about!
Location.
Shopping district, café.
At this time of day, there weren't many students in the café, and the staff looked a little on edge. But once they noticed you hadn't ordered anything, they let out a sigh of relief.
After all, the shop was closing in 20 minutes, and the staff had already started cleaning up. If another order came in, they'd have to work overtime.
Because of that…
When Shirogane and the others simply sat down, the staff didn't bother to ask them to leave.
So, Shirogane and the most beautiful girl in D-Class sat together in a booth.
"Are you sure you've sent the message?" Shirogane asked.
"It's sent."
As she spoke, Horikita Suzune placed her phone on the table. The screen, still lit, showed a contact saved as "Homeroom Teacher Chabashira."
The message had already been marked as read.
However…
Considering that Horikita had been acknowledged as a future rival by Sakayanagi, Shirogane remained cautious.
Just in case.
[Got Kushida's homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei's, phone number. The number is 14565XXX.]
Shirogane quickly skimmed through the message Shiina had sent.
Interestingly, this number was only one digit different from his own homeroom teacher, Sakagami-sensei's, phone number.
That meant it was highly likely that the homeroom teachers were using school-issued smartphones.
And the number Horikita had shown matched the one Shiina had provided.
So, was Horikita actually a straightforward person?
She didn't even bother to be discreet about it.
"It's confirmed—your homeroom teacher broke the rules," Shirogane said. "And the fact that she only read the message without replying is a clear answer."
Still, why did she only read it without responding? That meant she was aware of the situation, but it probably didn't affect her much.
Shirogane's first thought was what Sakagami-sensei had mentioned during their entrance—points stored in student IDs could be used like money, and as long as you had enough points, you could buy almost anything.
Which meant—
It was possible to buy your way out of punishment.
So, as long as she had enough points, Chabashira-sensei wouldn't need to worry about consequences.
Shirogane quickly processed the information he had gathered from Horikita Suzune.
Horikita wasn't one of Sakayanagi's lackeys.
But she had been pushed by her homeroom teacher to investigate the school.
However, her investigation failed. She uncovered a few suspicious details, but she couldn't find the answers. Seeking help from upperclassmen didn't work either.
So, she chose the second option Chabashira-sensei had suggested—
To learn from Shirogane. To gain something from him that would help her grow.
"..."
"Like I said before, I don't want to bring shame to my brother."
"That's why…" Suzune clenched her left hand over her right, her expression shifting from frustration to determination. "I have to do this."
"..." Shirogane.
Looking at her now, despite her cold and aloof attitude, she was surprisingly easy to push into doing things.
But being followed like this, and even treated as someone to learn from—it felt a bit strange.
Still—
Her background made it hard to outright reject her.
She was Horikita Suzune. Just having the name *Horikita* made people pay extra attention to her. After all, Shirogane still wanted to join Horikita's brother's student council.
Completely turning down his sister right here… If her brother was the overprotective type, that could get awkward.
Of course, Shirogane wouldn't rely on connections alone.
If they were in the same class, he might waver.
But they weren't.
They were in different classes.
Which made them opponents.
Shirogane had no intention of helping the enemy.
So, he continued to look at Horikita.
"Our classes are different, so it wouldn't be easy to work together. Besides, how well do you even know your own classmates?"
"Why not start by working with them?" Shirogane asked.
"My classmates…" Suzune shook her head. "I haven't really connected with them, but many of them are hard to understand. And the ones who seem competent, like Hirata and Kushida, don't seem wary of anything at all."
"It seems like they just treat this school as a normal school."
"They have no sense of danger at all."
So, does that mean Horikita feels out of place in her own class? Does she even think her classmates are all terrible?
If that's the case, then her observation skills are pretty bad.
Because even Shirogane knows that several of her classmates are hiding secrets, and there are even two boss-level monsters among them.
Even if these students don't stand out on purpose, after spending two weeks in the same classroom, she should have noticed at least something.
"Well then." Shirogane recalled that his original plan was to wait for Class A students to show up so he could pressure them into completing the first-year student roster for him.
But in the end, only Horikita showed up.
Since she was from Class D, could she provide some useful information?
Tricking a girl would be a bit too much, but if it was a trade, then both sides would get what they needed.
Besides, she was the student council president's younger sister. If Shirogane messed with her, he couldn't expect to get away with it unscathed.
After all, if someone tried to take advantage of Kei, Shirogane would definitely step in.
He understood that kind of protective feeling as an older brother.
But still…
If the student council president had been able to memorize his and Sakayanagi's basic information, then he must have also known that his own sister was placed in Class D.
"Have you contacted your brother since arriving at this school?" Shirogane asked.
"..." Horikita hesitated. "I came to this school to follow in my brother's footsteps, but we haven't met privately yet."
"Maybe he doesn't even know I'm here," Horikita Suzune said. "Or maybe I haven't done well enough, so he doesn't think it's worth meeting me."
"I haven't earned my brother's approval."
Is that so?
But as an older brother himself, Shirogane saw things differently.
First of all, there was no doubt that Horikita's brother knew she was here. He also must have known she was placed in Class D.
As a proper student council president, he couldn't show favoritism, especially during the first month of school.
So he wouldn't take any action.
But…
Did that really mean he didn't care about her at all?
That wasn't so certain.
Because Shirogane Yuki himself was an older brother.
And so—
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