"So don't confess, and don't wait for her to confess either. That's all pointless. The best outcome is for things to naturally develop."
"I see..."
"I don't get why people obsess over who confesses first. It's a trap. Whoever does it first loses. Of course, I wouldn't mind if the Shinomiya girl is the one to lose."
"Oh..."
"In war terms, confession is an asymmetric gamble. To win, you need information dominance. With the Shinomiya family backing her, an ordinary guy would be crushed. Without my help, you'd never stand a chance."
"Uh… Takamine-kun, have you considered a special case?" Shirogane asked timidly.
"Like what?"
"What if both people like each other already? Isn't it okay for one of them to confess?"
"You like Shinomiya?"
"No no no! I just admire her, like I told you before!"
Even now, Shirogane refused to admit it.
"Feelings are too vague. There's no formula, and every case is different. You can't analyze them precisely."
"...You really do love using a science mindset for romance."
"Because I suck at liberal arts. Why analyze things with tools I'm bad at?" Rinji replied. "Back then, I confessed without confirming her feelings, and I paid the price. What's the point of confessing if she doesn't like you?"
"You've got a point..."
"And if both people like each other, why wait for a confession? It's like deciding a winner."
"...Well… it's also about fairness."
"Huh?"
"The one who likes first ends up at a disadvantage after they become a couple… or at least that's how I see it."
"That's dumb. If you're that worried, just sit down and talk about relationship terms like a business meeting. I was willing to lose back then and still—ugh, every time I talk to you, I end up dragging out my past again."
Rinji rubbed his eyes in frustration.
Even he was sick of bringing up his own heartbreak just to make a point.
"I'm a living, breathing cautionary tale, and you still don't believe me? But you believe in some three-line confession speech?"
"I believe you, I do. I swear I won't confess. You can count on me."
"...Alright. Just stay alert moving forward. I'll help you, but don't even think about confessing. It's pointless. And it makes no logical sense."
"No problem. I'll follow your lead."
"Alright then, we'll keep in touch by phone."
After saying that, Takamine Rinji picked up his backpack from the couch, planning to leave the student council office first.
"Anyway, you're planning to pursue Kaguya Shinomiya to better handle students' emotional consultations, right? In that case, the young lady from the Shinomiya family is basically just a test subject. Since she's a tool, we might as well use her properly. Starting tomorrow, I'll gradually provide you with intel."
"Ah… alright."
Even as Takamine Rinji stepped out the office door and gently closed it behind him, Miyuki Shirogane still hadn't said aloud that he was serious about falling in love with Kaguya Shinomiya—that he wanted her to confess to him.
Due to the gap in status between them, Shirogane's "make the other confess" strategy seemed even less reliable than Kaguya's plan. But with Takamine Rinji's help, things might slightly improve.
Maybe…
---
The next day, school proceeded as usual.
Classes were as normal, but when lunchtime rolled around…
The classmates around him all started to deliberately avoid Takamine Rinji.
The reason was simple: yesterday, while carrying out his duties as a Disciplinary Committee member, Takamine had used some confusing and borderline violent methods, making him rather infamous among the first-year students.
Basically, everyone now knew this guy was probably a musclehead who acted before thinking.
Takamine didn't pay them any attention. He simply picked up a red bean bun he had brought for lunch and walked straight to the Disciplinary Committee office.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in."
Hearing the voice from inside, Takamine opened the door and stepped in.
As usual, he was greeted by the familiar faces of Miko Iino and Kobachi Osaragi. On Miko's desk, her bento box was clearly a size larger than that of an average student.
Apparently noticing Takamine's gaze, Miko quickly covered the box and stammered an explanation, flustered: "Th-this is because my mom accidentally mixed up my dad's bento box with mine. I usually don't eat this much!"
"Isn't your mother part of an international humanitarian relief organization? She came home yesterday?"
"Ah… sometimes she does come back."
"I see."
Takamine didn't seem to care much about the bento's size and casually sat across from the two girls, tearing open his bread wrapper.
"Miko-san, I went to talk to the student council president yesterday."
"Is that so? What kind of person is President Shirogane?"
"He's someone who really cares about the students. He's willing to make himself an experimental subject just to help others with their concerns. A true president worthy of respect—I admire him a lot."
"Is that so… I guess there's still quite a gap between us."
Miko lowered her head as she said that. The popularity gap between them at school was obvious.
"But that said, I don't think we can rely on the president when it comes to solving discipline issues."
"Huh? Why?"
"I talked with him for a long time yesterday. It seems he even offers love consultations. While I admire his dedication to the students, at this rate the number of couples in Shuchiin is only going to increase."
"That's outrageous!"
Miko slammed the table and shouted.
"A student council president actually promoting that sort of behavior."
"That's why I think if we want to improve discipline, we'll have to do it ourselves as Disciplinary Committee members. The student council route is likely a dead end."
Even though Takamine Rinji had agreed to help Miyuki Shirogane pursue Kaguya Shinomiya...
Even though he had talked about a lot of romantic stuff with Shirogane...
That didn't mean he was going to let all the lovebirds at school off the hook when they were flaunting their relationships in his face.
He'd still offer help when needed, but if there were couples to be broken up, he'd do so without hesitation.
That day, Takamine Rinji was still as shameless as ever.