The Heroines Want to Confess

Shuchiin Academy.

Today was the opening ceremony.

"Raise your head and gaze upon the azure sky~"

"On that distant peak of Mount Fuji~"

A drowsy boy sang along in the auditorium.

When will Mount Fuji erupt?

I hope it's in the next second.

At this moment, Sakurai Saki only wanted the world to end.

It was because his recent sleep deprivation was severe—so severe that he was tempted to give up even his upcoming student council duties.

'The deepest lake in this island nation is Lake Tazawa, and the highest mountain is Mount Fuji.'

If there's a ranking for the most sleep-deprived person, I'd definitely be at the top.

Sakurai Saki despised working, but he had no choice.

Whether it was handing out flyers in front of Shibuya's 109 building or working part-time in a mascot costume at an amusement park, such things were everyday occurrences for him—he'd done them plenty of times before.

Recently, he'd added another task—tutoring his classmate.

Nakano Miku's high school grades were less than ideal—or rather, abysmally bad.

If there were a national ranking of idiots, Miku would undoubtedly take first place!

But who could refuse when she paid so generously?

Sakurai snapped back to reality, realizing everyone was staring at him.

"Sakurai-kun, please come up to the stage and give your speech!"

On stage, the homeroom teacher of Class 3-A, who looked as though he hadn't slept in centuries, reminded him.

Sakurai knew his name—Obayashi Mitsuru.

A teacher of the honors class with a questionable teaching style… and a face so haggard, it made people worry about his health.

Sakurai stood up and walked to the stage empty-handed.

The speech was already memorized in his mind, and besides, he didn't care about this kind of occasion.

Still, formalities were necessary—just formalities.

The songs of youth had nothing to do with Sakurai Saki. High school life was simply a stepping stone to earn more money in the future.

With a perfect smile as radiant as the morning sun, Sakurai took the stage. The auditorium fell silent in an instant.

"Hello, fellow students of Shuchiin. I am Sakurai Saki, the Student Council's General Affairs Officer. Today, as President Shirogane is feeling unwell, I will be delivering the senior student's address on his behalf…"

In the audience.

A girl with shoulder-length, light pink hair and a cute expression, Fujiwara Chika, was counting on her fingers.

"What's wrong, Fujiwara-san?" asked the blonde girl beside her, curious.

"I'm counting Sakurai-kun's tardiness."

Hearing this, Hayasaka Ai glanced toward the stage.

The handsome boy with short black hair was the third-ranked student in the second year.

The first was Shirogane Miyuki, the second was Shinomiya Kaguya.

As Sakurai's gaming friend, Hayasaka Ai knew a bit more than most—like the fact that his grades could easily place him first if he wanted to, or that he only spent two hours a day studying.

This baffled her.

There are always those people who can play games with you every day and still score higher than you. It makes you wonder—do they have 48 hours in a day?

"My tardiness is three times. Sakurai-kun's is twice. With today's, that makes it three, the same as me!" Fujiwara Chika pondered how she could challenge Sakurai later.

After being teased by him every year, this year, she was determined to win!

Ten minutes later.

Sakurai stepped down from the stage, nodded to the teachers, and returned to his seat.

"Welcome to Shuchiin Academy. I am Adolf Pescarolo, the principal…"

As the principal's speech droned on, Sakurai was thinking about what to do with today's ability.

Sakurai Saki was a superhuman.

To be precise, a random ability wielder.

Every morning at six, Sakurai would receive a random superpower that lasted for the entire day.

The known powers so far included:

Super Strength: Strength multiplied tenfold, but speed reduced to one-third.

Super Speed: Speed multiplied tenfold, but strength reduced to one-third.

Invisibility: Can hide his body, but not his clothes.

X-ray Vision: Can see through bodies and walls, but not clothes.

Teleportation: Can teleport within a large area, but not to places where people are present.

Time Stop: Can freeze everything in the world, but only for a maximum of 24 hours.

…

Today's power was: Death Note.

Death Note: Can kill any person in the world. Just write the character for "death" ([死]) and the target's name on a piece of paper with any additional text. If there are multiple people with the same name, the target is chosen randomly. Side effect: The user is forgotten by everyone for one day, and this time accumulates with each use.

Sakurai thought about sealing it away.

Not only was it too dangerous, but there was also no one in this world he hated enough to want them dead on the spot.

After the opening ceremony, Sakurai prepared to head to the student council room.

"Good morning, Sakurai-kun."

Opening the door, Sakurai nodded in response to the vice president, Shinomiya Kaguya.

"Good morning, Shinomiya-san."

Without further words, Sakurai took the president's seat, ignoring Kaguya, who was sipping tea on the lounge sofa.

The two didn't have a good relationship—at least, not one good enough for idle chatter.

If not for Shirogane Miyuki's invitation, Sakurai wouldn't have joined the student council at all.

He and Shirogane were close friends, both having entered from other middle schools, unlike Shinomiya Kaguya, who had advanced from Shuchiin's middle division—a completely different world in terms of background and social circles.

Shirogane wasn't feeling well today. He'd originally insisted on coming despite his illness, but Sakurai, feeling sorry for him, had taken on his duties instead.

Club recruitment was about to begin, and there were many documents to approve.

Brass Band Club, Ping Pong Club, Bowling Club, Baseball Club…

He approved them one by one.

A few minutes later, Sakurai froze.

[Death Metal Club]

This… he couldn't write.

If he wrote the word "death" on that paper, someone might actually die.

Sakurai set his pen aside.

The last thing he wanted was for some members of the Death Metal Club to die under mysterious circumstances—perhaps getting strangled by their own guitar strings while playing with their teeth.

"Shinomiya-san, could you help me with this club application?" Sakurai asked.

If anyone else had been in the room, he would have chosen them over her.

Whether it was accounting officer Ishigami Yuu, the kind-hearted Shirogane, or even Fujiwara Chika, who was always trying to challenge him, all would have been more reasonable choices.

The Shinomiya Zaibatsu could sway the nation's economy. Truthfully, Sakurai didn't want much involvement with someone like Kaguya. But right now, he had no choice.

"Sakurai-kun, President Shirogane entrusted you with this task. Please handle it yourself."

Shinomiya sipped her tea, her expression cold as ice—this was her "Ice Kaguya" mode.

"I'm not sure I can handle this. The Death Metal Club wants a prime spot for recruitment, and I'm not confident in my judgment."

"I thought you could do anything… seems I was wrong." Shinomiya smiled faintly and stood up to help.

I really can do anything.

I could kill your father and brother in the next second.

Be grateful for my mercy, Shinomiya-san.

With a smile, Sakurai handed her the form.

"Thank you, Shinomiya-san. You're a big help!"