I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Chapter 49, Section 214: She's still unfathomable.

The three sat on the flat lawn, as if shutting out all the noise and noise of another world, a world filled with the aroma of food.

"Didn't Senior Mizore have dinner?"

Perhaps the food brought from the open-air banquet next door was too tempting, making Qinglai, who was already seven-tenths full, very hungry.

"I'm eating now."

Her cheeks moved slowly, her small lips glistened with oil, and an empty plate sat beside her.

I really want to know why Senior Mizore is still so petite despite eating so much.

Looking at his slender figure wrapped in a plain-colored yukata, Kiyotaka thought sullenly.

"I thought Senior Mizore didn't like crowded places."

Ying shook her head. "I don't dislike it." Then, as if she had thought of something, a hint of sadness appeared between her brows. "I came today because I was invited. My parents are here too."

Although Mizore didn't say it explicitly, Kiyori could guess a little.

Where is Yoshikawa-senpai?

“Yuko and Natsuki went to the fireworks festival together,” Mizore said, neatly arranging her empty plate beside her and elegantly wiping her lips with a tissue. “I don’t want to disturb them.”

"Indeed, those two always give off a feeling that you can't get in."

Ying nodded in agreement.

"The current Shimizu-kun and this Yorozuka-kun also give off a feeling that it's hard to get involved."

A faint voice came from beside me.

"Senior Shiyu..."

Faced with such ambiguous words, Kiyoyori still didn't know how to respond. However, Mizore was indeed Mizore. Although she was usually as quiet as a delicate doll, she always had a magical power to shock the whole audience when she spoke.

"Is Ms. Kasumi Shiko on a date with Kiyoyori?"

Clearly, Asuka's joking remark planted a seed in Mizore's mind that would inevitably lead to a huge pitfall for Kiyoyori.

Now the seed has sprouted.

Before Kiyori could deny it, Kasumigaoka interrupted him, "That's right, Shimizu-kun is on a date with me today."

With an upturned tone, a curved smile, and eyes brimming with laughter, Kasumigaoka made no attempt to hide the pleasure she felt from those words.

"Ah, no—"

"Congratulations."

With a calm expression, Ying dropped another bombshell.

This time, Kiyoyori didn't give Kasumigaoka a chance to speak first, saying, "Kasumigaoka-sensei and I are just friends!"

"At present."

Kasumigaoka calmly added.

Mizore nodded with an expression that said, "I think I understand."

Qinglai: Wait a minute, what do you understand?

"Oh dear, it's so easy for little Qinglai to run off to some unknown place before we know it."

Kiyoyori had never been so grateful for Haruno's arrival. However, the current occasion was not quite suitable for the topic that had been brought up before. Putting aside Kasumigaoka, who was completely independent of this story, Kiyoyori couldn't openly ask Haruno a question just because Mizore was here.

Yang Nai, however, seemed completely unconcerned about this.

"Are you enjoying dinner tonight, Mizore-chan?"

Mizore's reaction to being addressed so affectionately was even less than Kiyori's; she simply nodded expressionlessly and said, "Thank you for the treat."

"There will be dessert later, so please look forward to it."

Yono smiled, making it easy for people to lower their guard, while Kiyoyori, who knew the other's true nature, secretly protected Mizore behind him, looking at Yono with a wary expression.

"As indifferent as ever, Kiyori," Haruno said, seemingly oblivious to Kasumigaoka's murderous glare, as she squeezed next to Kiyori and sat down on the ground. Then she smiled at Kiyori. "Alright, let's take advantage of this free time and talk about what we promised to tell Kiyori."

Kiyoyori quickly glanced at Mizore, who was sitting obediently beside him, and suppressed his unease. "What do you want to do?"

"Little Qinglai, are you perhaps too forgetful? Of course, it's to reward you for being a good boy and attending the banquet today."

Taking a deep breath, Kiyoyori swallowed back the rude words that almost slipped out. He looked over Haruno's shoulder and met her pomegranate-colored eyes filled with dissatisfaction, signaling her to find a reason to take Mizore away. But Kasumigaoka seemed to have completely ignored Kiyoyori's signal and was determined to hear what happened next.

This is troublesome...

Although Mizore was a second-year student who had gone through last year, Kiyoyori couldn't figure out the extent of Mizore's understanding of that matter. Based on her understanding of Mizore, the other party probably only knew a little bit about it, let alone the truth behind it. After all, she only learned about Kasaki's departure from the club from someone else.

Kiyori glared fiercely at Haruno, but Haruno pretended not to see it. Seeing that Haruno was still complacent, Kiyori guessed that she was doing it on purpose. "Haruno!"

Kiyoshi's threatening tone carried a hint of pleading.

This caused a look of surprise to flash across Yang Nai's face. "That's quite rare."

But I have to say it.

These were the words Kiyora read from her expression. Knowing she couldn't stop her, she could only sigh helplessly.

"Mizore-chan should be a year older than Kiyora, right?" Haruno asked knowingly, steering the conversation toward the innocent Mizore. Seeing the girl nod obediently, she smiled knowingly. "Then you should know what happened in the brass band club last year, right?"

Mizore's expression suddenly froze. Even with her usual expressionless demeanor, a look of heartbreaking confusion and pain appeared on her face. "Last year..."

"Yang Nai Ni—!"

Unable to tolerate the other party continuing to bully the innocent senior in front of him, Kiyoyori even wanted to drag Mizore away.

“Shimizu-kun,” Kasumigaoka’s voice came from the other side, calm and composed, “Why don’t you listen to what Yukinoshita-san has to say first? Isn’t Shimizu-kun also eager to know the truth? Perhaps you’ll gain some unexpected insights.”

As if guessing what Haruno was going to do, Kasumigaoka displayed a calmness beyond his years, and this calmness successfully calmed Kiyoyori down as well.

Yukino Yukinoshita doesn't do things without a reason. She must have her own intentions in keeping Mizore Yoroizuka here. Although, given Kiyoyori's unavoidable prejudice, Yukino is probably up to no good, it must be said that every step Yukino takes is more than just what it seems on the surface.

"It was the mass exodus from the brass band club that happened last year," Haruno continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted, "that was led by a classmate who encouraged the first-year students to quit the club."

Mizore's body trembled violently, and then Kiyoshi felt a small hand tugging at his sleeve with a faint but undeniable force.

"Your name Mizore-chan should be familiar with it too, since you also graduated from middle school."

"Nozomi Kasaki, that's her name."

P.S.: This chapter starts to be a little heartbreaking for the little angel, but only a little, so don't panic. Although the little angel and Umbrella Brother's journey is bumpy, their future is bright. See the extra chapter for details. My personal drafts have finally reached Volume 4! Volume 4 is the turning point. Whether in the Service Club or the Brass Band, Kiyoyori's interpersonal relationships will undergo a significant change, and her romantic storyline with Yukino is finally about to begin!

The group number is 137390266. Friends, it would be best to change your ID to Hedgehog Cat's ID so I can recognize you.

Chapter 50, Section 215: Finally, she learned the truth.

Her bangs covered half of Mizore's face, and her crimson eyes were hidden in the shadows. Only her slightly trembling hand, clutching Kiyoshi's sleeve, revealed her unease. Her magnified anxiety was transmitted to Kiyoshi through the sleeve, and Kiyoshi could almost feel Mizore pressing against her.

But unfortunately, Kiyoshiro had no choice but to let her continue.

"If Kasaki's incident was the fuse, then last year's incident, known as the 'email incident,' was the spark that ignited everything."

"Email incident...?"

The one who raised the question was not Kiyori, who was eager to know the truth, nor Kasumigaoka, who knew nothing about the matter, but Mizore, who was the one among them who should know the most.

Kiyoshi's heart sank to the bottom of a lake. Just as she had guessed, Mizore, who was already as isolated from the outside world as if separated by a mountain, knew almost nothing about this matter.

"Oh my!" Haruno feigned surprise as she looked at Mizore, who was pulling Kiyori's yukata out of shape. "Don't you know anything, Mizore-chan? That email was sent to the entire brass band, so you should have received it too, right?"

"I..." Mizore seemed very embarrassed, almost burying her head in Kiyoyori's back, her voice as low as a mosquito's buzz, "I... I didn't, exchange emails with someone..."

Actually, it should exist, but that person chose to hide it.

For example, Yoshikawa Yuko.

Another example,

Nozomi Kasaki.

"Hmm, so that means Mizore-chan actually knows nothing about what happened last year?" Haruno pressed her index finger against her chin, a calculating glint in her eyes. "Speaking of which, Kasaki-san's withdrawal from the club is actually quite related to this matter."

"Yang Nai!"

Kiyoshi couldn't help but call out to Haruno once again to stop him from rubbing salt into Mizore's wounds, but Haruno just shrugged it off.

"Originally, the members of the brass band approached Yukino only to resolve the issue of leaving the band, but unexpectedly, the 'email incident' occurred, and the entire brass band turned their anger towards the sender."

"We've been talking about the 'email incident' for so long, but we don't even know the specific content of the email."

Kasumigaoka asked a question at the opportune moment, but Kiyori already had a guess in his mind.

When I first talked to Yoshikawa about this, she didn't mention the email, but rather the photos. Yoshikawa didn't deny it, so the contents of the so-called email are very likely related to the photos.

Based on the atmosphere of the brass band last year, Kiyoyori could already guess most of it.

"Ah, of course."

Yang took out her phone and quickly found the email that had been up for almost a year. To avoid privacy concerns, Qinglai and the others looked away, but for a moment, Qinglai saw something strange. The email was found among a pile of spam emails, but because Yang was scrolling so fast, Qinglai was almost blinded. Just as she realized something was wrong, Yang had already opened the email.

That was...?

Kiyoshi glanced at Yono, who looked completely at ease, and suppressed the awkwardness that arose within him.

The two families are related, so it's normal for the heirs to communicate.

The contents of the email were presented to the group in their entirety. Just as Kiyoyori had guessed, the photos served as a threat, and coupled with the threatening text, the sender appeared to be a villain trying to further complicate an already chaotic brass band.

However, Kiyoshi had a different opinion after seeing the original photos without any processing.

Is it...

Qinglai's eyes widened.

They're too weak as enemies.

So that's what the sentence meant.

"This is...school bullying?" Kasumigaoka's face showed the most obvious disgust, and she made almost no attempt to hide her contempt. "Judging from the content of the email, there were students in the brass band who were involved in school violence at the time."