Miss Muse Representative Decider

This story is not a continuation of the Kakuyomu web novel version of “She Cheated on Me with a Senior, so I’m Cheating on Him with His Girlfriend.”
It is a special short story tied specifically to the printed light novel edition.
Please sit back and enjoy the overall atmosphere!

On the first day of university lectures following the end of Golden Week, Joto University was absolutely buzzing with a single hot topic.

“Hey, did you catch the morning comments on Tritter?”

“Yeah, I saw them. You’re talking about Rindo Akane’s post, right? The one where she declared, ‘It’s been decided that Sakurajima Touko and I are going to have a showdown to see who becomes the ultimate Miss Muse representative.’”

“Man, Rindo Akane is seriously throwing down the gauntlet.”

“Well, can you blame her? Even though she’s won the Miss Joto U title two years in a row, everyone keeps whispering that the real campus queen is Sakurajima Touko. It’s bound to hurt her pride.”

“But what about Sakurajima Touko’s side? How did she react?”

“She accepted the challenge face-to-face! Touko is clearly fired up and ready for battle too.”

“Wow, that is going to be a spectacular showdown. ‘Two-Time Consecutive Miss Joto U, Rindo Akane’ versus ‘The Unofficial Campus Queen, Sakurajima Touko’!”

“Miss Muse” was the new signature event established to replace the now-abolished Miss Joto U pageant. The goal was to select a single “Queen of Queens” from a pool of nine contestants.

With the absolute top two contenders turning it into a direct personal rivalry over the representative crown, it was practically guaranteed to set the campus on fire.

Naturally, this gave birth to an unofficial, student-run venture: the “Representative Showdown Toto Pool.” Initially, it started out as a casual betting bracket organized by a few gambling enthusiasts to predict the winner. However, it quickly ballooned into a massive betting ring, spreading like wildfire across the student body once they set up a dedicated private server outside the university network. The server already boasted close to a thousand registered accounts.

Right in the middle of this frenzy, a trio of guys from Yuu Isshiki’s class leaned their heads together in tight conspiracy.

“The absolute safe bet is two-time consecutive Miss Joto U winner Rindo Akane, hands down. As things stand, her social media follower count blows everyone else completely out of the water,” the tall, glasses-wearing Nishihama declared, scanning the “Miss Muse Top 9 List” displayed on his smartphone screen.

“Are you blind? The crown belongs to Sakurajima Touko, without a shadow of a doubt,” counter-argued Yamauchi, a similarly tall guy with narrow eyes. “She possesses an unmatched combination of intellect, elegance, world-class looks, and an absolute killer physique. She is the total package.”

Nishihama immediately fired back. “No way in hell. Rindo Akane takes this easily. She’s already running corporate tie-ins with several major apparel brands, you know. Her name recognition operates on a completely different plane than Sakurajima Touko’s. Plus, Rindo oozes a hundred times more raw sex appeal.”

Yamauchi leaned forward aggressively, doubling down on his defense. “Touko has been aggressively uploading a ton of cute, refreshing photos lately—like her ‘concept dates’ and cosplay snapshots! Her content is entirely different from her usual reserved style!”

“I’m telling you, it’s Rindo!”

“It’s Touko, you idiot!”

Watching the two bicker back and forth, the third member of their group, a shorter, slightly chubby guy named Sato, finally chimed in.

“While those two are undeniably the closest to capturing the crown, I personally intend to throw my full, unwavering support behind her.”

““Her? Who exactly are you talking about?”” Nishihama and Yamauchi spun around simultaneously to look at Sato.

“Mitsumoto Karen-chan,” Sato smirked. “I believe she is the only goddess uniquely qualified to embody the absolute pinnacle of moe for a new generation.”

With a dramatic flourish, Sato pulled up Karen’s social media profile on his smartphone. “Look at this snapshot right here.”

Nishihama and Yamauchi peered intensely over his shoulder to study the screen. The image displayed Karen peeking out from behind a frosted glass bathroom door. While the vast majority of her body was cleverly obscured by the glass, her face, a bare shoulder, and a slender thigh extended conspicuously past the frame of the door. Her bust line was practically a millimeter away from being revealed.

The caption read: ‘Big brother, could you fetch my bath towel please?~’

“Whoa, okay… that is highly dangerous…”

“She is skating right on the absolute legal limit.”

The two stared at the screen, completely captivated. Watching their reactions, Sato flashed a highly knowing, wicked grin.

“Exactly. That is the absolute charm of Karen-chan. She is a textbook little devil who knows precisely which psychological buttons to press to drive a guy wild. It’s the thrill of the tease—it’s right on the edge of visibility, making you desperate to see more. Her entire profile is packed with masterpieces just like this.” Sato offered a thoroughly base, lecherous laugh, sounding precisely like a manga character with drool effects drawn around his mouth.

“Y-You’re completely right…” Yamauchi muttered, entirely dazed.

“That is a unique brand of appeal that neither Rindo Akane nor Sakurajima Touko could ever emulate,” Nishihama conceded.

Sato puffed his chest out with immense pride. “Right? And it’s not just limited to her ‘Little Sister’ series. Her ‘Pet Series’ features a massive collection of highly suggestive snapshots of her clad in animal-themed swimwear. It works wonders to fire up a man’s imagination.”

Sato began swiping through a barrage of Karen’s other uploaded photographs. The collection included a shot of her leaning heavily forward with the collar of her t-shirt dropping open to nearly reveal her bare breasts, a snapshot of her completely drenched in a wet t-shirt with her bra explicitly translucent through the fabric, and a photo of her lounging in pajamas with her panties faintly visible.

“By masterfully triggering these subtly erotic fantasies, Karen-chan proves she truly comprehends the core essence of moe. She is the only goddess fitting for the crown.”

Faced with Sato’s fierce, impassioned lecture, the other two could only nod in solemn, absolute agreement.

“But still…” Nishihama muttered, his expression suddenly souring. “That bastard Isshiki is Karen’s ex-boyfriend, and current campus rumors claim he even shared an intimate night with Sakurajima Touko at a hotel, right? If that turns out to be a concrete fact, it is entirely unforgivable.”

“Too right,” Yamauchi growled. “The guy deserves an absolute divine punishment for his crimes.”

“I have no intention of denying that,” Sato smirked, adjusting his grip on his phone. “But for the time being, shouldn’t we exploit Isshiki’s insider position to make an absolute killing on the Toto pool?”

Hearing his logic, Nishihama and Yamauchi let out a deep, unified nod of agreement once more.