Outside the window, the Brass Band Club seemed to have entered a brief rest period, and the activity room fell into a tense, uneasy silence.
Watanabe Tetsu loosened his tie a little, feeling the room grow stiflingly warm.
"Continuing this argument is just a waste of time."
Yuki Miki suggested with a devilish smile.
"How about this? Democracy. There are exactly three people here. Let's settle it with a vote."
Democracy?
Watanabe Tetsu nearly laughed—he didn't even dare cast a no vote!
If he could choose, he absolutely did not want Yuki Miki to join the Human Observation Club.
But even if he voted against her, Yuki Miki would just go back on her word, pressure the school, and have the non-compliant club dissolved.
And after that, she would definitely give him trouble.
He wouldn't die—but a fate worse than death was highly possible.
That was the confidence behind her so-called "democratic proposal."
He couldn't just sit and wait for death.
He needed a way to prevent Yuki Miki from joining without provoking her into retaliation.
"I feel like…" Watanabe Tetsu began, "while democracy is great and all, giving someone like me—a poor student with nothing—an equal vote with two genius girls like you… doesn't that seem a little unfair?"
"What's your idea?" Seino Rin asked, though her tone made it unclear whether she agreed with him or was simply worried voting wouldn't favor her either.
Watanabe Tetsu glanced between the two girls.
"This is a school matter, and you're both students. So… how about using the results of the mid-term test in half a month to decide?"
Just in case, he added,
"You're both confident enough that you're not afraid of losing to the other, right?"
The crude provocation was seen through instantly.
Both girls shot him identical side-glances of disdain.
But that didn't matter. A crude tactic could still work even when recognized.
"Fine," Yuki Miki nodded.
"The capable rise, the weak obey. I prefer settling things with strength."
"I have no objection," Seino Rin replied, as confidently as always.
"I have one more condition," Yuki Miki raised her slender index finger and pointed directly at Seino Rin.
"Besides whether I join the club or not… the position of club president will also be reassigned based on the test results."
Seino Rin, completely confident she wouldn't lose, accepted.
Yuki Miki turned toward the door.
"One more thing. Because of the school regulations, until the mid-term exam, I temporarily belong to this Observing Humans—forget it, this club. Temporarily."
She stepped out and added:
"But only temporarily. I'll be the president soon."
"That part is indeed temporary," Seino Rin replied softly, then sat back down and picked up her hardcover book as if nothing had happened.
After Yuki Miki left, Watanabe Tetsu finally let out a long breath and left the Human Observation Club as well.
At least until the exam, he didn't have to worry about Yuki Miki… for now.
Checking the time—it was already four o'clock.
He planned to head to the office, report today's "battle results" to Koizumi Aina, then go home to study and think of countermeasures.
Yuki Miki was like a blade pressed against his back.
The only way to survive was to keep moving forward.
At the office, he recounted everything that had happened.
"Thank you, Watanabe. I'm so relieved we can resolve this with test scores," Koizumi Aina let out a sigh of relief.
As she snacked, teacher Hiroko teased him:
"So, Watanabe, which of the two girls do you like more?"
"Huh?"
"You know—Seino and Yuki are both incredibly pretty, right? Smart, rich… no guy wouldn't like them."
"There is. Me."
Only a primitive, brain-undeveloped male ape would risk his life liking either of them!
He, Watanabe Tetsu, walked at the forefront of human evolution—smart, handsome, never idle, destined for greatness.
How could he possibly like them?
"Don't be shy~" Hiroko nudged his shoulder playfully—completely lacking teacherly dignity.
"Don't tell me… you actually like Aina?"
"Yes, I like Ms. Koizumi the most."
"You two!" Koizumi Aina protested, glaring at them.
"Watanabe, whether you like Seino, Yuki, or any other girl—you must be loyal."
"Don't worry, teacher. The last rule of the 'Tokyo Hunk' manual—'Always be mentally prepared to get stabbed'—I've memorized well."
"You—!" Koizumi Aina smacked him on the head with an English textbook.
Hiroko gave him a thumbs-up.
"I support you, kid!"
They all thought he was living a youth romance story.
None of them realized this was a war for survival.
Leaving the office, Watanabe Tetsu exited the school building and headed toward the station.
In the distant corridor between buildings, someone was practicing music.
On the field, the Track Club took up the running lanes; the Soccer Club fought fiercely over the ball;
and the metallic crack of baseball bats echoed beneath the deep-blue May sky.
Passing through them, Watanabe Tetsu felt the rosy dreams of private academies had never belonged to him.
When he first arrived in Tokyo in April, he worked part-time to lessen his family's burden while studying.
Then the game-system arrived; life slowly improved.
The rosy path seemed no longer impossibly distant—
Then Yuki Miki appeared like a demon and sealed him inside a glass jar.
From that moment on, a transparent barrier separated him from normal people forever.
The noise of the field faded gradually.
When Watanabe Tetsu passed the screen-like oak trees, the sounds grew even softer.
A black luxury car sat parked at the school gate.
The rear door slowly opened, revealing a pair of beautiful legs whose owner's face remained hidden.
Damn it.
Watanabe Tetsu tightened his grip on his backpack and climbed into the backseat.
The door shut instantly.
The car glided away from the school entrance and merged smoothly into the main road.
And right then—
Like a statue suddenly coming to life, Jōryū—a silent enforcer—punched Watanabe Tetsu in the stomach.
"Ugh—!"
Stars burst across his vision.
His week-old muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and he collapsed onto the car floor like a crumpled pancake.
His brain stopped functioning.
Pain made him genuinely consider murder.
Yuki Miki's voice drifted down from above.
"You actually voted against me and made me wait this long? Looks like my warning wasn't enough."
Jōryū casually flipped him over like a pancake and raised her fist again.
"W-wait—cough—wait!"
Watanabe Tetsu forced his brain to stay conscious through the agony.
"I went to the office, you know that! And I wasn't voting against you!"
"Oh?" Yuki Miki replied indifferently, but she didn't signal Jōryū to strike again.
"Of course."
Watanabe Tetsu exhaled shakily and continued,
"You're my girlfriend, aren't you? Of course I'll help you."
Yuki Miki snorted, amused but unconvinced.
Watanabe Tetsu looked up at her long, elegantly crossed legs.
"Seino Rin can oppose you. She's not as smart as you, but she's definitely not stupid. Something like voting—you know she'd never agree."
"That's not the reason you opposed me."
Yuki Miki's tone turned sharp.
Jōryū lifted her fist once more.
"Wait—I really did it for you!"
"Take off my shoes," she said sweetly.
Humiliation. Endurance. Revenge can wait a decade.
His parents back home still needed him alive.
Repeating these mantras desperately in his mind,
Watanabe Tetsu reached out and carefully removed her spotless, brand-new shoes.