"But you are the Queen..." Mio whispered.

"I'm a normal high school student!"

"Not anymore, darling," Kurumi whispered in my ear, her breath tickling my neck as she finally let go of my arm. "The bell is ringing. To the classroom. Do not make eye contact with other girls. I will know."

I slumped my shoulders. Reina patted me on the back—hard. "Chin up, Kaori! Don't look so scared! You got the strongest team in the school watching your back!"

"That's exactly why I'm scared!"

We walked toward the classroom. My peaceful mob life was officially, completely dead. And the school day hadn't even started yet.

8:25 AM. Class 2-B.

The walk from the school gate to the classroom was a blur of staring eyes and whispered rumors. By the time we reached the wooden sliding door of Class 2-B, my spirit was already half-dead.

"We have arrived," Kurumi announced, checking her pocket watch. "Three minutes ahead of schedule. Adequate."

I looked at the door. Inside that room were my friends. My normal life. My sanctuary. If I could just get to my seat, maybe—just maybe—the "Queens" would disperse to their own classes and leave me in peace.

Please, God of High School Life. Give me a break.

I slid the door open. Garara.

The chatter inside the classroom stopped instantly. Thirty heads turned. They looked at me. Then they looked at the Red Demon standing guard on my left. Then at the Student Council President radiating an icy aura on my right. And finally, at the trembling silver-haired girl clutching the hem of my blazer from behind.

"Uwah..." someone whispered. "It's real." "The rumors... she really conquered them..."

I wanted to die. I wanted to crawl into a hole and become a fossil.

"Move," Reina barked at a guy standing near the doorway. "You're blocking the airflow."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" The guy practically dove out of a window to get out of her way.

We stepped inside. And that’s when I heard it.

Pasha.

The distinct, artificial sound of a smartphone camera shutter.

I looked toward the back of the room. Sitting at her desk, leaning her chin on one hand with a lazy, amused smirk, was Satō Chiaki.

She lowered her smartphone, her dark eyes glinting with mischief. She didn't look scared. She didn't look awestruck. She looked like a shark watching a seal fall into the water.

"Nice composition," Chiaki drawled, her voice cutting through the silence. "The lighting really captures the 'Captured Alien Princess' vibe you have going on, Kaori."

"Chiaki!" I gasped, feeling a surge of relief. "Help me!"

Chiaki just chuckled, tapping her screen. "Help you? And ruin the show? No way. This is premium content."

She stood up and sauntered over, ignoring Reina’s glare. She leaned in close to me, whispering so only I could hear. "So... which one of them owns your soul today? My money's on the Student Council President. She has that 'I just bought your mortgage' look in her eyes."

Doki. My heart stopped. "H-How did you know...?"

"Lucky guess." Chiaki winked. Then she turned her gaze to Kurumi. "Good morning, President. Taking 'student guidance' a bit seriously today, aren't we?"

Kurumi smiled. It was a polite smile. The kind of smile a CEO gives before firing an entire department.

"Satō-san," Kurumi said softly. "I see you are as... observant as ever. I suggest you delete that photo. Unauthorized photography of Student Council assets is a violation of privacy regulations."

"Is it?" Chiaki smirked, twirling her phone. "I thought I was just taking a picture of my best friend. Unless... you're saying Kaori is school property now?"

Sparks. Literal sparks seemed to fly between them. Chiaki was the only person in this school crazy enough to poke the bear just to see what happened.

"Kaori-chaaaan!"

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

The tension shattered as a blur of honey-brown pigtails rocketed into the room. Suzuki Yumi.

She was running at full speed, a half-eaten melon pan in her mouth, arms wide open for a hug. "Morning! I got the limited edition—"

She launched herself at me. Usually, I would catch her. We would high-five. We would talk about bread.

But today, there was a wall.

Swish.

Kurumi stepped in front of me with terrifying speed. She didn't shove Yumi. She simply held up one hand, palm out, like a traffic cop.

"Stop."

Yumi skidded to a halt, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum. She blinked, looking up at Kurumi with wide, confused eyes. "Eh? President?"

"Good morning, Suzuki-san," Kurumi said pleasantly. She reached out and, with surgical precision, plucked the melon pan from Yumi's hand.

"Ah! My melon pan!" Yumi yelped.

"Eating while running is a choking hazard," Kurumi lectured, inspecting the bread like it was contraband. "Furthermore, this contains 450 calories of processed sugar. If you hug Kaori-san now, you will get crumbs on her blazer. We just had it pressed."

"B-But..." Yumi looked at her empty hand, then at me. "I just wanted to say hi..."

"You can say hi from a distance," Reina grunted, stepping up to flank Kurumi. She crossed her arms, looking down at Yumi. "Yeah. Back off, bread-girl. Kaori is... fragile today. She can't handle your high-decibel energy."

"I'm not fragile!" I protested. "Yumi, give me a hug!"

I tried to step around Kurumi. Kurumi didn't move her feet. She just shifted her body weight, blocking my path perfectly. "Kaori-san," she warned, her voice dropping an octave. "Do not encourage bad habits."

"Hii..." Behind me, Mio let out a tiny squeak. She peeked out from my shadow, staring at Yumi with wide, fearful eyes. "Too bright... Too loud... She is like a solar flare..."

Mio retreated further behind me, using me as a human shield against Yumi's extroverted aura.

So there I was. Blocked by Kurumi. Guarded by Reina. Anchored by Mio. My two best friends stood on the other side of the invisible line.

Yumi looked like a kicked puppy. Chiaki looked... intrigued. Her eyes narrowed, her smirk vanishing for a second as she calculated the threat level.

"Wow," Chiaki muttered, spinning her phone in her hand. "You guys really are building a fortress around her, huh?"

Kurumi turned her head slightly. Her dark eyes locked onto Chiaki’s. "We are simply managing the environment. A flower cannot bloom if it is trampled by weeds."

Weeds. She just called my best friends weeds.

"Okay, that's enough!" I shouted, finally snapping. I shoved past Kurumi (who looked surprised that I actually touched her) and grabbed Yumi's hand.

"Kaori...?" Yumi sniffled.

"I'm sitting with you guys," I declared, my voice shaking but determined. "We're going to our desks. Now."

I pulled Yumi toward our usual seats in the back row. Chiaki followed, whistling a low note.

I thought I had won. I thought I had reclaimed my territory. I marched to my desk in the back row.

But as I reached it, I froze.

"What... is this?"

My desk was there. But the desks around it were gone. Or rather, they had been moved.

Usually, I sat next to Yumi and behind Chiaki. But now, my desk was in the exact center of the room. It was isolated, like an island in the middle of the ocean.

And surrounding it, in a perfect triangle formation, were three unfamiliar desks.

One sleek, black desk (clearly brought from the Council Room) to the left. One desk with a Kendo club cushion on the chair behind. One desk stacked high with library books to the right.

"Oh," Kurumi’s voice floated from the doorway. She was smiling. "Did I forget to mention? As Student Council President, I authorized a layout change for Class 2-B. For... pedagogical optimization."

She walked over and sat at the black desk to my left. Reina stomped over and sat at the desk behind me, immediately kicking the leg of my chair. Thud. Mio scurried over and sat at the desk to my right, instantly burying her face in a book titled '100 Ways to Serve Your Deity'.

"This..." I whispered, looking around. "This isn't a classroom layout. It's a prison cell!"

"It is a VIP section," Kurumi corrected, opening her textbook. "Now, please sit, Kaori-san. Class is about to begin."

I looked at Yumi and Chiaki. Their desks had been moved to the far back corner, near the cleaning supplies.

Chiaki caught my eye. She wasn't mad. She held up her phone and typed something.

Bzzt. My phone vibrated in my pocket.

From: Chiaki (The Shark) Subject: RIP "Kurumi-sama is currently watching your left ear. Did you forget to wash it? She looks hungry. Good luck, Princess."

I looked at my left. Kurumi was staring at my earlobe with an intensity that could melt steel.

I looked behind me. Reina was glaring at the back of my neck, muttering, "Mine. Mine. Mine."

I looked to my right. Mio was peeking over her book, sketching me in a notebook.

The teacher walked in. "Alright class, take your seats."

He looked at the weird formation in the center of the room. He looked at Kurumi. Kurumi smiled at him. "Is there a problem, Sensei?"

The teacher gulped. "N-No, President! Excellent formation! Very... geometric!"

I slammed my head onto my desk. My life as a normal student was officially dead.

12:30 PM. 

Ding-Dong-Dang-Dong.

The chimes signaling lunch break were usually the sound of freedom. Today, they sounded like the opening bell of a wrestling match.

"Lunch," Reina announced, spinning her chair around to face me. "Now."

"Agreed," Kurumi closed her textbook. "Kaori-san, please put away your things. We have prepared nutrients."

"Nutrients?" I asked, sweating.

Before I could even stand up to go to the cafeteria, three lunch boxes slammed onto my desk.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Reina's Bento: A massive, red, multi-tiered box wrapped in a cloth with a tiger print.

Kurumi's Bento: A sleek, black lacquer box with gold leaf patterns. It looked like something you'd serve to a shogun.

Mio's Bento: A small, modest silver tin... that was vibrating slightly? No, that was just Mio's hands shaking as she placed it down.

"Eat," Reina commanded. "I... I woke up at 4 AM to make this! Not that I wanted to! It's just... leftover protein from my training diet!"

She opened the lid. It was literally entirely meat. Karaage, sausages, hamburger steak. No vegetables. Just brown and red power.

"Inefficient," Kurumi scoffed, opening her lacquer box. Inside was a work of art. Sashimi (on ice packs), perfectly shaped vegetable flowers, and rice that looked like it had been polished by angels. "A growing brain needs balance. And... I have calculated your caloric needs down to the decimal."

"U-Um..." Mio opened her tin. It was white rice with nori seaweed carefully cut into the shape of my face. It was incredibly detailed. Too detailed. It felt like eating a voodoo doll of myself.

"I... I put my soul into it..." Mio whispered.

"Guys, I can't eat three lunches!" I cried. "My stomach will explode!"

"Then choose," Kurumi smiled. Darkly. "Whose love do you wish to consume first?"

The pressure was crushing me. The entire class was watching.

I picked up my chopsticks, my hand shaking.

"Can we... can we join?"

A cheerful voice broke the tension.

I looked up. Yumi was standing there, dragging a chair from the back of the room. Chiaki was right behind her, carrying her own desk chair with one hand and smirking.

"Yumi! Chiaki!" I gasped.

Kurumi's smile didn't waver, but the temperature in the room dropped to arctic levels.

"Suzuki-san. Satō-san. As you can see, this table is currently at maximum capacity. The 'VIP Section' is full."

"Oh, come on, President," Chiaki drawled, placing her chair right between Kurumi and Reina. She sat down backward, resting her chin on the backrest. "There's always room for friends. Besides, if you isolate her too much, she'll get lonely and die. Like a rabbit. Right, Kaori?”

"Yes! I am a rabbit! I need social interaction!" I pleaded.

"I brought bread!" Yumi announced, slamming a mountain of pastries onto the corner of my desk. "We can share! I want to try Reina-chan's meat!"

Reina bristled. "Hah?! Who said you could touch my—"

Chomp.

Yumi had already stolen a sausage.

"Mmmm! Yummy! Reina-chan, you're a good cook!"

Reina froze. Her face turned bright red. The steam coming out of her ears was almost visible.

"I... Y-You... It's not... Shut up!"

"Bold," Kurumi murmured, narrowing her eyes at Yumi. "To steal food from the Red Demon... you have no survival instincts, do you?"

"Nope!" Yumi grinned, crumbs on her face.

Chiaki leaned over and peered into Kurumi's bento. "Wow. Sashimi for lunch? Isn't that a bit... heavy? You trying to fatten her up for the kill, President?"

Kurumi turned her head slowly to Chiaki.

"It is called 'quality,' Satō-san. Something you might not be familiar with."

"Ouch," Chiaki laughed, not looking hurt at all. She pulled out a convenience store onigiri. "Well, I guess us commoners will just have to watch the show."

She winked at me.

Don't worry, we got your back.

I looked around the table.

Reina was blushing because Yumi was praising her cooking.

Kurumi was engaging in a cold war of words with Chiaki.

Mio was staring at Yumi's bread mountain with wide, fearful eyes, whispering "Too many carbs..."

It was chaos. It was loud. It was a mess.

But my friends were here.

"Okay!" I clapped my hands. "Let's all eat! Itadakimasu!"

I grabbed a piece of Reina's karaage, a vegetable from Kurumi, and a bite of Mio's 'Kaori-Rice'.

It tasted like chaos.

But with Yumi stealing food and Chiaki making fun of everyone... it actually felt a little bit like a normal lunch.

Just a little bit.

"So," Chiaki started, casually pointing her chopsticks at Kurumi. "Since you've basically annexed our best friend like a hostile nation, what's the plan for the weekend? Are we allowed to borrow her for karaoke, or do I need to submit a form in triplicate?"

Kurumi wiped the corner of her mouth with a silk handkerchief. "Weekdays are for academic optimization. However... I have designated a 'Socialization Slot' on Fridays between 16:00 and 18:00. Provided you do not feed her low-quality snacks."

"Too strict!" Yumi complained, mouth full of melon bread. "Kaori loves junk food! Right, Kaori?"

"I do," I admitted, drooling slightly at the thought. "I dream of potato chips. The salty kind."

"Denied," Reina snapped, stealing a piece of broccoli from Kurumi's bento just to be annoying. "You need protein. If you want snacks, I'll bring you... I don't know, jerky or something. It builds muscle!"

"Jerky isn't a snack, Reina-chan, it's survival food," Chiaki laughed. "What about you, Mio-chan? What do you do on weekends?"

Mio jumped, nearly dropping her rice ball. She looked around the table, terrified to be addressed directly.

"I... I usually... organize my collection of... Kaori-sama artifacts..."

The table went silent.

"Artifacts?" I asked slowly.

"L-Like... the eraser shavings you left behind... or the straw wrapper you threw away..." Mio whispered, blushing furiously. "I... I keep them in a vacuum-sealed bag..." "Okay, we're skipping Mio's house for the hangout," Chiaki deadpanned. "I think it's... dedicated," Yumi offered kindly, though she looked a little scared. "It is unsanitary," Kurumi noted, though she was furiously taking notes in a small notebook. "Mio-san, send me the preservation methods you use. I wish to compare data." "You too?!" I yelled. "Can we please talk about normal high school things?! Like... TV shows? Or boys?" "Boys are banned," Reina growled, snapping a carrot stick in half. "If a boy looks at you, I punch him. That's the rule." "That's not a rule, that's assault!" We all laughed. Even Kurumi cracked a small smile. For a moment, surrounded by expensive sashimi, mountains of meat, and terrified whispers of eraser collections, it felt... fun. But Chiaki, being the predator she is, didn't let the peace last. She tapped her chin with her chopsticks, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Okay, warm-up questions over," she announced, her voice dropping a little. "Now for the main course." She leaned over the table, looking directly at me. "So, Kaori. Valentine's Day. The shoe lockers. I saw you sneaking around like a ninja at 6 AM." Splash. I dropped my piece of tamagoyaki. "I... I don't know what you're talking about!" "Liar," Chiaki grinned. "I saw pink envelopes. Three of them. So... spill the tea. Who confessed first? And who's the lucky winner? Is it the President? Or the Red Demon? Or... the Library Ghost?" The table went deadly silent. Yumi gasped, leaning forward. "Yeah! Who is it?! Who are you actually dating, Kaori?!" I froze. I looked at Reina. She was looking away, blushing but looking smug. I looked at Kurumi. She was sipping her tea calmly, waiting for me to speak. I looked at Mio. She was hiding behind her hands, peeking through her fingers. "Umm... well..." I stammered. "Actually," Kurumi interrupted smoothly. "I believe I received the most eloquently written letter." "Hah?!" Reina slammed her chopsticks down. "No way! Mine was way more passionate! She used exclamation marks! Three of them!" "Mine..." Mio whispered, her face red. "Mine... smelled like... lavender..." Chiaki blinked. She looked from Kurumi to Reina to Mio. Then she looked at me. Her jaw slowly dropped. "Wait," Chiaki said, her voice trembling with disbelief. "You gave letters... to all of them?" "Y-Yes..." I squeaked. "And... they all accepted?"

Yumi asked, her bread forgotten in her hand.

"So..." Chiaki pointed a shaking finger at the three girls. "Who... who is your girlfriend?" I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes. "All of them." Silence. Absolute, deafening silence. "EHHHHHHHHHH?!?!" Yumi and Chiaki screamed in unison, the sound echoing through the entire cafeteria. "ALL THREE?!" Chiaki yelled, standing up. "Are you insane?! You're dating the Big Three?! At the same time?!" "It's... it's a committee!" I explained desperately. "A management committee!" "That's not a relationship, that's a corporation!" Chiaki shouted. "It is an empire," Kurumi corrected with a satisfied smile. Yumi just stared at me, eyes wide with awe. "Kaori... you're... you're legendary..." My face was burning. The secret was out. My friends knew. And judging by the way Chiaki was already opening her camera app, the whole school was about to know too.