Shirakawa Sawahei stepped out of the dessert shop and returned Hayakawa Kashi’s call. The phone rang once before the girl on the other end answered.
Shirakawa Sawahei breathed a sigh of relief quietly. This didn’t escape the Little Arrogant’s attention, who let out a curious "Huh?" and said with interest.
"Shirakawa, you seem a little relieved?"
"Relieved about what?"
"Relieved that I didn’t ignore your call."
He responded honestly with a "Hmm," and said, "Although I guessed that Hayakawa wouldn’t believe such an immature scam, I still felt a bit tense when making the call."
"Is this what nerves feel like? It looks like I occupy at least a bit of space in your heart."
Shirakawa Sawahei pursed his lips, didn’t respond to Hayakawa Kashi’s teasing, and instead countered, "Since you don’t believe it, why did you still hang up the phone?"
The Little Arrogant thought for a moment, then replied, "Kind of like you... I guessed you’d call to explain, but I still felt a bit tense waiting for it."
"Hayakawa, teasing friends isn’t a good kid’s behavior..."
"I never claimed to be a good kid."
"Fine then..." Shirakawa Sawahei sighed, asking, "You didn’t call just to chat, did you?"
Hearing this, the Evil Little Arrogant on the other side slightly pouted, seemingly dissatisfied. She countered, "Are you saying I can’t call just to chat with you?"
Shirakawa Sawahei was taken aback: "Not that you can’t... just thought you rarely do anything meaningless... Are you really planning to just chat?"
The Evil Little Arrogant said regretfully, "There was something I wanted to discuss, but since you put it that way, let’s chat seriously and prove your understanding of me is flawed."
"Miss Hayakawa... can’t you be a bit more mature... I might have to label you as ’Arrogant.’"
Hmm? No, wait, I think I’ve already labeled her as ’Arrogant’...
"That’s your own judgment, Shirakawa. Right or wrong, I won’t comment," the Evil Little Arrogant said softly, "And I’m not ’Arrogant.’
"Alright, alright, Hayakawa, you’re ’Cool,’ right? So what did you want to talk about?"
Miss Kaori’s face remained stern for quite a while, but eventually, she decided not to dwell on the ’Cool’ vs. ’Arrogant’ labels with Shirakawa Sawahei.
Shirakawa Sawahei, Holding a grudge +1...
"About your leave of absence," Hayakawa Kashi said softly, "Need any help?"
"You know why I’m on leave?" Shirakawa Sawahei asked in surprise.
"Then never mind... it’s a small issue, I’ll have it sorted soon."
Whether due to trust in Shirakawa Sawahei or feeling the risk was minimal, Miss Kaori simply hummed softly and didn’t press the matter further.
"Second thing, the school leadership heard about the idea of filming a promotional video, and they hope we two can shoot one for future recruitment purposes."
"Then why ask me," Shirakawa Sawahei said, speechless, "Since you refused, let’s leave it at that."
"I refused from my perspective, not from yours," the Evil Little Arrogant said flatly, "If you want to shoot it, you could ask the third-ranked student in the year to join you."
Shirakawa Sawahei thought for a moment...
The third in the year... Asano Nazuki?
Wow, this is less about shooting a promo and more about a power play...
Without hesitation, Shirakawa Sawahei decisively chose to stick with the more promising camp of Miss Kaori.
Little Bai? Ha, just now in front of everyone, she kept saying she wanted this and that. How can she expect me to pick her?
It’s not that I’m adamant about choosing Miss Kaori; it’s just her opponent is too weak... If it were Tachibana or Tsukimi, of course, I’d have to think carefully...
"Without Hayakawa, I won’t shoot it either."
The Little Arrogant’s tone finally had a tinge of satisfaction.
"Since you’re so firm on your stance, I won’t let you down; let’s shoot it after all."
Shirakawa Sawahei was caught off guard by this twist and slowly typed out a question mark.
"Then, please quickly resolve your personal matters and return to school,"
Hayakawa Kashi said as she hung up the phone, leaving only a vague encouragement, preventing Shirakawa Sawahei from even asking for clarification.
Did I just... get played by the Little Arrogant?
She’s scheming to get me to shoot the promotional video... what’s her intention?
At that moment, Shirakawa Sawahei couldn’t figure it out and had no choice but to reluctantly put down the phone and head back into the dessert shop.
"Shirakawa... Lemon Iced Tea..."
The transparent one handed him the drink, and after taking it, Shirakawa Sawahei thanked her and sat down.
"Shirakawa? So, did Hayakawa get angry?"
"You’re the one stirring up trouble," Shirakawa Sawahei said with a glance of irritation, "Don’t let it happen again."
"Alright, alright, Shirakawa, I’m sorry! Considering I’ve always been good, forgive me this once, okay? How about I make it up by cooking for you at your place some day~"
Shirakawa Sawahei couldn’t help but show a puzzled expression, and Tsukimi Sakurazawa, realizing her slip, fumed, "Shirakawa, why aren’t you following the script! Can’t you demand more?
"There’s no fun in bargaining ! Can you be a bit more considerate of me!"
Black Hearted Lolita: Strange tactics increased.jpg
To think this could also be a way to get close to a boy like him... Tsukimi Sakurazawa, you’re really complicated...
If I’d learned from you sooner... could I have already conquered a boy like him by now?
The odd thoughts running through the Little Lolita’s head were, of course, unknown to Shirakawa Sawahei and Tsukimi Sakurazawa. After finishing his dessert, Shirakawa Sawahei escorted the three little girls to the train station and then hurried back home.
His movements in opening and closing the door were light, and Shirakawa Sawahei quietly went up the stairs with practiced ease. Peeking through the gap in the door, he saw that the screen was no longer showing a movie scene, but instead had turned into an RPG game display.
Shirakawa Sawahei gave a cold snort, opened the door, and was about to punish the slacker, but immediately noticed something strange about the game she was playing.
She... seems to be using the previous save file with Hero Shirakawa and Demon King Ise Yu to flirt with NPCs on various side quests...
With this realization, Shirakawa Sawahei was stunned for quite a while, even forgetting to deliver a proper punch to her little head as a playboy punishment.
So here’s the question... is cute little Ise Yu slacking off or not, if she’s playing a game to seek a romantic feeling?