"Student! Do you understand?"
Iino Miko addressed Hayasaka Ai in the Disciplinary Committee's preparation room.
How could the other party show no signs of shame at all? That brazen expression—this was exactly like the Hayasaka-senpai she often saw passing by in the corridor at noon.
They really looked alike. Super alike. If it weren't for their different appearances and hair colors, Iino Miko might have already suspected they were blood-related.
"Understood," Hayasaka Ai replied. All she wanted was to escape this place as soon as possible.
If she just admitted her mistake, she could leave—right?
Unfortunately, things did not go as she hoped.
Iino Miko turned to Kobachi Osaragi beside her and said, "Get a letter of apology. A boy intruding into the girls' changing room—I will report this to the Student Council, and have the President submit it to the Principal."
She then addressed Hayasaka Ai again."Student, please tell us your name and class."
Ai-chan could sense the situation was taking a bad turn.
She quickly grabbed Miko's hand."Please, let me explain."
Originally, she hadn't intended to reveal her identity, but in the current situation, if she didn't clarify that she was a girl, things would get out of hand.
Their faces suddenly came very close.
"Y-You… what are you doing?" Iino Miko stammered, startled by the proximity and the soft, gentle face in front of her. Even though she didn't like this type, her heart still skipped a beat."I don't accept bribes here!"
"Well, this is complicated to explain, but actually…" Hayasaka Ai's voice trembled slightly, "Actually, I'm a girl."
"…Then why are you—" Iino Miko didn't immediately reject the claim. She never made hasty judgments. If there was a misunderstanding, clearing it up was the right thing to do.
"My family has a strong gender bias—what you'd call favoring boys over girls. Every girl born in our family is raised as a boy." Hayasaka Ai let go of Miko's hand and gently wiped at the corner of her eye.
The tears were fake, of course. Hayasaka Ai was a woman who could manipulate her tear ducts at will. As a woman—and especially an intelligence agent—mastering that skill was essential.
"I actually long to live as a girl, but my father won't allow it." She covered her face with both hands, her voice thick with fake sobs."I've never been inside a girls' changing room in my life."
Miko listened closely, her expression serious.
Beside her, Kobachi Osaragi pushed up her glasses. This story… it was so transparently fake. There's no way Miko would believe it, right?
...That was a serious misjudgment.
Iino Miko, the naive girl, completely failed to see through Hayasaka Ai's disguise.
She was convinced.
"How pitiful…" Miko murmured. "So that's why you went into the changing room when no one was around."
Behind the hands covering Hayasaka Ai's face, a victorious glint flashed in her eyes. She continued to sob."Yes… yes."
Kobachi Osaragi asked suspiciously, "So you usually change in the boys' changing room?"
Hayasaka Ai's body, which had been trembling slightly from her fake sobbing, froze for a moment. Then she squeaked:"Mm."
Her acting was too good.
"How can there be such parents?! That's detestable!" Iino Miko's sense of justice was blazing.
She felt an impulse to storm into Hayasaka Ai's house and give her parents a long, stern talk!
What era were they living in? The imperial era name had even changed to Reiwa. And still there were families who favored sons over daughters? Unforgivable!
"It must have been very hard for you growing up," Miko said, leaning forward and pulling Hayasaka Ai into an embrace.
Their heights didn't match, so Hayasaka Ai bent down slightly to cooperate.
"Wuwu~ There were so many times I thought about whether I should just die! I want to wear cute clothes. I want to go shopping with friends as a girl, but my parents won't let me… If my real identity is exposed, they'll scold me. Please… don't tell anyone…"
Miko silently patted her back.
Then, she reassured her:"If you ever experience unfair treatment at school, you can come to me. I'll also help keep your true identity secret. I'll always be your best partner!"
"I will always be your best partner!"That line was so cool! Miko had always wanted to say something like that!
Hayasaka Ai: "…"
Suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine.
If her true identity were exposed in the future… would Miko come at her with a knife?
"Thank you," Hayasaka Ai said softly."You're really a good person."
Kobachi Osaragi stood to the side, watching the two of them. She could only sigh.
It looked like Miko had been fooled again.
However, even though Kobachi didn't uncover Hayasaka Ai's true identity, she did confirm that at least one thing wasn't a lie—judging from her figure and posture, the girl really was a girl.
Whatever the background story was, that much was genuine.
As a master of disguise, Kobachi Osaragi had unique insights into concealing herself. She was actually quite pretty, but because she wore special glasses—nicknamed "Demon Eye Killer"—she appeared completely ordinary.
Her setup was probably something along the lines of: once the glasses come off, she becomes a stunning beauty.
Meanwhile, Hayasaka Ai and Iino Miko remained in an embrace for nearly half a minute.
Ai-chan finally let go, cautiously asking,"So… can I leave now?"
Miko tilted her head."Although I won't report this to the school, student, you still need to write a letter of apology."
After all, her behavior could've caused a serious disturbance. Fortunately, Miko had been the one to discover her. If another girl had seen her in the changing room, it might have led to a full-blown incident.
A verbal warning wouldn't leave enough of an impression—it was better to put it in writing.
"Here." Kobachi Osaragi stepped in, pulling out a stack of apology forms from a cabinet. She handed the top one to Hayasaka Ai.
Ai sighed, took the paper, and sat down in a nearby seat to begin writing.
"Hayasaka-san, aren't you usually on good terms with Sakurai-kun?"Kaguya Shinomiya had no idea that Hayasaka Ai was currently suffering through her own personal trial—having stumbled from the South Heaven Gate to the High Heaven Palace, metaphorically speaking.
She was still continuing her romantic strategy guidance session.
"If she dates other boys, won't you feel bad?"
Shirogane Miyuki silently sipped his coffee upon hearing this.
Shinomiya… you're being too direct.
Wasn't this the equivalent of pushing someone off a cliff and forcing them to choose a side?
"If you don't like her, then you won't care if she dates someone else, right? But if it makes you uncomfortable… doesn't that mean you like her?"Shinomiya's words were blunt, almost surgical.
Shirogane grimaced.Even if you wanted to corner someone into admitting their feelings, this wasn't the way to do it. It would only make people feel attacked.
And more importantly—
There was another girl here who was very close to Sakurai Saki.
That was: Fujiwara Chika, the Secretary!
"Asura's Battlefield... I never thought I'd see it with my own eyes," thought Ishigami Yu, who was currently playing on his handheld console. Though, at this point, his in-game race car had already gone off track and was crashing into a wall.
He pricked up his ears, completely ignoring the screen, waiting for the next explosive development.
"I overheard the confession spot during lunch break. It should be next to the sports field."Fujiwara Chika turned to Sakurai Saki with a sweet voice:"Saki-kun~ Do you want to go take a look?"
Ishigami Yu & Shirogane Miyuki:Oh no!
The atmosphere around them instantly froze.
How do you even answer a question like that!?
Say he didn't want to go? But what if Hayasaka-san did accept the confession? Wouldn't Sakurai regret it forever?
But if he said he did want to go… wouldn't that mean openly showing he cared about another girl, right in front of Fujiwara?
There's no right answer here.Shirogane stared worriedly at Sakurai Saki, tightly gripping his empty coffee cup.
Is this finally going to end… with Fujiwara-senpai's victory?Ishigami's in-game car was still ramming headlong into the same wall.
But in the eye of the storm, Sakurai Saki remained calm.
How ridiculous.
He hadn't even seen Ai-chan.
She wasn't planning to accept the confession. So what was there to worry about?
Sakurai, who had already used his x-ray vision to scan the sports field and confirmed there were no suspicious targets, was completely unfazed.
"Not going," he said simply.
He'd already seen everything. Why bother checking twice?
Sorry, everyone—superpower users are not afraid of Asura's Battlefield.
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