"Those guys, I remember they're from our school. They all seem to be members of the game doujin club."
Noticing Murakami Yuu's strange behavior, Iizuka Takeya followed his gaze toward the window.
One man and three women were waiting at a traffic light, seeming about to walk this way.
"Yeah, that's right."
Murakami Yuu answered while still maintaining his position looking out the window.
"What a normie lifestyle."
Torizuka Reita only glanced once, then lost interest and lowered his head to deal with his steak.
Iizuka Takeya looked at Murakami Yuu's face, which was blank as white paper without any emotional content, and frowned slightly.
If he remembered correctly, Yuu seemed to have a good relationship with one of those girls, so was Yuu currently... displeased?
Iizuka Takeya chuckled.
It was rare to see him with such emotions. Though it was quite interesting, he couldn't just watch his close friend have such a bad mood and remain indifferent.
A formation of one man and three women—without thinking, he knew who was making Yuu displeased.
That four-eyes guy...
He was already an annoying guy at school. Not having some fun would really be unreasonable.
Having made up his mind, Iizuka Takeya inconspicuously kicked Torizuka Reita lightly. The latter looked up puzzledly.
Iizuka Takeya smiled slightly, raised his eyebrows, and used his eyes to gesture toward Murakami Yuu outside his field of vision.
Torizuka Reita understood but then frowned.
'What's wrong with Yuu?'
'He's probably displeased.'
Using facial expressions and gestures on the table, Iizuka Takeya conveyed his meaning:
'Anyway, don't ask too many questions. Just do as I say next.'
'Hey hey hey, if you arbitrarily make Yuu unhappy, I won't take responsibility.'
'Don't worry, I understand this area of relationships between sexes very well. Yuu won't be unhappy.'
After another round of communication through gestures mixed with rich facial expressions, the two roughly established a plan.
The green light on the street turned on, and Aki Tomoya's group stepped onto the crosswalk and walked toward this side.
Murakami Yuu withdrew his gaze, took a piece of pizza, and slightly lowered his head to eat.
Looking at the situation, he knew this was their club activity. Although he felt somewhat uncomfortable inside, thinking about his own position and stance, this arising emotion seemed quite unreasonable, so he didn't plan to actively do anything.
Since it was Sunday and right at lunchtime, there were many pedestrians on the street. Eriri, who hadn't slept well, was yawning constantly and naturally didn't notice the familiar figure nearby in her listless state.
Originally, their group of four would have just passed by this shop, but at this moment, Torizuka Reita put down his knife and fork and, under Murakami Yuu's surprised gaze, stood up and began waving his arms in large motions.
All four people, including Eriri, noticed this side.
...
"Thank you for the trouble."
"You're welcome."
The two groups shared tables, and the dishes they had ordered earlier were also brought over by the server.
Murakami Yuu couldn't quite understand why the situation had developed into this current state. He could sense the scheming hidden behind Iizuka Takeya and Torizuka Reita's friendly smiles, looking like they wanted to stir up some trouble.
Of course, only he, who understood their personalities, could detect this. The four members of the game doujin club were completely unaware of this.
Murakami Yuu took a sip of his drink, planning to watch and see what happened.
Perhaps due to the unexpected encounter, or maybe thinking about her obvious dark circles from not sleeping well last night, Eriri felt very uneasy. She just lowered her head and fidgeted with her fingers on her knees, not even daring to meet Murakami Yuu's gaze.
Kasumigaoka Utaha sat beside her. Although her expression appeared normal, she was also somewhat restless.
"What a coincidence to meet schoolmates on the street."
Torizuka Reita opened the conversation.
He was the one who had enthusiastically waved at the puzzled-looking Aki Tomoya earlier.
His beaming smile plus those particularly enthusiastic gestures made the somewhat doubtful Aki Tomoya freeze, then after confirming several times, he walked into this shop.
"Um, I'm really sorry, but do we know each other..."
Aki Tomoya had originally been observing Murakami Yuu, but after hearing Torizuka Reita's words, he gave an embarrassed response.
"Haha, it's normal that you don't know us, but we know you—the famous Aki Tomoya-kun."
Iizuka Takeya took the baton from Torizuka Reita, smiling very sincerely:
"When you were in first year, you ran to the teachers' office to argue with the academic affairs director for permission to show anime at the school festival. This even alarmed the principal, and you became a celebrity on campus from then on."
"Ah, that was a long time ago. It wasn't really anything special."
Aki Tomoya touched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Not at all. Being able to invest so much passion in 2D culture is something I find very impressive."
Iizuka Takeya glanced at Torizuka Reita and continued:
"My friend and I are also otaku, but we don't have your kind of courage and boldness to put things into action. We really admire you, so when we saw you just now, we wanted to say hello."
"I see, you're also fellow enthusiasts!"
Aki Tomoya had a moment of realization and became excited:
"What 2D works do you like?"
"There are so many..."
After brief mutual introductions, Iizuka Takeya began talking eloquently.
...
Watching the scene of the two chatting happily, Murakami Yuu gained some more understanding of Aki Tomoya.
To let down all his guard so carelessly—should he be called naive, or brainless?
Thinking carefully, there were actually many holes in Iizuka Takeya's words, and that outward enthusiasm seemed somewhat unnatural.
Who would give such enthusiastic treatment to someone they were meeting for the first time? Aki Tomoya wasn't some popular celebrity.
Even Kato Megumi, who was nearly transparent and acting as background, noticed something wasn't quite right. She looked up at Aki Tomoya several times wanting to say something, but seeing him chatting so happily, after some consideration, she still closed her mouth.
Usually, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who didn't like such lively occasions, would choose to leave early, but today she was just somewhat irritably bouncing her toes up and down, focusing her gaze on her phone screen to resist external interference.
"Let's order first. They probably haven't had lunch yet either."
Murakami Yuu successfully inserted himself into the gap between their conversation.
"Ah, that's right. I was just focused on chatting."
Iizuka Takeya took two menus from the side. He directly handed one to Aki Tomoya, and the other was passed to Murakami Yuu with a very happy smile.
A qualified wingman not only had to scout and cover for the main unit during normal times, but also had to provide guidance when necessary, making it convenient for more precise targeting.
The missile was aimed—whether to fire or not was up to him.
Murakami Yuu unhurriedly stood up, leaned forward, and gently touched the thick menu to Eriri, who was keeping her head lowered, with a smile on his face:
"Stop spacing out. Time to order."
This intimate gesture, as if no one else was around, attracted the attention of everyone at the table.
Eriri bit her lip, her face suddenly flushing with heat like being under strong sunlight.
The smile on Aki Tomoya's face froze as his eyes slowly widened.
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