Although he was hostile toward me, I couldn't help admiring him.
He was just as amazing as he'd been back then!!
But before I completely lost consciousness, he let go.
The pain of suffocation made me cough nonstop. He got off me and sat on the bed, lost in thought.
Just then, the door to the room opened. It was my [companions].
They'd asked for my Key Card earlier, and I'd agreed to their request to [get another one] so we could strengthen our group spirit... I never expected them to stab me in the back at a time like this.
This was the chance I'd worked so hard to get to be alone with Hoshino-kun. Were they seriously going to interrupt us?
I could practically picture what would happen next: Hoshino-kun would use my past to threaten me into keeping quiet about what had just happened, then hand me over to them.
However, that wasn't what happened. Hoshino-kun seemed lost in thought and didn't react right away. As soon as they saw what was going on in the room, they immediately left.
Matsushita, Sato, Mori—you're my best friends!
The door closed again. Afterward, I came clean to him, and he told me what he really thought: he didn't believe me.
Because he didn't believe me, he felt insecure, so he'd turned his thorns on me.
Fine, then. I'd make him feel secure.
In front of him, I took off my restraints and exposed my entire body to him.
"If you take pictures of me in an embarrassing state and use them to threaten me, and add in the secret past of mine that you know about, that should be enough to give you [a sense of security], right?"
"You've got my [dark history] in your hands, so I'll never be able to escape your grasp or betray you... Treat me as your most useful tool!"
But even after I said all that, he still couldn't believe me.
He thought I was trying to tempt him into making a mistake, so I could get evidence and use it to threaten him.
So he knocked me to the floor and started searching my room for any electronic devices that might be there.
But how could he find something that didn't exist?
He didn't find anything, and eventually turned his gaze toward me.
From the look on his face, did he suspect I'd hidden an electronic device on my body?
But I was barely wearing any clothes. Where else could I hide anything?
He ignored my clothes and thoroughly checked my body from head to toe, but still didn't find what he'd expected.
Seeing him look so adorable and completely bewildered made me even more infatuated with him.
Ah~ How could anyone be so cute?
He'd proved with his own hands that I wasn't hiding any ulterior motives, so I seized the opportunity to ask him again, hoping for a serious answer.
But he still didn't believe me.
I could understand that, since after what he'd done to me, he couldn't imagine that I'd still have feelings for him.
But how could I make him believe that my [devotion] to him would never fade?
I tried to give myself to him, but he still turned me down. In the end, though, he took some embarrassing videos and photos of me. That had to mean he trusted me, even if only a little, right?
Besides, I was already satisfied just being able to cling to Hoshino-kun in his arms.
After seeing off Matsushita and the others, who'd come in to see what was happening, I wrapped myself in the blanket and wriggled around excitedly.
Hehe~
# New information:
[Name: Karuizawa Kei]
[Class: Class 1-D]
[Birthday: March 8]
[Academic Ability: C-]
[Intelligence: C]
[Judgment: B-]
[Physical Ability: C-]
[Teamwork: D-]
[Appearance: Blonde hair, usually worn in a high ponytail; purple eyes, which she's very satisfied with because they're the same as the person she loves most; gyaru style as a disguise, but she's also satisfied with it because it's a rare and distinctive trait; measurements: B: 76C, W: 54, H: 77.]
[Family: One father and one mother; not a blended family; only child.]
[Past Experience 1: Her father doesn't dote on her and her mother doesn't love her, but since she's an only child, there's no risk of her being framed out of jealousy for now.]
[Past Experience 2: Because of her experiences in elementary school, she doesn't have a good relationship with her parents and has considered running away from home.]
[Past Experience 3: Her parents, who knew nothing about this (outsiders widely suspect they knew but did nothing), were criticized by their colleagues and neighbors. They blamed the young Karuizawa Kei for it, which made her, having escaped her personal hell and settled on a direction in life, resolve to distance herself from them. Graduating safely from Kodo Ikusei was her first step.]
First Semester of First Year:
April 3. Hoshino En investigated the school's surveillance cameras and found that, besides behind the Special Building, the edge of the woods outside the dormitory area and the railing facing Tokyo across the sea were also blind spots.
Looking at Tokyo across the water, which seemed not very far away, Hoshino En suddenly wondered: [Could I just swim there?]
With his physical ability, swimming that distance wouldn't be too difficult. The problem was that he'd never properly practiced swimming, so he wasn't very good at it. Something could go wrong along the way.
To be precise, he'd [never] learned to swim. He'd only seen other people do it.
Hmm, he wondered if they'd have swimming lessons this term. Or should he join the Swimming Club so he could get permission to use the Swimming Pool during his free time?
He'd wait and see for now.
April 4. After realizing that the teachers wouldn't punish them even if they broke the rules, the students in the class started getting restless.
[Just once. Let's try it just once. What if the cameras don't catch us?]
Quite a few students began testing the limits of the rules, little by little, with that mindset. Their behavior then grew increasingly reckless.
Hirata noticed what was happening. Although he wanted to stop it, he eventually gave in for the sake of keeping the class harmonious.
Hoshino En: "..."
How was this kind of [false peace]—forced together, with the lower classes having to cater to the ruling class—[harmonious]!?
Kushida Kikyo noticed what was going on too, but she chose to keep quiet this time so she wouldn't damage her reputation.
However, she was anything but quiet when she came to Hoshino En's room afterward to curse him out.
To keep her from startling the [good boy] next door with her yelling, Hoshino En sent her into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
"The sound of the water can cover up your cursing. There are pipes and walls in here, too, so you can go wild."
"If you want to curse someone in the future, come to me. I'll keep watch for you. Don't go somewhere at school where there's no camera coverage by yourself. If you can find a place like that, other people can find it too. Don't let anyone threaten you with recordings again."
Unfortunately, his well-meant warning only earned him even more merciless cursing from Kushida Kikyo.
Right in front of Hoshino En, she cursed him out for another two or three hours.
"That Hoshino En is so damn nosy. Does he think I'm some kind of idiot?!"
"I'm so sick of him! Does he really think every woman likes guys like him? What a creepy, disgusting man!!"
Hoshino En: "..."
He had a feeling that his words had affected Kushida even more.
Also, that last comment should be directed at Yamauchi and Ike. Only little boys ruled by their lower halves would have those kinds of fantasies. As a [sigma male], he had always kept [his distance] from women.
Oh, and today he'd beaten just about every major martial arts club. The Class D name was really useful. So was the excuse that he'd [joined his classmates in a bet, so he had 300,000 in starting capital]. His odds of winning had been high from the start.
Unfortunately, without Sakayanagi's taunting bonus, he'd earned a lot less. Four or five clubs together had only netted him 3.92 million.
This method of harvesting points would only work at the start of the school year. How could he keep pulling off such wildly profitable point scams after that?
April 5. Hoshino En received a message from a sweet girl in Class C.
Shiina Hiyori: [Hoshino-kun, you haven't been to the library for the past few days. Have you gotten tired of me?]
Hoshino En: "..."
He had a feeling she'd show up in Class D to [settle things with him] in person the very next moment.
To avoid the kind of situation that would cause him a huge headache, Hoshino En decided to go to the library and comfort Shiina Hiyori.
Then he fell under her [pure whiteness] once again. His body couldn't help staying by her side, and they stayed together until evening.
They were only reading books and hadn't done anything inappropriate at all, but for some reason Hoshino En still felt a little guilty.
I'm sorry, yesterday's me. Today's me really couldn't control myself. Shiina is just too amazing.
Also, the Student Council's reward came through today: 300,000 Private Points. Apparently, the employee from the electronics store had been handed over to the police on charges of [public indecency].
I really wish Kiyotaka could see this: this is what Yamauchi and Ike will be like in the future.
April 6. Nothing unexpected happened today. The students in the class had gotten used to fooling around during lessons. Even the [honor students] who objected to it had given up complaining after Hirata soothed them.
But the boys in the class seemed unusually lively. To be more precise, they were [desperate].
The reason was the physical education class scheduled for today.
And there was already confirmed news that the first physical education class of the First Semester of First Year wasn't an ordinary PE class. It was the best kind of PE class: swimming.
Although this was what Hoshino En had hoped for, he still had a question: the weather wasn't hot yet, so why were they holding this class now?
Was there something coming up that the students needed to know how to swim for?
Hoshino En wasn't sure, but that didn't stop him from looking forward to it.
"I'm telling you, Sakura's got to be the biggest!"
"No way. I think Hasebe's are even bigger."
During break, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike openly discussed the girls' breast sizes, without a care for the furious looks they were getting from the girls they were talking about.
Did these two really think they could get girlfriends? They were completely clueless.
"Hey, Hoshino, what do you think?"
At Yamauchi Haruki's shout, the boys turned to look at Hoshino En, who was sitting in a corner. The girls they'd been talking about also looked at him with furious expressions... Well, furious was the only word for it.
Don't drag me into this! And Hasebe, your glare is terrifying.
Hoshino En pretended not to care and looked at the person who'd called out to him.
"You're openly discussing the girls' bodies in class. Are you a horny monkey?"
His words immediately silenced the boys who'd been eagerly discussing the topic. The girls turned their attention to the suddenly quiet group of boys and looked over from their seats.
"W-what do you mean by that? You don't want to?" Yamauchi Haruki hadn't expected Hoshino En to say something like that. Someone at the bottom of the class with no friends like him was supposed to agree with them, wasn't he?
"Emmm... I can't deny it. I'm a teenager too, so being interested in the bodies of the opposite sex is instinctive."
As he spoke, Hoshino En glanced around the classroom. Most of the students were looking over now.
The boys wore confused expressions, apparently unable to understand his contradictory statements. The girls, on the other hand, looked at him with obvious disgust, especially Kushida Kikyo.
Don't drop your act just because the others aren't paying attention to you, comrade.
But what was with Karuizawa? Why did she look so delighted?
"And in terms of looks, the girls in Class D are far more attractive than the girls in the other classes. Of course I'd have those kinds of desires."
Hoshino En had given the girls a small compliment.
If he was going to offend the boys, he couldn't offend the girls too. Hoshino En didn't want the whole class turning against him.
As expected, some of the girls smiled happily when he said that. Nobody disliked being complimented.
"Then you—"
"A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts. It's fine to think about this kind of thing, but what's the point of saying it to their faces? Did you even consider how they'd feel? You're a bully!"
Hoshino En directly labeled Yamauchi's behavior.
As soon as he said that, Hirata, who'd been chatting with the girls, immediately turned to look. The girls who'd been watching also shifted their disgusted gazes to the group of [flirts] led by Yamauchi Haruki.
Compared to those guys, what Hoshino had said earlier seemed downright honest. At least he hadn't done anything disgusting.
Before you continue