At the critical moment, Mrs. Kaguya came to the rescue.
"Natsuki-kun, why don't you exchange contact information with little Kaguya?" Mrs. Kaguya smiled as she reminded him. "After we get back, I want to chat with little Kaguya all night until dawn—mother-daughter night talk!"
Kaguya's tone remained calm: "I go to sleep precisely at nine o'clock every night."
Natsuki looked over in shock.
You're a high school student who goes to bed at nine? That's an elementary schooler's schedule!
Seeing Mrs. Kaguya secretly wink, Natsuki finally caught on and turned to the ice queen:
"Shinomiya-san, shall we exchange contact information?"
"Mm."
Kaguya agreed as if it were nothing, pulling a phone from her bag.
"Wait." Looking at the phone in the ice queen's hand, Natsuki couldn't help himself. "What phone is that?"
Kaguya tilted her head slightly, her tone tinged with puzzlement: "...A Nokia?"
Good grief!
It's the legendary Nokia, and a button-style bar phone at that. It must be over ten years old. No wonder you know nothing about trending topics on Twitter—besides making calls and sending texts, this Nokia has no internet browsing capabilities whatsoever.
"How nostalgic. Before Mom passed away, these were the phones on the market." Mrs. Kaguya's tone was wistful. "Why doesn't little Kaguya use a smartphone?"
"I'd like to know too."
Natsuki was equally curious.
As the daughter of an ultra-wealthy capitalist family, using an ancient relic for a phone completely didn't match her status.
It was like a rich young lady's favorite food being cup noodles—no one would believe it.
"I have no need for one." Kaguya folded her right arm across her chest. "No one calls or messages me, and I don't need to contact anyone else... except Fujiwara."
As for Hayasaka, who'd grown up with her since childhood—they lived together, so no phone was necessary.
"Poor little Kaguya."
Mrs. Kaguya spread her arms and embraced the ice queen. "From now on, Mom will send you good morning and good night messages every day."
Natsuki's lips twitched slightly.
Good thing you're a lady. If you were a guy, you'd have already lost the right to be human.
The two quickly exchanged contact information.
"Little Kaguya should get a new phone soon." Mrs. Kaguya smiled. "Then we can video call."
In just two days, you've already mastered video calling?
Your learning speed is way too fast!
Just as Kaguya was about to respond, two girls passed by the classroom door—none other than Miko Yotsuya and Hana Yurikawa.
"Oh, it's little Yurikawa!"
Mrs. Kaguya's eyes lit up as she quickly tugged on Natsuki's sleeve, full of anticipation. "Natsuki-kun, let's go back together."
Natsuki put away his phone, looked at the ice queen, and nodded:
"Shinomiya-san, we'll be going now. See you tomorrow."
"..."
Standing in the hallway, Kaguya watched Natsuki and Miko walking together, along with Mrs. Kaguya practically glued to the blonde's ample chest. Her teeth unconsciously bit down on her lower lip.
"You're too much trouble, Milady."
A blonde gyaru with her uniform tied around her waist suddenly appeared, a lollipop in her mouth as she spoke casually:
"How about capturing Amamiya-kun and locking him in the basement?"
Kaguya folded her arms across her chest: "That would be criminal behavior."
"Is there anything wrong with committing crimes for the boy you like?"
Ai Hayasaka spoke righteously.
"I suppose... there's nothing wrong with that?" Kaguya hesitated for a moment before suddenly catching herself: "I don't like him!"
It's just to stay in contact with Mom. That's all.
Talking about liking him is way too premature!
Hayasaka folded her arms: "If you don't like him, why get his contact information?"
"He's the one who asked me for it. I never opened my mouth first." Kaguya raised her delicate chin slightly. "...I need to get a new phone."
Hayasaka tilted her head. "Any requirements for the phone?"
"One that can do video calls."
"All phones nowadays can do video calls." Hayasaka pulled out the lollipop with a light pop. "Any other requirements?"
"None."
"Getting a new phone just to video call with a boy—Milady has really grown up."
"It's not for video calling with a boy!"
"..."
Meanwhile.
"I'm heading home." Hana Yurikawa waved goodbye. "Amamiya-kun, Miko-chan, see you tomorrow."
"Hana, see you tomorrow."
After seeing off Miko's close friend, Natsuki looked at her: "Coming to my place?"
Miko Yotsuya nodded: "Your place. If my brother sees me, it'll be annoying."
"I'm home."
Natsuki opened the door. The Akita sat waiting behind it, tail wagging rapidly.
Miko crouched down, the corners of her lips curving up slightly as she smiled and petted the dog's head.
This Akita had been a puppy they'd found during middle school, only palm-sized back then. Unable to bear leaving it, Miko had taken it in. At that time, her father was already ill and no one had the energy to care for a puppy, so Natsuki had taken over raising it.
"It's only been a year since we took him in." Looking at the Akita fawning over Miko, Natsuki complained. "He was so tiny back then. Now he's turned into a fat dog."
"Being a bit chubby is cute." Miko looked up, glaring at him. "Besides, isn't that because you feed him too much?"
"Yes, yes." Natsuki walked to the refrigerator and opened it. Another vengeful spirit head stared at him with dead-fish eyes. "What do you want to drink, green tea or cola?"
"Green tea."
Natsuki grabbed a can of green tea and handed it to Miko.
"I really want to drink green tea too." Mrs. Kaguya sat on the sofa, temporarily materialized, then turned on the TV. "Too bad I can't taste anything."
After chatting for a while, Mrs. Kaguya stayed downstairs to watch TV while Natsuki and Miko headed upstairs together.
Providing a back-stepping service to a boy in front of his classmate's mother—that was just too embarrassing.
Arriving in the room.
Natsuki chose to lie flat. "I'll leave getting stronger in your hands."
"Being able to get stronger without making any effort at all—it just feels unreliable." Miko Yotsuya couldn't help but complain. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. If there is, it's definitely a trap."
Who says I'm not making an effort?
I'm sacrificing my dignity here!
"I remember reading a manga once about a planet in space called the Tsukkomi Planet. The people there could get stronger just by making snarky comments." Lying on the floor, Natsuki played with his phone as he spoke. "If getting stronger through snark is possible, what's wrong with getting stronger by lying down?"
"There are also people who can get stronger just by making others feel negative emotions."
"So there's absolutely no problem."
Miko applied a bit more pressure with her foot: "There are tons of problems."
"The law of conservation of energy is a fundamental law of the universe." Natsuki opened NicoNico and started watching a livestream. "Energy can be converted and absorbed into each other. Your stepping provides kinetic energy, which is used to strengthen the body. It's very scientific."
Miko narrowed her eyes: "Science doesn't want to comment."
"..."
Seeing Natsuki watching someone's dance livestream, Miko's face hardened as she continued to increase the pressure.
"Why is the force getting heavier and heavier?" Natsuki's tone grew melancholic. "Don't tell me you've gained weight again?"
Miko folded her arms across her chest, looking down at him expressionlessly with extremely disdainful eyes: "You guessed right."
"Ow ow ow, my back's about to break."
"..."
(Crimson King Crimson King Crimson King!)