Chess, Exhaustion, and Taking Photos

However, for some reason, Sakayanagi Arisu had stopped making the [disappointed] face she'd been pretending to wear.

When Hoshino En looked over, she was silently sizing Shiina Hiyori up and down.

"Y-you... what are you trying to do now?"

"Nothing, just..."

She turned her gaze toward Hoshino En.

"If I remember correctly, I was the first one to meet Hoshino-kun, wasn't I?"

"That's true."

"And I was the one who first made plans to hang out with you, right? My father even specifically told you to, and you agreed."

"Y-yeah..."

"Then why are you so biased? I waited and waited, hoping you'd contact me first, but it was as if you'd completely forgotten about me. Every day, you're either fooling around with that blonde gal from your class, coming here for a [book date] with Shiina Hiyori, or admiring the swimsuits of your upperclassmen and classmates at the Swimming Club..."

"Do I really have no appeal at all? It's not my fault that I'm frail and won't grow any taller!"

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She really did seem hurt.

And Hoshino En... did feel a little guilty after hearing her out.

It wasn't because of her beauty. His interactions with Shiina Hiyori and training Karuizawa Kei had already made him more than immune to that.

The main reason he felt guilty was Chairman Sakayanagi. The man had saved him 1.3 million points, yet he hadn't kept his promise.

At first glance, he'd come out ahead: he'd gotten a seven-figure sum without having to go to the trouble of looking after the young lady. But what he'd spent was his credibility.

Would the chairman use his authority to make trouble for him?

No, he was a serious adult. He wouldn't go after a mere student like him... unless it had something to do with his daughter.

But he'd managed to offend the chairman's daughter, too!

For now, he could only swallow his pride.

But apologizing outright would seem insincere and might make her resist him, so he had to make some excuses first.

He had to put it like this—

"But didn't you have Kamuro follow me around? You knew exactly where I was. I thought you'd join in whenever you felt like hanging out, so I didn't go out of my way to bother you..."

"And think about it. Wouldn't it cause you trouble if someone from Class D went looking for someone from Class A?"

Sakayanagi Arisu said nothing, merely watching him with a cold gaze as he explained.

"...All right, it was my fault. Please forgive me, Classmate Sakayanagi."

"Mm, I forgive you."

The ice melted in an instant, and a brilliant smile blossomed across her face.

"Now we're tied, two to two!"

That was the score they'd left hanging on April 2. Hoshino En had said she could even it up by [agreeing to the bet], but apparently her competitive streak was a little too strong.

"I said we could call it a draw back then. You dragged this out for 28 whole days just for that?"

"I don't accept a victory handed to me by someone else, especially not you!"

Hearing Hoshino En admit defeat in person put Sakayanagi Arisu in a very good mood.

"But if that's the case, are we still going through with that bet?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I take a chance to beat you?"

"And what I said before wasn't all an act, either."

Sakayanagi Arisu looked away, her expression tinged with melancholy.

"I was so caught up wondering when you'd come see me that I didn't get involved in anything happening in my class this month. Now nearly half the class has been won over by Classmate Katsuragi."

"But even without me, you wouldn't have gotten involved in class affairs, would you?"

Hoshino En didn't approve of Sakayanagi Arisu's habit of putting the cart before the horse.

"Class B's Ichinose, Class C's Ryuen, and the [warlord chaos] in Class D—I don't think any of them could've caught your interest enough to make you take on the thankless job of managing your class."

"Even without me, you wouldn't have cared about class competition. At most, you'd take in a little puppy like Kamuro and enjoy a peaceful school life."

"Hey, who are you calling a puppy..."

"Classmate Kamuro, I'm talking with Hoshino-kun. Please don't interrupt."

Sakayanagi Arisu pushed Kamuro Masumi, who had just started to speak, back down. Then she gave Hoshino En an amused look.

"That's an interesting take, but I might still have rallied Class A against Class D just to face you or Ayanokoji-kun. If Class A showed real hostility, your class would have no choice but to respond. Then neither you nor Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could avoid getting involved."

"Why do you think I wouldn't want that?"

Her question was loaded. At least, that was how it seemed to Hoshino En. If she really did that, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would definitely take the bait. There was no way he'd stand by and let his peaceful daily life be completely ruined.

He'd probably help his class. And to avoid drawing the attention of the other classes' leaders, he'd surely find a useful shield—Hirata or Kushida, perhaps... No, forget her. She was too stupid. Horikita was another possibility. She was rather blunt, without much in the way of twists and turns, and easy to control.

But that trick wouldn't work on Hoshino En. He wasn't someone who'd let himself be dragged along by a mere class. Even if it got him expelled, he could still go home with at least eight million yen. Besides...

"Sakayanagi, let me ask you something. If you wanted to face me and challenged me directly, how likely do you think it is that I'd refuse?"

He looked Sakayanagi Arisu in the eye, wearing an unreadable smile.

"Like the chess set you brought today. Do you think I'd refuse to play you?"

Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 38: Chess, Exhaustion, and Taking Photos

"Compared to the time and effort of class warfare, don't you think you'd prefer a personal contest like this?"

"Just as I thought... You really do understand how I feel!"

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled. Hoshino En was certain it was the strangest smile he'd ever seen on her. She looked like a mentally ill person who'd gotten high.

Seeing that familiar smile, Kamuro Masumi couldn't help thinking, Here we go again. This woman's lost it.

She was so clever, perceptive, and normal in class. Why did she get so strange around this man?

"Classmate Kamuro, please set up the chessboard."

Then she heard that woman giving her another order.

Though she was deeply unwilling and kept reminding herself that the woman had something on her and she had no choice but to obey, Kamuro Masumi's body still moved quickly.

She took a chess set out of her bag and briskly set up the board and pieces between Hoshino En and Sakayanagi Arisu.

The board itself was made of wood and looked elegant and imposing. Its surface had clearly been treated to preserve its quality and reduce wear.

The pieces were made in a similar style. Though wooden, they felt surprisingly smooth rather than like wood; each one was intricately carved and looked exceptionally refined.

All in all, the set looked even more impressive than the chess sets used by the upperclassmen at the Chess Club.

"It's just a game of chess. Did you really need to bring such a fancy board?"

"I've always taken a match with someone I respect very seriously. Besides, with a good-quality board, I can better enjoy watching you lose and cry your eyes out over it."

"You say that as if you've already won."

"I won't lose."

Seeing how confident Sakayanagi Arisu was, Hoshino En didn't hold back, either.

He pushed forward his first white piece.

"Then don't cry when you lose."

Thirty minutes later—

Sakayanagi Arisu stared at the board, her expression blank.

Hoshino-kun had her in check, and she still couldn't find a way to counter it. She could only move her king. But even if she moved it, she could already see the next check coming—Hoshino-kun's knight was lying in wait in that direction.

This wasn't the first time; it was the third time they'd fallen into a similar pattern. Hoshino-kun seemed about to check her, but she could always spot a way to survive. Then another trap would spring, and she'd be in check again.

She could also try to pressure Hoshino-kun's king and force him to [retreat], but the last two or three times had already cost her a number of pieces. Now that move clearly couldn't keep up with the pace of Hoshino-kun's checks.

To avoid losing, her only option was to pull back and protect her king. But then she'd lose all chance of winning. The game would end in a [draw], or one of them would eventually make a mistake.

The same situation had occurred three times. Even Kamuro Masumi and Kushida Kikyo could see something was off, let alone Sakayanagi Arisu.

"Are you going easy on me?"

She looked up at Hoshino En, her gaze sharp.

"How could I be? I still haven't found a chance to checkmate you. How could I be going easy?"

Hoshino En toyed with one of the pieces he'd captured from Sakayanagi Arisu, smiling.

"There was definitely a chance earlier. I thought you'd missed it by mistake... You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"You deliberately steered the game toward a [perpetual check] so I'd be the one to accept the [draw]?"

Hoshino En smiled without answering.

He understood what she meant, and he knew she'd guessed why he was doing it. But she was too proud to accept that kind of [defeat].

So she wouldn't suggest a [draw]. She'd just keep stubbornly playing.

Given her stamina, Hoshino En honestly didn't think she could last much longer.

As it turned out, ten more minutes later—

"Huff... huff..."

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her chair, her upper body slumped over the table. She lifted her frail face with stubborn determination, staring fixedly at the board.

She struggled to raise her arm and move one of the pieces, but it was clear her body could no longer manage anything that required effort.

"All right, all right. I'll call this one a loss. Why are you so stubborn?"

Hoshino En reached out and cupped the girl's cheek, slipped a piece of candy into her mouth, then caught the hand she'd been trying to use to continue the game.

He'd expected Sakayanagi to show up with a chess set, so he'd bought some extra-sweet fruit candies in advance.

He'd gone to a lot of trouble to make sure Sakayanagi could have some.

"Don't keep going. Take a break."

"Mmm... A-are you humiliating me?"

The sweet candy cleared Sakayanagi Arisu's dazed mind, but her body was still so weak that she could only let Hoshino En do as he pleased.

"No. It's just rare to see you like this."

"Besides, compared to the [humiliation] of admitting defeat, I think this is more like [shaming] you."

As he spoke, Hoshino En took out his phone with his free hand and snapped a few pictures of Sakayanagi Arisu, her pretty face flushed, her breathing ragged, and her limbs limp—truly [frail] Sakayanagi.

"Excellent!"

Looking at the photos he'd just taken, Hoshino En couldn't help giving himself a thumbs-up for his photography skills.

It was rare to get pictures of someone like Sakayanagi Arisu looking like this.

"Kamuro, want them?"

Hoshino En waved his phone at Kamuro Masumi. The cute photo flashed before her eyes again and again.

"You could use them to blackmail Sakayanagi and make her stop using your little secret to threaten you."

Kamuro Masumi was tempted.

But after weighing the pros and cons, she rejected the chance to regain her freedom.

"Forget it. You're obviously on Sakayanagi's side. How could I possibly trust what you say about this?"

Her words left Hoshino En stunned for a moment.

Once he'd figured out what she meant, he looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, who was still sprawled out, with disbelief.

Were they really that close? Had Kamuro's brain gone bad—and now her eyes, too?

He wouldn't object if someone said he was close with Shiina Hiyori. He could just about admit he was close with Karuizawa Kei. But close with Sakayanagi Arisu? Sorry, he didn't think he had a good relationship with this girl who was always at odds with him.

She clearly treated him like a toy to amuse herself with! That was just like Kamuro's relationship with her. How the hell could anyone call that "close"?