Bedside Phone Call with Ichinose

Ichinose wasn't pleased by the praise at all. She simply said, calmly,

"Amakusa-kun was the one who explained everything so clearly. If anything, you're the impressive one, Amakusa-kun."

"Me? I'm just an ordinary person." U Amakusa wasn't being modest; he genuinely thought so.

A large part of how he'd managed this was thanks to his foreknowledge, and the rest was his cheat ability. He'd merely made use of them.

Kanzaki ignored Amakusa's humblebrag and continued playing the role of conversation-pusher.

"So, are we going with a point deduction plan or a point addition plan?"

Amakusa shrugged. "That's up to you. I'm just here to offer advice."

Kanzaki still wasn't giving up. "I just want to hear your opinion. Which plan do you think would be more advantageous?"

Ichinose stopped Kanzaki from pressing the question and made the decision herself.

"Kanzaki-kun, we'll go with the point addition plan. We don't need you to play the villain, and it's not just me—everyone in Class B would disagree, too. We'll win fair and square, then become Class A."

Hoshinomiya said, "That's my Honami-chan~"

As Amakusa listened to the three members of Class B talk, he quietly glanced at the time.

It was about time for dinner.

If nothing unexpected happened, a large number of students would soon be returning to the dorms. This was the perfect time to wrap things up.

"It's getting late. If we stay any longer, someone might run into us. Hoshinomiya-sensei, sorry for the trouble, but could you draw up a contract based on what we discussed?"

"Leave it to your teacher."

Hoshinomiya only acted like a normal person when she was handling serious business.

If they didn't leave soon, the room's owner would be back, and it would be hard to explain things then.

After successfully seeing everyone off and tidying up the things he'd used to host his guests, Amakusa finally returned to his own room.

Borrowing Sanada's room had been unnecessary, but Amakusa had done it anyway.

Brrring—

Amakusa reached into his pocket for the vibrating phone and took a look.

It was a call from Ichinose.

Hadn't she just left?

Though puzzled, Amakusa answered.

"Hello, Ichinose?"

"Mm, it's me. Don't worry, Amakusa-kun. There's no one else with me right now."

Amakusa fell silent for a moment. He couldn't guess why Ichinose was calling at a time like this.

Over the phone, he couldn't even use his Information Glasses.

"...Did you want to ask about what Hoshinomiya-sensei said?"

"No. I was a little curious, but I don't want to force you to talk about something you don't want to."

"...Ichinose, I think there's a nickname that suits you perfectly."

"Huh? What nickname? Did you come up with it, Amakusa-kun?"

"Her Holiness, the Archangel."

"Her Holiness, the Archangel? That's way too much."

"Haha. Then just drop the '-kun' when you call me. It'd be strange if I were the only one addressing you directly."

"Then I'll call you Amakusa-kun. Hey, why did you choose Class B?"

So they'd finally gotten to the point.

"Sakura wouldn't do well in Class A. She can't keep up with their grades, and according to the upperclassmen, anyone who doesn't reach the class's passing grade on an academic exam gets expelled."

"That's just an excuse, isn't it? You should be able to find a way around that, Amakusa-kun. Is it because Class B is closest to Class A? Or is there another reason?"

"...What do you think the reason is, Ichinose?"

"I just can't figure it out, so I came to ask you. You'd already chosen Class B from the moment you asked Sakura and me to become friends, hadn't you? There were still Class C and Class D. Wouldn't it have been better to help Sakura make friends in her own class, Class D?"

Ichinose didn't know what Class D was like, but Amakusa thought Sakura would be better off not staying there.

"Then why not someone else in Class B? Why Ichinose Honami, in particular?"

"Huh? Um... why?"

Unable to figure it out right away, Ichinose hoped Amakusa would give her the answer.

"Because I never chose Class B. I chose the Class B that has you in it."

"Huh? Ah..."

The voice on the other end was faint. All Amakusa could hear was Ichinose's startled "Huh?"

"Ichinose?"

"Ah... Sorry, sorry, I dropped my phone just now..."

"You dropped your phone? Is it okay?"

If she'd dropped it, shouldn't there have been a sound when it hit something?

Amakusa was puzzled.

"Mm, it's fine. It'd be strange if it broke after falling onto the bed, right?"

"Your bed? Are you in your room right now?"

"I am. We only just parted, after all. If there's no one around me, where else would I be but in my room?"

"Right. So, Miss Ichinose, are you sure it's okay to say so casually that you're in your room and on your bed?"

"Um... why wouldn't it be okay to say that?"

"..."

"I'm a perfectly normal, healthy man, and I'm a high school boy in the prime of adolescence. Your behavior might give me some ideas, Miss Ichinose."

"..."

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then Ichinose suddenly realized what he meant, and her cheeks turned faintly red.

"Amakusa-kun, you're such a pervert. We were having a perfectly normal conversation."

"Some innocent guys can't sleep at night just because they talked on the phone with a cute girl for more than five minutes."

"Huh? Really?"

"Really."

"Does that happen to you too, Amakusa-kun?"

"I'm not some innocent little boy."

"So you're the kind of guy who wants a harem?"

"...I can't deny it. It's every guy's dream, and I'm working hard to make it come true."

"Amakusa-kun really is a pervert after all."

"Being a pervert means I'm a normal, straight man! I should be proud of that."

A light laugh came from the other end of the call, and Amakusa smiled too.

"You're always confident about the strangest things, Amakusa-kun. Um... like when you said you'd roll around on the floor."

"...Uh, was that a compliment?"

"It was."

"Then thank you."

Ichinose giggled again. This kind of conversation seemed to help her relax.

Every day, everyone in Class B looked up to and relied on her. Maybe she'd always wanted a moment like this, where she could relax.

Even though her classmates meant no harm, that was precisely why it could be even more exhausting.

"This is our first call since we exchanged contact information, but somehow... Thank you, Amakusa-kun."

"Ichinose, I'll repeat what I said before. I didn't choose Class B. I chose the Class B that has you in it.

"So, no matter how many times you need it, whenever you feel lost or tired, this phone line will always be open."

This time, Ichinose didn't drop the phone she held to her ear. Instead, she gripped it even tighter, slowly drew her knees up, and buried her flushed face against them.

"...Thank you."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but Amakusa heard every word.

There were so many things he could have said—"You're welcome," "It's nothing," and more—but all that came out was a simple...

"Mm."