Chapter 27: Plastic Sisters~ (Patreon)

After enduring four long days of the school grind, the much-anticipated Friday finally arrived.

Survive today's daytime classes, and a glorious two-day weekend would immediately follow.

Because of this, Kuoh Academy usually had a light schedule on Fridays. Apart from a few cultural lessons in the morning, there were only two self-study periods in the afternoon.

Of course, calling them self-study periods was essentially the same as being dismissed.

With no teachers supervising, students in the "go-home club" could kill time on their phones until the two periods ended before heading straight home, while those with club activities could start early.

Start early, finish early, and still get home sooner.

Thus, in the afternoon at the Occult Research Club, inside the old school building—

As usual, when Hanakain Fubuki arrived, everyone else was already seated in the first-floor living room.

After all, Rias, Akeno Himejima, and Koneko Toujou normally lived in the old school building during the week.

So, this old building was less a club activity location and more like the girls' private dormitory, with just a section of the first-floor living room designated for club use. This was also why the club never had any outsiders.

And now, one more person was living here: Asia.

"Good afternoon, Asia. Did you settle in okay living at the school last night?"

Walking into the living room from outside, Hanakain Fubuki immediately greeted the blonde girl seated on the sofa next to Koneko Toujou.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fubuki. And thank you for asking. I slept very comfortably here last night."

The nun tilted her slightly down-turned eyes, a gentle, healing smile gracing her fair, lovely face.

"Rias-senpai and Akeno-senpai were also very welcoming. They even prepared a bed and bedding for me, and Koneko-chan cleaned the room for me beforehand."

"Is that so? That's good... Huh?"

Before he could finish, Hanakain Fubuki suddenly sensed something amiss.

Which was—isn't the seating arrangement in the club room a bit off today?

Usually, with the two sofas in the living room, one left and one right, he and Rias would sit on the right one, while Akeno and Koneko sat on the left.

But today seemed reversed. Koneko was sitting on the right sofa with Asia, while Akeno remained on the left sofa, sitting with Rias.

Even stranger was that the latter two seemed to have had some sort of falling out today. Despite sharing the same sofa, they were sitting far apart, almost at opposite ends, leaving a considerable empty space in the middle.

What's this about?

Is this... a case of plastic sisterhood?

Seeing the young man still standing there looking suspicious, Akeno Himejima on the left sofa offered a gentle smile and lightly patted the empty space beside her.

"What's wrong, Fubuki? Didn't we agree last time? This time, you're sitting over here. Come on, sit down, hmm?"

"...Oh."

Hanakain Fubuki tried to query the red-haired girl sitting at the other end of the sofa with his eyes, but Rias merely met his gaze for an instant before quickly looking away, feigning complete indifference.

???

It feels like things are starting to head in a strange direction.

However, having no other choice, Hanakain Fubuki calmly walked over and sat down on the sofa.

Just like that, he was flanked by two beautiful girls – Rias and Akeno Himejima, the perennial top two most popular girls at Kuoh Academy.

If word of this got out, the legion of self-proclaimed fan club members would probably lose their minds on the spot, rush to the teacher's office, snatch the keys to the school bus, and drive it straight at him to launch a Chinese iaido attack.

Though it wouldn't do them any good anyway...

While Hanakain Fubuki was lost in these random thoughts, the black-haired girl with the high ponytail beside him began to stir restlessly.

"Let me tell you, Fubuki..."

Akeno Himejima's voice sounded. Maintaining her seated posture, she turned sideways towards the young man next to her. Supporting herself with her hands on the sofa, she leaned slightly forward. In this position, the extremely conservative design of her school uniform was strained, creating a taut, deep cleavage that offered an absolutely arresting, almost bursting view.

"The President was being quite unreasonable, you know? Last time, she said she didn't care who Fubuki sat with, but when it came time to honor the promise today, she just decided on her own to come over here and even grabbed the middle seat first. She only moved aside when you arrived, Fubuki."

"Akeno, you..."

Hearing her best friend expose her true feelings so bluntly in front of everyone, the red-haired girl, who had been feigning nonchalance just a second ago, instantly widened her eyes.

"I-I-I-I did not! I just happened to feel like sitting here today on a whim! Later, when I saw Fubuki arrive, I remembered my promise to you, Akeno, so I specifically made space. That's how it was!"

"Ara ara~ Is that really so?"

The tall, black-haired girl with the ponytail covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"If that's the case, why doesn't Rias just go sit on the opposite sofa with Asia and Koneko-chan? As the President, shouldn't you be showing more concern for the new club member?"

"Akeno!"

Being repeatedly teased, which felt more like interrogation, was starting to test even Rias's patience.

She abruptly stood up from the sofa, frowning unhappily at her friend, who was just one person away.

"Akeno, what's gotten into you today? If something's bothering you, why don't you just say it? Why keep harping on this?"

"Just say it... Hmm, well, I'm not particularly dissatisfied with anything, really. If I had to say, there's only one thing."

The girl with the long, black ponytail maintained her gentle, almost wife-like smile, slowly and firmly raising her index finger.

"What Rias promised before doesn't count this time. Next time, I want to sit alone with Fubuki."

"Huh? Just because of that..."

Rias blurted out instinctively but stopped mid-sentence as she realized something was wrong.

Her words died in her throat. She stared at her best friend on the sofa in disbelief.

"Wait, Akeno, don't tell me you too..."

The rest didn't need to be said. Everyone present, except perhaps Asia, understood the implication.

Akeno Himejima's smile widened even further, and her next words were practically a challenge.

"And if my answer is 'yes,' what then?"

"..."

"..."

Silence instantly enveloped the entire living room.

After about ten seconds, the red-haired girl, her expression having shifted multiple times, finally uttered a sentence.

"I... have nothing to say. That's your own business. How could I possibly say anything?"

With that, she plopped back down onto the sofa, crossed her legs, propped her chin on her hand, and looked away, making it impossible to see her face clearly.

In contrast, Akeno Himejima looked as if she had won a battle, the very cadence of her voice seeming to carry a triumphant melody.

She turned to face the astonished nun on the opposite sofa and clapped her hands lightly.

"So, getting back to the main point. Today, there's primarily an issue I'd like to discuss, and it concerns you, Miss Asia."

"Miss Asia, would you be willing to become a peerage member of the Gremory family?"