Akamine Ren Has Many Friends

Another week passed, and Seira had enough at last.

There were just some things in life that one could not force. If Kaien would still not cooperate in this operation of love, she had to change targets. This was urgent. With how sad and lonely Yume was becoming each day, she, too, was getting more desperate to accomplish this mission.

It was gym class, and while the rest of the students were talking among themselves, Yume was alone.

“Oh, my poor heroine.”

From a distance, Seira wept. Next to her, Kaien frowned.

“A fair maiden so hopelessly in love she wallows in sorrow and despair.”

“If you're worried about her, why don't you go there yourself? I'm sure there are ways to help her other than setting us up together.”

She gasped, “Are you saying I should date her instead?”

“I'm saying you should try befriending her instead,” he deadpanned.

“Oh.” Her gaze cast down. “I did think of that. To be honest, I never want to be seen as evil, but there's nothing else I can do. She is too terrified of me.”

Until now, Yume would cower before Seira. Even though she no longer caused her any trouble, she would run or hide away from her. Seeing that always filled her with guilt. But after tormenting her for so long, she supposed that was within expectations.

“So, you actually don't like scaring her, but you still do because she's already too scared of you?” Kaien asked, bemused. 

“Well… Not long after I became the Airin Seira you all knew, I tried approaching Sakura Yume. She was, of course, afraid. At first, I thought she just found me weird, but then, I learned how I treated her. I was so, so mean. No matter what I do at this point, and even though it's not really me who hurt her, I have no right to get close.”

“Because the damage has been done?”

“Yeah…”

“But you do want to be friends with her?”

Seira pondered for a moment, thinking back to her choices and actions so far.

Before “Operation: Shoujo,” she was nothing but an observer. She never wished to be the villainess who defeated the final boss, or made history, or reached level one-hundred; she was no villainess at all. Otherwise, she would have called it “Operation: Akuyaku Reijou.”

She simply wanted to see the female lead get her happily-ever-after with the male lead—or perhaps, with a friend.

‘Can I…be that to her?’

“You should learn from him,” Kaien said all of a sudden, and it was then Seira realized he was no longer looking at Yume. “He’s quite good at making friends.”

“Eh? Who is…? Eh?!”

Sleek red hair, striking green eyes, and a seductive smile—there was Akamine Ren, the notorious playboy of Hanazono High School.

Like always, he was surrounded by girls. But he appeared to be ignoring them in favor of talking to Yume. How he gave her that sort of special attention made Seira swoon every time.

“Kinryuji Kaien, listen.” Seira shot a stern look at Kaien. “I’m sure those are not friends. Akamine Ren is not the friendly type; you are. It’s you who has many friends.”

“Ugh… Here we go again.”

“He is a ladies’ man. Don't mix it up. You're the center-of-attention guy. Ah, I know! Now that it comes to this, tell me how it feels like seeing those two standing very, very close to each other-”

“They're not that close, Airin,” he cut her off. “And quit trying to make me jealous of every boy who gets near to Sakura. Why don't you take my advice and put all those efforts into befriending her-”

“Fine, fine! I give up!”

“Yeah? Good, then."

“On you, that is! I'm giving up on you, Kinryuji Kaien!”

“...What?”

“You see Akamine Ren over there?” Seira huffed vehemently and pointed at Ren. “See that drip, that swag, that rizz? He may be the main male lead after all! If you don't want the position, someone else can have it, if only to make the heroine happy! He or the other male leads can just be main from now on!”

Kaien stared at her, dumbfounded.

She long decided that she would focus on another potential love interest. He just reminded her of that, though that was probably not his intention. She planned to continue being a villainess and matchmaker no matter what.

“You don't deserve her. So, I'll just help the other male leads win her over, but it’s up to her to choose. She can even go for a harem route.”

“Harem route…? Nevermind.” Kaien shook his head, choosing peace over curiosity. “Do whatever you want, but don't forget I have my eyes on you. Don't overdo it.”

“Very well! Since you're out of the competition, we'll work on protecting the prize and supporting the remaining contestants.”

“Please no.”

“First thing’s first… Whyever is Akamine Ren here with us? Aren't we in the middle of class?”

Both now wore questioning looks. Ren was in the same year as them, but he was from a different section, like the other students who had only arrived at the gym. The answer soon came at the blow of a whistle.

“Gather 'round, everybody! It's a joint session today. Gentlemen, basketball. Ladies, volleyball,” the teacher announced.

With that, Kaien went over to where Minato was. They would be playing against Ren and his class. Meanwhile, Seira joined the other side, as did Yume.

Shortly after the boys hit the basketball court, it became a fast-paced, high-energy game. Seira glanced over to find Ren dribbling the ball. He seemed quite athletic. Minato cornered him while Kaien snuck from behind.

Then, in mere seconds, Kaien pulled a blind side swipe and dashed across the court before shooting the ball straight into the ring.

“WOAHHHHH!!!”

The other boys clapped and cheered. Even Seira was impressed, more so Yume. The girls with them watched in awe as well.

‘Popular as ever, I see.’ Seira could not help but smile at how bright of a light Kinryuji Kaien was. ‘I wonder for whom it shines so, if not for the heroine?’

Speaking of, Yume was not doing as nicely in their own volleyball match.

The ball slammed into her shoulder with a dull thud. “Oops, sorry!” one of the opposing players apologized. But the grin on her face told otherwise.

Yume stepped back into position, as if nothing happened. Seira frowned, also shifting her stance.

‘That was the third time.’

The whistle blew, and the ball was served. After a sharp arc, it struck Yume square in the head.

A round of laughter rose from the other side of the net. Seira furrowed her brow at the realization.

‘That's...deliberate.’

“Hey, did you notice? They seem to be after Sakura,” she heard a classmate say, to which another replied, “Those were the girls with Ren earlier.”

‘Ah, I see now.’

Seira glanced toward the basketball court. Ren stood there, looking at Yume with concern. Kaien noticed this while also watching the volleyball match.

The next serve came fast.

It hit Yume for the fifth time. Yet she only kept playing, not complaining even once.

Something in Seira snapped right then. Without a word, she caught the ball in her hand.

'Such obnoxious background characters.'

---

“Does Airin know how to play, Kai? She grabbed the ball.”

To Minato and the others in the court, that was how it appeared. However, Kaien immediately figured there was something wrong. From the start, Seira was not focused on the game.

She was observing Yume and the girls from Ren’s class.

“The real question is, does she even play? She never participated before,” one of his classmates pointed out, seconded by another, “Yeah, she used to say she didn’t like getting sweaty and stuff.”

“Huh? Where is she going?”

“She’s still holding the ball…”

“Is she aware that’s a violation-”

“Eh?! Wait, wait! She's going to...?!”

Kaien drew in a breath as Seira prepared to serve, with Yume right behind her. “Don’t tell me…”

“Oh, my! What manner of game are you playing over here? Looks fun~” she spoke in a sing-song voice, then flashed a mischievous smirk at the girls from the opposing side. “Can I join?”

Seira took her turn.

With a perfect toss that knocked the wind out of the boys for a moment, she drove the ball forward with so much force it cracked through the air. It smacked one girl, ricocheted hard into another, then snapped across the court in a blur, leaving the entire line in stunned silence.

“Sorry!” Seira cried. “Is that how we’re supposed to play it? I’m not good at volleyball. Can you show me more of what you’ve been doing since earlier? I’d like it if you give it your best shot this time.”

Kaien smiled wryly. ‘I guess she can be quite the villainess, even without acting.’