Chapter Summaries

Sogo Doma used the fisherman and professional manager story to challenge Yukino Yukinoshita’s fixation on people who ostracized her and show that those with similar principles were not alone. Yukino reconsidered her perspective and asked Sogo what role he played in the story.

• Sogo compared the fisherman’s self-justifying attitude with the majority’s resistance to advice and asked Yukino whether hard work was wrong.
• Sogo argued that professional managers and fishermen lived in different worlds and that the people managers truly dealt with shared their ideas.
• Sogo pointed out that Yukino focused on the people who excluded her, despite Ako and others also facing ostracism.
• Yukino reconsidered why she kept focusing on the fishermen and asked Sogo what role he played.

Yukino Yukinoshita reflected on how Sogo Doma had changed her life and asked what he considered genuine. Sogo called himself a recorder of stories and described genuine action as following one’s desires, then tried to persuade Yukinoshita and Kasumigaoka to visit Miyazono.

• Yukino recalled how Sogo’s actions in elementary school diverted hostility from her, though they caused another student to suffer.
• Yukino realized that Sogo’s request had brought her together with Mashiro, Kasumigaoka, and Ako through the Service Club.
• Yukino asked Sogo what role he played, and he answered that he was an observer who recorded stories.
• Yukino asked what counted as genuine, and Sogo said people should act on desires such as eating when hungry or making friends when they wanted to.
• Sogo pointed out that Yukino and Kasumigaoka were curious about Miyazono, while Yukino noted that people often chose not to act on what they wanted.

Sogo Doma teased Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka until they acknowledged that they considered each other friends, then challenged Yukino to pursue what she wanted instead of merely waiting for it. The chapter ended with Yukino silent as Sogo pointed out that almost no one knew the Service Club existed.

• Sogo Doma told Yukino Yukinoshita that Mashiro saw her as a friend, and Utaha Kasumigaoka admitted she wanted to be friends with Yukino.
• Utaha brought up Yukino remembering her birthday, and the group agreed to celebrate it on January 3rd.
• Yukino asked Sogo what the real thing was, and he described how Mashiro, Utaha, and Rikka Takanashi pursued what mattered to them.
• Sogo said Yukino wanted friends, recognition, and to surpass Haruno Yukinoshita, but had done little to pursue those goals.
• Sogo pointed out that Yukino had created the Service Club but only waited for requests, and that almost no one at school knew it existed.

Sogo Doma challenged Yukino Yukinoshita to stop passively longing for recognition and friendship and to take action herself. Yukino struggled to defend her efforts, while Sogo and Utaha exposed how much preparation she had quietly done; she left embarrassed and frustrated.

• Yukino questioned whether she had accomplished anything, and Sogo argued that helping Mashiro had created real memories and happiness.
• Sogo pressed Yukino about what she had actually done to surpass her sister, pointing out that she rarely approached Mashiro, Utaha, or Ako on her own.
• Yukino identified Mittag-Leffler as the mathematician who had supposedly stolen Nobel's girlfriend, prompting Sogo to joke about her knowing the story.
• Sogo revealed that Yukino had read manga for Mashiro and had written down everyone's birthdays, showing that she had prepared for friendship without taking the initiative.
• Utaha teased Yukino about her excellent memory, leaving Yukino annoyed with both her and Sogo.

Sogo Doma urged Yukino Yukinoshita to be more honest about wanting friendship and to act on her curiosity about Kaori Miyazono. Yukino accepted his advice and asked him to call her Yukinoshita, while she and Utaha Kasumigaoka resumed bickering and caught Sogo taking a photo of them.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka suggested that Yukino Yukinoshita wanted recognition, and Yukino insisted that only people close to her needed to understand her.
• Sogo Doma told Yukino that Mashiro, Shiba, and Ako wanted to be her friends and encouraged her to be more proactive and to approach Miyazono directly.
• Utaha pointed out that Sogo had already explained why Miyazono had lied, but Sogo argued that hearing the truth from Miyazono herself would help Yukino understand her.
• Yukino thanked Sogo and asked him to call her Yukinoshita, then she and Utaha traded insults.
• Sogo took out his phone to photograph the bickering, and Yukino and Utaha demanded to know what he was doing.

Sogo Doma tried to justify photographing Utaha Kasumigaoka and Yukino Yukinoshita as research, while Yukino reflected on his habit of taking blame to protect her. After Kaori Miyazono's performance failed, she asked Kousei Arima to play for her once more, and he hesitated without confidence.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka challenged Sogo Doma's claim that he was gathering research and demanded that he delete the photos he had taken.
• Sogo Doma tried to evade deleting the photos, while Yukino Yukinoshita suspected he had deliberately exposed his actions to take the blame and prevent her from arguing with Utaha.
• Kousei Arima returned with drinks, interrupting the confrontation, and Yukino reconsidered how she had treated Sogo Doma.
• Kaori Miyazono acknowledged that her body had failed her but insisted there would be another chance.
• Kaori Miyazono asked Kousei Arima to play for her once more, and he struggled to answer because he doubted he could succeed next time.

Kousei Arima and Lady Umaru argued over whether Sogo Doma hated the piano, while Sogo explained that Umaru—not music—was what made him accept her as his sister. Sogo offered to play for Umaru and revealed that Utaha Kasumigaoka had already heard his music through a recording Fujimi Bunko played.

• Kousei Arima urged the others to believe in Sogo Doma's piano playing and called them pitiful for never hearing it.
• Lady Umaru insisted that Sogo hated the piano and said she had learned from him only because he had become her teacher.
• Sogo told Kousei that he really did not like the piano, then corrected Umaru that the recital had only been a trigger and that he accepted her because she was his sister.
• Sogo asked Umaru whether she wanted to hear music, and she agreed.
• Sogo reminded Utaha Kasumigaoka that she had heard him play in the little black room, and Utaha realized he had performed the music Fujimi Bunko played.

Sogo Doma stunned a packed café with his piano performance, then listened as the others discussed Kaori Miyazono’s competition performance and the influence of fame in classical music. The chapter ended with Kousei Arima comparing Doma’s standing to world-renowned pianist Youko Touma.

• Sogo Doma played piano so brilliantly that the café’s customers and his companions were enthralled, and his skill rose back to LV5.
• Kaori Miyazono asked Doma to accompany her, then joked that she would need to be a far better soloist to deserve him.
• Kousei Arima and Yukino Yukinoshita explained that Kaori’s free performance was impressive for the audience but poorly suited to competition judging.
• Kousei Arima said Doma’s fame would likely earn him a guest-performer role and keep judges from scoring him if he entered a competition.
• Kousei Arima invoked Youko Touma as an example of a pianist whose reputation placed her beyond ordinary competition rules.

Sogo Doma’s past as a pianist astonished Yukino, Utaha, and Lady Umaru as Kousei Arima described his reputation and a mysterious unfinished composition. The others learned that the piece had been heard by very few people, while Sogo tried to stop Kousei from revealing more about it.

• Lady Umaru and Utaha Kasumigaoka reacted as Kousei Arima explained that Sogo Doma had surpassed his former teacher, Youko Touma, and had once been revered in the music world.
• Kousei Arima said Sogo’s sudden departure from music had left listeners regretting that only a few practice pieces remained; Sogo awkwardly dismissed their praise.
• Kousei Arima claimed Sogo’s performance had not shown his full ability, but Sogo stopped him before he could elaborate.
• Kousei Arima described a rare, nearly unknown piece that had deeply moved him, while Lady Umaru recognized it as Sogo’s final piece before leaving the piano world.
• Kousei Arima revealed that the piece was unfinished and that countless people had wanted to complete it, but Sogo had stopped playing it.

After a gathering brought Sogo Doma, Kousei Arima, Kaori Miyazono, and Yukino Yukinoshita closer, Sogo waited for Mashiro’s make-up exam and received a call from Kaguya Shinomiya about Kotaro Katsura. Kaguya suspected Sogo had sent Katsura to spy on her, while Katsura insisted he was acting on his own and protested being called Fake Wig.

• Sogo Doma admitted that he had stopped playing the piano because he did not know how to continue, then persuaded Kousei Arima to help complete the piece.
• Kousei Arima promised to lead Kaori Miyazono to victory in the upcoming competition, and Yukino Yukinoshita wondered if making friends might not be so difficult.
• Sogo Doma lost rock-paper-scissors and waited outside Mashiro’s make-up exam to pick her up.
• Kaguya Shinomiya called Sogo Doma and demanded to know what was going on with Katsura, while a tied-up maid corrected her that his name was Katsura, not Keiko.
• Kaguya Shinomiya accused Sogo Doma of sending Kotaro Katsura to spy on her, but Katsura claimed he was acting in her best interests and denied being Sogo’s man.
• Sogo Doma and Kaguya Shinomiya called Kotaro Katsura Fake Wig, while Katsura insisted his name was Katsura and complained that slippers had left him tied up.

Kotaro Katsura recalled his revolutionary ambitions and explained how he had infiltrated Kaguya Shinomiya’s household disguised as a maid. He challenged Kaguya’s admiration for Shirogane, then backed off when she recognized his mention of Sogo Doma.

• Kotaro Katsura told Sogo Doma he planned to become prime minister and reform the country, then infiltrate the conglomerates if necessary.
• Kotaro Katsura blamed his exposure on tripping over slippers and the conglomerates’ influence, while Kaguya Shinomiya and Ai Hayasaka rejected his excuses.
• Kotaro Katsura recalled introducing himself to Kaguya as the new maid Keiko while hiding behind a wooden board.
• Kotaro Katsura criticized Shirogane as an irresponsible president and accused Kaguya of liking him, but Kaguya insisted Shirogane worked hard and had surpassed her academically.
• Kotaro Katsura claimed he could surpass anyone except Sogo Doma, prompting Kaguya to ask whether he meant Sogo Doma and Katsura to change the subject.

Kotaro Katsura confronted Kaguya Shinomiya about her feelings for President Shirogane and urged her to stop treating love like a contest. Kaguya questioned Katsura’s identity, and he corrected her by giving his name.

• Kaguya Shinomiya realized Katsura was connected to Sogo Doma, and Katsura admitted Doma had provided him with information.
• Katsura praised Kaguya’s gentleness and teased her about being shy and helpless around the person she liked.
• Katsura told Kaguya that love meant accepting everything about someone and argued that Shirogane likely knew she wanted to recruit him.
• Katsura challenged Kaguya’s belief that love was a war in which the first person to confess lost, and she fell silent.
• Kaguya asked Katsura who he really was, and he corrected her when she called him Keiko.

Kotaro Katsura broke into the Shinomiya residence to investigate Kaguya Shinomiya, but after his failed escape and a phone call with Sogo Doma, he explained that he wanted to understand her and make the world more beautiful. The chapter ended with Sogo warning Katsura not to test him and handing the phone to Kaguya.

• Kaguya Shinomiya ordered Ai Hayasaka to capture Kotaro Katsura, but Katsura’s smoke-bomb escape failed when he tripped over his slippers.
• Ai Hayasaka tied Katsura up and suggested using him to test Sogo Doma’s reaction, while Kaguya wondered why Doma had described her as he did.
• Sogo Doma spoke to Katsura on the phone as Katsura freed himself and told Kaguya that he had come to see what the Shinomiya Family thought.
• Katsura praised Kaguya as kind and said he wanted to create conditions for unknown things to become beautiful through negotiation rather than coercion.
• Katsura threatened to kill Kaguya to provoke Sogo, who warned Katsura that testing him could become the cornerstone of his burial and handed the phone to Kaguya.

Kotaro Katsura infiltrated the Shinomiya household and tried to convince Kaguya Shinomiya to cooperate with him. After exposing Kaguya’s weak position in her family, he offered to become a source of power for her.

• Ai Hayasaka drew her gun on Kotaro Katsura, who claimed he had come to discuss cooperation with Kaguya Shinomiya.
• Katsura insisted that he and Sogo Doma were friends, but their argument over nicknames undermined his appeal to Doma’s influence.
• Katsura revealed that he had applied through official channels and been hired as a maid, then accidentally exposed his familiarity with women’s restrooms.
• Katsura argued that his disguise and infiltration skills could help Kaguya reach her brothers, which Hayasaka could not do.
• Katsura told Kaguya that the Kondo Group’s strength was not truly hers and offered to become her power.

Kotaro Katsura asked Kaguya Shinomiya for the Shinomiya Family’s support when he ran for prime minister, while Sogo Doma waited at the school and teased Eriri Sawamura after her English makeup exam. Eriri reluctantly agreed that Sogo could call her Eriri, leaving him convinced that something was wrong with her.

• Kotaro Katsura asked Kaguya Shinomiya to support his future prime ministerial run with the Shinomiya Family’s vote.
• Sogo Doma wondered whether Katsura was serious about becoming prime minister before the exam bell rang.
• Sogo Doma encountered Eriri Sawamura outside the makeup exam room and learned she had retaken English.
• Sogo Doma teased Eriri about her exam, her secret doujin identity, and whether they were friends.
• Eriri reluctantly said Sogo could call her Eriri, and Sogo concluded that something was wrong with her.

Sogo Doma and Eriri Sawamura talked privately about their closeness and Eriri’s hopes of becoming a professional manga artist. He encouraged her to pursue what she wanted and used Mashiro Shiina’s rejected manuscripts to show that even talented artists faced setbacks.

• Sogo Doma tried calling Eriri by her given name, and Eriri flusteredly told him she had only allowed him to do so.
• Eriri asked about Sogo’s relationship with Mashiro and admitted she was considering learning to draw manga.
• Sogo urged Eriri to stick with doujinshi, but changed course when she revealed she wanted to become a real manga artist.
• Eriri said her anonymous submissions had been rejected, and Sogo told her Mashiro had received more than ten rejections too.
• Sogo claimed he had kept Mashiro’s rejected manuscripts, privately revealing that he had saved them as material to tease her with.

Sogo Doma urged Sawamura Eriri to pursue manga despite the risk of rejection, pointing to Mashiro Shiina’s persistence as an example. Eriri decided she wanted to learn from Mashiro, then learned that Mashiro had failed every subject and concluded the country’s education system was beyond saving.

• Sogo Doma explained how Mashiro Shiina kept improving through repeated manga submissions despite her greater fame in other fields.
• Sogo Doma asked Sawamura Eriri whether she loved drawing manga enough to face rejection and exposure as Kashiwagi Eri.
• Sawamura Eriri said she wanted to learn manga from Mashiro Shiina, while Sogo Doma reassured her that no one would mock her for pursuing her dream.
• Sawamura Eriri learned that Mashiro had to retake every subject, including English, and declared the country’s education system beyond saving.

Sogo Doma met Mashiro in the make-up exam classroom, where she revealed a series of absurd plans to ensure she passed so she could keep drawing manga. After Sogo clarified that failing would only mean making time for tutoring, Mashiro declared her mysterious Plan E a success.

• Mashiro told Sogo she would wait in the classroom rather than get lost, then explained that she had invented a manga plot while waiting.
• Eriri Sawamura joined them for the make-up exam, and Mashiro proposed eliminating the other students so she would be the only one left to pass.
• Mashiro cited Yukino’s warning against excluding others and pitched a new plan to unite the students and eliminate the teachers grading the exams.
• Sogo rejected Mashiro’s plans and asked why she was so worried; Mashiro admitted she believed she had to pass the exam to keep drawing manga.
• Sogo explained that failing would only require Mashiro to fit tutoring around her manga time, and Mashiro relaxed and announced that Master Buried’s Plan E had succeeded.

Eriri asked Sogo why Mashiro seemed so unconcerned about not knowing things, and he explained that Mashiro focused on drawing and the few people she considered friends. The conversation left Eriri wondering whether she could stop worrying about other people’s judgment.

• Eriri asked Sogo whether Mashiro was unusual, and Sogo said Mashiro lacked common sense.
• Mashiro said she was learning and saw nothing embarrassing about not knowing something.
• Eriri worried that people would mock Mashiro for trying to learn, but Mashiro asked why she should care about people she did not know.
• Sogo explained that Mashiro’s world centered on drawing and friends, and that her true friends understood her.
• Mashiro affirmed that Yukino was her friend, leaving Eriri admiring the idea of not caring about cruel remarks.

Sogo Doma reassured Eriri that caring about others’ opinions was understandable, while Mashiro’s single-minded focus on manga came from her different personality and experiences. He left Eriri reflecting on how her childhood isolation over liking anime and manga had shaped her.

• Eriri questioned whether she was wrong for caring about others’ judgment, and Sogo told her that people were different and neither she nor Mashiro had to be wrong.
• Sogo explained that Mashiro focused on drawing because she knew what she wanted, then suggested she use Kaoru’s story as manga material.
• Eriri asked who Kaoru was, but Sogo redirected the conversation to explain that most people were influenced by their surroundings.
• Sogo told Eriri that a world where everyone acted like Mashiro would not work, and said people’s circumstances and experiences shaped them.
• Sogo reminded Eriri that she had been isolated as a child for liking anime and manga, then reassured her that Mashiro would not tell anyone.