Chapter 31: Kanade Tachibana’s Kindness

Having taken the time to visit the library, Yechen now had a thorough grasp of common knowledge. He’d read books from every genre and understood that, in such situations, a boy ought to offer comfort. Recalling what he’d read, it seemed this was the right thing to do.

He walked over and helped Iwazawa up from the floor, where she’d been sprawled in an orz posture. Gently, he brushed his hand over her head, offering her an encouraging smile and saying, “It’s all right, I believe you’ll be even more impressive than I am, Iwazawa.”

Following the actions described in the books, he noticed Iwazawa had already snapped out of her dejection, staring at him in a daze. Yechen thought to himself, “Perfect! Just like the books described. What was the name of that book again?”

For a moment, there was silence. When Yechen finally looked at Iwazawa, her pretty face was flushed, and confusion flickered in her eyes. A wisp of white steam rose from her head, clearly overwhelmed and on the verge of mental overload. Meanwhile, Kyuko, Miyuki Irie, and the others were watching Yechen with peculiar expressions.

Most girls are deeply interested in gossip, and the three were huddled together, chatting and shooting mischievous grins at Yechen and Iwazawa.

“Hey, hey, do you think Yechen has feelings for Iwazawa? That gesture was so intimate!” Miyuki Irie said with great interest.

“I’m so moved! Seeing Iwazawa find her own happiness makes me, as her big sister, truly happy!” Kyuko, having somehow produced a handkerchief and dabbed her eyes with eye drops, declared tearfully.

“What a shame! Who would’ve thought our band’s leader and vocalist would fall so quickly? Looks like GDM will be just the three of us from now on. It’s time to find a new lead singer!” Shiori Kage, delighted by Iwazawa’s embarrassment and confusion, teased her.

“Have you said enough? It’s absolutely not like that! The performance is coming up—get serious and practice!” Finally breaking free from her dizziness, Iwazawa, subjected to her bandmates’ relentless teasing, hastily used her authority as captain to instruct them.

“Of course, Captain’s orders must be obeyed. We’ll start practicing, and you can go outside with Yechen and discuss the meaning of life, maybe talk about your future together!” Shiori Kage saluted playfully, then was the first to start strumming her instrument as instructed. Yet, somehow, the melody sounded suspiciously like a love song she’d heard before.

Kyuko and Miyuki Irie recognized the tune as well, and joined in excitedly. Iwazawa, of course, could tell what they were playing, and shot Shiori Kage a glare. Unafraid, Shiori Kage met Iwazawa’s gaze, undeterred—after all, Iwazawa had only said to practice, not which song to practice.

...

“Excuse me, have you submitted an application for this concert?” As Kanade Tachibana accompanied Bai Ji to get acquainted with the academy, they passed the bulletin board in the teaching building. There, a petite girl with pink hair and a little devil tail was busily posting flyers for the GDM concert. A few NPC students were already reading the notices, talking excitedly about attending.

“Huh! Oh!” The girl spun around in fright, her hands pressed against her chest, her tail twitching with the movement. When she saw the two before her, she exclaimed, “It’s the Angel!”

She then quickly turned to flee. Seeing her reaction, Kanade’s eyes dimmed; in that person’s eyes, she seemed to be a monster. Was it really necessary to fear her so much?

“Wait, could you come back for a moment?” Just as the girl was about to run off, a melodious voice halted her. Her accelerating steps slowed, and her body instinctively carried her back to the pair.

Catching sight of the girl beside Kanade, the pink-haired girl couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was.

“Do you know Kanade?” The girl beside Kanade—Bai Ji, who intended to test Kanade—asked. Having spent some time with Kanade since separating from Yechen, Bai Ji had discovered Kanade was indeed as kind and pure as Yechen said, so gentle that most people wouldn’t bear to harm her. Of course, the idiots of the Afterlife Battlefront were hardly ordinary.

Now, seeing a girl so afraid of Kanade, Bai Ji’s curiosity was piqued. With her naturally enchanting voice, she questioned the girl.

“Yes! That senior who always carries something huge told me the Angel is the most dangerous enemy. If you run into her alone, you’ll be killed mercilessly. I was told to escape immediately if I ever met the Angel.” The girl drew the shape of a double-edged axe in the air to illustrate her point to Bai Ji, and felt an inexplicable liking for her.

“Did you submit an application to use the gymnasium?” The girl’s description struck Kanade even harder. Was her image really so terrible in their eyes? She only wanted to help unfortunate souls, to let them enjoy school life, hoping they could find salvation—how did it become like this?

“Of course not! This is an unprecedented operation, and it’s not a surprise attack; we notified everyone beforehand. The teachers won’t ignore it without an application, so who knows what trouble might arise! But I heard that this time, it’s worth the risk to gather people together! Oh, right, I’m Yui, just a small member of the diversion team, but I’m satisfied with that. And GDM—they’re so cool...” Just one question, and Yui was surrounded by stardust, speaking non-stop. She seemed to love talking and rattled off a torrent of information Bai Ji had no interest in, with no sign of stopping.

“All right, we get it. No need to say more—go work hard for your beloved GDM!” Bai Ji, noticing Kanade’s unfailing patience, felt a twinge of admiration—she herself could never be so tolerant—and promptly interrupted Yui, speaking gently.

“Oh, right! Then goodbye, beautiful student and Angel!” Yui turned and went back to posting the flyers.

“Goodbye!” Kanade replied politely, then tore down one of the posters from the bulletin board.

“Just turn a blind eye to these trivial matters, Student Council President!”

“Yeah! GDM’s concert is our only fun!”

“Don’t take away our joy!”

Seeing Kanade tear down a poster, the nearby NPC students immediately began to complain.

“Just like a villain...” Kanade muttered as she walked down the corridor, poster in hand. Bai Ji, following close behind, heard the grievance and sadness in her voice, and felt a growing sympathy and acceptance for her.

“So, what do you plan to do now?” Having accepted her, Bai Ji spoke with a touch of concern.

“I’ll help them submit an application.” Kanade answered calmly, her expression unreadable.

“Even after the way they treat you, you still want to help them?” Bai Ji was surprised; surely, even if she didn’t hold a grudge, she wouldn’t go out of her way to help.

“Yes.”