Horikita Manabu lowered his head and watched the video Chihaya Rei had recorded. Only after that did he delete it.
Chihaya Rei wondered if Manabu had actually enjoyed watching it.
As for Horikita Suzune, standing behind the two of them, she had no say in the matter. Her expression suggested she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to.
"Bringing this thing along was a wise choice."
Manabu handed the digital camera back to Chihaya Rei, sounding as though he'd been struck by a thought.
"I think so too."
Chihaya Rei smiled faintly.
See? Even someone as experienced as Horikita Manabu had to acknowledge the role cameras played at Advanced Nurturing High School.
And although Manabu had paid a million points and owed Chihaya a favor, the corners of his usually stern mouth had lifted slightly.
He had less than a year left before graduation. Personal points no longer meant that much to him.
Besides, Manabu felt it was worthwhile to discover someone like Chihaya in Suzune's class.
If Chihaya could keep an eye on Suzune... then Manabu could leave without worrying.
"Did you see that, Suzune?"
"If you really intend to make it to Class A, you need to be that capable."
Manabu finally turned to face Suzune and gave her a stern warning.
Suzune was taken aback. Thinking of everything that had just happened, she was still too dazed to think clearly and asked instinctively:
"Brother, do you mean physical strength?"
The words had barely left her mouth when Suzune regretted them.
"?"
As expected, Manabu's expression darkened. He immediately turned away, leaving Suzune with the sight of his aloof back.
He really didn't want to see his little sister for a while.
Seeing Manabu's reaction, Suzune realized at once that she'd gotten it wrong again. That clearly wasn't the answer he wanted.
Her face flushed as she silently berated herself for blurting out something so stupid without thinking.
"You really are going to drive your brother to an early grave."
Chihaya Rei couldn't help laughing at Suzune's answer, and he didn't hold back from pointing it out.
Suzune wasn't entirely wrong to mention physical strength. It was certainly one of the things needed to rise to Class A.
But her answer focused only on strength and ignored everything else.
No wonder Manabu felt disappointed and helpless when it came to Suzune.
Having a little sister like her really did take a strong heart.
Chihaya Rei looked at Manabu and teased him:
"President Horikita, it seems you still have room to improve the way you teach your sister. I think you should make yourself clearer from now on."
"Otherwise, with Horikita's comprehension, she might twist your words into something else. That would be a real problem."
As Chihaya spoke, his gaze flicked toward Suzune a few times.
"For example... interpreting your aloofness as loneliness."
After hearing what Chihaya had to say,
Suzune looked at him in surprise.
Manabu was also taken aback.
He rested a hand on his chin, unable to help reflecting on whether there really had been this kind of mistake in the way he and Suzune communicated all along...
Before long, Manabu nodded in agreement. "You have a point."
"I really should have explained things more clearly to Suzune."
Chihaya Rei looked intrigued, curious to see what Manabu would do.
Manabu turned back to face Suzune. His tone was much gentler than before, and full of earnestness.
"Suzune, stop imitating me. You've been imitating me the wrong way all along."
"The person you've been imitating is far from the real me."
"Remember this: I didn't get this far all by myself."
After saying all that to Suzune, Manabu felt much more satisfied.
"How could that be?"
Suzune shook her head in disbelief, deeply shaken.
Manabu had denied her imitation outright and told her she had been doing it wrong.
Manabu said no more. He turned back to Chihaya Rei and invited him:
"Chihaya, if you're interested in joining the Student Council, come find me there."
Chihaya Rei waved a hand, sounding uninterested.
"I'll pass. I'm actually busy every day."
He had to train Karuizawa Kei, and he was also a friend of Shiina Hiyori's from her book club.
He had no time to spend on the Student Council.
Joining the Student Council did have its advantages. If he joined, he could use its authority as a banner under which to torture students.
But there were so few people on the Student Council at Advanced Nurturing High School that the workload assigned to each person was still considerable.
Chihaya Rei had no desire to join just to become an overworked lackey.
"Very well."
Manabu didn't press him. He only felt it was a shame, then said his farewells and left.
Chihaya Rei stepped closer and looked at Suzune, who was still leaning against the wall. He asked curiously:
"Your brother's already gone. How long are you planning to stand here spacing out?"
Suzune lifted her head and asked in a subdued voice:
"Why did my brother say that?"
"That's easy."
Chihaya Rei spread his hands and gave her the answer outright. "Of course he wants you to be yourself."
"Be myself?"
Suzune parted her lips and asked, perplexed.
Chihaya Rei felt that Suzune had become much softer than before.
He nodded and explained:
"Horikita, you don't understand your brother at all. You understand him even less than I do, and I only just met him."
"You've mistaken the aloofness in Horikita Manabu for loneliness."
"You think you're aloof, but you've actually become someone without friends, someone who only cares about herself."
[Torture Horikita Suzune, Torture Points +1520]
"Then what should I do?"
Suzune couldn't help asking again. "If I'm supposed to be myself..."
At this point, Suzune no longer thought Chihaya Rei could be wrong. Even her brother agreed with him.
"I don't know what you used to be like," Chihaya Rei replied. "Think about it some more."
Suzune stared at Chihaya Rei, thinking. After a while, she spoke, still uncertain:
"Maybe I should try making a few friends?"
"Mm, that would be a good change for you." Chihaya Rei nodded in agreement.
Before you continue