The Heroines Want to Confess

The student council room.

The Aeroplane Chess showdown raged on!

"I use my dice to summon a three! Come forth, my TAMASHII! Crimson Flight Path, I activate its effect! When a plane crosses the Crimson Flight Path, it can knock a piece off the board and send it to the opponent's graveyard! This effect can only be activated once per turn," Ishigami began narrating like he was in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Ah! My plane!" Shirogane watched as his last piece, just about to reach the finish line, was mercilessly knocked back to its starting point. He clenched his fist.

Damn that Crimson Flight Path!

He rolled another six, launching his plane again.

But… it was too late.

"Heh, now… it's my turn!" Sakurai smirked coldly.

"This victory… is mine!"

He prepared to roll.

Three seconds on the clock.

"Ah~!"

Suddenly, Fujiwara Chika "accidentally" lost her balance and tumbled right into Sakurai's lap.

[Oh! What a golden opportunity! Quick, hold her! Hehe~ soft, fluffy Chika-chan~ hehe~ snuggle snuggle~]

What are you even saying?

I just want to win right now!

Sakurai, annoyed, threw the dice with force.

The dice tumbled through the air and landed on the table.

"Four! I won!" Sakurai declared triumphantly, moving his final piece into the finish zone.

Shirogane gritted his teeth in frustration.

Damn it!

He was so close!

That was supposed to be his ticket to bond with Kei and her friends at the movies.

Ishigami stared at the ceiling, a single tear threatening to escape his eye.

He'd lost.

Utterly and completely.

So this… this is what crushing defeat feels like.

Sure, he'd lost in games plenty of times before, but still… he really wanted to win this time.

Coach!!! I want to learn Aeroplane Chess!!!

Meanwhile, Fujiwara Chika lay comfortably across Sakurai's lap, showing absolutely no intention of moving.

Sakurai-kun's lap… so comfy!

Mission complete!

A perfect execution of her plan!

On the sidelines, Shinomiya Kaguya had been silently watching for several minutes.

Her crimson eyes were dull, devoid of any light.

"Ah! Kaguya-san!" Fujiwara called out from Sakurai's lap, waving at her from her ridiculous position.

"Fujiwara-san, you 'accidentally' fell over just now to stop me from rolling the dice, didn't you?" Sakurai lifted her head gently.

She'd been lying there for ten full minutes.

[She orchestrated this entire game just to get a lap pillow~ Ah~ A girl in love is just too cute, isn't she?~]

"Ah~ No way!" Chika averted her gaze, eyes darting around in panic.

[A flustered Chika-chan is adorable too!~]

You're overusing the word "adorable." It's lost all meaning.

Ishigami, ever the sharp-tongued realist, muttered, "Interfering with opponents just to win… Fujiwara-senpai, you're despicable."

"Yeah, Fujiwara-san, play fair next time," Shirogane added with a tone of authority.

'Thank goodness they didn't notice my little dice manipulation,' Ishigami thought, relieved.

'Using a light touch to control the dice's number… that's not cheating, right?' Shirogane convinced himself.

As for Sakurai… Well, using superpowers didn't count as cheating. Right?

"Here, the movie tickets!" Chika pulled two tickets from her bag.

"Sakurai-kun, take them. Go watch with a friend this weekend!"

"Mm." Sakurai accepted the tickets—then promptly handed them to Shirogane.

"Shirogane, take Kei to see the movie. I'm not really interested in what's showing right now."

It wasn't a lie.

But it wasn't exactly the truth either.

Sakurai just didn't have anyone he wanted to watch a movie with, so he couldn't be bothered to go.

Going to a movie alone… in a theater packed with couples… crying over a sad film… while getting force-fed relationship envy…

Yeah, no thanks.

"Consider it a gift for Kei," Sakurai insisted, anticipating Shirogane's refusal.

"Thanks," Shirogane accepted, tucking the tickets away.

"Kei? That's your little sister, right?" Fujiwara's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Kaguya-san, come sit down~ Don't just stand there!"

Fujiwara wiggled closer to Sakurai, inching her body against his, forcing him into the corner of the sofa.

Pressed up against him, her warmth was impossible to ignore.

Kaguya hesitated briefly before sitting beside Chika, accepting the invitation without protest.

The sofa was big enough—for now.

If not, Sakurai might've just gotten up and left.

Also, Fujiwara-san, you're sitting way too close.

[Waaaah!!! Chika-chan, back off! Back off! Her chest… her chest is touching him!!! I can't stand this!!!]

Are you some kind of crazed fangirl watching her idol from afar?

It's just… fat… brushing against my arm.

"Yeah, my little sister… But she's going through a rebellious phase lately," Shirogane sighed, his face full of dramatic grief.

"Girls are so difficult… Ever since she hit her rebellious stage, she won't even talk to me."

So… you're the doting big-brother type, huh?

Sakurai spoke up. "Kei probably just doesn't want to seem too attached to you. She still cares, though."

"Ah! That's what they call 'tsundere,' right?! Tsundere personalities are super popular!" Fujiwara chimed in excitedly.

"Hmph." Ishigami scoffed, smirking coldly.

You know nothing, Fujiwara-senpai.

Tsunderes are so out of fashion.

"Tsundere?" Shirogane looked confused.

Fujiwara, ever the expert, explained, "Yeah! Those girls who say one thing and mean another! Like, 'Ah~ I like him so much, but after any kind of intimacy, I just punch him without thinking! What do I do?'"

"That's a tsundere!"

She finished her dramatic explanation… then pointed directly at Kaguya.

"Kaguya-san is a tsundere too!"

No, no, no. Kaguya was just a cold, unreachable ice queen. Even if she were a tsundere, the "tsun" part of her personality was… overwhelming.

[Pfft~ Kaguya-chan's face… haha, she looks like she wants to kill someone. She can't hide it! HAHAHA!]

Stop laughing inside my head. Please.

"Ugh, amateurs…" Ishigami suddenly snapped, his voice louder and more agitated.

"Don't go spreading misinformation, Fujiwara-senpai. Do you even know what makes a proper tsundere? It's the contrast that makes them appealing! The 'tsun' part isn't the key—the 'dere' is!"

His disdain was palpable.

Ugh, normies are the worst.

Kaguya's cold gaze shifted from Fujiwara to Ishigami.

Ishigami: "..."

Sorry, I got carried away… I'll go train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and come back later.

"Ah~ What nice weather we're having today," Ishigami muttered, casually packing his things.

"Uh, I've got stuff to do, so… I'm heading out."

A few minutes later, Ishigami fled the battlefield.

Sakurai slid over to sit beside Shirogane.

"Gulp~" Shirogane swallowed nervously.

Sakurai's expression remained cold.

Now, it was two versus two.

Ice Kaguya-hime had joined the game.

An unprecedented crisis was about to unfold.