Even though they were from different classes, they could often be seen talking alone on the field.
"Did you know Shirogane Miyuki before?" Kamuro asked.
"No," Sakayanagi shook her head.
"Then why do you think Shirogane likes you? He interacts with Shiina Hiyori from his class way more," Kamuro said. "I've even seen them shopping together multiple times."
"The students collecting information also submitted reports treating them as a couple. So, you're probably just imagining things," Kamuro added. "They look way better together than you and him."
As she finished speaking, Kamuro's expression turned sharp.
In front of Sakayanagi, she was usually the obedient, tamed dog who had been caught in her grasp. But now, that dog seemed to be mocking its master.
This kind of thing…
"..." Sakayanagi.
"Should I take that as a deliberate attempt to provoke me?"
"Looks like you're quite interested in Shirogane," Sakayanagi said. "But don't worry, he probably already knows about your kleptomania. So, there's no need to keep testing him. As long as you don't do it again, he won't have anything to hold against you."
"..." Kamuro.
She didn't feel like talking anymore. She did follow Shirogane occasionally, and yes, it was because of this issue. At the same time, Sakayanagi had strictly ordered her to stop stealing. It was like an addiction that had only started fading because Sakayanagi kept her too busy to think about it.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now," Kamuro said.
"Thank you for your hard work today. I'll need your help again tomorrow," Sakayanagi said politely.
"Hmph."
Kamuro Masumi frowned and turned to leave.
Ever since Sakayanagi took control of her, her free time had been cut down significantly.
But for some reason, the other students in Sakayanagi's faction saw her as the most loyal one, treating her like Sakayanagi's right-hand woman.
That annoyed her.
But after some thought, Kamuro still forwarded the photos Hashimoto had taken—pictures of Shirogane meeting with a Class D student—to Sakayanagi.
It seemed like Sakayanagi was treating this as some kind of experiment, hoping for an underdog comeback.
Kamuro had no interest in going crazy alongside her.
So, after thinking it over, she figured she should at least give her a warning.
You might be playing your little game, but your "pieces" are already starting to team up.
How do you even handle something like this?
Sakayanagi received a photo from Hashimoto, taken from a distance, showing Shirogane and Horikita from Class D meeting at a café.
And, as expected, Sakayanagi didn't disappoint Kamuro.
When she realized the "bugs" she had been raising were actually starting to work together, she finally withdrew her earlier order for Hashimoto to stop tailing Shirogane.
And so—
Hashimoto, who was skilled at tailing people, resumed tracking Shirogane Miyuki.
And before he knew it, the end of the month had arrived.
It was the final day of the special exam for first-year students.
…
April 30th, night.
Shirogane and Shiina arrived at a café just twenty minutes before closing time. Under the watchful eyes of the staff, the two of them sat down but didn't even glance at the menu. The employees immediately recognized Shirogane, so they relaxed and went back to waiting for their shift to end.
"Tomorrow will be an important day."
"For the first-years, it marks the beginning of the real journey," Shiina said.
They were seated in a four-person booth, but instead of sitting across from each other, Shiina sat next to Shirogane. It wasn't exactly normal, but it wasn't wrong either—after all, they were meeting someone here, and naturally, students from the same class would sit together.
Besides, cute girls always seemed to have a pleasant scent, but Shirogane had always been polite.
What Hiyori meant was that with the first month ending, all the first-years would soon learn the school's rules.
Then, the real class competition would begin.
"But," Shirogane said, "I've also noticed that the teachers seem to be paying extra attention to this."
"Extra attention?" Hiyori looked over and blinked lightly—an expression that was undeniably adorable.
She had delicate features, and when she acted playful, it made her seem even more lively.
But she was also a serious student, gifted in academics. That alone made Shirogane highly resistant to her charm.
"Yeah," Shirogane continued. "I recently found out that Chabashira-sensei from Class D broke the rules. She directly assigned one of her students to investigate how the school actually works. Their class must have lost too many points, so she got desperate. But doing something like that is obviously against the rules."
"The student she picked was Horikita, right?" Shiina asked.
And the person they were waiting for here tonight was also Horikita.
Shirogane and Horikita had made a deal—to exchange information between Class A and Class D.
"Yeah." Shirogane nodded. "But when I asked Sakagami-sensei about it, guess how he responded?"
"Sakagami-sensei, huh—"
After spending a month in Class C, it was clear that Sakagami-sensei, who taught math, was a pretty self-serving person.
And when someone is that self-serving, their judgment is bound to be biased.
So—
"Did he tell you not to report it?" Shiina hesitated before giving her answer.
"Not exactly," Shirogane replied. "But when Ryuen asked him how many class evaluation points were left, he answered. And that's something he wasn't supposed to disclose either."
In other words, it wasn't just Class D's teacher breaking the rules—Class C's homeroom teacher had done the same.
So what about Class B? And Class A?
The truth was, Hiyori hadn't had much contact with Class B students yet.
But now, it seemed that class competition wasn't just about the students—teachers were just as invested.
"By the way, Shirogane, Horikita and the others are almost here," Shiina said, checking her phone.
She was looking at a GPS tracker—the target was Kushida Kikyo.
And right now, the map showed that Kushida was about to arrive at the shop.
Hmm.
Both of them fell silent, turning their eyes toward the entrance.
"Welcome!"
There were only 15 minutes left before closing, and for the employees waiting to go home, seeing new customers walk in was a nightmare.
"We're here to meet someone. They're over there," said the short-haired blonde girl at the door. "We won't be ordering anything."
"Oh."
The employee instantly felt like this girl was an angel—just hearing that made their mood a little lighter.
So real.
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