Why?

  She had been so careful to keep this a secret. She had made sure no one would find out.

  So why…

  Why was the entire css here?!

  Surrounded by the students of Css B, Shiranami Chihiro’s face burned bright red. She lowered her head in embarrassment, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her uniform.

  And then—

  As if she had suddenly realized something, her eyes widened.

  She turned toward Uesugi Gen and gred daggers at him.

  It was definitely this guy.

  She had no idea how he did it, but if anyone could pull off something this outrageous, it had to be him.

  There was no doubt in her mind.

  Staring into Chihiro’s accusing eyes, Uesugi felt a deep sadness well up inside him.

  I get it when other csses try to pin things on me, but my own cssmates, too?

  Do you guys seriously not know what kind of person I am?

  Is there any justice left in this world?!

  Compared to Chihiro’s simmering resentment, the real trouble was the girl standing in front of them all—Ichinose Honami.

  Right now, faced with a cssroom’s worth of students lurking in the shadows, Ichinose simply smiled warmly and asked,

  "So, what exactly is everyone doing here?"

  The students exchanged awkward gnces.

  Then, in perfect disharmony, they all blurted out completely different answers.

  "Pying games!"

  "Training!"

  "Club activities!"

  …

  Ichinose’s smile grew even brighter.

  Then, without missing a beat, she asked her next question.

  "Alright, then. Who organized this little gathering?"

  In an instant, over thirty fingers pointed to the center of the group.

  "Him!"

  Without hesitation, everyone sold Uesugi out.

  …

  Wow.

  That was fast.

  Weren’t you guys just calling me Css B’s greatest hope? And now you’re throwing me under the bus like this?!

  Uesugi fumed internally while quietly lowering the finger he had been pointing at someone else.

  "Uesugi-kun~"

  Ichinose took a slow, deliberate step toward him, tilting her head slightly with a not-so-innocent smile.

  Uesugi took a deep breath, steeling himself for battle.

  Then, he made a bold decision—

  "That’s right!"

  "I was the one who pnned this entire operation to follow you!"

  Then, after a quick gnce at the mortified Chihiro, he added,

  "But I had no idea the person who wrote you a love letter was Shiranami. This was just an unfortunate coincidence!"

  Chihiro shot her head up, fuming, her expression clearly saying: You think I’ll believe that nonsense?!

  "Alright, enough."

  Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, finally stepped in.

  If Uesugi was allowed to keep talking, Chihiro might just leave for Mars tomorrow out of sheer embarrassment.

  That said…

  Kanzaki wasn’t completely convinced that this was just an accident.

  From an objective standpoint, Uesugi had gained the most out of all this.

  Could it be that his carefree, reckless behavior was just an act?

  Is this guy secretly a master maniputor?

  A chill ran down Kanzaki’s spine, but he quickly shook the thought away and got back to the matter at hand.

  "We came here because Uesugi saw Ichinose receive a love letter. He was concerned it might be a scheme from another css, so he gathered us all here to investigate."

  Then, gncing at Chihiro, he hesitated before adding,

  "But… we didn’t expect it to turn out like this."

  Hearing Kanzaki’s expnation, Chihiro still refused to believe it.

  This is 100% Uesugi’s fault!

  However—

  Ichinose’s reaction was completely different.

  Her annoyance vanished in an instant, repced by a look of pure delight as she turned to Uesugi.

  "Really, Uesugi-kun? You were worried about me?"

  Uesugi froze.

  Should he… tell her the truth?

  That this was all just a misunderstanding? That he had dragged the entire css here just because it sounded fun?

  No way!

  If he said that now, all the trust and respect he had built up with Css B would go down the drain.

  With no other option, he sighed and begrudgingly muttered,

  "If that’s how you want to see it… sure."

  Ichinose beamed.

  "You’re so silly, Uesugi-kun. If you were curious, you could’ve just asked me directly!"

  She stared at the boy who had gone through all this trouble just to investigate a love letter, half amused, half exasperated.

  "How was I supposed to know what you were thinking? You suddenly called out to me all mysterious-like that day. I thought it was something important!"

  Uesugi groaned.

  The two of them bickered back and forth, their conversation growing more heated by the second.

  Meanwhile, Chihiro gritted her teeth, watching their exchange.

  What do you mean “not something important”?!

  I was here first. I met Ichinose first. I became friends with her first…

  As Ichinose finished grilling Uesugi, she turned to the rest of Css B with a serious expression.

  "That said, I’m still a little mad about all this. I don’t mind personally, but please don’t go around invading people’s privacy like this again. It’s not polite."

  "Yes…!"

  The entire css collectively lowered their heads in apology.

  "But—"

  Ichinose’s tone suddenly softened, and she smiled warmly at them all.

  "Thank you."

  "For doing something against your own better judgment… just for my sake. That must’ve been really difficult."

  "Not at all! I actually learned a lot from this!"

  "This was kind of exciting, in its own way."

  "Trying out new things is a good experience!"

  …

  Despite how everything should have gone, Css B didn’t regret a thing.

  Seeing that, Ichinose simply shook her head and smiled.

  Then, with her usual cheerfulness, she decred,

  "Since we’re all here anyway, why don’t we go out for a group dinner?"

  She then grabbed Uesugi’s hand and added—

  "And this time, you can’t say no!"

  "Fine, fine."

  Uesugi sighed in defeat.

  Finally, Ichinose extended her other hand toward Chihiro.

  "Come on, Chihiro-chan. You too."

  …

  And so, the entire Css B left the back of the gymnasium together.

  Just as they were about to go—

  Uesugi suddenly paused.

  Wait… I feel like I forgot something important.

  Eh, whatever.

  With a dismissive wave, he pushed the thought away.

  If I can’t remember it, it probably wasn’t anything serious…

  ---

  Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark alley…

  A certain red-haired delinquent y tied up, gagged, and thoroughly beaten to a pulp.

  His long hair, once flowing, was now tangled and trampled under the shoes of his captors.

  His golden eyes burned with rage and humiliation.

  "Uesugi Gen…"

  "I WILL KILL YOU!!!"