Shirogane Miyuki in COTE

Shirogane usually gets along well with Shiina, so many think those two will end up together.

Since Shirogane is already "taken" by Shiina, he wouldn't have feelings for Ichinose, who everyone sees as the class angel.

Even though they don't think they have a chance, they still want the angel to stay single.

The thought of Ichinose liking some guy, or dating someone at school, especially with their strict environment, scares everyone. They want to avoid that kind of drama.

Then they heard Shirogane say,

"Looks like I made you misunderstand."

"So, I'll just say it straight—if I confessed to you here, what are the chances I'd succeed?"

Ah!

Ichinose was surprised by Shirogane's words.

But the guys around them instantly felt crushed.

The girls nearby could even hear their broken hearts.

"What a bunch of idiots."

The girls in the class looked at these heartbroken boys with a bit of pride.

Ichinose is great, but she's a girl like them, and very charming.

The boys in class are so clearly obsessed with Ichinose that it's no wonder the girls are a little jealous.

So right now, the girls were quietly mocking them in their heads.

But what would Ichinose say?

"Hey, Shiina, what do you think?"

At that moment, a girl in class gently nudged Shiina.

"..."

What could Shiina say?

Sometimes Shirogane says shocking things, but this time it was way too shocking.

It was something nobody had expected at all.

But—

Doesn't Shirogane usually spend most of his time studying? How does he even have time for dating?

Or maybe it was a sudden thing.

Some people do fall in love out of the blue.

Still—

If Shirogane really likes someone, then he probably won't be able to go out shopping or hang out with her casually anymore. He'd have to act differently around her.

"..."

Hiyori realized her thoughts had gotten weirdly logical all of a sudden, but she also felt kind of uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I asked the wrong question earlier."

And at that moment, Shirogane noticed that the whole class had turned to look at him.

Even the smart students Ichinose brought with her looked over, surprised.

But—

Shirogane noticed that Ryuen had placed his phone on the desk… and tapped the record button to start recording.

"..."

Shirogane was shocked to realize that the person who understood him the most in class was Ryuen.

He actually wanted to record Shirogane's embarrassing moments.

But whatever—Shirogane had no choice now but to keep going.

"What I mean is, I don't plan on dating during high school. The competition between classes is too important. And Ichinose, do you plan on dating in high school?"

"Even though I asked your class to help us, and we beat your class last month, I still respect your class a lot."

"But love makes people dumber and distracts them from exams."

"So, as a rival, I want to know what you think."

"And if you do want to date, my opinion of you might go down."

Shirogane said.

Huh.

So basically, Shirogane was trying to talk Ichinose out of dating in high school.

Most students actually thought this was a good thing. Even people like Ishizaki thought Shirogane was doing the right thing.

After all, who wants to see an angel like Ichinose dating a guy? But at the same time, it also felt like Shirogane was taking away her freedom in a self-righteous way.

As expected—

"I don't think that's right."

At that moment, a cheerful-looking boy from Ichinose's class stood up and said.

His name was Shibata.

According to the info from Kushida, he was the sports rep for Ichinose's class.

He was really athletic, rated A, just below Class D's Sudou.

"This should be up to Ichinose."

Shibata clearly wanted to stand up for Ichinose's freedom to date.

But.

Shirogane noticed the look in Shibata's eyes, and it was very similar to the one Shiranami had earlier.

Shiranami clearly has feelings for Ichinose—so what about you, Shibata? Don't tell me you like Ichinose too.

"..."

If that's the case, then Ichinose, you really are a heartbreaker of an angel.

Could it be that most of your classmates actually like you?

"Anyway, Ichinose, can you give me an answer?"

Shirogane continued.

"Forget about me for a second. If a classmate confessed to you, what would you do?"

[No, no, just you saying that is already scary enough.]

[Just now, I almost thought you were going to confess to Ichinose.]

At that moment, a voice popped up in Shirogane's head.

"..."

Wait, wasn't the narrator system supposed to be asleep?

It's already almost 9 p.m., the end of the extra study session.

Shirogane thought the system went to rest around 8:30 when it went quiet—but now it's back again.

"Eh—"

"Well, you see."

On Ichinose's side, even though it looked like Shirogane was pressing her hard—

She quickly noticed something had changed in the way he was speaking.

From talking about weddings, to confessions, to "no dating in high school," and finally, to what she'd do if someone in her class confessed—

Ichinose wasn't dumb at all. In fact, she was really smart.

Or rather, someone who can make so many friends and get along with so many people wouldn't have poor observation skills.

She started thinking—maybe Shirogane had noticed what was going on in her class. Like maybe he saw the way Shiranami looked at her.

And now he was deliberately stirring the pot a little.

Actually, from the very start, when Shirogane suddenly brought up such a private and even kind of embarrassing topic right in front of the whole class, she already felt like something was off.

Not just the class—she herself was stunned too. She even started wondering if maybe she had caught Shirogane's eye.

But soon after, she denied that thought.

Shirogane is hardworking and serious—how could someone like him possibly fall for someone like her? Someone with a "stain" in her past—there's no way he would like her.

So what really happened is that Shirogane noticed Chihiro's feelings for her and was just trying to help. Yes, that explanation made the most sense.

Still, she couldn't waste the opportunity Shirogane had given her.

So Ichinose said:

I'm going to make you meow like a cat in bed.

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