What a twist! The loser heroine!

He and Banami leaned out of the shop's glass window and looked inside.

A black and white bobtail cat walked gracefully past the two of them. After staring at the warm water through the glass window for a few seconds with its beautiful eyes, it stretched out a paw and placed it on the glass.

"Yeah, this is a newly opened cat cafe. You can drink coffee and pet cats at the same time. Do you like cats, Mr. Wen Shui?"

She turned to look at Wen Shui, and when she saw the latter awkwardly withdrawing her right hand that had been trying to touch the cat's paw behind the glass, she paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Just as I thought."

"Yeah, everyone likes cats, right?"

Wen Shui awkwardly attributed her earlier behavior to the collective behavior of the masses.

“That makes sense.” Banami stretched out her hand and compared its size to the short-tailed cat through the glass window. After the cat retreated in frustration, she suddenly stared blankly at the facilities inside the store.

She looked at him for a while with some confusion, then turned to look at Wen Shui, who looked puzzled.

"Um... Mr. Wenshui, could you go in first?"

"Eh? Why?"

"I'd like to conduct an experiment. Would you mind sitting on that bench over there?"

Following her finger, Wen Shui saw a wooden bench, used as a habitat by the cats, quietly placed against the wall.

"What kind of experiment is this...?"

Despite his complaints, he obediently followed the instructions and entered the store. After carefully avoiding the cats walking and resting on the ground, he successfully sat down on the bench.

He awkwardly accepted the coffee menu from the waiter, and then felt a warm touch and weight on his legs.

Wen Shui looked down and saw that a snow-white cat had jumped onto her lap at some point, using her as a warm mattress and curling up into a ball.

【So cute. 】

He couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the soft cat's fur. His clumsy cat-petting skills seemed to win the white cat's favor, and after purring softly, it quietly fell asleep.

So cute!

He looked up with a sigh, and then saw a completely unappealing scene.

All he could see was Anjaya pressing her face tightly against the glass, staring at him through the window with a terrifying gaze.

How can a gecko be made cute?!

He suppressed the scream that was about to escape his lips, his legs trembling involuntarily, which seemed to make the white cat sleep even more soundly.

◇

"So, what was that experiment all about?"

After enjoying some decent coffee with Banami at the cat cafe, they took the escalator to the second floor to warm water. While checking themselves for any remaining cat hair, Banami asked the girl next to her, "Could it be... that you triggered your intuition here too?"

"No, it's just that there's a strange sense of familiarity about it."

Hanami seemed to be wondering as well: "Um, Numizu-kun, have you ever met any girls with white hair before?"

Huh? White hair?

I've encountered people with red and blue hair before. Himeko's hair is pink, but it looks like white hair...

Koba-sensei? No, no, no, that person is completely unworthy of the adjective "girl"! Shikiya-senpai? She doesn't seem quite as fair-skinned as she appears.

Thinking of this, he honestly shook his head at Banami.

"never seen it."

“That’s strange.” Banami frowned as she pondered, taking a bite of the cotton candy in her hand. “I feel like something was missing from that place just now.”

"Is a girl with white hair missing?"

Wen Shui followed up on her question.

"Hmm." She nodded.

[Seriously? Me going to a cat cafe with a girl??]

Seeing the strange look on Onami's face after he went to a cat cafe with a girl, Banami shrugged: "Maybe it's really possible. Onami-kun, you're quite popular with the opposite sex."

"Don't judge me based on characters who haven't even appeared yet."

He complained helplessly, "So, where do we go next?"

"Look to the left."

She smiled and winked at Wen Shui, who then turned his head.

Behind the wide store entrance are neat bookshelves, and you can see readers and customers walking among them from time to time. The huge bookstore is right in front of you.

"Toyokawado Bookstore AEON Mall Toyokawa Store" is the name of this bookstore. It may sound a bit complicated, but it's just a branch; the main store is located in Toyohashi City.

"Warm Water Guy, you've been grumbling about books from the beginning, so I brought you here."

"Thank you so much for the navigation."

He and Hanami entered the bookstore together. Although it was a branch, it boasted the largest area in the region, with a dazzling array of books, making it a must-visit for book lovers. It also featured a themed restaurant that utilized local ingredients—

Wait a minute, did this guy come here specifically for the themed restaurant?

He looked at Hanami, whose face was filled with longing and whose steps seemed to be tethered by the fragrance that he couldn't smell.

"Hanami-kun, it's not time for dinner yet."

“Of course I know about that kind of thing! And we’re about to try on clothes, so eating at this time would be unwise.” Banami nodded readily in agreement.

That's when she suddenly remembered about buying clothes.

Seeing that Hanami had already picked up a food magazine and started reading with great interest, Nukumi breathed a sigh of relief, intending to take this opportunity to carefully select some light novels and manga that she couldn't buy in Toyohashi.

"Haha, thank you so much, senior. I thought this kind of book would be placed somewhere else."

A familiar voice reached her ears, and Wen Shui stopped in her tracks instantly.

"Oh, it's alright. I didn't know Ayano-san liked reading so much. Would you like to join our literature club?"

He turned around, picked up his foot again, and walked away from the source of the sound. Anywhere was fine, as long as he could get away from here—

"Haha, I'll pass, I also have tutoring classes to attend."

"It's okay, right? Our club doesn't have that many rules. Wen Shui also attends cram schools. Don't you think so, Wen—"

Discovered? !

He turned around with an extremely embarrassed expression.

"Haha, what a coincidence—" "Ah, sorry, it's a habit. I thought the warm water was here too—"

Two voices sounded at the same time.

Kazuhiko Nukumi, who immediately realized he had chosen the wrong timing, met the gazes of Koto Tsukino and Mitsuki Ayano, who both showed surprised expressions, as well as a tall, fair-skinned beauty.

"Warm water?!"

"Aha, ahaha..."

He didn't know what expression to wear, so he tried to look at Banami, who was still engrossed in a food magazine behind the bookshelf.

At least let me give you a look and try to struggle a little...

"Huh? What's wrong? Uh—"

Seeing his expression, Banami stepped out of the crowd's blind spot with some confusion, and then froze on the spot with him.

Facing the puzzled or strange gazes of everyone, Wen Shuiheyan quietly turned into pale ashes.