Chapter 87: Kaguya Shinomiya, The Ephemeral Mayfly Shaking the Tree
Hearing Kotoko's words, Asuna couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.
…Wait.
That wasn't right.
Asuna suddenly realized something. What exactly was she feeling guilty about?
It wasn't like Kotoko was dating Asagiri, and Asuna had swooped in while Kotoko was away in Tokyo handling yokai requests.
If anything, Asuna had met Asagiri first. She became his teammate first. They entered the same school because of that.
The more she thought about it, the straighter her spine became.
Her confidence shot up.
Asuna frowned slightly and answered with righteous certainty.
"Whatever Asagiri and I do is our freedom, isn't it?"
"Y you you…"
Kotoko stammered three times in a row, clearly searching for a counterattack. None came. In the end, she could only huff and hang up.
"What's wrong?"
Asagiri chuckled lightly when he saw Asuna's expression after the call. She didn't look victorious. If anything, she looked a little complicated, a little down.
"As the winner, shouldn't you be celebrating right now? Pressing your advantage and crushing Kotoko while she's weak?"
"What winner… This isn't a battle…"
Asuna sighed and propped her chin on one hand, melancholy settling into her eyes.
"Kotoko really likes you. After she finds out about us, the atmosphere in the team is going to get awkward, won't it…"
"It's fine."
Asagiri waved it off as if it were nothing.
"You can just unfriend her and Megumi. We'll go our separate ways and go back to the original two person team, just you and me."
"What are you even saying?"
Asuna's brows tightened. This was the first time she looked genuinely angry at him.
"Kotoko and Megumi are companions who've been through life and death with us. Didn't you say you'd never abandon anyone? And now you're telling me that just because our relationship changed, we should abandon them?"
Her voice turned firm.
"I can't accept that."
"Oh, is that so."
Asagiri didn't look particularly shaken. Instead, he put on a deliberately troubled expression and muttered to himself, just loud enough for Asuna to hear.
"Oh no, this is troublesome. If jealousy splits the team and ruins cohesion, that's dangerous. But we absolutely can't go our separate ways. What do we do? It's vexing. Is there any solution at all?"
Asuna stared at him, then finally understood, her expression going flat with disbelief.
"…So that whole 'go our separate ways' thing was bait. You were fishing for me to oppose it, so you could say all this. In the end…"
She narrowed her eyes.
"You just want a harem."
"Whether I want to or not isn't the key."
Asagiri shook his head, voice grave, like he was about to deliver a speech that would change history.
"The game has already leveled up. It's no longer just about the safety of the four of us. It's reached the level of humanity's survival, a war between worlds."
He looked at her with solemn determination.
"If a harem is the only path to a perfect ending, then naturally I cannot refuse."
Asuna rolled her eyes so hard it almost counted as exercise.
"After all that, the real reason is still that you want a harem."
Asagiri nodded with zero shame.
"Yes."
"You… You're still saying yes that confidently?"
Asuna held her forehead. Asagiri's shameless declaration had short circuited her brain to the point she couldn't even organize a proper rant anymore.
To keep the team together and avoid a Shura battlefield…
Was the answer really a harem, like he said?
…
Two days later, Monday morning, around nine o'clock, in Year 1 Class A at Shuchiin Academy.
Kotoko lay facedown on her desk, chin resting on her arms. Her cute, delicate face clearly spelled out three large characters.
Not hee hee.
After sulking for a while, she turned her head and stared at Asagiri beside her, pouting.
"Hey. Why aren't you trying to coax me at all?"
Asagiri looked up and met her eyes, amused.
"How am I supposed to coax you? Should I play you a tune?"
"No, no, no!"
Kotoko shook her head so hard her beret almost looked offended too.
"I heard your 'playing a tune' is that… kazoo thing, right? You think you can soothe me that easily? No way!"
"Then here."
Asagiri picked up a neatly wrapped shopping bag from beside his seat and handed it to her.
"This is…"
Kotoko took it and peeked inside.
A white beret, similar in style to the one she always wore, lay carefully placed within.
"I didn't know exactly what you liked," Asagiri said, casual. "So when I was buying clothes, I picked this out for you."
Kotoko's pout vanished instantly. Her expression flipped from sulky to delighted in a heartbeat, like someone had hit a hidden switch.
She hugged the bag to her chest and smiled sweetly.
"I knew it. You definitely still love me."
Kotoko was the type who got jealous easily, threw minor tantrums at the speed of light, and was even easier to appease.
"Iwanaga."
Kaguya, sitting a few seats ahead, looked down at her book and continued taking notes, speaking without emotion.
"This is a classroom. A place for studying. Please don't say things like that and disturb others."
"Heh."
Kotoko sneered twice, completely unbothered.
"What does that have to do with you? I'll say whatever I want. What, are you cramming because the exam's coming? Hmph. Useless."
She pointed with full confidence.
"You absolutely can't beat Asagiri!"
Asagiri couldn't help reacting.
"Good grief, can't you show off by yourself? Why are you using my name to show off?"
"I can't help it."
Kotoko stood, leaned in close to Asagiri's ear, and whispered in a low voice.
"Even though I'm the God of Wisdom… when it comes to grades, I really can't beat her."
Kaguya stood.
She walked over to Asagiri's seat, stopped in front of him, and looked straight into his face. Her ruby eyes were steady, emotionless.
"Utsunomiya. Should I take Iwanaga's words as you issuing a challenge to me?"
The moment she said it, the classroom went silent.
Students who had been chatting in small groups turned as one, eyes locking onto that corner of the room, hungry for drama.
Kaguya Shinomiya, this year's freshman… no, the most dazzling figure in all of Shuchiin Academy.
On one side, the Shinomiya family's eldest daughter, wrapped in every kind of halo, a flawless young lady with impeccable grades, sports ability, appearance, manners, and social presence.
On the other side, the mixed course transfer student who had played his name throughout the academy on the first day of school with nothing but a kazoo. He arrived in Shuchiin's high school division with the posture of a ruler. Even Ashikaga Miwa, a board member, treated him with inexplicable leniency. He had shown no weakness since his arrival. And the young lady of the Iwanaga family had thrown five billion in cash just to be in the same class as him.
The mixed course demon king.
Which side would win?
Under the expectant, tense gazes, Asagiri lifted his head and looked at Kaguya.
From the angle alone, Kaguya should have held the advantage. She was standing, looking down, commanding the space.
Yet somehow, it was the opposite.
Asagiri sat there, and still radiated the calm confidence of an absolute strong person.
"Kaguya Shinomiya…"
He said her name softly, then shook his head and smiled faintly.
"Me challenging you? What arrogance."
His gaze didn't waver.
"I'm first. I'm the strongest. Anyone who steps in front of me is the challenger."
His voice stayed light, but every word landed cleanly.
"The only thing in my line of sight is first place."
He paused, eyes narrowing just a fraction.
"As for you…"
"Unfortunately, I can't see you at all."
The class collectively froze, then, after a few seconds, it felt almost… inevitable.
That was Utsunomiya.
"You can't see me?"
Kaguya's expression remained calm. Her voice was soft, measured.
"After this exam, you'll see. No, you'll only be able to watch my back from behind."
"Oh?" Asagiri rose to his feet.
Kaguya was tall for a girl, but beside him, she was still clearly shorter. The pressure shifted instantly, and her presence was suppressed.
Their eyes met, black against ruby, sparks seeming to hiss in the air.
Kotoko, meanwhile…
Kotoko was too short. She was completely blocked by the two of them and could only peer from the side with a vigilant expression, as if Kaguya might steal Asagiri out from under her nose.
"You'd better think carefully," Asagiri said, voice calm.
"I'm mixed course. You're pure course."
He looked down slightly, smile returning.
"I don't put Kaguya Shinomiya the person in my eyes."
Then he added, almost gently.
"But if you're willing to bear the reputation of the pure course students and challenge me…"
His smile sharpened, turning dangerously amused.
"Then maybe, for the sake of entertainment, I'll accept."
He let the words hang for a beat.
"A mayfly trying to shake a tree."
.....
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