Tuesday morning arrived.
I was standing in front of the door to Sewing Room #2,
my emotions a mess.
Our usual meeting would begin when I stepped inside, but
my head was filled with vivid memories of the crazy stuff
that had happened the day before. Even after I'd slept on it
for a night, the words swimming through my mind still
carried the same heat as when I first heard them.
The confession from Mimimi that she liked me. And the
lecture from Mizusawa.
I could tell I'd grown a bit as a person, facing both of them
head-on. I'd been escaping into my weakness, but their
incisive words had showed me the truth.
"…Here goes nothing." I breathed out and squeezed my
hands into fists.
I had a good idea of what Hinami was about to ask me.
Who did I choose?
I'd managed to look straight at my own weakness, leaving
behind the part of me that refused to see it. But her question
was still as tough as ever. I felt like I was groping my way
through a thick fog, but I just couldn't reach the answer.
I took another breath, and the cold air in the unheated
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
building rushed down my throat and into my anxiety-filled
chest.
I peered through the small window of the door in front of
me. My eyes met those of Hinami, who was sitting with her
chin in her hand, staring in my direction with a dull
expression.
She scrunched her eyebrows together suspiciously, but
since I wasn't moving, she slowly rose and started walking
toward me. I glanced around nervously but failed to take any
concrete action.
Eventually, the shoddy door opened with a creak.
Aoi Hinami was still frowning at me.
"Why are you just standing there?" she asked brusquely.
"U-um…"
As I floundered, she threw me a final glance, then checked
the classroom over her shoulder.
"Personally, I don't see anything unusual…" She returned
her gaze to my face, tilting her head in confusion. "Don't tell
me you're feeling guilty because you didn't complete one of
your assignments."
"N-no, not especially…," I said vaguely.
Her glare was like an ice dagger. "Well, you should be."
"I—I know…"
I could see her point. I'd said no reflexively, but I needed
to own up to my failure.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She gave a loud, exasperated sigh. "Well, what is it then?"
she asked, tapping her temple irritably with her forefinger.
"Uh…it's just…"
I couldn't tell her what Mimimi had said, and I couldn't
think of a good excuse, either. So I just said nothing.
She sighed again. "You've gotten rather used to keeping
secrets from me these days…," she complained defeatedly.
"That's fine. You have your own private life. If you don't
want to tell me, you don't have to."
"Uh, o-okay."
"Anyway, we have more important things to talk about."
More important things—my heart skipped a beat.
"Y-you mean…"
She nodded. "Which girl you're going to pursue."
As soon as I finished the Instagram quest she assigned me
the week before, I was supposed to decide who I wanted to
date. That would help put me on the path to my goal of
having a girlfriend by the time I started my third year.
Today was my deadline.
"…Uh…"
The problem was, the situation was a little different now
compared with a week ago. The previous day, Mimimi had
told me she liked me.
"You said at least two…right?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Hinami had asked me to choose at least two girls to
pursue.
According to her, that was an effective method for
winning the game of love, and I think I understood her logic.
But right now, this approach felt insincere.
"Yeah. Of course, if you're so fixated on one person that
you don't have eyes for anyone else, that's fine, too… It's
really a question of your feelings. But those cases don't often
end well, so it'd be better to go after at least two girls at the
same time."
"…Oh."
If the answer was completely obvious, I was allowed to
choose one—and there was someone who came to mind.
I should probably choose—Mimimi. Only Mimimi.
"So what are you going to do?"
"…I…"
Mizusawa's words flickered across my mind.
Staying at the bottom came naturally to me, but I'd made
up my mind to shake that insecurity off in my own way—to
stop putting myself down and interact more genuinely with
other people.
I was going to leave behind my inferiority complex and act
like a top-tier character, even if it was only on the surface.
I was going to listen to other people's feelings without
running away and choose my own actions.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
In which case…
"It's meaningless unless I choose on my own, isn't it?" I
muttered.
Hinami frowned. "Hmm? Oh, yes…obviously."
"…Right."
Something crucial seemed to have been lost in that
exchange. Hinami tilted her head, but I bowed my head in
thought.
What Mimimi had said meant that she had chosen me.
That was her will, not mine.
Which meant that if I accepted her just because I didn't
want to seem conceited, then that wouldn't be a choice I was
making on my own.
After she'd had the courage to tell me her feelings, I
wouldn't be responding in kind.
"Hinami, I want to ask you something."
The use of her name seemed to put her on guard. "…
What?"
Despite her suspicion, I asked my teacher—my fellow
player in the game of life—for another lesson.
"What does it mean…to fall for someone?"
I made sure she knew I was asking as sincerely as
possible; I had a feeling this was an essential factor in the
game of life.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She met my eyes, pausing before she spoke.
After several seconds of silence—she slowly answered,
"Why are you acting so serious? What an embarrassing
question."
"Wha—?"
Her response was so typically, venomously Hinami that I
almost felt let down. I was trying to be serious! I felt my
face burning.
"S-stop it. I wouldn't be embarrassed if it weren't for you."
"What does it mean...to fall for someone?"
"Stop copying me."
With her sadistic smile and perfect mimicry, Hinami was
ruthlessly outtalking me.
"Oh, come on. Just tell me. How do you even know you
like someone? You said you'd teach me the rules of life,
didn't you?"
"I suppose I did." She gave a smug smile.
I swear, the more uncomfortable she makes people, the
happier she feels.
Maybe because she'd had her fill of tormenting me, her
cool composure returned.
"Well, let me think… Falling for someone." She began to
ponder the question, a vaguely cold glint in her eye. "From
an analytic perspective…it's when dependence, sexual
desire, possessiveness, and maybe personal interests
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
coincide. More precisely…I suppose it's a compound
emotion involving some or all of the above."
"Ohhh…"
Her ridiculous answer was so perfectly Hinami-like, I felt
a kind of relief. Impressive how she could calmly give such
an ice-cold analysis.
"I get that, but I was asking more on a personal level…"
"Personal how?"
"I mean…how do you know if you, uh, like someone or
whatever?" I narrowed down my question, but it was still
fairly abstract.
That was not what Hinami was hoping to hear. "Huh? I
give you a one-week extension, and you're still asking me
stuff like that?"
"Wh-what do you want me to do? This is an emotional
thing."
"All right…fine," she said, displaying a tiny hint of
willingness to compromise. "I did say I'd take emotional
issues into consideration…"
She seemed to regret this choice, which made me feel
guilty in return.
"I really do want to make up my mind," I said.
In fact, I probably wanted to make up my mind a lot more
than most people did. My desire to fight head-on was a
double-edged sword because it meant I tended to waffle
around like this.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"But you still haven't fully decided?"
"No, not really…" I shook my head.
"Then that's all the more reason for you to choose at least
two people," she announced, as if it were obvious.
My shoulders slumped. That was absolutely not the
answer I was hoping for. "Oh, really…?"
"Just think about it. You honestly can't decide on one
person, but you force yourself to choose someone anyway?
That approach might match up with your internal rules, but
don't you think it's even less sincere than the alternative?"
"Uh…"
The words caught in my throat.
She was right. At the moment, I had a vague sense that
choosing two people would be wrong after Mimimi had said
she liked me, but it wasn't as if my heart was set on her.
"Or what? Don't tell me that after a whole week of
reflection, there's not even one girl you feel even slightly
interested in?"
"It's not that…"
This week? No, I'd connected with a bunch of girls I'd
barely even spoken to before I met Hinami, and that had
been going on for way longer than a week. And, unbelievable
as it sounded, one of them told me her secret feelings.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in any of them.
If I honestly examined how I felt as best I could—I was
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
interested in someone. Although, part of me probably knew
that even before Hinami gave me this assignment.
"It's not that I…didn't come up with anyone…"
"…Really?" For the first time since I'd arrived, Hinami
relaxed slightly. "Then isn't that enough? The things you
need to do are always simple."
"…Are they?"
Over the past week, I'd taken photos with lots of our
classmates and had some new experiences.
In my own way, I'd faced my feelings, and now my
emotions were spinning around in directions I'd never
experienced before.
"I'm not saying you have to ask her out right away, and
you don't even have to be sure you like her. All you need to
do is decide who you're going to deepen your relationship
with."
"…I understand." I reviewed my emotions one more time.
This wasn't a passive choice I made because someone said
they liked me; it was a feeling I discovered in my own heart.
I needed to approach that feeling honestly so I could be sure
of it…which meant I needed to say it out loud.
Who did I want to deepen my relationship with?
When did my heart beat the hardest?
Who did I see in that way?
"I'm interested in…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
I willed myself to say my answer.
"…Mimimi and Kikuchi-san."
* * *
After the meeting ended, I walked down the hallway by
myself, my emotions jumping all over the place.
"…Well, no taking that back."
I think I was reacting to making the choice on my own.
The guy who'd taken a passive approach to relationships
his whole life, the guy who hadn't once reached out to
another person until he met Hinami, had just clearly named
two girls he was interested in. For me, this was worse than
the recoil damage from Double-Edge—this was more like
Struggle. I had no idea how to make sense of my feelings,
and I didn't even officially "like" anyone yet. Hell, if this kept
up for much longer, I'd faint from the recoil damage alone.
As I continued down the hallway, a flashback
overwhelmed me and delivered the KO.
"Actually, I do like you like that."
Mimimi's expression and voice were as vivid as they had
been in real life. My face and body suddenly flashed hot.
"~~!"
It was only the previous day that she'd said it.
I was already a total mess from the meeting with Hinami,
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
and now I was getting hit with flashbacks. The panic was
crashing all my systems, but oddly enough, the shutdown of
my thoughts left me calm.
One day had passed, and needless to say, I hadn't seen
Mimimi in the interim.
Nothing remotely like this had ever happened to me
before, so I had no clue what to do. Hell, I didn't even know
how I should arrange my face when I walked into the
classroom.
I looked around me. Life was proceeding as usual in the
hallway, totally unaffected by my out-of-the-ordinary mental
state. Well, you could call the scattered signs of the
approaching school festival out of the ordinary, but that was
still two weeks away. Although there was some extra
excitement in the air, the morning hustle and bustle was
pretty much the same as always. Given the raging chaos in
my mind, it was almost comforting.
I cut through the crowd with unusually swift steps and
made my way to the door of the second-year Class Two
homeroom.
Maybe—almost certainly—Mimimi was already in there.
What should I do when I went in? How should I look at her?
What should I say? Maybe I didn't need to go talk to her yet
—still, the idea of walking into the same room as her made
me shake.
I glanced at the clock through the open classroom door.
Only a few minutes left until class started, thanks to the
meeting with Hinami. I didn't have time to sit around doing
breathing exercises.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"…Here goes." I exhaled, steeling myself for what was
coming.
Crossing the threshold with a single stride, I set foot in the
classroom.
The first thing my eyes landed on was Mimimi, her long
ponytail swinging as she talked to Hinami, Tama-chan, and
some other girls. Well, my eyes didn't just land on her; they
were drawn to her.
"What?! You do the same thing, Aoi!"
"No way; I've never bought one of those."
"You big liar!"
Smiling, Mimimi gave Hinami a hearty slap on the
shoulder. She seemed no different from before. This girl,
who could light up the class with a smile, liked me? The idea
on its own was enough to make me slightly dizzy and cause
me to doubt my own memories. Wait.
Could I have misinterpreted the whole thing? …Nope,
we're not denying reality anymore.
As I furtively watched Mimimi and her group from my
corner of the classroom—it happened.
Our eyes met.
"…Ah!"
"…Ah!"
Time stopped for both of us, and we forgot to breathe.
We blinked, and I could tell we were searching for
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
something in the other person.
Normally, she would come crashing toward me, shouting,
Brain! But today, the flow between us was awkward, and all
we could do was blink at each other a couple times.
The silence continued for a few seconds.
The moment felt so fragile, it could have fractured at the
slightest touch. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I shifted
my eyes away meaningfully.
What the heck?
My heart was beating oddly fast. My thoughts were a
mess. Very strange. Lately, I'd gotten really good at making
eye contact while I talked to people, but now I felt like I'd
regressed to how I was before my special training. Meeting
her eyes was enough to make me anxious.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
As I attempted to calm myself down by searching for
pear-shaped patterns in the wood grain of the floor, I heard
Hinami saying, "What's wrong?" She was probably worried
because Mimimi was acting strange, or else she was trying to
figure out what was up.
She could explain my nervousness by the fact that I'd
named Mimimi at the morning meeting, but Mimimi's
behavior would strike her as strange. Damn, if we were
acting like this already, Hinami would be onto us instantly.
I wanted to know what Mimimi and Hinami were talking
about, so I strained to hear them. Once I got my breathing
under control, I slyly stole a glance.
And then.
"…Ah!"
"…Ah!"
For the second time, my eyes met Mimimi's. I had caught
her at just the moment when she was stealing a glance of her
own. Flustered, I turned my head away. Maybe Mimimi was
doing the same thing.
Once again, all I could see was the wood grain.
Okay. This was awkward. I'd been wondering what
expression to make or what to say, but now even eye contact
was rough.
Well, according to Mizusawa, acting like nothing had
changed was one option since she hadn't actually asked me
out, but that was turning out to be harder than expected.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
* * *
As Mimimi and I communicated solely through awkward
glances, the day continued on, and soon, it was the break
before switching classrooms for third period.
While I was walking down the hall toward the library, my
phone buzzed unexpectedly.
Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw a notification for a LINE
message from Hinami.
I had a bad feeling about this, given she didn't usually text
me at this time of day, but I timidly opened it.
Yup.
[Did something happen with you and Mimimi?]
Wasn't it a little early to be probing me for information? It
was like she was speedrunning the investigation of Mimimi's
confession. Geez, Hinami, did you really figure it out just
watching us glance at each other?
Surprised by her perceptiveness, I thought for a minute,
then typed my reply.
[No, nothing unusual.]
I wasn't about to tell Hinami what Mimimi had done
without Mimimi's permission, so I tried to brush it off.
Hinami might consider it her business because it was related
to my assignment, but I was going to do things my way this
time.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Twenty or thirty seconds later, her response arrived.
[Really.
Well, as long as you're doing your assignment, that's
fine.]
It was a classic Hinami message: cold, dissatisfied, and
driving her main point home.
I typed out [I know, I know] fast enough to hide how
much the exchange had shaken me, then put my phone back
in my pocket.
Yeah…my assignment. I always visited the library before
we changed classrooms, but today, I went there with a heavy
task to complete.
I arrived in front of the library, anxious and nervous. I
peered inside and saw that Kikuchi-san wasn't there yet,
then stepped timidly through the door and sat down in my
usual chair.
With a deep breath, I thought back on what had happened
this morning—when I said those two names.
* * *
"…Mimimi and Kikuchi-san."
Hinami smiled with satisfaction. "All right. As long as
you've decided, I'm happy."
"…Oh, okay." I nodded slightly, filled with something
resembling a hybrid of anxiety, terror, and embarrassment.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Now that I'd said it, there was no going back.
I'd just chosen two people of my own free will, without
guidance from Hinami or anyone else. Every muscle in my
body was frozen solid.
She looked over at me and sighed with irritation.
"…Although, considering you agonized over it for a whole
week, your answer is so predictable that I feel a little let
down."
"Sh-shut up."
I felt weird and kind of embarrassed, like she'd could see
straight into my heart. She smiled meanly and stepped
toward me, then patted my shoulder.
"From here on, I'd like you to start getting closer to both
of them on the assumption that you're going to be boyfriend
and girlfriend."
"Boyfriend and girlfriend…!"
I knew she said that to push me out of my comfort zone,
and it was working. My heart was jumping all over the place.
"You're going to start dating one of these girls—go out
together, hold hands, go to your or her house when your
parents aren't home, that sort of thing."
"When our parents aren't…home…?"
"Yeah. Picture it. Mimimi is in your room, the two of you
are all alone, talking about whatever, sitting on the edge of
your bed…your fingers interlaced. Can you see it in your
mind?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She pushed her face even closer to mine.
"Our f-fingers?!"
As I started to panic, Hinami's long, white fingertip
suddenly reached out and elegantly stroked my own middle
finger. I shuddered from the surprise and looked away from
her, which caused her to smile and slowly withdraw her
hand. I could see myself wanting that touch again. When I
glanced over at her, she was smiling with obvious
satisfaction. Her oddly seductive expression flooded my
brain with information.
My mental circuits were overloaded, completely unable to
process all the stimulation they were receiving.
"Muhhhhh."
"What?"
Hinami craned her body away from me, surprised by the
meaningless noises from my broken brain.
"Oh, uh, s-sorry." Pulling myself together, I apologized.
She pursed her lips. "…I've never seen you react like that
before, so I didn't know how to respond."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"Of course, nanashi would deviate from the standard
strats…"
"Huh? Oh right…"
This time, I was the one who didn't know how to respond
to her compliment, so I went with vague acknowledgment.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Anyway. Your assignment will be based on that."
"Based on…whatever the hell I just said?"
"Do you genuinely think that's what I mean?"
"Sorry."
Hinami responded to my weak attempt at a joke by slicing
me in half with a single stroke. When we're in a group, she
always plays along, but when it's just the two of us, she's a
tough nut to crack.
"Really, this isn't such a hard assignment. I'll give you a
deadline, and you'll need to figure out which girl you really
like. Then your goal is to let her know how you feel."
"…That's not hard?" Let her know how you feel, she says
oh-so-casually.
Instead of answering me, she frowned and kept talking in
a pointed tone.
"You've built up a foundation over these six months since
you started special training. You've done what I told you to
do, so obviously, you're somewhat prepared."
"Oh right. That's true…"
She was overflowing with confidence, as she always was,
and she'd persuaded me, as she always did, so I decided to
just roll with it.
"But first, I want to ask you something… You and Mimimi
are doing a comedy sketch, right?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, we are." I jumped a little at Mimimi's
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
name, but I managed to nod.
Hinami grinned. "Then you can move fast. You're helping
Kikuchi-san with the play and Mimimi with the comedy
sketch. You can use that as an excuse to spend some one-onone time every day. Your assignment is to do that until the
school festival."
"…Okay."
I paused, then nodded. That was an appropriate
assignment if my goal was to deepen my relationship with
both of them. But if all I had to do was get together and chat,
the assignment didn't quite seem hellish enough for Hinami.
"Okay…got it."
I knew from experience that if I said, That's all? she
would make it a billion times harder, so I kept my thoughts
to myself.
"…What? I can tell you're thinking, That's all?"
"Huh?"
"Well, if you're going to say that, I'll add a little more."
"I didn't say anything!"
Having read my mind, Hinami proceeded to make the
assignment harder. You're kidding me—I didn't even say
anything, and she's still doing this? I wonder if she was
planning to torment me from the start. Come to think of it,
the assignment was way too simple. But what was the point
of being so roundabout?
"So your real assignment—is to fill in your event map
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
between now and the festival."
"Event map?"
She nodded. "Right now, I'm going to give you some goals
divided into stages, like talk about this or go here together.
You'll meet those goals with either Mimimi or Kikuchi-san,
or both."
"So…?"
She answered smoothly. "When you accomplish one goal,
the next one is unlocked, and when the last one is unlocked,
you can start on her route."
Seriously, "route"?
"Okay… It's like an event map in a dating sim?"
She grinned again. "Hexactly."
"Huh."
"A real-life dating event map. That's your assignment.
Hexactly."
"Well, it's pretty straightforward, that's for sure…"
Ignoring her catchphrase, I agreed, albeit grudgingly. This
was getting into emotional territory, and I wasn't thrilled
about treating it as a sim.
"It's fine to switch up the order a little, but you need to
reach the end of the map with one of them by the day of the
festival. If you don't…"
"Let me guess…it's a bad ending. To put it in dating-sim
terms."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Hexactly."
"Hmm."
Stubbornly refusing to acknowledge her third "hexactly," I
considered the assignment. Gaming metaphors just work for
me.
"As long as you make a conscious effort to avoid a bad
ending, I'll leave the timing and the choice of which route to
focus on up to you. Of course, if nothing unusual happens,
you'd do best to proceed with both at the same time. Also,
hexactly."
"Well, that goes for video games, too."
Now she was using "hexactly" like a speech tic, probably
because I was ignoring her so stubbornly, which I continued
to do.
Essentially, I was supposed to initiate event flags, then
initiate the key event that would lead me to a particular
route. My assignments were getting more direct. When I
thought about it, what she'd described was basically dating.
"Of course, if you're not sure what to do, you can ask me.
I'm the sidekick, as they say."
"Ha-ha-ha. Okay, I get it."
She was talking about those characters who tell you the
sort of impression you're making or the things various other
characters like. I hated how easily I got that.
"Then when you tell her you like her and start dating,
you've cleared your goal."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Wait a second now…"
"So your first-level goal is…"
"Wait! Hold on!" I insisted.
Hinami raised one dissatisfied eyebrow. "What?"
"Come on! Stop acting so casual! What are you talking
about, 'tell her you like her and start dating'?"
And you can quit it with the It's so obvious expression.
She sighed loudly. "Of course that's what you're going to
do. Did you forget the first goal we ever set for you?"
She stared at me.
"Uh, no… I remember."
"You do? What is it, then? Tell me your mid-term goal,"
she challenged, leaning toward me.
There was no way I could forget, given that it occupied the
most important position of all my goals.
"Get a girlfriend by the time I start my third year."
"You're not getting it." She glanced at the blackboard.
"What month is it?"
The date there was a couple days off, but I did get her
point.
"December… You're saying I'm almost out of time."
Expressionless, she glared fiercely at me, then answered
in an extremely low, slow voice.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Hexactly…"
"Yikes, geez."
I reacted reflexively to her bitter and kinda threatening
tone. Now she was developing a grudge after I'd refused to
react so many times. A resentful hexactly? Really?
She pulled herself together and continued more calmly.
"It's December now. In two weeks, we'll have the school
festival, and second semester will end. Our school has a
respectable university acceptance rate, so when the school
festival is over, entrance-exam study season will begin for
real."
"…I know."
"Do you think it's going to be easy to set up the romance
route when everyone is in study mode?"
"…No."
She grinned. "Now, consider the excitement of the last
festival before studying starts. You're smack in the middle of
preparing for a big event with all the normies. How do you
like your chances now?"
"…Well, relative to other scenarios, it's probably on the
easy side."
Should be easier than normal school anyway, and
definitely easier than test season.
"Think about those two answers. Test season and schoolfestival season. Which do you think is a more efficient time
to get a girlfriend?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
I knew she was leading me to a certain answer, so I had to
say the only one that came to mind.
"School-festival season…of course."
"See?" She curled her lips triumphantly. What an insanely
smug face. What a perfect, insanely smug face. "So don't you
think it's also obvious for that to be your goal?"
I had nothing whatsoever left to say.
"Yes. I do," I answered.
A beautiful KO. I was down within a few dozen seconds of
the starting bell in the first round—it was barely a fight.
"Okay. So get to work," she said, sounding satisfied.
I glowered at her. I wasn't happy with this, but I couldn't
say anything—and what made her especially annoying was
that I had to admit she was probably right.
"…Um…"
Still, something didn't sit quite right. I tried to figure out
what it was—and eventually, I found the words for it.
"It's just…"
"Hmm?" Hinami seemed surprised to see her opponent
struggling back to his feet.
"…I don't want to make telling her I like her into a goal."
"…What are you talking about?" She scrunched up her
eyebrows.
"It's like… It's not that I don't want to say it or something.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
If anything, it's the opposite. I decided to give this whole
game-of-life thing a real try. Part of that is doing my best to
get a girlfriend, and I intend to follow through."
"Then what's the problem?" She was looking at me with a
face that said, This again? But I kept right on talking.
"It's just…if I do make a confession, I don't want to do it
because it's a 'goal'—I want to do it because I want to…or
something."
"…You lost me," she said with genuine confusion. "What
are you talking about? If you end up telling her anyway,
what does it matter?"
"Sure, the result would be the same, but the…process
would be different? Or maybe the motivation."
"But the result is the same, so it doesn't matter, does it?"
She was trying to cut off the conversation; the question came
almost too quickly. In fact, I felt like she was trying to do
away with any hesitation she might have. "Or are you trying
to tell me it's all about the journey instead of the
destination?" she asked aggressively, before pausing for a
few seconds.
"—Nanashi is saying that?"
Her eyes flashed as she cut down to the root of the matter.
There was something almost threatening in her question,
a warning against any half-assed answers.
But I did get her point. This was about my attitude
towards the game.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
I considered what she was asking me.
"I…"
Like she said, results mattered when it came to effort.
Of course, enjoying the process is important, and I take
pride in prioritizing that when I play Atafami. But I'm
always working under the assumption that I don't want to
lose; I want to leverage hitlag to make my combos more
reliable, to powershield with more success in real fights.
Nobody would ever accuse me of being a casual.
After all, that's what got me to the top spot in Atafami in
Japan, so I know how to focus on results.
I wasn't about to tell Hinami off for being wrong.
"I do think results are important."
"Right? So what's the issue?"
Something was slightly off.
I'd said it to her before when we were fighting—it was
close to a nonnegotiable stance of mine. So I told it to her
again. "Nanashi's playstyle has always been to value both the
results and the process. That's how I got to be number one in
Japan. And it's probably also a more efficient way to play the
game of life."
That was the same objection I'd raised before, and
nanashi had the right to make it, even if it did sound crazy.
For a second, Hinami's expression soured. "…I see. Is that
so?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She slumped her shoulders as if she was tired of the
conversation. Aha! Hinami hasn't found a good
counterargument for that one! Why? Because we were in
my ring.
"Well…if you're going to insist, I suppose it's fine."
"Okay!" I said, grinning. "Then we're agreed. I'll make the
final moves based on how I feel."
When I pushed for a confirmation, she raised one
eyebrow and scratched the nape of her neck lightly.
"Of course, this all assumes that you're not going to put it
off forever and whine about how you don't feel like telling
either one, correct?"
I nodded. She continued talking, more for her sake than
mine.
"In that case…the end result is the same anyway."
"Exactly. No problems at all, by your logic."
The end justifies the means, as they say. Which also
meant the end justified my mystifying quirks, in her view.
She was frowning, as if something didn't sit right with her,
but she kept talking. "Fine. Then let's move on to the details
of the assignment."
For my part, I was satisfied that I'd preserved an
important ethical line for myself, and I waited for what she
would say next.
"There are three events for you to clear."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"All right," I said.
She raised her fingers one at a time while I wondered
what she had in store for me.
"First. Talk about your type and your must-haves for
dating."
"Okay, that's very direct."
That was a fairly strong beginning. I'd never done that in
my life; I was already nervous.
But she didn't let up.
"Second. Wear matching accessories."
"…What the…?!"
"Third. Intentionally touch each other's hand for more
than five seconds."
"Wait, wait, wait!"
My appetite for battle was rapidly disappearing under this
powerful barrage. Come on, Hinami, don't you think you're
hitting a little too hard?
"Fourth—"
"Wait. Seriously, wait."
She was about to slip in a fourth goal, but my protests
stopped her.
"Oh yes, I said three, didn't I? Sorry about that."
"You are such a…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Was she trying to scare me or something? She'd hit me
from an unexpected angle with that first shot and caught me
off guard. The diversity of her approaches to tormenting me
proved how good her communication skills were, but I wish
she'd stop using her powers for evil.
"So that's it for your goals." She crossed her legs serenely.
"…Come on, admit it. They're all way too hard," I said
after taking a breath.
She rested a finger on her chin and thought for a moment.
"You're right that they're hard. But you only have three
assignments for two weeks, which isn't very much, is it?
Plus, this isn't like your Instagram quest, where you had to
wait for the right moment to take the pictures. You can just
go ahead and do this stuff. It's completely possible to
accomplish in two weeks."
"Uh, if you say so…"
She'd listed all her points very smoothly, but I wasn't sure
if I was convinced. I mean, I absolutely could not imagine
myself doing even one of those things. The last two,
especially, seemed like things you'd do if you were already
dating. I didn't say that, though, because I knew Hinami
would slap me down if I did.
"Anyway, if you've got the skills to become close with
people, two weeks is enough time to start dating someone
you've never even met before. Considering the relationships
you already have with both of them, it shouldn't be
impossible."
"Yeah, maybe if you're from another dimension where
everyone is great at communicating."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
This would take skills and experience on the level of
Mizusawa. For a person like me, who'd barely made it out of
the tutorial, it was an impossible dungeon.
I stared gloomily at the fragment of sky I could see
through the window.
"I think you can manage this," Hinami remarked.
"Huh?" I turned toward her. She was smiling kindly.
"After all, you've completed almost every single one of
your assignments up to this point. Am I wrong?"
"I guess not…?"
"Well, I'm not."
She grinned. I was happy about the unexpected
compliment and her recognition of how hard I'd worked. Ccan I? Can I really do it?
"…So don't get lazy."
"Oh right."
Of course, she followed it up with a final warning. The
carrot and the stick. She did it every time, but it still threw
me off-balance. Yeah, she's a tough one to deal with.
"All right then. Starting today, I'd like you to work on your
first goal, which is talking about your type and dating musthaves. Any questions?"
"Uh, n-no…"
"I'm expecting you to give this everything you've got,
okay?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"O-okay…"
After juggling me as well as she always did, she wrapped
up our morning meeting.
* * *
I snapped out of my reverie and found myself still sitting
in the library. Obviously, I was nervous.
I mean, today was the day I was supposed to start talking
with Kikuchi-san or Mimimi about what we wanted in a
partner, which was kind of crazy. Hinami had said it all
casually, but really, it was one of the harder things she'd
asked me to do so far. And this was only the beginning. All I
could do was try not to get a headache.
I'd sat down at a table with an Andi book in front of me to
wait for Kikuchi-san. Naturally, none of the words on the
page actually registered in my brain.
What was I supposed to do? I'd never talked to a girl
about this stuff, so of course, I had no idea how to bring up
the topic. Should I jump in headfirst or joke around a little?
If I knew the right answer, I could start there, but I was
helpless as a baby.
The day before, when Kikuchi-san and I were talking
about her script for the play, she'd asked me if I liked
anyone. That context might make it easier to slip in some
questions of my own, but it was also possible that she'd
laugh at me. Would it seem weird to hang on to that
question and turn it back on her?
And there was something else swirling around in my
mind.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
When I considered all this calmly, I realized that even if I
managed to find the right moment to ask Kikuchi-san—
asking Mimimi would be totally impossible.
I mean, she'd already told me she liked me, so asking her
about her type now would be the height of jerkdom. I had
enough on my plate just waiting for Kikuchi-san to arrive, so
the question of what I was going to do later was really more
than I could handle.
"Hello."
"Ack?!"
The melodious tones of a holy pipe organ suddenly met
my eardrums, and I accidentally screeched at the completely
unexpected pleasantness.
I turned around and saw Kikuchi-san, who was looking at
me apologetically.
"S-sorry to catch you off guard…"
"Oh, uh, no, Kikuchi-san!" I took a deep breath, feeling
guilty myself now. "I-I'm sorry. I'm fine," I stuttered.
"You are?"
"Y-yes. Um…hello."
Kikuchi-san giggled, pulled a book off the shelf, and stood
next to me. "Hello."
After greeting me for the second time that day, she peered
questioningly at my face. Each time she blinked, her long,
delicate eyelashes quivered as invitingly as the enchanted
scales on a butterfly wing.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"I'm glad…you're still the same, Tomozaki-kun."
"Huh?"
Kikuchi-san glanced down. "I thought you were acting a
little strange the other day…"
"Oh…you did?"
After school the day before, we'd met here in the library to
talk about the script, which was when she asked me if I liked
anyone. I'd given the question serious thought—and
eventually discovered that I didn't believe I had the right to
like anyone of my own volition.
I'd had that feeling ever since Hinami gave me the
assignment of choosing at least two people I was interested
in—maybe ever since the moment I defined myself as a
bottom-tier character in the game of life.
Since Kikuchi-san was so sensitive to the emotions of
other people, she probably picked up on those feelings,
which were seeping like mud out of the depths of my heart.
She must have been worrying about me.
"Sorry about yesterday. I was overthinking a lot of things."
Kikuchi-san shook her head firmly. "Oh, no, it's fine.
You've been going through a lot."
"…Yeah, I have."
She didn't ask me for any more details but instead just
kindly accepted what I said. That alone was like a gentle,
ticklish caress against my heart. The sensation was as warm
as a down comforter stuffed with angel-wing feathers.
Sitting next to Kikuchi-san was so cozy. Although, a
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
comforter stuffed with angel feathers was kind of a scary
thought.
"But I'm fine now. Thanks." I made sure to say it softly, so
she wouldn't worry anymore.
There were probably still parts of my bottom-tier nature
that I hadn't uprooted. But all the same, I'd decided to at
least imitate how top-tier characters act and face up to other
people's feelings—and that very morning, I'd said the names
of two girls I was interested in of my own free will.
Actually, I realized, it was the first time I'd made a
proactive choice about another person.
"That's good." Kikuchi-san pulled a chair over next to me.
"Can I sit here?"
"Oh, uh-huh… Of course you can."
"Hee-hee. Thank you." She smiled warmly.
Right now, even the most casual exchange of words felt
embarrassing. Kikuchi-san was emitting a soft, silky aura
that made the bookshelves around us feel as hazy as a
dream. A pleasant sensation wrapped around me like a
soothing blanket, as if I'd fallen out of time into some kind of
utopia.
But I couldn't lose myself in that pleasantness. I had an
assignment to complete, and that assignment was very hard.
Time to roll up my sleeves.
I gazed absently at the scenery outside the window across
from me, waiting for my chance.
Kikuchi-san sat down but didn't open her book, which
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
was unusual. Instead, I noticed her glance at me a couple of
times. What was going on? She kept opening and closing her
small pink mouth like she was trying to decide whether or
not to say something.
"…What's wrong?"
"Oh!" she said, setting her book on the table with a thump
and covering her mouth with her now-empty hand. What
did that mean?
I asked a slightly more specific question. "Did you want to
say something?"
She looked down and to the side in embarrassment. "Wwas I acting like I did?"
"Y-yeah."
"Oh…"
Another moment of silence followed. It was a slightly
awkward moment. Guess I said the wrong thing.
Well, that question was a bit strange coming from me. I
didn't usually guess how people were feeling and talk to
them about it. I'd asked just because, but maybe I was
imposing my interpretation on her. What do I do now?
As I was trying to figure out how to respond, Kikuchi-san
picked up a paper bag at her feet and set it on the table. I
watched her curiously as she pulled out a stack of papers
that was fastened together with a clip.
"Oh…is that the script?"
"Yes," she said, nodding. "…I wanted you to read it."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
It was the script for our class play—hence the shyness.
Glad it wasn't because I'd said the wrong thing.
The stack was a few dozen pages, and in the center of the
top sheet, On the Wings of the Unknown was written in
small letters. It was probably just the font, but suddenly, the
script looked very professional.
"Wow, it's like a real script!"
"Hee-hee. It sure is."
We both laughed a little, sharing a small moment of
celebration.
Just seeing the script take physical form was enough to
make me happy. My world was growing bigger, and this win
in the game of life was very different from my first.
"Um, so…will you read it for me?"
"Of course, I'd love to," I replied confidently, hoping to
share some of that confidence with Kikuchi-san, who was
glancing at the table again. If I couldn't keep my cool, she
would probably feel even more embarrassed. And leading
the way was starting to feel more natural when I was with
her.
"Th-thank you so much."
"No, I was the one who brought up the idea," I said, taking
the script. "You really got that done fast! We just assigned
roles yesterday, and you're already finished."
She'd written the short-story version beforehand, but she
hadn't finished the last part, and I was fairly sure we'd
discussed a few adjustments to the first half based on who
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
would be playing which part. That was a lot to do in one
night.
"Um, well, actually, the second half isn't finished yet…"
"Oh, really?"
She went on a little bashfully. "But it was incredibly fun…
so I did as much as I could in one go." Her smile was shy,
but optimistic—youthful and innocent. "When I think about
seeing my characters come to life, I get so excited."
I couldn't help smiling along with her. "Yeah, me too."
"…And a little nervous."
"Ah-ha-ha. I know; it'll be performed in front of everyone
at the school festival."
As warmth spread through my chest, I glanced down at
the script.
Here was the story I liked so much, the story Kikuchi-san
had poured all her passion into.
"Okay, I'll read this today. Let's talk again after school."
"All right!" She stood up very straight and bowed politely.
"Thank you so much."
"Ah-ha-ha. Sure."
It was just like her to be so formal and conscientious.
And then the conversation was over.
She returned her attention to the script on the table, her
cheeks still flushed, and opened it. Our side-by-side reading
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
session had begun. Normally after this, we would just read
for the rest of the time, but…
…I couldn't let that happen today.
"…Um…" I glanced at her.
Our conversation had come to a tidy end, but I had an
assignment to do. A very difficult assignment.
"What's the matter?"
She tilted her head curiously. It was like if you added
together a squirrel and an ermine, then divided by two, then
added twenty angels, then blessed it with divine light—that
was how precious she was. The gesture hit me right between
the eyes, and her holy essence was pouring through the
bullet hole and elevating me to a higher plane…but I couldn't
let myself succumb.
"Um…"
What do I do now? Getting her attention was all well and
good, but I had no ideas beyond that. I'd learned from past
experience that it was important to dive in with or without a
plan, which was why I'd jumped the gun. My previous
experience was that this worked around 40 percent of the
time, and even the remaining 60 percent counted as EXP, so
my philosophy was that I couldn't really lose.
Now I had to ask her—what her dating must-haves were. I
groped around for a way to bring up the topic without
coming off as a creep.
Just then, my eyes fell on the manuscript she'd given me a
few minutes earlier. "Ah!""…?"
I had a flash of inspiration. Aha, I know how to do this.
After all, we'd just talked about it the other day.
"I was thinking about…the climax of the play," I said,
dropping my voice.
Kikuchi-san listened intently.
"You said you weren't sure who Libra should end up with,
right?"
She nodded. "Yes, I still can't decide between Kris and
Alucia."
We were talking about the love life of the story's main
character, Libra. He was a locksmith's son who was close
with Alucia, his best friend and the daughter of the king, and
Kris, an orphan taken in to care for the flying dragons.
Kikuchi-san had said romance wasn't the main story line,
but inevitably, the people watching the play would want to
know how the love triangle played out. And Kikuchi-san was
unsure how to end the story.
"Well…what about you?" The connection was right there.
"Huh?"
I tried to make my voice as natural as possible.
"—When people, um, d-date, how do you think they
should choose who to go out with?"
I stumbled for a second over the unfamiliar word date,
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
but I managed to ask the question. Of course, right now, we
were talking about the play.
That was my flash of inspiration.
My master plan was to pretend I was talking about the
characters and get into a detailed conversation on love
without it seeming too weird. And while I was indirectly
talking to Kikuchi-san about her perspective on romance, I
could also share my own opinions under the cover of helping
out with the play. Since we'd both be talking about our
feelings on the subject, it should count toward my
assignment. Shouldn't it?
I didn't know if Hinami would count it, but I'd give it a
shot anyway. If she did, I'd have cleared one of my three
goals on the very first day.
"How they should choose…who to date?"
She was contemplating the question with an extremely
serious expression. Perfect, the conversation wasn't getting
awkward. Because of course, we were talking about the play
and nothing more.
"Yeah."
I nodded firmly, trying to convey the sense that this was
not a topic to be embarrassed about. I can be strong
sometimes.
Her gaze darted around the floor, like she couldn't decide
on an answer.
"There's a lot I still don't know…but I think maybe…"
"Maybe what?" I prompted.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She went on, groping for the words.
"—I think…it depends on what dating means to that
particular person."
"What dating…means?" I wasn't sure what she meant.
"For example, is the person simply interested in going
out, or do they want to control the other person…or do they
want to put a name to their relationship?"
"…Okay, I get that."
Her answer was cool and well-balanced, like she was
viewing the world from a few steps back. She was a little like
Hinami—just not quite as icy cold. More like an angel
standing in the clouds and surveying the Earth.
"Yes, that's what I think," she said.
Ooh, this was good—we were talking about the story and
having a nice chat about romance. We hadn't really said
much, but I'd brought up the topic of dating must-haves,
which I'd never talked to anyone about before, and heard
Kikuchi-san's view on love. In my opinion, I'd checked that
one off.
But still…I wanted to go a little deeper.
I simply wanted to know more.
"So…"
I took a deep breath and met her gaze.
"…what do you think d-dating means?"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
I dropped the bomb—and unsurprisingly, I still had a
hard time saying the word.
"Uh, um…"
Kikuchi-san was flustered, because of course she was. I
mean, now we were moving from a conversation about the
play to a conversation about what kind of person she would
date.
Wait, I asked her what kind of person she would date? As
I realized what I'd done, the embarrassment finally hit.
"What does it mean…to me?"
For a second, she seemed startled, but then she gave it
some earnest thought. I could sense a hint of shyness, but
compared with my own delayed embarrassment, it was
nothing. It might've been my imagination, but she even
seemed to be enjoying herself. Maybe she liked talking about
this stuff.
After about ten seconds of silence, Kikuchi-san lifted her
head. "…Well, for example, there's an Andi story called
'Scissorman's Lie.'"
"Oh, I know that one." It was one of the Andi stories I'd
read in the library. "It's that short story about the
Scissorman and the princess, right?"
She nodded.
The story was about a boy with scissors for hands who
unintentionally hurt people and fell in love with a princess
imprisoned in a picture book. The princess was all alone,
trapped in her two-dimensional world and unable to see us
in ours.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
The Scissorman was all alone, too, because everything he
did ended up hurting people.
Through their shadows, the two of them created a
connection.
"The Scissorman makes cutout pictures, and the shadows
of the cutouts are able to reach into the flat world…so the
scissors and picture book that used to isolate the pair
ultimately connect them."
"And that's how they get together."
Kikuchi-san nodded slowly. "The Scissorman is the only
person for the princess. And the princess is the only one for
him… To me, I think that's what makes a relationship a
romance."
"Oh…interesting."
It was definitely a romantic and unique definition. "You
mean like a one-of-a-kind relationship?"
"…Yes."
Meaning she wanted the person she dated to be
irreplaceable. A kind of fated relationship where both people
needed and completed each other.
"That's the ideal relationship to me—something special
between two people, the kind where no one else can ever fill
their place. A relationship like that is what I imagine."
"…Ideal?"
"Yes."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
That reminded me—she'd said something similar the day
before, when we were talking about the script.
She'd said she was having trouble deciding who Libra
should get together with, and I'd said that she should go
with the person she would choose if she were in his shoes.
But she'd answered that she felt she had to base her
decision on the ideals of the world in her story, not her own
feelings. That must be how she viewed love.
Still, I couldn't help being impressed. My question came
out of nowhere, but she'd come up with a surprisingly good
answer rooted in her own well-thought-out beliefs. I'd never
even considered any of it.
…In which case…
"I better give this stuff some thought myself," I mumbled.
Mimimi had told me she liked me, and I'd chosen two
people I was interested in. If I wanted to take the next step
forward, I probably needed to nail down my own vision of a
relationship.
"You don't have a view on it?"
"No. I've never even thought about it."
"…Oh, I see."
Kikuchi-san seemed like she was trying not to hurt my
feelings.
I attempted to smile back as cheerfully and openly as I
could, then decided to tell her honestly what I intended to do
now.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"That's why I want to figure out what it is."
That felt like a satisfying answer for now. I definitely
needed to do that.
Kikuchi-san seemed surprised; finally, she smiled in
relief.
"…Well, that's good."
Her eyes were so kind. Even if I was still lost inside, as
long as I tried to be strong, she was kind enough to let me
reassure her. Maybe that was yet another reason why I
needed to fake it till I made it.
"When you figure out your answer, I hope you'll tell me
what it is," she said, smiling playfully. Her expression
seemed a little warmer and more intimate than usual.
"Ah, yeah. I will," I answered.
Her gaze was making me shy. After a minute, she flushed
a bit herself. "Oh, I mean, only because it might help me
with the play…"
My mask of strength meant nothing when she shifted her
eyes away with that oddly endearing expression on her face;
she cut right through into my real self.
"Oh yeah, of course."
"O-of course."
"F-for the play."
"Y-yes, f-for the play."
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
We floundered for a minute, like we were both pretending
not to see the possibility there in front of us.
"Uh, i-isn't it almost time for class?"
"Oh, y-yes, you're right!"
"So, uh, sh-should we go?"
"Um, yes, let's!"
And so the oddly intense but definitely not unpleasant
little interlude ended, and we headed toward the biology
room together. Note to self: Talking about romance is really
hard.
* * *
Biology ended, and it was the middle of fourth period.
Now that I'd checked my first goal off the list with
Kikuchi-san, I was thinking about the only thing I could
possibly be thinking about.
How was I supposed to act around Mimimi?
Of course, I was partly worried because I had to complete
my assignment with her, but even before that, it was a
problem of my own emotions. I mean, I would hate to leave
things so awkward between us, but I didn't have the EXP to
come up with an easy answer.
But based on our run-in this morning, we could barely
look at each other, much less have a conversation. At my
current level, I didn't know how to rewind the clock on this.
We were in the same group for biology, and the
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
awkwardness persisted during class and afterward. It was
basically an extension of the morning, with us exchanging
quick glances and limiting our conversation to the bare
minimum. I thought that's how the rest of the day would go,
too, with us not talking during break and the same
awkwardness hanging in the air—but I was wrong.
During the break after fourth period, something
happened.
"Hey, come eat with us," Mizusawa called out casually,
walking in my direction. When I looked over at him, I saw
that Nakamura and Takei were behind him.
Lately, I'd been heading to the dining hall with
Nakamura's group, which occupied the top level of the class
hierarchy. The rest of the class didn't seem to think anything
of it anymore, thanks to my Instagram assignment and help
with the school festival, and no one gave me weird looks for
hanging out with them. That was a pretty surprising
development.
"Yeah, sure," I called back, walking up to him.
He raised one eyebrow searchingly, brought his face up to
my ear, and whispered to me. "So what's the story with
Mimimi?" he asked with some concern. This guy knows
everything.
"Uh, um…"
As I squirmed, Mizusawa continued at the perfect tempo.
"Did you get things back on track?"
"Uh, not really…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Yeah, I could kinda tell. You guys were really awkward in
biology."
"If you knew, why'd you ask?!"
Mizusawa cackled and smiled happily. "Okay, ready to rip
off the Band-Aid?"
"…Rip off the what now?"
I hardly had time to worry before Mizusawa called, "Hey,
Aoi! How 'bout we all eat together today?"
"M-Mizusawa…?!"
This unexpected turn of events threw me into a panic, but
I had no external reason to stop him. All I could do was
stand by and watch. Eating with Hinami meant eating with
her friends—which meant eating with Mimimi.
Nakamura threw him a suspicious look at this sudden
move. "You wanna have lunch together?"
"Do you not want to?" Mizusawa asked, smiling boyishly.
"No, it's fine, but why all of a sudden?"
"Oh, let's just say I feel like it."
Nakamura snorted. He seemed to think Mizusawa was
acting kind of weird, but I doubted he'd complain any more
over it, especially considering the two groups were on good
terms.
Hinami was about to head to the dining hall when
Mizusawa called over to her, and a couple of her friends
were already clumped together talking. In case you forgot,
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Mimimi was with them. I repeat: Mimimi was with them.
Hinami looked over at Mizusawa, then paused for a
second like she was thinking. Then she turned back to the
other girls and exchanged a couple of words, probably
checking with them. Finally, she turned back toward us.
"Sure!"
"Okay, let's go, guys." As his plan fell smoothly into place,
Mizusawa walked alongside Hinami.
"Why the sudden invitation?" she asked.
"Oh, I just felt like it."
"Ah-ha-ha, yeah, right."
This coed lunch party had been decided so naturally.
What the heck? Anything goes as soon as Mizusawa says he
"feels like it"? What is this guy, a king?
Still internally panicking, I sidled up to him.
"What the hell do you think you you're doing…?!" I
whispered.
"I told you. Ripping off the Band-Aid."
"You jerk…"
I was clinging to him for help, but he just laughed and
ignored me.
The four of us guys and Hinami's group of five girls
started heading together to the dining hall. Ah, shit, what
now?
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
I glanced at Mimimi to see how she was taking it.
"…Ah!"
"…Ah!"
Once again, our eyes met, and we both looked away
meaningfully. Yeah, this was bad.
"Oh man, this is gonna be so fun!" You could always count
on Takei to be Takei. Dude, are you ever gonna change?
* * *
We arrived at the dining hall, and after we put our bags
down at the big table past the windows by the stairs to save
our spot, the nine of us got in line.
Like I said, four guys, five girls. The girls were Hinami,
Tama-chan, Kashiwazaki-san, Seno-san—and Mimimi.
Mizusawa had set this up, apparently with some plan in
mind, but so far, he was just chatting up Seno-san and
Kashiwazaki-san and refusing to explain a single thing to
me. Damn flirt.
I glanced behind me and saw Mimimi. She and Takei were
teasing Tama-chan, so our eyes didn't meet, but her usual
smile looked a little too bright to me. Huh? Am I obsessing
over this?
The vibe between us had been weird ever since this
morning, and we hadn't had a real conversation. What
would happen when we sat at the same table? This wasn't
like biology, where all we had to do was classwork.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Then there was the problem of what would happen when
Hinami saw us acting weird. She already seemed to have
figured out something was going on, but if she discovered
the details, what would she do? I was slightly scared to find
out.
I pushed my tray along for the spicy mapo-tofu lunch, my
mind full of worries.
That's when something unexpected happened.
"Ooh, that looks amazing, Brain!" I heard an overly
cheerful, loud voice from behind me. Of course, there's only
one person who calls me by that nickname—
I turned around. Mimimi was standing there with her
usual grin, holding a tray of the fried-chicken lunch. What
the heck? This morning, she wasn't herself at all; what
happened?
"Oh, hey," I replied as normally as possible, even though I
was internally panicking. "Yeah, it sure does."
"But I bet it's spicy! Ugh, I hate spicy food! I can't eat it!"
"So does it look good or not?"
"I can't make up my mind!"
There was that smile again, the one she used to hide her
feelings. Wh-what was going on? She was acting like her
usual self, and the conversation was fairly meaningless.
Cheerful, fun Mimimi the jokester.
But something was different. When I really paid attention,
I could sense something distant in her attitude, almost like
she was acting. Our eyes didn't meet, and the space between
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
us was a little wider than usual. Of course, both of those
might've been my fault.
"…Um…"
"…Uh…"
Yeah. Everything was still weird.
As if to dismiss the awkwardness once and for all, Mimimi
shoved her tray of fried chicken in my face.
"Ta-daa! I'm on a diet, but I couldn't resist!"
Her attempt to fill the awkward pause was bordering on
desperate. I tried to play along and chat like usual, but I kept
having flashbacks to the day before, and I couldn't really
translate from my brain to my mouth. This was excruciating.
"You—you sure you're on a diet? 'Cause that's, uh, got a
ton of mayonnaise on it!"
"Wh-what are you talking about? This is tartar sauce.
Those chunks are basically vegetables, which means it's
technically salad!"
We were both only half there, just trying to hide the
awkwardness. It was like the conversation itself was going
smoothly, but our eyes never met, and we had no idea where
this was going. We were just filling in space. I was grateful
for that, but the two of us were both desperate and
distracted.
That's when it dawned on me.
Most likely, this was Mimimi's effort to prevent the
discomfort in our relationship from becoming permanent.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
That's why I sighed as playfully as possible at Mimimi's
ridiculous salad theory.
"You know, that's basically all fat…"
"Stop! Don't say that!"
"Oh, the calories…"
"La-la-la-la!" she shouted before I could say anything else.
That habit of hers was a little annoying, but I played along.
We kept talking as we walked over to our table.
If you only saw our faces—you'd think we were the same
Tomozaki and Mimimi as always.
Which was somewhat comforting.
I was worried we might never be able to talk again, but it
seemed we were capable of faking some semblance of
normalcy.
Of course, I knew we were only getting through the
moment, and it wasn't a real solution. Still, just knowing we
could have the same cheerful, fun, meaningless
conversations every time we met suddenly lifted a little of
the weight from my heart.
"Oh, by the way…Tomozaki," Mimimi said a bit tensely,
stopping in the middle of the room.
I tried to respond as naturally as possible.
"…Yeah?"
"Um, about what happened yesterday…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
My heart skipped a beat. "Y-yesterday… That was
yesterday, wasn't it?"
"Y-yep, sure was."
Suddenly, the conversation ground to a halt.
We could both tell that the other person was nervous,
which made both of us more nervous. I glanced behind me
to make sure no one could hear us.
"Um, it's just…"
"Yeah?"
I had no idea what Mimimi was about to say. Still unable
to look her in the eye, my whole body stiffened.
"You shouldn't take it too seriously—I mean…," she
mumbled, which was unusual for her. "I'm not saying you
should forget about it, but…" She was blushing, and I could
feel my own face growing hot, too. "Just act normal, you
know what I mean?"
"Oh, um, yeah… Okay."
"Okay… Sorry I kinda dropped that bomb on ya."
"Oh, uh, no, it's fine."
Not only were we having a secret whispered conversation
while we walked toward the table, but given what we were
talking about, my heart was beating so fast that I was
starting to feel sick.
"Mimimi!" Kashiwazaki-san, who was walking ahead of
us, interrupted our conversation.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Wh-what's up, Sakura?" Mimimi yelped. To me, she
added, "Anyway, let's just do like I said!"
"Uh, yeah."
Mimimi caught up with Kashiwazaki-san, and even
though I was still in the middle of the group, I felt left
behind.
"Just act normal…," I quietly repeated to myself. I guess I
could do that if I tried. But was it enough? I looked down,
biting my lip as I mulled over what to do.
"Act normal about what?"
"Geez!"
Mizusawa had answered my mumbling with perfect
timing from outside my periphery. He cackled at his success.
"Don't do that…"
"Ha-ha. Sorry, sorry." He was completely unrepentant,
and yet his smile was so weirdly innocent that it was
impossible to hate him. Very sly.
Holding a tray topped with an extra-large serving of deepfried pork chop over rice, he stood coolly next to me as I
waited in line to get some water. This guy can really eat…
"Guess you're in deep shit, huh?"
"Stop acting so happy about it!" I snapped back. He was
enjoying my suffering like it was some kind of TV show. His
grin widened. Asshole.
At the same time, though…
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Mizusawa had found out about the situation with Mimimi
half by accident, but if anyone was going to know the whole
story, I was super lucky it was someone as trustworthy as
him. The truth was, this was way beyond anything I could
handle on my own.
He looked over at Mimimi and raised one eyebrow, his
expression as laid-back and in control as ever.
"So did you decide what to do?" he asked, diving right in
so casually that it took me a sec to realize I was way out in
the deep end. Like I said, very sly.
"…No."
I didn't want to hide anything.
"Honestly, I have no idea what I should do."
Mizusawa looked at me like a researcher studying a
specimen. "So for now, you'll just act normal?"
"…Yeah, basically," I said without confidence.
Mizusawa smiled knowingly. "Or I should probably say,
you don't know what to do, so you're just going with the
current."
"Ouch…"
"Ha-ha-ha. Knew it."
What was with this guy? He was able to put my feelings
into words more precisely than I could.
Right now, I was trying to act normal, but it was more
accurate to say I was passively reacting to Mimimi.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Mizusawa smiled kindly. "But at least you're actually
giving this some thought, which is a big improvement over
pretending your feelings don't exist."
Right, like I was when he tore into me for my insincerity
the day before. "…Yeah."
His words made me feel both timid and somehow guilty.
He glanced over to the table, where the other seven in our
group, including Mimimi, were now sitting.
"Should be easier to talk with everyone there than one-onone," he remarked. So that's why he set this up…?
"M-Mizusawa…is that why…?"
I wanted him to know I was grateful, but he just shrugged
dramatically.
"Yeah. Watching you flail around is hilarious. Now that I
know the backstory, I wouldn't miss this show for anything."
"Hey!"
"Ha-ha-ha." He chuckled and thumped my back. "Relax
those shoulders, man!"
"Shut up, dude… But thanks."
"Ha-ha-ha. For what?"
He smiled, so confident and so damn smug that I almost
wondered if it was sarcasm. But even if he is a jerk, the guy
is impossible to hate.
* * *
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
About ten minutes had passed since we all sat down to
eat, and the conversation had taken a surprising turn.
"No way, so that rumor about you two wasn't true?" Senosan said.
Hinami laughed. "Of course not!"
Should've guessed relationship talk was inevitable with
this group.
Right now, the conversation was focused like a laser on
Hinami and Mizusawa. Seno-san and Kashiwazaki-san were
interested in the plausible but untrue rumor that had gone
around a couple of months back about Hinami and
Mizusawa dating. I'd learned the truth that time at the
restaurant, so now I was listening quietly.
By the way, I was sitting at the far end of the table near
the walkway, next to Mizusawa. The guys were on one side,
and the girls were on the other, so Kashiwazaki-san was
across from me, with Seno-san and Mimimi next to her.
Hinami was at the opposite end of the table from me, by the
windows, so Mizusawa was my only ally this far into
uncharted territory.
"Anyway, who started that rumor about me and
Takahiro?" Hinami asked, frowning comically.
"Let's see, where'd I hear it? I think it just kinda
happened," Kashiwazaki-san answered.
"I mean, I could totally imagine it!" Seno-san agreed.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Mizusawa chimed in.
I swear, this guy.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"Hey, look who's talking!" Mimimi teased, and everyone
laughed—especially Takei. There she goes again.
Mimimi and Mizusawa joked around like it was as easy as
breathing. My emotions were getting kinda…blurry. Huh?
Jumping into a conversation about dating was tough, but
I had to—for my assignment. How could I bring up the
topic? I was supposed to ask about her type and must-haves
for dating. If everyone at the table started talking about that,
then Mimimi and I could say what we thought, too, and I'd
accomplish my assignment. But would it be weird for me to
bring that topic up with Mimimi there…?
When the laughter died down, Mizusawa looked over at
Seno-san and Kashiwazaki-san with a scheming smile.
"So what about you two?"
"Huh? What about us?" Kashiwazakisan asked back. She
sure was having a good time. Seno-san smiled with a hint of
excitement, too.
"Anyone you're interested in? Not interested in?
Hmmm?"
The two of them squealed and smiled shyly at his
question.
"Leave us alone!"
"Yeah!"
They shared a secretive glance, but their voices were
bright and interested. Even I could hear them silently
shouting, Ask us more!
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Just the idea of talking about romance is enough to get
everyone worked up.
Nakamura watched them, grinning. "Ha-ha, I dunno, I
think they're hiding something!"
"Stop it!"
"Hella sus!"
"Shut up, Takei!"
"Wow, harsh…"
The table of nine guys and girls talking about
relationships over lunch was so thick with normie vibes, I
was practically choking. I made a few comments like "No
way!" here and there to pretend I was taking part, but
wading into the middle of it was out of the question. I could
manage a normal conversation these days but talking about
relationships in a big group was a tall order. Plus, Mimimi
was there.
While I was busy thinking about that, Hinami hit me in
the gut.
"Hey, what about you, Tomozaki-kun?"
No one else would be able to see her ulterior motives, but
I sensed an intimidating, unspoken message: You better
take this chance to do your assignment, or else! The more
naive Hinami looked whenever this happened, the more I
knew she was acting. Her dark side is really dark.
"M-me?"
"Yeah!" she said, smiling innocently. "Sometimes, it
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
seems you've got something going on, and then it doesn't
seem like it, and then it does!"
"Well, decide already!" I snapped back.
Everyone laughed. Huh? That went well. Although, I
guess I had Hinami to thank for such a soft toss. Still, it was
a sign of progress that I could catch the ball and get some
laughs.
"Yeah, it's like…lately, I wouldn't be surprised if he was
dating someone," Kashiwazaki-san said, taking a bite of the
chicken tempura on her bowl of udon noodles.
"You think so?" I said, not quite sure how to react but
trying not to act too weak.
She'd said she wouldn't be surprised if I was dating
someone. She and Seno-san had been more accepting of me
these days, and they didn't give me that Ugh, Tomozaki look
anymore, which I'd been getting for my whole life. That's
why my comeback had gotten such an easy laugh, too. My
strength must've gotten a boost from the Nakamura Group
field spell. Plus, my basic abilities were improving, which
made me happy.
Mizusawa took a sip of his water and smiled. "For sure. It
wouldn't be weird at all."
"Wh-what makes you so sure?" I shot back as a chill ran
down my spine. He knew about me and Mimimi, which set
me on edge.
"Come on, we went to the Tokusei school festival together,
didn't we?"
"Oh…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
That's what he was talking about. I was relieved, but I still
braced myself for some teasing. Actually, this could be even
more dangerous. In the background, I heard Takei
complaining about not being invited, and everyone ignoring
him. Takei being Takei.
"You were chatting up the girls like a pro. I wouldn't be
surprised if you had something going on," Mizusawa
insinuated, slapping my shoulder.
"Hey…"
"R-really, Brain?!"
I hadn't expected Mimimi to jump in like that. V-very
sudden. My heart skipped a beat at the blindside attack.
Stop with the surprises already.
"No way, nothing's going on!"
"That so? I've got about…three girls I'm talking to."
"Takahiro, shouldn't you at least know the exact
number?!"
Everyone laughed at Hinami's jab.
"Hmm…"
But Mimimi didn't. Instead, she kept glancing at me
furtively, then made an uncomfortable noise. Why did she
look so suspicious?
"Minmi, you okay?" Tama-chan asked her.
"Huh?! What's up?!"
"That's what I'm asking you!"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
"What do you mean?!"
"Just…everything."
"You're totally overthinking it!"
"Oh, okay. Really?"
"Really!"
The more she talked, the stranger she acted. By the end,
she was running on fumes, and Tama-chan basically just
gave up. Mimimi was blushing, which made me feel guilty
since I was one of the reasons for it.
I felt someone staring at me, and when I turned around, I
saw Mizusawa smiling at me with one eyebrow raised.
Asshole. I scowled back at him in protest, but he only
grinned and looked away.
At the same moment, I heard Hinami's voice.
"…So what about you, Mimimi?"
"M-me?"
Hinami's probing words were like a spear striking right to
the center of the situation. She threw me a glance that
seemed to say, Did you think you could escape from me?
This was bad.
"I think you're hiding something…," she said, watching
Mimimi with a self-satisfied smile. Shit. If I acted the tiniest
bit weird right now, she'd see right through me.
If I was the one being interrogated, I'm sure I'd say
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
something like Uh, um, er…nothing happened! Nothing at
all happened after school yesterday! and the whole world
would instantaneously explode.
But right now, her target was Mimimi, so a glimmer of
hope remained. Sure, Mimimi had been babbling aimlessly a
minute ago, but I was sure she'd be fine now. Come on,
Mimimi, let's see those awesome communication skills in
action!
I was close to praying as I watched the scene unfold.
Hinami, the demon of effort and observation, vs. Mimimi,
the naturally great communicator. What would Hinami
observe, and what hints would she discover? How would
Mimimi manage to hide her shaken nerves?
Here came that pivotal first move.
After a long, reflective pause, Mimimi chose to— What?
"I—I…"
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
She glanced at me with a complicated look on her face.
Wait, no! You're being way too obvious! I don't understand!
I imagined a few offensive and defensive moves, but this is
just bad, Mimimi!
"Tomozaki-kun?" Hinami smoothly picked up on my
involvement. Told you so! You're worse than me, Mimimisan.
Mizusawa was grinning at his shoes, the bastard.
Seriously, stop. You're giving Hinami more clues. Even
Kashiwazaki-san and Seno-san were getting all worked up
now and asking, "What?! What?!"
Finally, Hinami shifted her sharp gaze from Mimimi to
me. Shit. I was about to get steamrolled.
"Wh-what?" I asked innocently.
Hinami stared at me.
"…Oh," she said with satisfaction. What? I didn't say
anything, so how could she have figured anything out? Then
again, she'd sensed something this morning, so my reaction
was probably enough to tell her the rest. Mizusawa was
sitting next to me, shaking with repressed laughter. I wanna
give him a good punch in the nose after this is over.
"Are you involved in this, too, Takahiro?"
She even figured that out. We were done for. In the space
of thirty seconds, the entire mess had been laid bare.
Mizusawa turned to Hinami, still cackling. "Ah, y'know.
Too bad I can't tell you anything because it's a secret." He
shooed her away with his hand.
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
Hinami, Kashiwazaki-san, and Seno-san all screeched in
protest.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"You've gotta be kidding!"
It was three-on-one, but Mizusawa held firm. Amazing.
Meanwhile, Tama-chan was silently staring at me. She
might've figured out more than Hinami.
"Now, now, be patient! I'll tell you when the time is right."
"Hmph."
Hinami shot him a glare, but Mizusawa just stuffed a bite
of pork into his mouth without a care in the world.
But I got what he was doing.
Now that Mimimi had fallen apart and given away that
something had happened, his best strategy was to take back
the lead by admitting he knew something, then announcing
he wouldn't say anything more. That way, he didn't run the
risk of revealing anything even if Hinami asked him in a
roundabout way.
"Tell us now!" Kashiwazaki-san insisted, but he just
smiled and kept quiet. Man, he was strong. I could count on
this guy.
It was significant that the target of the interrogation had
shifted from Mimimi to Mizusawa. If everyone had kept on
hammering at Mimimi, she definitely would have broken
『fb.com/JNovelCodex』
down. Actually, we might have passed that point already.
"Fine, whatever," Hinami said, withdrawing her attack.
She must've sensed that the battle was unwinnable. Or
maybe she never intended to bring the whole story to light in
the first place—there was nothing in it for her, and she could
question me all she wanted at our meeting. Please don't
interrogate me!
She casually changed the topic. "I have kind of a situation
myself," she said.
"A romantic situation?"
"Yep."
"Ooh!"
Kashiwazaki-san and Seno-san shifted their attention to
Hinami. Scary little sleight of hand on her part. Maybe it was
a good thing that she'd sniffed us out. Having everyone
know everything probably wouldn't be great in terms of my
assignment and goals.
After that, the conversation centered around Hinami and
who was in love with her—but not surprisingly, Mimimi and
I still didn't manage to look each other in the eye.