“That Houjou girl is surprisingly quiet.”

After school, on the field.

The girls of Class K had changed into tracksuits and were timing the 100-meter dash in small groups for the upcoming sports festival.

Kurosaki Ren, waiting off to the side, voiced her real thoughts.

“Probably because Toudou warned her about faction politics, don’t you think?”

Beside her, Hoshino Ririka scrolled on her phone, sounding indifferent.

“Huh. Even one of the Eighteen Houses wags her tail for a boy.”

“Otherwise what’s the point of coming to Shirayuki.”

“True enough.”

On the track, Minaki Suzu and several others took their places at the start line.

Ren fell silent and watched naturally.

“Ready—”

Sakura Sanae, the PE committee member, raised her arm.

At the same moment, Minaki Suzu’s body sank low.

“Go!”

Dirt kicked up underfoot.

Her small frame shot off the line like a bullet, her form clean and controlled.

“Oh, she’s definitely trained, isn’t she?”

“Hmm? Track and field?”

“At the very least, someone actually taught her how to run.”

At the finish line, Aihara Yura clapped in an exaggerated cheer.

Even from afar, Suzu didn’t look winded.

“Yo, look at you all.”

A boy’s voice cut in.

Turning around, Shirakawa Kento from Class C approached, several girls behind him.

“Hey, Toudou. How’d social service go?”

Mizuki, who had been chatting with Kaminari Nene nearby, looked up as Kento walked straight toward him.

“…I think… not very well.”

“That’s normal at first. If you want, we could go together next time?”

“Really? That’d help a lot.”

“Leave it to me. Mind if I pick the place?”

“Yeah.”

A rare exchange between boys drew the attention of the girls nearby.

Noticing it, Kento waved loosely.

“My bad, I’m getting in the way of practice. I’ll hit you up later.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

As Shirakawa Kento left, Toudou Mizuki looked oddly downcast.

Ren frowned.

“…Toudou’s acting weird today.”

“There was that early morning class meeting. Probably because of that.”

“…Right.”

On the track, Houjou Noa had just taken off running.

Her followers were cheering loudly.

Ren remembered what had bothered her during the meeting.

“Toudou… think he’s short on cash?”

“Who knows.”

“…If he wants money, we might have an opening.”

“…Are you being serious?”

Ririka finally lifted her eyes from her phone, staring.

“Between Houjou and Isshiki, and now Kaminari being his favorite. There’s no way to win normally.”

“…True.”

Ririka subtly checked for eavesdroppers.

“If Isshiki went as far as banning money exchanges, there’s a serious reason.”

“Right? So that’s the one spot we can hit.”

“…And what are you planning?”

At that moment, Isshiki Shizuku stepped to the start line.

Her usual faint, unreadable smile in place.

She ran with graceful control.

“You might get on Isshiki’s bad side.”

“It’s helping someone out. Someone needs money, so give them money. Not like it’s a crime.”

“…How far are you thinking of going?”

“Just grabbing food. If it turns into something, fine.”

“Well… if it’s just that…”

Ririka was leaning.

Ren pushed once more.

“…Once we graduate, there’s no chance anymore.”

“…”

Ririka said nothing.

Ren took that as agreement.

“I’ll go talk to him. It’d be better if some of us are around.”

“…Got it.”

“If even one of us is his type… that’s enough.”

Ren glanced toward a few girls they’d been talking with recently—already picking out the prettier ones.

“Next group, line up if you haven’t gone yet.”

Sakura Sanae’s voice cut through.

Conversation over, Ren and Ririka stood and headed to the line.

“Now then… Otonashi, you haven’t gone yet, right?”

Sanae sounded irritated.

“Otonashi?”

After being called several times, Otonashi Nagi quietly rose from within the group and walked to the start.

Ren eyed the girl beside her, uneasy.

“Ready—”

Ren lowered her stance and fixed her gaze ahead.

She was confident in short-distance runs.

“Go!”

She pushed off hard.

Passed Ririka instantly, taking the lead.

Ren didn’t slow until she crossed the finish line.

“How’s that.”

Turning back, she grinned at the out-of-breath Ririka.

“…Not bad.”

“Heh, I’ve got stamina.”

Then she noticed Otonashi Nagi hadn’t finished.

She scanned the field.

“…What’s she doing?”

Otonashi was still at the starting line.

Sakura Sanae yelled something in the distance.

“…Trouble?”

Ririka murmured just as Otonashi finally began to jog shakily.

Under everyone’s eyes, she simply trudged through the track, barely faster than a walk.

“Is she screwing with us?”

The sheer lack of effort made Ren grit her teeth.

She was tempted to confront her—

but remembered Mizuki was watching.

She snorted and returned to the group.

“Is that everyone? Anyone left?”

Sakura Sanae looked around, then said flatly:

“Whatever. Last place is Otonashi.”

She then turned to Mizuki.

“Toudou-sama, how would you like to proceed? You said you’d pair with the slowest person.”

“Yeah. Then… sorry, but Otonashi-san, would you be okay being my partner?”

Otonashi Nagi bowed her head slightly.

She didn’t look pleased—just accepting.

The atmosphere turned cold.

“Since I can’t run well right now… just take it easy, okay?”

Trying to smooth over the silence, Mizuki spoke gently to Otonashi Nagi.

Otonashi only nodded once more.

(…She did that on purpose?)

Ren couldn’t tell.

Before she could think further, Mizuki turned to Houjou Noa.

“Houjou-san, you’re good at sports too.”

“As I said, I can be useful.”

Houjou replied confidently.

“Isshiki-san, and Minaki-san were amazing too.”

Mizuki went down the line, offering kind words one by one.

Bit by bit, attention drifted away from Otonashi.

Only Gobai Miya stared openly, eyes burning with anger, fixated on Otonashi Nagi.