Why is the Demon King like this?

"Does Qinggui-kun have any wishes he wants to fulfill?" Arisugawa Asuka asked on the way back to the classroom.

"It's less of a wish and more of a 'goal'."

Or perhaps it could be described as "ambition".

Keisuke Ao smiled and said, "I'm interested in that club not because I expect to get anything from Miss Hoshino, but simply because I want to learn more about it."

The things I want to do, the wishes I want to fulfill, are not things she can do for me.

"Eh... what does Qinggui-kun want to do?"

"Talking big about this kind of thing before even accomplishing it—does Arisugawa think I'm such a frivolous person?"

Arisugawa Asuka gently shook her head: "No, I just simply wanted to understand... Aokei-kun."

"Um?"

The two walked to the second-floor landing, one step apart from each other. Arisugawa Asuka smiled gently at him again: "It's nothing, I'll go up first, and I'll take you there after school this afternoon."

Keisuke Ao nodded, standing still, thinking about what Asuka Arisugawa wanted to know.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

He downed his coffee in a few gulps and threw the aluminum can into the trash can at the back of the classroom.

Sports committee member Yuto Nakagawa received the forms and was calling on people to sign up from the podium—generally, it's first-come, first-served, and those with outstanding abilities will be selected through "democratic violence."

Because there were so many projects, even someone as inconspicuous as Sanada Sai would be assigned two projects on average.

So, in order to get the easy events, everyone became a huge fan of Nakagawa Yuto. Fortunately, although the sports committee member was smug, he didn't give too many people preferential treatment for the sake of the results.

"Qinggui! I've signed you up for all the basketball programs!"

Qing Keisuke:......

Yuto Nakagawa, you son of a bitch!

Besides the major class competitions, the skills tournament also includes smaller events such as three-pointers and layups, which add up to quite a few events.

Boys are basically conscripted, while girls enjoy a few privileges. In some special cases, they can be exempted from participating in the events and only be responsible for forming cheerleading squads.

The enthusiasm for cheerleading this year was astonishing. In order to cheer for Qing Guijie, a group of close-knit friends almost had a falling out.

Aoki Keisuke didn't participate in the commotion, nor did he advise them not to fight for their own sake.

During class, he collected Nakagawa Yuto's form and checked the items he had submitted—goodness, he really submitted quite a few.

Incidentally, it was also discovered that Arisugawa Asuka had signed up for two volleyball events.

Keisuke Ao crossed out two minor categories that he had no interest in wasting time on, but he still submitted his application for the competition because Yuto Nakagawa pressured him with homosexuality.

When I went to the clinic for lunch, I talked to Chizuru Shiraishi about this topic, and Dr. Shiraishi said she would go and cheer him on.

"Speaking of which, were you having dinner with the shrine maiden last night?"

"hold head high."

"How's Kikui's taste?"

"It's just okay, not as good as your bento."

"Oh, I see. What do you want to eat tomorrow?"

……

After school in the afternoon, Keisuke Ao met up with Asuka Arisugawa at the bulletin board in the club building.

"Is it okay to participate in club activities?" Aoki asked.

According to Yuki's message this morning, Arisugawa Asuka is currently in the literature club and is a key figure, core member, and soul of the club. Although she is not the president, she is in a position where she could overthrow him at any time.

Even the president himself is a fan of Yamato Nadeshiko and wishes he could be close to Arisugawa Asuka every day.

"It's okay, I've already told everyone in the group." Arisugawa Asuka nodded with a smile.

The two walked into the club building. After school, the place was bustling with people, but although it attracted attention, it did not cause a commotion.

"When I was in the first year of high school, I heard a story about Hoshino. After she started her department, the first wish she granted was hers."

"Oh?"

"The specific content of her wish is unclear, but the girl who made the wish suddenly chose to drop out of school."

"Drop out of school, instead of transferring?"

Asuka Arisugawa nodded: "Many people guess that's the price for making a wish."

"That's really... interesting."

"Seriously, this isn't just about whether it's interesting or not," Arisugawa Asuka complained cutely, puffing out her cheeks. "Hoshino-san is the kind of person who can really do things like this. If you agree to the price of making a wish, you'll be held accountable even if you go back on your word afterwards."

Aokiji laughed and said, "I'm not planning to make a wish."

"I just wanted to tell you that Hoshino-san... is in a bit of danger." Arisugawa Asuka said tactfully, "If you happen to see her later, Aokae-san, don't be angry even if she says something to you."

"it is good."

The poster didn't have the club's address, so if I really wanted to make a wish, I would have had to go through some trouble to find the club's activity room.

However, Arisugawa Asuka had been to that room before, so she could lead the way directly.

—Of course, it's easy for the Demon King to find it; he can simply use the poster to perform a divination.

"I heard that Hoshino spends a lot of time in the activity room every day, and sometimes he even lives there. I went in once when I was a freshman... The whole room has been transformed into something amazing."

"What does it look like?"

"Hmm...it seems hard to describe."

Arisugawa led Keisuke Ao to the far corner of the third floor, where small surveillance cameras were set up all around the corridor.

Once in this area, Arisugawa Asuka stopped bringing up anything about Hoshino.

Aoki Keisuke unexpectedly felt a spiritual stirring.

On the sliding door in the far corner, four words were simply pasted on with transparent tape and an A4 sheet of paper—

"Do not disturb!"

Arisugawa Asuka looked at the reminder, hesitated for a moment, and then raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Knock knock!"

In the distance along the corridor, one could faintly hear lively chatter, and further away, on the other side of the building, the intermittent sounds of the wind band practicing their instruments could be heard.

But here, in this corner of the third floor, all one can feel is a profound tranquility.

After knocking on the door, there was no response from inside the activity room.

After a few breaths, Keisuke Ao turned to look at Asuka Arisugawa.

The study committee member of the "traitorous party" tilted his head and then raised his hand to tap a few times with a little force.

"Hoshino-kun, are you there?"

About ten seconds later, a sound finally came from inside.

"Arisugawa...please come in."

"Sorry to bother you~" Arisugawa Asuka patted her chest, a sense of mission on her face.

Pushing open the sliding door, the two discovered that there was another alloy door inside.

At this moment, the alloy door also opens automatically.

Keisuke Ao and Asuka Arisugawa exchanged a glance—the modifications were indeed impressive.

Upon entering the activity room, the wooden flooring materials are noticeably different.

The two looked around and saw two rows of bookshelves, a refrigerator, and a wall-mounted television on the right side of the room.

Most of the space on the bookshelf is filled with various books, but there are also dozens of game cartridges at the bottom.

About two meters away from the TV, there is a sofa that is as big as a bed.

A light gray plush rug was placed under the entire corner.

On the other side of the wall are surveillance cameras near the third floor, including views from inside the campus.

On the largest screen in the center, Arisugawa Asuka's slightly surprised face was on display.

The above describes the layout on the right side of the activity room. The left side, in comparison, is much more "simple," as if one has suddenly returned to the Middle Ages—there is an elegant Western-style desk by the window, with a lamp and several thick-covered tomes on the table.

As for the rest, they have been subconsciously ignored.

Because next to the desk, in a Western-style armchair, sat a girl in a school uniform.

She had neat, shoulder-length short hair, long, straight eyebrows, slightly closed eyes, long eyelashes, and a faint mole at the corner of her left eye.

In her hands she held a book, Haruki Murakami's "Norwegian Wood," and her seemingly unfocused, almost transparent eyes were looking at a certain sentence on the page.

Despite being bathed in the sunset, seemingly glowing from head to toe, with fair skin and even her hair and eyelashes shimmering, she genuinely exudes a sense of indifference.

"Like a white lotus blooming alone on the edge of a cliff."

"Completely indifferent to what the world is like."

"I don't care if I wither away in the next second."

Even though she was sitting in the activity room, it felt like she had been detached from the whole world before she even looked up.

Just looking at it makes it feel distant.

As a result, even the summer sun lost its warmth.

After a long while, until the girl raised her eyes, Aoki Keisuke noticed something else worth noting—

Miss Hoshino's spirituality index: 510.