Liar, Liar - Volume 4 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

After the Party

“Boy… I have to admit I didn’t think we had a chance of winning that.”

A week had passed since the May Interschool Competition, and the members of Team Eimei were back in the same student council meeting room where we’d first met each other. We were here to celebrate, kind of. The school was apparently going to hold some kind of ceremony later. That’s what the provost had told me anyway. However, a little celebration among the players didn’t seem like such a bad idea to me, so Akizuki had set things up for us.

Akizuki herself was to my left, trying to snuggle up with me.

“Eh-heh-heh… Pretending to drop out, joining hands with Libra, ruling the Game behind the scenes, then coming back big at the last minute! What can I say, Hiroto? What can I say?   You even beat someone who was cheating so much! I might be even more in love with you now…  ”

“You are too close, Ms. Akizuki. Please keep a prudent distance from my master.”

“Huhhh? I’m not even touching him yet.”

“Of course not. If I saw that you were, I would be forced to take more drastic measures.”

Himeji cranked up the iciness in her voice to keep Akizuki in check. However, she was unconsciously violating my personal space, too. I was cut off on both sides, worried that one of them would catch on to my accelerated heartbeat.

Whether she knew how I felt about it or not, Himeji thankfully changed the subject.

“Thanks to my master’s great performance, Eimei School won ASTRAL. The rest of the top-five list was rounded out by Ohga School from the Third Ward, Tsuyuri Girls’ Institute from the Sixteenth Ward, Otowa from the Eighth Ward, and Shinra from the Seventh, in that order. Suisei from the Second Ward and Amanezaka from the Seventeenth both scored high in last year’s school rankings, but they lost stars after this event. We might have a chance at beating them this year.”

“Agreed, and as the president of Eimei’s student council, I need to offer my thanks as well. Shinohara, your impact on this year’s May Interschool Competition was incalculable,” Enomoto said.

“Ahh… It was nothing.” I quietly shook my head at Enomoto, who was staring right at me. “I know I came up with the strategy, but it only worked because all of you worked together. It never would’ve happened without you all. There’s no need to cheer for me alone.”

Enomoto nodded. “Mmm. I understand. I take back my thanks, then.”

“You’re way too quick to retract your praise, Enomoto,” I said.

“You’re still not calling me Mr. Enomoto.”

He smiled a bit as he joked with me. I hadn’t been sure how a team event would go at first, but somehow I’d made it through without anyone learning my secrets. Enomoto still bickered with Asamiya beside him. I guess I was used to it now because it just seemed like pleasant background noise.

Asamiya paused to lean over toward me.

“Hey, Shino, did you hear how they’ll distribute the stars? We’re not getting any, of course, but one player had a Unique Star, right?”

“Oh, right. That.” I lightly nodded at Asamiya.

Team-based school events featured stars as rewards, and they were distributed strategically by the school administrators. As a rule, though, any students with five or more stars didn’t get anything, since the number of stars to distribute was limited. Someone might get lucky if there was an extra one, though. We wouldn’t lose stars, but none of the Six Star students in this room would go up to Seven Star.

“Well, Himeji’s definitely receiving a star. A lot of guys went from five stars to four following this event, so she’ll absolutely get one. And if I had to guess, the one Unique Star belonged to Shizuku Minami from the Fourteenth Ward. Since her team didn’t make the top five, that star’s going somewhere. Apparently, it hasn’t been decided which of the top five teams will get it, though,” I said.

Eimei, Ohga, Otowa, Tsuyuri, or Shinra. Honestly, if it went anywhere besides Eimei, I just knew it would cause me untold trouble later on. What if Kirigaya got it? Or Kururugi? Or Kugasaki, even? Each of those scenarios was too painful to contemplate for very long. For today, I wanted to keep a positive spin on things.

“You know, if that star is awarded to Eimei…I think you deserve it, Enomoto.”

“…What?” Enomoto winced. He must not have expected that at all. “Why me? You’re clearly the MVP of ASTRAL, Shinohara.”

“Like I said, that doesn’t matter. The May Interschool Competition made that pretty clear, I think. Individual strength is important, but if we wanna win events like this, we need everybody to improve for Eimei. The best way to do that is to give the Unique Star to the president.”

I was pretty adamant about that, no matter how much Enomoto shook his head at me. I knew full well how tough it was to obtain a Unique Star, but there were few opportunities to boost the strength of a school. I had a lead on a different Unique Star at the moment anyway. Giving this one to Enomoto would likely pay off later, not that I knew if he’d get one at all.

“…I see. I suppose I’ll concede that to you.” Enomoto arrogantly folded his arms as he quietly nodded at me. “If I do obtain a Unique Star, I promise I won’t let it go to waste. I swear on my title as the All-Seeing, Eimei School will be ranked first this year.”

After wrapping up our party, Himeji and I headed back home. At least, we meant to.

“Truly…truly, thank you so much, meow!!”

Kazami intercepted us just outside the school gates. Evidently, she’d been waiting. She guided us to one of Libra’s offices, where she bowed deeply.

“Without you, Shinohara, I really don’t know what we would’ve done, meow! The whole event would’ve fallen apart, Libra’s reputation would be in the gutter, and honestly, I was prepared to get kicked off the island. Instead, ASTRAL became the biggest blockbuster of an event we’ve ever held…! Thank you so, so, soooo much, meow!!”

“It was nothing. Our goals aligned. That’s all. I don’t deserve so much gratitude.”

“I can’t let you act all modest, meow! I’d gladly give up an arm or a kidney or something to pay you back!”

“What kind of a man do you think my master is, Ms. Kazami?” Himeji rolled her eyes in disgust, her silver hair swaying a bit. “By the way…what happened to Mr. Mikado Kurahashi, the root of all this?”

“Hmm? Oh, um, yeah, about that…” Himeji’s question snapped Kazami from her excitement.

According to what she told us, this whole incident had finally spurred the Board of Regents to conduct an investigation. As a result, Kurahashi and his group, the source of a lot of problems for a while now, had been completely removed from Academy administration. The event overseers who had left Libra to handle ASTRAL were also given stern warnings.

“…So Kurahashi’s lost all his power, huh?” I said, frowning.

His losing his position as provost of Seijo School and all connection to the Board of Regents meant he likely had no place left on the island. Still, I couldn’t rest easy. I was now aware of a new enemy in Toya Kirigaya. He’d definitely come for me again.

The Board of Regents had also investigated the Chameleon, Tsumugi Shiina…but she had been released before too long. It was clear that Kurahashi was the main criminal. Shiina wasn’t devious enough to hatch all those nefarious schemes. She was too purehearted. That was likely why she had been acquitted. The board was bound to keep a close eye on her, though, and her fake account had been confiscated. If she remained determined not to attend high school, she might have to leave the Academy.

Still, with her talent, I bet a bunch of people will try to recruit her…like the provost.

I shook my head lightly as I thought about that. The other Unique Star I was keeping tabs on was Shiina’s, of course. I’d have to wait and see what the Board of Regents did with her first, though. Since Crossboard was a three-team Game, there wasn’t a completely clear winner. I wasn’t too sure what would happen to that star of hers.

“Thanks, Kazami. You helped us out a lot,” I said.

“No, no, thank you, Shinohara, meow! Oh, do you mind if I ask you something? It concerns you and Sarasa, the Empress…”

?!

My pulse quickened. Given how involved I’d been with Libra during the May Interschool Competition, I had worried that people might notice my relationship with Saionji. I thought I’d explained it away well enough, though.

Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…?!

Now that I was caught, my brain was running on empty. I couldn’t think of a decent excuse!

“Are you guys maybe secretly dating, meow?!”

“Huh?”

“What?” Himeji’s hard-edged response overlapped with my dopey-sounding reaction. Kazami, sensing no emotion in my maid’s voice, kept smiling at us.

“I’ve been wondering about it for a really long time! Ever since April when you first arrived, Sarasa’s looked much happier, meow. I was just reminded of that during the Game, you know? If you were actually a couple, that’d be so cute, meow!”

“You asked just because you want it to happen?” I asked dryly.

“Oh, of course! I mean, Sarasa, the ex–Seven Star who never lost, and Shinohara, the Academy’s new number one, the guy who finally beat her… Sparks fly whenever the two of you so much as look at each other. It’s hard to imagine you ever getting along! But it’d be nice, don’t you think? And I’d love to feature you guys in a Libra special, meow!”

No, seriously, don’t!!

Kazami leaned toward us, eyes sparkling, as I tried to give her the biggest no I could. If she ever published something like that, I was done for. I’d crumble to dust even before the lies got exposed.

The proof was standing right next to me.

“Uh-huh…”

H-Himeji, you’re scaring me…!!

Her face was terrifyingly blank. It made my face go rigid.

“Hmm hm hmmm…  ”

A girl hummed happily as she watched her device’s screen. She’d just come out of the bath, there was hot chocolate waiting for her, and the new sofa was wonderfully comfortable. That was enough to make her happy, yet her eyes were fixed to her screen.

ASTRAL, the main event of the May Interschool Competition, had concluded a few days ago. She hadn’t watched all of it. In fact, her unique environment meant she only learned about it a short while ago. However, she still marveled at the final rankings.

“…Yep! Hiroto really is the best.”

Hiroto Shinohara was answering interview questions on-screen. She remembered him looking much younger, but after so many years apart, it was natural that he’d changed. She’d know him anywhere, though. He was the most important man in her life, after all.

And she’d get to meet him soon. He’d finally find her.

“Just you wait, Hiroto…”

The girl’s beautiful fingertips tapped against the screen as she whispered to him.