Chapter 33: Invited as a Guest

If you were to ask Yuriko how she knew, it was because that kid had brought his “girlfriend” to thank Yuriko and even said he would be a loyal supporter from now on.

It shocked Yuriko for the whole day.

“Whew, today’s classes are finally over — “

Yuriko stretched lazily, letting out a small hum of satisfaction.

“Ruri has completely adapted to life at the Academy,” Carmilla said.

“Mm, and that’s all thanks to your help, Carmilla~”

By the third week of enrollment, Yuriko had fully integrated into the class.

She was quite popular; many girls liked to hang around her, and the boys often stole glances at her.

It was a good trend. If she continued to work hard in this direction, she could gradually increase her popularity in other grades.

It wouldn’t be impossible to surpass Olesia in the final Popularity Election.

Her popularity within her own class had plateaued, so it was time to find a way to improve the favorability of students in other grades.

How should she go about it?

While Yuriko was still pondering a solution, Carmilla lowered her head, seemingly shy.

She peeked at Yuriko twice before summoning her courage.

“Ruri, the Cultural Class test is tomorrow. Do you want to come to my house to study together?”

After saying this, she nervously gripped the hem of her skirt, worried that Yuriko might reject her.

“Huh?”

Yuriko’s train of thought was interrupted.

She snapped back to reality, taking a moment to process what Carmilla had said.

“Eh, go to your house to study?!”

Yuriko’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected to be invited to Carmilla’s home as a guest.

What was this? Was this her first invitation from a friend? Was she really going to a girl’s bedroom to study together?

Yuriko’s heart started thumping.

Even though it was just a simple invitation between friends, the one inviting her was Carmilla!

“If you don’t want to, it’s okay. I won’t mind…”

Carmilla said she didn’t mind, but her tone clearly dropped, and her entire aura seemed to be shrouded in a gray mist.

Yuriko quickly grabbed her hand.

“No, I want to go! Please, definitely let me go!”

As Yuriko held her hand, Carmilla’s disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by a bright smile.

“Ruri, no need to be so excited. My house doesn’t have much. It’s actually quite boring.”

“Hehe, I’m really looking forward to it. This is the first time a friend has invited me over!”

“Is that so? Then I’ll honorably take Ruri’s first time~”

‘Take my first time? Why does that sound so scandalous?’

Yuriko shook her head. She must be overthinking it.

Carmilla was so pure; how could she say something like that?

It sounded like something Yuri would say.

She was probably just happy to be the first person to invite her.

“Are your parents home? Should I bring some gifts?”

“No need. We’re just going there to study, not for a New Year’s visit. Just come empty-handed,” Carmilla said.

Besides, bringing gifts for a first visit… wouldn’t that look like she was meeting the parents?

“True. Then I’ll just be thick-skinned and go empty-handed!”

Yuriko rubbed her hands together, feeling a bit of anticipation for tonight’s study session.

‘I’m a little nervous. Phantom, what do you think Carmilla’s room looks like?’

‘I don’t know, meow. I’ve only ever been in your room.’

‘Useless kitten.’

‘Then take her down tonight and make her your woman.’

‘What are you talking about? She just invited me to study!’

‘Useless human.’

‘You actually used my own line against me!’

***

Yuriko followed Carmilla to her home.

Carmilla lived in an ordinary residential building.

It wasn’t a high-end neighborhood, but the environment was quite nice.

It had all the necessary infrastructure and was close to a market and a supermarket, making it a very convenient area.

“Little Mila is back! Are you bringing a friend over to play?”

Yuriko looked toward the source of the voice and saw a woman speaking to Carmilla.

“Yes, Aunt Maren. We have a test tomorrow, so we’re planning to study together today.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen Little Mila bring a friend back. Oh, take these. We bought too many, and we can’t finish them all.”

The woman stuffed a bag of vegetables into Carmilla’s arms.

“Thank you, Aunt Maren~”

“What’s there to thank? If anything, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t helped last time, that old man of mine would have been in real trouble with his back… Oh, you have a classmate with you today, so I won’t chatter on. Get going, you two.”

After bidding farewell to the woman, Carmilla was stopped by an elderly lady.

After a brief conversation, the lady handed Carmilla several pieces of beautiful bread.

Along the way, Carmilla continued to greet neighbors until they reached her building.

By then, her arms were full of gifts from neighbors, and even Yuriko was carrying quite a few items.

“That’s a lot. You’ve basically become the darling of this street, haven’t you?”

“The darling?”

“It means a child who is loved by everyone.”

“Perhaps.”

Carmilla’s eyes dimmed imperceptibly for a moment before she put on her usual cheerful smile.

“Let’s go up. My arms are getting sore; I can barely hold onto these!”

“Mm.”

They arrived at the door.

When Carmilla opened it, a small figure rushed forward to meet them.

“Sister!”

Yuriko peeked from behind Carmilla and saw a young child.

“Is this your younger brother?”

“Yes. This is Cole. He’s 7 years old.”

Yuriko observed the boy named Cole and felt that he didn’t look much like Carmilla.

Seeing a stranger, Cole hid behind Carmilla in fear, cautiously peering at Yuriko.

Once he saw Yuriko’s appearance clearly, he tugged on his sister’s sleeve and asked, “Sister, is she the pretty sister you were talking about?”

“That’s right.”

Carmilla patted his head.

Cole stepped out from behind Carmilla, his fear mostly gone.

He called out to Yuriko, “Hello, Sister Ruri.”

“Hello to you too.”

A middle-aged woman walked out from the kitchen.

Hearing the commotion, she came to check.

When she saw a beautiful girl with pink hair standing at the door, she dazed for a moment.

She noticed the Shengxiu Academy uniform and realized this was Carmilla’s classmate.

“Carmilla, is this your friend?”

“Yes. This is my friend Ruri. We have a test tomorrow, so I brought her over to study together.”

“Hello, Auntie~”

Yuriko greeted politely.

At the same time, Yuriko noticed that this woman didn’t look like Carmilla either, though she did resemble the younger brother, Cole.

‘Did Carmilla inherit her looks from her father?’

Yuriko imagined what Carmilla’s father looked like.

‘Could he be a feminine-looking man?’