I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

So at this moment, Yui Yuigahama quickened her pace and stepped into the special building. She adjusted her breathing in front of the empty classroom without a nameplate, casually placed her hand on the door, and prepared for a "battle".

In the quiet, pervasive corridor, she revealed her usual cheerful smile and opened the classroom door.

"Yo-hello! Little Snow—huh?"

Clang, clang.

The door won't open.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared that even the lights inside were off.

With her expression frozen, Yui Yuigahama stood there awkwardly, her ears gradually turning red.

"Haha, I forgot, Xiaoxue might not come here for lunch every day..."

After making so many preparations, I still came up empty-handed. How embarrassing...

Well, thankfully no one knows. Let's go back!

……

"I'm going to check on the tennis club. You go back to the classroom first, Yu!"

"Oh, bye, Totsuka."

I had a rare lunch with Totsuka Saika and we chatted about many trivial things that had happened recently.

After waving goodbye to the handsome young man from the Milky Way at the cafeteria entrance, Yuu Tenkuji did not go straight back to the classroom. Instead, he went to the shoe locker, changed into sneakers, and slowly walked towards the playground.

With about ten minutes left before class, and since the weather was nice today, he decided to take a walk around the campus to relax his not-so-sunny mood.

Sometimes, by letting go of all thoughts and emptying your mind of the mundane, you might be able to see things that you would normally overlook.

For example, urban legends or something.

To be honest, Yuuko Tenkuji really wanted to see if Hanako in the toilet was as big and small as the legends said, if Mary on the phone was a blonde foreign loli, and how good the physique of the 8-foot-tall man was.

Unfortunately, such a thing doesn't seem to exist in this world.

Otherwise, given the system's style, it would definitely give itself something like "Exorcism (Expert Level)" or "Spiritual Power (Status)" for protection, so as not to be killed by supernatural forces halfway through the mission.

If that's the case, the style of this novel will change... Conquering urban legends and making them disappear is something Tenkuji Yu doesn't want to become Kamui in the back.

...I said I wanted to clear my mind, but I still couldn't help but think about all sorts of things.

Sky Temple sighed, its footprints stretching from the entrance of the teaching building all the way to the edge of the playground.

Looking around, he and the students, who were sweating and playing ball or running, were all under the same clear blue sky.

Shifting my gaze, I saw the archway-shaped sign at the school gate shivering in the cold wind, then swaying left and right before slowly falling down.

...No, it was taken off.

He walked over and saw a group of people with "Executive Committee" armbands hanging on their arms gathered in front of the school gate. Two male students were standing on the A-frame ladder, taking down the arched part of the sign that read "Welcome! The XXth General Martial Arts Festival!" and carrying the heavy-looking wooden sign on one side each, slowly descending the ladder.

"So it was detachable after all..."

Tenkuji Yu sighed softly, paused slightly, and walked towards the long-haired girl with black hair who was clearly the leader of the group.

"Be careful, prioritize stability over speed. If it breaks, we'll have to make a new one, and we don't have that much time..."

"The others shouldn't just stand there and watch; go check if the support pillars below are damaged. Although it's for advertising, I'll have a good talk with the school about putting the sign up so early to be exposed to the wind and rain."

From afar, I could hear her clear and resonant voice, still commanding others with that same haughty and unforgiving manner.

Recalling that it seemed to have drizzled a little last night, Yuuki Tenkuji looked at Yukino Yukinoshita and examined her carefully from head to toe for the first time.

She stood there straight, her slightly pointed chin tilted upwards, gazing intently at the top of the school gate.

Her lead-black hair fluttered in the wind, her stubborn and proud back was always straight, her slender and straight legs, her short skirt revealing a small patch of snow-white skin, and her slim figure that, even without a prominent bust or buttocks, still made people stop and admire her.

Her adorable profile was expressionless, her pink lips slightly pursed, and her sky-blue eyes were stern and bright, as if reflecting a dazzling cold light from the deepest part of her.

Yuu Tenkuji silently admired the scene, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

The girl was like a cluster of crystals, exquisite and translucent, radiating a cool glow. She was exceptionally beautiful, yet also exceptionally unapproachable.

"Yukinoshita-san, is this alright?"

"Yukinoshita-san, is there anything else I should be careful about...?"

"Yukinoshita-san, the left pillar is fine..."

"I understand. Some people are packing up the equipment and filming on set, while the other group..."

Despite the influx of inquiries and reports from those around her, Ms. Yukinoshita remained as calm and collected as ever, handling the dismantling of the signboard in an orderly manner, giving everyone crisp and polite instructions.

What appears to outsiders as aloofness and coldness, Tenkuji Yu has long since seen through to its true nature.

This Snow Woman never pretended to be "aloof"; she was simply more innocent than her peers.

If you don't care about something, you really don't care. There's no lingering or distracting thoughts, and you don't intend to conform to the prevailing atmosphere or force yourself to make any compromises.

But when it comes to people or things she truly cares about, like when she turns around and finds Tenkuji Yu looking at her with that mysterious smile on her face, the panic and helplessness in her eyes, which she tries to appear calm about, is like a murderer whose identity has been pointed out by a detective before she's even ready to confess.

Those unpretentious, simple, and pure genuine reactions were all taken in by Tenkuji Yu. The corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly, and he felt a sudden sense of clarity, like the sky clearing after the rain, and a subtle warmth floated in his heart.

After all, a girl as lovely as her, both inside and out, is one of his few friends.

"How did you come?"

Yukino Yukinoshita casually smoothed her hair to conceal her unease, her gaze fixed on the ground, and spoke as if nothing was amiss.

Chapter 45 A Qualified Friendship

"I was out for a walk and just happened to pass by."

Tenkuji Yu walked to her side and casually looked at the busy crowd at the school gate.

"Taking a walk? I didn't expect you to have such leisure time." After saying this in a sarcastic tone, Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, put her hand down from her hair, and looked at him directly with a natural expression.

"Where is Yuigahama-san?"

"Are you having dinner with friends? I'm having dinner with friends in the cafeteria today too."

"That's really rare."

"Really? Yui and I aren't conjoined twins, and we're not inseparable every day."

"No, I meant the fact that you have other friends." The pretty young woman, her fingertips touching her fair chin, tilted her head slightly, revealing a lovely smile. "That's rare. You're not just some imaginary friend, are you?"

"Sorry, I've never done anything that lonely." Yuu Tenkuji mimicked her actions, also flashing a forcedly cute smile. "You seem quite experienced, so why don't you teach me how to be friends with thin air?"

"..."

As if she had seen a naked man in the street, Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze instantly turned cold, and she glared at him with a face full of disgust.

But as I watched, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pfft, hehe..."

When she met Yu's surprised gaze, she realized her lapse in composure and quickly stopped smiling, pressing her lips together tightly.

Turning her face away and coughing twice, Yukino Yukinoshita crossed her arms and calmly said, "If there's nothing else, I'll continue with the committee's work."

"Okay." Yuu Tenkuji nodded, then asked, "Have you eaten?"

She paused slightly, then glanced at him discreetly, sighing, "I've been busy since get out of class ended, I haven't had time..."

"Really? Remember to eat, you've gotten so thin." Tenkuji Yu patted her shoulder, gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up. "Then I'll go back and rest after I've eaten. Good luck!"

"..."

Frozen in place for half a second, Yukino took a few deep breaths that seemed to make her chest expand, her face, icy yet slightly flushed, turned to him, and she spoke through gritted teeth:

"I'll give you three seconds to get out of my sight!"

"Okay, okay~"

Tenkuji Yu shrugged.

Just then, someone called her name. Yukino Yukinoshita, too lazy to pay attention to this annoying friend anymore, turned around and faced the two students who were carrying the sign.

"Yukinoshita-san, where should we put this?"

Yukino Yukinoshita looked up and examined it for a moment before quickly issuing the order: "Take it to the equipment room first. It looks quite damaged. Repair it and hang it up the day before the cultural festival starts. Remember to prepare a canvas to hang it up."

"Ok."

Two male students, trembling, carried the signboard, seemingly trying to show their manly side in front of her. Instead of calling for help, they looked at each other, sweating profusely.

After confirming each other's eyes and nodding, they simultaneously exerted their strength, huffing and puffing as they hoisted the sign onto their shoulders, and then walked with their heads held high and chests puffed out towards the equipment storage area.

Unfortunately, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't even glance at them. After finishing her sentence, she walked to the school gate, touched the three-meter-high archway pillars, which had several messy engravings on them, seemingly carved with a knife.

"This needs to be taken down too... Was it done by someone outside the school? How ridiculous."

With a helpless sigh, Yukino Yukinoshita turned around, about to call the others over to carry out the demolition work, when the biting winter wind suddenly intensified.

She squinted instinctively, holding her messy, waving hair, unable to see the scene before her clearly.

Even the exclamations that came from beside her ears seemed to have become blurred.

"Yukinoshita-san, watch out!"

"Get out of the way!"

What should we be careful of? What should we avoid?

Still wondering, through the gaps in his flowing black hair, she vaguely saw his figure as a fleeting afterimage.

Perhaps it was just my imagination. After all, I had already let him out of my sight. Why would he rush towards me for no reason?

However, for some reason, the steps that were about to move and move aside subconsciously stopped, and the footsteps remained steady in place, just like the steady heartbeat, as if waiting for something to come.

The next second, the sound of wood breaking and his voice rang out simultaneously.

"It's one thing to be slow to react, but to remain motionless even after someone reminds you is just too much, isn't it?"

Brushing aside the black hair in front of her eyes, Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the wooden pillar that was only half left on the ground, and then looked at him who had raised his hand behind her and used his entire chest to block out half of the sky.

Then, speaking calmly, he said, "Research has shown that in the event of an accident, humans are easily immobilized due to factors such as fear."

Tenkuji Yu glared at her with annoyance: "Then at least act a little scared. Do you know you almost got your head blown off by a three-meter-tall pillar? What would you have done if I hadn't been there, dear Yukinoshita?"

As if she couldn't do anything about him, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed helplessly: "What's done is done, let's not talk about those non-existent hypotheticals, okay?"