A golden-haired little angel appeared in Houtarou's mind.
It was Kikyō. He recalled being swayed by her persuasion.
Thinking about this, his body had already begun to move.
"Satō, you didn't actually see anything, did you?" Houtarou suddenly stepped forward.
"Eh?" Maya felt she clearly saw Kakeru and the others lying on the rooftop.
"Satō, you didn't actually see anything, did you?" Houtarou repeated.
At this moment, Maya truly didn't know how to respond, because he had already grasped both her hands.
The male student's presence was incredibly close. And it was someone she had once confessed to. The lack of result wasn't because she didn't like him, but because she considered herself unable to support him.
So, just as Kei thought, Maya's favorability toward Houtarou was still very high.
And now being treated this way…
"Maya, you didn't actually see anything, did you?" Houtarou asked her for the third time.
"Ah…" But Maya's cheeks suddenly turned hot. She indeed hadn't seen anything just now.
Mm… It seems copying Kikyō's heart-seducing strategy worked.
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Then, the three of them came down from the stairway together.
And Houtarou finally understood that they had obtained the information about his solo meeting from Hiyori.
It seemed that while that girl appeared to be a literature girl, she was actually a member of Kakeru's little think tank.
However, there was still some cleanup to do. So Houtarou requested Hiyori's phone from Kei and the others. Then headed to the library.
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Second floor of the library.
Hiyori was used to staying on the first floor. Although she liked reading, she was also accustomed to being alone, while still not completely giving up on making friends at school.
She habitually stayed on the first floor, observing people who came to the library to read, borrow, or return books.
If only she could find a reading buddy. That's how she ended up observing Suzune, but discovering she had no interest in friendship, she could only quietly leave.
However…
Beep!
A student passed through the security gate and entered. He was a remarkably handsome boy. Most first-year female students had his photos saved on their phones.
It couldn't be helped. He's the school's prince.
Additionally, the upper-class female seniors were also very interested in him because Houtarou was very wealthy.
Good-looking and rich — isn't that what most girls like?
For Hiyori, Houtarou had another identity. He was her reading buddy. They had both read the same "5 Centimeters Per Second" book and had exchanged phone numbers.
And this prince... According to the information obtained, he went to confront Kakeru alone.
But her phone had been taken by Kei and the others, so she couldn't contact him. Rather, thinking Kakeru would fail, there was no point in contacting him. Just waiting for the result would suffice.
Then, Houtarou coming here now meant…
Hiyori was thinking this when she saw him coming up the stairs from the first floor to the second floor.
He walked toward her with a phone in his left hand.
"Ryūen and the others are injured." Houtarou said, "Find someone to pick them up. They're still on the rooftop."
Saying this, he returned her phone to her.
… So it was like that after all?
Kakeru and his group had failed.
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Later that afternoon, the first-year students received news.
That Class D's Kakeru and others had gone to the infirmary for bandaging. His injuries were more severe; he appeared to have been beaten until his face resembled a pig's head.
Some claimed it was internal class fighting.
However, strangely, when Student Council members came to inquire, Kakeru and his group insisted they had simply fallen, refusing to admit they had been in a fight.
Nevertheless, because they had destroyed the security cameras in the physics lab's special teaching building two days ago, their class evaluation score was deducted.
So the four classes' scores remained unchanged.
「Class A: 2051 Points」
「Class B: 920 Points」
「Class C: 530 Points」 {Suzune}
「Class D: 520 Points」 {Kakeru}
It seemed this summer would be lively.
And it was the same for Houtarou.
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"A date? That's impossible." Kikyō said, "Right now students are on vacation, and everyone's at school. You'd run into acquaintances almost immediately when going out. So it's impossible to go out with you."
Oh... So she's saying there are too many students around, making it too public, that's why she won't date?
Houtarou found this answer barely acceptable.
"But why did you suddenly bring this up?" Kikyō asked casually as she put on her clothes, slipping on her short socks.
Today was the first of her disliked twice-weekly sessions. Houtarou had proposed that if they went on a date, he would exempt her from the second session this week.
This proposal seemed somewhat tempting. After all, she and Houtarou weren't in a relationship, so being touched by him twice a week felt strange. If she could be exempted, she would be willing.
But she was also worried about the next semester, when new students from the same middle school would arrive... that would be troublesome.
So she was still in the stage of building a relationship with Houtarou.
This man really disliked trouble. Even though Suzune had discussed middle school matters with her, Houtarou still didn't ask what happened in her middle school.
In other words, this guy was still the same as before, thinking she was troublesome.
So if she wanted to get his help after the new students enrolled, she could only continue developing their relationship — making him willing to help her.
"Because I need to silence Satō, and the price is going on a date with her." Houtarou said.
Oh, Maya… If it's that girl, then she indeed might make such a request.
And now he's talking about the Kakeru situation, right?
Kikyō had a wide social circle and good relationships. Then quickly... mm, finally obtained the information.
It seemed Kakeru had lured Houtarou to the rooftop for a solo meeting. As a result, he and his group were beaten up instead.
But this scene was witnessed by Maya. So Houtarou had to deal with it.
So he used seduction?
"..." Kikyō felt this was exactly what she had used on Houtarou before.
When did he learn it?
Or rather, this guy was really gaining experience from her.
However...
"In short, if a girl likes you, as long as it's not too extravagant, anything works. Like watching movies, karaoke, or going out for meals, going to a hotel... wait a minute!" Kikyō filtered through the information about Maya in her mind as she spoke.
From the information gathered about Maya, although she dressed like a fashionable girl, it was just her preference for trendy styles.
In other words, she wasn't actually a delinquent. She was even somewhat innocent. And then, she even made a direct confession to Houtarou.
To put it clearly, she's quite pure-hearted. So even on a date, she probably wouldn't make excessive demands.
Oh no. Not necessarily.
According to information from Kei, the reason Maya gave up on Houtarou was that she discovered he was being kept by a wealthy senior girl. She felt the keeping fee was too expensive and couldn't afford it.
Now she's gotten the opportunity for a date. This is her only chance to interact with the boy she likes — and it's a date.
So perhaps this is her last chance to interact with the boy she likes. She would definitely want to make the most of it.
Which means... Maya is actually quite aggressive?
Damn!
Kikyō suddenly felt troubled.
Houtarou's experience came from her or from the books he got from Honami. That is to say, it was still controllable.
But if Maya's aggressive advances made Houtarou mature directly... and then he asked her to continue being his practice partner, she would be in trouble.
This was also why she had been carefully controlling the boundaries of their interactions recently.
But if that boundary was breached... she needed his strength to avoid being threatened by new students from her middle school.
For this purpose, it was difficult to refuse his requests... but she wasn't really his partner, so she definitely didn't want to go that far.
Thinking this...
"I suggest planning the date itinerary like this…" Kikyō then began actively planning.
She removed all activities like hotels or anything that might create a romantic atmosphere that could stir up hormones.
The schedule became: meeting at 10 AM, watching Makoto Shinkai's new popular movie "Your Name" together, followed by a meal. In the afternoon, they would visit the aquarium.
These were all public places, so they could minimize the development of romantic feelings between the two.
That way, she would be safer.
Thus, the details of the date were contracted to Kikyō.
As for Houtarou, he still needed to tell Arisu that he couldn't come for chess lessons tomorrow.
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Houtarou went to the girls' dormitory — specifically, Arisu's dormitory.
After using the key card to open the door, he stepped inside.
"Meow Meow—" His cat Haruki immediately ran over to greet him.
The cat was adorable. When Houtarou stroked its head, it closed its eyes contentedly.
"Small animals really seem to like you, Oreki." Arisu remarked while she was reading a book, "Have you come for your chess lesson today as well?"
He had been consistently coming to learn Western chess from her for four days now.
"No." Houtarou replied, "I came to let you know that I won't be coming today or tomorrow. I have some things to take care of."
Oh. No chess practice then.
Arisu remained quiet.
Shortly after Houtarou left, she received a message from Masumi.
| Masumi Kamuro |
| Followed Oreki to the library. He borrowed a new book. |
| Arisu Sakayanagi |
| What book? |
| Masumi Kamuro |
| Hmm, something related to love. A "How to Handle a First Date" kind of book. |
| Has he fallen in love? |
| Arisu Sakayanagi |
| So soon? I thought it would take longer before he wavered. |
| Yesterday when I held his hand, he blushed. |
| Being so easily conquered is rather cute, though. |
| Masumi Kamuro |
| ???? |
| So you mean, all these days teaching him chess… |
| Arisu Sakayanagi |
| Masumi, some things are better left unsaid, even if you know them. |
Is that so?
So this means Arisu is trying to win over Houtarou, and his borrowing such a love-related book indicates he's falling in love?
Could it be that he likes this princess?
| Arisu Sakayanagi |
| However, if Oreki comes to invite me on a date, Kamuro, please learn to read the atmosphere. |
"..."
Meaning she should disappear and not be a third wheel?
Oh... So Arisu, you're strange... didn't you say that even if you became Student Council President, you wouldn't give Houtarou a position?
Why do you now look like you're heading into a romance?
Masumi felt confused.
| Masumi Kamuro |
| But... your fortune color has been green these two days, and green seems to be not a good thing. |
She pointed out the book Arisu had been reading the past two days. It was about fortune telling.
| Arisu Sakayanagi |
| That doesn't matter. |
| I don't really believe in these things. |
Oh. I see.
That evening, Houtarou received a phone call from a girl.
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