“This choco pie is delicious!”

“Yeah, but think of the calories…!”

As usual, Aoyama Haruka and Momohara Nao were making a racket, while Himura Ririka watched them with a cool, detached gaze.

At the sports festival afterparty, people had naturally clustered around the desks in their usual groups.

“……”

Ever since the sports festival ended, Kurosaki Ren being so quiet had been bothering her.

At Shirayuki Academy, her bleached hair was unusual and often drew attention.

When they first met, Ririka had thought she was the bold type—and she’d been right. Ren wasn’t afraid to take action.

Though she’d never said it out loud, Himura Ririka had a high opinion of Kurosaki Ren.

“……”

She watched Houjou Noa from the corner of her eye.

If someone had done something to Ren, it would be her.

The Houjou family was a distinguished house entrusted with the authority to command the Kantō Army. Many of Noa’s yoriki came from samurai lineages, and even among the Eighteen Houses, they could be considered a particularly militant faction.

As future military officers, they possessed not only money and power, but real authority as well.

And in fact, they had tried to use that authority to drive out Otonashi Nagi, who seemed likely to drag the class down.

When Ririka quietly reported their violent actions to Toudou Mizuki, she’d thought her group had won.

And yet now, inexplicably, Noa was chatting happily with Mizuki.

Most likely, she’d escaped trouble by cutting Kisaragi Hiyori loose.

In the end, all that did was put Ririka’s group directly in the Houjou faction’s crosshairs.

“Ririka, want one of these?”

Momohara Nao held out a paper plate with choco pies on it.

Ririka silently took one and stared at Nao.

Her pink hair stood out even more than Kurosaki Ren’s. She had a flashy appearance, a great figure, and striking features.

She was straightforward and easy to get along with as a friend, but in a clash between factions, she didn’t seem like she’d be much help.

“Just one? What, are you on a diet or something?”

Aoyama Haruka let out a playful, teasing laugh.

Her deeply tanned, sun-kissed skin stood out in a completely different way from Ren and Nao.

She was beautiful too, but whether she was actually a good match for Toudou Mizuki was another question entirely.

“…Haa.”

A sigh slipped out before she could stop it.

Then she glanced over at Shimokawa Anzu’s group.

A thrown-together group that looked like all the dull girls in the class had gathered.

Compared to them, at least our group was in a better spot, she thought, taking a bite of the choco pie.

“This stuff’s good, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Ren, you’re not eating?”

“…I guess I will.”

Ren, who’d been silent until now, started eating sluggishly.

Beside her, Nao spoke up with her usual carefree tone.

“So, what now?”

“You guys feeling confident about the end-of-semester exams?”

“Hmm, not reallyyy.”

“Not at all, honestly.”

“…Yeah, figures.”

Ren slumped forward, completely deflated.

By contrast, Nao didn’t seem bothered at all. She grabbed another choco pie and said something as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Then just go talk to him normally.”

“…Huh?”

Ignoring the exasperated look on Ren’s face, Nao suddenly raised her voice.

“Mizuki-kuuun! Hurry up and come over here too!”

“Y-You idiot!”

Leaving Ren and the others staring in shock, Nao waved both arms wildly toward Mizuki.

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Ririka could only stare in silence.

What surprised her even more was that Mizuki waved back and started walking over.

“Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?”

Mizuki smiled warmly as he approached their table.

Ririka hurriedly straightened her posture and glanced around at her friends.

Ren was still frozen in disbelief. Nao stopped waving her arms, looking thoroughly satisfied. Haruka was watching Mizuki with clear curiosity written all over her face.

“Good work at the sports festival, everyone. Kurosaki-san and Aoyama-san, both of you did great in the 200-meter dash.”

“Hehe, you remembered? If there’d been swimming, I could’ve really shown you what I can do!”

Haruka puffed out her chest proudly.

Apparently, she’d been the ace of the swimming club back in middle school, but Shirayuki Academy doesn’t have a pool.

“Momohara-san and Himura-san, you got first place in the scavenger hunt, right?”

“You were watching!? We worked pretty hard, didn’t we~?”

“……We just got lucky with the draw.”

Ririka was surprised that Mizuki had actually kept track of which events each of them had participated in.

Especially since both Ririka and Nao knew that, in terms of athletic ability, they were pretty much dead weight, hardly the type to stand out.

On the surface, she pretended everything was normal, but the realization that she’d been noticed made her heart race.

Mizuki’s eyes were gentle, showing no regard for factions at all.

While she was still entranced, Nao spoke up innocently.

“So, Mizuki-kun, what kind of woman do you like~?”

“Hey……”

Ren’s voice was tense.

Even so, Mizuki didn’t seem bothered in the slightest, tilting his head a little.

“Uh… I don’t think I’ve really thought about it.”

“Then then! Out of the four of us, who do you like the most~?”

“Idiot, don’t put him on the spot.” 

Ren lightly nudged Nao’s shoulder.

“Sorry. She’s an idiot. I’ll make sure to drill it into her later.”

“Picking just one is hard, but I think you’re all cute.”

Mizuki said it with a gentle smile.

Nao let out a high-pitched squeal, and Ririka froze.

“Hey, hey, don’t say that. These idiots will take it seriously, so cut it out.”

Ren laughed in exasperation.

Ririka felt her face heat up and quietly lowered her gaze.

“We can help with gene donation anytime, you know—just say the word!”

At Nao’s loud declaration, the class turned their attention toward them.

In particular, she could feel Houjou Noa’s piercing gaze.

“Alright, see you later.”

Mizuki waved as he walked away.

The silence after he left their group was broken by Haruka, who spoke as if she were feverish.

“……Did you hear that? Mizuki-sama might actually like me.”

“No way in hell. Save the sleep-talking for when you’re actually asleep.”

Ignoring the exchange between Ren and the others, Ririka shoved the remaining chocolate pie into her mouth and glared at the distant Houjou group.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

◇◆◇ 

The after-party came to an end, and her classmates began heading home one after another.

Himura Ririka pretended to busy herself with packing up, waiting for the right moment.

Once she saw Toudou Mizuki—who had been talking with Kaminari Nene in the middle of the classroom—start getting ready to leave, she stepped out into the hallway.

The school building was quiet, with no one else around.

She stopped in the dimming corridor and waited for Mizuki.

Before long, she spotted him walking toward her from down the hall with Kaminari Nene beside him.

“Himura-san?” 

Mizuki spoke with a puzzled look.

Ririka took out a neatly wrapped small box from her bag and held it out to him.

“……You made curry for me the other day, right? This is to thank you.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes.

She prayed the trembling in her outstretched hand wouldn’t be noticeable. 

She silently prayed that her outstretched hand wasn’t shaking.

“Um… I baked some sweets.”

“Can I eat them now?”

“……Yeah.”

Mizuki took the small box and smoothly undid the wrapping.

Inside were colorful cookies.

“Wow, they look really nice.”

“……You think so?”

She’d failed to give them to him so many times, remaking them over and over again.

Still, she was confident in them.

“Oh, they’re good.”

“R-really?”

At Mizuki’s casual remark, her chest fluttered.

Even as she thought it wasn’t like her, she leaned forward, watching his reaction closely.

“Yeah, they’re better than store-bought cookies.” 

“My family runs a pastry shop. I’m pretty confident about the taste.”

“Oh yeah, come to think of it, you’re always researching on your phone.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

A mix of embarrassment at being noticed and joy that he’d paid attention welled up from deep within her chest.

Back in middle school, she’d often been scolded for checking recipes on her phone, mistaken for just fooling around.

Knowing that Mizuki understood her efforts made her indescribably happy.

“…It’s still a small shop, but my dream is to make it bigger.”

“I see. Then I’ll look forward to it.”

Mizuki smiled.

In contrast, Kaminari Nene remained expressionless and silent the entire time.  

“Then… see you tomorrow.”

As they were parting ways, she spoke up as if suddenly remembering something.

“Um… would it be okay if I made some for you again sometime?”

“Yeah.” 

The expressionless look Kaminari Nene had maintained all along visibly twisted.

Ririka let a faint smile form on her lips.

She was being seen as a threat by Kaminari Nene, the first person to assist him.

In other words, it was proof that her actions weren’t wrong.

Then, there was still a chance.

If Kurosaki Ren wanted to sink on her own, that had nothing to do with her anymore.

She’d go as far as she could—and with that resolve, she glared right back at Kaminari Nene.