are you here so early today?"

Both of them were somewhat bewildered as they watched Naoto, who had been sitting in a chair and drawing for some time.

They had already run over there as fast as they could, so how could Naoto have gotten there first?

"Oh, you mean this? Because the last class in the morning was PE, I asked for leave in advance and left, that's all."

To the person who raised the highest question, he simply said it without any concern.

Speaking of which, Naoto's physical education teacher was none other than their old homeroom teacher, Matsuzaki.

As the school's strictest teacher, it's practically impossible to ask Mr. Matsuzaki for leave.

However, Naoto, being a seasoned veteran, naturally had various ways to escape from Matsuzaki-sensei's clutches.

Naoto, who had previously turned a blind eye to Naoto's behavior, naturally began to work under the watchful eyes of many miserable people, and went directly to the creative studio to start drawing manga.

"Is Naoto preparing a draft for the new issue of Parasyte?"

"Yes, that's right. Because there's a very important plot point in the latest episode, I plan to spend more time creating it."

Seeing that Naoto had lost his usual smile and was instead drawing manga with extreme seriousness, the two of them couldn't help but swallow hard.

What kind of plot could warrant such serious attention from Naoto? They had only seen Naoto in this state a few days during the summer training camp, and suddenly, they became quite curious.

The important plot point that Naoto is referring to at this point is, of course, the death of Tamiya Ryoko.

Unlike other parasites, Tamiya Ryoko is extremely intelligent due to the influence of her host, with an IQ that even surpasses that of ordinary humans. She is also one of the few parasites who constantly contemplates the meaning of their existence.

At the same time, due to her exceptionally high intelligence, Tamiya Ryoko's combat power far surpasses that of ordinary parasites. Basically, aside from the final boss, Tamiya Ryoko is arguably the strongest parasite.