Prologue

The day after the Management Game successfully concluded.

The atmosphere at Kiou Academy was—utterly, completely relaxed.

“Hey, Tomonari. Got any interesting stories or something~…?”

“Nope, nothing~…”

During break time, I answered Taishou’s sleepy question while staring blankly out the window. The conversation fizzled out, but Taishou didn’t seem to mind.

“Tomonari-kun, I ate some amazing macarons the other day~…”

“Sounds nice~…”

Stifling a yawn and mumbling through barely moving lips, Asahi-san tossed out a new topic, but it wasn’t exactly gripping, so I threw back a half-hearted response. Asahi-san didn’t seem to care either, joining me and Taishou in our collective daze.

It was autumn, mid-October. The warm, soft sunlight was practically begging us to doze off.

And it wasn’t just the three of us—Hinako, Suminoe-san, Kita, everyone in the classroom seemed to be in the same boat. During the Management Game, every break was filled with heated debates erupting all over the place, but now? Not a trace of that energy remained. Students were sprawled over desks, fast asleep, or leaning back in chairs, silently staring at the ceiling, all of us just… lounging.

This vibe… honestly, it’s kind of a mess.

It was the classic case of burnout syndrome. The students at Kiou Academy are usually a serious bunch, Management Game or not, but right now, they were totally checked out.

Even the teachers seemed to be cutting us some slack, slowing the pace of lessons a bit, maybe out of consideration for us. They’d probably been on edge during the Management Game too. For this brief moment, the interests of students and teachers aligned, wrapping the entire academy in a cozy, laid-back haze.

It kind of reminded me of the high school I used to go to, stirring a faint sense of nostalgia.

“Um, Konohana-san, there was something in the last lesson I didn’t quite get…”

A female classmate approached Hinako.

To keep up such a diligent attitude in this atmosphere? That’s something to admire. Starting next break, I’ll step up my game too.

When the girl opened her textbook, Hinako stared intently at the page,

“Hmm… ugh, what a hassle…”

“A hassle… huh?”

Oh no, this is bad.

She’s gotten swept up in the relaxed vibe and let her true personality slip out.

I lightly slapped both cheeks and stood up.

Time for the caretaker to step in.