Yukinoshita Yukino pressed her lips together, then in the end shook her head and gave Sato a slight bow.
"Sorry!"
After saying that, Yukinoshita Yukino turned around and left in a somewhat flustered manner.
"What, did your warm face get pressed against a cold shoulder?"
Suddenly, Isshiki Iroha's slightly teasing voice sounded from behind Sato. He turned his head in surprise and looked at her.
"Didn't you leave?"
"Hmph!"
Isshiki Iroha crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her eyes glanced at him for a moment before she turned her head away.
"I just thought a certain loser might not be able to take the blow and do something irreversible."
Loser?
Is she… talking about me?
Sato narrowed his eyes and smiled as he looked at Isshiki Iroha. "Green with envy?"
"Huh?"
Isshiki Iroha turned her head back, eyes wide as she stared at him. "Are you saying I'm jealous?!"
"Sorry, you're a good person!"
She handed him a good person card first, then continued.
"I'm just concerned about you from a friend's perspective. I didn't expect you to misunderstand it this deeply, Nohara!"
By the end, the girl hugged her own arms and shivered, looking at Sato with a disgusted expression as she shot him a glare with her pretty eyes.
"Gross!"
Sato fell silent.
This girl… she really has too much drama.
Sato suddenly sighed. "So, you see… I'm also just concerned about Yukinoshita from a friend's perspective."
"Friend? You and Yukinoshita are friends?"
Isshiki Iroha's eyes were full of suspicion, as if she didn't quite believe it.
Sato glanced at her. "Is that strange? Do you think just anyone can talk to Yukinoshita?"
The girl actually fell into thought. After a while, she said thoughtfully, "What you said doesn't seem entirely without reason."
"What do you mean 'not entirely without reason'? It's the truth."
Sato rolled his eyes, then looked at Isshiki Iroha with interest. "If one day I suddenly became strange, Iroha, would you ask why and then help me?"
Isshiki Iroha blinked. "What kind of strange? Like… that kind of constitution that attracts pretty girls suddenly disappearing?"
"How could something like that even exist!"
"It obviously does! Take a good look around you, aren't you surrounded by pretty girls… aside from your male friends!"
"Hm? Now that you say it…"
Sato thought back for a moment and was a little surprised.
It seemed that what Isshiki Iroha said was, more or less, correct. Thinking through it, all the girls he interacted with could indeed be labeled as "pretty girls."
Could it be that besides intuition, I also have some hidden talent? Like some kind of "friend of pretty girls" or "Lady Killer" aura…
"Just so you know, Isshiki. Among the girls I know, there are also some who aren't pretty."
"Are there?"
Isshiki Iroha thought about Sato's social circle, her expression turning doubtful.
"Of course there are!"
Sato revealed a somewhat strange smile.
Isshiki Iroha frowned and looked at him suspiciously. Suddenly, a flash of realization crossed her mind, and her eyes widened.
"Whoosh!"
Sato suddenly bolted.
The girl gritted her teeth as she stared at his back, then suddenly chased after him. "Nohara, stop right there! There's a huge eye gunk stuck in your eye, let me take a look!"
"Don't worry! There's nothing stuck in my eyes, I can see very clearly!"
"No, your eyes are already about to go blind!"
…
After school, Light Music Club.
With Ritsu striking the final hit, the lingering note slowly faded, and the last trace of music disappeared.
"Alright! That was perfect!"
Ritsu, with a bright smile, rolled up her sleeves and walked out from behind the drum set, casually wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Sato also slowly lowered the guitar in his hands. "It was indeed not bad. Barely good enough to go on stage."
"Huh? Only barely? It was obviously perfect!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Yui nodded beside Ritsu in agreement.
Sato glanced at her but had not yet spoken when Mio, who had just put down her bass, spoke first with a helpless tone. "Yui, you rushed the tempo several times again, didn't you?"
"Huh? Did I?"
Yui looked shocked.
Now even Ritsu showed a helpless expression. From behind, she rubbed Yui's head. "Of course you did, Yui. Pay more attention."
"Everyone, come take a break. Today's snack is cake!"
On the other side, Kotobuki Tsumugi had already prepared the tea and snacks.
The young lady's tea brewing level max.
Tea brewing speed max.
…
After sitting down, everyone took a satisfied sip of tea.
Then Sato looked up at everyone and asked, "How is everyone's schedule? Don't let your class activities overlap with the performance time."
"Already arranged!"
"OK!"
"Me too!"
"And the application form? Ritsu, you already submitted it, right?"
"Mm!"
Sato asked a few more questions, and after confirming that nothing was missing, he let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, he said, "These next few days, everyone should take care of your health. Don't cut your hands or feet, and don't catch a cold either. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome when the time comes."
"Ah, Sato, are you an old lady? Why are you talking so much?"
Ritsu pouted.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Yui mimicked Ritsu's pout, the two of them looking almost identical.
Sato's eyes immediately narrowed as he looked at the two with an unfriendly gaze.
Ritsu and Yui's expressions twitched. Trembling, they hugged each other and started acting dramatically.
"Yui! Sato is angry! I think we're done for!"
"Ritsu! In our next life, let's still be friends!"
"Swish!"
At that moment, the clubroom door was suddenly pushed open, and three girls walked in from outside. Leading them was the girl who had become the executive committee chair that afternoon, whose name seemed to be Sagami Minami.
"Excuse me, I heard from Hiratsuka-sensei…"
Before she could finish speaking, Sato suddenly interrupted her. His mood already somewhat sour, he looked at her indifferently and said, "If you know you're interrupting, then at least learn to knock before coming in, shouldn't you?"
…
In an instant, the clubroom fell completely silent.