Shiina Mahiru had no idea.
Just one glance in a certain direction, and her bestie in class nearly exploded.
Back in her seat, she once again became the shining image of a perfect honors student.
Just by sitting upright, her posture elegant and natural, she had the boys in class sneaking glances at her flawless figure and goddess-tier side profile.
Actually… there were even a few girls stealing glances.
Hayashi Maki noticed this and felt oddly smug.
Thank goodness Mahiru always wears those full-cover black stockings. Those long, slender legs? Only I've seen them bare. Only I've touched them.
Her outfit was airtight—nothing would show even if the wind blew her skirt up. Plus, she wore safety shorts underneath.
Meanwhile, Miura Yumiko was also eyeing Mahiru, clearly observing her.
Yumiko was beautiful too, but personality-wise, she was much more headstrong.
She would often flirt with Hayama Hayato, inviting him to tennis on the weekends and casually asking him out.
Though… Hayato always made sure to drag Tobe Sho and a few low-profile friends along.
Still, Yumiko figured anyone with a brain should be able to tell she liked Hayato.
Shiina wouldn't try to steal him, right?
...Well, I'll just test her later and find out.
…
Meanwhile — at the offices of Fushikawa Bunko.
Editor Machida Sonoko had just arrived at her desk, starting her usual morning routine of checking submissions and pestering authors.
Reviewing submissions was fine.
Pestering authors?
That was hell.
Especially when it came to one particular best-selling author—Kasumigaoka Utaha, pen name Kasumi Utako—who sold 500,000 copies of her debut volume.
But recently? She was deep in writer's block.
The second volume she submitted? Night and day compared to the first.
Sonoko was getting migraines just thinking about it.
"Ugh… Isn't there any new talent out there? Someone write something good already—let me live off your royalties!"
Grumbling, she clicked through her inbox.
One subject line caught her eye:
"Yoshiteru General War Chronicles."
Yoshiteru… That's probably referring to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the 13th Shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, right? Is this one of those reincarnated-historical-figure-in-modern-times stories?
She gave it a chance.
Exactly one minute later, she slammed her mouse on the desk.
"What the hell is this?! Half the lines are chuunibyou nonsense I don't even understand—and don't get me started on the typos! Are we sure this person passed elementary school Japanese?!"
The protagonist acted like a maniac, and the dialogue made zero sense.
She glanced at the pen name:
"Super General—."
Rejected. Instantly.
Sipping her red tea to calm her poor soul, Sonoko kept scrolling.
Then—
Another title caught her attention:
"There's Definitely Something Wrong With This Love Story Between a Tsundere Twin-Tail and a Black-Stocking Senpai."
Now that is a title.
She clicked on it. The sheer chaos of the name intrigued her.
Tsundere twin-tail? Black stocking senpai? Okay, okay, four tropes in one—let's see what you've got.
As she started reading, Sonoko quickly found herself hooked.
The author, pen name Kurosaki Twilight, was writing from a male perspective.
The story followed a rom-com triangle between a childhood friend—the fiery blonde twin-tail Hoshino Nagi—and a teasing upperclassman who always wore black stockings—Tsukimi Miyabi.
Both heroines were distinct, memorable, and full of character.
But something about Tsukimi Miyabi struck her as… familiar.
White hairband. Stockings. The cool, sharp tongue.
That air of superiority…
Wait a second… isn't this just Kasumigaoka Utaha with a different name?!
Sonoko's face froze.
"If Utaha sees this, she's so going to flip…"
Man, I can't wait to show her.
Of course, Sonoko didn't know the author had written a final volume where the two heroines fell for each other, and the male protagonist ended up with a random background character.
If she did know, she'd probably hunt Hayashi Maki down and beat him with a manuscript.
Still, impressed with what she read, Sonoko sent an email to Kurosaki Twilight inviting him to meet and discuss a publishing contract.
…
Back at school, during second period—
Hayashi Maki checked his messages mid-game.
Oh? Machida Sonoko replied already?
That meant he passed the screening.
He quickly replied and scheduled a weekend morning meeting.
Hell yeah!
Feeling great, he leaned back and glanced up—just in time to spot Kato Megumi quietly reading a book.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and handed it to her.
Megumi tilted her head in confusion.
"What's this, Hayashi-kun?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Give me your number. Quickly. Be smart about it."
Megumi's lips twitched.
Am I being threatened into giving my phone number?
…First time for everything, I guess.
She took his phone and entered her number obediently.
Hayashi Maki immediately called it, confirmed her phone rang, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Nice. Now I can bother you whenever I want. Be prepared, Kato-san."
Megumi gave him a flat look and waved her hand dismissively.
"I mean, I am impressed you remembered me, but please don't actually harass me."
"Can't help it. I've decided I'll bug you once a day, minimum. Gotta deepen the impression."
"...You really don't have to 'harass' me to do that."
"Too late. You're my classmate now—embrace the chaos."
"That's a crime. You know that, right?"
Hayashi Maki put on a serious face.
"It's only a crime if I get caught. So zip it and don't tell anyone."
Megumi: "…"
She definitely felt like she was being toyed with.
But Hayashi Maki's tone was so serious, her heart skipped a beat.
He… he's not actually going to call me every day… right?!
~~~
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