"Hayasaka-san... You've worked hard."

Sagara Koyou took both of Hayasaka Ai's hands, her expression full of admiration.

"Huh?"

"I entrust the task of saving the world to you now," she said solemnly.

"..."

"When Rinji first got a girlfriend, I was so happy. I thought he'd finally found someone who could keep him in check, and I even hoped she would transfer to Shuchiin." Koyou suddenly looked heartbroken. "But then I heard from his idiot father that his first girlfriend was a hitman. My heart skipped a few beats. Thank God she didn't transfer in."

"That's... a bit much, isn't it?"

Hayasaka looked at her, puzzled.

"I think Garuda is great. She's a really good girl."

Hayasaka only said this because it was Garuda. Although they had once been rivals in love, she couldn't bring herself to hate Garuda.

That cheerful, generous girl who never held grudges—even before becoming Rinji's girlfriend, Hayasaka could never bring herself to dislike her.

She even felt that "losing to her was understandable."

Like Rinji, Garuda's charm seemed to work on both men and women.

"I'm just worried the two of them will cause trouble together. Their destructive potential isn't a joke. If they both enrolled at Shuchiin, they'd probably tear it down."

Koyou sighed deeply.

"You've never experienced the chaos of our high school days. Back then, my husband and Rinji's father attended the same school as me, and within one year, the place had to be rebuilt five or six times. To this day, our alma mater still runs evacuation drills every semester. Some clubs even adopted military-style training."

"...Was Rinji's dad really like that? I met him once, and he seemed kind and gentle."

Hayasaka had met Rinji's father and didn't think he was as terrifying as Koyou described.

"Kind and gentle, my ass! Back then, there wasn't anyone scarier than him."

Whenever she remembered those days, Koyou couldn't help but curse.

"Every time, I had to clean up their mess. If I hadn't been able to control those two, our school would've become history."

"Uh..."

"Rinji is just like his father—restless and can't sit still. He used to be such a well-behaved kid... then, sigh..."

"What happened?"

"He learned too fast, and as a child, he didn't really understand right from wrong. Plus, he was always with his dad... you get the idea." Koyou spread her hands. "Do you know why his personality changes when he wears women's clothes? It's because of his freakishly good learning ability. His normal state is basically a version that inherited all of his father's worst traits."

"This..."

"But after his father got married, his temper gradually improved. That's why I hope Rinji finds a girlfriend too—so my job will be easier in the future."

"I see, but..."

After thinking for a moment, Hayasaka said, "Garuda could also do that, right? Why me? Compared to me, Garuda is more..."

"You were going to say she's more compatible with Rinji, that they make a better pair."

"Yeah."

"True."

"..."

Being acknowledged so bluntly, Hayasaka was a bit taken aback.

"Rinji's parents weren't compatible either. No one expected that perfect woman to fall for an idiot. Back in high school, there was even a red-haired girl who had a thing for his idiot father. I thought they were a better match. If they got together, they'd have blown up an entire city. Good thing they didn't marry."

Koyou had no hard feelings toward Garuda, but she believed that putting those two together would lead to chaos.

Thankfully, Hayasaka was there to balance things out, making it barely manageable.

"..."

"Whether two people end up together doesn't depend on 'compatibility' but on whether they can restrain themselves for each other. Which reminds me of my story with my idiot husband... but that's a long tale."

After finishing, Koyou checked the time.

It was about time to head home.

"As Rinji's elder, I don't have much to give you, but I think this might help."

She pulled something from her small bag and placed a black folding fan on Hayasaka's desk.

"This is?"

Hayasaka picked it up and inspected it.

It was slightly heavy, and the surface had a metallic sheen.

"Use this at school if Rinji does anything stupid."

"How?"

"Hit him on the head."

"Huh?"

"It's the only thing that actually causes him pain. Just swing hard," Koyou said, giving a thumbs-up.

"...I don't think using violence is a good idea."

To be honest, Hayasaka couldn't bring herself to hit Rinji.

And what if he started to hate her after that? Things had finally gotten to this point—it couldn't all be ruined by some impulsive action.

"It's fine. At most, it'll just hurt a little. It won't cause any real damage."

"..."

Just then, the door opened.

Rinji had returned home after leaving Kaname's place.

Seeing Kaname and Hayasaka chatting together, Rinji looked a little curious.

"Aunt Kana, what are you talking about with Ai?"

"About you."

"What's there to talk about... huh?"

As he spoke, Rinji's gaze fell on the black paper fan in Hayasaka's hand, and he jumped in fright.

He quickly leaned in close to Kaname, who was getting up to leave, and whispered, "Aunt Kana, have I done anything to offend you lately?"

"What you do at school already gives me headaches, but as for offending me... not really," Kaname replied with a smile.

"Then why did you give such a dangerous thing to Ai?" Rinji narrowed his eyes.

Kaname turned around, placed her hands on Rinji's shoulders, and spoke in a sincere, elder-like tone.

"Because you really deserve a beating."

"..."