Chapter 261: Shiraishi, Save Me!

The dinner hour was the only hour in the day when boys and girls could interact. Starting tomorrow, both sides would officially begin their classes. Although they were conducted within the same facility, both the boys’ and girls’ schedules were packed tight. If they wanted to make contact, the only window was this one hour.

“But… it’s so big. How are we supposed to find Fuyuji?”

Yamamura Miki held her tray and walked up the stairs that overlooked the first floor, rising on her tiptoes.

At a glance, the steamy aroma of food drifted over. Four or five hundred students were packed densely on the first floor, talking amongst themselves. Voices, chewing sounds, shouts, footsteps, all kinds of noise mixed together in a boiling cacophony. Quite the lively scene.

Even students standing on the stairs like them, scanning the crowd for their companions, were hardly few in number.

Kamuro Masumi held her tray with one hand and irritably rubbed her temple with the other. Finally, she helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. “Careless. We should have agreed on a meeting spot with that guy while we were still on the bus.” As soon as she said it, her own face flushed red.

If she’d known, she wouldn’t have acted out that last-minute, hand-holding, reluctant-to-part tragic drama with that guy.

The girls’ side was progressing far more slowly with their group formation than the boys’. Even now, the large groups still hadn’t been formed.

They’d finally gotten Shiraishi Asuka and Kushida Kikyo to agree, and then Kamuro had brought back a Sakayanagi Arisu. In the end, the Class A students hadn’t said anything, but Class D had blown up first. A while later, Yamamura, from who knew where, timidly led back an Ichinose Honami, begging to join them. Finally, Shiraishi had scanned the room, figured that since there were already people from Classes A, B, and D, and recalling the task her beloved had given her, simply took the initiative to invite Shiina Hiyori’s group to join as well.

Back and forth like this, the entire first-year girls’ side had turned into a pot of porridge. After lunch, the bickering continued. In the end, they argued until the girls themselves had no energy left, and were forced to wrap things up hastily.

The final result was the Shiraishi group, led by Shiraishi Asuka.

Class A: Shiraishi Asuka, Morishita Ai, Yamamura Miki, Kamuro Masumi, Nishikawa Ryoko

Class B: Ichinose Honami, Himeno Yuki

Class C: Shiina Hiyori, Ibuki Mio

Class D: Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Sakayanagi Arisu, Sato Maya, Wang Mei-Yu

—Another luxurious lineup that would make Fuyuji Mikage explode just from looking at it.

“We need to hurry,” Shiraishi tucked a strand of pale golden hair behind her ear, her violet eyes sweeping the crowd below. “If we don’t find him this time, tomorrow we’ll have to start all over again.”

If they didn’t find him within this one hour today and agree on a meeting spot for tomorrow, tomorrow they’d run into the same problem.

That said, no trace of worry showed on Shiraishi’s face. She even blinked, a little expectant. She wanted to know how long it would take her beloved to find her, and whether the two of them shared a connection.

But before she could put her idea into practice, Morishita Ai beside her had already lifted her little face and taken the lead, walking off coolly.

“Follow in Ai-sama’s footsteps. A mere boyfriend, I’ll know where he is in no time.”

“Huh?” Yamamura followed. “Did Fuyuji tell Morishita where to meet?”

“Tch!” Kamuro clicked her tongue in displeasure, glanced at the two already walking off, and followed. “That bastard is playing favorites?”

Shiraishi slowly lowered her eyelids, then curved her brows.

She seemed to understand what Morishita was thinking.

The group passed row after row of crowded tables. The air was filled with the aroma of all kinds of food. Today’s hot topic seemed to be dominated by a strange group.

“Did you hear? On the boys’ side…”

“Student Council President Nagumo Miyabi got beaten into the hospital, led by the Great Shit-Eater King. I heard it was brutal. His face is ruined. He still hasn’t woken up.”

“There really was a huge noise from the boys’ dormitory at the time. Could that have been Nagumo-senpai’s screams? Then doesn’t that mean Nagumo-senpai and Horikita-senpai’s bet is…?”

“Impressive, really, the Great Shit-Eater King. Pulling something this big on the very first day. Stopping at nothing to get first place. He casually did what we couldn’t.”

…

The Class A girls passing by silently quickened their steps, tightening their faces and maintaining their girlish dignity.

They had already guessed which group Fuyuji had joined.

A few minutes later.

“Right here.”

Morishita led her three companions to a somewhat out-of-the-way, empty dining table. At least, it wasn’t a spot that could be seen at a glance from the main entrance or the stairs. The students around were relatively sparse too.

“Here?” Kamuro observed the surroundings and said suspiciously. “This doesn’t seem to appear in the school’s photos. There’s no obvious landmark nearby either. How did that scumbag agree to meet you here?”

“Heh heh!” Morishita set down her tray, closed her eyes, puffed out her chest, and lifted the corner of her mouth. “It seems boyfriend-kun hasn’t told you the big secret yet. I’ll tell you: boyfriend and Morishita-sama share a connection.”

Kamuro and Yamamura slowly tilted their heads. Shiraishi’s eyes narrowed.

“Three minutes.” Morishita held up three slender fingers and waved them in front of the three. She announced with full confidence. “Within three minutes, boyfriend will definitely find—”

“What are you doing sitting in a place like this? I walked a whole big circle before I got here.” A familiar voice abruptly sounded from the shadow of a corner nearby, where an idle food cart was stored. Then Fuyuji’s figure popped out from there and landed in an empty seat beside them.

Liar!

Yamamura and Kamuro stared dumbfounded at Fuyuji, who had just sat down beside them.

They clearly hadn’t seen him at all before. And it looked like Morishita had just randomly picked a seat with few people in a secluded spot.

“Hm?” Fuyuji, having just sat down, sensed something was off. The food he’d lifted to his mouth paused midair. He blinked and asked blankly, “Is something wrong?”

“Heh heh!”

Morishita’s eyes curved into crescent moons. Her little bottom shifted happily a couple of times as she sat down snug against Fuyuji, affectionately nuzzling his arm. Then she tilted up her little face and planted a soft kiss on his cheek with a mwah, passing him the carrots from her tray.

“They’re just shocked by Ai-sama’s ability to communicate with the forest.”

“No, we’re not,” Shiraishi, sitting across from them, said, propping her chin on one hand, her eyes glinting. “Morishita just performed a magic trick for us.”

Fuyuji glanced thoughtfully at his girlfriend beside him, who had her little hands on her hips and was wearing a cool poker face.

He understood. His airheaded girlfriend had probably had another sudden whim and put on some kind of show.

Quickly tossing the matter to the back of his mind, Fuyuji got to the point.

“How are things on the girls’ side?”

“So-so…” Shiraishi lowered her eyes and raised a hand to rub her lovely brow. Her graceful shoulders seemed to slump a little too, somewhat listless. “Looks like we’ll have to argue again at eight tonight.”

“Uh, good work.” A piece of beef was delivered to Shiraishi’s pink, moist lips.

Even a girl like Shiraishi-mama, who could handle the entire Class A girls’ contingent with ease, wore such a discouraged expression. It seemed it really was torture.

“Thank you, Fuyuji~” Shiraishi crooked her little finger to lift a falling strand of golden hair, covered her collar with her other hand, and curved her lips, biting down on the beef in one bite.

“What about the third years?”

Fuyuji picked up another carrot, intending to repeat the trick. But the moment his chopsticks reached out, they were intercepted with precision. Morishita directly picked up that carrot and stuffed it back into his own mouth.

“It’s a senpai named Tachibana Akane. I heard she was the former student council secretary. She went into a group made up mainly of third-year Class B members by herself,” Shiraishi didn’t beat around the bush and gave the answer directly, while also watching Fuyuji’s reaction. “Does Fuyuji know her?”

“Ah, this. So it’s her…” Fuyuji’s chewing paused. The corner of his mouth twitched a few times.

Tachibana Akane…

Wasn’t that the bun-haired senpai who’d asked him for a love fortune at that unscrupulous swindler’s place last time?

Wait!

Fuyuji’s thoughts connected in an instant. He drew a sharp breath. He seemed to have spotted a blind spot.

Tachibana Akane… had feelings for Horikita Manabu.

Blond senpai… also had a peculiar mix of respect and challenge toward Manabu.

So this duel, blond senpai’s real goal was…

Fuyuji patted his chest with lingering fear. Good thing he hadn’t rashly stuck his nose in.

That was the Horikita family’s private business. The karma wrought by the Horikita family’s succubus bloodline. Sticking a foot in would only be asking for trouble. Better to leave it to Manabu to handle himself.

“This is enough. No need to bother with the rest.”

Fuyuji, now addicted to feeding people, once again extended his wicked claws toward Miki, the little darling. He picked up a piece of tofu and, trembling, held it out.

“Miki, ah…”

“This, that…”

Yamamura’s pretty face flushed red. She glanced around in a fluster, then, watching the tofu grow larger and larger in her vision, simply shut her eyes and parted her moist lips.

“Ahm! Thank you, Fuyuji~”

“You really don’t need to bother?” Just to be safe, Shiraishi asked once more. “That group’s atmosphere has been off ever since Tachibana-senpai joined.”

“Mm.” Fuyuji nodded in confirmation.

Leave this to Horikita Suzune. As Manabu’s genuine little sister, neither side would make things difficult for her.

Besides, breaking this setup was actually very simple. It just depended on whether Horikita could spot the flaw in advance. After all, Murder on the Orient Express had spelled it out so clearly.

Having dealt with Yamamura, Fuyuji grinned wickedly and turned his gaze to the last one.

At this moment, Kamuro was holding her chopsticks, head down, absentmindedly poking the rice at the bottom of her bowl with the tip of her chopsticks. Suddenly, her motion froze. As if sensing what was about to happen, she jerked her head up. A pink flush visibly raced from her neck to her earlobes, until even the tips of her small ears turned red.

“W-what?” She quietly shifted her position to the side, tightened her face, and stammered.

“Bro, you’re the only one left.” Fuyuji curved his lips and slowly leaned in.

“Get lost, no, that’s disgusting. You already ate with those!”

“Be good. It’s exciting, you know. Feeding play and all that…”

“N-no, q-quick, take it away—mmph!”

Amid her half-hearted resistance, Kamuro finally ended up pressed against the edge of the bench, her purple side ponytail swaying in the air, face red as she ate the beef brisket Fuyuji held out. She licked her lips with lingering satisfaction.

Having figured out blond senpai’s real plan, the girls’ side could relax a little.

“For the next week, just take your classes and do what you like. It doesn’t matter if you come in last in the exam, as long as you reach the score line the school set.”

Class A’s Katsuragi group, through Fuyuji’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering, had already been placed in the same large group as Manabu.

With Manabu’s outstanding leadership and steady personality, plus his good compatibility with Katsuragi, they’d take at least a top-three spot no matter what. Factoring in all the point-doubling mechanisms, Class A at least wouldn’t lose points this time.

“About that, Fuyuji…” Hearing this, Shiraishi set down her chopsticks, folded both hands on the table, and revealed an elegant yet polite smile.

“That…” Yamamura lowered her head and pinched the hem of her tracksuit.

Kamuro’s gaze began to wander aimlessly, from the ceiling to the floor.

Morishita silently shoveled food, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster’s.

“What’s wrong?” Fuyuji sensed something was off.

A few minutes later.

“What?!”

From the secluded corner of the cafeteria, an explosive shout suddenly burst out, mixed with an incredulous cry, drawing frequent glances from the surrounding students.

Fuyuji, trembling, set down his chopsticks. “Shiraishi-mama, you mean… right now, all of them are in your group?”

“I don’t know whether it’s coincidence or inevitability either.” Shiraishi watched Fuyuji with a half-smile. “Yes, why is it, I wonder, that all the most outstanding girls in the first year seem to have ended up on our side?”

“…”

In an instant, Fuyuji stood up, lifted a leg, and sat back down.

Moving at a speed that left afterimages, he arrived beside Shiraishi in an instant, grabbed her delicate little hand, and slid to his knees at light speed.

“Shiraishi-mama, save me!”

One or two would be fine. But if several fronts caught fire at once, his head really might have to take a boat trip.

The three watching from the side exchanged a glance and collectively chirped.

“So pathetic, boyfriend.”

“Now you know to be scared? Scumbag.”

“But they seem really friendly, though.”

Fuyuji opened his mouth, but no sound came out. In the end, he shut it.

‘That’s because you don’t know their other, hidden sides.’

“Don’t worry, Fuyuji.” Shiraishi’s nails lightly scratched his palm. Her water-soft voice flowed out, rippling across his heart. “This isn’t Fuyuji’s trial. It’s my trial. For the next week,” she paused, the corner of her mouth lifting, a strange light flickering in her violet eyes, “I’ll get to know them properly, and build good relationships with them.”