Liar, Liar - Volume 3 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Impostor’s Impostor

“Haah… This really sucks.”

It was after school, near the start of May. I was seated in my living room, facing a girl who’d let out a depressed sigh. We usually met up at our favorite basement café, the one where devices don’t work inside, but thanks to certain events today, I had her come to my mansion—a place the Company always kept fully secure. The girl was in her usual disguise, a jacket with the hood pulled low.

Why was I going through all this trouble? Well, because we had something of a unique relationship.

“…”

Yes, the girl was Sarasa Saionji. A thing of beauty, with her magnificent, long red hair and ruby-colored eyes. Anyone who saw her for the first time was guaranteed to sigh and marvel. And that wasn’t due to her cuteness alone. She’s the only granddaughter of Masamune Saionji, the grand headmaster of the Academy, and until recently, she was a Seven Star—the highest rank, placing her above everyone else on this island where your star count decided your entire life. She was the Empress, the greatest of VIPs. Everyone on the island knew her name. She was the undefeated champion—the former one, that is.

I, Hiroto Shinohara, handed the Empress her first defeat right after I arrived on the Academy about a month ago. I came here after the provost of the Eimei School in the Fourth Ward saw some kind of overwhelming talent in me, and the moment I transferred here, I beat Empress Saionji in my first Game and became king of the mountain, the quickest rise to Seven Star status in island history.

That’s how it appeared anyway.

To everyone else, that was the story, but most of it was a lie. Plus, the girl sitting in front of me wasn’t even the real Sarasa Saionji… Saying that by itself probably wasn’t enough for anyone to understand what was going on. Simply put, this girl was standing in for the actual Sarasa. She was a spoiled rich girl, but an entirely false one, not at all the real thing. The immense power of the Saionji family sustained her lie.

My beating this impostor-Saionji led me to discover the truth about her. To justify my victory over the biggest Academy celebrity, I’d been forced to pretend I was the new strongest student on the island. In other words, we were both liars. Saionji wasn’t some fabulously wealthy little heiress, and I wasn’t number one at anything. We were both liars deceiving the entire island, and that’s why we maintained a sort of colluding relationship. We were fierce competitors in public, sparks flying at all times, but we cooperated behind the scenes. Thus, even organizing informal chats required the utmost caution.

“…Ugh,” I groaned after taking a sip of the iced lemon tea provided by Shirayuki Himeji, my silvery-haired maid. She’d taken the hint and left us alone for the moment. When Saionji and I met like this, we usually wound up griping to each other about how our day-to-day lives required tricking everybody all the time. Things were different this time, though. Naturally. We’d gathered to discuss strategy, not complain.

As for today’s primary topic…

“That other ‘you’ out there has already become a pretty hot story, huh?”

That’s right. Our latest shared headache was a set of videos posted to ITube, the Academy-exclusive video-sharing site. They were nothing fancy—just a girl talking away to a camera, not singing or commenting on a video game or whatever. Nothing exciting at all.

Her identity was the issue. That flowing, dazzling red hair; those ruby eyes that radiated will. She had one hand on her hip, sticking her modestly sized chest out and boldly exposing her eye-popping thighs—a pose of intrepid resolve. This girl who’d appeared on ITube out of nowhere was an exact copy of Sarasa Saionji, a perfect clone.

Worse yet, she wasn’t just a dead ringer looks-wise. Here’s a choice quote from the first video she uploaded:

“…What? Am I a fake? Oh, don’t be silly. The fake is the one calling herself the Empress in public. I’m the real one—the actual Sarasa Saionji. Hee-hee… Besides, do you actually think the real Empress would lose to some random transfer student?”

“Ugh… Do you have to keep playing it, dumbass?” Saionji groused as she tapped the video to stop it. She collapsed onto the table in a show of utter exhaustion.

“The real Sarasa Saionji? You have to be kidding me… This doesn’t even make any sense.”

“…You look pretty shaken,” I remarked. “Have people been giving you trouble?”

“Of course. There are a lot more eyes on me now. Whenever someone talks to me, she always comes up. Some people are even delving into my past Game data to see if there’s anything abnormal they can point to. It’s exhausting. My mental capacity is draining three times faster than usual.”

“Wow. That sounds rough. Guess your popularity is kind of backfiring on you.”

“Exactly. And I know a lot of this attention is justified… But I’ve been masquerading as Sarasa for a good year now. How could anyone think that she’s the real one after she popped up out of the blue. Yeah, I’m not the real one, either, but still!”

“…Yeah. I know. But this makes things a lot more complicated, doesn’t it?”

That much was apparent. Two impostors were claiming to be the genuine article. It was a lot to wrap your head around.

Ignoring that for the moment, Saionji was right. It was impossible for some poser to claim they were the real Sarasa Saionji when the “real” one already existed. It was good for some attention on STOCK, the island’s social network, but it’d only earn a few laughs and nothing else. Yet this was gaining traction somehow. The buzz had been nonstop ever since the first video appeared over a week ago. It was starting to affect Saionji’s life. The main quality adding credence to the impostor’s claim was her looks. People had already uploaded several comparison videos, but without close-ups and extra on-screen arrows highlighting the minuscule differences, the two false Sarasa Saionjis looked indistinguishable. They were so uncannily close that people had taken to calling this new one the Clone. People understood logically that this faker had to be lying, but her looks really were tricking everyone emotionally, seeding doubt.

However, that alone wouldn’t do anything to damage Saionji’s rep on the island. All personal information on the Academy was stored and managed on people’s devices, so there was no doubting that the girl in front of me, the owner of Sarasa Saionji’s account, was the real thing. And yet…

“…Her claims are still going to make people suspicious.”

“My account was stolen from me by the girl currently passing herself off as Sarasa Saionji…”

That’s right. The Clone dropped that allegation in her very first video. A person’s account was the foundation of their identity on the Academy, and the Clone asserted that Saionji had stolen hers, leaving her without a name or school affiliation.

That was totally impossible, of course. Academy accounts were kept under the strictest of security. They couldn’t be transferred between people—or copied or deleted at will. At least, they typically couldn’t. However, the Clone had presented some evidence. She revealed in her video that her account had no ID number. The eight-digit code that should have been in the relevant section of her profile had been replaced with three question marks.

It was clearly a bug or anomaly. Stranger yet, there was no precedent for this occurring before. That lent authenticity to the Clone’s story.

Saionji and I met today because the Clone planned to hold a live stream tonight at eight. Her announcement of the stream had been pretty sudden, coming after two or three days of radio silence. The stream was titled “Declaration of War,” clearly hinting at something important. All of ITube was chatting about it.

Saionji and I sat waiting with bated breath, ready to rise up in response to whatever happened.

“Phew…” I looked up, bringing a hand to my glass to quench my anxiety-driven thirst. “It’s almost time. You ready for this, Saionji?”

“Yeah. Of course I am. I have no idea what kind of demands she’ll make… But the Empress isn’t about to kneel to a fake like this.”

“You’re a fake, too, you know.”

“Did I ask for your opinion? Shut up! Now isn’t the time for that!” She leaned toward me a little and gave me a “stop it” kind of pout.

“Sorry, sorry,” I replied, checking the time and looking at my device’s screen. Saionji did the same with her device.

At eight o’clock sharp, the stream began.

“…Good evening to you all. I’m Sarasa Saionji.”

The Clone was on-screen, an arrogant hand on one hip. “The spitting image of Saionji” was the only way to describe her. She gave a light smile as she turned her ruby eyes toward the camera.

“As the title of this stream suggests, I’ve got quite a controversial topic to discuss with you all tonight. Hee-hee… I wonder if my fake is watching this right now?”

“…I sure am. Not that I’m imitating you,” Saionji fired back, head propped against her arm on the table. The girl on the screen didn’t react.

“But you know,” the Clone continued blithely, “if I could address my fake for a moment… I think you understand what I’m trying to say by this point, don’t you? You took my identity from me, and I want it back. I had my entire life snatched away, and I’m not some pushover that’ll smile and laugh it off forever. So…would you like to stage a Game with me? A single Game to decide who the real Sarasa Saionji is, once and for all? Hee-hee… What do you think about that? Pretty good idea, wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

The Clone let out a refined sort of giggle as Saionji squinted at her. But we expected this much. On this island, “declaring war” on someone could only mean challenging them to a Game.

“As I think you know…” The girl crossed her arms beneath her small chest. “There’s a big event scheduled to be held in Ward Zero in exactly one week. I’m talking, of course, about the May Interschool Competition. A large-scale Game featuring carefully selected teams from every ward on the island. I’d like to use that opportunity to settle this for good.”

“Oh, so that’s why she’s streaming tonight.”

I nodded at her observation. The May Interschool Competition was a huge occasion, one of the major yearly events on the Academy’s calendar. Up until a little while ago, I’d been meeting with Himeji and the rest of the Company to discuss tactics for it. The event garnered a lot of attention, so it was the perfect time to stage a duel.

“I’m sure you’ll join as Ohga School’s team leader, but if you’re not, then I’ll reconsider the timing of my proposal. I doubt that’s the case, though. As for the rules… Let’s see… I suppose something like ‘whoever’s highest ranked overall wins’ is reasonable enough. Or maybe ‘whoever wins in a direct showdown’? But why don’t we spice things up a bit? Let’s say that ‘whoever’s able to beat Hiroto Shinohara will be crowned the winner’?”

“…Huh?” I hadn’t expected to be name-dropped. What was that all about? Why did she rope me into this?

“Whoever beats you…?” Saionji’s ruby eyes flicked to me, looking just as confused as I was. “But you don’t have anything to do with—”

“Hee-hee! And maybe some viewers think that Hiroto Shinohara isn’t involved in this drama, but he is. He’s become a Seven Star quicker than anyone in history—the first person ever to beat me. Or quote-unquote ‘me,’ anyway. You could call him my fated rival. And I think it’s fair to say that whoever has the capacity to beat him must be the real Empress, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ugh…”

“Okay, let’s go over the details. The duel will be held during the May Interschool Competition, which is part of the Interward League schedule. Our Game is about beating Hiroto Shinohara. If I do it and win, you will immediately transfer your account to me on the spot. You’ll give Sarasa Saionji, and the device in your hands, back to me. On the other hand, if you beat him, then you win, of course. If I lose, then I promise I’ll never make any claims like this again, and I’ll do whatever you instruct me to, within reason.

“Now, if Hiroto Shinohara winds up being defeated by someone besides the two of us, I’m going to count that as a victory for myself as well, all right? Hee-hee… And why wouldn’t I? If Shinohara turns out to be a wimp who can’t even best some random no-name out there, what’s that say about the so-called Empress who lost to him? And finally, if no one beats him, I’ll declare him the winner of our duel, and he can decide what to do with me.

“…Whew! All this rapid-fire talking sure tires me out. What do you think? That’s my full declaration of war for you, impostor. You can turn it down, of course, but don’t forget: I look the same as you, and I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. If you refuse this perfectly reasonable request, it’ll make me so anxious that I think I’ll need to take off some of my clothes to cope… Understand? ITube’s regulations won’t stop me, either. I’ll show the tens of thousands of viewers all kinds of things… And I might want to have some ‘fun,’ you know? Hee-hee… Anyway, I’m looking forward to your acceptance!”

With a final provoking little giggle, the Clone ended the live stream.

““…””

A heavy silence fell over Saionji and me as we stared at the dark screen. A declaration of war… I thought it sounded exaggerated. Essentially, the impostor was challenging Saionji to prove who was the real Empress at the big event next week. Whoever defeated me would become the true Sarasa Saionji. If the one I knew lost, she’d have to abandon her device and account.

“Ngh… Hnnnngh… Ahhh! Damn it!”

Saionji was frozen there for a moment, slack-jawed, but then she snapped up, her beautiful red hair swaying. She slammed both fists on the table, standing as she leaned toward me.

“What’s with that? What’s wrong with her?! What could possibly be going through her mind, huh?!”

“Um… Well, maybe you should try to calm down.”

“How can I calm down?! She’s going to make all this porn—uh, I mean, she’s going to take a bunch of suggestive videos with my body and spread them all around the island! Are you okay with that?!”

“Why are you asking me…? I mean, no, but…”

“Huh? Oh. Um, thank you?”

Saionji’s cheeks reddened a bit for some reason as she averted her gaze. I turned my back as well, feeling a bit awkward. We really didn’t have time to waste on this.

“So…that declaration of war just now… You basically have to accept, I guess,” I said.

“…Seems like it.”

“Your reputation as the Empress basically makes it mandatory. And that blackmail certainly doesn’t help. I know ITube’s limited to Academy residents, but if there were, um, racy videos of you posted, they’d spread pretty quickly. I know the Academy clamps down on things like that, but there’s no telling if it might leak to the internet at large.”

“Mmm… I guess so…”

“Hey, can you stop acting so embarrassed, please?”

“You’re the one who brought it up! Stop dwelling on it! Geez…!”

“Er, okay. Having those videos spread around the Academy is bad enough, but if they reach the Japanese public, things will get a lot worse. A scandal for someone famous like you will make the news. It’ll kill the Saionji family’s reputation,” I said.

Saionji nodded gravely. “And it’d just be a matter of time until the real Sarasa heard about it, too.”

The actual Sarasa was a pampered rich girl who’d been “kidnapped” and taken to mainland Japan to enjoy a blissfully normal teenage life. She had no idea about the lies this Saionji told everyone. All she knows is that this Saionji stepped up to make her dream of an average life come true. She was ignorant to the fact that her friend had stepped up to pose as her. But if this challenge went poorly, and nasty videos made it to Japan because of Rina Akabane, the genuine Sarasa Saionji would come running back to the island. Even if she only came back out of concern for her friend, the actual Saionji’s return would expose all the lies.

On top of all that, it’d be a huge blow to my life if the girl across the table from me was outed. I’d maintained this facade as a Seven Star to retain a social status on the level of Sarasa Saionji, the rich and talented young genius. Provost Ichinose of Eimei School played along with these crazy lies because she thought we could profit from them. Plus, she wanted the Saionjis, the managers of the island, off her back. If Rina Akabane stopped acting as Saionji, the Provost no longer stood to benefit from helping me.

“Haaah… I can’t believe this. An insane Game, and I have no choice but to accept it…”

Saionji slumped onto the table and sighed. I tried to gather my thoughts.

“You know… I’m willing to bet that this has a lot to do with the whole Mikado Kurahashi thing,” I said.

Mikado Kurahashi was the mastermind who used a girl named Noa Akizuki to try crushing me about ten days ago. He was the former provost of Seijo School in the Twelfth Ward—a high-powered elite if there ever was one and a true gentleman in public. However, behind the scenes, he was a devious monster and the constant subject of unpleasant rumors.

He’d attempted to meddle in the Fourth Ward Challenge, but I’d managed to survive and free Akizuki from his clutches. After stepping down as Seijo School’s provost, Kurahashi disappeared from the public eye and hadn’t been heard from since. Losing must have worsened his grudge against me. At least, I assumed as much. I wouldn’t be surprised if he launched some new attack.

“Mmm… I’m sure it does, yeah.” Saionji lifted her head just enough to nod. “The timing’s too perfect to be unrelated. The Clone first showed up right after the 4WC ended, and Kurahashi knows I worked with you during that event. I bet he’s realized that we’re more than just rivals.”

“Definitely. This time, he’s gunning for both of us at once.”

“Looks that way… And if so, maybe modeling the Clone after my appearance and not the real Sarasa is kind of a relief. This would be hopeless if she were made up to look like the actual Sarasa.”

“Oh… Yeah,” I said, wincing a bit. Saionji had a point. The Clone mimicked Rina Akabane’s appearance. That meant nobody knew that Rina was posing as Saionji. That lie was still safe. Still, though, we understood now that Kurahashi was using this event to attack both of us simultaneously. We didn’t know what he’d get from that, but clearly he was after something.

This promised to be a tough event already. Now they’re just adding to the pile of worries…

I shook my head despondently.

“Hey, Shinohara…” I heard this faint, forlorn voice, or I thought I did. Slowly, I lifted my head. There I saw Saionji peering at me. “You’re…gonna help with my Game against her, right? We’ll be facing each other in the event, but you’ll pitch in to stop the Clone, won’t you…?”

“…”

“Hey…hey, why are you staying quiet? You know the stakes, right? If I get caught, you’ll pay for this, too. We’ll both get punished, we’ll both go down together, and then—” She was speaking at a high-paced staccato. I cut her off, flashing an embittered smile.

“Uggggh. You don’t have to get that anxious just because I was quiet for a couple seconds, Saionji.” I kept one corner of my lips upturned. “I’m just sick of all this, okay? We’re coconspirators, right? I never considered abandoning you.”

“Ah…” Saionji’s mouth hung half-open. Then she let out a little “Hmph” and turned away, playing with a lock of hair around her ear.

“Okay, that’s all I needed to report! We’re finally diving into the long-awaited big event, but don’t overdo it out there, okay, kids? Keep it in moderation, but make sure you have a ton of fun, too! I’m looking forward to it just as much as all of you! For now, class dismissed!”

Thursday, May 4, only a bit after my clandestine meeting with Saionji. Ms. Nanachan, my teacher, was waving the class away from homeroom with her usual bubbly enthusiasm. With that, Class 2-A of Eimei School was free.

As a transfer student, I had only learned recently that the Academy didn’t have the usual Golden Week break that most Japanese schools and workplaces enjoyed. The typical national holidays didn’t seem to apply here because we’d still had classes like usual.

Instead, the second week of May each year was dubbed Event Week, and as the name suggested, it involved activities that pulled in all the island’s schools. That included the large-scale Game I’d be joining, but there was also a set of informal events that students were free to join or spectate. All Academy students had off for Event Week, of course. Shops offered sales to celebrate the occasion, and the Libra news team’s content was streaming on pretty much every screen around. It was really an island-wide party, and everyone was excited to kick it off.

“Hey, Shinohara?”

The girl sitting at the desk in front of mine turned around to speak to me. This was Fuuka Tatara—2-A’s class president and a Three Star who was always bursting with energy. She had her hair in a smart-looking ponytail, the kind you’d see on girls who ran track. It typically bounced as she spoke.

Today, though, she had her hands clasped above her skirt, like something was bothering her.

“Kind of a rough scene yesterday, huh? You doing okay? It sorta feels like you’re being dragged in against your will.”

“…Oh, that?”

I kept it cool, resisting the urge to wince. Tatara was presumably talking about yesterday’s live stream, the challenge to decide the real Empress that would be fought during the May Interschool Competition. Everybody was talking about it. People excitedly predicted winners and offered theories about what was going on behind the scenes.

If the question is “Am I okay?” the answer is a pretty solid no…

I shook my head, though. “Ah, I’m fine. Maybe I’m being dragged in, but I kind of planted the seed for this anyway.”

“Y-you’re okay? Are you sure? ’Cause if you need someone to lean on, you got your class president right here.”

“I certainly appreciate the offer. And not to disappoint the Clone, but I’ve got a responsibility to uphold as a Seven Star. I won’t go down that easily.”

“Wow…! I don’t know how you manage to act so cool, Shinohara, but you always do! You’re like some invincible hero!”

Tatara unconsciously leaned in closer to me as she spoke. A refreshing aroma tickled my nose as I saw my reflection in her pure, sparkling eyes, now just a few millimeters from my face. At the same time, though, the sound of someone trying to clear their throat as loudly as possible caught my attention.

“Yeah… I’m sure Shinohara won’t need any of our help to beat the Clone. But I am a little worried about the team we have.”

…Oh?

Yuuki Tsuji approached from the next seat over, smiling as he spoke. He was a handsome, pale young man with looks that put him somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between macho man and feminine beauty. He wore a boy’s uniform, but if not for that, it might be tough to guess he was a boy.

The team he mentioned was another May Interschool Competition tradition. Apparently, the wards sent groups of five to tackle each challenge. In other words, four other Eimei students would compete alongside me. Like Tsuji, I also had concerns about a couple of them.

“…When you say ‘worried,’ are you talking about the two Six Stars on the team?”

“Yeah, them,” Tsuji replied with a wry chuckle. “They’re really talented, but eccentric in equal measure. Maybe more so. In a way, they’re the most famous people in this whole school.”

Tsuji put his right index finger up in the air.

“The first is Shinji Enomoto… He’s supersmart. I think he scored the best in the nation by far during our last practice exam. They say he’s got a photographic memory or something. People call him Shinji the All-Seeing. Plus, he’s a really popular guy. He’s been the president of Eimei’s student council for the past two semesters.”

“…Wow,” I muttered.

“Yeah, Enomoto’s a big deal. And the other one’s pretty much the exact opposite of him. Nanase Asamiya’s so beautiful. I don’t think she’s the best student out there, but I’ve heard that whenever she plays a rhythm game, she completes most songs on the toughest difficulty on the first go!”

“…Neat.”

Oh, man, are you kidding me?! Are all Six Stars freaks of nature?!

I pretended to listen to the conversation casually, but inside, I was reeling. I had read up a little on my teammates, but I didn’t realize they would be so off the wall. Between them, Saionji, and Akizuki, it was like Six Stars lived in an alternate dimension from the rest of us.

Of course, if that was all, I could still view Enomoto and Asamiya as potentially reliable teammates. But it didn’t end there, of course.

“The thing is, though… Both of them get along really poorly with each other.” Tsuji shrugged as he spoke.

“They’re both extremely talented, easily the best the school can offer. But when they’re put together, they constantly try to drag each other down for some reason. I think they were paired up for some other interward event, but they lost big to a clearly inferior team. They practically defeated themselves.”

“…I see. Sounds like I’m getting the short end of the stick.” I sighed a little to indicate my agreement with Tsuji. I didn’t have the full picture of the two Six Stars, but given the stakes of the upcoming trials, I couldn’t afford unreliable teammates.

“Ha-ha-ha! Well, I’m sure they’ll perform just fine with a Seven Star like you, Shinohara. Tatara and I can’t compete in the May Interschool Competition, so I’ll probably join in Event Week’s open Games instead… But as your classmate and friend, I’ll root for you, Shinohara.”

“Thanks…”

“Oh, sorry. I gotta go to my clubroom.”

With a sweet, alluring laugh, the sort you’d expect from a supermodel or something, Tsuji waved and bid me good-bye. I didn’t wave back—that’s not something the personality I’d crafted for school allowed—but I quietly nodded as I saw him go.

That guy really is cute sometimes… Hmm?

I felt someone tugging at the sleeve of my uniform, the girl at the desk to my left.

“…”

Shirayuki Himeji—a classmate who’d recently transferred in, just like me. She had shiny silver hair, blue eyes you could practically see right through, and a cool demeanor that rarely faltered. She was also the leader of the Company, the support group helping me maintain my lies. Himeji was the perfect maid, and a master cheater, providing backup for my Games and everything else in this strange new chapter of my life. It wasn’t too much to say she was necessary to my survival on this island.

“…Um, Master?”

She didn’t let go of my sleeve, even when I looked at her. Her other hand was at her lips, and her head was angled down for some reason. Her expression didn’t look particularly different, but I got the feeling she was worried about something.

“What’s up, Himeji? Something happen?”

“No… Not exactly, no…”

It was unusual for her to trail off like that. She lifted her head slowly, pointing her clear eyes straight at me. Then she pulled herself in, bringing her lovely face close to my ear.

“Excuse me, Master,” she whispered, her words breathy.

Huh? Wh-what?! What’s up with you, Himeji?!

“It’s just that—you seemed to react more to Tsuji than Fuuka during your conversation. Is that…where your preferences lie?”

“…”

I was at a loss for words. Unsurprisingly, Himeji tried to walk back and defend her question afterward while Tatara wasn’t paying attention to us.

“Well, then…”

It was around half an hour after Ms. Nanachan concluded afternoon homeroom. Himeji and I quickly put the 2-A classroom behind us and headed for the school courtyard.

“This way, Master.”

Himeji found a free bench for us, wiping the seat down with a white cloth she produced from somewhere. I had been a fake Seven Star for nearly a month now, so I was getting used to this sort of treatment, but she was in her school uniform, not a maid outfit, and we weren’t at my private manor. Adding that to the equation certainly made this seem like a fresh experience.

Having her do this in a school uniform… I’m not sure how I feel about this…

As I waffled on this, Himeji raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering why I was standing there frozen without a word.

“Is something wrong, Master?”

“Huh? Ah, no…”

“Did you want to rest your head on my lap instead? If so, I will humbly sit down first.”

“No, thanks.”

I lightly shook my head. If I didn’t immediately reject the offer, Himeji really might do it, so I decided to just sit on the bench. Himeji almost sounded a little disappointed when she replied “All right.” Still, she sat beside me without any complaint.

Himeji gazed at me, eyes locked on mine.

“I know the teacher touched on it during homeroom, but the rules for the May Interschool Competition have finally been released.”

The May Interschool Competition, the Academy-wide event that decided which ward would reign supreme, had come up in our classroom conversations several times already. It was a major event that involved all twenty wards on the island, not counting the officially neutral Ward Zero. The sheer scale of the Games involved meant that a lot of stars were about to change hands. It was also going to be the site of the hideously unfair struggle for the title of Empress that the Clone sprang upon Saionji and me.

Apparently, the exact type of Games played for the May Interschools changed on a yearly basis. What’s more, the rules weren’t announced until just before the event began. That meant that, until yesterday, I hadn’t known about anything besides my team roster… Now we had all the details revealed at once.

“I dunno,” I said, scratching my chin. “Everything about this seems so rushed, kinda. The event starts next Monday, right? I’m sure many teams won’t be able to prepare much at all.”

“You’re right. I think that’s part of the organizers’ goals—to keep teams on their toes. The way I see it, the May Interschool Competition is meant to be a little rough. To put it another way, it’s supposed to emphasize a kind of festival atmosphere. There will be Games, of course, so people will gain and lose stars, but I think the organizers want players and onlookers to have fun.”

“I see…”

“Not that you have that luxury, Master.”

Just when I thought I had a handle on this, Himeji shot me down with her usual expressionless face. Honestly, I should’ve been used to that by now. I was using the power of my red Unique Star to tell a whopper of a lie. If I lost, everything would be exposed. Losing a single star would bring my lies crashing down. Even if I managed to avoid a regular loss, there was that whole Clone situation. This definitely wasn’t some low-stakes party game. I couldn’t afford to lose.

Himeji watched me take a deep breath before she continued.

“So let’s go over the event one more time. As you’ve heard by now, the May Interschool Competition is a hallmark event in which students from every ward participate. It’s not open to everyone, however. It’s only available to groups of specially selected students from each ward.”

“Right. Teams of five from the twenty wards, so it’s a total of a hundred people.”

“Yes, exactly. You might have heard the announcement that Seijo School in the Twelfth Ward is sitting out this year because of the scandal involving Provost Kurahashi… But I did some investigating, and it looks like the Clone is going to be using their spot to worm her way into things. In other words, Seijo School will be represented as a one-person team.”

“Wow. Anything goes during this event, huh? I’m amazed the organizers gave the okay for that.”

I sighed, a tad exasperated. How did some girl from parts unknown convince anyone to let her join in this event? The question weighed on my mind. If her account number was listed as three question marks, then maybe it meant she didn’t belong to any school and could be assigned to any that suited her purposes. It was too much to think about.

“The selection process for these teams is generally left to each individual ward. The standard approach is to pick the top five students of the school, but different institutions take different approaches, since stars are on the line. Take Eimei School, for example. The Fourth Ward Challenge was used to select the five participants.”

“Mmm… Right.”

Like Himeji said, Eimei had the top five from the 4WC serve as the team for the May Interschool Competition. A student’s school rank didn’t matter as much as their recent performance. It was a very Eimei-like approach, or very much in character for our provost, I guess—a totally rational but also highly aggressive selection process.

“Yes,” Himeji said with a nod. “I think it’s an effective approach. It gives everybody a chance to participate, one that everyone can accept is fair. However, Master, allow me to remind you again. The format of the May Interschool Competition—and by extension, any team-based event—does you very few favors.”

Himeji leaned toward me a little, staring right at me. Without waiting for my response, she put her right hand, covered in a white glove, up in the air, index finger out.

“Am I clear about this, Master? You must remember, above all else, that you are a wimp. When this semester began, you were admitted as a One Star, the lowest rank. You’ve since risen to be a Three Star, in effect, but you haven’t obtained a single star through fair means yet. The rest of the May Interschool Competition’s participants are handpicked by their wards. The teams will undoubtedly be made up of Four to Six Stars. If you had to face them head-on, I don’t think you could beat any of them.”

“Ouch… You’re right, but still. Ouch.”

“Indeed. So as usual, the members of the Company will support you… Unfortunately, there are some obstacles this time.”

“…Yeah, I know.” I nodded, smiling a little. I’d been lectured about this to no end already. “For example, Akizuki is going to be an ally this time, but we can’t reveal the Company’s existence to her, right?”

“Correct, Master. Teammate or not, the types of cheating you deal in cannot be revealed to anyone else, as a rule. But it’s also clear that you can’t win fairly. In essence, you’ll have to navigate Event Week while keeping your teammates in the dark about our methods.”

Himeji kept her voice flat and emotionless while she spoke. She was right, but I didn’t need a reminder about how illicit everything I did was. My lies could turn the entire island against me. Of course I couldn’t tell my teammates about them.

“That’s what we are dealing with.” Himeji ran a hand through her silvery hair. “And that’s why you should typically avoid team events, Master. They demand more lies from you. Given all the unpredictable things that might occur, you could do everything right and still lose.”

“Yeah…”

I groaned at the thought but couldn’t refute it. This was a team event, so I’d be working with teammates the whole time. And that would prevent me from discussing matters with Himeji or communicating easily with the rest of the Company. It was a massive disadvantage.

“Oh, but wait.”

“…? What is it, Master?”

“About the Clone… She’s been assigned to Seijo School, but she’s participating by herself, even though everyone else has teammates. I’m not sure what she’s after, but if she’s trying to get rid of Saionji and me, going it alone isn’t really the best way to do it, right?”

“That’s a fair point, now that you mention it.”

Himeji brought her right hand to her lips in a cute little motion. But given how little information we had on the Clone, we wouldn’t reach a conclusion about that now. So with a light sigh, we took out our devices and reviewed the rules for the event.

It was Friday, May 5.

We dissected the May Interschool Competition’s rules and discussed strategy well into the night, so I was fighting to stay awake today. Fortunately, I managed to navigate the day’s classes until I could hear Ms. Nanachan’s refreshing, bubbly voice at the end-of-day homeroom.

School had ended, and I wanted to go home and nap before anything else. Sadly, that wasn’t in the cards. I was supposed to meet with my teammates for the first time soon. Shinji Enomoto, the Six Star student council president, had contacted me about it. He wanted to work out our strategy before the weekend started. I had no complaints about that, so I’d readily agreed.

“Good afternoon, Master.”

I heard a clear voice accompanied by the light tapping of a pair of shoes. Facing the sound, I spotted Himeji in her school uniform, hair flowing.

“Are you heading over now?”

“Yeah, I am.”

I nodded and stood, preparing to join Himeji and leave the classroom. But before I could…

“Eh-heh-heh!   Hello there!  ” came a voice I was all too familiar with.

The door slid open, revealing the Little Devil on the other side, twin ponytails dangling down.

This was Noa Akizuki, a third-year at Eimei School and a Six Star. Her chestnut hair reached down to her shoulders, and as usual, her uniform barely adhered to the dress code. She was small, and her face still seemed a bit childish, but she had extremely well-developed breasts. When she looked up at you longingly from the right angle, the destructive force was simply immeasurable.

Until a few days ago, Akizuki and I had been enemies. She’d dealt with an inferiority complex for years, and it drove her to abuse the rules during the Fourth Ward Challenge just so she could take my Seven Star crown from me. However, we later discovered that she’d been goaded into it by Mikado Kurahashi; some might even call it manipulation. After the 4WC, she hadn’t been hostile to me at all.

Not hostile, but…

She’d taken to visiting the 2-A classroom whenever she had a chance. Between that and her suspiciously quick responses to my messages, I got the impression that she had a favorable opinion of me, much to my horror. All the touchy-feely stuff she did during the 4WC made her blush now, too. I honestly wasn’t sure how to take it. Anyway, after scoping out the classroom while wearing her usual cunning smile, Akizuki spotted me and beamed.

“Whoa! Hiroto! What’s up? Were you waiting for your pal Noa?”

“No, not really. We just happened to be heading out.”

“Aw, you don’t have to be so shy about it! C’mon, we’re close, aren’t we?  ”

“If I may, Ms. Akizuki, you and my master are merely students attending the same school, and that is all. This is not a romantic relationship or anything like that.”

“Wow, Shirayuki, you never relent, huh? Eh-heh-heh! But you know…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Himeji asked. “With that evil grin, no less?”

“Oh, noooo reason! But if you’re willing to let us be ‘friends’ despite all your griping, well, I find that kinda cute, y’know?  ”

“I didn’t say that. I simply forgot to mention my objection. I haven’t given my permission for anything—Ah! G-get off of me, Ms. Akizuki!”

“Eh-heh-heh! I don’t wanna!  ”

Akizuki was giving Himeji a playful, full-body hug. Himeji, meanwhile, had her arms straight out and struggled to get free. Every move she made with her body—I won’t specify which parts—led to soft, jiggly motions that were truly a sight to behold.

“…”

This was pretty much how Himeji and Akizuki always interacted lately. Himeji played it cool while Akizuki basically latched on to her, all but forcibly trying to dominate her. Last month, at the 4WC, Akizuki took Himeji hostage and made all sorts of threats, but she’d since reached out to apologize. I hadn’t been present, so I wasn’t sure how it went, but Himeji told me it changed her impression of Akizuki, if only a little. I don’t think Himeji had been that angry to begin with. I guess they’d put all the chaos from the 4WC behind them.

“Okay! Just the recharge I needed!  ”

Akizuki’s words all but bounced. Finally, she released poor Himeji to march straight up to me. She peered up at my face with flushed cheeks.

“Eh-heh-heh… So, Hiroto, are you ready to go? Can I…hold your hand?”

Suddenly, her words became much stiffer, and her eyes darted around as she offered her right hand. Being so blatant about it made me self-conscious, but I kept cool as I pondered how to respond.

“Yes, let’s go, Ms. Akizuki.”

“Huh? Ah… Shirayuki?! Wh-whoa, wait!”

Before I could do anything, Himeji stepped between us, grabbed Akizuki’s proffered hand and started walking, pulling the girl along. She wasn’t taking no for an answer yet maintained her usual grace. Akizuki pouted and tried to struggle but soon matched Himeji’s pace. It was hard to tell if they were friends or enemies.

If they’re willing to hold hands, I guess they can’t be bitter adversaries…

I snickered internally a bit as I grabbed my bag and followed them.

The conference room we were scheduled to meet in was on the second floor of Building L—the office center. This smaller structure contained student council chambers, meeting rooms, and other business spaces for students. It was more of an office building in design than a school facility. Students not involved in council business generally didn’t come in here much, but Enomoto was the president, making this practically his second home.

“Hey, aren’t you in the same class as the other two team members, Akizuki?” I asked as we stepped inside.

“Yep! That’s right!  ” Akizuki was on my left now. She held Himeji’s hand for a while, but I guess she grew embarrassed after a bit. I could almost see sparkles shooting out of her as she eagerly nodded back at me.

“The partnership between the president and Miya is super famous. I’m the ace talent in Eimei, so they don’t quiiite match me, but they’re both Six Stars and ranked way up there!  ”

“Sounds like it. People talk about their photographic memory, their superhuman reflexes… Even my classmates know all about their legends,” I said.

I recalled how Tsuji and Tatara spoke of the two Six Stars. While Himeji, Akizuki, and I were on our way up the stairs to Building L’s second floor, and I decided it was time to ask about something on my mind.

“You know, I’ve also heard they have serious problems getting along with each oth—Hmm?” A faint sound from above stopped me short. I looked up. “What was that?”

“I heard something. From above, I think.” Himeji looked just as confused when we exchanged glances. For now, we decided to keep climbing the stairs. We examined the second-floor landing from the hall, trying to be cautious, and we discovered the source of the noise quickly. It came from a small meeting room in the very one we were heading for.

“Shinji—Shinji, listen to me! Are you listening? Huh? Are you listening?!”

“Nah, I can’t hear anything. This fool sitting next to me is too loud.”

“You’re the one being loud, Shinji! And you’re sitting in my seat!”

“What basis do you have for that? What’s it matter where anyone sits? Also, Nanase, why don’t you just sit on the table if you’re so worked up about seating? Or maybe outside? It’s nice out.”

“It matters because I put my device right there! I reserved it!”

“Oh, so you’ll give it up if I throw this back at you? Okay, here you go.”

“No! Don’t throw that at me! That’s a state-of-the-art piece of equipment!”

“‘State of the art’? Wow, way to use a seventh-grade piece of vocabulary for a change. I’m so moved.”

“You’re legitimately starting to piss me off, you know!”

“““…”””

The vitriolic conversation—really more like a verbal fistfight—made us quietly look at each other. Based on the names, we knew the two arguing were the pair we were supposed to meet. This wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting.

“Um… Akizuki, are those two always like this?” I asked.

“Ah, um… Pretty much, yeah.”

She gave me a vague smile as she bobbed her head.

“They have kind of a unique relationship with each other, I guess you could say. They’ve known each other since they were kids. They’re kind of inseparable, no matter how much they hate it. They keep screaming about how much they despise each other, but they’re almost always together. Things always devolve into a huge argument.”

“…”

“Back during the 4WC, they staged a Trial against each other on the first day, but the thing dragged on for days without any resolution. That’s the main reason they both survived until the final day. They’re top-class performers solo, but it’s like pairing them up puts a max-level debuff on them.”

“That’s a lot more than just resenting each other a little…”

I sighed at Akizuki’s evaluation, frowning internally. Tsuji and Tatara had told me that my teammates would be a major handful, and it seemed they were right.

Come on, guys…please?

I pushed the door as I prayed silently. As expected, two people wearing Eimei School uniforms waited inside. One was a male student with a calm demeanor. He’d taken the far corner of this six-chair table, where he was pouting with his arms crossed. The other person, a girl, had her back turned to us as she thrust both arms at him. Unlike the guy, you could tell she was loud and flamboyant even without seeing her face.

“Hmm…?”

As I took in the sight from the entrance, the pouting guy realized we’d arrived. His eyebrows went up.

“Nanase.”

“What? Why so serious? You finally gonna give up your seat?”

“I’m never gonna give up anything to you. Ever. But that’s not what this is about.” The boy shook his head at the girl as though to crush all her dreams. He motioned toward us with his chin like some high-rolling CEO, then waited for the girl to turn around before quietly adding “…Looks like our teammates are here.”

“So as I was saying…”

A cool voice caressed my ears. It really wasn’t an exaggeration to say it freshened the air better than most products at the store. It was Himeji’s weapon of choice as she surveyed the room from beside me. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her.

“I’d like to thank all of you today for coming to this May Interschool Competition member introduction and strategy session. Time is of the essence here, so I’d like to launch right into the rules of the Game… But before we do, how about we all introduce ourselves? It’ll be difficult to work as a team if we hardly know each other at all.”

“Sure, yeah! I’m all for that.”

The girl sitting across from me was the first to agree to Himeji’s proposal.

“Right,” she continued, hands close to her face as she waved. “My name is Nanase Asamiya. I’m in Class 3-A with Noa-chi here, and my current rank is Six Star! Not quite as good as the new transfer I heard all the rumors about, but still, it’s great to be with all of you!”

Nanase Asamiya flashed a bit of a knowing smile as she spoke. The first impression I had was that she was…well, conspicuous. Her hair, cut short to her shoulders, was a brilliant shade of blond; a large hair band tied up her bangs. Her reddish-brown eyes were large and round, her nose well-defined, and overall, I couldn’t see any notable flaws in her face.

And she wasn’t just beautiful; she had a modern teen’s fashion sense, something you saw hints of from head to toe. Just one look, and you could tell she knew what style was all about. From her long, slender legs to her tight waist and the volume of her chest… Well, it was like all the ideals one might have for a girl in a single package.

“So this is the real Nanase…”

“Huh?”

Asamiya raised an eyebrow at Himeji’s remark. She immediately brought a hand to her lips. Apparently, Himeji hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and she couldn’t really explain it away now. She shook her head instead.

“N-no, um, I apologize for changing the subject… But, Ms. Asamiya, you used to be a model for MELTY magazine, didn’t you?”

Oh, that?

I remembered something I’d been told earlier. MELTY was an incredibly famous fashion magazine, one with a brand name big enough that even a fashion-unconscious male teen like me knew about it. It was a top publication across Japan, not just on the Academy. If Asamiya had posed for it, then of course she was beautiful.

Asamiya sat up a bit, face sparkling as she realized the conversation was about her now. “Oh! Oh, wow! How did you know about that?!”

“Um… Just for research purposes, I subscribed to it for a little while so I could keep up with fashion trends… Er. I’m still subscribed, I guess, but…”

“Wow! You are, huh? Oh, but I’ve only been published in that magazine two or three times, though. Yet you still remembered me? …Wow, this is really exciting…”

“…Is it that exciting?”

“Heck yeah, it is! It’s a really nice feelin’ to have younger people look up to you! It makes my heart skip a beat! Like, whoa, people really are watching me, and stuff!”

Asamiya’s face flushed slightly as she leaned forward in her seat, fervently expressing her excitement. I got the feeling that maybe this girl was nicer than I’d expected. From that conversation I’d overheard, I’d anticipated a killjoy who loved griping about everything. Now that we had a chance to speak with Asamiya properly, she was quite friendly.

“Oh…um, thank you very much…?”

Himeji managed a graceful bow at Asamiya’s unexpectedly warm reaction, even though she still looked a little thrown by it. After a moment to collect herself, Himeji said, “By the way, Ms. Asamiya…was there a reason why you decided to give up modeling? You were given a lot of space in the magazine. It seemed as though people liked you a lot.”

“Huh? Oh, that? You wanna know why?”

Asamiya received the question with an odd sort of smile and looked to the male student beside her. He didn’t react, just sitting there and quietly pouting as usual, but Asamiya didn’t let it stop her.

“Well, Shinji wouldn’t stop harping on me to quit modeling. Whenever I got comments from some guy on social media, he’d get insanely jealous, like he wanted exclusive access to me. Oh, but Shinji’s not my boyfriend, just my old childhood friend.”

“Nanase, don’t tell lies about me to people we’ve just met. I’ve never felt even slightly jealous of anyone. All I suggested was that maybe you shouldn’t pose in so many skimpy outfits all the time.”

“I told you, Shinji, if you’re too much of a prude for hot pants and a camisole, how the heck am I s’posed to be a model? You know they were planning to do a swimsuit feature with me front and center in the next issue, right? Ugghh… I had the chance to get really popular, too…”

“Why should that matter to me? I think you were a lot more reluctant about the swimsuit photo shoot than I was.”

“I… That…th-that’s not true. Just introduce yourself already, Shinji! Geez!”

Asamiya turned away from him with a grunt and picked up her device, trying to make us forget about her awkwardness.

Shinji turned his gaze to us. “Well, my name is Shinji Enomoto, a Six Star in Class 3-A. I’m the current president of the Eimei School student council.”

“Right, yeah. I heard a lot of rumors about you,” I said.

“Rather a rough way for a new transfer to address me, isn’t it? Is that as far as your manners go?”

“No, no, I respect you, so please forgive me. I’m not looking down on you or anything.”

I kept it as light and breezy as possible while sizing up Enomoto. I’d already learned a lot about his amazing achievements—his near-perfect memory and his genius-level top performance on the national practice exam. And he wasn’t just smart, either. He was also popular and respected enough to serve as council president for two straight semesters. Definitely not the kind of guy I’d want as an enemy, I thought as I quietly exhaled.

Anyway, now it was our turn to introduce ourselves. Himeji and I kept it simple, giving a basic profile of ourselves and expressing our interest in the event to come.

In terms of first impressions, Asamiya definitely seemed like she was friendly to everybody she met… But the “strictly business” Enomoto barely reacted to anything people said. I noticed Enomoto pull back in his chair when Himeji bashfully stated that she had issues with dealing with people of the opposite sex, so he was paying attention, at the very least.

“Okay, and I’m the last one! The ace of Eimei, the proud Little Devil, and Hiroto’s lover, partner, and future wife! The supercute idol of Class 3-A… Hee-hee-hee! You can call me Noa Akizuki.  ”

Akizuki placed her index fingers against her cheeks and flashed that cunning smile of hers. Himeji silently fumed at the scene, but that didn’t faze Akizuki at all.

Then she tilted her head to one side, twin ponytails dancing in the air. “So! Now that the intros are over…why don’t we brush on up the rules?  ”

“Yes, I do agree that’s a good idea, but…” Himeji seemed dissatisfied, but she strode up beside Akizuki and placed her device on the table.

“The May Interschool Competition organizing committee has sent out two releases. One is a promotional video, and the other is the basic set of rules. I imagine you’ve all gone over these already, but while we’re all gathered here, let’s take one more look at the video.”

With that, Himeji’s fingers danced across her device’s screen. A moment later, countless screens were projected around the room to form a wraparound display that took up all the wall and ceiling space as the promo video began.

It featured a digital game field, colored blue and white, that appeared more functional than stylish. Inorganic summed it up pretty well, like an old sci-fi “world inside your computer” setting re-created in real life.

The floor was a repeating pattern of hexagon tiles, laid out like a honeycomb. An avatar representing a player was displayed on-screen. When the avatar swung the device in its hand to one side, all the hexes around it were doused in red. There were similar swaths of purple and yellow hexes here and there, little territories in the honeycomb that grew larger over time. Soon, the entire computer world was painted in an array of colors as players conquered the realm and stole land from each other… And that’s where the video ended.

“…”

I sat back, thinking about the video I’d already watched several times last night. This is a little too fragmented to draw a conclusion. However, it’s clear we’ll need to expand our territory as much as possible. Each team will likely be assigned a color, and we’ll fill the grid with that color as we progress. If we encounter another team along the way, we’ll need to fight them off, I suppose.

It seemed logical to assume that this year’s May Interschool Competition’s main event was a sort of turf war. We’d build our team’s strength as much as possible while increasing our domain, like a classic kind of strategy war game. The only difference would be that instead of moving pegs or game pieces, we’d be the actual soldiers running around the game field.

After confirming we were all on the same page, Himeji said, “Now, here’s a rundown of the rules released to the public so far. The complete text contains a lot of complicated background story material, so I boiled all that down to a quick summary.”

The screens around us changed. The surround-style 3D video gave way to a single display that outlined the rules.

May Interschool Competition: Main Battle Rule List

Event Week will play host to a Game built on top of the Academy’s star-hunting system. It is called ASTRAL, short for Active Steal-Territory and Recover-Area League.

The Game will be held from Monday, May 8, to Friday, May 12. It will be divided into ten periods, with two periods occurring per day—one in the morning (nine to noon) and one in the afternoon (two to five).

The Game will be played in Ward Zero of the Academy, within an area called the Special Development Zone. Players will download an event-specific AR app to their devices, which will let them access the augmented-reality ward built over this zone and log in to ASTRAL.

The ASTRAL game field is a grid built with six-sided tiles called hexes. On this grid are several spots known as bases, which may be occupied by players who perform a certain action on a base. As a team occupies bases, they will be connected by straight lines. If you have two bases, every hex the lines touches will be painted in your team’s color. Three or more bases, and every hex within the resulting polygonal border will turn to your color. This is referred to as your team’s territory.

Every base will produce Spells at regular intervals. These are divided into Attack and Support Spells, and Attack Spells are the only way players can damage others in ASTRAL.

The game utilizes a cooldown system. When you cast a Spell or perform certain other actions, you will be temporarily prohibited from taking further action. The length of this cooldown period depends on the Action Level of the player, which is calculated from their stats. The better your Action Level, the sooner you’ll be able to act again.

In addition, ASTRAL features five different jobs for players to take. These jobs affect your compatibility and resistance to Attack Spells, and no team can have two players with the same job. The job you take also affects the number and type of Abilities you are allowed to bring into the Game.

Victory Conditions: Conquer the entire game field or defeat all other teams. If neither condition is met after ten periods of play, the team with the largest occupied territory wins.

Defeat Conditions: When a player loses all their LP (Life Points), they are kicked out of the ASTRAL game. A player may have up to five LP. These are restored after each period of the Game. If all players in a team are removed from the Game, or that team no longer controls any territory, they lose.

Rewards: The members of all teams that finish the Game in sixth place or below will lose one star. Players in teams finishing fifth or above will receive stars based on the table provided separately, along with event-exclusive Abilities and a sizable amount of Academy currency. However, star awards and promotions will be determined based on the policies of each team’s school administration. Players cannot receive a double promotion through this event. Since the number of students ranked Five Star or higher is restricted, no promotions to Five Star or above will be awarded unless another student is demoted from these levels.

Notes: In addition to the main ASTRAL event, the May Interschool Competition will play host to MTCG, an open-invite Game available to all students. The top prize in MTCG is a wild-card spot in the ASTRAL event, allowing the winner to become a sixth member for their school’s team.

“…That is all,” Himeji said with a light cough. “Only a limited amount of information has been released regarding Spells and other Game details, but this covers all the basics. I think the most important elements to remember are threefold—territories, jobs, and Action Levels.”

“Mmm, I see… Hey, Shirayuki, do we get to see our Action Levels?”

“Yes, of course, Ms. Akizuki.”

Himeji nodded, swiping across her device’s screen. The number 9 appeared on the display.

“The event app has already been released, and when you open it up, you’ll see your Action Level displayed at the very top of your profile. It comes in fifteen different ranks, apparently. The smaller your number, the better. May I ask you all to check your own devices, please?”

“Mm, sure.”

“Eh-heh-heh! I’m on it!  ”

Asamiya and Akizuki reacted almost simultaneously, tapping away on their devices. Enomoto kept silent, but he acquiesced anyway. We all quickly logged in, and a few seconds later, we had a complete list of our Action Levels.

Noa Akizuki—Action Level: 6

Shinji Enomoto—Action Level: 5

Nanase Asamiya—Action Level: 5

Shirayuki Himeji—Action Level: 9

“…”

I fell gravely silent as I looked over my teammates’ numbers. Action Levels were, in a way, grades for players. They were calculated on your rank and performances in previous Games. Students with the same star count were generally rewarded with an identical Action Level.

I suppose that explained my number well enough.

Hiroto Shinohara—Action Level: 3

“Whoa! That’s, like, way high up, isn’t it?” Asamiya leaned across the table to peer at my screen, forcing me to turn to avoid looking straight into her cleavage. She boggled at the number on my screen. “Boy, Shino, people sure rate you high around here, huh? That must be what bein’ a Seven Star does for ya!”

“Yeah, thanks,” I replied. “But why ‘Shino,’ if I may ask?”

“Huh? Why? It’s just a nickname. Not a fan?”

“I’m not saying no or anything.”

“Oh, good.”

Asamiya gave me a self-satisfied grin. Every little gesture seemed to suit her innate beauty. Resisting the urge to stare at her, I turned my attention to Enomoto and couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

“…”

My worry wasn’t without good reason. After all, the Action Level I’d shown the group wasn’t the true value. It wasn’t three at all. In fact, it was nineteen. The Company had hacked into my app and had it display an incorrect Action Level. In reality, mine was far below everyone else’s.

Evidently, this event didn’t run on rank data taken from the Academy’s system. The stat calculations had to be automatically performed on each student’s individual device. That’s why the system treated me like the Three Star I was, not an indomitable Seven Star, and why my Action Level was so awful. Unfortunately, as a fake Seven Star, I was obliged to at least act like I had better stats than anyone—or else my story would fall apart.

We’ll just have to see if people fall for this little trick…

I secretly gauged my teammates’ reactions. Akizuki would always be on my side, and Asamiya was surprisingly friendly, too—but what about Shinji Enomoto, the genius council president with the mega-memory? I could definitely see him picking up on how fishy this was, and I was prepared for that. But…

“…Hmm. All right.”

That was all he had to say before quietly turning away from my screen. I guess he didn’t doubt the veracity of my Action Level. I owed the Company a lot.

“Phew…”

Next to me, I heard Himeji exhale a little, sounding just as relieved as I was.

“Right.” She nodded, letting her silvery hair flow out behind her. “Now, I’d like to talk about our strategy and how we’ll proceed with this Game. What do you all think? Leaving the details aside for now, I think we should take this opportunity to work out our general direction, at least.”

“Smart idea,” Enomoto replied flatly. “If we don’t, gathering will have been for nothing. So…let’s take care of the small stuff first. This sixth member, someone we might earn if a student from our school wins the MTCG event… I think we already have a good candidate. Her name’s Mayu Minakami, and she didn’t qualify for this team during the 4WC, but I believe she’s a hidden talent. Enough so that she stands a fair chance at earning the single wild card spot, even. But I heard that the open Game portion of the May Interschool Competition usually attracts over five thousand participants, so we probably shouldn’t count on her assistance.”

“Yeah, true. If she makes it, we can consider that a lucky break, but it’d be a bad idea to rely on it,” I said.

“Exactly,” Enomoto agreed. “And it seems to me that there are two basic ways to win in ASTRAL. Either we prioritize expanding our territory, or we focus more on knocking other teams out of the Game. But we need Spells to fight, and we only earn them through building more territory. Both objectives basically lead us to the same tactic. No need to see the two of them as very different.”

“Yeah, I agree with you. So we should decide on team organization, then—or which jobs we take.”

As discussed in the rule rundown, this Game features a job system, much like what you’d see in some RPGs. The job I picked would change how good I was with certain Spells and which Abilities I could bring into the match. Abilities, within the world of the Academy’s Games, were akin to battle tactics, and we needed to figure out which to bring before we decided anything else.

By the way, the list of jobs looked like this.

• Commander: The team member giving orders. Best suited for special-purpose Abilities. It’s also the only job that can use data-gathering Abilities. While a team’s Commander is alive, all members receive a -1 bonus to their Action Level and an extra Life Point. However, the Action Level of the Commander themselves is locked at 25. The Commander can also swap jobs with another team member once per game.

Master Spell (2× damage dealt to opponents): None

Weak Spell (2× damage received from opponents): All Attack Spells

• Soldier: The team’s sword-wielding melee specialist. Gifted in speed-up and attack-oriented Abilities. Receives a -1 Action Level bonus while actively in combat. This makes them highly mobile and dangerous in a fight, but they cannot use any support or defense-type Abilities.

Master Spell (2× damage dealt to opponents): Sword Flash

Weak Spell (2× damage received from opponents): Gunfire

• Mage: The team’s ranged suppression specialist. Gifted in attack and buff-oriented Abilities. Their cooldown time is always cut in half when casting Support Spells. This makes them good both on the front lines and for providing backup, but they can’t use any Abilities that alter their Action Level.

Master Spell (2× damage dealt to opponents): Magic Missile

Weak Spell (2× damage received from opponents): Sword Flash

• Spy: The team’s espionage specialist. Gifted in support and buff-oriented Abilities. Made less for direct combat and more for indirect subversion tactics. It therefore cannot use any attack or speed-up Abilities, but it’s also the only job that can detect nearby Traps without an Ability.

Master Spell (2× damage dealt to opponents): Gunfire

Weak Spell (2× damage received from opponents): Magic Missile

• Guardian: The team’s defense specialist. Gifted in buffing- and defense-oriented Abilities. They provide protection for their fellow teammates and bases. All damage dealt to them is automatically reduced by 1, making them very tough to defeat, but they cannot employ any attack or speed-up Abilities.

Master Spell (2× damage dealt to opponents): None

Weak Spell (2× damage received from opponents): None

“…”

I put the job list on the projected screen as I looked to the three other people in the room besides Himeji and myself. I kept it cool on the surface, of course, but the job-selection phase was the first of many hurdles I’d have to deal with. To put a finer point on it:

The Commander… I need to take the Commander job.

It was my only choice. The Commander was a vital data-gathering character, weak in a fight but capable of strengthening the entire team. As the one giving orders, they naturally assumed a leadership role in the team, but that didn’t matter to me much.

What did was the supposed “drawback” of reducing the player’s Action Level to a locked twenty-five. Having such a large number was meant to be a huge disadvantage in this Game. The program used that value to calculate cooldown time, so it’d be nothing but a huge drag during gameplay. However, it would give me a huge advantage. If I played as Commander, it’d explain the Action Level stat discrepancy I was dealing with. The Commander was already going to have a terrible Action Level, whether they were a Three Star or a Seven Star.

On the other hand, if I’m anything besides a Commander, I’ll have serious problems. Everyone else in the game is probably gonna be a Five Star or higher, and I’ll be joining with a Three Star’s stats. Someone could call me out on my lies in an instant.

I swallowed nervously.

Yes, I was trying to cover my ass here… But even discounting that, if I seriously wanted to make any headway in the May Interschool Competition, I needed to be the Commander. Using data-oriented Abilities meant I’d always have the Company’s assistance to count on, which was undoubtedly a killer advantage. Scoring the Commander job was an absolute must to ensure victory.

I’ll be safe with that Action Level, but…

Would the others let me have it? I thought a prayer for myself. The Commander was an important role, but it was also a pretty thankless support one, useless in battle and likely to get booted out of the Game first. If I sat quietly and waited, I should be able to claim it.

“So, um…?”

Asamiya peered at me as she brushed the blond hair away from one side of her head.

“I think the Soldier job suits me the best. When it comes to athletic skill and perception, I’m probably gonna be the top one in the room. I can be the girl who zooms in and kicks ass and stuff! And my base Action Level isn’t bad at all, but I bet I could use an Ability to boost it a little more.”

“Right, right,” Noa chimed in. “Me… Well, I’m the ace of Eimei, but I dunno about being Commander. It doesn’t look very fun. Erm, I mean, it doesn’t look too suited for me. So maybe Spy, then? Going undercover, laying Traps… That totally speaks to me!   Eh-heh-heh… I’m gonna make a big splash out there!  ”

The two girls wasted no time picking jobs. Himeji remained composed and politely silent for now, but if things went as we discussed yesterday, she’d pick the Guardian job after I secured Commander. It seemed about time for me to speak up.

“All right, in that case, I’ll take—”

“Commander.”

““…Huh?””

Himeji and I looked up, thrown by the matter-of-fact voice interrupting me. It belonged to Shinji Enomoto. I should have seen it coming.

“I’d like to be Commander. Did you have the same intention, Shinohara?”

Wh-whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, is he serious?!!

I could feel his eyes probing me as waves of panic spread across my mind. Still, I couldn’t display my alarm.

“Well, yeah,” I calmly began, my gaze trained on him. “Why do you want to be Commander, Enomoto?”

“That’s ‘Mr. Enomoto’ to you. Or ‘President.’ I am older than you, remember. And do you need to ask? The Commander is the most vital job in the bunch. If you don’t have a competent Commander, winning in ASTRAL will be completely impossible.”

“Okay… But either of us would be fine in the role, right?” I asked.

“Incorrect. The Commander’s Action Level is locked at twenty-five, which would be a far greater negative to you than me, given your superior stats. Plus, a Commander needs to gather intelligence, analyze his team’s combat capabilities, map out the game world, and issue orders. These are all areas in which I excel. I think that makes me the most qualified person for the job.”

“So you think I’m not qualified, Enomoto? I dunno how you see me, but I’m a Seven Star and possess Unique Stars. If you value data gathering and analysis that much, it’d be far wiser to leave the task to someone with powerful Abilities best suited to the position.”

“Well, who can say? Being a Seven Star and having Unique Stars doesn’t make you innately more talented. My skills have already been proven. I should know, because I’m the one who’s demonstrated them to the world. Am I making it clear to you, transfer student? Also, that’s Mr. Enomoto.”

“…”

I mulled over my options while verbally sparring with Enomoto. This was my worst nightmare realized. Enomoto, the guy I was vying with for the Commander job, probably liked judging people based on their latent merits instead of their base résumés. He knew I was a Seven Star, but that didn’t inspire him to treat me as anyone special. He’d fairly judged his own proficiencies, according to his own logic anyway, and he wasn’t going to relinquish his claim easily.

“Ugh…” As we argued, Asamiya beside me propped her head against her arm, looking fed up. “Why’re you being such a stickler about this, Shinji? Why not just let Shino be Commander? It’s not like I want you ordering me around.”

“We’re not talking about whether you like it. We’re simply discussing who’s better qualified for the job.”

“So you think you’re more qualified than Shino the Seven Star? How self-absorbed can you get?”

“…You think he’d fare better than me, Nanase?”

“Huh? Well, duh,” Asamiya replied without hesitation. Then she turned to me and said, “So yeah, thanks, Commander!” with a smile.

Himeji was bound to take my side on this issue, so if we brought it to a vote, I was guaranteed the win, but it’d be an empty victory.

Himeji got it right. I have to trick everybody during this event, friend and foe alike. But “tricking” here means getting my teammates to trust me and having them believe I’m superior in every way. They need to accept that I’m the real thing. Otherwise, I doubt Enomoto will work with me.

Enomoto promised to be a powerful teammate, but he could also be difficult to keep under control. He’d doubt me more and more by the day, and given enough time, he might just figure out the lie.

So…

“…Look, Enomoto.”

“‘President’ would work fine, too, Shinohara. What is it?”

“How about this? The Commander can trade jobs with another teammate once during the Game, so let me be Commander to start, and if you’re dissatisfied with my performance after a while, I’ll hand the job to you.”

“Hmm. I’d prefer if I took the role from the beginning… But I suppose a mutual compromise would be best for the team as a whole. Very well.” He shook his head as he relented. Then he fixed his dark-blue eyes on me and said with a composed voice, “In that case… Let’s make it your mission to knock out three opposing Commanders by the end of the third day. Fail to do that, and I’ll take the Commander job beginning on day four. How does that sound to you?”

“If I may, Mr. Enomoto.” Himeji reacted to Enomoto’s proposal before I could. She stood behind me and spoke as clearly and as sharply as she always did. “Those conditions seem a little unfair. What if you, as his teammate, decide to stop cooperating with him or drag the group down in some other way?”

“…Shirayuki Himeji, was it? I appreciate your politeness, but I think you’ve made an error.”

“…An error, sir?”

“Yes. A fundamental mistake in judgment. All I care about is winning. As the student council president of Eimei School, I simply refuse to fail while representing my institution. I don’t personally resent Shinohara in any way, and even if I did, it wouldn’t overpower my drive to win.”

Enomoto paused for a moment to quietly take a deep breath.

“The schools on this island are ranked against each other. This hierarchy is based on all the star transactions that took place the previous year. It’s the easiest, most accessible way to judge each school. For the past several years, Eimei has been stuck in fifth place. And I want to push us upward. Last year, I failed. In fact, I nearly cost us a spot and brought us down to sixth. But now we have you, Shinohara—a Seven Star. We have the potential to rise. So I swear to you all that I will never do anything to deliberately sabotage Shinohara.”

“…I see. I apologize, then.” Himeji gave Enomoto a polite bow and took a gracious step back. Enomoto certainly looked serious. I didn’t think he’d made up a story to defend himself. As the president, and as a member of this specially chosen team, he really did want Eimei to win.

“All right, then. That’s perfect.”

I grinned at Enomoto, even as he tried to stare me down from his seat.

“We’re gonna take down three Commanders before the third day ends. If we fail, I’ll give you my job right then and there…and I’ll even call you Mr. Enomoto for the rest of my life.”

“I look forward to that.” His lips curled into an ever-so-faint smile as he responded. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or excited, but either way, it was a pretty ominous conclusion to our strategy meeting.

“So…yeah… Help me, Kagaya!”

“Oh, great, Hiro, you shot your mouth off again, didn’t you?!”

That night, I was seated in the luxurious living room on the first floor of my manor, all but begging on hands and knees to the woman in the sweat suit seated across from me. This was Kagaya. She was a bit older than me, I think, and a valued member of the Company, just like Himeji. She always looked like she just woke up, constantly wore sweats, and her hair was ever a frizzy mess—the classic “before” shot in a beauty makeover show. However, when it came to coding, she was a genius who’d saved me a bunch of times.

“Um…so what were we talking about again?” Kagaya asked, bringing a hand to her messy hair. “Oh, right. You need to join the May Interschool Competition as the Academy’s strongest player, you need to be the world’s most perfect Commander in the Game so all your Six Star teammates don’t sniff you out, you need to beat three other team leaders by the end of day three, and you need to stop that Clone.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“Well, you’ve certainly set the bar high for me, Hiro… Urrrrgh…”

Kagaya groaned like the dead as she brought her head down to the table. When listed out, it sounded completely impossible. I had to deceive my teammates, mainly Enomoto, while doing something to prepare for whatever the Clone sprang on us. Plus, I obviously needed to win this Game.

A question occurred to me. “Will you be able to provide your usual Company assistance? I heard they’re holding this event in some rental space in Ward Zero,” I said.

“Wha? Oh, that…”

“That won’t be a concern, Master.”

Himeji answered before Kagaya could, entering from the kitchen and placing a cup in front of me. After serving Kagaya as well, Himeji stood holding the silver tray to her chest.

“Administration reportedly sent out an event rental request for the Special Development Zone in Ward Zero, but every other section of the ward will be open to the public as usual. The Company mainly provides you with long-range support, and I’ll be on the scene as a participant, too.”

“Yeah, what she said,” Kagaya added. “I’ll be on standby and ready to do whatever we need, so if you ever long to hear my voice, just let me know on your earpiece, okay?”

“Um, all right. I’ll remember that.”

For as sleepy as Kagaya sounded, I bet she’d stay up and talk if I ever had a bout of insomnia.

“Anyway, let’s go over what we know,” I said. “This game is called ASTRAL, and it’s basically a massive turf war. We have to take bases on the game map to expand our territory while building up enough fighting force to mow down everyone in our way.”

Kagaya nodded. “Right, that’s what it sounds like.”

“And as far as we can tell from the rules, there are three main elements to this Game. First, the Action Level that decides the length of your cooldown time after doing anything. Second, the jobs that affect your Spell compatibility and which Abilities you can bring in. Third, the voting system.”

Himeji’s blue eyes stared right at me as I spoke. I stared right back.

The Library News Network had announced the voting system just a short while ago. As the name suggests, it was a ballot to determine who students think would win the May Interschool Competition, with voting rights given to everyone not participating. The problem with this thing was that an individual was free to change their vote anytime they liked, and the ongoing results had certain unspecified effects on the Action Levels of the relevant teams. Basically, the more votes the viewers gave you, the more of an advantage you’d potentially wield.

This system seemed to be suited pretty well for me. Perhaps I’d even be able to take advantage of it.

“But… I don’t think this voting system will play a major role until the latter half of the Game,” I commented. “For the first portion, a team’s approach with their jobs and Abilities will decide things a lot more.”

“You’re likely correct, yes,” Himeji agreed. “If more votes can buff a team’s stats, all the students are probably going to vote for their own schools to start. I don’t expect it to make much of a difference initially.”

“Yeah, exactly. So moving on to jobs… The Commander role lets me view team info, search and build upon the Game map, and use the intelligence I gather to give orders to my teammates. That means I’ll naturally need to come equipped with Abilities suited to that.”

“Yes. It’s a searcher and supporter sort of position. You won’t have much fighting strength, but given the espionage element to this Game, this job is indispensable. It’s also the only one with access to data-oriented Abilities. Your standard picks would be Espionage, Seize Data, and Psychology. Scan Area will likely be useful, too,” Himeji explained.

“Right, those were the sorts of Abilities that came up the most in my research for what was best. But even if I filled my slots with those Abilities, I’d still be operating at a disadvantage compared to other players.”

That was a perfect demonstration of how critical a student’s rank was on the Academy. A Six Star could do stuff with one Ability slot that I could only replicate by filling two or three slots with lower-powered skills. That’d keep me from loading in any more Abilities, a huge blow to my arsenal.

However, that’s where the cheating came in.

“…Kagaya?” I said.

“Mmm. Once the event begins, the rest of the Company and I will sneak into the May Interschool Competition server to borrow the kind of data you’d normally be able to access in your position. Then we’ll relay that over to you in real time. Is that what you’re looking for here, Hiro?”

“Yeah, but… Do you really think you can manage it?”

“Oh, you know me. Plus, if I can dig into the main server, I think I can keep an eye on the Clone’s moves, too… That much shouldn’t be an issue. Nothing too serious has happened since the 4WC, so it’ll be my first chance to show off to you in ten days or so!”

“…Heh-heh.” Himeji giggled. “How exciting. Do your best, or we’ll fire you.”

“Huh?! Aw, but I provide remote support to Hiro every day!” Kagaya cried.

“Yes, and I’ll repay you with some of my homemade specialties tonight.”

“A barter system?! Ugh… Hiro, help me out here. I need a little more than that…” Kagaya raised her arms to the heavens in an exaggerated manner, entreating me with the eyes of an abandoned puppy.

“I’m just joking, of course,” Himeji said, snickering at the older girl. Then she returned her attention to me and raised an eyebrow. “The Company will assist you with your Commander duties… But which Abilities are you considering, Master?”

“Hmm… That’s a good question.” I quietly brought a hand to my mouth. “This is likely gonna be a drawn-out battle, so I think we need moves that offer as much flexibility as possible. †Jet-Black Wings†, the Ability granted by my blue star, feels like an obvious pick. It lets me alter the presentation of anything in the Game. ASTRAL will run in an AR world, so I’ll be able to change the landscape and plenty more.”

“Mmm, yes, it certainly will be powerful in this scenario. For your second slot…how about utilizing the green star you were awarded from the 4WC?”

“Hmm… But that’s not really an Ability, right? Just like the red star, it gives me access to a specific computer program. And didn’t Kurahashi modify it? Using it now feels super illegal…”

“Indeed, it would be. However, it’s possible to extract the effects of the star and implant them into an Ability. Think of it like a Predict Behavior sort of Ability. It won’t be quite as powerful in that form, of course, but I think it will be a great help anyway.”

“Oh… That’s possible? In that case, it really is a viable choice. I’m sure I won’t be able to use it as freely as Akizuki did, but it’d be a good weapon against opponents and Enomoto.” I nodded a little. Preparing weapons for use against my allies seemed nonsensical, but this would be a good card to have in my deck if it could earn me Enomoto’s trust. Plus, it sounded powerful. I saw no reason to let it go to waste.

“Hmmm…” Kagaya typed something into her computer. “Yeah, two Unique Star Abilities would be a pretty obvious selection for Hiro right now. So then the real question is what to choose for slot number three.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’d like to think about that one a little more. We have some time to work with.”

“Mmm, all right. Guess we can’t just choose something at random, huh? My Ability specialist is super talented, so you could probably ask him to come up with an original Ability on Sunday night, and he’ll figure out how to get it done.”

“Huh?” came a voice over my earpiece.

“…He sounds rather surprised by that,” I remarked.

“Oh, he’s fine, he’s fine. That’s Inamura for you. He’s got, like, no self-esteem.”

Kagaya waved a dismissive hand. Meanwhile, Inamura, the guy on the other end of the earpiece, mumbled, “Well, I can give it a try, but…it’ll be an all-nighter for sure…,” sounding every bit like a tragic hero. I thought it best to order something from him as early as possible to give him more time.

“Um… So what about you, Himeji?” I inquired. “You decided on your Ability pack yet?”

“More or less.” Her blue eyes were pointed at me as she nodded. “We have to assume that we won’t know what the Clone will try until she acts. So to start, I’m going with Cancel Interference, the classic defense Ability. Next, I’ll put in the general-purpose Variable Control, since a lot of Game elements like Action Levels and votes have a numerical aspect to them. That’s a pretty standard build for a Guardian so far, but I’m saving my best Ability for last.”

“Your best?”

“Yes. It’s called Replace, a buff that lets me swap one Ability with a team member. Used correctly, it should be a pretty strong asset, but it’s not very well-known, since it’s only useful for team Games. That’s why it hasn’t been added to the illegal skill list yet—for now anyway. What do you think? That ought to make a lot of neat things possible, right?”

“…Definitely,” I agreed.

I couldn’t help but smile back at Himeji’s mischievous giggle. A trading skill like that was pretty attractive, yeah. With the right combinations, it would open up a practically infinite array of strategies.

“Unfortunately, Replace is a pretty expensive Ability on the market, so instead of actually buying it, I’m thinking about having Inamura re-create it for us,” Himeji said.

“Ah, the leader’s piling work on my desk, too…? Um, like, it’s an honor and all, but…”

I was starting to feel bad for him, but it was better not to get too involved. It’d just be asking for trouble.

Regardless, Himeji and I had decided what Abilities we’d bring along. Beyond that, there wasn’t much more we could do until the Game actually began.

This’ll be my first large-scale event. The Clone’s gonna get involved real soon, and I have to deceive my teammates the whole time. This could get rough…

A sudden pang of helplessness shot through my mind, and I began to feel sorry for myself. Himeji suddenly took my hand, as though she’d read my thoughts. I could sense the soft warmth through her glove. Her gentle eyes peered at me.

“…It’s going to be all right, Master.” Her hair bounced a bit as she whispered in my ear. “It’s not going to be like the last time. No matter what situation we find ourselves in… No matter what happens… I’ll be with you, Master.”

“…!”

There was a slight sultriness to her voice. Her breath massaged my eardrum. I could sense a heartbeat, and I didn’t know where it was coming from. I searched my mind for something thoughtful to respond with.

“Ah, um… Not to butt in, but you guys know that I’m right here, don’t you?”

“…And me.”

““!!””

The embarrassed response from the other Company members snapped us back to reality. I pulled my hand away hurriedly.

“Hmm… I see.”

It was a bit after my chat with the Company. I was back in my room, sitting on my bed and speaking with Saionji over my device.

Since the May Interschool Competition pitted the Academy’s wards against each other, participants were prohibited from contacting members of other teams during Event Week. You could interact with them in real life once the Game was underway, but seeing opponents in public was bound to garner attention. Besides, Saionji and I were supposed to be bitter rivals. It’d be hard for us to converse with other people around, much less ask her for advice. So I decided to give her one final call before things kicked off.

“So it’ll be just like we decided, then. We’ll work together behind the scenes to fend off the Clone, but apart from that, we’ll just compete against each other like normal. If it looks like either one of us will finish out of the top five, we can adapt as necessary.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Pretty much. For us, the Game against the Clone will be trickier and more dangerous than the event itself. If you can help with that, it’d be more than enough for me. Honestly, we need to act like rivals during the main event, or things could seriously backfire on us. Forming some kinda weird alliance without any warning won’t get us anywhere.”

“Mmm, that’s true… Heh-heh! Well, in that case, I’ll try not to trounce you too much on my way to victory. Ohga School’s got a reputation to uphold, and there’s no way I’m gonna give Eimei a win.”

“Right, yeah, sure. Don’t come crying to me later, though.”

We smiled a bit as we riled each other up. The unpredictable Clone was breathing down our necks, but that was a different matter. I was the Seven Star, the best on the Academy, and Saionji was the queen of Ohga School. Neither of us could afford to lose. We had to finish in at least fifth place. That was a given, really. Plus, we carried a duty to claw our way higher than the necessary minimum.

“Anyway, that’s what’s going on right now.” I fell back onto my bed, stretching my arms out. “I do have one idea we could use against the Clone… But honestly, there’s not much we can do until the Game begins. We’ll be working without a net.”

“Right… Ugh. This is depressing me a little. All my Ohga teammates look at me like I’m some goddess. It’s mentally exhausting.”

“Oh? Isn’t that par for the course for a celebrity like you?”

“Well, yeah, but usually it’s only during class. During the Interschool Competition, I’m gonna be with my team morning, noon, and night. I’ll only get alone time while I’m sleeping. I doubt I’ll get to talk with you, either…”

“…”

“…B-but um, it’s not like I’ll miss seeing you or anything, all right?! It just sucks that I won’t have anyone to vent to! Don’t misunderstand!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

I half chuckled as I answered her. Going without our usual shared complaint sessions for a while would be hard, but I couldn’t expect everything to be easy. Losing to the Clone would allow that faker to take over for Saionji, and she and I would be booted out of society—the ultimate bad ending.

“Listen, Saionji… Don’t lose, all right? For my sake and yours.”

“Ah… Hmph! If you want me to do well, try protecting me a little more.”

“That doesn’t sound much like you. Are you tired?”

“No!” My honest question was met mostly with anger and frustration. “Ugh…,” she continued, muttering at me for a bit… But she soon recovered and flashed her usual, invincible smile, her voice more confident than ever.

“Ah, I’m just kidding. Ha-ha! No way will I fail! An Empress doesn’t lose her throne that easily!”

“Hello? Yeah, it’s me, Shinohara. Listen, there’s something I’d like you to lend me a hand with real quick…”