The next morning, Naruse's house.

After breakfast, Naoko was about to clean up, and Naruse wiped her mouth and stood up.

"I'll do it."

Naoko nodded and went back to her house.

After a short while, she came over with a bag to say goodbye, saying that she would return in the evening.

"Be careful on the road."

Seeing Naoko away, Naruse went back to the restaurant to take a look, and Matsu Chiaki was still eating breakfast.

"Don't go."

She stopped her son, who turned to leave, "Naoko is wearing a uniform, so she is going to school." ”

"Hmm."

"What are you doing at school?"

"Help." Naruse returned to the restaurant and sat down across from Matsuchiaki.

"Soon after the start of school, it is a cultural festival, and many clubs have been preparing since the summer vacation, and the club that Naoko joins seems to be quite busy every year."

"What club?" Matsu Qianqiu asked.

"Handicraft Society."

She drank the miso soup, put down the bowl and threw out another question: "Why didn't Haruhi go to school with her?" ”

"I don't know anyone except Naoko, what are you going to do." "And I haven't officially enrolled yet, so if I want to enter the school openly, I have to apply for an admission permit, which is too troublesome." ”

Song Qianqiu nodded as he chewed, probably agreeing with his reason.

"In this case, Chunhai will stay at home and read the script with his mother during the day."

Naruse immediately frowned.

"What an expression!"

"I'm waiting to wash the dishes."

......

Prefectural Tsu high, sub-building, department office of handicraft society.

"It's so early, Naoko."

Naoko looked up and smiled at the visitor.

"Good morning, Ogawa-senpai."

Rina Ogawa smiled, put down her satchel, and said, "I'm really sorry, the summer vacation is not over yet, so I asked you to come over to help." ”

Naoko shook her head, "It's a convention after all, and I don't have anything to do." ”

"yes, that's good. How is everything? ”

Naoko wanted to answer more calmly, but a smile flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth.

"It's fun."

"It's rare to see Naoko reveal her emotions so bluntly." Rina Ogawa looked at her with a little surprise, "Did anything good happen?" ”

"There's an important friend who has come back from a long way away."

"I see...... Then I'm happy for you, too. ”

"Thank you."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

During the chat, other members of the handicraft club came over one after another, both in the first and second grades, and most of them were girls.

"Good morning~"

"Everybody's here early."

"Good morning, Minister, Senior Sister Takahashi!"

Every year, the main activity of the handicraft club is to display a variety of carefully crafted handicrafts.

The works are large and small, and the styles and types are also different, and they are never repeated;

Some highlight the ingenuity of the designer, some are ingenious in the choice of materials, and some attract attention mainly with the staggering amount of work, which is often represented by the joint efforts of the craft society in the past – which has become a cultural festival practice.

Today, most of the staff are gathered here to assist in the completion of this huge work.

This year's work is a paper apple tree, with its main branches, branches, leaves, and even fruits, completely made of waste paper recycled during the summer vacation.

The final assembled paper apple tree will be more than three meters tall, and during the three days of the school festival, the giant paper apple tree will be placed in the school atrium for all to see.

Neither design nor assembly is something for Naoko, as she does the rest of the first-year members, she simply folds the waste paper into the specified shape.

Origami is not difficult, after dozens of times, only boring repetition remains, and the only consolation is that there are many people with boring boredom.

"My hands are sore......"

A first-year girl rubbed her wrist and leaned towards Naoko, then swept her gaze and roughly counted the folded part in front of her, "Naoko's speed seems to be a little slow." ”

"No ......"

Shang Zi was just about to explain, when a second-grade senior sister on the opposite side looked over, "Don't be lazy in the first grade." ”

"Yes—"

The two of them replied together and looked at each other again.

"I'm sorry ......"

"It's fine." Naoko shook her head and picked up another folded part to show her, "Since you want to assemble it into a big apple tree, the structure must be stable." Folding two more passes here will not change the shape of the joint, but it will make the weight it bears a little higher. ”

"Ah...... It seems so. ”

"- first-graders, don't make small talk." It's that senior sister again.

Even a few first-grade girls also cast an inexplicable gaze in this direction.

"Too harsh, Takahashi."

It was Rina Ogawa who stood up to speak for them, "It's still summer vacation." ”

Without waiting for the second-grade girl to respond, Ogawa said, "But time is a little tight, you two should also pay a little attention." ”

"Yes—"

After the two answered, they looked at each other quietly, and the girl who took the initiative to talk just now quickly and covertly stuck out her tongue, and Naoko just smiled.

Fold another one, she held it in her hand and looked at it for a while, hesitating whether to make suggestions for improvement to the seniors of the club, and suddenly noticed that there was a probe at the door of the club.

It's a girl.

Naoko looked at the red tie on her chest, a first-year girl. She was a little impressed, but she didn't speak.

"Is there something wrong?"

Rina Ogawa, who was closest to the door, also found the man, so she naturally got up and went over.

"The ......"

After saying a few words to the visitor at the door, she suddenly turned her head to look at Naoko, thoughtful.

"She's a little busy right now, or you can ...... it privately at noon"

"-Rina, what's wrong?"

Seeing that she hadn't solved it for a long time, another second-year girl in the department spoke.

"Minister's ......"

Rina Ogawa sighed in her heart and looked at Naoko, "It's looking for Naoko." ”

Naoko was a little surprised, quickly glanced at the people in the department who had different reactions, and got up and came to the door.

When she saw the puppet in the first grade girl's hand, she understood everything.

"That, this flower-sama-san, I heard from the classmates that this flower-san is very good at mending rags, so I want you to help repair it......"

"I'll see."

Naoko took the puppet and flipped it over, with several holes the size of a fingernail in her belly and back.

"Can it be patched?"

"It's not a big problem."

Naoko nodded, and after the other party showed a relieved smile, she said, "But I don't have time right now." Can I take it back and fix it and bring it back tomorrow? ”

"Mm-hmm, of course."

Rina Ogawa didn't go in, and watched with her arms crossed, and didn't nod until the first-year girl thanked the two before leaving.

"Now the whole Tsugao knows that there is a girl in the handicraft club who is very good at repairing these little things."

Naoko smiled.

"It's fine usually, but now it'......"

Rina Ogawa didn't continue, but she knew that Naoko could understand what she meant.

"I understand. I'm not going to waste your time. ”

"Since I'm here to help, why delay it."

Rina Ogawa patted her on the back, "Go in, I'll explain to the minister." ”

"Thank you."

Naoko nodded, then remembered what she had just discovered.

"Wait a minute, Ogawa-senpai......"

After listening to Naoko's words, Rina Ogawa followed her back to her position, picked up a folded part and looked at it carefully for a while.

"That's true."

She thought about it, walked over to Ritsuko Sugiyama, the minister, with the origami parts, and bent down to explain it to her.

"If you fold it twice, it won't change the shape, but it will increase the strength a lot...... When it comes to assembling...... No, no, the apple tree is three meters tall when assembled, and Ritsuko doesn't want it to fall...... Although it's a bit of trouble, it's not ...... yet."

The two discussed for a while, Rina Ogawa returned to her place and sat down, and Ritsuko Sugiyama stood up.

"Everyone, please stop—"

Everyone looked over.

After explaining this way, Ritsuko Sugiyama finally said:

"Please take apart the folded parts and fold them again in the way you just explained."

"Huh-"

"This matter is related to whether it can be successfully assembled in the end, and you can't be lazy."

"Yes......"

After a weak response, the members of the handicraft club could only temporarily stop what they were doing and re-disassemble the parts that had been completed before.

Although Minister Ritsuko Sugiyama did not say it explicitly, everyone saw the process of Rina Ogawa discussing with her, and Rina Ogawa took an origami part from Naoko, and naturally, Naoko became the "culprit" in the eyes of some people.

"Ah~"

A first-grade girl sitting diagonally across from Naoko suddenly made a strange noise.

"I thought I could finish it all in two days, but now it seems that it can't be done, and there is really not enough time."

"That is......" someone next to him chimed in.

As she spoke, the two of them cast a lot of glances at Naoko's side, intentionally or unintentionally, but she just lowered her eyes and continued to fold.

As for the senior sister who reminded the first grade not to chat, she just glanced at Naoko at this time and ignored it.

"Naoko ......"

The girl next to Naoko looked at her with some concern.

"It's fine."

She shook her head, indicating that she didn't care.

"Actually, I'm a little envious of them."

"Eh, what?"

Naoko smiled and shook her head again.

If only she could be like them, venting her emotions without any scruples.

"Nothing."