It was raining that day too.

All the classes had just ended, and a relaxed atmosphere hung over the classroom.

Holding her bag to her chest, Shimokawa Anzu carefully swept her gaze across the room, as if waiting for the right moment.

Anzu understood that her position in the class hierarchy was extremely low.

She also knew that, to her classmates, she was probably seen as nothing more than part of a plain, unremarkable little group.

That was why she needed the right opportunity.

In the center of the classroom, Toudou Mizuki and Houjou Noa were preparing for the study session.

If she was going to speak up, now was the time.

“Um!”

She summoned her courage and stood up.

At the same time, the eyes of everyone in the classroom turned toward Anzu, and her mind went completely blank.

“Shimokawa-san, what is it?”

Mizuki’s voice was gentle, just as always.

That brought Anzu back to herself, and she pulled a wrapped bundle out of her bag.

“S-sweets! I made some sweets! I thought it might be nice to have something sweet!”

With no chance to shine during the sports festival and little confidence going into the end-of-term exams, this was the conclusion Anzu had arrived at after thinking it through in her own way.

The cookies she held out were a little uneven, but thanks to all the practice she’d put in for this day, they seemed to have turned out quite well.

“Wow, you’re good at this. Is it okay if we eat them?”

“O-of course!”

Mizuki took one and bit into it, eating about half of it.

As Anzu watched him intently, Mizuki’s expression softened.

“Mm… it’s good.”

“Th-that’s a relief! P-please, everyone, help yourselves!”

Seeing that his reaction didn’t look like empty flattery, Anzu let out a breath of relief.

While sneaking glances at Mizuki happily munching on the cookie, she carried them over to the teacher’s desk so anyone in the class could take one.

Just then, Himura Ririka, who had been fiddling with her phone by herself, suddenly stood up.

Her usual slightly languid expression now carried a hint of a provocative smile.

“Heh. What a coincidence. I brought some too.”

“Eh…?”

Ririka picked up her bag and strode toward the teacher’s desk.

From the wrapping she took out, perfectly shaped cookies appeared, looking like they came straight from a shop.

“My family runs a pastry shop. I’m pretty good at making things like this.”

“……”

Lined up side by side on the desk, it was obvious how much Anzu’s cookies paled in comparison.

Without thinking, Anzu bit her lip and fell silent.

“Ah, my bad. Looks like we both brought cookies. But mine have a bunch of different flavors, so I think it’ll be fine.”

Ririka spoke up, as if to smooth things over.

To Anzu, however, it sounded like nothing but a declaration of victory.

“Toudou, if you’d like, go ahead and try mine too. And everyone else as well.”

“Thanks for making them for everyone too, Himura-san. I’ll have some later.”

Mizuki replied with a pleasant smile.

For a moment, an unpleasant silence was about to settle over the room, but Houjou Noa spoke up.

“Hey, Ayano.”

“Yes?”

“You’re good at making sweets too, aren’t you, Ayano?”

“Yes. It’s my dream to serve them to a gentleman.”

It was an almost deliberately staged exchange.

Like an actress, Noa continued in an exaggeratedly innocent tone.

“Then why don’t you try making some next time? I’m sure Mizuki-kun would eat them.”

“Mizuki-sama! May I make some for you?”

Ogata Ayano.

Her neatly trimmed bangs and black hair left a strong impression, and lately she had been directing her affection toward Mizuki at every opportunity.

With Houjou Noa having entered his colony, it was clear she was trying to move things to the next stage.

“Um, I don’t mind, but the end-of-semester exams are coming up, so don’t push yourself, okay…?”

“Yes! It’s a hobby of mine, so I’d like to use it as a way to relax as well.”

No one showed any interest in the cookies Anzu had brought anymore.

She trudged back to her seat.

Almost as if trading places with her, Momohara Nao stood up.

“I was just starting to get hungry, you know.”

“Nice. I was just thinking I wanted something to eat too.”

As if on cue, Aoyama Haruka followed after her.

Drawing the attention of the entire class, the two of them reached for the cookies Ririka had baked, looking completely unconcerned by the stares.

“Oh—these are good. Nice one, Ririka!”

Flashy pink hair and a face full of confidence.

For a brief moment, Anzu felt like those eyes had turned toward her, and she flinched instinctively.

“Ren, you should have some too.”

Their leader, Kurosaki Ren, remained seated.

Lately, she had been quiet all the time.

Because of that, the group as a whole seemed to lack cohesion.

“…I’ll have some later.”

“Huh? But they’re this good!”

With a dissatisfied look, Nao picked up another cookie.

Then, with a light, buoyant step, she headed toward Mizuki.

“Here you go, Mizuki-sama! It’s really good, you know? Say ‘ah!’”

Nao’s hand, holding the cookie, moved toward Mizuki’s mouth.

At the same time, Noa, who had been standing beside him, snatched the cookie away as if to guard him.

“I’d like to start the study session soon. Is that okay?”

“Okay…”

After seeing Momohara Nao retreat dejectedly, Noa picked up the handouts and headed to the front of the classroom.

“Alright. I’ve prepared a short quiz. I’ve also made a separate sheet with the answers and explanations. Once you’re done, take an answer sheet from here and review the parts you got wrong on your own.”

“If anyone would like a more detailed explanation, please let us know. I’ll help as well.”

Isshiki Shizuku spoke up with her usual mask-like smile.

Taking that as her cue, Noa began handing out the papers from the front.

Gradually, the classroom grew quiet, and the sound of pens scratching across paper began to fill the air.

“……”

The quiz questions were well made.

Houjou Noa was already behaving almost like Toudou Mizuki’s right-hand woman.

And frustratingly enough, she had the ability to back it up.

“……”

The problem wasn’t just Noa.

No matter what Anzu tried to do, there was always someone in the class who outshone her.

Even being good at studying wasn’t much of an advantage at Shirayuki Academy.

Anzu couldn’t see what her own strengths were.

“……”

With a small snap, the lead of her mechanical pencil broke.

◇◆◇

“Let’s call it a day here.”

At Toudou Mizuki’s gentle voice, Anzu quickly lifted her head.

“Mmm… well, if we do this every day, it should start to pay off.”

Houjou Noa said that as she stretched, as if loosening up her body.

All at once, the sound of everyone packing up filled the classroom.

“Everyone, aren’t you tired? The study session is optional, so if you’re tired, it’s totally fine to take a break.”

At the very least, Anzu thought, as long as Mizuki was there, no one would take a break.

Even just watching him from afar was a treat for the eyes.

“All that studying makes me want something sweet.”

Saying that, Mizuki headed toward the teacher’s desk.

Without thinking, Anzu followed him with her eyes.

The first thing Mizuki reached for was the cookies Anzu had made.

“……”

After Anzu’s cookies, Mizuki’s hand reached for Ririka’s cookies as well.

But by then, it didn’t matter anymore.

Just that single gesture made her feel relieved.

“Me too! I’m starving!”

Aihara Yura went over to Mizuki, and the two of them began eating cookies side by side.

That set things in motion, and the rest of the classmates began drifting toward the front of the classroom one by one.

“Shimokawa-san, you’re really good at making sweets!”

At Yura’s innocent praise, Anzu instinctively lowered her head.

She could feel her face growing faintly warm.

“Otonashi-san, would you like one too?”

Mizuki carried some cookies over to Otonashi Nagi, who was still seated at her desk.

Nagi glanced toward Anzu for a moment, gave a small bow, and then took a tiny bite of a cookie.

“You know, I, Amagi, can actually make sweets as well. Perhaps I should treat everyone to my specialty ohagi someday.”

“Kuon, that is one thing you should absolutely not do.”

Before she realized it, the cookies Anzu had brought were gone.

The cookies Ririka had brought were also gone.

She didn’t know which had run out first, but that no longer mattered.

“Um!”

Summoning her courage, she raised her voice.

All eyes turned toward her at once, but Anzu didn’t falter.

“Could I… could I bring some again next time?”

All Anzu could see was Mizuki.

The way he nodded and smiled gently, just as he always did, felt dazzling.

“I’m really happy about it, but don’t push yourself, okay?”

“Yes…! I’m okay! I’ll make some again!”

Just then, someone muttered quietly.

“Ah, the time.”

Anzu reflexively glanced at the clock.

Seikadan was about to start.

“Oh no!”

“Thanks for today!”

“See you tomorrow!”

One after another, her classmates rushed out of the classroom.

A moment later, Anzu followed suit, fumbling as she hurriedly stuffed her stationery into her bag.

“Shimokawa-san.”

Suddenly, Mizuki called her name.

“The book you mentioned the other day. I tried buying it, and it was interesting. If you’d like, you can recommend more sometime.”

“…!”

Tucking her bag under her arm, Anzu burst out into the hallway as if fleeing.

Her heart was pounding like a drum.

Her face was surely as red as a boiled octopus by now.

“Waaaaaahhh!”

She let out an unintelligible scream.

And then decided she’d skip Seikadan.

Social scores and chances to get involved with party executives didn’t matter to her anymore.

Right now, she needed to go home and study.

If she ended up in the bottom five on the exams, she’d never live it down.

“I won’t give up! I won’t!”

Back home, she’d been known as a top student.

Even with the cookies, she’d managed to hold her own against Himura Ririka, whose family ran a pastry shop.

This wasn’t the time to get discouraged.

Shimokawa Anzu burst out of the entrance and ran straight into the rain.