'Ichika?'
Ichika Ayazaki, one of the heroines of HHHS, was staring at Zayden as soon as he got out of the car, with her heterochromatic eyes: the left one light brown and the right one wine red.
Ichika is an unparalleled beauty with a strong yandere trait. She has long, charming orange hair and a well-proportioned face. She is tall compared to her peers, standing at 1.68 m. With long, elegant legs, her breasts were modest compared to Erika's, but by no means small.
Now, why was such a heroine staring at Zayden so intensely as soon as he arrived in front of the school?
Although she was the president of the Disciplinary Committee, he didn't think he was breaking any school rules at that moment. So, what was her deal, really?
By the way, her affection index toward him was quite low, 7.
Perhaps all the times she scolded him for his sloppy appearance had caused the index to be so low?
Indeed, it was one of the lowest affection indexes he had seen so far.
As he and Yamagi approached the entrance, Zayden overheard a conversation between two boys.
"He could be my doppelganger!" one student said dramatically upon seeing Zayden, covering his eyes. "I'm gonna die!"
A short, cold response came from the friend beside him: "He's definitely not, don't worry."
"…"
"Zayden Valtrex!"
He only looked away for a moment, and Ichika appeared in front of him, calling him by his full name.
"Ayazaki-iinchou, need something?" Zayden asked, stopping in his tracks.
Ichika froze, as if she had heard something wrong: "Are? That's weird… What did you call me?"
"Ayazaki-iinchou," Zayden repeated.
Before, Zayden hadn't shown the slightest respect for her as the Disciplinary Committee president, calling her directly by her first name, "Ichika," without any formality.
And since he had a rough appearance in Ichika's eyes and didn't meet the school's standards, he was constantly scolded by the Disciplinary Committee. Of course, being from an elite family—a second-generation rich kid—only she had the courage to be tough on him. Most of the time, it was Ichika who approached him to reprimand him, demanding that he act in a way that wouldn't embarrass the school.
Pretending to cough with her hand cupped over her mouth, she said: "V-Well, I see my previous warnings have finally borne fruit. Keep it up and don't go back to how you were before."
At first, Zayden was confused, but recalling the times she had scolded him, he gave a small smile and leaned in to whisper in her ear: "Yes, it worked. But part of me thinks it's a shame, since I kind of liked interacting with you."
When he pulled back, Ichika pointed a trembling finger at him, blushing up to her ears, whether from anger or embarrassment, stammering like a broken radio, "You, you…" until she turned around, saying: "I don't care anymore!"
Seeing her reaction, Zayden thought she was very cute and let out a chuckle.
Watching her storm off, furious and embarrassed, brought back memories of the first time he interacted with her. Though this time, it was more positive than the others.
After all, if she really found it bad, why had her affection index risen to 26?
…
In the classroom, upon arriving, unlike other times, his presence didn't cause such a shock that everyone stopped talking.
Zayden walked to his desk and sat down.
Erika had already arrived and seemed as lethargic as ever.
But when she opened her eyes and saw him, she 'woke up' and blushed a little as she said: "Good morning, Zayden-kun~"
Whether on purpose or not, her voice when saying his name was several times more affectionate than before.
Smiling, Zayden said: "Mm, good morning, Erika."
"Saved!"
At the classroom entrance, the new transfer student, Catherine, arrived.
She was sweating a little.
Her eyes wandered around the classroom, and when they stopped on Zayden, her blue eyes sparkled brightly. When he looked back, she lowered her head.
Imagine Zayden's surprise when he saw that her affection index was actually 82…
'So it was her yesterday.' The mystery was revealed.
And it was someone he couldn't have imagined. After all, she's one of the heroines!
'Truly, life is like a little box of surprises,' he thought.
When she was a few steps away from him, with a sweet and shy voice, she said: "Good morning."
Although she didn't say it to anyone in particular, Zayden felt it was directed at him.
Those who heard responded with a "Good morning," and when Zayden did the same, she clearly became happier upon hearing a 'good morning' from him.
…
Lunch break arrived.
Classroom 1-A erupted into a commotion once again.
This time, it was because two beautiful girls stood in front of Zayden and said in unison:
"I made a bento for you, please accept it!"
On one side was Erika, on the other side was Catherine.
The students, especially the girls, screamed.
The boys, for the most part, clicked their tongues in envy.
Meanwhile, Erika and Catherine looked at each other, initially surprised, but soon sparks clashed between them.
"Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?" Erika puffed out her chest and looked at her defiantly.
With a disdainful expression, Catherine responded sarcastically: "Ara, I'm offering a bento to my classmate, can't you see?"
"You… You know very well that's not what I'm talking about!" Erika was irritated by her sarcasm.
Placing the bento on Zayden's desk, Catherine crossed her arms under her large breasts, approaching her without being intimidated, saying: "And you. Are you his girlfriend to try to stop me?"
"I'm… I'm…" Erika's eyes became teary as she looked at Zayden.
Although they had kissed and gone on a karaoke date, their relationship still didn't have a 'title.' She didn't know how Zayden would react if she confirmed she was his girlfriend, so she hesitated.
"Keep saying 'I'm, I'm.' Can't you even answer something simple?" Catherine asked.
"And you!" Erika got fully irritated, placing the bento on Zayden's desk and approaching Catherine without backing down, pushing her large breasts against hers: "What are you to him? In the end, aren't you just a classmate?"
"Japanese is hard~ I can't understand you~" Catherine rolled her eyes and spread her arms.
"That's hilarious! Weren't you speaking normally until now?" Erika's face was red with anger.
Speaking in broken Japanese, Catherine replied, looking away: "No idea what you're talking about."
"You…"
"Okay, you two." Zayden intervened: "Stop for a moment and listen to me."
"What?!"
The reaction from both was aggressive, glaring at him angrily.
"Listen, how about you both let me keep the two…" Zayden said up to that point, and their expressions grew uglier, but then he added: "bentos" and continued: "After all, I want you both…" Their expressions had barely returned to normal before they got angry again, but he added: "I mean, both bentos."
"In fact, it's easy, easy, to handle two…" He continued: "Both bentos. I eat well, after all."
"What a load of nonsense…" Erika ended up sighing.
She noticed he was teasing them, making those pauses to make them think something else, and in a way, it helped calm her anger.
Catherine's situation was similar. She felt that the competition she was having with Erika earlier was pointless.
In the end, wasn't it about pleasing Zayden? What was the point of them fighting?
From her perspective after calming down, it all depended on which bento Zayden would like more, and she was confident she had done a good job with her mother's help, so she would let the bento 'speak' for her.
"Achoo!"
Zayden sneezed suddenly.
"Ah, are you catching a cold?"
"Is everything okay?"
Both girls showed concern.
"No." Zayden glanced sideways in a specific direction and smiled at both of them as he said: "Maybe someone's talking about me, I wonder."
Instead of talking about him, it's more like cursing him in their minds…
"Is that so?" Erika said: "Anyway, take care."
"Mm, I will," Zayden replied.
At the same time, he opened both bentos.
"Hey!"
Seeing that they didn't seem satisfied, he said: "I hate wasting food. And since they were made with the intention of giving them to me, I'll accept both."
"…"
Does that kind of logic work?
"Fine by me," Catherine was the first to give in, saying with a charming smile: "As long as Zayden-kun eats what I made, I'll be happy~"
"You…" Erika looked at her as if she were some kind of monstrosity.
Until just a moment ago, she was competing with her, clearly showing she wanted exclusivity, but suddenly, she changed like that out of nowhere? Didn't that make her seem pettier?
The fact that her relationship with Zayden still didn't have a proper 'title' made her hesitate, until she said: "I don't mind either!"
This outcome was something no one expected.
Several murmurs were heard, especially from the boys who felt jealous that Zayden got to eat bentos made by beautiful girls.
On the other hand, choosing to eat both bentos didn't earn him an increase in the affection index from either of them. However, if he had prioritized one, there was a chance it would've increased, even if just by 1 point.
Even so, this was a better outcome for him.
See, he didn't care one bit if, in some routes, Catherine would become Subaru's girlfriend. And seeing that she was showing so much interest in him, he wasn't foolish enough to reject her advances.
Besides, he wanted to make his stance clear that he had no intention of being monogamous.
If something was going to happen between them, it had to be transparent. He didn't like those who did things behind others' backs. If someone was afraid they couldn't convince them to accept a polygamous relationship, they shouldn't even try in the first place.
Erika, although upset that Zayden didn't accept only her bento, still pulled her desk next to his and sat very close to him, picking up her bento.
She wanted to make it clear that, although she wasn't the only one whose bento he accepted, at least she was the one sitting next to him while they ate.
Meanwhile, Catherine, seeing Erika's smug expression, made a strange sound like a cute squirrel, grabbed her own bento, and dragged her desk to sit across from Zayden.
"Is it okay if I eat with you, right?" she asked, already pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"Make yourself at home," Zayden replied.
The first bento he opened was Erika's.
It was well-crafted and balanced. With salad, sausages cut into octopus shapes, beef and potato stew, perfectly rolled and sliced omelet, and in the rice, there was a pink heart design.
Out of the corner of her eye, Erika glanced in his direction to see his reaction. She seemed a bit nervous at that moment.
"It looks really good," he said, clasping his hands together: "Thanks for the food."
When she saw him smile and pick up his chopsticks to try it, she visibly relaxed.
For most people there, although Zayden had changed and become an 'ikemen (very handsome man),' it was hard to forget that before this, he was an infamous delinquent that everyone feared.
Seeing him now turn the page, and on top of that, having two of the most beautiful girls in the first year competing for him, made some start to wonder if they had accidentally entered a parallel world and this wasn't the Zayden they knew.
After all, not long ago, he had been suspended after beating up five seniors and sending them to the hospital.
So, how could someone so violent turn the page so easily?
At some point, Yamagi also joined them.
After finishing eating Erika's bento, Zayden said: "It was delicious, Erika, thank you."
"Fufu, you don't need to thank me for that, really." Even though she said that, she couldn't help but give a big smile, happy with his words.
"Now it's my turn!" Catherine said, with her cute pronunciation that carried a double meaning.
"Okay." Zayden agreed easily and opened the bento.
They were sandwiches made with sliced bread.
The filling included ham, fried egg, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
It wasn't something he usually ate, but that didn't mean he disliked it. And the choice of salad to accompany it was something he gave a seal of approval.
Picking up one of the triangular sandwiches, he took a bite from one of the corners.
It was easy to bite and chew. The taste wasn't amazing, but it wasn't bad either.
Seeing Catherine's expectant look, he finished chewing and praised: "It turned out really good."
"Hehehe~ Happy to hear that~" She sang cheerfully and started eating the sandwiches from her own bento.
Looking at the sandwiches, Erika felt an urge to comment something but held back and started eating her own bento.
From beginning to end, Yamagi, who had joined them, ate in silence.
**
**
At home, after a good bath, Zayden picked up his smartphone and saw there was an unread message on LINE.
It was Tsukasa inviting him to go out on Saturday.
Tsukasa: [Got any plans for this Saturday? Here's the thing, this Saturday, there's a charity auction. I have an extra ticket and was wondering if you'd like to go with me?]
Tsukasa: [Sticker of a pink cat putting a paw on its cheek, raising it with sparkling eyes]
───────────
[Hidden Mission: Spend Money on a Girl]
[Time-Limited Task – 7 days: Spend 100 million yen on a single girl]
[Reward: 2x [Attribute Potion: Increases 1 to 3 attributes randomly when consumed]
───────────
Blinking his eyes, he thought about Tsukasa's message. It was too much of a coincidence.
It was as if she was telling him to go to the auction and spend a fortune on her. Otherwise, how else would he spend that much money on a single girl? Buying a luxury apartment? A mansion?
Seeing no reason to refuse, he agreed to her invitation.
Tsukasa: [Then, see you on Saturday~~♪]
Tsukasa: [Sticker of a seductive girl blowing kisses in the shape of hearts]
After that, he got ready and went out.
It wasn't like he had a specific place to go; he just felt like going out and walking a bit.