Chapter 64: How About It? I, Elsie, Am a Genius!
That loud voice rang throughout the cafe, giving Sakura Airi such a fright that she nearly tumbled right off her chair.
"E-Elsie?" Airi turned around.
For a split second, she even considered trying to deny she was Sakura Airi. After all, her appearance was significantly different from before. But she quickly regained her composure. Elsie had just shouted her name; playing dumb would be useless.
"What a coincidence, Airi!" Elsie plopped down in the seat next to Airi, then turned her head to look toward Katsuragi Keima in an incredibly deliberate manner. "Eh! Nii-sama! You're here too! What a coincidence!"
The only response she received was Keima's face, which looked momentarily paralyzed.
'No, what are you doing? I told you to find a way to distract Airi and then make an excuse to take her somewhere else! Why did you shout her name so loudly?! Were you afraid Shiina Hiyori wouldn't hear you?'
Elsie had completely misinterpreted Keima's intent. She thought Keima wanted to attract Airi's attention while simultaneously dating Hiyori!
"Eh, Elsie-san? Airi-san? Are you two here as well?" Hearing the noise, Hiyori turned her head and saw them.
"I... I..." Airi's face turned bright red instantly. She lowered her head, trying to avoid eye contact. After all, having followed the two of them the entire way, it was better not to let that slip. But she quickly realized that being silent was rude, so she nodded awkwardly. "I... I just happened to want to come here for a coffee..."
"I see. Why don't you join us?" Hiyori had already put her books away and spoke to Elsie and Airi with a smile.
"Great! Airi-san—oh, Haru-chan said we should use nicknames, so it's Ai-chan, right? Let's go together!"
"......"
Airi knew she couldn't refuse now. She could only follow Elsie and, with a heavy heart, walk over to Keima's booth. Elsie glanced at the seating—Keima and Hiyori were sitting opposite each other—and a meaningful smile spread across her face.
'Kami-nii-sama must want to speed up the conquest efficiency, so he wants Airi to join in too! Then I must help him! I've grown now; I won't hold him back anymore!'
With that thought, Elsie sat down next to Hiyori.
Seeing this, Airi's brain stalled.
'Wait, wait a minute! Elsie sat next to Hiyori? Then... then... doesn't that mean I have to sit... sit next to Keima-kun?'
Although she sat next to him during study sessions and was his seat neighbor at school, there was always a gap.
'Now... I'm going to be sitting on the same sofa as Keima-kun. Our distance will be so close. S-S-So nervous!'
At the thought, Airi's face flushed deep crimson, her heart pounding wildly.
"Airi-san, you look a bit pale. Are you feeling unwell?" Hiyori asked with deep concern.
"N-No! It's just... it's just a bit, a bit hot..." As Airi spoke, she sat down next to Keima. She could almost feel his body heat.
'I-I-I'm so close to Keima-kun!'
"It's s-so hot... haha..." Airi laughed awkwardly. To make sure she didn't blow her cover, she had to take off her outer coat.
Like Hiyori, Airi was in casual clothes today, but she had worn a heavy coat as part of her "disguise." Underneath was a relatively form-fitting shirt that fully accentuated her impressive figure.
"Airi-san, you look different than usual today." Hiyori observed her. If Elsie hadn't shouted the name and if it weren't for that iconic red hair, she would have found it hard to believe this girl was Airi.
'In that case, Airi-san is truly beautiful.'
"I... I... I..." Airi was at a loss for words. She couldn't possibly say she changed her image to investigate Keima!
'How should I answer...'
"Since it's the weekend and there are no dress codes, everyone shows a side of themselves they don't show at school," Keima explained with a smile, helping her out.
Inwardly, he wanted to tear Elsie apart.
'What the hell!? I sent you to lead her away! Not only did you fail, but you brought her straight to Hiyori. Are you insane!?'
He wasn't even thinking about raising favorability now; he was just praying it wouldn't drop.
"It's my first time seeing Airi-san like this. You're really pretty..." Hiyori smiled.
"..." Airi ducked her head shyly. After a few seconds, she spoke: "Hiyori... Hiyori-san, you, you're also very pretty!"
"By the way, Airi-san, are you an internet model?"
"Eh?" Airi froze. She never expected Hiyori to say that.
'Wh-Why does Hiyori-san know? Did Keima-kun tell her!? Does he tell her... everything? Are they already that close?'
Seeing Airi's shocked expression, Keima sensed a crisis. Airi would definitely think he told Hiyori! She would surely imagine all sorts of strange things. He couldn't let it escalate.
"Hiyori, why do you say that?" Keima asked immediately, signaling he had nothing to do with this.
'So Keima-kun didn't tell her?'
"Because I started using social media recently, too. I was looking forward to Keima-kun's strategy updates." Hiyori took out her terminal.
Hearing Hiyori use the name "Keima-kun," Airi bit her lip. Hiyori-san has also been paying close attention to him.
"Then I saw a 'follow' on Keima-kun's account. I was curious, so I clicked it and saw a blogger named 'Shizuku.' The fan count is quite staggering. Since I'm new to these sites, I don't know many bloggers, but I often see Shizuku on the front page as one of the top-ranked accounts."
Hiyori explained slowly, "Airi-san's red hair is too distinctive. And I noticed Shizuku's update frequency slowed down after school started. Some of the recent photos have backgrounds identical to our school dorm rooms. So, I made a deduction."
"W-Wow, amazing..." Elsie marveled. Hiyori had analyzed everything about Airi like a detective.
Keima didn't speak; he just tilted his head slightly to observe Airi's reaction. Airi was looking down, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt. But soon, she looked up, a smile appearing on her face as she nodded.
If it were the old Airi, she would have tried her hardest to deny any connection to "Shizuku." But the current Airi felt she had grown. Since she viewed these people as friends, she shouldn't hide these things. She decided to admit it openly.
"Yes, Hiyori-san, you're right. I'm sorry for keeping it from you."
"There's no need to apologize, Airi-san. After I said it... I realized it might have troubled you. I'm the one who should apologize." Hiyori waved her hands in a panic. She wasn't great at interpersonal relationships either and hadn't thought that far ahead; she was just curious.
"No, no, it's fine! I actually wanted to find a chance to tell you all," Airi replied. Her eyes held a glimmer of self-confidence that wasn't there before.
.
.
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Meanwhile, in the Student Counseling Room.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka knocked on the door.
"Come in." Following Chabashira Sae's voice, Ayanokouji pushed the door open.
"Sensei, is there something? I'm currently meticulously planning my weekend," Ayanokouji said in a sluggish tone, his face expressionless.
"As far as I know, you don't have any friends in class," Chabashira mocked.
"Sensei, you really don't sound like a homeroom Sensei."
"Never mind. I called you here to discuss some important matters." Chabashira told Ayanokouji about her past experiences. However, his face showed no emotional change.
"Sensei, I don't see the point in telling me this. If there's nothing else, I'll be going." Ayanokouji turned to leave.
But Chabashira called out to him. "I believe you are indispensable for the promotion to Class A."
"I was wondering what you were going to say. You must be joking," Ayanokouji replied flatly. "I'm happy to be so unnaturally praised—I couldn't possibly say something like that."
"A few days ago, a certain man contacted the school, demanding that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka be expelled." Chabashira narrowed her eyes, trying to catch any flicker of emotion on his face. She found nothing.
"Expel me? That's quite meaningless. I don't know who that is, but the school can't ignore a student's will and expel them, can they?" Although Ayanokouji said this, he knew exactly who she was talking about. That man with the same surname, the man related to him by blood—the man who created him.
"Of course, no matter what a third party says, we cannot expel you. As long as you are a student here, you are protected by the rules. However... it's a different story if you engage in problematic behavior. Smoking, bullying, theft, cheating—if you cause a scandal, expulsion is inevitable."
"Unfortunately, I don't plan on doing any of those."
"It doesn't matter what your intent is. As long as I judge it to be so, it will become reality."
"Are you threatening me?"
"It's a deal, Ayanokouji. You aim for Class A for my sake, and I will give you full support to protect you. Don't you think that's a good deal?"
"You don't need me for such a deal," Ayanokouji replied. "Because in the class, someone has already started taking action."
"You mean... Katsuragi?"
"Katsuragi and Horikita. Although I haven't had much contact with them, they seem to be working hard to improve the class. I believe they can lead the class forward."
"Katsuragi is indeed a special student. He is as special as you are, Ayanokouji."
Ayanokouji didn't deny it. "The one who first discovered the secret of the S-System was him, right?"
"I'm not sure. I only know Hirata went to ask Katsuragi about it, and he provided the answer."
"He changed the class situation with ease, didn't he? If it weren't for Katsuragi, our points might have been deducted to zero within half a month."
"That would be a shame." Ayanokouji's voice held no hint of worry.
"On the entrance exam, you two were the most eye-catching. One got perfect marks in everything, the other got exactly 50 in everything."
"That really was an unfortunate coincidence," Ayanokouji replied, though he had already begun to think about Chabashira's words.
'In that case, my and Katsuragi's methods are completely opposite.
Because I didn't know the strength of other students, I chose 50 for every subject to stay right in the middle. But Katsuragi showed a portion of his strength.'
Thinking this, Ayanokouji spoke again: "Since that's the case, having Katsuragi-kun should be more than enough. I also heard there was some agreement between you and him, Sensei..."
"My agreement with him has been broken," Chabashira said, frowning.
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