People bring their own maids to the training camp

41. A toad wants to eat swan meat.

The following day, in the classroom of Class D, Grade 1.

Kushida made his way to the classroom with difficulty, then sat down in his seat with a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong, Kushida-kun?" Seeing that Kushida looked very uncomfortable, the classmate sitting next to him couldn't help but ask with concern.

"Ah, it's nothing, I just accidentally kicked the cabinet this morning," Kushida casually made up an excuse.

"Ouch, that sounds painful!"

"It's alright, I'll be fine after a while." Kushida smiled back, inwardly thinking that he had indeed kicked something, but it wasn't a cabinet but a "steel plate".

It's no surprise that her walking was unnatural. After all, under Hayasaka's instigation last night, she basically didn't get enough rest and could only try out various acting styles with the lead actress Chihaya under the direction of director Hayasaka. If the costumes, makeup, and props on set hadn't been so poorly prepared, she probably would have had to take the day off this morning.

"She's the lead actress who brought her own funding to get the role, what gives the director the right to be so arrogant!" Kushida thought resentfully. If it weren't for Hayasaka, she wouldn't have been forced to challenge herself with such a difficult game—what kind of newbie plays such a difficult game on their first day? Isn't this just bullying an honest person?

Despite her dissatisfaction, she could only try to cooperate and satisfy the other party in that situation. Although this further stimulated Hayasaka's directorial instincts, leading her to frequently request changes to the script at the last minute.

If the main character doesn't mind, then she, as a mere plot device, naturally wouldn't dare to object.

One of the few fortunate things is that the film wasn't poorly directed. Although she was just a supporting character, there weren't any humiliating scenes. At most, she would simply drink some oral liquid, and most of the rest of the time she would repeatedly explore the depths of the dense forest.

Wilderness exploration is physically demanding, a fact that Kushida deeply understands, especially since she had no supplies.

They're treating her like a camel; her fat can't possibly mimic a camel's movements!

Although Kushida was internally grumbling, he maintained an excellent level of composure on the surface.

I'm so annoyed, but I have to keep smiling.jpg

"K-Kushida! I heard you were injured, are you alright?"

Don't push yourself too hard!

The ones who spoke were Haruki Yamauchi and Kanji Ike, two old paranoid patients.

"I just accidentally kicked the cabinet, I'm not hurt at all." Although she was annoyed, in order not to ruin her image, Kushida could only force herself to put on a brave face and deal with the two idiots.

"Haha, I didn't expect Kushida to be so reckless. Be careful next time!"

Next time? Next time will only be worse! Kushida thought to himself. But what excuse should he make next time? Did he twist his ankle while practicing yoga tonight?

Just as Yamauchi and Ike were exchanging pleasantries, Karuizawa Megumi and Matsushita Chiaki and a few others walked into the classroom and witnessed this scene.

Karuizawa curled his lip and said, "A toad trying to eat swan meat."

Someone nearby immediately added, "And they still dare to cast a wide net with this?"

The girls' voices were neither too loud nor too soft, so everyone around them heard them.

However, due to Karuizawa's usual toughness and the fact that no names were mentioned, no boy seemed overly agitated.

Compared to the phrase "a toad trying to eat swan meat," uninformed onlookers are more interested in the following line, "and they still dare to cast a wide net."

Both Yamauchi and Ike were acting like simps towards Kushida, which was obvious to everyone. After all, Kushida was beautiful, had a top-notch figure, and an incredibly good personality. If an anonymous poll were conducted, more than half of the boys would probably vote for Kushida.

So who are the other targets of this wide net? The onlookers couldn't help but wonder, since apart from fawning over Kushida, they hadn't seen Yamauchi and the others do anything else to other girls.

Besides Kushida, other good-looking members of Class D include Horikita and Karuizawa, as well as Hasebe.

However, Karuizawa is already taken, Horikita has a completely unlikable personality, and Hasebe has a very low profile.

Each has its own problems, so most likely it's the girls from classes A, B, and C.

Centered around Karuizawa, several girls started chatting excitedly.

I just drank the milk tea that Hayasaka treated me to yesterday, so I naturally have to give Yamauchi a little push today. Otherwise, how dare he still have such a crush on Himegami-san from Class B?

Sisters, who understands this?! How dare someone from the mountains set their sights on the imperial concubines!

This kind of guy is no ordinary guy; we have to take strong measures!

Although she didn't have much of a relationship with Chihaya, the girls had a huge fondness for the mixed-race Chihaya—girls probably like pretty girls even more than boys.

On the other hand, no one dares to imagine Yamauchi and Chihaya together. Everyone wishes Yamauchi, who only knows how to talk nonsense, would be alone for the rest of his life.

Despite being in school for less than a month, Yamauchi has already received almost universally negative reviews from the girls.

A guy who's not good-looking, talks a lot of nonsense, brags all the time, and constantly criticizes girls' figures and looks, can basically forget about changing his reputation unless he does something good.

Kushida was also annoyed by the Yamauchi group, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he had made a declaration that he would make friends with everyone, so he couldn't just ignore them because they had a bad opinion of him.

However, it must be said that Yamauchi, a simple-minded and physically weak but extremely vain guy, is the best person to get information out of him—Kushida once got some information about men from him.

Although this kind of ordinary gossip is not very useful, Kushida himself quite enjoys the feeling.

But now the situation is different. Kushida feels that he has accumulated far more negative emotions than he imagined, and for the time being, he has no outlet for them.

Furthermore, Kushida wasn't sure if it was true or not about Yamauchi giving Chihaya a love letter, but she knew very well that no boy could resist Chihaya's stunning beauty. Even if Yamauchi didn't dare to give her a love letter, he couldn't help but have some thoughts about it.

I really want to know what those idiots in the Yamauchi group will look like when they find out that the goddess they have a crush on is actually a man.

Thinking about this, Kushida felt a little bit of pleasure; this was the pleasure that came from information asymmetry.

Unfortunately, she couldn't share it with anyone, so she had to keep it to herself.

The previous 50000 points and several thousand cash were not taken back. Kushida was told she could spend them as she pleased. Therefore, Kushida decided to wait until she recovered and then use the money to spend it all to vent her frustration. Otherwise, she would eventually break down if she kept accumulating these points.

Kushida couldn't help but pray that he could sleep peacefully in his own room tonight.

Fortunately, Chihaya and Hayasaka didn't contact her all day.

However, things don't always go as planned.

When Kushida returned to her room, she found Chiya sitting on her bed, smiling at her upon seeing her.

At that moment, Kushida felt his breath catch in his throat.

42. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, you know? (Kikyo)

Chihaya's smile was as radiant as a blooming flower, but in Kushida's eyes it was nothing short of a demon's pronouncement.

"What's wrong, Kikyo? Are you surprised to see me?" Chihaya very naturally changed her way of addressing Kushida to her name, Kikyo.

"Ah, yes, I really didn't expect Lady Hime to appear in my room..." Kushida forced a smile.

Although she couldn't see her own expression at that moment, Kushida knew very well that her smile was probably very forced.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she opened the door, but the moment she saw Chihaya, she felt like she had fallen into an ice cave, and her composure completely collapsed—anyone would probably find it difficult to remain calm if they came home to find the person they feared most in their own bed.

Moreover, Kushida is just a high school girl with a little bit of scheming.

"Last night, Xiao Ai used your key to make two backup keys. I'm sure you won't mind, Kikyo?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind!"

The silver-haired girl smiled radiantly, while the brown-haired girl opposite her looked ashen-faced, creating a striking contrast between the two.

How could I not mind! If I make a backup of all the keys, wouldn't I have no personal space at all?

"I'll take it that way then." Chihaya's smile remained unchanged. "By the way, calling her Lady Hime is too distant. Just call me Chihaya."

According to Hayasaka, this is called developing "muscle memory".

Otherwise, how would he explain if he bumped into Kushida at school and she greeted him with "Hime-sama"? Should he say Kushida was his admirer? He wouldn't even believe that himself! Did he think Kushida was a fangirl?

So it's best to just pretend to be friends who call each other by name at school. No one will think it's wrong for pretty girls to be together, especially someone like Kushida who has a wide circle of friends.

“I understand, Chihaya-hiro…Chihaya.”

“Okay, no suffixes, Kikyo. We’re good friends who can call each other by our names.” Chihaya said, pointing to the table. “Yesterday, Ai gave you a sample, which was too stingy. I gave you an unopened bottle.”

"Thank you, thank you!"

Is this what they call a beating followed by a sweet treat? Kushida thought to himself.

"Why are you standing? Sit down!" Chihaya patted the bed. "Isn't this your room?"

"Ah, would you like something to drink?" Kushida finally realized that he was in his own room, and said something that sounded like the host should say.

"Anything is fine, I'm not picky."

"Then orange juice will do?"

"of course."

Kushida nervously took two bottles of orange juice from the refrigerator and handed them to Chihaya, then sat down next to her.

Chihaya unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and then took out her phone, seemingly having no intention of continuing the conversation with Kushida. Therefore, Kushida didn't dare to initiate a conversation, and could only awkwardly stare at the orange juice in her hand, reading through the ingredient list line by line, feeling uneasy.

She hadn't felt this tension and fear so acutely in a long time.

"Oh, right," Chihaya suddenly spoke up, "Why did you participate in that quiz competition? You probably didn't have a lot of relevant knowledge, did you?"

"That me..."

"Think it over before you speak," Chihaya "kindly" reminded him.

"...Actually, it was to get closer to Horikita, specifically Horikita Suzune," Kushida confessed honestly. "She was also a student at the same junior high school."

"I see, Kikyo, you're quite cautious," Chihaya chuckled. "Is this to deal with all potential threats?"

"That's right, I'm worried that she might suddenly bring up things from junior high school that could be detrimental to me."

"So you succeeded?"

"No."

"It's rare to find someone that even Kikyo can't handle." Chihaya was delighted, never expecting that even a small Class D would have someone who could make Kushida suffer.

"..."

"Do you need my help?" Chihaya asked casually.

"Would you be willing to help me?" Kushida's eyes lit up.

With Chihaya's help, dealing with Horikita would be a piece of cake—she wanted to make Horikita Suzune experience the same thing she had!

"Of course, but—" Chihaya drawled, "—there's no such thing as a free lunch, you understand, Kikyo?"

Of course, aside from the mountain vegetable set meal in the cafeteria, Chihaya added in her mind.

"..."