As her words fell, and seeing Ryuuen sink back into thought, Shiina Hiyori lowered her head again.
She still had today's diary to read.
Where did she stop just now?
…Ah, whatever. She'd just start from the beginning again.
[Didn't I mention the special exam and the blooming lilies a few days ago?
After thinking it over again and again, I feel like I said too little. It was too vague.
So let me add a bit more.
First, the special exam.
To be blunt, I find most of the special exams in this school pretty boring.
The rules are a joke. The scoring is a joke. The fairness is a joke.
It's all filled with the beauty of administrative power at work.
Take the unanimous vote exam I mentioned before. Putting expelling one student on the scale against class points—everyone spends their time figuring out how to kick someone out.
It almost feels like they enroll you just to expel you later.
That said, even among these dull exams, this one is relatively more interesting.
The homeroom teachers will explain the rules when the time comes. Or maybe I'll just spoil it the day before the exam in my diary.
Let's talk about the feeling first.
The rules aren't complicated. You just fight over pitiful little points and settle at the end.
Because the duration is a bit longer, the points may look small, but they add up to quite a bit.
Unfortunately, it's kind of useless.
Because of the "prediction" rule, all those hard-earned points can get wiped out.
The honest ones work hard to earn points. The dishonest ones plant spies and play the prediction game.
It's weirdly well-designed.
…Feels awkward describing it without stating the rules outright. I even have to avoid spoilers.
Maybe I should just say it? Even if I tell you in advance, it probably won't change anything.
No, wait. If this leaks and the school changes things, that'd ruin the fun.
Others I'm not sure about, but I have to call out the little princess.
Everyone else reads my diary quietly and keeps the advantage to themselves. Only you keep backstabbing and casually spreading things around. What's wrong with you?
If not for you, I would've told everyone what the next exam is already. Would've been great—you'd even have time to prepare.
So yeah, it's all the little princess's fault. ALICE takes full responsibility! It's all ALICE's fault!]
...
The diary wasn't finished yet, but Sakayanagi Arisu had already frowned.
Seriously—could this guy just go die? Why was she getting insulted again for no reason?
Do you actually like me or something?
What is this, some elementary school boy trying to get attention?
"Casually spreading things around"… was that referring to the Chabashira Sae incident?
You were the one who wrote the name and hinted "don't go confront her," and now you're blaming me for spreading it?!
Sakayanagi's small fist clenched again.
But when her eyes caught words like "check-in" and "prediction," doubt crept in.
This time, it wasn't vague—it was clearly directional.
Does he really know what the next exam is?
"..."
As time passed, his so-called "future manipulation" seemed to be coming true little by little—but always in fragments, buried under nonsense.
It made her question him constantly over small details.
At the end of the day—
She simply didn't want to believe him.
She just didn't want to.
Hmph.
And yet—
Even so, she still opened this diary every day.
Even if he insulted her again.
Even if it made her grind her teeth in anger.
She still traced her fingers along the rough page edges and read every word.
"I'm really asking for punishment," she muttered, turning the page again.
[Alright, maybe picking on ALICE all the time isn't nice.
Actually, we should be grateful to ALICE. Why not establish an ALICE Appreciation Day?
I hereby declare! Today, June 10th, is ALICE Appreciation Day!
Everyone must praise Miss ALICE! And I'll even give her what she likes most—a lift up high!
Are you happy? Excited? Do you like it?
I solemnly promise—I owe Princess ALICE one lift-up-high. You can claim it anytime!
Love you~]
Sakayanagi Arisu: "..."
I'm not happy.
I don't love you.
I hate you.
Expressionless, she turned the page again.
...
[Alright, time's about up. Let me finish by talking about the lilies and call it a day—I've got a date with my girlfriend.
Last time I wanted to talk about the mascot girl confessing to the angel, but halfway through I realized the confession should actually happen next month.
Well, it should've been next month.
If things progressed normally, if feelings kept growing, if emotions overflowed beyond control—
Then the confession would happen next month.
Three months—about a hundred days.
As they say, a hundred days for exams, a hundred days for love.
It's fast, but still reasonable.
But something's a little off.
Because I showed up.
I came! I saw! I conquered!
Maybe the little mascot will fall for me instead… cough.
Just kidding.
Whether she does or not, I don't know. But I feel like she won't confess next month anymore.
What I mean is—you guys messed things up too much. You've disturbed too much. You've thrown my future vision into chaos!
Compensate me!
Originally, little sister should've been scolded and beaten by her brother before midterms and told to drop out for being an embarrassment.
Originally, stamp girl should've been completely drained dry and crying on the bed after pressing that stamp.
Originally, the little princess should be in my arms right now, being lifted up high!
But now…
Little sister hasn't even dared approach her brother anymore, afraid of being scolded for not improving.
Stamp girl doesn't even kick the railing anymore—where am I supposed to hear that banging alarm sound?
The little princess ended up in Class B, looking all wronged.
Dragon boy isn't even picking fights with the redhead anymore!
It's all your fault!
Ugh… my future, our future, Advanced Nurturing High's future—what will it become…
(sniff) (wiping tears) (full of sorrow)]
"Today's reading complete. Reading points +1."
The usual notification echoed.
But Horikita Suzune didn't close the diary like she normally would.
She held her pen, her body stiff, her gaze locked onto a single line.
'Originally, little sister should've been scolded and beaten by her brother before midterms and told to drop out for being an embarrassment.'
"Buzz—"
A sharp ringing filled her ears.
When she came back to her senses, cold sweat had already formed on her forehead.
Her comprehension was flawless.
She didn't need to reread.
Almost instinctively, she replaced every alias.
"Little princess" became Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Mascot" became Shiranami Chihiro.
"Angel" became Ichinose Honami.
And…
"Little sister" became Horikita Suzune.
As for "brother," there was no need to replace it.
She would never rudely call his name.
And so—
As the real meaning surfaced—
Her understanding blurred instead.
The more she understood, the harder it became to process.
Her lips pressed tightly together.
In the silent room, only her breathing and heartbeat remained.
After a long pause, her mind finally replayed the meaning she had already grasped.
Before midterms…
She should have been scolded, beaten, and expelled by her brother.
"…Brother…"
The word slipped from her lips.
The person she admired most—
Was the one who rejected her the most.
…She already knew that.
But seeing it written like this—
It still hurt.
It hurt so much.
It's fine. It's fine.
She closed her eyes, repeating it to herself.
That was something that should have happened—
But didn't.
And won't.
I've changed.
I've improved.
I have friends.
I… have the diary.
She tightened her grip on the pen.
Yes.
She had changed.
So that "should have happened" future would not come true.
Slowly, she calmed down.
She needed to separate herself from it.
She couldn't let emotions interfere.
Only then could she do her job.
'Analyze every diary entry and summarize it for Kushida Kikyo.'
That was what she agreed to five days ago.
So her trembling hand pressed the pen to another notebook.
She would never write analysis in the diary itself.
Kushida had already warned her—anything written there would be uploaded automatically.
"..."
There was too much information today.
Only after calming down did she realize how much was hidden beneath the casual tone.
The most important part—aside from that line—was still the special exam.
After all, special exams directly determined monthly private points.
If she could learn the rules in advance, the advantage would be decisive.
…In fact, maybe that was why Classes A, B, and C were ahead.
…But he said he'd reveal it the day before.
What use was that?
The only clues were "check-in" and "prediction."
She couldn't figure it out yet.
She'd leave it for now.
The exam hints were brief.
Almost immediately, the diary shifted back to teasing Sakayanagi Arisu.
Honestly, even Horikita began to wonder—
Did he actually like that type of girl?
He mentioned the little princess every day lately.
Sakayanagi's face was undeniably attractive.
Not inferior to hers.
But she was too small. Too frail.
Horikita couldn't understand it.
But that didn't matter.
ALICE Appreciation Day and the "lift-up-high" promise were just nonsense.
Ignore them.
The real issue was the "should have happened."
…Kushida should have been "drained dry"?
Horikita frowned.
She knew "stamp girl" referred to Kushida.
But—
Who could do that?
Who would dare?
And what did "drained dry" even mean? Private points? Blackmail?
Why?
…Her past.
The answer formed immediately.
Someone else knew Kushida's past.
And would have used it to extort her completely.
"..."
A chill ran down Horikita's spine.
There was another person.
And Kushida didn't even know.
Including herself and the diary—
There were three people in this school who knew Kushida Kikyo's secret.
…She really was unlucky.
But that was only what "should have happened."
Which meant—
Something had changed.
…Was it because of her?
Because she reached out, reconciled, and became friends—
Did she unknowingly protect Kushida?
"…She should thank me," Horikita thought.
But before that—
Another line stood out.
'Dragon boy isn't even picking fights with the redhead anymore!'
Who was that referring to?
Enjoyed these chapters? Access 60+ ahead advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?