The Idol's Troubles

"Souka..."

Hasebe's expression was quite vivid. She said thoughtfully:

"No wonder... I always felt like neither of those two lines of thinking seemed wrong."

"I subconsciously ranked them, completely ignoring that they could actually coexist."

The girl's gaze darted away, and she awkwardly smoothed the long hair hanging over her chest.

Just a few minutes ago, she'd been smug about her own answer.

It wasn't until she got Suzuki Tsubame's explanation that the light dawned on her.

"The child can be taught."

Suzuki Tsubame raised a hand, lightly stroking his non-existent beard, and smiled with satisfaction.

Hasebe was pretty sharp, and her personality was excellent too. She had neither Horikita's arrogance nor the psychological flaws of Kushida, Karuizawa, and the others.

Her only flaw seemed to be a lack of boundaries and a habit of giving people nicknames.

Unbearable... So after spending so long in Class D, his standards for normal people had dropped this high?

He glanced to the side. Ike's cheeks were already stuffed full, and he was still shoving food in like there was no tomorrow.

Just a few minutes ago, he'd been all righteous indignation, and now he was eating and drinking without a care, afraid of missing out.

Yeah... I must be sick.

As the gathering neared its end, the snacks Ayanokoji had bought were almost gone.

"By the way, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Hasebe's tone carried a hint of awkwardness, and her expression turned troubled.

She'd promised Airy earlier that she'd keep it a secret.

But... with just the two of them, they couldn't figure out a solution at all.

For Airy's sake, she decided to play the bad guy.

As if sensing what she was about to say next, Sakura lowered her head, timidly tugging at Hasebe's sleeve, trying to stop her.

But Hasebe was too carefree to notice her small gesture.

"That matter has to do with Sakura, doesn't it?"

Horikita's expression was calm.

Sakura and Hasebe—such a contrasting pair—she surprisingly didn't dislike.

Suzuki Tsubame hadn't expected their relationship to be this close either.

Sakura had actually been willing to confess to Hasebe that she was an online idol.

"Huh? Miss Suzune... how did you know?"

Hasebe looked confused. Had Airy told Horikita too?

When had they gotten so close?

Horikita pointed at Sakura beside her, signaling Hasebe to look.

Sakura was gripping Hasebe's sleeve tightly, shyly lowering her head like a frightened little ostrich.

Seeing Sakura's pitiful state, Hasebe couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Uh... Airy, it shouldn't be a big deal to say it, right?"

"We're all good friends. Figuring out how to deal with him together is better than worrying alone, isn't it?"

She raised a hand, gently stroking the girl's long hair, carefully soothing her emotions.

Why did Hasebe step forward to seek help for Sakura?

First, she truly considered Sakura a kindred spirit and her best friend. Second, she felt everyone present could be trusted.

Hasebe wasn't originally withdrawn; in fact, she was quite outgoing.

The reason she came off as somewhat aloof in the original story was that the boys in class always looked at her with lecherous eyes, which she hated.

And most of the girls in Class D were hypocritical, which also made her uncomfortable.

This little group, though, felt comfortable to be around.

Except for the occasional squabble between Horikita and Kushida, everyone got along pretty well.

Ayanokoji went without saying—his eyes barely held any emotion at all.

Sudo might have a short temper, but at his core, he was insecure, and he never looked at others with a dirty gaze.

Ike was a bit sleazy, but all the damage was absorbed by Kushida, so Hasebe wasn't affected.

As for Suzuki Tsubame, it was impossible that he hadn't sneaked a few glances.

The main thing was that Suzuki Tsubame was handsome and knew exactly where to draw the line.

Every time they were about to get caught, he always came up with a little joke to make everyone laugh.

Most importantly... backed by that handsome face, even the lewdest glances turned into normal appreciation between a man and a woman, even making Hasebe feel a strange sense of pride.

"Sakura-san, if you're having any trouble, you have to speak up, okay? Everyone will do their best to help you."

Kushida's tone and expression were full of concern.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll all help you."

Hearing Kushida speak, Ike immediately chimed in to back her up. In his eyes... whatever Kushida did was right.

As for whether he genuinely wanted to help or not, that was anyone's guess.

Sakura nodded silently. At first, she had been a bit shy.

But thinking that everyone was really good people, she felt she should try to trust them too.

With her permission, Hasebe began to tell everyone about the strange things Sakura had been experiencing these past few days.

It turned out... Sakura was a moderately well-known online idol.

These past few days when she posted her work, a peculiar account had been quite active, claiming in private messages:

That he knew Sakura was a student at Advanced Nurturing, spewed a bunch of obscenities, and even tried to threaten and intimidate her.

This person was likely also at Advanced Nurturing, which made her extremely uneasy.