The Heroines Want to Confess.

Chapter 90: Sasa's Bizarre Adventure

In Class 2-A.

Hayasaka Ai looked at Sakurai Saki, who was walking from the doorway to her side with a heavy expression. She didn't quite understand what was going on with him.

"Yahallo~ Sakurai-chan~ good morning! That expression on your face right now is seriously super interesting!"

ヾ(＾ ∇ ＾).

Ai-chan greeted.

Hearing that, Sakurai Saki glanced at the ghost girl floating back and forth beside him and showed a helpless look.

He really shouldn't have brought her along just now.

"My pet ran out of the house, so I'm really worried right now."

"Do you keep a cat? Or a dog?" Hayasaka Ai asked curiously.

"Shiro isn't a cat at all!" The white-haired, gray-eyed ghost girl placed her hands on her hips and loudly objected.

(˶˃⤙˂˶)

Unfortunately, Hayasaka Ai couldn't see her.

She was a ghost only Sakurai Saki could see, a ghost girl that belonged solely to him.

"Way cuter than a cat, and she even clings to me and acts spoiled." Sakurai Saki replied.

Yakumo Shiro was indeed very cute.

"Ehehe~ I'm not that cute…"

ฅ(,,๑>⩊<๑,,)ฅ♡

Yakumo Shiro, who really liked cats, found that compliment quite pleasing.

Sakurai Saki brought her out mainly to scout the surrounding situation.

Then, to ensure both he and Chika could be safe.

…But no matter how you looked at it, this act felt a bit like something a playboy would do, didn't it? Using one girl to protect another girl.

"Eh! I'm super curious now! Send me a picture next time, okay?" Hayasaka Ai got excited.

She really liked cute things, but even more than that, she loved watching videos of slime being crushed into pieces, or a hydraulic press smashing objects — these were daily necessities that helped her maintain mental stability in the face of Shinomiya Kaguya's extreme irrationality.

She's standing right next to you. Sakurai Saki thought to himself, then smiled and nodded.

"I'll send one next time."

Yakumo Shiro stood blushing next to Ai-chan, bashfully saying: "I'm not that amazing or anything…"

...

Sitting down in his seat, Sakurai Saki glanced at the schoolyard scene below through the window.

Then he immediately turned his head away.

Child, ball.

That thing couldn't be looked at!

Sakurai Saki wasn't afraid of monstrous phenomena; he had encountered a few urban legends before. But even if he wasn't scared, he didn't want to get entangled with trouble.

A child searching for a ball — if you played ball with it but failed to please it, it would rip off your head and kick it like a ball.

Normal people wouldn't be targeted by the monstrous — that's the principle of mysticism attracting mysticism: if you can't see it, you can't touch it, and the same goes for ghosts and spirits.

But today's power was breaking that boundary — it would drag ordinary people into the supernatural world.

Even though the chance of it happening was very low… it couldn't be ignored.

...

At noon, after training with Shirogane Miyuki, Sakurai Saki stopped by the restroom.

The result: he ran into Hanako in the toilet.

Sakurai Saki didn't mind much. As long as he pretended not to see, most of the time the monstrous things wouldn't notice him.

In the afternoon, when going downstairs for PE, he accidentally stepped one stair too many.

On the athletic field, a face appeared on the running track, mouth gaping wide as if to swallow people. Sakurai Saki pretended to try overtaking someone and changed lanes.

Normal people couldn't see it, so they wouldn't get hurt. But he had to endure these kinds of absurd misfortunes — it was really exhausting.

In the locker room, after changing clothes, Sakurai Saki realized the name on the shirt he'd just put on wasn't his.

"Ohta-san?" Who the hell is that?

But he didn't think too much of it and just put the shirt back where it belonged.

In just half a day, Sakurai Saki had already been "treated" to the full weight brought by this ability.

On the other hand, this uncontrollable ability had pushed his emotional status bar up to [70%].

Thankfully, up to now, no one had been dragged into any dangerous situation.

The activation rate of the side effects didn't seem very high — which made Sakurai Saki feel a bit relieved.

If the probability were any higher, perhaps the style of this school would've already changed — turning into something like a large-scale death-game light novel such as Ou-sama Game, Tomodachi Game, or Danganronpa or something…

An academy filled with monsters and evil spirits — who will be the last to survive and escape?

The distortion of human nature! The corruption of morality! Why do classmates keep disappearing!? What schemes is Class A's president secretly plotting!?

Stay tuned for — [Secretary Fujiwara Wants Me to Survive! The Genius Survival Mind Game of Shuchiin!]

Cough cough.

None of the above will appear in the next segment.

...

After school, Sakurai Saki was preparing to go to the student council room. At noon, he had taught Shirogane Miyuki quite a few things; the guy was probably practicing in the music room now?

Fujiwara Chika hadn't followed Shirogane. She said her tiny little head was hurting a bit.

He pushed open the door to the student council room.

"Good afternoon, Sakurai-senpai!" Ishigami Yuu greeted.

In front of him, Fujiwara Chika was holding a Jenga set.

Jenga is a wooden tower stacking game. Everyone takes turns pulling out a wooden block without letting the tower fall; if it collapses, that person loses. The game continues this way, and whoever makes it fall is eliminated.

"Saki-kun~ come play!"

ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞

Fujiwara Chika had just finished stacking the tower.

"How many people?" Sakurai Saki asked as he glanced around.

Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't arrived yet.

He sat down on the sofa.

"It's been a while since I played with you. Let's have a round," Sakurai Saki said.

"Count me in too." Ishigami Yuu put down his handheld game console.

"So it's thre—" Fujiwara Chika hadn't finished speaking when Shirogane Miyuki suddenly appeared at the door.

"Eh! President, you came too?"

"Umu. Is there a penalty for the loser?" Shirogane Miyuki sat down next to Ishigami Yuu.

Up in the air, Yakumo Shiro narrowed her eyes and reminded him: "Sakurai-kun, be careful. Losing is dangerous."

No need to remind me. Sakurai Saki, being an Esper, wasn't affected by the monstrous.

He stared intently at "Shirogane Miyuki": "A fake will always be a fake. A game is just a game. Forget the penalty."

"Or… do you want to die?"

"Shirogane Miyuki" froze, then chuckled softly: "Of course the penalty was a joke. And dying? Come on, Sakurai, you're quite the jokester."

"Fujiwara-san, have you heard of the 'extra player in the game' story?" Sakurai Saki suddenly turned and asked Secretary Fujiwara next to him.

"Oh! You mean that urban legend where there's one more person playing than expected?" Chika tilted her head: "I know that one really well!"

"Eh? But earlier, Saki-kun told me the President had gone downstairs. So why are you bringing this up to me now?" At this point, Chika suddenly pulled out a magnifying glass and a detective hat from who-knows-where.

Chika: (⌐⎚-⎚)✧

Then she struck a serious pose like she was solving a case: "You guys are trying to use urban legends to scare me, aren't you?! Hmph hmph! Caught red-handed!"

"Exactly!" Shirogane Miyuki nodded. "The whole 'more than one person' thing is just made-up! No need to believe it!"

Off to the side, Yakumo Shiro looked horrified: "This thing… it's denying its own existence!?"

So cowardly!?

What Yakumo Shiro didn't know was — as a monstrous, these beings had a unique ability. Unlike spirits, they could sense a person's aura.

The stronger the aura, the more dangerous the person.

At first, this monstrous thought everyone here was just a normal human without supernatural abilities, since their auras were extremely weak.

Sakurai Saki didn't even seem to have an aura at all.

But then, it realized—

That guy doesn't have no aura — his aura covers the entire school! WTF! What the hell is this!?

"Shirogane Miyuki" had no idea why its luck had gone to shit like this!

But now, it could only obediently play these boring-ass table games with this group of people!

"Eh! President, you suck!" Fujiwara Chika looked at the toppled Jenga tower and made a scornful face.

"It's only the third round! This won't do, this won't do, playing with you is boring as hell."

Shirogane Miyuki clenched his fist.

Right now, it just wanted to get the hell out of this cursed place! Stop tormenting a monstrous, please!

But the big shot sitting next to it looked way too terrifying — it didn't even dare curse out loud.

Sakurai Saki's expression wasn't actually scary; he just didn't like showing emotion, so he looked a bit indifferent: "I'll go make some tea."

Right after he spoke, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the door.

"Hmm?"

(╭ರ_•́)

Shinomiya Kaguya had just pushed the door open when she caught sight of Sakurai Saki making tea.

That method… was so awful she couldn't bear to watch!

"Sakurai-san, move aside. Let me handle the tea-making."

( ｡ •̀ ᴖ •́ ｡)

Shinomiya Kaguya entered the student council room with an aura of dignity and then set down her bag.

She glanced at Shirogane Miyuki and frowned — her beautiful face showing a strange expression: "President Shirogane, that gloomy look today doesn't suit you at all."

Shirogane shivered.

Why did this girl feel scarier than the monstrous itself!? Her whole face looked cold as a corpse!

The "Ice Kaguya" mode of Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't shown up much lately. But the moment she saw Sakurai Saki brutally butchering the art of tea-making, she got so pissed she snapped instantly.

"Move. Outsiders don't ruin my tea leaves."

Shinomiya Kaguya said coldly.

Sakurai Saki immediately stepped aside.

He had just wanted to change things up after drinking too much coffee — he already knew he had no skill when it came to tea.

Back on the sofa, Sakurai Saki started rebuilding the Jenga tower.

Due to the side effects of his ability, his personality was naturally awful, so he planned to vent all his irritation on this "Shirogane Miyuki."

"Shirogane, keep going."

( ≖‿ ≖ )

Sakurai Saki gave it a "deadly friendly smile."

Shirogane Miyuki trembled all over, looking just like Ishigami Yuu every time Shinomiya Kaguya smiled at him.

(っÓ﹏Òς)

The tone sounded like a death sentence no matter how you heard it.

Off to the side, Ishigami Yuu was slightly confused: Is there some beef going on between Sakurai-senpai and Myuu-senpai lately? Is it related to Myuu-senpai's little sister who came by last time?

Could it be that Sakurai-senpai confessed to Myuu-senpai's little sister, got rejected, and now holds a grudge!?

Umm, probably not.

Ishigami felt like he'd been playing too many galgames lately — his brain automatically turned everything into drama.

A few minutes later, Shinomiya Kaguya brought over a teapot and tea set, just in time to see Shirogane Miyuki getting defeated again.

"Losing even in this kind of game, President, you're really too weak~, how's cute."

Lady Kaguya sneered.

Ishigami Yuu also looked at Shirogane Miyuki.

Today, Myuu-senpai was unbelievably weak.

It was like he'd been replaced.

Up in the air, Yakumo Shiro let out a few giggles — ridiculously cute.

After laughing, she floated over to Sakurai Saki and sneakily took a sip of tea from his cup, then… burned her mouth.

Even though she was a ghost, she still had a cat tongue.

(Note: "Cat tongue" = sensitive to hot stuff)

Sakurai Saki blew on his tea to cool it, then handed it to her.

Yakumo Shiro took a sip, then scrunched her face in bitterness: "It's awful~"

(,,>﹏<,,)

Then why drink it? Go drink your sweet kiddie stuff and leave me alone.

Sakurai Saki continued to torment "Shirogane Miyuki" a few more times before finally choosing to let it go.

"Shirogane, don't you have your part-time job today?"

"Almost forgot! Aiya, it's getting late."

"Shirogane Miyuki" looked up at the wall clock in the student council room, then stood up.

"I'll be going ahead, everyone."

After saying that, it quickly ran away.

"Shirogane": 三三ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

It acted the part perfectly. If Sakurai Saki weren't here, no one would probably suspect a thing.

But that was a false premise.

Because if Sakurai Saki weren't here, then no one in the student council would have gotten involved in this — normal people simply don't run into monstrous.

(≖_≖ )

Sakurai Saki stared at its back as it left, his gaze calm.

He was thinking about whether he needed to deal with the opponent.

People with supernatural powers weren't exactly easy to handle for the bizarre. Though they could be restrained or subdued, they couldn't be completely eliminated.

Sakurai Saki wasn't an expert in this field, but luckily — he was just a bit stronger than your average Esper.

Not by much, just… a few hundred million times stronger.

He couldn't do any intricate handling, but grinding something into powder? No problem.

'Forget it.'

Even the monstrous feared death — there was no reason for it to come back and mess with him again.

...

"Chika, wanna walk home together?"

Sakurai Saki asked.

At that moment, only two people remained in the student council room.

"Eh? Go home together?"

Σ(°ロ°)

Fujiwara Chika had never thought she'd hear those words come out of Sakurai Saki's mouth.

Sakurai Saki was a log — that was the shared conclusion of both Fujiwara Chika and Hayasaka Ai.

The number of times he actively tried to get close to someone… could be counted on one hand!

"Can't I? I even specially put my tutoring job on hold to be free."

Sakurai felt like his power were a bit of a nuisance today, so he wasn't planning to go anywhere else.

There was still plenty of time during Golden Week to make up tutoring sessions, no rush.

"Let's go! I wanna walk home with you!"

◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

Fujiwara Chika instantly agreed.

Turning down an invitation from the guy you like — what kind of dumb girl would even do that!?

Up in the air, Yakumo Shiro pretended to act like a heartbroken maiden, covering her face with her hand: "Boo hoo~ You two are walking home together now. So what about me? Sakurai-kun, don't you need me anymore? I wanna go home with you too~"

You drama queen! It's not like I can stop you from tagging along with me anyway!?

...

Outside the school gate.

"Chika, do you usually take the train home?"

Today, Sakurai Saki didn't bring his bike.

He had already planned to walk home with Secretary Fujiwara after school, so he left it at home.

"Umu."

Chika usually stopped by the shopping district near school for a bit before heading home.

As long as she got back before curfew, it was fine.

Her family was pretty strict, so compared to being at home, she liked being at school more.

Normally, Chika stayed at school until around 5:30 p.m. — whether in the student council room or the club rooms, those were her usual hangouts.

Last year, she spent more time in the table game club. This year, though, she preferred the student council room.

As for the reason~ it seemed to be just one person.

The two of them walked for several minutes in silence.

Sakurai Saki didn't know what to say.

Chika was thinking about how to invite him to the shopping district. She wanted to have dinner with him today.

There was a ramen shop in the district that she really liked.

"Chika, this way."

Sakurai Saki suddenly grabbed Chika's hand and started running.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Chika curiously turned her head, but she didn't see anything.

In a world she couldn't perceive, a woman wearing a mask and holding a pair of scissors was standing by the roadside.

After they had run far enough, Sakurai Saki finally let go of Chika's hand.

"Saki-kun, I wanna eat ramen~!"

"Umu."

Sakurai Saki nodded in agreement.

They had almost run straight into a kuchisake-onna — that was close!