Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (かぐや様は告らせたい～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～)

The god of thunder will steal my belly button!

KAGUYA WANTS TO GIVE A GIFT

You're that afraid of thunder?

After all, it suddenly goes crack and then boom!

I hate loud noises!

Then why not cover your ears?

If I cover my ears, then my hands aren't free to protect my belly button!

I'd think that'd be obvious! I'd think that'd be obvious! I'd think that'd be obvious!

What does "obvious" mean again?

Obvious.

I'm protecting my belly button, so please cover my ears, Miss Kaguya.

S-Sure.

OBVIOUS

The trains are stopped because of the typhoon!

That's a pain. You'd better call home.

We don't have a car, so there's nothing they can do about it.

What am I gonna do?

That's right. I can just give him a lift home.

SHUCHIIN ACADEMY

SHIROGANE'S HOUSE

President, if you like...

Huh? That'd make it a driving date!

Going for a drive! That is definitely a kind of date.

Sitting shoulder to shoulder in an enclosed space,

listening to pleasant music on the radio

and chatting while cruising through town in the rain.

And at red lights...

I wish this light would never change to green.

...is the kind of thing they would think.

Strictly speaking, the presence of Kaguya's driver would mean the two weren't alone,

but basically, to her, it would be a prime example of a driving date.

Thus...

Ow! That hurts!

It's like I'm asking him out on a date!

Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!

What's wrong, Shinomiya?

Nothing.

It's nothing.

If the president brought it up, that's one thing,

but I can't afford to make the offer.

And yet,

abandoning him to his own devices when he has no way to get home would be...

That's it! There's no problem if he just says, "Give me a ride."

My taxi is almost here.

Oh, really?

What should I do?

Huh?

The president doesn't have a ride home?

L-Looks like it.

Then why don't we share the—

I just saw a flash of lightning.

I'll cover your ears tight so you don't hear the thunder.

Thank you.

I'll cover your eyes, too, while I'm at it.

Why?

Now, I'll escort you to your taxi like this.

Wait!

Miss Kaguya!

I'm scared! I'm scared!

But it's kind of fun!

What kind of game is that?

With the element of chaos out of the way, no one's left to interfere.

But how can I get him to say, "Give me a ride"?

Crap, I have to work today.

At this rate, I'll miss my shift.

Indeed.

Taking off work because of a typhoon

would disqualify one as a member of society.

Paying a taxi fare to get there even though it'd cost more than daily wages,

or someone giving them a ride...

To a member of society, the choice would be clear, you know?

That was effective.

I'm going to the restroom and will think along the way!

Go right ahead.

It's hard to imagine the president taking a taxi, cheapskate that he is.

So, naturally, he'll come groveling to me.

IT'D PROBABLY BE AROUND 5,000 YEN...

I have this victory in the bag.

5,000 yen.

I make 1,000 an hour, so that's five hours of work.

But I'd hate to miss it.

TRAIN OPERATING TRAIN OPERATING TRAIN DELAYED TRAIN OPERATING

Huh? The trains are running again!

Why now, of all times?

Pour it on a little harder, typhoon!

This leaves me no choice.

THE SEVEN ANTI-SHIROGANE TOOLS TOOL ONE

RECHARGEABLE BATTERY IS DEAD

Number one of the Seven Anti-Shirogane Tools!

A dead battery!

Anticipating a variety of situations,

Kaguya has prepared a number of items to take down Shirogane.

This dead rechargeable battery is one of them!

I have about a minute before the president returns from the restroom. During that time,

I'll switch out his phone battery!

There isn't much time.

Level of difficulty is very hard.

But I have confidence in myself!

What's the matter, Shinomiya?

N-Nothing. I was just doing a little light exercise.

My battery's dead?

Hey, Shinomiya, can I borrow—

L-Looks like my ride's here, too, so I'd better get going!

R-Right.

See you tomorrow.

Now I just need to wait here.

Shinomiya, you're getting a ride home?

Please! Give me a ride!

Well, I can hardly refuse if you're reduced to begging me.

Poor President, I'll give you a lift home.

You're a goddess!

Um, Lady Kaguya, it's a cute scheme,

but if it works, how am I supposed to get home?

On foot.

Are you a demon?

If you don't take better care of me,

karma will take a bite out of your ass one day.

Oh, you and your karma...

See?

I was kidding.

I already called a taxi for you, Hayasaka.

Jeez!

Well,

I figured this would happen, too.

Then, you should've stopped me before.

I'll take off school today, too.

I'll go make you some porridge.

No, stay by my side, Hayasaka.

I wish you were always this adorable.

Apparently, Shinomiya has a cold.

This will continue in the Heart-pounding Visit chapter.

Very nice. I love how you can do so many things with it!

SHIROGANE GOT A NEW BATTERY FOR HIS (USED, NO WARRANTY) PHONE

Apparently, Shinomiya has a cold.

So, somebody's supposed to deliver handouts to her house.

CHIKA FUJIWARA WANTS TO PAY A VISIT

Me! I'll go!

Fujiwara?

I've visited her at home when she was sick once before,

and it's hilarious how much of a baby Miss Kaguya becomes when she has a cold!

GRIN

A baby?

President, dry my back.

She's so cute!

GLOW GLOW

It's the one time you can snatch her up in a bear hug and she won't get angry!

President, I need a hug.

It wouldn't be fair if one person got to monopolize her on her sickbed.

So let's all go together!

All?

Yes!

Wouldn't a crowd barging in on a sick person show lack of common sense?

I think one person would be plenty.

TERRIFIED

I don't wanna go because I'm scared.

Good point.

Then, who'll go?

Let's play Concentration to decide!

CONCENTRATION

Concentration!

Needless to say, a game that needs no introduction.

We won't use the jokers.

And if anyone's caught cheating, they get minus five points.

We'll see who's first with rock-paper-scissors.

All right, we'll start with the president!

Then, let's begin!

Hold your horses, Fujiwara!

Wh-Wh-What is it, President?

There are a number of points I'm not clear about.

First, the fact that you challenged us to a memory game.

I don't quite get that.

Normally, I'd think you'd choose a game you were actually good at.

And you breezed through this rule,

but minus five points for cheating?

Not instant disqualification?

That made me wary.

I may not have noticed if you'd kept your mouth shut,

but these designs kinda look like numbers.

This is a marked deck!

It really is!

Fujiwara-senpai, that's low! Underhanded!

And getting caught by the gambit you relied on!

That's the most embarrassing thing!

I'm embarrassed for you! I'm going home!

Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame...

That's enough, Ishigami.

We accepted her rule about cheating which this surely would've fallen under.

We only touched the deck, so we're fine.

That's right! It's only cheating if you get caught! Nyah!

No, you certainly got caught.

Getting back on track...

In the first half of the game,

these flawed, but talented students remembered the position of each card.

As the game proceeded, they earned points, making no mistakes.

Shirogane, 10 points. Fujiwara, 8 points. Ishigami, 10 points.

There were 24 cards left.

Now I'm tied with you, Ishigami.

President, wipe my front, too.

You guys have really good memories.

I'm gonna raise the bar a bit!