Chapter 125: Almost opened the Box.

Since Bai Shenxinghe and Aiba Mika were close friends, Mika’s contact information was naturally stored in Xinghe’s phone.

Noticing this, Charlotte naturally pulled out the phone, preparing to call Mika to ask about the situation.

After all, today was the day of the match between their Kendo Club and the Clover Academy Kendo Club; Mika wouldn’t skip such an important day on purpose.

However, just as she pressed the dial button, the phone was snatched away by Yukina, who immediately hit the cancel button.

“Eh?” Charlotte looked bewildered. “Yukina, weren’t you going to call Mika? Why did you suddenly cancel it?”

Faced with Charlotte’s confused question, Yukina only shot her a glare before taking out her own phone to record Mika’s number.

“Brother, you’re being far too careless! How could you use that phone to speak directly with Aiba Senior?”

If her brother had Aiba Senior’s contact info, it meant Aiba Senior also had her brother’s.

If Yukina hadn’t stopped it in time, Aiba Senior would have received a call from her deceased friend’s number, and hearing Charlotte’s girl voice on the other end, she would have certainly become suspicious.

‘Why would Bai Shenxinghe’s phone be in Charlotte’s hands?’

Once Aiba Senior started digging, Yukina would have to find another logical explanation to fill the hole.

Charlotte’s existence was already illogical enough.

If they kept hiding it, the layers of lies would become like a kaleidoscope that would eventually shatter.

Yukina didn’t want her hard-won daily life to end that way, so as far as she was concerned, the fewer lies she had to tell to cover for her brother, the better.

“Honestly, next time you want to do something, brother, can you tell me first? Don’t do unnecessary things on your own!”

Yukina lectured Charlotte, who had almost exposed her own identity.

“I’m very sorry! I’ll be careful next time!” Charlotte apologized in a weak voice, realizing she had almost caused Yukina more trouble.

After saving Mika’s number to her contacts, Yukina handed Charlotte’s phone back to her, then turned around and walked to a relatively quiet spot to make the call.

After a ringtone of [Hajimi, Hajimi, Ashi hayaku] played, a familiar voice finally came from the other end.

– “Hello? Who is this?”

Since Yukina had never exchanged numbers with Aiba Senior before, Mika didn’t know who was calling her.

– “It’s me, Aiba Senior!”

– “Eh? This voice… Yukina! How do you have my number? I don’t remember us exchanging numbers yet.”

– “Uh… well… my brother told me, of course! You and my brother are good friends, aren’t you, Aiba Senior?”

– “Oh, I see.” Yukina’s explanation seemed to dispel Mika’s suspicion.

– “By the way, Aiba Senior, where are you right now?”

– “Eh? Where am I?”

– “Isn’t today the day of our match against Clover Academy? We’re all waiting at the school gym for the match to start, just waiting for you, Senior! Where are you?”

– “Cough, cough, cough…” A very deliberate coughing sound came from the other end. “Sorry, Yukina, I accidentally caught a cold. I’m afraid I can’t make it to school today.”

– “What? Senior, you can’t come? No way! What are we going to do about this match?”

– “I can only rely on you, Yukina. I believe you can lead our Kendo Club to victory. Cough, cough, cough…”

– “Wait, how am I supposed to fight a whole group of people by myself?”

– “Oh, right, Yukina. Is your brother still at home recovering?”

– “Yeah, his illness is quite severe. He won’t be able to attend school for a few days.”

– “Then you’ve really got your hands full, Yukina. Training for the Kendo Club and taking care of your sick brother at home.”

– “It’s not that hard. My brother can take care of himself; I don’t need to worry about him. Wait, this isn’t the time to talk about my brother! Aiba Senior, without you, our Kendo Club…”

– “Don’t worry, Yukina. I believe you’ll lead our club to victory. I’ll celebrate with you once I’ve recovered. That’s all for now, bye-bye!”

Without giving Yukina a chance to protest, Mika quickly hung up, leaving Yukina utterly dumbfounded.

‘Eh? Senior, you trust me that much?’

Just moments ago, their Kendo Club and the Clover Academy club had drawn the format for this match.

Both sides would field seven contestants in a gauntlet-style “winner-stays-on” battle.

As long as a contestant hit the opponent’s vital points, disarmed them, or knocked them out of bounds, it counted as a victory, and the winner would then fight the opponent’s next contestant until one side’s roster was completely defeated.

Without a doubt, this format was extremely disadvantageous for the Yōkain Academy Kendo Club with Mika absent.

Missing her most important combatant, Yukina had no guarantee she could hold out until the end.

If it were a simple 1v1, they might have been able to use a “Tian Ji’s Horse Race” strategy to manipulate the outcome.

‘Crap, isn’t our Kendo Club going to lose big time now?’

‘Aiba Senior, why did you have to get sick exactly today, at the most important time?’
She suddenly thought of something, and her gaze snapped onto Charlotte.

Yukina rushed to Charlotte in a frenzy, her hands gripping Charlotte’s shoulders so tightly it looked like she wanted to swallow her whole.

“Uh, Yukina, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Brother, can your Holy Magic heal someone with a severe cold instantly?”

“Uh… probably…”

“Probably?”

“Well, I’ve never used that magic specifically to treat an illness before. Holy Magic is generally used for healing injuries and restoring the body to its perfect state. Theoretically, it should be able to eliminate a disease too.”

“Fine. Brother, I’m giving you special permission to use magic as you please today, provided you aren’t discovered by anyone. Now, hurry to Aiba Senior’s house, cure her cold, and bring her back here for the match! There are ten minutes left before the start. That should be enough time for you, shouldn’t it?”

‘If this works, Aiba Senior can show up on time, but how do I explain it to her later? I can’t tell her Charlotte is a powerful Esper, can I?’

‘Wait, I can just have my brother use Memory Magic to erase the memory of her being sick! That way, Aiba Senior will just think she overslept and almost missed the match.’

‘Mhm, let’s do that!’

However, just as Yukina was feeling smug about her brilliant idea, Charlotte’s answer made her mood crash to the bottom.

“No, but I don’t know where Mika lives. Where am I supposed to find her?”