Sakurakoji Faction's Invitation

At this moment, Seishiki Otonashi's room held only Masumi Kamuro.

Seishiki had suddenly spouted some crazy nonsense about wanting to "teach Classmate Kamuro some naughty things, absolutely a hundred times more thrilling than stealing! Don't you dare run away!" and dashed out.

Masumi Kamuro hugged her knees, staring at the ceiling, her heart racing with tension.

"What do I do, what do I do..."

She was indeed looking forward to that kind of development... but still...

Muttering the same words over and over, her ability to think dropped sharply, her thoughts tangled into a twisted mess like a braided rope.

Masumi Kamuro could feel her cheeks burning.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Hearing the door open, she swallowed nervously.

Seishiki hummed a tune. In his hands, he carried two tubs of ice cream... wait? Why ice cream? Why was ice cream here?

Masumi Kamuro realized she had been thinking of him too much in terms of a "normal guy." If any other male had a video of a girl stealing, they'd use it as blackmail or hand it over to a teacher. At least not everyone would have the same "specialness" as Seishiki Otonashi.

"What's wrong? Eating tub ice cream late at night is super thrilling, you know. If I were at home, my parents would definitely scold me: 'No ice cream this late!' 'You'll get a stomachache!' 'You just ate not long ago!' 'No means no!'"

"So nighttime 'ice cream' is like the nectar of victory! Isn't that exciting enough?"

Seishiki put his hands on his hips, and Masumi Kamuro could almost hallucinate little stars around him. She couldn't believe this guy had lectured her earlier that day; what was going on now? Had his IQ regressed to that of an elementary schooler?!

Masumi Kamuro just wanted Seishiki to pay back all the embarrassment and tension he'd caused her—this was outright fraud against a maiden's pure feelings.

"Sigh..."

"What's wrong? Sighing like that; girls who sigh easily get wrinkles, you know."

"Shut up."

Seishiki obediently fell silent, pulled out a spoon, and began enjoying the big tub of ice cream. His originally clear cat-like lips gradually twisted into an abstract wavy line.

"Is it really that good?"

Masumi Kamuro pouted, glancing at the chocolate ice cream tub Seishiki had left for her on the table, then at Seishiki, who was practically glowing. In the end, she decided not to waste his goodwill... it wasn't because she wanted to eat the ice cream, nope, that was it.

"Classmate Sakayanagi? Is something the matter?"

He'd been called to the café again. Coffee wasn't even good! Why did so many people flock to the Keyaki shopping district's café to drink what was ostensibly "coffee" but really just a trendy fad?

Seishiki yawned. The café wasn't just Sakayanagi Arisu; Morishita Ai, Masayoshi Hashimoto, Mori Shige Takuro, and Nishikawa Ryoko were also there.

"What's this, a gathering of elites?"

Seishiki muttered weakly.

Mori Shige Takuro sized up Seishiki, his glasses reflecting a strange arc of light.

"This guy, can he really work for our team?"

The class was currently in an awkward situation. Both Little Fist Stone Kohei Katsuragi and Toilet Hanako Sakayanagi Arisu wanted to compete for the class leadership candidate. But most of the boys in the class were on Katsuragi's side—after all, a bald guy with proper conduct and a sense of responsibility could definitely attract more men than that shortie Sakayanagi Arisu.

As for some of the girls, they were neutral. At least Tamiya Emi and Miki Yamamura seemed to be neutral for now, but with Nishikawa Ryoko around, they'd probably lean toward Sakayanagi's faction soon enough? Whatever, it wasn't his business. Seishiki himself still preferred Little Fist Stone.

They were friends, bonded through gaming, and Kohei Katsuragi was doing his best to maintain class discipline, giving off a kind of old-father vibe. It was hard to hate a reliable big-brother class rep like that, right?!

Ah, why couldn't the two factions just coexist? Well, in reality, there weren't many coexisting factions anyway~. Sakayanagi's faction was still coasting along, not stopping Katsuragi's faction from spreading. And Katsuragi's faction wasn't suppressing Sakayanagi's faction either... the calm before the storm.

"Don't say that. Classmate Seishiki Otonashi possesses remarkable talent."

"Not at all."

Seishiki said discontentedly. Talent? Really? How would I know?

"How humble, Classmate Seishiki Otonashi. What about that incident with Classmate Kamuro?"

"Huh?"

"I was there yesterday, you know."

"Oh."

Seishiki played dumb steadily.

"Heh, I never thought Classmate Kamuro was a 'thief.'"

"She's reformed, you know. I don't think your evaluation will affect Classmate Kamuro at all. Even if you spread this incident to the whole school, she'll live on with her own attitude. In the end, you'd just be shooting yourself in the foot."

Even if Classmate Sakayanagi spread Classmate Kamuro's "theft incident" across the entire school, leaving her with no help, cold-shouldered, and disbelieved, Seishiki would unhesitatingly reach out and trust her. Masumi Kamuro had been called by her "conscience." Being able to apologize was proof of her humanity. So Seishiki wouldn't tolerate this happening.

"Is that a threat? I can hardly tell, Classmate Seishiki Otonashi..."

Sakayanagi Arisu stared into Seishiki's pupils, trying to glimpse the color of that planet—an incomprehensible existence, an indescribable emotion flickering like flowing light in that mysterious purple glow.

"Ah, no, it's not."

Seishiki shook his head, simply stating it calmly.

Morishita Ai then spoke coldly.

"Seishiki Otonashi is actually hiding his own energy, and on top of that, he's a repressed bread."

"Wait, 'tsundere bread' is some kind of weird nickname?"

"I can sync with Seishiki Otonashi's brainwaves. Even if they're just tiny particles of electric signals, they flow into my body and coexist with me."

"Ha↘—ha?!"

666, can't play this, this guy's cheating. Seishiki felt that ever since he interfered with the fate concerning Masumi Kamuro, Morishita Ai's abnormality had grown stronger and stronger, even developing to the point of targeting Seishiki himself.

"I already knew about the tsundere part. I can also sense that Seishiki Otonashi is hiding his own talents. Since Morishita Ai says so, it must be true."

"Can't hide it anymore at this point?"

Seishiki sighed and slowly spoke.

"Listen up, This Old Man's talent! I can clear five bishoujo dating sims at the same time!"

"Who asked about that! And don't blurt out your weird hobby of playing those kinds of games in public!"

Nishikawa Ryoko slapped the table, then scolded Seishiki with a slightly lecturing tone.

"Then I have another talent, the ultimate god-tier talent! Don't be surprised—I can guess the author just by looking at the art style of a manga!"

"And! And! I've memorized all the transformation poses of Kamen Riders from Showa to Heisei!"

Seishiki rattled off what he considered his remarkable talents.

"Morishita Ai, could you please check if Seishiki Otonashi's head is still normal?"

Beneath Sakayanagi Arisu's composed smile was a hint of speechlessness. Morishita Ai was eccentric but at least could communicate normally, but once Seishiki got going, he truly went off the rails.

"Don't talk about me like I'm a TV that needs repairs! Hey!"

Seishiki was displeased with Sakayanagi Arisu's attitude of treating him like an object.

"This guy's really broadcasting." (Going crazy)

Masayoshi Hashimoto just found it noisy. Though he wanted to join the conversation, he had no idea where to start now. The [Plan to Win Over Seishiki Otonashi] had somehow derailed into a discussion about bishoujo dating sims!

Sakayanagi Arisu held Seishiki Otonashi in high regard. Morishita Ai had mentioned Seishiki several times, and Hashimoto himself had recommended Seishiki Otonashi as well.

(In his inner thoughts, Hashimoto wouldn't call Sakayanagi Arisu 'Princess'.)

If what Sakayanagi Arisu and Morishita Ai said was true—that Seishiki Otonashi had hidden his talents—then wouldn't his own true nature be exposed? Recalling Seishiki's [theory] from that day, the sense of recognition, affirmation, and stable emotions he felt weren't fake.

Looks like he'd have to run two lines of tasks. Besides the so-called 'Princess's' mission to win over Hayato Kito, he'd added an internal investigation of [Seishiki Otonashi]. Reality really was a never-ending trashy RPG game...

Hashimoto complained inwardly.