Karuizawa Kei

At the end of the month, Konoe checked the text message on his phone.

Ayanokoji: "The three of us are going out with Kushida today. Want to come?"

Ayanokoji had probably noticed that Konoe hadn't seemed very interested the last time he invited him, so he'd sent a message to ask first.

"Sure." Konoe sent a brief reply. He wanted to take this opportunity to get the trio's contact information. The girls had given theirs right away when he asked, except for Karuizawa.

Konoe hadn't dared ask for Karuizawa's contact information. He always felt like she harbored some inexplicable hostility toward him. She even glared at him from time to time during class.

As soon as class ended, Konoe followed Ayanokoji and Ike outside.

"We're in the same class, but Kushida isn't coming with us?" Ike asked when he noticed she was missing.

"She said she had something to discuss with friends from another class. Kushida's pretty popular, after all."

Konoe mused that being a popular, well-liked person probably wasn't easy.

"Could they be male friends?"

"Don't worry, Ike. I asked. They're girls."

"That's good... That's good."

"Are you two seriously trying to go out with Kushida?" Ayanokoji asked.

"Of course! She's definitely my destined girl."

Yamauchi nodded fervently too, then looked toward Konoe, hoping he'd weigh in.

"...With this much competition, I think I'll pass," Konoe replied helplessly.

"Ayanokoji, you're probably interested in Horikita, right? She's definitely beautiful."

"No, there's nothing between us."

"But you're always talking to her, in class and out. Have you ever accidentally touched her hand? Or leaned in close while picking something up for her?" Ike pressed him relentlessly.

"Sorry I'm late. Sorry to keep you waiting! Huh? Konoe's here too?"

Am I not supposed to be here?

"Why does Kushida call you by your first name, Konoe? Don't tell me you two..."

"Sorry, Kushida. I hope you don't mind me tagging along?" Konoe ignored Ike and greeted Kushida directly.

"Of course I don't mind! Oh... I ran into a few classmates on the way and thought it was a good chance for everyone to hang out together, so I invited them. Is that okay?"

Kushida had brought Hirata, Karuizawa, and two other girls. The two girls were:

Matsushita Chiaki, who often hung out with Karuizawa. She was cute and wore a lot of jewelry that looked rather expensive.

Mori Nene, another girl who spent time with Karuizawa. She seemed to be quite athletic.

Ike and Yamauchi glared at Hirata with hostility, but he didn't seem to mind their looks and kept wearing his usual sunny smile.

Ike kept whispering something to Ayanokoji. Seeing that, considerate Hirata said, "If we're intruding, we can split up and go our separate ways."

"N-No, it's fine, right, Yamauchi?"

"R-Right. It's more fun with more people, isn't it, Ike?"

Konoe found their reactions rather amusing.

"Obviously. Why should we have to worry about what you three... four think?" Karuizawa replied matter-of-factly, counting Konoe among them.

"I'll get straight to the point. Hirata, are you dating Karuizawa?"

Ike asked bluntly, wanting to confirm their next target. Aside from Karuizawa, there were still three girls.

"Huh... Where did you hear that?" Hirata looked flustered, as if caught off guard.

"See? I knew people would find out we're dating eventually!" Before Hirata could react further, Karuizawa clung tightly to his arm.

Hirata gave her a helpless look, scratched his cheek, and admitted that they were dating.

Konoe glanced at Ayanokoji, but Ayanokoji looked away. The information had probably come from Ike, and Konoe had a feeling it wasn't reliable. Hirata also seemed to be less than sincere.

"Then, Kushida, do you have a boyfriend?" Ike asked, following the thread of the conversation.

"Me? Unfortunately, no," Kushida replied sweetly.

Hearing that, Ike and Yamauchi couldn't help smiling.

"Where are we headed?" Konoe asked.

"We only just started school, right? So we're going to look around and check out the campus facilities," Ike replied impatiently, his tone a little cold.

Is this guy treating me like a rival? Konoe thought, at a loss.

Konoe had expected the casual stroll to be awkward, but Kushida chatted with everyone and naturally drew them all into the same conversation.

Even with Ayanokoji and Konoe, who didn't say much, she used her eyes to show that she wasn't ignoring them—she was simply being considerate of their personalities.

Konoe concluded that she was a girl who was very good at reading the room and genuinely wanted to make friends.

First, they looked around a clothing store that Konoe often saw but had never gone into. Hirata carried Karuizawa's shopping bags. She'd probably spent around 30000 Points.

Come to think of it, shouldn't Hirata be paying? Konoe hadn't bought anything, and followed them to a cafe.

"Everyone's settled into school by now, right?"

"Who wouldn't get used to a life like this in paradise? If anything, I want to stay here forever."

"Haha, sounds like Ike really enjoys campus life."

"But..."

Hirata was about to give his opinion again, but Ike cut him off.

"I know what you're going to say. We'll find out tomorrow, right? Let's just relax and enjoy today."

"Speaking of which, I'm surprised Ike and Karuizawa got into this school. You both look pretty dumb," Yamauchi said, apparently unconcerned about offending them.

As expected, Karuizawa glared at him, but she seemed to hate talking to Yamauchi even more, so she said nothing.

"Yamauchi, you don't look too bright yourself," Ike shot back.

"This school's policy is to nurture promising young people, so the School Administration probably doesn't judge us solely on exam scores. Honestly, if they did, I might not have even applied."

"Exactly! I'm the kind of person the School Administration is looking for." Ike nodded in agreement with his arms crossed.

Since Yamauchi had gotten into the school too, it was clear that academic performance wasn't the only standard. Still, Konoe couldn't figure out what potential the school had seen in its students—especially in Yamauchi.

After they parted ways, someone who surprised Konoe approached him.

Karuizawa Kei, Hirata's girlfriend.

"Did you need something, Karuizawa? Where's Hirata?"

"...Your contact information," Karuizawa said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you ask for my contact information? You asked all the other girls, but not me!" Karuizawa shouted, raising her voice to hide her embarrassment.

"..." Konoe didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Could it be... because I glared at you last time? I'll apologize, then. But I was talking to Hirata, and it was a little rude of you to suddenly butt in, right? The girls in our class sometimes talk about you, and they all ask me if I have your contact information. You asked everyone else for theirs, didn't you? It's really awkward being the only one who doesn't have yours!" Karuizawa said, her face bright red and looking a little hurt.

Konoe found it strange. Girls like her usually had a lot of pride. It was just contact information—couldn't she get by without his?

"Karuizawa, I'm not blaming you, but what happened last time did make it hard for me to ask. Could we exchange contact information?"

Karuizawa was already Hirata's girlfriend, so Konoe decided to take a step back.

"Uh... Yeah. Good, you understand. Anyway, let's just exchange contact information," Karuizawa replied awkwardly, not expecting him to answer so earnestly.

"By the way, what do the girls in our class say about me?"

"Do guys usually ask girls things like that? Sigh... I don't mind telling you this one time, but don't tell anyone else. If a girl shares the things other girls talk about with a guy, she can't be trusted by the other girls."

"Oh... Okay." It sounded pretty serious.

"They just say you're kind of handsome and that you have a bit of an appealing air about you... That's what they say, so don't get the wrong idea!"

"What about you, Kei? What do you think of my looks?" Konoe asked quietly in a low voice.

"W-What! I'm Hirata's..." Karuizawa's face flushed red. She clearly hadn't expected him to say that and didn't know how to respond.

"Haha, I'm just joking, Karuizawa. You were the one who said I didn't have to worry about what you thought at the beginning." Seeing her expression, Konoe couldn't help laughing.

"Idiot!" Karuizawa shouted, then ran off.

Konoe smiled as he watched Karuizawa's back. Maybe spending time with people wasn't so boring after all.