In the empty restroom, only the sound of running water from the faucet echoed.
The clear, cold water droplets traced across the girl's ivory-white, delicate face, dampening the brown hair that hung beside her ears, and calming the chaotic thoughts in Nagasaki Soyo's mind.
Chihaya Anon's words had indeed struck a sore spot, but they also served as an early wake-up call.
The revolution had yet to succeed; it was not the time to be complacent.
As for now...
She took out her phone, opened a contact from the list, and sent a message.
———
"Your taro boba milk tea and matcha parfait are still being prepared, please wait a moment. These are complimentary snacks newly offered by the shop. If you don't mind, feel free to try them out~ We welcome all kinds of suggestions for improvement~"
Perhaps because she felt quite embarrassed about having shamelessly taken advantage of Kaito earlier, Miss Ririko, the staff member, quickly returned with a large plate of snacks and placed them on the table, nicely calling it a "taste test."
'Is this the kind of treatment handsome guys get?', Beside her, Anon looked at the table, now filled to the brim with snacks, and smiled wryly, "I understand how you feel, but giving away so many freebies all at once… if the manager finds out, she'll be really angry, right?"
If it got serious, being fired on the spot wouldn't be impossible.
"It's fine~", Ririko replied with a smile, "Because I'm the manager."
Anon: "..."
Well, that settles it.
Watching the staff member, no, the manager, leave again, Anon could no longer hold back the burning desire in her heart to complain.
'I'm clearly also a stunningly beautiful girl, right? Why do I never get this kind of treatment when eating out?'
It wasn't narcissism. Whether it was her dream-like pink long hair, her slim and tall figure, or her flawless features, the girl named "Chihaya Anon" before them was an elite beauty who could not be faulted from any angle.
No, if one insisted, she wasn't without flaws?
For example, flat.
But that wasn't important. What mattered was: you are beautiful, but not beautiful enough.
How could a firefly's glow compare to the moon shining in the sky?
However, if this kind of thing was said aloud, it would definitely make Chihaya angry, so Mutsumi thought about it and chose to stay silent.
The girl with light green long hair continued holding her cup, sipping her mango juice in small gulps, looking obedient and sweet.
It was at that moment that her phone lit up.
After seeing the name of the sender, Mutsumi was slightly taken aback.
[Soyo: Can you come to the restroom for a moment?]
[Soyo: There's something I want to talk to you about.]
———
A short while later.
A "Cleaning in Progress" sign was hung at the restroom door.
Wakaba Mutsumi walked in, looked at the brown-haired girl standing in front of the sink with her back facing her, and hesitated a little.
"Soyo… what's the matter?"
"Mutsumi," Nagasaki Soyo didn't turn around, only stared at her reflection in the mirror, her tone like sleep-talking, "The person you like… it's Kaito-kun, right?"
Wakaba Mutsumi didn't answer. After a brief silence, she gently nodded, "...Yeah."
Now that things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it. Even if she changed her words, Soyo wouldn't believe her.
"But I also really like him," The brown-haired girl's tone turned a bit colder, "And I liked him before you did."
It was a simple deduction.
Mutsumi's changes happened during Golden Week break. In other words, her acquaintance with Kaito also began during that time.
Counting all the days, it couldn't have been more than half a month.
On this path, she was the one who started first.
'So, Mutsumi.'
'You won't make a choice that disappoints me, right?'
This time, Wakaba Mutsumi was silent for even longer. After a long while, she finally spoke in a low voice, "There's no such thing as who came first or later in this kind of thing."
'If it really has to be judged by timing… then, actually, Sakiko-chan was the earliest, wasn't she?'
"I don't… have the intention of competing with you."
Whether it was Sakiko-chan or Soyo.
No matter who ended up being the victor, she actually didn't mind.
She just… wanted a tiny place to belong beside the sun in her heart. Even if she did nothing, that alone would be enough.
Soyo's previously cold gaze softened slightly upon hearing that.
She understood this friend of hers well. Though she occasionally said words that could kill, and often turned a situation that still had room for recovery into a total mess, but Mutsumi rarely lied.
If she said she didn't want to compete, then she really didn't want to compete.
Though she couldn't label her as "harmless" just yet, at least for now, she could treat her as a neutral party and let down her guard a little.
The brown-haired girl let out a small sigh, then suddenly said:
"Mutsumi, how about teaming up with me?"
The appearance of Chihaya Anon had made her realize deeply just how many rivals were around.
Although Soyo was confident in herself and didn't think that cotton-candy-pink ditz could pose any threat, 'After all, she seems dumb as a brick, and surely Kaito-kun won't go for that type? Right?'
'But better safe than sorry.'
If she could draw Mutsumi over to her side, she would undoubtedly have a much easier time.
First team up with Mutsumi, punch the sneaky cat, kick the foxy vixen, and firmly secure the closest spot beside Kaito.
As for how to deal with Mutsumi once everything was settled...
Honestly, even Soyo herself hadn't figured it out.
'Just cut her off?'
'This cucumber, I don't need it anymore.'
'That… feels a bit too cruel.'
'Then… share with her?'
'I don't want to.'
After all, a boyfriend isn't a chocolate stick, or a hot dog sausage, something you can split in half. Half for you, half for me, and everyone's happy.
Kaito was just one person, and he couldn't be in two places at once.
'Even Kaito-kun only has 24 hours in a day. If you took up some of his time, that meant less for me.'
'Moreover… it's said that boys only have so much energy in "that" aspect.'
Although the health class at Tsukinomori didn't go into much detail, maybe because it was a girls' school, boys around their age were rare, and everyone had a bit too much bottled-up curiosity.
During breaks, the girls always liked to gather and talk about topics that made faces blush and hearts race.
Soyo had picked up quite a bit of knowledge from their chats.
Like, a normal boy being able to last thirty minutes was already considered impressive.
Soyo had never done that kind of thing, but thirty minutes… somehow, it just sounded really short.
After all, even a regular high school class lasted forty-five minutes.
That's not very long to begin with, if she had to share half of it with Mutsumi, wouldn't that be even less?
Although Soyo cared more about spiritual connection than physical interaction, if meat was on the table, she wasn't going to willingly eat just vegetables.
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