I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

What if she makes a mistake?

“Then she should be punished accordingly,” Akane Kambara’s voice sounded somewhat cold, “but it’s okay, I will forgive her and then teach her how to do it.”

Akane Kambara helped her younger sister tuck in the blankets. "So please, Yukinoshita-san, do the same thing."

“As you said, I’m here today to deal with this matter, but there’s no need to be so rigid,” Kiyoshi straightened his back and stretched his slightly stiff body slightly. “Kamihara-san must accept the appropriate punishment, but so must those who bullied her.”

"You don't mean you want the Kanbara family to get involved, do you?"

“Of course not. If the Kambara family gets involved, Kambara-san’s matter will no longer be a secret,” Kiyoyori glanced at Kambara Akane, whose expression remained unchanged. “All Kambara-san needs to do is write a voluntary withdrawal application. Everything else is none of her business.”

Akane Kambara took the blank but stamped resignation application and smiled knowingly.

"You and Yang Nai really do look alike."

Kiyoshi frowned unhappily.

"Then I'll leave my sister to you. I also apologize on her behalf for the trouble this matter has caused the club."

Akane Kambara turned around, bowed in Kiyori's direction, and left the room.

"It's about time you opened your eyes, right, Kanbara-kun?"

Chapter 35 In the end, they will still go down completely opposite paths.

The person who had been lying quietly on the bed clenched her fists, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and two lines of clear tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes, wetting the pillow.

“I have heard everything from Senior Zhongshigu, but don’t worry, she did not betray you. I deduced your identity myself.”

Kambara Akira's reaction became even more intense; even through the blanket, her chest could be seen heaving violently.

“Senior would not betray me,” Kambara Akira squeezed out a few hoarse words from his dry throat, “because senior has never been on my side.”

Do you hate her?

Kambara Akira covered her face with her arm and shook her head vigorously.

Do you hate yourself?

Akira pursed her lips and made no further move.

"I must commend you for your near-perfect plan, if you hadn't approached Senior Zhongshigu yourself and revealed your identity first."

Kiyoyori had always found this strange. If Shinbara Akira had such determination, why would he have dragged Nakazeko into it, knowing full well that she would only worry unnecessarily?

“You don’t think that Senior Zhongshigu can help you in this plan; you just believe that Senior Zhongshigu can be your backup plan.”

Kambara Akira's body trembled even more violently, and Kiyoshi could hear muffled sobs coming from her mouth.

"Because Senior Zhongshigu is a gentle person, and because you know she simply cannot refuse your request, nor can she watch you carry out the plan to the end. You are just giving yourself a reason to turn back at any time."

Kiyotomi didn't care what Kambara Akira was thinking; she simply continued speaking in her cool tone.

"Kamihara-kun, you are not a coward. A coward would not make such a plan, let alone carry it out. But you are not as courageous as you think. While I admire your determination to face the situation, I also despise your behavior of dragging down those who care about you. Even if Nakajiko-senpai sincerely wanted to help you, it cannot change my disgust for your actions."

"Yukikinoshita Yukino..."

"You're the school's most beautiful girl, the darling of the Yukinoshita family, how could you possibly understand!"

“Unfortunately!” Kiyoyori interrupted Kambara Akira rudely, instinctively unwilling to hear others speak ill of Yukinoshita. “That does not justify your actions.”

"Kanbara-kun, you come from a prestigious family, you should have some self-respect. If I hadn't promised Kaori-senpai to completely conceal any information about you, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble. If you still admire Medieval Kaori, then please write your name on the application form and stop causing her any more trouble."

Looking at the dazed Shinbara Akira, Kiyoyori sighed, "Do you know, yesterday you were bullied by those third-year students. First, you got injured all over, and then you were soaked in sweat."

Kambara Akira's body trembled violently, but he dared not meet Kiyori's gaze.

“Is that so… You already know…” Kiyotaka stopped looking at the other person. “The crimes you hoped they would commit have been committed, and your plan has almost succeeded. So, now, I’ll ask Shinbara-san to step down. Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei will punish those third-year students, and Nakazeko-senpai will clarify that he did what he did because he didn’t want to see his juniors being bullied anymore. This part of the matter will end with Nakazeko-senpai in the open. You can hide in the shadows and see the result you want to see.”

"Of course, you can also choose to stand up, then everything that the medieval predecessor did will be in vain."

"What about the punishment for the actual sender?"

Akira Kambara isn't stupid. While the bullying incident could end in this way, the email incident couldn't. Since Nakazeko-senpai wasn't the sender, it would be impossible to explain to all the brass band members if the sender wasn't punished.

“I told you, as long as you sign your name on this paper, all your worries will be resolved,” Kiyoyori said, taking out a pen, placing it on the application form, and handing it forward. “This is the punishment that Ms. Hiratsuka Shizuka has decided to give you. You are to leave the brass band, that’s all.”

Akira Kambara took the pen, her vision blurred by tears. Tears dripped onto the white paper, leaving teardrop-like patterns. The pen tip trembled wildly, and she couldn't even write her own name.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Kaori-senpai, I'm sorry...

Akira Kambara sniffed hard, then took a deep breath and wrote down her name. She watched as Kiyotaka carefully put the paper into her schoolbag.

“Yukinoshita-kun,” Akira Kanbara’s voice was still nasal and clearly tearful, “Please pass on my message to Kaori-senpai: ‘I’m sorry for troubling you.’”

Kiyora paused for a moment. "I won't pass it on. If you have anything to say, please tell your senior yourself, Kanbara-kun."

Seeing the other person's visibly dejected face, Kiyoyori added:

“I don’t think you have anything to apologize to her for; you just gave her a chance—a chance for her to make amends for her past mistakes.”

"Then I'll take my leave now, Kanbara-kun. I wish you a speedy recovery."

Qinglai deftly picked up his schoolbag and walked out the door.

"Thank you, Yukinoshita-san."

Kiyoshi paused as he opened the sliding door. "I'm just fulfilling my request."

After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic Mrs. Kambara, Kiyoyori was heading towards the school when he ran into Yukinoshita Haruno, who was walking towards the shrine.

"Yukino, how come I run into you here?! Skipping class?" Haruno was as nonchalant as ever.

"That should be my line, sister."

Qinglai emphasized the last two words fiercely.

Her behavior amused Yang Nai, who said, "What's with that expression? It's scary."

As Yang Nai spoke, she leaned closer to Kiyoyori, "It seems the request is over."

"Thanks to my sister."

"What are you saying, Yukino?" Haruno pulled away from Kiyori's ear, took a step back, and kept a distance between them. "I was just concerned about my little sister when I accidentally discovered something else, and then I told my friend, who is also an older sister, about it."

"I just didn't expect that introverted kid to take such an extreme measure."

"But as an enemy, Xiaojing is still too weak."

Kiyoshi looked at Haruno expressionlessly and didn't respond to her words.

"Don't make that face, Yukino. Although we didn't complete the request, it was still a perfect ending," Haruno said as she brushed past Kiyori and walked into the shrine without looking back. "Goodbye, Yukino."

"Perfect, huh..."

Kiyoshi gripped the strap of his backpack tightly, paused for a moment, and finally headed away in the opposite direction against the wind.

Chapter 36 Rather than wallowing in despair

[That's a general overview of what happened these past two days and my plans. I think all I need to do now is wait for the other first-year students to submit their withdrawal applications, which should be completed within this week if all goes well. The remaining task for the seniors is to explain this matter to the seniors who initially requested it. Although I have the help of Nakamiko-senpai, I believe they should be able to accept it. Please forgive me; I couldn't find a better solution and didn't have time to discuss it with the seniors before making this decision on my own. I'm very sorry.]

As for what I mentioned last time about myself, it depends on what aspect you want to know. If it's about romance, poor me, I've only ever had unrequited love. How about we exchange a hobby or habit each time? Things we already know don't count. For example, I like lilies. Oh, speaking of which, I need to explain something to you. That painting you saw last time wasn't my hobby; it belonged to my sister. I was just being used as a laborer.

[Please tell me some information about a senior next time.]

Yukinoshita spent a considerable amount of time finally finishing reading Kiyoyori's lengthy treatise. She meticulously recorded the thought processes and objectives of Nakazeko-senpai and Kanbara-kun, and also wrote down her own plan and objectives. Although this plan could perfectly resolve the email incident and fulfill Nakazeko-senpai's request, it undoubtedly meant abandoning the requests of Ogasawara-senpai and Saito-senpai. Even though Kiyoyori was the one who specifically planned and executed it, Yukinoshita subconsciously felt that she had failed.

Kiyoshiro explained in great detail why a first-year student couldn't possibly not leave the club, but the reality left Yukinoshita feeling frustrated, as if mocking her for being incapable of anything. She wasn't the one who resolved the email incident, and she hadn't completed the first request either. She felt a sense of defeat, as if she had lost a game of chess with Kiyoshiro, even though the other person didn't feel the same way at all.

Although she was very unwilling, Yukinoshita could accept this result. Just like Kiyori said, this was perhaps the best outcome.

But what is a lily? It doesn't seem to be referring to flowers.

Yukino looked at the idle chatter unrelated to the main topic with a puzzled expression. After thinking for a while, she decided to write it down anyway:

【horse riding.】

The feeling of galloping on horseback is like having freedom within reach.

Furthermore, Yukinoshita wouldn't believe a word of the claims that those incomplete drawings had nothing to do with Kiyoyori or that he had zero romantic experience. Just the fact that he struck an embarrassing pose that day was shameful enough. Unexpectedly, Eriri sent two more illustrations afterward. The first one was clearly the version where she was the model that day, while the second one was a completely different character design. Apart from the equally indescribable pose and the two main characters being roughly similar, there didn't seem to be much else in common between the two drawings.

"Is this all you asked for? The previous one has already been replaced with this character design. You promised it yourself, yet you're going back on your word. But Kasumigaoka Utaha's attitude is a bit strange. I originally thought... Oh well! In any case, stay away from that woman!"

Even though Kiyori's message didn't go into much detail about this, Yukinoshita vaguely sensed that her subtle misunderstanding seemed to have caused him considerable trouble. Although she felt apologetic, it couldn't salvage Kiyori's irretrievable image in her heart.

And that writer named Kasumigaoka Utaha...

It seems like their motives are somewhat impure.

“Yukinoshita,” the sliding door to the activity room was flung open, and Hiratsuka Shizumasa stood brazenly behind it, followed by four senior members from the brass band. “Excuse me.”

“Hiratsuka-sensei,” Yukinoshita said, closing her notebook with a headache and rubbing her forehead, “I think I’ve told you many times already, please knock before you come in.”

"Don't worry about all that, let's get straight to the point this time."

Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand dismissively, beckoning the people behind her to come inside.

The visitors were the four second-year students with whom they had previously interacted: Saito-senpai and Ogasawara-senpai, who had made the first request; Tanaka-senpai, who had accompanied the two; and Nakazeko-senpai, who had made the request to Yukinoshita.

“Please have a seat, everyone,” Yukinoshita said, gesturing to the four chairs in front of the long table, which she had prepared beforehand. “Let’s begin.”

"I think Senior Zhongshigu has already explained the general things to the seniors, so let's move on to the final part about the first commission and the email incident."

Saito seemed unable to accept the fact that their request had to be left unresolved, but she was stopped by Asuka before she could even speak.

"Of course, just tell us Yukinoshita-san's final plan."

Yukinoshita nodded, recalling Kiyoyori's plan written in the record, "First of all, I must apologize to Saito-senpai and Ogasawara-senpai with great regret. I was indeed unable to complete the request they entrusted to me, and I chose to prioritize solving Nakaseko-senpai's request between the two requests."

“I don’t understand,” Saito suddenly said.

“Aoi…” Ogasawara tugged at her sleeve helplessly.

"I don't understand. If the sender's goal was to establish a cooperative relationship between the third-year and first-year students, and at the same time eliminate all the troublesome seniors from the third year, then why are the first-year members leaving? We can work together. They have a chance to perform, and we can do the same with Rikako-sensei!"

“Saito-senpai,” Yukinoshita gently interrupted Saito’s excited words, “If that’s what you think, then it means that your goals are not the same as those first-year students. You will be a third-year student next year and will also need to consider the choice between further education and club activities. If you can’t have both, you can only choose one. In other words, the situation this year will also occur. Of course, this is not the main problem.”

Yukinoshita paused slightly, then took a breath. "The biggest problem is Matsumoto-sensei. To put it bluntly, she doesn't have the ability to guide this brass band, and besides, she's pregnant now. Saito-senpai, can you understand? Under these circumstances, Soubu High's brass band has no future. In other words, the possibility of Kasaki Nozomi and the others achieving their ideals is zero. Rather than wallowing in despair, they chose to preserve their memories in the most beautiful moment."

The last sentence wasn't Yukinoshita's idea; she simply copied Kiyori's words. She herself didn't particularly like the sentence, but in this context, it was the best explanation.

If waiting for someone's fate only leads to giving up on the ideals you once pursued in a daze, then it's better to choose to give up now and cherish the most beautiful memories forever, rather than leaving yourself with endless regrets.