Stepping out of the classroom, Uesugi Hara gazed at the daylight filtering in from the end of the corridor and let out a quiet laugh.
Looking back on that conversation, it had felt like a carefully staged one-man show. Did Miyabi Nagumo really think that a few vague promises and temptations would lure him into that mess to serve as a pawn?
He leisurely shook his head. Since when had he become someone others could manipulate? Wrapping ambition in self-interest and dangling it in front of him—what a low opinion they had of him.
Meanwhile, Miyabi Nagumo showed no sign of discouragement. He rubbed his chin, a glimmer of interest in his eyes. "What an interesting junior," he murmured to himself, a wry smile curling his lips. "He says it's too much trouble? How could I possibly believe that excuse?"
Leaning against the lectern, he tapped his fingers on the desk, the sound echoing through the empty classroom. The rejection had sounded decisive, but he'd clearly seen the glint of amusement in Uesugi Hara's eyes just moments earlier.
"The deeper someone hides, the more interesting they are." Miyabi Nagumo chuckled. "I hope he'll surprise me next time we meet."
As he left the club building, Uesugi Hara pulled out his Terminal and glanced at the time—it was five thirty. He clicked his tongue. He'd been so busy listening to Miyabi Nagumo brag that he hadn't even noticed the time slipping by.
He swiped his finger across the Terminal screen a couple of times, then put the conversation out of his mind. In the end, it had been nothing more than a probing exchange between two people with their own agendas. It wasn't worth wasting too much brainpower over.
He'd better focus on how to deal with Kushida Kikyo tonight.
"Uesugi-kun." Just as Uesugi Hara was about to go get dinner, a familiar voice came from behind him.
He turned around and, sure enough, there was that little girl who always seemed to have too much free time—Sakayanagi Arisu, walking out of the club building with her cane.
Kamuro Masumi was still with her, and this time Hashimoto was there too.
"Hey, Uesugi. What a coincidence." Hashimoto raised a hand to him, his tone warm and overly familiar.
Kamuro Masumi didn't say anything. She merely glanced at Uesugi Hara, then looked away, her expression unchanged.
"Sure is." Uesugi Hara replied calmly, though he couldn't help thinking, What rotten luck. I've just finished dealing with Miyabi Nagumo, and now I've run into her.
As Sakayanagi Arisu and the others drew closer, her signature cane tapped lightly against the ground. Her pale fingers rested on it, and a faint smile played on her lips. "Hehe. You don't look very happy, Uesugi-kun. Did something unpleasant happen in the club building just now?"
Her voice was gentle and her eyes were smiling. Though phrased as a question, she sounded almost certain of the answer.
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow, amused. If this little girl knew he'd been annoyed by her, wouldn't she fly into a rage?
A slight smile appeared on his face. "You're overthinking it, Arisu. I was just wondering what to have for dinner."
"Oh?" Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head, her short silver hair slipping over her shoulder. "What a coincidence. Kamuro and the others and I were just planning to go to the Commercial District. Would you like to come along, Uesugi-kun? Then I can hear what you have in mind."
Hashimoto immediately chimed in. "Yeah, it'll be more fun with more people. And our princess is treating us today. She said there's a place with limited-edition strawberry cake."
Uesugi Hara glanced at Kamuro Masumi's still-expressionless face, then at Sakayanagi Arisu's determined look. He knew there was probably no getting out of this. He shrugged, his tone casual. "Since you put it that way, I won't refuse."
He had to deal with Kushida Kikyo tonight anyway. There didn't seem to be any harm in heading back a little later. Uesugi Hara thought it over as he fell into step with them.
On the way to the Commercial District, Hashimoto chattered nonstop, talking about everything from funny things that had happened in class to new video games. Kamuro Masumi followed behind Sakayanagi in silence like a shadow, seeming not to care about anything.
Sakayanagi Arisu occasionally added a comment, but her gaze kept drifting toward Uesugi Hara. When they reached a fork in the road, she suddenly asked, "You just came from the Student Council Office, didn't you, Uesugi-kun?"
Uesugi Hara paused for a moment, but kept his expression neutral. "I was just passing by."
"Is that so?" Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, her cane striking the stone path with a crisp tap. "I thought I saw Vice President Nagumo over there just now. Do you... know each other?"
Uesugi Hara rubbed the tip of his nose. "I wouldn't say we know each other. We just happened to exchange a few words."
"Vice President Nagumo is quite ambitious," Sakayanagi Arisu said leisurely. "You'd do best not to get involved with him, Uesugi-kun."
Uesugi Hara glanced at her smiling eyes and suddenly laughed. "You seem pretty interested in other people's business, Arisu."
"After all, there aren't many interesting people or things at this school." Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head as she looked at him. "And aren't you one of them, Uesugi-kun? You clearly have hidden abilities, yet you always like to pretend you're an ordinary person."
Kamuro Masumi and Hashimoto looked confused. "Pretend to be ordinary? Uesugi, are you good at something?"
Uesugi Hara didn't answer. He just looked at Sakayanagi Arisu. "If you have something to say, Arisu, why not say it directly?"
"Nothing in particular." Sakayanagi Arisu turned her gaze toward the restaurant up ahead. "I just think it would be a waste of your talent if you kept hiding in the crowd, Uesugi-kun. Sometimes, you have to step into the spotlight to see a more interesting view, don't you?"
Uesugi Hara didn't respond. As he opened the restaurant door, he stepped aside to let Sakayanagi Arisu enter first. "Let's eat first. Who knows if they still have any strawberry cake left?"
As Kamuro Masumi helped Sakayanagi Arisu over the threshold, she glanced at Uesugi Hara, the smile in her eyes deepening. "Don't worry. I had someone set aside a portion of that limited-edition item in advance."
Warm yellow light spilled across the restaurant's wooden tables and chairs. Hashimoto rushed to the counter and returned with four boxes of strawberry cake, pushing them in front of the group like a proud shopkeeper. "Look, look! Good thing our princess planned ahead!"
Fresh strawberries topped the pale pink frosting, and the sugar glistened in tiny flecks. Uesugi Hara picked up a box and took a spoonful. As the rich sweetness spread through his mouth, Sakayanagi Arisu spoke in her usual unhurried tone. "Vice President Nagumo wanted to recruit you into the Student Council, didn't he?"
Uesugi Hara looked up and met her light gray eyes, which seemed able to see right through people.
"I guessed." Sakayanagi Arisu took a sip of red tea, her tone casual. "He and President Horikita don't get along, so it makes sense that he'd try to build an alliance."
Kamuro Masumi paused, perking up her ears to listen to this information she hadn't known. Hashimoto, meanwhile, mumbled around his spoon, "Uesugi, are you going to join the Student Council? I heard Katsuragi wants to join too. You'll have to do your best together."
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at Uesugi Hara, who still hadn't said a word. "The important thing is that you turned him down, right?"
Uesugi Hara swallowed his cake and raised an eyebrow. "What if I said I accepted?"
"Then it wouldn't be any fun." Sakayanagi Arisu laughed softly. "I thought you were different from those people who rush to attach themselves to power, Uesugi-kun." She tapped the edge of the cake box with her spoon. "After all, it doesn't feel good to be used as someone else's weapon."
Without changing his expression, Uesugi Hara pushed his empty cake box aside. "It seems you don't just like prying into other people's business, Arisu. You also like making decisions for them."
"I just don't want to see an interesting person take the wrong path." Sakayanagi Arisu tilted her head, her short silver hair brushing her shoulder. "Vice President Nagumo wants to break the rules, while President Horikita wants to preserve the status quo. Which do you think is more interesting, Uesugi-kun, preserving the status quo or..."
She paused deliberately, a glint of mischief in her light gray eyes. "Tearing open a gap with your own hands and seeing what lies beyond?"
Uesugi Hara picked up his teacup and took a sip, the warm liquid sliding down his throat. "You seem unusually talkative today, Arisu."
"That's because it's rare to meet someone interesting."
Uesugi Hara didn't answer right away. He simply watched the twilight deepen outside the window. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He didn't need to check it to know that Kushida Kikyo was probably urging him to come back.
He stood up. "Thanks for the treat. I should get going."
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't try to stop him. She just smiled and waved. "Take care on your way back. Oh, and—"
Uesugi Hara turned around.
"Did you like the strawberry cake?" She blinked, her voice as innocent as an ordinary girl's.
"It was all right." Uesugi Hara turned and walked out of the restaurant.