The Senpai who had been rejected to his face turned pale, then red. He opened his mouth, but not a word came out.
Kazehara Tetsu took it all in without comment, then returned the chess piece to its original position.
Just then, the noisy din in the gymnasium abruptly faded, like a receding tide.
It wasn't because anyone had shouted for silence.
Kazehara Tetsu turned his gaze back toward the high podium at the center of the gymnasium.
"Oh..."
He understood as soon as he looked.
Each club representative had been standing there to promote their club, but now only one person remained.
A black-haired young man stood in the middle of the podium, his posture straight and his expression stern.
He didn't speak or even pick up the microphone. He simply looked down at the new students.
An eerie silence fell over the gymnasium.
The new students glanced at one another, their whispers growing quieter and quieter.
Some of the more timid students had already begun to lower their heads, unable to meet the man's gaze.
Horikita Manabu.
The Student Council President of Kouyoku High School.
Kazehara Tetsu looked at the man onstage.
He curled his lip and gave a scoff that only he and Sakayanagi beside him could hear.
"Using silence to create pressure is such a cheap, overused psychological trick. It might work on a bunch of inexperienced students, but it's beneath him."
His voice held undisguised contempt.
That sort of petty tactic wouldn't have passed muster at the workplace meetings he'd attended in his previous life.
True pressure came from a web woven of words and logic, not from putting on an air of mystery.
"For people who can't understand the deeper meaning of words, this kind of straightforward intimidation is actually the most effective way to manage them."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice came from beside him. "He knows exactly what level his audience is at, so he chose the form of communication that suits them best. It may not be sophisticated, but it's practical."
Kazehara Tetsu turned his head and met her clear violet eyes.
Horikita Manabu seemed satisfied with the effect he'd created.
Only then did he pick up the microphone. His deep voice rang through the speakers and carried to every corner of the gymnasium.
"Welcome, new students. I'm Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President."
His opening was as concise as could be. "I imagine many of you are interested in the Student Council. I'll make one thing clear."
His gaze swept across the entire gymnasium once more.
"The Student Council is not a club. Interest is unnecessary here; ability is all that matters. Anyone who wants to join the Student Council must possess exceptional talent. And to devote their full attention to Student Council work, its members are forbidden from joining any club activities."
"Furthermore, the Student Council has no desire to accept students who join with naïve fantasies. People like that don't just fail to get in—they even leave a stain on the school."
Horikita Manabu's speech was brief. After delivering those highly selective remarks, he turned and left the podium without giving the new students a chance to ask questions.
Kazehara Tetsu checked the time. It was already quite late, so he turned to Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Since the club activities have been so dull, I imagine your stomach must be protesting by now, Classmate Sakayanagi. Would I be so fortunate as to invite an opponent who just narrowly lost to me at the chessboard to dinner?"
His tone was as flippant as ever, but the word "lost" was like a tiny needle, pricking at her.
Sakayanagi Arisu slowly turned to him, her eyes meeting Kazehara Tetsu's smiling ones.
"An invitation from a victor, is it? Classmate Kagihara, you really won't let yourself lose even the smallest thing."
She said it without a trace of reproach; it sounded more like playful banter between equals. "Still, I do need to replenish some of the energy I spent thinking just now, so I accept your offer."
"I'd be delighted." Kazehara Tetsu gestured, inviting her to go first.
Kazehara Tetsu led Sakayanagi Arisu out of the noisy gymnasium and along a campus path where the crowds had thinned.
Rather than taking her to one of the glitzy, upscale restaurants in Keyaki Mall, he brought her to a tiny Japanese restaurant tucked away in a corner near the dormitories.
As for how Kazehara Tetsu knew about the place, he hadn't eaten there before. He'd simply seen students give it high ratings on his phone a moment earlier.
He slid open the wooden door. The restaurant was small, with only a few natural-wood tables and a little counter.
A woman who looked to be over fifty, wearing an apron, was busy behind the counter.
There weren't many customers, just two or three tables' worth, all eating quietly.
Kazehara Tetsu pulled out a chair by the window for her, then sat down across from her.
They ordered a tempura set meal, grilled eel rice, and a serving of salmon sushi.
"Classmate Kagihara, you seem quite familiar with this place."
"I'm afraid this is my first time here too, but I like the sort of atmosphere that puts you at ease."
"At ease?"
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze settled on him. "I think you seem at ease in any situation."
"That's just a facade, like the doll-like mask you wear to hide your desire to win. Everyone is playing some sort of role."
His candor plunged Sakayanagi Arisu into silence once more.
"By the way..."
Kazehara Tetsu changed the subject, his tone growing lighter. "Other than chess, what do you usually read to pass the time, Classmate Sakayanagi?"
It was such an ordinary question that even Sakayanagi Arisu was a little surprised.
She looked at Kazehara Tetsu's smiling, peach-blossom eyes. There was no calculation in his gaze now, only simple curiosity.
For a moment, it was as if they were simply two classmates curious about each other's everyday lives.
"I usually like reading books on psychology and management. What about you, Classmate Kagihara?"
"I read pretty widely. History, philosophy, economics—I've dabbled in all of them. But I suppose I like mystery novels best. A bit common, perhaps..."
They talked for a long time. For the moment, all the scheming and probing between them seemed to have vanished.
They were no longer opponents across a chessboard, just two young people who had happened to find something to talk about.
Dinner went on in a surprisingly harmonious atmosphere.
They talked about all sorts of things, from the traits of different mystery genres to theoretical concepts in philosophy.
Before they knew it, night had fallen outside the window.
Kazehara Tetsu paid the bill with Points, and the two of them got up to leave.
Outside the restaurant, the evening air was colder than they'd expected.
They walked side by side down the quiet street again, heading back toward the dormitories.
However, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to have somewhere else to be, and couldn't return to the dormitory with him.
"Classmate Kagihara..." Sakayanagi Arisu stopped as they neared the dormitory area.
"Hmm?"
"Today... was fun."
She lifted her head. The streetlights softened the lines of her face, and her violet eyes looked deeper in the darkness than they had during the day.
A genuine smile touched Sakayanagi Arisu's lips, nothing like her usual practiced smile.
The smile vanished in an instant, but it had been real.
"Next time, I won't lose."
"I'll be waiting."