Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Ah...ah? Aren't they also considered by you to be lifelong friends?"

"Precisely because our friendship will last a lifetime, there's no need to stick together every moment now. Oh, and we should finish all the vegetables too."

"Ah... I can't believe it's like this... "

"Besides, even though we're in the same club, I'm still the class monitor of Class 1, Grade 1. It would seem strange if I always went to eat with students from other classes. Here, have a sip of tea. Take it slow, don't choke."

"Hiss... Huff... That's true... So why would the class monitor want to be the class monitor? Doesn't this mean he can't eat with his friends anymore?"

"Because besides the homeroom teacher, the class monitor is the person with the most power in the class. They can easily control... I mean, command the other students. And being in this position makes it easier to do whatever they want... Kuroba-kun, power can bring relative freedom, right? Hehe."

so dark!

This high school girl is way too much like a supermodel!

While other high school students are enjoying their youth, this person is already playing Game of Thrones!

"We've almost finished eating our bento boxes," Anri Hitomi said as she packed them up.

"However, there are indeed potential problems if I'm not around."

"Hidden dangers?"

"Yes, there will be problems if Shiori and Momo stay together all the time."

"Is there a problem? Do they not get along?"

"It's not that it's bad, it's that it's too good, so it becomes bad."

"Huh? I don't understand... Aren't close female friends always sticking together?"

You could tell back in school that girls would hold hands and go to the bathroom together, while boys would get yelled at if they were caught peeking at a bird while going to the bathroom together.

Is this the complicated relationship between girls?

"Well... how should I put it... if they were just ordinary friends, there wouldn't be a problem. But Shiori and Momo have been best friends since kindergarten, and the strong-willed Shiori has always protected Momo and stood up for her no matter what, which is why Momo still looks so weak."

Another childhood friend... But this explains why Shirai Shiori couldn't help but speak up when she was 'harassing' Aizono Moe.

It's because Aizono Moe is Shirai Shiori's Achilles' heel, and Kuroba Akira has also shown obvious interest in Aizono Moe, so Shirai Shiori will naturally bristle like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

"Oh, I understand what you mean, class monitor. You mean to say that Shirai's existence is detrimental to Aizon's growth?"

"Well, their compatibility can be described as very good or very bad. Shiori's personality is too strong, and she always speaks her mind, while Momo's personality is too soft. She is the type who keeps her thoughts to herself and won't say them out loud. So when Shiori says something that hurts her, she can only keep it to herself and suffer in silence."

"I see."

Sometimes, the words spoken by the closest people are the most hurtful.

Because of excessive familiarity, one feels that anything can be said, but little does one know that an unintentional remark may be something the other person will care about for a lifetime.

The more you value something, the more it hurts... The closer you get, the easier it is to get hurt—this is the hedgehog's law.

That's why people say distance makes the heart grow fonder, because too much closeness can be harmful.

"Like what Shiori said yesterday, looking down on light novels."

"Yes."

It was because of that sentence that Kuroba Akira got a little carried away, and as a result, he proposed that kind of bet, wanting to teach Shirai Shiori a lesson.

"Actually, Mengmeng has always been reading light novels, and she really likes them, so hearing those words must have hurt her a lot. It's not because her favorite things were belittled, but because her friend doesn't like what she likes... Can you understand the difference between these two things?"

"Oh, I see. After saying that, Ai-en won't talk to Shirai about light novels anymore, because she knows Shirai doesn't like light novels."

"Yes, in this way, the two will have fewer common topics. Originally, Mengmeng could only talk to Shiori when discussing light novels. After all, Shiori doesn't know anything about drawing, and Mengmeng can't get into traditional literature. Over time, a gap will appear between the two."

"...Wow, that's amazing, class monitor. I didn't expect you to have thought of all this."

"I just don't want the precious friendship I built up since childhood to break down over some small things... After all, I myself gave up my childhood playmates."

The class monitor gave a wry smile.

This will probably be a regret she will remember for the rest of her life.

The reason she values ​​the word "friend" so much is because she has experienced the pain of losing a friend.

It is indeed true that a person's personality is shaped by their past experiences.

Chapter Ninety-Two: After Three Failures, She Finds Her Purpose in Life

So, the class monitor had seen it all, and she had long since discovered the hidden dangers between Shirai Shiori and Aizono Moe.

From this perspective, the reason she didn't stop yesterday's conflict was actually to resolve a larger problem.

……Um?

So, I've been used as a pawn by the class monitor again?

Huh? Why did I say "again"...?

After tidying up the lunchboxes, Anri Hitomi stood up and pouted.

"But to be honest, it hurts a little that Shiori thinks I've become love-struck too. All I want is to make friends who can accompany me through life. I thought Shiori would understand me."

"Few people can understand this starting point..."

Akira Kuroba didn't think Shiori Shirai valued her friends that much, but she did treat Moe Aizono as her own, not allowing anyone to hurt her.

However, the result was that her own words hurt Aizono Moe, which can only be said to be because she was provoked by Kuroba Akira to the point of losing her mind.

She must hate herself terribly.

I wonder if she realized that her words hurt her good friend... Maybe she's some kind of low-EQ fairy.

Kuroba Akira got up and stretched, already knowing what his mission was.

That means breaking up this lesbian couple (lol)!

Well, actually it just serves as a kind of 'isolation barrier' so that Shiori Shirai can re-examine her relationship with Moe Aizono.

If Akira Kuroba wins this publishing showdown, Moe Aizono will have no choice but to cooperate with him, and Shiori Shirai will be forced to watch as her friends and family are enslaved by that despicable man to produce illustrations of beautiful girls...

Why do I inexplicably have this feeling that I'm stealing someone else's girlfriend?

No, no, no! I was just following orders! The minister has already given his approval!

"So, is there any reward for this operation?"

"As for the reward, haven't you already set it for yourself, Kuroba-kun?"

"what?"

"If you beat Shiori, then Momo will be yours for the taking, won't she?"

"That's a very..."

It's like he wants to tune Aizono Moe into his own personal sex toy... Although Kuroba Akira does have this plan, it's not because he's lusting after her body, but because he's lusting after her talent.

"I know Mengmeng is very important to you, Hei Yu-kun. After all, your eyes practically lit up when you showed her your hands."

"Uh... is it that obvious...?"

"Kuroba-kun, you really have no self-awareness."

"Haha... I'm so sorry, I got carried away."

Kuroba Akira immediately apologized, but Anri Hitomi had already picked up the empty box she had packed and walked ahead. Kuroba Akira scratched his head and followed.

Was the class monitor angry? Maybe I should really be more careful about my words and actions in the future. It's okay to be flirtatious with the class monitor, but I should be more mindful of my boundaries when dealing with other girls. Not everyone is someone you can joke with.

Yes, Hitomi Anri was indeed angry, but not at Akira Kuroba; she was angry at herself.

Actually, seeing how enthusiastic Kuroba Akira was about Aizono Moe yesterday, Anri Hitomi was a little jealous.

This wasn't jealousy; she understood the difference.

In fact, Hitomi Anri was also happy to see Akira Kuroba and Moe Aizono get along well, but a flame of jealousy still burned in the corner of her heart.

It stems from the sense of defeat that comes from being outdone.

Although Hitomi Anri wasn't sure if Akira Kuroba's so-called 'palm reading' was a real skill, his attitude after looking at his own hands and after looking at Moe Aizono's hands was clearly different.

According to Hitomi Anri's observation, Akira Kuroba is only interested in things or people that can bring him benefits, and he himself has made this clear.

So Anri Hitomi discovered that when she first stood in front of him, all the experience she had accumulated up to this point was useless, and she felt a sense of shame as if she were completely naked.

There was nothing about him that could attract Kuroba Akira.

This was his first defeat against Akira Kuroba; he died before even achieving his goal.

In the end, all she could think of was 'things that men would be interested in,' namely her own body and her underwear.

So when Kuroba Akira mentioned her impression of the class monitor, she steered the conversation to what she saw under her skirt, and sure enough, Kuroba Akira took the bait.

But only half of them took the bait.

Because he is more...materialistic than I imagined.

Greed for money overcame lust, and he actually resisted the urge to explore under the skirt, which left Anri Tong feeling quite helpless. She had no choice but to come up with her final solution: trading underwear for money.

But because it was too embarrassing, and I felt like I was really crazy, I stopped halfway through.

Unable to attract Kuroba Akira with her body alone, she had no choice but to ask him directly. When he looked at her hands and asked her to make him a lunchbox, Anri Hitomi felt incredibly gratified.

So now she is very interested in cooking and full of energy. She spends more time planning and making lunchboxes than studying, and is willing to spend more time learning new dishes. She is now interested in learning dishes that she used to find troublesome and complicated.

But that's a story for later; at the time, Hitomi Anri was still quite angry.

The main problem was that after the initial excitement of finding my own value wore off, I became increasingly angry on the way to the library.

My underwear is worse than my lunchbox?

Does it mean that it's better to fill your stomach than to eat yourself?

Even if I stripped naked in front of him and sat next to a deluxe bento box, he would still choose to eat, right?

Am I really that unattractive?! I was the undisputed school beauty of freshman year, after all!

Anri Hitomi had never cared about such empty titles before, but now she was using them to increase her own value.

However, because of her superb acting skills, she didn't show any of these inner thoughts. At that time, she was still calmly asking Kuroba Akira if she could read his novel.

But perhaps out of embarrassment or anger, or perhaps because her self-esteem was hurt, when she offered Kuroba Akira a drink and saw his expression of being even happier than if she had gotten her underwear, Anri Hitomi finally couldn't hold back anymore.

On a whim, Anri Hitomi once again committed the despicable act of voluntarily handing over her panties.

When she got home, she started to regret it. She covered her head with a pillow and kept shouting for half an hour, "What am I doing?!" "I'm crazy!" "How shameless!" and other such regretful words.