The Beautiful Senpai from the Archery Club Is Sleeping in My Room with Her Stomach Exposed. - Chapter 35: First, let’s begin with an explanation of the rules☆.

First, let’s begin with an explanation of the rules☆.

At last, the long-awaited showdown Friday had arrived. The sun was already beginning to set.

Standing in front of the whiteboard, a devilishly dressed girl—revealing quite a bit of skin—held a cheap, fake microphone and made a grand announcement:

“We hereby declare the start of the Rino-chan Quiz Battle! Woohoo! Let the chaos begin!”

As the host Mei shouted out her opening line, light applause rose from everyone—except Shion-san. Somehow, my humble room had been transformed into a small-scale event venue.

Shion-san, instead of clapping, raised her hand cautiously.

“…Excuse me, I have a question for the host.”
“Ooh? What is it? Go ahead, Rino-chan’s little sister!”
“Why are you wearing a rather indecent costume at a serious competition like this?”
“Because it’s almost Halloween☆ After this, we’re having an all-girls overnight party!”

Despite her packed schedule, Mei had still offered to help out, even though she had plans to go to Miina-san’s place. …Well, even as someone close to her, I have to admit the devil outfit is a bit of an eyesore.

“So this is the enemy’s stronghold… A den of corruption bent on leading my dear sister astray… a palace of wickedness… a demonic lair!”

Thanks to Mei’s attire, my proud little room was being slandered like some villain’s hideout. What even is a “demonic lair”? I’ve never heard that term before.

“Kou-kun? If you so much as glance at Amemoto-san, I’ll consider it cheating and rip you apart, okay?”
“I’d rather live to see another day, so I won’t look…”

The couple who had volunteered to write the quiz questions were flirting in their usual tightly bound way. Ayamori-senpai was covering her boyfriend’s eyes with both hands, saying, “You don’t even have the right to look.” …What exactly are these people doing in my room?

I had also shared with them that Watatsuki-senpai wanted to make up with her younger sister. That’s why they came all the way here—to support her.

Aside from Mei, we had four guests. It was the first time that many students in school uniforms had gathered in my room. It felt… oddly sentimental.

Shion-san stood tensely near the door, clearly on guard.
Urushibara and her team, acting as quizmasters, were standing at the whiteboard by the window.

And as for the main person of interest, Watatsuki-senpai—

“Amemoto-kun, do your best. I made these for today—my very first handmade cheering fans. I’ll be waving them energetically!”

“Where did you even learn that kind of tradition…?”

She held one fan in each hand—one read “Ame ♡ Win ♡” and the other “Get Every Answer Right ♡”—written in oversized, glittery font. She wore no expression, not even a polite smile.

She was also kneeling formally on top of her usual beanbag cushion. Her posture was perfect, but the overall scene just felt off…

“Senpai, you don’t have to sit like that, you know.”

“Ah, yes, I’d follow your suggestion, but… somehow, this posture feels more comfortable right now.”

She said it as though embarrassed. I guess being in my room, in front of her sister and underclassmen, had her feeling caught between trying to relax and keeping her composure. Must be tough for her.

Still… I think she’s almost there.

If Shion-san could see her sister in a relaxed state during the quiz, it might do the trick. Just as I was about to glance over at my opponent—

“You must be pleased, Amemoto Touya. You’ve managed to get our sister on your side.”

“Well, I’m at a disadvantage here. A little handicap seems fair, don’t you think?”

“No complaints. Be grateful to your merciful older sister… Now let’s begin, Devil Amemoto.”

“Aye aye, let’s go full devil mode! Wait, guys, you’re chatting way too much! This was supposed to be the ‘Rules Explanation’ segment, and you’re making me lose confidence as the host!”

Mei theatrically slumped her shoulders as she glanced at her cue cards—clearly a performance to entertain the crowd.

As expected, she quickly bounced back with an energetic, “Alrighty, let’s get started for real this time!”

“This Rino-chan Quiz consists of five questions! Write your answers nice and big on the loose-leaf paper in front of you! No cheating—seriously! Once both of you have written your answers, reveal them at the same time! And who’ll judge whether they’re correct—?”

“That would be me, of course. The person in question. Fufu. I haven’t been told the questions in advance either, so I admit, I’m a bit nervous…”

“Sister, you’re not the type to get scared over something like this. You’re too good at flattery.”

…Actually, I think Senpai is kind of a scaredy-cat. But it’s not the time for chit-chat.

“One point for each correct answer! The person with the most points at the end wins. Pretty standard stuff!”

“Umm, but what happens if it’s a tie? We didn’t prepare any tiebreaker questions…!”

“Good question, Ayamori’s darling! Let’s see… Ah, it says here: ‘In case of a tie, the person who gave the most compelling reasoning for their answers will be declared the winner.’”

Mei read from her script so even Urushibara (whose vision was still being blocked) could follow.

That’s right—since a tie is possible, how well you justify your answers will be critical. Shion-san, who helped shape the rules with me, would understand the importance of that part too.

“Alright! I’ve covered everything! Are we ready to begin?”

“…I’m ready when you are.”

“Same here. Let’s do it.”

Over the past two days, Senpai taught me all sorts of details.

Even under tight schedules after club activities, we squeezed in hours of study sessions.

Like how she played the Little Mermaid in a second-grade recital, or how she commuted to school by bike only in her third year of middle school—obscure facts, but ones she thought might appear in the quiz. I studied like my life depended on it—as hard as I would for an FPS strategy guide.

We did everything we could to prepare.

Just like the cheering fans in her hands say, my goal is to get a perfect score.

Finally, the quizmasters handed over the memo with the quiz questions to the host.

The folded slips were opened, and Mei read them aloud in a bright voice:

“And now, Question One! ‘What is Watanuki Rino’s favorite food?’”

“…Huh?”

The sheer simplicity of the question caught me off guard.

Seriously? Are they all going to be like this?

“I made questions based on things I wanted to know as Rino’s friend since high school~!”

“And I wrote mine with the spirit of the archery club’s first-years in mind! We’ve got so many things we want to ask our captain!”

While I sat there, pen still untouched in my hand, the quizmasters chatted away to fill the silence.

So they had designed the questions from the perspective of wanting to get closer to Senpai. A question about how to get closer to a senpai, huh? I guess part of the reason they joined was to hear the answer to that.

Well, the type of questions ended up being completely different from what we expected, so all our frantic preparation was more or less pointless—

Ah, the senpai playing the role of host looks visibly saddened, her eyebrows drawing together. And her fan has flipped over to show messages like “Don’t give up ♡” and “Stay strong ♡.” Um, excuse me—we haven’t even finished a single question yet?

I’m a little anxious about what’s ahead, but for now, we’re both probably going to get this first one right. It’s way too easy. I wrote down my answer and put my pen down.

“Alright! Are you two ready? Then on the count of three—let’s reveal your answers!”

Following Mei’s cue, Shion and I both turned our notebook pages to face the crowd.

But to my surprise, her answer didn’t match mine.

“…Huh? Of course it’s shio-pan—that’s what Onee-chan eats every day.”

“Wait, no—obviously the answer is cookies.”

“Whoa, we’ve got a split right from the start!”

We looked at each other with skepticism, each questioning the other’s reasoning. Shion was the first to speak, sounding proud and confident.

“She’s been buying shio-pan religiously ever since entering high school… That’s common knowledge in the Onee-chan Quiz community.”

That’s not actually a thing—but I knew that fact too.

That particular bread is mild and tasty enough to enjoy every single day. Still, I always had a hunch: it might not be right at the heart of Senpai’s sweet-loving tastes.

“I believe it’s cookies. This past month, everything I’ve given her, she’s eaten with genuine delight.”

“That’s your only reason? You really don’t get it, Amemoto Touya… She only liked cookies when she was in elementary school. Isn’t that right, Onee-chan?”

“Um… well… Actually, Amemoto-kun’s correct.”

“Wha—?!”

Shion looked completely betrayed. Her emotions were written all over her face. Unable to accept the outcome, she moved in on her sister, who was still sitting calmly in seiza.

“E-even if you’re trying to support the underdog, such blatant favoritism is against the spirit of fair play…!”

“Shion, this isn’t favoritism. I genuinely like cookies more than shio-pan.”

“No way! I don’t believe it! I haven’t seen you eating cookies at home even once in the past few years…! Not even a single cookie box in the trash!”

“I was holding back, that’s all. I only recently got back into them—within the last month.”

“Y-you could just be saying that…”

“Oh! That reminds me—if you still don’t believe it, we took a picture of us making them together~”

The host, Mei, held out her phone toward the skeptical Shion.

Displayed on the screen was a selfie. Taken in my kitchen, both senpais were holding a platter piled with homemade cookies. It must’ve been one of those weekend photos. They were smiling so happily in it.

“…With those smiles, I have no choice but to accept the truth.”

Presented with the evidence, Shion dropped her protest. She gives up pretty easily when she knows she’s lost, huh?

Anyway, that means I’m the only one who scored on the first question.

Watanuki-senpai turned her gaze to me and gave a small, bright smile. Her fan had flipped again—this time reading “Get every question right ♡.” Roger that. As long as I keep the lead, I’ll win this.

If the rest of the questions stay at this level of difficulty, then knowing her for just a month might actually be enough to see me through.

I can do this. Let’s get the next question right too—!

“Okay, no time to waste—let’s move on! Hmm… What nickname was Watanuki Rino often called in the past?”

…Yeah, I’ve got nothing. I can already tell the possibility of getting every question right is off the table. And along with it, all my confidence has vanished.

The real battle is just beginning.
The Watanuki Senpai Quiz has only just begun.