Chapter 166: Kaguya Shinomiya's Inner Thoughts
Meanwhile, next door to Class B, the atmosphere in Year 1 Class A was far less harmonious.
The students in the classroom watched silently as Asagiri sat in the corner with Iwanaga Kotoko beside him, while Kaguya Shinomiya stood in front of them. No one dared to speak.
Hayasaka Ai, dressed as a gyaru, was also secretly glancing at the situation in the corner. But since no one at school knew about her master servant relationship with Kaguya Shinomiya, and the two even pretended not to know each other on campus for the sake of disguise, Hayasaka could not step in at a time like this.
"I say… what exactly is the meaning of this?"
Asagiri raised his head, glanced at Kaguya Shinomiya standing in front of him, and spoke with a faint smile.
"You have been standing here for five minutes. What do you want?"
Kaguya Shinomiya: "…"
She said nothing. She simply stared straight at Asagiri's face with her beautiful red eyes.
Seeing that, Iwanaga Kotoko, seated beside him, dropped a bombshell.
"Stop staring. You keep looking at someone else's boyfriend like that. Are you trying to play a cuckold game? Want me to be the victim, hmm?"
Kaguya Shinomiya remained silent.
Then, without warning, Asagiri suddenly slammed a hand down on the desk.
Bang!
The abrupt sound startled everyone in the classroom.
They watched as he stared directly at Kaguya Shinomiya, brows tightly knit, impatience written all over his face as he spoke in an unshakably firm tone.
"I already told you. That night, it was just a man and a woman alone. I lost control for a moment, and you also lost control for a moment. When golden branches and jade dew meet, it surpasses countless earthly encounters. Isn't it enough to leave it as a beautiful memory? Do you really have to make me take responsibility!?"
The entire classroom went dumb.
Good heavens.
So Utsunomiya and Shinomiya had that kind of relationship!?
No, wait, that actually explained a lot.
No wonder Shinomiya had asked Utsunomiya to be her vice president when she ran for Student Council President. So it was not some strategic move at all. These two had a private connection!
And what about Iwanaga, who had spent a fortune just to transfer into Shuchiin Academy Year 1 Class A for Utsunomiya?
Could it be…
This was the legendary shura field!?
Kaguya Shinomiya had absolutely not expected Asagiri to say something like that out of nowhere.
She froze for a moment, then immediately raised a hand to touch her cheek, trying to use that familiar psychological cue to calm herself down, but…
The composure restoration method she had trained through countless attempts under Hayasaka Ai's guidance was completely shattered by Asagiri's nonsense.
A blush spread across Kaguya Shinomiya's face, and her voice came out slightly flustered.
"What are you even talking about? Please do not say things that can so easily cause misunderstandings."
"Oh, so you can talk."
Seeing that she had finally spoken, Asagiri shook his head and said slowly,
"Shinomiya, do you know what expression you had just now while staring at me?"
"What?"
"A young and beautiful widow staring at her husband's portrait, reminiscing about their beautiful past, while also feeling deep confusion and anxiety about the future all alone."
Hearing that, the blush on Kaguya Shinomiya's face deepened even more. She forced herself to speak.
"You… why are you still saying nonsense…"
"Then why are you getting shy now?"
Asagiri frowned slightly and said bluntly,
"You have no idea how creepy that expression was. Anyone who knows I am still alive understands, but anyone who does not would think you built me a tomb on this throne and came here to pay respects today. So after all that, can you go back to your seat?"
Kaguya Shinomiya hesitated. "I…"
"It is about the Student Council election, right? We can talk during lunch break. Can you stop acting like a grim reaper for now?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Kaguya Shinomiya also realized she had indeed lost her composure.
This was still school, after all, and too many students were watching. Moreover, she and Utsunomiya were both well known figures at Shuchiin Academy. Even if they needed to discuss game related matters, now was not the time, and a crowded classroom full of eyes was definitely not the place.
"Fine. Then at lunch…"
But before Kaguya Shinomiya could finish, a strong wave of dizziness suddenly swept over her. Her steps turned unsteady, and her body tilted backward.
"I've got you~"
Asagiri had originally intended to catch her, but Iwanaga Kotoko moved with astonishing speed. She sprang up at once, braced Kaguya Shinomiya's back with her head, and caught her shoulders with both hands.
She did not exactly want to use that posture, but with a height difference of over ten centimeters, it was the quickest option.
"Stop doing acrobatics."
Asagiri stood up as he spoke and reached out to support Kaguya Shinomiya's back.
"Let's go to the infirmary."
…
Ten minutes later, inside the infirmary at Private Shuchiin Academy.
"You are pushing yourself too hard."
Asagiri sat beside the bed and looked at Kaguya Shinomiya lying on the infirmary cot. She had not lost consciousness, but the exhaustion on her face was impossible to hide.
He spoke in a flat tone.
"At this point, you may as well take a day off and rest at home."
Kaguya Shinomiya struggled to turn her head and parted her lips as if she wanted to say something, but then her gaze landed on Iwanaga Kotoko standing beside Asagiri, and she fell silent.
Seeing this, Asagiri turned to Iwanaga Kotoko.
"Kotoko, go outside for a bit."
At his words, Iwanaga Kotoko's pale cheeks puffed up like buns, and she muttered softly,
"The doctor on duty already stepped out, and now I have to leave too? Leaving my boyfriend alone in a room with another girl… sigh, this is hard to accept…"
Even so, she still walked out of the infirmary.
She did not go far, only stood by the door to prevent anyone from suddenly barging in.
She was not stupid. She could tell Kaguya Shinomiya's attitude toward Asagiri was different. And even setting that aside, Kaguya Shinomiya was the leader of that team, while Asagiri was the leader of his. It was perfectly normal for the people in charge of both sides to speak alone.
After Iwanaga Kotoko left and the door clicked shut, Kaguya Shinomiya finally looked at Asagiri again. Even though she was so weak she could barely stand, she still forced herself to speak in a faint voice.
"I cannot take a day off. Did you forget? The final voting round for the Student Council election is next Monday. I have to win, so… I cannot miss school now. It may affect my reputation as a candidate, and I cannot waste a whole day just resting at home…"
Before she could finish, Asagiri gently cut in.
"Perseverance is good. Pushing yourself this hard is foolish."
"You do not understand."
Kaguya Shinomiya let out a soft sigh. Determination rose in her red eyes.
"Private Shuchiin Academy is a place where the people who send spies to monitor me do not dare interfere or enter. There are too many students from prestigious families here, and everyone follows the rule of not making underhanded moves on campus. And the Shuchiin Academy Student Council room… I need a private, independent space like that. As for why I need it… you should understand."
"You should reflect first on the lesson from your last Dungeon."
Asagiri's tone remained calm and blunt.
"There were only three of you in total, and Hayasaka Ai had only become a Player recently. With your team setup, your odds of successfully obtaining the experimental data were too low. Fighting the mobile unit on the outskirts and taking bonus points for assisting with the clear objective would have been enough. Charging in head on was just stubborn."
Proud as ever, Kaguya Shinomiya knew he was right, but she still refused to concede verbally.
"Didn't your group charge in too?"
Asagiri smiled faintly.
"With our team setup? And with your team setup? Do not make me laugh."
"You really are as arrogant as ever."
Kaguya Shinomiya said it lightly, then turned her face toward the pure white ceiling.
After a moment, she pulled the blanket higher, covering the lower half of her face and leaving only her eyes visible. A trace of awkwardness flickered in them as she spoke in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's hum.
"Thank you… for saving Chika and Ai, and for not letting them die because of my wrong decision…"
"It is good that you know how to be grateful."
Asagiri accepted her thanks without hesitation.
Kaguya Shinomiya felt a strange sense of relief at that. Then she asked softly,
"Even though our two teams ran into each other in the last Dungeon… that does not change anything, right?"
"You mean teaming up? Looks like you came to the same conclusion I did."
Asagiri nodded and replied with a smile.
"The abilities of our team members may not fit together, and our Dungeon styles are different too. More importantly, a Dungeon team requires complete trust, even the readiness to take on the risk of death for your teammates. To be honest, our relationship is nowhere near that level."
"Also, our team already has its own chemistry. If we forcibly merge the two teams, we would have to build that chemistry all over again, and there is a real chance it would produce a negative effect where one plus one is less than two, or even less than one. We are already in the second phase. In Dungeons at this difficulty, there is no room for trial and error."
"Most importantly…"
At that, Kaguya Shinomiya spoke first.
"You and I are both too competitive and too confident. If we disagree on a decision, neither of us can convince the other, right?"
"That is your problem. Overly competitive and overly confident. Mine is not."
Asagiri waved a hand and smiled.
"I have never lost. Winning is simply natural for me. Do not put us on the same level and try to call it equal."
Helplessness flickered through Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes, but the corners of her lips still rose despite herself.
"You really never miss a chance to mock me…"
But before she could finish, the infirmary door was suddenly pushed open.
A pink, ghostlike figure rushed in at high speed. Before Kaguya Shinomiya could even react, Fujiwara Chika had already thrown herself onto the bed and pressed her two soft mounds onto Kaguya's flat chest, crying dramatically at the top of her lungs.
"Wuwuwu… Kaguya, my Kaguya! You absolutely must not die!!!"
.....
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