Ibuki is cute.

You might wonder what kind of nonsense this is, but…

Ibuki is cute.

There’s no need to argue against this or question it… it’s an absolute truth. Don’t try to understand it rationally, just accept it with your heart.

Seriously, how cute must she be for the entire Manma Battle to treasure her like a gem? It’s so undeniable that it’s immediately obvious.

But that cute Ibuki has decided I’m someone she must never speak to. All because of some nonsense Makoto stirred up.

This is practically like committing an unforgivable crime. Therefore, I must take bloody revenge on Makoto—

Huh, what on earth am I thinking right now?

“…Mika, why are you suddenly making faces like you’re about to cry, laugh, and shake your head all at once?”

I see now. This must be the terrifying power of Ibuki. There’s a reason she has the whole Manma Battle in the palm of her hand.

Gehenna has long been conquered by the Ibuki-ism, and the Student Council, which is packed with Hina-ism that’s equally cute, is currently fighting a desperate battle.

But who am I? Standing shoulder to shoulder with Aco at the forefront of Hina-ism… I mean, one of the Student Council President’s subordinates.

So I will not yield to Ibuki. No, I absolutely cannot!

“…It’s nothing. I just suddenly missed Hina-chan. Yeah.”

How I dearly miss our Hina husband, who was by my side just this morning.

“I agree, but this person’s state is a bit strange… her eyes are completely gone. What on earth did you do?”

“Huh? I didn’t really do anything… Before coming here, I remember Satsuki causing a ruckus trying to hypnotize Ibuki into making people fall in love with her at a glance. Ha, thinking back on it, it was absolutely ridiculous. Ibuki wouldn’t even need that kind of hypnosis!”

…Wait, that Satsuki, the one who was shaking a coin around saying she’d hypnotize people in Manma Battle? The one who made me go “Wow, what a figure…” the moment I saw her?

Wasn’t that just A-tier pointless shenanigans common among students in Kivotos…?

Of course, I thought it was impossible for such hypnosis to actually work, but then I recalled Shinpi and wondered if maybe, just maybe? So I quickly stopped staring into Ibuki’s drowsy eyes.

Yeah, better to be cautious. After all, I promised to turn Ibuki into a ‘Trinity fan!’ and I cannot turn into an idiot shouting ‘Ibuki is everything!’

“Ahaha, so Makoto, why on earth did you say that to Ibuki-chan? Where else would you find a harmless girl like me…? Um, I’ll take that back so please don’t look at me like that. Yeah, I’m sorry…”

I was hit with three pairs of ‘Did she seriously just say that?’ eyes just for saying something wrong. This is so unfair.

…Wait, thinking about it again, that’s absurd. Does that mean I’m a harmful woman? This is just downright unfair!

“To answer that question, I don’t trust you. I don’t believe you! First of all… Mika’s indecent behavior! Just by allowing you to be in the same space as Ibuki, you should be thanking me, Mika.”

“No, no, even so, there’s no way I’d do anything weird to a child like Ibuki-chan, right…?”

“…”

“What? Why are you staring like that? Surely Makoto, you’re not dissing our Hina-chan?”

“Excuse me, Mika. Could you not drag our president into this? That and your behavior are completely unrelated.”

“I didn’t say a single word about her… But thinking about it, if you’re the kind of lecher who wouldn’t hesitate to go after someone like Hina…”

…This is ridiculous. We’re always trying to tear each other apart, so why now are we both trying to tear each other apart? It really gets concerning when you go that route, Aco.

“Anyway, that’s definitely not true. We must protect children with pure hearts. Yeah.”

I acknowledge that I have a pretty broad range when it comes to external beauty, but I’m strict with age. I prefer someone mentally mature.

After all, I turned down Atsuko just because she was a middle school student when I first met her, so worrying about laying hands on a real elementary school student feels a bit over the top. That’s what I think, at least.

Glancing at Ibuki’s bright eyes solidifies my thoughts. This won’t do at all.

“So, Makoto-chan. Let’s please drop this conversation and hear the next reason.”

“…Hmm. Alright, for the second reason, it’s your behavior—”

“…Again?”

“Yeah! That wicked habit of trying to steal people from one academy to another! Thinking of that, Ibuki shouldn’t even talk to you. How could I, the great Makoto, stand by and watch the charming tongue that almost seduced even Iroha, who swore eternal dedication to my Manma Battle, influence Ibuki?”

Something came to mind from Makoto’s words. It’s about the time I half-jokingly half-seriously tried to recruit Iroha.

If Iroha had genuinely accepted my proposal back then, I probably would have stepped in to tidy up the transfer process…

“Oh, that still stands.”

“What, what did you just say?!”

“Mika, you could reach out right now. Competent, though she likes to slack off a bit, she’s more than capable. Are you really not thinking of taking her?”

Surprisingly, Iroha seemed quite sincere about that. Especially with those eyes that are trying to seduce me and that languid smile, it’s oddly alluring.

Truly, the devil of infidelity…

“I-Iroha!!! Enough with the jokes already!”

“I wasn’t really joking, but it seems like Mika isn’t interested. Too bad. If you take me now, then Ibuki… ”

“Kuaaahhh!!!!!”

“Are you okay, Makoto-senpai?”

The conversation momentarily halted due to Makoto’s dramatic blood spitting caused by Iroha’s teasing.

Watching Ibuki cling to a tearful Makoto saying things like ‘Ibuki will protect you, so you can’t get hurt, okay?’ suddenly made me want a daughter like Ibuki…

…Though, I have a hunch that when I really reach the age of having children, I’d end up resembling a soccer team instead. But anyway.

“Just to let you know, no matter what you propose, I will not be under you—”

“…I’m not particularly interested in that.”

“…”

No, Aco. Why do you look so resentful like you’re about to boil over with anger? You’re happiest working underneath our Hina anyway, so why get worked up about it?

I also acknowledge Aco’s talents. After all, the thought of wanting a secretary only came after I first met Aco.

But to make Aco, who is a Pain-in-the-neck flower of Hina, my secretary? That doesn’t sound very appealing at all.

And to be fair, I don’t really feel the need to recruit either Iroha or Aco since I have Hanako at this point.

As long as I can put up with Hanako’s personality flaws, there’s no more perfect secretary than her, surpassing Kivotos’ average in capability.

It’s almost like I dug my own grave here since I infused her with those personality flaws… but then again, since I’ve developed into a romantic relationship with Hanako, I can also accept that as a form of charm. So it’s not too much of a bother.

“This is really an unpleasant conversation…”

“…I’m sorry.”

Seeing Makoto scrunch her face while awkwardly wiping her mouth, I offered my apologies. Watching her, who has a cynical face, holding Ibuki, felt quite picturesque, and I couldn’t help but admire a bit.

Just like Makoto, who’s always competing for the top spot in Kivotos’ handsome student ranking, Ibuki is similarly vying for the top spot in cuteness ranking, resulting in the strongest combination imaginable.

“Hmph. No need to apologize for such trivial matters! Instead, let me tell you the last reason. This reason is actually quite simple. And while it’s not more important than the previous ones… you could say it’s significantly important.”

“Okay, so what is it?”

“This doesn’t particularly concern you. The final reason is simply to prevent Ibuki from getting colored by Trinity. Hehe.”

…So it’s the Trinity phobia against Trinity and Gehenna, huh.

“Hey, couldn’t you have just skipped accompanying us on the experience week altogether?”

“What? A week without Ibuki? Are you telling me to just die? If I can’t see Ibuki for a whole week, my halo will wither and crack!”

“Huh. Is that so? Then tell me, how on earth did you live before meeting Ibuki-chan?”

“Hah! That Makoto has been dead for a long time.”

Seeing her declare that so earnestly made me burst out laughing. This girl is completely addicted to Ibuki, seriously.

…Hmm. So how exactly can I manage to win Ibuki over—

Huh? Is that in the bag…?

“Wait a minute. Ibuki-chan, what’s that doll in your bag?”

“Huh? This is… a present I received from a sister I met today! Ta-dah!”

“Ahaha…”

It’s a Peroro doll. A cute little Peroro doll that would fit well as a keychain. Surprisingly, it seems Ibuki really likes it.

“They said tomorrow I can introduce other dolls to Ibuki! What a great sister!”

Oh no.

I’m sorry, Makoto. While your strategy to keep me in check was genius, you failed to account for the ‘original’ social butterfly, Ajitani Hifumi. That’s your blunder.

Damn it, it’s that Faust again…!