I'm Super Boxed

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the library.

Amasawa Reigetsu.

He appeared in Ryuen Kakeru's field of vision almost out of nowhere, and the moment they met, he dropped a bombshell on Ryuen.

The vice student council president, huh... I wonder what his stance is on Class A.

After all, he hadn't shown his face during the first month, and the known intelligence on him was scarce. Either one of the leaders of Class A was his puppet, or perhaps he simply didn't care about Class A at all.

Still, this was a good opportunity to test the waters.

"Who are you?"

Amasawa Reigetsu's words were startling.

Seeing the way the people around them dropped their jaws, Morishita Ran and Amasawa Reigetsu felt completely bewildered. Was the person opposite them someone they were supposed to know?

The man approached.

"Class C, Ryuen Kakeru..."

Ryuen felt his temples throbbing. He had a bad premonition...

"Sorry about that, Ryuen-kun. Our Ran's manners are truly lacking. How about I give you a five-yen coupon as an apology?"

Amasawa Reigetsu was actually a bit speechless, but since Ran had already spoken, he could only try to bluff his way through.

"Are you mocking me?"

Ryuen Kakeru felt that the other party had no intention of engaging in a conversation with him at all; he realized completely that the man didn't hold him in any regard.

"Please do not quarrel in the library, Amasawa-kun of Class 1-A, and Ryuen-kun."

Amasawa Reigetsu: Oh crap, I've been doxxed!?

Shiina Hiyori activated her "Library Barrier" domain, forcibly intervening to terminate their probing—or rather, Ryuen Kakeru's one-sided probing.

"Please do not harbor any strange thoughts about our Reigetsu, Ryuen."

It was the voice of Sakayanagi Arisu.

With the two most powerful women from Class A and Class C stepping forward simultaneously, everyone had no choice but to pack up and head home.

Disband, disband. This is boring. I wanted to see a bloodbath!

Just as everyone turned their attention back to their books, Morishita Ran noticed...

Sakayanagi Arisu was one thing, but why was Shiina Hiyori also heading in Amasawa Reigetsu's direction...? Her intuition told her that if she stayed here any longer, it would be more dangerous than telling Albert to go pick cotton!

Ran decided to pull a "Nigerundayo" right then and there.

The rainy season in Tokyo always arrived without warning. Fine threads of rain, like an invisible net, shrouded the school buildings of the Advanced Nurturing High School.

The top floor of the library was rarely visited. The resulting quiet atmosphere made it Shiina Hiyori's regular haunt. She loved the silence here, the subtle sound of pages turning, and even more, the faint scent in the air, a mixture of old paper and dust.

With the rain pattering outside the window, Shiina Hiyori walked to a spot by the window and led the man and woman behind her to sit down.

"We meet again, Mr. Mystery."

Shiina Hiyori looked back at Amasawa Reigetsu, seemingly unbothered by the fact that Sakayanagi Arisu had followed them, and affectionately used the nickname she had given him.

Shiina Hiyori felt Sakayanagi Arisu's scrutinizing gaze. Meeting that look, which seemed capable of seeing through one's heart, she puffed out her chest instead.

After all, this was her "domain," and her technique had a guaranteed hit effect.

Sakayanagi Arisu walked straight to the seat opposite Shiina Hiyori and sat down gently, leaning her black cane against the edge of the table. Whether intentional or not, the side engraved with Amasawa Reigetsu's name faced Shiina Hiyori.

"The books here seem to be more interesting than I imagined."

Sakayanagi said softly. Her voice wasn't loud, but it reached Shiina's ears clearly.

"Alright, alright, can you two stop putting on a show? Shiina almost doxxed my ID card the moment she saw me today. You two seem to be getting along quite well, don't you?"

Two women made a play, and with a man standing by, Amasawa Reigetsu couldn't bear to watch them flaunt their obscure metaphors any longer. He decided to throw rotten tomatoes at the stage.

"I didn't sell out your information, Reigetsu-kun. Shiina-san is just too brilliant. I hadn't even said anything yet, and she knew everything just by looking."

Sakayanagi Arisu feigned a tearful expression. Although it was the truth, as the defensive party, she truly couldn't hide her feelings for Amasawa Reigetsu—

It's so blue, isn't it.

"Sakayanagi-nee is so humble—"

Amasawa Reigetsu: Case closed. If you call her that, even Ayanokoji Kiyoko would lose his composure!?

"I just really want to know more, much more about Mr. Mystery."

Shiina Hiyori's eyes projected a fanatical emotion, her pupils even deforming into the shape of hearts.

At the same time, Sakayanagi watched Amasawa Reigetsu's reaction with great interest... Something is wrong, isn't it? Usually, wouldn't Arisu be hissing and guarding her territory by now?

Is the Library Barrier really that terrifying?!!

"Shiina-san's first stage of deduction—entirely correct. A grand success. Congratulations, so I shall grant you a reward."

Amasawa Reigetsu leaned against the desk, standing half-upright; he sat neither beside Sakayanagi nor beside Shiina.

"There are people with supernatural abilities in this world."

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, student dormitory.

Shiina Hiyori pushed open the dormitory door, her fingertips resting lightly on the lock. With a soft click, she slipped inside and quickly bolted the door behind her.

The literary girl who usually preferred solitude and radiated a soft, gentle aura now had eyes that were exceptionally bright and fanatical.

She did not turn on the lights, instead walking straight toward her desk, guided by the faint moonlight filtering in through the window.

Pressing the switch on her desk lamp, the warm yellow glow swallowed a portion of the darkness, revealing a secret corner of the dormitory.

The wall directly facing the bed was plastered with a dense collection of photographs. Every single one featured the same person—

Amasawa Reigetsu.

From the moment she first met Amasawa in the library, every item associated with him had been arranged on the desk.

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders—this was the first book Amasawa Reigetsu had discussed with her.

Then the second, the third... They had talked about twenty-five books that day, all of which Shiina Hiyori had stacked on the desk in order.

The crystal ball from the library, the riddles Amasawa had told her transcribed onto sticky notes, a sample collection of the footprints Amasawa had left on the floor that day, and the fabric of the clothes he had touched while they were chatting...

And most importantly, Amasawa Reigetsu's hair, his eyelashes...

The photos on the wall were covered with every image of him that had appeared in public media before she knew him: at the entrance ceremony, in the background of couples' photos, and the ones she had secretly taken herself in the hallways, the library, and the classrooms.

The top of the nightstand had been cleared off completely, holding only a single, exquisite photo frame. In the frame, Amasawa Reigetsu was tilting his head slightly, those gray eyes carrying his signature laziness and arrogance, as if he were coldly watching the room's owner through the glass. Shiina Hiyori extended a finger, gently stroking the glass surface of the frame with near-obsessive devotion, her eyes filled with piety.

Shiina Hiyori took out a sticky note and a pen, writing the word "Supernatural" on it.

"Mr. Mystery... hah..."

The desk lamp clicked off, and darkness once again devoured the room's secrets.