V3Ch5: Red Recruitment

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Translator: Soafp

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The day after I declared my allegiance to the White faction.

I arrived at school and sat down at my desk. The spacious classroom was empty. The only sound that filled the usually lively room was the wind blowing through the window.

No one was here because it was still early. There was quite a bit of time before the other students arrived.

“…This has turned into a strange situation.”

I muttered to myself as I felt the breeze.

This situation wasn't good. I joined the White faction to maintain a peaceful life, but somehow, things seemed to be getting worse.

To deal with the emergency, I contacted a certain person. It could have been by phone, but they suggested meeting in person. Since I contacted them at night, it was difficult to meet yesterday.

We agreed to meet early in the morning at the classroom, and that's where I was now. Still, I had arrived a little too early.

Well, it's fine. Now, I just had to wait for them to arrive—

“Good morning, Nijitani-kun!”

“!?”

I was startled and nearly jumped out of my seat at the sudden greeting.

“G-good morning.”

The one greeting me energetically was Akazawa.

Why was she here at this hour?

It was strange that Akazawa was here now. She didn't usually come in so early. She would usually show up at the same time as most of the other students, greeting everyone with her idol smile as she walked around the school.

Of course, the person I was supposed to meet wasn't Akazawa.

After placing her bag at her desk, Akazawa walked over to me. After the intense feeling of being watched yesterday, I had a bad feeling about this.

“Hey, why Shirase-san?”

That was the first thing she asked.

Akazawa smiled, but it wasn't the usual idol-like glowing smile. It was more like a smile slapped over a different expression.

Why was Akazawa here at this time?

Why wasn't she surprised to see me here?

Why was she asking about this?

I was confused by the sudden situation and couldn't answer her questions.

“Hey, why Shirase-san?”

If I stayed silent, the same question came again.

She still had a smile on her face, but it only made things worse because her eyes weren't smiling at all. My mouth couldn't move due to the shock and fear.

“Hey, why Shirase-san?”

A third time!?

Her face still had that fake smile. As I feared Akazawa, like a broken machine, I finally managed to speak.

“Well, the thing is—”

“I was actually going to ask you yesterday. But I thought it was a joke. The handkerchief too— you didn't know what it meant, you just happened to bring it, right?”

“It's true that I'm supporting Shirase.”

As soon as I said that, Akazawa seemed like she was about to collapse.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I'm not okay, maybe…”

She managed to regain her composure but still tried to force a smile.

“Why Shirase-san?”

“That's—”

I was about to answer, but Akazawa shook her head.

“No, I get it. You're being threatened, right?”

“No, I'm not.”

“You don't need to hide it. It's early, so Shirase-san isn't here. I'll help you, so don't hide it.”

“I'm telling you, I'm not.”

“If you weren't being threatened, there's no way you'd get close to Shirase-san. If it's hard to say it, you can text me. I'm on your side, Nijitani-kun.”

She wasn't listening to me at all.

The situation was still unclear, but I couldn't let her misunderstand things like this. I had to set things straight.

“Listen closely. I'm not being threatened. I'm supporting Shirase because it's my own decision. I don't want you to misunderstand.”

Upon hearing my serious words, Akazawa looked at me with disbelief.

I guess my serious expression made her realize the truth, as she sighed deeply.

“…Right, now that I think about it, you were talking to Aoyama-san and Kuromine-san too, right?”

“Eh? Oh, yeah.”

“Can you tell me what you talked about?”

I hesitated, but there was no way out. She wouldn't let me go until I told her.

So, I told her what Aoyama and Kuromine had said when they approached me. They had asked me to support them.

“What did you say to them?”

“That…”

“What did you say?”

“I said I'd consider it if their charm surpassed Shirase's.”

When Akazawa heard my answer, she smiled again, but this time it was a genuine smile, much closer to her real self.

“I see, I see. So, you're saying if I want your support, I just need to show you how much more appealing I am than Shirase, right?”

“No, that's not—”

“Leave it to me. Shirase's cute, but I'm not losing to her either. Plus, I'm good at sports and studies. I think I can shine in the upcoming events, whether it's the sports festival or midterms. I might not be able to top both, but when it comes to overall strength, I'm confident no one can beat me.”

Akazawa puffed out her chest with pride.

As Akazawa herself said, her potential is high. I've known this for a long time, and even from just observing the first semester, I could tell.

—Wait, that's not it. This makes it look like I'm stirring up a conflict.

What should I do?

I really don't want to escalate this into a troublesome situation. All I want is a peaceful, uneventful life.

“Well then, how about we have a fun chat now so you can get to know my charm, Nijitani-kun—”

Just then.

“Good morning.”

As if to interrupt Akazawa's words, Shirase entered the classroom.

---

I had come to school at this time to meet with Shirase.

Aoyama and Kuromine had made contact with me sooner than I expected. I didn't think they would make an immediate offer. Because of that, my excuse became sloppy.

I wasn't prepared for this, and it was my fault, but I didn't think they'd approach me so soon. Moreover, they kept pushing even after I showed them the white handkerchief. This was completely unexpected.

When I contacted Shirase to inform her about the situation, it seemed like she was just as surprised as I was.

So we decided to meet and discuss countermeasures, and that's how we ended up here.

“Well, if it isn't Akazawa-san?”

“Eh, Shirase-san?”

Akazawa's and Shirase's gazes clashed right in front of me.

“You're here early.”

“Yeah, just today.”

Now that I think about it, they had reconciled back then.

I recalled the conversation from that time. Akazawa said she just liked the position of the goddess and didn't have any issues with Shirase.

“Shirase-san, you're early too.”

“Yep. Actually, I'm meeting with Shota-kun today.”

It was that one sentence.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed. The smile on Akazawa's face vanished.

“…Shota-kun?”

“Eh?”

“No, it's just that your way of addressing him is a little different.”

“Oh, we've actually gotten closer.”

Shirase said that with a smile.

It wasn't so much that we had gotten closer, but more like things had returned to the way they were. To me, how we addressed each other didn't matter at all.

There was no risk of being exposed from the way we addressed each other. Shirase was from a different middle school, so Akazawa and the others wouldn't have known how we used to call each other.

“Closer?”

“Yep, we're really close now.”

In reality, we weren't exactly close, but I didn't say that.

“…”

“…”

Akazawa and Shirase were now facing each other in the middle of the classroom.

What is this?

The air suddenly felt heavy. Even though they were just standing there facing each other, it felt like the atmosphere was being filled with tension.

Didn't they reconcile?

It felt like the atmosphere was even more hostile than before.

Seeing that scene in front of me, I was overwhelmed by the urge to escape. But I knew escaping would only make things worse.

The silence was broken by Shirase.

She slowly moved and grabbed my hand.

“Well then, Shota-kun and I have something important to discuss, so we'll excuse ourselves. We'll chat again later.”

She lightly pulled me up, and I followed her as she walked.

“W-wait…”

“Let's go, Shota-kun.”

“O-okay.”

I started walking as I was urged.

I could hear Akazawa saying something behind me, but I didn't want to go back to that place, so I decided to ignore it and kept walking.

After a while, I couldn't hear her voice anymore.

…That was close. Thanks, Shirase.

As I silently thanked her in my mind, I glanced at Shirase, who was smiling with a triumphant expression.