Horikita seemed like the rather cold type...
She hardly spoke to anyone, and when she greeted someone, she only gave a slight nod.
Besides, hadn't she argued with Katsuragi yesterday?
So why today...
No, wait...
Yesterday evening, Horikita had apparently gone to buy a game for Katsuragi!
Oh, right. Horikita had agreed to that condition about buying him a game, so it made sense...
Horikita was probably the kind of person who didn't like owing anyone anything.
But why had she gone out of her way to greet Katsuragi?
While Airi Sakura was busy thinking it over, Keima Katsuragi looked at Suzune Horikita and, puzzled, pointed at himself.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Are you stupid?"
In a corner of the classroom, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned his head slightly and observed Suzune Horikita without drawing attention to himself.
Horikita's different today.
Her appearance, expression, and mannerisms are almost exactly the same as usual, but she seems much less distant.
Did something happen last night?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka keenly noticed the change in Suzune Horikita.
He could be almost certain that Keima Katsuragi had done something to affect someone like Suzune Horikita in such a short time.
Keima Katsuragi's methods were unquestionably impressive.
Even in the White Room, no one could have managed that.
"Our bet is still on, Katsuragi."
Suzune Horikita spoke to Keima Katsuragi, her eyes fixed on him with unwavering resolve.
"If I win, I'm definitely going to do something about that frivolous attitude of yours."
Keima Katsuragi looked unconcerned. He kept playing his game as he replied.
"Say that after you win."
Since yesterday, his "quest line" with Suzune Horikita had made some progress.
[Name: Suzune Horikita] [Affection: 21%]
The increase wasn't all that high. Given Suzune Horikita's personality, she was bound to be a troublesome one. Still, climbing from a negative starting point to where they were now was decent progress.
The seeds he'd planted earlier were beginning to sprout.
Now all he had to do was patiently water them, little by little.
"You're going to play games during second period, too?"
"Of course. My agreement with Teacher Chabashira covers all classes."
Keima Katsuragi answered as though it were obvious.
Suzune Horikita was so taken aback that she even glanced at the timetable, doubting herself.
"You mean you'll play games during swimming class, too?"
"I... have no words."
Suzune Horikita couldn't help wondering how Keima Katsuragi planned to play games during swimming class.
"I prepared in advance for swimming class."
"Prepared?"
As Suzune Horikita looked at him in confusion, Keima Katsuragi pulled something out.
"This is a waterproof case for a handheld console."
"You really are hopeless."
Meanwhile, in the Class C classroom.
A long-haired boy sat in his seat in a slouching posture, his legs propped right up on the desk.
Several boys stood beside him, treating him with utmost respect. One of them was even a muscular Black student.
Most of them had bruises on their faces.
In just a few days since the start of school, Ryuen Kakeru had all but taken over the class and become its undisputed leader.
"The class is more or less settled. We've dealt with most of the troublemakers—so it's time to turn our attention to the other classes."
Ryuen Kakeru sounded as if he were speaking to his classmate beside him, though he might just as well have been talking to himself. His gaze swept across the other students in the room. Almost all of them lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
In Ryuen Kakeru's eyes, there was no one particularly special in the class.
Except for one person.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on a silver-haired girl.
Shiina Hiyori.
Unlike the others, who feared him, Shiina Hiyori always went about her own business.
Ryuen Kakeru had interacted with her before, and he was certain that Shiina Hiyori had an intelligence and academic ability the others in the class lacked.
If Class C was going to keep moving up, Shiina Hiyori's abilities would be indispensable.
Shiina Hiyori reads in the classroom every morning. Nothing going on around her ever seems to bother her. She really is an unusual one.
Ryuen Kakeru saw Shiina Hiyori reach into her schoolbag and figured she'd soon pull out a novel.
A moment later, Shiina Hiyori pulled her hand from her bag.
But what she held left Ryuen Kakeru dumbfounded, and he nearly lost his balance.
Shiina Hiyori had pulled out a handheld console.
"Huh?"
Before second period, at the school swimming pool.
The students of Class 1-D had changed into the swimsuits provided by the school and gathered beside the pool.
The boys wore ordinary swim trunks, while the girls wore relatively modest one-piece swimsuits.
Even so, their close-fitting swimsuits still outlined their figures.
Most of the girls chatted and laughed, looking forward to swimming class.
As far as they knew, ordinary high schools didn't have swimming classes, let alone such a spacious pool.
One girl among them didn't seem particularly excited. She stood expressionlessly in a corner, her arms folded across her chest.
She had a striking figure, no less impressive than Airi Sakura's. Beneath her blue hair was a finely featured face, and a beauty mark under her left eye only enhanced her looks. Her golden eyes, however, seemed to hold a trace of distaste as she looked at a few boys nearby.
Haruka Hasebe.
Her sweet looks had made her memorable to many of her classmates soon after school began.
She knew she was pretty, but hated the way boys looked at her. She was also rather solitary and still didn't have any friends. It was as if she existed outside the class.
There was one boy in the class, though, whom she didn't particularly dislike.
Keima Katsuragi.
Being a stunning beauty, Haruka Hasebe easily drew the attention of boys. But she was sensitive by nature, and she could tell that the other boys often had ulterior motives when they looked at her. It made her uncomfortable.
Just like now.
But she didn't feel that way at all when Keima Katsuragi looked at her—
Or rather, Keima Katsuragi didn't seem to have looked at her even once since school began.
He'd devoted himself entirely to his games.
He's a weirdo, but like me, he seems to be the type who stays outside the class.
Haruka Hasebe came to that conclusion in her mind.
Not long after school started, the class had already split into several cliques. Like Keima Katsuragi, Haruka Hasebe didn't belong to any of them.
Maybe they were alike.
Today was their first swimming class.
"Haruka, are you feeling unwell?"
Just then, Elsie walked over to Haruka and asked curiously.
She'd noticed Haruka standing alone off to the side, looking a little down, and had grown concerned.
"No, it's nothing, Katsuragi."
Haruka Hasebe gave a polite reply.
A New Character Appears? Haruka Hasebe
Haruka Hasebe turned her gaze toward Elsie.
In her eyes, Elsie was the complete opposite of Keima Katsuragi.
Elsie had made friends with quite a few classmates, mostly girls, and she was friendly and outgoing.
In a way, Elsie was a little like Kushida Kikyo.
Still, Haruka Hasebe didn't know why, but if she had to choose between the two, she might rather be friends with someone like Elsie.
Maybe it was because Elsie seemed more genuine?
"Are you really okay? You seem a little out of it."
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about the upcoming exams."
Haruka Hasebe made up an excuse.
"I'm pretty lopsided academically, so I'm a little worried about the exams."
Haruka Hasebe wasn't lying about that. She was good at science, but her humanities grades were terrible.
Sae Chabashira had said that for the upcoming official exams, failing even one subject would result in expulsion.
The risk wasn't particularly high, but it was real.
"I see! Well, I've got just the thing for that!"
Elsie suddenly patted Haruka Hasebe on the shoulder, excitedly.
"What?"
"My big brother's holding a study group! Want to join us?"
"A study group?"
Haruka Hasebe had never heard anything about it.
But when she thought about it, Kushida Kikyo and Keima Katsuragi had left together yesterday.
Come to think of it, Sakura had gone along with them, too.
But...
What was Sakura's full name again?
Before you continue