"Why are you so spaced out while looking so pleased with yourself?"
A question was asked to the boy sitting near the back of the classroom who had been immersed in a happy aura all day.
There was no need to say that the boy was Takei and that happy aura was a result of last night's events.
All throughout the day at school today, he had been laser focused on the ring that adorned his ring finger on his left hand.
It truly put him at peace for some reason.
Is it because I'm matching with her?
Putting that thought aside, Takei kept on admiring the ring that he had won last night.
There seemed to be no limit to this admiration that even Eiji who had been sitting behind him had noticed.
That's the reason why Eiji asked Takei about it, even though he had a vague idea of what happened.
"Something very nice happened," Takei mumbled.
Eiji looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Of course it did."
While this interaction happened, there was an overwhelmingly negative aura that was slowly encroaching upon them.
Of course, that menacing aura belonged to no other than Rikka.
She had noticed Takei's peculiar behavior today, and later on she found out about the ring.
Rikka didn't know the actual specifics about the ring, but she made an easy assumption at who he received it from.
Although she was obviously displeased about it, Takei didn't notice it at all since he was still stuck in that dream-like state.
While this was happening, there was also another person stuck in that dream-like state as well.
In another classroom, there was a certain goddess that had an even stronger aura of happiness surrounding her.
Akari had been in a dreamy state all day, just like Takei.
It seemed like she really adored the ring.
Of course, other people would find out as well. There were many people shocked to see Akari tenderly taking care of the ring on her finger.
An outcry of the males was inevitable though. They truly wanted to know who had seduced the goddess. Many angry comments could be heard around the school as the day went by.
"I'll kill him, I'll kill him good!"
"My goddess has been tainted..."
"Whoever you are... I'm coming to get you!"
Unbeknownst to Takei, all of these comments were addressed to him.
"Achoo!"
For some reason, Takei felt a sneeze rise up from inside of him.
***
It didn't take long for the entire school to notice that both Takei and Akari had matching rings.
Even though Takei was a loner, there would be an occasional person or two who noticed something different about him.
That occasional person or two just so happened to connect the dots between his ring and Akari's ring.
Which eventually led to a congregation of people interrogating Takei.
One of the specific people that was interrogating him held the nickname of, "The Prince."
The prince, Ryuto Inuzaki, was a being akin to a god amongst the girls. A chiseled body along with a sharp jawline was his specialty. Light brown hair and green eyes was his trademark. There was also a certain vibe that he emitted that reminded everyone that he was some sort of royalty that needed to be worshipped.
In other words, Takei couldn't stand the sight of him. For Ryuto was the very opposite of Takei, personality-wise and appearance-wise.
Maybe it was because Takei disliked popular people, or maybe it was because Ryuto was the type of person he wanted to be. Who knows?
Putting that thought aside, Ryuto was currently interrogating Takei about his connection to the goddess. It had been known all throughout the school that Ryuto had a massive crush on the goddess, so Takei ended up being a big obstacle in his path.
As soon as lunch started, Takei tried to retreat to a safe area without eyes, but was eventually found and pressured into going to the courtyard of the school.
After Takei reached the courtyard, there was the handsome devil himself waiting there.
Word spread throughout the school and a large group of spectators formed as a result.
Now, it was a showdown between the prince and the loner with the whole world watching.
"What do you want?" Takei nonchalantly asked.
Ryuto looked back at him as if Takei was mocking him. "I think you know exactly what I want."
"Hmm, I'm not sure..." Takei shrugged, as he played dumb.
A vein practically popped out of Ryuto's head at Takei's feigned idiocy. "Grr, you..."
The calm, cool, and collected prince's facade was slowly starting to crumble. Takei smirked as he saw the gallant prince beginning to lose his cool.
Recollecting his thoughts after a moment, Ryuto sighed and let a slight smile overtake his expression.
"Well, your connection with my beloved goddess doesn't matter anyways. Even if you have matching rings, she'll obviously choose me over a loser like you."
A provocation from the prince himself was stated to Takei.
It seemed the whole crowd agreed with the prince's sentiments, since Takei was a nobody to start out with. There was no mercy or forgiveness for him at all in this crowd.
In contrast to many's belief that Takei was angry or depressed, he was actually just annoyed. The first reason being that his time was being wasted. The second reason being that Ryuto was grossly underestimating Akari's standards.
There was absolutely no way Akari would choose a shallow idiot like him.
"I don't care what you say about me, but don't talk bad about Akari... Someone shallow like you couldn't possibly stand beside her."
Takei gave Ryuto a piece of his mind, which ended up with the other party and the crowd looking at him in shock.
This was mainly because he decided to badmouth the prince who was one of the pillars of this school.
Ryuto's face twitched slightly at Takei's comment, but his expression quickly returned to his normal cocky smile. "Why don't we ask her ourselves?"
An instant later, a loud voice rang across the battlefield.
"Takei!"
Indeed, the war goddess had arrived in tow with her two generals.
Knowing that Takei would be forced into this situation, Rikka and Eiji left earlier to find Akari who had no idea of the situation. It took them a while to push through the crowd, but they finally made it.
However, there was still one more obstacle in front of them.
"Ah, my beloved Akari. It is I, your prince charming."
Yes, Ryuto introduced himself as the goddess's lover. It was an unorthodox way of greeting, and a bit cringey in Takei's opinion.
As a response to that greeting though, the goddess shot him a quizzical look.
"Who are you?"
It was as if time had slowed down to a crawl. You could almost hear the sound of Ryuto's ego cracking after Akari asked him about his identity.
"...but, but. Don't you know me? I'm the prince, Ryuto Inuzaki, and I'm the one that loves you the most!"
A temper tantrum was thrown as a result of Akari's question. It was now at this time that the prince's true nature was revealed.
Unfazed, Akari walked past him with a cold demeanor which had not ever been seen on the kind and generous goddess's face yet.
"I don't know who you are, but don't get involved with me ever again."
That line ended up being the critical hit that knocked Ryuto unconscious since his ego was so badly hurt.
"Are you okay, Takei?" Akari worriedly asked.
Takei nodded and gave her a light smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a minor annoyance."
"Well, let's get going. The lunch I made is going to get cold!" Akari giggled.
Just like always, another obstacle in their path was once again removed.
----
Akari's True Affection Meter: 58 -> 60%
She really has no tolerance for anyone other than Takei, huh?
Sugar-san: Akari is my favorite character!
Serious-san: Of course she is.