"Now that you mention it, something about Rinji feels off too."
At Shirogane's house, everyone had begun to notice something strange about "Takamine Rinji" today.
Kei's earlier comment had made Shirogane himself start to feel something unnatural in Rinji's demeanor.
To be fair, with Rinji's looks, if he didn't style his hair properly, people could easily mistake him for a girl. But there were two main reasons why no one at school ever questioned his gender:
One—Rinji regularly maintained his hairstyle, either shaving it short or slicking it back.
Two—the main reason—his personality.
His usual rough and casual behavior left a masculine first impression on everyone. No one doubted it.
However, ever since Kaguya took over Rinji's body, that unnatural vibe had begun to appear.
Posture, speech, little gestures—these things could significantly alter a person's presence.
If Shirogane hadn't already been familiar with him, he might have mistaken the person beside him for a cute girl.
Kaguya had nothing to say in her defense.
Having been trained in etiquette since childhood, it was hard for her to act like Rinji—especially with his constant vulgar language, which she couldn't imitate at all.
"Rinji," Shirogane said with concern.
"If you're feeling unwell, you should say something. At least go see a doctor."
"Ah... now that you mention it, I do feel a little off," Kaguya said with a forced smile.
Seems the only way to escape the current situation was to feign illness.
"I see… then head home and get some rest. If it gets worse, be sure to see a doctor."
"Alright, I'll take my leave."
As much as she wanted to stay longer at Shirogane's house, retreating was the wisest move for now.
She opened the door, gave everyone a slight bow, then closed it behind her and left.
Even after she was gone, Shirogane kept staring at the doorway.
"Stop staring."
"Ah!"
Kei kicked him, snapping him out of his daze.
"Why'd you kick me?"
"You were looking at Rinji-nii with a really weird expression. It was gross," Kei said with disgust.
"...You don't really think that lowly of me, do you?"
But to be honest, Shirogane had sensed something of Kaguya in Rinji earlier.
'No way… I can't possibly mistake my best friend for my girlfriend… right?'
The thought alone gave Shirogane chills.
---
"Hayasaka… I think I've been found out…"
"I figured."
"What do you mean, 'I figured'!? Did you think from the start I couldn't pull off this role and still sent me to meet the president!?"
"Because you once said you wanted to experience Rinji's life, so I thought letting you try wouldn't hurt."
Hayasaka's expression was calm as she looked straight into Kaguya's eyes.
"Indeed, a life like Rinji's is something to envy, but it's not something we can handle."
"...That's true."
Whether it was Kaguya or Hayasaka, in the end, they were just birds in a cage.
Hayasaka's situation was relatively better. Though life was hard, the Shinomiya family didn't control her too tightly. Kaguya, however, was different. Her entire life had been planned out by the main family from the very beginning.
Like a bird born and raised in a cage that can't fly even when the cage is broken, even if she switched places with Rinji, Kaguya couldn't play the role well.
"But relatively speaking, I don't think Rinji could play you either," Hayasaka said. "You two may have some similarities, but your personalities are worlds apart."
"I think so too. Rinji definitely wouldn't be able to adapt to the mindset of a bird trapped in a cage," Kaguya said with a wry smile. "After living my life for a while, he'll probably understand my frustrations."
---
"Is Shinomiya stupid or something? With so many resources around her, she still hasn't built her own faction?"
Rinji stood in Kaguya's room, staring at a map of Japan hanging in front of him.
Kyoto was marked with an X, and lines spread out from the center of Tokyo. Various photos were pinned around the map.
"Right now, the Shinomiya main family can't interfere in Tokyo, which means the family businesses in Tokyo can be taken over without resistance. If the main family wants to keep control here, they'll have to rely on the people they stationed months ago—some of whom are embedded in Kaguya's household staff…"
He started analyzing the current situation.
"Because they've lost their grip on Tokyo, the family had to abandon partnerships with some companies here. That's a great opportunity. We can pull those companies into our camp. Togawa is a good example… but seriously, why hasn't Shinomiya made any moves all this time? What is she waiting for?"
Kaguya was only waiting for Shirogane to confess. She didn't have all these schemes. All her plotting was focused on getting him to make the first move.
To put it simply, Rinji was thinking five levels deep, while Kaguya hadn't even left the basement.
It wasn't surprising. Even if Kaguya had those ambitions, she lacked the strength and the courage.
But now, it was Rinji in her body. In terms of vision, guts, and willingness to use any means necessary to achieve his goals, Kaguya couldn't compare.
"First, to expand without being discovered by the main family, we need to eliminate the spies around her. Shinomiya's identity is actually useful for that. Since the traitors are close, they're easy to deal with."
To be honest, if not for the gender issue, Rinji was kind of enjoying this.
He felt like he was playing a high-stakes strategy game in real life.
He'd imagined what methods he'd use to overcome adversity—but growing up in a household where he had everything, he'd never faced any real hardship.
Now, using Kaguya's body, he finally got the thrill of playing a real-life strategy game.
"So the first stage is to eliminate all the main family's pawns in Tokyo, then expand my own faction from Tokyo to Sendai. That'll form a pincer around the Shinomiya family."
Rinji, wearing Kaguya's face, grinned coldly.
"Shinomiya Ganan… the best punishment for you is being cornered by your own family's discarded pieces. That's what makes the game truly dramatic."