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

Because it was a group activity, Himekoji basically only needed to deal with the three girls in her group. However, the slightly troublesome thing was that she had seen all three of them naked the night before. After all, they were in the same group and were assigned to the same room. When Yukinoshita opened the door and squatted on the ground, Himekoji could see everything at a glance.

So it's still Yukinoshita's fault. Go and reason with her. If she hadn't squatted down and obediently stood in front of you, Himekoji wouldn't have seen any of you.

Perhaps out of shyness or anger, the other two, Hiramatsu and Haruna, did not speak to Himekoji. Yukinoshita spoke to Himekoji about everything, although Yukinoshita's gaze almost never lingered on Himekoji's face.

I guess they all changed their underwear today. I wonder what color panties Yukinoshita is wearing today.

Just as he was thinking this, Ji Xiaolu's phone vibrated twice and then went silent again. It was the familiar sound of an email coming in. He opened his phone and read the email, and found that the sender was a name that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

Ogiso Setsuna: Long time no see, how are you? Haruto-kun, we're doing pretty well at school. I just talked to Kazusa, Iori, Iizuka, Kitahara and I about going to karaoke together. I don't know if Kazusa has contacted you. I mean, let's go together after you come back from your school trip.

How about going to karaoke? There seems to be such a scene. According to the original work, Kitahara was tutoring Setsuna and Kazusa, but Iizuka and Io kept inviting them, and in the end, Kazusa couldn't resist the pressure and was tempted away by the honey toast.

Therefore, it's impossible for Kitahara to tutor Kazusa, because Kazusa has Himekoji and Kasumigaoka tutoring her, and her grades are good enough to pass and graduate. Although Himekoji only thinks it's the work of the world's will, Kitazono Haruki still seems to pose a certain threat.

It must be eliminated.

Himekoji replied: I understand. It would be great if you could wait for me to come back so we could go together. I also want to go to karaoke with everyone.

Finally, Setsuna replied with a smiling emoticon and the sentence: I understand, I will definitely make everyone wait for you.

I put my phone in my pocket and walked with Yukino towards the ticket booth of Ryoan-ji Temple, as red-tinged leaves kept falling from above.

Upon entering the temple after purchasing tickets, the first thing visitors see is a vast pond. This pond, named "Kagayō-ike," covers nearly half the area of ​​the entire temple. It is said that during the Heian period, nobles enjoyed boating on it. It is believed that Himekoji's ancestors must have drunk and made merry here, composing haiku, perhaps even dancing hand in hand under the moonlight, visiting the home of a talented woman in the capital, reciting poems, and finally indulging in tender moments on the tatami mats.

Just like what Genji (the author of the novel) often did.

The path to the pilgrimage is lined with low bamboo fences, and people walk up the stone steps.

Upon entering the Abbot's Hall, the front courtyard is the renowned Rock Garden.

A rock garden is a dry landscape garden, meaning that water is not used in the garden and it is filled with stones and the like.

Ah, I see. The white sand is meant to represent the surface of water; and the concentric circles around the rocks look a bit like ripples... I guess so.

"The stone courtyard is also called the 'Tiger Cub Crossing the River Courtyard.' I want to see exactly what makes it resemble a tiger."

Yukinoshita, gently pinching her chin, carefully examined the entire dry landscape garden and muttered to herself.

"Do you find it impossible to move your legs away from any feline animal?"

“How rude of me—,” Yukinoshita glanced at Himekoji and said to herself, “A feline? Please don’t use such a broad term to describe it, okay? It’s clearly the cutest animal in the world after Mr. Pan, okay?”

"Yes, yes, yes... Miss Cat Encyclopedia"

Ji Xiaolu was speechless and had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender.

"Humph."

She doesn't seem angry at being called a cat encyclopedia; on the contrary, she's even a little smug.

After circling around, Yukinoshita couldn't figure out anything, so she sat down with Himekoji on the wooden walkway extending from the veranda, as if in a huff. She gently brushed her hands over the back of her skirt, smoothing it out as she sat on the pleated skirt, then brushed her black hair behind her ears and continued to think.

"Ah...you've come too."

Hikigaya appeared beside Himekoji, and he didn't seem too surprised to see Himekoji and Yukinoshita sitting there alone.

The other two girls in the group wandered around the courtyard. While Yukinoshita was staring at the dry landscape garden trying to find the tiger, they had already left Himekoji and the other two behind, creating a world just for the two of them.

"coincidence."

Himeko waved to him and pointed to the seat next to her, indicating that he should sit down.

As soon as Hikigaya sat down, Yukino cleared her throat and asked, "Hikigaya-kun, how is the request progressing?"

Just after asking that question, Yui Hama reappeared from the other side.

Chapter 231 He felt that white suited Yukino Yukinoshita very well.

"Ah, Yukino! And... Himekoji-kun, oh, are you two a team?"

"Idiot, you can see it clearly, of course it's a group, after all, the second day is a group operation."

Hikigaya immediately continued.

"Although we've had a lot of unpleasant experiences with this guy, we're still members of the same group after all." X2

Himekoji and Yukinoshita pointed at each other and explained to Hikigaya and Yuihama respectively.

Although Yukinoshita's words mostly use suffixes that are considered feminine, Himekoji and she are ultimately expressing the same meaning.

After saying that, Yukinoshita and Himekoji exchanged a silent glance, each of them looking slightly frowning. Then they both spoke at the same time: "Could you please stop mimicking me?"

"Wow...that's amazing."

Yuihama was shocked by the synchronization rate.

"What's so amazing about this?!" X2

Himekoji and Yukinoshita pointed at each other again and complained with dissatisfaction.

Not only Yuihama, but also Hikigaya was speechless. They looked at each other and chuckled awkwardly.

Hey Yuihama, weren't you the girl who ran away screaming yesterday wearing pajamas with a dachshund print and no bra? There were too many people around, so I didn't get a good look...

"Enough," Yukinoshita seemed angry with herself, she snorted coldly, then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and asked, "How is the request progressing?"

"Hmm...it's difficult."

Yuihama briefly explained the current situation to Yukinoshita, who lowered her gaze with a sense of guilt after listening.

"I see. I'm so sorry, you've been put in charge this time."

"No, don't worry about it."

She smiled with relief when she saw Yui wave gently in front of her chest.

"Although it may not be considered compensation, I've given it some thought."

"What are you thinking about?"

Look over here from beneath the snow.

"We can provide the girls with some Kyoto attractions they might like as a reference for their free time tomorrow."

"Wow~ As expected of Yukino! Ah, let's go together tomorrow!"

"With the Ministry of Revenue and them?"

"It's not quite the same. We can follow behind and see how we can help."

Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, Himeko suddenly felt Hachiman move closer to him. He covered his ear with one hand and whispered, "Hey, did you really go to the girls' room last night?"

Himekoji nodded solemnly. Then, he noticed Hachiman making a rare, comical face. He chuckled to himself and whispered, "Did you see...?"

"See what?"

Yuihama suddenly approached, startling Hikigaya, who was whispering to Himekoji, so much that he almost fell off the extension of the corridor.

"Anyway, it must have been a farce that skirted the line of crime last night." Yukino, her cheeks slightly flushed, smoothed her hair and glared fiercely at Himekoji. Then, she turned that murderous gaze to Hikigaya and said, "Hikigaya-kun, those who know are accomplices."

"I...I wasn't asking about those things anyway." Because he was lying, Hachiman looked very awkward. Then Yui blushed, crossed her arms, and scolded him disapprovingly, "You're such a pervert!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it was this guy who barged into your girls' room, not me! How come I'm the one who's being accused of being H?"

Hikigaya pointed innocently at himself, while Yui and Yukinoshita focused their attention on Himekoji. With their indignant gazes, Himekoji raised her hands and said, "Okay, okay, I surrender. Maybe I saw something yesterday, but I drank with Hiratsuka-sensei and got drunk. I blacked out this morning and forgot everything. Um, isn't it common to black out after drinking? I definitely don't remember what you were wearing last night, Yukinoshita..."

"Thump—!!" "Pfft—"

Yukino gave Himekoji a hard elbow to the stomach, knocking his eyes back and stopping him from saying what he was about to say.

Damn it, this damn woman, is she serious?!

"That's terrible."

"That's really terrible."

"Absolutely terrible."

"There is no one worse than this."

Yuihama and Yukinoshita took turns speaking, as if they had planned it beforehand.

"Cough cough cough cough—! Cough cough cough!"

Himekoji coughed for a while, during which Hitori patted his back sympathetically to help him catch his breath. Himekoji had already mustered his muscles, but he was still badly beaten by Yukinoshita. Although he didn't really intend to say it, this guy was taking it way too seriously.

You're learning Aikido, aren't you? When did you secretly start learning Muay Thai?

Tomorrow, that area on my right abdomen will definitely turn bluish.

"Ah—, I almost stepped onto the road to the Sanzu River."

Ji Xiaolu rubbed her stomach and said with a wry smile.

"Oh dear, if I had known, I would have used more force. Then there wouldn't be such a corrupt being as Himekoji Haruto in this world. The world would be 97 percent cleaner."

"Hey, putting aside the claim that I'm being treated like a source of pollution, how did you calculate that percentage?"

"Is there even a need to calculate this? As long as you exist, this will be the situation."

Yukino looked at him with a pitying gaze, as if he were a fool.

"...You just wait."

Ji Xiaolu muttered these two sentences, which can be considered as making a harsh statement.

Today, we've officially started this feud! Yukino Yukinoshita, you just wait, one day... hmph.

After bidding farewell to Yuihama and Hikigaya, Yukinoshita looked at Himekoji with displeasure and said, "How could you just say something like that?"

"I was planning to stop there anyway, didn't you see I had already paused? Who knew you would elbow me like that... Ah, Yukinoshita, how are you going to make it up to me?"

"Oh my, so even the self-proclaimed strongman, Himekoji Haruto, has a day when he has to demand compensation from me, the weakling? What is this, a reversal of power?"

"...White suits you well."

"Boom--!"

Yukinoshita threw another elbow strike, but this time Himekoji was prepared and caught it with his palm, rendering Yukinoshita's attack ineffective.

"Please don't be so violent."

"It's all because you insisted on saying things that make women ashamed."

Having her attack neutralized, Yukinoshita withdrew her elbow, gave a soft snort, and rolled her eyes at Himekoji in a reproachful manner.