"Lady Kaguya really knows how to order people around..."
But if he's just an external student... there shouldn't be much to investigate, right? During the lunch break, Hayasaka Ai spotted Uchiha Ryo eating a bento with Shirogane Miyuki in the classroom.
"He looks pretty handsome, and his academic ability is also very strong. Is he the hard-working genius type?"
Hayasaka Ai peeked her head in from the doorway, only to see Uchiha Ryo look up at that exact moment. His gaze passed through the crowd in the classroom and met hers.
After a moment of eye contact, Hayasaka Ai casually looked left and right, pretending to be looking for someone at the door, before retreating back into the hallway.
"Was it a coincidence? Or is he really that perceptive..."
She lowered her head and began taking notes on her phone. Uchiha Ryo: External student, has decent popularity among the first-years due to his extremely high looks, joined the Classic Literature Club, ranked third on the entrance exam, first on the first monthly exam.
"This is all the information available within the academy. I'll take a picture first and investigate properly when I get back."
Hayasaka Ai peeked into the classroom again, secretly revealing her phone's camera lens from her sleeve.
He's gone?! Uchiha Ryo's seat was empty, while Shirogane Miyuki was reading a book as he ate.
Where did he go?
"Should I send you a selfie?"
"Ah?!"
Hayasaka Ai spun around at lightning speed. The suddenly vanished Uchiha Ryo was standing right behind her, looking at her meaningfully.
"U... Uchiha-kun, when did you get here?"
Uchiha Ryo looked up, thought for a moment, and then said, "I'll take a picture first and investigate properly when I get back."
"...."
"I remember you're Hayasaka-san from Class A. What can I do for you?"
Hayasaka Ai's gaze shifted slightly, and she put on a somewhat shy demeanor.
Uchiha Ryo could probably guess her objective. Didn't Kaguya just send her to gather information? But...
Hayasaka Ai's gyaru getup was actually very popular in school. Her long golden hair was tied in a side ponytail, her blue eyes were framed by a slightly open collar, her jacket was tied around her waist, and her skirt was folded up to become a miniskirt.
A popular and beautiful gyaru acting shy in front of you would probably make most guys fall under the illusion of "Could she like me?!"
But Uchiha Ryo wouldn't. Not only did he know about Hayasaka's multi-layered personality, but the system also didn't show the slightest increase in her affinity.
"Sorry, Uchiha-kun. Actually... I had something to ask you, but I was afraid because I don't know you well, so that's why I did that."
"You have something to ask me?"
Hayasaka Ai nodded. "Mhm, something very important. So could you come with me to the library to discuss it?"
Uchiha Ryo nodded. "I would be hard-pressed to refuse a lady's request."
"Great! Let's go~"
Hayasaka Ai playfully passed by Uchiha Ryo, then turned her head and winked.
What's with the act? Your affinity hasn't increased one bit! It seems Hayasaka Ai might be the most difficult of all the capture targets.
In the Shuchiin library, since the exams were over, the number of students here had dwindled. Hayasaka Ai pulled Uchiha Ryo to a corner of the library, her expression becoming bashful.
She's not going to confess, is she? No! Impossible. What did Shinomiya Kaguya send her to do?
Hayasaka was bitter on the inside. She didn't want to make contact with the target so soon, but if she didn't come up with a reason, he would definitely suspect her. After all, secretly investigating someone... doesn't exactly make you look like a good person.
→
"Uchiha-kun, first of all, congratulations on becoming number one in the first year at Shuchiin. I'm so envious of geniuses like you~"
"Mhm."
Hayasaka Ai: "???"
This guy isn't going to deny it? I'm praising you as a genius, can't you be a little modest and say it's the result of hard work?!
Uchiha Ryo: I suddenly want to go back. This Hayasaka Ai isn't giving any affinity points. It'd be better to go chat with Chitanda from my class.
"Hey, Uchiha-kun, could you be my private tutor for a while? Of course, I'll pay you."
What is this development? Does your Lady Kaguya know you're doing this?
"Well, it's mainly because my grades have been average lately. When I saw you were the top student, I was wondering if you had any special study methods."
Uchiha Ryo stroked his chin. "Is that so? You think highly of me, Hayasaka-san..."
The gyaru Hayasaka began to show her bold side, leaning on the table and looking up into Uchiha Ryo's eyes.
"So what's your answer, Uchiha-kun?"
"Of course. I can review the material myself while teaching others. So, when do we start?"
Hayasaka Ai showed an extremely excited expression. "Great! Let's set it for the weekend. But my house might be a bit noisy. Can we go to your place?"
Are there still little lambs who walk right into the trap these days? But Hayasaka lives at the Shinomiya residence, right? It's indeed not suitable for her to bring a classmate home.
"Sure. I'll contact you on the weekend."
Taking out his phone, he exchanged contact information with Hayasaka Ai. After watching the gyaru leave the library, Uchiha Ryo shook his head.
"So difficult. It'll probably be a while before I can get any G-Points from Hayasaka Ai."
.....
That afternoon, Yokoshima-sensei announced some exciting news: all of Class B's afternoon classes would be changed to art and sports classes. Was this considered half a day off?
On the sports field, Uchiha Ryo and Shirogane Miyuki were half-lying on the grass, looking up at the sky.
"The pressure of being number one must be immense. You should be famous throughout the school now."
Shirogane Miyuki thought of the looks of admiration the whole class gave Uchiha Ryo after the scores were announced at noon.
It wasn't unprecedented in Shuchiin's history for an external student to take first place in the year. But Uchiha Ryo was different. He had become number one by suppressing that woman, Shinomiya Kaguya.
Making that untouchable Ice Princess Kaguya taste defeat was enough to earn their respect for Uchiha Ryo.
"It's alright. But suddenly having sports instead of class is a bit boring."
Shuchiin's physical education classes were actually very diverse. You could go to the gym to play volleyball, basketball, tennis, or even table tennis. You could also go to the club building to experience the archery and kendo clubs. Of course, you could also just lie on the grass and space out like Uchiha Ryo.
"Let's go look around. We can try something if it looks fun."
Uchiha Ryo patted the grass off his clothes and stood up, while Shirogane Miyuki sat awkwardly in place.
He! Shirogane Miyuki, was a little bad at sports... Rather than show his weak side in front of his friend, it was better to just keep lazing around.
That's right, he was also a member of the student council. It would be nice to go to the student council room to rest for a while.