Kuroha Akira felt everyone's gaze in the vicinity lock onto him like heat-seeking missiles.
This reminded him of the first day of school this semester—that social death scene where he'd been applauded by the entire class due to Kobayakawa-sensei's special attention. However, even back then, bathed in the stares of over thirty classmates, he'd only felt embarrassed at most. Nothing compared to the sheer discomfort he was experiencing now.
This uncomfortable feeling came mainly from those two…
The Class Rep behind him. Shinomiya Shion in front of him. Their gazes converged on Kuroha Akira like twin laser sights, creating a terrifying gravitational field that seemed to distort the very air around him.
No, what's going on?
I'm just going home, right?
Did I break some Capital rule by simply returning to my own residence?
By the way… can I still go home at this point?
Kuroha Akira felt a prickling sensation crawling up his back. The distance from the road at Kobayashi's doorstep to walking into the courtyard was at most ten meters. Yet it felt like training in a hyper-gravity chamber—extremely difficult to move, each step requiring monumental effort.
Finally, when he walked up to Shinomiya Shion, Kuroha Akira was already sweating profusely.
He then turned around and forced a smile—the kind of strained, awkward smile reserved for hostage negotiations—to say goodbye to his Literature Club companions.
"Well… see you tomorrow… Class Rep, Shiori, Moe-chan."
"Okay, goodbye, Kuroha-kun."
"Mm, see you tomorrow, Akira-kun."
It was just an ordinary farewell. But Shinomiya Shion noticed many details from that simple exchange.
Kuroha Akira's order of farewells was: Class Rep, Shiori, Moe.
He called the Class Rep first. That indicated Asato Hitomi was indeed the number one enemy. She'd already been thoroughly analyzed, and she even deliberately covered her scent to provoke her…
"Class Rep" Asato Hitomi—Danger level: SS-ranked homewrecker!
Then, the "Shiori" Kuroha Akira mentioned—that had to be the girl with long black hair just like hers, the one who was particularly beautiful. The moment Shinomiya Shion saw her, a strong wave of vigilance washed over her.
Because she realized that her own appearance was no longer an automatic advantage. That girl named Shiori was not inferior to her at all. In fact, she had a smaller, more delicate face and a noble, cool, literary temperament that Shinomiya didn't possess.
Her family background was probably very good too. Unlike herself—a fake Ojou-sama who only "ascended" to her current status because of her wealthy stepfather. Shiori was the real deal.
In the past, Shinomiya Shion had never cared about such status differences. But today, seeing Shirai Shiori, she realized that "origin" could affect a person's "cultural heritage."
Shinomiya Shion still remembered that one day, Kuroha Akira had come home late because he went to a friend's house from the Literature Club. After returning, he'd been very happy, saying that thanks to that friend's help, his novel could be more complete.
At that time, Shinomiya Shion had smelled another woman's scent on him—one that wasn't Asato Hitomi's. That woman was most likely this Shiori.
Because she'd read many books and was also writing novels, she could collaborate with Akira-kun, have more common topics with him, and their relationship would grow closer…
Too cunning! Too despicable! Too enviable!
Shinomiya Shion knew very well how important it was to be able to talk with someone you liked. Every time she discussed anime content and voice acting details with Kuroha Akira, she wished she'd watched even more anime before. Although just listening to Kuroha Akira explain things was also very happy, she really wanted to discuss and communicate more deeply with him.
That way, the time spent with Akira-kun could be continuously extended…
So Shinomiya Shion was now very regretful. Extremely regretful.
Not just anime—if she'd read more books, that would have been great too. She wished she could understand every single field that Kuroha Akira liked and was involved in. That way, Akira-kun wouldn't need to find other women to talk to. Talking only to her would be enough for this lifetime.
Unfortunately, Shinomiya Shion admitted she didn't have that knowledge or ability. So she could only watch as other women carved up Kuroha Akira's attention and care from different fields…
This was also unavoidable. Although Shinomiya Shion was very jealous, she had no "justification" to stop any of this.
She could only continue to work hard in her own lane and strive for more opportunities to be noticed by Kuroha Akira.
Moreover, this "Shiori" directly called him "Akira-kun"—indicating that her relationship with Kuroha Akira was already very close.
However, judging by their favorability levels, these two were probably still at the stage of mutual appreciation. Because Shinomiya Shion did not feel any hostility coming from Shiori's gaze toward her.
So, "Literary Girl" Shiori—Danger level: S-rank. Homewrecker-in-training.
And then there was the girl named Moe…
Although she looked shy and timid, she was clearly a weak, insecure type. Her address for Kuroha Akira was still just "Kuroha-kun," indicating they were still just ordinary friends…
But she cannot be underestimated!
Because this girl… had huge breasts!
They were as big as Tomita Haruka's, weren't they?! But because Moe was a few centimeters shorter than Tomita Haruka, they looked even more spectacular.
This was the power of numbers!
It was well known that Kuroha Akira particularly liked looking at large breasts. Shinomiya Shion felt a bit inadequate herself—she couldn't capture Kuroha Akira's gaze the same way. So she would instinctively feel hostility toward all women with larger cup sizes than her own.
Even just for the sake of those breasts, Moe's danger rating had to be A-class!
Shinomiya Shion took less than five seconds to assess the danger level of the three Literature Club sisters in her mind.
In reality, after Kuroha Akira finished his farewells, Asato Hitomi finally replied—with a smile that was just sweet enough to be poisonous.
"Well then, see you tomorrow at 'school', Akira-kun."
Emphasis on "school."
"For tomorrow's lunch, I'll make a new dish I learned. Akira-kun, just open your mouth obediently and wait for me to feed you, okay?"
Mention of homemade bento. Mention of feeding play.
Asato Hitomi was clearly trying to provoke Shinomiya Shion—and she knew exactly what buttons to push.
"Uh… okay…"
Kuroha Akira started sweating again. Now Shinomiya knows he's been secretly eating luxurious bento at school… She must be furious, right?
Shinomiya Shion was indeed furious—but not because Kuroha Akira was eating alone. No, it was because that hateful vixen Class Rep was deliberately provoking her again.
She slightly furrowed her brows, pursed her lips. Her usually cold expression—the one she wore when facing outsiders—was now covered with an extra layer of frost. Her gaze turned very, very unfriendly.
Kuroha Akira felt Shinomiya Shion's gaze like nails piercing a voodoo doll, about to prick him into a human pincushion. But in fact, Shinomiya Shion was only looking through him at the Class Rep behind him. She wasn't targeting him at all.
"It's already very late, Akira-kun. Hurry 'home'…"
Emphasis on "home."
"I'll go run your bath for you. You go take a shower first and wash off all that 'outside scent'!"
Shinomiya Shion retaliated with equal force. She used her recently trained voice acting proficiency, infusing that short sentence with rich, layered emotion—concern for Kuroha Akira on the surface, but underneath, a serious warning to other women with ulterior motives (specifically, the Class Rep).
The message was clear:
Akira-kun outside the house—you can fight over him all you want. Anyway, you can only secretly sniff, touch, and eat outside!
But once he steps inside this house?
He's all mine.