Ding-ling~
"Welcome to Kafka Cafe. What would you like to order?"
Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko walked into a vintage and elegantly decorated cafe and sat facing each other at a small table for two by the window.
"A cup of Blue Mountain Coffee."
"Maruyama Coffee."
Waitress: "Would you like some dessert with that?"
"No, thank you."
Waitress: "Alright, please wait a moment~"
Kagura Hikaru stared out the window for a few seconds, then turned to Ayakoji Chiyoko, "I saw you coming out of a coffee shop earlier, and you had a cola at the live house. Can you still drink more?"
"No problem," said Ayakoji Chiyoko.
Kagura Hikaru nodded.
Once again, the air was filled with silence.
Five minutes passed, and the waitress came with a tray, placing two cups of coffee and milk in front of them, with sugar cubes at the center of the table.
Waitress: "Enjoy~"
Even among those who love coffee, everyone's preferences are different.
Some people like it with milk, some enjoy it black, and some like it with just sugar, no milk.
Kagura Hikaru didn't drink coffee often, but he had his own routine.
He preferred it sweet, with a smooth, tea-like texture, so he would pour in the entire small cup of prepared milk right away, add two sugar cubes, and slowly stir. The spoon would clink crisply against the cup.
Ayakoji Chiyoko, on the other hand, preferred the opposite—she wouldn't add anything, savoring the pure taste of the coffee.
It must be very bitter, but her expression didn't show it at all. She was obviously well accustomed to this way of drinking it.
Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but admire her silently.
"Why?"
Ayakoji Chiyoko put down her coffee cup and suddenly asked.
"What are you referring to?"
"What you said earlier, about making Kiryu Hina lose the election. Was that true?"
"It was true."
Kagura Hikaru stopped stirring, tapped the side of his cup, set the spoon aside on the saucer, and took a sip.
It was a bit too sweet.
Ayakoji Chiyoko tapped her fingers on the table: "The reason?"
"No comment."
Kagura Hikaru avoided Ayakoji Chiyoko's gaze, not intending to explain his reasons.
He didn't mind being seen as the villain.
After all, regardless of whether Ayakoji Chiyoko agreed or not, he was going to do it anyway.
This was a decision made after leaving the Student Council at noon.
Ever since Kiryu Hina became the Student Council President and put on a perfect mask, Kagura Hikaru increasingly felt the distance between her and his memories of the past.
It was the same person, yet not quite.
Rather than calling it 'growth', it was more like a disguise, concealment.
The current Kiryu Hina was like playing a role only she knew, with her own script in this world, being a perfect individual, a perfect honors student, a perfect Student Council President.
She appeared strong but, in reality, she was like a castle made of sand, likely to collapse at any moment.
Intuition and knowledge told Kagura Hikaru that if Kiryu Hina continued living behind a mask, one day she would lose her sense of self and become lost in the lies.
In the worst-case scenario, she could become emotionally numb, unable to properly recognize her feelings, lose empathy for others, and her sense of self would gradually fade away, as would her social nature, potentially developing into more severe mental disorders.
This wasn't just alarmist talk; It could become reality.
Every person in this world has some degree of mental illness, and the more experiences they have, the more pronounced it is.
With the Skill "Psychological Counseling lv3 (27/100)," Kagura Hikaru had seen some unsettling possibilities in Kiryu Hina.
If things continued this way, maybe...
He was the least qualified person to interfere; he was well aware of that fact.
But it was much better than standing idly by.
He didn't care about the means, even if everyone saw him as the villain, and even if he truly was doing wicked things, compared to the goal he wanted to achieve, such a price was acceptable.
As for ensuring the correctness of his actions... The numerous skills he acquired through his mysterious mind-reading ability allowed Kagura Hikaru to examine problems from various professional angles. He was the least worried about this aspect.
The position of Student Council President was probably one of the masks binding her.
By breaking this outermost mask and shattering her perfection, Kiryu Hina would be forced to face her true self.
As long as there were people who cared about her, she would eventually find her way back on her own.
That was all he could do.
Watching Kagura Hikaru's stern face, Ayakoji Chiyoko slowly curled the corners of her mouth.
It was as if she could see a splendid drama unfold through Kagura Hikaru's eyes, and she lifted her coffee cup with pleasure, "You know what you're saying, right? To me, the purpose of your actions seems utterly contradictory."
She had specifically silenced Ai Cheng Hua Lian to protect Kiryu Hina from attacks, even if it meant clashing with herself.
But now, he had spoken words with a clear intent to harm Kiryu Hina.
Ayakoji Chiyoko found Kagura Hikaru, this man, increasingly elusive.
She thought she had understood his remaining affection for Kiryu Hina, yet he consistently acted beyond her expectations.
Undoubtedly, he had his secrets, his considerations, his plans.
They might intersect on some matter, but in the end, they might still find themselves on opposite sides.
What's more, Ayakoji Chiyoko could not guarantee that she would be able to defeat him in the future.
The "Rock-Solid Prince" of the first years... indeed, there were only mistaken names, not mistaken nicknames.
This was someone without weaknesses, as solid as a rock.
...No, there should still be a weakness.
The lady by the names of Kiryu and Hina.
However, her intuition told her that the existence of a weakness only made the rock harder, more formidable.
She couldn't control such a person.
But this was also good—it made him a worthy ally.
Click.
Ayakoji Chiyoko set her coffee cup back on the saucer, making a light noise.
After mutual honesty, Ayakoji Chiyoko and Kagura Hikaru could already be considered comrades on the 'front against Kiryu Hina'.
Even though neither of them had uttered it, they both regarded each other as allies of sorts.
Despite each harboring their own ulterior motives and mysterious goals, as long as they shared the same target, there was room for cooperation.
After finishing the coffee and paying the bill, which was, of course, split between them.
When they stepped out of the café, dusk had set in, and the sky was a beautiful shade of red and orange.
They walked toward the train station, planning to take the train home.
The Island Nation's utilization rate of rail transit was astonishing; since extensively laying tracks in the last century, it remains one of Tokyoites' most frequently used modes of transport to this day.
Whether for students or salarymen commuting, or going out for travel, Islanders prefer taking the train.
The sight of trains packed with passengers like sardines during peak hours even became a representative image of the Island Nation.
Normally, Kagura Hikaru had little chance to experience this, as their school had early arrivals and late dismissals, missing the peak times for both journeys.
But at this time, it was smack in the middle of the peak period for sardine-packed trains.
Just the thought of that crowded scene and the air filled with various odors... he really felt the urge to call a taxi service, if only the price wasn't so high.
Just as Ayakoji Chiyoko and Kagura Hikaru were about to use their IC cards to enter the station, the former's phone rang. She took it out, glanced at it, and her face immediately darkened.
"Kagura Hikaru, go ahead on your own, someone's coming to pick me up."
"Oh."
Kagura Hikaru didn't say much, swiped his IC card at the gate, but it didn't open, with the screen showing insufficient balance.
He went over to the recharge machine to add five thousand yen to his IC card.
When he returned to the gate, he found that Ayakoji Chiyoko had already moved to stand under a lamppost at the corner, conversing with a man seated in a black Mercedes.
It seemed her ride had arrived.
The man must have been over thirty, wearing a mask, somewhat familiar-looking, smiling with his eyes as he chatted with Ayakoji Chiyoko.
The latter appeared disgusted, yet she didn't distance herself.
From their interaction, the man didn't seem to be a driver from the Ayakoji family, nor could he easily be imagined as Ayakoji Chiyoko's boyfriend, considering the age difference and their lack of intimate behavior.
Familiar-looking, and yet close to Ayakoji Chiyoko.
Kagura Hikaru almost immediately thought of one person.
Ayakoji Chiyoko's father, the well-known actor—Ryoma Ayakoji!
This man truly was a celebrity; Kagura Hikaru could see advertisements featuring him on the streets nearly every day. Seeing him in person all of a sudden lacked a sense of reality.
He had no intention of greeting him, and after watching Ayakoji Chiyoko get in the car, he turned and entered the station.
Checking the time for the next train's arrival, it looked like he had a few minutes to wait, so he decided to stand by the platform to wait.
Because it was peak hour, the platform was crowded, mostly with students and office workers—school uniforms and suits filled his view.
The thought of having to compete with so many people to squeeze through those few small train doors made Kagura Hikaru's heart sink.
He hated such crowded situations, especially when forced to come into bodily contact with others.
Just as he began to hesitate, wondering whether to go out and wander around to pass the time, someone suddenly tapped him on the back.
Kagura Hikaru turned around to see a smiling face known as Ai Cheng Hua Lian.
"Mr. Kagura, what a coincidence!"