At the start of the first round, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce assault, and the fight looked almost completely one-sided. (Continued)

"See? I told you I was right."

Kazeno pointed at her with both hands, wearing an expression that said he'd seen right through everything.

"Forget it. I can't be bothered to mess around with you."

Nibuya Morika knew that the more she tried to explain, the more tangled things would get.

More importantly, she wasn't thinking about something trivial like dating. It was true that she was thinking about a man, but he was someone who could ruin her life at any moment.

Before school let out.

"After school, come to the gym. We need to negotiate with the Basketball Club about what happened Friday."

She received a message from the cheerleading team's captain.

"You really know how to make trouble for people."

She couldn't help letting out another sigh.

"Nibuya, are you going to the gym too?"

Just as she left the classroom after school, someone suddenly called out to her from behind.

She turned around. It was one of her classmates, a tall, fairly handsome boy. He seemed to have joined the Basketball Club. What was his name again?

She couldn't remember.

Never mind. It didn't matter. He was just an ordinary person.

"Yeah. Did you need something?"

Nibuya Morika asked with a polite smile.

"Oh, I mean, we're going the same way. How about we go together?"

He spoke up.

Although Nibuya came from an ordinary background, she was exceptionally pretty. Naturally, she attracted the attention of some boys, like this first-year who'd joined the Basketball Club.

"What do you mean, 'how about'? We're all going the same way. There's no need to make a big deal of it."

She turned him down as tactfully as she could.

"Sorry for bothering you."

The boy rubbed his head, then left awkwardly without pressing the matter.

A few minutes later.

The cheerleading team and the Basketball Club had all arrived.

At Shuchuin, sports clubs were more popular than most other clubs. The Basketball Club and last year's Soccer Club were the most popular of all. Unlike the Soccer Club, which had fallen apart, the Basketball Club had kept its main players, and its popularity stood head and shoulders above the rest.

That was all thanks to the Basketball Club's current president, third-year Hinata Konji, and its vice president, second-year Hiiragi Gosho. They weren't just great at basketball; they were handsome too, and their buzz cuts made them look even more rugged.

"President Hinata, what I had in mind was..."

The cheerleading captain was talking things over with Hinata Konji.

The other Basketball Club members were practicing on the court, while the rest of the cheerleaders sat against the wall, taking a break.

"The vice president looks so cool when he plays!"

"I still like second-year Kato-senpai better."

Nibuya Morika glanced around. The girls beside her were swooning and discussing which Basketball Club boys were the most handsome and impressive.

Sigh.

How shallow!

Maybe joining the cheerleading team hadn't been such a good choice after all.

Something was bothering her terribly, and her mind was more restless than usual.

"Knock! Knock! Knock...!"

Suddenly, a hurried knocking sounded.

The gym wasn't closed off, so the knock was just to alert everyone.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the entrance.

Four figures stood silhouetted against the light at the gym's main entrance. They strode inside with an imposing air.

Takanashi Rikka opened a black folding umbrella, her expression exceptionally cold.

Dekomori Sanae put her right foot forward and her left foot back, striking the same cool entrance pose as before.

Wearing a red sun hat, Fujiwara Chika held down its brim with one hand, keeping a straight face and putting on an air of mystery.

At the front, Hasegawa Izumi had both hands in his pockets and looked as if the whole world was beneath him.

"Yo, everyone in the Basketball Club. How's it going? Getting ready for a big game?"

A wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Only then did everyone in the gym recover from the shock of their entrance.

"You're Hasegawa, right? Did you come here today specifically to find out about the Basketball Club?"

Hinata Konji, the Basketball Club president, spoke first. He stepped forward a few paces, his eyes full of confidence.

To be honest, he felt a little proud that his team had been recognized as a worthy opponent.

After all, Hasegawa's attitude was incredibly arrogant. He'd even played tennis without bringing a racket. It was obvious he hadn't been taking his earlier matches seriously!

That meant he respected the Basketball Club enough to—

"No."

To his surprise, Hasegawa immediately denied it.

"Huh?"

The answer dealt a serious blow to his confidence.

"I'm not here for you. To me, a match against the Basketball Club is just another victory waiting to happen. Nothing special. I'm already studying the Kendo Club's opponents."

Hasegawa Izumi spoke calmly.

He'd already used that trash talk on the Soccer Club, so he made sure to complete the round for the Basketball Club too.

"You're way too arrogant!"

"Don't start fighting at school, idiot!"

One of the hot-tempered Basketball Club members immediately tried to go after him, but the others held him back.

"Hasegawa-kun, I know you're feeling overconfident after beating the Go Club and the Tennis Club, but we'll show you that the Basketball Club is on a whole different level! We only lost the national championship by a single point. Your arrogance ends here!"

Hinata Konji's expression grew serious.

"Fine. I'll be looking forward to it."

Hasegawa Izumi's tone was so flat that it sounded like he was just reading from a script, offering a perfunctory reply out of politeness.

In his mind, only a national champion could be considered a promising opponent—and preferably someone who'd won an even more prestigious individual competition.

At present, there were only two people like that at Shuchuin High School.

Now that he'd dealt with the Basketball Club, it was time to handle the real business.

Takanashi Rikka swept her gaze around the room. "Mori Summer, it's time to come out and meet us."

"Mori Summer?"

"Who's that?"

Everyone was baffled by the strange name and looked around at one another.

Only Nibuya Morika hugged her knees and buried her head between them, pretending to be an ostrich.

If I pretend I didn't hear them, maybe they'll go away!

You can't see me! You can't see me! You can't see...

She repeated it silently to herself.

"Nibuya, you can't escape your destiny. You're the final piece of the puzzle I'm looking for!"

Hasegawa Izumi noticed that Nibuya had shut herself off and went straight for the heavy blow.

Life was unpredictable. If there was no way to resist, she might as well enjoy it!

That was the lesson he wanted to impart to her.

"Ah...! Have you had enough yet? Hasegawa, I'm going to kill you!"

A shrill scream rang through the gym.

Nibuya Morika immediately rushed out, grabbed his arm, and dragged him toward the exit.

"Let's go."

The other three immediately followed.

Everyone left inside was stunned.

"S-so Nibuya really was already..."

A first-year Basketball Club member murmured in despair.

Biding His Time

The area near the gym was a secluded, tree-lined stretch of land.

"Thump."

Nibuya Morika dragged Hasegawa Izumi outside, then pressed him against the wall by the shoulders.

They were practically face-to-face.

In a romantic drama, this would have been the moment just before a kiss.

But all the girl's eyes held now was fury.

"You! How many times are you going to torment me before you're satisfied? I don't want my life to end like this! If you want to play your games, then play them yourselves! Don't drag me into it. Can't we just pretend we never knew each other?!"

"Mori Summer..."

"Don't call me that!"

Faced with the girl's furious questioning, he replied coolly, "Calm down, Nibuya."

"How can I possibly calm down?! What you're doing is like holding a knife to my throat! I don't even dare go back in there now. They're bound to suspect I have something to do with you people, and then they'll start avoiding me..."

The more Nibuya Morika spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. Her voice also carried a note of resentment as she slowly lowered her head.

She didn't want him to see her dejected, disheveled expression.

"Does it really matter whether you have friends like that or not?"

He didn't seem concerned.

"Don't assume everyone's like you!"

Nibuya Morika lifted her head again and snapped at him.

"You're still avoiding the heart of the matter. So you do understand, after all... You're different from them. Maybe you're still a little confused, but I believe that, given some time, you'll come to accept it."

His words left the girl stunned. They'd struck almost exactly where they were meant to.

"Besides, I'm not the main character this time. Someone else is."

Before Nibuya could object, he raised his right hand and pointed behind her.

"Hm?"

Nibuya Morika turned around. Only then did she notice that the other three had somehow appeared there.

"From the look in your eyes, you're just a thoroughly corrupted ordinary person. Could the Management Bureau's magic have eroded your mind? Whatever. Lord Sage has already confirmed your identity, but I, Dekomori, still need to use my own methods to verify it! Let's see if you're the real Mori Summer, death!"

As she spoke, Dekomori Sanae pulled a book from beneath her clothes. Its black cover was decorated with colorful shapes that looked like paper cutouts.

What is she doing?