The summer vacation is now over and the second semester of the second year starts today, which means that we will soon be turning the corner in our three-year school life. I tied my tie and slid my arms through my sleeves. Looking in the mirror, I do my hair, making sure my appearance is in order, and headed for the door. On the way, I was joined by Sudou, who was yawning loudly. We exchanged greetings, kept in step with each other, and headed out of the dormitory.

Suzune warned me about the possibility of the second semester exams coming in earlier, so I stayed up all night.

You were studying on the very last day of summer vacation?

Thankfully, Ive got a full curriculum for my needs that shes helped me out on. Well, even for me, I should be able to obtain high scores on exams and get my Academic Ability in the OAA to a B or higher.

A B or higher may be a bit of a stretch. But even so, perhaps it wasnt truly that far from reality.

If he had been studying hard during the summer vacation, it would not be surprising if his academic performance had improved further. He has indeed become a man for whom the phrase brains and brawns fits quite well.

His minor behavioural problems like tardiness, absenteeism, and falling asleep in class had been drastically reduced.

There are still times when he would get heated depending on the situation, but that is also a characteristic of Sudo.

I know this is a weird question, but do you think Kanji and Shinohara have kissed or done something like that yet?

Eh?

Im happy for him for getting a girlfriend, but its kinda annoying that he got one before me I guess. Recently Ive been feeling kinda weird about it.

Why dont you ask him directly? If its Ike, I dont think hell mind telling you.

.As if I could ask him something like that. I mean, its fine if they havent held hands yet, but if I hear from him that theyve gone further than that. Lets just say that my right arm may roar for the first time in a long time.

I see, so that was the situation. That roar is going to get him in a lot of trouble.

With Ikes personality if hes happy then I also feel like he might talk about it regardless of the place. And nothing will really happen if you dont ask, right?

Thats true. But maybe things are different when it comes to love. I dont know myself, since I havent experienced it. By the way, have you had a girlfriend before, Ayanokouji?.. I wonder how it would feel like being on the other side.

The subject of the conversation which was about Ike unexpectedly shifted to me.

I involuntarily felt Sudous passionate gaze on me, as if asking what would it feel it like.

There would be no point in lying, so Ill be honest, I got my first girlfriend the other day.

Really? Are you for real?

Even if I avoided his question here, it would still be soon spread by Kei either way.

While I answered honestly, Sudou held his head and sighed in response.

After that, suddenly, he grabs my shoulders urgently.

D-d-d-d-d-dont tell me!?

Relax. Its not the person you think it is

Y-you sure!? I can trust you that its not Suzune, right?

Yeah. Not her.

I-I see. Well, thats okay thenI thought my heart was going to stop for a second there

He places his left palm on his forehead and wipe it messily, as if sweat was breaking out.

Then as if to show his anxiety, he showed me the sweat on his palms.

Then, who is it?*

Thats

Ah! Found you!

Just as Sudo regained his composure, the sound of footsteps came running from behind. The footsteps caught up with our walking speed and the person behind it looked up at me with an angry face.

I was thinking of asking you to walk with me to class today, but you werent in your room!

Kei puffed out her cheeks a little and complained.

But you didnt tell me we were going together.

ThatsWell, its because I was nervous and decided to do so last minute

Sudo looked at us suspiciously as we suddenly began a mysterious exchange.

Were having an important conversation between us men, so dont interrupt us Karuizawa.

Apparently, he hadnt noticed anything off about the nature of our conversation.

It seemed that he simply wasnt satisfied with the fact that she had shown up here.

Now that I think about it, the two of them rarely interacted much in the past.

The relationship between them was neither good nor bad..No, if I had to say, it would be on the bad side.

Are you planning on revealing our relationship today, Kei?

Eh? Y-yeah. Im just thinking of the timingIt doesnt feel right announcing it as soon as the semester starts Its surprisingly difficult to do it. Announcing it like Guys, listen up~ doesnt feel quite right either.

You did it quickly when you were with Yousuke, though.

Well, t-thats one thing, but this is a totally different situation.

Oi, oi, what the hell are you guys..on..about.eh?

Sudou, who had been showing signs of dullness, stopped and looked dumbfounded, as if he had caught on to the fact that I had called her by her first name and the contents of our conversation.

Whaeh, O-oi, whats going on here, Ayanokouji?

Still, as if our pairing couldnt possibly have a connection, he still didnt seem to fully understand. In a way, it might be a good thing for Sudou to be the first person to know about our relationship.

The both of us are going out.

Kei grinned and elbowed me with her arm three times.

Perhaps she was happy that I had told him.

Wha..aaaaaaaaat!? Y-youre kidding right!?

He was taken aback, and shouted out loud, more exaggeratedly than I had imagined.

There happened to be no classmates of ours around, but the other students turned their heads to see what was going on.

Too noisy.

M-my bad. But, eh!? Why Karuizawa?

What do you mean by that, is there something wrong with me?

Thats not what I mea-..I didnt say that, buteeh.?

As if to show his bewilderedness, he pulled back a little, and shook his head in an unconvincing manner.

What? Would you rather had me go out with Horikita?

I would never accept that!No, that wasnt what I meant.. wait a second.

He suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and put his lips close to my ear and whispered.

I know this isnt a nice thing to say but..Karuizawa dated Hirata before, and even before that, you wouldnt know if shes fooled around during her middle school years either, right? Are you not dissatisfied or disgusted by that? Having your first girlfriend be someone like that, isnt that too much of a hurdle?

Perhaps that was the image my classmates had of Kei Karuizawa.

In fact, until I learned about her past, I had always thought of her as that kind of girl.

What are you guys whispering about?

I-its nothing.

Sudou slunk away under her intense glare. Perhaps he felt bad for bad-mouthing her.

Ayanokouji and Karuizawa dating? No no no, no matter how many times I think about it, my understanding cannot catch up. I was drowsy up until a moment ago but now, its all cleared up. What a way to start the second semester