Lottery, Suspicion, Club

"Ah! That felt great~"

After washing up, Shiomiya Yo flopped onto his soft bed.

The thrill of hitting someone surged through his brain, but it quickly faded.

Shiomiya Yo felt that beating people up wasn't nearly as satisfying as practicing boxing.

It was mainly just a brief rush. He should do it less often in the future.

Today had still been more interesting with Koenji around.

Summoning the [God-Human Observation Diary], Shiomiya Yo began recording what had happened to him today.

He now treated his own file as a diary. No one could see it anyway, and the book normally stayed in the system space.

After finishing his diary entry, he waited for the system's review.

[Evaluating newly added record. Reward: 50 points]

Not bad.

It seemed the system's review mainly judged the event rather than the person. Otherwise, something this trivial today would have meant nothing to the old Shiomiya Yo.

He had reached 100 points. What patience? That didn't exist!

[Draw!]

The familiar roulette wheel appeared once more, spun, stopped, and flashed!

[Ding! Congratulations, Host—you have obtained: Ultimate Art Club Member!]

All sorts of painting techniques instantly poured into Shiomiya Yo's mind. His eyes became sharper at observation, and his control over his hands improved as well.

Lastly came imagination. Shiomiya Yo felt his mind fill with all kinds of ideas. This was his first time experiencing such a sensation.

In the past, Shiomiya Yo had possessed absolutely no artistic flair. He could only rearrange and combine things from the past.

Was this the world of artists?!

It was truly marvelous!

There was still so much in this world that I hadn't experienced!

I rejoiced at my own evolution!

Shiomiya Yo sorted through his talents—Luck, Fighter, Detective, Pianist, Art Club Member.

Five in one!

Lying on the bed, Shiomiya Yo revealed a satisfied smile before falling into a deep sleep.

A week later, early morning, the sports field.

Shiomiya Yo was practicing boxing on the grass. Unlike before, there was a girl standing nearby this time.

It was Kushida Kikyo!

After Shiomiya Yo finished a set of movements, he exhaled and opened his eyes.

"No, why are you still here?"

A few days ago, after Kushida discovered that Horikita Suzune had attended the same middle school as her, she wanted to become "friends" with her.

All that could be said was, those who knew, knew.

For some reason, Kushida had decided that Shiomiya Yo knew Horikita Suzune and wanted him to introduce them.

"I already told you I don't know her. Shouldn't you be asking Ayanokoji about this instead?

Those two even exchange a few words now and then, don't they?"

Kushida nodded in agreement. "I asked Ayanokoji-kun for help too, but Horikita-san rejected me." She even stuck out her little tongue after saying that.

"She also thought I had ulterior motives and started hating me."

Shiomiya Yo didn't want to listen anymore. Anyone would be wary if you came at them that directly, okay?

Besides, Horikita Suzune was obviously the type who isolated herself. That was right—she was actively isolating herself.

It wasn't as though no one had tried talking to her these past few days. She had rejected them all, and Shiomiya Yo had seen it with his own eyes.

Sooner or later, she would make the list and be recorded in his files.

"What does it matter if you just leave her alone?" Shiomiya Yo asked impatiently.

"No, that won't do! Even though Horikita-san isn't in our class, she might still know about that thing, you know?

And she keeps rejecting me, hates me, and finds me annoying. That makes her even more suspicious." Kushida continued in her gentle tone.

Shiomiya Yo smiled and rubbed his forehead.

There was no helping it!

The more one of them pursued the other, the less the other wanted to be friends. The less the other wanted to be friends, the more suspicious the first found her.

The two of them had formed a closed loop. It could only end with one of them destroying the other.

"But what does that have to do with me? I really don't know her.

Look, I don't even have her contact information."

Shiomiya Yo took out his phone to prove it to her.

Kushida accepted the phone and examined it carefully. After confirming it, she merely nodded.

"That doesn't prove anything."

Shiomiya Yo smiled.

He said nothing more and went straight to breakfast.

So be it.

Kushida followed close behind.

On the way, Kushida's thoughts were in turmoil.

Of course, she knew the chances of Shiomiya Yo knowing Horikita Suzune were very low. After all, aside from her, he had basically zero social interaction before.

Yet the scene of those two talking during the entrance ceremony still bothered her.

"They clearly have nothing to do with each other anymore."

She had checked his phone, but the doubts in her heart still refused to fade.

Shiomiya Yo wasn't calm either, though he was merely preparing to change Kushida's label to "Suspicious Two-Faced Person."

The two parted ways in the cafeteria. Kushida needed to maintain her persona, after all; she couldn't let anyone suspect she had a boyfriend, or it would affect her popularity.

Shiomiya Yo let out a sigh of relief. When he arrived in the classroom, he habitually looked around.

The class's little cliques had basically all formed by now. There weren't many loners like him.

As he looked around, his gaze suddenly met someone else's.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

That guy observed others every day too. He and Shiomiya Yo had already made eye contact several times, but neither of them cared. They simply passed over each other.

The bell rang, and the class completely let loose. Playing on their phones, reading manga, chatting, skipping class... there was everything.

Still, they maintained a basic level of quiet. Shiomiya Yo suddenly felt like eating sukiyaki at his desk.

He was really blending into the environment now.

Unfortunately, he hadn't prepared any, so he could only eat instant noodles.

Shiomiya Yo took out the instant noodles he had just soaked from his desk drawer and began eating.

The aroma spread throughout the entire classroom, and Shiomiya Yo once again became the center of attention.

Ignoring them, time flew by.

That afternoon was the open visit period for the clubs.

It was also the time he had arranged to meet someone.

Shiomiya Yo glanced at his phone and headed for his chosen classroom.

When he arrived at the chess club, Sakayanagi Arisu had already been waiting for a long time. The club members around her all looked utterly defeated. It seemed they had been thoroughly crushed.

"Shiomiya, long time no see. I've been looking forward to this day for quite a while."

As she spoke, she accepted a coffee from Kamuro Masumi beside her.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, it's only been a week. Are you ready to entertain me?"

Shiomiya Yo looked at Sakayanagi Arisu with great interest.

"That's quite a misleading way to put it. Still, I'm very confident when it comes to chess." Sakayanagi subconsciously glanced at the dejected club members around her.

"She's that confident? Then I have to humiliate her thoroughly!"

"Best two out of three. Let's begin!"

Watching the two trade barbs, Kamuro Masumi was thrilled.

She would be happy no matter which of them lost. Either way, she had nothing to lose.

So Kamuro Masumi was the winner!

Kamuro revealed a victorious smile.

As they set up the board, Shiomiya Yo noticed Kamuro wearing that incomprehensible smile again and decided to have a little fun.

"Kamuro, go buy me a kilo of sunflower seeds, then run five kilometers, then buy a bottle of cola and come back to watch me drink it."

Kamuro Masumi was instantly dumbfounded.

"Why should I—"

Before she could finish, Shiomiya Yo cut her off.

"This counts as the condition from last time. You know what I mean." Shiomiya Yo waved his phone.

"Uh..."

Kamuro accepted her fate.

Victorious Kamuro was defeated at light speed.

Defeated Kamuro went off to buy sunflower seeds.

Watching this unfold, Sakayanagi Arisu made no move to stop it. Instead, she smiled. "Shinomiya, you really are mean-spirited."

"This is called labor education. She needs to understand how dangerous society can be." Shinomiya Hado waved a hand dismissively.

The pieces were set. The Advanced Nurturing Chess King Championship officially began!