Chapter 1: A New Battle
After the sports festival,
as the results of the periodic tests were being returned to each student,
a certain rumor began to circulate in Class 1-C.
“Hey, Amemori! As usual, you’re still popular today!”
“……Karasuma. Stop it with that kind of talk.”
Today, we switched to our summer uniforms, and Hoshina-san, who looked even more divine than usual, was talking to me when Karasuma arrived at school, smirking as he slung his arm around my shoulder.
By the way, the rumor wasn’t about me being popular.
If it were, I’d be jumping for joy. But reality is cruel.
“What’s up? You’re already chatting with Tsubomi-chan so early in the morning, just the two of you. Isn’t that something?”
“K-Karasuma-kun, that’s rude to Amemori-kun. He’s an amazing person, and someone like me is no match for him.”
Hoshina-san’s face turned bright red as she said something completely off the mark.
What is she even talking about?
Wait, I’m always up for anything.
In fact, I feel like I’m not worthy of a goddess like her.
……Alright, starting today, I’ll work on becoming a man worthy of Hoshina-san.
With that thought in mind, I gave Karasuma a solid iron claw to the head.
“……Tsubomi-chan, huh? You really have a death wish, Karasuma Toji.”
Karasuma is a flirt. No matter how you look at it, he’s a total player.
So, no matter how much he flirts with other girls, I can’t really blame him.
If he said he was going to hit on someone like Kurashiki, I’d probably just smile and see him off.
In fact, if it were Asahina-san, I might even encourage him.
But you…… you’ve crossed a line by stepping into sacred territory!
“Flirting with Hoshina-san like that. You deserve to die.”
“Gah!? Ouch, ouch! Stop it, stop it!?”
Of course, I have no intention of stopping. Just die already, Karasuma Toji.
I’ve never even called Hoshina-san by her first name…… I’ll never forgive you for that!
If Hoshina-san started calling you “Toji-kun,” my heart would’ve died.
Verdict: attempted murder. You’re sentenced to death for nearly destroying my heart.
“Ah, Amemori-kun, violence is a no-no!”
“……You’ve been spared, Karasuma.”
But even such a sinner is saved by the kind goddess.
I was scolded with an upward glance, so I reluctantly stopped the execution.
He glared at me while holding his head, but I ignored him and looked out the window.
“Y-you bastard…… Hoshin…… Hoshina-chan is involved, so jokes don’t work on you……”
“Of course not. She’s one of my few close friends.”
“Then you could be a little nicer to me too, you know!”
I laughed at Karasuma’s outburst. Through my nose.
“That’s a harsh joke. Are you self-conscious?”
“Y-you bastard……!”
As we bickered like this, Hoshina-san watched us and smiled.
“You two really get along, don’t you?”
“I don’t know how you can say ‘really,’ though.”
“Well, not denying that we get along is very Amemori-like.”
Karasuma tried to trip me up, so I turned to argue with him.
Just then, I overheard a classmate’s voice.
“Hey, hey, have you heard? That rumor~”
Hearing that, I suddenly remembered.
That’s right, we were originally talking about Hoshina-san and that rumor.
The rumor spreading through Class 1-C wasn’t about a scandal between me and Hoshina-san…… but rather about a certain organization separate from the “Self-Defense Force” that Asahina had formed.
“Ah, I know! It’s that thing called Yaen – 【Night Banquet】, right?”
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At Kurashiki’s words, the class stirred slightly.
The Night Banquet was the name of an organization that had rapidly gained prominence after the sports festival.
Though not as openly active as the Self-Defense Force, it was steadily spreading as a rumor. Like poison.
There were many rumors about the Night Banquet.
Some said it was a recently established organization.
Others claimed all its members were blessed with unique abilities.
Some believed it was a radical faction against the school.
Others said all its members had animal codenames.
Some even said its numbers reached into the dozens.
And that its members were lurking everywhere.
And so on. ……Well, when you write it all down, most of it sounds like lies!
Why are these rumors even circulating…… I have no recollection of anything like this.
Honestly, why is this happening?
“Yaen… Night Banquet…… hey, Amemori, have you heard about it?”
Karasuma’s expression turned serious as he asked.
“……Yeah. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s something to believe……”
“I don’t believe it, though.”
“Oh, Sakuma! Good morning!”
Hearing a voice from behind, I turned to see Sakuma standing there, holding his bag.
“I’ve heard it too. That…… what was it called, Night Banquet? They say its leader is the strongest ability user. I think it’s just some idiot’s delusion. It’s ridiculous.”
“Well, I can see where Sakuma’s coming from.”
As Sakuma said, many people doubted the rumors.
……But no one doubted the existence of the Night Banquet.
Why is that? The answer is simple.
There are two pieces of evidence supporting the rumors of the Night Banquet.
–First, Doujima Tadashi of the Self-Defense Force fought the leader of the Night Banquet and lost.
Doujima Tadashi himself refuses to talk about it, but apparently, someone saw him fight and lose to someone on the night of the sports festival. Weird. I’m sure there was no one around at that time. It’s as if the person who fought spread the rumor themselves. Troubling, these Night Banquet guys.
–The second is that Shinzaki Yasuhito is convinced of the Night Banquet’s existence.
After the incident in the nurse’s office, Shinzaki and the rest of Class B have been desperately trying to uncover my true identity.
A few days ago, they finally stumbled upon the Night Banquet. Since then, the entire Class B has been asking around about its existence. No wonder the rumors are spreading.
By the way, word has it that someone from Class B has caught a lead on the Night Banquet.
I haven’t heard the details, but…… every class has its share of talented people.
Anyway, back to the topic.
So, the name of the Night Banquet was spreading.
The rumors didn’t change our lives much…… but the fact that the rumors about the Night Banquet were spreading meant that Shinzaki was making big moves.
Well…… as the leader of the Night Banquet, I’ve been a major thorn in Shinzaki’s side.
Honestly, even if I hadn’t acted then, Kurashiki and Doujima were there, so the result wouldn’t have changed…… but the fact remains that I helped Asahina. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like I intervened in the battle between Class B and Class C, so Shinzaki must be pretty annoyed.
“Shinzaki has a lot of enemies……”
“With a personality like that? He’s definitely alone in class!”
Karasuma’s words made me imagine it.
Shinzaki, who was so lively around us, sitting alone in a corner seat in class, with no one talking to him. ……Well, it’s a plausible scene, but……
“I’m not much different. I can’t laugh at others.”
“……I’m not saying you should, but you’ve got a lot of enemies too.”
Shinzaki looked around the class and said that.
Until now, I hadn’t been interested…… no, I’d been avoiding it because it might hurt, but it seems that Amamori Yuuto isn’t very well-liked by some in the class.
After all, despite having the weakest ability in the class, I’m friends with Sakuma and Karasuma, who are at the top of the class hierarchy, and Hoshina-san, who is now considered one of the three most beautiful girls in the class.
If I were someone who had been beaten up and bullied by Kirido at first, only to have my position in the class reversed…… I’d be jealous too.
Well, fortunately, there aren’t many negative stares.
Actually, I’ve never paid attention to them…… no.
They’ve been at a level I can tolerate, so I haven’t felt the need to make a big deal out of it.
“Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of jealous looks from the guys. Is it because I’ve been talking to Hoshina-san?”
“M-Mou, Amemori-kun…… that’s too much of a joke!”
Hoshina-san’s face turned bright red. She’s so cute.
I was about to die from her reaction when Sakuma frowned.
“I don’t think it’s just that……”
“Yeah, Amemori! It’s not just Hoshina-chan…… no, I mean, it’s not just her, right?”
Shortly after hearing Karasuma’s words, I heard the deliberate clacking of footsteps.
The footsteps were coming from the back entrance of the classroom. Seeing Karasuma say “Speak of the devil……” I frowned, which was unusual for me.
Honestly, I don’t care if a few people in class dislike me. I’m not interested.
But there’s one issue that’s been bothering me since I entered this school.
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