"You guys..."

  Uesugi Gen swept his gaze over the members of the Uesugi Group gathered in the clubroom, then let out a long sigh.

  "You’ve all gone soft!"

  He reminisced about the early days—when they were ambitious, united, and determined to carry Css B’s dark side on their backs, propelling it to the top.

  And now? Just a few weeks ter, one was watching dramas, another was pying board games, and the most outrageous of all—Shibata Sō had the audacity to take over his designated computer station.

  Absolutely unacceptable.

  "But Uesugi, there really isn’t anything for us to do tely."

  Hamaguchi Tetsuya lounged on the sofa, eyes glued to his handheld console, responding absentmindedly.

  Thinking back to their recent activities—

  They were supposed to track Ichinose Honami and report on her movements, yet somehow, she managed to slip away right under their noses.

  They investigated the Css C vs. Css D incident, only to find out it was a false lead that Uesugi had deliberately pnted to mislead others.

  And… that was it.

  Hardly the kind of thrilling missions that kept people engaged.

  "Then why don’t you all use this time to improve your individual skills? This school values ability above all else."

  Uesugi’s tone was filled with disappointment.

  "But you’re the one who spends the most time here. We’re barely in this room half as often as you are."

  Shibata Sō, seated at the computer, casually dropped this bombshell.

  Uesugi fell silent.

  Damn, he had a point. And Uesugi had no counterargument.

  Watching this ridiculous exchange unfold, Kanzaki Ryuji—the only competent member of the Uesugi Group—rubbed his temples in frustration.

  It was inevitable. The quality of the group reflected its leader, and with Uesugi running the show, their current state of decay was hardly surprising.

  Thinking about it now, it was a relief that Uesugi wasn’t present when they elected the css representative.

  Given Ichinose’s soft-hearted nature, she might’ve actually handed the position to him.

  Css B’s Representative—Uesugi Gen…

  Nope. Nope. Can’t even entertain that thought.

  The mere idea gave Kanzaki a headache.

  He shook his head vigorously, trying to erase the mental image of Uesugi as css rep.

  Meanwhile, Uesugi stared at his team of unmotivated sckers, a serious question forming in his mind.

  Wait… could it be that I also have some kind of aura like Ichinose? The kind that unconsciously makes people give up on everything?

  No, forget it. There were more important things to deal with right now.

  Uesugi cleared his throat.

  "Alright, everyone up. We have a mission."

  Hearing this, the Uesugi Group begrudgingly straightened up, assuming a more serious posture.

  "Fine, what’s the job this time?"

  "Follow Ichinose."

  "Ugh!"

  Instantly, the group scattered, going right back to whatever they were doing before.

  "Seriously, Uesugi, aren’t you tired of tailing Ichinose every day?"

  "If you want to be css rep, just ask her. She’d probably agree if you begged a little."

  "Uesugi-kun, you do realize that while Ichinose might not care about you doing this, constantly prying into someone’s personal life is still rude?"

  …

  Faced with their btant resistance, Uesugi’s expression remained unreadable.

  Then he calmly stated:

  "Someone confessed to Ichinose."

  "…!" (⊙_⊙)

  "???" (b`b)

  "WHAT?!" w(?Д?)w

  The entire Uesugi Group erupted into chaos.

  Hamaguchi’s mouth hung open, his console slipping from his grasp.

  Shibata toppled over backward, chair and all.

  Kanzaki, normally composed, leaped up from the couch, his ever-stoic face showing signs of cracking.

  The group pying board games in the middle of the room flipped the entire table, sending cards flying everywhere.

  Kanzaki was the first to recover. He narrowed his eyes at Uesugi, suspicion written all over his face.

  "This… wasn’t your doing, was it?"

  "What do you mean by that? Do I look like someone who would pull a stunt like this?"

  Uesugi squinted at him, sounding offended.

  "Uesugi-kun, is this true? Did someone really confess to Ichinose?"

  Andō Saya asked urgently.

  Immediately slipping into character, Uesugi spoke in a chillingly dramatic tone,

  "There’s no mistake. She put it away quickly, but I saw it. That letter—I’m 100% sure it was a love confession."

  "And she pns to meet them after school today."

  Kanzaki, ever the skeptic, frowned.

  "Alright, I can understand you spotting Ichinose receiving a letter. But how did you deduce she intends to meet them today?"

  At this, the other members started to doubt as well.

  Yeah, how exactly did he figure that out?

  "…Why are you all looking at me like that?"

  Uesugi suddenly felt a deep sense of injustice, as if he were being falsely accused in a parallel universe.

  "This time, it really wasn’t me!"

  He let out an exasperated sigh.

  "It’s just that she always asks me to eat lunch with her, but today, she didn’t."

  The way everyone stared at him…

  Something felt off.

  "Regardless, we need to keep a close watch on Ichinose today. More importantly, we have to find out exactly who confessed to her."

  Uesugi paused for effect before adding,

  "My instincts tell me this person isn’t ordinary. There’s a good chance this is a scheme from another css."

  Kanzaki stroked his chin thoughtfully.

  That does make sense.

  Everyone in Css B could tell that Ichinose wasn’t interested in romance.

  And with Uesugi hanging around, none of the boys in their own css had dared to make a move.

  If this wasn’t Uesugi’s doing, then it was very likely someone from another css.

  Whether it was to protect Ichinose or Css B, they needed to find out the truth.

  His mind made up, Kanzaki raised a hand.

  "I support this mission."

  Now that someone had taken the lead, the others quickly followed suit.

  "I’m in."

  "Same here."

  "Count me in!"

  "Alright, Uesugi-kun, what’s the pn?"

  "Since we’re all in agreement, I’ll get straight to the strategy."

  Uesugi announced.

  "We’re going with sheer numbers."

  "Sheer numbers?"

  The group echoed in confusion.

  "Exactly. Last time, we lost sight of Ichinose because I assigned too few people. We didn’t have her covered from all angles, and she managed to escape."

  "This time, all of you will be involved. I don’t care how, but I refuse to let her slip away again."

  Shibata raised an eyebrow.

  "Wait, why aren’t you going yourself?"

  Uesugi adjusted the nonexistent gsses on his face before expining,

  "She regurly checks my phone’s location. If she notices I’m nearby, or if I suddenly turn off tracking, she’ll know something’s up."

  "So instead, I’ll keep her distracted by texting her while you guys follow her and figure out who sent that letter."

  Kanzaki nodded approvingly.

  "Understood. Leave it to us."

  The rest of the group also nodded, determination in their eyes.

  "Alright, that’s the pn for now. Let’s head back to css."

  As they left, Shibata scratched his head, then slowly pulled out his phone.

  If the pn is to use numbers… wouldn’t it be even better with more people?

  ---

  T/N: heh it seems the css already ships them