Returning to their original spots, Yamamura Miki seemed quite curious about the interaction between the two.
Just as Kaoru opened his novel, his phone quickly received a message.
[Were you trying to lure Shiina into joining the Student Council?]
He had originally thought Yamamura was somewhat naive, so he was surprised she could detect such subtleties.
He glanced at her and found her deliberately turning away with an expressionless face.
Soon after, he received another message from her.
[Seems like I guessed right (╯3╰)]
[Was I that obvious?]
[Very obvious. To girls, your gaze is particularly telling -_-]
[My gaze?]
[It's so calm that it actually makes your emotions easier to read (X_X;)]
[What about how I look at you?]
[...]
Yamamura Miki raised her pretty face and met Kaoru's gaze.
The two remained silent.
Kaoru didn't receive her answer - such mysterious eye contact was probably entirely subjective to personal interpretation.
However, after a while, she sent another message.
[Did something happen between you and Airi?]
As part of their small group, Yamamura Miki had also noticed subtle changes in Sakura Airi recently.
For instance, she no longer seemed constantly worried and had gained some inexplicable confidence.
Even when Hasebe Haruka teased her, she didn't respond as timidly as before.
Yamamura had begun suspecting that something might have happened between the two without her knowledge.
[During Spring Break, Airi and I got together. Sorry, I haven't had the chance to tell you all yet.]
Right after sending this message, Kaoru heard a loud thud.
Turning around, he saw Yamamura Miki frantically picking up her phone, then accidentally bumping her head against the table with a loud "thump."
"Oww!"
Yamamura covered her head with tears welling in her eyes, leaving Kaoru momentarily stunned.
"Yamamura-san, are you okay?"
Shiina Hiyori reacted quickly, immediately helping Yamamura up.
"Did you hit your head?"
"N-no, I'm fine! It was just an accident!"
Clutching her phone, Yamamura stammered, "I have something to attend to, I-I need to go!"
Without waiting for Kaoru to speak, she had already hurried away, not daring to look at his expression throughout her escape.
"What's wrong with her?"
Shiina Hiyori watched the fleeing girl with confusion.
"I don't know."
Kaoru shook his head.
He genuinely didn't understand what Yamamura Miki was thinking - he had merely told her the truth, never expecting such a strong reaction from her.
Shiina Hiyori thought for a moment and decided she would message Yamamura later, hoping nothing unfortunate had happened.
...
"Hey, are you seniors looking for partners?"
At the sound of a cheerful voice, Horikita Suzune, who had been deep in thought, looked up to see a girl standing gracefully nearby, apparently having overheard their previous conversation.
"Who are you?"
Sudo Ken expressed surprise at the girl's sudden appearance.
Beside him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was also seeing this girl for the first time.
"My name is Amasawa Ichika. Unlike those others from before, I'm from Class 1-A."
Amasawa Ichika wore a smile as her gaze swept over Sudo Ken and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, finally settling on Horikita Suzune.
"My current academic rating is A. What about you senpais?"
The sudden appearance of a top student surprised Horikita Suzune, but she still introduced herself.
"I'm Horikita from Class 2-C, with an academic rating of A-. These are Ayanokoji and Sudo from my class."
Actually, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had learned about Horikita Suzune's plans for the day and had taken the initiative to follow her more actively than usual.
Since he had come along, Sudo Ken naturally followed as well.
Horikita Suzune didn't overthink it and simply brought along her two "bodyguards," intending to try contacting some first-year students.
Earlier, she had approached several students from Class 1-D. She had expected Hosen Kazuo to be troublesome, but the trouble turned out to be even more problematic than she imagined.
When she tested the waters, the first-years immediately demanded 500,000 Personal Points, specifically emphasizing that this was Hosen's condition—they wouldn't cooperate with anyone for less than that amount.
Not only that, they mentioned that both Class 2-A and Class 2-D were also approaching them, with both classes attempting to bribe the top first-year students using Personal Points.
It seemed this would evolve into a war over the new students, though Horikita Suzune had no intention of getting involved.
While she didn't know what gave Ryuen the confidence to act this way, Class 2-A undoubtedly possessed vast amounts of Personal Points.
Even if Class 2-C emptied all their class funds, Horikita Suzune didn't believe they could win against them.
Moreover, Class 2-C currently didn't have many Personal Points to begin with.
Despite understanding this, Horikita Suzune still frowned deeply. Class 2-C was clearly in a difficult position, and she hadn't yet found a solution.
"Oh? Another smart one," Amasawa Ichika looked Horikita Suzune up and down. "With such excellent academic ability, hasn't Horikita-senpai found a partner yet?"
Sudo Ken felt somewhat awkward—it was actually him who hadn't found a partner.
"No, I'm helping Sudo find a partner," Horikita Suzune paused. "Besides him, there are several other problematic students in our class."
Amasawa Ichika asked curiously, "Is Sudo-senpai's academic ability very low?"
"The school's evaluation is E+," Horikita Suzune replied.
"Eh, that's really bad then. No wonder Horikita-senpai is worried," Amasawa Ichika appeared thoughtful.
"If he can't find a partner rated B or above, Sudo-senpai would be at risk of expulsion."
As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka beside them.
"My academic rating is C, so I'm fine for now," Ayanokoji said, as if anticipating her question. "If you haven't formed a team yet, could we ask you to partner with Sudo?"
Horikita Suzune looked at him in surprise.
Though she felt somewhat strange about his abrupt request, since she had the same idea herself, she remained silent and waited for Amasawa Ichika's response.
"Aha, has Ayanokoji-senpai taken a liking to me?" Amasawa Ichika showed a faint smile. "But if I partner with Sudo-senpai, our ranking would probably be quite low, wouldn't it?"
Horikita Suzune's heart sank. It seemed miracles didn't happen for free.
Given Amasawa Ichika's level, it was natural she would look down on Sudo Ken, and Horikita couldn't blame her for that.
"My apologies, that was presumptuous of me." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka apologized to this junior.
At that moment, Amasawa Ichika suddenly blinked.
"I'm not rejecting you though senpai?"
Horikita Suzune was slightly taken aback, and even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Sudo Ken were caught off guard.
"Wait, are you saying you can team up with Sudo-kun?"