CHAPTER 426: CHAPTER 420: THE BATTLE THAT DEFINED A CAREER

During the rest of the time, Miss Kaori remained silent for quite a while, walking ahead with a pretty and surprisingly aloof little face. Shirakawa Sawahei, on the other hand, walked behind her, holding back his laughter and showing no intention of continuing his triumphant teasing.

As expected, teasing the Little Arrogant may be risky, but the rewards are great. That slightly annoyed yet unable to retort expression Miss Kaori had just shown was simply delightful to Shirakawa Sawahei.

Miss Kaori does hold grudges, and Shirakawa Sawahei is well aware of this. However, thankfully, she and her foolish sibling are fundamentally different. She wouldn’t glare murderously at some part of him while grinding her teeth, nor would she pounce into his arms and immediately start a Wing Chun fight.

The two walked together in sync for a while. Looking at the surrounding buildings, Shirakawa Sawahei asked curiously, "Is the meeting room this way?"

"No."

"Then why are we here? Isn’t this the music room?"

"For the meeting."

"In the music room?"

"In the music room."

Shirakawa Sawahei was speechless, "Hayakawa, did you trick me just to bring me to the music room to play piano?"

"It’s for a meeting," the Evil Little Arrogant corrected as she opened the piano lid, "and to play the piano a bit."

"A meeting for two? And you said it would take a long time? Hayakawa, isn’t this a bit much?"

"It might take a long time, or it might be quick," Miss Kaori raised her eyebrow, "Are you going to keep standing, wanting to delay the meeting start?"

"Where should I sit?"

"Opposite me," Hayakawa Kashi said softly.

Seeing that the Little Arrogant seemed to have something to say, Shirakawa Sawahei didn’t voice any objections and found a place to sit down.

As the prelude played for a few seconds, he immediately realized. The piece that Hayakawa Kashi was playing was the insert song from that melancholy movie by Furuta Kei, which they had watched together in the cinema, and was indeed a piece that Shirakawa Sawahei had performed. This Slatter-composed piece of music, which he had personally played, resurfaced in such a manner, naturally leaving him a bit surprised.

After the piece finished, Miss Kaori looked up, "From the original performer’s perspective."

"What do you think?"

"Well, not bad."

"Not bad?"

Though he hadn’t refreshed his piano skills for quite some time, at his current level, he could still show off a little before the Little Arrogant.

Miss Kaori pursed her lips noncommittally, seemingly not caring much about Shirakawa Sawahei’s evaluation. She got up from the piano, and said nonchalantly, "Hopefully, Shirakawa can give me a few pointers when there’s a chance."

"Now, shall we talk about this year’s school retreat?"

"Huh?"

Shirakawa Sawahei showed a puzzled yet silent expression, asking, "Hayakawa, wasn’t the reason you texted me to come out on LINE something else?"

"At that time frame. Who knows if Nazuki would check your phone."

"..."

"So, Hayakawa, even your retreat plan can’t be known to Nazuki?"

"What plan could I have?" The Evil Little Arrogant replied calmly, "You already knew, right? My sister’s arrangement to change the retreat venue."

"I sort of knew. So what?"

"There’re only two weeks left till the school retreat. The place she chose has issues; it can’t accommodate so many students." Hayakawa Kashi explained, "Time is tight, and selecting another location requires booking. Canceling would complicate things for the school."

"So... because of the foolishness your silly sibling caused, you’re asking me to help handle the mess?"

"I’ll handle the other troubles. You just deal with Nazuki."

"Why is it normally you who does this kind of work?"

The Evil Little Arrogant lifted her chin and retorted, "Being the bad guy for so long, can’t I occasionally be a good sister?"

"..."

Reasonable... reasonable...

Black Hearted Lolita certainly was in a hurry to stab her older sister in the back, opting to change places without much thought. Regarding reducing other students’ travel perks, to Miss Kaori, it’s simply trivial.

Anything solved with money is no problem at all. They could just book extra room services for them—send some small gifts to compensate...

Although the roles seem reversed, it isn’t my first time betraying the Black Hearted Little Girl. Hence, there’s simply no psychological burden.

"What do you plan to do? I at least need to know your plan to think about how to placate your sister, right?"

"Simple. The ski resort can’t accommodate everyone in a short time, so let the other guests go for a hot spring visit first."

Applying money power, huh? Indeed an excellent solution. But...

Shirakawa Sawahei pondered for a moment, raised his head, and was about to say something when the Little Arrogant interrupted.

"Let her pay for the hot springs."

"Does your sister have that much pocket money?" Shirakawa Sawahei asked with a face full of suspicion, "Why do I feel she’s been pretending to be poor recently?"

"It’s fine; she can dip into her New Year’s money."

What? There’s actually a family that doesn’t confiscate a kid’s New Year’s money? What divine parents are these?

Shirakawa Sawahei silently marveled in his heart and continued, "So, my task is just to reassure your sister to fork out the money?"

"No."

Miss Kaori replied calmly, "I want you to arrange it so Nazuki won’t disturb my skiing lessons."

"..."

Recalling the scene from the summer, when he and the Little Arrogant took diving lessons together, Shirakawa Sawahei couldn’t help but fall into silence.

Skiing lessons... This plan of Miss Kaori seems to have been in place for a while, as she previously intended to go to a ski resort in Switzerland, but due to the machinations of the Black Hearted Lolita, the summer plan ended prematurely.

She did mention postponing it to winter... so the winter she referred to is now?

Everything else is manageable... The Little Girl is easily dealt with; the challenge lies in... this retreat is quite different from previous summer times. Sneaking off with the Little Arrogant under the noses of Tsukimi Sakurazawa and ’Slacker Girl’...

(Said easily deceived Black Hearted Lolita: ?)

The difficulty is indeed quite high... For the time management master Shirakawa as well, it poses a significant challenge.

"Um... can I refuse?"

Shirakawa Sawahei thought calmly, still finding it too challenging to evade the Calligraphy Club’s group, and couldn’t help but contemplate escape.

It’s not because my time management skills are lacking, it’s because that Asano Nazuki will backstab me. At that time, Tsukimi and Ise Yu are likely to make a fuss...

The Evil Little Arrogant glanced at him unhurriedly and replied, "A good wager requires fair play."

"..."

It seems the confrontation, which could determine the professional fate of the time management master Shirakawa, is quietly unfolding in a way he didn’t want to see...