But now that he thought about it, even if it was only to conceal Shiina's existence, he'd have to place a few people in Class C.
82. Shiranami Chihiro's Daring Invitation
Pleasant times spent together always passed quickly.
After saying goodbye to Shiina Hiyori and heading to the cafeteria to eat dinner, Aragaki Shun didn't return to his dorm as usual to play on his phone or read. Instead, he went straight to the sports clubs he had once thoroughly beaten up.
First up was the Judo Club, where he could openly fight people!
Thud!
With a distinctly audible crash, the Judo Club president was thrown hard onto the mat, landing mostly on his back.
Aragaki Shun didn't even glance at his defeated opponent. With an intimidating air, he turned toward the other Judo Club members gathered below the mat—
"Next!"
The Judo Club members: "..."
With that attitude, you clearly just want to beat people up! You're definitely taking your frustration out on us!
Though that was what they were thinking, none of them dared hesitate under Aragaki Shun's indifferent gaze. Following the order they had agreed upon earlier, they pushed a hapless fellow with a mournful expression onto the mat.
The Judo Club president climbed down with a sigh and patted one of his clubmates on the shoulder. "I'd hoped we could reclaim the Judo Club's honor from a first-year, but it looks like you'll have to go up there and let Aragaki take out his frustration on you."
"President~"
"It's fine. This isn't a wagered match, just a friendly spar."
The Judo Club president gave him a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile. "We don't often get the chance to spar with an opponent as strong as Aragaki. When you look at it that way, aren't we the ones getting a good deal?"
So I'm supposed to thank him for deigning to beat me up?
The hapless fellow with the mournful expression was speechless.
But when he thought about it, that was true. Their opponent was far stronger than their president. Getting to spar with him for free—and maybe learning a thing or two in the process—would be a wonderful opportunity.
So, after lifting his spirits, the hapless fellow charged in with renewed determination.
Aragaki Shun admired his fighting spirit. In response, he decided to hold nothing back and leave him on the mat for a little longer.
A few minutes later—
"Next!"
After tossing the punching bag, who had stopped struggling, aside, Aragaki Shun coldly called for his next opponent.
Like sheep watched by a hungry tiger, every member of the Judo Club trembled under the predator's gaze.
The Judo Club, the Archery Club, the Track and Field Club... Aragaki Shun made the rounds of several sports clubs. Only after he was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted did he return to his dorm and take a shower.
After coming out of the bathroom, he sat on the edge of his bed and stared blankly into space. He didn't know how much time had passed before a notification chime from his phone snapped him out of his strange daze.
Aragaki Shun let out a breath. Rather than immediately checking who had sent the email, he massaged his temples with both hands, as if doing so would help him think more clearly.
He hadn't been very composed today!
Looking back, when he'd invited Shiina to join Class A that afternoon, it seemed more like he'd been forcing his book-loving friend to accept his favor without caring what she thought.
That was strange. Was he really the sort of person who would get carried away and do something so presumptuous?
Twenty Million Personal Points weren't particularly important to him.
But the problem was, he didn't like owing people anything.
And by putting himself in someone else's shoes, he'd never forced anyone to accept his help before.
So why had he done it to Shiina...?
Aragaki Shun had a vague sense that he'd grasped something. He didn't dwell on it, instead picking up his phone to check the email.
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "The new month's Private Points have been deposited. Honami-chan, Sayo, Mako, Kobashi, and I want to go shopping tomorrow afternoon and buy some new clothes. Would you like to come along, Aragaki-kun?"
[Aragaki Shun]: "???"
[Aragaki Shun]: "Why are you inviting me to go shopping for clothes with a group of girls?"
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "Hehe~ It was my idea, and everyone agreed. Sayo and the others said it'd be nice to have a guy there to carry our bags."
Aragaki Shun was speechless. He knew Shiranami Chihiro had designs on him, but was she not even trying to hide it anymore?
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "Come with us, Aragaki-kun."
The other side sent him a cute sticker that said, "Please, please?" Then, to sweeten the deal, Shiranami boldly sent him an unmistakably suggestive hint.
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "We have swimming class the day after tomorrow, too. I was wondering if I should buy another, prettier swimsuit. What do you think, Aragaki-kun?"
Wait! Are you really Shiranami Chihiro? That soft, timid girl who looked like she'd cry for ages if someone so much as punched her lightly?
Aragaki Shun wondered if someone else was playing a prank on him.
But no, there wasn't anyone in Class A that cruel.
Even if someone else wanted to help Shiranami make a move, they wouldn't steal her phone behind her back and send him such a seductive message without telling her.
The boy took a deep breath and recalled the way his former desk mate had behaved in class. Thinking back over the past month, Shiranami really had been making more and more little moves, and growing bolder by the day.
Yesterday morning, she'd deliberately fallen into his arms. At lunchtime today, she'd brought him lunch and asked him to try it. Now she was inviting him to go shopping tomorrow afternoon. It didn't seem all that surprising, after all.
Was Shiranami Chihiro actually the type of girl who seemed soft and sweet on the surface but was especially bold when it came to romance?
Aragaki Shun felt he needed to get to know his desk mate all over again.
[Aragaki Shun]: "...Wouldn't it be a little awkward for a guy like me to tag along while you go shopping?"
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "Why would it be awkward? We're all classmates, so let's go have some fun together. Besides, Aragaki-kun's opinion is important, especially when it comes to things like swimsuits..."
[Aragaki Shun]: "For swimsuit advice, I think you'd be better off asking Ichinose or Ando Sayo."
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "Oh, Aragaki-kun, you're such a joker. They're all girls, so of course they'll have a girl's tastes in mind. I want to hear a guy's opinion—especially yours, Aragaki-kun."
She'd gone that far. What else could he do?
Besides, swimsuits... He wondered what kind of swimsuit Shiina would wear.
[Aragaki Shun]: "...All right, I don't have any objections. Whatever makes you happy."
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "Then it's settled! Tomorrow at three, we'll head to Keyaki Mall after school. Don't keep us waiting!"
[Aragaki Shun]: "You sit right in front of me. Just call me when you're ready to go."
[Shiranami Chihiro]: "OK! You can look forward to it, Aragaki-kun."
Aragaki Shun looked at the cutesy sticker on his phone and felt a little speechless.
What was there to look forward to with her figure? She should've made the swimsuit someone like Ichinose Honami's.
But never mind. It would be nice to hang out with the girls for a change, even if it meant leaving Shiina alone in the library again.
83. Desires He Couldn't Suppress
After making plans with Shiranami Chihiro for the following afternoon, Aragaki Shun thought for a moment, then sent Shiina Hiyori an email to let her know he had something to do tomorrow and wouldn't be able to make it to the library.
Shiina replied that she didn't mind.
[Shiina Hiyori]: "Aragaki-kun doesn't need to explain himself to me, no matter who he goes out with. It's not as if I have any other hobbies. I can only kill time in the library every day."
So did she really not mind?
Shiina had ended the conversation in a hurry, claiming she couldn't stay up late. Aragaki Shun felt a little unsettled. He had the feeling she wasn't in a very good mood.
But then again, he and Shiina didn't have any other relationship. Why was he worrying about whether she was in a good mood?
When Shiranami Chihiro had tried to tempt him with talk of a swimsuit earlier, the first thing he'd imagined was Shiina in one... Did that mean that, now that he'd entered puberty, he was losing control of his desires?
But when had this started?
Aragaki Shun furrowed his brow and immediately focused all his attention on recalling everything that had happened recently.
His mind, operating at the limits of an ordinary human being, raced onward. As his concentration sharpened, the sounds around him faded away, and scenes from his memories unfolded in his mind for him to examine in detail.
This was the state of total concentration he'd once entered when playing a game of strategy against Sakayanagi Arisu.
It had first come about through the chance combination of his Level 4 Combat skill and Level 4 Writing skill.
The former had given him control over his body at the limits of a normal human being, while the latter had granted him an extraordinary ability to use his mind.
With two mundane yet top-tier skills resonating with each other, and his formidable Mental stat of 10, Aragaki Shun could now enter this special state of concentration at will. It let him push his memory and powers of calculation and deduction to the limits his body could support.
With his brain working at full capacity, it didn't take long for Aragaki Shun to pinpoint the moment when his state of mind had first begun to change and grow strange.
"So you're the culprit..."
Thinking back to the scene that afternoon, when a certain girl with a country-bumpkin look had thrown herself into his arms at a street corner, Aragaki Shun's expression turned complicated.
No, that couldn't be right. Why would it be Sakura Airi?
Could a quiet girl who deliberately dressed frumpily really have stirred up his desires?
Aragaki Shun was certain she wasn't his type!
After thinking it over, Aragaki Shun sat down at his computer and started searching for the name "Shizuku."
The clerk at the electronics store had called Sakura Airi "Shizuku." He'd looked just like some kind of devoted fan, so was Sakura Airi hiding an idol identity?
Otherwise, why would an ordinary high school student have such a crazed middle-aged fan?
If that really was the case, he might be able to find some clues online.
Sure enough, it didn't take Aragaki Shun long to find the blog of a gravure idol named "Shizuku."
The blog featured countless gravure photos of "Shizuku."
The "Shizuku" in the pictures was a lively, adorable girl with red hair tied into twin tails.
Aragaki Shun gazed at her mature chest and slender waist, figures most girls his age could only dream of. His eyes then drifted, almost unconsciously, to her perfectly perky rear. He could hardly believe this was what Sakura Airi looked like beneath her dowdy clothes.
Take off the glasses and change her hairstyle, and she looked like a completely different person.
Mystery solved! Sakura Airi might not be his type, but she certainly had an incredible figure!
When Sakura had bumped into him and fallen into his arms, he'd felt her enticing curves and warmth, and his natural desires had stirred. He'd merely suppressed them with the rationality he'd cultivated over the years.
But that restraint had begun to crack during his time with Shiina.
"So my ideal type really is a literary girl like Shiina?"
Among all the girls at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, Shiina Hiyori might not have been the prettiest, the gentlest, the most beautiful, the smartest, or the cutest. But she was undoubtedly the one most compatible with Aragaki Shun.
Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo... Every one of those first-year girls had her own charm, but none of them gave Aragaki Shun that harmonious, natural feeling he'd had upon meeting someone for the first time and sensing they could be friends for life.
Shiina Hiyori, however, had somehow given him that rare feeling of unspoken understanding.
Their interactions afterward had only proven it.
There was no need for a grand gesture or some special occasion. All it had taken was one ordinary conversation in a corner of the library. They'd looked at each other, and their friendship had come about naturally.
After that, Aragaki Shun began running into Shiina Hiyori in the library more and more often. They didn't go out of their way to seek each other out; they just chatted now and then and shared their thoughts about what they'd been reading.
Sometimes, Aragaki Shun would find himself drawn to the girl's quiet demeanor. Other times, after putting down a book, he'd glance up and catch Shiina secretly watching him, as if she were hesitating over whether to speak and disturb him.
Without either of them realizing it, their understanding of each other grew, and their time together became more comfortable and affectionate. Only when he stopped to think about it did he realize how deep an impression the Literary Girl had left on him.
"And besides, I've had it far too easy all these years. My four basic attributes have also been strengthened to the human limit, so my body has fully matured..."
A full stomach made for a lustful mind.
For more than a decade, he'd lived in comfortable surroundings, with an abundance of material comforts. He'd had everything he could want, whether it was delicious food, entertainment, or any other pleasure.
With all his needs met, his body had gradually matured as he grew older, and his desires had begun to awaken.
Longing for the opposite sex and wanting to reproduce were instincts shared by all sexually reproducing creatures. And humans, who could be in heat all year round, 365 days a year, were no exception.
But when he'd been younger, Aragaki Shun had always used his reason to suppress those desires.
The problem was, when something was always within reach but kept being suppressed, the desire only grew stronger.
What's more, people who were strong and fit, like athletes, often had stronger desires than ordinary people.
And not long ago, he'd strengthened all his attributes to the limit of a normal human being. In theory, his body had reached the pinnacle of normal human development...
In that situation, Sakura Airi herself wasn't important. What mattered was that the desire she'd awakened had stirred Aragaki Shun's masculine instincts.
If those instincts clashed with his rationality, they could easily be suppressed.
But the problem was that, when he was with Shiina, those two things didn't really conflict.
Before you continue