Chapter 200: A Different Ishigami Yu

Monday, Shuchiin Academy Student Council Office.

Hiding half her face behind a folder, Fujiwara Chika stared unblinkingly at Ishigami, who was sitting on the sofa playing a handheld game console, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

This is so weird.

Gently nudging Kaguya, who was sitting beside her and leisurely sipping black tea, Chika kept her eyes on Ishigami and whispered in Kaguya's ear.

"Kaguya-san, Kaguya-san, don't you think Ishigami-kun is acting a bit... strange today?"

"Hmm?" Kaguya, who had been sipping her tea, responded before setting her cup down and looking over at Ishigami.

The moment her gaze landed on Ishigami sitting across from them...

A sudden, creeping chill, as if being targeted by a predator, shot straight up Ishigami's spine to the back of his head.

Reflexively taking off his headphones, Ishigami assumed a defensive posture, his eyes warily darting toward the two seniors across from him.

However, in his line of sight, everything was as calm and peaceful as any ordinary day.

Just my imagination? Lowering his guard slightly, Ishigami nodded at the two seniors who were looking at him with questioning gazes, then put his headphones back on and continued to grind his game.

He had made a deal with a certain singer to log on at exactly 8:00 PM tonight to hunt a Rathalos. Otherwise, that stingy singer refused to release the single album for "Hero."

"See? Isn't he different from usual, Kaguya-san?"

"Mhm, mhm."

Frowning slightly, Kaguya nodded with a somewhat serious expression. But after observing him a bit more closely, her furrowed brows relaxed, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl into a faint, gratified smile.

"His whole demeanor has become much brighter."

"...Yeah." Silently burying the thought she had almost blurted out, Chika guiltily averted her gaze and took a slightly more serious look at Ishigami.

Hmm... does he seem a little less gloomy than usual? Wait, Ishigami isn't gloomy anymore?!

Widening her eyes slightly, her gaze filled with world-doubting disbelief, Chika raised a hand to rub her eyes.

"It really is true." After muttering to herself, Chika stood up, made a little heave-ho sound, and plopped down onto the empty seat next to Ishigami.

"Fujiwara-senpai." Noticing someone suddenly occupying the empty seat beside him, Ishigami turned his head strangely to look at Chika.

"Hey, hey, Ishigami-kun." Chika leaned forward slightly, the word curiosity practically written all over her face as she stared at Ishigami, whose expression was gradually turning panicked. "Did something good happen to you, kimi?"

Muttering "Too close, too close... so close..." under his breath, Ishigami leaned his upper body back as far as he could. Hearing Chika's question, he couldn't help but pause.

"...Nope."

"Really?" Instantly detecting the guilt in Ishigami's tone, Chika narrowed her eyes slightly, a mischievous, trouble-making smile spreading across her face.

"Ishigami-kun~ I'll give you one more chance to organize your words. Now, answer me~"

Cornered with nowhere left to retreat, Ishigami subconsciously cast a pleading gaze toward Kaguya, who was still sitting gracefully in her seat, elegantly lifting her teacup.

However, reality turned out to be slightly beyond his expectations (yet entirely logical).

"Actually." Kaguya flashed a deeply maternal, doting smile at Ishigami, who was looking to her for salvation, and spoke softly, her voice as gentle as a mother's.

"I'm a little curious too, Ishigami-kun."

Like a gavel striking a sounding block, Ishigami completely abandoned all resistance.

Well, what happened yesterday wasn't exactly a state secret. Besides, it was the President's birthday yesterday; there's no way these two seniors didn't receive an invitation.

More importantly, while Ishigami could ignore the words of the pink-haired, secretly-sadistic secretary sitting next to him, he absolutely could not ignore a single syllable that came out of Kaguya's mouth.

After all, if he offended Fujiwara Chika, the worst that could happen was getting whacked a few times with a giant paper fan. But if he offended Kaguya, he could expect to be buried in the ground with his photo hung on the wall—and of course, that photo would definitely be in black and white!

After listening to Ishigami's account.

"Eh!!!!"

The utterly disbelieving expressions simultaneously plastered on Kaguya and Chika's faces left Ishigami completely bewildered.

What's with the huge reaction? Miyahito just wrote a pretty good new song (even though he said it seemed to be written for me), but you two know Miyahito, is it really worth being that surprised?

Reading the thoughts on Ishigami's face, Chika pouted sadly, pressing her two index fingers together in a pitiful gesture, and said.

"I really wish Miyahito-kun would write a song for me too."

"Then you can just go ask him, Fujiwara-senpai." Ishigami shrugged nonchalantly. "By the way, Miyahito-kun didn't write the song specifically for me. It was written a long time ago; it just happened to perfectly align with what I went through."

"Is that so? But that's still so enviable, yai yai yai..."

"It's not my fault! Fujiwara-senpai, don't even think about gnawing on me, I will fight back."

Meanwhile, as Chika and Ishigami bickered.

'Ahhh! So... so... so the President's phone call yesterday was meant to invite me to his birthday party!?'

The little person in her heart was frantically biting a handkerchief as Kaguya recalled the deeply regrettable outcome of receiving the President's call yesterday.

Back then, the President had asked if she had time on the phone. Receiving such a call, Kaguya had mistakenly assumed he wanted to ask her out or confess his feelings. Lost in her own delusional fantasies about how to accept his feelings, she had completely missed what Miyuki said afterward.

If Miyuki hadn't said anything, Kaguya's zoning out wouldn't have been a big deal. But the cruel irony was... the moment Miyuki finished saying, "Shinomiya? Do you not have time?" Kaguya had immediately replied with a firm "Yes."

The moment she hung up, Kaguya had already been rolling around on her bed in sheer regret (Hayasaka Ai: Sigh... My Lady is truly useless).

And now, hearing about yesterday's birthday party from Ishigami, Kaguya didn't even need to think to know: the atmosphere at yesterday's party must have been incredibly joyful!

If... if she had been there yesterday... leveraging the joyful atmosphere, plus the influence of the couple, Aragaki-kun and Utaha-san, she, Shinomiya Kaguya, might have been able to guide Shirogane Miyuki into saying those three words!

Besides, even without those tactics, Kaguya could have just swapped the President's drink with something strictly prohibited for minors to purchase...

Just as Kaguya was wallowing in deep regret over the accident she had single-handedly caused yesterday.

"Ishigami-kun, why did you suddenly hide in the corner?"

"Because I feel like if I stay here a few more seconds, I'm going to get murdered!"

"Murdered? By who?"

"Shinomiya...."

Cowering in the corner with his hands over his head, Ishigami hadn't even finished his sentence when the office door beside him was pushed open.

"Ishigami, what are you hiding in here for?"

"President! Perfect timing! Save me!"

"Hah?"