I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Let's go..."

Yuihama was only halfway through her sentence when she excitedly hugged Yukinoshita, "Kiyori agreed!"

With a headache, Yukinoshita put down her pen and patted Yuihama's arm. "Alright, let's go then. Also, Yuihama-san, I feel really unwell..."

"Is there still a lot of work left?" Kiyotaka put down her bag and took out a pen. "Do you need my help?"

"No..." The refusal that was about to come out was swallowed back down. Thinking that he had already agreed to Yuihama's request for a celebration, he thought it would be better to finish the task as soon as possible. "Then I'll leave it to you."

Kiyoshi shrugged. “Extremely happy to.”

………………………………………………………………………

By the time they finished all their work, it was pitch black outside. Just as they were getting ready to pack up and find a place to celebrate, Hiratsuka Shizuka happened to push open the door and come in.

"Hey! Kids! Didn't you go to the after-night festival?"

Yukino sighed, rubbing her forehead. Hiratsuka Shizuka, always carefree, gave up after several unsuccessful attempts to remind her to knock.

"Oh, right!" Although Yuihama wasn't as familiar with Hiratsuka Shizuka as the others, she really liked this teacher who was approachable to her students. "Hiratsuka-sensei, would you like to join us for the celebration?"

"Celebrating?" Looking at the other three people who were clearly not as enthusiastic as Yui, Hiratsuka Shizuka could almost imagine the awkward situation of only Yui trying to liven things up at the table. "Just the few of you?"

"If we include Hiratsuka-sensei, then there are five people."

Qinglai added a sentence casually.

"Hmm..." Hiratsuka Shizuka rubbed her temples with a slight headache. "How about this, I'll arrange the venue. Since we're going to celebrate, let's invite more people. Oh, and Hachiman, let's invite your sister too. She's home alone anyway, isn't she?"

"Yes, we can invite Komachi."

"Ah, um... it's not impossible..." Hachiman took out his phone, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "First, let me ask, the shop the teacher found, it's not one of those really expensive ones, is it?"

Unlike those two young ladies over there, he doesn't have much pocket money.

Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand generously, "Consider it a meal treated by your teacher. After all, you've worked hard at this cultural festival."

"Um... thank you..."

Sometimes he really wondered what Hiratsuka Shizuka's family background was like. She always wore a white lab coat, and although the women's suits underneath looked similar, they were all very exquisite upon closer inspection. She was just a school teacher, but she drove a luxury sports car to work every day...

Hiratsuka Shizuka casually took out her phone and made a call to someone. Judging from the tone of her voice, the other person was probably an acquaintance of hers, perhaps the owner of some shop.

Qinglai made guesses out of sheer boredom.

"Phew, thank goodness the call came in time," Hiratsuka Shizuka breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up. "That restaurant is usually very difficult to get a table at, thank goodness—"

Glancing at Kiyoyori, who seemed oblivious, Hiratsuka Shizuka quickly changed the subject, "The shop is not far from the school. I'll send the location to Yukinoshita's phone. You guys can also see if there are any friends you want to meet. After all, it's more lively with more people."

Clearly, only Yuihama could accomplish this arduous task.

after all--

Yukinoshita and Hikigaya had little hope, and Kiyoyori had no intention of bringing Asuka or Reina into the Service Club circle.

However, this request also put Yuihama in a bit of a dilemma. Her usual social circle consisted of Hayama and Miura, but she particularly disliked Miura and Yukinoshita, so she couldn't invite a few people individually.

However, coincidentally, when the four of them left the school together, they met two perfect candidates who could both keep the conversation flowing and maintain good relationships with all the members of the Service Club.

P.S.: I work during the day and attend classes at night. I'm so tired... The other day, we had fried chicken in the office, and I was drooling with pain. I was so sad.

Chapter 50, Section 273: No Entry

"Didn't Saika and Zaimokuza attend the after-night festival?"

"Hmm... I'm not very good at going to crowded places..."

Totsuka scratched his cheek shyly with his finger.

"Hmph, I have no intention of participating in any mortal's after-night ritual!"

"Is it because no one is going with you...?"

The group headed toward the restaurant that Hiratsuka Shizuka had arranged. Along the way, Yuihama, Totsuka, and Zaimokuza chatted and laughed, while Hikigaya chatted with them as he looked for the way. Kiyori and Yukinoshita followed behind the four of them, leisurely enjoying the cool breeze.

Originally, Hiratsuka Shizuka sent the restaurant's location to Yukinoshita's phone, but after everyone "discussed" it was decided that Hikigaya, who has an excellent sense of direction, would lead the way to avoid the embarrassing situation where Hiratsuka Shizuka had finished eating and the group had not yet arrived.

Of course, this proposal was met with fierce ridicule from the minister.

Used to it.

Kiyoyori glanced at Yukinoshita, who was still diligently studying the map, and said, "Senpai, almost there—"

Watching helplessly as the other person walked down a completely different road from the main group at a crossroads, Kiyora quickly grabbed Yukinoshita's arm and pulled her towards him, saying, "It's this way."

Unwittingly pulled in the opposite direction, Yukinoshita stumbled and unsurprisingly bumped into Kiyori's arms. Her initial embarrassment at having gone the wrong way instantly turned into indignant dissatisfaction. "What is Tachibana-san doing?!"

"I'm sorry, I was rude," Kiyotaka said, realizing his actions were too abrupt, and immediately let go of Yuki's hand after helping her steady herself. "However, senpai, please pay more attention to the road conditions when you're walking."

Following Kiyoyori's gaze, Yukinoshita saw the traffic flowing on the road and the red traffic lights indicating that passage was prohibited.

"Thanks……"

She awkwardly ran her hand through her hair, her blushing earlobe flashing briefly in the distance.

Only the two of them remained at the intersection, and Hachiman, who had just noticed the two behind him suddenly "disappear," stopped at the other end of the road and looked back.

"What are those two doing...?"

After passing this intersection, it won't be long before you see the restaurant's sign and Komachi waiting at the entrance.

From afar, I saw Kiyoyori make a gesture towards us.

"Tachibana tells us to go first."

Hikigaya turned to Yuihama and said.

"But, is it alright to leave the two of them behind?"

Especially during the light snow.

Totsuka asked doubtfully, "Yukinoshita and Tachibana are both so reliable, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

After all, in his opinion, both Yukinoshita, the Snow Queen of the same grade, and Tachibana, his junior, were outstanding classmates.

"Um... um..."

Yuihama gave a vague answer with an awkward smile. As Yuki's friend, she couldn't reveal Yuki's weaknesses without permission, even if she thought they were Yuki's endearing qualities.

"Anyway, with Tachibana around, there won't be any problems."

Hikigaya understood Yuihama's concerns. If Yuihama were standing next to Yukinoshita instead of Tachibana, he would probably still choose to stand there and wait for the two of them to meet him before going to the restaurant.

However, since it's Tachibana, there's no need to worry too much.

"And the restaurant is not far away; you can see it from here."

"Really? That's good!"

They waved to Yukinoshita and Kiyori across the zebra crossing, and the four of them headed towards the restaurant.

……

"Tachibana-san, you don't need to hold me like that. I won't get lost. Besides, even if you keep staring at the traffic light, it won't turn blue anytime soon."

Yukinoshita tried to pull her wrist back from Kiyoyori's grasp with dissatisfaction, while simultaneously attacking Kiyoyori, who was standing beside her, staring intently at the traffic light.

Despite Yukinoshita's attack, Kiyoyori remained unfazed. Instead of touching Yukinoshita's exposed skin with her own hands, she gripped Yukinoshita's wrist through her sleeve, maintaining a firm grip to prevent her from escaping.

"If I hadn't stopped you just now, you might have run a red light."

Yukinoshita, whose sore spot had been hit, immediately glared at Kiyoyori. "I just didn't notice it earlier."

"Well, so I'll help you keep an eye on things now, senior."

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes, seemingly scrutinizing Tachibana Kiyori, who appeared somewhat different from before, to see if she had switched bodies with someone else again. However, she turned her head away when faced with the questioning gaze and chose not to communicate with her.

Seeing the other person's reaction, Kiyotaka subtly curled the corners of her mouth from an angle unseen by the snow, slightly loosened the grip on her hand, and did not remove the wrist that was resting between her fingers.

This is an intersection, and after missing a green light that allows passage, you'll inevitably have to wait longer than a regular red light.

"Thank you for the cultural festival."

In the silence, Yukinoshita spoke first. She didn't look at Kiyori, but instead gazed into the distance.

This is the second time today.

"Huh?"

"Is Yukinoshita-senpai going to say all her future 'thank yous' today?"

"I was simply expressing my gratitude for Tachibana's timely help."

"'Just the right amount of help'?"

Does this refer to the incident in the morning when the two accidentally swapped bodies?

"Thank you for finding Sagami-kun."

Kiyoyori then realized, "I don't think I need to be thanked for this. After all, I didn't deliberately look for Sagami-senpai; it was just a chance encounter."

“Is that so?” Yukinoshita nodded thoughtfully. “But since she’s hiding, she probably doesn’t want to face what’s coming next. However, you’ve allowed her to return to the Great Hall.”

"I don't think I have that kind of magic."

Although it was unclear how Yukinoshita knew about this, Kiyoyori had no intention of taking credit.

What did you say to her?

Yukinoshita asked a question with great interest.

"They didn't say anything..."

"'If you really want to hide, don't go to places where you can be easily discovered.' Doesn't that say something?"

Qinglai pursed his lips, speechless. "I was just stating the facts."

"Is it true?" The words, like snowflakes falling from the snow, were scattered by the evening breeze.

"Perhaps, Tachibana-san really does possess this kind of magic..."

Kiyoshi did not hear it.