After-school time arrived. When Ryunosuke stood up to head to the student council room, he was blocked by Ayanokouji.
Ayanokouji stared at him with his usual flat gaze. "You, come help Horikita."
"Huh?" Ryunosuke pointed at himself confusedly. "You're telling me to help Horikita? On what basis?"
"On the basis that you sold me out. The reason Chabashira-sensei is watching me is your doing, isn't it?"
Ryunosuke instantly fell silent. That was indeed his doing, and he couldn't argue. He knew he couldn't hide it from Ayanokouji, but he didn't expect the young man to realize it this quickly. This truly left him speechless.
Seeing Ayanokouji continue to stare at him calmly, Ryunosuke shrugged resignedly and agreed to the request. He immediately called Manabu to ask permission not to come to the student council.
Once Manabu knew that Ryunosuke was absent to help his sister, the Student Council President immediately gave permission without hesitation. In fact, he gave additional leave for several days for fear Ryunosuke wouldn't have enough time.
Ryunosuke could only think inwardly how much these people liked to impose their will.
Suzune led a group consisting of three people, plus one more: Megumi.
The problem was, Megumi's presence was very thin; aside from Ryunosuke, everyone seemed to unconsciously ignore her.
Suzune brought them to the cafeteria, not only to eat, but also to discuss the next steps.
Ayanokouji gave initial advice, "We need to find a way to stabilize class morale. If we want them to acknowledge Horikita, we must show real results."
Ryunosuke nodded in agreement. "Right. The majority of students in Class D don't like Horikita. To make them acknowledge her position as leader, we must prove it with actions to shut their mouths."
Suddenly, Megumi spoke in an innocent tone, "Why am I also dragged into this?"
Suzune and Ayanokouji were shocked simultaneously. "You're here too, Kato-san?!"
Megumi sighed. "Never mind, I'm used to it..."
Ayanokouji's face remained flat, but in his heart he felt very surprised.
(This girl named Kato... I didn't notice her presence near me at all throughout today. What kind of technique is that? I want to learn it...)
Ayanokouji thought if he had that ability, he could live the life of an ordinary person perfectly. While stroking his chin, a naughty thought crossed his mind.
(If I had that ability, could I enter the women's bath without being caught?)
Megumi's calm eyes trembled slightly, she stared at Ayanokouji who was daydreaming. "Please don't think about dirty things like that. Going to the women's bath is wrong."
Ayanokouji's pupils instantly widened.
(How is that possible? She realized what I was thinking in my heart...)
The two stared at each other. Megumi again guessed what was in Ayanokouji's mind. "Not really, I can't read minds."
This time Ayanokouji truly lost his composure. He suddenly stood upright, his eyes even emitting a slight killing aura. Someone who could guess what he was thinking was a great threat to him.
Ryunosuke realized something was wrong and immediately blocked in front of Megumi. "What are you going to do, Ayanokouji?"
Seeing the figure protecting her, the corner of Megumi's lips formed a very beautiful thin curve, though no one noticed.
"Akasaka-kun is really a good person..." she whispered softly.
On the other side, Ryunosuke was sweating coldly. He didn't expect Ayanokouji's reaction to be this big. He didn't know exactly what happened, only knew that Megumi had just guessed something that made the loner emotional. He wasn't ready to become Ayanokouji's enemy, at least not now.
After staring at each other for a while, Ayanokouji finally canceled his intention. He sat back down while staring deeply at Megumi. For the first time in his life, he felt interested in a woman.
Seeing Ayanokouji continue to stare at her, Megumi spoke again, "Ayanokouji-kun, staring at a girl like that is very rude—"
Before she could finish speaking, Ryunosuke immediately covered Megumi's mouth. In his heart he screamed.
(My dear lady! Please be quiet for a moment, I beg you! Don't make our Final Boss angry and force me to fight him now, I can't win against him yet!)
Suzune who watched the incident felt confused and frowned. "What are you all doing? Aren't we going to discuss Class D? What's the meaning of all this strange behavior?"
Ayanokouji answered briefly, "It's nothing."
Ryunosuke breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time, he felt grateful for Suzune's ignorance that helped cool the atmosphere. He looked at her with full gratitude.
Being stared at like that made Suzune feel strange and suddenly annoyed. She kicked Ryunosuke's leg under the table hard to vent the uncomfortable feeling that appeared out of nowhere. After kicking, she felt much better.
Ryunosuke didn't protest the kick, he instead immediately diverted the topic of conversation. He secretly glanced toward Megumi behind him.
(So you have a hidden ability like that, really beyond my expectations...)
Megumi again guessed Ryunosuke's thoughts. "I don't have superpowers, you know, Akasaka-kun."
"Still saying you don't?! You just guessed my thoughts again!" Ryunosuke spontaneously protested.
(This world should be a Slice of Life genre, right? There won't suddenly be space earthquakes or strange Spirits, right?)
Megumi tilted her head cutely. "Although I don't know exactly what you're thinking, supernatural phenomena like that seem impossible to exist."
Ryunosuke was truly shocked. "You really don't have superpowers, Kato-san...?"
"I don't, Akasaka-kun."
The more he stared at Megumi, the more Ryunosuke felt this girl was terrifying. How could he use someone who could read his intentions at any time? In front of this girl, he felt like being stripped naked.
Megumi's face reddened, she turned her face away and muttered curtly, "Akasaka-kun, pervert!"