Feibo's Distress

Time flew by, and today was the last day of April.

Sitting in the back row of the classroom, Suzuki Tsubame was utterly bored. Over the past month, he'd practically run to the gymnasium at every chance, but he'd only managed to win a handful of matches against upperclassmen who were out of the loop.

The upperclassmen who knew him avoided him like mice spotting a cat, keeping their distance.

Kushida had been quite well-behaved this month; no rumors about himself or Horikita had spread through the class.

Suzuki Tsubame vaguely recalled that in the original story, the girls had spread gossip about Horikita looking down on everyone, but that hadn't happened this time.

Horikita was still the same as ever—cold to everyone except him.

Sakayanagi hadn't made any moves. Suzuki Tsubame had gone looking for her, but she kept dodging him, not even showing up when he asked her to play chess.

Besides that, Kamuro Masumi had been tailing him the whole time, but her supposedly flawless tracking skills had been seen through from the very start.

Mid-month, he'd made a deal with Ichinose from Class B—one million points in exchange for telling her the rules of this behavioral exam.

But their plan didn't seem to be going anywhere; Ryuen was making their lives miserable.

Class D classroom.

Still as noisy as ever. Most people had no idea what was coming for them.

"Bang!"

Chabashira Sae slammed her lesson plan onto the podium, producing a loud crash.

"Quiet!"

"We're going to have a mock exam next. This test won't count toward your personal grades, so it doesn't matter how many points you get."

The test papers were passed from front to back. Horikita Suzune was brimming with fighting spirit, as if she could leave this godforsaken class tomorrow.

Suzuki Tsubame could only wish her luck.

This test wasn't hard for Suzuki Tsubame. An exam at this level was child's play, not even comparable to the ordinary monthly tests he'd taken in his first year of middle school.

The test ended quickly.

"Sudo, Ike, Ayanokoji, come on."

Yamauchi dragged Kuroya Keisaku and the others away. How had Ayanokoji managed to blend in? Looked like he was getting along with them pretty well.

"Kei, Shinohara, let's go shopping."

Sato pulled the gyaru group along, joined by her fellow countrywoman Wang Meiyu, Mori Nene, and Matsushita Chiaki.

Cliques were thriving—that was Class D for you.

Suzuki Tsubame sat motionless in his seat. In this situation, forget about him—even if a failed art student showed up, they wouldn't be able to rally everyone.

"Suzuki-kun, could you wait a moment?"

Hirata Yosuke called out to Suzuki Tsubame with an apologetic look.

Suzuki Tsubame watched Horikita disappear through the classroom door and stopped.

"What's up?"

Suzuki Tsubame looked puzzled, though he had a pretty good idea what Hirata was here for.

"It's like this. Horikita-san has been acting a bit... withdrawn this month. Everyone seems to have some complaints about her. You're the only one in class who can really talk to her. Could I trouble you to help her fit in a little more with the class?"

Hirata put it very tactfully, meaning he wanted Suzuki Tsubame to tell Horikita to tone it down a notch.

After all, this month she'd practically worn the phrase "ashamed to be with you all" on her face.

Suzuki Tsubame shook his head. Hirata was too fixated on the class. He seemed normal on the surface, but in reality, his flaw was the biggest of all.

"Hirata-kun, everyone has their own way of living. Suzune likes this kind of life, so just let her be."

"As for others' complaints, you don't need to worry. Suzune won't care. And if she gets targeted because of it, there's even less reason to worry. She may not be good with words, but she's good with her fists."

Suzuki Tsubame sounded like he was taking Horikita's side, but he was actually reminding Hirata that everyone had their own way of living, telling him not to be so obsessive.

"Still, please try to persuade Horikita-san. For the sake of the class, I'm begging you."

With that, Hirata Yosuke bowed to him.

Seriously, Suzuki Tsubame was speechless. Couldn't this guy understand plain language?

And what was with that ninety-degree bow?

The moment the other bent over, Suzuki Tsubame dodged out of the way.

"Fine, I'll talk to her. But I don't know if it'll do any good."

Suzuki Tsubame said this and walked straight out through the back door of the classroom.

"Thank you, Suzuki-kun." By the time Hirata straightened up, Suzuki Tsubame was already gone.

When Suzuki Tsubame stepped out of the classroom, Horikita was nowhere to be seen.

Remembering that the fridge in his dormitory was already empty, Suzuki Tsubame changed course and headed for the supermarket.

He usually liked to take the long way, cutting through the woods by the artificial lake to get back to the dormitory. It made the trip longer, but sometimes he'd run into unexpected surprises.

"Suzuki-kun!"

A lively female voice, brimming with energy.

"Ah, Ichinose. What are you doing sitting here all alone? Where's your harem?"

He hadn't expected to run into a wild Ichinose, sitting by herself on a bench.

Half a month ago, when Suzuki Tsubame had approached Ichinose, she'd still been surrounded by a gaggle of Class B girls. Catching her alone back then had been no easy feat.

When Suzuki laid out his trade proposal, the girls had instinctively crowded around, worried Ichinose might get tricked.

In the end, they settled on their usual karaoke spot as the meeting place. The guys were Suzuki Tsubame, Kanzaki Ryuji, and Mashima Tomoya.

The Class B girls showed up in full force—it looked less like a contract negotiation and more like a mixer.

As for why they called in the Class A homeroom teacher to witness instead of Class B's Hoshinomiya Chie? Well, those who knew, knew.

It gave Suzuki a taste of what it felt like to stumble into a kingdom of women.

"It's not a harem at all! Suzuki-kun, that's such a weird thing to say."

Ichinose's cheeks flushed faintly. She'd been agonizing over this very issue, and now Suzuki had just blurted it out.

Looking at him, her eyes suddenly lit up.

She couldn't exactly talk about what she was going through with anyone in her class, but Suzuki right here? He was perfect.

"It's like this, Suzuki-kun."

"I have a friend. She's been having a bit of trouble lately. Could you help her out?"

Ichinose wore a troubled expression, as if she genuinely cared about her friend's predicament.

"Is that so? I get it. I'll do my best to help your friend out."

Suzuki emphasized the word "friend," which made Ichinose blush even harder. Lying didn't come easily to her.

"Um, my friend... she recently found out that a friend of the same gender has a crush on her. But she doesn't feel the same way. How should she respond without hurting the other person?"

Ichinose laid out her friend's dilemma, hoping Suzuki would have an answer.

"If she doesn't feel the same, then no matter how she answers, it's going to hurt the other person, right?"

"You should remind your friend—working up the courage to confess isn't easy. Especially when it's a same-gender confession. After turning them down gently, make sure to comfort them properly."

A same-gender confession was practically on par with incest. If word got out, it could mean social death, especially in a society like this island nation's, where deviants got crushed hard.