Since obtaining the diary, Miss Shinomiya had never missed a single day of reading it.
Not once had she skipped a diary entry.
Not once had she failed to collect her reading points.
Naturally, on the thirty-first day since the diary appeared, she successfully accumulated 31 reading points.
And just like Kushida Kikyo and Sakayanagi Arisu before her, a similar—but slightly different—voice echoed in her ears.
"Total accumulated reading points: 31.
'Message' feature unlocked."
"Detected pending message…
Unable to upload.
You currently do not have permission to post messages.
Please wait until your storyline begins."
"Message."
The feature Kaguya Shinomiya had been looking forward to the most.
The feature that could finally let her communicate directly with the diary's owner.
It was unlocked.
She had tried before.
She had written questions directly into the diary.
After all, the pages were almost endless.
They couldn't be destroyed, but she was allowed to write on blank pages.
Combined with the fact that her actions were "normalized" in other people's eyes while using the diary, she often used it to kill time.
But none of her writing had ever received a response.
It wasn't even mentioned.
She had assumed it was just a harmless loophole.
She never expected…
It was actually a reserved "chat box" for messages.
The moment she heard the word "message," hope ignited in her heart.
And then—
It was instantly extinguished.
She wasn't allowed to leave messages.
"What do you mean the story hasn't started yet?!
Why can't I post?!
Who's allowed to post, then?!"
Kaguya hugged the diary and shouted in frustration.
The diary silently flipped to the next page.
And gave her the answer.
"Little Princess" can post.
"Two-Faced Girl" can post.
"Shinomiya Kaguya" cannot.
It was like opening a door—
Then hanging up a sign saying:
"Shinomiya Kaguya Forbidden."
…She was being discriminated against.
She, the daughter of the Shinomiya family—
Was being discriminated against.
She was furious.
Extremely furious.
But she had nowhere to vent.
She couldn't tear it.
Couldn't throw it away.
Couldn't tell anyone.
So she could only cling to her maid on the bed and keep reading.
Reading other people's messages.
Then—
Under the glaring red annotations,
Beneath the prominent black question mark,
She gently tapped:
Like.
I really want to ask him a question mark too.
Advanced Nurturing High School — Dormitory
Night had fallen.
Yet Horikita Suzune still hadn't gone to sleep.
Not only because she hadn't read today's diary yet—
But also because she was thinking about what Asakusa Toru had said at noon.
"Self-awareness… and friends…"
Standing in front of the mirror, she stared blankly at the girl reflected in it.
That was herself.
And yet…
It didn't feel like herself.
She had never imagined that one day she would feel so unfamiliar with her own reflection.
Nor had she imagined she would ever start questioning whether her past efforts had truly meant anything.
The girl looked at herself in the mirror.
And fell into deep thought.
Her long black hair—
The kind her brother once said he liked.
Beautiful.
But not what she herself preferred.
She used to like short, neat hair.
Her purplish-red eyes shimmered faintly, like glass beads set in place.
She had always been confident in her looks.
Even in middle school, despite her cold personality, she had received many love letters.
Her well-proportioned body.
Her healthy physique.
All of it was the result of years of strict discipline.
"I'm really good at… exploiting myself," she murmured.
Repeating Asakusa's words.
Studying.
Studying.
Studying.
Now that she thought about it—
He was right.
She was very good at squeezing herself dry.
During summer vacation, her schedule had been:
0:00–6:00 Sleep
6:00–7:00 Breakfast
7:00–12:00 Study
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–18:00 Study
18:00–19:00 Dinner
19:00–24:00 Study
Every minute planned.
No breathing room.
No allowance for long rest.
And she had followed it perfectly.
As long as she thought about catching up to her brother—
She could push herself again and again.
But…
"My efficiency is too low."
Her brother didn't spend all his time studying.
At this school, he had even become student council president.
Even if she chased him, she could only match him in academics.
And that wasn't enough.
It would never earn his approval.
"Friends… huh."
She exhaled deeply and relaxed her tense expression.
She still couldn't fully understand herself.
She still couldn't clearly see the person in the mirror.
Even so—
The idea of actively making friends still made her hesitate.
Indecision.
Stagnation.
Friends… friends… friends…
That morning's hallucinated voice suddenly echoed in her mind:
"Idiot Horikita Suzune."
Kushida Kikyo's voice.
If she talked about friends—
The person who most wanted to be her friend was Kushida.
Other than her…
There was also that friendless guy.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
He seemed desperate for friends.
So desperate that he even hung out with Yamauchi's group.
If it were him—
What kind of person was "Horikita Suzune" in his eyes?
…She probably wouldn't get much out of him.
His social skills were probably worse than hers.
Despite having no friends,
For some reason, she felt her social skills were still better than his.
Tick. Tock.
The clock kept swinging.
Before she knew it, she had been standing there for a long time.
"…Right. I haven't read today's diary yet."
She touched her cheek and whispered.
Self-awareness and friends were important.
But so was the diary.
She turned and sat down.
The diary quietly appeared on her desk.
Raising her hand, she flipped the page.
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