The Heroines Want to Confess

[Aeroplane Chess, a four-player game. Roll the dice, move your plane around the board, and land safely at your base to score a point. Once all your planes are home, you win. Ah~ what a cruel game, isn't it?]

Aeroplane Chess… cruel? You're joking, right?

Sakurai held the blue game piece.

The four of them sat around the sofa, with the Aeroplane Chess board spread across the coffee table.

Sakurai sat beside Secretary Fujiwara, while Ishigami and Shirogane sat opposite them.

"Sakurai-senpai, this kind of traditional board game is so boring… How about we play something else? Like Mario Kart?" Ishigami suggested, pulling two controllers from his bag.

The student council room had a TV.

Perfect for gaming.

"Traditional board games are the best!" Fujiwara Chika, ever the devoted fan of old-school games, protested.

"Hah? Fujiwara-senpai, are you serious? What's fun about this? Roll a die, move a piece… Pfft, wow, thrilling," Ishigami scoffed, clearly unimpressed with her antics.

"Ishigami!" Shirogane's sharp voice cut through.

"Whatever…" Ishigami picked up the red game piece with an exaggerated sigh.

[Aww~ Chika-chan just got shaded hard! Quick, defend her honor! Sakura-senpai, why are you just watching?!]

"It's fine, just think of it as a break. We're all tired from studying anyway," Sakurai said gently.

Hearing him stand up for her, Fujiwara immediately brightened, puffing up like a victorious cat.

"A-re-re~ Sakurai-kun said so! Let's just relax! Aeroplane Chess is super fun!"

Shirogane and Ishigami exchanged a look—half annoyance, half exhaustion.

Why's she acting all high and mighty now…?

The only person who'd willingly play with her every time was Sakurai, and they both knew it.

Ever since last year, Fujiwara had dragged him into games every lunch break.

Shirogane was certain that if it were him, he'd have snapped ages ago.

[Observer-chan loves Chika-chan's smile! So cute~]

You'd like any pretty girl who smiles, wouldn't you?

[Yes! Observer-chan loves beautiful girls! World's number-one beautiful girl lover! Because I'm a beautiful girl myself, of course~]

[Super! Invincible! Adorable!]

Super! Stupid! Annoying!

"This time… I'm definitely going to win!" Fujiwara declared, hands steepled under her chin like Gendo Ikari from Evangelion.

The participants:

Fujiwara Chika, whose mind was consumed by her thirst for victory.

Two guys who were half-heartedly playing along.

And a superpowered player silently battling the voice in his head.

A gathering of misfits, each more ridiculous than the last.

"First turn, me!" Fujiwara announced, glancing around for objections.

None came.

…No one seemed excited.

Did they not want to play?

Worried the game wasn't tempting enough, Fujiwara decided to up the stakes.

"I have two movie vouchers! The winner gets to take someone to the movies~"

Ishigami scoffed. "Wow, Fujiwara-senpai, setting yourself up with the first-turn advantage, huh?"

A new anime movie was coming out this weekend, and Ishigami wanted to see it.

"Shouldn't we decide the turn order with rock-paper-scissors?" Shirogane suggested.

If he won, he could give the tickets to Kei so she could watch with her friends.

"Whatever." Sakurai wasn't interested in movies.

Fujiwara's strict family meant she couldn't go see a movie with him anyway.

[If you throw 'paper,' you'll go first. If you throw 'rock,' Chika-chan will go first. But if you throw 'scissors,' Sakura-chan, you'll be dead last~!]

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

They all threw rock.

A strange, unspoken harmony.

As predicted, Sakurai lost the second round to the two other boys.

The turn order:

First: Fujiwara Chika

Second: Ishigami Yuu

Third: Shirogane Miyuki

Fourth: Sakurai Saku

"Hehe! First place is still mine!" Fujiwara cheered, rolling the die.

…Three.

A useless roll—she needed a six to get her plane on the board.

Ishigami's turn.

"Aeroplane Chess isn't about first-turn advantage. It's about launching a plane in the first round," he said, rolling.

"Five. Miscalculation."

Shirogane's turn.

He took the die, weighing it in his palm.

A light toss.

The internal balance was perfect—no loaded dice here.

He positioned the six face-up, calculated the force needed, and rolled.

[Oh-ho! The guaranteed roll! A skill only possessed by hardcore board game players! On any given turn, they can roll the number they want! But hey, Sakura-chan, if you want a six, you'll have to wait three seconds~!]

Can you stop narrating?

This is just Aeroplane Chess, not some high-stakes casino game.

Three seconds passed.

Sakurai tossed the die casually.

Sorry, but I'm not losing this.

"Six."

He called it before the die stopped rolling.

First round: Shirogane and Sakurai both launched a plane.

Sakurai glanced at his three opponents.

To his left, Fujiwara Chika, studying the board with determination.Title: Earth's Cancer!

Across from him, Shirogane Miyuki, his eyes sharp with confidence.Title: The Island Nation's Evil-Eyed Tiger!

To his right, Ishigami Yuu, brushing his hair back as he entered try-hard mode.Title: The Melancholy Destruction Dragon!

Heh. This is getting fun.

This… is a true battlefield.

This Aeroplane Chess showdown… has only just begun.

…

Twenty minutes later.

As the four of them were locked in a fierce back-and-forth, the student council room door swung open.

Shinomiya Kaguya, expressionless as ever, stepped inside.

As the vice president, showing up regularly was essential for maintaining her image—whether to establish authority or build connections, softening her demeanor was an effective tactic.

Shirogane was worth keeping close, Kaguya had to admit.

But…

What… is this scene…?

"HAHAHA!!! Fujiwara-san! Your plane is too weak!!! Go back to the hangar!!!" Shirogane was completely in gamer mode.

"Six again! Same color space—jump forward!" Sakurai announced calmly, indifferent to victory or defeat.

[Yes! Yes! Knock them out! And for the next roll, listen to Observer-chan's command, okay?]

I have a surefire strategy for Aeroplane Chess.

This puny "Evil-Eyed Tiger" dares to challenge me?

The game had reached its final stage.

Two of each player's planes had already made it to the finish line.

In the lead: Shirogane and Sakurai.

One relied on calculation, the other… on pure cheats.

The intensity of their battle was… overwhelming.

To the point that Kaguya couldn't bear to watch.

She covered her face with her hand.

This student council… really should just be destroyed.