I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"What's wrong, Sawamura-kun? This is a school corridor. Making loud noises is impolite," Kasumigaoka said, closing the paperback in his hand and looking down at Eriri's awkward expression, taking advantage of his height. "Even I would feel a little embarrassed to be called by a perverted girl so many times."

Kasumigaoka, who said he was shy but actually had a playful expression on his face, was in a very good mood.

"Who are you calling a slut! You weird aunt who had designs on my sister!"

"Don't project your own fantasies onto two real people!"

Even Kiyora couldn't help but complain about Eriri's wild imagination, which was comparable to a black hole in the universe.

"Whose side are you on, Kiyoyori?!"

"Shimizu-kun is right, Sawamura-kun. It was clearly in your drawing that I was plotting something against Shimizu-kun. It's a big no-no to bring it up to the real person."

Although she's right, why does it still feel a bit off?

Kiyoyori, who inexplicably felt that Kasumigaoka's words had a hidden meaning, subconsciously sensed that something was amiss.

"We still need to get Shimizu-kun's permission before our relationship develops so quickly, although I personally have no objections," Kasumigaoka snatched Eriri's phone when she wasn't looking. "What do you think, Shimizu-kun? How about we meet up sometime and take our still-pure online friendship to a slightly higher level?"

"Although I know the teacher was joking, please don't use that tone."

I don't know why, but I feel that the image of Ms. Kasumi Shiko, the mature older sister figure in my heart, is starting to crumble and never to return.

So much had happened this morning that Kiyora felt somewhat numb; even in the face of Kasumi's teasing, her heart remained as calm as a still pond.

A slight ripple still appeared.

"Hmm, so Shimizu-kun is still concerned about that matter, isn't he?"

"Hmm? What does the teacher mean?"

“It’s the position we’re in in the illustration,” Kasumigaoka smiled gently, and then uttered some rather unusual words. “Shimizu-kun still wants to be on top, right? It’s okay, I’m fine with anything, whether it’s the traditional position or the riding position.”

"Ugh! I already told you! Teacher, your image is about to crumble! Please stop talking!"

“Now that you know my real name, I’ll introduce myself again,” Kasumigaoka said, completely unconcerned that her image in Kiyoyori’s mind was gradually crumbling. “I am Kasumigaoka Utaha, a second-year student at Toyonosaki Academy. I hope you will take good care of me for the rest of my life, Kiyoyori-kun.”

This was the first time Kiyotaka had been called by her real name by Kasumi Utako, and as a devoted fan, she immediately felt a little flattered. Kasumi's slightly flirtatious tone made it difficult for her to understand what Kasumi was saying. "Um... nice to meet you, teacher..."

“Shiha,” Kasumigaoka repeated gently, “call me Shiha.”

"Okay, okay, Shi, Shiyu..."

As if bewitched by the siren's song, Kiyoshi involuntarily began to call her by her name.

"You shameless woman! You're using someone else's phone and seducing his sister! How come you haven't been caught and drowned in a pig cage yet!"

Eriri, who had been offline for a long time, rushed forward and stretched out her arm to grab the phone, but being shorter than Kasumigaoka, she was no match for him.

“Sawamura-kun, I think you should really take advantage of the time to get some more nutrition while you can still grow,” Kasumigaoka said, deftly dodging Eriri’s attack. “Don’t always be like a flat piece of glass between me and Shimizu-kun, visible but untouchable. It’s really torturous.”

"Who are you calling flat-chested, you pervert! They're just two lumps of fat!"

“But this ‘fat lump’ is quite popular, isn’t it? Ah! Why don’t we ask someone else?” Kasumigaoka tapped Eriri’s forehead with her finger to keep her from getting closer. “Shimizu-kun, between me and Sawamura-kun, whose breasts do you prefer?”

Qinglai answered instinctively, "Teacher."

"Kiyo-!"

"Thank you for your honest answer, Shimizu-kun," Kasumigaoka smiled with satisfaction. "It's getting late, Shimizu-kun, you should hurry back to class and get ready for lessons. We can meet up again sometime."

Kasumigaoka hung up the phone without saying a word, then casually tossed the phone back into Eriri's arms before returning to her class, feeling refreshed.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!!"

..................................................................

night

After taking a shower, Qinglai walked back to her room, still warm from the heat. Just as she was about to pick up her phone, she paused.

She has received many messages from fellow fans she met in person today. The culprit is Eriri's illustration. Although, as Eriri said, she deliberately blurred the resemblance between the protagonist and Kiyori to some extent, the overly similar character settings still allowed the eagle-eyed girls to find some evidence.

After the morning's farce, Eriri surprisingly posted another tweet, essentially announcing that she will be creating a manga featuring the two girls from her illustrations, and that the character designs are still in their initial stages. While this is a significant step forward for Eriri's career, it's also Kiyorae's first step closer to the abyss.

She has replied countless times today that she has nothing to do with the painting.

Obviously, nobody believed it.

My phone vibrated again; it was a message from Kasumigaoka.

"I'm really happy today, and I'm really looking forward to meeting Shimizu-kun."

"The teacher seemed quite happy. Does that mean she was bullying Eriri or teasing me?"

"Hmm, do you have them all?"

Why is it a question?

"No, teacher. Just call me Shiyu. Didn't I tell you that this morning?"

"...Shiyu, senior."

"Ha, how rigid."

"Does Shiha-senpai have a grudge against Eriri? They seem to have a very bad relationship."

"Yes, there was a small misunderstanding before, but please allow me to keep it a secret."

"Okay... But, although Eriri can seem unreliable at times, her drawing skills are still very high, even if she's drawing..."

"I know."

"Eh? Is the teacher also a tsundere? But this time she drew that illustration without the teacher's permission, so I'd like to apologize to the teacher on her behalf."

"Shimizu-kun, are you still sulking?"

"?"

A while later, Kasumigaoka sent Kiyoyori a picture, quickly adding a line of text:

"Shimizu-kun still likes it this way? I think it's pretty good too."

Qinglai clicked on the picture and was speechless for a moment.

The picture shows two people, one above the other, with the person on top riding on the torso of the person lying down. The reason it is described as torso is because Kiyoyori could not find a more accurate way to describe it.

Kiyoshi felt she should be shy, but then she thought it was unnecessary.

The photo that Kasumigaoka sent was a stick figure she drew herself, the kind where even straight lines couldn't be drawn straight.

"Teacher, your public image has been ruined."

Chapter 29 It was wrong from the start.

[The previous plan was implemented today, but it failed. The advisor is weak-willed and habitually avoids problems, making it impossible to solve them; we must find another way. The situation within the brass band seems to have worsened, with the polarization becoming increasingly severe. Asuka Tanaka's attitude remains unclear; she seems to have a close relationship with Kaori Nakagaku. Speaking of Nakagaku, she hasn't taken over as principal player, and it seems she's hiding something from us. She looks tired and lacks focus, which needs attention. There are problems within the trumpet club; some members may have been silenced by Nakagaku, but they still harbor resentment towards the sender. We need to be vigilant.]

I am not close to my family, so please don't do anything that might cause misunderstandings. Also, please try to stay away from my sister; she is not an easy person to deal with.

[P.S.: Shouldn't I provide my personal information before asking others?]

Yukinoshita's record was as concise and clear as ever, and she also conveniently passed the buck back to Kiyoyori.

Hmm, she does seem a little angry...

Looking at these words, Kiyoshiro could imagine the other person writing down the record with a cold expression. Apart from the previous comment about "unusual interests", Kiyoshiro seemed to have no emotional fluctuations under Yukinoshita. It was like a deep well with a lid on. No matter how the wind blew or how the rain fell, Kiyoshiro could only see the other person's cold and hard shell.

However, the situation in the brass band is deteriorating. The advisors' real power has been largely stripped away, and the minister makes all the decisions, big and small. Obedience or opposition is just a sham democracy and has no meaning. There is no choice among the members; there is only passive acceptance.

As for the medieval predecessors...

Kiyoshi gently bit her lower lip. If the third-year students' behavior became increasingly egregious, there was no guarantee that Senior Nakashiko might do something that would harm both himself and others.

Time was of the essence, and they had no time to hesitate. They had to find the sender and start with her...

"what--!"

Kiyoshi seemed to have thought of something, and stopped making the bento box.

Come to think of it, they seem to subconsciously assume that the sender and the bullied girl in the photo are not the same person. Is it because of the preconceived notion of the photo's angle? So they subconsciously equate the sender with the photographer.

That photo was clearly taken from a bystander's perspective.

However, if the sender and the girl in the photo are different people, then Nakagaku-senpai's actions are a bit strange. Although her intention to protect the sender is very obvious, she mentioned more about protecting the reputation of the brass band, which should be the thought of all the members. So this matter is still only within the brass band. With the entire brass band having a common enemy, they should become more united.

In other words, the other members of the brass band should be working together to find the sender, because that is the primary enemy threatening the entire brass band. However, the members, led by Nakayoko-senpai, are trying their best to conceal the sender's identity. In other words, Nakayoko-senpai actually chose to protect the sender over protecting the brass band. Therefore, something else must have happened to the sender. Nakayoko-senpai discovered this, chose to keep it a secret, and asked the other members who were willing to listen to her to keep quiet.

Qinglai frowned, tapping the stove lightly with his finger. If this guess was correct, then based on the existing evidence, there was only one explanation:

The sender was actually the girl in the photo who was being bullied. Someone else took the photo and gave it to the sender.

Wait a minute, why should it be given to the sender?

Threat?

No, it's not possible...

Qinglai gripped the edge of the table with his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache.

Let's delve deeper, think about it even more...

Was the sender's purpose really just to threaten the third-year students? Did they simply want their idol to take the top spot?

But the result was that the third-year students became increasingly arrogant, and Senior Nakashiko failed to become the chief. The sender's expectations were all dashed, but there was still no further action, or rather, the action was stopped by someone. Even so, she had no intention of showing herself. At this point, what was that person still waiting for?

Wouldn't the best outcome be for her to come forward and turn herself in, thus ending everything? If she was afraid of being exposed for bullying, she wouldn't need to use her own photos at all. In fact, keeping such things hidden is the best approach!

Kiyoshi suddenly realized what was happening and slammed his fist on the marble countertop, the pain spreading from his knuckles.

It turns out they were wrong from the very beginning.

That's completely wrong.

Kiyoshi haphazardly stuffed the miscellaneous ingredients into the bento box, wrapped it in a cloth, and then hurriedly ran out of the apartment under the snow.

The sender's intention was neither to threaten the third-year students nor to make Kaori Nakaseko take the top position. These were just smokescreens she used to create a facade. If they worked, it would be a bonus; if they didn't, it wouldn't affect her original purpose.

Before the emails appeared, the biggest problem for the brass band was the confrontation between the third-year students and the first-year students due to their different goals. But once the emails appeared, everyone who hoped that the brass band would get better or at least maintain the status quo would transfer their hostility to the sender.

The sender was the one who most wanted to resolve all the internal strife, so she was even willing to use herself as bait.

No, it is necessary to use oneself as bait.

But Kaori Nakaze saw through all of this. She was the first to notice the sender's true purpose and deliberately misled Yukino's thinking in her conversation with Yukino, causing everyone to stray from the purpose she wanted to show. She even went so far as to exacerbate the previous conflict in order to protect the sender in her own way.

So, what will be Kaori Medieval's next move, given her way of thinking?