Storm of Confessions

It was Friday morning.

Sakurai Saki felt a strange discomfort—like something in his routine had been thrown off balance. The Disciplinary Committee member on duty had changed. This seemingly minor shift gnawed at him in the same way an unfinished daily mission in a mobile game does—especially when you're five points away from completion, and the only way to finish is by slogging through the most annoying game mode.

That was the exact frustration humming in Sakurai's chest.

He sat by the window, eyes glazed as he stared outside, mind wandering. That was when she walked in.

Hayasaka Ai.

She'd managed to slip past the Disciplinary Committee today, so her expression was unusually calm. At least on the surface. Whatever was going on in her mind was anyone's guess.

After offering a few polite greetings, Hayasaka made her way toward Sakurai's desk.

She still couldn't stop thinking about last night.

How on earth did Kaguya Shinomiya record that sound? The question had haunted her all evening. Not only had she learned that the old-fashioned phone could record audio, but even more bewildering was the content of the recording:

Sakurai Saki. Meowing like a cat.

The boy who normally wore a sour, cat-like scowl on his face... making such a cutesy sound?

Terrifying.Utterly terrifying.

To Hayasaka, listening to the recording felt like witnessing a glitch in the matrix. Only someone like Secretary Fujiwara could find that "adorable."

Still, as much as curiosity clawed at her, she had no intention of investigating what happened yesterday. As Kaguya Shinomiya's attendant, she knew better than to poke around in her mistress's affairs. The Student Council Room was a sacred space. Even if she and Kaguya were practically sisters, there were boundaries—rules she'd been trained to uphold since childhood.

Now standing beside Sakurai, who hadn't even noticed her presence, Hayasaka leaned in without warning and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

She nuzzled her cheek against his and whispered, "Sakura-chan~ Good morning! What are you spacing out about?"

Sakurai turned slightly, glanced at her, and gave a dry reply. "Thinking about the joint club meeting this afternoon. I have to go with Shirogane."

Hayasaka, sensing the curious stares from nearby classmates, let him go and gracefully returned to her seat. "Good luck," she said, genuinely.

The Club Joint Association of Shuchiin—nicknamed Shuchiin VIP—was no joke.

Its members were the elite among the elite, hailing from backgrounds like: [military], [business], [politics], [religion], [police], [underworld], and even [external forces]. Just reading that list felt like staring down the final boss roster of a strategy game.

These students weren't just influential—they were untouchable. If one of them so much as disliked you, they'd have you transferred out with a snap of their fingers. While others had served as Student Council President in the past, most couldn't finish their terms. The record for shortest presidency? One semester. Voluntarily resigned. Supposedly.

The only reason Shirogane Miyuki still held the title was due to a combination of sheer willpower, clever maneuvering—and Kaguya Shinomiya.

Kaguya had her own reasons for protecting the Student Council. Yes, her close friends Fujiwara and Hayasaka had attachments there. But more importantly, she hated to lose.

Ever since Shirogane blindsided her in last year's exams, Kaguya had vowed to reclaim her pride. One of her most brilliant moves? Encouraging Shirogane to become Student Council President—an exhausting job that would cut into his study time, giving her a better shot at taking the academic crown.

Strategic, ruthless, classic Kaguya.

But back to Sakurai's current concern: the joint meeting.

While it sounded dangerous on paper, the truth was more bureaucratic. Most of the time, it was just club leaders bickering over budgets. The real issue was managing the hotheads.

Two stood out:Ryuzhu Momo, from the Astronomy Club, with rumored ties to the [underworld].Kojima, from the Kendo Club, connected to the [police].When those two were in the room together, things got loud—fast.

Sakurai pictured their inevitable clash and sighed. His confidence wavered. He turned back to the window and spaced out again.

The teacher finally arrived.

What would today's homeroom be about? Whatever it was, Sakurai could barely keep his eyes open.

He yawned, listening to the ponytailed female teacher drone on at the front of the room. These days, he needed at least ten hours of sleep to feel human again. His coffee habit wasn't just taste—it was survival.

His part-time jobs had taken a toll. Being a rental boyfriend for the past six months wasn't easy, but at least it allowed him a little more rest than before.

School let out at 3 PM. After that came Student Council duties. Then work started at 5 PM. He usually wrapped up around 8, got home by 9, and—

If by some freak accident he acquired a chaotic superpower that day?

Well, he'd need to log into a game and unleash that chaos on some unsuspecting players first.

Only after that ritual of digital destruction could he finally sleep... usually around midnight.

Classes started at 8:30 AM sharp.

No matter how Sakurai Saki sliced it, there was simply no way to squeeze in 10 hours of sleep. Not with his current schedule.

In short, he was perpetually sleep-deprived.

It didn't show on the surface—his expression was always composed, bordering on stoic—but mentally, he was running on fumes. That constant exhaustion was one of the reasons why he preferred to keep his emotions tightly sealed when inside the Student Council Room. Maintaining a poker face took less energy than reacting.

After the final Japanese class of the morning, Sakurai retrieved the bento he'd made that morning and quietly made his way out of the classroom, intent on eating in peace.

As he passed by Kaguya Shinomiya, he noticed something.

She hadn't moved.

No bento. No preparations. Just sitting there, alone.

At first glance, someone might've assumed she was being excluded. But Sakurai knew better.

It wasn't that Kaguya was being ostracized.

It was that she had ostracized the world.

While she'd started showing more emotion lately—her once-frigid exterior slowly thawing—there was still a long way to go before she could be considered a "normal" student.

Sakurai walked out into the corridor. Down below in the courtyard, students were already gathering for lunch, chatting about clubs, tests, and campus gossip. He tuned out the noise and headed straight for the Student Council Room.

When he opened the door, he found Ishigami Yu already there, slouched in a chair like a sack of apathy.

"Hm? Ishigami, not eating?" Sakurai asked.

He didn't see a bento box. No convenience store bag either. What was he planning to survive on?

Ishigami reached into his bag and pulled out a single piece of snail bread.

"This is enough for me," he said, casually taking a bite.

At that exact moment, a large, invisible character appeared above his head:

[TRUE]

Sakurai blinked.

That's right. He could tell.

Because today... Sakurai Saki was a human lie detector.