I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Hikigaya and Kiyori glanced at Yukinoshita with a hint of something in their eyes, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

"Why don't we think of something else? It's not good to have a fixed mindset; we can't possibly send the same type of gift to all three of us—"

Before Kiyoshi could finish speaking, the angle of his gaze suddenly changed.

"A gift..."

The voice that came out of his mouth changed, which, from Hikigaya's perspective, was as if Kiyoyori had added to what Yukinoshita hadn't finished saying.

They exchanged a subtle glance with Yukino, who was also still in shock, and then walked out of the clothing store with Hachiman as if nothing had happened.

In the end, Yukinoshita chose a pink apron embroidered with an apple pie pattern, which had a very girlish feel. However, Kiyoyori was very suspicious that designing this pattern and combining it with the apron was an implication of how to enhance one's femininity, such as the "feminine power apple pie" recommended by a famous food critic to capture a man's heart (Note).

Kiyoshi discussed it with Hikigaya and chose a matching leash and a collar with a name tag. According to Kiyoshi's observation, the hook of the leash that Yuihama used for Sabre should be attached to the collar around her neck. Small dogs are often more aggressive than large dogs, and there are often situations where the owner needs to pull on the leash. At this time, pulling hard on the collar can cause some harm to the dog, which is why Yuihama often does not use a leash for Sabre.

Qinglai chose the type that goes around the dog's two front legs, so that even if he pulled hard on the leash, he wouldn't hurt his dog's neck.

It's really unclear whether this is for a person's birthday or for a dog's...

"Then I'll take my leave now."

Kiyoyori bid farewell to her two seniors. Since they were going in different directions and not on the same route, she said, "I'd like to trouble Hikigaya-senpai to take Yukinoshita-senpai home."

Yukino frowned in displeasure, while Hachiman calmly agreed.

Despite bidding farewell to his two predecessors, Kiyoshi ultimately failed to leave the business world.

"Ugh?!"

Shh! Be quiet! We'll be discovered!

P.S.: Note: "Female Power Apple Pie" is a play on words, as the Japanese pronunciation of "apple" sounds similar to "up," so it can be interpreted as "Female Power Up Pie," meaning to enhance female power.

I finally passed the written test today! When I got home and told my mom I passed, she was incredibly surprised. Me: ??

Chapter 53, Section 113: Hey! Miss Stalker Over there!

With his mouth covered by a soft hand and Kiyoshi's neck choked by the other hand behind him, Kiyoshi, unable to speak and struggling to breathe, could only forcefully slap the other person's arm.

"No no no!"

Qinglai didn't need to turn around to see the person's face to guess her name from the touch of her hands and back.

How did she end up here?

Shh! Be quiet! We'll be discovered!

The man whispered in Qinglai's ear, saying he was afraid of being discovered, but their strange behavior had already attracted a lot of onlookers.

If you don't let go, I'm going to be silent forever!

Having finally escaped Eriri's relaxed grip, Kiyora squatted on the ground, coughing dryly with his hands covering his neck, his eyes moistened by saline solution, and the blush on his face spreading all the way to his neck.

What are you trying to do?

Qinglai's voice was a little hoarse, and she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

Eriri hid behind a pillar in the hall, cautiously peeking out to observe the crowd not far away. She was dressed in a low-key jacket and jeans, with a gray-white hat that concealed her bright blonde hair. Sunglasses perched on her nose. Although her overall look had nothing to do with her usual elegant young lady persona, Kiyoshi still had to thank God that she hadn't worn her sportswear from home directly out.

I suddenly remembered that a short-sleeved shirt I saw earlier might be more suitable for Eriri.

A simple white T-shirt with "I am AHO (Note)" written on it...

Eriri noticed Kiyora's unusual voice, and put her hands together, "I'm sorry, I'll treat you to a parfait later~".

"That's not the problem..."

"So you're not going to eat it?"

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Eriri turned back, gripping the wall with both hands and peering out at the outside. Her actions clearly attracted the attention of unsuspecting onlookers, but Eriri, absorbed in her own world, was completely unaware.

“So,” Kiyoyori said, pressing Eriri’s shoulder and peeking out from beside her, “what are you looking for? Don’t tell me you’re here to shop.”

Eriri is an otaku comparable to Aki Tomoya. Whether it's her love for anime or simply her literal enjoyment of staying at home, although she's not as extreme as Aki, Eriri also has her own social activities. It's not surprising that she goes shopping with her classmates. But right now, she's all alone. She doesn't lack clothes or money, and she wouldn't deliberately choose a time when there are many people to go shopping alone.

Could it be...

"You wouldn't be... if you care about them, just say so! If you're so bothered by those two being alone, why don't you just say you want to go shopping together too?"

Kiyoshi felt he had grasped the truth.

"You, you, you... what nonsense are you talking about!" Eriri pressed her hand against Kiyora's face and pushed her back, her face as red as an apple. "I didn't come here because of Itoya! I... I just happened to see them walking together, so I... I just followed them! And I was just doing research... yes! Just doing research!"

Which era's arrogant type are you from?

Kiyoshi witnessed Eriri's transformation from shyness and nervousness at having her secret thoughts exposed to self-assurance and confidence.

"Isn't that just a stalker...?"

"I wasn't following them! I was just gathering information on the side!"

Eriri pulled out her sketchbook from her backpack and explained with great seriousness.

"Yes, yes," Kiyora said dismissively, her gesture only adding to Eriri's embarrassment and annoyance. "I'm telling you, if you really like someone, don't just passively wait for Tomoya-senpai to come to you. Even if you can't be completely proactive, you could at least try playing hard to get or something. If you keep doing this, you're just pushing Tomoya-senpai away."

"Don't assume that just because you're childhood sweethearts, the other person will tolerate your capriciousness without any limits."

This wasn't the first time Kiyotori had talked about Aki with Eriri. She had never liked Aki, and her politeness towards him was mostly out of consideration for Eriri. Although he wasn't a bad person and his character was decent, Kiyotori subconsciously couldn't bring herself to like him because of his relationship with Eriri.

Kiyori once tried to persuade Eriri to give up on Aki, but Eriri always brushed it off with jokes, saying things like, "I hate Tomoya the most," or "I don't care about that idiot Tomoya!" But in reality...

"Kiyori is so clear-headed because you did the same thing with Kasumigaoka? Is it a game of playing hard to get?"

Eriri glared angrily at Kiyoyori. Unlike Tomoya, who was incredibly oblivious to feelings, Eriri had already sensed Kiyoyori's presence when that annoying Kasumigaoka was trying every trick in the book to get information out of her. Although it was her fault for inadvertently revealing Kiyoyori's identity, she didn't want Kasumigaoka and Kiyoyori to get too close.

On one hand, she didn't want Kiyoyori to be disturbed; on the other hand, she was worried that Kiyoyori would hurt Kasumigaoka's enthusiasm and that Kiyoyori would lose a friend he could confide in.

Because she knew.

"You knew perfectly well."

Kiyoshi looked at Eriri with a wry smile.

"Ha, you say that about me, but aren't you the same way?"

Eriri turned her head away; she knew all too well how much Kiyoyori had suffered during that period.

"Sorry……"

She shouldn't have brought up Kiyoyori's painful past, especially since the anniversary of his death is approaching.

"Kiyoshi, what's your opinion on childhood sweetheart romances?"

"what?"

“I mean,” Eriri took a deep breath and looked directly into those eyes that were so similar to her own, “would Kiyori be more inclined to be with his childhood friend?”

Kiyoshi frowned.

"Absolutely not."

"why?"

Eriri was eager to know the answer.

"If all couples and spouses in the world were childhood sweethearts, then there would be no such thing as 'meeting' in this world."

"But childhood sweethearts are also a kind of 'encounter,' right? They just met earlier than others."

"It's precisely because it's too early, and we already know everything about them, what's the point?"

Even so, when Kiyoyori thinks back to Asuka, she always feels that she doesn't know her as well as she thought. She only ever sees the side of Asuka that Asuka presents to her. It wasn't until she entered Soubu High School and met Asuka, who wasn't at home, that she gradually discovered another side of Asuka.

Therefore, Asuka is special.

"but……"

Eriri's fingers were intertwined, seemingly very confused by Kiyori's answer.

"Is Eriri only in love with Tomoya-senpai because they are childhood friends?"

"Of course it's not just that!"

"why?"

Kiyoshi didn't understand why Eriri would fall for someone like Aki Tomoya.

Who knows...?

P.S.: Note: AHO, when read in Japanese and translated, means "idiot," so...

Everyone's been so quiet lately, no comments, no votes. Maybe we should put the sweetness aside for now?

Chapter 54, Section 114: Is this what a chaotic battlefield looks like?!

"Kiyoshi, shall we go to the county festival together tonight? There are four of us from the Service Department going together."

The cute emoticons and cheerful tone were typical of Yuihama. Kiyoyori received a text message from this senior this morning, something he hadn't done in a long time.

Not long ago was Yuihama's birthday, and Kiyoyori even took time out of his practice to come to the Service Club with Yukinoshita and Hikigaya to prepare a birthday surprise for Yuihama. Although it wasn't a surprise worth mentioning, they didn't even decorate the activity room. Kiyoyori simply borrowed the kitchen with Yukinoshita to make a small cake.

The effect was obvious. The Service Club's previously stiff relationship, which was like a cold winter wind, quickly returned to spring. The warm sun once again enveloped the Service Club, and Yuihama's smile melted even the spring snow.

Congratulations! Congratulations!

only……

Kiyoshi looked at the text messages on her phone with a slight headache. Because of LINE's read receipt function, she couldn't keep the other party waiting too long. And with the audition approaching, she wished she could lock herself in the underground practice room to train. She had also wasted a lot of time on other things.

The prefectural festival, a festival that makes the hearts of young boys and girls itch with excitement, is when their irrepressible feelings of first love reach their peak. The rampant hormones seem to be infecting all the restless teenagers. In recent days, most of the students' discussions have revolved around this festival, from who they want to invite to attend to what clothes they should wear, from whether or not to wear a yukata to what kind of headwear they should wear, from which place to confess to and at what time.

However, all of this budding romance had absolutely nothing to do with Tachibana Kiyori.

"I'm sorry, Yuihama-senpai, I'll get back to you later. We haven't been informed of the brass band's training plan yet."