The day the pairings for the Paper Shuffle were finalized, Daichi Ishizaki headed to the Palette café on campus with two of his classmates in tow.
He had two reasons for being there: one was a stakeout, and the other was a personal errand.
The stakeout was an order from someone Ishizaki deeply respected—Kakeru Ryūen.
The moment classes ended, Ishizaki had set to work carrying out that order without question.
The task was to investigate "X," the hidden mastermind lurking in Class D.
The current target was one of the leading candidates for X: Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
Ryūen's instructions had been simple—lightly tail Ayanokōji after school and figure out what he was up to.
After about thirty minutes of surveillance, Ishizaki finally allowed himself a breather.
"Ryūen-san said light monitoring was enough for now, so this should be fine for today."
Confident that his tailing had been flawless, Ishizaki told his two classmates that they were done for the day.
They were under the same orders, but they weren't particularly close, so once the job was over, they'd simply go their separate ways.
"Hey, who's that plain-looking guy sitting with the big-chested girl? The one who's not Ayanokōji."
Ishizaki stopped one of the classmates who was about to leave and pointed toward the center of the café.
Ayanokōji was seated there, chatting and building rapport with three other classmates.
One of them was Keisei Yukimura—Ishizaki remembered the name because Ryūen had flagged him as another possible candidate for X.
The other two, a boy and a girl, were unfamiliar.
He needed to memorize their names to give an accurate report.
"Uh… the girl's Haruka Hasebe, and the guy's Akito Miyake."
"Got it. Thanks."
Ishizaki jotted the names down carefully, then waved the pair off again.
"All right…"
He rolled his neck lightly, then walked over to the display case near the Palette's register.
Inside were a variety of cakes available for takeout.
"How much does a big cake run? Would five thousand points cover it?"
He checked his remaining private points on his phone, factoring in the next distribution date as he worked out a budget.
The reason he was putting this much thought into it was tied to his other errand.
Today was October 19—just an ordinary day on the calendar, nothing special, no school events or holidays.
But for Ishizaki, it was the day before Ryūen's birthday.
He wanted to celebrate the birthday of someone he admired in a big way.
And when he thought "birthday," the first thing that came to mind was a huge cake. That simple logic was what had brought him to Palette.
"Excuse me. I'd like a cake about this size."
Ishizaki made a large circle with his arms to indicate a whole cake and addressed the staff member.
"Is this a custom order?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, probably. It's for a friend's birthday—I want it decorated and everything. Is that okay?"
He answered the staff's questions about the details one by one.
Once the decorations were settled, the conversation turned to price. It was within his budget, and Ishizaki breathed an inward sigh of relief.
If it had been ten thousand points, he'd have been eating mountain-vegetable set meals for the rest of the month.
"Birthday cake order, understood. For this size, it will be ready for pickup in three days."
"Three days!?"
That's when the problem hit.
Three days from now would be after Ryūen's birthday, which was tomorrow.
For Ishizaki, who had been hoping for a surprise, this was a disaster.
"Is there any way to get it by tomorrow?"
"I'm very sorry. We have reservations from other customers, so the earliest possible pickup is three days from now."
The staff member remained polite and professional.
A selfish urge to demand they prioritize Ryūen-san's cake rose in him, but Ishizaki swallowed it down.
"Hey, is there anywhere else on campus that makes cakes?"
"There are other places, but… I believe you'll get the same answer everywhere. With other customers to consider, preparing a custom cake like this on the same day simply isn't feasible…"
"…I see."
His shoulders slumped, and his voice came out flat and dejected.
The staff member gave him a sympathetic look—poor kid, so earnest—but silently urged him with their eyes to step aside for the next customer.
Ishizaki picked up on the cue right away and left the line.
"What am I gonna do…"
He racked his brain—which he didn't use often—as hard as he could.
Nothing came to him, which didn't surprise him, so he quickly gave up thinking.
For now, he needed an alternative. Without any real plan, he started walking toward Keyaki Mall.
...
Ishizaki arrived at Keyaki Mall still empty-handed.
The Palette staff had warned him that other stores would say the same thing, but he tried one anyway, just in case.
No luck. Same result.
As a last resort, he considered settling for one of those 300-point shortcakes from the convenience store, but he quickly decided Ryūen wouldn't be impressed.
"If a cake's out, then what else would make a good birthday present?"
Arms folded, Ishizaki wandered the mall aimlessly.
After-school Keyaki Mall was crowded, and even walking around started to feel annoying. Eventually he gave up and sat down in a rest area to take a break.
He tried thinking about presents again, but nothing felt right.
"What are you doing?"
"…What're you doing here, Nishino?"
A girl carrying a large paper shopping bag appeared and looked down at the seated Ishizaki like he was some kind of suspicious loiterer.
She was Takeko Nishino, a fellow Class C student. They talked enough to be considered acquaintances.
"Shopping. You?"
Her reply was curt and to the point, almost prickly.
Nishino wasn't quiet by nature, but her blunt way of speaking and her habit of saying exactly what she thought tended to isolate her in class.
"I'm shopping too."
"You don't look like it. You look pretty stressed."
"Yeah, well… it's a gift for someone else, so I'm trying to be careful."
"Oh? A present for who?"
"Ryūen-san."
"…You really have peculiar taste."
Nishino looked mildly surprised, her expression loosening as she studied Ishizaki.
To her, Ryūen was more than just a classmate, but definitely not a friend.
She acknowledged him as the leader of Class C and followed his rules, but she kept her distance in private.
She didn't hate him. Still, as a girl, she couldn't help feeling afraid of someone who resorted to violence so casually.
So she was honestly baffled by Ishizaki, who actively sought Ryūen out.
"Why are you even giving him a present?"
"Are you stupid?! Tomorrow's Ryūen-san's birthday! That's why I'm so worked up!"
The assumption that everyone obviously knew Ryūen's birthday just irritated Nishino.
His voice was getting louder too, which made the whole thing even more bothersome.
Sensing the conversation wasn't going to end quickly, she set her paper bag on her lap and sat down beside him.
"So, any candidates? If you're this stressed, you must have had a few ideas, right?"
"I was originally planning on a cake. A big custom one. But they're fully booked, and same-day pickup is impossible."
"Of course it is."
Nishino stared at him in disbelief.
She was reminded all over again that the guy in front of her was the class's proud owner of rock-bottom grades.
She wasn't exactly a genius herself, but she was still stunned by how he'd gone out of his way to do something any normal person would realize was pointless with just a little forethought.
"So anyway, I'm thinking maybe a store-bought shortcake or something else entirely. But a ready-made cake just doesn't feel right for Ryūen-san."
"He doesn't exactly strike me as the type who suits sweets in the first place."
"Yeah, I do kinda remember him saying he doesn't like sweet stuff."
Nishino couldn't help wondering why, in that case, this guy had been dead set on a giant cake to begin with—but the guy in question was Ishizaki.
He clearly hadn't thought that far.
(Probably just figured bigger present = bigger celebration. Classic straightforward logic.)
It was peak self-indulgence, but knowing Ishizaki couldn't lie to save his life, Nishino had to admit the sentiment was genuine.
Honesty was a virtue, and to someone who understood his personality, it was almost endearing.
The problem was that Ryūen would almost certainly make a face.
"Then… cigarettes?"
"…Why would you even go there?"
Sure, tobacco suited him better than sweets, but Ryūen was still a minor.
He might smoke if he felt like it, but this school was a closed-off space crawling with surveillance.
The risk of expulsion wasn't worth it—and besides, you couldn't even buy them here.
"Just ask him what he actually wants right now."
"Are you an idiot?! That would ruin the surprise!"
"If you want a surprise, you should've planned further ahead."
Ishizaki let out a strangled groan at Nishino's perfectly reasonable point. He had no comeback and simply hung his head.
"…What would you give him, Nishino?"
"I'm not exactly close with Ryūen-kun… But something practical and everyday would probably be safe.
Nothing he'd lose out on getting. He doesn't seem like the type to care about branding, so he'd actually use it."
She couldn't give irresponsible advice to someone asking for help, but she could still offer suggestions. Ishizaki chewed over the idea seriously.
"Actually, why not talk it over with someone who's actually close to him? That way you could split the cost—two people, one gift."
"…Come on."
The answer wasn't what he'd hoped for, and a faint note of dissatisfaction crept into his voice.
To Ryūen-obsessed Ishizaki, money was no object when it came to gifts.
But points in this school weren't ordinary currency—they had other uses. Nishino's thinking wasn't wrong.
"Now that you mention it, I saw Kamukura-kun earlier with Ibuki-san and Shiina-san here at Keyaki Mall.
He's always hanging around Ryūen-kun, so he'd probably know his tastes, right?"
At those words, Ishizaki froze, mouth half-open as he stared at her.
In this school, the people Ishizaki respected most were Ryūen—and the other was Izuru Kamukura.
He held nothing but pure, one-hundred-percent admiration for the guy who could do anything.
So of course—
"That's it! I'll get Kamukura-san to make the cake!!"
Eyes sparkling, Ishizaki shot to his feet.
Nishino's shoulders twitched at the sudden outburst; she honestly wondered if he'd finally lost it.
No time to waste—he whipped out his phone and started dialing.
The person on the other end was obviously Kamukura, but Nishino couldn't help questioning whether Kamukura could even bake a cake.
To her, like Ryūen, he was more than a mere classmate but not quite a friend.
She still vividly remembered how his abilities had shone during various exams—especially the sports festival—but even taking that into account, his appearance and behavior in other special exams only underscored how abnormal he was.
In short: amazing, but weird.
(…Frankly, he suits sweets even less than Ryūen-kun.)
She'd heard rumors that he could cook, but imagining Kamukura making desserts was a stretch.
"Hello, Ishizaki speaking! Kamukura-san, are you still at Keyaki Mall!?
…Huh, you're already heading back? Actually, I've got a favor to ask—do you have time right now?"
Phone pressed to his ear, he spoke with the bright, unguarded expression of an excited child.
His volume was loud enough to convey every ounce of enthusiasm, and Nishino felt a pang of sympathy for Kamukura's eardrum.
After a few minutes that included explaining the situation, the call ended. Before pocketing the phone, Ishizaki pumped his fist in victory.
"…So, he agreed?"
"Yeah! Apparently he was planning to make crepes tomorrow anyway, so he's cool with it!"
"…Crepes."
Nishino stared blankly for several seconds before remembering her own plans and standing up.
"You heading out?"
"Yeah. There's a show I want to watch tonight, so I need to finish my errands before then."
Carefully cradling her large paper bag with both hands, Nishino headed toward the mall exit.
Ishizaki called after her retreating figure.
"Thanks, Nishino!"
His smile was completely free of pretense.
"…Idiot Ishizaki."
She murmured it softly. Ishizaki immediately bristled—who're you calling an idiot?
That kind of exchange was exactly why he'd never understand a girl's feelings.
Still, there was no denying he had some kind of charisma—different from Ryūen or Kamukura, but unmistakable all the same.
***
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