Read From the Warlord's Empire for Free Online

on a minute.” Asagi twisted her tongue in what seemed to be a pout as she glared at Rin. “Geez, would you and that idiot Motoki stop toying around with me and Kojou? Sticking your nose in and pushing this sports festival business onto me like this…”
    “Is it a bother?” Rin asked with a laugh in her voice. Asagi made a sullen-sounding sigh.
    “A big bother. In the first place, what’s with this outfit?” As she spoke, she pointed to the nylon bag on top of her lap. Packed inside the bag was a sports towel and gym clothes for practicing for the sports festival.
    “What, you ask…? It’s a uniform for badminton, of course. I put it aside for you, but maybe the size isn’t quite right? Could it be that you’ve grown so much in certain places that you can’t wear it?” Rin asked with a tone of concern.
    “I can wear it,” Asagi bluntly confessed without thinking. “Th-that doesn’t mean I should be wearing something this dramatic at just some little school event.”
    It was a short, pleated skirt and a sturdy, short sleeveless polo shirt; Asagi pointed out the numerous places where the uniform would leave her seriously exposed. Perhaps not for a public tournament match, but she couldn’t help but be embarrassed to wear it at practice for a mere sports festival.
    Yet Rin made a mischievous laugh regardless. “But Asagi, your legs are so pretty.”
    “—Um, what?”
    Asagi froze, unable to respond to the unexpected words from her friend, who usually was not one for jokes. However, Rin’s tone of voice remained perfectly composed.
    “…Well, Yaze said that transfer student in middle school couldn’t lay a finger on you where they’re concerned.”
    “Why did that Himeragi girl come up when talking about
that
…?” Asagi kept her voice low as she inquired. She meant to keep her composure, but the sudden shock put an unpleasant tone into her voice.
    Yukina Himeragi, transfer student to the middle school. A girl so ridiculously pretty that Asagi couldn’t even dream of being jealous, and on top of that, she’d strangely hit it off with Kojou even before her transfer. Some of the students had apparently pegged her as Kojou’s girlfriend. Though not a fact Asagi wished to acknowledge, without a doubt, that girl was the cause of Asagi having been thrown off-pace of late.
    “Although I believe you are well aware of the reason, even more than I am, Asagi…”
    Rin’s expression did not change as she glanced toward the corner of the middle school building.
    “She’s very cute. She’s Akatsuki’s little sister’s classmate, isn’t she?”
    “S-seems so, yeah.”
    Watching how Asagi was unable to hide her discomfort, Rin made a gentle smile.
    “Though I went through all the trouble of preparing the uniform, I won’t force you to wear it. If you want to use your sweaty gym outfit from morning classes while you spend time with Akatsuki, by all means…”
    “I-it’s not sweaty. I used deodorant and everything…,” Asagi protested in a weak voice.
    Rin said nothing in reply, waving her hand and walking off. “Well, I’m heading to the table tennis room. Good luck, Asagi.”
    As she headed out with the students who formed the table tennis team, Asagi was the only one left behind.
    Looking down at the uniform spread over her desk, Asagi exhaled with irritation.
    “Geez…why do I have to worry about things like this! Stupid Kojou!”
5
    I don’t really get all this,
was how Kojou honestly felt. About Asagi, of course.
    He could understand why she was annoyed that Yaze and Rin had schemed to force her and Kojou together as a pair. But in fact he hadn’t sensed that Asagi was seriously angry at any point.
    After having been in such a sour mood during the morning, by noon break she’d recovered and had been talking normally to Yaze and the others. In the first place, Kojou and Asagi’s classmates teasing them about how nicely they got along had been a daily ritual since middle school. He