“Ah, um! We’ll go do the shopping!”

As soon as classes ended, one of the girls was the first to spring to her feet.

Shimomura Anzu.

She was one of the more reserved girls gathered at the back of the classroom.

Houjou Noa gave a faint smile and smoothly redirected the matter.

“Since it’s a sports festival afterparty, wouldn’t it make sense for Sanae from the PE committee to handle it?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

Sakura Sanae, who understood Noa’s unspoken intent, stood up.

“Oh, and we’ll need people to carry supplies, right? Miya, Ayano—give her a hand.”

“Yes.”

Gobai Miya and Ogata Ayano rose to their feet as well.

Both of them belonged to Noa’s faction.

“T-Then, in that case, we can help carry things too.”

Shimomura Anzu persisted.

To Noa, their impatience was painfully obvious.

They likely hadn’t managed to stand out at the sports festival, and had no real prospects of producing good results in the upcoming exams either.

Unable to contribute meaningfully to the class, they were trying to create roles for themselves, even if it meant settling for menial errands.

Noa had no intention of allowing even that.

She wouldn’t give them any role at all, and let them fade into the background as part of the classroom scenery.

“Thank you. I know you’re being considerate. But this is committee work, so you can take it easy.”

“…!”

She was adept at choosing the right polite pretext for the situation.

Vice class rep, PE committee, cultural committee.

The key roles were held by her faction for precisely this reason.

“What about you, Isshiki-san? You’re the class rep, after all. Will you be coming along for the shopping?”

“I will entrust everything to Sakura-san.”

Isshiki Shizuku said this with her usual cool expression.

As always, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Noa stared at Shizuku’s face for a moment, then gave a short reply.

“Will three of you be enough?”

Suddenly, Toudou Mizuki spoke up.

“Would it be okay if I came along too?”

“Ah, of course. I’m sure everyone will be pleased with whatever you choose.”

Noa’s smile deepened.

This was exactly why she didn’t give Shimomura Anzu any role at all.

“Then we’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Take your time.”

Mizuki and Sanae’s group left the classroom.

After seeing them off, Noa slowly and carefully surveyed the now-quiet room.

Kurosaki Ren, who had been growing increasingly emboldened right up until the sports festival, was strangely quiet.

Shimomura Anzu and the others were whispering among themselves.

By the seats along the hallway, Minaki Suzu rested her cheek on her hand, looking utterly uninterested.

For now, it was fair to say that everything was under control.

She had also gotten what sounded like a proper promise from Mizuki that her side would be allowed to assist with the May gene donation.

All that remained was to maneuver things so that Mizuki would take a liking to her followers.

The only remaining cause for concern was whether her followers would get along with Mizuki.

(So… what should I do about her?)

Noa turned her gaze to Kisaragi Hiyori.

The Kisaragi family was one of the houses that had served the Houjou family since ancient times.

With most of the family being members of the National Party, a high level of ideological purity had been instilled in her from a young age, which often resulted in an elitist mindset. In other words, there was a strong chance she would be incompatible with Toudou Mizuki, who placed little importance on citizen class or social scores.

(I’ve already had her use her class selection rights.)

She would have preferred to keep Hiyori as far away from Mizuki as possible before any problems arose, but her class selection rights had already been used.

Noa didn’t have many options left.

(At worst, maybe I should have her transferred to another school.)

However, she could also foresee that Toudou Mizuki would not take kindly to such heavy-handed measures.

In the end, she failed to arrive at an answer.

◇◆◇

“Where are we going for the shopping?”

“There’s a supermarket about a five-minute walk away, so we’ll head there.”

Talking as they went, they passed through the main gate.

Around Shirayuki Academy stood rows of brick buildings constructed between the Meiji and Taishō eras.

They crossed the familiar street they walked every day, then turned into a residential area they rarely ever visited.

“So if you go just a little off the main road, it turns into a normal neighborhood.”

“Yes. The main street caters to tourists, but if you head further in, there are also affordable restaurants aimed at students.”

Walking beside Mizuki, Gobai Miya explained.

“Though, to be honest, they’re all small places that wouldn’t really suit a gentleman…”

“Do you all come here often?”

“Those who live in the dorms go there fairly often.”

“I see, since you’re from Chiba, you live in the dorms, right, Gobai-san?”

Miya raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“…You remembered that?”

“Yeah. Sakura-san was from Izu, if I remember right? I don’t recall hearing where Ogata-san is from, though.”

“My family runs a dōjō in Chiba.”

Suddenly, Sakura Sanae, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned around.

“Um… may I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“…It’s about Otonashi Nagi.”

Sanae spoke hesitantly.

Mizuki quietly waited for her to continue.

“Look… you might not believe me, but we truly had no intention of using force.”

“And regardless of Noa-sama’s wishes, it was something we did on our own.”

As if to take over Sanae’s words, Miya continued.

“I was the one who suggested it first. I only meant to… give her a firm talking-to, the way we would when instructing disciples at our dojo, and then practice the three-legged race together… But when she ignored us, Hiyori lost her temper…”

“Yeah, I more or less understand what happened. Still… I think Kisaragi-san went too far.”

When Mizuki sensed something was wrong and opened the door to the changing room, Kisaragi Hiyori was gripping Otonashi Nagi by the hair.

From her actions, it was clear that she fully intended to hurt a completely defenseless person.

“As for Hiyori, Noa-sama has already given her a severe warning… We will also make sure nothing like this happens again.”

Miya said this and bowed deeply.

Earnest by nature, she remained bent deeply at the waist, perfectly motionless.

“If you won’t do it again, then it’s fine. Come on, let’s go.”

Patting the timid Miya lightly on the shoulder, Mizuki started walking as if to change the mood.

Miya lifted her head and hurriedly followed after him.

Watching from the side, Ogata Ayano let out a small chuckle.

“Mizuki-sama, you really shouldn’t touch women so casually.”

As she said that, she glanced at Miya, whose face had turned bright red.

“This is how misunderstandings happen. Especially with someone as stiff as Miya—if you give her the wrong idea, it becomes troublesome.”

“I-I did not misunderstand anything! Mizuki-sama belongs to Noa…”

Miya raised her voice in protest.

From their exchange, it was easy to see how close they were.

“So you’ve all been together since middle school?”

“Yes. We were in the same dorm as well. Especially Miya here, she’s said to have known Noa-sama since childhood.”

“Since before I can remember, really. There were only adults around Noa, so since we were the same age, I was allowed to stay close to her.”

Then she looked at Mizuki seriously.

“Since she could remember things. Back then, there were only adults around Noa-san, so we became close because of our similar ages.”

She looked at Mizuki with a serious expression.

“Noa may not look it, but she does have a delicate side. If a kind-hearted gentleman like Mizuki-sama stays close to her, I would feel at ease.”

“Yeah…”

He had seen Houjou Noa in a weakened state once before.

He also knew that her usual demeanor was nothing more than an act.

And despite her position as a member of one of the Eighteen Founding Houses, she had already gone so far as to use her class selection rights for Mizuki’s sake.

“…”

The girls in front of him were no different.

All fifteen members of Houjou Noa’s faction were no longer able to transfer to other classes.

Even so, he understood that taking responsibility for every single one of them was not realistic.

He didn’t even know whether that was something they themselves wanted.

“Ah, is this the place?”

“Yes. I believe they have just about everything.”

They arrived at the supermarket they were looking for and went inside.

“Do you all usually cook for yourselves?”

“…I’m ashamed to admit it, but not at all.”

“The kitchens are small, so quite a few dorm students actually end up eating out more often than you’d expect.”

Still, he decided that at the very least, he would make an effort to reach out and get to know them.

Mizuki continued the shopping, making a point of talking to the three of them as much as he could.