"Hey, are you heading back to the dorm?"
As they were leaving school, Ryuen Shoko tugged on the back of Hoya's collar. She really did seem a little off today.
"No, I'm going to gather some intel."
"Yeah, right. What intel do you still need to gather?"
"Some stuff about Class B. They're important to the plan this time, so how could I not go have a proper chat with them?"
"Uh... go ahead, then. Got it."
After letting go of Hoya, Ryuen Shoko lowered her head and went back to playing on her phone.
What a weird woman.
Scratching his head, Hoya couldn't figure out what was going on with Ryuen Shoko. Looking at her listless appearance, he asked, "What's wrong with you?"
"None of your business."
"Then... I'm off to have some fun?"
"Get lost."
Yeah, she was definitely acting weird.
Well, Hoya still left, glancing back three times as he went. He'd completely forgotten that just a few minutes ago he'd said he couldn't be bothered to deal with that crazy woman.
Maybe this was... masochism?
Though he'd said he was going out to have fun, Hoya obviously wasn't going to go in his school uniform. He went back to his dorm, changed into casual clothes, and then headed to the meeting place.
Hey, there were quite a few people.
Let's see who was there. From Class B, there were Ichinose Honami and Shibata Sou, along with a girl he didn't recognize. Albert was there from Class C besides himself, probably to help make the gathering more inclusive. Class D had Kushida Kikyo, Ayanokoji Kiyohime, Kei, Sato Maya, and Matsushita Chiaki.
"There are a lot of people."
Hoya greeted them. He could clearly see that Sato Maya's expression had turned a little... disgusted?
Maybe she'd heard some of the weird rumors about him.
He knew about the strange rumors himself: that he was a man with eight women on the go, that he was a rebel who'd rise up against his superiors, that he was a flirt, and so on.
No, he couldn't understand the last one at all. How was he a flirt? How?!
"Yeah. What, not used to it?"
Since Hoya had been invited by Ichinose, she was naturally the first to greet him. "Let's go. I booked a karaoke room so we can sing to our hearts' content."
"Sounds good. Nice work. But wait, is it all right if I invite a friend?"
"Sure. Who do you want to invite?"
"Someone from Class A."
With one hand in his pocket, Hoya used the other to call someone.
Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep.
Yeah, no answer.
Hoya turned and looked behind him, then called out, "Hey, don't pretend you didn't hear your phone. I know you're over there. Come on out. There's no point hiding."
"H-How did you know?"
Kamuro Masumi stepped out from behind a tree. She was wearing giant sunglasses, holding a newspaper, and had a wide-brimmed hat perched on her head.
"With a getup like that, who wouldn't notice you following me?"
Hoya gave a derisive snort. His instincts had been warning him that someone was following him, so he'd pretended to go buy a drink and deliberately taken a detour. As a result, the girl following him had really taken the same detour. He even thought that if he walked all the way around the island, she might follow him all the way around it.
Sakayanagi Arisu was pretty good. She'd trained her dog well—much better than Ryuen Shoko.
Tch, why was he comparing her to Ryuen Shoko? If she was the one training a dog, then what did that make him?
After inexplicably insulting himself, Hoya clicked his tongue twice and walked over as if nothing had happened. "All right, everyone's here. Shall we go have fun at karaoke?"
"Um... that's fine, but Chukai-kun, can you explain what's going on with her?"
Ichinose looked confused. Why had he dragged along someone who looked so suspicious?
"Oh, let me introduce her. This is Kamuro Masumi, one of Sakayanagi Arisu's subordinates. Sakayanagi is one of Class A's two big shots. I figure she was told to spy on us and gather intel. I thought it'd be better to bring her inside with us than have us all happily enjoying ourselves in there while she crouches outside the door."
"Chukai-kun, you're so kind."
Thanks, but you were the last person he wanted to hear that from.
Looking at Ichinose, who seemed touched, Hoya couldn't help sighing.
One of the two kindest people here was you. You didn't need to be so modest.
And maybe you should pay attention to the girl over there. The one you don't know has started clicking her tongue.
Seeing how the girl was acting, Hoya remembered who she was.
Shiranami Chihiro, the girl who loved girls.
A girl who was in love with Ichinose.
"Can we go sing now? Everyone looks like they can't wait."
"Yeah, if you hadn't held us up, we'd probably already be at the karaoke place."
Sato Maya didn't hold back. After she said that, Matsushita gently tapped her back and whispered, "Maya, that was a little rude."
"Ah, she does have a point. Once we get inside, I'll treat everyone to a drink. Come on, let's go!"
Hoya wasn't the sort to hold a grudge over something so small. He knew what the future held for Class D, so he'd let that woman enjoy herself for another month. After that, she'd have a rough time.
Maybe this would be the most carefree time they'd have in their three years here.
"Welcome. How many people are in your party?"
As he walked into the karaoke place, Hoya couldn't help feeling that this school had way too much money.
Great, they'd spent all their money on the wrong things. He'd have believed they'd been skimming money and dodging taxes while they were at it.
"Ten... eleven. Could you find us a large room?"
"Certainly. Please follow me."
Ichinose had been about to say ten, but she remembered Kamuro and quickly corrected herself to eleven. Everyone followed the attendant into the room. It looked like it was time to sing and have some fun.
Albert Really Was an Honest Guy!
"Come on, sing a couple of songs!"
Snacks and drinks were laid out in the karaoke room, and everyone was singing and fooling around.
The most eye-catching person there was undoubtedly Albert, the burly giant.
But, to everyone's surprise, the big dark-skinned guy was extremely bashful. Surrounded by girls, he was so shy that he couldn't even speak.
He probably had never imagined that he'd be so popular.
Of course, the girls weren't surrounding him for any particular reason. They'd just spotted an interesting classmate and wanted to tease him.
Sato Maya and Matsushita Chiaki sat on either side of him, each holding a microphone out for him to sing. Surrounded by the girls, he looked embarrassed. "I can't sing. I really can't."
"Come on, Albert. You're already here, so sing a little. It's fine if you're off-key. We're all friends here. Nobody's going to laugh at you."
Hoya had just delivered one of his classic lines: "We're already here, so..." He was teasing Albert too, encouraging him to show off his singing voice.
There were screens at both ends of the room, with seats in between and a long table in the center. The seats were arranged on either side of the table.
Hoya sat on one side, with Kamuro and Kushida on either side of him. Kei sat next to Kushida, and Shibata next to Kamuro. Matsushita and Sato sat on either side of the big guy, while Shiranami and Ichinose sat beside Matsushita.
And Ayanokoji? She was sitting calmly on Shibata's other side, observing humanity. These days, she liked observing people. She seemed to be enjoying herself.
"But, but I only know military songs."
"Military songs are boring. Sing something popular. I remember that milk tea shop near our school has been playing a song lately. Let's put that one on."
"Sure, heehee."
With Hoya encouraging her, Matsushita picked up the song selector and started searching. Soon, the intro to a song that had recently become popular in Japan began to play.
Sato handed Albert the microphone. Hoya passed his own microphone to Shibata. "Here, Shibata, you should know this one, right? Can you sing along with him?"
"Huh? Me? I'll give it a try."
Shibata wasn't as confident as Ichinose. He was just a younger, less polished version of her, after all. He was still missing something.
With Matsushita and Shibata leading him, Albert sang a few lines too. But the result was exactly what you'd expect. He wasn't merely off-key; he was completely out of tune.
Everyone laughed, and Matsushita even said she'd take him singing sometime.
Discrimination against dark-skinned people wasn't as widespread in Japan as it was in China. Besides, Albert wasn't fully Black; he was mixed-race. His burly build made people feel safe, but his shy personality also made it easy for him to attract girls' attention.
Someone like him would be a first-rate bodyguard or a devoted simp. That might not have been the most appropriate way to put it, but Sato seemed to have more than one reason for getting close to Albert.
Kei, on the other hand, didn't feel safe around Albert. Compared to the burly Albert, Hoya, that skinny guy, actually made her feel a little more at ease.
It was strange. Hoya wasn't particularly handsome; he just had pleasant features. He wasn't strong-looking either. If anything, he was a little scrawny. Yet someone like him had a strange confidence that made his strength apparent.
Kei had never believed that a strong-looking person could necessarily make someone feel safe. Otherwise, in the original story, she wouldn't have chosen Hirata when Sudo was so much more muscular than him.
The gyaru kept sneaking glances at Hoya, and Kushida, sitting beside her, looked a little complicated.
She felt that Kei had some strange feelings for Hoya. It made her feel a little jealous.
Huh? Jealous? What the hell?
Realizing she was feeling this strange emotion, Kushida couldn't help patting her own face.
Kushida, Kushida, you've only known him for a few days. How did you end up like this?
"What are you doing? Why'd you suddenly slap yourself?"
Hoya, lounging with his legs crossed and sipping his drink, had naturally noticed Kushida's strange behavior. He reached out and touched her forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"Hey, don't do that!"
Hoya had suddenly touched her so familiarly, and Kushida's face turned red. She quickly swatted his hand away, but her words came out with an unmistakable note of shyness.
"He really is a playboy." "Shouldn't we call him a womanizer?"
Beside Albert, Sato and Matsushita whispered to each other. It seemed they'd made up their minds about Hoya's character.
Looks like the rumors were true.
"Chukai-kun is a good person."
Albert was sitting between them, so he'd naturally heard their whispers. He spoke up for Hoya. "He treats all of us really well in class."
"We didn't say he was a bad person. Don't worry."
Seeing Albert's earnest expression, Matsushita smiled and patted his shoulder.
This guy was really interesting.
Each side had its own fun, but things were a little awkward on Ichinose's side.
After all, having a classmate stare at her with such fervent eyes was a little too much for Ichinose.
She had to shift her attention to Ayanokoji, who was quietly observing everyone while holding a cup of hot cocoa in both hands. "Ayanokoji, would you like to sing a song?"
"Oh, right, Ayanokoji, sing one! I want to hear you sing too."
He had to admit, he was really curious about hearing Ayanokoji—Ayanokoji Kiyohime—sing. Her voice was lovely now that she'd become a girl, and it would be fascinating to hear her sing. She was called aloof, but was actually just shy, which only made everyone more curious.
"Yeah, Ayanokoji can sing, right?"
"Ah... I guess I can."
Ayanokoji scratched her head, unsure if she could sing or not.
She'd studied music in the White Room too, but she'd learned classical instruments. She didn't know much about pop music.
But that was fine. She'd listened to everyone else singing for a while, so she should be able to give it a try... right?
Watching Ayanokoji sing a love song with a completely expressionless face, Hoya covered his mouth and lowered his head, trying his best not to laugh.
He couldn't take it anymore. She was too funny. Why was Ayanokoji so amusing?
Her singing an indecent song with such a serious expression was hilarious. She was even trying hard to find the right notes, but the melody of this song was completely different from every other song!
"Were you doing that on purpose, Kushida?"
Before you continue