Evil Plot Against the Villainess

"Why, you! Call me a liar one more time, and I’ll pound you!"

Seira held up her fists angrily, then charged toward Shun. Their classmates moved back at once. This was fire fighting fire. No student there could stop it.

After all, these people were the queen bee and the top student of Hanazono High School.

‘Good grief. This short-tempered girl.’ Kaien advanced toward Seira, who had grabbed a chair and was about to hurl it over to Shun. “Okay, that’s enough, Your Majesty.”

“Huh?! What the-?!”

“Up you go.”

“H-Hey!”

He held her waist and placed her on top of his shoulder. She was flabbergasted for a moment, as were their classmates, and then started resisting. Her legs kicked up and down while her hands hit his back.

Kaien didn't intend to put Seira down even then, not when she'd only pick a fight with Shun again.

"Kinryuji Kaien! What do you think you're doing?! This isn't funny!"

“Let's get you to cool your head outside.”

“I can walk on my own just fine!”

Ignoring her, Kaien sauntered past Shun. Those around them were relieved to see part of the fire extinguished. But the flame seemed to reignite when they met each other’s gaze.

“You shouldn't be so quick to judge others like that,” Kaien muttered.

Shun scowled. “Even though she does it all the time?”

“Aren't you supposed to be too smart to copy what she does?” he quipped, making him cringe. “I'm warning you. If you mess with this girl, you're messing with me.”

It was quite something to see the class president at a loss for words for once.

Feeling satisfied, Kaien strode out of the classroom. The student in the hallway immediately made way as soon as they saw them. Still fuming, Seira kept shouting and squirming around.

“You'll regret ever accusing me of being a cheater and a liar, Murasaki Shun! Do you hear?! I'll get you! Just watch!"

“Murasaki? Airin used to like him, didn't she? Are they at odds now?” someone whispered.

Another murmured back, “Rumors say she's waging war with her ex-crushes after getting a boyfriend.”

“That's pretty scary.”

“As she's always been.”

“Grrr! Unhand me this instant, Kinryuji Kaien!”

"Chill, Airin. You're not beating the allegations.”

Kaien never imagined doing this. If his past self saw him carrying a girl over his shoulder to restrain her from attacking a boy, he wondered what he would think. Seira was truly a force to be reckoned with.

“That is love. It makes you do things you never planned to do,” she had once said back when she was still force-feeding her ‘main-male-lead’ propaganda to him.

Nao seemed to notice already. Even Ren immediately realized it. Minato was also secretly providing support.

Perhaps, Kaien himself was not beating the allegations.

“Hey,” Seira called, now calmer. “Do you believe I cheated?”

“Of course not,” Kaien said without hesitation. “I was there. We studied together.”

“Right, right! I shed blood, sweat, and tears for this, and I worked my butt off, only for those people to talk badly of my efforts? So, so unfair! I get that they can't stand the person I was in the past, but I'm not letting them ruin my present like this!”

She seemed extremely frustrated. Concerned, he put her down and made her face him, then paused as he found her already in tears. She rarely looked this vulnerable.

Without thinking, he reached up to cup her cheek gently, causing her to flinch.

“W-What are you doing?”

He smiled it off. “Why stop? You can cry.”

“Huh?! I-I-I’m doing no-”

“Miss Airin! Kinryuji!” a familiar voice called from behind, and both were startled to find Yume. “Thank goodness I caught up to you!”

“Is something the matter?” Kaien asked, not at all expecting her.

“I just…have to tell you…no matter what,” she said in between pants, then pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “Please take a look.”

Seira did as she said, then blurted out, “The answer key to the test?”

“Yes, umm… I-I found it in Miss Airin’s bag before the exams.”

Kaien and Seira exchanged wide-eyed looks. As if this person approaching them on her own accord was not surprising enough, she also told them something that should have been impossible. Kaien knew Seira never pulled such a trick.

But at the same time, Yume was not one to lie.

“I-I didn't see who, but someone must've put it inside since the zipper was left open,” she continued, shocking them more. “I took it out, knowing how bad it would be if the teachers saw it right before the exams. I'm sorry I didn't tell you until now, Miss Airin.”

“Why didn't you?” Seira questioned, and though it sounded perfectly innocuous, Yume stiffened, as though not answering would lead to death. “Relax. I'm not mad, and besides, I think I know why.”

“Ermmm… I-I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me, that you'd instead suspect it's me who did it.”

“Yeah, as I thought.”

“But after what happened earlier, I… I can't hide it anymore. If my assumption is right, then you might be being targeted.”

“It does appear that way,” Kaien said with a grave tone and expression, glancing at Seira. “Someone actually did try to frame you. Cheating is a major offense that can result in expulsion. Whoever they were would probably be glad to know that you still ended up in this situation.”

“Very well, then. I'll take that retest,” she declared, much to their confusion. “I'll prove that Murasaki Shun and I having similar works is nothing but a coincidence, and I'll show them that they'll have to do better than this to take me down. They're not gonna get me.”

Kaien could not help but smile, absolutely taken in by the look of sheer determination on Seira's face.

True to her words, she wrote a completely different piece from Shun's despite them using just one topic for the retest. It was of the same good quality as her previous submission. Apparently, they only had similar writing styles, but nothing more. This was enough proof that she did not cheat.

From outside the faculty office where Seira and Shun were resolving the issue with their homeroom teacher, Kaien waited alongside Yume.

“Thank you, Sakura.”

“...But I didn't help at all,” she said reluctantly. “Miss Airin would still be able to prove her innocence, even if I didn’t inform you about the answer key. Aoyama mentioned she's in the literature club now, which gives me the impression that she’s fond of reading.”

“You've been talking with him?”

A tinge of pink colored her cheeks. “Y-Yes, but… He still makes me a little nervous.”

“He’s a good guy, I assure you.”

His friend seemed to have followed Seira's advice. He must've been practicing to ask Yume out by making small talk.

“Anyway, you did help, Sakura. That person, or people, behind the answer key—I have a feeling they're not quitting anytime soon.”

Truth be told, Kaien had his suspicions since that day in the storage room. Someone had intentionally locked Seira inside. What's more, Ren had fussed over some supernatural phenomenon at that time.

‘What if he saw another person there and believed it was a ghost?’

“Y-You can count on me!” Yume chimed in, pulling back Kaien's attention. “Please tell that to Miss Airin, too. I still can't get the courage to say it to her, but… I-I’m grateful for what she did for me when we played volleyball.”

“Wait, you knew what she did back then?”

“I, uh… I wasn't sure at first. The other class kept messing around, and I thought she just got fed up. But then, President Shirakawa spoke to me. It turned out I was right, and she did it for my sake.”

“I see. So, what do you think of her now?”

She blinked, confused. “O-Of Miss Airin? Well, ummm….”

“Nevermind. Will you come this weekend?”

“Eh?”

Kaien would not say it out loud, but this development had him feeling excited for Seira. She tended to agonize over Yume's fear of her all the time. However, the reality happened to be different. She no longer feared Seira as much.

Yume still could not face her directly. Even so, this was progress—an opportunity. Kaien would certainly make use of it.

“Our class plans to meet on Saturday to finish the preparations for the school festival, right?” Kaien brought up, at which point Seira returned.

His chest fluttered at the mere sight of her. When she smiled at him, he felt light—happy. He wished to keep seeing her like this.

‘That smile… Yes, it’s all for that smile…’

This weekend, the tables would turn on the self-proclaimed villainess and matchmaker.