The Heroines Want to Confess.

Chapter 128: It Dropped! It Dropped!

In the student council room.

The atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

Under Sakurai Saki's lead, everyone began commenting on Shinomiya Kaguya's new look.

["Not bad. Shinomiya-senpai's original image definitely gave off a distant vibe, but now she looks much more approachable."]Ishigami Yuu commented.

["Super cute!"]Fujiwara Chika, clinging to Sakurai Saki, threw out a half-hearted reply.

["It's alright."]Shirogane Miyuki wasn't good at complimenting girls.

As for Sakurai Saki, he was still thinking about what to do next.

A few minutes later...

"Sakurai, come with me to the volleyball club. Let's go check their equipment for the sports festival. They said they've got everything ready." Shirogane Miyuki stood up.

"Umu." Sakurai Saki nodded and got up from the sofa.

"I'm coming too!"

Fujiwara Chika naturally followed the two of them.

Ishigami Yuu glanced at Shinomiya Kaguya...

He slowly stood up.

"More people means more help. I'll go too."

Compared to staying here alone with Shinomiya-senpai, he'd much rather help out!

Seeing this, Shinomiya Kaguya also amiably followed behind.

And just like that, the group headed toward the gym.

Ishigami Yuu quietly sighed in relief.

'As long as I'm not locked in a room alone with Shinomiya-senpai, I consider that a win.'

To be honest, he was still really scared of Shinomiya Kaguya!

Especially that way she looked down at people—getting that kind of look made Ishigami feel like he was about to be thrown into the bottom of Tokyo Bay.

Ishigami: (っ- ‸ - ς)

...

When they arrived at the volleyball club's area, the group began checking the number of volleyballs.

"Want to play a round of volleyball?" Sakurai Saki suggested.

There was still quite a bit of time before today's next class, and heading to the library now would be too early.

Besides, he wanted to lower Kaguya's favorability level—at least down to 70!

"So boring, I'm going back." Shinomiya Kaguya was completely uninterested.

"Oya, don't tell me you're scared, Kaguya-san? Scared of losing to me?" Sakurai Saki sneered.

Sakurai: (≖⩊≖)

"Lose? Hah?" Shinomiya Kaguya, who had been walking away, turned right back.

Kaguya: <(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)>

"You're being a bit arrogant, aren't you? My volleyball skills—maybe not number one at Shuchiin—but definitely number two at least."

Upon hearing that, Chika murmured in a low voice: "Kaguya-san… that's a pretty arrogant statement too~"

Ishigami Yuu took a few steps back.

Volleyball? Spare him, please.

He absolutely did not want to exercise! Absolutely not!

"I'm a bit lacking. If everyone doesn't mind…" Shirogane Miyuki knew he wasn't very athletic.

But in truth, his volleyball skills weren't too bad.

At the very least, he had quietly practiced serving, receiving, and spiking. Shirogane thought to himself.

"Then let's play 2v2. Ishigami, be the referee."

The volleyball club didn't have practice today, and the gym was empty. A proper volleyball match normally required 12 players, 6 on each team with clearly defined positions.

"How are we dividing teams?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked.

In truth, she wanted to be on the same team as Shirogane Miyuki.

Shirogane looked like he had decent stamina—he often worked part-time jobs, and she saw him running during last year's sports festival, with impressive speed.

Overall, he seemed like someone fairly good at sports.

For the sake of winning, of course choosing a strong teammate would be advantageous.

"I want to team up with Saki-kun~" Chika ran over and stood next to Sakurai Saki.

"Let's split boys versus girls." Sakurai Saki explained: "There's bound to be some physical contact during the game, which wouldn't be appropriate."

That was the surface reason.

The deeper reason: Sakurai Saki had a similar thought to Kaguya. Even though he helped Shirogane practice singing last time, he still trusted his best friend and believed he couldn't be that bad at sports.

Sakurai believed this because he hardly ever saw Shirogane play ball during PE last year.

At this moment, both of them were misunderstanding Shirogane Miyuki's true skill level.

Shirogane Miyuki being stronger than Fujiwara Chika—

That was what both of them believed right now.

"Sorry, but I absolutely won't let Shirogane be your teammate!" Sakurai Saki said seriously.

"Hmph." Kaguya gave a cold chuckle. "Then just as you wish."

So what if she lost a fairly strong teammate? It wasn't the end of the world.

Even if she was a bit of a burden, Secretary Fujiwara wasn't so weak that she couldn't play at all.

"What about me?" Chika pointed at herself.

"My opinion doesn't matter, huh?"

No one paid her any attention.

Chika: (╥‸╥)♡

Shirogane Miyuki walked over to Sakurai Saki and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Gambare!"

Looking at that calm expression, Sakurai Saki felt a little more at ease.

Fujiwara Chika angrily stomped over next to Kaguya, then huffed: "I'm gonna crush you guys! Saki-kun, I'll make you regret this!"

'Sorry, Chika. But this battle… I will win!'

Sakurai Saki picked up the volleyball from the ground and spun it on his finger: "Who serves first?"

"Ishigami-kun, you decide." Shinomiya Kaguya looked "sweetly" at Ishigami Yuu—the one acting as referee.

"..." Ishigami Yuu stiffened: "Since Sakurai-senpai decided the teams, then Shinomiya-senpai should serve first?"

He chickened out.

(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )

Getting that kind of look from Shinomiya Kaguya—[(╬ `益 ') "If you don't let me serve first, you only have one month left to live"]—no one would dare say no.

Courtesy is a virtue. Boys yielding to girls is the mark of a gentleman. UMU.

cough Sorry, Sakurai-senpai.

Your useless kouhai has already surrendered!

"If he says so." Shinomiya Kaguya responded contentedly.

Sakurai Saki tossed the volleyball high, then threw it to her: "Go ahead and serve."

Serving first doesn't guarantee victory. Serving second doesn't mean defeat either.

Kaguya caught the ball and tossed it a few times to feel the weight.

She adjusted her posture.

Sakurai Saki glanced at her favorability level—

[Favorability Level: 74?]

Perfect. It's dropped to the level where, if he were hit by a car, she'd probably need a good ten-plus seconds to consider calling an ambulance!

Defeat her right here, and let that favorability keep dropping!

Everything just according to keikaku!

A few seconds later, Kaguya tossed the volleyball high into the air.

"Pop!" Her right hand struck the ball.

It was a sharply aggressive serve, blistering fast.

Sakurai Saki reacted instantly, receiving the ball.

"Shirogane!!!" he shouted.

Shirogane Miyuki: "Beautiful pass!!!!"

Then he jumped—high!

'Pop?' — There was no sound.

The ball hit the ground softly.

Shirogane Miyuki missed it!

Shirogane: "Sorry, it's been a while since I played."

Sakurai Saki didn't mind much: "Maybe you just didn't warm up. Next time, you handle the receive."

"What's this? Messing up on the first play? Yowai~" Chika bounced a few times on the spot and made a silly face.

.o(≧∀≦)o

She was still a little annoyed at having been ignored earlier.

Ishigami Yuu, standing to the side, flipped the scoreboard—

1:0

"My turn to serve now." Sakurai Saki picked up the ball from the ground.

He adjusted his stance.

"SHINEEEE!"

(っ'-')╮ =͟͟͞͞🏀

As the shout rang out, the ball was tossed up—"WHAM!"

A strong gust of wind brushed past Shinomiya Kaguya's cheek. The ball nearly hit the ground the instant it was served.

"Point is valid!!" Ishigami Yuu shouted.

1:1

Then, the match turned into a direct showdown between the two of them.

Sakurai Saki's serves were nearly impossible to handle—this time, he was clearly using a level of physical strength far beyond the average person.

On Shinomiya Kaguya's side, the two girls coordinated smoothly as well.

2:1

2:2

...

Gradually, Shinomiya Kaguya began to notice that something felt off.

That was—

'President Shirogane is kind of… weak, isn't he?' Kaguya picked up the ball again.

She remembered seeing him sprint impressively during the sports festival. He shouldn't be this bad. Even if he wasn't great, he shouldn't be this terrible—not even able to receive a single ball?

["Sorry, but I absolutely won't let Shirogane be your teammate!"]

Thinking back on Sakurai Saki's words—

Shinomiya Kaguya threw the volleyball in her hands aside——

"This match ends here. I forfeit."

To go up against someone who was training with "chains and shackles (Shirogane)" and still be evenly matched—meant she had already lost.

A match that unfair isn't worth winning.

"..." Sakurai Saki said nothing, but his mood was excellent.

While playing earlier, he had temporarily deactivated his superpower—it got in the way of his vision during the game.

Right now, he wasn't sure what her favorability level was.

After saying her piece, Kaguya turned and walked toward the gym door.

"Sorry, Sakurai. I'm not very good at volleyball." Shirogane Miyuki apologized guiltily.

It was all his fault.

"No worries, you did great!"

Though he didn't know why, the opponent had admitted defeat—she must be feeling upset!

Thinking that, Sakurai Saki activated his ability.

[Favorability Level: 83↑↑↑↑?]

(⊙_⊙)????

Sakurai Saki immediately felt something was off.

And in that moment—

A flash of light went off in his mind! Sakurai Saki had come up with a method guaranteed to make her hate him!

He quickly seized the moment before she left, turned to Chika, and said:

"Chika, with your figure, doesn't it feel uncomfortable when you exercise? I didn't see you jump to spike the ball even once."

Kaguya's footsteps halted.

[Favorability Level: 82↓?]

"...It's fine. Kaguya-san mostly handled the attacks just now." Chika replied.

[Favorability Level: 80↓?]

"True. With a figure like Shinomiya-san's, it's definitely advantageous in sports."

[Favorability Level: 67↓?]

At the doorway, a black aura seemed to be radiating from Shinomiya Kaguya.

Ishigami Yuu glanced around and felt a chill crawling up his back.

A few seconds ago, Shirogane Miyuki had been practicing his serve—now he was flat on the floor, looking like an upside-down alpaca with its legs in the air.

"Sakurai-san, could you repeat what you just said?"

(ㅅ´ ˘ `)

Kaguya turned her head.

"Shinomiya-san, are you very self-conscious about your figure?" Sakurai Saki deliberately asked again.

"But people's bodies aren't something they can freely control. I think everyone has their own strengths—we shouldn't focus too much on comparisons like that."

Kaguya narrowed her eyes at him for a few seconds, filled with suspicion.

What he said sounded sincere. Maybe he really didn't mean it earlier.

[Favorability Level: 70↑?]

A few minutes later.

As he watched Kaguya's back disappearing in the distance, Sakurai Saki once again confirmed in his heart: girls really are impossible to predict.

[Today's Result: Sakurai Saki wins (successfully decreased Kaguya's favorability level)]

————

Nightfall.

At the Shinomiya residence.

Shinomiya Kaguya was recounting the events of the afternoon to her maid.

"Hayasaka, today General Affairs Sakurai said my hairstyle was cute." Kaguya shared cheerfully.

Hayasaka Ai: (っ º - º ς)?

Ai-chan quietly raised the threat level another notch.

[Kaguya-sama's Boyfriend-Stealing Threat Level: C → A]