Late Night Encounter, the Saintess's Other Side.

The process of learning is always enjoyable.

Pleasant time always passes especially quickly.

Yamada had talked until his mouth was dry, and Tsukishima's notebook was filled with quite a bit of material.

He looked up at the pitch-black sky: "Tsukishima, let's call it a day here. Learning isn't something achieved overnight—take it slow."

Tsukishima nodded, rubbing his slightly throbbing head: "Thank you, Yamada. I didn't realize drawing manga was this tough."

Yamada patted his shoulder: "Take your time, don't rush. You've got a foundation in drawing—you're learning way faster than I did back then."

"Alright, head back and rest for today. Make sure to manage your schedule and don't let your schoolwork slip."

Tsukishima nodded: "Then I'll be going now, Yamada. Thank you for your guidance."

Yamada waved his hand.

The campus was very quiet at night.

Under the night wind's caress, Tsukishima's tense nerves slowly relaxed.

Listening to the chirping of some unknown small creature, he felt considerably soothed.

"That blonde bitch Karuizawa... 'Hirata-kun~ Hirata-kun~' all day, meowing like a cat—how disgusting!"

"And that condescending face she makes when talking to me... 'Kikyo, come play too~'—who wants to play with you, idiot! You think everyone's dying to hang around you?"

Ah, sounds like I've stumbled onto something serious.

That voice—it's the saintess, Kushida Kikyo, isn't it?

Tsukishima pulled out his phone, opened the recorder, and slowly approached the source of the sound.

"That scheming bitch Matsushita—does she think I can't tell she likes Hirata too? The way she looks at Karuizawa is like daggers, hilarious!"

"What pisses me off most is that stupid 'girls' clique' nonsense! 'Besties' today, ignoring someone tomorrow—are we in kindergarten? And I have to play along, so tired, so tired, so tired!"

"That creep Yamauchi! 'Kushida-san~ Kushida-san~' every day, buzzing like a fly, drool practically dripping onto my desk! Disgusting!"

"And Ike—those two are like toads that evolved into perverts, huddling together talking about galgames, thinking they're so trendy? Ugh—"

"Today he invited me to karaoke this weekend again—who wants to go! But if I don't, I'll get called cold and aloof... annoying, annoying, annoying!"

"That ice queen Horikita! What's she so smug about?! 'I'm enough on my own'—enough of your mother!"

"Smiled all day... my face is cramping. Why do I have to work so hard? Why do I have to deal with those idiots!"

Kushida Kikyo's voice faded, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing from her outburst.

A slow smile spread across Tsukishima's face as he stepped out.

"That's terrifying."

"Who would've thought that under the saintess's pure white robes lies countless tally marks."

"The saintess who showers everyone with holy light by day becomes a demon of desire spreading her wiles by night."

Kushida stood frozen in place, instinctively forcing a smile onto her face: "What are you talking about... Tsukishima-kun..."

Tsukishima looked at her, backlit by the moon, tilting his head:

"Your Holiness the Saintess, your secret's been found out by a goblin."

Kushida Kikyo's expression turned cold.

As she walked toward Tsukishima, she asked, "You heard everything?"

Tsukishima nodded: "I actually agree with your assessment of Yamauchi and Ike. As for the girls' side, I can't really comment."

The two stood face to face.

Kushida's expression grew even icier: "What do you want?"

Tsukishima raised a hand to his chin, looking her up and down: "There are indeed a few needs I have."

Kushida's face twisted with deeper disgust. Seizing the moment he wasn't paying attention, she grabbed his hand and pressed it hard against herself: "Now we're even. My clothes have your fingerprints. If you dare say anything, we'll both go down together!"

Tsukishima's hand moved involuntarily: "Kushida-san, what did you eat growing up? How did you develop to this extent?"

"Say, how about we collaborate on a breast-enhancing recipe? With you as the living proof, it'd sell like crazy!"

Kushida's dark, deep, and vicious aura faltered. She couldn't figure out Tsukishima's angle: "You—"

Before she could finish, Tsukishima cut her off: "Don't worry, I have no intention of spreading this around. You work so hard every day dealing with those brain-deads and providing them emotional value—it's normal to vent somewhere private at night."

"Honestly, I kind of admire you. Being able to get along with almost everyone makes you a real social butterfly. That'll make anything you do in the future easy."

Tsukishima pulled out his phone with his other hand: "But for now, you should think about how to make my fingerprints permanently stay on your clothes."

Kushida gripped his hand even tighter, as if she wanted to crush it against her front armor: "Delete the recording! Or we're going to the student council right now!"

Tsukishima sank deeper into the even softer sensation.

"Kushida-san, don't be so anxious. Blowing us both up doesn't do you any good, does it? Now we each have leverage on the other—we're natural cooperative allies, aren't we?"

"United we profit, divided we both lose, Kushida-san."

"How about this: I'll tell you the school's point system rules, which you can use to win over whoever you want. And you'll be my practice model—I've been learning how to draw manga recently."

Kushida immediately caught on: "The information Ichinose sold—you gave it to her?"

Tsukishima smiled and nodded. "What do you think? Now that you know my secret and I know yours, we're natural allies, aren't we?"

With that, he tested her conscience again: "What do you think, Kushida?"

"Not much. What do school rules have to do with me? And why should I believe you won't send that recording to someone else?"

"You don't have to believe me. Be my model, and we'll have plenty of time alone. You can gather more evidence anytime. We can each hold leverage over the other."

"How disgusting. You're trying to take advantage of me with a scheme like this?"

"Ehh~ I don't want to either, but neither of us trusts the other, so this is the only way, isn't it? The dorm's about to close. You'd better decide quickly."

Kushida gritted her teeth. "Fine, I agree! I'll just treat it like being bitten by a dog!"

She didn't want to agree, but she had no choice. Back in middle school, she'd blown up with her entire class. She'd barely managed to find a high school where no one knew her to start over. If something went wrong again, she'd have nowhere left to go.

Compared to that, being taken advantage of was a small matter.

Tsukishima laughed. "Woof woof~ Then let's work together happily, Kushida."

"The school rules."

"Of course..."

The two walked toward the dorm together, and Tsukishima told Kushida all the rules he'd deduced.

"See you tomorrow, then, Tsukishima."

At the dorm entrance, Kushida had already put her smile back on.

"See you tomorrow, Kushida. Sweet dreams."