The night grew deeper, and the evening air turned slightly cold.
After saying goodbye to Asahina Nazuna, Shikime Natsu was walking toward the dormitory building. However, as he passed the vending machine downstairs, his peripheral vision caught a figure standing in the shadows.
That person wore glasses, stood with an upright posture, had a stern face, and possessed a considerably powerful aura. Wasn't this the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu?
Why does he like standing in the shadows so much? Does he think it makes him look cool?
"Good evening, President Horikita. It's so late, yet you've come to the first-year dormitory. Is something the matter?"
Shikime Natsu greeted him first, revealing a gentle smile.
Horikita Manabu slowly walked out of the shadows. Those eyes, appearing exceptionally sharp behind his lenses, locked straight onto Shikime Natsu.
"Shiki."
His voice was low and calm.
"I heard you have a betting duel with Nagumo?"
Shikime Natsu raised an eyebrow slightly.
"News travels really fast. I didn't expect even the Student Council President to pay attention to such a small matter."
"Nagumo is not an opponent that is easy to deal with," Horikita Manabu stated his evaluation bluntly.
"Even I have to admit that his abilities in certain areas are excellent, perhaps even troublesome. If you underestimate him too much, you will lose miserably. regarding this betting duel, how confident are you?"
"What if I said one hundred percent?"
Shikime Natsu stepped forward, walking to Horikita Manabu's side, and their gazes met in the air.
"However, I am somewhat curious."
Shikime Natsu tilted his head, a look of amusement in his eyes.
"How did President Horikita find out about this news?"
Horikita Manabu pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Just a short while ago, the news of the betting duel between you and Nagumo had already spread throughout the entire school," he said indifferently.
"Hmm?"
Now it was Shikime Natsu's turn to be slightly stunned.
The whole school knew? One had to know that his agreement with Nagumo Miyabi was only a matter of last night. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since then, right? This speed of dissemination was a bit too exaggerated.
"Who leaked it?"
Shikime Natsu narrowed his eyes slightly. However, he already had two candidates in mind. One was Nagumo Miyabi; after all, if he could defeat a prominent first-year figure like Natsu, it would be a good thing for elevating Nagumo Miyabi's prestige.
As for the other one, it was naturally the smug brat. If he lost, his prestige in the class would likely drop a bit. At least... that image of an invincible leader would suffer a heavy blow.
"I don't know," Horikita Manabu replied, his tone remaining rippleless. "But what is certain is that the news came from the first years. Now, everyone in the school is paying attention to the betting duel between you and Nagumo Miyabi."
"I see."
Shikime Natsu shrugged. It must be the work of that smug brat. He hadn't expected that in the mere time it took him to give his Senpai a massage, that smug brat had already pulled something like this.
However... this also suited Shikime Natsu's intentions. If he defeated Nagumo Miyabi, his reputation would skyrocket.
"Shiki."
Horikita Manabu's tone became a few degrees more serious.
"In this betting duel with Nagumo, you can only win. You absolutely cannot lose."
"Of course I will win."
Shikime Natsu looked at this serious President with some amusement.
"But... why does President Horikita place so much weight on the victory or defeat between me and Nagumo-senpai?"
"If you lose, then it proves I judged the wrong person, and the agreement we made at the start will be void. I do not feel that a person who only has arrogance but no ability can teach Suzune well."
Horikita Manabu said this quite directly, the expression on his face extremely serious.
"Rest assured, President Horikita. I will defeat Nagumo-senpai and extinguish his limelight, so he can be a bit more well-behaved in the Student Council and not cause you too much trouble, President."
Shikime Natsu chuckled lightly. If he lost, Nagumo Miyabi's momentum would be great, which would still have an impact on Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President, especially since Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi were currently adversaries. The more momentum Nagumo Miyabi gained, the more disadvantageous it was for Horikita Manabu.
Regarding these words from Shikime Natsu, Horikita Manabu did not say much more, tacitly accepting them.
"How is Suzune doing recently?"
Horikita Manabu changed the subject, shifting the topic to Horikita Suzune. This was probably one of his main purposes for appearing here tonight. No matter how cold he pretended to be on the surface, he was actually still a sis-con.
Shikime Natsu laughed inwardly, but a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"President, you can be at ease. Horikita can now engage in normal communication with classmates in the class."
"...Normal communication?"
A trace of astonishment rarely flashed across Horikita Manabu's face, which usually lacked expression all year round.
He seemed to doubt whether his ears had heard wrong. Is normal communication something worth commemorating? Although his sister was aloof and looked down on those around her, she certainly knew how to communicate.
But... for Shikime Natsu to bring this up, was he mistaken about something?
"For Horikita, normal communication is already a very rare thing. Moreover, Horikita also wants to become the leader of Class D. Being able to communicate with people around her, not retorting against others from time to time when they speak, and furthermore, being able to get along normally with people she hates, and even relying on people she dislikes—isn't this considered a huge improvement for Horikita?"
Hearing this, Horikita Manabu fell silent.
Given his sister's personality, she indeed might do those things. For example, when tutoring others, if she couldn't teach them, she might directly call them idiots. Or when encountering someone she disliked, she would tell them to stay away from her.
Relying on people she dislikes... what is that situation? However, regardless, listening to Shikime Natsu's words, Horikita Manabu really felt that his sister seemed to have grown.
"Don't forget our agreement. In the first semester, Suzune must make three friends."
Horikita Manabu spoke again, his gaze falling on Shikime Natsu. He truly hadn't misjudged this guy back then; he really could bring change to Horikita Suzune.
"I know, of course. By the way, does President Horikita want to come up to my dorm and sit for a while?"
Shikime Natsu glanced at the time; it was almost eight o'clock. If he came up next, he might just let the siblings meet. Mn, if he saw Horikita Suzune in a maid outfit, Horikita Manabu would definitely believe in his abilities. After all, if the haughty Horikita Suzune became his maid, making friends would naturally be a piece of cake.
If Horikita Manabu really saw it... Mn, it would be slightly thrilling. He wondered what kind of expression this Student Council President would reveal.
Unfortunately, Horikita Manabu didn't seem to have this intention.
"No need."
Horikita Manabu refused without hesitation.
"I came over only to remind you not to lose to Nagumo Miyabi. If you need second-year textbooks, I can provide assistance."
Is this considered indirect support? It seems he really doesn't want to see Nagumo Miyabi win.
"Many thanks for the President's kindness."
Shikime Natsu smiled and shook his head.
"But it's not needed. I have already obtained very detailed study materials from an enthusiastic second-year Senior."
"If President Horikita doesn't intend to come up and sit, then I will take my leave first."
"Mn."
Horikita Manabu nodded. Without saying anything more, he turned and vanished into the night.
Watching that gradually receding back, Shikime Natsu couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Returning to his room, Shikime Natsu collapsed onto his bed in a relaxed manner. He took out his phone and opened LINE.
Sure enough.
The group chat notification sounds were ringing non-stop like a machine gun. Whether it was the class group or several private discussion groups, there was only one central topic of all discussions—the betting duel between Shikime Natsu and Nagumo Miyabi.
He opened the Class A group chat.
[Totsuka Yahiko: Since Shiki-san dared to agree, he must have absolute certainty of victory, right?]
[Hashimoto Masayoshi: That goes without saying, right? I've never seen anyone get full marks on a quiz before. Handling the second-year midterm exam, the leader definitely has no problem.]
[Kitou Hayato: Win.]
These guys...
Shikime Natsu looked at the messages on the screen, the corners of his mouth rising slightly involuntarily. Was this the prestige he had established during this period? Even facing an opponent of Nagumo Miyabi's level, they still maintained a nearly blind trust in him.
Just then, a message notification suddenly popped up at the top of the phone screen.
[Horikita Suzune: Open the door.]
Shikime Natsu got up, walked to the entryway, and opened the door. Outside the door, that iconic long straight black hair came into view.
Horikita Suzune stood at the door with her arms crossed, those sharp eyes staring coldly at Shikime Natsu.
"I heard you are going to have a betting duel with that Vice President Nagumo?"
Horikita Suzune looked at Shikime Natsu. She had no interest in caring about ordinary betting duels, but this was Shikime Natsu's. Moreover, the entire grade was paying attention to the betting duel between the two of them now. After all, one was Shikime Natsu, recognized as the number one in looks in the school, and the other was a prominent figure of the second year, the ruler of the entire second year, and also the Student Council Vice President.
With such a powerful lineup, the gossiping hearts of the teachers and students of the whole school could be said to be burning fiercely.
"That's right."
Shikime Natsu answered quite calmly. He didn't know how many times someone had asked him about this matter today. However... why didn't his cute deskmate ask him? Was she not worried about him losing?
"How confident are you?"
Horikita Suzune's wine-red eyes continued to stare straight at Shikime Natsu.
"I don't fight battles I'm not confident in."
These siblings... no, it should be said that basically everyone who came to ask him would ask how much chance of winning he had. Clearly, he had 'invincible' written all over his face; could they not see that?
She stared at Shikime Natsu for a while, then suddenly asked, "Is the resolution of the past exam questions issue related to your betting duel with Nagumo this time?"
Shikime Natsu's action of drinking water paused slightly. He turned his head with some surprise and looked at Horikita Suzune. He hadn't expected that Horikita Suzune could actually associate it to this level.
"Oh?"
Shikime Natsu put down the water cup, a flash of appreciation passing through his eyes.
"Why do you think so?"
Seeing that surprised expression on Shikime Natsu's face, an inexplicable unhappiness surged in Horikita Suzune's heart. Who was he looking down on?
"Kushida said in class today that the past exam questions can continue to be used," Horikita Suzune scoffed and began to explain. "Immediately following that, the news of your betting duel with Nagumo spread. One only needs to use their brain a little to make the connection, right?"
"In order to keep Nagumo from exposing the matter of the past exam questions, you agreed to the betting duel with him, right? And since you let Kushida say the past exam questions can be used, it implies that these past exam questions served as the condition for the duel, rather than the stake. Your stakes are something else entirely."
It had to be said. Horikita Suzune had indeed grown. Although the details weren't quite right, she had guessed that he had silenced Nagumo Miyabi.
"I won't tell you the specific details. Although there are some small flaws, I must say, Horikita, you have grown."
Looking at this emotional expression of Shikime Natsu's, Horikita Suzune became even more unhappy. What kind of attitude was this, being so high and mighty?
"Alright, enough talk. Change into the maid outfit and give me a massage, otherwise the maid service time will be over."
Shikime Natsu spoke. Chatting also counted as time, so in that case, why not let Horikita Suzune rub his shoulders while chatting?
Hearing Shikime Natsu's words, Horikita Suzune scoffed lightly, changed into the maid outfit, and rubbed Shikime Natsu's shoulders. After a while, Horikita Suzune spoke again.
"What about the other two?"
This naturally asked about the regular visitors to Shikime Natsu's room, Kamuro Masumi and Kushida Kikyou. Of course, calling Kushida Kikyou a regular visitor... actually, she had only been coming for a few days.
"They both have things to do today and aren't coming over for the time being."
Shikime Natsu spread his hands, his gaze falling on Horikita Suzune with some amusement.
"So, today it's just me and Suzune, two people."
A lone man and a lone woman, sharing a room. If this were a standard romantic comedy, something would definitely happen next. But Horikita Suzune obviously didn't have that kind of pink thought process.
Although there were only two people, she didn't feel unnatural or shy. In her view, this was just work performed to fulfill a contract.
"Please help me brew a cup of tea."
Hearing this, Horikita Suzune stopped the movements of her hands. This guy's demands were getting more and more numerous. However, she still obeyed Shikime Natsu's words and walked into the kitchen area to prepare it.
Watching her busy back in the kitchen, Shikime Natsu leaned back in his chair, his mood quite pleasant. It was a pity he didn't let Horikita Manabu drink the tea brewed by his sister. If he knew his sister could brew tea, he, as the brother, should be very happy, right?
Soon, the maid service time ended. Horikita Suzune changed back into her own clothes, walked to the door, and stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn her head, but her voice drifted over coldly.
"If you lose... then it means you represent nothing more than that."
Really now. If she wanted him not to lose, she should just say it properly. Does she have to say it like that? She really is awkward.
Shikime Natsu looked at her back and chuckled softly.
"Rest assured. That kind of thing will absolutely not happen."
"Hmph."
With a light snort, the door was closed. The room returned to silence once again.
Shikime Natsu took out his phone and contacted Sakura Airi, intending to see how Horikita Suzune's friendship progress was going. After all... the friendship targets Horikita Suzune chose were all his people. He had an obligation to inspect Horikita Suzune's progress. He couldn't let Horikita Suzune slack off.
____
New Story: Junji Ito: I Shall Smash Hellstar Remina
✅ New releases are dropping, plus get exclusive content & updates.
✅ Help us unlock community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan