But then, she realized.
This guy was teasing her again.
He could have just said it straight from the start, yet he had to drag it out like that.
Annoying!
Even though she felt a little fiery inside, Shijo Maki still obediently thanked Yukima Azuma.
Sometimes, free things were the most expensive.
Since she wanted this book, she had no choice but to accept the favor from Yukima Azuma.
Hugging her backpack, she carefully placed the light novel into an inner compartment.
Finally, she glared at Yukima Azuma once more before hurriedly running off the plane.
"Eh? What's up with Shijo-san?"
( -)?
Fujiwara Chika watched Shijo Maki's retreating figure, looking puzzled.
"Ah, well, girls, you know."
_()_/
The culprit, Yukima Azuma, shrugged nonchalantly.
"Umu, girls, indeed."
( )
Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement.
With absolutely no awareness of being a girl herself.
Shuchiin had booked an entire beachfront hotel.
After that, room keys were distributed, with several people sharing a room.
Initially, Yukima Azuma thought he would be sharing with some other guys from the class.
But unexpectedly, he received the key to a presidential penthouse suite.
Glancing around, he noticed that Fujiwara Chika was holding an identical keycard.
He immediately understood.
It seemed that the Student Council members would be staying together.
That made senseafter all, the Student Council of Shuchiin held a special status.
Getting the best rooms was only natural.
Besides, they even had authority over an annual budget of hundreds of millions of yen
A little privilege like this was nothing.
Moreover, even though they were technically staying together, the presidential penthouse suite had many private rooms.
There wasn't even a hint of the ambiguous atmosphere one might imagine.
Carrying his luggage, Yukima Azuma headed toward the room that matched his keycard.
The moment he stepped into the penthouse, Suou Yuki, who had arrived early, immediately approached with a playful grin and whispered:
"Hehe, onii-sama, who would've thought we'd get to live together like this~"
()
Yukima Azuma pinched Suou Yuki's cheek.
"This is just a school field trip."
(_)
"It's basically the same as living together."
( )
"No, it's very different. A field trip is a serious academic activity."
(_)
"Here's my room key~ You're welcome to a midnight raid, onii-sama~ Ah, no, actuallyyou must come for a midnight raid..."
)
Suou Yuki shoved a key into Yukima Azuma's hand.
A vein popped on his forehead.
Just as he was about to discipline this brat, footsteps echoed behind him.
Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika entered one after another.
To protect Suou Yuki's reputation, Yukima Azuma swallowed back his words and quietly slipped the key into his pocket.
Seeing this, Suou Yuki flashed an Aizen-style smirk.
( )
"Yukima-san, Suou-san."
Shinomiya Kaguya greeted the two of them.
She was still brooding over her previous loss.
"Good morning, President Shinomiya."
Suou Yuki replied with a smile.
After that, all four of them returned to their rooms to unpack.
Today wasn't officially the first day of the field trip.
The school didn't call for any assemblies, allowing students to unpack and rest freelyshaking off fatigue from the long journey.
Once he was done organizing his belongings
Yukima Azuma was the first to step out of his room.
He walked over to the penthouse's floor-to-ceiling window and gazed outside.
A vast, deep blue ocean stretched before his eyes.
Waves rolled in and crashed against the shore, yet he couldn't hear a sound.
Just how thick was the soundproofing in this place?
Yukima Azuma also noticed rows of palm trees lining the beach.
It looked like there were brown coconuts dangling from them.
Judging by their height, climbing up to grab one probably wouldn't take much effort.
"The setting sun and a lone crane fly together,
The water and the sky merge into one vast hue."
Suddenly, a girl's voice recited a poem from behind him.
Just now, when Yukima Azuma looked at the horizon where the sky met the sea, he had also thought of this famous verse.
Hearing someone else mention it at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of resonance.
Turning around, he saw that the person behind him was Shinomiya Kaguya.
"President Shinomiya is quite knowledgeable about Chinese culture, I see."
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly.
"Since childhood, I've studied all six official languages of the United Nations. Out of them, Chinese was the hardest."
"I had to put in a lot of effort, but thanks to that, I learned a lot about its culture as well."
Since she knew Yukima Azuma's interests, subtly showcasing her cultural background was a clever way to gain favor.
Even though Yukima Azuma understood that Shinomiya Kaguya was deliberately saying this, he still couldn't help but feel a bit of camaraderie.
This could be considered a kind of "open conspiracy."
At that moment, Suou Yuki and Fujiwara Chika also stepped out of their rooms.
"Shall we go for a walk outside? What do you all think?"
Shinomiya Kaguya suggested with a gentle smile.
Fujiwara Chika immediately raised her hand in excitement.
Yukima Azuma also wanted to go out, so he nodded in agreement.
Suou Yuki, however, glanced at Shinomiya Kaguya.
Something about President Shinomiya seemed different today.
Could it be that she's finally getting serious?
Chapter 236: Shijo Makis First Kiss
Chapter 236: Shijo Maki's First Kiss
The second day after arriving in Hawaii.
Today was the sightseeing day.
Each class would tour and experience the local culture in Hawaii, then write a report to submit.
Early in the morning, everyone gathered in the hotel dining area.
Yukima Azuma immediately noticed Shijo Maki with two huge dark circles under her eyes.
She looked completely sleep-deprived.
"What's wrong? You're not used to the time zone yet?"
( -)?
Yukima Azuma asked in confusion.
Shijo Maki slightly opened her mouth, intending to say something.
But when the words reached her lips, she didn't say them anymore.
In the end, she only nodded slightly as if admitting it.
Although the time difference between Japan and Hawaii was quite significant,
As an Oujou-sama of a Shinomiya family branch, Shijo Maki frequently traveled abroad.
Jet lag had long become a routine matter for her.
Normally, it could never cause her to lose sleep to this extent.
The only reason she looked like a panda right now
Was because she stayed up late last night reading a light novel.
It was her first time encountering entertainment like light novels,
And she happened to start with the masterpiece Youth series.
It would be strange if she didn't get hooked.
Last night, right after returning to her room,
Shijo Maki read Saekano straight through.
However, there was no way she could tell Yukima Azuma that
She had binged his book to the point of forgetting to eat or sleep, and that was why she ended up like this.
(>\<)
Saying that wouldn't just be embarrassing, it would also feel like slapping herself in the face.
"Ohm is there a volume two of the light novel?"
(,,,,)
After a brief silence, Shijo Maki still asked.
With her personality, this kind of slightly pleading tone was extremely rare.
But Shijo Maki had really been drawn into the story.
Seeing Shijo Maki's expectant eyes, Yukima Azuma gently nodded.
Just as the girl's eyes lit up
Yukima Azuma continued speaking:
"Well, there is, but unfortunately, since this is a trip, I only brought volume one."
_()_/
Hearing that, Shijo Maki's small face immediately fell.
(— — )
Didn't that mean she had to wait until the school trip ended?
That was still a whole week away.
Even if she ordered it online from Japan and had it shipped express,
It would take at least three days.
Three days without reading the next volume of this Youth novel, Shijo Maki felt like she was going to die.
She didn't know whether it was because she couldn't continue reading or because of the lack of sleep,
But her whole body swayed as if she was about to collapse.
The corner of Yukima Azuma's mouth twitched slightly, and he reached out to support her.
He hadn't expected this Oujou-sama to be this addicted.
"Maki, are you okay?"
Beside them, a short-haired girl ran over and asked worriedly.
Yukima Azuma also knew this girl.
She was a classmate from 1-B.
The only friend Shijo Maki had, and also her childhood friend.
As for her specific name, Yukima Azuma had never bothered to remember it.
But he knew her background quite well.
Her father was the President of a major shipbuilding corporation.
Her grandfather was a board member of the Japan Business Federation AKA Keidanren, one of Japan's three major economic organizations.
It could be said that she was a top-tier Oujou-sama.
After all, only someone with such a background could have grown up alongside Shijo Maki since childhood.
Receiving concern from her best friend,
Shijo Maki steadied herself and smiled awkwardly.
She shook her head vigorously and said:
"There's nothing wrong with me, I'm just not used to the time zone and a little sleepy."
Tsundere.
Seeing her best friend insist she was fine, the short-haired girl sighed in relief.
"As long as you're okay, then I'll head over there."
She pointed to the opposite side.
Over there stood a male student.
Shijo Maki nodded.
But when her friend actually left, a slightly pitiful look appeared on her face.
(_ .)
That's just how tsunderes are.
(,,><,,) b-baka!
In reality, she really wanted her best friend to stay with her.
But she couldn't bring herself to say that out loud, and instead, she even said the opposite.
Yukima Azuma shook his head helplessly.
Oh well, this was his fault anyway.
He might as well take responsibility for taking care of this tsundere brat today.
...
The hotel provided a free breakfast buffet.
After finishing their breakfast, the Shuchiin students checked in and gathered outside the hotel.
Several tour buses were already waiting.
Although they called it a cultural field survey, Shuchiin couldn't possibly have these rich young masters and ladies actually walk around to observe.
They boarded the buses.
According to the seating arrangement, Shijo Maki still sat next to Yukima Azuma.
Feeling drowsy, she settled into the soft bus seat.
Her eyelids quickly started battling each other.
(* *)
Yukima Azuma didn't say anything.
Tell her to sleep a little?
Guaranteed, Shijo Maki would immediately force herself to stay awake.
That's just how tsunderes are.
(,,><,,) b-baka!
After waiting for a while, the bus started moving.
With the gentle rocking, Shijo Maki could no longer hold out and dozed off right where she was.
Her little twin-braided head bobbed up and down.
In the end, she leaned toward Yukima Azuma, resting against his shoulder, sleeping soundly.
Yukima Azuma didn't move, letting her lean on him for the time being.
A faint, sweet fragrance brushed past Yukima Azuma's nose.
He took a light sniff, feeling a bit puzzled.
Did Shijo Maki always smell like this?
It wasn't the scent of shampoo or perfume.
More precisely, it wasn't a smell that Yukima Azuma could perceive with ordinary senses.
Just like how Kato Megumi had the scent of tuberoses and Eriri carried the aroma of sweet pears.
Only Yukima Azuma, who possessed supernatural abilities, could perceive the unique scent of each individual.
This fragrance could even change according to the person's state.
For example, when they were afraid, it would carry the scent of fear.
Previously, Yukima Azuma had never paid attention to Shijo Maki's scent.
But now, she smelled exactly like a freshly baked, delicious cake.
Umu, he'd buy a cake for lunch.
Yukima Azuma made that decision.
()
...
The tour bus glided through a few local streets of Hawaii.
These weren't famous landmarks, but streets rich in local flavor.
The students only observed from inside the bus without getting off.
Finally, the bus headed toward a high school in the area.
The education system and cultural atmosphere here were vastly different from Japan, and even from East Asia as a whole.
Choosing a high school as the final destination.
It was a great way to experience cultural differences firsthand.
This time, everyone had to get off the bus.
So, Yukima Azuma planned to wake Shijo Maki up first.
However, coincidentally, at that exact moment, she opened her eyes on her own, groggily waking up.
( -)
Even though she hadn't slept for long, Shijo Maki felt incredibly refreshed.
Upon waking up, she was even a little surprised.
In an environment with other people around, she should have been very alert.
As an Oujou-sama, she had been trained in these thingswhen in an unsafe environment, she was supposed to be even more vigilant.
Yet today, on the bus, she had fallen into a deep sleep without a care.
It felt like there was an incredibly reliable presence right beside her.
Someone she could lean on without any hesitation.
Her thoughts drifted back.
Only now did Shijo Maki realizeshe had actually been leaning on Yukima Azuma's shoulder.
( ®®) !!
She immediately sat up straight.
A flush of red spread across her cheeks.
( — )
Her purple eyes widened.
She had actually fallen asleep on this guy!
As an Oujou-sama who had never experienced close contact with the opposite sex,
Shijo Maki's heart was now pounding at an alarming rate.
"Th-thank you."
(,,><,,)
Suppressing her chaotic emotions, she turned to Yukima Azuma and softly expressed her gratitude.
She had already mentally prepared herself to be teased.
After all, Yukima Azuma loved to mess with her.
Given this kind of opportunity, there was no way he would let it slipshe was sure of it.
However, after she thanked him, Yukima Azuma's face didn't show the slightest hint of mockery.
He merely nodded gently.
As if nothing had happened.
Shijo Maki was stunned.
What was up with him today?
With that doubt lingering in her mind,
