“Yo, Haruto.”

“Oh, Tomoki-kun. What’s up? It’s rare for you to come to the boys-only room.”

Lunch break.

When I used my student ID pass to unlock the room’s electronic lock and stepped inside, Haruto was already there.

“Yeah, I’m basically a loner right now. They told me the boys-only room is safe, so Tatara-hama-san and the others have been sending me here during lunch break.”

“Ah, because the class rivalry match is coming up soon.”

As I flopped my body down sloppily on the boys-only room sofa and grumbled, Haruto seemed to catch on and gave a wry smile.

To prepare for the class replacement match, all my classmates except me were throwing themselves into preparations during lunch break and after school.

And since I’d be there, the lewd high school girl instinct would make them fixate on me and they wouldn’t be able to focus, so they wanted me to stay away as much as possible.

Everyone is working hard so I won’t get taken by Class 3, right?

I can’t help thinking that.

“Seriously… getting serious about a match is a privilege of youth, but even so, they’re leaving me alone way too much.”

“Tomoki-kun, the guy who’s usually free as he pleases, you really have some nerve saying that.”

Haruto chuckled at my half-joking remark.

“By the way, why are you in this room during lunch break, Haruto? Aren’t you having a lunch meeting with Class 1?”

In April, Class 1 has Haruto completely locked down.

Lunch meetings basically become mandatory and he’s supposed to deepen bonds with the girls in his class.

“Ah, about that… it’s kind of… you know…”

“Hm? What happened?”

“Actually… the girls in my class have been getting really tense with each other over me… It got too uncomfortable, so lately, when lunch break comes, I’ve been running away to this room…”

“What, seriously?”

The protagonist is eating alone?!

To begin with, Honey Academy is a game where the heroines are all ridiculously easy and right after enrollment is basically the tutorial so the difficulty is especially low.

So what on earth…

“It’s pathetic, but right now, Class 1’s relationship is pretty hostile between Ena-san and the other girls in the class. Even though I became class representative, I couldn’t manage the class well and I kept putting the burden on Ena-san…”

“So that’s what’s been going on…”

“If only there was some kind of event that would bring the class together…”

…Ah, yeah, this is completely my fault.

That’s right.

Originally, in the game, a class replacement match breaks out between Class 1 and Class 2 and through that event, Class 1’s internal unity becomes stronger.

Like Class 2 is now.

But because of my original-story-breaking actions, Class 1 ended up stuck in internal political fighting.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

The support character (me) ended up getting in the way of Haruto, the actual protagonist…

“Sorry. I ended up venting to you, Tomoki-kun… When you’re the one who has Class 3 challenging you, you’re probably more anxious than I am.”

“No, don’t worry about it… Alright, then, in times like this, we need a change of pace!”

Because I felt guilty, I suggested an escapist plan to Haruto.

Because there’s no way I can solve girls fighting each other…

Even in my previous life, the factional disputes between women at work seemed genuinely brutal and the boss who had to jump into that mess ended up looking totally drained from hearing complaints from both sides.

I couldn’t help feeling guilty that I’d put Haruto in that stuck-in-the-middle situation.

“A change of pace, like what?”

“Uh… well…”

I proposed it on momentum, but I have no plan.

Right now, both Haruto and I aren’t being watched too closely by the girls from our classes.

If we’re going to make use of this rare situation then…

Oh, that’s it!

“Alright, Haruto! Let’s go to the cafeteria together tomorrow during lunch break!”

“Huh, the cafeteria?! But Ena-san told me I’m not allowed to go near it because there are tons of girls from other classes and other grades there…”

When I said I wanted to go to the cafeteria right after enrollment, Tatara-hama-san told me the same thing.

But I’ve heard the cafeteria here has an insanely packed menu and since it’s a setting the game never showed, as a game fan I’ve wanted to peek behind the curtain for a long time.

“I’ve got a strategy for that. For it to work…” I whispered

“E-eh?! Really?!”

When I leaned in and quietly told Haruto my countermeasure plan, he let out a completely baffled shout.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The next day’s lunch break.

‘Ugh… Tachibana Tomoki really does have a guy’s body… A skirt doesn’t suit me at all…’

Staring at myself in the full-length mirror, with the skirt revealing my unmistakably broad shoulders and developed calf muscles, I let out a sigh.

I want to punch the me from five minutes ago who smugly thought, This might actually work.

No, it’s not like I suddenly awakened to a crossdressing kink.

If we try sneaking in and out of the cafeteria as male students, we stand out.

So we disguise ourselves → what’s the least noticeable look in this school? → a female student in uniform.

I only followed the answer derived from that very logical line of thinking.

Well, my armchair theory has been shattered by the pathetic sight of my crossdressing self reflected in the mirror.

“Haruto. How’s it going over there?”

I took off the girls’ uniform, gave up and changed back into the boys’ uniform, then stepped out of the changing room in the boys-only room and called out to Haruto, who was still behind the changing room curtain.

Also, about these girls’ uniforms.

I had already requested them from the school yesterday through the boys-only room’s room service, which will arrange anything if you ask.

If I borrowed spare uniforms from the girls in my class, they’d grill me on what I was using them for and our plan to sneak into the cafeteria would get exposed.

“Yeah, I’m coming out now. But… don’t laugh, okay…”

“Relax. There’s no way you can be worse than me.”

“O-okay…”

With that timid reply, the changing room curtain slid open with a sharp sound.

“S-so… how is it?”

“……”

For a while, silence filled the boys-only room.

Th-this is…

“Is… is my girls’ uniform look that weird?”

Haruto’s voice, strangely on the verge of tears from the shock, snapped me back to myself.

“No… There’s a ridiculously cute girl right in front of me and my brain glitched…”

I figured a girls’ uniform would suit him better than me because of his small build and young-looking face but this is beyond what I imagined.

Unlike the boys’ blazer uniform with the slightly oversized sleeves that made him look like he was wearing something too big, the girls’ uniform fit Haruto’s body perfectly and brought out his petite, make-you-want-to-protect-him kind of cuteness even more.

And the black semi-long wig and the fake glasses he wore for the disguise emphasized his youthfulness even more.

Haruto probably chose it because he wanted to be plain and not stand out but the result was that he perfectly established the archetype of a petite, honor-student class representative.

“T-thanks… I’m happy you complimented me and said I’m cute…”

As he said that, Haruto grabbed the hem of his skirt and smiled shyly.

That embarrassed little gesture was completely like a girl’s.