Chapter 39: Shinomiya Kaguya Wants to Reject

The three of them had been eating peacefully—until the door to the Student Council Room opened again.

Kaguya Shinomiya stepped inside like a monarch surveying her dominion.

She'd already eaten in the classroom earlier, yet here she was, gaze sweeping the room with cool precision.

Shirogane Miyuki looked up and noticed something subtly different about her today.

Not her hairstyle—her long, sleek hair remained unadorned, cascading down her back as always. Nor her expression, which had recently softened slightly. No, it was something else.

In her hand, she held a letter.

A love letter? Shirogane wondered, putting a slice of beef into his mouth. After yesterday's yakiniku feast, the novelty had worn off.

"Everyone, I need your input on something," Kaguya said, frowning as she took the seat next to Miyuki.

Chika leaned in, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Kaguya-san, what's wrong?"

"If someone confesses to you… how do you usually handle it?" Kaguya asked, holding up the letter. "Am I doing something wrong? Why do I keep getting these? I just greet people normally—and suddenly they think I'm interested?"

She received love letters almost weekly. In the past, she'd throw them away without a second glance. After all, the boys who confessed were, in her eyes, utterly devoid of strategic value.

To Kaguya Shinomiya, anything that couldn't be used was trash.

Even entertaining the idea for more than a minute was a waste of her valuable time.

But lately, they'd become more frequent. More insistent. And more annoying.

Sakurai Saki said nothing. He kept his head down and focused on his bento.

He didn't want to look—but something unpleasant danced at the edge of his vision.

Raising his head slightly, he glanced at the spirit clinging to Kaguya Shinomiya.

A black whip.

Seriously? Are you a slave driver? What kind of twisted metaphor is that?

"Sakura-kun~ Can I have another?" Yakumo Bai floated over, gesturing sweetly at his bento.

Wordlessly, Sakurai picked up a piece of tamagoyaki.

She bit into it with a cheerful hum.

He ate the leftover piece—now bland, as if drained of flavor—and glanced at Fujiwara Chika.

Why did he feel a sudden pang of guilt?

"Kaguya-san!! Can I see it? The love letter!" Chika perked up immediately, practically vibrating with excitement.

For Chika, the self-proclaimed Love Detective, nothing was more thrilling than other people's romantic drama—as long as it didn't involve her.

Kaguya handed her the letter. "There's nothing worth seeing."

"Hehehe~ I haven't received that many myself," Chika said smugly, then glanced sideways at Sakurai, dropping a subtle hint. "But if someone did confess to me, and he was brave about it… I might even say yes. I mean, that kind of courage is admirable, right?"

She began reading the letter carefully. Then her expression turned serious.

"This handwriting is awful. Like, how do you even confess with this chicken scratch? And he misspelled an English word too. Honestly, if you liked someone, wouldn't you at least try to make a good impression?"

"He must like me, right?" Kaguya frowned, voice rising ever so slightly. She felt oddly accused.

Why else would he send me a love letter if he didn't like me?!

"Not necessarily~" Chika spun the envelope in her hands. "This feels like a copy-paste job. I've seen these exact lines on a blog post before. Plagiarism rate: one hundred percent."

As the girls chatted animatedly, Shirogane Miyuki quietly packed up his bento and checked his phone.

Lunch break was nearly over.

Time to go.

He turned toward Sakurai, ready to say something—and froze.

Sakurai had just pulled a love letter from his pocket.

Miyuki blinked.

"…What."

What the hell?

Why does it feel like I'm the only one left out?!

Chika, despite her inability to read the room, was cute. She averaged a few love letters per month.

Kaguya, the untouchable ice queen, was gorgeous. She got one practically every week.

Sakurai, who had the personality of a grumpy cat behind closed doors but masked it with a sunny, approachable persona… also got love letters every week.

And him?

Shirogane Miyuki?

None.

Not even one.

Not. A. Single. One.

He slumped forward slightly, covering his face with a hand in quiet despair.

Am I seriously the only unpopular one here?!

Then, Sakurai casually said:

"Speaking of love letters, I got one today too. Planning to follow up after school."

Chika froze. The letter in her hand slipped and dropped onto the table.

She stared at Sakurai with horror in her eyes.

"Eh—eh?!"

"Sakurai-kun is actually going to accept the confession?!" Chika whipped her head toward him, eyes wide in disbelief.

Sakurai Saki replied calmly, "It's a girl's heartfelt feelings. It'd be too cold to reject her outright, don't you think?"

"No!!" Fujiwara Chika blurted out instinctively, almost slamming her hands on the table.

This was too much. The drama wasn't fun anymore—it was personal. Her heart clenched.

If Sakurai-kun really started dating someone… I'd go eat the spiciest ramen every day for a whole month!!!

Just imagining Sakurai Saki smiling at another girl, gaming with another girl, made Chika clench her teeth.

A horrifying scene began to form in her mind.

[Sakurai-kun~ Want to play games with me today?][Sorry, Fujiwara Secretary, I already have plans with my girlfriend.]

Then Girlfriend A turned toward her with a smug look:[Oh my~ Fujiwara-kun, why are you still hanging around? Do you still think you have a chance? That's adorable~]

Chika's mental image of Girlfriend A, incidentally, was played by Kaguya Shinomiya in a totally villainous cameo role.

Absolutely not! No way can that happen!

"Fujiwara-kun, don't toss my things around." Kaguya frowned and took the confession letter back into her hands.

"It's just a confession. Sakurai-kun hasn't even said yes yet. Why are you so panicked? Don't tell me you li—"

"Nope! Not at all!" Chika cut her off, eyes darting left and right as she tried to whistle innocently.

She failed, of course. She didn't know how to whistle.

But when it came to playing dumb, Fujiwara Chika was a certified genius.

"…I hadn't even finished my sentence, Fujiwara Secretary," Kaguya said coolly, clearly unimpressed.

She unfolded the letter and skimmed through it.

Ugh. The handwriting really is awful.

"Is there seriously no way to reduce these boys' indecent urges?" she muttered.

Sakurai Saki, chewing slowly, thought: Are all the guys at Shuchiin masochists? Falling for a sharp-tongued ice queen like Shinomiya… Or maybe they just want to be spoiled househusbands?

That said, he wouldn't mind being spoiled either—as long as he could stand tall while being kept.

Shirogane Miyuki, still listening from the side, leaned in slightly.

"Sakurai," he asked curiously, "do you actually want to date someone?"

He'd always assumed Sakurai had no interest in romance.

"If someone can genuinely move me," Sakurai said evenly, "then sure—I'd date her."

Kaguya's eyes flickered, her expression tightening slightly. Without a word, she took out her phone and quickly sent a message to Hayasaka Ai.

Chika, sensing danger from multiple directions, tried to probe the situation.

"S-Sakurai-kun, um… where exactly did the girl confess to you?"

"Behind the school building," he replied casually. "Between the main building and the club rooms."

Chika stiffened.

She didn't care if she was being obvious. Let her tag along. Let her witness it with her own eyes. If it meant stopping a future where Sakurai belonged to someone else—so be it.

Not that she'd admit it.

Besides… it wasn't even a real girl.

The confessor was a ghost. Yakumo Bai, standing beside Sakurai, floated with clasped hands and a hopeful look on her face.

"If Sakura-kun agrees to date me, I can finally pass on to the next world~!"

She winked playfully at him.

Sakurai gave a faint smile.

Let's hope it really goes as smoothly as you say.

...p@treon Rene_chan