T/N: Alright, no more Smith A. Hasaka, imma just call her Hayasaka for better readability.
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The two stared at each other in silence.
Forget it—ladies first. Yazuki gestured for her to explain herself.
"Please don't say something so impossible, Hayasaka-san. There's no way I could be dating him."
"Is that so? But just now during the tennis match, Yukinoshita-san was nearby, wasn't she? You were watching the whole time, weren't you concerned about Yazuki-kun?"
This puzzled remark made Yukino's already cold face even colder.
The girl in front of her, Hayasaka, felt… off. She seemed innocent, but Yukino suspected she harbored something dark beneath the surface.
This woman wasn't simple.
"That's right. I was watching from the side the whole time. I was just worried this guy would do something perverted."
"You really can't be more honest, can you, Yukinoshita? Weren't you actually coming over to help me? But Hayasaka-san beat you to it. Keep acting like this and you'll end up without any friends~"
Yazuki spoke with a tone that lacked energy, but not anger—because his words rang true.
Back when they were gathering for PE class, Yui had told him that this Yukinoshita had scolded a few girls from her class for spreading rumors about him. Most likely, it was the same group of girls Yazuki had just dealt with earlier.
She must have sensed that her classmates were planning something against him and came over to help. But by coincidence, Hayasaka had stepped in first.
"'This Yukinoshita'?"
Yukino echoed the words in a murmur, eyes widening as she stared at him. Her pupils narrowed.
What? Was it wrong to call her that? Technically, yes—referring to someone as "this one" like that is questionable.
Was she just sensitive to being called this Yukinoshita?
"Say that again."
Yukino suddenly stared at him seriously as she said this.
What did that mean? Yazuki was confused. It seemed like she was saying, If you dare say it again, we're done, but there wasn't any anger in her expression. Just intense focus.
"Don't worry, I'm not angry."
Now that made things even more complicated. Yazuki had no idea what to say anymore.
But those icy blue eyes kept locking onto his.
Stare——!!!
"You're acting weird, this Yukinoshita?"
If he didn't say it, it looked like she would just keep staring in silence.
As if she wouldn't speak again until he did. So Yazuki gave in—might as well say it and see what she'd do.
As he spoke, her pupils dilated slightly, then contracted. Her thin lips parted like she wanted to say something, and the usual frozen expression on her face softened just a bit.
"…Thank you."
She even said thank you. Her voice was unusually gentle.
Yazuki froze. This wasn't the Yukinoshita he knew—the ice-cold girl who might as well have been made of liquid nitrogen.
What the hell—did she break her brain? She actually looked happy being called something so weird? What kind of bizarre kink was this?
Did she have a slight masochistic streak for verbal humiliation? Or had today's strange events finally broken her mentally?
Honestly, with what she went through earlier, most people would have a complete mental breakdown. She looked fine now, but maybe it was just delayed trauma setting in.
But wait—when they first met, he'd confirmed her mental state was fine, hadn't he? His memory was hazy. Should he check it again?
No need. He had confirmed it. He wouldn't have missed something that important.
Which meant—he might've unknowingly triggered Yukino's… strange preference?
Hmm? Why was her face starting to glisten with sweat?
Those smooth, rosy cheeks were starting to look oddly enticing. Even her breath from her lips and nose was becoming… strange.
Wait—this was worse than he thought. Just hearing those words made her this worked up?
The image of this icy beauty, who kept everyone at a freezing distance, collapsed in Yazuki's mind with a loud crash.
Sure, the world was full of all kinds of people. The more extreme someone acted on the outside, the more likely they had a hidden side just as extreme. And it looked like he just ran into one of those cases.
Then—without warning—this Yukinoshita collapsed into his arms.
Wait—what?!
He touched her forehead. It was cold—colder than normal.
Of course! There's no way she'd suddenly change like that. He'd just let his imagination run wild again.
Strange. He'd checked her condition before and she was fine. Why did she suddenly collapse now?
Yazuki quickly came to a conclusion. It was likely due to all the stress she'd been bottling up.
Now that she had relaxed, her body was finally reacting.
Kind of like how an ordinary person might faint after seeing a ghost—she just needed a proper rest.
"Whew. No major issue—probably just fatigue from all the stress,"
Hayasaka, who had rushed over to check Yukino's condition too, gave that conclusion. She then looked at Yazuki apologetically.
"I'm really sorry, Yazuki-kun. I didn't realize my misunderstanding would cause Yukinoshita-san to end up like this~"
Hayasaka believed it was her fault—that her teasing had caused the misunderstanding that led to Yukino's collapse.
"You… Never mind. I'll explain it to you properly when this Yukinoshita wakes up. I'm taking her to the nurse's office for now."
With an exasperated look, Yazuki princess-carried the now frail and dependent Yukinoshita—who had gone from Ice Queen to sick girl—and walked off.
After they disappeared down the hallway, Hayasaka's previously guilty expression quickly turned neutral.
"Yukinoshita Yukino, huh? Seems like she's a tricky one."
No—this was Ai Hayasaka, and she now bit her thumb lightly. She judged Yukino to be on the same level as her master, Kaguya-sama—a serious threat.
Yukinoshita, like Kaguya-sama, was a liquid nitrogen-type girl who avoided contact with men. The fact that she could talk with Yazuki like that might mean she had genuine feelings for him.
Such girls were often prideful and rarely showed their emotions. Yet despite being unwell, Yukinoshita pushed herself to stay upright and collapsed only after getting Yazuki's attention—perhaps to get his care.
This could be bad. Really bad. A serious threat to Kaguya-sama.
Yes, a real rival.
After learning more about the hidden sides of this world, Ai Hayasaka had actually started to root for Kaguya-sama to end up with Yazuki. If she lost him, who knows what kind of terrible path Kaguya-sama might be forced down?
Then, Hayasaka took a deep breath—
"Uwaaaaaah, what the heck was I even doing just now?!"
She let out a shriek of embarrassment, face bright red and steaming, gripping her hair in frustration.
The truth was, when she was massaging Yazuki earlier, she hadn't even gotten to straddling him or anything. But somehow, she slipped into her professional handmaid mode—and completely lost herself in the role.
It was her first time massaging a guy, and she wasn't used to it at all.
She kept telling herself the person she was touching was Kaguya-sama—and, well… it ended up like that.
Now her embarrassment was exploding. Her heart pounded like it might burst from her chest.