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Well it’s probably because she thinks things would spiral out of control. She likely considered some other situations too. Which I think wouldn’t involve me.

「Shizuru, if I had called you, Shizuo’s rest day would have been restless. I’m sure you would’ve gone for an afterparty. At Shizuo’s bar, no less.」
「Considering Teacher Saeki, that does sound likely.」
「Now I know exa~ctly how you two see me. Also, Kotone, call me Shizuru. Naturally, only in private.」
「Roger that, Ms. Shizuru.」

I would really prefer to hear a clear denial there. In other words, the chances of you doing that aren’t zero, huh? Ms. Shizuru?

「His name is Shizuo, isn’t it? Do you really plan on introducing him to me?」
「I can’t help it that your schedules barely match, you know.」

Hearing Akane’s reply, Shizuru’s eyelashes twitched. I understand the feeling. She’s probably thinking then why the heck you pretend to be out earlier.

「You don’t plan on letting us meet, don’t you?」
「That’s not the case at all~」

Ah, Shizuru snapped. I don’t mind you two scuffling there, but please don’t cause collateral damage. It’s troublesome cleaning up after, you know. Also, don’t waste the food. If I had been drinking, I might’ve cheered them on. Since, in general, the people I’m with tend to influence me.

「How many minutes are there left?」
「It’ll start soon. Shouldn’t we stop them?」
「They’ll stop once the fireworks start. Rather, if we try stopping them, they’ll likely drag us in.」

Rule of thumb. If they go too far, I will stop them but I’m pretty sure it’s alright. Just a hunch, but they’ve probably had these sorts of fights several times already. Probably why they’re so close, even.

「The people around you are always so lively, Kotone.」
「You also one of those people, Kishita.」
「In my case, it’s because of the president’s presence. When it’s only the two of us, I don’t think it gets that level of lively.」

It’s more on the quiet side, if I have to say. In my classroom, there’s my classmates and Kotori; at the student council office, there’s the president; and at the café there’s the owner and the customers. There’s always other people who interact with me. Even in my own room, Akane is there, so I really don’t have much alone time.

「It’s good that there’s so many people around you, Kotone. After all, being alone has its fair share of problems.」
「Are you referring to how there’d be fools picking a bone with me?」
「Well, a part of it, yes…… Kotone, what are your thoughts on romance?」
「I have no interest at all.」

A man confessing to me won’t make me feel happy at all. Probably my fault. If it was Kotone, she’d immediately turn them down without batting an eye. Without even considering the future consequences. Resentment is scary.

「It’s only my guess, but you will likely have those sort of troubles after summer break.」
「Ehhh…」

I’d love to just directly tell them they’re nothing but a bother, but I probably can’t, huh? I’m going to have to be a bit more subtle, right? With the future in mind. I don’t really have much experience with this in the past either, so there’s no telling if this’ll go well.

「And I’ll warn you just to be sure, I don’t imagine that it will be all from people of pure intentions.」
「Those wanting connections, right? Either that, or those that think they can win me over now.」

I committed to changing my image before summer break and avoided causing problems. If people think that I’ve mellowed down, then that’s fine. But it’s also possible that some might think that laying a hand on Kotone is safe as she is right now.

「I don’t need to hold back on people of those sort, yes?」
「They’re responsible for their own actions, after all. I occasionally have some approaching me, but I do get angry when people employ an undesirable hand.」

I guess she means underhanded tactics. Like overwhelming the other party with words. I’m pretty familiar with those sorts of tactics too. Since from my past, I’ve seen the difference in the methods of men and women.

「They likely don’t imagine me using my family’s name.」
「I’m sure they do, since you actually haven’t done that so far. Besides, you personally don’t to do that either, correct?」
「It depends on the situation. I don’t care if it’s only me, but if anything happens that could cause trouble to other people, then I will have no hesitation.」

I’m sure mother and the principal will understand if I explain the situation. As for the problem that is father, I really feel sorry for mother, but I can only leave it to her. That’s exactly why I don’t want to use it.

「If it’s only him then we can lend a hand but against multiple unknowns, it’s impossible even for us.」
「After all, he has always been after me even before. However, the chances of him attempting to approach me has now lowered considerably.」
「About that, I’ve heard from Aya how you brilliantly tricked him. I would have loved to be there when it happened.」

I absolutely wouldn’t want any acquaintances seeing what happened. Now that I think about it, I was lucky that only Aya saw me. If the president was there, there’s no doubt that he’d use it as material. After all, that was so humiliating. It was so out of character for me.

「His personality is strange as well. After all, a person despairing when treated kindly seldom happens.」
「Normally that would leave a good impression, right? And how Kotone is the sole victim of his is also mystery.」

I seriously don’t get why he doesn’t ask what he wants from other people instead. Still, since even Aya can’t bear him, then does that mean that she saw shenanigans happen between Kotone and him before?

「It’s about to start now.」
「That’s true. Come now, both of you, please settle down already. The fireworks are about to start.」
「I’ll settle our score eventually, Akane.」
「Come try me, Shizuru.」

What are you two even competing about? Is something I want to ask but I won’t. Somehow, I feel like I’ve settled in the same role as I had before I died. Mainly with my private relations. It’s not really the case at the academy, after all. Now then, let’s enjoy the fireworks, shall we?

At that time, I still honestly thought so. That there wouldn’t be anything troublesome happening.