"If I recall, the official closing time for the equipment shed is six p.m...."
Locked inside the shed, Izuru let out a weary sigh of resignation. He pulled out his phone, noting that the battery was still sitting comfortably at 80 percent. When the glowing screen revealed the time to be 5:50 p.m., his spirit felt even more exhausted.
It was crystal clear: the slackers in charge of the equipment had locked up ten minutes early just so they could head home sooner, without bothering to check if anyone was still inside.
Usually, when it came to arriving for school, these types would procrastinate and show up at least ten minutes late. But when it came to laziness, they were suddenly paragons of industry, possessing a high level of initiative to wrap things up ahead of schedule. He didn't even know what to say—had the "flowers of the nation" in this country truly withered this much?
Izuru shook his head, caught between a sense of helplessness and a bitter urge to laugh.
The rom-com cliché of a guy and a girl getting trapped together in a shed always felt like a contrived coincidence in anime or manga, but in the real world, it was actually perfectly logical.
Take Izuru's current predicament: as long as a girl was willing to accompany him to the shed, and he either timed it near closing or lingered too long inside, being locked in by a careless student manager wasn't a coincidence at all. In fact, it was a logical certainty.
After all, those equipment managers were just students who hated studying and only cared about having fun—meaning playing around and dating. They didn't care if a boy and girl were occupied inside; all they cared about was ensuring their own leisure time wasn't cut short.
Fortunately, however, Izuru's phone didn't follow the "anime protagonist" cliché of conveniently running out of juice or being left behind.
Moreover, his phone's battery life was legendary; even with 24 hours of heavy use, it would still have plenty left. If he switched to super-power-saving mode—leaving only calls and texts active—the thing could probably last a full week. There was absolutely no need to worry about a "blackout"... or a dead battery.
But did this mean Izuru failed the requirements to be a rom-com protagonist?
The thought struck him as slightly ridiculous.
Right then, Yotsuba's voice piped up: "President, the door is locked! We can't get out! And my phone is completely dead; I can't call anyone to rescue us!"
{Well, you certainly have the rom-com heroine style down pat!}
Izuru felt more absurd by the second. In a resigned tone, he said, "Don't worry, my phone still has battery. I'll call someone for help... Good grief!"
The moment he opened his contact list, Izuru cursed under his breath and froze in shock.
His contacts held only one solitary name: 'Shinomiya Kaguya.' Not even his homeroom teacher's number was saved!
"What's wrong, President?" Yotsuba asked hesitantly, startled by Izuru's uncharacteristic swearing.
"It's nothing. It's just... Yotsuba, can I give you my phone so you can call one of your sisters? Ask them to come here and help..."
Izuru felt a profound weariness in his heart; even his voice sounded drained.
"Call... my sisters?!"
Yotsuba suddenly looked agitated and hesitant, her voice strained.
"T-that... that's probably not a good idea. If they see the two of us trapped in here together, it'll cause a huge misunderstanding about our relationship! It might sound a bit conceited, but because the five of us are so close, we're very protective of one another..."
"If they see me stuck here with you, they'll definitely think you've done something terrible to me. I mean, I trust your noble character, President, but they don't know you yet and they might not believe it! If it ends up causing trouble for you, I'd feel awful. So, please, don't call them!"
"Oh, I see. Fine, I understand..."
Izuru's lip twitched. Although he was a bit confused by Yotsuba's sudden emotional outburst and her absolute refusal to involve her sisters, hearing the cheerful girl implicitly praise him and worry so much about his well-being...
Izuru immediately cast his doubts aside. He also scrapped the plan to call the other Nakano quints.
After all, he wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of the other sisters seeing his current situation with Yotsuba either. If a gargantuan misunderstanding occurred, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into a thousand rivers.
But they couldn't just stay here forever, could they? It wasn't like they could just stay cooped up in a closed room until someone noticed and came to the rescue.
If that happened, rumors would spread like wildfire, and eventually, her sisters would find out anyway.
What then? Call the police? That was even more out of the question. If he did that, Izuru would be on the front page tomorrow with the headline: 'Shocking! A Man and Woman Trapped in a Shed, the Reason Turns Out to Be...' If that happened, he was truly finished!
Aside from those options, he was left with either breaking down the door or calling the only contact in his phone: 'Shinomiya Kaguya.'
Breaking the door was impossible because the shed was equipped with a security alarm. If he triggered it, a full investigation would follow, and he'd still end up in the headlines: 'Shocking! A Man and Woman Damage Shed Door to Escape, the Reason Turns Out to Be...' The result was the same.
So, was his only choice to ask Kaguya for help?
But the moment he imagined Kaguya's bone-chilling, icy stare—the look she gave him as if he were the most disgusting cockroach on earth whenever she saw him interacting with another girl—he shuddered in terror. If Kaguya found out about this, there was no telling what she would do!
However, this was likely the most logical path...
Kaguya would have already been whisked home by her family's arrangements. If he sent a distress message, she would surely order her head butler or personal maid to come assist...
Then, with a little bit of "persuasion" or a few threats, those witnesses would surely record the events... very "accurately" in their brains!
{I really am a genius... Wait, what on earth is this?!}
Just as Izuru was basking in his own brilliance, a warm body suddenly pressed against him!