"Good morning, Doma-san!"

As I got to my seat, I noticed Doma staring at me with an annoyed expression, her high schooler form now back to its regular size.

What an ability she has... being able to change sizes at will.

Reflecting on this marvel internally, I casually greeted her and sat down.

Judging by her demeanor, she wasn’t even planning to return my greeting—clearly holding a grudge about the hanami plans. Then again, her lack of initiative in seeking my help probably stemmed from the fact that her goodwill toward me hadn’t reached a sufficient level.

Still, I wasn’t particularly keen on introducing her to Ruri. Maybe it’d be better to go with the flow—it might even boost her favorability towards me considerably.

With this thought, I tore off a piece of paper and began writing.

*“Doma-san, if you really don’t want to go to the hanami outing, I can help you.”*

Once the note was folded, I placed it on the desk behind me, waiting for her response.

Doma Uma, seeing the folded paper placed in front of her by an irritating person, felt a surge of anger. She instinctively grabbed the note, intent on throwing it right out the window.

But just as the paper was about to meet its demise, her curiosity got the better of her.

What could that nuisance have possibly written? Well, there was no harm in checking first...

Her hand retracted from the window, and she swiftly unfolded the paper nestled in her palm.

Upon reading the content, a fleeting glimmer of joy crossed her face, though she quickly masked it.

She produced her pen, quickly jotting down a reply.

*“Do you really have a solution?!”*

After refolding the note, she hesitated to tap my back in signal, her outstretched hand pausing midair. Something in her wouldn’t allow her to physically touch me. So instead, she picked up her pen and jabbed it a few times into my back.

“Ow, ow...!”

Feeling the sharp jabs on my back—rather painful, I might add—I realized it was her way of alerting me to the reply.

Reaching behind me, I took possession of the folded paper, unfolded it, and read.

Man, she really didn’t hold back... stabbing me with a pen of all things.

I rubbed my back while unfolding her note. The moment I saw her reply, a grin spread across my face.

She’s interested. Perfect.

Not wasting any time, I wrote back quickly and placed the paper once again on the desk behind me.

*“Certainly. But not going to hanami isn’t an option. Once we get there, I’ll have a way to help you leave discreetly. However, to keep your brother from worrying, you'll need to stay close to me in the meantime.”*

Upon reading the new note, Doma couldn’t contain her excitement. If she didn’t have to attend, that meant she could spend the day at the arcade!

For once, the annoying guy didn’t seem so despicable—maybe even a bit thoughtful.

Lost in exuberant visions of a carefree weekend, she failed to note the second part of the condition entirely.

Seeing no response coming from behind, I stole a glance. Her favorability gauge above her head now read -20.

My smirk deepened.

It had worked.

Appealing to her interests had resulted in a significant increase.

At this rate, her resistance to my requests would decrease, paving the way for her favorability to continue climbing. Soon enough, it might even cross over to the positive range.

Still, raising favorability with girls wasn’t a simple task. Months of research had taught me that while the initial gains came easy, each point beyond a certain threshold grew exponentially harder to earn. Certain points could even trigger bottlenecks.

Take my sister, Ruri, for example. She was currently stuck in such a bottleneck—a particularly troubling one.

But these bottlenecks didn’t emerge out of nowhere. With enough caution, I could surely avoid one from developing.

With that thought, I glanced around the classroom—only to catch Rei Shiraishi turning her head to sneak a glance at me. The moment our eyes locked, she promptly looked away.

What was she scheming now? Could she be plotting to swap bodies again?!

The thought made me shudder involuntarily.

Nope. Not happening. Absolutely not!

Such girls were better left unpursued!

The insanity of trading bodies with someone like her—especially when favorability reached higher levels—was a recipe for disaster.

It would derail my carefully managed plans, causing nothing but chaos.

No, keeping things as they were was just fine. No further favors required.

---

The lunch bell rang, and students filtered about, forming groups and sharing packed lunches brought from home.

I glanced back at Doma. She still carried herself as the flawlessly radiant icon of a high school girl.

The way the rest of the class viewed me, however, couldn't have been more stark—like a Dark Lord imprisoning a princess in a forlorn corner of the classroom.

This totally felt like some cliché RPG trope...

Now, who’d come to play the Hero?

It’d be amusing to watch them try, but honestly, as the head of the FFF Brotherhood—the most dominant force in this classroom—I doubted anyone would dare touch her!

That kind of foolhardy move was almost comically suicidal. The flames of judgment from the Brotherhood were unforgiving to anyone who dared exhibit such brazen behavior born of heterosexual impulses.

What’s that? Didn’t my own "strategic pursuits" count as the same?

Nonsense! A scholar seeking favorability isn’t engaging in romance—he’s merely conducting research!

Let me stress once again—I’m simply working toward favorability scores. It’s entirely academic and definitely *not* romantic.

---

Just as I was preparing to leave the classroom with Nishi and Nagisa, Rei walked over to me, her intent clear.

My internal alarm bells rang as she placed a boxed lunch in my hands and returned to her seat.

“A bento...?!” I muttered, my confusion evident.

Wait—this is bad!

As the leader of the FFF Brotherhood, accepting a girl’s homemade lunch right in front of the entire class was practically begging for trouble!

How did things come to this?! My lighthearted approval of our club application had unintentionally trapped me into a role filled with consequences I hadn’t properly anticipated...

Even if I didn’t care much about being the group’s leader, my followers definitely wouldn’t brush off my actions lightly.

At that moment, I could feel invisible red-hot lasers of wrath piercing me from every corner of the room.

I had to do something. Anything. If I didn’t act quickly, the flames of judgment would undoubtedly fall upon me.

Hands trembling slightly, I walked over to Rei’s desk and returned the box under countless questioning gazes.

“And what’s this supposed to mean?” I asked coolly, refusing to betray my inner panic.

In situations like these, maintaining a poker face was key.

Without lifting her head, Rei responded simply, “I made it for Chiyo-san.”

Her words hit me like a thunderclap.

That killing intent... It wasn’t just from boys—it was from girls, too.

The murmurs of discontent began:

“That scumbag attracts someone even now?!”

“Did he use some dirty trick again?”

The atmosphere in class grew immediately tense, threatening escalation.

I needed to sever ties with Rei—cleanly and unequivocally—if I wanted to avoid inciting further wrath.

“Apologies,” I replied flatly, “but I’m not interested in bento lunches.”

The lack of expression on my face made my words seem absolute—a neutral dismissal void of any falsehood.

Rei nodded indifferently, quietly packing the lunch away without further comment.

The choking tension began to fade slightly.

Finally, I exhaled in relief.

Leaving the classroom, I took out my phone, typing a quick text to Rei.

*“Sorry about earlier, Rei-san. Due to certain circumstances, I couldn’t accept the bento.”*

Nagisa turned to me, concern laced into his question. “Chiyo-kun, why did you do that? Rarely does a girl show interest in you, so why reject her like that?”

“It’s simple,” I answered carelessly, pocketing the phone, “I just can’t eat cold bento. That’s all.”

“Oh, I see...” Nagisa nodded softly.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Nishi chuckled, whispering close enough that Nagisa could hear, “He’s just too lazy to make them himself.”

“SHUT UP!” I shouted, feeling absurdly exposed.

I was a high school student juggling two other siblings—I barely had enough time as it was to manage everything. Making three bento boxes a day? Forget it!

I shot Nishi a glare, realizing too late that his jab had hit a nerve. Damn mouthy guy... Always pointing out the painful truths.