Class C's Princess

On Friday at lunch, Kanzaki Toru went to the Library.

The night before, Horikita had sent him Ryuen Kakeru's file on his terminal. Ryuen, Class 1-C, had scored above average on the entrance exam and excelled in the physical fitness test. He had no disciplinary record during his first month at school. Starting in the second month, he had frequently appeared on the Disciplinary Committee's watch list, but every investigation had fizzled out—witnesses changed their stories, evidence went missing, and every lead pointing to him was cut off at the last moment. Horikita had added her own assessment at the end of the file: "He has an exceptional awareness of counter-surveillance, and his subordinates are unusually loyal. A power structure centered around him has formed within Class C."

After reading it, he deleted the file and leaned back in his chair, thinking for a long time. Ryuen's methods were indeed sophisticated. Every blow he struck was precisely calculated, and he never exposed himself carelessly. But his methods weren't the most important thing. The fact that he could make second-years work for him was itself an indication of an imbalance in their relationship. For a first-year to command the buzz-cut and bald second-years, he either had leverage over them or something they wanted. And most likely, Ryuen had an extremely efficient internal intelligence network—efficient enough to cover not only Class C, but at least part of the second-year cohort as well.

That meant defending against Ryuen wasn't enough. He needed to establish an information source inside Class C.

"Kanzaki?"

He looked up. Kushida Kikyo stood beside the bookshelves, holding a stack of papers and tilting her head as she looked at him. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting a faint, soft glow around her.

"Daydreaming? That's unusual." She smiled.

"I was thinking."

"About what? Don't tell me—" Kushida lowered her voice, her eyes curving into a smile. "You were thinking about Class C, weren't you? Word's already gotten around about Ryuen stopping you in the hallway yesterday."

The news traveled fast. Ryuen had deliberately chosen a quiet spot at the end of the hallway to stop him, but at this school, any two people who spoke alone in a hallway for more than ten seconds were sure to be noticed.

"I was just wondering when they'd announce the cross-class groups," he said. "Chabashira said last week they'd put up a notice this week."

"Right. The cross-class groups..." Kushida shifted the papers in her arms. "Actually, I heard that some people in Class C have been asking about our class lately. Especially Ryuen... That person's a little scary. But you don't need to worry about him, do you, Kanzaki?"

She sounded as if she were making casual conversation, but Ryuen's name had come easily to her. It wasn't the first time she'd heard the name, or even the first time she'd talked about him. The idea that Kushida Kikyo had some sort of information channel into Class C had once been a mere suspicion. Now, it was all but certain.

"You know Ryuen?" he asked.

"Not exactly. I've just heard of him. He's famous in Class C." After saying that, Kushida waved and briskly walked out of the Library.

He watched her walk away, then turned his attention to the Illustrated Guide. Kushida Kikyo's page was still the same: a blurry outline, flickering annotations, and the words "Boundary between public and private self to be confirmed." Her affection rating still hadn't taken shape. Nearly two months had passed since the start of school. The affection ratings of the other girls had all changed: Sakura's had risen from 68 to 70, Horikita's from 20 to 42, and Karuizawa Kei's from 18 to 35. Only Kushida's remained blank. It wasn't zero; it simply didn't show up at all. That didn't mean she felt no affection. Rather, she deliberately hid her true emotions so deep that even the Illustrated Guide struggled to see through them. When someone wore the same gentle mask for everyone, it could make it impossible for the people who truly needed to get close to her to do so.

He put the book back on the shelf and left the Library. At the entrance to the Academic Building, he ran into Karuizawa Kei. She was alone today, standing in front of a vending machine with her finger hovering between two buttons, her expression earnestly conflicted.

"Karuizawa."

She turned around, her golden ponytail tracing an arc. "You're just in time. Help me decide—sweet red bean soup or hot cocoa?"

"Last time, you gave me hot cocoa."

"That was last time. Today I'm drinking it myself." She replied without a hint of hesitation, then frowned again. "Never mind. Red bean soup's too sweet, and hot cocoa's too rich..." Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then she suddenly asked, "Where's Sakura today?"

"On the field. Taking pictures."

Karuizawa nodded and pressed the button for red bean soup. "After that candy the other day, she left another one in the classroom."

"What candy?"

"Milk candy. On the corner of my desk, with no note again." Karuizawa opened the can and took a sip of red bean soup, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "What does she mean by it?"

"Maybe she thought the red bean soup was too sweet, so she gave you milk candy to balance it out."

"You—" Karuizawa glared at him, then burst out laughing. It was a genuine laugh, not a social smile; the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly. She quickly stopped, returned to her usual proud expression, finished the rest of the red bean soup, crushed the can, and tossed it into the recycling bin.

"Oh, right," she added over her shoulder before leaving. "There's a girl in Class C you should get to know."

"Who?"

"Shiina Hiyori. She's the Class C librarian. I've talked to her a few times when I went to borrow books. She's nothing like Ryuen's lackeys. She's quiet, always has a book in her hands, and I've never heard her get involved in any of the class's infighting."

Karuizawa walked away, her steps light, her golden hair glinting in the afternoon sunlight. Kanzaki Toru stood by the vending machine for a moment, then bought a can of hot cocoa with a coin. Shiina Hiyori. Her name had appeared once in Horikita's file, tucked into a corner of the Class C student roster, with almost no remarks beside it. No disciplinary record, no conflicts with any clubs—so quiet she seemed to exist apart from the world. But under Ryuen Kakeru's iron-fisted rule, a Class C student with no record at all was a force in her own right.

He carried the hot cocoa up to the rooftop and opened the Illustrated Guide. The information Karuizawa had provided had triggered a reaction once the Guide picked it up. The page's cold-glowing edge turned slightly, and a few previously indistinct strokes began to take shape. A remarkably clear name slowly emerged: "Shiina Hiyori." They hadn't met yet, so no affection rating was available. But a hazy curve had already formed in her attributes section. Once the right opportunity for contact arose, the page would fully unfold.

On Saturday afternoon, he met Shiina Hiyori on the second floor of the Library.

She was sorting that day's returned books behind the returns desk, her head bowed as she worked. Her light chestnut hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, swaying gently as she bent over or turned around. Unlike most of the students around her, who wore their uniforms, she had no unnecessary accessories. A tiny silver bookmark was pinned to the pocket over her left breast. Her fingers were fair, the tips smudged with a trace of ink from the new book covers. She turned each book gently and attentively, as if she knew them all well enough to put every one back in its proper place without a moment's hesitation.

Kanzaki Toru walked over and set the photography books in his hands on the returns counter. He had borrowed them from Sakura's desk on a whim—she had told him he could return them whenever he liked.

Shiina took the books and glanced at their covers. Her eyes lingered on the photography books for a moment. "These are listed in the borrowing records for Sakura from Class D. What does she take pictures of?"

"Anything. The sky, flowers, high walls. She's been taking more pictures of the walls lately."

Shiina didn't respond. She only nodded gently, scanned the books into the system, then looked up. Her eyes were light brown, calm and composed. Beside the rows of hefty books, they were like a still pool of water.

"You're like her," Shiina said. "You're looking at something."

"Maybe."

"But not walls," she added. "You're looking at something else. Even though, on the surface, you always choose to watch from the sidelines."

She had never met him before, yet she had discerned his pattern of behavior in their very first conversation. That kind of insight couldn't be a spur-of-the-moment guess. Shiina Hiyori's world probably consisted of nothing but books, but she saw more clearly than most people who were active in the crowds around them. He neither denied nor confirmed it.

"I'm looking for a book about the history of the school's rules. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Third row on the left, bottom shelf." Shiina barely paused to think. She only shifted her eyes, as if she had expected his question. "There's a book called Summary of School System Changes from eight years ago. Records about class competition start on page thirty-seven. But the binding's falling apart, so you can't borrow it. You'll have to read it here."

"Thanks. I'll treat you to coffee sometime."

"I don't drink coffee." After saying that, she sat back down at the sorting desk and pulled the next stack of books toward her. But the tip of her pen paused, and she glanced up at him. "Tea would be fine."

Kanzaki Toru nodded and turned toward the third row on the left. His first conversation with her was over. It hadn't been long, but he had gained an important lead about the school system and arranged to have tea with her.

Deep within the Illustrated Guide, the new page no longer gave off a cold glow. Its background had turned a steady light brown. Shiina Hiyori's name was now firmly in place. There was no label in the title field, only a short phrase: "A reader and quiet observer." The status field contained a neutral description: "A gentle observer, independent of Class C's dominant power structure."

He crouched down and found Summary of School System Changes on the bottom shelf of that dusty row. The binding was indeed in poor condition, and the spine had been patched with tape several times. He opened it to page thirty-seven. The first line made his finger stop: "The class competition system entered a trial phase in the school's third year. The original version included both cross-class cooperation and competition. One year later, it was simplified to a purely competitive system. The cooperation system was frozen due to excessive management difficulties, but was never removed from the regulations."

Cooperation system. Frozen. Never removed from the regulations.

In other words, the school's rules weren't limited to what he had seen so far. Some old rules had been frozen, but never actually removed. And rules that had been frozen could be reactivated under certain conditions. He closed the book, leaned against the shelf, and shut his eyes, storing the information deep in his memory. The cross-class groups—Chabashira's announcement last week about the cross-class group arrangements was probably not just an ordinary reshuffling of seats. It was most likely a subtle test of the frozen cooperation system. If so, the classes would soon face more than just competition. They would also face the return of cooperation.

He stood up and looked toward the returns desk from between the bookshelves. Shiina Hiyori was still bent over, sorting the books. Light chestnut strands hung beside her ear, obscuring her profile. But her fingertips paused slightly—she could feel his gaze. She didn't look up. She simply continued working.

Outside the Library, the May sunlight spilled across the entire hallway. Some relationships were like tightropes; one misstep, and you would fall. Others were anchors, holding you steady in a safe place through the storm. It was too early to tell which kind Shiina Hiyori would be. But at least she had given him a lifeline: the location of Summary of School System Changes, which only she knew about in the entire Library.

That was enough.