"Fwaa... I slept well~..."

Today, right after the exam... is a day off!

Just lazing around like this isn’t bad, but... since it’s a rare chance, Ichika-chan wants to spend her time meaningfully~!

'Hmm? Maybe I should go see Kiyotaka-senpai~?'

And so! Once I think of it, I act immediately! I fix my appearance and head off to Kiyotaka-senpai!

* * *

"Shut up, Hōsen!"

"Tch! There’s nothing uglier than the whining of a loser..."

"What did you say!?"

...I did, but the moment I arrived at a scenic open plaza, I witnessed Utomiya-kun and Hōsen-kun on the verge of a fight...

Beside them... Tsubasa-chan and Tsubaki-chan were also there, each trying to stop their classmates.

Most likely, Hōsen-kun provoked Utomiya-kun and Tsubaki-chan about the special exam...

Even though they’re people I’d rather not get involved with today... if this continues, I feel bad for Tsubasa-chan and Tsubaki-chan standing beside them, so I decided to step in.

"Alright, alright~! Fighting in a public place like this is embarrassing, so can you stop~?"

"Amasawa..."

"Hah? What do you want..."

With my sudden interruption, Utomiya-kun regained his composure, while Hōsen-kun showed his anger openly.

"Well... I get that being Class D even though you got second place this time is a bit of a complex for you, but... picking a fight with Class C, who came last, isn’t a great look, you know?"

"Tch! Class A sure is kind, huh? Is this what you call the composure of the top dogs?"

Hōsen-kun snapped back at my words, showing no sign of backing down... he’s got some nerve~!

"I won’t deny that~ well... if I went all out, graduating from this school in Class A would be easy for me though? Haha..."

As expected... it seems difficult for them to withstand the killing intent Ichika-chan released, reminiscent of her White Room days...

Not just Hōsen-kun, but Utomiya-kun and Tsubasa-chan were visibly shaken.

Meanwhile... Tsubaki-chan remained expressionless, so I couldn’t tell what she was thinking...

"Tch... hey, Nanase! We’re leaving for today! There’s no point wasting time talking to Class C’s weaklings!"

"What... Hōsen, you bastard!"

"Utomiya-kun, stop..."

Even as he left, Hōsen-kun threw in one last unnecessary remark before walking off with Tsubasa-chan...

Utomiya-kun showed his anger at that attitude, but Tsubaki-chan calmly stopped him.

"Amasawa-san, thanks... honestly, Hōsen-kun was being a nuisance picking a fight."

"Huh? Tsubaki-chan... no no! It’s nothing at all!"

Being thanked by Tsubaki-chan somehow made me feel happy too.

"Amasawa... you’ve helped me both this time and during the midterm study session..."

"Geez! Utomiya-kun too~! Both times I just happened to be there!"

"As thanks... I’ll give you one warning. You shouldn’t trust Yagami Takuya from Class B..."

Oh my? For Utomiya-kun to bring up Takuya’s name at this point~?

"That Yagami-kun? He’s a leader candidate in Class B and a Student Council member, right?"

"Yeah... but during this special exam... he tried to force Hatano, who’s also a Student Council member in our class, into expulsion."

"Huh? Really~!"

I was curious about that too~! In the original world... he managed to expel Hatano-kun and make it look like Hōsen-kun’s doing, but... for some reason, in this world... it failed...

"Simply put... Yagami-kun tried to use the penalty rules of the Four-Choice Mismatch Exam to expel Hatano-kun, right?"

"Yeah... fortunately, I was in the [Choice Acquisition] group with Hatano and noticed Yagami’s scheme, so I managed to stop it."

"Hmm..."

Does that mean... something different from the original world is happening without me knowing?

Or maybe... there’s someone else besides Ichika-chan who remembers the original world?... well, probably not~

"Hey, Amasawa-san... can I ask you something?"

"Hm? Tsubaki-chan? What is it~?"

"If... I asked you to transfer to our... Class C... would you accept?"

That’s quite a bold question, not like Tsubaki-chan at all~! That’s basically asking me to betray my current class, you know~?

"Sorry, but I can’t accept that. I’ve grown attached to my current class~!"

My answer is, of course... NO!

In the original world, Ichika-chan wouldn’t care about Class A’s privileges, so she probably would’ve transferred just for a change of pace...

But... in this world, Ichika-chan has precious friends in Class A, and there are people who look up to her!

And because of that... it seems a sense of conscience has grown inside me that says I can’t abandon everyone...

"I see... sorry for asking something weird."

"No no! It’s totally fine! I won’t tell anyone about this either~!"

"Wow... Amasawa-san, you’re really kind..."

Come to think of it... no one ever called me kind in the original world~

* * *

‘Alright then~! Where could Kiyotaka-senpai be~?’

After parting with Tsubaki-chan and Utomiya-kun... I resumed searching for Kiyotaka-senpai.

I did try visiting his room in the boys’ dorm, but since it’s a day off, he wasn’t there~! Looks like I’ll have to search all around the school facilities...

Just as Ichika-chan was wandering around near Keyaki Mall...

"Kya!"

"Whoa!"

Maybe because I wasn’t watching where I was going... I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ah! I’m sorry! Are you okay—huh?"

"No, it’s fine—wait! Huh? You’re!"

Wow... what an unexpected place to run into them~! And... there are several people behind them too, probably their companions...

Of course, Ichika-chan knows this senpai very well... the one she accidentally bumped into...

After all... just like me... you also love Kiyotaka-senpai, don’t you~? Senpaai~?