"Nazuna, where are you?"
Nagumo Miyabi's voice came through the other end of the line, cold and impatient.
He had called multiple times, only for Asahina Nazuna to repeatedly hang up on him—nearly driving him mad with frustration!
"None of your business. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Asahina replied instinctively, glancing at Kaoru, who was still holding her hand, carefully tracing his fingers over it as if admiring a piece of art.
She hesitated over whether to pull away, but Nagumo's irritation only grew.
"Get back here immediately. Stop picking fights over nothing."
"Am I the one picking a fight? With the way you're acting, the happiest person would be Kiriyama. They'd love nothing more than for you to turn the class into chaos—better yet, just expel everyone."
"So I'm not allowed to discipline a few traitors?" Nagumo let out a humorless laugh.
"In your eyes, do you also believe class unity is the most important thing? What a joke. Without me, do you think they'd have climbed to Class A's status?"
His anger only fueled hers.
After all, he was the one who had vowed to lead them to Class A in the first place.
Their current standing was built on the trust everyone had placed in him.
Otherwise, could he really defeat Kiriyama Ikuyo's Class 2-B all by himself?
"Ever since you took control of the entire grade, you've become completely full of yourself. Not only do you refuse to tolerate any weaknesses in your class, but you also won't allow anyone to oppose your decisions. You've even been manipulating the other classes—isn't that enough?" Asahina had always believed that Nagumo's so-called reforms were nothing more than a bored man's pastime, like someone who had already beaten a game and was just looking for new ways to amuse himself.
And for his amusement, even more students might end up expelled in the future.
Asahina Nazuna disliked this approach.
While some students genuinely wanted to rise to Class A, not everyone shared that ambition.
Some in her class simply wanted to enjoy a happy high school life.
"Oh? So you're speaking up for them now?"
Since this was a private conversation, Nagumo dropped the act.
"I don't care about the others, but why are you of all people siding with them?"
"I'm not siding with anyone!" Asahina Nazuna suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Her mind flashed to Kaoru—their fingers had unconsciously intertwined, and he was silently watching her.
"Cut the act. Don't tell me you don't know what Mitoma is scheming. From the moment I first saw him, I knew that guy was up to no good!" Nagumo still remembered how Kaoru had questioned his childhood friend—clearly, he had ulterior motives!
Asahina Nazuna faltered.
Before, she could have shouted back without hesitation, but now she only gritted her teeth.
"Can you stop bringing him up every single time?"
"You're mine, Nazuna." Nagumo's voice was icy. "Don't forget—we're childhood friends. I've met your parents, and you've met mine. Don't do anything stupid."
Asahina fell silent.
Precisely because of that, she had wanted to escape to a place where no one knew her—to reject the fate others had forced upon her.
Then, Kaoru took her phone.
Under Asahina's stunned gaze, he calmly spoke to Nagumo Miyabi.
"She doesn't belong to anyone. And not all childhood friends are meant to be together."
Hearing Kaoru's voice, Nagumo Miyabi froze for a long moment before erupting in fury.
"What the hell are you doing? Don't think you can just swoop in like this! Give the phone back to Nazuna!"
"So you can keep pressuring her?" Kaoru ignored his impotent rage.
"You've never experienced failure in your life, have you? Must be boring—thinking everyone should worship you, believing you're always the protagonist. That's why when you met Horikita-senpai, you felt dissonance. You realized you weren't the center of attention anymore, so you decided to challenge him."
"Mitoma! I'm warning you—give her the phone back. You have no right to lecture me!" Nagumo was seething.
The mere thought of Kaoru being next to Asahina made him see red.
"I'm just stating facts. At your core, you're nothing but an arrogant narcissist. You've never lost anything, which is why Horikita-senpai terrifies and enrages you. It's not her you're afraid of losing—it's your sense of ownership." Kaoru paused.
"Sorry, but senpai can't stand you."
"Nazuna! You're listening, right? Get back here now!" Nagumo had no intention of confronting Kaoru.
His mind was entirely consumed by Asahina Nazuna, his face turning green with fury.
His Asahina shouldn't have betrayed him—no matter what, she never would!
Yet, Asahina was staring blankly at Kaoru, who was also gazing at her.
"Say something, Nazuna!"
"Where are you? Why is he with you?"
"Honestly, I don't want to fight with you, Nazuna. I know you've always been on my side. You're just angry with me, right?"
"Dammit, Mitoma, I'm warning you—don't try anything, or I'll make you regret it immediately. At this school, points can make anything happen!"
"Nazuna! This guy is full of lies. He was two-timing in his first year—both Ichinose and Kamuro were his!"
Nagumo's shouting was too much, so Kaoru covered the phone's speaker, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Sorry, senpai. At this point, you have no choice but to rely on me. Nagumo won't let you off now."
No, he might come after you even harder.
Though she thought this, Asahina didn't say it out loud.
In truth, her mind was in complete disarray.
Not only had she voiced her true feelings today, but she had also run into Kaoru.
She was utterly unprepared—should she accept this underclassman?
"You're too sly. How do you expect me to answer?" Asahina bit her lip.
"Can you just let me—"
"Of course. Because I've already fallen for you, senpai, I can give you some time to slowly fall for me too." Kaoru smiled gently.
Seeing his smile, Asahina's cheeks flushed, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.
She stiffly tried to put some distance between them.
"I-I'll think about it…"
Kaoru grabbed her wrist, then lowered his head and softly pressed his lips to hers.
Asahina froze.
She had been kissed—by an underclassman?
In an instant, a whirlwind of emotions surged through her.
Her eyes shimmered with an indescribable complexity—this was her first kiss, and now it was gone.
Then, anger flared within her because Kaoru had acted without permission.
Just as she was about to push him away, he activated his two rewards: 「Critical Hit Charm」 and 「Fixed Anchor Point」.
The former could be used on any target to gain corresponding benefits, while the latter could be stacked on top of the 「Critical Hit Charm」 effect to lock onto a specific target.
Kaoru set the target as Asahina's affection toward him, using 'Fixed Anchor Point' to fix the gain at 100%.
Then, he activated both effects.
[Target 'Asahina Nazuna's' affection has increased. Critical hit rate: 14.3%…]
[Code error. Recalculating…]
[Target 'Asahina Nazun a' affection has increased. Critical hit rate: 100.0%. Gain: 100%. Target's affection toward you has risen!]
[Anomaly detected. Correcting…]
[Correction complete!]
As a result, Asahina Nazuna felt her already weak body grow even weaker, melting into Kaoru's embrace.
Her vision blurred, and without thinking, she clutched the collar of his shirt.
This doesn't seem so bad either.
She didn't dislike Kaoru—after all, he was the first person who truly understood her thoughts, giving her a faint sense of destiny.
Wait, what was she thinking? Kaoru was just a robber who had suddenly snatched her away from Nagumo Miyabi, forcing her to accept his affections.
Asahina felt she should be angry, but hearing Nagumo's impotent rage over the phone had filled her with a vengeful thrill.
It was as if all her pent-up emotions had ignited, burning her face crimson and making her heart pound so violently it might burst.
She longed to respond with even fiercer passion.
"Mmm..."
Their kiss wasn't hidden from the other person.
Though the sound was faint, Kaoru hadn't covered the phone's receiver, so everything was clearly audible on the other end.