I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

Of course, those food stalls aren't free.

A banner reading "Taisho Romantic Tea" was hung in front of Class A early on. To be precise, it was nailed on rather than hung up. A lot of effort was put into making the banner look three-dimensional. Not to mention how many customers were inside, there were still about ten people queuing outside. It seems to be a very popular shop.

"If I remember correctly, this should be Ogiso Setsuna-senpai's class."

Standing under the "Taisho Romantic Tea Making" sign, Yukinoshita gently pinched her chin and pondered.

"That's right, so let's go in and take a look now."

As Ji Xiaolu was about to pull the door open, the people in line behind her immediately shouted, "Hey, get in line!" Ji Xiaolu then pointed to her armband and said, "Routine check, check."

"Damn it, this is blatant privilege!"

As Himekoji and Yukinoshita went inside together, the people queuing outside all exclaimed in amazement.

Well, I'll just go in and take a look; I won't actually sit down for tea, and there aren't any seats inside anyway.

"Um, didn't you say please wait... Oh, it's the student council president."

Mizusawa Iori was somewhat troubled to see the door open again and there were no empty seats in the classroom, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"Routine check, please relax."

Yukino looked around and casually said to Iori.

"Speaking of which, where's Setsuna?"

“Yukina…” Iori shook her head, rubbing her forehead, then suddenly turned and pointed towards the kitchen, saying, “Hey, Yukina, stop hiding, come out!”

By the way, let me explain here that the so-called Taisho Romantic Tea Ceremony refers to an event in which the male and female staff responsible for serving the tea wear clothing in the style of the Taisho period. The Taisho period followed the Meiji period and was a period of rapid development in Japan after the Meiji Restoration. During this period, social customs and clothing underwent significant changes. So, from today's perspective, it is a very interesting period of history, and the clothing is also very distinctive.

If you really want to compare, the clothes the girls are wearing now are quite similar to shrine maiden outfits, but the colors are completely different. Only the design is almost the same. Their upper bodies are a mix of purple and white, with an alternating diagonal placket style, and their lower bodies are dark purple hakama. Although she was hiding behind the curtain with her hands clasped together, Himekoji still spotted her at a glance by following Iori's gaze.

"What are you doing hiding in a place like that? Come out for a bit."

Himeko smiled and waved as she walked over to her. Yukinoshita, however, seemed unconcerned, standing with her arms crossed and observing every corner she found suspicious.

"Haru, Haruto-kun...I—", Yukina was finally half-pushed and half-pulled out by Iori. Seeing Himekoji standing in front of her, she seemed very embarrassed, looking herself up and down, and secretly glancing at him to ask, "Am I... dressed like this, is it strange?"

“How could that be strange?” Himekoji gave her a thumbs up and said, “Excellent!”

"Hey, Himekoji, it's time to go."

Yukinoshita, growing impatient, frowned and reminded him.

"Oh, goodbye, Yukina, Iori, and Iizuka!"

He waved to them one by one, and Himekoji and Yukinoshita, who looked displeased, walked out the door together.

"By the way, why does that guy call you all by your first names but me by my surname?"

Takeya Iizuka pointed at himself and said with a displeased expression.

"Well, that's because both Setsuna and I are cute girls."

Yi Xu confidently shrugged and said.

After going outside, Yukinoshita casually leaned against the window and looked at the bustling stalls outside, saying casually, "Himekoji, do you always call the girls around you by their first names?"

"No, haven't I always called you Yukinoshita? Or... Yukino?"

"..." Yukinoshita didn't speak. She bit her lower lip and turned to glare at Himekoji, her cheeks visibly flushed. Then she shook her head and said, "Just call me Yukinoshita."

Chapter 208 Suddenly, [Touma Youko] extended an invitation.

Just then, Ji Xiaolu's phone started vibrating frantically. After a soft apology, she took out her phone and immediately answered it in the corridor.

After all, it was a call from Yoko's older sister.

"Little Qingren, where are you?"

Yoko said in a very coquettish tone.

"For the cultural festival, of course I'm at school... I'm both the executive committee chairperson and the student council president, it's exhausting."

"I'm so tired. I was just saying I wanted to ask you out tonight."

"Huh—? Sister, weren't you supposed to arrive tomorrow night...?"

Yoko is in France. She told Kazusa that she would arrive in Japan the next night and then go to the school the following day to watch her performance at the closing ceremony.

"I'm telling you, how can you believe what women say? Didn't Daphne educate you about this?" Yoko sighed and said, "I've been in Japan for several days now. Adjusting to the time difference isn't something that can be done in a short time. The reason I told Kazusa that I would arrive tomorrow night was just to lie to her. By the way, don't let me know."

"No, no..."

"So, tonight?"

"Tonight is definitely out of the question. Kazusa and two other third-year students have been practicing their band pieces at my house recently, so I have no reason to suddenly go out tonight. It's fine once the school festival is over."

"Oh, I see~ Well, goodbye for now, I'll call you later, mua~"

Yoko kissed the receiver with deep affection. Himekoji hung up the phone with a wry smile and waved to Yukinoshita, who had been lost in thought for a long time, saying, "Hey, I'm leaving."

"There aren't any more classes to patrol, so should our work come to an end here?"

Coming to her senses, Yukino coughed lightly and said seriously.

"Well, so I'm planning to just wander around now. You can wander around too, but remember to keep your headset on so we can contact you if anything happens."

"no problem."

With that, Yukinoshita moved away from Himekoji, gently smoothed her hair, and left.

"So, what's next?"

Standing in the bustling corridor, Ji Xiaolu scratched his head in confusion. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure hiding behind the corner of the corridor. Curious, he took a few steps forward and then suddenly appeared.

"Whoaaaaah!" Kazusa was startled by Himekoji's sudden appearance, and immediately gave him a side kick, angrily saying, "Damn it, don't scare me like that."

However, Himekoji caught the ankle of the side kick, then easily threw it away, clapped his hands and said, "Well, it's because you were sneaking around here and secretly watching me, so I wanted to come and scare you a little."

"Hmph, I wasn't sneaking around watching you. I just happened to be passing by and wanted to take a break. You're a bit too self-conscious."

Kazusa, whose attack had failed, crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and complained.

"Yes, yes, by the way, Kazusa, did you try all the food from the stalls the students set up?"

"Try...not yet!"

She changed her mind immediately after saying just a little bit. Seeing this, Himekoji grabbed her hand and ran down the stairs. Kazusa was confused and kept asking, "Hey...where are we going?"

"Of course I want to enjoy the cultural festival with you! I don't know what you've been doing before, but now that I'm done with work, it's a good time to try some food stalls!"

Himekoji only let go of Kazusa's hand after pulling her down several layers. Kazusa twisted her wrist, hummed softly, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and walked in front of Himekoji. She turned back and smiled slightly, saying, "Then, you can cover all the expenses, no problem?"

"à votre service. (I am willing to serve you)"

Himekoji pretended to take off his hat and bow, since he wasn't wearing a hat at the moment.

"Pfft, hahaha... Let's go, you're still speaking French to me."

Under the influence of Himekoji's mother and her own mother, Kazusa can speak several languages, including German, French, and Italian, but not very fluently; she only knows them halfway. In addition, she has never learned English, which she hates the most. Otherwise, she wouldn't have to use Japanese Romanization to spell her English essays.

Wow! Honey toast!

Upon seeing the honey toast, Kazusa acted like Jerry discovering cheese, grabbing Himekoji's arm and running towards the stall, as if she wanted Himekoji to buy the entire stall.

"Oh, it's the student council president. How can I help you?"

The stall owner was also a student, and he was naturally a little nervous when he saw the student council president. Ji Xiaolu waved his hand to make him relax and pointed to his goods, saying, "Give me... two portions, how much?"

"Two portions, totaling one thousand yuan."

He quickly made two portions, packed them into a clean cardboard box, then put them into a plastic bag. Just as he was about to hand them to Himekoji, Kazusa snatched one away from him.

"Um...this?"

"It's alright," Himekoji paid the bill, took the other serving, and led Kazusa to the next stall, saying as they walked, "Why don't you say a few words to them?"

"Ugh, so annoying," Kazusa said, deftly unpacking the package, breaking off a piece as she walked, and casually holding it to Himekoji's mouth, saying, "Open your mouth."

"what."

"Hmph, I won't give you the first one."

Kazusa chuckled and withdrew her hand, stuffing the piece into her mouth. Himekoji glared at her resentfully. The next time, Kazusa broke off another piece and stuffed it into his mouth, effectively silencing him.

"Oh, by the way, who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

“I met a girl at a previous banquet. She invited me to a banquet on her family’s cruise ship tonight, but I declined.”

"I see. Well, never mind, let's continue!"

Kazusa happily dragged Himekoji to the cotton candy stand, and the two of them thoroughly explored every sweet stall in the entire school. Himekoji was so full of sweets that her teeth were practically chapped...

"Ah, that feels so good."

Satisfied with her meal, Kazusa lay sprawled on a sparsely populated lawn in the school, pulling Himekoji down beside her as well. The two lay spread out in a starfish position, but they had to make sure to tuck their skirts down.

Normally, this place is full of couples who come here for dates and meals, but today everyone is enjoying the cultural festival, so places like this are mostly empty.

"Thanks to you, I ate almost all the food you couldn't finish... I'm so full."

"Well, I want to try more things, so I can only let Himekoji contribute what he still can."

Kazusa would take a few bites of many things and then just hand them to Himekoji. Otherwise, it's impossible for a girl to have devoured all the sweets at the stalls.

Chapter 209 The Big Explosion, [These Two Women] Finally Met

"To contribute my remaining energy... I'm so sad."

"Hahaha—well, I haven't been this happy in a long time, thank you."

"Idiot, why are you thanking me?"

Himeko reached out and ruffled Kazusa's little head. This time, instead of dodging, Kazusa obediently rubbed against Himeko's head. However, she quickly realized that her behavior was very ambiguous and immediately blushed and said, "Go away!" and slapped Himeko's arm aside.

The sunshine is so warm... My tense nerves seem to have relaxed a lot. The breeze by my ears feels so comfortable, like grass fairies whispering something. Oh no, my consciousness... seems to be drifting away.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Ji Xiaolu was suddenly awakened by the voice in his earpiece. He sat up abruptly from the grass. Kazusa was sitting sideways beside him, her fingers gently pressing down on the hem of her skirt. Seeing that he was awake, Kazusa looked displeased and said, "Hey, how come you suddenly fell asleep?"

"Excuse me..."

Rubbing her still heavy eyelids, Ji Xiaolu listened to the muffled words coming through her earpiece and gave several instructions.