V / Formation! The Legal Wife Coalition!
The day after the banquet of love-conquering main heroines…
Meina’s relentless offensive began.
“Izumi-sama~? Mind if I borrow your textbook?”
“…Sure.”
This was the third time today. During first-period math and second-period modern literature, Meina had “conveniently” forgotten her textbooks and borrowed Izumi’s.
“Sorry about this~! I just got back, so~”
“It’s fine, but…”
Meina played the innocent,
of course—a complete lie.
Her bag was packed with all her textbooks. Yet she effortlessly fabricated excuses to create moments of contact with Izumi.
Pulling their desks together, she closed the physical distance between them.
Just sharing a desk?
But this was a deceptively simple yet powerful strategy. Classes lasted fifty minutes. Once she secured the position of borrowing his textbook, she could maintain contact the entire time.
There’s a psychological phenomenon called the mere exposure effect.
Simply put, the more often people interact, the more their fondness grows.
If she borrowed his textbooks for all six periods until the end of the school day, that would amount to a neat 300 minutes—five whole hours of boosting his affection.
[Five hours.]
Don’t underestimate it.
In a 24-hour day, that’s nearly one-fifth of their time spent side by side. If this were about vegetables, it’d make for great convenience-store meal marketing.
Two people sharing that much time together?
—They might as well be family.
The advantage of being in the same class.
A romantic strategy only possible with someone your own age—neither older nor younger.
Even Nanase Nanao could only spend breaks and after-school hours with him. Factoring in club activities, her time with Izumi totaled one or two hours a day.
The advantage Meina had built up over the past month since transferring, through her relentless “I-like-you” appeals—
This “Can I borrow your textbook?” tactic had the potential to overturn it all!
In theory, anyone in the same class could use this strategy.
That included the other love-conquering main heroines who had their eyes on Izumi.
But Amane Amasaki—
(Wh-wh-what the hell?! She’s totally faking the textbook thing! And she’s way too close to him!!)
—had been reduced to a background mob character, silently screaming “Kyaaa~!”
Her seat was just too far away. Nothing she could do about that.
Unfazed by Amane’s dagger-like glare, Meina let her shoulder brush against Izumi’s.
Naturally, Izumi assumed he had bumped into her and apologized awkwardly.
“Sorry, Meina.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it~♪”
With a deliberately sweet smile, she glanced up at him.
“…Izumi-sama, you can get even closer if you want?”
She deliberately nudged his shoulder again—softer this time, with a hint of intent.
Watching Izumi flinch and pull back, Meina giggled in delight.
(…Of course, at that moment, a chorus of irritated tongue clicks erupted from the boys in class. But there was nothing Izumi could do about it.)
As class continued without incident—
Meina suddenly leaned in and whispered to Izumi.
“Izumi-sama… Is there anything you’d like me to do for you~?”
“Do for me?”
The abrupt offer caught Izumi off guard.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t I tell you~? I want to repay you for your kindness~.”
“That ‘setting’ is still alive…?”
She was referring to her earlier claim: “I’m the fox you saved as a child~♪”
Izumi didn’t buy it for a second, but outright rejecting her playful antics felt wrong. He didn’t dislike this kind of teasing.
“But… there’s nothing I really want you to do.”
“Oh, come on~! Even something small is fine~?”
“Seriously, there’s nothing…”
The man had zero material desires.
Despite his lukewarm response, Meina only chuckled. Then, she leaned in further and loosened her school tie—just enough to be noticeable.
“A-ny-thing~ is fine, you know~?”
“Ghk—!”
The chorus of tongue clicks from the boys grew louder. (Unbeknownst to Izumi, Amane’s clicks were mixed in there too.)
Izumi sighed and gently took Meina’s hand—the one fiddling with her tie—
and placed it back on the desk.
“…Huh?”
” ……oh dear? “
“Look, I don’t know why you’re saying this stuff to me, but… value yourself more. This kind of thing doesn’t make me happy.”
Meina’s cheeks flushed slightly.
She quietly tightened her tie again and smiled faintly.
“…Understood. I’ll give up for today.”
Then, glancing up at him with newfound trust in her eyes, she added:
“Izumi-sama… you’re really kind, aren’t you?”
Izumi responded with his usual cool-guy smirk.
“Hah. Compliments won’t sway me.”
“Hehe. Sure, let’s go with that~”
Izumi had won this round of their subtle battle.
Turning away, he gazed out the window at the blue sky—
And–
(Aaaahhh!! Damn it, cut that out!! I don’t know where to look!!)
—He was totally affected!
He was barely holding it together.
Because, well… he was a high school boy. When a girl says “anything”, it’s only natural for certain thoughts to flood his mind. But the fact that he still played the gentleman on the surface? Iron willpower.
Either way, this underwater battle of wits ended with Izumi’s victory—
(Hehe. Izumi-sama… so cute~♡)
She saw right through him!
Grinning, Meina nudged his shoulder again. Mere exposure. Mere exposure. Little by little, the fortress of Izumi’s heart was being chipped away…
But could he withstand this relentless onslaught?
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Lunch break.
Izumi was already exhausted by the morning’s events.
Today, he had plans to eat lunch with Nanao. Pulling out his lunchbox (prepared by Shiragiku), he hurried out of the classroom—
Only for Meina to call out from behind.
“Izumi-sama♪ Where are you going?”
“Gyah—!”
The sudden voice nearly made his heart leap out of his chest.
“Wh-what? I’m having lunch with Nanao today.”
“Ohhh~ Nanao-san, huh~?”
Meina smirked.
“Mind if I join you~?”
“Uh… you’d have to ask Nanao—”
Right on cue—
A pair of arms wrapped around Izumi from behind.
“Izumi-kun~! Sorry to keep you waiting~♡”
“GYAAHH—!”
His heart didn’t leap out, but it definitely climbed three centimeters up his esophagus.
The owner of those arms was none other than Nanao herself. She effortlessly claimed the spot next to Izumi, then glanced at Meina.
“Hm? Meina-chan, you’re joining us?”
“W-Well, about that…”
As Izumi hesitated, Nanao grinned and poked his side with her finger.
“Izumi-kun, you’re such a player~”
“S-Stop—not the ribs—!”
Izumi shuddered. (He was not a masochist.)
While he squirmed under Nanao’s poking (definitely not enjoying it), she smiled warmly at Meina.
“Meina-chan, wanna have lunch together?”
“Eh? Really?”
An unexpected offer from Nanao.
Izumi blinked.
“You’re okay with that?”
Nanao grinned and leaned in.
“Aww~ Usually so cold, but you actually want it to be just the two of us~?”
“Stop whispering in my ear!!”
Same as always.
With Meina happily clapping her hands—
“Yay~! I’m so happy~♪”
—the decision was made.
(…The real issue was that Izumi had no say in the matter.)
On the rooftop, they settled onto their usual bench. Surrounded by two beauties, Izumi stood out like a sore thumb—especially under the venomous glares of the male students.
“Meina-chan, you’ve got bread?”
“Yep! My parents are busy, so I always eat out~”
From her convenience store bag, Meina pulled out a nut-covered sweet bun.
“You two have lunchboxes~?”
“Yeah, well…”
“Oh my~ Izumi-sama’s lunch looks extra fancy~”
“Uh, well…”
Nanao giggled at his evasiveness.
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