Kaoru waved goodbye to Komiya Kaho, then noticed Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi hadn't left immediately.
Both were staring at him.
"What... what is your relationship with her?"
Sakura Airi asked somewhat fiercely.
She believed that, as Kaoru's girlfriend, she had the right to know.
"My relationship with Kaho is a bit special.
"We've known each other for a long time, she's quite attached to me. But don't worry, we don't have any intimate interactions now."
As he spoke, even Kaoru himself felt like he was spouting player lines.
Hasebe Haruka wore a look of watching a drama unfold.
Like Sakayanagi Arisu, she knew the inside story, and seeing Kaoru forced to lie inexplicably pleased her.
"R-really?"
Sakura Airi looked at Kaoru with suspicion. "But... but you two were standing too close! Really too close!"
The girl before him had puffed out her cheeks.
She was particularly bothered by the distance between Komiya Kaho and Kaoru.
This kind of closeness couldn't be explained away as just childhood friends or playing house—Komiya Kaho definitely had feelings for Kaoru.
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Kaoru said with utmost seriousness.
"If there were something between us, I would definitely tell you. Even if there were circumstances forcing me to keep it secret, I would never hurt you."
Hearing this, Sakura Airi grew embarrassed, as it felt like a confession.
Especially with Hasebe Haruka standing beside her, she felt very shy, experiencing the shame of having her relationship exposed to an acquaintance, along with a faint sense of happiness.
"I... I believe you."
Sakura Airi lowered her head shyly, her voice soft. "If something does happen between you two, you must tell me."
Although Sakura Airi had gradually accepted the reality of the harem, she still felt jealous when appropriate.
For example, if Kaoru spent a day with someone else, she would want him to spend two days with her.
She couldn't accept Kaoru hiding things from her and sneaking around outside every day.
It made her feel cheated and very angry.
"I definitely will." Kaoru smiled slightly, showing no signs of guilt.
Hasebe Haruka truly admired his ability to lie without batting an eye, but she could also understand why he deliberately concealed the situation with Komiya Kaho.
Probably even he hadn't figured out how to handle it yet.
"Setting aside Komiya for now, what about the relationship between you two?" Hasebe Haruka wore a mischievous grin.
"Airi put so much effort into making your bento—don't you have anything to say?"
Sakura Airi immediately blushed but remained silent, stealing glances at Kaoru's reaction.
"My thoughts? I think Airi's bento is delicious—so delicious I could eat it for a lifetime."
Kaoru barely blinked, giving off a sincere vibe.
Sakura Airi's face turned even redder.
It sounded like he was asking her to make bento for him forever, but the thought didn't feel bad at all.
"So, you want to be with Airi for life?" Hasebe Haruka was practically throwing a straight ball. Seeing Kaoru nod, she found it somewhat amusing.
"Don't forget about Ichinose and the others. Would you eat everyone's bento if they made them for you?"
"If everyone made me bento, I'd have to take them all."
Kaoru paused. "Even if it's from you, Kaka-chan, I'd feel the same."
Hasebe Haruka froze.
She hadn't expected Kaoru to bring her up. Did that mean he'd eat her bento too?
"Keep bragging. You'll burst one day."
Hasebe Haruka bit her lip.
She had originally wanted him to pay more attention to Sakura Airi, but now her own feelings were in disarray.
"I-I'll do my best if Kaoru-kun wants to eat it..." Sakura Airi inexplicably grew excited. "Kaka-chan's cooking is actually really good too. She taught me..."
"You're dead, Airi!" Hasebe Haruka, flushed bright red, covered her friend's mouth.
Even if she wanted to throw herself at him, you couldn't just say it out loud!
Wait—she shouldn't throw herself at him.
At the very least, she should make Kaoru pursue her properly.
This was important—it would determine their future dynamic: whether she'd be on top or Kaoru would.
She wouldn't throw herself at him like Sakura Airi did.
Wouldn't that make her seem too easy?
"Don't get your hopes up!" Hasebe Haruka glared at Kaoru before forcibly dragging Sakura Airi away.
"Ignore this pervert! Let's go, Airi!"
Kaoru watched them leave.
Truly, youthful, energetic girls were the cutest.
"Tch, how many girls have you hooked up with anyway?"
Ryuen Kakeru's voice came from behind.
Kaoru turned to see Ryuen and Ishizaki emerging from around the corridor corner.
"If you're so concerned, you should hide the girls in your class better, lest I charm them all."
Ryuen Kakeru snorted coldly.
Such provocation wouldn't affect him, though he was somewhat curious about whether Kaoru had the Hypnosis App.
"Weren't you in class earlier?" Kaoru found it strange.
Why was Ryuen asking this?
"Some freshmen came by earlier—they're from Class D themselves, yet they looked down on us!" Ishizaki couldn't hold back, feeling angry because the newcomers clearly held hostility toward Ryuen.
"Enough, Ishizaki." Ryuen spoke calmly. "Hosen is just a muscle-brained fool. No need to mind him."
It was clear something had happened among the second-years while Kaoru was enjoying his lunch break.
"Recently, Class A has been trying to recruit freshmen using Personal points. That's Sakayanagi's idea, isn't it?" Ryuen sneered, "That's all she's capable of. But you should be careful—you might be the one in trouble this time."
Kaoru was about to ask if it was Nagumo Miyabi, but then a thought occurred to him, and he raised an eyebrow.
"You don't actually think there's something going on between me and Ibuki, do you?"
Ryuen Kakeru smiled: "You're panicking, Mitoma. I haven't even said anything yet, and you've already exposed yourself. As expected, whenever it involves people close to you, you'll inevitably get flustered. What a pathetic weakness."
"I just wanted to say that Ibuki is quite nice."
Kaoru acted as if he didn't understand what he was talking about.
"Hmph, keep pretending to be tough."
Ryuen Kakeru sneered coldly, "I'll eventually uncover your people. Don't think I don't know who you gave your Praise Vote to."
Kaoru seemed to freeze for a moment, and Ryuen curled a faint smile.
"Is it necessary to stare at me like that?"
Kaoru sounded somewhat helpless.
"You called yourself the Apex during the entrance ceremony. Just wait for the ending you deserve."
Ryuen felt he had already grasped Kaoru's weakness, yet he also felt somewhat irritated.
Because he had sacrificed someone but didn't achieve the expected outcome.
It was strange—why hadn't the agency reacted at all?
Ryuen thought the agency would capture that person and bring them back, and he expected to see Kaoru's panicked expression. Instead, nothing happened at all.
Could it not be the actual person?
Fortunately, he wasn't particularly invested in this matter.
Since it didn't succeed, Ryuen wouldn't dwell on it further.
Instead, he felt this confirmed that Kaoru was a target he needed to focus all his efforts on eliminating.
Watching Ryuen and Ishizaki turn and head toward the Class 2-D classroom, Kaoru recalled the photo Asakura Toru had mentioned and couldn't help but feel this delinquent might be quite troublesome.
He picked up his phone.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had already reported the earlier incident to him, and Kei Karuizawa, Horikita Suzune, and Kamuro Masumi had also sent him numerous messages.
Kaoru replied to each of their messages one by one, then put away his phone.
Tomorrow was a day off.
He might as well go to the library.
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