A week had quietly slipped by since that small, yet memorable competition.
And in Hara Kei's head, two words filled every corner of his mind—"This is bad."
It was lunchtime, and in his so-called "private lounge" (question mark very much included), Hara Kei was currently in deep self-reflection.
Originally, his plan had been simple: build up a "hopeless deadweight" persona—a useless pretty face that even mud couldn't hold up—so Yukinoshita Yukino would lose interest in him.But somehow, against all odds… he ended up carrying the whole team.
And now, not only Yukinoshita Yukino, but even Tōma Kazusa seemed to have gotten involved with him.
Fortunately, he and Kazusa weren't in the same class. During lunch breaks and after school, she was usually buried in piano practice—apparently more than eight hours a day—so the only time they ever crossed paths was in the mornings, on the way to school.
That, he could tolerate.
After all, before Kazusa showed up, there was already another early-morning menace—a certain pink-haired oddball who liked to ambush him on his way to school.Ever since Kazusa's arrival, that pink-haired woman had vanished completely.
Kazusa only stole one of his earbuds.Fujibayashi Chika, on the other hand, would take both earbuds and force him into full-blown conversation mode.
Hmm…Come to think of it, wasn't that technically an upgrade?
That said, even in class, the frequency of Fujibayashi's pestering had sharply declined.Whenever their eyes met, the smile on her face seemed… slightly forced.
Could it be—she actually disliked him now?
If that were true, then honestly, that'd be perfect.
Although such thoughts ran through his head, Hara Kei didn't feel the slightest trace of regret.
Back during the whole "Kazusa incident," when he claimed to be "a fan of Tōma Kazusa" and said things like "I just want to hear you play again," those weren't empty words. He meant them.
And when all was said and done, Hara Kei hadn't really lost anything in that event.If anything, he'd regained something extremely important to him—peace of mind.
If he hadn't stepped in, perhaps Kazusa would've eventually found her way out of that pit, either on her own or with someone else's help.But there was also the chance she would've fallen deeper—completely giving up the piano she once loved.
If it were the former, everyone would've been happy. But if it were the latter, then he'd have been guilty of "standing by and doing nothing."
When you have the ability to help—and you see someone drowning right in front of you—you step in.Otherwise, you'll never feel at peace.
That, in a nutshell, was Hara Kei's guiding principle.
"What's this?"Yukinoshita Yukino's delicate brows curved slightly as she looked at the sheet of paper Shizuka Hiratsuka had just pulled out.
That's right. Although Hara Kei liked to insist that this room was his private lounge, in reality, two other people visited it regularly:Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka.
He had once tried to hypnotize himself into thinking of them as "strangers sitting nearby," like random people sharing a library table or train seat.That illusion didn't last long.
Because strangers don't strike up conversations every five minutes.
"As you can see," said Hiratsuka, pointing to the header of the document, "this is a club application form."
"I'll remind you both," she continued with a sly grin, "while you two have been acting like this classroom is your rightful territory, technically speaking, it's still property of St. Eden Academy, and under the jurisdiction of the student council."
She raised a finger for emphasis, eyes glinting mischievously."So if someone were to report that you've been using it without permission…" Her sharp, beautiful eyes narrowed with mock menace. "Then this little classroom would go—bam!—" She clapped her hands loudly for effect. "—and get taken back by the student council, then reassigned to another club."
Unfortunately, she wasn't exaggerating.
Given Hara Kei's personality, there was no way he had properly filed an application when he started using the room. No forms, no approval, no process. Which meant that for the past month or so, he had technically been squatting here.
"So," Hiratsuka said, waving the form with a teasing flourish, "if you actually want the rights to use this classroom, you'll need this. Start a club—officially. That way, you can legally claim the room as your club's activity base."
"Tempting, right?"
Yukino nodded slightly and took the paper from her."The requirements for forming a club are… one faculty advisor," she paused, glancing toward Hiratsuka—who proudly puffed out her chest—"and three members."
She placed extra emphasis on "three," then frowned."So we still need one more person…"
Naturally, she had already counted Hara Kei as a member.
He didn't bother to argue.
Just as migratory birds need a resting spot mid-journey, he too needed somewhere like this—a place to pause and breathe.
"The notes section says members can't hold multiple club memberships," Yukino added, scanning the form, "so Tōma Kazusa can't help us."
At St. Eden Academy, "clubs" were the evolved form of "interest groups"—the embryonic stage of an official student organization.Since club size determined their budget allocation, the school strictly prohibited students from joining more than one club.And because of that same funding issue, every club in the academy had gone all-out recruiting new members.By now—over a month into the semester—students who still hadn't joined anything were a rare species.
Yukino clearly realized this too."...When's the deadline?" she asked calmly.
"There isn't a fixed one," Hiratsuka replied. "But I'd say the sooner, the better. You never know when a snitch might show up, right?"
Yukino nodded, brow furrowed, falling into thoughtful silence.
Meanwhile, Hara Kei sat off to the side, quietly reading his book as if none of this concerned him.
He had no intention of helping out this time.
First off, he could say without pride—he didn't really have any friends at St. Eden Academy.And second, he refused to play babysitter to Yukinoshita Yukino.
She was the one who had decided to run for student council president, not him.So she should take the lead herself, not treat him like some puppet on strings.
If anything, Yukino was the player here.Her goal was to clear the "Academy arc," and Hara Kei was clearly just her starter companion.
After his "useless pretty boy" persona had completely crumbled, he'd reassigned himself a new title—"Newbie's Best Friend."
That kind of early-game character who's helpful in the beginning, but gets benched the moment the next update rolls around.
He had no intention of becoming a core meta unit.
That was the path to an early grave.