Shirogane Miyuki and Shinomiya Kaguya, being top students, read very quickly.
So they finished this novel in no time.
After finishing the book, Shirogane Miyuki rubbed his eyes, his peripheral vision casting a complex glance at Shinomiya Kaguya.
At this moment, a deep sense of regret filled his heart, even giving rise to the thought of directly confessing to Shinomiya Kaguya, fearing he might miss his chance with her.
However, this emotion was interrupted by Fujiwara Chika before it could fully ferment.
"President, President, how do you feel about this novel?"
Hearing the question, Shirogane Miyuki came back to his senses and said,
"The plot is excellent, the writing is superb, and overall, it's a great novel.
It's just that I find the ending a bit hard to accept at the moment."
"Exactly! Most people can't accept this kind of ending."
Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement, very satisfied that Shirogane Miyuki was on her side, joining her in condemning Tanaka Masao's atrocious behavior.
If more people condemned Tanaka Masao, then...
There would be more people condemning Tanaka Masao.
But before she could be happy for long, she heard Shirogane Miyuki say,
"However, I quite like this ending."
"Huh~, why?"
"Because it's a good story in itself, and the ending elevates it, warning us to cherish the people around us and not wait until we lose them to feel regret."
Fujiwara Chika couldn't refute Shirogane Miyuki's words, but what was with this old-fashioned way of speaking?
"But Sakura is already dead.
Isn't that very sad?"
Shirogane Miyuki looked at Fujiwara Chika with some confusion.
"But isn't she a fictional character? Not even a stranger, so her death shouldn't be too hard to accept, right?"
Fujiwara Chika's eyes widened, looking at Shirogane Miyuki in disbelief.
"President, how can you say such heartless words!"
Ishigami Yu also voiced his condemnation.
"Exactly, President, I originally thought you were a good person, but I didn't expect you to say such cruel words.
Perhaps to you, Sakura is just a fictional character in a novel, but to me, she is a perfect girl with flesh and blood, truly existing!"
"That's right! That's right! I can't imagine the President saying such harsh things about Sakura, you're truly more heartless than Junior Tanaka."
It was rare to see Ishigami Yu so emotional, and to be condemned as more heartless than the author, so Shirogane Miyuki had to reach out and temporarily calm their emotions.
"I know, I know, it's my fault.
You're right, Sakura is indeed a flesh-and-blood existence, and I should have invested more emotion in her.
Ah, Sakura, you died so tragically, I'm so sad, so heartbroken."
Fujiwara Chika stared with dead fish eyes at Shirogane Miyuki's clumsy performance and retorted,
"The President's acting is really terrible."
"Exactly, I don't feel your sincerity at all, apologies require kneeling."
"Hey, hey, Ishigami, no matter what, kneeling is a bit too much, my sincerity in apologizing has already been conveyed.
And to whom should I kneel, Sakura's portrait? But compared to kneeling, I think offering incense would be better."
"President, you show no sign of remorse."
Fujiwara Chika pouted and ran over, shaking Kaguya-douchi's arm, complaining,
"Kaguya-douchi, look how mean the President is."
"Ah? Ah?"
Shinomiya Kaguya only came back to her senses after Fujiwara Chika shook her.
Her emotions were even more complex than Shirogane Miyuki's after finishing the novel.
At this moment, she couldn't quite understand.
[How can the same person write things with such vastly different styles?
Is such a pure and beautiful love story truly from the hand of the man who drew that kind of manga?]
Shinomiya Kaguya found it hard to believe; surely not every Ox Warrior hides a pure love warrior within, their sharp horns merely a protective facade to the outside world.
[Hayasaka's investigation should not be wrong, so there is only one truth!
This novel is not from Tanaka Masao's hand.
He must have used those evil methods from his manga to threaten a beautiful female writer.
He made her write this novel, but then published it himself to hide his identity and deceive Fujiwara student.
Heh, do you think you can hide it from me like this? With just a little effort, I can uncover the truth.]
Now she only needed to know if Tanaka Masao had a beautiful female writer by his side to confirm whether her conjecture was correct.
And this matter could be known with just a little investigation.
Looking at the dazed Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika asked with some confusion,
"Kaguya-douchi, what are you thinking about? You're spacing out, how rare."
"I was just recalling the novel's plot, and for a moment, I hadn't fully come back to my senses."
"So, Kaguya-douchi also really likes this novel."
"I wouldn't say 'like,' but I'm somewhat interested."
Shinomiya Kaguya never easily uttered the word 'like'.
"As for me, I've become quite fond of this type of novel these past two days; a friend just recommended a few, let's read them together."
...
Leaving aside the Shuchiin student council discussing the novel, let's turn our attention to the Fanxing Concert Hall in Shimokitazawa.
Tanaka Masao, riding his bicycle, arrived here panting, under the urging of Yukinoshita Yukino.
Oh, it can't really be called urging, after all, he asked for it himself.
Hmm? Why does it all feel so strange?