Fortunately, the stares around them were something the three had long since gotten used to, so they calmly walked up to the freshman registration desk.
Ichin and Utaha didn't know anyone from the Law Department, but the people there clearly knew them, so the process went smoothly enough.
While helping them fill out the paperwork, a junior year upperclassman glanced at Utaha and Yukino, then asked curiously,
"Classmate Ichin, Kasumigaoka-san, forgive me for prying, but what's your relationship with this freshman here?"
Ichin didn't bother hiding anything. He answered directly,
"Yukino is my younger sister. She and her older sister are my mom's goddaughters—we're family."
"Ahh~~ so that's how it is!"
The upperclassman hadn't expected that connection. After checking Yukino's details, she said,
"Alright, registration complete. Since you're commuting, you just need to go pick up your textbooks next. Yukinoshita-san, the freshman courses in the Law Department are quite heavy. You'd better be prepared!"
A confident smile appeared on Yukino's face. She nodded lightly.
"That won't be a problem for me. Thank you, senpai."
After the three of them left, the senior whispered to a classmate beside her while watching their backs,
"As expected, Ichin looks even more handsome up close."
"And he really matches Kasumigaoka-san standing next to him."
"Yeah, but I didn't expect that new freshman to be related to them. Well, I guess that explains why her parents didn't come—those two brought her instead."
News never stays hidden for long. Since there were plenty of people at registration, it didn't take long before Yukino and Ichin's relationship was posted on the school forum.
And along with it, Ichin suddenly earned a new nickname: Brother-in-Law.
After helping Yukino pick up her textbooks and walking her to the Law Department's freshman classroom, Ichin finally received a text from one of his classmates, telling him what was going on in the school forum.
Opening it up, he immediately found a top post—it was a thread discussing the girls among this year's new students.
Following the information his classmate gave him, Ichin quickly flipped to the page about Yukino.
After reading it, he could only shake his head with a wry smile.
"Unbelievable… the shamelessness is the same no matter what network you're on. They're really calling me 'Brother-in-Law.'"
He turned his phone and showed Utaha and Yukino the screen.
Yukino's brows furrowed unhappily after a glance.
"How can photos like this, taken in secret, not be deleted? This isn't right."
"It really isn't," Ichin agreed. "But since it's only side-profile shots, not frontal pictures, and the other details are just basic information that anyone could ask about, the school forum admins didn't delete it right away. If you're uncomfortable, Yukino, I'll have someone remove your photos and the discussion. The admin is a senior from our Computer Science Department. Last year, Utaha and I had the same problem, so we went to him too."
"If it's not too much trouble, then it's best to have it deleted."
"Sure, just a word."
Ichin nodded, called the senior, explained the situation, and got an immediate response.
"No problem. I was already planning to leave it up for just about an hour before deleting all the threads. Since you called, I'll have them take it down right now."
After hanging up, Ichin refreshed the page—and the entire post was indeed gone.
As for the copies of the photos that people might have saved on their own phones, there wasn't much that could be done.
Seeing it deleted, Yukino finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, the three arrived at the Law Department. At that point, Ichin and Utaha couldn't accompany her any further.
Ichin looked at Yukino and said,
"Go on. Utaha and I will wait for you in the library. Once you're done, give us a call—we'll take you to the cafeteria for lunch before heading home."
Yukino nodded and walked alone into the teaching building.
They spent about an hour in the library. Near noon, Yukino called, and the two immediately went out to meet her waiting outside.
Utaha took Yukino's hand and asked with a smile,
"So, how was it with your new classmates?"
"Not bad."
Yukino nodded.
"Though maybe because it's the Law Department, most people are rather serious. And there are relatively few girls."
That was understandable enough. The gender ratio didn't matter—so long as Yukino didn't run into problems.
After having lunch together at the school cafeteria, the three of them had no other business that afternoon, so they left campus.
They stopped by both apartments to pick up the cats, then headed to the company.
At the office, Eriri had also finished her registration that day and arrived earlier.
Seeing Yukino, Eriri ran over excitedly.
"Yukino! How did registration go?"
"Pretty smooth. The teachers and classmates all seemed fine."
Yukino set the cat carrier down and let the cats wander before pulling out a chair to sit.
"What about you, Eriri?"
"Hehe, me too. It went fine, though there aren't many commuters in my class—most are staying in the dorms. Looks like I'll be going to school without company from now on, just riding the train by myself."
Ichin picked up Mozuku, who came over to greet him, and said,
"Didn't you also go to school alone in high school? I remember you either took the bus or the train by yourself. Sometimes you just hitched a ride with me."
Eriri stuck out her tongue at him.
"Bleh, so what if I did? Speaking of which, should I go get a driver's license too?"
At that moment, Kō Yagami walked over and quickly smacked Eriri on the head.
"Forget it, Eriri. Driving really doesn't suit you."
"What do you mean it doesn't suit me? I just wasn't serious before! If I really wanted to learn, I could do it in no time!"
Eriri puffed her cheeks, glaring at Kō.
"Kō-nee, take me again this weekend. Teach me properly this time—I'll definitely get it!"
A while ago, out of curiosity, Eriri had pestered Kō to take her to a practice lot in Tokyo and let her try driving.
That day had nearly scared Kō to death.
Now, hearing Eriri wanted another go, Kō's face instantly went pale.
"No way, Eriri! Please don't. If you try again, my poor heart won't survive it!"
Watching Kō's head shake like a rattle drum, Eriri puffed her cheeks even more.
"It wasn't that bad! You're exaggerating!"
But it was clear to everyone—Eriri was simply one of those people born unsuited for driving. The problem was, she didn't realize it herself, and stubbornly wanted to keep learning.
It really was a bit torturous.
*
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