The sunray gradually fades, turning the sky into orange with a dark gradient.
'Everyday is like this and I wonder why,' thought a young man. Sometimes he thought the world felt like less of a real world.
Looking at the time, it was around 4:30 P.M., and some people were coming out of the school gate.
It was a cultural festival day at Sia National High School. The atmosphere this morning was lively, but since the day was coming to an end, people were leaving.
The students on the other hand had to remain in the school as they needed to clean their classroom and the area of the school grounds.
Meanwhile, at the back of one of the school buildings, a boy in a cute tiger costume looked bewildered.
"Why am I here?"
Asking that to the air, he looked around but spotted no one other than himself.
He was Dante Kimetsu, 15 years old. A pure Eastian second-year high school student.
He came there at the back of the school building because someone asked him to come there. But when he arrived there, he couldn't see anyone beside the line of trees a couple of steps on his right and a towering wall of the school building on his left.
Despite his name which sounded like a protagonist from a gore anime, he was a normal young man.
In front of him was an empty lot. Well, not empty as he could see a shadow of a bipedal beast.
'Am I under attack?' He asked. But wait? That's him in his festival costume.
On the ground, stretching forward like a moniker copying his every move as if trying to mock him, was his shadow.
Joke aside, the reason why he was there was not a laughing matter. An hour ago, he received a letter from a girl, saying he had to come there at that hour.
He was bewildered by it. In his one-and-a-half years of high school, it was the first time he received such a thing.
Sending a letter might be old in this era where many modern devices such as smartphones rule supreme, but perhaps there were circumstances where a letter was more handful than it.
In his mind, Dante calculated that there were only a few reasons why someone had asked him to come there.
Since bullying was less occurrence in their school, he doubted it would be because of that. And he didn't remember quarreling with someone, so no bad guys would ambush him there to beat him up, he believed so. Despite many of the female students not liking him, no one came to hurt him physically.
Since it was the case, then there was only one option left! Right?
…And that is…
A love confession!
With that in mind, he did his best to control his pounding heart. Maybe his time to get a girlfriend had finally come.
'Oh, god, I'll be praying twice as much after this.'
Looking back at his past, since his first day in high school, he has yet to get a girlfriend. Well, he wasn't longing for it, honestly.
For some reason, right on the first day of class, an incident happened that ruined his reputation.
He became the school playboy due to a bad misunderstanding. A friend of his incidentally spoke out loud, "You love all women!!?" And he said yes. It was too late when they realized they were having a dangerous conversation in public.
Those students who heard it delivered the news to one another faster than his internet connection.
His friend was a bit of an otaku and they were discussing the title of a new doujinshi series which was "You love all women!!?"
He asked him if it was the title and Dante replied with a yes. Of course, the others who didn't know the context of their conversation took their words literally. And that was how his school life was ruined.
Thus, earning him the playboy title, making him like a big joke in the school.
There was an aggravating con to having such a title. With that title attached to his name, no girls had ever taken his words seriously, hah~. And most of the girls even treated him as if he was the most disgusting jerk in the world.
Because everyone thought of him as a playboy, every word that came out of his mouth was nothing but insincere to them.
It was the reason why he couldn't ask a girl to date him till now.
'Guh~~ I wanted to cry, honestly.'
But, even if by chance there was a girl who would come to like him, he believed it was still difficult for them to end up together.
Why?
Well…
The reason behind that was because he was into someone.
Nonetheless, when someone asked him to come to the back of the school building, he was so shocked. Maybe it was true that there was a one-in-a-million chance that someone would come to like you despite all the bad rumors.
Unfortunately, despite that, he came there to give his honest rejection to the person who asked him to come there.
He couldn't help it. He was a person who was honest with his feelings. And he didn't want to fool anyone just because he wanted to experience dating. And also, he believed it was a good chance to clear his name.
This was his thoughts only.
Anyway, he didn't want to date someone while he had a lingering feeling for another person.
But it turns out his ambition was higher than Mount Everest. That's why, he saw his future self becoming a sage. In short, the girl he wished to share his future with was of a higher league than him.
Looking around, he saw no one beside him, "Could it be just a prank?" It was only then that he realized that there was also that.
He bit the cloth of his costume to oversee that possibility.
While growing anxious because he saw no one after coming there, he decided to leave, but he suddenly stopped on his feet. He heard footsteps from behind him. He glanced past his shoulder and was surprised by who he saw there.
Stopping on her feet, a few steps away from him, was a very familiar student in her light blue school uniform.
What?
Lena?
It's Neneth Wyte!
The class goddess!
'Don't tell me she's the one who's asking me to come here…'
'For real? Is this even possible?'
Her figure was directly blocking the sun behind her, giving her an image of a holy being.
Is this the descent of the goddess? Is he going to die now? He cleared up his thoughts quickly.
Despite the orange brilliance of the sun blinding his vision, her beautiful almond eyes sparkled more than the brilliance of the sun itself. As though he was staring into a pair of starry night skies where millions of stars were dazzlingly twinkling all at once.
He was extremely captivated by them.
Her pretty long lavender hair slightly swerved to the side by a slight breeze coming from the trees nearby.
He wanted to quickly open his phone camera and take a picture of this wonderful person in front of him. Beautiful was not enough to describe her.
…She's so blinding…
"Ca— Can…"
She opened her mouth and he listened carefully. It was the first time he heard her voice sounded like that. Normally, she was calm and firm. But right at that moment, she looked hesitant and flustered.
This side of her was new to him. 'Maybe~ I am blessed to see this new side of her. I feel so grateful.'
The scene in front of him looked like a scene straight out of a shoujo manga. Or perhaps it was only he who had thought of it.
By the time he entered high school, he already graduated from being an otaku and he had become a mainstream person, who even dyed his hair into light blue to look cool. However, due to the misunderstanding, he was having a slight seatback at the moment. But he promised to redeem himself sooner or later. If not now, then soon.
"….."
Regardless, he remained silent while holding his breath to not interrupt her. It was as though time had moved slowly at that moment, and all he could hear was his pounding heart.
'Is she going to confess to me? Really? I mean… she is the girl I am in love with. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her back on the first day of school.'
But since she was a level 100 school goddess while he was a level 10 school crook only, he reminded himself to be content just by watching her from afar. The difference in their reputation was heaven and earth apart.
Looking at her, it looked like she was having trouble expressing herself. He felt weird. Despite being in love with her, he felt more guilt than happiness at that moment.
'Why is that?' He asked himself.
Was this because of the gravity brought by their gaps? Or maybe the weight of responsibility if by chance they started dating. Can he even make her happy? Can he support her? He felt worried, but he would do his best to make her happy for the rest of her life.
'Wait, why am I thinking ahead? Do I think I am some heartthrobs?' Honestly, in terms of looks, he believed he could be proud of his face. 'Shame on me. If someone read my thoughts right now, I would die in embarrassment for real.'
Urg.
'Is Neneth going to ask me to date her?' She already opened her mouth before he could say anything.
"P-please… go out with me!"
"O-okay!"
The reply came out of his mouth instinctively as he turned around to face her. Unexpectedly, at that moment, shock overwhelmed them more than joy.
She must have been very embarrassed because her face was downcast as she said those words. He could see her eyes shut close while clenching her fists so tightly, and with her arms straight down.
Since her body was quivering— meaning, she summoned all her might just to express that confession.
When she heard his sudden reply, she opened her eyes again and looked toward him. Their eyes met and time seemed to have stopped at that moment. Seconds later, he saw her eyes blinking a couple of times. Then an awkward silence descended on them.
"….."
Suddenly,
"W-who…?!"
A bewildered voice came out from her mouth and stunned him. It brought a different tone than earlier. It sounded in complete disbelief. The expression on her face alone told him that she didn't expect it was him, Dante, who she expected to see there.
Now… Wait wait wait!
"Is something wrong here?" He asked, trying his best to remain calm and positive despite growing nervous.
While covering her mouth with both hands, she replied, "I-I thought you were Kyzer. Ah no, d-d-don't misunderstand me. Uh, eh…" she suddenly looked flustered and very red.
He didn't know what she was flustered about, but at the mention of someone's name, it was as if something inside him had broken into millions of pieces.
K-Kyzer…?
A supernova explosion happened inside him.
His gaze dropped. He knew it. Now he understood. How would someone like Neneth confessed to him? That must be the worst joke ever. Ahaha… he secretly laughed mockingly to himself.
Meaning… This was all just a misunderstanding! Now that he thought about it. The one who wore his Tiger costume before him was Kyzer, his rich, handsome, gentle, and top student classmate who's popular with both girls and boys.
Since he received the letter right after they exchanged costumes, that means… The letter was not meant for him but for Kyzer!
If he made a guess, the person who handed the letter earlier perhaps hadn't noticed that it was already him who was inside the costume and not Kyzer anymore. Or maybe the letter was handed to multiple hands before it reached his hand. Though the latter was unlikely to be the reason. But whichever of them, one thing was for sure, that the letter was not meant for him but for Kyzer.
'Ah… so that's what happened… that makes sense now.'
What an awful feeling he was feeling right at that moment of realization…
He sucked a mouthful of air into his throat to calm down for a bit.
Since having a bad reputation made other people not take his words seriously, he made sure to focus on adding his attribute points to his mental stats through positive thinking. Thanks to that his state of mind was of a higher level than normal people.
However, despite having higher mental stats, he could still feel the pain in his chest causing havoc to his mind.
Perhaps it was impossible for a goddess like her to like a lowly normie like him. He should have started changing himself first. But he already did that and not even character development could help him.
If only some god granted him a wish right at this moment, he would ask for a character development upgrade for himself as quickly as possible. But he knew that was impossible.
While avoiding eye contact with her, he asked a question. "Uhm… B-By any chance… is the letter intended for Kyzer?" He asked to confirm his thoughts.
He sneaked a glance at her face.
The beauty in front of him breathed deeply while pressing her delicate hands on her chest. Perhaps trying to calm down herself as well.
She slowly nodded her head, confirming his guess.
Seeing that, more damage took his health points away. He was barely alive. He could even see his soul escaping from his mouth.
'Alright. Time to go boys.'
He let out a sigh as the throbbing pain in his chest grew stronger, and then he forced a smile as he dragged his trembling legs in her direction.
"M-My bad. I-It seems a misunderstanding happened, ahaha," he left those stuttering words when he passed by her.
"….."
Maybe being considerate toward him, she remained silent.
"Let's just pretend this did not happen. I hope for the happiness to the both of you and Kyzer…" he mumbled.
Although he said that calmly, he was barely holding his tears from bursting.
Even though she was the one who was confessing, he was the one who felt rejected for some reason. Urg, he couldn't help it. He was in love with her. Knowing she likes someone, doubles the pain.
'Oh, pain! I'm fading away.'
It seemed like a villain with a 'Celly' name had stabbed his tail into his chest to sap him dry. Honestly, he preferred that to happen as he wanted his existence to disappear completely at that very moment.
He continued walking away without waiting for her reply.
He didn't know what to feel at that moment. He felt overjoyed when she confessed, only to feel rejected a second later. It felt like he got a girlfriend for a second only, ouch!
Tomorrow he'd be winning the fastest breakup in the history of mankind.
Complicated emotions welled inside him at that very moment. Enough to make him want to volunteer to live on Marsa for the rest of his life if ever the Space Agencies succeeded in terraforming it.
Even though he reminded himself multiple times that he was just one among those many extras who thought she was out of their reach, and that they could not date her in this life, it was still very hurtful once the person you fell in love with fell in love with someone else.
A 'critical hit' hit him, sapping all his remaining HP dry and leaving him with a one-point only. He was sure this feeling of utter bitterness would be gone in a couple of days. He just has to bear with it and stay in his room while recuperating.
"Man, this day is awful. I wish I'd die today and be reborn into a more handsome, rich, and as godly as immortal cultivators young man tomorrow."
Those words he mumbled disappeared in the air at the same time his silhouette disappeared from her sight.
"Wait!"
He heard a faint call, but perhaps it was only his hallucination, so he ignored it and continued leaving. He had no more stamina left to continue the fight.
"I am utterly defeated." His mumbled disappeared in the air.
"Urg. I feel like throwing up."
"Oh lord, please give me the power to rewind time."
This is very disheartening for him, honestly.