The moment Kuro Kurogane heard the words "School Cultural Festival," he should have run.

Because nothing good ever came from being around large groups of people.

But fate did not care about his desire to live.

"Our class needs committee members!"

Kuro’s teacher smiled, and everyone immediately glanced away like they had just been caught doing something wrong.

Kuro lowered his head too.

Sadly, it was too late.

"Kuro-kun would be perfect~"

Mina Fujikawa was pointing at him with a huge smile.

"What a traitor," he thought silently.

The teacher nodded without hesitation.

"Great! Kurogane-kun is on the committee."

"I object," he said.

"Not happening," she replied.

As always.

Then somehow it all got worse...

Akari raised her hand.

"I’ll join too!"

Aoi followed closely behind, saying, "Me too."

Rika, from near the window, fixed her glasses and said, "The student council needs a representative."

Kuro could only stare at the four girls in disbelief.

There were now five people on the committee:

Kuro

Akari

Aoi

Mina

Rika

This was not a committee . It was a death sentence.

After their classes had ended, all four of them met inside an empty classroom to plan their project.

Kuro had been sitting in one of the corners of the classroom, working quietly by himself.

Or at least that’s what he had been doing.

Mina sat down right next to him.

Far too close.

"Kuro-kun~"

"...What?"

"You smell really nice today."

"It’s my shampoo."

"Okay, but I really like it."

While Akari was snapping her pen in half, the room was already completely quiet.

Then Rika looked up from the documents.

"...Do you need a new pen?"

Akari’s eyes lit up.

"No."

Terrible.

Mina had been casually leaning against Kuro’s shoulder as she looked through festival ideas.

"What should our class do?"

Kuro tensed up immediately after she said that.

"Too close."

"Yet you aren’t moving away."

"Shock paralysis."

"Awww."

Suddenly, Akari was on Kuro’s other side and reached out with force, taking Kuro’s arm away from Mina.

"Personal space."

Then Mina grinned.

"Jealous?"

"Protective."

"Same difference."

Aoi had been quietly sitting behind Kuro.

No one had noticed her movements.

No one ever does.

Then Aoi calmly took Kuro’s phone off the desk.

Like a ninja.

Rika noticed right away.

"...When did you grab his phone?"

"I need to take care of it."

"That raises more questions."

And in the meantime, Mina kept on teasing Kuro with no shame at all.

"Did you know that gloomy boys are all the rage nowadays?"

"I’m not."

"Every day, you have four girls hanging around you."

"Sounds like a bad horror movie."

Akari seriously nodded.

"Spot on."

The committee conversation was impossible to hold.

All discussions became chaotic in every organization.

"What about a maid café?" Mina suggested.

The boys on the sidelines chimed in with assistance immediately.

Akari crossed her arms confidently.

"I would look cute in the maid outfit."

"You would then use it as a weapon," Kuro mumbled under his breath.

"That’s correct."

Rika thought for a moment while pushing her glasses up.

"It would draw a large amount of attendance."

Kuro had a look of betrayal.

"You too?"

"The money is important."

Aoi added softly...

"Kuro would freak out."

Silence.

Then all three girls stared at Kuro.

Kuro felt a sense of danger.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Mina gave a mischievous smirk.

"Ohhh? Did you get flustered?"

"I don’t get flustered; I’m a person."

Akari leaned forward slightly.

"Kuro-kun, what type of maid costume do you like?"

"I’m not saying."

"Long skirts?"

"No comment."

"Short skirts?"

"No comment."

"Bunny suits?"

"LAUNCH ME TO THE SUN."

Rika covered her mouth before she laughed.

Kuro quickly exclaimed, "You’re enjoying this."

"Perhaps."

Betrayer #4

After several hours, the meeting came to an end.

Kuro had made it.

Barely.

He reached for his phone and got his bag together.

He frowned. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Uh..."

Mina looked over at him in curiosity.

"What?"

"Your number is gone."

"What?"

Kuro checked, and it was not there anymore.

Gone.Erased.Now Mina had her hands on his arm in a dramatic manner.

"Hey! Why did my number disappear!?"

The classroom went quiet.

Slowly...

Everyone turned to look at Aoi.

Because Aoi was sitting there sipping her tea with zero shame.

"Hey, Aoi!"

"What?"

"Did you delete my number?"

"Accidentally."

"That WAS NOT an accident!"

Mina started pointing her finger at Aoi.

"She is trying to sabotage me!"

Aoi tilted her head slightly.

"You were being overly clingy."

"Because it was funny!"

Akari nodded her head in agreement.

"She is correct!"

"You are supposed to be on MY side!"

"I enjoy your pain."

Mina gasped dramatically.

"You are a meanie."

Kuro grabbed his forehead.

How does his life end up like this?

Mina suddenly had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Okay!"

In a flash, Mina had snatched Kuro’s phone before anyone had a chance to react.

Tap tap tap.

"There!"

Mina held out the phone with such pride.

Where it said her name was now:

SUPER HOT MINA ☆

Kuro had a blank stare on his face.

"...Why?"

"Branding."

Akari had a horrified expression.

Aoi opened her notebook quietly again.

Rika had been watching the chaos like it was normal and sipped her tea.

She seemed, as a result, to be even more frightening than normal.

As the sun set, the classroom’s atmosphere lightened somewhat.

The committee members cleaned up, primarily, in silence.

Mostly in silence.

All of a sudden, Mina fell off the chair she was standing on while decorating some posters.

"Kya—"

Kuro, in reflex, caught Mina before she hit the ground.

However - Since he caught her around the waist because of her loose-fitting uniform shirt, his fingers were on soft, warm skin.

They both froze for a moment.

Mina blinked.

Then a grin slowly spread across her face.

"Oh my~"

Kuro let go of her like he had just touched fire.

"I am so sorry."

Mina leaned closer to Kuro and teased him.

"Kuro-kun, your hands seem to have been very bold today."

"I don’t like this conversation."

Akari’s aura became very dark at that moment.

Aoi began to quietly close her notebook.

Rika whispered quietly,

"Looks like this committee may not stay together after the festival."

Correct.That is 100% accurate.

At this point—The cultural festival was not the main event.

Kuro was the star of the show.