[091] It's Unfair!

"Akifumi-kun is so biased! He's never this serious with me!"

Shiina Mahiru pouted, a bit jealous.

Kato blinked, confused.

"What do you mean by biased, Shiina-san?"

Before the girl could respond, the other friends Shiina had made in class crowded around her.

"It's been so long, Shiina-chan!"

"You look even prettier than before the break, what's your secret!?"

"How is it possible that after a whole summer, your skin is still so fair? I've gotten so tan!"

"You didn't even keep in touch over the summer! Hanging out with us would have been so much fun, Shiina-chan!"

"..."

Overwhelmed by her friends' bombardment of questions, Shiina Mahiru couldn't keep up.

"They've even taken over my spot!"

Akifumi sighed as the victim in this situation.

He shook his head, not bothering to argue, and sat down in the vacant seat next to Kato.

On the first day back, not everyone had such a peaceful schedule.

They were probably still rushing to school in a panic, right?

"Shiina popularity is off the charts, it's impressive," Akifumi said, a touch of envy in his voice.

"Honestly, if Kato showed more emotion, I'd believe you will be more popular," he added sarcastically.

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, yeah."

Akifumi nodded with feigned agreement and sighed.

"I really envy Kato."

"This summer was so exciting."

"Family trips, visiting your sister, going to the summer festival..."

Finally, Kato spoke.

"Akifumi, are you really envious?"

"A little, yeah!"

It was like how socially anxious people often envy those who love interacting with others.

Akifumi, who wasn't fond of going out, admired those who could enjoy activities under the scorching sun.

"Just a little, though."

Kato nodded. "So you don't like it after all?"

"..."

This conversation was going nowhere!

Akifumi shot her a fake angry look.

"Kato, if you keep this up, I might stop being your friend!"

"Okay. Then do you want me to lie to you?"

Kato said, deadpan.

"What a wonderful summer it was! It's such a shame you couldn't join!"

Akifumi forced a smile. "You really are the master of redefining lies!"

"Alright, no more jokes."

"I'm sorry I didn't hang out with you over the summer."

"Why apologize?"

"Well, Kato, all your holiday fun was with your family," Akifumi replied.

From a different perspective, that meant...

"I spent zero time hanging out with friends."

"As your only friend, I owe you an apology."

Kato turned her gaze away, expressionless. "It's not a big deal."

"Just the way things were," she added.

Akifumi chuckled, finding it amusing to see Kato's stoic face.

If he were to believe that line, then being single would definitely be worth it!

Not caring about Kato's explanation, Akifumi continued,

"Anyway, I've been pretty busy after the break, but let's find a time soon to hang out, okay?"

Kato nodded. "I have plenty of free time."

"Deal, then."

"Mm."

On the first day back from the break,

Even though Akifumi wasn't a teacher, he could tell the students were distracted.

Whether it was the freedom at home, the fun at tourist spots, or the gatherings with friends.

Everything was more fun than sitting in a classroom, right?

Even though there was the so-called new semester assembly and the teachers kept reminding them to focus, some things couldn't be fixed overnight.

All they could do was give them time to adjust.

The morning passed by.

At lunch break, the teacher's office.

Most of the teachers were probably having lunch, leaving only Hiratsuka Shizuka behind.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, is something up?"

As expected, Akifumi was called to the office.

"I haven't even had lunch!"

"I haven't either."

Saying this, Shizuka took out a beautifully packaged box of cookies from her drawer.

"Here, have some of these to tide you over."

"??"

Akifumi stared at her in disbelief.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, we only have an hour for lunch! Are you seriously giving me cookies, not leaving me any time to eat a proper meal?"

Shizuka gave him a pointed look.

"If you're not eating lunch, I still have to."

"I'm giving you cookies because I was worried you'd be hungry. Don't overthink it."

Akifumi relaxed and grabbed a cookie.

His eyes lit up.

"These are delicious!"

"Of course, it's 20,000 yen a box. How could it not be?"

She said casually, popping one into her mouth herself.

Tch.

Of course, rich people would do this!

Even though Akifumi had millions in savings, he never even thought about spending 20,000 yen on a box of cookies.

He'd be happy with a pack of 200 yen bear-shaped cookies!

"Two things."

Shizuka got straight to the point.

"First, thanks for helping me out during the holiday."

"Did you sort things out with Ijichi-san?"

"I've cleared things up."

Shizuka smiled gently, clearly happy to have resolved the misunderstanding with her friend.

"Since you're so close, why didn't you clear things up sooner?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Shizuka waved him off.

"She's too proud. If I'd gone to talk to her, she wouldn't have believed me."

'Ijichi-san... is tsundere!?'

Akifumi thought hard for a moment, then gasped.

"No way! I never saw it!"

He had his tsundere childhood friend, Eriri, to compare her to.

How could he have missed it?

What kind of level was she at!?

Shizuka didn't know what he was thinking but knew it had something to do with Ijichi Seika.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Not all tsunderes are the same, you know?"

Meaning, you have your relationship with her, and I have mine with her.

"Right, right!"

Akifumi breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought his sensitivity to tsunderes was fading.

"So, does that mean you owe me a favor now?"

"Yes, what do you need?"

Akifumi shook his head. "I'm not using it yet!"

"Your favor is too precious; I'll save it for when I really need it."

Shizuka shrugged. "Fine, then what's the second thing?"

"The second thing..."

Just a moment ago, Shizuka had been all smiles, but now her face turned sinister.

"It's about the second volume of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' Could you give me a detailed breakdown!?"

'Hey, hey!'

'What do you want from me!?'

I can talk about it, but can you please put the fists down!?

Akifumi twitched his eye, and with utmost seriousness, he said,

"What would you like me to cover?"

"Do you want me to talk about Sayaka and Kyoko's blossoming feelings? Or Homura repeatedly traveling through time for friendship... or maybe Madoka's divine transformation and the love and hope behind it?"

"???"

Shizuka lips twitch a bit, 'Do you think I want to ask you that?'

'What kind of heart do you have to put such tragic endings for these adorable girls!?'

After returning from a trip abroad, Hiratsuka Shizuka not only met with her friends,

She had some time to finish reading the second volume of "Madoka Magica" before the holiday was over.

You've waited until now to question this.

Twitching her lips, Shizuka said with a fake smile:

"Okay, tell me about it!"

"If you don't give me a good reason why you wrote that crap, I will not allow you to eat lunch this afternoon!"