Even though Sakayanagi said that, Ichinose couldn't deny she had a point.
She was the class leader now, and everyone accepted her in that role. If she started dating in this situation, it really would seem irresponsible.
But Ichinose wasn't thinking about dating in high school anyway.
She had a lot of friends, and plenty of people liked her, but love just wasn't something on her mind right now.
So maybe Sakayanagi didn't need to bring it up at all.
[Obviously.]
A voice like a narrator echoed in Shirogane's mind.
[Sakayanagi is clearly trying to mess with Ichinose.]
Yeah.
Shirogane got it.
But he also felt like Sakayanagi was using this as a message for him too.
Ichinose's class had fallen behind. If she got distracted by romance, that wouldn't help their chances of bouncing back.
And on the flip side, even though Shirogane's class was on the rise, his goal was to reach Class A — so getting caught up in feelings like that wasn't smart either.
Of course—
He also had a massive task on his shoulders: dealing with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, the "final boss," tied to a 20-million-point value.
Ayanokouji came from a special institution. Even if he was living a peaceful school life now and not pushing forward, his strength was just on pause — not gone.
So this was the chance to catch up.
That's why—
Shirogane realized that Sakayanagi was warning him too. He needed to give everything he had to the exams and the fight against Ayanokouji, not waste time chasing romance.
After all—
Love eats up a lot of time and energy. Shirogane had never been in love before, but he still knew that it could drain your focus and mess with your studies.
And right now, he didn't even have someone to date — and definitely didn't have the free time for it.
So Shirogane decided to go home tonight and do an extra set of practice problems.
[?]
[Shirogane-kun, what are you suddenly thinking about?]
But Shirogane noticed that his inner narrator sounded confused.
Though—
He hadn't said anything to it or written any notes in his journal just now.
Still, with other people around, his attention wasn't on that voice at all.
"Sakayanagi's words were a good reminder," he said.
Then Shirogane added, "I also think dating in high school just doesn't make sense."
"Oh."
Sakayanagi seemed a bit surprised that Shirogane suddenly spoke to her.
It took her a few seconds to respond.
Or maybe she just didn't get what he meant.
What does it mean to say that high school romance doesn't make sense?
Does that mean he's already decided not to date during high school?
So… was he hinting at that just now?
[There's no hope.]
At that moment, the narrator system seemed to blurt something out unconsciously.
But with someone else around, Shirogane didn't want to seem strange.
Since Sakayanagi was also there, Shirogane politely said, "I'm heading to the cafeteria with Ichinose later. Would you like to join us, Sakayanagi?"
"So, it's dinner then."
Sakayanagi Arisu took out her phone and checked the time—6:50 p.m.
It was already a bit late for dinner.
"It's a rare invitation, but I usually finish eating by 6:30."
"So I'll have to turn it down."
Sakayanagi said.
In other words, she didn't agree to join him and Ichinose for dinner.
And Shirogane had only invited her out of politeness—he didn't really expect her to come.
So he didn't think too much of it. After all, earlier that evening, Kushida had said something like, "Could it be that you're dating Shirogane?"
"Definitely not."
So being turned down by Sakayanagi for dinner wasn't a big deal.
After that, they quickly went their separate ways at the library.
Shirogane and Ichinose headed to the cafeteria, while Sakayanagi, with the silent Kamuro, went toward the dorms.
Sakayanagi's health wasn't good, so she used a cane, which made her slower than most people.
And Kamuro, who was carrying books, couldn't walk very fast either, so they moved at the same pace.
Or rather—
"I'm going to the library later."
That's why she had Kamuro come along, then borrowed four thick textbooks—all of which she had Kamuro carry. Sakayanagi Arisu was truly merciless.
But with her physical condition, it's not like Sakayanagi could carry the books herself anyway.
Still—
"You sure you're not going to eat?"
Kamuro asked.
Because neither of them had actually had dinner yet.
They had just eaten some sweets around 5 p.m.
After that, Sakayanagi rewatched the leaked video of Class D's Chabashira-sensei, then brought Kamuro to the library.
Then she spent time checking what books Shirogane Miyuki had borrowed recently, went to the shelf, and borrowed versions 3 through 6 of the math textbooks.
"I don't eat after 7."
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"So I guess I'll just stay hungry tonight."
"After all, I go to bed at 9. Eating too late is bad for your body, and it makes it harder to sleep."
Sakayanagi Arisu explained.
"..."
Kamuro.
Sakayanagi's daily routine was actually pretty healthy. Kamuro used to be a night owl, but because Sakayanagi often dragged her along, she started adjusting her schedule.
Now, she had shifted from sleeping at 2 a.m. to falling asleep at 11 p.m., and she felt much better during the day.
But still—
*Tick.*
Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane with her left hand.
"Did you notice anything important in Shirogane's conversation just now?"
Sakayanagi suddenly stopped walking.
?
Kamuro thought back on the conversation between Shirogane and Sakayanagi.
It started with Sakayanagi telling Ichinose not to fall in love so easily. It kind of sounded like she was jealous, though it might've just been her way of figuring out how Shirogane felt.
Maybe she wanted to see whether Ichinose liked Shirogane, or if it was Shirogane who liked Ichinose.
This kind of testing isn't surprising. Ichinose is like an angel—tons of people like her. Even Yahiko, that guy who follows Katsuragi around, seems to have a crush on her.
So it's clear Ichinose is really charming.
Now compare that to Sakayanagi.
"..."
Other than being a short girl with a big butt, she doesn't seem to have much of an edge.
And her personality's pretty nasty.
Next to someone like Ichinose Honami, the goddess of their year, it's no wonder Sakayanagi feels the pressure.
But still—
"I don't think he has romantic feelings for you."
Kamuro said.
"I mean, I've never been in love either, but when Shirogane was with that other girl and you caught him, he didn't look nervous at all."
"No matter how good someone is at pretending, if they really like someone, they'll slip up when they're around them."
"So if he didn't panic when you saw him with another girl, it means he doesn't care about you that way."
"Of course, most of this comes from stuff Hashimoto told me."
"Hashimoto thinks he's a love expert."
"That guy's been annoying lately."
Kamuro said, sounding like she was complaining.
Hashimoto Masayoshi might be part of Sakayanagi's group and act all tough, but Kamuro didn't like him at all.
It's true—Hashimoto's good at sneaking around and digging up info. But the way he does it is pretty shady.
He flirts with girls from other classes using his good looks and A-Class status, just to get information out of them.
So basically, he uses their feelings for him to collect intel.
That's just playing with people's emotions.
Kamuro really looks down on that. In fact, she dislikes him even more because of it.
Still, thanks to those trashy methods, she's picked up a few second-hand "love insights" along the way.
And then—
She had a gut feeling that when Sakayanagi stopped Ichinose and Shirogane earlier, neither of them looked nervous.
So—
The idea that Shirogane knows her so well because he likes her doesn't really hold up.
"I think you believe Shirogane understands you because he likes you. But sometimes, knowing everything about someone doesn't come from love—it can come from being their enemy."
"And when he invited you to join the student council, it might've been more about class competition than anything personal."
"It's not that I admire you."
In other words, Kamuro was saying that when Katsuragi defended Sakayanagi in class, claiming that the idea of Shirogane making Sakayanagi his Vice President was just a trick to mess with Class A—it was just that, a tactic meant to break Class A's unity.
And the reason she knew so much about Sakayanagi was because she had realized how dangerous Arisu Sakayanagi could be. So she had to stay alert.
"..."
Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi started thinking back to her first encounter with Shirogane.
Why had Shirogane paid so much attention to her?
They first met in the school infirmary, then again on the way to the gym. He clearly pointed out that this school was different from the outside world and needed special attention.
"..."
And sure enough, Shirogane led his class to rise up quickly, saw through the school's real nature, and gained the upper hand early on.
So who was the one that helped him stay on guard back then?
It was very likely her.
So—
Was it because of her that Shirogane saw her as someone special, even as a "boss," and kept analyzing and preparing for her?
Understanding someone doesn't mean you like them. It just means you see them as your rival.
"..."
Drip.
Sakayanagi gripped her cane and walked forward.