Club Recruitment

Then, with a gleeful laugh at her successful prank, she took off her clothes, grabbed a gray T-shirt and slightly longer denim shorts, and put them on.

After the scar on her stomach had healed, she'd wanted for a while to wear something more revealing.

To completely shake off the shadow of her past.

But Tanaka Yukishin mattered most to her.

So she'd be careful.

Still, what could she do when that bad guy kept brushing her off?

It was time to show him the full force of her pranks.

Once they were dressed in matching outfits, she linked arms with Tanaka Yukishin and left the dorm.

On days without classes, the crowds were even thicker than usual.

Sunlight cast dappled shadows at the corner of the shopping street. Tanaka Yukishin held Karuizawa Kei's hand.

As they turned the corner, they saw Ayanokoji Kiyotaka standing outside the Palette dessert shop, holding a shopping bag in one hand.

Horikita Suzune was standing beside him.

A mischievous smile tugged at Tanaka Yukishin's lips as he deliberately started a conversation.

"You two are together now?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune stopped in their tracks. The latter immediately explained, "No, Tanaka. You've got it wrong."

Her voice was taut as a drawn bowstring, and when she glanced at Ayanokoji, her eyes were as sharp as blades.

He could only shrug helplessly.

"Don't get the wrong idea, you two."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke in his usual calm voice.

"Actually, I saw that the Palette was full of girls, and the atmosphere felt too unwelcoming. I didn't dare go in alone, so I asked Horikita to come with me."

Tanaka Yukishin raised an eyebrow and rested his right hand against his chin, shifting his gaze between Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune.

"Is that so?"

His tone carried unmistakable skepticism.

"Ever since the first day we met, Ayanokoji has always looked completely unruffled, no matter what happens. You're saying you'd be intimidated by the atmosphere? I find that hard to believe. I think you're making excuses."

"Besides, it's not some unforgivable sin for classmates to find out you're dating. Just look at Kei and me—we made it obvious right away."

Tanaka Yukishin's face showed that he didn't believe a word of their explanation.

Karuizawa Kei had heard every word. She played along, gently resting her head on Tanaka Yukishin's shoulder with a sweet smile.

She knew what Tanaka Yukishin was like. Once he got interested, he just had to get involved.

Seeing how Tanaka Yukishin kept stirring things up, clearly hoping to make trouble, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka decided to lay it all out and brought up Kushida Kikyo.

"Actually, Kushida Kikyo asked me to invite Horikita out because she wanted me to help her with something."

"She wants to be friends with Horikita, but Horikita in class..."

He paused and looked at Horikita Suzune.

Then he took out his phone. On the screen was a screenshot of a message from Kushida Kikyo.

A pink chat bubble bounced with an emoticon: "Please be the peacemaker, Ayanokoji-kun! ("

Ever since it had become clear that the four classes were competitors, Kushida Kikyo's progress in making friends with everyone had plummeted.

So she decisively changed her approach and temporarily gave up on reaching out to other classes.

Instead, she focused on getting closer to her classmates.

Her results couldn't compare to Ichinose Honami's, but in two days, she'd managed to connect with most of Class D.

Only a few people remained beyond her reach: Koenji Rokusuke, Tanaka Yukishin, Horikita Suzune, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka...

Kushida Kikyo had hoped to use their joint information-gathering as an opportunity to get closer to Horikita Suzune.

But aside from matters of business, Horikita Suzune remained just as cold as ever.

She only acted more normally when Koenji Rokusuke, Tanaka Yukishin, or Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came up.

So she'd asked Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to act as an intermediary and invite Horikita Suzune out.

"Kushida really has her work cut out for her."

"I absolutely refuse to waste my personal time on meaningless socializing."

Once Horikita Suzune understood what Ayanokoji Kiyotaka really meant, she turned and left.

She was stubborn and bad at socializing.

But she could judge people and think for herself.

After repeated blows from the Sender and Koenji Rokusuke, she admitted that there were a few people whose abilities now surpassed hers.

So she didn't mind spending time talking with them.

But everyone else?

They were no more than passersby.

"Sorry about that, Ayanokoji."

Tanaka Yukishin sounded regretful.

Anyone watching from the outside might have thought he really felt bad.

"It's fine."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka waved and turned to leave.

His understanding of Tanaka Yukishin had deepened a little more.

Chapter 40: Club Recruitment

Horikita Manabu had watched everything from where he sat nearby, sipping his coffee.

Sunlight came through the glass and reflected off his glasses in diamond-shaped patches, but it couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes.

The bitterness of the black coffee spread across his tongue, much like the feeling he had watching his sister.

He'd been at this school for two years already.

He hadn't expected that, after all this time apart, Suzune would still have the same almost foolish arrogance.

The way the girl tucked her black hair behind her ear was exactly as he remembered.

But her features had gone from childish to youthful.

Yet every word she said proved she still couldn't tell the difference between being aloof and being arrogant.

"I absolutely refuse to waste my personal time on meaningless socializing."

There was nothing wrong with the words themselves, but they were only fitting for someone at the top.

He scrolled through his tablet and brought up the information he'd compiled the day before.

This year's first-year students were highly capable. In particular, after Ichinose Honami had suddenly visited the Student Council, he'd arranged for someone to investigate all four classes in detail.

As expected, Class B, where Ichinose Honami was, would likely remain Class A for a while.

Thinking of the girl with the sunflower-bright smile, he let his tense shoulders relax a little.

Given that girl's personality, he didn't need to worry too much about Suzune.

He'd wait and see for one semester. If she didn't make enough progress...

He'd expel her.

This school wasn't a place where someone like her could survive.

"President, who's that?"

As someone who worked closely with Horikita Manabu, Tachibana Akane had naturally noticed whom he'd just been watching.

"That black-haired girl is my younger sister."

Horikita Manabu lifted his coffee and took a sip, savoring its rich aroma.

Only then did he leisurely reply.

It wasn't appropriate to reveal his relationship with his sister publicly.

But given how close he and Tachibana Akane were, and how well she could keep a secret, he could tell her.

Tachibana Akane nodded in understanding.

She finally understood why the president had made an exception and attended the club recruitment event.

The girl hid her smile, lowered her chin, and added a note to her private journal.

"Yue Yiya is Suzune's future sister-in-law; she needs to be protected."

She'd have to keep a close eye on things.

Manabu's principles meant he didn't interfere with other years.

But Miyabi Nagumo, a second-year, didn't think that way.

As the future sister-in-law, she couldn't let anyone hurt her.

Two days after the Sender incident, news of it had spread throughout the school.

The second- and third-year students could only marvel at how impressive the new students were this year.

Bound by the school's rules, they still didn't approach the first-years on their own.

But the four first-year classes weren't going to stand still.

Class A knew how to adapt. After some interaction and a suitable display of their abilities, they spent a certain number of points.

To their surprise, they found a notebook left behind by some unknown person in a restaurant where an upperclassman had passed by.

It contained all sorts of jumbled information.

After sorting through and summarizing it, Class A learned some of the school's rules.

Class B got lucky. Ichinose Honami bought a manual of powerful techniques from Tanaka Yukishin, a roaming, overpowered boss.

After studying and using it, they gained a powerful buff and shot up to become the strongest class in the first year.

They only needed to overcome its three weaknesses.

Then they'd have no rivals in the first year.

Class A would be a piece of cake.

After all, competition wasn't especially intense at a school blanketed with security cameras.

Gentle tactics weren't very effective against Class Ichinose.

Ryuen Kakeru of Class C used threats and violence to force some weak third-year students to give him part of the information.

After sharing it with his lackey Albert, he decided to choose a few suitable classmates as his subordinates.

When the third-years were close to graduation, they'd transfer to Class A together by using the 20 million points.

Only Class D had few people who actually got things done.

The only three who sincerely put in the work were Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and Hirata Yosuke.

But their abilities and personalities had kept them from gaining anything.

On the surface, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and Hirata Yosuke formed a perfect trio: the aloof theorist, the sociable social butterfly, and the mild-mannered doer.

Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo were both capable of doing things but didn't think of them.

Horikita Suzune could think of what to do, but couldn't get it done.

But since they couldn't communicate with one another, they failed to complement each other at all.