Masumi tried hard to suppress her ughter as she looked at Arisu, but despite her efforts, her shoulders still shook from holding it in.

  "…"

  Arisu gred at Masumi, her expression filled with rese. Did she think this was funny?

  Sensing the sharp look from Arisu, Masumi quickly straightened up, erasing the smile from her face.

  Even though Arisu appeared petite and delicate, anyone who knew her uood she wasn't someoo trifle with.

  In terms of strategy and intellect, Masumi was well aware that even ten of her couldn't outmatch Arisu.

  "Alright, that's enough," Ryuji finally said, waving his hand to grab everyone's attention and diffuse the tension.

  "Let's focus on the new girl you were talking about. If she's just an ordinary traudent, I don't see why it's such a big deal."

  His eyes turoward Hana as he spoke.

  It was on sense, after all.

  This group was already surrounded by beautiful girls. Hana herself was stunning, so it didn't make sense for her to act surprised just because someone else happeo be attractive.

  "Uh… I 't expin it exactly. There's just this… indescribable charm about her," Hana said, scratg her head in frustration.

  "She's right. Let me expin," Miko, standing nearby, chimed in, pig up where Ha off.

  Sih of them were in the same css, anything Hana noticed, Miko would naturally know as well.

  "That girl's appearance is undeniably delicate. She's very beautiful, but not in a way that's overwhelming or extraordinary," Miko began.

  After all, no matter how attractive someone was, there was a limit to how stunning they could be.

  But…

  "The strahing is how the boys in the css act around her. It's like they're possessed. They go out of their way to impress her, almost peting for her attention, while the girls are openly hostile toward her," Miko tinued, her tone uneasy.

  The situation itself wasn't unheard of.

  Sometimes, when a girl drew too much attention from boys, it would naturally spark jealousy or rese from irls in the css.

  It was a dynamic they'd seen before, like with Shouko.

  "I mean, does she seem like she's being excluded or bullied now?" Ryuji asked, his voice calm and measured.

  The others in the Service Club seemed intrigued by the versation, their curiosity piqued as they turoward Yotsuya Miko.

  "ly," Miko answered after thinking for a moment. She shook her head slightly.

  "It's not just that the girls in the css avoid her—she seems to avoid them too. She acts arrogant and dismissive, as if she's better than everyone else."

  "…"

  This plicated things.

  If she was being excluded simply because of her beauty, they could at least offer her some sympathy. But if her own behavior was tributing to the problem, theuation was less bd white.

  "Anyway," Miko added, "the boys in the css are head over heels for her. They shower her with gifts every day and eve jealous of each other over it. Meanwhile, the girls 't stand her."

  "That's strange," Eriri suddenly interjected, a teasing smile pying on her lips.

  "It's probably not all the girls, right? I mean, you two definitely don't hate her," she joked, gng between Miko and Hana.

  Everyone knew Miko and Hana weren't the kind of people to be jealous of someone else just because they were attractive.

  "…"

  But her lighthearted remark was met with an ued silence.

  "Wait… no way," Eriri said, her smile faltering as she processed their reas.

  Even someone as clueless as her could see it now, there was something deeper going on.

  It didn't make sense. She knew Miko and Hana well. There was no way they would hate someo of pure jealousy.

  "I don't know what's happening," Miko admitted, her voice tinged with fusion.

  "I just feel an intense, inexplicable dislike for her. It's almost like… like it's not normal."

  "Exactly!" Hana chimed in, clearly frustrated.

  "For a moment, I eve like I wao… kill her. It's so weird!"

  She looked utterly bewildered by her owions.

  Wanting to harm someone just for beiiful? It defied reason.

  "That's insane!"

  Even Miko nodded in agreement.

  It wasn't just Hana. She'd felt the same inexplicable urge herself.

  "…"

  The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

  The members of the Service Club had known Miko and Hana for a long time. They couldn't igheir words.

  Especially Hana, she was a simple and carefree person, not someone who could harbor malicious feelings out of jealousy.

  This didn't add up.

  "What's her name?" Ryuji finally asked, breaking the silence.

  "Tomie. Kawakami Tomie," Hana answered, still looking a bit lost in thought.

  She seemed pletely unaware of how bizarre her previous words had sounded.

  But then again, with her personality, it wasn't surprising that she didn't fully grasp the implications.

  "I see."

  Ryuji's expression shifted slightly upon hearing the name.

  Now it made sense.

  "No wonder you both felt sutense urges around her. I'd wager that anyone who spends too much time omie would eventually feel the same way."

  The others immediately caught on to his tone.

  "Wait, you know who this person is?" someone asked, breaking the tension in the room.

  Ryuji nodded. "Yeah. Kawakami Tomie… she's not just a person. She's a well-known urban legend."

  "An urban legend?"

  The group exged fused gnces.

  So she wasn't even human?

  If she was some kind of supernatural entity, it would expirange abilities.

  Still, Miko couldn't help but voice her doubt.

  "If she's an urban legend, then why didn't Hana or I sense anything? With the strength we've gained so far, we should have been able to tell if she wasn't human or if she was a cursed spirit."

  ***

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