"Itsuka, that guy...." Accompanied by the glaring stares of their classmates, Itsuka Shido led Toujou Nozomi and the other three out of the classroom. Yatogami Tohka and Tobiichi Origami stood up in perfect sync, exchanged a glance, and then turned their heads away with a 'hmph'.
"So, Itsuka-kun, where would you like to start the tour? I'm very curious," Toujou Nozomi said, covering her mouth as she watched Itsuka Shido force himself to calm down. Was he starting to get nervous, or what?
"Ah... about that..." Itsuka Shido suppressed the urge in his heart. The fragrance emanating from these four beautiful girls made him feel a little flustered. Having been constantly pestered by Yatogami Tohka and Tobiichi Origami, Itsuka Shido thought he had developed a certain immunity to girls, but now he felt he was still far from it.
"Oh my, oh my, could it be that Itsuka-kun is thinking some naughty thoughts? It seems I need to give you some advice," Seeing Itsuka Shido reach for his earphone again, Toujou Nozomi knew he was about to use his lifeline, which made the Koakuma in her heart stir.
"Oh? Does the other party have any preferred places? Shido, let's hear what they say first. It looks like this person should be the one with the most say among them, so listen carefully." Although Ratatoskr had already provided options for where to go next, the other party's opinion was more important. Ladies first, after all.
"Then, Toujou-san, is there anywhere you'd like to visit?" Looking at Toujou Nozomi's smile, Itsuka Shido couldn't shake the feeling that she was still trying to tease him.
"Hehehe~ It's fine, I'm just giving Itsuka-kun a little advice. You know, we're four delicate, beautiful girls, not like boys. So, Itsuka-kun, you don't need to take us to the stadium. Besides, during lunch break, you won't see any alluring figures of girls sweating and soaking their gym clothes, right?" It was hard to imagine such perverted words coming from the mouth of a purple-haired beautiful girl.
"This person is difficult to deal with," Itsuka Kotori frowned as she watched Toujou Nozomi. This person's words were definitely not that simple. She was deliberately targeting Itsuka Shido with such remarks.
"Commander, I was curious and checked the data on the other party's favorability towards Shido just now, and the result was quite astonishing," Murasame Reine said, looking at the data on her computer, finding it a bit difficult to speak. Her premonition was correct after all. It seemed Itsuka Shido was in trouble this time.
"Oh? What data? Tell me, Reine." What kind of situation would make her good friend show such an expression? Itsuka Kotori was very interested.
"...Sigh~ You'd better see for yourself, Commander." Murasame Reine manipulated the computer, and the bridge screen changed to Toujou Nozomi's image. Along with her general identity information, there was also a favorability rating below it, but... "What? Ten, fifteen. Doesn't that data pretty much mean she sees Shido as trash? Is the system malfunctioning, Reine?" Itsuka Kotori was so shocked by the number that the Chupa Chups in her mouth fell out. This was a data point that had never appeared before. When did her brother become so disliked?
"No, Commander. Although it's regrettable, the system is not experiencing any issues. The data above represents the other party's favorability towards Shido." Murasame Reine shook her head. By now, she had pretty much given up on today's capture plan in her heart. With someone guarding Yoshino with such a low favorability, Itsuka Shido had no chance of increasing Yoshino's favorability towards him.
"No way~ Quickly, bring up the data for the other two as well. This is an emergency! Hurry!" Even Ayi, Mai, and Mii, who were always unfriendly towards Itsuka Shido in class, didn't have such low numbers. Itsuka Kotori was starting to panic.
"No need, Commander. It's useless." Murasame Reine stopped Itsuka Kotori's actions and displayed the data she had just obtained on the main screen.
"Hahaha~ Toujou-san certainly likes to joke. Indeed, no girl would be jogging during break time," Itsuka Shido, whose brain had short-circuited for a moment, came back to his senses and chuckled bitterly, scratching his head. Was the person in front of him really a beautiful girl and not some perverted old man?
"Oh? By your tone, you mean you've seen this sight before, right? My, my, you really are a boy in puberty. It's understandable to start noticing the opposite sex. However, you still need to be careful, Itsuka-kun. You know, girls really dislike boys like that. You'll lose points." Toujou Nozomi deliberately used magic to amplify her voice, making sure all the classes in the hallway could hear her words. Immediately, Itsuka Shido was subjected to glares from many girls, who looked at him as if he were a cockroach. At the same time, they clutched their chests as if afraid of being peeped at.
"No! No! No! Toujou-san, I've never done such a thing! Please don't misunderstand!" The pressure he was under in class was already immense. If this 'peeping at girls' accusation stuck, he probably wouldn't be able to stay at Raizen High School. He would have to transfer, and no school would want him.
"Hmm~ Shido likes to see girls sweating and soaking their gym clothes in alluring poses, huh." Tobiichi Origami took out a notebook and jotted this down, while simultaneously planning when she would 'accidentally' appear before Itsuka Shido dressed like that.
"Oh? So that would be in the sports storage room, right? I heard Itsuka-kun, Yatogami-san, and Student Tobiichi all have a good relationship. In there, if you close the door, no one will find out even if you do some naughty things."
"That's why I don't need this kind of information, Toujou-san!" Enough! Why did Itsuka Shido feel like he was chatting with his mischievous friend, Tonmachi Hiroto? Itsuka Shido couldn't help but complain. What did she mean by having a good relationship with them and taking them to the sports storage room to do naughty things? He would never do that!
"Hmm! Hmm! So, it only needs to be in the sports storage room? That's right, if the door is closed, no students will come there. In that case, even if 'that' kind of thing happens, no one will discover it." Tobiichi Origami thought about the school gymnasium's situation and agreed with Toujou Nozomi's statement. This was something she could use.
"Eh? Don't most boys have such healthy thoughts?" Toujou Nozomi blinked playfully, asking with an innocent expression.
"Toujou-san, the meaning of 'healthy' in your dictionary seems to be different from my understanding! Where did you buy that dictionary?!" He couldn't worry about the capture plan anymore. If Toujou Nozomi continued to speak so recklessly, his reputation at school would be ruined by her. He still had to stay here until graduation. Was she trying to make it so that no school would accept him even if he transferred?
"Alright, alright, Nozomi. Don't tease Itsuka-kun anymore. Otherwise, he'll be misunderstood, won't he?" Minami Kotori chuckled and stepped forward to stop Toujou Nozomi, who still wanted to say something. The first step had already been achieved; there was no need to push so hard. Going too far would only backfire. Besides, there were still people watching them.
"Hehe~ It's just that seeing Itsuka-kun being so interesting, I couldn't help but say something. After all, Itsuka-kun's reactions are very amusing." Toujou Nozomi's 'I like seeing you want to hit me but can't' attitude made Itsuka Shido's heart grow wary of her. This person definitely had something against him.
"Perhaps he has some inappropriate thoughts about our adorable Yoshino. You know how cute our Yoshino is. It seems he wants to bully our adorable Yoshino."
"Hmm? Who's talking?" This wasn't Toujou Nozomi's voice, but it was coming from nearby.
"Hey! I'm here. You, at such a young age, already have such severe nearsightedness? That's not good, you know. Reading so many 'extra-curricular books' at night is harmful to your eyes. You need to get rid of this bad habit."
"You! It's you, the puppet! Don't talk nonsense! Don't think I don't know what those 'extra-curricular books' you just mentioned are. I just didn't notice you. Don't talk nonsense." Who is this? Is this ventriloquism? Is this Yoshino talking? It doesn't sound like it; Yoshino, being so shy, couldn't possibly say such things.
"Explanation is concealment, concealment is the truth. It seems you're not being very good. It's okay. It's understandable for every teenage boy to have one or two of those under their bed. Don't be shy, young man." Shiina waved her hand with an expression that said, 'I understand you.'
"This... it seems there's no hope today, Reine." Itsuka Kotori sighed. The favorability of the three, Toujou Nozomi, was all below twenty-five. It now seemed that as long as these three were by Yoshino's side, Itsuka Shido had absolutely no chance.
"Indeed. But I think we should observe the situation carefully. Isn't our main objective to protect the Spirits? It seems the other party hasn't done anything excessive to the Spirit. Letting them live together doesn't seem like a bad thing either," Murasame Reine said, looking at Yoshino's smiling face on the screen, a happy smile also appearing on her own face.
"Hmm~ alright. But we should still find an opportunity to have a good talk. After all, their favorability towards Shido is so low right now. If this continues, problems might arise." It currently seemed as though the other party was undermining Itsuka Shido's prestige among his classmates. If this continued, he might have to use Ratatoskr's teleportation device every time he went to and from school.
"But we still have to try. Whether we succeed or not, we need to leave a good impression on them. An alliance is the best option."
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