COTE :  Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

The sun had already climbed high. The cicadas, awake since early morning, had been crying out with desperate fervor.

Inside the room, all was still. The air conditioner's louvers swayed back and forth with a languid rhythm, cold air gently stirring the curtains. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the fabric and struck the floor, forming several pillars of light that seemed to rise straight from the ground.

On the bedside table, the phone that had been lying quietly suddenly began to vibrate. The piercing, grating chime of the alarm echoed through the small room.

A hand emerged from beneath the sheets, fumbled across the bedside table a few times, then yanked the phone back under the covers.

Several more minutes passed before the lump under the sheets sluggishly propped up its upper body.

"Haah~"

A long yawn escaped, Fuyuji squeezing out a few tears from the corners of his eyes. One hand rubbed his messy, disheveled hair while the other slid a finger across the screen and silenced the alarm.

As expected—the surefire way to ruin a song was to set it as your alarm ringtone.

Mm, it was decided. Next time, he'd secretly change Morishita's alarm ringtone to the Kamen Rider theme song. That way, next time they went out, she'd agree to go watch the Ultraman movie with him.

Truly a stroke of genius—far surpassing low-level operations like swapping SIM cards in the VIP exam.

Flinging aside the sheets, Fuyuji rubbed his eyes and shuffled over to the bathroom sink.

The two-week luxury cruise vacation had ended two days ago. On the first day back, everyone had been utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. After getting off the bus and confirming everyone was accounted for, they had hastily dispersed.

The second day had been the celebration for the two special exams. The Class A students, overcome with excitement, had accidentally played deep into the night—resulting in the birth of one individual with severe difficulty getting out of bed.

He twisted the faucet, water gushing out with a whoosh. One hand shoved a toothbrush into his mouth while the other held his phone, deftly opening the Advanced Nurturing High School campus forum.

[Advanced Nurturing High School Campus Forum Topic Rankings.]

[1. The Man Sent Flying by a Goat.]

[2. Him Again—Our King!]

[3. Why Does a Pure-Hearted Chuuni Boy Wail in the Middle of the Night?! A Twist of Human Nature, or the Collapse of Morality?]

Fuyuji shook his head and moved his finger, silently liking the top post.

[Crap-Eating King! With just one command from you, we shall immediately elect you as the new Student Council President! You are the strongest in the history of Advanced Nurturing High! What Horikita Manabu, what Nagumo Miyabi—none of them are a match for even a single toe of yours! Under your leadership, Advanced Nurturing High will surely grow stronger and stronger, reaching new heights of glory!]

As expected of you, Ryuen-kun. The moment he returned to school, he could stir up a storm like this—and even bring a touch of cooling relief to the many students of Advanced Nurturing High in this sweltering summer heat. After this battle, congratulations: you shall formally be promoted from the Most Notorious Figure of the First Year to the Most Notorious Figure of All Advanced Nurturing High.

He wondered if Hashimoto had escaped Ryuen's pursuit yet. It couldn't be helped—unable to find his long-lost primary target, Ryuen could only shift his gaze toward Hashimoto Masayoshi, the man who had screwed him over again and again.

According to Hiyori, those 200,000 private points had apparently been borrowed from his entire class, and Hashimoto had swept them all away in one wave—while conveniently helping tamp down the dirt on Class C's grave just a little firmer.

After simply finishing his morning routine and leisurely scrolling through his phone for a while longer, the time was about right. Fuyuji straightened out his attire, twisted the door handle, and headed straight out of the dormitory.

The moment he stepped through the main entrance, a wave of heat blasted him full in the face. Fuyuji gazed at the distant teaching buildings, warped and shimmering in the heat, then looked down at his own formal, dressed-up attire. He let out a long, helpless sigh and thought to himself in a somber tone: if he wore a Hawaiian shirt and beach shorts to go shopping with Senpai, she'd probably beat him to death on the spot, wouldn't she?

Reluctantly savoring the sensation of cold air wrapping around his entire body one last time, Fuyuji narrowed his eyes, lifted his feet, and strode toward his destination.

The August sun blazed mercilessly upon the sports field's running track. The school paths were practically deserted, waves of cicada cries laden with summer heat piercing through the green shade. The cherry blossom trees lining the roadside had long since shed their spring hues, their dense branches and leaves curling into green waves in the hot wind, leaking coin-sized flecks of shattered gold that danced upon the sandy ground.

Amidst the summer cicadas' droning, Fuyuji came to a halt outside the cafe at Keyaki Mall. His gaze settled upon a girl in a black pleated skirt, her legs crossed, one shoulder casually resting against the back of a bench. On the table before her sat a cup of coffee, and beside her, an outdoor cooling fan blew a steady stream of cold air. It seemed she had arrived here early to pass the time.

"Far too slow, Kouhai."

One foot, clad in a thin-heeled sandal, was propped up, her five bare, fair, pink toes swaying freely up and down. Kiryuin Fuka noticed the approaching Fuyuji at the earliest possible moment.

"Keeping a girl waiting when going out on a date is a serious point deduction."

"Senpai, I don't think our agreed meeting spot was here. And there's still over twenty minutes until the appointed time," Fuyuji retorted with exasperation.

"Is that so?" Kiryuin didn't seem to care. "Maybe I just wanted to test whether you'd take the initiative to come over and say hello upon seeing me."

Having said this, her propped-up leg ceased its swaying. Kiryuin rose from her chair and walked up before Fuyuji, looking him up and down before revealing a satisfied smile.

"You've grown taller. Seems these past two weeks have treated you well."

"Have I?" Fuyuji raised a hand and measured his height with a gesture.

"You have."

Kiryuin stepped forward once more, the distance between them shrinking further. Her fine, attractive face instantly magnified within Fuyuji's field of vision, strands of her silvery-white hair suddenly brushing against the nape of his neck like a feather landing softly upon his heart.

"Last time, when Senpai wasn't wearing shoes, I could just about reach your eyes. Now, even with heeled sandals on, it's still the same. To be honest, I'm suddenly a little disappointed in today's outfit."

His originally long, steady breathing instantly turned disordered, strands of a faint, elusive fragrance continuously worming their way into his nostrils. Without even lowering his head, he could see the smooth, silky long hair held back by the black headband.

She smelled so good... Fuyuji gazed blankly at the girl before him—someone he could completely envelop in his arms with just a single reach. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to hold this slender, well-proportioned body tightly in his embrace. What a pity—if he actually tried it, Senpai would most likely make him perform a Flying Human stunt once more, right in front of everyone.

"Let's go."

After this brief, fleeting taste, Kiryuin retreated a small step, pulling the distance back. She casually handed the bag on her shoulder to Fuyuji, flicked her long silvery-white hair, and turned to head toward their destination.

"Since we've already run into each other, let's start the date early. The fortune-telling place doesn't open until ten. Let's kill some time first."

"Haah?"

Staring at the lady's handbag in his grasp, Fuyuji stood frozen for a brief moment before hurrying after her. "But I haven't eaten breakfast yet! Also—um—Senpai, could you carry this yourself? As a guy, carrying a lady's handbag feels kind of embarrassing..."

"Being this lazy won't do. It's bad for your health," Kiryuin automatically glossed over the matter of the lady's handbag. She raised a hand and pointed at the coffee on the table. "Fine. Seeing as you're my adorable kouhai, Senpai will let you have her unfinished breakfast."

"..."

The corner of Fuyuji's mouth twitched. "That's not what I meant. Can't we just wait until I've finished breakfast before going on the date?"

"No. Fortune-telling is all about fate. Running into each other early is also a form of fate. You have to seize it properly."

"Senpai, that kind of stuff is usually just nonsense made up to scam people."

"How could it possibly be fake? I researched this myself."

"..."

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50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!