The sky had already darkened. Considering the gender sensitivity of the situation, Natsukawa Kanade escorted Yukinoshita to the entrance of the girls' dormitory and entrusted her to the care of the on-duty female teacher. This time, the teacher refrained from making teasing remarks and earnestly fulfilled her responsibilities as an educator.
Kanade checked his phone and noticed that there was barely any time left before the end of the test of courage event. He sighed and typed out a message to Shiina Mahiru:
"Sorry, I just finished dealing with everything, but it seems like there's no time left..."
Earlier, when he found out that Yukinoshita had gone missing, he had already messaged Mahiru to explain the situation.
As he pondered over how to phrase his apology, Mahiru's reply came instantly:
"It's okay. Let's participate together next time if we have the chance. 😊"
Kanade pressed his lips together, feeling even more guilty.
"Sorry, I'll make it up to you later."
After all, she was the Angel herself—he could easily predict her response. Even so, it was important for him to express his feelings sincerely.
"It's really okay. At least I know you didn't stand me up on purpose—it couldn't be helped, right? 🐾(´・ω・`)🐾"
Her message was accompanied by an adorable cat-emoji expression of comfort.
Kanade replied with his own distressed cat emoji, and the two continued chatting like this.
Kanade had planned to return to find Kaguya Shinomiya, but while walking back, he unexpectedly encountered someone.
"..."
Squinting slightly, Kanade studied the figure before him and then fell silent. He quickly edited a message and sent it.
"Guess who I just saw."
"Who?" 🤔
"You."
"Eh? Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Realizing something, Shiina Mahiru abruptly raised her head and saw a familiar figure waving at her enthusiastically from a short distance away.
"Ah…" She let out a soft exclamation before skipping over joyfully.
"What are you doing here?" Mahiru asked softly.
This was near the girls' dormitory—there weren't any other buildings nearby. Even if someone wanted to enjoy the scenery, they wouldn't need to wander here.
Still, she didn't suspect Kanade of having any ulterior motives. She merely worried that being seen by others might lead to misunderstandings. Fortunately, she was there to cover for him, so even if someone noticed, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Could it be… you came to find me?" The angelic young lady's eyes sparkled with delight.
"Well… you could say that." Kanade winked playfully, hinting at something.
"Really?" Mahiru naturally doubted him, especially given such an ambiguous response.
Nonetheless, the joy in her heart was genuine. Of course, she wasn't about to let it show so easily. "Hmph, I don't believe you."
Kanade merely smiled silently, gazing at her intently.
Having spent so much time with her, he could often tell what she was thinking from just a small gesture.
"Want to take a walk?" Kanade invited.
He had assumed Mahiru would already be back in her dorm room. The fact that she was still outside—wasn't she waiting for him?
"Sure," Mahiru agreed without hesitation.
"But… hmm, let's go this way. I found a nice spot earlier," she suggested, pointing in a direction.
While the destination didn't matter, what mattered was enjoying the journey. For them, finding a quiet, secluded spot to avoid interruptions—and rumors—was the ideal choice.
Mahiru was always so considerate.
Kanade, of course, had no objections. After all, he was in the wrong—he had broken his promise.
Although they planned to find a quieter route, they neither deliberately avoided people nor chose particularly hidden paths. Instead, they strolled naturally toward the spot Mahiru had mentioned.
Before long, they arrived at their destination—a lakeside area near the cafeteria.
Kanade: "..."
"What's wrong?" Seeing his somewhat peculiar expression, Mahiru asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing," Kanade replied, shaking his head. "I've just been here a few times before."
"Really? You've been here too?" Mahiru exclaimed in surprise before showing a look of regret. "What a shame. I come here often to sit, but I've never run into you."
"..." Kanade felt metaphorical cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Then he thought: Why am I nervous? It's not like I've done anything wrong—except… chat here a few times with a girl.
"Well, this time, we're here together, aren't we?" Kanade said to reassure her. Then, as if to hide something, he boldly took Mahiru's hand. "The view here is really nice. Let's take a stroll."
"Mm," Mahiru murmured, her face flushing pink.
Kanade didn't dare meet her gaze.
Please forgive my shamelessness, Angel, he prayed silently.
Even if Mahiru noticed something, she wouldn't show it right away. But if possible, he wanted to ensure she had a pleasant experience.
Though they had shared more intimate moments before—like drying her hair or having her sit on his lap—this kind of gesture still left her flustered, giving her little room to think about anything else.
In that sense, Kanade felt truly devious.
But as they began their walk, his mischievous thoughts dissolved completely.
Instead, a new realization emerged. This was his fourth time here, yet he had never truly appreciated the scenery.
Perhaps it was because he had never been particularly interested in such things—his vocabulary for describing beautiful landscapes was woefully limited: tall trees, pretty flowers, lush grass…
Still, as he wandered aimlessly with Mahiru by his side, a faint sense of inspiration began to stir within him.
Ah, what a serene and refreshing sight.
Even someone like him could find the words to describe it, he thought.