The Equation for Victory Has Already Been Written

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, most of April—the month of the new school year—had already passed.

Hoshinomiya Chie arrived at the classroom for Class B.

She didn't look hungover at all today, and it seemed like she was in a pretty good mood.

"Hello, everyone! Since it's the end of the month, we're going to have a pop quiz. It won't be reflected on your report cards, but please take it seriously. Also, no cheating."

Hoshinomiya Chie handed out the test papers to the students in the front row, and after a short wait, Miyano Makoto received the paper passed back by Beppu Ryota.

There were five main subjects, with four questions per subject, each worth five points, for a total of 100 points.

It was truly a pop quiz in every sense of the word.

Miyano Makoto finished quickly, confident that he would receive a very good score.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, can I turn this in early?"

"You may."

Having received the answer he wanted, Miyano Makoto handed his paper to Hoshinomiya-sensei and left the classroom.

Sitting at his desk staring blankly wasn't his style; time should be spent on more meaningful things.

For example...

Lunchtime with Ichinose Honami.

Just kidding—Ichinose Honami hadn't turned in her paper early like he did, and Miyano Makoto couldn't possibly eat his bento all by himself.

Even in his current situation, he would definitely get beaten up by her if he did, and he had no desire to taste her "fists of love."

Since he didn't have much time, Miyano Makoto just did some light exercise in the equipment area of the playground.

To maintain good physical fitness, daily training was indispensable.

Unless one had a system.

Miyano Makoto looked forward to the appearance of a system, though he knew it wasn't very realistic, and he was already quite satisfied with his current situation.

Over the past month, Kushida Kikyo had become good friends with Ichinose Honami; he didn't know how much of it was genuine and how much was fake, but at least on the surface, it appeared that way.

Miyano Makoto couldn't guess the thoughts of girls; he could only focus on doing his own part.

Calculating that the time was about right, Miyano Makoto went to the door of Class A to pick up Ichinose Honami.

The boys around them cast envious glances at him, a reaction Miyano Makoto had already grown accustomed to.

It really was great to have such a beautiful girlfriend.

She had a gentle personality and was outstanding in every way.

Miyano Makoto guessed what the boys were thinking, but unfortunately, these were all superficial things.

True character could only be glimpsed after deep interaction.

Not a single person in this school was a pushover.

After all, this was a world within a novel; if there were no highlights, the readers wouldn't buy it, right?

Anyway, that was that, and Miyano Makoto followed Ichinose Honami obediently to the rooftop.

"Sometimes I really want to come here to eat."

"Yeah, the view is quite nice, too."

"Hey, hey, hey, Makoto, you should be feeling very happy when you're with me right now, right?"

With her hands behind her back, Ichinose Honami leaned forward, her cute, beautiful face only a few centimeters away from his; Miyano Makoto could even smell the faint, citrusy scent of shampoo coming from her.

"Honami is truly too cute. I can say it as many times as you want—I am extremely happy to have a girl as cute as Honami as my girlfriend."

Miyano Makoto repeated similar words tirelessly; he had given up on remembering how many times he had said such things.

"Mm-hmm, in that case, I'm relieved. Even though Makoto has already laid his cards on the table for me, I suppose I'd still be a little worried if I didn't get actual confirmation."

Ichinose Honami and Miyano Makoto sat facing each other, with the delicious bento that she had carefully prepared that morning resting on her lap.

"Makoto, have you ever felt lonely? That feeling of no one understanding you?"

"Isn't that why I have Honami?"

Miyano Makoto felt that this sentence was a universal formula; it could be used whenever Ichinose Honami expressed concern for him, and the effect was usually quite good.

"Ugh... Makoto, you say that every time. Are you really not just brushing me off?"

A miscalculation. No matter how effective a routine is, it gets tiresome once used too often; clearly, Ichinose Honami had developed an immunity to it.

"Does Honami really think I'm brushing you off? My gaze has always been on Honami and has never once left."

"It's my fault, please forgive me."

Ichinose Honami pressed her palms together in an apologetic gesture, and the beautiful girl's apology caused Miyano Makoto's heart to sway.

As expected, he couldn't bring himself to lie to a girl.

"The class points will be announced next month. Does Honami have any thoughts on that?"

"Hmm... what do you want me to do, Makoto?"

"It's up to you to decide, Honami. I was just asking."

"If it's up to me, I think I'll just keep working steadily and focus on getting through the upcoming midterm exams first."

"Mm, I think that's a great mindset, Honami. After all, we are still just students."

"But the way you've been acting this past month, Makoto, doesn't really seem like that of a student."

"Didn't I already tell you the reason for that, Honami?"

"Hehe, I was just teasing you, Makoto."

The two leaned against each other, looking out at the scenery below.

Students were coming and going between the school buildings, and the Keyaki Mall in the distance also seemed to be bustling with activity.

"Don't you need to spend time with your friends, Honami? I actually feel a bit guilty about this."

Upon hearing this, Ichinose Honami shook her head gently.

"Compared to you, Makoto, the others aren't quite as important."

"...But I would be concerned."

"Is that so? If you're really that concerned, Makoto, then I'll be with my friends tomorrow, and you're coming along too!"

"...Alright."

Ichinose Honami flashed a mischievous smile, and Miyano Makoto felt no regret about it.

The equation for victory had already been written; all that remained were the trivial worries of how to spend his school life.

On the first-year side, Class A would be led by Ichinose Honami, and Class D had a sleeper agent named Kushida Kikyo.

Ryuen Kakeru's methods in Class C were predictable, and as for Class B...

Did Class B pose any threat?

Miyano Makoto couldn't see a single sprout that could be called a threat.

In the second year, with Kiryuin-senpai making her move, Nagumo Miyabi should be sweating bullets by now, right?

As for the third year...

There was nothing to say about Class A being led by Horikita Manabu, and Class C and Class D were already on Miyano Makoto's side.

The remaining Class B couldn't even surpass the Class A where Horikita Manabu resided, so they were nothing to fear.

All in all, at least for the duration of his first year, Miyano Makoto could afford to relax.

"Speaking of which, have you resolved the matter regarding Classmate Kamuro, Honami?"

Realizing he hadn't paid attention to her for a long time since the start of the semester, Miyano Makoto brought it up in front of Ichinose Honami.

"Mm, I sent her to look after Classmate Sakayanagi. After all, I'm worried about Classmate Sakayanagi... wondering if she's just pushing herself too hard. Plus, this way she won't have any spare time to do those kinds of things!"

Although he felt a bit sorry for Kamuro Masumi, he thought that this should be enough to prevent her from being expelled in the future.

"You're really reliable, Honami."

Makoto did not hesitate to shower Honami with praise.

"Hehehe, I'm still far behind compared to you, Makoto!"

"...Have I become some kind of indispensable figure?"

"I'm complimenting you! It would be better if you just accepted it honestly!"

Honami nudged Makoto's waist gently with her elbow.

"Kushida-san invited me to join her this afternoon, so you should come along too, Makoto."

"I don't suppose I have the option to refuse, do I?"

"What do you think?"

Honami wore a gentle, pleasant smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Honami."

Kushida Kikyo approached with an apologetic look, accompanied by two other girls.

"Kikyo-chan, who are these two...?"

The girls brought by Kushida Kikyo looked a bit surprised. Although they had long heard of Kushida Kikyo's dream of becoming friends with everyone, this was the first time they had actually seen her with a friend from another class.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! I forgot to introduce you. This is Ichinose Honami, and standing next to her is her boyfriend, Miyano Makoto."

Kushida Kikyo introduced them to the two girls from her class.

"Hello, my name is Matsushita Chiaki."

"I'm Mori Nene."

Everyone introduced themselves to one another.

"Since we've all gathered, let's get going!"

Honami seemed to be in high spirits, which was only natural; after all, this was the first time Makoto had ever gone shopping with her.

"Which class are you in, Ichinose-san?"

On the way, Chiaki Matsushita asked out of curiosity.

"I'm in Class A, and as for Makoto, he's in Class B."

Honami answered the question impatiently, as if she had been waiting for someone to ask.

"Eh? An inter-class romance? I'm so jealous..."

Nene Mori's tone was filled with obvious envy.

"Right? I cherish this relationship very much, too."

As if to stake her claim, Honami hugged Makoto's arm tightly.

Kikyo Kushida's eyebrows twitched slightly, but no one noticed.

"Ah, that's Karuizawa-san. I'm going to go say hi and see if she wants to join us."

Chiaki Matsushita spotted Kei Karuizawa in the distance and rushed over, as if afraid someone might object.

A moment later, Chiaki Matsushita returned to the group with Kei Karuizawa in tow.

"Hello, I'm Kei Karuizawa."

It was a very simple introduction, no different from the ones the other girls had just given.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Makoto Miyano, and the one holding my arm is my girlfriend, Honami Ichinose."

Beating Honami to it, Makoto took the initiative to introduce their side of things.

Honami's smile became even more radiant.

"Have we met before, Miyano-kun?"

As Kei Karuizawa spoke, Makoto felt the pressure on his arm increase for a split second, though it felt like a fleeting illusion.

"Have we? I don't recall."

I definitely can't admit it now, Makoto thought to himself.

"Tell the truth."

Honami, however, spoke up from the side.

"..."

"I understand."