Although Konomi never told him how many she'd actually read, Sato had a feeling she'd seen every last one.
After all, she had run away with her face completely red.
Well...
Looks like I uncovered a little secret.
With an unusually cheerful mood, Sato stood by the grill, turning skewers of meat and seafood over the flames.
...
Not far away.
Eriri withdrew her gaze, her eyes dimming with disappointment.
She quietly asked the girl beside her,
"Sagiri... who is that girl?"
Looking at Eriri's expression, Sagiri Izumi answered timidly,
"I heard... she's Onii-chan's childhood friend."
"A childhood friend..."
Eriri fell silent for a while, lost in thought.
Finally, she muttered to herself,
"A childhood friend can never beat the girl who suddenly appears."
After saying that, she clenched a fist and gave herself a little pep talk.
In an instant, she seemed full of confidence again.
Sagiri blinked.
Don't think I don't understand anything.
I actually understand quite a lot.
So... is it really okay to mutter all of that right next to me?
Not long afterward, the members of the Service Club arrived as well.
Yukinoshita Yukino led the way, with Hachiman Hikigaya, Yuigahama Yui, and the others following behind her.
Sato nodded to Yukino in greeting.
"Waa! Onii-chan, long time no see!"
Suddenly, Hikigaya Komachi threw herself toward Sato like a swallow returning to its nest.
Startled, Sato instinctively prepared to catch her.
But just before she reached him, Komachi suddenly stopped.
A mischievous gleam flashed through her eyes.
She giggled, revealing the tips of her little fangs.
"Hehe... maybe I shouldn't."
"Otherwise..."
She glanced behind her.
Following her gaze, Sato immediately saw Hikigaya Hachiman standing there with a face as black as the bottom of a pot.
It was genuinely terrifying.
Especially those trademark dead fish eyes, which somehow looked even more expressive than usual.
Sato couldn't help laughing.
His voice unconsciously grew louder.
He winked at Komachi.
"What's the big deal? Besides, you'll get married someday anyway."
"That's true!"
Komachi looked as though she'd suddenly been enlightened and burst into cheerful laughter.
Hey! Hey! That's enough!
Otherwise I really won't be able to suppress the power inside me anymore!
Hachiman thought darkly from a distance.
Whether he actually possessed any hidden power was something only heaven knew.
Still...
His gaze swept across the crowd.
Looking at the sheer number of people gathered here, he couldn't help feeling shocked.
After taking a closer look, he realized there were far more people than he'd expected.
Don't tell me... these are all that guy Sato's friends?
At that moment, he suddenly felt that the popular kids in his class had dropped several levels by comparison.
This...
This is what a real social butterfly looks like.
Someone silently drowned in envy.
Meanwhile, in a corner Hachiman hadn't noticed, Kirigaya Kazuto wore a relieved smile.
Thank goodness.
I'm not the only one who's had to go through this.
Still... the rumors really are true.
Nohara really does have a thing for other people's little sisters...
The thought made him suddenly begin to worry.
"Oh right, Onii-chan."
Komachi suddenly announced proudly,
"I got into Mixed High too!"
Sato froze for a second before putting on an exaggerated look of shock.
"Really? That's unbelievable!"
"What kind of reaction is that?!"
"I was just... a little surprised."
"'A little'? That was obviously complete disbelief!"
Komachi puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.
"Haha."
Sato laughed.
"Fine, it really is surprising. Looks like that guy Hachiman's tutoring actually accomplished something."
Then he waved toward someone in the distance.
"Ui, come here for a second."
Hearing him call, Hirasawa Ui blinked in confusion before walking over.
"Senpai."
Sato nodded.
"Ui, Komachi also got into Mixed High. You two might end up as classmates, so you should get to know each other."
Ui's eyes immediately brightened.
"Hikigaya-san got in too?"
Komachi flashed her little fangs in a grin.
She flexed a completely nonexistent bicep with exaggerated effort.
"Of course! Don't underestimate me. I'm pretty amazing too!"
"That's wonderful."
Ui smiled sincerely, excitement showing in her eyes.
Everyone knew that entering a new school often meant rebuilding your social circle from scratch.
Especially after entering a completely unfamiliar environment.
If you could find someone you already knew, it felt like a blessing.
"Alright."
Sato smiled warmly as he watched the two girls hit it off almost immediately.
"You two go chat over there."
Both of them were younger sisters of his friends.
Both were also his juniors.
If they could become good friends, nothing could make him happier.
The spacious lawn suddenly became much livelier as more people gathered.
The towering cherry trees bloomed in full glory, their branches covered with clusters of delicate pink blossoms.
Every so often, a gentle breeze drifted through, bringing with it a shower of falling petals.
Someone sitting on the picnic blanket looked up at the sky.
Cherry branches stretched overhead, every blossom hanging beautifully from the limbs.
The leaves had yet to fully emerge, with only tiny yellow-green buds decorating the branches, making every individual flower clearly visible.
"So beautiful..."
Someone murmured softly, reaching out to catch a pale pink petal.
Their eyes grew distant.
It was beautiful.
Yet there was also something melancholy about it.
Freed from its stem, the thin petal drifted gently downward.
Its beauty existed for only the briefest of moments.
It fell into the earth, eventually becoming dust.
Only its fragrance remained unchanged.
The cherry blossom was no different from any other flower.
Its brilliance and full bloom lasted only an instant.
Yet that fleeting instant was enough for people to remember its beauty forever.
Beneath the cherry trees, laughter echoed without end.
Youth remained just as it always had.