The people over there had already been nervously bracing themselves, afraid Teacher Hiratsuka's loving iron fist was about to sweep through the room. Now they panicked.
"How can you do this, Yui? You're abusing your power!"
"No fair! Even Yukino isn't allowed to cheat!"
"Yui, Yui, don't listen to Yukino!"
Yukino kept a stern face and added fuel to the fire. "Sign Miura, Ono, Kamizawa, and yourself up for the easiest events first. Otherwise, Teacher Hiratsuka will assign them to you later."
A crowd swarmed over. "Me first, me first! Sign me up for the easiest one!"
"I'm first, I'm first!"
"I was clearly here first!!"
"Yui, you're my good friend!!!"
With everyone clamoring to volunteer as tribute, the list of events was filled out in no time. Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere, Yui even assigned a few of the most universally despised events—the long-distance races.
The people assigned to them tried to complain, but Yui immediately looked at them with tears in her eyes. "Please, please!"
And just like that, what had been giving Yui such a headache was quickly and smoothly resolved.
Yui finally finished filling out the list and looked up toward the front right. As expected, Yukino was once again immersed in her problem-solving routine.
She'd done exceptionally well on this school-wide practice exam. Teacher Hiratsuka had praised her again and again in class, and Yui had heard the school even wanted her to give a speech.
Yukino had flatly refused.
One of Yui's friends from another class had once told her through gritted teeth that nearly all the teachers at school seemed to have rediscovered their passion for teaching. They were eager to give their own students the same kind of inspiring, heart-pumping story.
Whenever they brought up Yukino, they always started with, "Look at Yukino."
She was already so capable, and she still worked so hard.
After school, Yui waved goodbye to her friends Ono and Kamizawa, then hurried to catch up with Yukino as she left.
"Yukino, wait up!"
Yukino kept walking without even batting an eyelid. "Why are you following me?"
Yui jogged up beside her, then slowed down. "Thanks so much for today~"
"I only wanted to sign up for a few easy events."
"I know. Ehehe."
You don't know a damn thing.
Yui clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly as she spoke. The way she listened so earnestly made her look incredibly cute.
But then the adorable girl seemed to think of something, and her expression turned gloomy.
She lowered her head. "Yukino, you must look down on someone like me, don't you?"
Yukino: ?
Damn social butterfly, what are you talking about?
But Yui continued with a smile. "I'm always bad at turning people down. Just thinking that someone might hate me is enough to make me shake all over with fear."
"A lot of the time, I wonder if someone as useless as me is just a burden to Yumiko and the others."
Yukino stopped walking. "They probably just think you're pretty cute."
Who would think there was something wrong with a cat who couldn't do anything right and only wrecked the place?
Yui's eyes slowly brightened. She gently bit her lower lip, then gathered her courage and looked at Yukino.
"Th-then what about you, Yukino?"
The task popped up at the worst possible moment, telling her to say that Yui was cute.
Yukino nearly choked.
System, do you really think I'm such a socially inept mess that I can't even give someone a compliment?
Actually, yes.
She gave a slight cough. "Um..."
After an awkward pause, Yukino spoke through gritted teeth. "...I think you're pretty cute, too."
In Yui's eyes, a rosy ripple seemed to shimmer across a pool of water.
She gazed steadily at the stern-faced Yukino, then let out a soft laugh.
"Yukino, you're really cute."
You're cute! Your whole family is cute!!!
After the weekend, Yukino went back to her rented apartment, as usual.
She'd thought that since Blonde Yukino was so free-spirited and unruly, going home this week would surely earn her all kinds of misdirected anger. She might even have her card suspended as a warning.
Yukino had already grown used to preparing for the worst.
But after she got home, she and her mother even shared a dinner together—a rare occurrence.
Though there was a third wheel between mother and daughter, Haruno, and though her mother still hurried off to catch a flight to Tokyo after dinner that day.
Yukino watched the scenery rush past outside the car window, silent and alone.
Sometimes she wondered what kind of person Blonde Yukino was, and why her mother and Haruno acted so strangely toward her.
The various lists in Blonde Yukino's old Line account were full of the victims of her Scum King ways, as well as those she had—or hadn't yet—blocked.
Haruno Yukinoshita was the only person outside those lists. Blonde Yukino had saved her contact as "Vicious Woman."
If she really hated someone or didn't want to deal with them, then given Blonde Yukino's personality, she should have blocked them without hesitation.
Why had she come to this world? Why had she done all those things? What kind of person was she?
Yukino knew nothing about the person who had taken over a year of her life.
When she got home, Yukino took out a few bentos she'd just bought at the convenience store. She put one on the living room table and placed the rest in the refrigerator.
After school, Kasumigaoka had apparently still been full of energy when she got home. She sent over another flurry of photos.
Kasumigaoka: [She thinks my finger is her mom...]
The tiny kitten in the photo looked half-asleep. In a daze, she'd taken Kasumigaoka's finger into her mouth.
Kasumigaoka: [She has a pretty good appetite. She's not very lively during the day, but at night she keeps meowing and can't sleep.]
Yukino opened the photo and looked at it for a few seconds. [Has she been vaccinated?]
Kasumigaoka: [Not yet. I'm planning to make time to take her to the pet hospital sometime this week.]
This week?
Kasumigaoka was a busy high school girl and top student on ordinary days, so she must have been busy, too.
That meant the only time she could make would have to come out of her already packed schedule, unless she went on the weekend.
Yukino thought for a moment.
[Are you going on the weekend?]
Kasumigaoka: [I'm supposed to tutor you on the weekend?!]
Maybe it was just her imagination, but Yukino felt that Kasumigaoka's message sounded a little urgent.
Yukino: [I don't really need tutoring anymore.]
Kasumigaoka: [...That's true.]
Yukino wasn't very perceptive when it came to this sort of thing, but she wasn't stupid.
Had Kasumigaoka suddenly lost interest?
The socially inept Yukino fell into thought.
What was going on?
At a time like this, she could only turn to the all-purpose system for help.
---Kasumigaoka and light novels?
The system didn't detect any trigger keywords and gave no response.
---Kasumigaoka and diet pills?
Nothing.
---Kasumigaoka and otome games?
Still not right.
---Kasumigaoka and Love Metronome?
What was it that had made Kasumigaoka's mood shift?
What were the keywords for Yukino's likes and dislikes?
This was ridiculous. Guessing all the time was practically turning her into a detective.
She claimed she thought of Kasumigaoka as nothing but a points-farming machine, but that was just her mouth talking. Deep down, she couldn't help getting all awkward about it.
The Kasumigaoka she'd first met had seemed forceful and sharp-tongued, but she was actually the sort of person who hesitated again and again before playing a prank on her romantic rival, eventually missed her chance, and even felt relieved when someone exposed her.
Back then, Kasumigaoka's romance had failed, and things hadn't gone well with the release of the new book by her favorite author, either.
Kasumigaoka insisted that she and Utako Kasumi were only ordinary friends, and that Love Metronome was just so-so and only decently written. But once, when she saw some nasty comments about Utako Kasumi on Twitter, an unusually helpless and pained look had appeared on her face.
Yukino, die-hard fan of Utako Kasumi. Maybe it was from that moment on that she and Kasumigaoka had found some subtle common ground.
Thinking this, Yukino opened her phone, saw all the cat photos on it, and tried again.
--Kasumigaoka and cats?
This time, the system responded.
[The system has selected the best option for reversing the Negative Image: Pet hospital? Then I'll go with you this weekend.]
No way. Kasumigaoka had just been talking about the cat. How could she be upset because of her?
How could anyone be upset while looking at a cat?!
Yukino: [Pet hospital? Then I'll go with you this weekend.]
This time, Kasumigaoka replied almost instantly.
Kasumigaoka: [Okay! It's a promise!]
The change in her mood was practically visible in her reply!
Wait???
So that really was the best answer???
Kasumigaoka, you really had the heart to get mad at a cat?
You're hereby fired from the ranks of cat owners.
At Sobu High School, after the disciplinary committee meeting ended, the committee chair gave each class a rundown on its conduct and discipline.
Miura Yumiko, the vice chair and the next chair-in-waiting whom Chair Musashi had taken a particular interest in, also received plenty of praise for her excellent completion of this round's assignments.
"Ikeda from Class 1-D, I've heard about the problems in your class, even from two buildings away."
After praising Yukino, Chair Musashi set down the hardback notebook in his hands and looked up at Natsuki Ikeda with a stern face.
Natsuki Ikeda immediately lowered his head in shame. "I'm very sorry for betraying your trust, Chair!"
"What matters most isn't my trust. We can't let something this serious happen in any class, no matter what."
"But I understand how difficult this was for you. You are a boy, after all." Musashi looked at Miura. "Look into it with Ikeda, then send me the details."
Miura nodded. Of course she'd do what she could to help with something like this.
Chair Musashi was a big, burly guy, but surprisingly, he was quite considerate.
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