The mission had been interrupted at the last moment. All that effort had gone to waste, and I was very unhappy.
"Sorry." The short-haired girl trembled, her voice timid. "I left my keys in the classroom, so I came back to get them... Sorry to bother you. I'll leave right away."
"Stop."
Shinomiya Kaguya's cool voice rang through the classroom.
The girl, who had been about to run away, flinched and turned around pitifully, her eyes misting over with fear.
"The classroom is a public place." Shinomiya Kaguya gently pressed her fingers to her brow and closed her eyes. "Take your keys before you leave."
"Thank you, Kaguya-classmate."
The short-haired girl's eyes lit up. She hurried to her seat, took out her keys, and held them against her chest with both hands. Her tone was resolute. "Don't worry. I'll keep the fact that you and Amamiya-classmate are dating a secret. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Wait, when did I start dating Kaguya-classmate?" Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help opening his eyes. "Don't make things up."
It was just a mission. It had nothing to do with dating.
Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest and said, "We're not dating either."
The short-haired girl blinked, her face wearing the gossipy look of someone thinking, "You can't fool me." "But Amamiya-classmate was just patting Kaguya-classmate's head."
What was wrong with patting her head?
If patting someone's head meant they were dating, then patting someone's foot would mean you had to marry her!
"You saw wrong," Amamiya Natsuki said firmly.
"Huh?" The short-haired girl froze, then instinctively argued, "I saw it clearly just now. You were—"
Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was faint and chilly. "You did see wrong."
"S-sorry!"
The short-haired girl turned and fled.
Both of them were so scary.
The classroom fell silent again.
"This is the one." Amamiya Natsuki showed her the ladybug in his hand, then tossed it out the window. "The mission isn't complete, right?"
"No."
"We'll have to try again." Amamiya Natsuki sighed. "The classroom's a bit risky. It hasn't been long since school let out, so another student might come back."
Shinomiya Kaguya's slender brows furrowed slightly.
She hadn't joined a club, so she didn't have an activity room to use. At the moment, she had nowhere to go.
She really would have to run for the Student Council after all.
Once she had an office, she could close the door and wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting them.
"Let's rest for a bit." Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was cool and composed, and the blush on her face gradually faded. "We can try again in half an hour."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded, took a book from his schoolbag, and began to read attentively.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
The school grew quieter. They hadn't heard footsteps in the hallway for quite a while.
"Try again?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.
"Let's."
Shinomiya Kaguya raised her eyes to him.
It was hard not to feel nervous the first time their eyes met. The second time had gone much better, and now that they were trying a third time, Amamiya Natsuki was completely relaxed.
Gazing into the Ice Sculpture Girl's beautiful ruby-red eyes, Amamiya Natsuki felt at ease and took the chance to admire them.
Their eyes met.
A blush quietly rose once more on the girl's snow-white skin.
This time, nothing went wrong, and the mission was completed perfectly.
"My eyes hurt." Amamiya Natsuki let out a long breath, stood up, and headed for the door. "See you tomorrow, Kaguya-classmate. I'm going home."
"...See you tomorrow."
As Amamiya Natsuki left, a blonde girl with a side ponytail suddenly slipped in through the door. Her movements were silent and mysterious, and she had a lollipop between her lips.
"Young Lady, it's time to go home."
Shinomiya Kaguya rubbed her brow and opened her eyes, her voice cool and composed. "Where's the information I asked you to investigate?"
"Mm, here."
The blonde girl with the side ponytail took a file out of her schoolbag.
Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze lowered slightly to the file. Right in the middle was a photograph of Amamiya Natsuki.
Age.
Birthday.
Home address.
Parents' identities.
School...
"He has a Childhood Sweetheart, too?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze sharpened, and her slender brows arched slightly.
"It's Yotsuya Miko, who's in my class," the blonde girl explained around her lollipop. "She's Amamiya-classmate's neighbor. They went to middle school together and seem quite close. They might start dating officially any day now."
"..."
Seeing Shinomiya Kaguya frown and fall silent, the blonde girl took two books from her schoolbag. As she sucked on her lollipop, she said:
"I picked up a book at the bookstore while I was investigating. Young Lady might want to take a look."
"What book?"
Shinomiya Kaguya looked over curiously and widened her eyes slightly. The cover plainly read...
The Manual for Raising a Loyal Dog Boyfriend
<How to Make a Tokyo Rich Lady Fall for You in One Hundred Days>
"Loyal Dog Boyfriend Cultivation Manual... There's really a book like this?!"
Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes widened.
It was the first time she'd come across the term "loyal dog boyfriend," but she understood what it meant. If you raised your boyfriend to be a loyal dog, was he really a boyfriend—or a pet?
"Where there's demand, there's a market." The blonde girl pulled the lollipop from her mouth with a soft pop. As she twirled a lock of hair around her pale fingers, she casually stuck out her pink tongue and licked the candy. Her voice was calm. "At the bookstore, I also saw <How to Make a Tokyo Rich Lady Fall for You in One Hundred Days> and <Step-by-Step Guide to Conquering the Neighbor's Wife>..."
"Wait, did a strange title sneak in there?"
Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help exclaiming.
A Tokyo rich lady was one thing, but a guide to conquering the neighbor's wife was just too much!
"Don't worry about the details." The blonde girl tilted her head toward her. "Young Lady's a love-struck novice with absolutely no experience, so it's important for you to study the methods in these books. Otherwise, you'll have to watch the boy you like get snatched away."
"You're imagining things." Shinomiya Kaguya's pretty face flushed slightly as she protested loudly. "I don't like him."
"Being loud doesn't make you more convincing." The blonde girl leaned against the door. "Young Lady's been so lovesick over that boy these past few days that you've barely eaten or slept. You've even got dark circles under your eyes."
"That's because..."
Shinomiya Kaguya bit her lower lip.
When she'd encountered the supernatural incident two days ago, she'd told Hayasaka about it right away. But Hayasaka hadn't believed her at all. Without proof, there was no point in saying anything.
"Forget it. Let's go home." Shinomiya Kaguya's voice settled into a calm tone.
"Are you going to read this book?" the blonde girl asked lightly. "If not, I'll throw it away."
Shinomiya Kaguya paused, then silently took the book and put it in her schoolbag, her expression cool and composed.
"Don't litter."
A loyal dog boyfriend was beside the point. The book was bound to contain ways to make use of other people, and she might be able to learn something from it.
That's right.
She was reading it only so she could make better use of that man!
"..."
On the way home.
Amamiya Natsuki ran into Miko and Yurikawa Hana.
"Good afternoon, Amamiya-classmate." The blonde girl waved happily, her bright smile a world apart from Miko's listless expression. "Let's study together again today?"
"Haah..."
Miko raised a hand to cover her mouth and yawned. The dark circles under her eyes seemed even worse than before.
Amamiya Natsuki walked over to the two girls and looked at Miko. "Didn't sleep well again last night?"
"No."
Yotsuya Miko bit her lower lip unhappily.
Vengeful Spirits could walk through walls. Locking the door was completely useless. They were even more obnoxious than flies and mosquitoes.
After Amamiya Natsuki had left the previous night, Yotsuya Miko had planned to get a good night's sleep. But then an evil spirit with a face covered in eyes walked through the door and, right in front of her, crawled under the bed as if she wasn't even there.
She couldn't look.
She absolutely couldn't look.
Yotsuya Miko had no idea how long she lay there before she finally fell asleep. It was no surprise her dark circles had gotten worse.
They chatted as they walked, and soon reached the entrance to her house.
"Let's study at Natsuki-classmate's house today?" Yurikawa Hana raised her right hand and spoke in a clear voice.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at her and drawled, "It's dangerous to go to a strange boy's house."
"That's okay. Natsuki-classmate and I are already friends." Yurikawa Hana smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around Miko's. "Besides, Miko will be there too. Natsuki-classmate definitely won't bully me."
Miko gave her a dead-eyed look and spoke listlessly. "Sorry, I'll pretend not to notice."
"Huh? That's so mean."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki took out his key and opened the door. "Come in. The slippers are in the shoe cabinet. Change into a pair."
Yotsuya Miko often came over to hang out, so she answered and changed into a pair of fish slippers.
"Thank you, Natsuki-classmate."
Yurikawa Hana was quite polite. After taking off her shoes, she carefully lined up all three pairs, then happily petted the dog.
"What would you like to drink?" Amamiya Natsuki opened the fridge. "There's barley tea, oolong tea, and cola."
Amamiya Natsuki paused.
Seeing a Head Spirit lying in the fridge had to be said to be quite a shock.
"Barley tea."
"Oolong tea."
The two girls answered quickly.
Amamiya Natsuki kept a straight face and activated his Evil Spirit Repellent aura. The Head Spirit in the fridge let out a hollow shriek, then began to dissolve into a gray mist.
Breaking into someone's home was bad enough, but it had even hidden in the fridge to scare people. Great Might Heavenly Dragon!
He took out the drinks and handed them to Miko and Yurikawa Hana, then led the two girls upstairs and into his room.
"Sorry to intrude."
Yurikawa Hana followed Miko inside, stepping in carefully as she looked around the room with curiosity. "Wow, it's so clean. I thought it'd be really messy."
Before you continue