June Turns to July

It was the last weekend of June.

The swimming lesson was held jointly for Classes B and C because the Class C swimming instructor had volunteered for a Special Exam for the second-years.

With Kushida Kikyo's help, Hoshida No had already mastered the basics of swimming.

It was a free-practice session. After finishing the basic drills, he leaned against the edge of the pool and watched the others practice.

Karuizawa Kei swam over to him, wiped the water from her face, and beamed. "Brother No, you're swimming so well now! You're way better than me!"

"Kei, you're doing pretty well too," Hoshida No said objectively.

Not far away, several girls had gathered around Kushida Kikyo to ask her about their form. She patiently demonstrated the movements, though her gaze kept drifting toward Hoshida No.

Seeing that only Karuizawa Kei was beside him and that the two were chatting comfortably, she made her demonstrations a little more animated, drawing discreet looks from even more boys.

On the other side, Ichinose Honami was practicing in Class B's section.

Unlike Karuizawa Kei, she didn't approach him directly. She focused on her own practice, though her movements were still a little awkward.

During the break, Horikita Suzune sat alone on a bench by the pool, holding a copy of Group Dynamics and Team Efficiency. She looked completely out of place amid the noisy, playful crowd.

When she saw Hoshida No climb out of the pool, she closed the book and walked over.

"Hoshida No, I looked up some information about the trust-building stage we discussed last time."

She got straight to the point, completely ignoring Karuizawa Kei beside him. "I think a shared goal alone isn't enough to create stable cooperation when there are no enforceable constraints. We need to introduce a system that ties people to their responsibilities. What do you think?"

Karuizawa Kei glanced uncertainly at Horikita, then at Hoshida No, unable to join the conversation.

Hoshida No dried his hair with a towel and thought for a moment. "Your approach could work, but tying people down too tightly might provoke a backlash, especially from people with a strong sense of independence."

Karuizawa Kei finally found an opening and asked quietly, "Brother No, Horikita, are you talking about the next exam?"

"Yes." Horikita Suzune finally glanced at her, her tone a little softer. "There's no harm in preparing early. Karuizawa, if Class B has any discussions like this, you can share them with us too."

"Oh, okay... I'll keep an eye out for that." Karuizawa Kei nodded.

Kushida Kikyo walked over as well, carrying several bottles of sports drinks. "You're all having such a serious discussion! Are you talking about studying? Would anyone like something to drink?"

She handed them out naturally, giving a bottle to Horikita Suzune too, as though she didn't mind her cold attitude at all.

"Thanks." Horikita Suzune accepted the bottle and thanked her briefly.

A few girls had gathered around Hoshida No by the small pool, each for a different reason. The atmosphere was delicate, but for the moment, peaceful.

Class Points at the beginning of July:

A: 1160 B: 900 C: 850 D: 650

After lunch on Monday, Hasebe Haruka stopped Hoshida No in the covered walkway leading to the classroom building.

She had tied her blue hair into a high ponytail today, giving her a fresh, brisk look.

"Hoshida, do you have a moment?"

"What is it?"

"It's about Airi."

Hasebe Haruka lowered her voice. "That shop employee has been officially dismissed, and the police issued a formal warning. The school also compensated Airi with some points."

She paused, then put it tactfully. "Airi feels a little awkward about it, so she asked me to tell you that she'd like to treat you to a meal as thanks."

"As long as it's been taken care of. We can have a meal together sometime," Hoshida No replied mildly.

"Okay."

Then Hasebe Haruka took a simply wrapped box from her schoolbag. "This is a small thank-you gift. I baked the cookies myself, with Airi. The taste... should be about as good as the ones Kushida brought last time."

Her tone didn't change when she mentioned Kushida, but she had clearly noticed what happened at the study session.

Hoshida No accepted the box. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me. I just don't like owing people." Hasebe Haruka smiled faintly and turned to leave.

Holding the box of cookies, Hoshida No watched her go, lost in thought.

He opened the box and tried one. The sugar was just right, and the texture was crisp. They were every bit as good as the ones Kushida had brought.

A few days later, Hoshida No ran into Morishita Ran again while looking through reference books in the library.

She was sitting in the same corner by the window, but the book open in front of her had been replaced with On the Theory of God.

She looked up at him, her purple eyes meeting his.

"Hoshida No. Fancy meeting you here."

"It really is a coincidence." Hoshida No sat down across from her and set his book on the table.

Morishita Ran's lips twitched. "Because this is an ideal place to observe. It's quiet, the foot traffic is manageable, and the view is unobstructed."

She closed the book, which looked difficult to understand, and tapped the cover with a fingertip. "Besides, most people who come here have a clear purpose. It's easier to see who they really are here than in a classroom or cafeteria."

Then she changed the subject, lowering her voice a little.

"I've noticed that Ryuen Kakeru has been making more moves lately. He's spreading rumors about discord within Class C and trying to drive a wedge between people. You seem to be his main target. Yet you haven't reacted."

"There's no need." Hoshida No opened his book. "The people who believe what he says weren't going to be convinced otherwise. If I make a big deal of it, I'll only look like I care."

"Unflappable No." Morishita Ran suddenly said the three words.

Hoshida No's finger stopped on the page. He looked up at her.

"It's a nickname. That's what I thought the first time I saw you." Morishita Ran's expression remained unchanged. "It seems to suit you. Seeing that you're still like this, I decided to say it aloud."

She paused. When he didn't object or show any particular reaction, she continued.

"So, about those... friends of yours. Ryuen might look for a way in through them, or Sakayanagi might take more of an interest in them. Have you considered that?"

"They won't be that easy to use." Hoshida No's tone was even. "Karuizawa and Ichinose are in Class B. Ryuen can't reach that far, and Sakayanagi's interest in them is limited. As for Kushida..."

He paused briefly. "She knows how to protect herself. Horikita won't fall for that kind of thing either."

"You know them pretty well." Morishita Ran leaned back in her chair, her gaze appraising. "But that doesn't mean trouble won't find them. The more you want to protect something, the more likely you are to lose it. The fact that they're close to you is a risk in itself."

"I know." Hoshida No's answer was simple. "So we should just keep things as they are. Everyone should keep doing what they need to do. They should too."

Morishita Ran watched him for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Your attitude can be really infuriating sometimes."

She said it as calmly as before, but her meaning was plain.

"It's as if you've calculated everything and nothing matters to you. But..."

She picked up On the Theory of God again. "That's also what makes you so hard to read. Never mind. Pretend I didn't say anything. Go back to your book."

She lowered her head and seemed to start reading in earnest, saying nothing more.

About twenty minutes later, Morishita Ran closed her book and stood up to leave.

As she passed Hoshida No, she paused for half a beat and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Oh, right. Un-flap-pa-ble No. Sakayanagi seems to be getting interested in games other than shogi lately too. Keep an eye out."

With that, she hugged her book to her chest and left the library with her distinctive, somewhat heedless stride.

Hoshida No lifted his gaze from the page and looked toward the door where she had disappeared.

He filed the information away and continued reading.

Mid-July.

Just as Morishita Ran had noticed, Ryuen Kakeru began testing the waters.

He didn't threaten Hoshida No directly with violence. Instead, he used a more underhanded approach.

First, a few Class C boys with poor grades and relatively timid personalities ran into Ryuen's lackeys on their way home from school.

They were insulted and threatened, with the implication that there was no benefit to following a pretentious guy like Hoshida No.

Next, crude rumors began circulating discreetly among a small group, claiming Hoshida No was stringing along several girls from Class B at once.

Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyo both noticed that something was off.

At a class meeting, Hirata tactfully reminded everyone to stick together and not believe rumors too easily.

Kushida Kikyo was more proactive, keeping busy among their classmates and casually bringing up Hoshida No's concrete contributions during the study sessions and exams, indirectly countering the rumors.

Horikita Suzune scoffed. "What a lowbrow tactic. By relying on such despicable methods, Ryuen Kakeru only proves that he and his class have no potential to rise."

She advised Hoshida No to go directly to the school or use the rules to strike back.

Hoshida No took a more indirect approach.

Through Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he identified several of Ryuen's most active rumor-spreaders.

Then, rather than confronting them directly, he anonymously and discreetly passed along information about some of their own recent minor violations of school rules—incidents that had previously gone unnoticed—to places where the Disciplinary Committee and Chazhu Zuo Zhi might notice.

Soon, those students were called in for interviews by the Disciplinary Committee or had their Personal Points deducted.

The punishments weren't severe, but they were enough to make the students feel the trouble and realize, at least vaguely, that someone was watching them.

Ryuen Kakeru noticed the precise, unexpected blows. He was furious, but for the time being, he couldn't find anything to pin on Hoshida No, so he had no choice but to rein in his more blatant rumor-spreading.

The incident had a subtle impact within Class C.