The senpai I accidentally bumped into...

"Um... you’re an upperclassman, right? I’m really sorry a mere underclassman like me bumped into you!"

"No, please don’t worry about it! I was also looking away..."

I don’t actually feel even the slightest bit sorry, but... I still have to show the minimum level of courtesy toward someone older.

"Hey? You’re the girl who came to our classroom before, right~? If I remember correctly, you went to the same middle school as Kiyopon?"

"Yes! That’s right! I’m Amasawa Ichika from Class 1-A! I’ve known Kiyotaka-senpai... for quite a long time!"

"Hmm? Kiyotaka-senpai... huh..."

The other senpai, who seemed to be accompanying the one I bumped into, asked that question, and I answered calmly.

"Wow... Airi, this is a big deal~! Looks like another rival has appeared!"

"W-Wait, Haruka-chan! You’re being too loud..."

The girl called Haruka—no, the senpai who seemed to be accompanying her—grinned as she teased the senpai I bumped into, calling her Airi.

That’s right... the senpai I bumped into is Sakura Airi.

From what I know... she had feelings for Kiyotaka-senpai, but during a special exam called the unanimous vote exam held after summer vacation, she was expelled by that very Kiyotaka-senpai... a truly pitiful senpai.

In other words... she’s what you’d call a losing heroine!

Well... in the original world, aside from Karuizawa-senpai, everyone who had feelings for Kiyotaka-senpai—including me—would be a losing heroine though~

"Haruka... calm down for now."

"Yeah. Amasawa looks confused..."

"Geez! Even Miyacchi and Yukimuu~! You guys are no fun~!"

Then... two male students called by the nicknames Miyacchi and Yukimuu stepped in and scolded Haruka—Hasebe Haruka-senpai.

Meanwhile... I checked the OAA values of the senpai in front of me.

2nd Year Class D: Hasebe Haruka

Academic Ability: C'52'

Physical Ability: C'52'

Adaptive Thinking: C-'43'

Social Contribution: C'46'

Overall Ability: C'49'

2nd Year Class D: Yukimura Teruhiko

Academic Ability: A'92'

Physical Ability: D'30'

Adaptive Thinking: C'51'

Social Contribution: B-'63'

Overall Ability: C+'58'

2nd Year Class D: Miyake Akito

Academic Ability: C'53'

Physical Ability: B'74'

Adaptive Thinking: C-'42'

Social Contribution: C+'56'

Overall Ability: C+'56'

And then...

2nd Year Class D: Sakura Airi

Academic Ability: C'50'

Physical Ability: D-'25'

Adaptive Thinking: D-'25'

Social Contribution: C+'60'

"I see~? Yukimura Teruhiko-senpai is the type specialized in academics, Miyake Akito-senpai has high physical ability... Hasebe Haruka-senpai is average, and Sakura Airi-senpai is below average, huh."

When I said that... perhaps realizing she had been indirectly labeled as weak, Sakura-senpai lowered her head sadly.

"Ah! That may have come out a bit harsh! If that offended you... I apologize?"

"No, it’s true that my OAA is low..."

Wasn’t it because of this low OAA... that she got expelled by Kiyotaka-senpai~?

'She really is pitiful~!'

Even though she’s my rival in love, I do feel a little sympathy for Sakura-senpai.

If I were abandoned by Kiyotaka-senpai too... I don’t think I’d be able to recover!

"Well... there’s a huge gap in overall OAA ability between you and Amasawa. So that kind of comparison can’t really be helped."

"...But still? Next time, be careful with how you say things, okay? I don’t like it when my friends are spoken badly about."

"Yukimura-senpai and Hasebe-senpai... I’m sorry for the trouble..."

Honestly... I’m starting to lose track of why I’m the one apologizing here~

"So this is the Ayanokōji Group... looks like Kiyotaka-senpai really has been blessed with good friends..."

Ah... it seems I accidentally muttered what I was thinking out loud...

"W-Well, yeah! Kiyopon can be a bit awkward, but he’s someone you can rely on! Right, Airi?"

"Y-Yeah! Kiyotaka-kun is an important friend!"

"I don’t always understand what he’s thinking... but I still consider him a friend."

Hasebe-senpai, Sakura-senpai and Miyake-senpai all gave positive responses, which made me feel relieved as if it were about me.

"Well... as long as he doesn’t keep secrets from us going forward... I’d appreciate it."

Yukimura-senpai still seemed somewhat doubtful about Kiyotaka-senpai.

"I see~! So Kiyotaka-senpai has finally started getting serious in his second year~! I mean, scoring 100 in math, after all~! ...But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, you know?"

"“W-What...”"

"“Huh...”"

My unexpected reveal clearly shook all four of them.

"So you’re saying... Kiyotaka is still hiding some kind of ability?"

"When I saw his OAA score, I was shocked~! From my perspective, knowing Kiyotaka-senpai well, it’s far too low..."

This is the truth... I never thought Kiyotaka-senpai, who was called the masterpiece of the White Room, had been hiding his abilities to this extent...

"But... he wasn’t deceiving you. He was doing it so he wouldn’t drag you all into what lies ahead for him."

"Wait... what do you mean by that?"

Hasebe-senpai asked in surprise at my response.

"Hmm, it’s not something easy to talk about here... so let’s change locations first."

Now then... even after hearing what I’m about to say, will the bond of these four... the Ayanokōji Group, remain unchanged~?

Sorry, Kiyotaka-senpai, but... I’ll use your friends for a little experiment~