Chapter 136 136

Kaede and Setsuka looked in the direction the sound was coming from. They found a girl trotting towards them with a big smile. Both of them were sure that they didn't know her. But then Setsuka raised her eyebrows when she saw the three people behind the girl.

They were Tenku's friends, and Setsuka had met them several times, whether at school or on a mission on Lake Shima. The three people are Akina, Takaya, and Noboru. When they saw Setsuka, they only bowed their heads slightly and didn't say anything. But Setsuka could feel a hint of hostility from Akina.

Setsuka didn't expect that she would meet them at that place. No, she should have thought about it since it was a famous place for young people to hang out, including students from Suisei High School.

On the other hand, Kohana only looked at them briefly and then focused back on her strawberry juice which came earlier than the food they ordered.

"You are?" Kaede asked the girl.

"Ah, I'm sorry that I forgot to introduce myself. Good afternoon, seniors. I'm a first-year student at Suisei High School. My name is Narumi Hashimoto. I am your big fan, Senior Fuyushima!" Narumi introduced himself in a rather loud voice and made the other customers look their way. She looked excited when she met Setsuka.

"Nice to meet you, Narumi. But you better take your seat now because your actions have disturbed the other customers in this cafe." Setsuka was a little confused about how to respond to Narumi's enthusiasm. Even though she knew that many girls idolized her at school, this was the first time she had met someone who dared to say it out loud in public.

Narumi looked around after she heard Setsuka's words. She quickly realized her mistake after noticing that they had become the center of attention of the other customers in the cafe because of her voice.

"I'm sorry, Senior Fusyushima! I'm sorry!" Narumi said apologetically and bowed repeatedly.

Satsuka could only nod slightly when she saw her exaggerated actions. After seeing her response, Narumi smiled and immediately sat in the empty chair next to Setsuka's table.

"Is it alright if we sit here?" Narumi looked at Akina and asked.

"Yes, that's okay." Akina said helplessly.

(Why are you asking me when you're already sitting there?)

Akina secretly sighed in her heart when she saw Narumi's behavior. That girl is usually quiet and doesn't like to talk much. But when it comes to Setsuka, her personality suddenly changes 180 degrees. Akina smiled bitterly and then looked at Takaya and Noboru.

"Is it alright if we sit at that table?" Akina asked their opinion. After all, she was the one who had invited them to hang out at the cafe because she was bored at home.

Akina wants to spend time with Tenku at Golden Week. Unfortunately, half of her vacation has to be spent with her parents, and her father forbids her from taking Tenku. But then she discovered that Tenku was also on vacation with Wang Haotian in Beijing and might come back tomorrow or on the last day of Golden Week.

Akina is bored because she doesn't have any activities at home for the rest of her vacation days. So she decides to hang out at a cafe with her classmate, Narumi. But Akina felt it would be less fun if they just went alone. She wanted to invite another classmate but hesitated because she wasn't that close to them other than Narumi.

Then Akina remembered Takaya and Noboru. They are Tenku's friends. Although sometimes strange and perverted, they are good boys. Akina contacted them without hesitation, and the two quickly accepted her invitation since they also didn't have anything to do at home.

Fortunately, Narumi is a friendly and cheerful type of girl. He gets along with anyone regardless of their social status as long as they are good people. Because of this, Narumi has no problem hanging out with Takaya and Noboru.

"I don't mind sitting anywhere. Isn't that right, Noboru?" Takaya quickly agreed but asked Noboru's opinion anyway.

"Yes, I think the atmosphere in that place is quite comfortable since there aren't many people around." Noboru nodded. He didn't expect to meet the two most beautiful girls at Suisei High School when hanging out with Akina and Takaya.

"Good!" Akina was relieved that they didn't mind sitting at that table. If both of them refused, then she would feel bad for Narumi.

After that, the three people sat at the table next to Setsuka. Akina sat next to Narumi, while Takaya and Noboru sat opposite the two girls. A waitress quickly came to take their order after seeing Akina and the others had taken their seats.

As the waitress took their order, Narumi kept trying to talk to Setsuka, but the other party only nodded in response. Her behavior gave Akina a headache. She knew this would happen if they sat next to Setsuka's table.

"Do you know what happened to Tenku? I have been texting him since noon, but he hasn't read it. After that, I tried to call him, but his smartphone was off." Akina asked Takaya and Noboru. She was worried because she couldn't contact Tenku since this afternoon.

"I don't know. I also messaged him to ask about his vacation there, but the status is still not delivered until now. What about you, Noboru?" Takaya shook his head and then looked at Noboru.

"I am also the same as you. My message was not delivered until now." Noboru showed his message to Tenku on his smartphone to Takaya and Akina.

"What is Tenku doing there? Is he so busy that he doesn't have time to look at his smartphone? Usually, Tenku doesn't take long to reply to my messages. Did something bad happen to him?" Akina muttered but emphasized the word Tenku in her sentence with a louder voice for someone to hear.

"You don't need to worry about him. I'm sure he's fine. He might be enjoying his vacation there and forgot to charge his smartphone." Takaya quickly denied Akina's words as her worries were unfounded.

"Yes, you are right. I shouldn't think anything bad about him. By the way, do you know when he will return to Japan?" Akina took a deep breath and tried to shake off the bad feeling in her heart.

"If I remember correctly, he said he would be back tomorrow at the earliest or the end of Golden Week at the latest." Noboru replied at Takaya's place.

"I hope he comes back soon." Akina said in sorrow, and her face showed a hint of longing.

Takaya and Noboru looked at each other and sighed. Both of them are not blind, and they know that Akina likes Tenku. They didn't expect that his friend was very lucky in romance and popular with the girls. It made them slightly envious of him.

"That Tenku you're referring to, is he the freshman who awakened an F rank Phantasmal Object and is known as the weakest student at Suisei High School?" Narumi suddenly asked out of curiosity about their conversation. Akina and the other two people frowned when they heard her words.

"Can you not call Tenku like that? I don't like the way you describe him." Akina said in annoyance as she was displeased by her words.

Narumi saw that the expressions of the three darkened after hearing his words and quickly knew that he had misspoken. He had forgotten that Akina and the two boys in front of him were Tenku's friends.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult him with my words! I don't know his name, and I only heard about him through rumors at school. So I can only describe it like that. I'm sorry if my words offended you!" Narumi said in a panic and lowered her head. She apologized sincerely as she didn't mean any harm by her words.

"Fine, I'll spare you this time. But please don't say that again about him. Even though he had only awakened an F-rank Phantasmal Object, he was not the weakest student. If you repeat that words, I will be angry with you." Akina warned seriously.

Even though she was angry with Narumi, she knew her classmate did not like gossiping and badmouthing others. Akina was sure that Narumi had no intention of insulting Tenku with her words. Thus, she quickly forgave her.

Takaya and Noboru nodded in agreement with Akina's words. The two weren't Narumi's classmates, and they didn't know how she was. But they were able to forgive her after seeing her sincere apology.

"Thank You! I promise that I will not repeat those words! I won't speak badly of Tenku!" Narumi felt relieved after getting their apologies and then spoke normally, as her previous mistakes had never happened. She is a girl who easily adapts to the situation around her. Narumi didn't want to make their atmosphere awkward.

On the other side of their table, Setsuka sighed and loosened her fist. She quietly listened to their conversation especially Akina who deliberately emphasized the word "Tenku" in her sentence. Setsuka's mouth twitched as she felt Akina's intense rivalry towards her.

Setsuka deliberately eavesdropped on their conversation because she was interested in Akina's question about Tenku. She became curious because she also couldn't contact Tenku since this afternoon, and it made her heart restless.

She thought that one of them might get news from Tenku. But after hearing the conversation between Akina and the other two, Setsuka knew they were the same as her. She felt that there was nothing important she could get from them.

But after that, Setsuka accidentally released her power when she heard Narumi's words about Tenku, making the temperature around her drop. Luckily, it didn't last long as she quickly regained control and retracted her strength. Because of that, Kohana didn't feel cold and only felt that the air in that place had become cooler.

Of course, Setsuka couldn't hide that from Kaede. She noticed Setsuka's change in emotions and her power leaking out into the surroundings after listening to the chatter at the table next to them.

"Are you okay, Setsuka?" Kaede asked with concern.

"Hmm? I'm fine. Why are you asking such a question, Kaede?" Setsuka tilted her head and pretended to be confused by her words. Even though she knew that Kaede would know what had happened to her, she couldn't admit it in front of Kohana. If the little girl knew, then she would be worried not only for her but also for Tenku.

"Is that so? I think I'm too sensitive about your situation. But if you have something on your mind that's bothering you, I'm ready to listen to it, whether it's a family problem, school, or romance. Aren't we best friends?" Kaede grinned and said in a low voice so that Kohana and the people around her couldn't hear.

Setsuka broke out in a cold sweat when she heard Kaede's words. She was sure that Kaede must have noticed what had happened to her. She subtly asked Setsuka to tell her about her troubles to ease her thoughts and worries. But before Setsuka could reply, she heard another voice calling her name.

"Setsuka?"