After hanging up the phone, since Murakami Yuu wasn't there, Iizuka Takeya had no need to continue staying in someone else's classroom. He might as well go find Reita.
However, the girl he had just asked was quite cute with a sweet voice. Perhaps he could ask Yuu, as a classmate, to help set up an introduction later...
With these impure motives, he walked out the back door of the classroom and happened to encounter Ogiso Setsuna coming from the opposite direction.
"Good afternoon, Iizuka-san."
Ogiso Setsuna was the first to react. She bowed slightly and greeted him with an energetic smile.
"Ah, ah, ah, good afternoon, Ogiso-san!"
Iizuka Takeya snapped out of his daze and hastily nodded in return. It was then that he noticed the bento boxes in her hands—there seemed to be two of them.
Was she planning to eat lunch with Yuu?
That must be it. There had been a previous occasion like this, but unfortunately Yuu wasn't here this time, so she'd made a wasted trip.
"Is Iizuka-san here to see Murakami-kun?"
"Yes, but he took leave and didn't come to school today, so I came for nothing."
Iizuka Takeya spread his hands in response.
"Eh? He took leave?"
Ogiso Setsuna took a slight step forward, bringing her body closer to Iizuka Takeya. Her eyes met his gaze, and the concern in them seemed to overflow like actual water.
"What happened to Murakami-kun? Did something occur, or is he not feeling well?"
She was quite anxious, her mind unconsciously jumping to worst-case scenarios.
"No, no, no! Nothing like that at all! Yuu is fine, you don't need to worry so much. It's just some trivial matter."
Iizuka Takeya raised both hands to his chest in a comforting gesture while taking a step back.
"I see, that's good..."
Ogiso Setsuna breathed a sigh of relief, but then came the second round of questions.
"Iizuka-san... would it be convenient to tell me what Murakami-kun took leave for?"
"Ah, of course, no problem."
Iizuka Takeya smiled and responded normally, but his heart was in a completely different state.
How was he supposed to say this?
Yuu was currently with a woman, apparently delayed by some circumstances, so he took leave?
Standing before him was Ogiso Setsuna, who had feelings for Yuu—that Ogiso Setsuna who occupied the top position among the school's young ladies, excellent in every aspect from looks, personality, figure, to talents!
How could he possibly say something that would give her a bad impression of Yuu?
No wait, if she knew about this kind of thing, she'd definitely stop having feelings for Yuu, right?
He couldn't tell the truth! There was no reason to let Yuu miss out on such a wonderful woman!
No! He absolutely couldn't let this opportunity slip away!
This was the conclusion Iizuka Takeya reached after rapid thinking.
"It seems like something came up with his relatives, and he was suddenly called back. When I called him just now, his voice was very quiet, like it wasn't convenient for him to answer the phone or reply to messages. He just simply told me not to worry and that he'd explain when he got back."
Thanks to his extensive experience navigating romantic situations with women, Iizuka Takeya instantly came up with a comprehensive story and seriously deceived Ogiso Setsuna.
The advantage of this explanation was that it was vague, but being vague wasn't a bad thing here because it meant there was plenty of room for interpretation and flexibility afterward, preparing him to coordinate stories with Murakami Yuu later.
Also, by preemptively revealing that Murakami Yuu wasn't in a position to take calls, he prevented Ogiso Setsuna from having the idea to call and confirm herself.
This had two benefits:
Ogiso Setsuna wouldn't call, so she wouldn't notice anything strange on Murakami Yuu's end, and thus wouldn't have a chance to discover there was a woman beside him.
Similarly, because she wouldn't call, the woman currently beside Murakami Yuu wouldn't become aware that he had someone at school who had feelings for him.
He couldn't let these two women know about each other's existence.
With this dual consideration as his ultimate goal, Murakami Yuu's close friend Iizuka Takeya provided what could be called an absolutely perfect response.
"I see. Thank you, Iizuka-san."
I'll have to invite Murakami-kun again next time...
Ogiso Setsuna nodded in understanding without suspicion, a smile on her face, though that smile carried a barely perceptible hint of disappointment.
"No, it's nothing, just a small matter."
Iizuka Takeya waved his hand casually.
"Since Murakami-san isn't here, I'll head back first. Goodbye, Iizuka-san."
"Yeah, goodbye, Ogiso-san."
After waving to each other, Ogiso Setsuna walked back the way she came.
Phew...
Iizuka Takeya let out a long breath. Lying to that high-class flower Ogiso Setsuna had really made him nervous.
But speaking of which, if he could remain so composed even in front of her, there probably wouldn't be any woman he couldn't handle in the future...
Iizuka Takeya took out his phone and turned to walk in the other direction, thinking he should call first. If it was convenient on Murakami Yuu's end, he'd fill him in on the general situation here to prevent any slip-ups.
After he turned around and walked just a few steps, he heard an inappropriate voice from nearby.
"Ogiso-san, I, I have something I want to tell you..."
Iizuka Takeya looked back to see a four-eyes blocking Ogiso Setsuna's path, not letting her leave.
A confession? Not exactly strange, but wasn't his attitude a bit too forceful? Couldn't he see that Ogiso Setsuna was troubled?
Such a great opportunity to play the hero and show masculine strength, but Yuu wasn't here.
Being a wingman was really exhausting. If he didn't make Yuu treat him to several meals later, it would be unreasonable...
Iizuka Takeya put his phone back in his pocket and hurriedly ran over with determination.
"Sorry, she has plans with someone and isn't available right now."
Iizuka Takeya stood in front of Ogiso Setsuna, blocking the four-eyes' line of sight.
Because Iizuka Takeya was tall and quite intimidating, the other person left dejectedly.
"Thank you. I caused you trouble, Iizuka-san."
Ogiso Setsuna bowed in thanks.
"No, you don't need to say that to me."
"Eh?"
"Say it to Yuu instead. He asked me to help you if I saw Ogiso-san in trouble, so go thank him instead."
Iizuka Takeya created distance between them as he explained.
Ogiso Setsuna paused, touched her hair, then smiled.
"Even so, I still need to thank you, Iizuka-san. You're really the best friend."
Iizuka Takeya was somewhat surprised and stood there stunned. In that instant, a thought occurred to him.
If Ogiso Setsuna and Murakami Yuu got married in the future, and their children were of different genders from his own children, he'd definitely arrange a childhood engagement, absolutely! Even if he had to be shameless about it!
Improving the family's future generation's looks—
this was definitely something that wouldn't result in a loss!
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