June.

With the change of seasons to summer uniforms, a hint of early summer had begun to drift through Class 1-1 as well.

"Hey, hey, Yuuma-kun! That chocolate looks sooo delicious!"

"Heh, nice, right? It’s a special-order luxury chocolate my dad bought when he went on a business trip to France. If it’s just one piece, I might give it to the girl who shows me the cutest smile."

"Yes! Me! Give it to me!"

Before morning homeroom.

At the front of the classroom, one of the only two boys in the class—a chubby young master wearing a tight-fitting branded short-sleeve shirt—Yuuma, was enjoying playing king while surrounded by a group of girls.

'...How can he eat something that looks that sickening first thing in the morning? And seriously, the way he’s handing it out is exactly like some nouveau riche old man feeding people.'

From my designated seat by the window in the back row, I rested my cheek on my hand and watched the scene coldly.

In this insane world with a 1:15 male-to-female ratio, even a bratty, chubby six-year-old like that was considered a “super VIP with a promising future” by the girls.

If you were pampered like that from such a young age, it was no surprise you’d grow up with that kind of arrogant personality.

With a “good grief,” I averted my gaze and started flipping through the 'Illustrated Guide to the World’s Mountain Ranges' I had borrowed from the library.

It was just to at least feel like I was in the mountains.

However, just as I had completely cut off my awareness from the boys’ commotion—"Hey, you there."

Suddenly, a sharp voice fell from directly above me.

When I looked up, Yuuma, who had stepped out from the group of girls, was standing in front of my desk.

In his hand was a small wrapper holding a single piece of that expensive-looking chocolate from earlier.

"...What is it?"

"You’re Nanase Shizuku-chan, right? I’ve been thinking since the entrance ceremony, but you never come over to greet me."

Yuuma puffed out his cheeks slightly, looking down at me with dissatisfaction.

For the past month, he had been enjoying the “natural right” of being fawned over by all the girls in class 'except me and Anju'.

Yet the black-haired girl who should have stood out the most in the class—me—hadn’t even spared him a glance.

At first, it seemed he hadn’t cared.

But the fact that there was a girl who didn’t fawn over him gradually irritated his arrogant pride, eventually turning into interest.

"Not really. I’m not that into sweets, and I don’t have any business talking to you."

I replied flatly in a low, husky voice and dropped my gaze back to the book.

"Wha—! I’m going out of my way to talk to you! Here, I’ll give you this French chocolate as a special favor. Once you eat this, you’re definitely going to like me!"

Yuuma, getting worked up, slammed the chocolate down on my desk.

Around us, the girls began to stir.

"Huh, that’s not fair!"

"Why Nanase-san of all people!?"

But then, as if cutting through that noise, an overwhelming “killing intent” burst out from the center of the classroom.

It was Hojo Anju.

She had been pretending to read a book at her seat, but in her hands, the thick hardcover was being gripped so tightly it creaked in protest.

'W-What is with that potato-looking guy!? Can’t he tell Shizu—Nanase-san is uncomfortable!?'

As the daughter of a branch family of the Hojoin, Anju had been taught to the marrow of her bones that “boys are treasures and should be respected.”

And yet now, what was boiling inside her chest was a pitch-black anger powerful enough to blow that common sense to pieces.

'Don’t talk to her so casually! Nanase-san only shows that special gentle side to me! There’s no way she’d be swayed by that tasteless chocolate! ...Ugh, seriously, I have to step in and drive that potato away myself!'

Driven by jealousy and possessiveness 'which she herself believed was a sense of justice', Anju was just about to slam her desk and stand up—"Sorry, I don’t want it."

I lightly pushed the chocolate back across the desk with my fingertip.

"Huh?"

"I don’t care if it’s from France or wherever, I like the normal cookies my mom bakes a hundred times more. Give that kind of thing to someone who actually fawns over you."

It wasn’t a cold rejection.

Just a casual, indifferent refusal that carried the composure of an adult who simply had no interest.

For a six-year-old boy, it was far more damaging to his pride than being scolded.

"W-What was that! I don’t care about you anymore!"

Yuuma’s face turned bright red, his eyes welling with tears as he snatched the chocolate back and ran off to his group of girls.

"...Phew. What a pain first thing in the morning."

As I let out a small breath and cracked my neck, Anju was suddenly standing right next to me.

"Oh, it’s you, Anju. What’s up?"

"I-It’s nothing..."

While turning her face away with a huff, the tips of Anju’s ears were dyed bright red with relief and happiness.

It seemed my complete lack of interest in that boy had greatly satisfied her pride 'and possessiveness'.

"Hmph. That was the obvious response. Accepting a handout from such a vulgar boy wouldn’t suit you. I might reconsider my opinion of you a little."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks. You’ve got it rough too, being surrounded by people like that."

"I-It’s not like that! As a member of the Hojo—!"

As I half-listened to her tsundere tone starting up again, I felt the early summer breeze blowing in through the window.

* * *

Meanwhile, at an elementary school a few hundred meters away in the neighboring district.

In Class 1-3.

Crack!!

"Eek!? A-Aoi-chan? What’s wrong, your pencil snapped?"

Mio in the seat next to her asked in a frightened voice.

Hoshikawa Aoi stared motionlessly at the brand-new pencil in her hand that had been snapped clean in two.

"...No, it’s nothing, Mio-chan."

Aoi slowly raised her head and smiled.

A sweet, angelic smile.

But within her emerald green eyes, there wasn’t a trace of light.

'...They’re flying again. Around Shizuku-chan, those big, annoying 'male' flies are buzzing again...'

Even from far away, Aoi’s top-tier yandere radar accurately detected the “affection from males” directed toward Shizuku.

Affection from girls 'like Anju' irritated her as well, but affection from “boys,” who held overwhelming power in this world, was the worst kind of irregularity and a threat that had to be eliminated.

"Hey, Mio-chan."

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you know how to make insect repellent spray? Something really strong, the kind that makes them never come close again..."

"I-Insect repellent? Sorry, I don’t know..."

"I see. Then I’ll have to look it up myself... fufu."

Throwing the broken pencil into the trash, Aoi began sharpening a new one as if nothing had happened.

A cold, dark smile—one she showed to no one—clung to her lips.

'Any bugs that come near Shizuku-chan, whether male or female, I’ll exterminate them all... every single one.'

* * *

Triggered by my unconscious ikemen-like behavior.

The red-haired young lady’s tsundere only accelerated further, while the blonde childhood friend’s love sank into a point of no return.

A brand-new first grader.

Without realizing it, my peaceful school life was already completely surrounded.