I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

That's strange. Could it just be my imagination?

Shiina looked at the makeshift toilet again, this time focusing intently on it. If it wasn't an earthquake or the wind that moved the toilet, then all that would remain was the makeshift toilet itself.

Suddenly, the makeshift toilet began to shake violently, but it quickly calmed down, and a strange sound seemed to be coming from inside.

Shiina swallowed hard and cautiously approached the bathroom door.

As they got closer, the sounds inside became clearer, and the rapid breathing and panting sounded like the person in great distress.

Shiina pressed her ear against the bathroom door, and this time she finally heard it clearly: it was Ibuki crying softly.

Is Ibuki facing some kind of crisis?

Just as Shiina was about to loudly question Ibuki, a sharp pain in her abdomen made her bend over.

This is bad! If she doesn't go into the bathroom soon, something terrible is going to happen!

In desperation, Shiina could only pound on the bathroom door.

"Is that you, Mio?"

After Shiina made a sound, something strange happened. The sound of Ibuki, who had been crying just a second ago, immediately stopped, and even the entire makeshift toilet stopped shaking. For a moment, the scene fell into a deathly silence.

The sudden silence sent a chill down Shiina's spine. After hesitating for a moment, Shiina gently knocked on the door again.

"Ibuki, is that you inside?"

This time, Ibuki's voice came from inside the bathroom.

"Yes, it's me... Is there something you need, Hiyori?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Shiina finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the tension in Ibuki's voice did not escape Shiina's ears.

If it were anyone else, Ibuki might be confident she could fool them, but with Shiina outside the door, her chances of getting away with it are practically zero.

because……

Hiyori Shiina is not just a high school girl who likes mystery novels, but... a girl who is truly good at and loves to observe, analyze, summarize, and then discover the essence of things.

Faced with someone like that, Ibuki had absolutely no confidence that she could tell a perfect lie in front of Shiina.

Do you need my help right now?

Shiina forced himself to remain calm despite his physical discomfort.

Based on the series of unusual phenomena observed earlier, Shiina deduced that there was likely more than one person inside the bathroom, and if so, Ibuki might have been coerced.

And the person inside could absolutely not be a girl.

Although Ibuki's fighting strength is completely different from Horikita and Amane's, in the current special exam, even a martial arts member of Ibuki's level doesn't have the qualifications to step onto the stage. Choosing her doesn't mean she's weak to ordinary people.

Aside from a few elite club members who excel in sports and powerful girls like Amane and Horikita, almost no one among the girls could hold Ibuki hostage and make her completely submissive like she is now.

The only possibility is that the opponent's strength is far greater than Ibuki's, and that they are someone who can completely suppress Ibuki. Among girls, only Amane could probably do that. Amane and Ibuki have such a close relationship that there is no reason for Amane to harm Ibuki.

Therefore, the person inside definitely cannot be a girl. If it is a boy, things will be much more complicated. No matter who the boy inside is, if his strength is above Ibuki's, he is not someone she can handle. She will have to find help.

Shiina's first thought was Amane. Fortunately, Amane had returned. As long as Amane was there, rescuing Ibuki would definitely not be a problem. She had unwavering trust in Amane's abilities.

"I...I'm fine! Okay, no, um...I don't need help..."

Shiina bit her lip; she heard the pained sound Ibuki made as she answered.

She could roughly imagine what kind of pain Ibuki might be enduring, and she had to take immediate action.

Only in this way can Ibuki be saved as quickly as possible.

So Shiina pretended not to notice anything unusual in Ibuki's words and spoke in a normal tone.

"It's good that you're alright. I thought something had happened to you inside, and I was worried about you for ages."

"Um, um, um... Don't worry, I, um, I'm fine..."

"Are you done? My stomach hurts a bit and I need to use the bathroom."

As soon as Shiina finished speaking, all the muscles in her body tensed up. This was clearly a test; if the person inside wasn't a second-year student, they would definitely seize this opportunity to attack her. If they succeeded, the other party could...

Having gained the opportunity to escape the scene, it seems that Ibuki's situation can only be reported to the school for them to handle.

However, if Ibuki refuses, it means that the person who kidnapped Ibuki is definitely a second-year student who is afraid of being exposed and therefore hopes that Ibuki can continue to buy him time, preferably until Shiina leaves...

However... whoever is inside, what makes them so sure they won't be held accountable by the school? One of the most important factors is that committing such a crime would likely involve not only the school but also the police, making escape completely unrealistic.

In short, it was as if someone had chosen to put themselves in a deadly situation, which made Shiina a little confused about the other party's motives. Was it simply a matter of risking everything to destroy Ibuki as revenge, or...? He was absolutely confident that Ibuki would not tell the school about this.

The person inside is someone Ibuki knows!

Did he catch Ibuki... having an affair?

Shiina's face flushed bright red. For a girl who hadn't even figured out what love was like, catching her best friend cheating was far too exciting, especially since the person she betrayed was the very person she was about to ask to confess to. This...

A series of complex relationships and worldly moral clashes left Shiina somewhat dizzy; even with her talent for deduction, she couldn't quite unravel these complicated connections for the time being.

"Not now...not yet!!! Absolutely not! Hiyori, go back and wait for five minutes...just five minutes...please! My stomach is really upset today..."

Ibuki's voice carried a hint of pleading. Although it sounded like Ibuki was begging Shiina, Shiina, who knew Ibuki very well, knew that Ibuki's pleas were not directed at her.

Everything matched his guess.

The other person is not a girl, not a first-year student, and the two are doing something unspeakable, while I am chatting with Ibuki who is doing that kind of thing.

The thought of what kind of disgusting scene might be inside the bathroom made Shiina want to cover her face and run away in shame. But if she did that, it would be obvious that the other party would know that she had guessed what was going on inside, which would be a disastrous consequence that would ruin the reputation of both the boy and Ibuki.

Furthermore, Shiina also thought that given Amane's personality, if she knew that Ibuki had done such a thing, the fate of that boy and Ibuki... would probably be very cruel.

Although Shiina's feelings are incredibly complicated right now, fortunately, her habit of reading alone often has given her a way to quickly adjust her mindset no matter what happens.

I took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

Having adjusted her mindset, Shiina glanced at the bathroom with a complicated expression.

"Then I'll head back now, Mio, can you hurry up?"

"Hug me~ Sorry! I'll finish this quickly!"

"Don't say that... I'll be going now."

Shiina deliberately made a lot of noise when she left so as to reassure the people inside.

Back in the tent, Shiina slumped to the ground, looking utterly dejected, muttering to herself.

"How am I supposed to face Mio and Amane after this?"

……

Seeing that there was no more movement outside, Ibuki cautiously peeked out and made a quick look around. After confirming that Shiina had left, Ibuki quickly crawled back into the bathroom and angrily punched Amane inside.

Feeling refreshed in the face of this attack, Tenon casually grabbed Ibuki's little fist and then gave her a hard kiss on the cheek.

"Well done, this is your reward. I didn't expect that your acting skills were so bad that you could still fool Hiyori. As expected, Hiyori had no suspicion of you."

Tianyin seemed to be deep in thought, recalling the conversation they had just had.

Shiina's reaction seemed overly...calm.

Even if you're very close, it's impossible for someone with a stomachache to remain calm when encountering someone who's been dawdling in the bathroom for ages.

Just like...

It was as if Hiyori Shiina already knew what had happened inside.

"You bastard! You pervert! How dare you bring this up? You took advantage of my friendship with Hiyori to deceive her! And do you know what? She's been thinking about how to get closer to you every day... Anyway, Hiyori really likes you."

When Ibuki thought about how she had just lied to Shiina, she felt a little guilty and wondered if she could do something to make it up to Shiina. Since Amane had just done *that* to her, Amane would still listen to whatever she said now. Why not take this opportunity to let Amane understand Shiina's feelings, so that Shiina wouldn't have to go through the agonizing trouble of confessing, which made her anxious just watching.

However… the thought of possibly lying in the same bed with Shiina and being bullied by Amane made Ibuki's face burn with embarrassment.

"I know."

Amane's answer surprised Ibuki.

"Huh? You mean... you know that Hiyori likes you?"

Seeing Ibuki's shocked expression, Amane blinked in confusion, and the short white ahoge on her head reappeared.

"Of course I know. Why wouldn't I know something that even you, Mio, know?"

"You know she likes you and you still slept with me in front of her? You're a fucking pervert!"

Ibuki couldn't help but swear. She originally thought that Amane didn't know Shiina liked her, so she deliberately kept giving her a wicked lecture while she knew Shiina was still outside. But she didn't expect that Amane knew everything. So she should know how sad Shiina would be if she found out about this.

The thought that he and Shiina might actually break up because of a woman made Ibuki feel incredibly ridiculous.

"I told you long ago, I'm not a good person."

Amane casually draped her tracksuit over her shoulders and gently patted Ibuki's head.

Ibuki tried to dodge but was completely unable to move under those seemingly delicate hands.

"What about her? If Hiyori finds out... she'll..."

“I didn’t force anyone to date me. Similarly, I respect everyone’s choices. If Hiyori feels that I’m not suitable as a dating partner, then she will keep a distance that is appropriate for both of us. As long as I feel that distance has been drawn, I will not easily cross that line. Matsushita and the others are proof of that. I may be a philandering scumbag or something worse in your eyes, but I am not a beast that will eat anything to satisfy its desires. On the contrary, I am very picky.”

As Amane spoke, she reached out and pinched Ibuki's cheek, examining it closely. Ibuki, feeling a little uncomfortable under Amane's scrutinizing gaze, kept looking away.

There were a few questions that had been weighing on Ibuki's mind for a long time, but she never dared to ask them, fearing that she would fall into despair if she found out the answers. However, her curiosity kept urging her to ask the questions she most wanted to know the answers to.

"what about me?"

"what?"

Am I also the result of your picky eating habits?

Ibuki mustered her courage and glanced at Amane, then quickly lowered her head. Just asking that question had almost used up all her courage, and she didn't even know if she would have the courage to ask the next question.

Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?

Click.

A shattering sound, audible only to her, rang in her ears; it was undoubtedly the sound of a heart breaking.

Amane's words had already given her the answer. Ibuki had long guessed that this would be the result, but she still couldn't help but speak up with that last glimmer of hope.

But the result was that he personally crushed the last hope in his heart.

"lie."

"Of course you are the person I carefully selected to stay and who is qualified to stand by my side, Ibuki Mio."

Amane's voice was so gentle, yet Ibuki's laughter was so tragic.

"You said you liked me, right? Did you just say that to coax me into doing an Omega with you? Answer me!"

Ibuki grabbed Amane's collar and angrily questioned her.

Tianyin's smile grew even brighter, but her gaze carried an increasing hint of pity.

Her pitiful figure was reflected in those purple eyes, but this time, Tianyin's gaze held no tenderness.

"I really like you. Your personality is different from other girls. It seems more interesting to tease stray cats on the street than to be a domesticated, docile cat."

"So I was just a condiment to satisfy your perverse tastes? How could you say something like that?"

Ibuki looked helplessly at Amane, tears welling up in her eyes. She had long expected this outcome, and she could have simply pretended not to know. But her curiosity finally broke through that thin veil of secrecy.

Ultimately, curiosity killed the cat.

"I know you might be feeling bad right now, but can you please calm down? Have you forgotten our promise?"

An agreement?

Ibuki's memories gradually trace back to a certain night not long after the sports festival.

In a dimly lit corner where the streetlights couldn't reach, Ibuki asked Amane out and made a rough confession to her, which, unsurprisingly, Amane rejected.

Moreover, the reason for the refusal was very straightforward.

Amane felt that Ibuki's personality and body type were not her type, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, Amane directly rejected Ibuki, who had previously deliberately created ambiguity with her.

At the time, Amane had prepared defenses in advance to prevent Ibuki from doing anything irrational after being rejected. Given Ibuki's reckless and impulsive nature, she figured he would probably attack her to vent his anger.

But Ibuki that day was different from usual.

"Since you rejected my confession, I'll try a different approach. Miyako, how about we make a deal?"

Hearing the word "transaction" from Ibuki's mouth felt very strange to Amane, but she still wanted to hear what kind of transaction it was.

"You take down Ryuen, no matter how you do it. I don't want to see Ryuen continue to wreak havoc on Class C. I admit he's very capable, and he was only one step away from success at this sports festival. But failure is failure. I originally thought that as long as Ryuen kept failing, he would lose his voice. At that time, whether it was Kaneda or Shiina who became the leader, they would definitely be much better than Ryuen. But later I realized that I was wrong, terribly wrong. My thinking was too naive."