"..."
"..."
"I'm asking you—how did things end up like this?" Rinji said.
He was currently at Kaguya's residence.
To explain why he was suddenly there, we have to rewind a few hours.
Back when students were still in school, Fujiwara suggested they take a group photo of the student council on the rooftop. Everyone agreed.
In less than half a year, this student council would be dissolved.
Shirogane was heading overseas for university, needing to leave for the U.S. early to adapt. So, he wouldn't be president by then.
Without Shirogane, it would be hard for the rest of them to gather in the sa room again.
So, they went up to the rooftop to take a commorative photo.
Kaguya wanted to use her old flip phone for the picture. She wanted to save that mory on her device.
Then she fumbled and dropped the phone.
That phone held countless photos of the student council—her most treasured mories.
Returning ho utterly dejected, she found Hayasaka. Hayasaka could only bring her to a nearby repair shop to see what could be done.
But the phone was several years old. That model had been discontinued long ago, and the shop couldn't repair it. The photos stored in it seed dood to vanish with the damage.
Seeing Kaguya so crushed, Hayasaka thought of one person who might help Rinji.
And so...
Sitting in the Shinomiya mansion's guest room, Rinji stared blankly at the shattered phone on the table.
"This is a corporate-use custom model. Spare parts don't exist on the market anymore. And the mory chip's cracked. Recovering the data would be nearly impossible."
"So... there's no hope?" Kaguya asked, head bowed, eyes devoid of light.
Rinji took a ring from his pocket, slipped it onto his finger, and gently stroked the broken surface of the phone.
A flicker of electricity sparked—and the shattered phone suddenly looked good as new, like it had just been bought.
"Huh? It's fixed!?" Kaguya exclaid and snatched it from his hand, pressing the power button.
But nothing happened. The screen stayed black, like it had no battery.
"Phones are extrely complex. Even old models like this have chips," Rinji said. "You know what a chip is, right? An integrated circuit, soldered in permanently. Unless I had all the blueprints from its initial design to developnt, there's no way to truly repair it."
"I see..."
It was just a fleeting mont of hope.
"I can't fix the mory unit that holds the data. Maybe my old man could, though."
"How much would it cost to have your dad repair it!?" Kaguya asked urgently.
"Just call him 'Mr. Muscle' and he'll probably do it. He's easy to deal with. But he's rarely in Japan these days."
"I see..."
Rinji pocketed the phone.
"If all you want is to retrieve the data, I might be able to help."
"Huh? Really?" Kaguya's eyes lit up again.
"I know a tech company. They've got so gear that might recover data from the mory chip. But fixing the phone itself is too much of a hassle—I'll just give you a new one."
"As long as the data's safe, that's fine."
"Great. Leave the rest to . I'll bring you a new phone tomorrow."
"Thank you, Rinji-kun."
Kaguya bowed deeply to him.
After Rinji left the room, Kaguya let out a long sigh and sat back in her chair.
"That was such a relief, Kaguya-sama," Hayasaka said, standing behind her. "You managed to keep the mories with the president intact."
"Yeah."
Having recovered what was lost, Kaguya didn't even notice Hayasaka's teasing. She was just glad it was safe.
"Good thing Rinji was around. I used to think he was just dangerous, but turns out he's surprisingly helpful."
After this, the 'dangerous guy' in Kaguya's mind had been downgraded to 'good kid.'
"He never hides his malice, but he's just as generous with his kindness. That's Rinji," Hayasaka said with a smile.
"By the way, how did you get Rinji into the mansion?"
"Hm? I just made a call."
"And?"
"Nothing else. When he ca to the entrance, I opened the door."
"But..." Kaguya frowned. "The main house is extrely wary of Rinji. If he casually showed up at the mansion, soone would've sounded an alarm. Before sumr break, the main house even stationed butlers and bodyguards here. How did he get in without being noticed?"
"..."
"..."
The two of them suddenly realized sothing and rushed to the entrance, throwing open the main door.
In the garden outside, the lush green lawn was splattered with blood. All the guards and the butler were unconscious, scattered like fallen leaves.
Clearly, Rinji had walked into the mansion openly—knocking out everyone who tried to stop him along the way.
Kaguya: "...I knew it."
Just when she'd started thinking of Rinji as a 'good kid,' he was back to being a 'dangerous individual' in her eyes.
---
The Next Day
"Shinomiya, here's your new phone."
"Oh, thank you."
The mont Rinji entered the student council office, he tossed the new phone to Kaguya.
It wasn't the sa old flip phone model anymore, but a standard modern smartphone anyone could buy.
"Huh? Kaguya, you got a new phone?" Fujiwara asked, surprised.
"Yes, I did," Kaguya said with a smile.
She quickly opened the gallery—and saw all the old student council photos still intact. Rinji had kept his word and fully restored the data from the broken phone.
"Welco to the modern era," Fujiwara grinned. "Now that you've got a smartphone, let's add each other on LINE."
"Sure, sounds good."
Kaguya smiled, but her eyes drifted toward Shirogane.
'President, I've got a smartphone now too. Isn't this a good ti to add on LINE? Then maybe, just maybe...'
"Oh, no need to go through all that."
Rinji cut in.
"When I imported the data from her old phone, I also installed LINE for Shinomiya and added all the student council mbers. Just change the password later."
Kaguya: "..."
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