What "Cute Height Difference"? (Just Kidding) / You Came to Question Me with Only This Much to Back You Up?

She felt like she might have said something wrong again.

Girls were so hard to read.

"Um... Horikita..."

"I'm going to the restroom."

Horikita Suzune stood up and left the classroom. Matsushita watched her go, then looked at Ayanokoji. "I think I understand now why Kushida called you a little princess."

"?"

Ayanokoji looked at Matsushita in confusion, not understanding why she would say that.

She really did seem so sheltered... To put it nicely, she was innocent and naive. To put it less nicely, she had no social skills.

Only a little princess who'd never known hardship could have grown up with a personality like that.

From childhood onward, socializing in Japan meant reading the room, but she couldn't read anything at all.

"Sorry, Matsushita. I guess I'm just not suited to conversation."

Ayanokoji spoke softly. From Matsushita's perspective, she looked a little dejected.

Good heavens, why were there so many peculiar people in Class D?

That left Matsushita trying to comfort Ayanokoji again. She was so flustered that she even had to ask Kushida for help, leaving Kushida with a face full of exasperation.

She'd known it. Hoya the realtor would only bring her all kinds of trouble.

"Achoo!"

Hoya the realtor, unaware someone had been talking about him, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and walked out of the restroom.

Great. Ryuen Shoko was quiet today and hadn't pinned him to a desk and ground him into the dirt again. Life was pretty good.

"Tsk."

A conspicuous sound came from beside him. He turned his head and saw Horikita Suzune.

That sound just now seemed to have been directed at him.

"What a nutcase."

After cursing under his breath, Hoya the realtor headed back to class.

Who knew what that nasty woman was up to now?

Back in class, he saw his classmates quietly minding their own business and couldn't help nodding.

This was nice, too. Much better than a noisy classroom.

"Albert, could you come out for a moment?"

"Me?"

Albert pointed at himself, unsure why Hoya had called for him.

Was he going to talk about the plan?

Outside the classroom, he looked down at Hoya, who was a head shorter than him. "What do you need, Chukai-kun?"

"'Need' makes it sound like an order. I found you a friend. It's part of the plan, but not just part of the plan."

Hoya spoke as he looked down at the messages on his phone. Ichinose still hadn't sent him anything new.

"Class C and Class B are allies now, but a verbal alliance isn't enough. I need someone who can really fit in with them. I looked around and decided you'd be the best fit."

"Me? But I don't know how to talk to people."

"That's fine. Your personality is exactly why I trust you. The people in Class B are all easy to get along with, so I need someone without an ulterior motive."

Hoya patted Albert on the shoulder. He really did trust him.

Albert was a loyal guard and bodyguard. He was much more loyal than Hoya himself—on the level of Dian Wei or Xu Chu from the Three Kingdoms. And because he wasn't much of a talker, he was less likely to mess things up by trying too hard. He was the only choice for this plan.

He was the only choice for this plan.

What's the Cutest Height Difference? (Not)

"Ah, Hoya, over here!"

Ichinose came out of her classroom, too. Beside her was a little pudding of a guy—without a doubt, Shibata Sou.

Of course, "little pudding" was relative. Standing next to Albert, he didn't look very imposing.

When Shibata Sou saw that the classmate Ichinose had come to meet was Hoya the realtor, his expression turned a little odd.

Why? Because he kept seeing all sorts of girls going into Hoya the realtor's dorm room.

That's right. He was the boy who lived diagonally across from Hoya the realtor, the one who'd secretly seen all those girls go into his room.

"Okay, then I'll leave him in your hands, Ichinose. Honestly, it's hard for me to say I can communicate well with Albert. I think you have a lot more experience. After all, I asked you to look after Ayanokoji, too. I feel bad for always troubling you."

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm just glad I can help a classmate."

As expected of a little angel. If you needed help, she was the best person to ask. She was happy to help her classmates, and seeing them smile was the greatest reward she could ask for.

"Then I'll leave Albert with you?"

"Don't worry, Hoya. We'll do our best to help Yamada."

"Heh. If you're handling it, I'm not worried."

After leaving Albert with Ichinose, Hoya the realtor returned to class to keep lazing around.

He just hoped Albert could get along with Class B—not in the physical sense of "getting along." His personality might not be very appealing to ordinary people, but in Class B's angelic class, it would be easy for them to bring him out of his shell.

Hoya the realtor wasn't wrong. An alliance between two countries needed a diplomatic representative, and Albert really was the most suitable person in the class. Beneath his resolute exterior was a tender heart. With no ulterior motives, he'd find it easiest to get along with the people in Class B.

Class B was full of little angels, sure, but that didn't mean there weren't any smart people. Kanzaki Ryuji was one of them. If they sent over someone devious, he'd likely see through them, and their relationship would turn sour. Albert wouldn't have that problem.

He really was special.

He was so loyal that Hoya could trust him completely to carry out the plan. And before it began, there was no need to tell him anything about it. It would be easy for him to hang out with Class B without knowing the plan. Once they got past the initial cold spell and his gentle side began to show, good news would follow.

"Things going smoothly?"

Ryuen Shoko asked calmly as she sat with her legs crossed, filing her nails. Hoya the realtor chuckled. "The third step went well. By the way, how's the second step coming along?"

His plan was divided into several steps. Everything before the final step was just groundwork. But the steps weren't meant to be carried out one after another. They were all happening together.

"The second step's going smoothly. After today, they should all know that Class C doesn't want to start trouble. Whew. When do we carry out the fourth step?"

"No rush. The timing isn't right yet. Next week. We can probably get started on Wednesday. We'll begin the fourth step on Monday."

"And the fifth step?"

"Of course, that's for the day we make our move. Guess why I chose Wednesday? Because Mashima-sensei has class that day. Wouldn't it be hilarious to have him there as a witness?"

Hoya the realtor narrowed his eyes and smiled. He was really looking forward to seeing the expressions on the faces of the students in Class A.

He figured they'd all want to ask their teacher, "Your Majesty, why did you surrender first?"

But there was nothing to be done. Mashima-sensei was a very righteous person. He wouldn't lie at a moment like that.

At first, Hoya the realtor had planned to target Hoshinomiya-sensei instead. But after speaking briefly with her yesterday, he felt it wouldn't be easy to get her to cooperate with their actions. At the very least, Chabashira would have to make a move first.

And Chabashira hadn't noticed that there was anything special about Ayanokoji yet, so she wouldn't make a move... Wait, if I help Ayanokoji seem more like an ordinary person, would Chabashira fail to notice what makes her special?

Heh. Now that would be interesting.

Rubbing his chin, Hoya the realtor began to consider how to handle this.

But he was worrying too much about that. Chabashira had already noticed the problem with Ayanokoji.

"Hmm... There's no way around it. She's clearly suspicious."

Looking at the report card in her hand, Chabashira Sae furrowed her brow.

Ayanokoji Kiyohime. Every one of her scores was 51. Was it a coincidence?

No. Yesterday, she'd gone out of her way to get the exam paper from the student office. Ayanokoji had gotten some easy questions wrong and the difficult ones right. She'd clearly done it on purpose.

Then... should she test her?

Yes. She'd test her.

When the second period ended, Chabashira Sae used her phone to ask Ayanokoji to come to her office.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I have a few questions here. Do them for me."

As she spoke, Chabashira Sae handed her a sheet with ten multiple-choice questions on it.

"Is that all?"

"Do these first. They're not hard. They're all questions middle schoolers could answer."

"Oh, okay."

Ayanokoji picked up a pen and started answering. In less than five minutes, she'd finished.

"Teacher, I'm done."

"Okay, let me see."

Chabashira Sae took the paper. Just as she was about to look it over, she heard someone knock.

"Knock, knock, knock." "Chabashira-sensei, are you in your office?"

It was Horikita's voice.

Chabashira Sae frowned slightly and quietly said to Ayanokoji, "You. Go wait in the other room. Don't make a sound. Understand?"

Though she didn't know why Chabashira Sae was telling her this, Ayanokoji nodded and went into the small room next door.

It was the tea room. It wasn't very big, but it was more than enough to hide someone.

Only after seeing Ayanokoji close the door did Chabashira Sae say, "Come in."

As she spoke, she picked up the answer sheet and began checking the ten questions.

Mm. Every answer was correct—all ten.

Just as she'd thought, there was something wrong with Ayanokoji.

Chabashira Sae had lied to Ayanokoji. In truth, the questions weren't all at a middle school level. Some were difficult enough that even high school seniors could barely solve them.

As expected, she'd been hiding her abilities. But why?

Chabashira Sae began to grow curious about Ayanokoji.

"Teacher, I'd like to ask you something. Why was I placed in Class D?"

Horikita had no idea what Chabashira Sae was thinking. She got straight to the point and asked the question she'd been unable to figure out for days.

She was such an outstanding student. Why had she ended up in Class D?

So That's All You've Got? You Came to Question Me with That?

Why had she ended up in Class D when her grades were so good?

Horikita couldn't understand it.

Hearing her question, Chabashira Sae chuckled. "Do you really think the classes are assigned based on academic performance?"

"..."

Chabashira Sae's words left Horikita silent.

She seemed to have realized the reason.

"Honestly, I happen to have a report card here. Your grades are tied for third in the year, and you're not far behind the top two. But why were you placed in Class D? Can't you think of a single reason?"

Chabashira Sae tossed the report card on her desk forward so Horikita could see it clearly. "If this school selected students based only on their grades, why do you think a student like Sudo was admitted?"

"Because... of his athletic ability?"

"Right. His athletic ability is excellent. I remember everyone introduced themselves to the class, didn't they? Most people can name one or two things they're good at. If that's true of Class D, you can imagine what Classes A, B, and C are like."

As she spoke, Chabashira Sae tossed Horikita another sheet of paper. "Here. There are ten questions. Do them."

Ten questions?

Horikita took the sheet and quickly skimmed through it.

Her brow immediately furrowed. "Teacher, a few of these questions aren't at a first-year high school level, are they?"