Chapter 18
The Girlfriend Search Committee survived exactly one day before Kiyotaka ruined it.
That was impressive, even by Class D cafeteria standards.
The committee was not official, of course.
Everyone at the table insisted it did not exist. Honami called it "basic concern as a friend.
" Kikyo called it "reasonable supervision.
" Maya said Pengu was only helping with emotional compatibility.
Kei claimed she was there because everyone else had lost their minds.
Arisu, still smug from the previous day's seat conquest, simply smiled and said that any important selection process required intelligence.
The support table had already started taking notes anyway.
Mako called herself a witness.
Chiaki called herself the unofficial secretary.
Masumi called herself an unwilling observer while clearly enjoying every second.
Chihiro looked like she wanted to object but also wanted to know what happened next.
By lunchtime, Kiyotaka's table had returned to its usual disaster formation.
Honami sat close with her gentle smile and frightening patience.
Kikyo sat opposite her with her angelic expression sharpened into something far too playful.
Maya had Pengu on the table, the repaired penguin plush staring outward like it was guarding national secrets.
Kei sat near Maya, one hand occasionally brushing the crescent necklace she absolutely insisted she did not touch that often.
Arisu had returned with Masumi and looked far too comfortable acting as if this entire cafeteria section had become her personal chessboard.
Kiyotaka looked at all of them over his tray.
"So," he said, "has the committee found my girlfriend yet?"
Five girls went still.
Mako nearly dropped her spoon at the support table.
Chiaki immediately sat straighter. "Minutes have begun."
Kei pointed toward her without looking. "There are no minutes."
Maya hugged Pengu. "We haven't inspected anyone yet."
Honami smiled with perfect calm. "Because there is no need to rush."
Kikyo tilted her head. "A careless selection would be dangerous."
Arisu's eyes curved. "A disastrous selection would be entertaining, but unacceptable."
Kiyotaka took a sip of peach tea.
Kei watched him drink it, realized she was watching, then looked away angrily.
Kiyotaka's gaze moved to her.
"Kei, do you have recommendations?"
Her face went red. "Why are you asking me?"
"You joined the committee."
"I did not join anything."
"You attended yesterday."
"To stop Maya from signing Pengu into a treaty."
Maya lifted the penguin slightly. "He has good judgment."
Kei stared at the plush. "He has stuffing."
Kikyo smiled. "Sometimes that is still more judgment than some boys have."
Honami's smile brightened. "That is true."
Arisu glanced at the Crown Hearts students seated far away and laughed softly. "A rare point of agreement."
Kiyotaka placed his drink down.
"Then maybe I should find someone myself."
The air changed so quickly that even the support table stopped pretending to eat.
Honami's smile remained. "Someone yourself?"
Kikyo's eyes narrowed behind sweetness. "That sounds reckless."
Maya hugged Pengu tighter. "Pengu requires a background check."
Kei's voice sharpened. "You were joking yesterday."
Arisu rested her chin lightly against her hand. "Kiyotaka-kun, a move like that requires consultation."
Kiyotaka smiled.
That was when everyone knew the situation was already doomed.
"I'll go get something."
Kei blinked. "Something?"
"Yes."
Maya looked confused. "For lunch?"
"Something like that."
Honami's gaze followed him as he stood. "Kiyotaka-kun, where are you going?"
"To solve the committee's problem."
Kikyo's smile froze by a thread. "That sentence sounds horrible."
Arisu's eyes sharpened with immediate suspicion. "Kiyotaka-kun."
He only waved lightly and walked away from the table.
For several seconds, the girls watched him leave.
Then all of them turned toward one another.
Kei was the first to speak.
"He's doing something stupid."
Maya nodded, hugging Pengu. "He smiled too much."
Kikyo folded her hands. "That smile means he prepared something."
Honami's voice was gentle but strained. "Prepared what?"
Arisu's expression turned thoughtful, which made Masumi immediately groan from the support table.
Mako leaned toward Masumi. "What?"
Masumi sighed. "Arisu is thinking hard. That usually means the rest of us are about to suffer."
Chiaki tapped her imaginary notes. "Possible outcomes?"
Mako counted on her fingers. "He brings another girl, announces fake girlfriend, creates a second committee, or somehow gives Pengu a student ID."
Chihiro looked worried. "Could he really do the last one?"
Masumi glanced at Pengu. "At this table, yes."
Kei stood halfway. "I'm going after him."
Honami stood too quickly. "I'll come."
Kikyo rose with a smile. "It would be irresponsible to let him wander alone."
Maya clutched Pengu. "Pengu agrees."
Arisu lifted her cane. "Sit down."
All four paused.
Arisu smiled calmly, but her eyes stayed on the cafeteria entrance where Kiyotaka had disappeared.
"If he intended for us to follow, he would have made the bait less obvious. He wants us to wait."
Kei sat back down with a frustrated sound. "I hate that you're probably right."
Honami's smile tightened. "This is not amusing."
Kikyo looked toward the entrance. "It is a little amusing."
Honami turned to her.
Kikyo's smile became brighter. "In a terrifying way."
Maya whispered to Pengu, "I'm nervous."
At the support table, Mako leaned forward like a sports commentator. "The committee is unstable. The candidate search has entered mystery phase."
Chiaki nodded. "Secretary note: everyone is panicking while pretending they're not."
Kei snapped, "I heard that!"
Chiaki smiled. "Then the note is accurate."
The minutes stretched.
Kiyotaka was gone long enough for the cafeteria to start whispering. Students who had learned to monitor his table noticed his absence, then noticed the five girls waiting with gradually darkening expressions.
Someone from Class C whispered, "Did Ayanokōji escape?"
Someone from Class B answered, "No one escapes that table."
Then Kiyotaka returned.
And he was not alone.
Beside him walked a second-year girl with magenta hair, bright eyes, and the kind of smile that looked innocent only if someone had never met trouble wearing perfume.
She moved lightly, almost bouncing on her heels, her expression full of gleeful confidence as she clung close to Kiyotaka's side without the slightest hesitation.
Ichika Amasawa.
The second-year Class 2-A menace.
The White Room's fanclub president in human form.
Also, unfortunately for every girl at the table, someone who looked far too comfortable standing beside Kiyotaka.
The cafeteria's whisper system detonated.
Maya's mouth opened.
Kei's hand shot to her necklace.
Honami's smile became so still it could have been framed.
Kikyo's angel expression sharpened instantly.
Arisu's eyes narrowed with dangerous recognition.
Kiyotaka arrived at the table wearing a brighter grin than usual.
That made it worse.
Ichika leaned slightly forward, waving cutely.
"Hello, senpais."
Nobody answered.
Kiyotaka's smile widened.
"I found something better than a girlfriend."
Kei slowly stood. "Kiyotaka."
Honami's voice was soft. "Please explain."
Kikyo smiled. "Yes, Kiyotaka-kun. Please do."
Maya hugged Pengu like a shield. "Pengu is scared."
Arisu looked at Ichika, then at Kiyotaka. "This better be interesting."
Kiyotaka placed one hand lightly near Ichika's shoulder, not quite touching, but close enough that every girl noticed.
"This is Amasawa Ichika."
Ichika placed a hand over her chest and smiled with terrifying sweetness.
"Kiyotaka-senpai's fiancée."
The table died.
Then resurrected itself purely to riot.
Kei's voice cracked. "Fiancée?!"
Honami's smile stayed on her face through sheer spiritual violence. "Kiyotaka-kun?"
Kikyo's eyes widened before narrowing. "That was not part of the committee."
Maya looked at Pengu as if asking whether the plush had predicted this. "Pengu, did we miss a chapter?"
Arisu's smile turned slow and dangerous. "A fiancée."
Ichika tilted her head, looking delighted by the carnage she had caused within three seconds of arrival.
"Yep. Future wife candidate, officially family-approved, emotionally motivated, and extremely cute. Nice to meet you all."
Kei pointed at Kiyotaka. "You said girlfriend search yesterday."
"I did."
"You already had a fiancée?"
"Yes."
"And you let us make a committee?"
Kiyotaka's grin became criminal.
"It was entertaining."
Mako stood at the support table, both hands in her hair. "He already had one."
Chiaki's eyes sparkled. "The Girlfriend Search Committee has been ambushed by prior paperwork."
Chihiro looked overwhelmed. "Can a committee be ambushed?"
Masumi stared at Ichika. "With Kiyotaka involved, yes."
Hashimoto, who had wandered near the cafeteria entrance with Kito and immediately saw Arisu's expression, whispered, "I should not have come here."
Kito did not respond.
Hashimoto looked at him. "That silence is not comforting."
Ichika leaned closer to the table, eyes sparkling with gremlin joy.
"So these are my future fiancée-mates?"
The reaction was instant.
Honami's smile cracked by one millimeter.
Kikyo's hand twitched against her chopsticks.
Kei's entire face turned red from rage and embarrassment.
Maya nearly squeezed Pengu flat.
Arisu laughed softly, but the sound had teeth.
"Fiancée-mates?" Arisu repeated.
Ichika nodded happily. "Too much? Future rival wives? Future coalition sisters? Hmm, I'll workshop it."
Kei slammed both hands on the table. "Don't workshop that!"
Maya hid half her face behind Pengu. "She's scary."
Ichika looked at the penguin. "Aww, is that the famous emotional-support penguin? I saw the blog posts. He's uglier in person. I love him."
Maya gasped. "Pengu is not ugly!"
Kiyotaka glanced at Ichika. "He is suspicious."
Ichika nodded eagerly. "Exactly. Suspiciously adorable."
Maya paused.
Then hugged Pengu tighter. "She understands him."
Kei stared at Maya. "Do not get recruited."
Kikyo's smile became sweet enough to ferment. "Amasawa-san, you seem very informed for someone just arriving."
Ichika placed a finger against her lips. "I'm a hardworking fiancée. I research threats."
Honami's voice stayed gentle, which made Mako grip Chihiro's sleeve at the support table.
"Threats?"
Ichika smiled at Honami. "Romantic threats, senpai. You're obviously high priority."
Honami's eyes darkened slightly.
Mako whispered, "She called Honami high priority."
Chiaki nodded. "Direct strike."
Kikyo leaned forward. "And me?"
Ichika looked at her and grinned. "Halo girl with poison storage. Definitely dangerous."
Kikyo's smile twitched. "How rude."
"Thank you."
"That was not praise."
"I'll accept it."
Arisu's smile sharpened. "And me, Amasawa-san?"
Ichika turned to Arisu with a look of delighted recognition.
"The childhood chess princess."
Hashimoto flinched from the aisle. "Oh no."
Arisu's gaze became a fraction colder. "You know more than expected."
Ichika smiled. "I'm good at knowing things. Also, you're tiny but lethal, which I respect."
Masumi immediately covered her mouth.
Arisu's eyes slid toward her. "Do not laugh."
Masumi looked away. "I'm not laughing."
Her shoulders betrayed her.
Kiyotaka sat back down, calm and far too pleased. Ichika immediately sat beside him without asking, leaning close enough that the whole table tightened again.
Kei glared. "You're sitting there?"
Ichika blinked innocently. "Next to my fiancé? Yes."
Honami's smile became warm in the same way a locked oven was warm. "Kiyotaka-kun, would you like to explain how this engagement happened?"
Kikyo nodded. "In detail."
Maya raised Pengu. "Pengu demands details."
Arisu rested both hands on the table. "So do I."
Kiyotaka looked at all of them.
"It's a family arrangement."
Kei narrowed her eyes. "That's too short."
Ichika happily continued, "My dad and Atsuomi are super close. Like terrifyingly close. Business close. Ideology close. Old-man plotting close."
Kiyotaka glanced at her. "Ichika."
"What? It's true."
Honami's eyes moved between them. "And you accepted it?"
Kiyotaka looked calm.
"Yes."
The word hit harder than the introduction.
Kikyo tilted her head. "You accepted?"
Kiyotaka's smile softened, but only slightly.
"I don't dislike Ichika."
Ichika froze for half a second.
For once, her gremlin energy stumbled.
Then her face lit up so brightly it could have powered the cafeteria.
"Kiyotaka-senpai said he doesn't dislike me. Everyone heard that, right? That's practically a love confession from him."
Kei pointed at her. "It is not!"
Maya whispered, "For Kiyotaka-kun, it might be."
Kikyo looked at Maya. "Don't help."
Honami's smile stiffened. "Kiyotaka-kun, is that true?"
Kiyotaka took a sip of tea.
"It depends on interpretation."
Arisu laughed softly. "How cruel."
Ichika leaned closer to him, grinning. "He also likes that I'm a little gremlin."
Kiyotaka looked at her. "I didn't say that."
"You thought it."
"I think many things."
Kei groaned. "He says that to everyone."
Ichika's eyes sparkled. "Then we already share something."
Kei looked horrified. "Do not bond with me through his annoying lines."
The support table had fully abandoned lunch.
Mako was practically vibrating. "A fiancée arrived."
Chiaki nodded. "And she immediately called them future fiancée-mates."
Chihiro looked dazed. "Is this still the Girlfriend Search Committee?"
Masumi smirked. "No. It evolved into the Fiancée Interrogation Board."
Hashimoto whispered, "Please don't say board. Princess will take that seriously."
Arisu did take it seriously.
Her eyes remained on Ichika.
"Then let us ask properly," Arisu said. "Amasawa-san, do you intend to claim exclusive rights?"
Ichika blinked.
Then smiled wider.
"Nope."
All five girls reacted differently.
Honami's smile paused.
Kikyo's eyes sharpened.
Maya blinked in confusion.
Kei looked suspicious.
Arisu's smile turned thoughtful.
Ichika leaned her cheek on her hand. "I'm not stupid. Kiyotaka-senpai is Kiyotaka-senpai. If I tried to chain him, he'd probably unlock the chain, analyze the metal quality, and use it to trap someone else."
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"That's oddly specific."
"You would."
"I might."
Ichika turned back to the table. "I'm fine as long as I stay close to him. Engagement is my golden ticket, but I'm not blind. You girls are interesting."
Kei crossed her arms. "Interesting?"
Ichika pointed at Honami. "Warm yandere lunch invader."
Honami's smile trembled. "That description is inaccurate."
Mako whispered, "It is painfully accurate."
Ichika pointed at Kikyo. "Angel mask venom queen."
Kikyo smiled. "You have a creative mouth."
Ichika pointed at Maya. "Penguin princess."
Maya's cheeks flushed. "That one sounds cute."
Ichika pointed at Kei. "Moon-necklace tsundere."
Kei's face burned. "I am not a tsundere!"
Everyone at the support table laughed.
Ichika pointed at Arisu. "Chess loli aristocrat."
The cafeteria's soul left its body.
Masumi nearly fell out of her chair laughing.
Hashimoto grabbed the edge of the nearest table. "She said it. She actually said it."
Arisu smiled.
It was elegant.
It was delicate.
It was very dangerous.
"Fufufu... Amasawa-san, you are brave."
Ichika grinned. "I get that a lot."
Kiyotaka looked at Arisu. "She's like this."
Arisu's eyes remained on Ichika. "I noticed."
Honami folded her hands. "Amasawa-san, even if you're his fiancée, joining suddenly and calling everyone future... whatever you called us, is too much."
Ichika nodded seriously. "Future fiancée-mates."
Kei snapped, "Stop repeating it!"
Kikyo smiled. "You seem very confident."
"I am. I'm officially in the race."
Maya tilted her head. "There's a race?"
Kiyotaka smiled. "Apparently."
Kei glared at him. "Don't sound pleased."
"I am pleased."
"There it is again," Mako said from the support table. "He admits arson."
Chiaki added, "Social arson."
Masumi nodded. "With table seating."
Ichika leaned toward Kiyotaka and poked his sleeve. "Senpai, are they always this cute when jealous?"
Honami, Kikyo, Maya, Kei, and Arisu answered almost together, all with different degrees of panic.
"We are not jealous."
Ichika stared at them.
Then burst into laughter.
"Oh, I like this table."
Kiyotaka looked at the girls. "You synchronized."
Kei turned red. "We did not!"
"You did."
Honami smiled too quickly. "Coincidence."
Kikyo nodded. "A harmless one."
Maya hid behind Pengu. "Pengu also said it."
Arisu simply smiled. "Synchronization can happen among rivals."
Ichika clapped once. "See? Future coalition energy."
Kei looked ready to combust. "There is no coalition."
Arisu's eyes curved. "Not yet."
Honami turned to her. "Sakayanagi-san."
Kikyo smiled. "You said that too openly."
Maya whispered, "A coalition sounds less scary than fiancée-mates."
Kei whipped toward her. "Maya."
Maya hugged Pengu. "I panicked again."
Kiyotaka placed his drink down and looked at Ichika.
"You caused chaos quickly."
Ichika beamed. "Praise?"
"Observation."
"I'll accept it as praise."
Kiyotaka's smile turned teasing. "You haven't changed."
Ichika leaned closer, eyes glittering. "You like that."
The table froze again.
Kiyotaka looked at her.
"Yes."
Ichika's entire face went red.
For the first time since entering, she stopped functioning.
The support table exploded.
Mako gasped. "He broke the gremlin."
Chiaki leaned forward. "One word. Clean hit."
Masumi looked impressed. "He really does specialize in targeted destruction."
Kei's face went red too. "Why did you answer that?"
Kiyotaka looked at her. "She was correct."
Honami's smile stiffened. "Kiyotaka-kun..."
Kikyo placed a hand over her heart. "How direct."
Maya hugged Pengu, eyes wide. "That was strong."
Arisu watched Ichika with a thoughtful smile. "Interesting. Amasawa-san is weak to straight answers."
Ichika recovered slowly, touching her cheek with both hands.
"Kiyotaka-senpai, you can't just say yes in front of everyone."
"You asked."
"I was teasing."
"So was I."
"You didn't sound like it."
Kiyotaka smiled. "Then maybe I wasn't."
Ichika made a tiny sound and lowered her face toward the table.
Kei pointed at her. "She's dangerous, but she's also weak."
Kikyo nodded. "A manageable threat."
Honami's smile softened by a fraction. "Unexpectedly cute."
Maya looked relieved. "She can join Pengu's inspection list."
Arisu smiled. "Do not underestimate her. She recovered quickly once already."
Ichika lifted her head immediately, eyes sparkling again.
"Exactly. Don't underestimate your future fiancée-mate."
Kei groaned into her hands. "She said it again."
Kiyotaka leaned back, the same playful grin on his face as the cafeteria continued whispering around them.
The Girlfriend Search Committee had not found a girlfriend.
It had uncovered a fiancée.
And somehow, instead of ending the chaos, Ichika's arrival had only made the table feel more alive, more ridiculous, and far more dangerous.
Honami looked at Kiyotaka with a smile that promised questions later.
Kikyo looked like she was already planning verbal traps.
Maya whispered something to Pengu about emergency inspections.
Kei touched her necklace and pretended not to care.
Arisu watched Ichika like a new chess piece had landed on the board.
Ichika sat beside Kiyotaka with the confidence of a gremlin holding official documents.
Kiyotaka looked around the interrogation table and took another sip of peach tea.
"So," he said, "does the committee still want to help me find a girlfriend?"
Six girls turned toward him.
The support table made a collective sound of horror and delight.
Ichika grinned first.
"I vote no. Your fiancée is already here."
Honami smiled.
Kikyo smiled.
Maya lifted Pengu.
Kei glared.
Arisu laughed softly.
Kiyotaka's grin brightened.
Lunch had officially become impossible.
And somewhere in the middle of the chaos, the table's imaginary committee quietly changed its name without anyone agreeing to it.
From that day onward, the support table would whisper about the Fiancée Interrogation Board.
Kei would deny it existed.
Maya would ask if Pengu had voting rights.
Arisu would probably draft rules.
Ichika would absolutely sign them in glitter pen.
And Kiyotaka, the cause of all this lunchtime madness, would sit there smiling like he had only gone out for a harmless errand.