A little earlier that day, during lunch, Alisa slipped out of the classroom alone and made her way to the cafeteria. She was in search of something bland to eat, since her stomach was still aching from the curry she’d had for breakfast. Incidentally, she had kindly forced Maria to take the sandwich she bought this morning.
“Yooo, Alisa. What a coincidence.”
“Nonoa.”
But on her way, she ran into Nonoa, who was coming out of her classroom, and stopped.
“Eating lunch at the cafeteria today?”
“Yeah, you too?”
“Yeah, let’s go together.”
“Oh, uh… All right.”
Though she was momentarily flustered by the thought of being alone with Nonoa for a change, she agreed since there was no reason to refuse.
It’s unusual to see her alone during lunch like this. She’s usually surrounded by people.
However, she didn’t give it much more thought as they walked together toward the cafeteria…when a few passing students suddenly commented:
“Oh, hey. Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday.”
“Y-yeah, thanks?”
In fact, even people whose names she didn’t know had been congratulating her every single time she had stepped outside the classroom. However, she still wasn’t used to it, managing only awkward smiles in return. Nevertheless, that alone seemed to please her schoolmates, sending them away beaming with joy.
“Look at you. So popular now,” Nonoa said in an emotionless, monotone voice as they walked away.
“I’m not popular. Everyone is just messing with me. That’s all…”
“Hmm? Like, I guess there’s a little bit of teasing? But that’s definitely not all of it. See for yourself.”
Alisa followed Nonoa’s gaze and glanced back at the two boys to find them excitedly throwing their arms around each other’s shoulders while playfully poking each other with their fingers.
“They’re legit ecstatic after getting to talk a girl they’ve probably been wanting to talk to for forever. At least, that’s how it looks to me.”
“…Really?”
Unsure how to even react, Alisa abruptly faced forward. Nonoa, however, indifferently continued:
“Of course, half the fun is probably teasing you. But that’s way better for your campaign than being avoided or just watched from a distance, right?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
Although she had a point, Alisa unfortunately wasn’t used to all this, so there was no way she was going to effortlessly navigate the situation.
I’m sure Yuki wouldn’t have a problem dealing with people like that. She’d just thank them with the most natural smile in the world…
While standing in line at the cafeteria’s ticket machine, she imagined her rival—the model gentlewoman—when Nonoa suddenly peered into her eyes.
“What’s wrong? Have a lot on your mind?”
“Oh! No, uh… I was just wondering what I could do to make these interactions a little less…awkward,” she stammered, hiding the fact that she had been comparing herself to Yuki.
“Ah,” Nonoa muttered, her eyes half closed.
“Like, you need to work on your smile. Then again, there is a market for your usual reactions, too…”
“A ‘market’? I don’t really know what that means, but I need to make my smile look more…bright, I guess?”
“Hmm… I guess you could practice if it’s bothering you?”
“…Yeah.”
Alisa attempted to craft a faint smile while waiting for her food, but was predictably having a rough time. Even she could tell that the corners of her mouth weren’t curling and her eyes were nearly lifeless.
“Mmm…”
“You just gotta get used to it. But, like, from what I can see, you look like you’re trying too hard.”
“Wait. Really?”
“You don’t have to put a hundred percent into your smile. You just need to remain calm and thank them, then it’ll look less awkward.”
“…You’re probably right.”
Nonoa had a point. Until then, Alisa had been briefly caught off-guard whenever people approached her and scrambled to smile and thank them, which only made her seem more awkward. Therefore, simply eliminating that initial moment of hesitation would probably make her appear much more refined.
“Okay, I’m going to give it a try.”
But right as she set her food on the table and sank into her seat, a passing trio of male students happened to spot Alisa, and their eyes shined with pleasant surprise.
“Happy birthday, Alisa Kujou.”
“Oh, right. I heard it was her birthday. Congrats.”
“Happy birthday.”
Seizing the perfect opportunity, Alisa immediately put her newfound insight to the test.
“Thanks.”
She simply met their gaze directly and expressed her gratitude without a trace of panic. The three boys, who had originally approached with half-teasing grins, briefly opened their eyes wide…until their expressions dissolved into goofy, bashful smiles and they hurried away looking completely smitten.
“…Was that good?”
Though Alisa sought her friend’s opinion from across the table, Nonoa slightly tilted her head, her eyes narrowed in a judgmental glare.
“Yeah…? But, like, maybe you overdid it a bit?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Although Alisa didn’t understand what she meant, Nonoa’s observation was spot-on. Those boys had most likely figured they’d try talking to the solitary princess while teasing her a bit, but when they actually approached her, there was none of Alisa’s usual flustered reaction that they had expected. Instead, she met them head-on with straightforward gratitude, all while displaying her overwhelming beauty to the fullest.
Obviously, those boys had harbored no shortage of ulterior motives, seizing this chance to approach a beautiful, popular girl, so it was only natural that they were the ones who got flustered and embarrassed instead.
“Eh, whatever. Looks like you got yourself a few new fans, too.”
“What? Really…?”
But I don’t even want fans, Alisa mused briefly, before recognizing that her campaign’s supporters were essentially just that—fans—and giving a reluctant nod. But right after she clapped once and picked up her chopsticks to dig into her udon, a voice drifted over from two seats away.
“Must be pretty pleased with yourself.”
Alisa didn’t think the comment was even directed at her at first.
“Look at you, all smiling and giddy, even after being called into the disciplinary committee room.”
However, doubt slowly began to creep in as the stranger kept speaking, especially since there was no one sitting next to Alisa, so she glanced sideways…and she found herself caught in the hostile stare of a scowling female student. Since Nonoa was the only other person nearby, it became painfully clear that those rude comments were meant for Alisa.
“Called into the disciplinary committee room”?
She reflected on the stranger’s words for a moment before concluding it was probably about this morning’s incident. This female student had either witnessed firsthand or heard from someone about Alisa carrying all those presents to the disciplinary committee room alongside the disciplinary committee members and was likely misunderstanding the situation. Therefore, Alisa decided to cautiously correct her.
“Uh… I think there might be some sort of misunderstanding. I had to stop by the disciplinary committee room this morning because someone anonymously placed a bunch of presents on my desk. I wasn’t called in to be disciplined.”
She did everything she could not to provoke the stranger while clarifying what happened, but the female student’s face only twisted with even more disgust.
“Oh, you’re so full of yourself. You put those presents there yourself because you wanted the attention.”
“Huh…?!”
As Alisa was left speechless at the utterly unreasonable accusation, the female student glared into her eyes with pure hatred and hissed contemptuously:
“I feel so bad for Yuki Suou. It must be so annoying having someone like this mess with her election campaign.”
Those eyes—those words brimming with hostility—suddenly reminded Alisa of what Sayaka had told her that morning.
“But be careful. The more attention you get and the more popular you become, the more people start to resent you.”
Alisa, though somewhat in a daze, figured that this must have been what she was talking about. Regardless, Nonoa, who had been quietly slurping her soba, suddenly spoke up.
“Yo, who even are you? You’re just some nobody talkin’ out of her ass.”
“What…?”
The student grimaced in disgust while she shifted her glare toward Nonoa. Nonoa, however, merely glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye and added: