[Archery Club Practice Range – Late April, Thursday, 4:47 PM]
"Reporting, Master~ I haven't seen enough. May I ask you to drink again?"
Kazama Haru's face showed no blush, his heart steady as a metronome. The late afternoon sun slanted through the wooden slats of the practice range, casting warm stripes across the polished floor and catching the fine dust motes that drifted lazily through air thick with the scent of aged hinoki wood and bowstring wax.
Facing the cold and aloof Shinomiya Kaguya, just as Ryuzu Momo once said, he had to adopt a thick-skinned attitude of "I'm going to pursue you," and absolutely not pretend to be reserved. Her kyudo uniform hugged her slender frame—the pristine white keikogi contrasting sharply against the midnight hakama that pooled around her ankles. A faint sheen of perspiration glistened at the hollow of her throat from earlier practice.
"Hentai."
Shinomiya Kaguya's single word was exceptionally cold, yet it made Kazama Haru feel a strange thrill race down his spine. The way her crimson eyes narrowed, the slight downturn of those rose-petal lips—it was like being glared at by an ice sculpture that somehow radiated heat.
This fool actually admitted to staring. Does he have no shame, or is he simply that confident?
"Now, Kazama-kun, I've finished my water." She extended the empty bottle toward him, her pale fingers wrapped around it with deliberate elegance. "Go to the tap over there and get me another cup."
"A request like this wouldn't go against the Archery Club's theme of harmony and friendship, would it? And it definitely shouldn't be seen as bullying, right?"
"Hai, hai~"
Kazama Haru showed no sign of difficulty or annoyance, gently taking the water bottle. His fingertips brushed against hers for the briefest moment—her skin was cool despite the warmth of the afternoon, soft as silk against his rougher calluses.
Indeed, she was absolutely right; such a request was certainly not excessive.
Watching Kazama Haru's departing back—the way his shoulders moved beneath his uniform, the casual confidence in his stride—Shinomiya Kaguya's lips curved into a cold smile of complete control.
Just like training a dog.
If she wanted to completely control Kazama Haru, it required a gradual process. Discipline. Education. Punishment. And... rewards. None of these steps could be omitted.
The first request couldn't be too excessive. For a man like him who clearly didn't lack female attention, even if Shinomiya Kaguya was confident that her beauty could be a weapon to control him, she understood that haste makes waste. She had to control the "degree" of ordering him around—push too hard, and he would simply flip the table and refuse to play along.
Asking him to fetch water seemed like a simple task, but in essence, it was undoubtedly an obedience test.
What she did when he returned would be the highlight of this battle of wits.
The distant sound of arrows thudding into targets echoed from the main range—thwack, thwack, thwack—accompanied by the murmured counting of another club member. A light breeze carried the green scent of freshly cut grass from the grounds below.
Soon, Kazama Haru, who had obediently filled the bottle, slowly walked over and handed it to her. His eyes lingered on her face a moment too long, tracing the aristocratic lines of her profile.
"Good job!"
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded in satisfaction, her voice carrying the same tone one might use to praise a particularly clever pet. She felt for the small pocket on the chest of her kyudo uniform, and with two fair, pale pink fingers, extracted a ten-thousand-yen bill she had prepared earlier, waving it before him like a treat.
"This bill is your errand fee."
Now, let's see how you squirm.
Shinomiya Kaguya watched the stunned Kazama Haru with interest, a malicious smile playing at the corners of her mouth. If he accepted it, it would be implicit acceptance of this personal insult—the condescension akin to feeding scraps to a pet dog. It would acknowledge the disparity in their wealth and status, cutting off his escape route of self-deception through "mutual help among classmates."
But what if he refused? Became furious?
That would be even better.
Such "frustration" would gnaw at his pride like hungry spirits in the dead of night. Even if he left her presence, the shadow of this moment would replay constantly in his mind. He might even dread coming to the Archery Club, dread facing her.
This would accelerate her discipline beautifully.
"..."
Snapping out of his daze, Kazama Haru narrowed his eyes slightly.
Did he, Kazama Haru, lack this ten-thousand-yen bill reeking of wealth?
To be honest... he actually did.
Prices in Tokyo were terrifyingly high. Two weeks after the start of school, including expenses for a new computer and guitar, and various costs related to the Band's development, less than half of the 500,000 yen he had exchanged through the system remained. If he advanced the miscellaneous expenses for Ave Mujica's initial development as planned, it would be depleted in half a month at most.
The income from the coffee shop had dried up completely, and Ave Mujica couldn't recoup costs in the short term.
Although he still had a balance of nearly 20,000 wish points, after Ryuzu Momo's warning, he understood he could fall into a fatal crisis at any time and wasn't prepared to exchange large quantities for money.
However, even so—he couldn't accept this money from her hands like this.
If he really took it, wouldn't he become someone begging on his knees? If he compromised so easily, bowed down in defeat...
He would never again have any chance to turn the tables. To press her beneath him. To vent the humiliation he had been forced to endure during their initial acquaintance.
Amidst his racing thoughts, a method emerged—one that allowed him to both stand tall and profit quietly.
Previously, he hadn't dared to use her emotional fluctuations to turn her into a score-farming tool, worried that after a feigned refusal, she would cut off all communication. But now things were different.
They had established a "legitimate" master-disciple relationship—one she had initiated, forced through with an unreasonable attitude that risked offending the two senior students.
Given Shinomiya Kaguya's pride, no matter how much she belittled or disliked him, she would never proactively suggest severing their bond. To do so would declare that her revenge plan had died in its infancy—an intolerable disgrace for a Shinomiya heir.
He only needed to step outside the "either-or" framework she had set, create intense emotional fluctuations that surprised her, made her feel her plan was spiraling out of control.
"Shinomiya-san."
Kazama Haru stared directly into her captivating crimson eyes, completely unafraid of the biting coldness within them. The scent of her—something floral and expensive beneath the earthy smell of the dojo—filled his lungs.
"I certainly can't fetch this water for you for free..."
He paused, his voice steady, as if seeing through her thoughts entirely. "After all, the first step in attempting to enslave others is indeed to give a little reward, isn't it?"
After several rounds of confrontation, combined with his understanding of her values and modus operandi, Kazama Haru had guessed her goal. Nothing more than revenge for his misstatement during their first meeting—using him like an object.
Shinomiya Kaguya's pupils trembled slightly.
He... he saw through it? So directly?
Her fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around the bill.
Watching her visibly fluctuating eyes, Kazama Haru sensed his opening and continued fanning the flames. "But the so-called 'reward' doesn't need to be something worldly like money..."
He let the pause stretch, deliberately slow, his gaze dropping momentarily to her lips before rising back to her eyes.
"What I want... is you..."
Upon hearing those words, Shinomiya Kaguya's usually composed face cracked. Her red eyes widened dramatically, crimson irises catching the golden afternoon light.
W-What does he mean?! He wants ME?!
Looking at Kazama Haru's "ill-intentioned" smile—the way his eyes seemed to undress her intentions if not her body—Shinomiya Kaguya felt an inexplicable sense of crisis surge through her. Her hands flew up unconsciously, crossing over her modest chest, the kyudo uniform suddenly feeling far too thin against her skin.
She took a step back. The wooden floor creaked beneath her heel.
This is still a public place! And he actually dares—brazenly—to reveal such ugly desires?!
This man... truly is a hentai whose mind is full of ecchi thoughts!
Heat crept up her neck, staining her porcelain cheeks a delicate sakura pink despite her best efforts to suppress it. Her heart hammered traitorously against her ribs.
Ding.
[Successfully caused Shinomiya Kaguya's intense emotional fluctuation, rewarding 3000 wish points]
Although the system's notification was cold as ever, Kazama Haru's heart felt warm.
Kaguya-san... you seem to be far more useful than my Renako.
Looking at the alluring flush that uncontrollably stained her fair face—that look of almost uncontrollable shame and anger, the way her chest rose and fell with quickened breath—Kazama Haru decided to prevent her from losing control entirely and reaching for a nearby arrow.
He chuckled softly, then unhurriedly continued the latter half of his sentence:
"I want you... to smile for me."
"..."
Shinomiya Kaguya, who had already prepared herself to "die rather than submit"—who had been quietly shifting her feet, ready to snatch an arrow from beneath the eaves—suddenly froze.
...Nani?
Smile for me... what... does that mean?
If his request was just to smile, then... had she overthought it?
The so-called "hentai thinking pervert" wasn't him, but—
"Bzzzzt—!"
As if someone had thrown a flash-bang directly into her brain, Shinomiya Kaguya's mind went completely blank. White noise. Static. Nothing.
To prevent herself from reaching the conclusion that would make her explode with shame—I was the one thinking perverted things—the girl's brain spontaneously activated its defense mechanism.
Ding.
[Successfully temporarily deprived Shinomiya Kaguya of her ability to think, rewarding 1000 wish points]
The reward pool is still stacking?!
Kazama Haru's eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn't expected his playful teasing to plunge her into such thorough confusion.
Before him, the ice-cold ojou-sama stood frozen mid-step, her defensive posture with arms crossed over her chest now looking less like protection and more like a maiden caught in her own imagination. The blush had spread to the tips of her ears, visible even through her raven-black hair. Her lips parted slightly, but no words emerged—just the softest, almost inaudible "a... ah..."
Sorry, Renako.
Kazama Haru tucked the mental note away, watching Kaguya's trembling shoulders with barely concealed satisfaction.
In my heart, you are no longer my most convenient points-farming tool.