I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 109

Saito Harutori retorted, not to be outdone:

"You were the one who dragged me away first!"

"Moonlit night, what exactly happened?" Sakurako Yukawa asked, staring intently at her face.

"Ugh, Nagase Tsukiyo clenched her teeth. She didn't want too many people to know about this. It was as if signal lights were flashing in her head, and her throat felt like it was being choked, making it hard to breathe."

"Now that things have come to this, what are you afraid to say?"

Saito Harutori said with an angry expression,

"You had the courage to come to me, but when it was your turn, you couldn't utter a single word. In the end, aren't you the coward?"

"What are you all talking about...:::::" Yukawa Sakurako spat out a mouthful of saliva, feeling increasingly superfluous.

Seeing that Nagase Tsukiyo remained silent, Saito Haruka frowned. She had no idea how far the storm would spread or how much damage it would cause; she couldn't guess at all.

But she took a deep breath and said in a reckless tone:

"If you won't tell me, then I will. Sakura, actually Kitaichi—"

"shut up!"

Nagase Tsukiyo shouted, choking Saito Harukori's words.

She herself couldn't explain why the impulse to stop it, which drove her like a storm, came from.

I just felt that if I didn't stop her, Saito Harukori might really be finished. As her childhood friend,

She didn't want to see that scene.

"I said."

A clear, organ-like voice rose from Nagase Tsukiyo's throat as she spoke with lowered eyebrows and a sorrowful expression.

"The reason I left the club was not because of everyone else, but simply because of my own reasons. I wanted to try my best to change the current situation, so I could no longer take on the activities of the brass band. I am really sorry for what I said in the dessert shop."

A look of "I knew it" appeared in Saito Harutori's eyes, and the arms binding her loosened their grip.

"What's the reason? What's the reason I can't help?"

"This is my own business, not something you, Qingniao, can handle."

Although the Saito family is also very wealthy, Harutori, like her, only receives a fixed allowance of 50,000 yen per month, which includes mobile phone top-ups, food, drinks, and transportation.

Because the two companies have a business partnership and are close, they tend to educate their children in similar ways, paying the same amount of money each month.

It's not like your family gives you a bank card with tens of millions of dollars in it that you can use as you please, and then they'll replace it when it's used up.

You absolutely cannot exceed the limit. If you do, you'll have to make up the difference with your allowance next month. It's very strictly controlled.

Unlike the other two, Kanzaki Eri was excessively cute, which led to her being excessively spoiled by her elders.

She was indeed given several bank cards that she could use at her own discretion, making her a truly wealthy young lady with complete spending freedom.

I've just never seen her spend money extravagantly.

"Is that a disrespectful remark?" Saito Harutori questioned.

"I've already told you it's not something you can do. I've gone this far, can't you give me some privacy?"

Nagase Tsukiyo turned his head to look at her face and said.

Saito Harutori remained silent for a while before finally withdrawing her hand completely.

Nagase Tsukiyomi, finally able to move freely, quickly stood up and looked somewhat fearfully at the girl in black stockings flapping her skirt, saying:

"I've said everything. You should be able to do it, right?"

"Okay, let's go. I'll explain everything to you on the way." Saito Harutori breathed heavily and patted the dust off her socks.

Nagase Tsukiyo looked around. The students who had been watching didn't stay to watch any longer; after they separated, they went their separate ways.

Only a few members of the wind instrument club were still peeking out from the club building to observe.

"Sakurako, I'm sorry. Actually, I had a lot of fun playing with everyone. I'll cheer you all on at this year's competition."

"This... um."

With her delicate eyebrows lowered, Sakurako still couldn't understand anything. She had intended to "mediate" the fight, but she couldn't do anything.

However, it wasn't without its gains; at least she learned that Nagase Tsukiyo's departure wasn't due to problems with the brass band.

However, this does not mean that the brass band itself is without problems; it is indeed terrible, and Tsukiyo's words are still too mild.

"Walk."

Nagase Tsukiyo weakly raised her gaze to Saito Haruka, her flushed face contrasting sharply with the paleness of her neck.

"Ah."

On the side, Yukawa Sakurako practically made it her duty to keep her eyes glued to them until the very last second.

On the street leading to the Kitahara Hakuba family's residence, the two walked one after the other.

Saito Haruka's hair was brown, and in the setting sun, the strands appeared somewhat translucent.

Nagase Tsukiyo didn't dare walk alongside her, keeping a few meters behind her. Even if Saito Haruka took off running right now, she wouldn't have the strength to catch up.

Do you know what the consequences of this kind of thing will be?

Even so, Nagase Tsukiyo still wanted to tell her the seriousness of the matter.

"Whether it's Yuka or Kitahara-sensei, they will both face discrimination from those around them because of your baseless accusations. Even if the investigation turns out to be untrue, they will have already been severely damaged by the rumors before that."

Saito Harutori's drooping eyelashes cast shadows on her dark pupils. The streets of the residential area were quiet and warm.

"Since Mr. Kitahara dared to do it, he should also take on this responsibility."

Her words immediately infuriated Nagase Tsukiyo, who said urgently:

"What do you mean, 'dare to do'? Yuka has already said that she and Kitahara-sensei don't have that kind of relationship!"

Saito Harutori abruptly stopped and turned to look at the girl behind her, saying:

"That was just a lie that Yuka told to protect Kitahara Hakuba."

"lie?"

Nagase Tsukiyo looked at Harutori's bangs sticking to her forehead, her drooping eyebrows, and her broken-looking face.

My heart started racing immediately.

The sycamore branches and leaves on the street looked like a thin veil mixed with gold dust in the twilight. The setting sun cut across the low walls of the western houses, splitting the entire tree into two halves of light and shadow.

The dappled sunlight filtering through the branches flowed across Saito Harutori's body, making the girl's lips appear as if they had been baked into amber-colored sugar crystals.

"Do you know what Yuka bought at the convenience store the night she went home with Kitahara Hakuba?"

Saito Haruka said with a frown.

Nagase Tsukiyo said, puzzled:

"How could I possibly know?"

“I know, the convenience store employee that week happened to be a friend of mine… a classmate I knew.”

Saito Harukori returned to her usual self, gently stroking her hair with her hand as she spoke.

"She told me that Yuka bought something at a convenience store and discovered that the man next to her that day was Kitahara Hakuba."

"If you don't explain clearly, how am I supposed to understand what you're buying?" Nagase Tsukiyo's pretty face showed some dissatisfaction.

Saito Harutori took a deep breath, her gaze fixed directly on Nagase Tsukiyo's face, and said with a reckless expression:

She bought a box of condoms at the convenience store.

Hearing words that should never have been heard from her, Nagase Tsukiyo's fair cheeks flushed red, and her eyes widened suddenly.

"This...this can't possibly be real."

She raised her hand to cover her mouth in disbelief, and for some reason, she suddenly felt a nauseous urge to vomit.

Saito Harutori, her face tense, said in an unquestionable tone:

"Yuka was with Kitahara-sensei that day. Besides him, who else could she have used it with?"

"How could that be? Your friend must have seen it wrong."

Nagase Tsukiyo naturally didn't want to believe these things, because after spending these days with Kitahara Hakuba, she believed that Kitahara-sensei was an extremely gentle adult who also understood many principles.

How could he possibly do such a thing to his female student...?

If it's true, then she's fallen into Kitahara Hakuba's trap, and everything he did was just to lower her guard.

Saito Haruka's blade-like brilliance pierced directly into Nagase Tsukiyo's heart:

“I had my doubts too, so I specifically asked her to check the surveillance footage. It was confirmed that Yuka bought it, and the man who met her at the store entrance was also Kitahara Hakuba.”

Nagase Tsukiyo sensed something was off, and her palms started sweating again.

No way.

She could almost hear her heart pounding harder and harder, and she could even imagine Kitahara Hyamari pulling down the zipper of her skirt and running his fingertips across her lower abdomen.

"But... Yuka looks no different from usual."

Saito Haruka crossed one arm and lowered her eyes slightly as she spoke.

"I don't know if she was forced, but her state of mind suggests she might have genuinely fallen for Kitahara-sensei."

That's why I remained silent or even condoned these behaviors. I thought about it for a long time, until Eri seemed to be becoming increasingly addicted, and then I knew I couldn't think about it anymore.

Nagase Tsukiyo looked incredulous; this incident had deeply affected her.

She couldn't believe that her former friend had a relationship with Kitahara Hakuba, and not only did she not cry for help, she might even have fallen in love with him because of it...

Seeing her expression as if the sky were about to fall, Saito Harutori frowned and said:

"Moonlit Night, what exactly is the connection between you and Kitahara Hakuba?"

Nagase Tsukiyo never expected that she would be the one repeatedly whipped. Her usually aloof face flushed red. "It's nothing..."

As if to protect his own pride, Nagase Tsukiyo chose not to blurt things out.

Saito Haruka raised an eyebrow and gripped the shoulder strap tightly, saying:

“I admit that reporting this will cause Yuka pain, and it also has my own selfish motives, but Kitahara Hakuba was not a good person to ask Yuka to buy that. Now that things have turned out this way, can you say it's all my fault?”