When Hikaru saw Iose standing right in front of him, a feeling of helplessness welled up in his chest.

  Keyaki Mall is huge, yet we still ran into each other… Seriously?

  It was as if fate itself ying a prank on him.

  But he quickly adjusted his expression, opting to py dumb as he greeted her with a casual smile.

  "Good afternoon, Iose-san!"

  "...What exactly are you two doing?"

  Iose's voice was calm, but her gaze lingered between him and Kushida, as if trying to pieething together.

  "It's nothing special—just the same thing as st time. You already know about it, don't you?"

  Hikaru softened his tone, keeping his expnation steady.

  "Kushida-san wao thank me for expining the hidden rules to her css, so she invited me out for a meal today."

  He fshed a nont smile.

  "I didn't expect to run into yht after finishing dinner. What a ce, huh?"

  "Yeah, seems like I have quite the e with Honami-!"

  Kushida leaned into her natural charm, fshing a bright smile as she greeted Iose.

  But her eyes darted across Iose's face, quickly pig up on the subtle shift in her expression.

  She was in a bad mood.

  "Oh? What a ce… Heh."

  Iose responded with a soft chuckle, but the way she spoke carried an undeniable bitterness.

  Even though her rational side told her this was just a normal social outing, her emotions weren't so easily vinced.

  Her mood soured, and her once radiant expression dimmed siderably.

  "...Ah, I just remembered—Inogashira is waiting for me, so I should get going."

  Kushida was a master at reading the room.

  She had inally wao stick around for the drama, but after sensing Iose's ge in demeanor, she k was best to make her exit.

  "Alright, see you ter, Kushida-san."

  Hikaru didn't stop her from leaving.

  Now, he and Iose were left alone, walking together as they made their way back from Keyaki Mall.

  The sileween them was noticeable, and her mood remained visibly tense.

  Wanting to ease the atmosphere, Hikaru was the first to speak.

  "So, Iose-san, how did your intel gathering go today?"

  "Mmm… I more or less figured out Sakayanagi-san's stance. We even chatted about some girl stuff, so the atmosphere was quite pleasant."

  Despite the lingering frustration in her heart, Iose still answered his question seriously.

  "That's good to hear. Let's go over everything tomorrow."

  Hikaru nodded as he looked ahead, his voice steady.

  "I'll also share the information I gathered today."

  "Information?"

  Iose's dimmed eyes suddenly lit up, her curiosity piqued.

  She instinctively pressed further.

  "What kind of information?"

  "Css D's situation, of course. What else would it be?"

  Hikaru smiled subtly, keeping his tone casual yet fident.

  This was his method of easing Iose's disfort—shifting the focus to css petition.

  He kly how to redirect her thoughts.

  Iy, the important takeaway from his meeting with Kushida was her desire to befriend Suzune.

  But when he reyed this to Iose, he would reframe it—instead of it being Kushida's idea, he'd say it was his own pn to set up a study group.

  At the same time, he'd emphasize how it beed Css B.

  It wasn't about truth or lies—it was about making Iose feel at ease.

  He already had a guess as to why she set.

  She probably wasn't happy about him dressing up in casual clothes just to have dinner with Kushida.

  Objectively speaking, it was something she already knew about, and from a social standpoint, it wasn't unusual at all.

  But if he didn't smooth things over, there was a high ce she'd start overthinking it.

  And that… was something he o avoid.

  He might not be able to push their retionship further just yet, but keepirust and calming her emotions was crucial.

  After all, he was holding a rge amount of her stock—he couldn't afford to let her favorability drop.

  "Obviously, my meeting with Kushida-san wasn't just about having a casual meal."

  He g Iose's side profile, notig that her expression softened almost immediately.

  Just mentioning that he had "gathered intel" was enough to ease her s—it worked like a charm.

  "As for the details, I'll sort everything out when I get back. Let's go over it together tomorrow, okay?"

  "Mmm, I trust you, Hikaru-kun."

  "You know, I said before that I wao let you take the lead in pnning for the css…"

  Hikaru tinued, his voice teasihoughtful.

  "But somehow, I keep finding myself gathering information out of habit. Does that t as breaking reement?"

  "Of course not!"

  Iose's serious expressiourned, her golden eyes fixed on him with unwavering siy.

  "I know you're always ag in the best i of the css. No matter what you do, I'll always trust you."

  Then, as if realizing what she just said, her cheeks flushed with warmth.

  She hesitated before adding, "...And besides, only the two of us know about that promise. If I say you didn't break it, then you didn't."

  "Phew, that's a relief. For a sed, I thought your expression earlier meant you were mad at me for secretly meeting with Kushida-san."

  Hikaru pced a hand over his chest, pretending to breathe a sigh of relief.

  His dramatic rea nded exactly as intended—right into Iose's heart.

  Her emotions wavered for a moment, then quickly settled into something far deeper.

  I'm so lucky…

  To be in the same css as Hikaru-kun—

  To be able to stand beside him—

  To be able to walk this path together—

  It was the best thing that had ever happeo her.

  "Geez, why would you even think that, Hikaru-kun?"

  Iose's smile returned, bright and dazzling.

  "You do whatever you want. As long as you tell me afterward, that's enough. We're partners, right? I would never bme you."

  "Really? I didn't realize I was that important to you. I'm honored."

  Hikaru ughed softly.

  "Mmm. You've always been important to me."

  Even though she was shy, Iose answered without hesitation.

  "Being assigo Css B with you was the best luck I could've ever asked for."

  "Hahaha, same here. It's bee having you in Css B, Iose-san."

  Hikaru chuckled, though deep down, this wasn't a lie.

  Having someone who genuinely cared for the css made pnning strategies so much easier.

  "Mmm. ime, I want to treat you to a meal too—just the two of us."

  Iose suddenly turned away, her voice carrying a hint of shyness.

  "Hikaru-kun… what do you think?"

  "Of course! But I feel like I'm always the oing treated. At this rate, I might start feeling like a freeloader. Let me treat you ime instead—sider it a thank-you gift for st time."

  "But—"

  Before Iose could argue, Hikaru cut her off with a smirk.

  "No buts. Otherwise, I won't go."

  "F-Fine… You choose the time. I'll be there, no matter what."

  Iose gently brushed her fihrough her long, pink hair, a dreamy look in her eyes.

  As they parted ways at the dorms, Hikaru finally exhaled in relief.

  He checked his system panel.

  Iose Honami's stock remai 150—no ge.

  "I feel like I'm getting too good at lying… I really hope this doesn't blow up in my faeday."

  Shaking his head, he unlocked his dorm room and stepped inside.

  ~~~

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