One year ago, Shirogane had been Yoru's desk mate.
Just like now, he sat next to Yumiko.
Yoru looked at Shirogane on stage and recalled the past.
He remembered clearly—back then, Shirogane was above average in looks, good at studying, but kind of dumb.
At the start of the year, he eagerly greeted the promoted 'Pure' students in class, only to be ignored again and again.
He froze in place, doubting himself.
That scene made Yoru secretly laugh.
Later, Shirogane tried other ways to join their circles. Every attempt ended in total rejection.
During lunch, he would hide beside the trash cans to eat cheap bread alone.
How did Yoru know?
Because he was hiding in an even darker corner, watching Shirogane.
Later on, for reasons unknown, Shirogane joined the student council.
Not long after, he somehow got into a few cliques and started becoming popular by the second term.
By the end of the third term, he ran against Kaguya for vice president—and actually won.
It was unheard of in Shuchiin's history.
Those 'Pure' students were arrogant and proud, looking down on commoners from the bottom of their hearts.
To them, regular students were nothing but society's bottom-tier fodder—cattle, grass, disposable tools.
Japan—and most countries—were like that.
Yoru's father, Kitakami Toyotani, worked in finance and venture capital.
Growing up in that environment, Yoru knew just how terrifying the elite class could be, especially when it came to profit.
They were ruthless, viewing human lives as expendable.
The higher the class, the crueler they were.
"I wonder... how does Shirogane get along with that Shinomiya?"
Yoru's fists tightened as he thought of her again.
"So boring." Yumiko shifted into a more comfortable position with a sigh.
'It really is boring,' Yoru silently agreed.
Not long after, the student council's speech ended.
People around them all stood up and rushed out like bees from a hive.
Yumiko stayed seated, playing on her phone.
Once most of the people had left, two girls from the same class—one with a bun hairstyle, the other wearing glasses—both quite cute, walked over and left together.
Yoru sat quietly, deciding he'd only leave once the hall had emptied out completely.
"I'll take San-san to the pet clinic this afternoon." Bored, Yoru pulled out his phone and searched for pet clinics or hospitals near his apartment. If not those, even a pet store would do.
The Minato Ward was the most prosperous and affluent district in Tokyo.
With a quick search on his phone, he easily found a highly rated pet clinic near his apartment.
Once the crowd had thinned, Yoru got up to leave.
In the next instant—
Just as he stood up, his gaze swept across the stage and his entire body froze, as if struck by lightning.
He couldn't move a muscle.
On the stage, Shirogane hadn't left. He was still talking with the student council members.
One of them was Fujiwara Chika, with pink hair and a black bow tied near her bangs.
She was also one of the most untouchable people in the entire school.
And the other—was none other than Shinomiya Kaguya, whom Yoru had been thinking about constantly!
But what truly locked Yoru's gaze wasn't Kaguya herself.
It was that, above her head, there was a treasure chest exactly like the one above Utaha's!
The only difference was that the progress bar on Kaguya's treasure chest was empty, while Utaha's had increased just a little.
"Why… why does Shinomiya have one too!" Yoru sat back down abruptly, his fat face squishing together from the shock.
"The only thing they have in common is that both of them hate me. Both are awful women..."
"Could it be that every bad woman has one of these treasure chests that only I can see?"
"Otherwise, Hiratsuka-sensei is beautiful, Fujiwara is cute too, but neither of them have one?"
With no one around, Yoru began muttering to himself as he often did.
He was fat, but not stupid. In fact, he was quite sharp.
"But what about the progress bar? Is it really what I think?"
"Does it increase through close contact?"
As he stared at the student council trio on stage, a chill crept down his spine.
Close contact with Utaha, with Kaguya—that was basically asking to be killed!
It wasn't until Shirogane, Kaguya, and Chika all left the stage that Yoru snapped out of it.
He got up heavily, still troubled, and only when the three left through a different exit did he look away.
"By the way, doesn't it seem like Shinomiya might have a crush on Shirogane?"
As Yoru walked toward the exit, he muttered to himself.
Well, it made sense. Liking Shirogane was totally reasonable.
After all, it wasn't like she'd fall for someone like him, right?
...
The area near the auditorium was already nearly empty.
Yoru had deliberately stayed until the very end, just to avoid unnecessary trouble being pinned on him.
But as soon as he stepped out of the hall, three boys came out and blocked his path.
It was obvious they'd been waiting for a while.
"You're Kitakami Yoru, right? Hold up a second."
"What do you want?!" Yoru's heart immediately flared with anger as he glared at the three boys in front of him.
He instinctively assumed they were here to pick a fight, probably the same guys who had been leaving nasty comments on the school forum.
Beat him up, gain Kasumigaoka Utaha's gratitude?
Maybe they thought it'd help them win her over?
Self-righteous men and women were the same—so disgusting.
Yoru silently loathed them.
He compared his own physique with theirs and felt a bit more at ease.
'I must not strike first. Only retaliate if I'm attacked—otherwise I risk getting expelled!'
"No, no, don't misunderstand. We're not here to mess with you."
Surprisingly, one of the boys saw Yoru's defensive stance and quickly waved his hands with a smile, even looking a bit apologetic.
"Then what do you want?" Yoru blinked in surprise, clearly puzzled.
"Well… um... about Kasumigaoka Utaha's stockings and panties... do you still have them?"
Yoru's face immediately collapsed, gritting his teeth as he growled, "I didn't steal them. She already took them back. Don't come asking me to sell them!"
With that, Yoru stepped aside and walked off quickly.
"Hey, wait up! Name your price—"
"Bastard! Acting like a saint now. Bet you had your fun with them already..."
The three boys shouted angrily, clearly humiliated.
In the shadows—
Hayasaka, who had been secretly tailing Yoru, stuck out her soft pink tongue in disgust and whispered, "Some guys are really revolting."