Roshidere V3 C1

The feeling when a two rom-coms conflict

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TL: NaCl

Note: Our FanTLs for V3 to V5 were done a year prior to V6 and onwards, and are of lower quality. We recommend buying the official translation and reading those volumes there when it comes out.

“Yo~ Kuze! Last week’s debate was great, you know!”

“Heard that you beat that Taniyama-san? I didn’t expect that…. If only I didn’t have a tutoring schedule, I would’ve gone to watch him too.”

On Monday after the debate. As Masachika entered the classroom, he was greeted by voices of curiosity and admiration from his classmates.

“That’s too bad. You really should have seen it.”

“Seriously though, yesterday’s debate was a very fierce battle. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be such an interesting debate.”

Apparently, even before Masachika arrived, his classmates were already talking about the topic. Suffice to say, last week’s debate had already become a topic among the students.

“When I first heard Taniyama-san’s argument, I honestly thought that she had already won.”

“That’s right, especially since your side didn’t say anything during the question and answer session after that.”

“Hey, how far did your strategy go?”

“Well, at least let me put my things away first…”

Masachika then went to his seat, and smiled wryly at his classmates who crowded around him excitedly.

(No, if you’re so curious, why don’t you just ask the other participant…)

While doing tsukkomi inwardly, he glanced at the other person in question… or rather, Kujou Alisa’s figure to be precise. She was one of the other main stars of the debate, but there was no one around her.

This showed how reluctant others were who wanted to talk to her.

(Well, it’s not that I don’t understand their feelings… But as long as she wants to run for student council president, this problem should not be allowed to continue.)

Let alone having to win the support of the students in the Student Council elections, she couldn’t even communicate well with her classmates.

Therefore, Masachika decided to forcibly involve Alisa in the topic of conversation.

“Good morning, Alya”

“Yes, good morning.”

As usual, the textbooks were spread out in the hands of Alisa who looked up at her face and returned Masachika’s greeting. Although her classmates were talking about them, Alisa was preparing her textbooks without paying any attention to it.

(Maybe she doesn’t know how to react to stories about herself, but… the classmates were also at a loss as to what to talk about with her.)

While laughing inwardly at his partner who was still awkward in her relationship issues, Masachika said as he pointed at the group of people behind him..

“Looks like they want to hear your heroic story from last week.”

“Eh?”

Masachika put down his bag and looked back at his classmates, who looked just as confused as Alisa, then raised her hand and said.

“In that case, ask Alya for details. Because I have a gacha session waiting for me.”

“““Ooi!””

His classmates could only smile wryly as Masachika took out his smartphone with a serious face. Regardless of their reactions, Masachika quickly switched to his smartphone and actually started the game app.

“Alya, then. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Uh, wait a minute─”

Across from Masachika, a confused Alisa and her classmates were facing each other. While her classmates exchanged glances to see who would speak first, Masachika silently glanced at Hikaru who was sitting in the seat in front of her. Accurately understanding the intent of his gaze, Hikaru called out to Alisa with a wry smile on his face.

“Kujou-san, did you think of that argument yourself at the debate yesterday? Or was it the result of a discussion with Masachika?”

“Eh? Ah… I did think of it myself. But I also got input from Kuze-kun…”

“Oh, I see. I was very surprised. It turns out Kujou-san can give a speech well.”

“Th-Thank you?”

After Hikaru spoke to her, the other classmates gradually started talking to Alisa.

Once they started talking, their curiosity outweighed their reluctance to talk to each other, and the conversation quickly developed.

“Was that also your strategy of not asking anything during the question and answer session?”

“That’s right. We’ve already decided about that beforehand.”

“Then, why did Kuze suddenly take over?”

“Regarding that, I didn’t expect it either…”

Despite her unfamiliarity, Alisa still tried to answer each of their questions and Masachika nodded inwardly in satisfaction as he looked at the gacha game on his screen.

With Alisa at the center, the class 1-B group looked very lively and festive, but… when a male student said something, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

“But it’s unfortunate. Taniyama-san suddenly ran away in the middle of the debate. Somehow it feels a bit disappointing, doesn’t it~?”

He was probably feeling happy because he got a rare chance to talk with Alisa, the prettiest girl in the entire year, and said that with the intention of putting her in a good mood.

Then some of the other male students chimed in, and blatantly created a conversation that put Sayaka down.

“That’s right. Even though she challenged herself, she just ran away in the middle of the road, that’s not cool at all.”

“That’s right~ running away when faced with an enemy, that’s really lame.”

“In the question and answer session, it was completely in Kujou-san’s favor.”

“Probably since she’s never lost a debate, could she be a little vulnerable?”

In their imaginations, they expected Alisa’s reaction to be something like

“Well, she’s not as great as rumored” … but actually, Alisa’s reaction upon hearing that.

“…”

She quietly pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. The classmates around her looked puzzled by her unexpected reaction and dissatisfied face. In the unexpected silence and slightly awkward atmosphere, Alisa stood up from her seat.

“Kuze-kun, come with me for a moment”

“Hmm? Oh.”

When his name was suddenly called, Masachika stood up from her seat, then put his cell phone in his pocket, and pretended to have just realized something.

“Ah, oh yeah~ we have some business about the student council. Sorry, you can ask again later.”

After giving an excuse to his classmates, he then chased after Alisa who was leaving the classroom.

Masachika followed Alisa silently as she walked quickly, and finally called out to her when she had entered the student council room.

“So, what happened?”

When Masachika asked, Alisa raised her eyebrows silently. However, Masachika somehow knew the cause of Alisa’s annoyance.

“Are you that unhappy to see Taniyama being demonized?”

“…After all, Taniyama-san has her reasons─”

“She challenged us to an argument and ran away in the middle of the debate. What our classmates are saying is nothing wrong.”

“But, that…!”

Alisa shouted involuntarily, but she was unable to utter a single word, and only pursed her lips in frustration.

“Haa…”

“…”

Masachika accurately guessed what Alisa wanted to say. He then sighed. This situation was too awkward. 

“…It is true that we know the reason behind Taniyama’s actions. We also know why she walked out of the auditorium in the middle of the debate. That’s why, I can understand why you felt upset when you heard that there were many who mocked her by saying things along the lines of ‘Even though she herself challenged the debate, she herself ran away.’”

“….”

“But clearly, we have fought fairly and openly. So, no matter what others say about Taniyama, we don’t need to worry about it. Right?”

“I understand that. But the truth is, we still haven’t won. The debate yesterday… was a bit like an invalid debate, wasn’t it?”

Still, she was not satisfied. Alisa knew that the root cause of Sayaka’s behavior was because she was paired with Masachika. She did not want to admit it. The victory she achieved was obtained in an ambiguous way. Because she had high and noble self-esteem.

“Then, what do you want to do? For example… yes, just think of this as a trial. If we somehow announce that the debate yesterday was an invalid match and restore the honor of Taniyama… Then, the victory we achieved would also be a waste, right? To raise the honor of the loser is to lower the honor of the winner.”

“…..”

“Moreover, we don’t know if Taniyama herself wants such a thing. You could say that the winner’s pity and helping hand is an act of trampling on the last pride of the loser. After all, the person who declared defeat was Miyamae, Taniyama’s partner.”

“…I know.”

As Masachika explained calmly, Alisa still maintained her dissatisfied expression. She might understand, but she still didn’t accept it.

Rationally speaking, the right course of action for Masachika and Alisa is to “feign ignorance” about this matter. They should sincerely accept Nonoa’s statement of defeat and act as the winner with an unconcerned face.

That’s what Masachika thought and Alisa knew very well that it was probably the right thing to do.

However, Masachika didn’t scold Alisa by saying “you’re so stubborn” or “if you don’t like it, just do as you please”, but he just quietly watched Alisa who seemed to be in a dilemma.

(Oh, how beautiful… she’s too dazzling)

If it was just to win the election, He could have given various reasons to convince Alisa. But for Masachika… there’s more to it than that. He wanted to protect Alisa’s radiance. He wanted to make Alisa as student council president in a way that she could accept. Therefore….

“Well, even if you think about it rationally… I don’t care about that.”

“Eh?”

“What matters is what you want to do. Come on, don’t hold it in with that sullen face, you can let it all out.”

He just wanted to convince her of this matter. So when Masachika said that to her in a teasing tone, Alisa looked annoyed.

“What do I want to do… That’s right, I want to help Taniyama-san. But that─”

“Hmm, alright. Let’s do that.”

“Eh?”

Alisa looked surprised as Masachika casually shrugged her shoulders and accepted it without hesitation.

“…Is that okay? As you said, Taniyama-san probably doesn’t want it… this is just for my own satisfaction, you know? Besides, your efforts in the debate will also be in vain…”

“I don’t mind. Instead of continuing to stall over this matter, it’s better to resolve it quickly and have a pleasant closing ceremony.”

Alisa apologized with a guilty face as Masachika said so without hesitation.

“…I really apologize. For saying something so troublesome.”

“Don’t think about it too much…. I told you, didn’t I? That I will ‘support you.’”

Alisa recalled Masachika’s words. The promise Masachika had made on that day “I’ll stand by your side” he said.

“Kuze-kun…”

In front of Masachika who scratched his head and averted his gaze because he realized he was blushing, something came up from deep inside Alisa’s heart.

As if to confirm what this feeling was, Alisa clasped her hands tightly against her chest.

The uncontrollable emotion in her eyes was shown to Masachika. However, Masachika who was receiving such an intense and passionate gaze…. was thinking that now was not the time for that.

Because he realized something. As he looked away toward the window of the student council room to hide her embarrassment, there was something…. reflected behind the President’s desk. There were two figures lurking there.

(Someone peeping.)

The peeping toms are the President and Vice President.

They are the two most famous lovebirds in the school. The big Touya and the tall Chisaki were pressed up against each other under the table. Of course, the closeness between them has reached the MAX level.

(Isn’t their situation very much like a romantic comedy…)

Masachika put aside his own situation and swallowed his saliva with a shivering.

(What is this… about that? The situation where they were alone together, then heard the sound of people coming and hurriedly hid, but only just realized “Eh? Don’t we need to hide at all?”, that kind of situation. Instead of hiding in the locker, they hide under the table. They’re a true baka-couple…!)

By now, Masachika guessed that they must have exchanged conversations like, ‘Hey-Hey, don’t touch me in weird places!’ and ‘Ouch! What is, can’t be helped, right? After all, the place is cramped anyway!’

If everything continues in this order, then their breathing would be close together, their bodies would start sweating, and their hearts would beat fast. No one can stop them and they will go as far as they can.

(So that’s it, the main event is over there huh? Hmm, then as a good kouhai, I should come out with an indifferent face when the time is right, and leave as if I did not see a thing. You could say that I’ll be the guy who would set the stage for the main show, like a stage prop.)

Having drawn such a conclusion with an otaku-style way of thinking with full full capacity, Masachika then turned to Alisa…. but he was taken aback at the sight of Alisa, who had the expression of a love-struck girl. 

(Hmm!? Uh, what the hell!? Isn’t this a romantic comedy event too!? Guh, damn it. I drew the wrong conclusion!! This is… not just a close encounter between two people who are hiding, both physically and mentally but it’s also an event that makes you feel excited because of the romantic comedy vibe!! Besides being the trigger to bring them closer, we also made them make out more!!)

As Masachika’s train of thought drifted towards 2D, Alisa closed the distance between them. She looked at Masachika with a passionate gaze. She even cupped her hands in front of her chest.

(Ah, this is useless. Everything is useless. At this rate, I’ll inevitably need to change the atmosphere by force!!)

Driven by an overwhelming sense of crisis, Masachika decided to make a forbidden genre change. That’s right, from the romantic comedy genre to a serious one.

“So, how long are you going to keep hiding? President, Chisaki-senpai”

When Masachika uttered the sentence that always tops the list if you’re an otaku, Alisa made an “Eh?” expression, and at the same time, there was a thud from under the President’s desk

(Ah, they bumped their heads)

As if it was none of her business, Masachika looked at Touya who was standing with an awkward expression. with an awkward expression. Soon after, Chisaki also stood up, her eyes glancing here and there.

“Oh….. sorry, we missed the time to show ourselves.”

“That’s right, that’s right, we were looking for something that fell to the floor, but we couldn’t reveal ourselves because it looked like you guys were talking about something serious….”

Chisaki tried to make up a far-fetched excuse, but Masachika did not reply to her excuses with a tsukkomi. He thought it was not the time for that.

“Hmm… in that case, how about we both pretend that we did not hear or saw what just happened?”

“Ah, well. Alright, agreed. Let’s do that.”

“Then, let’s go, Alya.”

After quickly agreeing to the interests of two relatively calm people, Masachika left the student council room with Alisa. After closing the door and heaved a sigh of relief ….. suddenly, his gaze met Alisa’s. Instantly, Alisa stepped back while making a blushing face.

“Ah, uhm, I…”

Her anxiety became even more obvious as she spoke quietly. Alisa, who couldn’t take it anymore, started to turn her body around and exclaimed.

“I-I have something to do…!”

Then, uncharacteristically, Alisa hurried away on a run. As for Masachika who was left behind… he stared at the ceiling of the hallway while tilting his head and muttering. “Hmm~”.

“I wonder if I should stick my ear in the door and eavesdrop on what’s going on inside… If this was a scene in a manga, the door would open with a loud noise and shout, “Since when have you been there!?”, but I have a feeling that Chisaki-senpai will find out….”

Masachika muttered to himself, and thought seriously as he looked at the door of the student council room over his shoulder. He was indeed a true reflection of an otaku …. Well, you could say that it’s just an escape from reality

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Uwaaahhh, check it out. Faimel’s new work is really cute, you know~”

“Ah, that’s really good~ I want it too~. But I don’t have that much allowance for this month.”

“Faimel? Ah, I might be able to get it through my acquaintances, you know? But that’s if you can advertise it on SNS.”

“Eh~ seriously? That’s great!”

“Oi oi, you have about 6,000 followers, right? Can’t you get that many?”

“My god! I don’t want to be told that by someone who doesn’t have a thousand followers~”

Lunch break. In the end, ever since the incident in the morning, Alisa had refused to talk to him, and gave off an aura of “Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me”, so Masachika went to visit class 1-D alone to resolve the situation. But…. Masachika was confused as soon as he saw the person he wanted to meet.

Based on the first letter of her surname, he thought that the person he was was sitting on a chair near the aisle, so Masachika thought that he could call out to him briefly from the window of the hallway… but apparently, that plan was still a bit naive.

(Damn it! What a strong riajuu aura…..! Useless. More than this….. I can’t get close….. !!)

(TN: Riajuu means extremely extroverted people.)

The person Masachika wanted to meet was Miyamae Nonoa, one half of the opponent from the debate from a few days ago.

She was the center of multiple people surrounding her. Besides Nonoa, there were four other students, two males and two girls, who, if you saw at a glance, were in the highest caste in the school.

Besides having beautiful and handsome faces from the start, they also dressed in a style that almost violated school rules. And they didn’t seem to feel guilty about dressing like that, as if to point out, “How can I possibly look stylish if I’m afraid of the teacher!” This external factor gave off a sparkling aura that deterred people from the middle and lower castes from approaching them. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Nonoa, who is the center of the group, was…

“Nee~ nee~, Nonoa. What do you think of this?”

“Hmm~?”

Playing with the smartphone on her chair with her eyes half-closed, without joining in the conversations of the people around her.

“This is Faimel’s new work. Doesn’t it look good~?”

“Ah~ is it? Hmm~ I used one of the products from the same series for the photo shoot the other day, but I felt that it wasn’t very good.”

“Eh~ really? Then it’s a no go, huh~?”

“Oi oi, it didn’t work out?”

“Yes. After all, Nonoa, who has seen the real thing, said so, right~” 

“That’s right~, oh yes Nonoa. Won’t you come to my house party this Sunday? One of my relatives is a fan of yours, you know.”

“Ehh~? Before the exam like this?”

Cronies… Yes, cronies. Both the boys and girls that crowded around her, and were trying to talk to her in an attempt to attract Nonoa’s attention. Meanwhile, Nonoa herself was only fiddling with her smartphone as she dealt with them. She looked like a queen with a crony trying to please her mood.

“Then, while studying too. Please!”

“Eh~”

“Hmmp~ Hasn’t Nonoa become more and more indifferent lately?”

When one of her cronies pouted, Nonoa who had been playing with her smartphone indifferently, suddenly put it away, then stood up from her chair, then smiled and hugged the girl.

“That’s a lie, I was just joking~. Party? Of course I’ll come~”

“Seriously? Yayy!”

“Really, seriously…”

Nonoa then released her embrace, and then turned to Masachika as she leaned out the window on the side of the hallway.

“Kuzecchi, is there anything you need?”

“Y-Yes. Well there’s something I want to talk about”

“I see~, we can’t talk here?”

“Well that’s the way it is. If you can…”

“Okay.”

Nonoa nodded without asking Masachika’s reasoning, and told the people around her.

“In that case, I’ll leave first for a while.”

“Ah yes”

“We can talk about it later.”

“See y a.”

“Have fun~”

The cronies looked at Masachika with various emotions, and then dispersed as if to say,

“If Nonoa isn’t here, I don’t care anymore..”

(They really are her cronies…)

As Masachika watched the scene with both dismay and admiration, Nonoa who came out of the classroom called out to her while ruffling her hair.

“So, where are we going? Do you want to go to the empty classroom?”

“Yes, that’s right… wait, your hairstyle today is even more absurd.”

Masachika’s cheeks twitched as she took a closer look at Nonoa’s hairstyle.

Nonoa always styled her own blonde hair to her liking, but today she was braiding her hair in various styles and ribbons in various places, which makes her look chaotic. Even so, the fact that the hairstyle didn’t look like a failure was impressive enough.

“Oh~ you mean this? When I handed it over to Shunacchi and Miacchi, for some reason~ it turned out like this. Oh yeah. While I’m wearing this style, let’s take a take a photo to upload to SNS~”

After saying that, she immediately took out her smartphone, raised it high, and took a selfie as if she was used to it.

Masachika was even a little impressed with the technique of creating poses and expressions that would look good in an instant, as well as her boldness in using her smartphone in the hallway, which was prohibited by school rules.

“Hmm, this looks good.”

“Uh-huh…then, this way. ”

“Okay~”

Once they reached the empty classroom, Nonoa leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, her eyes half-closed, and she didn’t seem as motivated as usual.

“So, what’s up? If this was a confession of love, it would be fine…but that’s not it, right?”

“Yes… well, if it’s a confession of love, you’d be fine with that?”

When Masachika couldn’t help but ask back to the statement that he couldn’t ignore, Nonoa tilted her head while fiddling with her hair. 

“Hmm~ right now I’m single anyway~? Well anyway, I don’t hate Kuzecchi either.”

“No, no, you should only go out with someone you like, not someone you don’t dislike.”

“If that’s what you mean, I’ve never once dated a person I liked.”

“It seems like I heard something astonishing just now oi.”

“What can I do, though? I don’t really understand the feeling of love.” 

Masachika lowered his eyebrows with mixed feelings to Nonoa who shrugged her shoulders casually as she said that.

“…I don’t intend to criticize your love life, but it’s better if you’d value yourself more, you know?” 

Hearing Masachika’s words, Nonoa, who had been acting indifferent, began to open her eyes and smiled somewhat happily.

“Aha, Sayacchi also said the same thing. Well, she even slapped my face.”

“…..Seriously? So it turns out she’s the type of person to do that, huh?”

“Ah..well, that’s just it~”

Masachika just sighed without expecting an answer from Nonoa, who turned her smile into a wry smile and averted her eyes.

“What have you done?”

“Hmm~? Well, with my boyfriend at that time? She caught us kissing in the classroom, or something like that? Even if it goes too far, maybe I could get to stage B or Something like that.”

(TN: In Japan there are 4 stages, A, B, C and D to describe the various different levels of sexual intimacy. A: Any form of mouth to mouth kissing, especially “French kissing.” B: Feeling or groping of breasts or genitalia, either through clothing or directly skin to skin. C: Oral stimulation or “fingering.” D: Sexual intercourse.)

“You, geez…”

“Ahha… You must think less of me now, huh?”

Masachika widened his eyes as he heard an unexpected answer that had a double meaning. Masachika swallowed and then said with a trembling voice to Nonoa who raised one eyebrow, and smiled ignorantly.

“Isn’t that clearly an encounter scene in Yuri genre manga?!”

“…This is actually one of the things I like about you, Kuzecchi~”

“That’s a scene from two pages of the first chapter. The bitchy President would look down on the girl who was making out with a guy in class, but for some reason, she can’t look away…”

“Oi~, wake up quickly~”

“Ah, yes…Uhumm.”

When Masachika coughed, Nonoa sighed and said while playing with her hair.

“Well, the love confession thing was just a joke…. I’ve been refraining from playing around with guys since I was told by Sayacchi.”

“So you’re saying that you were playing around with guys….. you’re still in 1st year of high school, right?”

“….So? What’s the matter?”

Masachika changed his expression as Nonoa looked at him with a carefree attitude and relaxed.

“Hmm…well, anyway. It’s about Taniyama…”

“Ah, I don’t know why Sayacchi is absent today. That girl, when she’s not in the mood, is always like this….. So what?”

“……At last week’s debate, there were many rumors circulating that Taniyama challenged us to a debate, but she herself ran away, right? I want to talk about whether we can suppress that rumor a bit.”

“…Hmm~? …. Is Kuzecchi the type to care about that?”

As Nonoa tilted her head, Masachika replied while raising his shoulders.

“My partner is the one who cares about it…”

“Ahh, I see~”

After nodding understandingly, Nonoa looked up at the ceiling with a mixed feelings of disbelief and admiration.

“That… is really a good trait.”

“Rather than being kind… she’s always serious, in various matters.”

“Even so, there’s no denying that she has a good nature”

After saying that and chuckling, Nonoa then became serious or rather gloomy.

“So, why are you bringing up this story to me? At the very least, I am your enemy, you know”

“Enemy, huh…”

“Kuzecchi must have realized this, right? I have infiltrated provocateurs and incited the audience.”

“Of course I know. Konda from class 1-A, Nagano from class 1-B, Satou and Kunieda from class 1-D, and Kinjou from class 1-F, right?”

Masachika’s words made Nonoa widen her eyes and the corner of her mouth twitched.

“…Seriously~? Inside that dark auditorium, you can see all the provocateurs in the audience from the stage?”

“I can only be about 70% sure. But after seeing your reaction earlier, I am already fully convinced.”

So you’ve already prepared your next plan in case you lose.”

Masachika just shrugged her shoulders as Nonoa grinned and looked up towards her. However, despite Masachika’s choice to remain silent, Nonoa still said her guess.

“Well, it seems like teachers are becoming more sensitive now because of the threats and bribery that happened in the election campaign a few years ago. If the rumor that I used dirty means to win the debate yesterday came up, the teachers couldn’t ignore it since the debate agenda was related to the management of the student council… The bigger the problem is, the more our reputation decreases, the more your reputation will increase, and vice versa. Moreover, the school will not implement the agenda proposed by the cheater. Really~ you thought of something extraordinary~”

“…Just because you lost the debate doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the student council president candidacy. As much as possible, I don’t want to use that method because it will ruin your reputation.”

“But I’ll use it when the time comes, right~? Uwaah, so scary, so scary. It’s a good thing I didn’t win.”

Masachika stared coldly at Nonoa, who kept saying that she was scared when in reality it was just plain sarcasm.

“From my point of view, you’re the scarier one. Daring to tell your friends to help you win dirty… at a time when you could lose all your friends.”

“Hmm~? Well, I’m not rejecting anyone who wants to be friends with me and not pursue those who want to stay away. To be honest, I’m not really interested in other friends besides Sayacchi. I don’t mind if they stay away? Something like that?”

With a very flat tone, Nonoa said something that was unexpected from a popular girl who was at the top of the school caste. However, Masachika didn’t seem too surprised and continued to ask.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about”

“Hmm~?”

“You said that you’re not interested in other friends besides Taniyama… In other words, you’re only interested in Taniyama, right? Why is that so? She’s the type of person who should be the most difficult person to understand, right?”

“Oh, that’s just the opposite. Because you don’t understand them, you find them attractive and want to be with them”

“Is that so?”

Nonoa suddenly approached Masachika, who tilted his head in confusion, and said with a suspicious smile. That was the end of their conversation.

“That’s how it will be. Then, I’ll see you again~”

“O-Oh.”

Then she immediately left the empty classroom. The unexpected turn of events made Masachika feel a little confused and he scratched his head.

(Oh~ well. If this was a manga I would be calling one of my sidekicks who were hiding in the shadows and tell them, “Follow her, but don’t let anyone see you.”)

Masachika’s otaku-style train of thought raced as he thought about the situation where he was having a discussion with the other party in an empty classroom, and the fact that there was someone in the student council room this morning when he thought it was empty. While laughing at himself, Masachika tried to call out the name of his childhood friend whose behavior was not much different from the manga he was thinking about.

“Ayano”

He immediately felt embarrassed and mumbled,

“What the hell am I doing?”

While trying to leave the classroom quickly…..

“Yes, Masachika-sama”

“Uooei!?”

…Masachika jumped in surprise when he heard a voice coming from behind his back.

He turned around and widened his eyes to see that Ayano was really there.

“Why are you here?!”

“Because Masachika-sama seemed to call out to me.”

Ayano said it as if it was a natural thing as she tilted her head. After hearing her words, Masachika’s confusion peaked.

(Because I called out to her?! Uh, what? Something like a summoning technique like that? If you’re summoned, you’ll move to my place? Or is this a typical ninja technique? Is she really a ninja?!)

Masachika was so confused that his cerebral train of thought became overloaded. Then, a new voice came from behind him.

“Oi oi, have you forgotten me already? Onii-chan~”

Turning around, he saw Yuki leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a stiff smile on her face. 

“Seriously, why are you two here!!!”

“Fufu~, let me explain. I confirmed that you were trying to make contact with your opponent, Nonoa… realizing that, I immediately preceded you and hid under the table.”

Yuki approached with one eye wide open and smiled fearlessly like a criminal.

In response, Masachika inwardly thought, “Again under the table?” and asked.

“Then, what happened exactly?”

“When we were playing around pretending to have a secret conversation in an empty classroom, you guys actually showed up and had one.”

“Seriously, you guys are way too free.”

The classroom door opened with a crunching sound as Masachika rolled his eyes.

“Kuze-kun? Are you inside?”

Probably because she could hear voices from inside. As Alisa tried to peek into the classroom… the expression on her face was instantly stunned when she saw the three of them.

“…Hmph.”

“Alya-san? This isn’t what it looks like, you know?”

“What? I don’t think it’s strange for three childhood friends to be together”

“So then what’s with the scary look?”

“That’s just your imagination. Then, please have fun.”

She then closed the classroom door. However, just before the door closed, Alisa muttered to herself with a slightly pouty expression.

【What the hell, why didn’t you invite me too?】

And that expression was immediately hidden behind the door.

“…”

Masachika, who was standing there frozen, felt that he had done something wrong, a mistake, even though he really didn’t do anything wrong. Yuki then spoke to him in a tone similar to that of a market thug.

“Aniki… I know that look. That’s the look she would make if she made a homemade bento to thank you for helping her with the debate, so she was probably searching all over for you, you know?”

“Don’t just make up your own story! You can see for yourself anyway, Alya didn’t bring a lunch box!”

“Well, maybe she put it in the courtyard or something, together with a vinyl mat like someone having a picnic.”

“Shut up!”

Yuki put her hands on the shoulders of Masachika who was shouting and gave a thumbs up with an annoying smile.

“How is it? You must feel guilty, right?”

“Yes, thanks to you!”

Ayano watched from a distance as the two siblings began to communicate like a comedic duo.

Her face was still as expressionless as ever, but the look in her eyes seemed to be seeing something precious. Even so, she who devoted herself to being the air, felt his steel resolve to never do something that interfered with their time together… unintentionally, Ayano felt like a fan watching over her favorite couple.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Nonoa realized that she was the type of person commonly referred to as a “psychopath.”

Since childhood, she had never experienced the ups and downs of emotions, and had never felt the sadness that almost brought her to tears, the anger that rage, or joy that made her dance. Although she felt uncomfortable, it was something she could control before expressing it.

For Nonoa who was like that, her childhood friend Sayaka had always been someone that she never understood. A rare beast that was usually obedient, but also sometimes went on sudden rampages. An existence that she could not understand at all, but she was fine with that.

Nonoa did not really understand human emotions. She could not even empathize. That was why she was able to calmly analyze her own actions and the reactions of others objectively, and then play the role of the person they wanted to be. What words to say, what facial expressions to make, and what actions to take.

Once she could understand it, Nonoa could control Sayaka with ease. Her parents also wanted her to be good friends with Sayaka. Let’s be friends naturally…or, so she thought. Until the events of that day ….

‘Don’t be such a cheap girl! You have to take care of yourself!!’

It was the first time that someone had actually gotten angry and slapped her.

For Nonoa, who had always acted like a good girl since she was a little girl, the sharp stare and his scathing words, as well as the stinging hot sensation on her cheek were new to her. She felt that her heart, which had never never felt anything no matter what kind of boy she touched,

was beating very fast.

“The meeting scene in Yuri’s manga, huh~… Maybe it really isn’t much different?”

While walking back to her class, Nonoa talked to herself while remembering her conversation with Masachika. Her face broke into a slight smile as she thought of how to restore Sayaka’s honor… But the truth was, she had already come up with a solution when discussing it with Masachika.

After finding the solution, Masachika might be able to predict her actions if she told the solution, so Nonoa immediately cut off the conversation and left Masachika.

(Even so… I’m sure that I only prepared 4 provocateurs, you know?)

Nonoa tilted her head slightly as she recalled the names of the five people that Masachika mentioned.

(Kinjou from class 1-F? If he’s not my supporter, then he’s purely anti-Kujosan huh~?)

Hmmm~ she tilted her head and made up her mind when the classroom was near.

(Well, this time we’ve inconvenienced Kujou-san and Kuzecchi, as a form of apology, maybe I’ll deal with Kinjou-kun later~)

Having decided so, Nonoa opened the classroom door and returned to her seat.

“Aah~ Nonoa is finally back”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time~. What did you talk about with Kuze from class 1-B?”

“Ah~ it’s about Sayacchi. Since Sayacchi didn’t come in today, he became curious and asked me.”

As soon as Nonoa answered the questions of her friends who immediately approached, they looked at her strangely.

“Taniyama? She didn’t come in today?”

“Is it because she lost the debate~? So she still hasn’t recovered from that?”

“Uh~ no, no. I’m the cause myself. I’m the one who caused Sayacchi to leave the debate halfway through.”

“E-Eh? What the heck is that?”

“The truth? How come I’ve never heard of it anyway!”

Seeing her friends’ gazes sparkling with curiosity, Nonoa…

“Oh~ actually during the debate the other day, it seems that Sayacchi found out that I infiltrated provocateurs in the audience? Something like that? And then Sayacchi said, she didn’t want to win in such a sneaky way. So she felt angry and didn’t want to continue the debate…”

…So she said in a manner that didn’t seem like a big deal.

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TOC

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