I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Compared to Kiyora, who often accompanies Carol to various banquets, Eriri can be described as a little princess kept at home.

Although this little princess is a bit messy and a homebody.

"It's all still uncertain."

Qinglai raised a standard social smile.

Although Carol publicly announced that Kiyoyori would be the only one to inherit Spencer's fortune, Kiyoyori did not receive the same rigorous training as Haruno. Instead, he was treated like a shepherd, and this shepherd was not very diligent.

Kiyoshi was also unaware of Carol's intentions.

"Yeah."

Lady Yukinoshita showed no extra expression, only smiled and nodded, "Didn't Kiyori's two mothers come along?"

“No, Carol’s mother is abroad.”

"I see. If there's a chance, our two families can get together again."

Lady Yukinoshita picked up the teapot and poured herself a cup of tea, but her gaze swept lightly over the teacups in front of the two juniors that had hardly been touched. Kiyoyori smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of the now-cold black tea.

"I will tell my mother."

Kiyotomi subtly shifted her slightly numb feet. She wanted to find an excuse to leave, because she was afraid that Lady Yukinoshita might bring up the matter of Haruno, and mentioning Haruno would bring up the past.

With Yukinoshita sitting next to him, completely unaware of the situation, Kiyoyori didn't want to bring up the topic in front of her.

"If I had known Kiyoyori was here this time, I should have sent Haruno as well."

Kiyoshi's hands, which were resting on his knees, clenched involuntarily, and his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm sorry, Haruno has been busy with company matters lately. Has Kiyoyori contacted Haruno recently?"

Kiyotomi felt sweat dripping down her forehead, and the probing gazes coming from her side made her feel like she was being pricked by needles. "My contact with Haruno is not frequent."

Although she didn't answer the question directly, it wasn't exactly an evasion. If she denied it now, Yukinoshita would see through the lie, since she and Haruno had just appeared in front of Yukinoshita together at noon. Admitting that they had been in contact recently would inevitably leave room for speculation.

Qinglai did not want to cause such a misunderstanding.

"That's true, you've all been very busy lately."

The gazes around me seemed to grow increasingly piercing.

"Lady Yukinoshita, I think I should—"

No matter what, Kiyoshi needed to find a reason to leave, and at that moment, his phone rang at just the right time. Kiyoshi answered the phone without even seeing the caller ID.

"Qinglai, why aren't you back yet! I need your help!"

The voice coming from the phone wasn't Kasumigaoka's, nor Eriri's, but Aki's.

The other person's voice sounded somewhat flustered, but there seemed to be a hint of enjoyment in that fluster?

There seemed to be some strange noises in the background. Kiyoshi instinctively turned around and covered the exposed receiver with his hand. "What happened?"

An unknown noise came from the other end of the phone, and Kiyoyori seemed to hear some sharp screams. Then, the phone was answered, and it was Kato Ena's calm voice, "We're all in the girls' room. There's been a little accident here."

"Accident?"

Kato Megumi paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, Kiyori should come and see for himself."

She frowned slightly as she looked at the other girls in the room who were clearly out of their minds, and at An Yi, who was surrounded by the girls and struggling in pain.

"I'm coming right away."

Hearing Qinglai's low reply on the other end of the phone, the call was quickly cut off.

"Lady Yukinoshita, Senior Yukinoshita, something has happened to me, and I may need to return now," Kiyoyori said, bowing slightly to Lady Yukinoshita with his hands on his knees. "Excuse me, please allow me to leave now."

"Go ahead, it's a pleasure to meet you today, Kiyoyori."

Even in her haste to leave, Kiyoyori did not lose her manners. She glanced at Yukinoshita, who had been almost completely silent since entering the room, and nodded slightly.

Just as Kiyoshi was about to leave the room.

"Tachibana-san."

Kiyoshiro subconsciously turned around and saw Yukinoshita facing away from her. Yukinoshita turned slightly to the side, but her gaze did not fall on Kiyoshiro's face. "Good night."

Kiyoshi, leaning against the door, paused and said:

Good night, senior.

P.S.: I have to go to work again tomorrow. It's so painful. Every workday is so painful. *crying*

Chapter 20, Section 359: Freedom of Love

Kiyori sighed as she left the room belonging to Yukinoshita, as if all her strength had instantly left her body, and fatigue overwhelmed her in an instant.

After pausing for a moment in the corridor, Kiyoyori walked toward the room where Kato and the others were.

The closer she got to their room, the clearer the sound became. Qinglai, who was standing at the door, had a moment of doubt, wondering if she had gone the wrong way. She lowered her hand from the sliding door, took a few steps back, and checked the doorplate on the wall again.

We didn't go to the wrong place.

The sounds of "playing" inside the door were very loud; you could hear them clearly without even putting your ear to the door. Although you couldn't make out what the people inside were saying, the scream, louder than a woman's voice, still pierced through the not-so-thick wall and punctured Qinglai's eardrums.

"No—!"

"Stop it!"

A few travelers happened to pass by in the corridor, their curious gazes falling on Kiyotaka, who was standing stiffly at the door. Kiyotaka turned around and received a few friendly smiles, but she could only return an awkward yet polite smile.

Then, as quickly as possible, open the door, go inside, and close the door.

The view inside the door made her instinctively want to turn around and leave. "Sorry, I went to the wrong place."

There was a moment of stillness in the air.

"I didn't go to the wrong place! Please help me!"

Surrounded by several girls, Aki, dressed in disarray, struggled to tear her nearly ripped yukata while reaching out to Kiyoshi for help.

The people surrounding An Yi were clearly out of their minds.

The group of people rolled around in a chaotic mess, like demons dancing wildly.

what happened……

Kiyoshi covered his eyes with his hands, but he couldn't help but open his fingers and peek through them at the group of people making a ruckus, especially the figure with long black hair and the collar of the yukata that was about to slip off his shoulders.

Don't look at what you shouldn't see, you bastard...

Kiyoshi took a deep breath, restrained himself, and clasped his hands together. All he could see was darkness.

"What's going on..."

Of course, the group of people "playing" on the other side of the hotel room wouldn't answer Kiyoyori's question. Obviously, given their current mental state, they couldn't answer it either. The only one who could answer was Kato, who was quietly sitting in the corner reading a book.

It's amazing that the other person can still calmly read a book under such circumstances.

Kiyoshi looked at Kato Megumi with some surprise, then at Aki, who was currently surrounded by girls.

Could it be that she guessed wrong?

Kiyoshi became somewhat uncertain.

Of course, Kiyoyori had no idea that after all this began, Kato hadn't turned a single page of the book in his hand.

Kato didn't even look up. She just pointed to some kind of food that had been roughly torn apart not far away. Kiyotori took a closer look and realized that it was a chocolate shaped like a wine bottle. She broke off a small piece and put it in her mouth to taste it. She quickly discovered that it contained alcohol.

In Japan, minors are prohibited from drinking alcohol, which is clearly written into the law. However, this does not mean that minors cannot have access to alcohol. As for Kiyoshi herself, she uses various kinds of alcohol when making desserts, so this is not the first time she has tasted alcohol.

but--

Even if someone has never been exposed to alcohol before, is it really possible for someone to get drunk just from eating a few pieces of alcoholic chocolate...?

Do they only have a teaspoon's worth of alcohol to drink?

Some people who couldn't bear to watch went forward to help the girls straighten their clothes, but at that moment, their eyes seemed to be completely fixed on Aki Tomoya.

Eriri and her cousin are one thing, but what's with Utaha-senpai?

Kiyoyori felt an indescribable feeling spreading through her heart. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Kasumigaoka's waist, pulling the other person out forcefully. Just as she was about to turn around to continue rescuing Eriri, her waist was suddenly grabbed.

A soft, warm body pressed against her.

"Huh? There are two Shimizu-kun?"

Kasumigaoka rubbed her nose against Kiyori's back like a clingy cat, "Are you... really, Shimizu-kun?"

How drunk would someone have to be to mistake Aki for her...?

Kiyoyori stopped trying to push Kasumigaoka away and sighed, "Senpai Utaha, could you please let me go?"

Not wanting to be too rough with the lady, Kiyoyori tried to be as gentle as possible, but this didn't push away Kasumigaoka, who was clinging to her tightly. Meanwhile, Eriri was practically lying on top of Aki, and her yukata was practically useless. This scene clearly made Kiyoyori even angrier.

"Don't go..."

A soft, unusual voice came from behind, "Shimizu-kun, don't go..."

As if frozen in place, Kiyoyori stood motionless. She dared not pull away from Kasumigaoka's hand, nor did she dare turn around to look at the other's expression. She could only stand there blankly, letting the other embrace her and absorb the warmth from him.

That's not good.

This is very bad.

The alarm bells were ringing in her heart, and the red lights were flashing with the increasingly loud alarms. Yet, Kiyoshi was unable to take the next step. Despite being unable to boldly accept the other person's feelings, she still allowed herself to recklessly draw warmth from the other person's tenderness.

I am the epitome of a scumbag.

It is something that cannot be forgiven no matter how many reasons you find.

Push her away, push her away quickly!

Kiyoyori placed his trembling hand on Kasumigaoka's wrist, trying to pull it away, but he couldn't muster any strength.

The arms around her waist were so tight that Kiyoyori could hardly breathe, but Kasumigaoka did not make any further moves. She did not do anything out of line like she did with Aki, but simply hugged Kiyoyori.

Selflessly, embracing.

The three on the other side had gone from fighting over Aki Tomoya to a two-on-two brawl. The person who was originally being fought over was kicked aside, and Eriri and Hyodo were now "wrestling" together.