Shiina Hiyori

What would be a good way to set the rules?

Down at his desk, Hoshino was at a loss. He knew too little about Sakayanagi to get a read on what she was good at.

As shameless as it was, Hoshino wanted to challenge Sakayanagi to a sports competition. But she was unlikely to agree, and it might end up being a contest between him and one of her subordinates instead. That would be utterly pointless. He didn't think he could beat Sakayanagi at that sort of thing.

Hoshino knew he wasn't particularly good at sports, academics, or socializing. If he wanted the rules to favor him, the contest couldn't require teamwork or keep Sakayanagi from competing herself. It also couldn't be something where their raw abilities were miles apart. Ideally, he'd face Sakayanagi directly, or the others wouldn't be able to interfere.

It couldn't be something neither of them knew how to do, something where there was a major gap in their abilities, or something where a group was guaranteed to outperform an individual. After thinking it over, Hoshino still couldn't come up with a good event. It seemed his only option was to set rules for the number-guessing game Sakayanagi had proposed.

Then Hoshino suddenly felt as if he'd been tricked. In the end, he'd returned to the number-guessing game just as Sakayanagi had expected. A sense of unease crept over him.

"Hmm... What am I thinking?" Hoshino shook his head, touched his nose with his right hand, and forced the distracting thoughts out of his mind.

"Huh? Hoshino-kun, is there something you don't like about what I'm saying?" A hint of displeasure crossed Hoshinomiya-sensei's pretty face, though her expression remained gentle. Hoshino suddenly noticed a trace of Kushida in her.

Speaking of Hoshinomiya-sensei, she was the social studies teacher for Class 1-D, a beautiful woman with the air of a gentle older sister. But she always carried a faint smell of alcohol and occasionally said things that made little sense. She was lively and kind to everyone, much like Kushida. He'd heard she was also the homeroom teacher for another class, though Hoshino had never paid much attention to that.

What Hoshino couldn't understand was why Hoshinomiya-sensei had called him by his full name the first time she addressed him, while she'd been more familiar with how she addressed everyone else. Was it a coincidence, or...?

"No, that's not it. I just got distracted." Hoshino stood up and bowed slightly in apology.

"Honestly, you have to pay attention!"

"Okay!" It seemed Hoshino wouldn't be able to do much else during Hoshinomiya-sensei's class.

Wait, plenty of other people aren't paying attention either! Why are you only calling me out? Hoshino's confusion grew.

He had to make a decision about Sakayanagi soon!

Five hundred thousand points! The number was just too tempting!

He had only a little over fifty thousand points left. Hoshino didn't want to deprive himself when it came to meals and such. The free mountain-vegetable set was fine once in a while, but no one could stand eating it every day.

The rule violations had increased rather than decreased over the past few days, leaving Hoshino even less certain. He'd thought that someone who had discovered the rules would step in to stop things before their points dropped too low, but it seemed he'd been mistaken. In this situation, Hoshino didn't dare be too optimistic.

Wait! Hoshino suddenly had a pretty good idea.

But he'd need that person's help to pull it off!

"Chabashira-sensei, do you have that person's contact information?" Hoshino took out his phone and sent a message to his homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei.

As he set off for the library again, the "heavy stone" in Hoshino's heart finally settled. He'd been fretting over this for the past few days. The class's rating was plummeting, and if he couldn't get some points from Sakayanagi, he might have to eat that free set every day starting next month. The thought alone was terrifying.

He searched between the shelves on the second floor. The sequel to the novel he'd read last time didn't seem to be out yet. With some time to spare, Hoshino decided to check his "secret base."

He made his way through row after row of bookshelves and turned a corner. A silver-haired figure caught his eye. Her hair lifted gently in the breeze. Beneath fine brows, violet eyes held a sharp yet detached gentleness. Sunlight from the window fell across the girl's face, making her all the more beautiful.

After a brief daze, Hoshino quickly pulled himself together and turned to leave.

Since someone was already there, he saw no reason to join her.

"Wait!" A gentle voice came from behind him. "You can sit here if you want, you know! You found this place first!"

With a playful smile, the girl stood up and watched Hoshino turn around stiffly.

"Uh, thanks! I'll take you up on that."

Hoshino found this place very comfortable, too. Since she didn't mind, there was no need for him to insist on leaving.

He went to the window seat opposite the girl, pulled out the chair, and sat down. He casually dropped his bag beside the table and opened the book he'd just taken from the shelf.

This was where Hoshino usually sat. He could enjoy the breeze and sunlight, the lighting was good, and he could read his novels. It was a rare moment of peace!

"Um, you're not reading the same novel you were the other day?" The girl across from him had stopped reading the book in front of her and was looking at the one beside Hoshino.

"...Right! I've caught up to the latest part of that novel, and I couldn't find the sequel just now." Hoshino hesitated for a second. Without the girl's gaze on him, he might have thought he'd imagined hearing her.

"What did you think of it? It seemed to be about another world." The girl tapped her chin with her index finger and raised her gaze slightly.

"...It was pretty good. It's about the protagonist crossing over to another world and going on adventures. It's a little different from other works on the market, and it left a deep impression on me. Um..." Hoshino was a little surprised, the corner of his mouth twitching. This girl was quite the social butterfly!

"Sorry, sorry. Let me introduce myself. I'm Shiina Hiyori, a student in Class 1-C." The girl noticed the hesitation on Hoshino's face and belatedly apologized.

"It's fine. I'm Hoshino Hoshiya, from Class 1-D. Just call me Hoshino."

"Hoshino-kun, how come I haven't seen you at the library these past few days? Did something happen?"

"Well... I guess you could say something did. Wait, how do you know I haven't been here?" Hoshino naturally picked up the thread of Shiina's question, then belatedly realized she'd said something rather startling.

"Hmm... Because I've been keeping an eye on you, Hoshino-kun!"

"Do you have to say that so matter-of-factly? And you can't just go around saying things like that!" Hoshino was genuinely taken aback. Confirmed—this girl was quite the social butterfly!

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because you're one of the rare students who comes here every day, Hoshino-kun! I hadn't paid attention at first, but I can recognize a face I see every day. And one more thing: I only found this place because I secretly followed you!" A playful smile appeared on Shiina's beautiful face as she traced circles beside it with her raised right index finger.

"..." Hoshino didn't know what to say. This girl was something else!

"By the way, Shiina, why did you decide to talk to me?" He managed to rein in his urge to make another snarky comment.

"Because there's no one in my class I can talk to about novels. Hardly anyone reads!" The girl furrowed her brows, her face full of regret. Then, as if she'd just thought of something, her eyes lit up. "Hoshino-kun, can I talk to you about novels? I'll let you in on a secret—I've read every kind of book!"

"...Sure! But, Shiina, it sounds like there's at least one book you haven't read." Seeing the girl's bright expression, Hoshino couldn't bring himself to refuse. He picked up the book in front of him and teasingly waved it at her.

"...Honestly, Hoshino-kun, you're so inconsiderate!" Shiina regained some of her composure and complained with a helpless look.

"Hey, hey, Hoshino-kun, what else do you usually read?..." Once Shiina got going, she couldn't rein herself in.

"...I do read some other things, but it's mostly novels..." Hoshino put down his book and began telling her about his reading history.

Looks like I wasn't going to get any reading done today!