At nine in the morning, Saku saw Kasumigaoka Utaha onto the Shinkansen, then retraced his route toward the school-trip area.
Along the way, he spent some time on the phone with Shizuka-sensei and received an absolutely merciless scolding.
Saku knew she was a responsible teacher who genuinely cared about her students. And since he'd undeniably been in the wrong, all he could do was keep apologizing and soothing her anger.
He also promised it wouldn't happen again.
Or, if there was a next time, he'd at least let her know beforehand.
Seeing that his attitude was sincere enough, Hiratsuka Shizuka eventually stopped lecturing him. She simply ordered him to return immediately instead of wandering around outside.
Once the call ended, Saku finally breathed a sigh of relief.
「Phew! Somehow survived that. Good thing Shizuka-sensei is reasonable, or I definitely would've ended up with disciplinary action.」
「Come to think of it, I got so distracted last night that I almost forgot today is the final day of the school trip.」
「I wonder how Hikigaya's situation turned out. I need to hurry back and watch the drama.」
「Oh, right! I still need to buy souvenirs for the club members. Can't forget the employee benefits. And one for Saki too.」
Yukino: 'Hmph! Taking advantage of Hiratsuka-sensei's kindness... honestly.'
Yui: 'He stayed out overnight... with Utaha-senpai. Oh no. How am I supposed to face Mai-senpai now?'
Eriri: '(¯﹃¯) Wait... is it what I think it is? Fat Utaha, you actually... I can't believe you really betrayed Tomoya. Shameless woman.'
Megumi: '(〃'▽'〃) Souvenirs? I'm looking forward to it. But if that's the case, I should probably work harder too. I wonder if programming is difficult.'
Saki: 'o(╥﹏╥)o I knew it. Saku still thinks about me. These awful women keep trying to seduce him. No, I can't sit around doing nothing either. We need another girls' meeting.'
Along the way, Saku bought quite a few Kyoto specialties and separated them into different bags according to each girl's preferences.
What he hadn't expected was to run into someone before he even reached the inn.
After crossing Togetsukyo Bridge, sunlight glittered across the Katsura River below.
The bridge was packed with tourists, conversations in several different languages blending together before being scattered by the wind coming through the valley.
Saku looked around briefly before continuing forward.
Then a figure suddenly darted out and blocked his path.
"Oh my! I didn't expect to run into you here."
A bright, teasing voice greeted him.
"Good morning, Saku-kun."
"Huh?"
Saku blinked.
「Wait. Why is Haruno here?」
「Even if you're a university student, aren't you way too free? You actually came all the way to Kyoto?」
「Hold on... don't tell me this sister-con came all this way because Yukino is here?」
「That actually makes perfect sense! I've uncovered the truth! Haruno, your sister complex is so touching I'm about to cry!」
[Valid roast detected. Roast Points +35. Current total: 155.]
After spending 5,000 points, Saku's accumulated Roast Points were emptied again.
Clearly, it was time to start harvesting points from these characters again.
Since Haruno had conveniently appeared right in front of him, there was no reason to let the opportunity go to waste.
"Well, if it isn't Big Haruno-oneesan."
Saku beamed.
"Long time no see. I've missed you terribly."
"Big... Haruno?"
Even Haruno, who normally specialized in leaving other people confused, was momentarily stunned by the nickname.
Haruno was already Haruno.
Why add "Big" in front of it?
The bewilderment flashed across her face for only an instant before she recovered with her usual radiant, alluring smile.
"Saku-kun, why are you calling me Big Haruno?"
She tilted her head.
"That sounds so strange."
As she spoke, Haruno naturally stepped closer and looped both hands around Saku's left arm.
Normally, this kind of overly familiar physical teasing from a beautiful woman would've been enough to throw Saku completely off balance.
Today, however, was different. No matter how much fanservice Haruno offered, it had no effect on him anymore.
「Haruno, you still think petty tricks like this can tease an innocent young boy? Do you know what "sage time" is? Right now, I'm completely full, and terrifyingly zen!」
Everyone listening: '(ΩДΩ) What exactly are you so proud of?!'
"You always call Yukino 'Little Yukino,' don't you?"
Saku explained as though his logic were flawless.
"You're her older sister, so calling you Big Haruno is perfectly reasonable."
"..."
For some inexplicable reason, Haruno actually felt that this ridiculous argument contained a tiny bit of logic.
'No. No, absolutely not.'
She hurriedly shook her head before Saku could drag her into his bizarre rhythm.
Unexpectedly, Saku was a formidable opponent.
Unlike Hikigaya, who liked pretending not to understand what people meant, Saku's specialty was understanding perfectly well and deliberately responding with complete nonsense.
The two approaches looked similar on the surface.
In reality, they were fundamentally different.
"Saku-kun, why are you out here so early?"
Haruno glanced at the plastic bags he was carrying.
"And why did you buy so much stuff?"
She was clearly changing the subject.
"It's not that early. It's already ten-thirty. Almost noon."
Saku looked at her.
"What about you, Big Haruno-oneesan? Why are you here?"
"Business trip, obviously."
Haruno smiled.
"What did you think brought me all the way to Kyoto?"
「Haruno came here for work?」
「Right. I almost forgot she's the Yukinoshita family heir. She should be gradually familiarizing herself with the family businesses and preparing to take them over.」
Saku thought about it.
Her secretly checking up on Yukino was probably real.
But the business trip was likely real too.
The two explanations didn't conflict at all.
"Mind if I ask what kind of business?"
"If you know it's rude, why are you still asking?"
Haruno smiled sweetly.
"What an intrusive little Saku-kun."
"If it wasn't intrusive, I wouldn't bother asking."
Saku wanted to put his hands on his hips and look smug, only to realize Haruno had his left arm trapped while his right hand was carrying several bags.
He couldn't even pose properly.
"Hahaha!"
Haruno laughed.
"You really are interesting, Saku-kun."
She thought for a moment.
"Fine. For Yukino's sake, I'll tell you a little."
Naturally, she couldn't reveal confidential details.
But harmless general information was another matter.
Since Saku had amused her, Haruno didn't mind satisfying his curiosity.
"This trip was mainly to discuss a possible partnership with the Shinomiya Group."
She smiled lightly.
"After all, my family wants to expand beyond Chiba too."
Saku froze.
「The Shinomiya Group... why does that name feel strangely familiar?」
「No way. No way. Don't tell me this is connected to you too, Kaguya-sama?」
Kaguya Shinomiya: '???'
「Right. This is an anime crossover world. Kaguya Shinomiya existing here isn't strange at all. Not strange. Completely normal.」
「And now that I think about it, the Shinomiya family really is a Kyoto-based conglomerate. So Haruno wasn't lying. This actually isn't a coincidence.」
「Now I'm starting to wonder whether Chitanda Eru, the curiosity girl herself, exists in this world too.」
「They're all young rich girls. Sooner or later, I'll probably end up dealing with them.」
「Wait a second. If that's true, then we've already got Hikigaya Hachiman, Azusagawa Sakuta, and Oreki Houtarou.」
「Three of the legendary four kings of school anime are here. Can Ayanokoji Kiyotaka really be far behind?」
[Valid roast detected. Roast Points +40. Current total: 195.]
"Being the heir really isn't easy."
Saku looked at Haruno.
"Yukino should properly thank you for shielding her from all this."
"Oh?"
Haruno's smile instantly became mischievous.
"Don't tell me you're trying to win over your big sister too?"
She shook her head regretfully.
"Sorry. You're very interesting, but I'm not into younger guys."
"You already used that excuse last time."
Haruno had almost forgotten the details of their previous meeting.
She certainly hadn't expected Saku to remember something she'd casually said back then.
For once, it left her slightly flustered.
Haruno brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and unconsciously looked toward the sparkling river below.
Her heart seemed to skip a beat.
"...Careless of me."
Then she recovered her smile.
"I suppose I'll have to think of a better excuse this time, Saku-kun."
As she spoke, she leaned even closer. Her buns, more than a size larger than Yukino's, pressed against Saku's arm, full of elasticity.
…