"Rei Ao, Mr. Kirisu came looking for you yesterday."
Both Mai and Tohru were already used to Rei Ao coming and going to other worlds. Futaba, however, came back looking exhausted—legs weak, body limp—heading to her room to rest. That made Mai feel a little jealous. She didn't need to guess what those two had been up to for the past couple of days "out there."
When he returned, Mai told him what had happened over the past two days.
Rei Ao glanced at his phone. Indeed, there were several missed calls—one from Mafuyu Kirisu, and another from Sumika Fujimiya.
"I see."
He first texted Sumika Fujimiya:
Rei Ao: "You were looking for me?"
"!!!"
In a university classroom, Fujimiya Sumika, who had been listening intently to the lecture, felt her phone vibrate. Taking it out, she stared at it in shock.
"He replied?!"
Fujimiya's eyes widened. Previously, when she called, it said the number was out of service range, and she'd wondered if the number Rei Ao gave her was fake.
Anxiously, she placed her phone on the desk.
She felt nervous and didn't know how to respond.
The girl with long black hair and a constant, cat-like smile sitting next to her gave Fujimiya a curious glance and whispered, "Sumika, what's going on?"
"Um, it's that guy who helped me the other day. I wanted to return his jacket, but…I'm not sure how to ask."
"Huh?"
Her friend, Sawae, recalled how Sumika told her about the young man named Rei Ao. Immediately intrigued, she offered, "Let me help you!!!"
Before long:
Fujimiya Sumika: "Yes, I tried contacting you before, but it said you were out of the service area."
Rei Ao: "Mm, I wasn't home the past couple of days."
Fujimiya Sumika: "Oh, oh."
Rei Ao: "So, what did you need?"
Fujimiya Sumika: "I wanted to say I washed your jacket and planned to return it."
Rei Ao: "Alright, my address is xxx."
"Eh?!"
Both Fujimiya and Sawae were startled to see him send an address so casually.
"He's so unconcerned about safety, isn't he?"
That was his home address, after all. Sawae remembered Sumika mentioning he seemed to be a high schooler. Immediately, an image of a naïve, pure-hearted boy surfaced in her mind. As a friend who worried too much, Sawae typed a response on Sumika's behalf:
Fujimiya Sumika: "You shouldn't give your home address to someone you barely know. What if they turn out to be a bad person?"
Rei Ao: "Haha. In many ways, I don't worry about bad people. Actually, Fujimiya, you're the one who should worry about being tricked."
Right now, with Rei Ao's power, even if the entire world launched its nuclear arsenal at him, he'd remain unfazed. Anyone harboring evil intentions would likely perish before they knew what happened.
Fujimiya Sumika: "No matter what, you should still be careful. 'Don't harm others, but always guard yourself.'"
Rei Ao: "Sure. Then how would you like to give me the jacket?"
Fujimiya Sumika: "Do you have time this weekend?"
Reading Sawae's text, Sumika froze.
"Why are you asking him that? I can just bring the jacket over to his place," she whispered.
Sawae merely grinned. "Just watch."
Rei Ao: "I do."
As long as it wasn't "business" (in the sense of dealing with trades or fights), he was pretty free.
Fujimiya Sumika: "Then let's meet up this weekend. I'd like to treat you to say thanks for helping me out. Think of it as…a little date, if that's okay?"
"A date???"
Before Sumika could stop her, Sawae had already pressed "send."
"What are you doing?! I never said anything about a date!" Sumika's cheeks went red.
"Heh heh."
Sawae nudged her friend's shoulder, smirking mischievously. "Sumika, you've never had a boyfriend, right? He's a bright, innocent young guy—give it a try."
"Wh-what are you talking about?!"
Sumika blushed fiercely, feeling as though her friend was teasing her about being an older woman chasing after a younger man. But then…memories of that day came flooding back: being swept up in his arms, saved from an out-of-control car, wrapped in his jacket, and escorted home. Her heart pounded at the thought.
Most importantly, Rei Ao was incredibly handsome and composed, with an unforgettable aura. Humans are, after all, emotional creatures, and in a world that values appearances, Sumika was hardly immune. In truth, she had never met a guy quite like him. Even her childhood friend, Kingwen, couldn't compare.
So, to put it bluntly, Sumika felt rather taken with Rei Ao.
"Eh?"
A tiny, expectant look flashed across her face, which Sawae picked up on immediately. She'd had a hunch, seeing how often Sumika mentioned Rei Ao lately. Now it was confirmed.
Part of her was definitely playing matchmaker, but she also wanted to see for herself what this mysterious Rei Ao—who'd so captured her friend's attention—was really like. Though she teased Sumika on the surface, she also hoped to protect her friend from any possible harm. Sumika was clueless about relationships, and Sawae wanted to be there for her.
At that moment, Rei Ao's new message grabbed their attention:
Rei Ao: "A date, huh? No problem. Let me know the details."
"!!!"
Sumika's cheeks instantly glowed red.
"He really thinks it's a date! What do I do? Should I explain that it's not?"
"… …"
Sawae nearly burst out laughing at her shy panic. "Look at you, blushing so hard. Gosh."
She wanted to roll her eyes at Sumika's flustered state. Before Sumika could say another word, Sawae took the phone and typed some more, then sent it:
Fujimiya Sumika: "Mm-hmm, I'm looking forward to going on a date with you, Rei Ao~"
"Eh???"
Sumika froze. She would never say something like that! It was too embarrassing, too contrived!
Sawae gave her a confident wink. "Relax—this works great on younger guys."
"R-really?"
Sumika looked dubious.
"Ha! You're underestimating me!"
Rolling up her sleeves, Sawae said dramatically, "Just leave it to me. I'll teach you some flirting—I mean, 'seduction' tactics, okay?"
She had read piles of romance novels and was convinced she had "experience to share."
"…"
Sumika had no idea why, but she felt far from reassured. Nonetheless, she pretended not to be paying attention even as she secretly perked her ears to listen to Sawae's animated explanations. Who knew—maybe it would help?
Meanwhile, across town, Rei Ao examined the messages on his phone with a quizzical smile. He could tell right away there were at least two people on the other side, each typing differently. One of them seemed to be teasing about going on a date.
In any case, he was fine with it—he actually saw it as a nice perk. It was like someone handing him a pillow just when he was ready to nap. If he met this friend who was encouraging the date, he'd definitely give her the "Best Mischievous Wingman" award.
~~~
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