Chapter 370: When Everyone Gathers Together / Why Didn't It Explode?!
Kushida Kikyo knew a lot of people, so she spent the entire Appreciation Banquet busy socializing.
Of course, although it was called "Appreciation," she didn't actually put much thought into the teachers.
To her, neither Chabashira-sensei nor Acting Chairman Tsukishiro was worth her respect. Her main energy was spent networking with the third-year senpais—chatting, singing, and eating. By the time she finished several rounds of activities and returned to the dorm, it was already 2:30 PM.
"Finally... I can get down to business," Kikyo muttered softly as she flopped onto her bed.
Despite being busy all day, she had been obsessing over her plan to gather Shimizu Akira and the other six girls together.
During the graduation ceremony that morning, she had sent Akira a message saying they would meet at 7:00 PM.
In reality, up until this moment, she hadn't sent a single notification to the girls yet.
Truth be told, Kikyo was feeling a bit jealous. Initially, there were only two or three of them, but somehow the group had expanded to six.
Her boyfriend's "talent" in certain areas was a bit too prominent.
Then again, she realized that Horiikita Suzune, Hasabe Haruka, and Sakura Airi were all more or less involved because of her own meddling. She couldn't put all the blame on Akira.
She rolled over and picked up her phone. Her contacts list held six names that needed to be messaged: Horikita Suzune, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, Hasabe Haruka, Ichinose Honami, and Kamuro Masumi.
Among these six, she had major issues with two of them.
The first was Ichinose Honami.
Both were famous beauties in the first year, but Ichinose's popularity and prestige had always slightly overshadowed hers.
Recently, after Ichinose publicly confessed her dark past, her popularity actually surged.
She was the talk of the town, and even some of Kikyo's own friends had gone to consult Ichinose about her "mental journey."
Kikyo was gritting her teeth in secret—she hated her.
The other was Horikita Suzune. Although Kikyo was the one who originally suggested Akira pursue Horikita to gain leverage and prevent her own past from leaking, things were different now.
Following Chairman Sakayanagi's coordination, both sides had signed a binding contract. Confidentiality was no longer an issue. Consequently, she didn't need Horikita hanging around Akira anymore.
Whenever she thought of her, Kikyo felt a surge of irritation.
She still couldn't fathom what Horikita was thinking. Previously, she had been so tsundere and awkward, her mouth as hard as a rock whenever Akira was mentioned, refusing to agree to be together.
How did she suddenly "see the light" and agree so directly now?
Kikyo sighed, thinking she might be overthinking it. At this stage, it was better to just contact them. She decided against a group chat; since everyone had different personalities, she edited a unique message for each person.
Horikita Suzune: Horikita-san, tonight at 7:00, Shimizu's dorm. Something to discuss regarding him and his other girlfriends. Karuizawa Kei: Karuizawa-san, come to Akira's room at 7:00. His other six girlfriends will be there too. Hasabe Haruka / Sakura Airi: Haruka / Airi, free tonight? Let's gather at Akira-kun's dorm at 7:00. I want to say a few things to everyone in person. Ichinose Honami: Ichinose-san, good evening. Can you come to Shimizu-kun's room tonight at 7:00? I've called all of his girlfriends over. Kamuro Masumi: Kamuro-san! Good evening! I think as Shimizu Akira's girlfriends, it's necessary for us to have a meeting!
After sending all the messages, she tossed her phone aside. She wasn't entirely sure what would happen next. It could be an argument, an awkward silence, or at worst, everyone leaving on bad terms, leaving that playboy Akira to suffer the consequences.
But then again, given her personality, she wouldn't actually let the atmosphere get cold for her boyfriend.
Besides, someone as kind and considerate as Ichinose Honami wouldn't sit by and watch everyone fight.
Ten minutes later, replies started popping up. Not a single person refused. A gathering of seven girlfriends was easily settled with just a few texts.
This level of influence, which even she found incredible, was almost eerie.
To be honest, everyone probably harbored a secret desire to see exactly who the "other girls" were.
Kikyo stood up, walked to the mirror, and tidied her messy hair.
"Alright..." She smiled at her reflection.
"The stage is set and the actors are ready. As the 'Main Wife', I have to put on a good performance."
In her mind, she was the undisputed Main Wife! Regardless of anything else, in this gathering, Haruka and Airi would definitely follow her lead.
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The Boxing Club's farewell party for the senpais was held in a simple private room.
The drinks were exclusively fruit juice—even for the graduating senpais. Although they had turned eighteen and were technically adults, the legal drinking age in Japan is twenty, so the senpais couldn't drink alcohol.
The senpais would be leaving the school soon, no later than March 31st.
Once everyone was full and ready to pack up, President Sato suddenly slapped his forehead as if remembering something.
"Oh right! Shimizu! This past year, you and Karuizawa have worked exceptionally hard. I talked it over with the other senpais. Since our personal points won't be useful after graduation anyway, I've decided to reward you two with 1,000,000 points each. The rest will go to the club's future activity fund!"
"Huh? President Sato, is that really okay?!" Karuizawa Kei's eyes widened. One million points was no small sum.
"Of course! Take it without worry," Sato laughed.
"In return, you have to stay on as the Boxing Club manager for the next two years. Work hard! You'll be in charge of recruiting freshmen next year."
He then turned to Shimizu Akira.
"Shimizu, same for you. Next year, you'll represent our club in the national tournament. The future of the club is in your hands."
Akira nodded slightly. "Understood. Thank you, Senpai."
After graduation, points were indeed useless to them. While they could be exchanged for cash, Senpai Sato came from a good background; he clearly just wanted to reward his kouhai.
Since it was offered with good intentions, Akira accepted. Karuizawa hesitated for a moment, saw the sincerity in Sato's eyes, and eventually nodded to accept the reward.
After the dinner, Akira and Kei walked to the door with the senpais, bowed in farewell, and watched them leave. Once most people were gone, Kei whispered, "Akira-kun, Kushida Kikyo seems to have gathered quite a few of your girlfriends. I just got the text. You knew about this, right?"
Akira looked at her nervous expression and gently patted the back of her hand.
"Yeah, I know. Don't think too much about it. It's just a gathering. I have some things I want to say to everyone properly."
"Hmph! I'm not nervous!" Kei pouted immediately. "Anyway, it's 5:00 now. I'm going back to get ready! See you later!"
With that, Kei turned and ran off.
'If that's not nervous, I don't know what is!'
Akira checked his surroundings. The supermarket wasn't far—about a ten-minute walk. He had plenty of time before the meeting. He straightened his collar and headed toward the store.
In the fresh produce section, he picked out a box of plump strawberries, a bunch of green grapes, and some soft peaches—fruits girls tended to like. He then grabbed some cookies, chocolate, and small mochi from the snack aisle, finishing with some sparkling water and juice from the beverage section.
Around 7:30 PM, as Kamuro Masumi pushed open the door, all eight people were finally present in Akira's dorm.
The group sat around the kotatsu (heated table), forming a subtle social layout. Ichinose Honami, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, and Karuizawa Kei were squeezed together in a row by the heater. Kamuro Masumi leaned against the edge of the bed by herself.
Akira, Hasabe Haruka, and Sakura Airi had to sit on chairs.
Akira originally only had two chairs; the third had been borrowed from his kind neighbor, Ayanokouji.
"Honami, I heard Class B dropped all the way to Class D this time. Are you okay?"
"Well... Kanzaki-kun and the others are still struggling to accept the result. To be honest, I can't quite let it go either. I can't help but wonder if my weakness dragged everyone down."
This was the conversation between Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami.
'Kikyo is targeting Honami so casually again.'
"I don't get it at all! Why are you two involved with Shimizu Akira? I still can't accept this!" Karuizawa Kei said, her arms crossed and her tone sharp.
"Ha? You're a latecomer, what right do you have to say that? When Akira-kun and I were taking swimsuit photos at the pool, who knows where you were!"
Hasabe Haruka shot back immediately. The two remained as incompatible as ever, sparks flying the moment they spoke.
In the corner, Kamuro Masumi unexpectedly took the initiative to speak to Sakura Airi.
"You're Sakura Airi, right? That guy mentioned you to me. You really are as timid as the rumors say. Hmph, you remind me of someone I know."
"H... Hello, Kamuro-san," Sakura Airi whispered, shrinking her neck nervously.
In this dorm of eight people, only Horikita Suzune seemed out of place. Finding no one to talk to, she naturally radiated a "keep away" aura, eventually turning to give Akira a harsh glare.
Akira was speechless.
'Why glare at me?! It's your own awkward personality and lack of social skills!'
Amidst the chaos, Akira cleared his throat twice to break the ice.
"Ahem. Thank you all for coming. I called you here for two reasons. The first is that there is a place outside called the 'White Room'..."
He concisely explained the existence of the White Room.
"What?! Are you serious?!"
"There's actually a place like that?!"
"If that's the case, won't you be in danger in the second year?"
"No wonder Tsukishiro has been hounding you! That's why!"
"People from the White Room are like special forces? Everyone's physical stats are equal to yours? Are you serious?!"
"So that's how it is..."
Except for Horikita Suzune, who already knew, the other six were hearing this for the first time. Their faces showed various degrees of shock as they began talking all at once.
Hasabe Haruka even suddenly reached out and pounded hard on the neighboring wall.
Akira's heart skipped a beat.
'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is right next door!'
However, the change in topic finally dissipated the previous tension.
'As expected of my good brother!'
Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and continued, "And the second thing?"
"The second thing..." Akira showed a rare moment of embarrassment. "Is, well, as you can see. You are all people I like. I felt it was necessary for everyone to get to know each other."
Horikita Suzune simply gave a faint "Mhm," accepting the explanation.
Karuizawa Kei stole a glance at him but said nothing; when she confessed, Akira had told her she should end things if she couldn't handle the situation.
Hasabe Haruka accepted it quite naturally, even swinging her legs happily.
"Getting to know each other? The method was a bit scary, but I guess we know each other now! No more guessing in the future."
Sakura Airi blushed slightly and whispered, "People you like..." More than meeting the others, she cared more about Akira saying those words out loud.
Ichinose Honami nodded gently. "Indeed. Though the setting is unique, having a sincere face-to-face conversation might not be a bad thing. At least we understand each other's presence and Akira-kun's attitude."
Kamuro Masumi couldn't help but "tsk" from the side.
"Thick-skinned guy... but at least you're being upfront about it."
Finally, Kushida Kikyo was confused.
'Wait? It didn't explode?'
According to her plan, there should have been arguments and dissatisfaction, allowing her to stabilize the atmosphere, make Akira like her more, and firmly secure her position as the "Main Wife."
Ending it this simply? She wasn't satisfied.
Thus, she forced a smile and clapped her hands.
"Since the important business is over, why don't we play a little game to relax?"
Seeing everyone look her way, she added with a grin:
"As for the winner, let's make the prize a whole night with Akira-kun. How about it?"
The moment she said it, the eyes of the other six girls lit up.
If that was the topic, then everyone was suddenly wide awake.
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