Ring, ring Ring, ring
Hayasaka Ai reached out a slender, pale arm from under the covers, grabbing her phone from the nightstand.
"Hello~"
She answered weakly.
"Hayasaka! Where are you?! You didn't come back all night!"
"Sorry, Lady Kaguya, I forgot to tell you. I had some things to deal with, so I stayed at a friend's place."
Hayasaka's voice remained faint, but it carried a soothing, almost patronizing tone, like she was coaxing a child.
"I've got another plan… blah, blah, blah~"
"Mm-hm… hm?"
Hayasaka was half-listening to her lady's ramblings when her expression shifted. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she glanced coyly to the side.
Samuel, wearing a teasing smirk, was under the covers, indulging in something many would envy.
"Mm… ah! Stop it… I'm on the phone with Lady Kaguya!"
"??? What's wrong, Hayasaka? What's happening over there?"
"Nothing… just a friend messing around! Got it, I'll have everything ready by tomorrow. Gotta go!"
Hayasaka hung up quickly, exhaling deeply. She rolled her eyes and shot a glance at Samuel beside her.
"Uh… doesn't the Committee Chairman have to head to headquarters? It's about time to get going, right?"
"Get going? Sure thing!"
Samuel flung off the covers.
"Aaah! What are you doing?!"
"Didn't you tell me to get out of bed?"
"I meant get off me… mm… ah!"
Click, click~
The door swung open, and Esther peered in curiously at the scene unfolding in broad daylight.
"Hey! Get out here~"
Hayasaka's face flushed as red as an apple, her beauty tempting enough to take a bite.
"It's fine. This kid's clueless… she doesn't get it."
"Who says I don't get it? It's just mating, isn't it? I'm a necromancer, after all! I know a thing or two about life and death…"
Esther frowned, clearly displeased. Samuel's words were an affront to her basic competence as a necromancer.
Having grown up surrounded by corpses and seen all sorts, she had little grasp of the nuances between men and women or life and death. To her, people were either dead or alive.
Anything else? She neither understood nor cared to.
"Ugh~ At least cover up! Do whatever, just cover up!"
Hayasaka buried herself under the blankets, deluding herself into ignoring the situation…
"What's that, Esther? Wanna give it a try?"
"…Life and death are intertwined. Maybe this counts as some kind of training…"
…
"Hm? Hayasaka and the Committee Chairman aren't here today? Geez, the Chairman's always shirking, but what's with Hayasaka? She's usually so diligent!"
Meanwhile, Kaguya Shinomiya—dubbed the "Regent" or "Prime Minister" by some dim-witted team members—was handling Samuel's usual duties.
Well, they were her duties most days anyway.
Opening the window, a gentle breeze swept in.
"Hm…"
The soft wind brushed her cheeks, and Kaguya smiled, turning to sit at her work desk.
A green leaf, carried by the breeze, settled lightly on her head.
…
"Ah! This is all your fault! It's dark out, and I haven't finished what Lady Kaguya asked me to do!"
"What'd she ask you to do?"
"She told me to get discount tickets for the aquarium this Sunday and stick them under the headquarters' desk."
"??? She's inviting me to the aquarium? For what? Not to waste them? But I own that aquarium! Is she being dense? Too much work frying her brain?"
"Honestly, I thought the same… Wait, what are you doing? I… ugh~"
…
The next morning, when Kaguya Shinomiya entered the headquarters office, a familiar yet unexpected figure lounged on the sofa.
"Yo Our Committee Chairman actually showed up for work"
Kaguya casually took a seat across from Samuel, her hand brushing under the desk, feeling the expected texture.
"Perfect! Hayasaka prepared well! But isn't this plan a bit forced? My Virtual Future says it'll definitely work, though. So strange!"
Kaguya's mind raced briefly before dismissing the thought.
Trusting her ability, a victorious smile curved her lips.
She made her move, opening her mouth: "So…"
"Kaguya!"
"Eh?"
"Free this Sunday?"
"Eh?"
"Wanna go out with me?"
"Eh?"
It happened too fast. Her carefully planned strategy hadn't even begun, yet she'd already secured a total victory.
The battle moved so quickly that Kaguya couldn't process it.
"Alright, it's settled! Sunday, I'll pick you up…"
"Eh? Okay…"
She wasn't sure what happened, but her goal was achieved, albeit inexplicably.
Perhaps it was expected?
Kaguya's Ability, Virtual Future, let her predict outcomes based on gathered information, akin to foreseeing the future.
She was intimately familiar with this ability, and her story always unfolded from her perspective.
Samuel's… playboy nature had been revealed to her Virtual Future since that beach trip, which is why it gave her such an odd plan.
The plan had a high probability of success.
Because, in Virtual Future, Kaguya knew she couldn't outsmart Samuel with her mind alone, so it devised a seemingly foolish but effective strategy.
Though… the goal was achieved before the plan even started…
…
Interlude
"Don't let anyone find out, okay, Hayasaka?"
As Hayasaka Ai dragged her exhausted body out of bed, she recalled Kaguya's trust in her.
Her pale face flushed, her eyes glinting with guilt. Her delicate tongue instinctively savored Samuel's lingering taste.
"Sorry, Lady Kaguya!"
What a mess!
A spark of pleasure flickered in Hayasaka's eyes. Perhaps because she'd been tainted by a man, she'd awakened some strange preferences.
Now, thinking of Kaguya brought an inexplicable joy.
A pleasure born from the guilt in her heart!
***
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