Act 18: Scene 2

"Fufu, if that's what you want, senpai~" she winked at him, which pretty much promised future headaches at this point. "Then I want to ask you about what you plan to do with the video I took of Miyake-senpai being attacked by the three boys from Class C. If you believe that Sakura-senpai will confess what she knows eventually, then there shouldn't be any reason why you still need it, don't you think?"

"The video is only for contingencies, nothing more. No matter how small of a chance it is, Ryuuen might catch on to our class looking for evidence that can be used against them. If that happens, he could do something to mess us up or stop us from getting the proof that we need completely," he explained.

Thanks to Ichika's efforts in spying on Class C and observing their dynamic from afar, Kiyotaka was aware of several important details regarding their rival class now. One of them was that a young man named 'Ryuuen Kakeru' stood as the leader of the class and that his methods involved violence. He lorded over his classmates using a tyrannical approach and while it was cruel, Kiyotaka couldn't deny that he can keep Class C in line.

It had been clear to him that Ryuuen ordered his classmates to go after Akito that day, and then told the three of them to injure themselves to make it seem like they were the victims. Quite an elaborate plan, if Kiyotaka had to admit, but they forgot one crucial flaw in it.

Just because they brought Akito to a place where there's no cameras didn't mean that they were safe from the possibility of there being a witness who saw the whole thing.

Ryuuen's reasons for doing this, though? That's a completely different thing that he didn't have an answer to. He had never met the guy for him to draw a hypothesis based on his enemy's personality and demeanor.

"I believe that Sakura will bring all the evidence that we need by being a witness to the case. However, that doesn't mean we can't prepare for what Ryuuen could do to keep us from exposing his class," he continued.

"I don't think Ryuuen-senpai would be able to know that your class is looking for evidence, senpai. Unless someone accidentally asks a student from Class C, of course."

"Exactly," he nodded. "Who knows? They might be aware of us already and are making plans on how to keep us from catching on to them. But as long as they don't know that Sakura is the one who witnessed everything that day, then anything they do won't matter."

Ichika clapped her hands in amazement. "As expected from the Masterpiece of the White Room, senpai. I guess this means you have everything planned out, huh?"

"Not everything. I can't see into the future, you know."

"With how amazing you are, I think it wouldn't be crazy to think that you can, senpai~"

"Just eat up and give me the dishes when you're done," he shook his head and decided to end the conversation here. Even though it's Friday, it was still a school day and he didn't want to be late. Also, he didn't want to think about the possibility of being able to see the future because with a simple intervention of his reality-breaking superpower, it could actually happen for real.

"Aw, you don't want to talk to me anymore? I still have something I want to show you, you know~?"

Finishing with his meal, Kiyotaka grabbed his plate and utensils before heading to the sink. "I wonder how big of a headache you'll give me this time with whatever you want to show me. "

"Oh, I promise it's nothing too serious, senpai! It's just a harmless website that I stumbled upon yesterday. This won't even take a minute, I just want to show it to you."

Finished with her meal, Ichika brought her empty plate and utensils to the sink where Kiyotaka took them off of her. This allowed her to bring out her phone and open her browser, before showing it to him.

"Here, look at this, senpai!"

As he washed the dishes, Kiyotaka looked at the website that Ichika was showing him. From the big header alone, the young man had a feeling that this was similar to something that he had already seen before. Upon seeing that the header read, 'The Official ANHS Bishoujo Rankings', it's when he remembered that Himeno told him about a blog that's the complete opposite of the 'ikemen rankings' that she showed him yesterday.

This must be that blog and from the name itself, the theme of this list is about the female students of the school. If the one from yesterday was all about who's the best guy to date around here, then this one is all about who's the best girl to be with.

Kiyotaka sent her a deadpan look. "I already know about this, though."

"You do? Could it be that you are a regular visitor of this blog, senpai?" Ichika tilted her head curiously.

"I didn't mean it like that, obviously. I meant someone else told me about this and its counterpart that's all about the boys in this school."

"I didn't know there's a similar blog that's about boys... I'll have to check it later to see if senpai is included there!" she thought to herself with a mischievous smile on her face. It would surely create an interesting chain of reactions from her senpai's classmates if he was there. "Well, does this mean you haven't seen what it's all about, senpai?"

"It's all about the female students of this school, I know that much."

The smile on her face widened. "So you don't know the girls who are included in the list, senpai?"

"No, and I have no intention of knowing. Now will you stop bothering me about it?"

"But senpai, this concerns the members of your harem. Kushida-senpai, Horikita-senpai and a few others are in it. Don't you want to see it for yourself~?" she asked in an attempt to convince him.

"Why should I care about it anyway? It's just a list that bases its results on the subjective opinions of the students," he retorted, continuing to ignore her. "I don't want to see something that compares the girls with each other too. I'm not supposed to play favorites in this whole thing."

"But you'll be pleased to know that Ichinose-senpai is 4th, Kushida-senpai is 7th, Sakayanagi-senpai is 11th, Horikita-senpai is 12th, Shiina-senpai is 16th—"

"And as I have said, I don't care, Amasawa. They are all great individuals in their own way, even if most of them haven't reached their full potential yet. If anything, the very idea of putting them in a list to rank them is an insult to all of them as a whole. It also implies the idea of having a favorite among them, and I don't have one. I don't have a favorite among them."

It was only after saying all of those that Kiyotaka realized what he just said, causing his eyes to widen momentarily.

"That was definitely not me."

It wasn't just this time. There have been several times in the past where he would unconsciously blurt out things that he wouldn't say on a regular basis, which was no doubt because of the system. He had no idea if it was controlling him without him noticing or if it was influencing him to say these thimgs.

Someone like him would never make a mistake like this, unless he chooses to do so like when he first met Sakayanagi in this school, or when Chabashira-sensei confronted him at the rooftop.

This is no different from the times when he would say suggestive things towards Ichinose for no reason at all...

Looking at Ichika, the girl also bore a look of surprise on her face for a moment before her roommate's words slowly integrated into her mind. Everything she heard from him started to make sense the more she played his words over and over again, to the point that she couldn't help but smirk in amusement.

"Ohoho, I didn't think you think of all of them in that way~" she teased. "I thought you had no idea what a harem is, senpai? Haauughh, just hearing you say those things about them makes me really jealous..."

Before Kiyotaka could think about what he could say to save himself from the incoming chaos, the sound of someone knocking on the door got their attention.

"Oh, senpai... I think there's someone at the door~"

The young man's eyes darted towards the door, already thinking of who was on the other side. Of course, it could only be one of several females who knew that he resided on a floor where he was the only guy that lived there.

"Could it be Kushida? Or is it Horikita? Neither of them are normally up this early, though. Kei? She would rather surprise me in the classroom. Sakayanagi? No. Sakura? Definitely not. Chiaki? There hasn't been any instance where she'd go to my dorm room, I don't think this will be the first..."

His mind reaching a crossroads upon thinking of the possible identity of his sudden visitor, Kiyotaka turned towards Ichika and threw her a look of confusion.

"Did they hear your voice?"

"I'm sure I wasn't that loud, senpai. You didn't bend me over the table, after all."

The young man shook his head. He wasn't in the mood for any of this girl's jokes and teasing right now. "Hide in the closet or in the bathroom. I'll go see who it is," he told her.

"Being forced to hide inside of my own dorm room... I believe this is unfair, senpai. I demand compensation for my cooperation," she folded her arms across her chest and pouted.

"Uh..."

Kiyotaka actually didn't have any idea how to respond to that. Ichika had been obedient towards him ever since she arrived at this school and the only time she asked for something was when she wanted him to brush her hair. And she was asking him in a gentle manner that time.

This time was different, though.

She wasn't asking, she was demanding.

Of course, he could always tell her to stop being silly and do as he tells her to, but what if that triggers the system's overpowered skill? He obviously didn't want that to happen. So what exactly could he offer this girl to get her to cooperate with him? It has to be something that can surely make her happy—

"Hehe, just kidding~" Ichika's pout immediately morphed into her usual smirk, as she sent a wink to her senpai. "But I definitely wouldn't mind if you give me a reward after this, you know?"

He resisted the huge urge to roll his eyes at her attitude. He should have expected that, but his damn superpower got the better of him while he was trying to prevent a way from activating that reality-warping skill he possessed.

In some kind of twisted way, Ayanokouji had found his match. Ichika Amasawa was an unpredictable variable whom he couldn't figure out. He had no way of knowing if she was serious or not because he's always cautious about the possibility of making one of his heroines sad in any way.

Maybe it's because she came from the White Room just like him but nonetheless, this girl can be troubling to deal with when she wants to be.

Kiyotaka gestured for her to hide in the bathroom, saying nothing more. In response, Ichika continued to chuckle for a few moments before she finally followed his orders and headed to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

With his roommate out of the picture, Kiyotaka walked to the door and opened it slightly, where he was greeted by a familiar face.