The moonlight is beautiful tonight, perfect for confessions.
The evening breeze brushes against faces, the glow from street lamps and shops overshadowing the moonlight.
A group of six people, looking lively.
The ones mainly responsible for keeping the atmosphere lively are Yoshikawa Sayuri, Phoenix Academy Maggie, and Hojo Tetsuji.
Apart from Phoenix Academy Maggie, the other two are naturally playing their roles.
They are already top masters at avoiding awkward silences.
Aozawa's contributions to the conversation are not very frequent.
Furusawa Kyoichiro speaks even less; in these situations, he seems as if his neck is being strangled.
Occasionally echoing a statement to show he's still breathing is already his limit.
As they approach Shinjuku Gyoen, Aozawa pauses, glancing at the stalls by the roadside.
The vendor shines a light on the beautiful accessories, making them sparkle and catch the eye.
He steps forward and quickly picks out a necklace with a beautiful design from among the accessories.
Unlike before, many accessories now look as good as branded ones, just cheaper.
Yoshikawa Sayuri glances over and deliberately exclaims, "Hey, Aozawa, why are you buying this?"
"For someone,"
Aozawa smiles as he asks the vendor to pack the necklace into a box, then stuffs it in his pocket.
Yoshikawa Sayuri seems to understand, glancing towards the masked and sunglass-wearing Phoenix Academy Maggie with a smile.
Little did she know, beneath the mask, Phoenix Academy Maggie didn't look very happy.
If this necklace were meant for her, he wouldn't have stuffed it in his pocket.
Considering Ayatsuki Ayaka's invitation that afternoon, she seriously suspects the necklace is a birthday gift for Ayatsuki Ayaka.
Phoenix Academy Maggie has taken a default passive view towards Ayatsuki and the others' existence.
But witnessing this act of buying a birthday gift for Ayatsuki Ayaka right in front of her still made her feel a bit uneasy.
She thought, perhaps when it was her birthday, Aozawa would buy her a gift as well.
No need to overthink it.
Phoenix Academy Maggie thought this way, but a thorn remained in her heart.
Does Aozawa perhaps not care about her as much anymore?
Otherwise, how could he comfortably buy Ayatsuki Ayaka a birthday gift right in front of her?
He could have chosen a place where she couldn't see him purchasing the necklace, yet he didn't.
Is he disregarding her feelings?!
A flood of thoughts surged through her mind.
If not for the mask concealing her expression, Phoenix Academy Maggie's unusual complexion might have been noticed.
At this moment, she really couldn't keep a straight face.
Phoenix Academy Maggie had to take a deep breath, telling herself it wasn't the time to think about these things.
She should focus on helping Nomura True Wave.
She feigned composure.
Aozawa, however, could perceive her inner turmoil.
His weekly refreshed superpower abilities hadn't paused, though his luck seemed inconsistent.
He often refreshed some peculiar abilities.
Abilities that seem useless but have decent mileage in daily life.
Like the ability to make someone use the bathroom just by looking at them.
Before being nerfed, he even caused the notorious Boston Dung City incident one January.
Just by glaring at Boston.
At that time, everyone inside the city, no matter who, or what they were doing.
Awake or asleep, all felt an urgent need to find a restroom.
Those without restrooms had no choice but to handle their business publicly.
Since everyone experienced it, there was no embarrassment.
Another example is his ability to perceive Phoenix Academy Maggie's emotional fluctuations.
Acute Hearing.
At its peak, it could capture the voices of everyone in Japan, now limited to Tokyo.
He can also concentrate his hearing on a person to discern if their heartbeat was irregular.
If their breathing was rapid, even detecting the subtle breath from pores with clarity.
Just moments ago, Phoenix Academy Maggie's heartbeat and pore reactions revealed her mental disturbance, nowhere as composed as her appearance suggested.
The first step of creating contrast had succeeded; now it's time to wait for a turnaround.
...
During summer at Shinjuku Gyoen, visitors are barred entry by six-thirty, with the gates typically closing by seven.
It doesn't open at night.
Phoenix Academy Maggie leveraged some exclusive access to smoothly guide the group into the closed-off gardens of Shinjuku Gyoen.
Normally, Furusawa Kyoichiro would quip about this privilege abuse, but now, his thoughts had drifted somewhere unknown.
Naturally, he wasn't inclined to fret over such matters.
Phoenix Academy Maggie led the group to the plaza, clapping her hands suddenly, "Since the space here is vast, let's play hide-and-seek."
"Yes, yes!"
Yoshikawa Sayuri eagerly nodded, suggesting, "Let Furusawa lie here counting, and we'll hide."
"Eh?"
Furusawa Kyoichiro raised his head, barely able to contest.
The group had already dashed into the woods.
"Count to fifty!"
Yoshikawa Sayuri shouted.
Furusawa Kyoichiro didn't argue, instead choosing to lie against a tree, starting, "1, 2, 3..."
He's a serious person.
Willing to play the seeker, he wouldn't opt for peeking.
The others weren't sincerely planning to play hide-and-seek.
Nomura True Wave snuck back from the woods, tiptoeing quietly.
Yoshikawa Sayuri wisely pulled Hojo Tetsuji to hide elsewhere, not joining Phoenix Academy Maggie and Aozawa's group.
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