COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

"Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~"

As the long, clear chime of the Big Ben bell echoed, the teachers packed up their teaching materials and left the classrooms, granting the students a brief respite.

Even the students of Class A had their own ways of relaxing during break time.

Through days of interaction, the students gradually grew familiar with one another and started forming their own small cliques.

For instance...

"Katsuragi-kun, how about going together to try that newly opened Western restaurant after school? I hear their rib eye steak is very good."

"No, I plan to work on my Student Council application form after school. Totsuka, you shouldn't always dash off to Keyaki Mall the moment school lets out, either. You need to spend time improving yourself."

"Y-Yes! As expected of Katsuragi-kun..."

This was Katsuragi Kohei and his hanger-on, Totsuka Yahiko.

Or...

"Yamamura Miki."

"Mm?"

"Later, let's play blindfold hide-and-seek. I'll close my eyes. Don't move. Let's see if I can find you by touch."

"Eh?!"

"This is a kamikakushi. The legendary spiriting away. I've always suspected you carry the bloodline of a tanuki monster."

"...That's not true at all. In my family, I'm the only one with low presence."

"Then the location shall be the small woods behind the school building."

"..."

This was the autocratic Morishita Ai and her robot friend "WALL-E," Yamamura Miki.

Another example...

"Hey, hey, Satonaka-kun, treat us to drinks later, okay? We voted for you in the Hot Guy Rankings."

"Yeah, let's go have drinks together after school."

"While I'm deeply touched that you're willing to support me... may I ask what this 'Hot Guy Rankings' is?"

"Eh, Satonaka-kun, you don't know? It's a super popular topic on the school forum right now. Originally, it was just going around privately among students, but after someone put it on the forum, it suddenly exploded. Here, look..."

"I see."

"Let me check. The results are pretty much out by now... Satonaka-kun got first place! Congratulations! I just knew it had to be Satonaka-kun, no mistake."

"Don't praise me like that. I'll get conceited."

This was Class A's heartthrob Satonaka Satoru and his little group of pals.

"Next up is..." Hoashi continued scrolling on her phone, casually snapped her fingers, and said with great excitement, "I just knew second place would be Hirata-kun from Class D. He's so handsome, with such a gentle personality, and he's an athletic type too."

"And in third place is—"

Hoashi's smoothly sliding finger suddenly froze. She slowly raised her head, her gaze beginning to waver.

"Who's in third place? Hoashi-chan, keeping us in suspense makes me so curious—"

The girls with her leaned their heads in toward the phone and likewise froze in place.

Then, like robots, they turned their necks to stare at a certain corner of the classroom.

"Kito-san..."

Fuyuji Mikage propped both elbows on Kito Hayato's desk, his eyes solemnly fixed on the somewhat wooden-faced Kito Hayato, and voiced his request.

"Could I borrow your exclusive weapon and wear it for a bit?"

"..."

Kito Hayato's demon-like eyes met Fuyuji Mikage's. The two stared at each other. In the end, Kito Hayato lowered his head and let out a heavy sigh, then took off his gloves.

"Take them. Remember to return them."

"Thanks!"

Having acquired the black gloves, Fuyuji Mikage stylishly put them on, pulling at the opening of one glove with his other hand, blazing fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.

"Oh! This feeling... power is surging up! This immense powah! Is this the power of the Dark Flame Dragon, sealed by Black Peat?! Subarashii~"

Slap!

Slap! Slap!

...

All the girls in the class smacked their own foreheads in perfect unison and simultaneously voiced the question of their souls.

Who the hell voted for this guy?

Although he was, admittedly, very handsome, his behavior was so utterly absurd that the entire class had unanimously overlooked the fact that this guy was actually a good-looking dude.

"As expected of you, Fuyuji-san." Hashimoto Masayoshi, who had just returned from the restroom, cut into the conversation. "Speaking of which, did you vote in that Girls' Rankings I sent you last time?" Clearly, Hashimoto had overheard the conversation among the girls in class.

"I did vote, yes..." Fuyuji Mikage, who normally cared nothing for others' opinions, now actually seemed bashful and hesitant.

"So who did you vote for? That Ichinose, or Kushida Kikyo? I hear Class D has some fine girls, too." Hashimoto pressed on.

"..."

Fuyuji Mikage scratched the back of his head, his tone drifting a little. "I just casually voted for one... Forget it, forget it. A ranking like this, one look tells you there's zero accuracy to it. Anyway, Hashimoto-san, I hear you joined the tennis club? How about chatting up the girls in your club, huh?"

Hearing you say that makes me even more curious!

The girls in the class who had been eavesdropping on their conversation all shouted this in their hearts in perfect unison.

At that moment, the girls' passion for gossip was burning fiercely.

Judging by his tone, Ichinose Honami and Kushida Kikyo could be ruled out. The girls in Class D probably weren't it either. Class C didn't seem to have many beautiful girls. In Class B, there was no one who could compete with that Ichinose Honami. That left only Class A...

If there was anyone else in the class who might possibly...

The girls' gazes sneakily darted towards Morishita Ai, who was still entangled with Yamamura Miki.

If Fuyuji Mikage was the abstract chuunibyou, then in their eyes, Morishita Ai was the eccentric weirdo marching to her own beat.

Those two were six of one and half a dozen of the other. A match made in mutual oddity.

Not to mention, Fuyuji Mikage and Morishita Ai stuck together day after day, as if conspiring over some great secret.

If it was Morishita Ai... that wouldn't be strange.

Hoashi lit up her phone, entered the Girls' Rankings, and tapped to search for Morishita Ai's name.

Search result: Failed... Her name wasn't there. It wasn't her.

Then who the hell was it?

"The results for the girls' side should be out by now, too. Want to take a look?" Hashimoto Masayoshi's voice timely came through.

"Ahaha, no need for that kind of thing, right? Nothing worth seeing!"

She's absolutely in that ranking!

In their gossip-fueled state, the girls' deductive reasoning had reached its peak, instantly seeing right through the truth.

Filled with curiosity, anticipation, and a tiny bit of unwillingness to concede, the girls opened the rankings.

[3rd Place: Kushida Kikyo - 26 votes]

[2nd Place: Ichinose Honami - 38 votes]

First place...

The girls' eyes followed the list downward, and then their expressions instantly stiffened.

An Ultraman, the name of which they didn't know, was giving them a thumbs-up.

[1st Place: Ultrawoman Carmeara - 53 votes]

[Recommended by: It Was Kobe Who Caused the Helicopter Crash!]

The girls of the class simultaneously fell into silence, their eyes, deep and brooding, fixed on a certain someone.

If they had lost to Ichinose or Kushida, that would be one thing. After all, their popularity was indeed very high.

Even if they had lost to Morishita, they could accept it. Morishita was eccentric, sure, but she had a cute face and outstanding presence.

But to lose to a species that wasn't even human...

They could not accept this!

"Ambush! There's killing intent!"

Suddenly feeling a chill down his back, Fuyuji Mikage spun around alertly. Beam after beam of resentful glares stabbed at him. Fuyuji Mikage's confidence was seriously lacking.

"What? Is it absolutely certain that I was the one who voted for that?" He attempted to argue loudly.

"Who else could it be?!" the girls of the class chorused.

"It was also the will of the people! Facts prove I was right. Even though I padded the votes a little in the very beginning, all the later ones were cast by others! This shows it reflects the collective will."

"That's precisely why we're mad, okay?!"

...

In the end, Fuyuji Mikage's lone mouth couldn't withstand the girls' relentless bombardment, and he had no choice but to flee back to his own seat in disarray.

"These women are simply unreasonable." Fuyuji Mikage pulled out his chair and sat down, grumbling.

Turning his head, he found Morishita Ai staring at him with a burning gaze.

"Don't tell me you actually care about this sort of thing too?" Fuyuji Mikage felt a touch of despair.

"You actually didn't help me put Kamen Rider up there as well..."

"Is there even a female Kamen Rider?" He hadn't watched many, just a sparse few, and they were far less memorable than Ultraman.

"But Kamen Rider must have male ones. Fuyuji Mikage, you surely feared the power of Kamen Rider."

Fuyuji Mikage, upon hearing this, gave a contemptuous smirk. "Morishita Ai, there are boys who like Ultraman. But a girl who likes Kamen Rider? In this entire school, you're the only one."

"..."

Fuyuji Mikage had just won the match.

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