In Class D of the second years, even though everyone in the room had been classmates for over a year now, Sakura was still alone.
Head lowered. Big, dowdy-looking glasses. A complete background character in her own class—barely interacting with anyone.
She came to class, then left as soon as school ended. No clubs. No group chats. No joining discussions. Even when the room got loud and excited, she'd only sit there quietly and listen. The moment it ended, she'd slip out—always by herself.
But people like that… eventually still get noticed.
And this time, she got noticed by Horikita and Matsushita.
During a break between classes, Sakura let out a small breath, stood up, and left the classroom—headed for the restroom.
Horikita and Matsushita's faces brightened. They exchanged a quick look, then followed right after her.
And on Sakura's way back, they blocked her path.
Sakura's heart nearly stopped.
She instinctively took two steps back, convinced her secret had been exposed—that her role as Yukio's mole inside Class D had finally been discovered.
After all, who didn't know Matsushita was basically Class D's leader now? And Horikita—no matter how unpopular she seemed—still held real weight in the class.
Being cornered by those two made Sakura's face go pale. Panic churned in her chest. It felt like her whole world was about to collapse.
Matsushita's eyes were sharp—she immediately noticed Sakura's fear and unease. But she didn't suspect anything deeper. To her, this reaction was perfectly normal.
Sakura had always been timid, shy, and distant. Getting stopped like this would obviously make her nervous.
So Matsushita put on a gentle smile, trying to calm her down. "Don't be nervous, Sakura-san. We're not here to hurt you. We just need to ask you for a favor."
She gestured lightly. "Can we talk over by the stairwell? People pass through here all the time. You don't like drawing attention, right?"
It was a smart suggestion for two reasons: fewer eyes would help Sakura relax, and it also kept the conversation from leaking.
"…"
Sakura timidly glanced at Matsushita, then flicked her eyes to Horikita. In the end, she could only nod and follow them to the empty stairwell.
Once they arrived, Matsushita looked even more confident. Sakura stood there quiet as a mouse, not saying a word, so Matsushita—like a considerate big sister—gave a sincere little bow before making her request.
"Here's the thing, Sakura-san…"
"We've already decided our Class D project for the cultural festival in secret: a maid café."
"Huh?" Sakura's mind blanked for a second.
Why… would they tell her something this sensitive? She wasn't a leader, wasn't a core member, wasn't anyone important—and then her eyes lit up.
Wait… this is basically classified info, isn't it?
If she told Yukio, wouldn't that be incredibly useful? If she could help Yukio even a little, that would be…
Of course, Matsushita and Horikita had no idea what was going on inside Sakura's head. They kept explaining seriously.
"To keep other classes from getting our information, we can only do it this way—reach out privately to a few people and ask for their help."
"And you probably know this too," Matsushita continued. "If a maid café is going to be popular with visitors, we need cute maids to serve them."
She smiled warmly. "We think you're really cute, Sakura-san. So… would you be willing to be one of our maids? Please. We really need you."
She even clasped her hands together in a playful pleading gesture and tilted her head.
To be blunt, ever since they locked in the maid café theme, Matsushita and Horikita had been hunting for recruits. So far they'd only found a few girls who felt like a good fit—Sato, Mei, and a couple others.
Matsushita herself was obviously going to take part. As for Horikita… honestly, with that cool, icy face, a maid outfit would probably be lethal. But they'd considered her social skills, plus Horikita's lingering trauma from that female knight cosplay disaster, and she'd refused so hard it was basically self-defense.
So Horikita had been removed from the roster, and they kept searching.
They'd also thought about Kushida—and when Matsushita asked her, Kushida agreed with a bright smile, saying she'd do her best.
They'd even considered Karuizawa, but she rejected it flat-out. Matsushita and Horikita couldn't force her, so they had to keep looking.
And that's why their sights finally landed on Sakura.
Because even if Sakura looked like a quiet nobody day-to-day, everyone in Class D knew the truth:
When it came to figure, Sakura was in a league of her own. That body was so stacked it practically bullied the entire school.
Put that into a maid outfit, and on festival day she wouldn't just attract customers—she'd massacre the competition.
So yes. They absolutely had to get her on board.
…
Sakura finally understood what they wanted. She relaxed inside—thank goodness. She'd seriously thought Horikita and Matsushita had found out she was Yukio's spy.
But even so, she waved her hands frantically. "I-I… I can't. I-I get nervous when people look at me. I… I can't play a maid."
No joke—she got a little tense even when she was with people she knew, like Yukio and Shiina. If she had to perform for strangers in a class project, she'd die of embarrassment on the spot.
Horikita stepped in, pushing harder. "Sakura-san. We really need you. I know the gap between us and Yukio's class is huge, but there's still a slim chance we can catch up!"
"And that means we can't throw away any opportunity to gain class points—especially the cultural festival. We can't give up!"
Sakura's mouth opened. "B-But… but…"
She couldn't finish.
Because she didn't want to help Class D chase Yukio's class at all.
How could she? That would put Yukio's ranking at risk.
She would never do that.
Matsushita softened her tone, trying to persuade her gently. "Sakura-san, please. A lot of students in Class D… they're not ready to accept graduating as Class D. You understand that, right?"
"We're not even talking about surpassing Yukio's class. If you do well during the festival—if you attract visitors and raise our odds—then at least our class points go up, and everyone gets more private points every month. That's good for everyone."
Matsushita didn't mean anything by it.
But Sakura froze for a split second—not because she cared about "Class D pride," and definitely not because she cared about a little extra allowance.
It was Matsushita's wording: If you do well, you'll attract visitors.
Sakura's brain did something extremely simple.
If she didn't do well… then she wouldn't attract visitors.
If visitors didn't come… sales would be low.
If sales were low… Class D wouldn't be able to close the gap on Yukio's class.
In other words—if I mess this up… I'll help Yukio.
Sakura wasn't the type to think through complicated strategies. She didn't care whether Class D truly had a chance or not.
She only cared about one thing:
If it helped Yukio, she'd do it.
"…O-Okay," Sakura murmured, nodding faintly. "I-I'll… join."
Horikita and Matsushita finally relaxed, their shoulders easing as if they could breathe again.