Morning.
Yesterday, after dinner, Suou Yuki went ho.
Spending the night outside was still a bit difficult for this young lady of the Suou family.
But judging by the determined look on her face when she left,
It seed like she was planning to resist to the very end.
Absolutely determined to move into Yukima's house.
After washing his face, Yukima Azuma prepared to go out for his morning jog.
However, the mont he pushed open the front door—
He imdiately saw a striking red-and-white Porsche sports car parked right outside.
"Good morning, Azuma-kun~."
ヾ(＾ ∇ ＾).
Yukinoshita Haruno poked her head out and waved at Yukima Azuma.
Ignoring her, Yukima Azuma ran along the road beside the house.
But soon enough, the sound of footsteps followed after him.
"So cold, are you going for a morning run? Then I'll join you!"
Haruno ran alongside Yukima Azuma, smiling as she spoke.
She had already changed outfits—her sportswear and running shoes were now perfectly suited for exercise.
"You seem to have a lot of free ti these days."
Yukima Azuma made a sarcastic remark.
What ti was it right now?
It wasn't even six in the morning yet.
If she was here to wait for him to leave for school,
Then Yukinoshita Haruno would have to stand at the gate for a full two hours.
Even if two hours of Haruno's ti weren't exactly "as valuable as gold," they definitely weren't cheap.
After all, this woman always wished she could stretch a day into 48 hours just to use up every minute.
"Umu, I do have so extra energy lately, and that's thanks to you, Azuma-kun."
While running, Haruno answered with a sly smile.
Hearing this, Yukima Azuma raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
Seeing his reaction, Haruno took the opportunity to explain:
"The Yukinoshita family has recently given up on part of the business they struggled to maintain."
"They've focused most of their efforts on the fashion industry."
"In the portion that was abandoned, many of the tasks involved handling communication and negotiations."
"Although so new work has been added, it's much lighter compared to maintaining the previous workload."
Although people often say that beginnings are difficult, in business,
Starting sothing new is sotis easier than sustaining it.
Especially when an industry has already entered a stagnation phase.
Currently, Japan's real estate and interior construction sectors are in precisely that situation.
If the Yukinoshita family wanted to keep their existing business afloat, they would have to put in even more effort just to sustain it.
Since the industry was in decline, competition was fierce.
After explaining a few things, Haruno's voice gradually beca softer.
Yukino had poor stamina—though she was highly skilled in Aikido, she would quickly beco breathless when running long distances.
And as her biological sister, Haruno's stamina was only slightly better than Yukino's—
But not by much.
After running for a while, it was obvious that she, too, was starting to pant.
Her breathing beca more and more labored.
Yukima Azuma turned his head slightly to glance at Haruno.
She was probably about to give up.
Haruno wasn't the type to do sothing exhausting without any benefit.
Most likely, she would stop here and head back to wait in front of the mansion gate.
Just as Yukima Azuma was thinking this—
Haruno suddenly lifted her hand and grabbed onto the hem of his shirt.
Yukima Azuma looked at her in surprise.
Was she really planning to push through to the end?
That Haruno, doing sothing so irrational.
Yukima Azuma had no intention of slowing down.
He simply let Haruno cling to his shirt.
The two of them completed a full lap, eventually returning to Yukima's front gate.
Finishing Yukima Azuma's entire morning run without a single concession.
Even though Azuma had helped share part of the burden—
Haruno was definitely not feeling great right now.
Her chest felt like it was about to explode.
Her legs were so numb that they had completely lost feeling, as if they were filled with lead.
At so point, Haruno had closed her eyes, rely following the rhythm of Yukima Azuma's pace.
Now, she was on the verge of collapsing to the ground, not even having the strength to open her eyes anymore.
Yukima Azuma let out a helpless sigh and caught Haruno as she wobbled, nearly collapsing.
What exactly was she trying so hard for?
[Notification: Your stamina has slightly increased.]
[Notification: Your physical attributes have changed.]
[Physical Strength 7 → Physical Strength 8.]
A notification window appeared before his eyes.
Yukima Azuma looked at the notification, then at Haruno beside him—this woman was on the verge of passing out.
Alright, fine. He was in a relatively good mood today.
Supporting Haruno, Yukima Azuma led her into the Yukima house.
After opening the door—
He guided her into an empty room and let her lie down.
Then, he went into the kitchen and prepared a warm glass of water with added electrolytes and glucose.
"Don't chug it all at once, or your lungs will explode. Sip it slowly, got it?"
As he spoke, Yukima Azuma helped Haruno sit up.
He brought the glass to her lips.
Haruno obediently sipped it little by little.
She looked just like a small cat lapping up water.
After finishing the drink and resting for quite a while,
Haruno finally regained a bit of her strength.
Seeing that she had recovered sowhat, Yukima Azuma frowned and asked,
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Although he had helped her inside—
It was only because he had just experienced a physical breakthrough and was in a good mood, so he conveniently did a good deed.
It absolutely did not an that they would start getting along from now on.
"This… isn't it obvious...? I... want to pursue you!"
Haruno spoke, her breath still uneven.
Yukima Azuma rolled his eyes.
"At this point, do those words even an anything?"
He wasn't the type to hold grudges.
But in the past, Haruno had left without hesitation.
And now she was turning back to say these things—
Yukima Azuma really didn't need to hear them.
If this had happened a year earlier, maybe she could have taken advantage of the situation.
But now, he had no need for that kind of love.
"It's fine, Azuma-kun, just do as you please. This is just my own business."
Haruno acted as if she didn't mind at all.
Regaining a bit more strength, she lifted her hand to check the delicate watch on her wrist.
"Morning classes at Shuchiin are about to start. Let's go."
"If my situation caused you to waste ti, let at least give you a ride as compensation."
Bracing her hand against the nearby wall, Haruno stood up.
She steadied herself and made her way toward the door.
Yukima Azuma said nothing.
Whatever.
After a while, soone as pragmatic as her would give up on her own.
...
In front of Shuchiin Academy, Yukima Azuma stepped out of the car.
Without saying anything to Haruno, he simply walked straight into the campus.
Watching his retreating figure—
Haruno reached down and squeezed her aching calf.
At this rate,
By tomorrow morning, she would definitely be stumbling when she walked.
Damn it, she still had a eting to attend this afternoon.
More importantly—
This was all completely pointless.
Haruno knew that the boy's compassion would never extend to soone unrelated to him.
And right now, she was exactly that—soone unrelated.
Doing all this was nothing but self-inflicted suffering, utterly aningless.
Halfway through the run, of course, she had thought about giving up.
She could have just gone back and waited at the gate.
The result wouldn't have been much different anyway.
But in the end—
Haruno still ran all the way to the end.
This was one of the rare tis she acted irrationally.
"Oh well, I guess this is what I deserve."
Haruno shook her head.
She would have to slowly find another opportunity.
Getting close to that boy was no simple matter.
Especially for her.
Because she had lied before.
A liar, even when sincere at tis, would still be seen as putting on an act.
Even if they cried in sorrow, others would only think they were putting on a show.
And this was exactly what a liar deserved.
…
Shuchiin.
Lunchti.
The mbers of the student council were gathered in the council room.
"Let's play a board ga!"
٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
"I ordered a super fun one from overseas!"
Fujiwara Chika said as she pulled out a board ga box.
Yukima Azuma glanced at it—
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Shinomiya Kaguya also curiously took a look.
"This seems to be a Chinese board ga, a derivative work based on the Four Great Classical Novels."
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms?" Suou Yuki asked.
Fujiwara Chika nodded enthusiastically.
"That's right! It's Three Kingdoms Kill! A super fun board ga!"
"I went through so much trouble to get my hands on it!"
As she spoke, Fujiwara Chika opened the box and began explaining the rules to everyone.
Yukima Azuma took another glance.
Hmm, just the basic generals.
Not a single sight of those 'cheat' generals.
Thinking about it— Three Kingdoms Kill had only been released not long ago.
It was still in its pri, wildly popular everywhere.
It hadn't yet reached the stage where everyone started bashing it.
Yukima Azuma rembered that in his past life, he had been addicted to Three Kingdoms Kill for a ti.
It was quite nostalgic, really.
And so—
"Aaaah! I died again! Why is Azuma-kun so good at this?!"
Fujiwara Chika clutched her head and wailed.
One Slash! Crouching Dragon Erges!
Yukima Azuma flashed a confident smile.
Hmph, White Horse? Destined to co but never return!
"As expected of Ryuuou."
Shinomiya Kaguya remarked with admiration.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family, she was naturally confident, even prideful.
A genius in academics, with countless achievents in various talents.
Yet this year, whether it was the entrance exam or the midterms, she had been surpassed by Yukima Azuma.
Now, even his ability to adapt to a new board ga seed to be a notch above hers.
Shinomiya Kaguya was beginning to feel a bit convinced.
"Eh? Oh yeah, I just rembered—Azuma-kun is also Ryuuou!"
Fujiwara Chika suddenly snapped out of her daze, looking at Yukima Azuma in astonishnt.
"Join the board ga club! If we have Azuma-kun, our club's budget will increase tenfold for sure!"
ヾ(｡✪ω✪｡)ｼ
If the board ga club had a Ryuuou—
On the sponsorship request form, you could pretty much write down any amount.
Yukima Azuma waved his hand, dismissing Fujiwara Chika's greedy thoughts.
"Speaking of shogi, I might have to take a break next month."
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