*POV Shirogane*
Shirogane's life hasn't been very good lately.
Although his grades haven't dropped, something else continues to bother him.
Naturally, it's Shinomiya's strange behavior.
He had felt the threat.
Even though he hadn't shown it completely before.
Shirogane knew that Shinomiya was interested in him.
They had often competed in battles of wits, but they always ended in a tie or mutual defeats.
Although Shirogane was proud and wouldn't confess to Shinomiya first, he wouldn't deny that he liked her.
But he was smart.
He knew that if he was the one chasing her, then outside of the couple's social hierarchy, he would lose by being a mere nobody. Shirogane knew that the Shinomiya family would never allow him to be with Shinomiya Kaguya.
So, he devised multiple plans to make her fall for him.
If she was the one pursuing him, then things might be different.
He could even hurt the ego of the Shinomiya family, and by resignation, they might let him marry her.
Although it was a risky plan, for him, it was the best course of action.
While Kaguya was beautiful, for Shirogane, the most important thing was everything behind that.
If Shirogane obtained the support of the Shinomiya family, his future would be unlimited.
Therefore, he had done everything possible to charm Kaguya.
But something had gone very wrong.
He had noticed that her attention had shifted.
When he saw her attention directed towards the Wandering Musician, he sighed in relief.
For him, this wasn't much of a problem. Shinomiya was a girl after all; she would naturally be curious about stars.
Shirogane had also seen and heard the songs of the Wandering Musician.
Shirogane understood where his growing popularity came from.
With such skill in singing and songwriting, it's natural to become a rising star.
However, the problem arose when he saw that this interest, which he assumed was momentary, did not disappear and instead became more and more unrestrained.
It reached a point where if Shirogane didn't remind her, Kaguya would use her headphones all day to listen to the Wandering Musician's songs.
Shirogane would be lying if he said he didn't feel jealous.
He felt incredibly jealous.
However, he couldn't do anything.
When he tried to stop music from being played during the council time, several of its members looked at him hostilely.
Shirogane could understand Shinomiya's look and maybe the secretary Fujiwara's, but the murderous look from both the treasurer Ishigami and the advisor Iino scared him, so he retracted his order.
While Shirogane had complicated thoughts, the sound of the door brought him out of his reverie.
Shirogane: "Come in..."
After letting those words escape, he saw something that stabbed a dagger deep into his heart.
Through the door entered a group of girls and two men.
What hurt Shirogane was seeing who the younger man was holding.
Shirogane completely ignored his attractive features and instead focused on the girl he was holding.
Seeing the girl's face, the little pride Shirogane had cultivated for a few years after being first in the academy and defeating Shinomiya Kaguya shattered.
In the boy's arms was the one he considered his future wife and the key to his bright future.
The expression on her face was shy and embarrassed.
If her blushing cheeks as she clung slightly to the young man's clothes didn't tell him the obvious, the dreamy and enchanted eyes she directed at the young man holding her did.
For a moment, Shirogane felt his world crack.
The future he thought was unlimited seemed to drift away from him.
Without thinking much and before anyone in the group spoke, he said.
Shirogane: "You! What do you think you're doing? What kind of disgraceful behavior do you think you're committing with my vice president?" he said, pointing accusingly at the young man.
This seemed to anger him, as his previously cheerful and perhaps somewhat playful smile disappeared, leaving a frown in its place.
Kaguya in his embrace also frowned when she saw the young man's change of expression and looked at Shirogane.
She quickly responded.
Kaguya: "President... I don't know if you've noticed, but I've hurt my ankle. This young man here has been helping me move. I don't see how that has anything to do with disgraceful behavior."
Hearing Kaguya defending him deepened the anguish in Shirogane's heart.
Before he could say anything, the young man spoke.
Tadano: "Well, if that's the welcome they give to a guest, then I don't know how Shuchiin Academy chooses its Student Council presidents..."
Shirogane: "You..."
Tadano: "Anyway... my name is Tadano Hitohito, the only reason I came here is to inform you that your music teacher, Saitou Ichigo, is about to resign, it's better to take your precautions. The more complicated matters will be dealt with by Ichigo himself with the principal." said the young man casually.
Shirogane: "Eh? But we're close to the inter-academy singing contest, he can't..." he tried to reply.
Kaguya: "It's not a problem..." Kaguya replied, with a cheerful smile.
Shirogane looked at her, bewildered.
What was she saying?
While Saitou-Sensei might not be the most qualified musician the academy had, he was the most experienced and knew how to handle and train large groups of people.
Without his help, it was very likely they would lose in the competition.
Shirogane: "Is the principal okay with this?" he asked.
Tadano: "Yes... he was the one who let us in," he said with a smile, seeing Shirogane's somber expression.
Shirogane was stunned to hear that.
The young man was about to leave after finishing his words, but before exiting the door, he stopped.
Tadano: "It's true... I've heard that your academy is the most academically demanding, right? I also heard that the tests and exams conducted by this academy are the toughest. I'm also quite good at studying, so if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to try solving those famously difficult exams."
Hearing his words, both girls who followed him looked at him, puzzled.
Yamai and Agari knew that Tadano didn't like studying.
Although he didn't interrupt in class, he also didn't pay attention.
He didn't review books either, yet he always had the highest score in the entire preparatory school.
Since they had already been exposed many times to his magical abilities, they were somewhat insensitive to this kind of thing.
They attributed it to another of his skills.
Seeing the looks Kaguya was giving Tadano, as well as Tadano's interest in challenging the student council president, the girls began to murmur.
Agari: "Do you think Master is interested in that distinguished young lady named Kaguya?" she asked in a low voice.
Yamai looked at Tadano and then at the shy Kaguya.
Yamai was more informed than Agari and knew about the relationship between Tadano and Kaguya. For a moment, she wondered if Master would be so perverted as to be interested in his stepsister.
Then she remembered what he did to her every time he used her and concluded.
Yamai: "That beast won't be satisfied with just us... the only saving grace is that he hasn't jumped on Komi-sama yet," she said with malice.
Shirogane was angry.
He felt his authority and position were being challenged by this young man.
He had worked hard enough for years to get the best grades and didn't believe that a handsome young man like the one in front of him was better than him.
Shirogane knew how difficult the Shuchiin academy exams were.
He was able to maintain his position after intense hours of intensive study.
This was reflected in the dark circles he always had.
Thinking about this, he relaxed and calmed his anger.
He saw Tadano as a handsome man who surely spent time on his appearance. He didn't believe Tadano dedicated enough time to studying, so with a confident and somewhat mocking smile, he said.
Shirogane: "Fine... how could I, as a superior, deny you something like this? Improvement in study is always welcome." He said while pulling a stack of papers from a desk drawer.
Tadano: "... do you always carry them with you?" the young man asked, surprised at how easily Shirogane got them.
Shirogane: "In my free time, I review my notes and constantly test myself, so I always have a few on hand," he said arrogantly.
Both Tadano and the other girls, except for Kaguya, rolled their eyes.
A collective thought floated over their heads.
"Is your life so sad that you can only think about studying..."
Tadano: "Whatever... since you have some on hand, let's give it a try." He said while pulling out a pen with a flick of his hand.
Shirogane was stunned to see the pen materialize.
However, the girls didn't seem to take much notice and instead focused on the young man's concentrated expression as he looked at the exam in his hand.
After a few minutes, he put down the pen.
Seeing this, Shirogane spoke.
Shirogane: "Don't worry, it's always difficult the first time. It took me by surprise the first time I took them too," he said kindly.
Tadano looked at him, puzzled.
Tadano: "I appreciate your offer, but I'm done... Shinomiya-san, would you do me the favor of checking it, since you've solved this exam before?" the young man said while extending his hand with the exam.
Kaguya was surprised for a moment, but after thinking for a bit, she placed her palm on her cheek, quickly calmed herself, and returned to her usual noble lady demeanor.
She took the exam from the young man's hands and reviewed it carefully.
It is worth noting that when her palm brushed against the young man's, her cheeks blushed for a moment, but she quickly placed her palm on her cheek to calm herself.
Everyone seemed to ignore that Shirogane could also grade the exam.
Agari and Yamai noticed this but said nothing; however, their suspicion about Tadano's interest in Kaguya was reaffirmed.
In Chika's case, she was too dense to notice.
And Hayasaka didn't really care.
After a few minutes in silence, Kaguya's surprised voice caught everyone's attention.
Kaguya: "T-This... This is a perfect score!!!" she said, very surprised.
While Kaguya could achieve this result with some effort and serious study, she couldn't solve the exam in just a few minutes like the young man in front of her did.
Shirogane was shocked and quickly approached to review the exam.
He took it from Kaguya's stunned hands and began to examine it.
The more he looked, the more astonished he became, and at the same time, the more desperate he felt.
One had to know that the exams Shirogane usually practiced with were the most difficult in the academy; the average level of these exams was at the university entrance exam level.
Shirogane: "This is impossible..." he murmured.
Tadano: "Haha, as the president said, these exams are somewhat difficult. It took me longer than I thought to solve them." He said humbly.
Shirogane rolled his eyes at his words.
"Solving a university-level entrance exam in a few minutes is a long time for you? Are you kidding?" Shirogane thought.
Chika began to bounce excitedly.
Chika: "Wow, it's the first time I've seen someone better than President Shirogane in studies," she said excitedly.
Shirogane: "Better?" he asked, somewhat perplexed by the pink-haired girl's words.
Chika: "I mean... the president usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, Kaguya-san takes 10 to 20, and I usually take almost the whole hour. But Tadano-san only took a few minutes. If that's not better than you, then I don't know what is..." she said while placing a finger on her lips, very thoughtfully.
Tadano: "It's not that big of a deal... I just got lucky. Leaving that aside, Fujiwara-san, I appreciate your guidance in my visit to this place," said the young man with a warm smile.
Chika felt embarrassed upon hearing those words, then thinking of something, she pulled out her phone.
Chika: "Hey... hey... Tadano-san, would you mind exchanging numbers? We could go out and play one of these days." She said happily while waving her phone.
The young man nodded, and both exchanged numbers the next minute.
After leaving a few more words, the young man left through the door along with the pair of girls who accompanied him.
Shirogane was stunned.
Today he had encountered a formidable enemy.
He decided to work even harder on his studies; he wouldn't allow himself to fall behind in academics, he had to be the best, he had to be.
Kaguya, on the other hand, had complicated emotions while looking at the president.
Ice inside her was biting her nails, very frustrated with Shirogane's loss.
Bakaguya, on the other hand, was laughing joyfully,
Child just watched the young man leave through the door.
Then she looked at Bakaguya and said.
Child: "Are you going to let him go without giving us his number?"
Bakaguya: "!!!"
Bakaguya seemed struck by lightning and quickly approached the screen.
She was so happy with Tadano's victory that she forgot about the rest.
She quickly hugged Child and asked for help.
When they were about to start influencing the main Kaguya, both looked at Ice. Ice felt uncomfortable with their looks and, with a resigned tone, spoke.
Ice: "Just do what you want..." then sat defeated in a chair, lost in thought.
Or so it was until a little hand tugged at her dress.
Child: "You know... He doesn't seem that bad. We could try to get to know him first. Who knows, you might end up liking him."
Hearing this, Ice looked at Bakaguya.
She just shrugged.
It was enough for her that they got closer to him and perhaps had one or two interactions.
Author's Note: "Well, here is the promised chapter, a bit long, sorry guys. I've been having writer's block these days but I think I've improved now. Leaving that aside, here is the chapter. With that said, remember to drink plenty of water, and know that I care about you a lot. Sincerely, your favorite depressed author."
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