People bring their own maids to the training camp

"That's not it."

"We've already used two, so it doesn't seem to be Kikyo's fault."

"I just told Kikyo something, and she should send the photos to your phone soon."

"Wait, isn't the director taking photos, but the actress taking selfies? And are they in portrait mode?"

"...Aren't you a little too knowledgeable?"

"To prepare you for starting a media company in the future," Hayasaka replied flawlessly.

“No need for this kind of preparation!” Chihaya sighed and slapped away Hayasaka’s restless little hand. “Don’t interrupt, let’s get down to business.”

"So what do you want to say?" Hayasaka put his hand away, his face serious.

“I just asked Kikyo about the members who participated in the study group, and there’s one name that really catches my attention,” Chihaya said. “Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.”

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's grades are average in Class D. He's fairly good-looking, ranking in the top ten of the handsome guys list, but because he's low-key, he doesn't have much influence in his class." Hayasaka blurted out what he knew.

"No, no, no, I don't need to know these meaningless things." Chihaya waved her hands repeatedly. "There's something you might not know about loving me. Do you remember when I visited a facility that trained talent a long time ago?"

"Yes, that was one of the rare occasions when you accompanied the head of the family."

“The organizers of that facility needed a lot of money, so they approached the Mikado family,” Chihaya recalled. “It was because I visited their teaching methods that I came up with my later educational program—though it was a completely weaker version compared to that facility.”

"An ultimate weakened version?! But your strength, no matter how you measure it, is..."

"You haven't been there, so you don't know that what stands out from that place is something that you and I can hardly defeat."

"They actually possess such strength?"

“That’s why they need money so much.” Chihaya nodded. “A privately-run facility without official backing is doomed to fail once exposed—his founders operated it alone with that awareness in mind.”

"Could it be..." Hayasaka suddenly understood. There was only one possibility that could make Chihaya so wary.

"Yes, that person's surname is Ayanokouji."

"But in the end, the head of the family didn't fund that facility, did he?"

"Yes, it's a matter of political stance. My father is destined not to fund it, and he doesn't approve of the training methods there either."

"But didn't you say that the two of us together isn't a good match?"

"What kind of talent do you think is most important for political groups to cultivate?" Chihaya didn't wait for Hayasaka's answer. "A highly skilled thug? A strategist with profound knowledge?"

"Since it is a political organization, it should be training politicians."

“Yes, but the first place winner I met back then clearly didn’t have the potential to become a politician.” Chihaya frowned. “If I had to describe him, he only had one expression… indifference. An adult was lying on the ground groaning after his arm was broken, but he showed no emotion whatsoever, as if it were a trivial matter.”

"That just means he's gotten used to it, right?"

“Being too aloof will not win the trust of voters, so in recent years candidates have tried their best to appear very approachable.”

"By the way, you just mentioned your political stance?"

“Yes, that Mr. Ayanokouji was once a member of the Naoe faction,” Chihaya said. “He must have instructed Mr. Ayanokouji to do it, but he did not use his own reputation as support.”

"So, Mr. Ayanokouji is a hidden agent?"

“That’s how it was originally. I only overheard my father talking about this with someone. He said that Mr. Ayanokoji was probably considered a scapegoat because Naoe gave up his own candidacy and instead supported Onigashima.”

"Is it Onishima, who is still very active now?"

“Yes, that’s the one.” Chihaya nodded. “If I remember correctly, this high school we’re in right now is his creation.”

“No wonder.” Hayasaka suddenly realized, “I don’t know about other things, but this successful achievement in cultivating talent is indeed very influential.”

"Mr. Ayanokouji's facility is undoubtedly a comprehensive upgrade of Takayuki, like comparing the regular iPhone to the Pro Max iPhone."

"It's rare for you to use such a humorous analogy, but for the past three years, neither fruit nor grains have been usable on mobile phones."

"...Getting back to the main point, I suspect that this Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is related to that Mr. Ayanokouji," Chihaya said. "It's such a coincidence that they should be competitors, but their products have ended up in Takayuki."

“While there’s a possibility he’s an innocent bystander, we can’t be careless. I’ll try to follow him,” Hayasaka said. “I’ll leave the close-up observation to you.”

“Just follow him and test him. If he really came from that place, he'll definitely find you. We don't need to provoke him right now.” Chihaya sighed after saying that. “Do you think my mother's goal for me is this artificially created genius who's been through countless trials?”

"Don't you have confidence?"

"Who would have confidence when facing a human being without emotions? Without emotions, he has nothing to fear, and he would even ignore pain when fighting—can such a person really be defeated?"

"What if you could beat him into submission?"

"Based on my recollection, my strength was at most average among the students I visited at the time—I mean combat ability. They could take on adults one-on-one when they were very young, and those were armed adults."

"Do you have some kind of psychological trauma?" Hayasaka reached out and stroked Chihaya's cheek. "Please don't worry, you're not alone. There's nothing you can't overcome."

“Love…” Chihaya grasped Hayasaka’s hand that was stroking his face.

“One person can’t do it alone. You can prove that to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.” Hayasaka rarely smiled. “If he’s hiding his strength, all we have to do is completely crush Class D, and he’ll have no choice but to step up.”

"Okay." Chihaya nodded. "Let's observe for a while."

"Then please get some rest," Hayasaka said gently.

"I'm a little unaccustomed to you suddenly acting like this," Chihaya suddenly said.

"So, do you need a maid's service?" Hayasaka blinked, looking exceptionally cute. "I've been preparing this outfit for a long time, you know?"

At the Mikado Mansion in Hayasaka, they always wore rather fundamentalist maid outfits and would never dare to wear such a sexy, super short maid outfit.

"Since you're already wearing it, then go ahead and do it."

"Great!"

And so, a night of revelry ensued.

The next day, Hayasaka threw the socks with large snags into the trash can.

----split line----

The next day, Chiya went to the archery club for practice after school.

After more than a month of performance, Chihaya has secured a starting spot from Hashigaki and also earned a place in the individual competition.

Not everyone has the opportunity to participate throughout the first year, especially the boys.

Gao Yu didn't have many students to begin with, less than 480 at most—and even fewer of them could join the archery club.

Although the captain of the archery club is female, the club is still slightly predominantly male, so the boys have to compete for spots in the team competition. Based on merit, even first-year high school students can qualify as long as they have good grades.

The number of spots for the individual competition is determined by the order of scores from highest to lowest, with the top few qualifying for each spot.

There were already few girls, and Chihaya showed strength no less than that of captain Hashigaki, so she easily secured a spot in the competition.

According to the "spoilers" from her seniors, Chihaya knew that as long as she got a ranking, she would definitely receive personal points.

However, with the midterm exams approaching, the first-year students inevitably became a little impatient during training.

While archery competitions are about hitting the target, they place even greater emphasis on cultivating mental fortitude. Without a calm and focused mind, it's impossible to practice effectively.

Seeing his juniors rushing headlong into the embrace of Mother Ocean, Hashigaki, unable to bear it any longer, finally stopped the first-year students' training.

"First graders, stop for a second. Look at what you've shot!"

"Huh?" Chihaya blinked innocently, still in a bow stance, looking blankly at the minister who was about to start criticizing.

"5 out of 5 in the Princess Palace!" A member in the distance shouted out Chihaya's score.

"Ahem, except for the Princess..." Hashigaki was extremely embarrassed. She had originally planned to use the incident of missing the target as an excuse to give a lecture, but she didn't expect that her generalization about the first-year students would accidentally hit Chihaya.

"The most important thing in archery is mindset! Do you know that your minds are in turmoil?!" Hashigaki looked at each of them one by one, and the first-year members all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

“I know that those who fail the midterm exams will be expelled, but on the other hand, isn’t this also a test of your mental fortitude?” Hashigaki said. “Look at how calm and composed the princess is at archery, just like always!”

"Fei Gong is first in the grade." Someone muttered quietly.

"Why don't you get first place in the grade? Don't you like it?" Qiao Yuan was furious. "Is being first in the grade too dazzling and you can't handle it?"

"Minister," the deputy minister tugged at Hashigaki, "isn't that unnecessary?"

"He's first in the grade, and also first in archery. I'm so jealous!"

"You flatter me, Minister." Chihaya smiled slightly. He was sitting upright with his other hand on the bow—he hadn't continued shooting because Hashigaki had started his lecture.

"...Sigh, never mind." Hashigaki wanted to say something more, but seeing Chihaya's smiling face, he immediately gave up the idea. "I'll give you guys a day off to rest. If you shoot like this again during the next club activity, I'll give you a severe punishment!"

After saying that, Hashigaki turned to look at Chihaya.

"Your Highness, you're in great shape today. Why don't you rest with them?" Hashigaki said.

"Yes, Minister."

Chihaya was a little surprised to suddenly get a vacation, so he decided to go to a coffee shop for a drink.

Because of the time already spent participating in club activities, the Palette area is bound to be packed with people at this time—life is already hectic, and now, coinciding with the review season, it's even harder to find a seat.

So Chihaya wisely avoided going to the Palette and instead went to his usual coffee shop in the Keyaki Shopping Center.

The shop's business was neither good nor bad; about a quarter of the seats were occupied by customers.

Qian ordered a latte at the front desk and then found a seat by the window. At a table not far away, a girl was sitting with her textbooks and exercises spread out in front of her, seemingly troubled by her studies.

Her long, blue hair was quite eye-catching, but Chihaya only glanced at her before looking away. The girl was beautiful, but staring at her was still rather impolite, especially since he didn't know her.

Chihaya took out her phone and sent a message to Hayasaka, while also replying to Honami's message.

Hayasaka obtained a photo from Kushida, and with Kushida's help, he also took a stroll around Class D and successfully saw Ayanokouji's face in person.

At this moment, Hayasaka is comparing Ayanokouji's appearance with the few photos of Mr. Ayanokouji that he can find, while also analyzing the information about Ayanokouji that he has obtained from Class D.

Horikita's first study session in Class D is scheduled for tomorrow. Chihaya will be attending this session. Hayasaka plans to complete a basic analysis of Ayanokouji beforehand to facilitate Chihaya's next probing.

Fanbo's messages were just routine greetings. The two often exchanged messages that weren't very meaningful, and they would also recommend shops to each other. In short, it was just the daily life between girls.

Today, Fanbo posted a picture, saying that he would help Chihaya do the hairstyle in the picture later—a hairstyle that requires braiding and looks like it will take a long time.

Honami enjoys doing this all the time, but Chihaya isn't always willing to cooperate, since he's very busy and can't always find the time to do Honami's hair.

On the other hand, it was because Hayasaka was a little "jealous" that Honami combed Chihaya's hair during swimming class. In addition, Hayasaka has been showing signs of sexual dissatisfaction lately, so Chihaya felt it was better to be careful, otherwise she would have to think of a reason to ask Hayasaka for leave.

While replying to the messages, Qianzao's latte was quickly ready.

When he returned to his seat with his latte, he was somewhat surprised to see an acquaintance.

"Hey? San San, why did you come early?" the girl with long blue hair asked.

“I told you not to call me by that name.” The boy called San San sighed, as if he had gotten used to it. “Today, because everyone’s training was in poor condition, the captain got a little angry and gave us a day off to get back into form.”