At the unexpected action Ayanokōji-senpai took toward Ichika-chan, most of the people tailing the date were thrown into confusion.

‘Isn’t that way too bold!? A p-princess carry!!’

I… Kurihara Kasuga am one of them too.

Who would have thought that Ayanokōji-senpai, who had been expressionless the whole time, would suddenly princess-carry Ichika-chan!?

“So that’s what a real princess carry looks like!”

“It’s like I’m the one being carried! I’m getting excited just watching this!”

Even Ayumi-chan and Tetsuko-chan are this worked up…

“Wait! Ayanokōji-senpai started running while still carrying Ichika-chan…”

“You’re right… and isn’t he way too fast!? He’s carrying someone and still moving like that!?”

Even though he shouldn’t be going full speed while carrying Ichika-chan…

Ayanokōji-senpai ran off while holding her, as if trying to shake us off.

We hurriedly chased after them… but completely lost sight of them…

“Huh? Where did they go?”

“They disappeared in an instant…”

It seems that not only us, but everyone else tailing them also lost them, and they were all frantically looking around.

Especially among the gyaru-like pair… I feel like the blonde one shouted ‘Kiyotaka!’… but maybe I just imagined it?

“I’ll go look around nearby! Maybe they didn’t go that far!”

“I’ll go too! Just in case, Kasuga-chan, please stay here!”

“Okay! Got it! I’m counting on you two!”

But in the end… even as the sun started to set, we couldn’t find Ichika-chan or Ayanokōji-senpai…

* * *

“In the end… we couldn’t find them…”

“Where did they go?”

After that… we were left completely lost.

“It’s getting dark… should we call it quits for today?”

“That might be best… we did get to witness a real princess carry after all…”

“Ehh~? I still want more~!”

“But… if we can’t find them, there’s nothing we can do…”

“Ugh…”

Just as the three of us were about to give up…

“Kiyotaka-senpai~! Let’s go with this place~”

“If you’re fine with it, I don’t mind…”

As if luck was on our side, we spotted Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai right nearby, pointing at a restaurant.

“Did you see that!? They went into that restaurant!!”

“Yep! Heaven hasn’t abandoned us yet!!”

“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

We followed them into the restaurant.

“Delicious~!”

“Yes, since we’re here… I’d like to come back and enjoy this properly next time.”

“Ahaha…”

The food was undeniably delicious, but we were too focused on watching Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai to really enjoy it.

“Hey… those people from before are gathering again…”

“Judging from their behavior… perhaps Ayanokōji-senpai is actually someone important…”

It seems the other people tailing them felt the same way…

And then—

Clatter!

Suddenly, the fork and knife in Ayumi-chan’s hands fell with a loud noise.

“H-hey, Ayumi-chan!? What happened!?”

“L-look at that!”

We followed where she was pointing…

‘W-what… is that!? No way…’

Ayanokōji-senpai stabbed a bite-sized hamburger with his fork and brought it toward Ichika-chan’s mouth…

In other words! The situation every girl with someone she likes dreams of…

“So this… is what ‘aaah~’ is!”

Yes… just as Tetsuko-chan said, he was about to do that to Ichika-chan.

“…Wait wait! Isn’t that usually something the girl does for the guy!? Look! Ichika-chan looks so embarrassed…”

Ichika-chan, while acting embarrassed, said something to him…

“Ah…”

The next moment, she put the hamburger into her own mouth.

‘Ohh…’

All three of us turned bright red, holding back screams.

The other people tailing them reacted too—some with jealousy, some with anger.

“U-um… should we just… keep eating?…”

“Y-yeah…”

“Indeed… I’m full already, though for a different reason…”

After that, it became an awkward, silent meal…

* * *

“Ayumi-chan! Tetsuko-chan! Sorry for tricking you a bit! I’ll make it up to you next time!”

After leaving the restaurant… since it was getting late, we ended the tailing and returned to our dorms.

…At least, on the surface.

‘Now then… where did they go?’

After confirming Ayumi-chan and Tetsuko-chan went back, I started searching for Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai.

Why? Just simple curiosity… I wanted to see a bit more of their date.

‘We left the restaurant earlier than them… so they shouldn’t be far!’

With that thought, I searched around quiet areas nearby.

“…Thinking, right?”

“…I wouldn’t…”

‘There they are…’

They were talking about something… maybe I could eavesdrop and tease her later!

So I hid in the bushes to listen… but the wind made it hard to hear clearly.

“Ama… White Room… same… I… other…”

‘White Room?’

Among the words I barely caught was ‘White Room’…

‘The U.S. president’s… no, that’s the White House…’

And he said ‘same’, right? That would mean Ichika-chan is also related to this ‘White Room’…

“Oi. I know you’re hiding there…”

Gasp!

A cold voice I had never heard before echoed around me…

“Eek! That was—!”

There’s no doubt… that voice belonged to Ayanokōji-senpai.

Just moments ago, he was just a strange expressionless senpai… and now this…

“Seems like you don’t intend to come out…”

Tap… tap…

I could hear his footsteps approaching.

‘Scary… why is my body trembling!?’

It wasn’t just his voice…

As he got closer, I realized it—he was emitting a terrifying killing intent toward me.

‘Did I… learn something I wasn’t supposed to?’

I trembled in hiding…

But mercilessly… those footsteps were already right there…