After dinner, Sakurai Saki, Gabriel, and Ishigami Yu settled into their usual post-meal routine: gaming.
Ai-chan typically didn't come online until 8 or 9 p.m.—and lately, sometimes not at all.
Logging in, the three of them quickly formed a party and activated voice chat.
"Yo! Sakurai-senpai! Can you hear me?" Ishigami Yu's voice came through the headset.
"I can hear you." Sakurai clicked the ranked queue.
Gabriel's voice cut in a second later, deadpan: "Hey. Why didn't you ask if I could hear you?"
"Because you'd complain anyway, even if I didn't," Sakurai replied.
The three of them entered the hero selection screen.
"What do you want to play, Sakurai-senpai?" Ishigami Yu was already hovering over a support character, fully prepared to be his loyal 'dog.'
"Hound. You take Wraith. Xiao Jia can pick Healer—she's still new," Sakurai instructed.
Gabriel didn't object. "A-Ying pulled me in. I was in the middle of a dungeon elsewhere."
Ishigami gave a hum of acknowledgment, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Who is this new girl?
Wasn't Sakurai-senpai supposed to be confessing to Hayasaka-senpai today?
Had he gotten rejected and was now pulling random girls into their games as emotional rebound?
The thought oddly comforted Ishigami.
He wasn't proud of it—but his own skills lagged behind Sakurai and Hayasaka. Usually, he played the support role, watching their backs and feeding them intel. But today, at least he wouldn't be the weakest link.
Still, should he say hi to this mysterious girl?
…No. Better not. It was probably just a one-time match. He'd just refer to her by her in-game name.
Ishigami Yu was a careful, reclusive type. His social policy was clear:
No contact = no misunderstandings = no tragedies.
Meanwhile, inside the towering Shinomiya estate in Tokyo's Minato Ward...
Hayasaka Ai stormed down the hallway with clenched teeth and restrained fury.
She had no interest in hearing Kaguya's nonsense tonight.
Chat, chat, chat—every single day!Kaguya Shinomiya, do you seriously have nothing better to do than dump your emotions on me?
She wasn't a therapist. She wasn't a plush toy. She was a personal attendant, for heaven's sake!
Even if they were close, this time Kaguya had gone too far.
Hayasaka took a breath, shoved all her irritation into a mental box, and pushed open the door with her usual expressionless calm.
"Hayasaka, our plan went off perfectly today," Kaguya said cheerfully.
Then she noticed the storm cloud on Hayasaka's face.
"…What's wrong?"
You still have the nerve to ask?! Hayasaka gritted her teeth.
This entire stupid rumor stunt—spreading word of the confession so it'd be disrupted by a crowd—that was all Kaguya's idea.
And yes, it worked. The girl who was confessing lost her nerve under the pressure and fled.
But—!
Now Sakurai Saki had been blindsided by a humiliating public moment. Would he even want to accept a love letter again? Hayasaka could easily imagine the guy developing a trauma around confessions.
"Kaguya Shinomiya…" Hayasaka forced a tight smile. "Thanks to you, Sakurai-kun is now the boyfriend of the entire school."
It was a disaster.
From what she knew of Sakurai Saki, he wasn't the kind of guy to easily accept affection—especially not romantic affection. If he hadn't made a move on her yet, after all their history, why would he suddenly fall for some random girl out of nowhere?
This wasn't arrogance. It was logic.
But thanks to Kaguya's meddling, now rumors were flying. Sakurai Saki had become the reluctant idol of Shuchiin Academy.
Even worse, his popularity was likely to skyrocket after today's incident.
He would go from admired upperclassman to near-mythical school figure. A symbol. An untouchable.
Hayasaka didn't want to imagine what would happen if she actually managed to win his heart—fanatical girls from rich, powerful families might come after her with legal threats. Or worse, monogrammed razor blades.
Kaguya, still not grasping the full weight of her actions, tilted her head.
"Hayasaka, what are you even worried about? That whole thing was just a joke. No girl actually thinks she's dating him."
Then she gave a teasing smirk.
"Or are you afraid, Hayasaka? That Sakurai-kun's gone from someone's crush to everyone's? That maybe he'll give up on love entirely now?"
Hayasaka clenched her fists behind her back.
Give up on love? Not a chance.
She was confident she'd make Sakurai Saki fall for her eventually—on his own terms. She didn't need tricks. Just time.
"It'll blow over," Kaguya said airily. "Everyone will forget in a week."
Hayasaka said nothing.
You really don't understand, do you?Sakurai Saki wasn't just admired—he was worshipped by a certain group of girls. He was kind, gentle, distant, mysterious. The worst possible combination for fan obsession.
After today? He was basically a public asset.
Kaguya leaned forward with a sly smile.
"You're jealous, Hayasaka. I get it. You think he treats you a little differently, so you're convinced he likes you. But with all due respect…" Kaguya's smile sharpened.
"You've still got a long way to go before he confesses to you."
Then, like tossing a bone to a dog:"But if you ask for my help, I might be willing to lower myself and lend a hand."
Kaguya Shinomiya had recently been diving deep into psychology books—not for self-help, but to aid her loyal attendant in winning over a certain hard-to-get boy.
She was confident.
With her intellect, charm, and strategic genius, she could help Hayasaka Ai capture Sakurai Saki.
After all, everyone starts out inexperienced. She'd never dated anyone, sure—but theory always precedes practice. Right?
Hayasaka Ai's expression darkened.
If Sakurai-kun doesn't like me, does he like you then?
Wasn't it you who argued with him almost daily last year?
And every time you lost—every time—you'd come crawling back, whining to me for revenge.
Hayasaka remembered Sakurai's razor-sharp tongue. The way he could slice through someone's defenses with one cold sentence. He always found the right spot to hit.
"Kaguya Shinomiya," she said sharply, "do you really think I can't win him over?"
There was heat in her voice. Pride, bruised.
Kaguya blinked innocently. "Without my help? It'll be very difficult~"
She hugged the book she'd been reading—The Male Conquest Manual, Vol. 1: Theory and Application—as if it were a sacred text.
Hayasaka Ai clenched her fists tighter.
"Then why don't you try?" she snapped. "If Sakurai-kun's so easy, go win him over yourself!"
You'll see just how impossible he is!
Kaguya's eyes narrowed, her pride now fully provoked.
"I will," she declared, standing up. "And once I do, I'll flaunt our perfect relationship right in front of you."
Then, after a pause, she added viciously:"Oh—and in front of Fujiwara too."
A cold silence settled between them.
Hayasaka Ai's expression didn't change. But inside, she was screaming.
Kaguya Shinomiya, you're diving headfirst into the abyss.
That man—Sakurai Saki—isn't someone you can "conquer" with a guidebook.
He's as unreadable and chaotic as Fujiwara Chika, but with emotional depth that could drown you if you don't know how to swim.
This wasn't a game.
And now... the war had begun.
..p@treon Rene_chan