It seems that yesterday’s meeting between Kiyotaka-senpai and Tsubasa-chan went well.

As expected, it was probably a good thing that Ichika-chan had already brought Tsubasa-chan under control beforehand~!

If there’s just one problem...

"By the way, Ayanokōji-senpai mentioned this casually, but... Ichika-san, do you like Ayanokōji-senpai?"

"Yep! Of course! Kiyotaka-senpai is someone I admire... no, he’s like a god to me!"

"I see... so that’s how it is..."

Since that day... Tsubasa-chan has started getting overly touchy with me.

Well... from my perspective, it’s not like I dislike being touched by Tsubasa-chan, though...

"Umm? Tsubasa-chan... why are you sulking?"

"I’m not... sulking... hmph..."

"No, no! You are sulking, right!? What’s wrong!?"

Also... why is Tsubasa-chan sulking over the fact that I like Kiyotaka-senpai?

"I did say I would cooperate with Ayanokōji-senpai, but... that doesn’t mean I completely trust him! If something inconvenient happens... there’s no denying the possibility that he might discard me or even Ichika-san!"

"Ahaha... Kiyotaka-senpai wouldn’t do something like that!"

Well... in reality, Kiyotaka-senpai probably still sees us as nothing more than useful pawns...

So Tsubasa-chan’s concern... is actually correct...

But! From here on, if we devote ourselves to Kiyotaka-senpai... I think we can change that way of thinking of his, so don’t worry~!

"If Ayanokōji-senpai ever betrays Ichika-san... I will never forgive him!"

"Eh... um, thank you?"

Huh... somehow, in this world, Tsubasa-chan feels less like Kiyotaka-senpai’s loyal dog... and more like my loyal dog... but that must just be my imagination, right?

"And also... the other White Room student is Yagami-kun, correct?"

"So you noticed after all..."

In front of others, we stick to calling each other 'Amasawa-san' and 'Yagami-kun', but with Tsubasa-chan, since our meeting was so sudden, we couldn’t coordinate properly... so we had no choice but to go with the childhood friend setting.

However... since I revealed to Tsubasa-chan that I’m a fifth-generation White Room student, it was inevitable that Takuya—who was supposed to be my childhood friend—would be identified as the other White Room student...

"Was it really okay not to tell Yagami-kun about our cooperative relationship with Ayanokōji-senpai?"

"No, I’m planning to tell him soon. But you know... why does Takuya still not like the fact that I admire Kiyotaka-senpai? I already told him that there’s no need to force ourselves to be acknowledged by the adults..."

"That’s probably because... Yagami-kun thinks of Ichika-san as... ah... no, it’s nothing..."

"Hm?"

For now, I’ll postpone telling Takuya about our cooperation with Kiyotaka-senpai.

After all... there are various things I want him to do for me~

"So, Tsubasa-chan... are you prepared?"

"Prepared?"

"Yeah, what you’re about to do... counts as betrayal against Acting Director Tsukishiro, the one who sent you to this school, you know? If things go badly... just like Kiyotaka-senpai... best case, you’ll be expelled, worst case, you could even lose your life. I’m asking whether you’re willing to risk that much for Kiyotaka-senpai~!"

"Isn’t it a bit late to ask that now? If I didn’t have the resolve to risk that much, I wouldn’t have pledged my cooperation in the first place!"

Even with my teasing question, the fact that she declared her cooperation without hesitation... it seems safe to say that Tsubasa-chan’s resolve is the real deal.

"And one more thing... there’s something I absolutely need to ask you, Tsubasa-chan!"

"Yes! Ask me anything!"

Suddenly, Tsubasa-chan looks at Ichika-chan with a serious gaze! As if... she already knows what’s about to be asked...

Alright then! Let’s have her tell me right away~

"Um~! Tsubasa-chan, are you... by any chance a big eater?"

"Eh... well... I wouldn’t say I’m a big eater, but I do have a pretty good appetite... wait! Why is the level of your question so low compared to how serious you were acting!?"

What!? The level of my question is low!?

That’s absolutely not true!!

For Ichika-chan, this is something that could greatly influence future strategy, you know!?

"So in other words, the reason your chest is big is because... you eat a lot..."

"Eh... Ichika-san, are you interested in my chest?"

Saying that... Tsubasa-chan holds her chest with both arms while looking at me with a bright red face...

At a glance... it looks like she’s embarrassed, but I feel like there’s about 10% happiness mixed in there...

Also... it seems like she’s misunderstanding something, so I’ll gently correct her.

"No, no! That’s not it~! I’m just preparing for the possibility that Kiyotaka-senpai might take an interest in girls with big chests! I was thinking that if I could make mine bigger like yours, I could tempt Kiyotaka-senpai~!"

"I see... is that so... is that so..."

Wait! Now she’s suddenly looking at me with a mix of jealousy, contempt and disappointment!?

"Sigh... honestly, Kiyotaka-senpai... taming this dog might actually be harder than you think..."

"Wha—I am not a dog!!!"

Well... at least she firmly denied that part.