Chapter 43: Filling In the Missing Pieces!
With Yukino personally handling things, Utaha and Megumi entered the school without any trouble. Michiru followed behind them.
Three beautiful girls from different schools appearing together in the club building naturally attracted plenty of curious looks.
Students lingered nearby, whispering and staring, until Yukino swept them with a cold glance and sent them scattering.
Still, rumors traveled quickly.
Before long, the newly established club called HoYoMix inevitably became a topic of conversation around campus.
Saku couldn't care less about that kind of fame.
Right now, he was more interested in what Utaha and the others had brought with them.
From their explanation, he quickly learned everything that had happened at Toyogasaki Academy.
「I didn't expect Aki Tomoya to actually grab Megumi like that. That feels pretty out of character.」
「Then again, if someone NTR'd practically every member of your club away from you, I guess anyone would eventually lose it.」
「Sigh... I almost feel sorry for him for one whole second. He really got NTR'd into oblivion.」
「Oh, right. I'm the NTR villain here. Never mind.」
[Valid roast detected. Roast Points +25. Current total: 2,380.]
All the girls: '...'
Saku's gaze shifted toward Megumi.
"Kato, how's your shoulder?"
"Do you want to go to the infirmary and get it checked?"
He'd noticed it almost immediately after she entered.
Megumi's face showed virtually no emotion, but every so often, her hand would unconsciously rise to rub her shoulder.
If it genuinely didn't hurt, she shouldn't have been making that little movement at all.
At Saku's question, a faint spark appeared in Megumi's normally placid eyes.
Ever since arriving, Utaha had been the one doing most of the talking.
Logically, Saku's attention should've been focused on her.
Yet even while listening to Utaha, he'd still noticed Megumi.
Her almost supernatural lack of presence hadn't worked on him.
That could only mean one thing.
Whether consciously or not, Saku had been paying attention to her too.
The realization made Megumi's heart skip unexpectedly.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the fabric of her clothes.
"I... I'm really fine."
「I almost forgot. Megumi is another victim of traditional upbringing. Whenever something happens, her first instinct is to wonder whether she'll inconvenience someone else.」
「She's the classic type who silently wears herself down instead of asking for help.」
「Talking nicely won't work on someone like that. You have to be a little forceful.」
Megumi's expression remained calm.
'Am I really like that?'
'Could you please stop diagnosing my personality without permission?'
Unfortunately, disagreeing internally did nothing to stop Saku.
"Yukino, sorry, but I'll have to trouble you again."
He pointed toward Megumi.
"Take her to the infirmary."
"Whether there's actually a problem or not, she should get checked first."
He added with complete practicality, "It's free anyway."
That reasoning was annoyingly difficult to argue with.
Even Yukino couldn't find a flaw.
"Kato-san, come with me."
She stood.
"He's right. It doesn't cost anything."
With both of them insisting, Megumi finally surrendered.
She bowed lightly toward Saku.
"Thank you for worrying about me, President."
「She's already calling me President?」
「That social awareness really is something else. No wonder she was the one who won in the original story. How were Utaha and Eriri supposed to compete with this?」
[Precise roast detected. Roast Points +100. Current total: 2,480.]
Utaha listened silently while her gaze followed Megumi all the way to the door.
She wasn't exactly pleased by Saku's commentary.
Still...
Megumi genuinely did have frighteningly high emotional intelligence.
Nothing had even happened yet, and somehow Saku already looked increasingly fond of her.
'What a dangerous rival.'
In the original story, Utaha hadn't noticed the threat early enough and had lost before she realized what was happening.
This time was different.
She was already on guard.
No one was stealing her place that easily.
Seeing an opportunity while Megumi and Yukino were away, Utaha prepared to earn herself a few points with Saku.
Then she turned around.
Michiru had already beaten her to it.
Utaha's expression immediately darkened.
She'd nearly forgotten there was another serious rival right here.
Unlike Utaha, who deliberately used black stockings and flirtation to tempt Saku at home, Michiru relied on her "one of the guys" personality to casually invade his personal space all the time.
As a result, Utaha's own progress had barely moved.
Michiru wasn't inferior to her in figure or talent.
Worse, she could cling to Saku under the excuse that they were practically buddies.
How was anyone supposed to compete with that?
And ahead of both of them was an actual celebrity.
Utaha suddenly realized that having an excessively popular boy around was a serious problem.
Still, she stopped overthinking and moved closer.
Only then did she see what Michiru and Saku were watching together on the phone.
It was a performance video recorded by Icy Tail.
Utaha recognized the song immediately.
Saku had written it for them.
Idol.
Michiru practiced it at home often enough that Utaha could identify it from the opening notes alone.
She'd heard that the band had been rehearsing intensively.
Judging from this recording, all that work had clearly paid off.
"Saku, what do you think?"
Michiru leaned against him without the slightest hesitation.
"This is the best version we've recorded so far, but we all feel like something's still missing."
Their heads were so close they were nearly touching.
When Michiru turned to speak, her lips came dangerously close to Saku's cheek, and he could feel the warmth of her breath.
At first, Saku had occasionally complained about her lack of boundaries.
By now, he'd completely given up.
If Michiru didn't mind, why should he?
Admittedly, her behavior had made his imagination run wild when she'd first moved in.
After getting used to it, though, he no longer reacted dramatically every time she leaned against him.
His attention remained on the video.
The camerawork was weak, but the actual performance was already very polished.
What it lacked wasn't musical quality.
It lacked visual impact.
The emotion conveyed through the footage simply wasn't strong enough.
If they could give the video the quality and presentation of a proper music video, then the song could become something far more impressive.
Before Saku could speak, another warm body pressed against his left side.
The fragrance was familiar.
Utaha.
「We're just watching a video. Does everyone really need to squeeze this close?」
「I don't remember the clubroom being this narrow.」
Utaha heard him perfectly.
So naturally, she made things worse.
She directly linked her arm through his.
"You're already done rehearsing, Michiru?"
Utaha looked at the screen.
"It sounds pretty good."
"It's not enough."
Michiru refused to concede any ground and leaned even closer.
"I still feel like something's missing."
Saku had long since become accustomed to their competition.
Competition encouraged progress.
That was a good thing.
He had no intention of interfering.
"Michiru, the song itself is already highly polished."
He tapped the phone screen.
"What feels lacking is the video quality."
"You should find someone who knows professional filming and have them shoot a proper music video."
He considered it for another moment.
"And I'd add a little choreography."
"The visuals need more movement and energy so they actually match the rhythm of the song."
There was a reason Michiru had gradually begun relying on Saku so much.
Whenever she brought him a problem, his advice actually worked.
How was she supposed to not become attached to someone like that?
"Saku, that makes a lot of sense."
Then Michiru frowned.
"But I don't know how to dance."
"Do we need to hire a choreographer?"
She thought about it.
That wouldn't necessarily be difficult.
Her school had a dance club, and asking them for some help probably wasn't impossible.
Before she could continue, Saku answered casually.
"You can't dance, but I can."
"...You can?"
Michiru stared at him.
Utaha reacted almost simultaneously.
"You know how to dance too?!"
Both girls looked at him as though he'd just announced another completely unreasonable talent.
Seriously.
What couldn't this guy do?
Utaha suddenly felt that she'd still been underestimating what the word "genius" actually meant.
Apparently, she'd spent far too long being a frog at the bottom of a well.
…