*…*
*Several days later*
*Itan High School*
*Purring*
*Snuggling*
In the classroom, they had gathered to have lunch, however...
*Purring*
Everyone: "..."
*Snuggling*
One person felt different from the rest. None other than Shouko.
Since the day she and Tadano had their encounter as a man and woman, Shouko had been clinging to Tadano like a piece of gum whenever she could.
At first, this didn't bother anyone, nor did it seem strange. They had witnessed this kind of behavior from Shouko before.
But it was starting to get a bit annoying for the other girls.
Seeing the girls' dissatisfaction and fearing the imminent Shura field, Tadano placed Shouko in her seat and walked over to the rest.
Shouko pouted but when she wanted to open her mouth in protest, she felt an oppressive gaze directed at her and couldn't help but freeze in fear.
When she looked to see who owned that gaze, she saw a pair of emerald eyes looking at her coldly.
Shouko felt cold sweat run down her back.
*Ding*
The sound of her cellphone snapped her out of her daze. It was a message from Kaede.
"When Nene distracts Hitohito-kun, you'll come with me. I have something to discuss with you."
Reading the message and recalling the earlier gaze, she couldn't help but tremble a bit and for a moment, her original timid demeanor returned.
But remembering the beautiful night she and Tadano spent together, her confidence quickly returned, and she looked at Kaede and nodded.
This surprised Kaede a bit but she didn't say anything and signaled to Nene.
Nene seemed to understand and took one of the handouts they had received that day.
Nene: "Hey Hito-kun, I want to get a head start on the assignment they gave us this morning... since you have the highest grades, would you be willing to help me?" she said in a playful voice while waving the handout.
Tadano: "Eh?" he said, frowning slightly.
Nene: "If you help me, I'll give you a big reward, okay?" she said coquettishly in the young man's ear.
Before Tadano could say anything, other voices spoke up.
Najimi: "OH! Me too! Me too! Help me too, Tadano-kun!" said an excited Najimi, who hadn't done her homework at all and most likely had forgotten about it, so she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.
Agari: "M-me too, please..." said the green-haired girl as she approached with her handout.
Nakanaka: "Boss, I would appreciate it if you honored this subordinate with your wise answers!" said the young girl with exaggerated gestures, using a tone reminiscent of ancient samurai.
Tadano: "...alright, anyone else in this room who wants help?" he asked in a helpless tone.
Amami, Eiko, and Makeru raised their hands. The trio of idiots did too.
Tadano rolled his eyes but didn't retract his words and called everyone over.
At that moment, Kaede discreetly excused herself to go to the bathroom, taking Shouko with her.
*In the bathrooms*
Kaede was calmly washing her hands while Shouko watched in silence.
Kaede: "Tell me, Shouko-chan... who gave you permission to get close to Hitohito-kun?" she asked in a calm tone without looking at the other person.
Shouko remembered the encounter between her and Kaede at Tadano's father's mansion.
With some embarrassment, she spoke.
Shouko: "Y-you did..." she said timidly.
Kaede: "Good, then... what are you doing?" she asked.
Shouko: "I..." she tried to speak before being interrupted.
Kaede: "Look, I understand that you like Hitohito-kun a lot and want to spend more time with him. But I'm trying to maintain a balance here, and you've broken it these past few days..." she said severely while finally looking at Shouko, her emerald eyes emitting an oppressive glow.
Shouko unconsciously trembled.
It might not seem like it due to her usually calm and carefree demeanor, but Kaede is the heir to a large conglomerate and the granddaughter of one of the most powerful and influential people in the country. Kaede is no less skilled than Kaguya when it comes to dealing with people; she just doesn't enjoy it and prefers to go at her own pace.
But ever since she met and fell in love with Tadano, she decided to change a bit for the sake of a better future.
She wanted to give her husband the world if possible, and to achieve that, the first step would be to become a qualified heir and take over her grandmother's position. With this as a foundation, she would have the capital to achieve her goal and help her beloved in any way she could. That was Kaede's way of loving and why she had been working hard lately, neglecting her alone time with Tadano.
But she didn't want to monopolize him and cause chaos either. That wouldn't benefit anyone and would cause sadness.
So she had been subtly managing the time each girl spent with Tadano.
She even went so far as to give Yamai some time, even though she hated her with all her heart.
But a variable had emerged.
Shouko seemed to have become infatuated and had been monopolizing Tadano these days, causing some dissatisfaction among the girls around Tadano.
Yamai would never deny Shouko anything, so that was passable.
But both Nene and Agari were sad.
And Kaede herself was a bit angry.
She was holding back to make everyone happy, but a greedy Cat had come and refused to let go of Tadano.
Kaede: "Everyone has their time, please don't cause problems... You're my friend, but I have limits..." she said severely.
Seeing the trembling girl, she felt a bit guilty but had to be firm; otherwise, the girl could become wilder in the future.
Kaede kept her gaze on Shouko until she nodded.
Once she did, her previous serious and severe demeanor melted away, turning into her usual calm and carefree self.
Kaede: "Alright... Understand, Shouko-chan, I'm doing this for everyone's sake, especially Hitohito-kun's... he wouldn't want to see us fighting, right?" she asked.
Shouko nodded.
Kaede: "Good... as a reward for understanding, how about we go shopping after class? You should need some new lingerie, right?" she said playfully.
Shouko blushed and waved her hands in panic.
Kaede: "Haha... Although you haven't told me and Hitohito-kun hasn't mentioned it either, for those of us who have gone through that hard and charming battlefield, we'll know with just one look, you know?" she said in a sisterly tone.
Shouko was surprised but after thinking for a moment, nodded with a red face.
Kaede: "Good girl, now if you don't mind, tell this sister how it was..." she said with a mischievous smile.
Shouko rolled her eyes.
"Who's the cat here, you or me?" Shouko thought to herself but still answered Kaede's question.
...
Author's Note: "Well, here's a chapter and I have one in reserve to translate tomorrow or maybe the day after. I wasn't going to post a chapter today because I'm very tired from work, but a comment moved me, so here it is. As always, don't forget to drink plenty of water and that I love you all very much. Sincerely, your favorite depressive author."
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