Sakura Airi: "Um, Aragaki-kun, actually, I have a hobby of taking selfies with my camera and posting them on my blog."
Aragaki Shun: "I know. You're the gravure idol 'Shizuku,' right? I was curious about the name that shop assistant mentioned, so I searched for it online yesterday. I didn't realize Sakura had so many fans."
"Eh~ No way, you already found out?"
Sakura was so startled that she jumped up from her bed in a panic and hurried over to her laptop to open the website she usually used.
It was the blog of the gravure idol "Shizuku."
Sakura nervously checked the fan comments on her blog. Once she was sure no strange new comments had appeared, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although, that wasn't quite right. In fact, the comments section was filled with plenty of deranged, twisted messages.
--[Do you believe in fate? I do. From now on, we'll be together forever.]
When she'd first seen that comment, she'd thought it was just an ordinary fan's excessive fantasy. She hadn't expected the harassment to keep getting worse.
From then on, that person's account left comments like this every day, and they gradually became more and more brazen.
--[I've always thought we were a good match.]
--[You're even cuter today.]
--[Did you notice our eyes met? I noticed.]
Frightening comments like these appeared one after another, lining the comment section.
As the comments piled up, the tangible fear they inspired had continued to weigh on Sakura Airi.
But what eventually broke her was that the harassment wasn't limited to the internet. After she enrolled at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, she began receiving all kinds of letters from unknown senders in real life. Their crazed declarations of love were unmistakably similar to the comments on her blog.
In other words, the fan who'd been harassing her online was actually at this school too!
That person even knew where her room was. Every morning, they'd sneak over to deliver another letter. By now, she'd accumulated dozens of them.
The thought of being lusted after every day by a stalker like that made Sakura Airi let out a distressed cry. She'd nearly lost all hope in life.
She wanted to ask someone for help, but the reclusive girl couldn't even find one person she trusted enough to turn to. All she could do was shiver in fear by herself, curling up in her dorm room and crying alone every day.
That hellish life had left her barely able to breathe.
Then, in the midst of those days, Aragaki Shun suddenly appeared.
It had been nothing more than a chance encounter, and the boy had acted on a whim. Yet he'd cleanly and efficiently eliminated the source of the girl's fear, as easily as someone absentmindedly swatting a mosquito.
Sakura had never thought that she might see a glimmer of light again, just as she was about to fall completely into darkness.
"Aragaki-kun..."
Sakura Airi murmured the name of the hero in her heart, her cheeks slightly flushed. When she looked at the comments section on her blog again, the fear she'd once felt was gone.
She knew that the stalker who'd been harassing her in secret had been completely driven out of the school by Aragaki.
That meant Aragaki-kun was now the only person at Kodo Ikusei who knew about her identity as "Shizuku."
The red-haired girl gazed in a daze at the various selfies stored on her laptop. She really wanted to know what Aragaki-kun thought of "Shizuku" after seeing the photos on her blog.
Aragaki Shun: "Are you still there?"
Sakura had been silent for several minutes. Aragaki guessed that the girl might be worried the shop assistant's actions would happen all over again, so he offered her some reassurance.
Aragaki Shun: "You don't have to worry, Sakura. I haven't told anyone else about your identity as a gravure idol."
Aragaki Shun: "Besides, I'm not really into celebrities, and I have plenty of people interested in me already. You don't think I'm some crazed fan like that shop assistant, do you?"
Sakura Airi: "No! That's not it! I'm not worried about that. I actually wanted to tell Aragaki-kun something..."
And so, Sakura Airi told Aragaki Shun everything: how she'd been harassed on her blog and stalked in real life by the shop assistant.
Sakura Airi: "His letters kept getting more and more outrageous. I was scared—really scared that one day that man would come after me in person."
Sakura Airi: "Luckily, Aragaki-kun helped me. Otherwise, I can't even imagine how I would have managed to keep living at this school."
Sakura Airi: "So please, Aragaki-kun, you have to accept these points. I'm useless. I'm bad at both studying and sports, and I don't have any close friends. I don't even know what I can do to thank you."
After she finished, Sakura transferred another five hundred thousand Private Points to him, leaving Aragaki Shun at a loss for words.
This girl really did seem a little too sweet and naive.
But then he thought about how he didn't like being indebted to anyone, and figured other people were probably the same.
So he didn't send all the points back this time, keeping four hundred thousand for himself.
Aragaki Shun: "Then I'll accept the bigger share. Keep the remaining hundred thousand for yourself. Class D only gets so little spending money each month. You have to budget carefully just to eat and drink normally, never mind your photography hobby."
Sakura Airi: "Okay, I understand. Thank you for looking out for me, Aragaki-kun."
A somewhat silly smile appeared on the red-haired girl's face. She was the one giving money, yet she didn't seem to mind at all—and she even thanked the person receiving it. It was a little absurd.
Aragaki shook his head, deciding not to dwell on what girls were thinking. He'd be better off thinking about what to eat later.
Aragaki Shun: "Sakura, you should still be more careful from now on. I don't know much about gravure idols, but I do know a little about the trouble that obsessive fans can cause."
Aragaki Shun: "Honestly, the personality you show at school makes it really hard to connect you with the word 'idol.'"
To be fair, although they were in different fields, Aragaki Shun, his adoptive younger sister, and his adoptive parents were all somewhat well-known.
He himself was one of the top light novel authors in the industry. One of his adoptive parents was a member of the House of Representatives, while the other was the president of the parents' association. As for his adoptive younger sister, Ayase, she'd gone off to try her hand at modeling.
He and his adoptive parents didn't need to worry about that sort of thing. As for Ayase, both Aragaki Shun and his adoptive father had already spoken with her agency, so her safety was nothing to worry about.
Still, before he enrolled at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, Ayase seemed to have already quit modeling. He'd heard she wanted to devote all her energy to her studies and would definitely get into Kodo Ikusei two years later so she could come see him.
Now that he thought about it, his adoptive father had probably done it on purpose. He knew perfectly well that getting into Kodo Ikusei had little to do with grades, yet he'd still misled Ayase like that.
Sakura Airi: "Um, I never thought 'Shizuku' would have so many fans either. At first, I just wanted to try uploading some photos to my blog."
Because she'd developed much earlier than other girls, Sakura Airi had always been troubled by people's stares. Most of them came from boys, but plenty came from girls too.
It had been especially bad during junior high. The other girls around her hadn't started developing noticeably yet, while Sakura Airi's figure had grown ahead of everyone else's. It had caused her no small amount of trouble.
To make herself less noticeable, Sakura Airi had rarely spoken to anyone since then. She deliberately wore unfashionable glasses and dressed plainly, successfully turning herself into a wallflower in the corner so that she wouldn't draw attention.
But humans were social creatures. Even a normal person would inevitably feel lonely and isolated if they were always alone. Deep down, the girl had always longed for someone who could understand her heart.
Until she met someone like that, she could only devote all her attention to the one hobby she had and start taking all kinds of pictures.
She'd uploaded the photos to her blog because of her loneliness, hoping to get a little attention online.
She'd thought it didn't matter because everyone was a stranger.
She hadn't expected "Shizuku" to become more and more famous, until things were completely out of her control.
Sakura Airi: "Um, Aragaki-kun, you've seen 'Shizuku's' blog too. What do you think of the photos?"
99. Karuizawa Kei Was Willing to Do Anything
It was six o'clock the next afternoon.
After saying goodbye to Shiina Hiyori, Aragaki Shun left the library and headed to the place where Karuizawa Kei had invited him for a meal.
On the way, he suddenly received an email from Sakura Airi. He raised an eyebrow, opened it, and found the latest selfie from "Shizuku."
In the photo, the red-haired girl had taken off her unfashionable glasses. She wore a pure white one-piece dress, and her carefully styled twin tails fell to her waist, giving her an especially fresh and refined look.
Her skin was as white as snow, and in the sunlight, it seemed to glow faintly. Her delicate features were like finely crafted porcelain. Her bright eyes were especially captivating, lively yet tinged with shyness, like flowers on the verge of blooming.
Aragaki Shun had to admit that "Shizuku" in the photo looked nothing like Sakura Airi in her everyday life. Compared with the reclusive, withdrawn Little Transparent, "Shizuku" was like an elf from a fairy tale—lively and cute. Just looking at the photo was enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
No wonder she had so many fans online. She certainly had the looks for it.
Sakura Airi: "Aragaki-kun, th-this one is a photo I just took."
Reading Sakura's message, Aragaki Shun stopped walking for a moment. He admired her selfie as he fell into thought.
The previous evening, Sakura Airi had asked him what he thought of "Shizuku's" photos.
Aragaki Shun didn't know what had made the girl ask him that, but he'd still answered honestly.
His opinion could be summed up in one line: "It's great, I like it. Send me more."
Then the other person had panicked and abruptly ended the chat.
Aragaki Shun had assumed Sakura was startled by his bluntness and hadn't thought much more about it. But now, the next day, she'd actually sent him her latest selfie?
Girl, isn't this a little strange?
Well, whatever. He'd let things take their course. It wasn't a big deal.
Aragaki Shun: "Sakura's really cute in this style. The lighting and composition are good too. You really are a well-known gravure idol online."
Sakura Airi: "It's not as good as you say, Aragaki-kun."
Sakura Airi: "I'm glad you like it. Um, should I keep sending you photos after this?"
Back in her dorm room early again, Sakura Airi waited for the reply, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She didn't know what had gotten into her the previous day. She'd asked such a strange question on impulse.
What she hadn't expected was for Aragaki Shun to honestly tell her what he thought of "Shizuku." He'd praised her and even said outright that she could send him more photos like that.
It had kept her tossing and turning all night. She'd been distracted while taking pictures that afternoon too. After she finished, she'd opened her phone without thinking and sent him a photo she'd picked out especially for him.
"Mm... I can't take it anymore..."
Covering her cheeks with both hands, Sakura knew she was acting strange—definitely not like herself—but what could she do when she couldn't control it?
Aragaki Shun: "That's up to you. If you don't mind, I have no problem with it."
Aragaki Shun stared speechlessly at Sakura's message. He felt like the other person was deliberately tempting him.
She seemed so withdrawn in person, yet she was unexpectedly bold online.
Was that the difference between Sakura Airi and "Shizuku"?
Sakura Airi: "I-I understand. I'll do my best."
Do your best at what, exactly?
Just as Aragaki Shun wondered about that, several more emails appeared on his phone at once.
They were more selfies of "Shizuku," though they clearly hadn't been taken today. Besides the fact that "Shizuku" in the photos looked younger than Sakura did now, all he had to do was glance at a certain feature that had outpaced her peers' development to realize just how startlingly fast the girl had matured.
The outfits in these selfies varied too. They included a school uniform that didn't belong to Kodo Ikusei, an exquisitely designed kimono, and a black-and-white maid outfit that looked exceptionally cute.
Aragaki Shun: "Are these old photos?"
Sakura Airi: "Yes, these are some old selfies I never posted on my blog. If you want, Aragaki-kun, I can find a few suitable ones to send you."
--What I really want to see are the unsuitable ones.
He really wanted to say that, but with Sakura's personality, if she took him seriously, things would get troublesome.
Aragaki Shun closed his eyes. When he opened them again, every distracting thought had vanished from his gaze. His powerful will had completely subdued every instinct in his body.
Aragaki Shun: "Sakura, if you're free tomorrow or the day after, come by the Cultural and Entertainment Club and fill out a club registration form."
Sakura Airi: "I-I understand. The Cultural and Entertainment Club, right? I'll go."
Aragaki Shun looked speechlessly at her excessively quick reply.
Judging by how fast she'd answered, Sakura hadn't even thought about it carefully. She'd just agreed to his suggestion without a second thought.
Was this naive girl going to latch onto him?
Aragaki Shun: "...Do you even know what the Cultural and Entertainment Club does? You agreed without asking what the club was about. Aren't you afraid I'll sell you off?"
Sakura Airi: "Eh? Aragaki-kun would never do that. Please don't joke like that."
Aragaki Shun: "Take it as a joke, then. The Cultural and Entertainment Club is a club I applied to start at the school. Right now, it only has a few students from Class A as members. Anyway, if you're free tomorrow or the day after, come by."
Seeing the other person still making such naive remarks, Aragaki Shun clicked his tongue softly and finally decided he'd better keep her where he could keep an eye on her.
Otherwise, he had the feeling she was far too quick to trust strangers. All it would take was a little kindness, and someone could trick her into going with them. Even after they'd taken advantage of her completely, she'd probably still help them count their money.
She'd transferred him all those points, and now she'd sent him a whole bunch of nice photos. Aragaki Shun felt he should look out for her a little. Otherwise, he'd feel as if he didn't deserve the heavy trust she'd placed in him.
Sakura Airi: "Your club, Aragaki-kun? I understand. I'll go. I'll definitely go!"
Sakura Airi's eyes lit up in her dorm room. She'd never expected to get such an unexpected bonus. Overjoyed, the girl hurriedly opened her collection and quickly found a few more photos to send him.
Aragaki Shun: "..."
It seemed like the other person had misunderstood something.
But whatever. You might as well enjoy the perks while they were there.
Aragaki Shun shook his head and glanced at the photos the other person kept sending. He only offered a small reminder—
Before you continue