The ‘vacation’ finally ended and we were at last back at school.

It was supposed to be summer break, but with two special exams right in the middle of it, the exhaustion hit all at once.

On the deserted island, we were worn down physically.

On the ship, we were worn down mentally.

Well, I guess?

Thanks to what happened on the night of the third day, I got a little stronger again.

And I even got to, uh, lean on Kiyotaka a bit, so I guess that part was fine.

But Matsushita-san’s case was completely out of the blue.

Sure, it was weird that she had masks and stuff in her bag on the island, but still.

I seriously had no idea at all that Kiyotaka and Matsushita-san were connected.

‘H-Hey!!! Doesn’t this mean that if Kiyotaka tried to cheat, he wouldn’t get caught!?’

That’s not okay.

If he has the ability, that guy really has no sense of restraint at all.

Thinking that, I headed for Kiyotaka’s room to give that shameless idiot a lecture, but—

“Oho. What a coincidence. K… thief cat-san. Sorry, I don’t remember the names of people I’m not interested in. I have a bit of business to attend to, but where might you be headed?”

Right in front of the elevator, I ran into Sakayanagi-san of all people.

‘I mean, you definitely know my name and you’re just saying that on purpose, right!?’

And there’s a ninety-nine percent chance Sakayanagi-san is also here on business with Kiyotaka.

If anything, stopping her here might actually be the right move.

“What a coincidence indeed, Sakayanagi-san. I did have business, but I just remembered something even more important.”

“Hehe. Is that so? I’ve just remembered another errand myself. If you’d like, why don’t we have some tea together in my room?”

Despite her words, the pressure radiating from her right now is on par with Kiyotaka’s.

But—

“Then since it’s a rare chance, I’ll gladly join you. Opportunities like this don’t come around often.”

‘I can’t back down. If I want to keep standing beside Kiyotaka.’

Alright.

Time to slay a demon.

* * *

“Ken-kun, good work on the special exam!”

“Airi, good work to you too! Well, once we got back on the ship, we basically did nothing and before we knew it, the exam was over!”

“Yeah, we couldn’t really do much on the ship, but on the island, you were so reliable, Ken-kun. You really saved me.”

“Nah. I was just following Boss’s instructions. As expected of Boss. And you worked hard cooking too, right? You always really help out!”

Ken-kun said that with a smile.

Just seeing that smile makes me feel like all my effort was worth it.

“Alright then, the after-party’s over. Let’s train like usual! Airi, you’re coming too!”

“…Yeah. I’ll do my best!”

Ken-kun used to train at Ayanokōji-kun’s room all the time, but at some point he started training in his own room.

Around then was when we started dating and I began helping with his training.

Before I knew it, I was training myself too.

I was never exactly athletic, but thanks to that, I didn’t get as exhausted on the island and I wasn’t a total burden during exploration either.

Still, honestly, I’m kind of scared that my abs are about to start showing.

If I hadn’t taken that step.

If I hadn’t gotten close to Ken-kun.

I like being alone, but on the island we had to cooperate with everyone.

On the ship, we had room assignments and group divisions.

Up until now, you could barely call them normal academic tests, but these really lived up to the name of “special” exams.

If I hadn’t changed.

Then both of these special exams would have been hell.

“…Thank you so much, Ken-kun.”

“Huh? I don’t really get it, but you’re welcome!”

In the end, I’m still being saved by him.

* * *

“Normally, I have Masumi prepare it, but today I’ll brew it for you myself.”

Sakayanagi-san said that and served me tea.

She really looks the part.

So this is the room of Class A’s leader…

I feel bad staring too much, but it’s such a cute, girly room.

Combined with Sakayanagi-san’s looks, she looks just like a doll.

From appearances alone, she doesn’t look like the aggressive leader who stands on equal footing with Katsuragi-kun.

If anything, Katsuragi-kun looks way more aggressive.

Thinking rude thoughts like that, I sip the tea.

“So good. This is amazing. It’s so good I’ve lost all vocabulary.”

“Of course it is. I brewed it myself. Lately my favorite pastime is deliberately brewing tea for Masumi-san and letting her know, without saying it directly, that she’s still not good enough. Naturally, I don’t teach her how to make it properly. The look on her face when she drinks my tea is simply… delectable.”

Sakayanagi-san said with shining eyes.

Yeah, she’s definitely a sadist.

My condolences, Masumi-san-whose-surname-I-don’t-know.

“Pardon me, we’ve strayed from the topic. Thief cat-san… no, Karuizawa Kei-san. To be blunt, I don’t know much about you. When I met him at the chess club, the only one with him was Horikita-san. That’s why I believe she is the one who truly touches his heart.”

Right, Horikita-san did say she met Sakayanagi-san.

If she’s underestimating me, I honestly don’t mind.

“But since we’ve had the chance to make time like this today, why don’t you play a game with me?”

“A game?”

“Yes. Some kind of game the two of us can play. I have cards and several board games in my room for playing with Masumi-san. I’d like to play one of them with you.”

Just not chess.

Horikita-san might be trained in it, but I’m not.

It’s fine if she underestimates me.

If anything, considering she’s Class A’s leader, it’d be better if she misjudged my ability.

But—

“Then let’s play poker. I’ve never really played board games. And obviously, no cheating. We’ll mix three decks and limit the number of cards.”

As a woman drawn to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, standing in the same position, I don’t want to lose.

* * *

“Hey, Hirata! How do I get close to girls!? When am I finally gonna get a girlfriend!? Isn’t there any girl who can keep up with my amazingness!?”

Honestly, all I can do is give a wry smile.

Yamauchi-kun, if you want people to like you, you should act in ways that make you likable.

I won’t say it though, because it’d just cause trouble.

If you look at the couples in Class D:

Ayanokōji-kun and Karuizawa-san.

Sudō-kun and Sakura-san.

And Ike-kun and Shinohara-san.

Thinking about Ayanokōji-kun is pointless and while the last pair isn’t officially dating yet, it’s only a matter of time.

So since Ike-kun, who used to be paired up with Yamauchi-kun as the “two idiots,” might get a girlfriend, Yamauchi-kun is panicking.

“Yeah, I was aiming for Kushida-chan, but lately she’s not really the class goddess anymore, right? She’s all over Ayanokōji. And he’s even declared Karuizawa as his girlfriend. It’s honestly scary and kind of disappointing. Still, she’s the kind of girl who’d promise to go to the pool with us, so I think it’s worth going for that one chance.”

No, it’s impossible.

She’s obviously aiming for Ayanokōji-kun.

If you were serious, I might help, but if you’re just aiming for a lucky break, don’t drag me into it.

He even teamed up with Sotomura-kun, who apparently took mental damage from the Ayanokōji-Karuizawa pair on the ship exam and talked about secretly filming the girls’ changing room.

That’s just straight-up a crime.

I told them calmly that it was illegal and they backed off at the planning stage, so that was good, but any more than that and my stomach won’t be able to take it.

Apparently Yamauchi-kun even tried to submit an answer on the ship exam despite not understanding anything.

In the end, since his group was the VIP, the answer was invalid anyway, so it didn’t matter.

During the island exam, Ayanokōji-kun threw Shinohara-san into the river because she used 15 points.

Throwing her into the river might have been part of staging an internal Class D conflict, but I think there was a lot of genuine emotion in that.

What Yamauchi-kun did on the ship exam was just dumb luck.

Otherwise, it would’ve been minus 50 points for us and plus 50 for another class.

When I remember his eyes back then.

He—Ayanokōji-kun—will discard people he can’t easily use.

That’s why I have to do something.

Protecting everyone is my role.

“Hey, Hirata, are you listening?”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something. What were we talking about?”

“Come on, listen properly. So, instead of Kushida-chan, I’m thinking of going for Horikita-chan. That devoted puppy-like attitude of hers, doing her best for the class… she’s perfect for me, right!?”

There was never any chance with Kushida-san.

There’s even less with Horikita-san.

* * *

Hmm.

Not bad.

The poker match she suggested.

We each start with 50,000 PP.

We bet a minimum of 100 PP, then deal five cards.

One exchange only.

We can raise before and after the exchange.

You can fold, but if you fold after the exchange, you have to reveal your hand.

If we both call after the exchange, we reveal our hands and the winner takes the pot.

I don’t know how common it is, but it’s perfectly normal poker.

Since we’re cutting randomly from three decks, counting doesn’t mean much.

The rules are pretty solid.

No wonder he keeps her by his side.

She’s got guts.

Her bluffs are decent and her luck isn’t absurdly good or bad.

Still, she’s not beyond an ordinary person’s level.

My points are slowly increasing.

About 60,000 to 40,000.

But holding her own against me like this means she could be a good match if she grows.

Maybe that’s why Ayanokōji-kun keeps her close.

“Raise. 10,000.”

Oh.

Bold.

Alright, I’ll take the bait.

“Call.”

We exchange cards.

There are only two of us here and these are my cards, so Karuizawa-san is acting as the dealer.

She doesn’t seem to be cheating with second deals or bottom deals.

Well, she suggested it herself, so she probably won’t.

“Raise. 20,000 bet.”

Hmm.

From the samples so far, this is a bluff.

When Karuizawa-san bluffs and raises, she always blinks.

I could call and crush her.

My hand is three of a kind, kings.

A strong enough hand.

And since I only exchanged one card, she knows that too.

But her eyes aren’t dead.

Am I missing something?

Am I letting my anger cloud my judgment?

This woman is the one Ayanokōji-kun allowed to call herself his girlfriend.

“Hehe.”

“What is it?”

“Oh, nothing. I was just disappointed in my own softness. And I’m sorry, but it looks like we’re out of time.”

“Huh?”

* * *

“Sakayanagi, I found it. Ugh, why do I have to do this… Wait, why is Karuizawa-san here?”

“Thank you, Masumi-san. And my apologies, Karuizawa-san. It’s true that I had business with Ayanokōji-kun, but I had other business as well. So let’s call it a day here.”

“That’s fine, but… what business?”

I’m a little curious, but I don’t want to drag this out either.

“Well… I didn’t participate in this vacation. And then one day, I received an email like this.”

She held out her phone.

On it was a picture of Kiyotaka being dragged into a karaoke box by me, Horikita-san and Kikyo-chan.

And the message:

‘Your Highness’s fiancé is in big trouble lol. Your Highness should try harder too. Though with your body, it’s probably impossible lol.’

“Hehe. Looks like fun. I should have gone too. And that’s why I had business with Ayanokōji-kun as well. But since I got to play with you, that’s good enough. For today, I’ll prioritize the blond idiot for venting my frustration.”

Prayers for the nameless blond guy.

“By the way, for this final round, I fold. Karuizawa-san, please show your hand.”

Her presence earlier felt like she intended to see the game through.

If she folded now, that means she read me completely.

I thought deliberately creating a bluff habit would be a first-time kill.

“Full house… I see. Folding was the right choice. Then it ends almost even.”

I lost a little from the minimum bet, but it’s basically a draw.

I think I did well against Sakayanagi-san.

Honestly, I wanted to win the last round cleanly and crush her.

“Karuizawa-san… no, Kei-san. Like him, I like talented people. So I’ll reluctantly acknowledge you being by his side. But only for now. Someday I’ll take him back. Until then, please take good care of him—Ayanokōji-kun.”