Grand Villainess Scheme

The next morning found Kaien feeling more drained than ever.

He trudged toward his seat and slumped down. Seeing this, Minato walked up to him with his other classmates.

"Morning, Kai," his friend greeted, sitting across from him. "What's the matter? You seem tired."

"Didn't get enough sleep? You stayed up late playing games again, didn't you?"

"No, dude. He's offline the entire night."

"Oh, you said you had something to do yesterday, right? Is it because of that?"

"Maybe...it's a girl?!"

It was, but not for whatever reason they were thinking.

Kaien was not sure why they were even making such a fuss, as though he had no right to feel out of it every once in a while. But then again, they knew him for being full of energy all the time.

He was the one always greeting everyone, always initiating and steering conversations.

"Why, because you're the main male lead!"

"Hey," Kaien started, his voice coming out heavier than intended, causing them all to fall silent. "Do you think I'm...'leading man' material?"

"Eh?" Minato and the others shot him puzzled stares.

"'Leading man'? Like in movies and TV shows?"

"Did you get scouted?"

"Wow, congrats! Don't forget us when you're famous, 'kay?!"

Kaien dropped his head on the table. He regretted asking.

Since last afternoon, Seira kept popping up in his mind—her irresponsible words, questionable hobby, and ludicrous revelations. No matter how hard he tried to dismiss them as mere fabrication, he could not, especially knowing that it was not the last he would hear from her.

Part of the reason Kaien was worn out today was Seira's declaration at that time.

---

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what I'll be hearing, but... 'Main male lead,' you said?"

Seira bounced on her feet excitedly. "It means you are the chosen one! You are not just a boy in the story. No, you are the boy! Among all these prince charmings, you are the happily-ever-after!"

Kai opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He did not know what to ask at this point.

"In the shoujo romance multiverse, there are many male lead subspecies." She skipped over to the board and started drawing on it. "Coming to this world has given me the opportunity to observe them in their natural habitat. We have the student council president and his sparkling smile; the cool guy with a hidden soft side; the playboy who says stuff like, 'I've never met a girl like you before,'; and the strict yet secretly sweet honor student!”

His eyes widened slightly. ‘She...got them all right? I knew at once who these people were from how she described them.’

“And you, Kinryuji Kaien…” Her calling him by his full name surprised him for some reason. “...I’m still torn between ‘Golden Boy’ and ‘Mr. Popular,’ but basically, you are the center-of-attention type. You’re kind, pure, friendly, and overflowing with wholesomeness! To give a better picture, you’re like the sun, so bright and warm that those around you sometimes need sunglasses. You’re a green flag, a national treasure, and everyone absolutely likes you!”

Kaien belatedly realized that his jaw had dropped to the floor. Nobody had ever spoken about him at length and in that much detail. Many would tell him how nice he was or how fun it was to be around him.

But no one talked about him as sincerely and genuinely as she did, though it was also exaggerated.

The old Seira would keep saying, “I love you,” to him without a second thought, yet it felt like she was more in love with the idea of him rather than him as a person. What he felt from the new Seira was different, and this may have done the deed for him, convincing him at last —

They really were not the same Airin Seira.

“And that makes me the chosen one or something because…?” Kaien urged Seira on with an arched brow.

“Oh, no, your personality doesn't make you Sakura Yume’s romantic interest,” she giggled. “Each of you gentlemen is special in your own way, and in my opinion, nothing makes one any less than the other.”

'That's quite the punchline. Maybe she's also a male lead.'

"Of course, your character does have a role to play, but ultimately, the final decision lies with Sakura Yume herself." She puffed out her chest, looking proud. "And how I know you're the main male lead is simple! It's because you haven't confessed to her yet, and all the other boys already have."

"They have?" he blurted out, taken aback. "How did you...? Wait, were you stalking them?!"

"Oh, they were so romantic~!" Her cheeks flushed in ecstasy. "One confessed under the cherry blossoms in spring, another on the rooftop on a warm, cozy morning. Yes, I was there. I even drew them, then I put them in frames and hung them on my bedroom wall-"

“Get rid of them! By no means was that normal! Seriously, don’t make this a habit, and stop following Sakura around.”

“But I have yet to witness your love confession! And I want to see Sakura Yume finally get her happy ending!”

“Why are you so sure she’ll accept, anyway?”

“She rejected the other routes. You’re the only other option left.”

“Well, you can forget about it since I’m not confessing.”

She paused, mumbling, “What?”

“I don’t see her that way, Airin,” he admitted while sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

“WHAT?!” she shouted now.

“To be fair to you, everyone else thinks the same, but it’s all a misunderstanding. While I care about Sakura, love is…” he trailed off, unsure how to explain it.

Love was a foreign concept for Kaien.

He would not consider his feelings for Yume as such. Instead, this emotion was more of concern, of sympathy. He had been watching over her to protect her from Seira.

Since he knew the girl for the longest time, he felt he was responsible of keeping her in check.

“This can’t be happening!” Seira screamed in anguish. “All my predictions have been correct so far! Why must you go off track and break the fourth wall?!”

“Your first mistake is not treating me like a human being. I’m not some character in some story-”

“Oh, wait! I think I get it now! I am the problem!”

“Yeah, you are.”

“It’s because I haven’t played my role properly!”

Kaien felt his brow twitch. Seira drew on the board once more.

There were cartoonish faces of the male leads, arranged in a circle with Yume in the middle. After placing a couple of lines pointing to the heroine and Kaien, she went on gushing.

“You do care about her, right? Well, care eventually leads to love! Heh, I bet it goes like this,” she chuckled, her lips curling up into a smirk. “Kinryuji Kaien is the type of person who can’t bear seeing someone get left behind. So, whenever he sees Airin Seira bullying Sakura Yume, he gets all protective and gentle and lovey-dovey. Therefore, for the male lead to keep paying close attention to the heroine, I must become the villainess after all!”

“I don’t get lovey-dovey,” he deadpanned. “And isn’t it like the romance depends more on the rival than the couple themselves?”

“Depends on me, huh?” she hummed. “Good idea! Then, I shall be a matchmaker disguised as a villainess! You can count on me!”

“No, that’s not what I…”

“Rest assured, Kinryuji Kaien! I’ll bring you that happy ending in no time!”

“I told you I don’t-”

“We’ll think of a plan, and we’ll call it ‘Operation Shoujo!’ Hehehe…”

Kaien was at his wits’ end.

She was a force to be reckoned with. He could not keep up anymore.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur to him. He had given up thinking altogether. The last he remembered was feeling a sense of foreboding.

“Alright! We shall commence the mission tomorrow, Kinryuji Kaien! Fare thee well~!”

---

Back to the present, Kaien stared at the classroom door with mounting dread.

‘She’s still not here. I can’t recall what she plans to do today, but whatever. I’ll stop her regardless.’

“Are you waiting for someone, Kai?” Minato asked, pulling back Kaien’s attention. “Really, you haven’t been yourself lately. Is it true that this is...about a girl?”

“Uh, well, that's…”

His gaze narrowed. “Is it Yume?” 

He gaped. “What? No, it’s not. I’m aware how you-”

“Hey, guys! Big news!” A student suddenly barged inside with a frantic expression, cutting off Kaien and Minato's exchange. “Airin Seira… The Queen is back!”