"Looks like the princess was overthinking it. That guy's nothing special—aside from those dead fish eyes, he doesn't leave much of an impression."
Inside the clubroom, only Sakayanagi, Hashimoto, and a few others remained. Hikigaya had already left after losing.
Hashimoto propped his feet up on the table, rocking his chair back and forth as he looked at the silver-haired girl.
"It's been over half a month since school started. It's not surprising that so students in other classes have started noticing the truth about this school. Honestly, I'm surprised it took them this long. Anyone with half a brain would realize sothing is off after being here for a while. I heard Class B has caught on, while Class C is still ssing around with their 'Ultimate Martial Arts Tournant,' fighting every day. As for Class D, they don't seem to have noticed anything at all.
"And this Hikigaya guy? Maybe he just stumbled upon so information by accident. Or maybe he's just trying to earn more private points.
"I know guys like him. I've seen plenty. You can just tell by the way he carries himself—he reeks of loneliness. He probably doesn't have many friends or much influence in his class. Kamuro's investigation over the past few days already confird that he's an outsider.
"So instead of wasting ti on so nobody, we should be paying more attention to Katsuragi. He's the real threat to us."
But the "response from the princess" Hashimoto had been expecting never ca. Sakayanagi remained seated at the chessboard, deep in thought. Kito, as usual, stayed silent.
And Kamuro—who always had a snarky comnt ready—was strangely absent.
It was only then that Hashimoto realized the purple-haired girl wasn't in the room.
At that mont, Sakayanagi slowly lifted her gaze toward Hashimoto, who was still rambling on. He imdiately shut his mouth.
"Reading a chessboard is like reading a person. Sotis, your eyes can deceive you, but the board never lies."
Sakayanagi's face remained calm, showing no trace of satisfaction from her victory. "There aren't many people who earn Yukinoshita's recognition. The 'nobody' you just ntioned happens to be one of them."
Hashimoto—and even the usually expressionless Kito—showed signs of surprise.
"H-Haha, you're joking, right? There's no way Yukinoshita thinks highly of that dead-eyed guy," Hashimoto scoffed.
"If anything, she probably sees him as a plaything. Just like how Totsuka is nothing more than Katsuragi's loyal lapdog—getting played with without even realizing it."
Sakayanagi didn't explain. She just curved her lips into a subtle but aningful smile, like she had found sothing amusing.
...
"Hey, you! Stop right there."
Just as Hikigaya stepped out of the club building and hadn't gone far, a sharp voice called out from behind him. But instead of stopping, he quickened his pace.
No way! He had finally managed to get away. Who in their right mind would stick around?
Kamuro's eyes widened in surprise at his reaction. She hadn't expected him to just walk off like that. Frustrated, she stomped her foot and hurried after him. Within monts, she grabbed the back of his collar with ease—like picking up a stray kitten.
Their eyes t.
"...Hello?"
"Huh? What's that supposed to an? Are you pretending you didn't hear ?"
Kamuro almost laughed from anger as she glared at him. "I have sothing to ask you!"
That's not how you ask soone a question.
Hikigaya thought to himself but still replied, "Yes, Kamuro-san. Please go ahead."
Kamuro Masumi narrowed her sharp eyes and stared at him closely. After a mont of silence, she spoke.
"Have we t before?"
"...N-No, we haven't."
"Then why did you pause just now?!"
...
Wait! Why is she getting closer?!
Hikigaya instinctively took a step back, but Kamuro just leaned in even more, her gaze locked onto his.
"I'll ask one more ti. Have we t before?"
"M-Maybe? I an, we go to the sa school. It's possible we've run into each other on the way to class or sothing, right?"
Technically, it wasn't impossible. The school dorms were separated by grade, with boys on the lower floors and girls on the upper floors. Students of the sa year also shared the sa classroom building. Given that routine, the chances of bumping into each other weren't exactly zero.
"No, you're lying." Kamuro said with confidence.
"I swear I've never seen you before!"
Seeing Hikigaya still denying it, Kamuro started to get frustrated. Could she really be mistaken?
Lately, she had been carrying out a task assigned by Sakayanagi—following and gathering information on a certain student from Class D. That student was none other than the dead-eyed boy standing before her.
She had thought it would be easy. In fact, she was sure he wouldn't even notice her at all.
And for the most part, she had been right. She had been watching him for about a week, and he really was as clueless as she expected. He spent almost all his ti in the library like an idiot. No friends, completely ignored by his classmates, and always hiding in the library like a coward. There was no way he could have noticed her.
But then, earlier today...
When she had "officially" t Hikigaya for the first ti, the mont their eyes t, she had felt sothing.
For just a split second, there was a flicker of recognition in his gaze—like he had already known about her. The mont was brief, but she had definitely caught it.
It was her intuition as a woman.
Does he know who I am?
That's impossible.
Unless...
"Did you already know I was following you?"
Kamuro narrowed her eyes, trying to read his thoughts.
At her words, Hikigaya finally understood why she was so fixated on him. He then recalled the people in the clubroom earlier and their connection to Sakayanagi.
After a brief mont of thought, he said, "I've never seen you before."
Then, in a much quieter voice, he quickly added, "And I won't say anything about it."
...Just as I thought.
That guy noticed I was following him this whole ti?!
Kamuro suddenly felt her blood pressure spike. It wasn't just that he had caught her—it was his attitude that really ticked her off.
"Huh? Are you threatening ?"
"..."
Hikigaya opened his mouth, but it took him a mont to catch up with her train of thought. He quickly tried to explain,
"No, no, you've got it all wrong."
Kamuro impatiently cut him off.
"How exactly did you figure out I was following and investigating you?"
"Uh... well, there weren't many students in the library at the start of the sester, and I'm pretty sensitive to people watching . Plus, when a cute girl like you is around, any normal guy would notice."
"W-What are you even talking about?! Cute?!" Kamuro suddenly panicked, her face turning slightly red. She quickly took several deep breaths to calm herself down.
---
一 一 一 一 一
You can read 30 advanced Chapters on
pat reon/GMadman
一 一 一 一 一
Reviews
All reviews (0)