Evening.
"Did you wait long, Shirogane?"
That morning, the teacher had announced that they'd be going on a vacation trip tomorrow, and by lunchtime, students were already buzzing with excitement, making all kinds of preparations.
Some were buying snacks, others were packing extra disposable underwear.
According to Shiina, it was just like watching little kids.
But hey, they were going on a cruise.
Unless you were born into a really rich family, most 17-year-olds had never been on a cruise before.
It made sense that everyone was so excited.
Still—
After finishing his duties at the student council, Shirogane sat on a bench to wait.
About ten minutes later, a small angel with long golden hair showed up.
She was wearing the same school uniform as everyone else, but somehow gave off a completely different vibe.
She was really cute.
So cute it could make your heart skip a beat.
Because the person who showed up wasn't just any girl—it was Kushida Kikyo.
She had also just finished her work with the student council. But while Shirogane had already finished his tasks and left, Kushida was a bit slower, so she came out later.
The student council president had told them to wrap things up early and get some rest, since they'd be leaving campus the next day.
"But I didn't expect Shirogane to invite me to go to the shopping street together."
She looked a bit surprised. "That's kind of unexpected."
This really came out of nowhere.
Or rather—
Even though she had a lot of friends and often went out with them,
she had never gone out with Shirogane Miyuki before.
Sure, they were both part of the student council and worked in the same group, but being suddenly invited to go somewhere together like this was still a surprise.
"You know we're leaving school tomorrow to get on the cruise," he said.
"Even though the school will cover the basics, there are still some personal things I need to prepare."
"And I have to go to the student council after school, so I can't go with Shiina. It wouldn't be right to make her wait that long."
After saying that, Shirogane fell quiet.
But Kushida understood what he meant.
Ah, so that's it.
He didn't want to trouble Shiina… so instead he came to trouble her?
It was a bit of a mixed feeling, but Kushida still kept her usual sweet smile.
"Well, I needed to buy some things too. Let's go together," she said.
Kushida said it with a cute expression on her face.
"Yeah," Shirogane nodded.
Compared to Shiina, Shirogane actually appreciated Kushida's social skills a lot. And it wasn't just about being social—she had worked hard to polish those skills too. Things like how to shop smartly, how to choose good items, and so on.
So going with her would actually save time, and that meant more time to study.
But Shirogane still underestimated how popular Kushida really was.
As soon as they hit the street, people kept coming up to her.
"Hey, Kikyo-chan! Since you don't have a boyfriend yet, why not date me?" said a male student who walked up, laying on the charm.
It was Shirogane's first time seeing something like that happen.
So, how would Kushida reply?
"Ahaha, it's true I don't have a boyfriend... but I'm not really that popular,"
she said with a modest smile—and gently turned him down.
It sounded like a polite way to brush someone off, but the truth was, she was really popular with the boys. She treated everyone with kindness and had a bright, friendly attitude. That was Kushida Kikyo's charm.
"Sorry, Shirogane-kun. I get approached like that a lot," she said.
After turning someone down, Kushida gave a troubled smile, like she didn't know what to do.
That part was probably real.
Shirogane didn't think the guy who tried to talk to her had anything special that would catch her attention anyway. She wasn't just an average girl.
And after learning what Kushida was really like, Shirogane was even more sure—she wasn't going to fall in love during high school.
"That guy might be from Class A, but our class is going to beat Class A eventually, so he's got no future."
Shirogane said.
He recognized the guy—it was Hashimoto Masayoshi, the one who used to follow him around a lot in the first month.
Blond hair, good-looking, but seemed really shallow.
"No, that's not it."
Kushida corrected him. "I'm just not that popular, that's all."
By then, they had reached an outdoor café. The waiter had just taken their orders and left with the tray. Shirogane and Kushida sat down across from each other.
"So what's the real reason?"
Shirogane asked.
It was clear she wasn't in a good mood.
"Heh—"
Since her back was to the street and no one else was nearby, Kushida suddenly dropped the act and showed her real cold and sharp side.
"That kind of flirty guy doesn't even look at himself properly. He's disgusting. I already turned him down twice. Can't he take a hint?"
"Doesn't he know when a girl politely says no, it really means she can't stand you?"
"He's been hanging around a girl in my class, from Class D, and also messing with a girl in Ichinose's class. Basically, he's playing both sides."
See?
That was the truth.
Shirogane thought to himself.
"So, anything else you want to buy?"
Kushida asked.
They had already gone to the supermarket, but after finishing shopping, Shirogane chose to leave the bags at the service counter.
Which meant he still had somewhere else he wanted to go, and didn't want to carry a bunch of stuff.
"Probably going to an electronics store."
Shirogane said.
"I want to buy a voice recorder, and if possible, a camera too."
"A voice recorder?"
Kushida looked a little surprised.
"For class? You already study so hard, and now you're going even further?"
She didn't seem to get it at all.
But clearly—
Kushida was still kind of naive.
Because a voice recorder isn't just for recording lectures.
For example—
During a special exam, if the other classes are meeting to plan their strategy, what happens if you sneak in a recorder?
You'd know exactly what they're going to do.
Their whole plan would be exposed.
If you used a phone, it'd be easy to figure out whose it was. And if the phone got destroyed, that's a big loss. But a voice recorder is smaller and doesn't show who it belongs to.
As for the camera, that's even more direct.
Before the last written exam, Hashimoto used a camera to take pictures. It was clearer, and you could adjust the flash settings.
Unlike phones—where the flash always goes off when you take a picture.
That would get you caught right away.
So now it made a bit more sense why, back at the electronics store, a computer only cost a few tens of thousands of points, but a voice recorder cost 100,000.
"About that."
Shirogane had something he wanted to tell Kushida.
"You could buy a computer too. Then just remove the Wi-Fi card."
Shirogane said.
"After that, you can write your diary in Word."
"And then when it's time to graduate, just destroy the hard drive."
As he said this, Shirogane noticed that Kushida was looking at him with a surprised and curious expression.
"What?"
Shirogane asked.
"..."
Kushida.
"How should I put it… Are you trying to help me deal with my problems?"
"You're the one I brought into the student council, but you've been a mess. If you don't plan to drop out and you keep doing what you've been doing, someone other than me will eventually catch on."
"And when that happens, don't you think I'll get dragged into it too, since I was the one who recommended you?"
Shirogane said seriously.
So basically, she was now part of his faction.
Even if they weren't in the same class, they still had to work together in the student council.
"And since we have that connection, I can also call on you for things that are tricky or hard to involve regular friends in."
Shirogane said.
"..."
Kushida.
She felt like Shirogane just wanted to use her for cheap labor.
So annoying.
But the truth was, he already knew her real personality, and right now she had to rely on him to stay safe. So for now, she had no choice but to go along.
Still—
"Your idea's not bad, but a lot of people come to my room."
"Like Mii-chan."
Mii-chan was Wang Meiyu, and if she saw a computer in Kushida's room, she might say something like, "Hey, Kushida, let's play something together!"
Then the diary on the computer might get exposed.
"Then just keep the computer in Horikita's room."
Shirogane suggested.
"Not many people go to her dorm."
"And Horikita doesn't really seem like someone who has friends."
Oof.
Shirogane's comment was pretty harsh. He basically said Horikita's place was safe because no one ever visited her.
But if Kushida hadn't been the one to reach out and build a connection with Horikita in the first place, Horikita might not even be in the class group chat now.
Even so—
"Why do I have to do that kind of thing?"
Kushida may have made a deal with Horikita, but she still didn't like her.
If she had to explain it—