Chapter 49: A New Character Appears? Hasabe Haruka
Hasabe Haruka cast her gaze upon Elsie.
In her eyes, Elsie was the complete opposite of Katsuragi Keima. Elsie had become friends with many students in the class—mostly girls—and possessed a friendly, generous personality. In a sense, Elsie was somewhat similar to Kushida Kikyo.
However, for reasons Hasabe couldn't quite explain, if she had to choose between the two, she would probably prefer being friends with someone like Elsie. Perhaps it was because Elsie felt more natural?
"Are you really okay? You've looked a bit out of it for a while now."
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about the upcoming exams," Hasabe made up an excuse on the spot. "After all, I'm quite heavily biased in my subjects, so I'm a bit worried about the tests."
Hasabe wasn't lying about that part; her grades in science and math were good, but conversely, her grades in liberal arts were very poor. Chabashira Sae had stated that for the upcoming official exams, failing even a single subject would result in immediate expulsion. While the probability wasn't that high, the risk certainly existed.
"I see! Well, I happen to have a solution for that!" Elsie suddenly patted Hasabe on the shoulder with excitement.
"What?"
"Nii-sama is holding a study group! Would you like to join us?"
"A study group?"
Hasabe hadn't heard anything about this. But thinking back, Kushida Kikyo and Katsuragi Keima did seem to leave together yesterday. Sakura-san had followed along as well.
Come to think of it... what was Sakura-san's full name again? She didn't seem to have much of a presence in class. In a way, was she a person similar to herself?
"Join us tonight! If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Nii-sama directly!"
Hasabe thought for a moment but didn't answer immediately. She wasn't particularly interested in things like study groups, and she wasn't exactly close with her other classmates. However, she didn't feel repulsed by the idea either.
"I'll see how I feel tonight," Hasabe gave an ambiguous answer.
"Yay! You're very welcome, Hasabe-san!"
Hasabe turned her gaze toward the distance. At the point where her gaze landed, Katsuragi Keima was standing nearby, wearing only a pair of swim trunks, playing his game with intense concentration. Sakura Airi, meanwhile, was crouching in an even more remote corner, practically curled into a ball, trying her best to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"Nii-sama!"
Elsie trotted over to Keima's side and told him about Hasabe Haruka.
"Why did you suddenly go and add a character on your own?!"
"Eh! Weren't you going to hold a study group anyway, Nii-sama? Adding one new classmate shouldn't be a problem!" Elsie puffed out her cheeks slightly like a goldfish, then whispered, "Besides, Hasabe-san seems to be one of the mission targets too."
"That's true." Keima nodded.
From the very first day of school, Keima had memorized which mission targets existed in his class. Horikita Suzune, Sakura Airi, Kushida Kikyo... and Hasabe Haruka.
The mission targets Keima had prioritized at the start were Horikita and the other two. Sakura Airi's personality was relatively simple, so her conquest speed should be the fastest. Horikita Suzune was the "tsundere" type, a bit more extreme than characters in games, but her conquest difficulty was only medium; after resolving a bit of the knot in her heart, the rest just required a bit of "watering."
Kushida Kikyo was the most difficult among the three. Cases like hers weren't very common even in games. Keima felt the timing wasn't yet ripe and that he needed to observe in the shadows for an opportunity.
Advancing the progress of three people simultaneously was a relatively safe numerical value for Keima. After all, if there were too many people, it might bring unnecessary trouble or even escalate into a situation where everyone's affection levels dropped collectively.
Meeting Shiina Hiyori was a pure accident—though Elsie's "clumsy intervention" played a part. But since Hiyori wasn't a classmate, and they spent less time together, there wouldn't be any issues for the time being. But now, suddenly letting Hasabe Haruka intervene in the current scene...
"Sigh."
Keima let out a sigh. In this public setting, he couldn't explain the details to Elsie. He could only take it one step at a time.
"Heh."
Just then, a sneer that Keima could just barely hear rang out from beside him. Horikita Suzune walked up to him, a trace of a smug smile seemingly on her face.
"It seems Katsuragi-kun usually lacks exercise."
Keima's build was on the leaner side. Because he was obsessed with gaming—often staying up late to play—he indeed rarely exercised, and there wasn't much muscle definition on his body.
"When would I have time for such things? All my spare time is used for gaming." Keima's tone was very calm, as if stating something perfectly natural.
"That truly fits your style." Horikita was becoming somewhat unfazed by Keima's responses.
"Katsuragi-kun!"
Nearby, Kushida Kikyo trotted over to Horikita's side and stood before Keima. Horikita's brow twitched slightly, and she took a small step to the side. She felt as though Kushida had come over deliberately.
"Kushida-san. Do you need something?"
"Nothing special, I'm just a bit worried about you, Katsuragi-kun! Be careful, your game console might get water in it and break! The lockers are right over there!"
As she spoke, Kushida leaned forward slightly, making her curves even more apparent. Horikita's figure wasn't bad, but in front of Kushida, it was a bit lacking.
"I've already put on a waterproof case, so it's fine," Keima answered, his gaze never leaving the game screen. The female characters in the game world were still more attractive.
"Eh? Katsuragi-kun, you... you're planning to play games while swimming later?" Kushida wore a look of disbelief.
"Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
"I... well... there probably is a bit of a problem with that..." Kushida had never met this type of boy before; for a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
"The study group should still be held as usual tonight. Will you be coming today, Kushida-san?"
"Um, that... well..."
For the first time, Kushida Kikyo's eyes began to dodge.
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