The Composure of the Rightful Consort

So it was you behind all this, Kato!

Although Jiang Yu very much wanted to blurt out such a retort, as he watched Megumi Kato casually break the silence between them, he felt both admiration and a touch of fear.

Speaking of which, this girl, Megumi Kato... is really hard to figure out, isn’t she?

Jiang Yu touched his nose, thinking uncertainly.

Just then, Megumi Kato happened to glance at Jiang Yu, her eyes meeting his as she remarked, “I get the feeling that you were just now thinking something rather rude about me, Jiang Yu. Was I mistaken?”

“Ah—! I wasn’t! I didn’t!” Jiang Yu’s hair stood on end and cold sweat soaked his back as he hurriedly protested.

Megumi Kato smiled faintly at his response, saying nonchalantly, “Well, it’s just a feeling, so there’s no need to overreact, Jiang Yu. Besides, even if you were, I wouldn’t hold it against you. Relax.”

…How could anyone possibly relax after hearing that, Megumi!

With tears brimming in his eyes, Jiang Yu could only laugh awkwardly and force a change of subject. “Um… So, Kato, did you invite Sawamura and Miss Kasumigaoka here?”

“Mm-hmm. Didn’t Aki say yesterday that he’d treat me to lunch? I figured it’d be better to just have the whole club come along,” Megumi explained with ease.

At that, Eriri immediately gave off a dangerous aura the moment she heard “Aki said yesterday he’d treat me to lunch,” her wide eyes fixed on Tomoya Aki.

Meanwhile, Utaha Kasumigaoka watched Aki with an amused expression, and Jiang Yu inwardly screamed that this was bad.

Sensing the subtle change in atmosphere, Tomoya Aki, flustered and at a loss, instinctively tried to deflect the blame—directly at the other boy beside him.

“This… It was all Yu’s suggestion,” he said, pointing at Jiang Yu, who was left utterly speechless by this sudden turn of events.

A sense of impending doom rose in Jiang Yu’s heart. He was just about to explain himself when Kasumigaoka, now impatiently shaking her leg, cut him off before he could speak.

“Oh my, so it turns out that inside your perverse mind, junior, you had such a cunning scheme? Pretend to help your hopelessly single otaku friend pursue the girl he likes, when in fact you’re just trying to learn her preferences so you can make your own move, ultimately securing both the girl’s affection and the thrill of stealing her from your friend—how delightfully wicked!”

Jiang Yu stared blankly at Kasumigaoka as she spoke with relish, only one thought echoing in his mind: I’m doomed, I’m doomed, I’m doomed…

Though he knew Kasumigaoka’s scheming nature well enough, he hadn’t expected her to say something quite so outrageous.

Aki looked as stunned as Jiang Yu, wanting to interrupt but unable to find the words.

Eriri had turned completely red at the phrase “perverse mind,” her mouth open as if to speak, but unable to utter a single word.

Someone save me! Jiang Yu cried inwardly.

Then—

“Miss Kasumigaoka, why would you say something like that? It’s a bit much, don’t you think? For both Jiang Yu and me,” Megumi Kato interrupted calmly.

Kasumigaoka, her pleasure at stirring up trouble cut short, turned toward Megumi, folding her arms and narrowing her striking wine-red eyes, staring her down.

She employed her tried-and-true intimidation technique, hoping to rattle her opponent’s resolve right at the core.

But Megumi met her challenge head-on, activating the serene composure of the rightful heroine—completely immune to Kasumigaoka’s mental assault, and now poised to take the upper hand in their exchange.

“It was just that Aki said something wrong before, so Jiang Yu suggested he treat me to lunch, that’s all,” Megumi explained coolly. Then, without giving Kasumigaoka a chance to reply, she turned to Jiang Yu and Aki, adding, “Though at the time, I did think to myself, ‘Shouldn’t we at least consult the people involved?’ or something like that.”

Jiang Yu could only tremble in the face of Megumi’s seemingly mild gaze and words, feeling as though he were trapped in an overwhelming domain, unable to utter a sound.

Not giving either Jiang Yu or Aki a chance to respond, Megumi looked back at Kasumigaoka and continued, “So I thought, why not make it our club’s first group lunch and invited you and Sawamura along.”

Kasumigaoka, reeling from Megumi’s barrage of calm logic, pursed her lips. Her instincts warned her that this opponent was far stronger than she had imagined.

So Kasumigaoka chose to hold her ground, ceasing her earlier provocations.

So, you do realize you were just making things up, don’t you, senpai…

Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and gazed at the composed Megumi Kato, feeling an unexpected sense of awe rise within him.

Megumi Kato is truly a saint.

I absolutely adore Saint Megumi! She speaks so gently, is a master at smoothing over awkwardness, and can even subdue the sharp-tongued, out-of-control Utaha Kasumigaoka with ease…

Ahem, back to the point. As the tension faded, Aki snapped out of his daze, producing a large bento box. As he opened it, he explained, “My parents were home yesterday, so I asked them to make this lunch. Since I rarely make such a request, they seemed quite happy and made a bit extra.”

“Yeah… They made more than just enough for three,” Aki added, after a moment’s thought.

“Huh? Your parents came home?” Eriri finally snapped out of her daze, looking surprised.

“Yeah, but it seems they left again early this morning,” Aki nodded, then shook his head.

“I see… I’ve never had the chance to properly meet them,” Eriri said regretfully.

As Aki and Eriri chatted about matters no one else could join in on, Jiang Yu, half amused and half exasperated, picked up the picnic cloth beside the bento box, shook it out, and began to spread it on the ground.

At the same time, Megumi Kato extended her hands and said, “Let me help you, Jiang Yu.”

“Oh, thank you, Kato,” Jiang Yu replied, momentarily taken aback but grateful.

Silently, Utaha Kasumigaoka, who had also been about to help, retracted her hand and went to sit on a bench nearby, watching the busy pair and the chatting pair with an air of aloofness.

Only the occasional rapid tapping of her legs and her slightly impatient expression betrayed the truth that she wasn’t as calm as she appeared.

Coincidentally, neither the busy pair nor the chatting pair noticed this scene.