Liar, Liar - Volume 2 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Fourth Ward Challenge Begins

“Quiet! Everyone, please remain quiet!”

It was the morning of Wednesday, April 20, and the Class A second-year students at Eimei School were settling into the semester’s routine. A cute voice rang out across the classroom, trying to sound as authoritative as possible.

“All right… All right! I’ve got some wonderful news for you all today! There’s a lot of other announcements, too, so make sure you listen to everything, okay?”

Ms. Nanachan, the class’s homeroom teacher, stood before her students, hands clasped tightly in front of her. Nanachan wasn’t her real name, of course, but everyone addressed her by that nickname, and I wasn’t about to rock the boat. Her fluffy hair and pastel-colored outfit made her look more like a college student than like a wizened schoolteacher.

Gathering her breath, Ms. Nanachan raised her index finger diagonally and spoke with a bright voice.

“First off! This class is getting another transfer student!”

“““?!”””

Hushed words were exchanged. Joy and shock dominated the room…and I guessed I could see why. The words transfer student were enough to strike wonder into the hearts of all without exception. However, Class 2-A had already received one—me, Hiroto Shinohara—a week ago. Having two new kids in as many weeks was unheard of.

“…”

I didn’t look particularly alarmed, sitting at my desk in the back row. I mean, I hardly ever showed my real emotions, but there wasn’t much alarming about this development regardless. I knew who was waiting out in the hallway.

“Hee-hee-hee! Exciting, right? Looking forward to the big reveal? Well, all right! No point delaying this any further—let’s introduce her right now!”

With that introduction, delivered with sheer, boundless, bright intensity, Ms. Nanachan raised her left hand toward the hallway and said, “Come on in!”

“All right,” answered a cool voice.

The door opened without a sound. There was a graceful tapping. Her slender, refined form captured everyone’s attention. After shaking down her silvery hair, the girl meekly bowed her head.

“Hello. My name is Shirayuki Himeji. I attended Ohga School in the Third Ward, but after some personal affairs, I’ve moved here to Eimei School. I must admit that I’m not very good at meeting people for the first time, especially boys, so I may inadvertently act rude around some of you at first…but I don’t hate anyone. If you could be patient with me, I’d appreciate that very much.”

Himeji looked everyone in the class square in the eye as she spoke, not hesitating once. Yup, she was the new transfer. This girl, who was the same age as me, now served as my supporter thanks to a series of unlikely events. I usually saw her in a classically dichromatic maid outfit, but Eimei School’s uniform complimented her figure, too.

Sorry, my mind was wandering.

There were several reasons for Himeji’s transfer to Eimei. First, the public already knew she was my friend. At the large-scale Game we’d held a week and a half ago—the one where I beat Five Star Seiran Kugasaki after nearly losing—she was the one holding me up at the end in front of that huge audience. On this island, it was generally considered unthinkable for a student from one ward to cooperate with one from another. We’d needed to quickly build a valid backstory explaining why she’d lend me a hand.

On the Academy, your stars determined everything around you. Transferring schools involved a transfer of stars. You couldn’t move simply because you wanted a change of scenery. There were several steps involved, and none of them were easy. And that our provost had schemed—sorry, I mean wielded her extensive connections—to make it work was undoubtedly thanks to certain other troubles we were facing.

Things would definitely be harder without Himeji at Eimei. Losing her remote support during Games is a drawback, but I guess Kagaya will be taking her place.

I watched Himeji, as did all my classmates, while I quietly mulled things over. People might have thought me overly cautious, but there was no harm in staying on my guard. Every day presented opportunities for my lie to be exposed, both in Games and out.

Calling it a lie didn’t do it justice, honestly. I, Hiroto Shinohara, had deceived the entire Academy. This island operated according to an all-powerful meritocracy, and I, a Two Star after winning the battle with Kugasaki, had to do everything in my power to act like a Seven Star, the peak of this caste system. Thanks to some rather complicated events, even Grand Headmaster Masamune Saionji, leader of the Academy, was in on the con. If my cover was blown, it would be a megaton event that promised to mark the end of my whole life.

That was why the Company, a team of cheating specialists that included Himeji and Kagaya, was an indispensable tool for keeping this lie going.

That part will be hard to forget with Himeji around now, I thought with a smile. While I propped my head against my hand on the desk, the muttering in the classroom turned to full-on discussion. Some guys were so excited that they were standing. That wasn’t too surprising. Despite having been on-screen for only a moment during my last Game, Himeji the silver-haired maid was now generating buzz. She had gathered a huge fan base practically overnight. Her connection to me was already a widely reported fact. Students’ eyes darted between us as they undoubtedly wondered about our relationship.

“…”

Himeji breezily took in the many gazes as she bowed. She’d been assigned the best seat in the house, the desk by the window in the back row. After Ms. Nanachan motioned to the desk, Himeji gracefully walked over, stood in front of me, politely bowed once more, and gave a slight smile.

“““Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!!”””

It felt like more than a few classmates lost their hearts to this first expression from her. I ignored them, knowing there was no point in acknowledging it.

“Oh, right, Eimei School’s Fourth Ward Challenge starts tomorrow! I’ve already told you how it’ll work in previous homerooms, but let’s go over the basics one more time!”

Ms. Nanachan spoke for a while, but no one paid her any attention because of the new transfer student.

“It’s good to meet you, Shirayuki! I’m Fuuka Tatara, the class president!”

Not long after homeroom, a girl bursting with energy and a ponytail that seemed to have a mind of its own was the first to speak with Himeji. She’d described herself as the future president when we first met. I guess she’d won the election in the time since.

“Ah… Um, yeah.”

Himeji froze for a moment, surprised at this sudden friendly gesture, but loosened up with a sigh and returned the greeting with a deep bow.

“Ms. Tatara, it’s good to meet you. And thank you very much for coming to say hello. I don’t know very much about things in the Fourth Ward yet, so I’d appreciate any advice.”

“Oh? Uh… Wow, Shirayuki, you’re so uptight! I feel like we’re a hundred and twenty million light years away from each other!”

“…You do? I didn’t mean to imply that at all…”

“Oh, no? Um, well, it’s totally fine…but it’d be nice if you didn’t call me ‘Ms.’ and stuff! You don’t usually use that with your friends, so it kind of throws me off!”

“Friends…?”

Himeji turned toward me after whispering the word. Concern showed in her expression. As a servant of the Saionji family since early childhood, she’d practically never left the house until middle school. Even at Ohga School, she’d completed all of her coursework online. This was possibly the first time she’d been asked to have anything resembling a casual conversation. I couldn’t blame her for being a bit lost because of Tatara’s hands-on approach.

“…”

I nodded at Himeji, attempting to convey that Tatara didn’t mean any harm. Himeji relaxed her frown, then ran a hand along her silver hair.

“…I see. Since we’re friends, you’d like us to establish a more casual rapport with each other?”

“Right, right, right! You got it, Shirayuki! Perfect!”

“Very well, then. In that case…I will be glad to call you Fuuka from now on.”

“Wow! Great! Thanks so much!”

Tatara clapped her hands, smiling broadly.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take long for Himeji to blend in with the class. Unfortunately, that’s when Tatara got more hands on. Leaning in close, she turned her intensity up a notch.

“Hey! I wanna know, um, what kinda relationship do you and Shinohara have? It’d be really cool if you could tell me, ha-ha-ha!”

It was the question on everyone’s mind. I didn’t need to scan the room to feel all the eyes on us.

“What kinda relationship,” huh? I thought. It’s way too complex to sum up in a single response. I suppose something like “She’s my assistant” would have been the most truthful answer. However, we were under no obligation to be honest. We had seen this question coming a mile in advance and had prepared a nice, harmless response.

“I can tell you, sure.” Himeji shot me a glance. “I’m a part of Eimei School now, but before today I’ve served my master, Hiroto Shinohara, as his maid. When describing the nature of our relationship, I think it is most suitably described as a master-servant arrangement.”

“Wow, so it is like that!”

Tatara’s eyes gleamed at Himeji’s explanation.

“…”

Having arrived from mainland Japan only a few weeks ago, I still found the idea of having someone as my maid pretty bizarre. But on the Academy, it wasn’t too rare for people to keep maids or other servants. This island ran on a unique social system whereby accumulating stars directly affected the level of housing you were afforded. Once you were at least a Five Star, you were permitted a personal servant, and possibly more. The Empress, that red-haired girl I knew a little too well by now, had a good fifty or so attendants to order around, if you counted everyone who worked at her family’s estate. Knowing all this, we’d concluded that it was best not to conceal Himeji’s job.

“Ohhh! Wowww… Wow! That’s great! I’m almost jealous…!” Tatara didn’t seem to find Himeji’s answer that odd.

“Hmm. If you’re Shinohara’s maid, that means you go to his place, right?”

“…? Well, yes.”

She lived with me, actually, but Himeji was wise enough to omit that.

Tatara’s face reddened, and she lowered her voice as she asked, “So, uh…is Shinohara getting, you know, weird with you or anything?”

“Weird…?”

“Don’t make me say it! Um, you know, all…huffy and stuff!”

Tatara shut her eyes tight as she spoke. The other girls nodded, as though backing her up. I think her embarrassment over asking made her pick a more awkward adjective than she’d probably intended. I knew what Tatara was getting at. Again, it was a perfectly fair thing to inquire about.

I shook my head, betraying no emotion. “Nah… It’s only been a few weeks since we first met. There are no weird feelings or anything.”

“Ohhh. Yeah… Oh! Asking that makes it sound like I have a bunch of perverted fantasies running through my mind, doesn’t it?! B-but I don’t! I don’t! It’s just, as class president, I have to make sure no one is doing anything inappropriate in their personal lives! Y-you pass with flying colors, Shinohara! I’m giving you the class president’s seal of approval!”

Tatara’s face flushed more and more as she attempted to conjure up an excuse. It sounded like she’d accepted that my relationship with Himeji was strictly platonic. Other students surely had their own suspicions, but this backstory would likely work for a while.

While I mulled this over, the girls who’d gathered around Himeji changed the topic to introductions, no doubt because they felt a little bad for Tatara.

“There were thirty-six people in this class, and now you make thirty-seven! We’re the highest-ranked second-year class in the school, so we’ve got nothing but ace students!”

“I see… And you’re one as well, Fuuka?”

“Me? Well…I do all right. But I’m not exactly hitting home runs. In addition to being class president, I also run track and hold a seat on the student council, so…maybe I get an E for effort?”

“What? You get really good grades, Tatara.”

Another student entered the conversation late to deny Tatara’s attempt at modesty. It was Yuuki Tsuji, a guy whose looks skewed close to the middle of the gender spectrum. He was also the classmate I chatted with the most often. He could be pretty abrasive at times, although I suppose you could say that was because he didn’t sugarcoat things. Given the way he regarded Himeji, he knew how to respect people, at least.

“She’s a Three Star, too,” he added, casting a smile in Tatara’s direction. “And she’s popular. And taller than me.”

“Who cares about that last one?! Anyway, I don’t think I’m doing terribly. But, you know, we’ve got an anomaly like Shinohara here. And…I assume you’re at least a Three Star, right, Shirayuki? I wasn’t allowed access to anything in your profile, after all. Shinohara, do you know?”

“Ahh, right, Himeji’s a Four Star.”

““Ohhhhh…!””

Tsuji and Tatara cheered at the news. Himeji just gave a light bow in response. The difference between three and four didn’t seem like much, but on the Academy, a single star could be a huge gap to traverse. Going from three to four earned you access to a whole new level of Abilities, for one.

That bit of info only revved up Tatara even further. Now she was back in Himeji’s face again.

“That’s so awesome! You’re a Four Star, Himeji! That means we have six whole people in 2-A ranked Four Star or higher! Ugh, I gotta start working harder!”

“People could learn from that can-do attitude of yours, President. Wait, do we have that many high-ranking students? Shinohara’s a Seven Star, of course, and I know Sawaki’s a Four Star, and so are Kitamura and Wagahara… That’s it, isn’t it? Himeji would be the fifth.”

“Huh? No way. There’s the four you said, and then…then…wait, huh?! Ah, I completely forgot!”

Tatara thought for a bit, index finger tapping her chin, but soon grabbed her head with both hands in a show of defeat. “I’m supposed to be class president!” she wailed from the bottom of her heart. Did she really need to go so far? It’s not like the class president was tasked with memorizing the profiles of her classmates, especially so soon into the school year.

“…You’re such a kind person, Fuuka,” Himeji said softly. It was a nice, heartwarming moment between them. Sort of. After another clap of her hands, Tatara bowed her head to me.

“I can’t remember! I give up! Sorry, Shinohara, can you tell us?”

“…Huh?”

Her request came too suddenly for me to respond appropriately. Given the conversation, Tatara clearly wanted to know who the fourth Four Star in our class was. Asking someone who’d just transferred might have seemed strange, but it wasn’t at all. I was a Seven Star. I should have had access to information on everyone. Nothing that would be an invasion of someone’s privacy, of course; just basic stats like name, school, and star ranking. Anyone with a lower rank than me was fair game.

But that was all only true for a real Seven Star, not a fake who’d cheated the system.

Crap… Trouble first thing in the day.

I began to panic, although I kept it from showing on my face. Himeji and I had anticipated issues like this, of course. These sorts of everyday, non-Game-related dangers that threatened my facade had become quite frequent. That’s why I constantly had an earpiece linked to the Company for emergency support. In other words, I was fully prepared.

At least, I should have been.

Why is someone snoring in my earpiece?!

Yes, all that came through the device was the sound of someone enjoying a refreshing nap. The occasional mumbling made it clear that Kagaya was on the other end of the line, but she was in no shape to offer the vital info I needed.

Himeji only handed over the job to Kagaya this morning, so maybe she figured nothing would happen on the first day… Ugh!

I sighed mentally, certain that’s what had happened. Then, with a polite cough, I calmly threw the question right back at Tatara.

“Umm… Tell you what, Tatara? I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear you.”

“Oh, uh, so, we were talking about the fourth Four Star in our class! I know we’ve got Sawaki, Wagahara, and Kitamura, but I can’t recall the last one!”

“Not that it’s super important right now…but it’d feel weird to say ‘I dunno’ and give up,” Tsuji added.

“It’s not about feeling weird! Forgetting something about my classmates besmirches my class president dignity! C’mon, Shinohara, just whisper it into my ear for me!”

Tatara now had my hands in hers, practically pleading for the answer. I’d hoped to steer the conversation away from this, but that didn’t appear possible.

How am I going to get out of this? I desperately searched for an answer while remaining calm externally. Suddenly, I felt something tug at the edge of my blazer sleeve.

Hmm?

It was clearly a signal, and it repeated several times. It was Himeji. She’d edged a bit closer from her seat beside me to get my attention while Tsuji’s and Tatara’s attentions were elsewhere.

Wait…this is one of the signs we came up with for emergencies, right? Three tugs on my uniform in a row means “Listen to me,” right?

Himeji and I had talked about this late into the night yesterday. If Himeji wanted my attention, it meant she likely knew the answer. She must have accessed the school’s student records somehow. Anyway, why she knew didn’t matter. I needed to figure out how she was going to relay the answer to me.

The quickest way would be to lean over and let her whisper it into my ear. Unfortunately, something that blatant wouldn’t work. We could move to another location, but that had its dangers, too. Leaving the classroom together at this moment made no sense at all. Departing and returning together would rouse a lot of suspicion.

I’m just gonna have to ask Himeji here…without anyone noticing.

I took a breath. Part of me wanted to ask why I had to go through all these challenges, even during the normal moments of my life. The immediate answer was that Kagaya, my lifeline, was napping. However, I understood that if I wanted to keep my lie going until the end, I’d need to endure these little crises.

Okay.

“…? Mm, mgh… K-koff! …Excuse me.”

Suddenly Himeji half groaned and half coughed a bit, then stretched. She covered her mouth with one hand before returning to normal. That, of course, was meant to mask my reaching behind her and giving a different signal through her uniform. Her response lasted only a single instant, and thankfully, Tsuji and Tatara didn’t catch on. The command was quite simple: “Bend down for me.”

“Ah… Master, your shoe’s about to go untied.”

Himeji kept her mouth shut for a moment, perhaps because she was fighting the tickle I’d given her. Once I took my hand away, she bent down and reached for my shoes, which were actually sneakers. (They were part of a licensing deal Eimei School had with some business in the Fourth Ward or something.)

“Mm? Oh, that’s cool. I’ll do it myself.”

Upon seeing Himeji take action, I followed her lead, quietly bending over. Once our heads were below our desks, they got pretty close. Himeji’s prim face and clear blue eyes occupied most of my vision.

“…!”

My pulse quickened, but I leaned to the right to offer my ear. I don’t think it looked too unnatural, but it would be tough to stay in this position for very long.

I pretended to tie my shoes for a moment, then I lifted my head. In the middle of the act, I heard a breathy whisper.

“Excuse me, Master. The answer to the question is apparently Ms. Mirei Nakano.”

“…”

Now it was my turn to mask a tickle from her hushed words. Fortunately, I managed to straighten back up without any change in my expression.

“Sorry,” I said to a confused Tatara as I took my device out. “You were asking me about the fourth Four Star in class, right…? Oh. I don’t think I’ve spoken to her yet, but my device says it’s a girl named Nakano?”

“Ahhhh! Yes! Mirei! Right, right, I heard she went up a rank at the start of the semester! I feel so relieved now… Thanks, Shinohara. You really saved me!”

Tatara continued to offer exaggerated appreciation while Tsuji nodded beside her and muttered things like “Wow, her, huh?” Himeji and I shared a relieved sigh.

You know, if I was going to bust out my device anyway, couldn’t she have just texted me the answer…?

I think we both realized that at the same time. Still, we’d made it through unscathed. That was good enough.

“…Here. You can have this, Himeji.”

Himeji and I were enjoying lunch on a bench in the courtyard with no one else around. Normally I’d be enjoying a box lunch Himeji had prepared, but she’d been occupied by the transfer procedures this morning, so today’s meal was formed from a couple of items we’d managed to seize from the cafeteria. I say “seize” instead of “buy” for a reason. I’d heard rumors about this before and was surprised to learn it was true. At Eimei, you had to beat the lunch staffers at pseudo-Games before you were allowed to purchase food from them. That was the unwritten rule. If you wanted to score even a half-decent lunch, you needed to be prepared for an intense battle every day.

Things like that were common at Eimei School, symbols of an overall aggressive approach to education. The cafeteria’s famed chocolate-filled croissants were a particularly egregious example of this. The competition for them was almost a life-or-death fight. As a Seven Star, I felt a lot of pressure to go for one, so I’d enlisted the help of Himeji and the recently awakened Kagaya to cheat my way to victory.

“Hmm? Um, I’m not sure I should…”

I tried handing the bag with the cafeteria logo that held the fluffy croissant to Himeji. She blinked her blue eyes in evident surprise.

“Are you sure about this, Master? You’re the one who earned it.”

“Sure. I only wanted a sandwich. Besides, you’re the one who did all the work. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it, but…”

Himeji froze for a moment. While keeping her hands on her lap, she slowly averted her gaze.

“…I didn’t say that.”

She bashfully accepted the chocolate croissant, stared at it for a moment, then parted her small lips and bit into it.

“Mm. Mmm…mgh…hrmf…hrmf…”

“Um, are you okay, Himeji? You don’t have to eat so quickly.”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry. It’s just so good that I wasn’t able to stop myself.”

The moment she’d taken the first bite, her eyes had widened a little. Then she’d chewed with joyful gusto until I spoke up. Her cheeks turned a bit red from embarrassment. Seeing someone as coolheaded as Himeji completely lose herself like that told me the croissant had to be really good. No wonder it was the most popular item on the menu.

“Guess I’ll get started, too…”

That cute little display had whetted my appetite enough that I removed my sandwich from its paper bag. We enjoyed our food in the empty courtyard, free from any worries for a while. After a bit, Himeji finished her little milk carton, thanked me for the meal, and used a napkin to wipe her hands neatly.

“It’s fast approaching, isn’t it, Master?”

“What is? Oh, right. That event.”

I quickly realized what she was talking about. Himeji nodded at me.

She was referring to the Fourth Ward Challenge Ms. Nanachan had mentioned during homeroom. Himeji’s arrival had overshadowed it, but for the two of us, the challenge was the biggest threat at the moment.

“The Fourth Ward Challenge, or 4WC.” Himeji turned herself toward me a little. “It’s a regular event at Eimei School, held at the end of April every year. The function operates as a kind of student orientation. To be more precise, it’s a qualifying event that determines who will represent the school in the larger-scale Interward League matches in the future.”

Just as Himeji said, the Fourth Ward Challenge was akin to the Olympic qualifiers. It was an internal competition held to decide the team that would play against students from other wards. A lot of schools picked their squads strictly based on star count. However, Eimei used this event instead, partly to give new students a tutorial on how the whole Game system operated.

“The 4WC…”

I tapped my right ear a couple of times, ensuring that Kagaya would keep an eye on my surroundings while I spoke openly.

“So basically, it’s a big survival match, yeah? Every student at Eimei will be a player, and it’s single elimination. The player count drops until there’s a winner. Seems similar to PUBG or Apex.”

“Indeed, that comparison isn’t far off the mark.” Himeji nodded, then raised her right index finger. “Starting tomorrow, a special command called Trial will be available on Eimei School grounds from eight in the morning to five in the evening. That includes on Saturday and Sunday. The command allows you to play Games against participants, which, I’ll remind you, includes every member of the Eimei student body. Losing means elimination. These are just simulated Games, though, so no stars will change hands.”

“Right. So it’s functionally the same as playing Games against people, but there are a few differences. I remember that you can challenge anyone to a Trial, regardless of your rank… Not that I’m gonna be challenging anyone during this event, I’m sure.”

I grinned. That was probably the biggest difference between a Game and a Trial. You could only challenge someone higher ranked than yourself to a Game, but there were no such restrictions with Trials. The goal here wasn’t to beat a lot of opponents but to survive as long as possible. There wasn’t much merit to someone like me picking off beginners or low-ranking players.

However, there were also a few more differences to consider. The 4WC had a mode called “In Combat,” which meant that either you had challenged someone to a Trial or you’d received a challenge from another player. When “In Combat,” you weren’t allowed to challenge or be challenged. In other words, if you wanted to take on a certain opponent, it was first come, first served. The moment you got a request from someone, the Trial began right there, whether you wanted it to or not.

You’d think players could abuse that feature by starting a Trial and then never finishing to keep both players safe. It wasn’t that simple, though. If players were inactive in a Trial for twenty-four hours, they would both be knocked out of the event. Provost Ichinose would oversee the rules, and I guess this was the way she wanted things to work.

“…Yes, that’s the basic idea.”

Himeji nodded at me as we reviewed things one last time. She sidled a bit closer and fixed me with her clear blue eyes.

“When it comes to the 4WC…you know that you can’t afford to lose, Master.”

“Yeah…,” I agreed meekly. These were just Trials with no stars on the line, but if I, the supposed strongest student on the Academy, couldn’t even win an event like this, I’d be screwed. I’d get laughed at, looked down upon, and doubted. At worst, I might have all my lies exposed.

But on the other hand, if I won the 4WC, I’d be sitting pretty in my current position within Eimei. I’d prove my claim as the greatest at school. It was the perfect evidence to support my lie. I could ask for no better foundation.

“Job one is beating the Fourth Ward Challenge and giving people the impression that I’m the undisputed king of Eimei School. That’ll solidify my standing here, which is exactly what I need.”

“Yes, Master. And that’s why I’m here as well.”

Himeji placed a hand on her chest and flashed a faint smile at me. Yes. The 4WC was one reason the provost had called in so many favors to get Himeji transferred to Eimei.

Excluding a few well-known contenders who seriously wanted to survive the 4WC to the end, the great majority of students couldn’t even dream of winning. It was almost impossible…and it was those students who were bound to throw challenges my way. Partly out of pure curiosity, of course, and since they didn’t expect to survive long, they’d lose nothing by taking me on. Plus, if they managed to win, they’d become famous instantly. I was bound to spend the 4WC weathering constant attacks. And since my task was to never lose, Himeji had decided it was best for her to stay close to me at all times, instead of assisting from a remote location.

“With how the 4WC works,” she explained, eyes still on me, “even Five or Six Stars run the chance of losing. This will be a constant string of battles, and twenty-four hours after the Trial request doesn’t give you much time to prepare. To be frank, Master, most of the rules hurt your chances. Still, we have to dominate. We have to win and set in stone your reputation as the strongest.”

“Yeah… Guess it’s the only way, huh?”

I nodded at Himeji’s quiet but impassioned speech. It was a fact that the Fourth Ward Challenge would be fraught with disadvantages, but I wasn’t going in blind. I’d spent the past few days engaged in more prep work and meetings than I wanted to think about, all so I could survive the next week.

“Of course, most of the prep we’ve done is debating over how to reduce the number of Trials I’m subjected to. My strategy involves a lot of running, basically—using the Company’s guidance and my support Abilities to dodge everyone. That’s the gist of it, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. If a challenge comes your way, we’ll handle it the same way we do a Game. However, the 4WC rules stipulate that challenges must be sent on Eimei School grounds between eight and five. Games are usually organized online, but to send a Trial challenge, you need to physically point your device at the person you wish to take on. That requires a certain distance from the target. I think it’s plausible to dodge all competitors throughout the entire event.”

“Yeah. And I know the Company’s working on some stuff to help me with that. Actually, the provost called me in for a meeting after lunch, so maybe we can check on our escape routes and stuff again—”

“…Hiro, Hiro! Stop! Stop talking! Someone’s coming!” a voice called in my ear. It was Kagaya. Guess she was on the job right now, as opposed to this morning.

Gulp!

Himeji and I traded glances. “By the way,” I said, instantly switching to a humdrum topic, “you know how in our class just now…” A few seconds later, a girl walked by the bench, just as Kagaya had warned.

“Ah! There you are. Hiroto, right?”

“Huh?”

She stopped in front of us, leaning down a bit as she spoke to me. From the first sentence, I sensed that she wasn’t just a random passerby. I looked up at her.

“Eh-heh!”

“…”

I was stunned speechless instantly. The girl striking up this conversation was, to put it lightly, mind-blowingly beautiful. Like a pop idol. That was the best way to put it. Every feature of her face was perfect. There was still a bit of immature innocence to it, and the chestnut hair tied in twin ponytails that went as low as her shoulders gave her a touch of tender kindness. She was on the smaller side—the sort of size that made you instinctively want to protect her as you would a small animal. She just…felt like a girl. That’s how I’d put it.

Naturally, I completely failed to give a coherent response. She pouted.

“Hmph… You’re just ignoring me, Hiroto? Here’s me, cute little Noa, bravely approaching you…and this is how you act? That’s really mean, don’t you think?”

“Er, I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“Oh, no? So you were smitten at first sight, huh? Wow!   Well, I can’t blame you for that!”

The girl softened her expression while complimenting herself. Evidently, her name was Noa, but I still had little idea of what I was dealing with.

“Umm…so can I ask who you are?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Me?” the girl asked, holding her hands behind her back as she smiled, her sizable ponytails wavering in the air. “My name’s Noa Akizuki! Good to meet you!   I’m a little shorter than everyone else, but I’m actually in my third year, so I’m your senior. I’m a winter baby, too!”

“A third year? Wow. I’m sorry. I should have been more respectful to an upperclassman.”

“Mm? Oh, don’t worry about that! On this island, your stars matter a whole lot more than your grade!”

Akizuki waved her hand in the air to dismiss my apology. When I replied, “All right,” she took a step closer. This gave me a front-row seat to her neck and collarbones, which stood out from her school attire. I thought I glimpsed one of her bra straps, too, so I promptly pointed my eyes elsewhere.

“But enough about thaaat,” Akizuki continued, grinning. I couldn’t tell if she’d noticed or not. “Hee-hee! You’re a real powerful dude, huh, Hiroto?   I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone solo a cafeteria Game like that before!  ”

“Oh? Oh…so that’s why you came looking for me.”

Now it made sense. Maybe this encounter wasn’t so strange after all. Looking closer, I realized that Akizuki was carrying a bag behind her. It was the same kind my chocolate croissant had come in.

“Wait, you got one, too, didn’t you?”

“Oh, you saw? Hee-hee! I thought I hid it well…and of course I did. After all, I’m really talented, really smart, and really cute!  ”

Apparently, she wasn’t much for modesty. She retrieved the pastry and took a lick of the filling, letting out an “Oooh…  ” as though in a state of agonized happiness. It was a pretty obvious act, but Akizuki genuinely looked cute, which made it all the more annoying.

“…Ahem.”

I decided to recenter this conversation, lest she run away with it and ruin my pace.

“So? Did you want something, Akizuki?”

“Want something? Hmm… Well, I guess I do, yeah…”

Akizuki looked at Himeji with a thoughtful finger on her chin. She lightly nodded, then gave us a playful grin.

“Hee-hee! I’m sorry, did I interrupt? That’s why you’re angry, isn’t it, Hiroto?”

“I didn’t say anything like that. I’m not trying to brush you off. I’m just curious why you’re interested in me. I’m not thrilled, but I’m not bothered, either.”

“Oh, really? Hee-hee! I just wanted to talk because I’m genuinely curious about you, Hiroto!   For example…I was wondering, are the two of you an item or something?”

“The two of us? Himeji and I? You’ve got the wrong idea.”

“That’s right. Our relations are completely on the level. For now, anyway.”

“Aww, really? But we’re talking about a maid and her master. You’re together every day. It’d be weird if something didn’t happen!  ”

“I don’t think so. People are free to imagine what they like, though.”

“Oh yeah? Hmm. Okay. Well, in that case… Hup!”

…?!

While smiling at my response, Akizuki turned around and sat herself on the bench right beside me. She didn’t bother keeping her distance. In fact, she was practically leaning on me.

“Hee-hee-hee!  ” She giggled. Peering up at me, she said, “It’s a lot easier to talk like this, don’t you think?”

“…I’m not sure where you got that idea. You’re smothering me. Get off.”

“Aww, what’s the big deal? This is a nice bonus for you, isn’t it? Getting so close to a girl like me. You should stop holding back and take your fill…  ”

I regarded her with a bland stare, but Akizuki didn’t give up. In fact, she put both hands around my arm, ending any attempt at shaking her off. We looked like a couple flirting with each other in some public park. Her large, soft breasts pushed hard against my body, her shiny hair and captivating breath tickling my neck as the sweet, citrusy aroma wafting from her entire body wrapped around me. It made my head go fuzzy…

Ow!

And if not for Himeji pinching my other side, I might have lost myself. That was a close one.

I coughed one more time before restarting the conversation.

“Erm… Akizuki, can we skip this and just get to whatever you want to talk about?”

“Aw, boo! You’re so impatient, Hiroto… All right.”

Akizuki looked peeved, but she inched away from me a little and nodded. “I wanted to ask,” she said, voice less cloying now, “about the Fourth Ward Challenge. I’m sure you know about it, right?”

“Sure. I’m not that interested in it, but with all the hype, it’s hard not to be aware.”

“Right, I’m sure. You’ve heard of LNN, yeah? It’s the biggest news app on the Academy. Libra runs it. There was a survey about the 4WC a couple days ago, polling the expected top ten, possible strategies, who to stage Trials with, and other stuff. Did you see?”

“No, I didn’t. That sounds like something LNN would do, though.” Figuring this wouldn’t blow my cover, I answered honestly. I’d met with Kazami from Libra several times already, and I knew how much she loved big spectacles that allowed her to stand in the spotlight. The 4WC was undoubtedly high on her list of must-cover events. However, given that this was strictly an internal Eimei School thing, I doubted that Libra itself would get too involved.

“Hmm? You don’t seem too interested, huh, Hiroto? I get that, yeah.”

Akizuki’s reaction to my disinterested response felt strange. All the softness in her demeanor vanished. Suddenly, her voice sounded flat and disengaged.

What’s with that…?

I frowned a bit…but Akizuki’s expression quickly regained its bubbliness. No matter how much I scrutinized it, nothing seemed out of place. I had to wonder if I’d imagined her looking disinterested.

“Hee-hee! So,” she said, each word bouncing like a spring, “I just got a notification from LNN, and the results are in from the viewer predictions. As cute and talented as I am, I’m up pretty high on the list. But you’re number one, Hiroto. Hee-hee! Isn’t that great?  ”

I shrugged. “Oh, really? I guess it’s natural that people would expect a lot from me.”

Akizuki chatted about the Libra article and the upcoming event for a while, but upon realizing that lunchtime was nearly over, she clapped her hands to bring an end to the conversation.

“Hee-hee! Okay, bye for now, Hiroto. Thanks for spending so much time talking with me!  ”

She stood from the bench, waved, and spun around. However, she only got a few steps before turning back. “Let’s both do our best, okay?  ” she said, smiling and using her most sickly-sweet tone.

““…””

Himeji and I watched her walk off without a word. A few seconds later, Himeji heaved a sigh.

“We need to watch for her.”

“…We do?”

“Yes. That was Ms. Noa Akizuki. She’s a third year in Class A, a Six Star that people call the ‘Little Devil.’ There are three Six Stars at Eimei School, and she’s the most prominent in terms of Game performance. She could become a major threat during this event.”

“A Six Star…?! Really? She’s that high up?”

“She is. That, and… How to put it? Something about her set off alarm bells with me. Like she’s more than just a powerful foe. It’s as if there’s something lurking under the surface that we can’t see. Hopefully I’m just imagining it, though.”

Then Himeji brought her right hand to her lips, falling silent.

“…”

I thought quietly for a moment, ruminating over her opinion. I couldn’t put it into words, but I sensed something odd about the exchange with Akizuki. Looking back, all we’d done was chat. I had no idea what she was trying to do.

Whatever her goal, it would have to wait. The notification bell for fifth period went off, and I needed to get back to class.

“By the way, Master…is that girl your type?”

“Huh?”

As I stood from the bench, the expressionless Himeji shot me a point-blank question that left me at a loss. I spent the next five minutes or so defending myself.

“Heh-heh… Well, hello there. Doing well?”

After the end of sixth period, when all my classroom duties were over for the day, I left Himeji with Tatara (who insisted on giving her a grand tour of the school) and headed into the center of the school alone. I still had Kagaya thanks to my earpiece, though.

The provost’s office at Eimei School was an ode to both luxury and good taste, and Natsume Ichinose was seated on a sofa in the middle of the room, wearing a tight skirt and crossing her legs. A smile decorated her face.

“I had some free time because you were so late, so I thought I’d have a little fun. What did you think?”

“Oh, that was you?”

I sighed. Halfway through fifth period, I’d received over twenty anonymous messages on my device, from emails and texts to DMs on the STOC social network and even calls. They’d all had different subjects, but each ended with something like “Come see me at the provost’s office, okay?  ,” which gave them a horror-movie touch.

“It was definitely effective. You sure have a lot of speaking styles, though. You’d be great at impressions.”

“Heh-heh! Oh yeah? I’m glad you found it entertaining. You can pay me back later.”

“I’ll be sure not to.”

If anything, I thought she owed me a dinner to apologize for the spam. Regardless, I shook my head and looked straight at the provost. We had business to attend to.

“Is this about the Fourth Ward Challenge?”

“Yeah,” the provost replied casually. “Not about the event itself, but something heavily connected to it. As you know, the 4WC’s an Eimei event that decides who’ll represent our school in competitions against other wards. Obviously, you need to win. That’s why we called Shirayuki over from the Third Ward. And that wasn’t exactly easy. Do you have any idea how much of a pain it is to transfer a student between wards? I tried to keep the fallout to a minimum, but I definitely owe the Ohga provost a favor now.”

She sighed, looking crestfallen. I’m sure she wasn’t embellishing. Academy schools were rivals, and a student moving from one ward to another was extremely rare. That went double for an accomplished Four Star like Shirayuki Himeji. I’m sure Ohga School had asked for quite a bit in return.

“I’m grateful you did. I can’t afford to lose, after all.”

“Heh-heh…! So long as you understand what I did to help, then it’s fine.”

“Are you trying to imply I should do something?”

“Ah, well spotted, Shinohara! I appreciate your perception.” Ichinose shifted her legs, then grinned at me as she pushed her glasses up with one hand. “To tell the truth,” she began quietly, “there are two unusual phenomena unfolding at Eimei.”

“Unusual phenomena?”

“Right. First…I still don’t have a lot of details about this, but it sounds like some kind of external element is trying to interfere with this event. Alarms have been going off constantly since yesterday. I’m looking into it, but we’re dealing with a pretty crafty foe here. We still haven’t found a scent to track yet.”

The provost delivered this news calmly, but there was clear irritation on her face. Presumably she’d spent the past day handling this. Maybe that barrage of DMs and emails had been her way of letting off steam, although I wished she’d vented it on someone else.

“So what exactly is this ‘external element’ hoping to accomplish? There are no stars to gain during this event, so I don’t see why other wards would care.”

“You’re right, but that’s exactly why I suspect you’re the target. There’s a chance that some anonymous person is wriggling their way into the contest to take you down. Logic dictates that it could be someone from the Third or Eighth Ward who’s got a grudge against you. However, that’s just speculation for now. As a Seven Star, just about everyone on the island wants to get at you.”

“…”

I gulped at the provost’s matter-of-fact analysis. I was aware of the dangers of my position, though. A transfer student taking down the Empress, Sarasa Saionji, and becoming a Seven Star faster than anyone else gathered attention like nothing else. It was safe to assume everyone on the Academy dreamed of besting me. There wasn’t much point reminding me of that now.

“Phew…” I took a deep breath to clear my mind. “Okay, I understand so far. What’s the second thing?”

“Oh, right. The second thing concerns Unique Stars.”

“Huh?”

I blinked at that, surprised.

Stars on the Academy didn’t have different colors, save a small subset of no more than a dozen. These Unique Stars were more difficult to obtain than normal ones, but each provided the owner with a special ability.

That wasn’t all that made them important, either. Since I was posing as a Seven Star, I wasn’t allowed to obtain more stars. On paper, I had seven, and that was the max. However, the system made an exception for Unique Stars, allowing me to obtain as many of those as I wanted. To an outsider, that didn’t change my rank, but my actual standing (I was presently a Two Star) did increase, bringing me one step closer to being a real, noncheating Seven Star. For that reason, I was always looking for info on Unique Stars.

“Heh-heh…”

I’m sure the provost knew I’d be interested in this topic.

“This is a good opportunity,” she continued, still grinning. “Let’s start with the basics. Originally, there was one Unique Star for each of the schools on the Academy. It was up to the provost of each to decide who got their Unique Star. For the most part, they were given to the best students at each school—the president of the student council, or whoever won some event or did the best in exams, for example. Those stars could be won or lost in Games like any others, so after a while they went to completely unrelated people. But in the beginning, each school possessed one of them.”

“I see…”

“When a student with a Unique Star graduates, that star is returned to the school it belonged to originally. No matter how far away that star wanders, it’ll always come back home eventually, so to speak. That’s one of their traits. And I think you’ve picked up on this by now, but Eimei is no exception. Its star is green, and its owner graduated last year. Currently, it’s stored on our servers. At least, it was…”

“Huh? You mean…”

I gave the provost a concerned look.

“That’s right.” The provost nodded. “Someone’s taken it. Our normal custom is to award the Unique Star to whoever wins the Fourth Ward Challenge, but someone’s swiped it before the event.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t screw up.”

“I never said that. Is a Unique Star really so easy to steal?”

“No way. Such precious data is stored on a stand-alone server not connected to any network. There’s no physical conduit to break into. Not typically. The star was temporarily migrated somewhere else in preparation for being awarded to the winner in a week. And that’s exactly when someone hacked into the system. It was a pinpoint attack.”

“Wow… Th-that’s really big news, isn’t it?!”

“To put it mildly.” The provost sighed as she lifted two fingers into the air. “Those are the two weird phenomena we’ve been dealing with. We don’t know if they’re related, but they’ve occurred at nearly the same time, so there’s a good chance the same person or group is responsible.”

“I see. Yeah, those are both serious concerns. Why tell me about all this, though?”

“Are you that dense? Why do you think? I want you to help find the culprit.”

“Uh… But…”

I couldn’t manage a response. A concerning shadow loomed over the upcoming event, but surviving the 4WC was already going to be a challenge. I wasn’t sure I had the extra capacity in my head to worry about anything else at the moment…

“Shinohara.”

However, the provost cut off my anxious musings, legs boldly crossed before me.

“Think about it. This adversary is using the 4WC to get at you. If you stay in the event long enough, they’re bound to take some kind of action. I’m not asking you to be a detective and hunt for clues… Like I said, there’s a very good chance this enemy of ours possesses a Unique Star—the green one you would have won after beating everyone in the 4WC. Heh-heh. I think you understand what that means, don’t you?”

“…”

She’d laid it all out for me, so of course I understood. Basically, if I wanted that Unique Star, I had to take it back myself. That green star, the prize for winning the 4WC, was no longer in the school’s possession. The only way to get it was to cooperate. And like the provost said, the mastermind behind this was liable to strike at me even if I refused to go along with her plan. It was far better for me to seize the initiative.

“Can I assume you’re ready for this?”

“I guess so, yeah. I’ll do it.”

“Great. In that case, Shinohara, you’ve got three missions. Expose whoever’s trying to meddle with the Fourth Ward Challenge, recover the stolen Unique Star, and make absolutely sure you win the 4WC to solidify your position as best on the Academy. I’ll help you out in any way I’m able to.”

With that, my job was set in stone. Winning the 4WC had always been mandatory, but now I had to deal with some mysterious interference and a Unique Star bandit. There was no telling if those issues were being caused by the same person, but the party or parties involved were bound to be tough.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. “I’m not sure about the person setting off alarms, but a student probably stole the star, right?” I blurted out. “And I’m sure they’re using some kind of illegal means. I kind of wish a student that capable was working with me.”

“Don’t get any ideas. Whoever’s behind the theft is ruthless. They’d turn on you eventually.”

“Ahh… Well, I wasn’t being too serious.”

I shook my head, laughing off the idea, then stood. Taking on additional work when I was already handling something difficult… Part of me wondered why I was being such an idiot. At the same time, I couldn’t let such an excellent chance slip through my fingers. If I hoped to become a real Seven Star, this was exactly what I needed. I had to win the 4WC and show everyone I was the undisputed Academy champion. There was no choice but to pull off what the provost asked and obtain my third Unique Star, after the red and blue ones I already possessed.

I’ll just have to do it all. If I can’t manage this, how can I go around calling myself the best?

One side of my lips quirked up in a grin as I gave myself that pep talk.

There was only a day until the weeklong Fourth Ward Challenge began.