“Hmm… You and Iriyamasu-san seem pretty close, Tomoki-kun.”

Haruto stands there with his arms crossed, throwing me a look of contempt as he says that.

It’s true that just now, Kaguya and I were going back and forth at each other.

From an outside perspective, a guy and girl arguing on equal footing can look like they’re getting along.

A girl newly added to Class 1, Kaguya and me, a guy from another class, being close.

For Haruto, a guy from Class 1, that’s not exactly pleasant.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Haruto… This is—”

“More importantly, what are you even doing around the boys-only shoe lockers… Wait, that letter!?”

Sharp as ever, Haruto notices the letter Kaguya is clutching tightly.

It’s a cute piece of stationery, so it stood out!?

Either way, the contents are basically a crazy rant letter, so retreating is the only option here.

“No way, Iriyamasu-san, are you confessing to Tomoki-kun?”

“N-no! I’m confessing to Haruto-sama!”

“Ah… S-sorry for interrupting. I’ll just head home. See you!”

Without even listening to Kaguya’s explanation, Haruto quickly pulls out his shoes from the locker and rushes off.

* * *

“Geez! What are we going to do now! Haruto-sama totally misunderstood!”

At the courtyard we moved to for now, I silently endure being lightly pummeled by a half-crying Kaguya.

Well, with Tachibana Tomoki’s trained physique, this is nothing.

“Sorry, alright. I’ll properly explain things to Haruto later.”

“You better! Honestly… why did it have to be you of all people…”

Kaguya sits down on a bench with a sulky expression.

“Hey, I’m the one who finds this regrettable too.”

Saying that, I sit down next to her.

“Why are you acting so high and mighty compared to me, a famous actress! This is why men…”

“Hey. Why are you so obsessed with Haruto anyway?”

Pretending it’s casual, I probe Kaguya.

It’s something I’ve been wondering for a while.

Kaguya only starts showing affection toward Haruto much later in the story.

So why is she already so in love with him from the very beginning?

“Well… It’s not like I expected anything from the boys in my class. I’m an actress, so I’ve worked with male actors and I’ve even had people approach me.”

“Oh wow, you’re popular, huh, Princess Kaguya.”

“Don’t tease me! That’s why I thought getting worked up over romance at the high school level was childish. But when I received the enrollment materials and saw Haruto-sama’s photo…”

“You fell in love at first sight. Surprisingly innocent for a big-shot actress.”

“S-shut up!”

She starts lightly hitting my shoulder again.

At that moment, she’s no longer a popular young actress, but just a girl in love.

Huh… she’s actually cute.

“You should act more like your natural self around Haruto. There’s no point keeping up that refined persona anymore.”

After all, he already saw you go all-out against Ena right at the start.

“I-I can’t do that… I want Haruto-sama to see the beautiful version of me…”

“Ah, a maiden’s heart. But that won’t last long.”

“That’s fine. I can just let my real self out with you once in a while to relieve stress.”

“Hey!”

Her grin isn’t that of an actress, but of a normal girl her age.

—Seriously, if she just showed that side of herself, guys would fall instantly… she really doesn’t understand how men think, what a hopeless princess…

“I’ve shown you my true self, so make sure you cooperate properly.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not going to fetch you the Swallow’s Cowry Shell or the jeweled branch of Hōrai though. I’m not your fan.” [TL: Mythical items from the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.]

“Then what are you?”

“Let’s see… yeah. Just a guy friend.”

After a brief thought, I give a safe answer.

“Hmph… Well, calling you a servant would be too pitiful, so I’ll specially allow you to be my guy friend. Be grateful.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She can act properly tsundere toward me, so why can’t she do that in front of Haruto…

For an actress, is she just weak when it really counts?

Wait a second.

Because she’s being tsun toward me, does that mean she’s only showing dere in front of Haruto!?

That means her greatest weapon, her tsundere charm, isn’t even being used to win him over…

Yeah… this is going to be a long road ahead.

I look up at the sky, already seeing the trouble ahead.