Hmph... Going on a trip without me! Throwing a party without me! Making me accompany Kaguya Shinomiya shopping! Why couldn't he take her along too!? Kaede felt a deep resentment toward Rin Ito's actions.
But Kaede didn't blame him... It was all the system's fault! It was the system's mission that made him and Suzu believe she had a cuckolding fetish. He was only doing this to satisfy her supposed preference.
He still loves me! Thinking this, Kaede's mood improved considerably.
"Ms. Hoshizuki?"
It was the next day, and Kaede was accompanying Kaguya as they had agreed, to experience the life of an ordinary girl. Rin Ito's plan hadn't started yet as he was still preparing.
Watching the unpredictable Kaede, Kaguya aimed her camera at Kaede. Click.
"Hey... don't take a picture. I was just spacing out."
"Spacing out? Why?" Kaguya asked expressionlessly and calmly. The reason she agreed to let Kaede take her to experience the life of an ordinary girl, aside from genuine curiosity, was one point: gathering intelligence!
Kaguya knew almost nothing about Rin Ito. She could barely gather any information from him, but Kaede Hoshizuki was his childhood friend and always seemed completely unguarded. Getting information from her should be much faster than getting it from him.
"Uh...." Kaede hesitated. She couldn't very well say her boyfriend was going to an orgy party without her, could she? However, Kaede quickly found an excuse.
"I was thinking about Ms. Shinomiya."
"Me?"
"Well...." Kaede paused before speaking. "He told me you recently went through some changes, um... being betrayed by a friend and such."
"He told you?" Kaguya slightly frowned.
"Mhm. So... he... wants me to be friends with you." Hearing this, Kaguya's frown eased. It seems he didn't spread the word of my betrayal to mock me.
However... since she wanted to be her friend, she might as well use her a little. Pretend to be her friend, and then gather information about Rin Ito... A subtle, almost invisible smile curled Kaguya's lips. Saying yes too readily might arouse her suspicion, so she needed an excuse.
"Yes, not long ago, my best friend betrayed me. She wants me to forgive her, and I also want to forgive her, but I don't want to forgive her so easily... Ms. Hoshizuki, can you suggest an idea?"
Hearing Kaguya's words, Kaede had an idea. Although Kaguya didn't explicitly say it, Kaede knew the friend Kaguya was referring to was Ai Hayasaka, and she also knew that Ai Hayasaka had used herself as collateral to get Kaguya out of the Shinomiya family. Since that was the case... Kaede's lips curved into a smile.
"Ms. Shinomiya, you want to teach your friend a lesson before forgiving her, right?"
"Exactly. Ms. Hoshizuki, do you have any good ideas?"
Both of them were subtle, but each had their own little scheme.
"Does she... have a man she likes, or one she's close to?" Kaede asked discreetly.
"Yes." Although Kaguya didn't know if Ai Hayasaka liked Rin Ito, having entrusted him with the task of getting herself out of the Shinomiya family, Ai Hayasaka must at least have some affection for him.
"Well...." After some thought, Kaede spoke after carefully choosing her words. "She betrayed you, and you want to forgive her, but... does she want you to forgive her? Or, does she deserve your forgiveness?"
"Oh?" Kaguya looked at Kaede with curiosity... She wanted to see what kind of good idea Kaede had.
"How about this... She betrayed you. As punishment for the betrayal, let the person she likes betray her, too. Let her experience what it feels like to be betrayed... If she can forgive you after experiencing your feelings, then she is worth your forgiveness."
Ms. Hoshizuki's words... make sense. Ai Hayasaka betrayed her, so why should she forgive her so easily? She should also make her experience the feeling of being betrayed.
Any other girl wouldn't think this made sense... What kind of revenge is this? This is practically giving herself away! But Kaguya, who was educated on self-interest since childhood, was different; she talked only about profit, not emotions. Isn't he just a man, a tool? I'm just using him.
"Ms. Shinomiya, have you ever read an explicit comic?" Kaede whispered secretively.
"An explicit comic...? What's that?"
"Wait a moment...." Kaede glanced around, saw an ice cream shop, and quickly pulled Kaguya inside. After ordering two drinks casually, the two sat in the innermost corner of the shop, and Kaede opened her phone.
"Is it a manga? I don't really...." The moment Kaguya saw Kaede's phone screen, she knew it was a manga, but before she could finish, she saw a quite stimulating scene. The man in the comic was saying things to the girl like, "You don't want your boyfriend to see these pictures, do you?" Kaguya instantly understood the relationship between the man and the girl in the picture... the man had used despicable means to steal the girl from her boyfriend.
No wonder Ms. Hoshizuki was showing her this... Although the gender was reversed, this was exactly what she was planning to do to Hayasaka. Steal the man Hayasaka liked, the man who liked Hayasaka, to make Hayasaka feel the pain of betrayal.
As for despicable means... that was Kaguya's strength. She had been taught all of these things since childhood: using any means necessary for profit. What was threatening someone with photos?
Kaguya moved closer to Kaede. Her gaze was fixed on the phone screen.
Seeing Kaguya engrossed, Kaede struggled to hold back her smile. Although she was identifying with the NTR aspect, judging by Kaguya's reaction, was she also an NTR enthusiast like herself? No! I'm not an enthusiast. I was just tricked by the system!
Kaede handed the phone to Kaguya. Kaguya held her breath and flipped through the comic page by page. Although her face was flushed, still... Kaguya pointed to the intimate part between the two in the comic and looked at Kaede, asking in confusion.
"Why... are they doing this? What is this organ? Isn't just KISSing enough?"
"KISSing? In a general-audience manga, KISSing would be enough, but this is an explicit comic. This kind of play is common."
Kaguya's question puzzled Kaede, and what Kaguya said next shocked Kaede even more.
"Isn't KISSing enough to make babies? Isn't that enough?"
"????" When Kaede used a question mark, it wasn't because she had a problem; she thought the other person had a problem. Seriously... does Shuchiin not teach sex ed? What the hell is 'making babies just by KISSing'? She's so old, and she still believes the lies parents tell little kids? This... this young lady is too pure, isn't she? Even elementary school students wouldn't believe that!
After a brief moment of shock, an idea surfaced in Kaede's mind. A young lady so pure that she thinks KISSing makes babies... Heh heh.