[Ludo—a four-player game where you roll the dice, send your plane circling the board, and race to the center base to score. Get all your planes in, and you win. Sounds simple? Oh no~ it's a battle of fate and betrayal!]
Ludo, cruel? Are you serious?
Sakurai held the blue piece.
The four of them sat cross-legged around the coffee table in the Student Council Room, the Ludo board laid out before them. Sakurai and Secretary Fujiwara were on one side of the sofa; across from them sat Ishigami Yu and Shirogane Miyuki.
"Sakurai-senpai, this old board game is so boring. Let's play something better—like Mario Kart." Ishigami pulled out two controllers from his backpack.
There was a TV in the room. A perk of being the Student Council—perfect for gaming breaks.
"Traditional board games are the most fun!" Fujiwara Chika declared, fierce loyalty shining in her eyes.
"Huh? Fujiwara-senpai, seriously? What's so fun about rolling a die and moving pieces? Oh wow, such thrill." Ishigami shot her a look—his patience for the girl who constantly disrupted both Shirogane's work and Sakurai's naps was nonexistent.
"Ishigami." Shirogane cut in, his voice a warning.
"Tch." Ishigami reluctantly picked up the red piece.
[Boohoo~ Chika-chan is being mocked. Come on, help her out! Sakurai-senpai, are you just going to watch?]
"It's fine. Think of it as a break. Everyone's been studying hard," Sakurai said gently.
Hearing him back her up, Fujiwara puffed out her chest in pride.
"Right? Sakurai-kun said so~ Let's relax! Ludo is so much fun!"
Shirogane and Ishigami exchanged glances. Was this guy serious?
This Sakurai fellow… the only one who'd play with her voluntarily during lunch breaks since last year.
Shirogane figured he'd have quit ages ago if it were him.
[Bystander-chan loves Chika-chan's smile. It's adorable!]
Oh, so you just like any pretty girl smiling?
[Of course! Bystander-chan adores beautiful girls! #1 beautiful girl fan! Because I'm one too~]
[Super! Invincible! Big Cutie!]
Super! Idiot! Big fool.
"I'm winning this time!" Fujiwara declared, arms crossed, chin resting on her hands—perfectly mimicking Commander Ikari.
So the battlefield was set:
Fujiwara Secretary, fired up and ready for war.Two boys, barely interested and itching for a console.One Superpower User, mentally dueling the voices in his head.
A group of hidden dragons and crouching tigers—if you believed the hype.
"I'll go first!" Fujiwara chirped, looking around expectantly.
…Nothing.
No one responded.
?
Why wasn't anyone excited?
She sensed danger—the game needed stakes.
"I've got two movie tickets~ Winner can take someone to see a movie!"
"Fujiwara-senpai, you're rigging this in your favor," Ishigami retorted, eyes narrowing.
There was an anime film he wanted to catch this week.
"We should settle the order with rock-paper-scissors," Shirogane suggested coolly. If he won, maybe he could give the tickets to his sister and her friends.
"I don't mind," Sakurai said. He wasn't into movies anyway.
(Fujiwara couldn't actually go either—her family was strict about outings.)
[If you throw paper, you'll win. But if you throw rock, Chika-chan wins—and Sakura-chan ends up going last!]
"Rock, paper, scissors!" x4
Rock.
Rock.
Rock.
And—rock.
Weird synchronicity.
Then the tiebreaker happened. Just as predicted, Sakurai lost again.
Final order:
Fujiwara ChikaIshigami YuShirogane MiyukiSakurai Saki
"Hehe~ I'm still first!" Fujiwara cheered and rolled the die.
Three.
In Ludo, you only take off on a six. Total miss.
"My turn." Ishigami tossed the die. "First-move advantage means nothing unless you launch."
Five. Miss again.
Next was Shirogane. He picked up the die and inspected it.
Weight, balance—confirmed. He placed the six face up.
Carefully calculating his angle and force, he gave it a precise roll.
[It's here! The guaranteed roll! A secret skill of Soul-type board game players—perfect dice control! By the way, if Sakura-chan wants a six, he needs to wait three seconds before rolling!]
"Can the commentary stop already?"
Sakurai flicked an unamused glance toward the sky—or at least the ceiling.
Playing Ludo with this much drama?
Three seconds passed.
He casually tossed the die.
"Six."
A calm declaration. Almost too calm.
In the first round, both Shirogane Miyuki and Sakurai Saki successfully launched a plane.
Sakurai glanced around the board, assessing his competition like a seasoned general before battle.
To his left: Fujiwara Chika—studying the board with deadly seriousness.
Title: Earth's Cancer.
Across from him: Shirogane Miyuki—his eyes glinting with premature victory.
Title: Evil-Eyed Fierce Tiger of the Island Nation.
Diagonally: Ishigami Yu, who had tied his bangs back, entering Full Concentration Mode.
Title: Melancholy Destruction Dragon.
Sakurai exhaled through his nose, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Now this—this was a battlefield.
An aerial dogfight of dice and fate!
Ludo: Final War Edition.
Twenty minutes later.
The air was thick with tension. Planes circling, crashing, launching again. Betrayal at every turn.
Just as Fujiwara was about to roll, the Student Council Room door creaked open.
In stepped Kaguya Shinomiya, face void of expression, eyes scanning the chaos like a disapproving goddess.
As Vice President, it was important to show up regularly—to establish presence, maintain control, and occasionally win over useful allies.
She had to admit: Shirogane Miyuki was someone worth winning over.
But—what on Earth had she just walked into?
"HAHAHAHA!! Fujiwara Secretary!! Your plane is a JOKE!! Back to the hangar with you!!" Shirogane bellowed, totally unhinged.
"Six points. Same-color tile. I jump once." Sakurai announced softly, still riding his quiet hot streak.
[Yes! Yes! Take her out! Follow Bystander-chan's secret Ludo techniques! Victory through chaos!]
Ludo, of all games, and they had managed to turn it into a warzone.
A smug Sakurai. A frenzied Shirogane. A darkly glowing Ishigami. A fiery Chika swearing vengeance every five minutes.
And now—Shinomiya Kaguya, standing frozen in the doorway, the corners of her mouth twitching ever so slightly.
The game had reached its final stage. All four players had two planes safely home.
The race to victory was between Shirogane and Sakurai—one armed with math and probability, the other with uncanny luck (and possibly divine intervention).
This wasn't Ludo anymore.
This was psychological warfare.
Kaguya silently raised a hand to cover her eyes.
This Student Council...
It should just be destroyed.