Shiina Hiyori picked out an air conditioner quickly.
In under fifteen minutes, following the clerk's advice, she selected a white wall-mounted model.
Since it was for single-person use, a wall unit was sufficient; the cylindrical floor units were mostly for shops. As for Ibuki Mio, Hiyori picked the sa model for her, as Ibuki had left everything in her hands, saying she could "completely relax" if Hiyori was the one choosing.
The clerk ntioned they would provide on-site installation, so Shimizu Akira didn't stay with Hiyori any longer.
Their date had effectively reached its conclusion. Installation takes ti, and staying behind wouldn't help much.
While Akira felt a slight pang of regret that they couldn't have dinner together, they attended the sa school; he could just invite her again another ti. It wasn't like they were never going to see each other again; in this school, everyone bumped into each other eventually.
"Shimizu-kouhai!"
Just as Akira stepped out of the electronics store, a voice called out from behind. Walking toward him was second-year student Asahina Nazuna.
Unlike Shiina Hiyori, who was wrapped up tightly for the cold, Asahina wore only her winter school uniform with stockings, leaving a section of her fair thighs exposed—looking quite cold indeed.
Asahina walked up to Akira and bowed her head slightly, her tone unusually serious. "Speaking of which, I haven't officially thanked you since the sports festival. For the ten-kiloter run, it was thanks to you finding my charm and running several laps with that I was able to finish, even if my result was near the bottom."
Akira had expected her to tease him as usual, so her sincerity took him by surprise. He waved his hands hurriedly.
"It was just a small favor, Senpai. Don't be so polite. Didn't you also help clear my na in the Student Council recently? Let's call it even."
"If you say so, then I won't be formal! I'm actually not very good at saying thank you," Asahina straightened up quickly, her usual cheerful smile returning instantly.
"By the way, why were you just staring at my legs? Little boys your age really do have inappropriate thoughts about their cute Senpais, don't they!"
There it was. One second after thanking him, she was back to her usual teasing self.
Akira twitched his mouth.
"I just thought it's the middle of winter, why are you dressed like this? Careful you don't get 'old cold legs' (rheumatism). Take my advice: at least wear so long johns when you go out."
Seeing his deadpan, serious face, Asahina couldn't help but burst out laughing. If these words ca from a sixty or seventy-year-old grandfather, she might have listened, but coming from a sixteen-year-old high school freshman, it was just adorable.
However, knowing he ant well, she stopped laughing and explained seriously: "Look, Kouhai, you haven't studied the school's dress code carefully. Even in winter, students can't just switch to sweatpants whenever they want."
"But today is a holiday. You don't have to follow those rules, do you?"
"Well, I actually just ca from the Student Council. They have strict dress requirents—just like during school hours, you have to wear the uniform."
"Winter break is almost here and the Student Council is still working overti on weekends?"
"Miyabi just took office less than two months ago, and there's too much to handle. Most council mbers probably won't have any free ti this winter break."
The Student Council had indeed been swamped.
Her childhood friend, Nagumo Miyabi, was not the lazy type; he was determined to overhaul many of the school's rules. But every ti he touched a rule, it was the people coordinating between the school and the council who suffered the most.
The back-and-forth negotiations alone ate up massive amounts of ti.
"Especially with winter setting in, many Class D students have co to complain about the AC issues. Several students have already caught colds and fevers. I was dealing with that today," Asahina sighed helplessly.
"As expected," Akira wasn't surprised at all. "If I may ask, what solution did the Student Council provide?"
"That... Miyabi's stance is for us to temporarily acknowledge their demands and provide a 'reasonable explanation and solution' later."
'That's too official!'
"And when exactly is 'later'?"
"Miyabi... didn't tell ."
'Definitely stalling' Akira thought.
Seeing Akira's speechless expression, Asahina felt a bit embarrassed. Regardless, Nagumo was her childhood friend and the current Student Council President.
She tried to explain: "Miyabi is soone who values his 'face' very much. He probably feels that retracting a rule he set personally would be humiliating."
"Senpai, this has nothing to do with 'face'!" Akira shook his head without hesitation.
"Even if a rule was a mistake, just apologize publicly and fix it. Is his ego more important than the students' health? Winter has only just begun; there are two months left."
As the Student Council President, Nagumo had an obligation to speak up for students to the administration.
The previous president, Horikita Manabu, would occasionally increase the budget for free basic als and use his own private points to reward students and encourage participation in special exams. But Nagumo, instead of seeking benefits for students, was finding ways to screw them over.
The gap was imnse.
Asahina was about to reply when her phone rang. She gave Akira an apologetic smile and turned to answer.
"Mmm? Miyabi? What is it?"
"You want to treat to sothing delicious? But I don't have much of an appetite lately. By the way, more than one person has asked—how do you plan to handle the heating in the Class D dorms?"
"Huh? You haven't even asked the administration yet?!"
"Wait! Why are you suddenly confessing to ? I'm totally lost! Miyabi, shouldn't you be busy with council business? Besides, your battle with forr President Horikita Manabu isn't even decided yet, right? No matter how you look at it, the timing is completely wrong!"
"Anyway, I'm talking to my Kouhai right now. I'll hang up and talk to you later."
Asahina wasn't far from Akira and didn't seem to care if he heard. He heard every word. The person on the other end was clearly Nagumo Miyabi.
He invited her to eat, and then suddenly confessed? Akira was once again shocked; today was truly an eye-opener.
'No way. They're childhood friends and he confesses over the phone?'
Even if he did, doing it right after brushing off a question about student welfare made it look like he was either trying to change the subject or was just insincere.
No wonder Asahina rejected him! No normal girl would accept such a perfunctory confession.
After hanging up, Asahina turned back and looked at Akira seriously.
"Shimizu-kouhai! Don't you dare repeat what you just said about Miyabi earlier. He has already taken control of the third-year Class C, and now nearly six classes are under his influence. Miyabi is very vengeful; people he targets don't end up well."
"Fine, I get it." Akira nodded.
He wasn't afraid of Nagumo, but he wouldn't talk back to a Senpai's kind warning.
However, he had stumbled onto a new piece of intel: Nagumo had already taken control of the third-year Class C. With graduation approaching, the "transfer to Class A" chip was an irresistible lure for the other three classes. This ant only Class B and A were left.
"Mm-hmm! Then let's go eat Oden! In this weather, it's the only thing to eat."
"So sudden, Senpai? Didn't you say you had no appetite?"
"Since my cute Kouhai is so obedient, I suddenly have an appetite! Let's go, Senpai's treat."
"Sure!" Akira agreed readily. It was winter, it was dinner ti—who could refuse a bowl of hot Oden?
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When Nagumo Miyabi put down his phone, his smile vanished, replaced by irritation.
"Nazuna rejected again?"
He had been confessing to his childhood friend since they were kids.
Thinking back, it had to be thirty or fifty tis. While he played around with other won, it was purely physical; for all these years, the only person he truly cared for was his childhood friend.
"Tch, no appetite? What a sha." Nagumo then opened Asahina's user profile and, as per his habit, checked her real-ti location.
The next second, his brows furrowed.
"Hanging up on only to go to a snack shop?"
In this school, adding a friend allowed you to see their real-ti location. He had figured this out shortly after enrollnt and used it occasionally to see what his childhood friend was up to. When she hung up, she said she was talking to a junior. But Nagumo was currently in the Student Council office; he could see Ichinose busy at her desk. The only first-year junior she was close to was Ichinose.
'So who is she eating with right now? Boy or girl?'
Nagumo felt like he was sitting on needles. He imdiately ssaged a subordinate and waited ten agonizing minutes for a call. He stepped into a deserted corner.
"Well?"
"President, Asahina-san is eating with a male student... it's Shimizu Akira!" The subordinate's voice ca through. Since Akira had stood out during the sports festival, he was easy to recognize.
Nagumo's face darkened instantly. His childhood friend rejects his confession and imdiately goes for snacks with another junior? No man could stomach that.
"Shimizu Akira again? Last ti he sucked up to during the run, and now that I've just beco President and am busy, he's swooping in, right?"
"President, they had been sitting for a while when I entered. They're eating Oden. I'm at the next table and I heard... it seems Asahina-san was the one who invited Shimizu Akira," the subordinate added hesitantly.
"What?" A naless fire surged in Nagumo's heart.
"She was the proactive one?"
He could count the tis his childhood friend proactively treated soone to a al on one hand, and she gave one to a junior she barely knew? He quickly tried to save face.
"Hmph, it must be a return favor for him finding her charm last ti. No big deal."
Despite his words, the desire to "kill" Akira was barely hidden in his eyes.
"They aren't doing anything out of line, are they?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Uh... so far no, just normal chatting."
"About what?"
"Mmm... mostly Asahina-san talking about her recent frustrations, and Shimizu Akira listening and comforting her. For instance, she said she was worried about losing things, and Akira joked about writing her na and contact info on things she's prone to losing so they'd always co back. She burst out laughing and looks visibly happy."
'Frustrations? Why not talk to ?!' Nagumo thought.
'I'm not soone who doesn't know how to relieve a friend's stress!'
He knew she was prone to losing things, yet this guy "solved" it with such a simple suggestion?
Leaving aside the silliness of the thod, it actually did solve the issue of her dropping her charm.
'This guy really knows how to please and comfort girls!'
Since he wasn't there, Nagumo's mind began to fill with images of Akira and Asahina sitting together, her laughing and playfully hitting his shoulder.
He felt a ss of emotions—mostly pure jealousy.
Since entering this school, he was usually the one "NTR-ing" others. When had he ever been on the receiving end? No wonder the n whose girlfriends he stole wanted to beat him up.
'Damn it, I want to beat up Shimizu Akira right now!'
"President! Not good! They seem to have noticed ! Asahina seems to have sensed sothing and is walking this way! I—I'm hanging up!"
The call cut out. Two seconds later, it rang again: Asahina Nazuna.
He hesitated but answered.
"Miyabi?! Why did your subordinate hang up and run out so frantically? What are you doing? Are you stalking ?!"
'Damn it! That subordinate is so spineless! Good for nothing! Never using him again!' Nagumo cursed inwardly while trying to sound calm.
"No, no! I'm not stalking you! He just happened to run into you and thought it was interesting, so he called to report it. Truly, nothing else."
"Is that so?"
"Of course! How could I stalk you? We've been friends for years. Think back—have I ever done sothing like that?"
"Now that you ntion it... I guess not."
'Sotis having a childhood friend who isn't the brightest isn't a bad thing.'
In reality, he had done plenty: scaring off boys who approached her, timing his walk to school with hers, even dropping caterpillars on her path just to see her reaction.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Akira's steady voice drifted through the phone.
"I don't think so. That senpai entered shortly after we sat down. It looked like he was following Asahina-senpai specifically."
'Crap! With Shimizu Akira whispering in her ear, she won't be as easy to fool!'
"Miyabi? Shimizu-kouhai wouldn't lie to ! Are you really..."
"Then he did it on his own! He must have seen you in the shop and wanted to show off his 'diligence' to ! You know I just beca President; many people are trying to suck up to ." Nagumo thought fast and threw his subordinate under the bus.
"Miyabi says that. What do you think, Shimizu-kouhai?"
'Again! Why do you keep asking for his opinion!'
"If President Nagumo explains it that way, then let's leave it at that."
"Okay! Then if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up, Miyabi! My Oden with Shimizu-kouhai isn't finished yet!"
Click. The call ended, leaving Nagumo grinding his teeth at the dial tone.
"She just hung up?!" They didn't even say a hundred words total. Was the only purpose of her call to ask that? Was the phone call just part of their "play"?
Wait! This was his own favorite move against guys eyeing his childhood friend—letting them watch him talk intimately with her without giving them a chance to speak!
Karma is a cycle, and now his own move was being used against him!
'It hurts!'
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Nagumo put down his phone and returned to the Student Council office, sitting heavily in his chair.
"President Nagumo, here are the docunts you requested." Ichinose Honami stepped forward and handed over a tidy stack of materials.
"Put them there, I'll look later," Nagumo waved her off dismissively. His mind was full of Akira and Asahina eating Oden; he was too tilted to work.
"Ichinose-kouhai, thank you for your hard work and for staying late. You've been a huge help."
"I'm the only first-year in the council; I couldn't just leave the Senpais behind. Besides, you helped contact the third-year teachers for the last exam. It's my job, and I want to repay the favor."
"Hehe, little Honami-chan is so cute and sensible. Soone as cute as you must have a boyfriend, right? If not, want to introduce soone?"
"That... I don't have a boyfriend currently, but there is soone I want to beco closer with, so I won't trouble you, Senpai."
Nagumo's gaze drifted.
A few other council girls had finished their work and were chatting and laughing around Ichinose. She was quite popular—sweet, reliable, hardworking, and optimistic. Who wouldn't like a girl like that? Even in the workforce, she would be highly sought after. During the election, she received many votes.
But... that "person she wants to be closer with" is almost certainly Shimizu Akira.
Nagumo hadn't forgotten seeing them on a date at the cinema when he was with his own female companion.
'So they aren't officially dating yet?'
If he could move on Ichinose, he could satisfy his own possessiveness and strike back at Akira at the sa ti. Let him feel the pain of having soone stolen away.
But there was no rush. The council was busy, and his mood was foul. He dialed another number.
"Good evening, President." A familiar voice answered.
"Nagumo? You're the President now. Why call that?"
"Sorry, sorry, habit," Nagumo chuckled. In his heart, he felt Horikita Manabu was worthy of the title.
"So, what do you want?"
"President, during the next training camp exam, I will settle the score with you. I called just to tell you that."
"Is that so? Understood."
Click.
The call was cut short. But this ti Nagumo didn't mind; he even smiled. That was Manabu—concise and direct.
"President, oh President," he leaned back, a look of triumph in his eyes.
"Now only the third-year Class B hasn't submitted. I really want to see your face when you are besieged by the other classes and left with no one to turn to."
Of course, Nagumo didn't plan to attack Manabu directly. It was more interesting to destroy the people he cared about. Like his assistant Tachibana Akane, or his precious sister, Horikita Suzune.
And Shimizu Akira? Last ti, he held back out of respect for Manabu.
Next exam, he'd settle all scores and take him down too!
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