Game

On this day, the once-peaceful classroom was suddenly attacked by an unknown life form.

Run! A voice screamed in the depths of Hoshino Kanade's heart.

Before she completely conquers you... find her weakness.

But unfortunately, Kiyona is an all-around genius, flawless in every aspect.

Yet, it is precisely because she is flawless that Hoshino Kanade is even more convinced that the time spent with Kiyona, and every sudden heartbeat, are all encounter battles meticulously planned by Kiyona.

However, there is no guarantee that in this real world, Kiyona will possess the absolute rationality she had in the original work, so Hoshino Kanade can only maintain a certain degree of sobriety.

Sobriety is his final armor, while a heartbeat... is always a trophy offered to the hunter.

Cool strands of hair wound around his knuckles, stirring up a fine, itchy sensation, and his palm betrayed his reason, unable to resist craving the warmth and softness atop Kiyona's head.

"It... it's not as good as you say."

Hoshino Kanade's face flushed, and he lowered his head slightly, his gaze darting to the side.

After another while, Kiyona still showed no intention of letting go.

"Alright, class is about to start."

"Let's go to the club orientation together after school this afternoon."

"I know, you don't have to remind me again."

It finally ended, and Hoshino Kanade turned back around, the flush brought on by the rising temperature on his face slowly dissipating.

The students in the class were whispering to each other, and from time to time, Hoshino Kanade could feel gazes of various meanings cast from different directions.

It was very uncomfortable, and if nothing went wrong, it would probably take a while before things returned to normal.

With this, Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona had become famous in class, with an effect even more powerful than self-introductions.

Although Hoshino Kanade did not want to be famous.

The chaotic learning atmosphere in Class D made it difficult for students who wanted to focus to calm their minds.

But even while sitting in the last row, with the people in front of him all being "monsters and freaks," Horikita Suzune still listened attentively and took notes in every class.

In this regard, Hoshino Kanade still admired her.

Time always felt like it flew by when studying, and the afternoon classes were quickly spent reading—though Hoshino Kanade felt this had more to do with the shorter class periods in Japanese middle schools.

The afternoon classes started at 1:30 and ended at 3:00, with only two sessions lasting a short hour and a half.

After that, there was half an hour for cleaning, and after 4:00, it was time for club activities.

In Japanese schools, club activities are an important part of campus life.

Students can freely choose clubs they are interested in—from sports like baseball and kendo, to cultural ones like anime research and tea ceremony, and even unique clubs like the robotics club or the psychic research club.

Not only can it develop hobbies, but it can also bring multiple values; for example, winning awards in club competitions can help with further education; breaking class and grade restrictions to make friends, forming a girl band together...

In general, clubs are both the starting point for students' interests and a springboard for growth; Hoshino Kanade believes their value far exceeds the dead knowledge in the classroom.

Although, in middle school, Hoshino Kanade's club was always the Going-Home Club, and no violent teacher ever forced him to join any strange clubs.

After finishing the cleaning, there was still an hour and a half until the club orientation started.

Continue reading.

"Kanade, let's go to the gymnasium."

Kiyona's voice rang in his ears.

Heaven knows how long Kiyona had been waiting; when Kanade was reading, Kiyona sat in the seat in front of him and watched him. After all, Kiyona had nothing else she wanted to do, so she might as well observe a human.

Calling it reading was one thing, but Kiyona felt that flipping through books was more accurate; his reading speed was faster than her own, and time just slipped away along with Kanade's "swish-swish-swish" page-turning.

"Then let's go."

When Hoshino Kanade and the others arrived at the gymnasium, the club orientation had just begun.

The gymnasium was buzzing with noise, and the seniors from various clubs were enthusiastically promoting their clubs to the freshmen.

The display boards showed the features of the clubs with pictures and text, the flyers were detailed and eye-catching, and the atmosphere on site was very lively.

It was time for the daily realization of how wealthy the school was.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School not only has an excellent overall standard of clubs, but also no shortage of nationally certified elite clubs and athletes.

The club equipment is also much more complete than schools of the same level, and there are even some luxury facilities, such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

However, none of this had anything to do with Hoshino Kanade; he was just here to accompany the prince to study.

But Kiyona didn't seem very interested either; although she was in the noisy recruitment scene, she remained outside the heat of the moment.

She only took a hurried glance at the various club booths before looking away, neither stopping to inquire nor taking any promotional materials, her expression full of detachment.

Well, with Kiyona's level, she should be able to crush most of the clubs here.

So, was Kiyona truly just looking for a companion by acting so heartbroken in the classroom and insisting on inviting Hoshino Kanade?

"Is there any club you want to join, Kiyona?"

It felt just like window shopping; Hoshino Kanade hated window shopping, and he hated it even more when people just looked without buying anything.

"I don't think there are any clubs I like. I only realized that after coming to the orientation."

Kiyona turned to look at Hoshino Kanade, one hand resting on her chest. After a slight pause, she delivered a straight-faced, direct strike.

"To me, a club without Kanade is meaningless."

Her cold, clear voice seemed to possess the power to freeze time and space.

The Judo Club president, who had been working hard to recruit new students nearby, was rendered speechless, and the surrounding students turned their gazes—filled with disbelief, shock, and envy—toward the two of them.

There was no time to think; after offering a brief apology to the crowd, Hoshino Kanade grabbed Kiyona and ran outside.

He nimbly led Kiyona through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, successfully reaching the area outside the gymnasium before stopping in a secluded spot further away.

"Why are we running?"

Kiyona pretended to be slightly out of breath as she asked.

"If we didn't run, we wouldn't have been able to get away. The crowd would only have kept growing."

"Why were they looking at us?"

I see you really don't get it at all.

"Gossip is human nature, especially during the hormone-fueled high school years, when people are particularly sensitive to matters between boys and girls."

"Oh~ I don't get it."

At this point, Hoshino Kanade's expression became awkward, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his shirt.

"I mean, those two sentences you said in the gym just now... they were basically a confession."

"And at noon, you..."

"Oh, you mean that?" Kiyona seemed to recall something.

"I played a galgame last night. Isn't that how the characters in it talk?"

"Huh?"

Hoshino Kanade's lips parted, but he swallowed the words that were about to come out—so this is what it feels like to have a heart full of mixed emotions.

"You play galgames too well. Don't play them anymore."

So it really was just from playing a galgame.

Hoshino Kanade didn't know what else to say; things had already reached this point.

"Fine, whatever."

Kiyona acted very obediently, though Hoshino Kanade couldn't see the curve of her lips.

"Let's go eat first."

"Mm."

That day, the once-peaceful classroom was suddenly attacked by an unknown life form.

Run! A voice in the depths of Hoshino Kanade's heart was screaming.

Before she completely conquers you... find her weakness.

But unfortunately, Kiyona was an all-around genius, flawless in every aspect.

Yet, precisely because she was flawless, Hoshino Kanade was even more convinced that the way he and Kiyona interacted, and every sudden heartbeat he felt, were all encounter battles carefully orchestrated by Kiyona.

However, there was no guarantee that in this real world, Kiyona would possess the absolute rationality she had in the original work, so Hoshino Kanade could only maintain a certain level of sobriety.

Sobriety was his final suit of armor, while his heartbeat... would always be the trophy presented to the hunter.

Cool strands of hair wound around his knuckles, stirring up a fine, ticklish sensation, and his palm betrayed his reason, unable to resist craving the warmth and softness of the top of Kiyona's head.

"It... it wasn't as good as you said."

Hoshino Kanade's face flushed red; he lowered his head slightly, his gaze darting to the side.

After a while, Kiyona still showed no signs of letting go.

"Alright, class is almost starting."

"Let's go to the club orientation together after school."

"I know, I know. You don't have to keep reminding me."

It was finally over. Hoshino Kanade turned back around, the flush on his face from the rising temperature slowly fading away.

His classmates were whispering to each other, and from time to time, Hoshino Kanade could feel gazes of different meanings directed at him from various directions.

It was very uncomfortable; if things went as expected, it would probably take a while before things returned to normal.

Just like that, Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona had become famous in class, with an effect far more powerful than any self-introduction.

Even though Hoshino Kanade didn't want to be famous at all.

The chaotic study atmosphere in Class D made it difficult for students who wanted to focus to keep their minds clear.

But even sitting in the back row, with "monsters and freaks" sitting in front of her, Horikita Suzune still listened attentively and took notes during every single class.

In this regard, Hoshino Kanade still admired her.

Time always felt like it flew by when studying, and the afternoon classes passed quickly while reading—though Hoshino Kanade felt this had more to do with the shorter class periods in Japanese middle schools.

The afternoon sessions ran from 1:30 to 3:00, consisting of only two classes over a short hour and a half.

After that, there was half an hour for cleaning, and after 4:00, it was time for club activities.

In Japanese schools, club activities were an important part of campus life.

Students could freely choose clubs that interested them—from sports like baseball and kendo, to cultural ones like anime research and tea ceremony, and even niche clubs like robotics or psychic research.

Not only could they develop hobbies, but they also provided multiple benefits, such as winning awards in club competitions to help with further education, breaking down class and grade barriers to make friends, or forming a girl band together...

Overall, clubs were both a starting point for students' interests and a springboard for growth; Hoshino Kanade believed their value far exceeded the rote knowledge taught in the classroom.

That said, the club Hoshino Kanade had joined during middle school was always the Going-Home Club, and no violent teacher had ever forced him to join any strange organizations.

After finishing the cleaning, there was still an hour and a half until the club orientation began.

He went back to devouring books.

"Kanade, let's go to the gymnasium."

Kiyona's voice rang in his ears.

Heaven knows how long Kiyona had been waiting; while Kanade was reading, Kiyona had been sitting in the seat in front of him, watching him. After all, Kiyona didn't have anything else she wanted to do, so she might as well observe a human.

Calling it reading was one thing, but Kiyona felt "flipping through" was more accurate. His reading speed was even faster than her own, and time seemed to slip away along with the "swish-swish-swish" of Kanade turning the pages.

"Alright, let's go."

When the two of them arrived at the gymnasium, the club orientation had only just begun.

The gymnasium was buzzing with noise, and upperclassmen from various clubs were enthusiastically promoting their groups to the freshmen.

Display boards showcased club features with pictures and text, flyers were detailed and eye-catching, and the atmosphere on-site was incredibly lively.

It was time for his daily reflection on the school's massive capital.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School not only had an excellent standard for clubs overall, but it also lacked no shortage of nationally certified elite clubs and athletes.

The club facilities were also far more complete than those of schools at the same level, and there were even some luxury items, such as hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

However, none of that had anything to do with Hoshino Kanade; he was just here to keep the "prince" company.

Kiyona didn't seem very interested either; despite being in the middle of the noisy recruitment scene, she remained detached from the fervor.

She only gave the various club booths a fleeting glance before looking away, neither stopping to inquire nor picking up any promotional materials, her expression filled with aloofness.

Then again, with Kiyona's level, she could probably crush most of the clubs here.

So, was Kiyona's insistence on inviting Hoshino Kanade to come along, even after acting so sad in the classroom, truly just for the sake of having company?

"Is there any club you want to join, Kiyona?"

It felt just like shopping; Hoshino Kanade hated shopping, and he hated it even more when people just looked without buying.

"I don't feel like there are any clubs I like. I only realized that after coming to the orientation."

Kiyona turned to look at Hoshino Kanade, one hand resting on her chest. After a slight pause, she delivered a straight pitch with an expressionless face.

"As far as I'm concerned, a club without Kanade has no meaning."

Her cold, clear voice seemed to possess the power to freeze time and space.

The head of the Judo Club, who had been working hard to recruit new members nearby, was struck dumb, and the surrounding freshmen turned their looks of disbelief, surprise, and envy toward the two of them.

There was no time to think; after offering a brief apology to the crowd, Hoshino Kanade grabbed Kiyona and ran outside.

He led Kiyona nimbly through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, successfully reaching the outside of the gymnasium, and then stopped in a quiet, secluded spot a bit further away.

"Why are we running?"

Kiyona feigned a slight pant as she asked.

"If we didn't run, we wouldn't have been able to get away. The crowd would have only kept growing."

"Why were they looking at us?"

I see you really don't understand at all.

"Gossip is human nature, especially during the high school stage when hormones are overactive; people are particularly sensitive to matters between boys and girls."

"Oh~ I don't get it."

At this point, Hoshino Kanade's expression became awkward, his fingers unconsciously kneading the hem of his shirt.

"It's just... those two sentences you said in the gym, they were pretty much the same as a confession."

"And about noon today, you..."

"You mean that?" Kiyona seemed to have recalled something as well.

"I played a galgame last night, and isn't that how the characters in it talk?"

"Huh?"

Hoshino Kanade's lips parted slightly, but he swallowed the words that were about to spill out—so this was what it meant to have mixed feelings, a truly complex blend of emotions.

"You're playing galgames very well, don't play them anymore next time."

So it really was because of playing a galgame.

Hoshino Kanade didn't know what else to say; things had reached this point.

"Fine, whatever."

Kiyona acted very obediently, though Hoshino Kanade couldn't see the curve of her lips.

"Let's go eat first."

"Mm."