Chapter 01: Karen Tendou and Proof of Innocence

Karen Tendou, she's a girl that's the best at everything right

at the start.

She thought that a race is an art of dashing through the

finish line brilliantly. She also doesn't understand why
playing the piano fluently will earn her praises, even though
all she did was following the music scope. As for exams, she
has seriously suspected whether writing something on a piece
of paper can confirm anything.

Also, that's why, when she...

No, when I'm in second grade, before I suddenly realized,

"Hey, it looks like I'm better than others." I've always—

—I've always felt annoyed with everyone "going easy" for

me.

This is embarrassing, come to think of it. But when I'm

little, I believed with the bottom of my heart that everyone's
base stats Is the exact same. Winning and losing only come
down to your condition on that day and the effort you've put
in. People with a firmer determination to that field will have a
higher chance of winning. In reality, the kids that lost to me
have a high probability of saying, "it's just that I'm not doing
well today" or "this isn't even my final form." The younger
me sincerely believed their words.

However, one time... when I easily won over the girl that
said she's good at running. After we reached the finish line,
she ran to her mother with tears in her eyes and sweat all
•
over her body.

I've finally realized that it's not "everyone" that's weird.

Instead... it's me.

Since then, I feel "terrible" for all variety of competitions.

After all-

That looks like only I get to have a faster starting position

than everyone in a race.

That looks like only I get to use auto-accompaniment when

I'm playing the piano.

That looks like only I get to cheat in the exam.

...What can I even gain when I won the others in conditions

like that?

Even so, I can't change the fact that I hate "going easy"
from the bottom of my heart.

In the end... I can only compete with myself.

I can only put all of my focus on exceeding my limitation

instead of winning or losing to the others. My target is always
breaking new records instead of the "No.1" living style.

In a sense, I think that's a healthy and proper lifestyle, I

still don't think there's anything wrong with that. However...
if I leaned into that side alone, it seems to be enlarging the
gap between me and the others.

Perhaps starting from this period, I began to be praised

more than the others.
•
 I have more "supporters" while having fewer "friends" at
the same time.

While I'm not alone or isolated, I'm too aloof.

No one, whether they're friends or enemies, wanted to face

me seriously.

My parents seem to have noticed my frustration as well,

they seemed to have considered switching me to an
environment that suits my abilities better. Now that I'm
thinking, it's quite hilarious, to be honest... Put it simply, my
parents wanted to send me overseas to a university.

However, that's not what happened in the end.

It's because, and it's quite regretful- Before I can do that, I

already encountered an environment where I can seriously
fight with each other.

Yes.

I encountered the best battlefield — video games.

***

"I didn't expect gaming to be this boring."

After I said this to everyone, the time in the clubroom

completely stopped.

Gakuto Kase-senpai, who was in the middle of his online

FPS combat, stopped his hands as his character got shot into
oblivion. Then, he looked at me.

"W-What's wrong, Tendou?"

•
 "What? Everything's fine. I just felt that, is gaming this
boring to me in the past?"

I said this as I calmly headshot the enemy soldiers and

earned another kill, then I let out a sigh. Kase-senpai
immediately snapped out of it and got back to his controls
since he's in the enemy team. After that, Nina-senpai, who
just finished a match of her fighting game, turned her body to
me.

"Uh... Tendou, are you not feeling well today?"

"Nope, not at all. I'm doing quite well today."

This time, I said this as I blast the head off the character
controlled by Kase-senpai, who's still trembling. Nina-senpai
immediately started sweatdropping.

"I-It looks like you're right... Uh, is it that you got bored
with that FPS... "

"Nope, I feel like this newly-released FPS has an excellent

design. Whether it's weapon balance, map design, or
matchmaking efficiency, this game has the highest ratings in
its series. The plot in the singleplayer is fascinating as well.
Even if you look at the comments on local or foreign rating
websites, this game is definitely the Game Of The Year."

"R-Really. W-Well, I must be imagining things just then..."

"Sigh, even so, this game is still boring to me."

"I get it, this girl's brain crashed completely."

Nina-senpai mumbled a bit dumbfoundedly. After I won

•
the match, I slowly tilted my head and questioned.

"Crashed...? Ahaha, what are you talking about, senpai? I'm

Karen Tendou, the legendary Karen Tendou. The incarnation
of all the elite elements in the world, Karen Tendou."

"There's already a lot of problems when you said that out

loud by yourself. Sigh, but you're indeed a strong-willed
girl..."

"Yeah. So, what's wrong with senpai, why are you acting
like I'm a fragile little girl."

"Uh... y-yeah. Sorry, Tendou. I shouldn't just assume that

you lost your mind..."

"By the way, senpai, this brand of tissue tastes very well."

"Get us a counsellor! This is an emergency! Get us an

expert counsellor!"

Kase-senpai and Misumi-kun immediately held both of my

hands as Nina-senpai started to click on her smartphone. I
tilted my head once again, then I smiled and spoke up softly.

"I'm just kidding, everyone. How could I be serious?"

After I said that, everyone in the Game Club pressed their

chest in relief. Then, I... announced loudly.

"It's too vain to call me an incarnation of all the elite

elements. Actually... I'm the incarnation of all the failures in
the world, Karen Tendou! Sigh, please everyone, JUST LET
THIS POOR LITTLE GIRL EAT A PIECE OF TISSUE!"

•
 "What a ridiculous way to show that you lost your mind!"

Then, I begged for tissues for a couple minutes.

After I finally calmed down, I looked at the club members

that don't have the mood to play video games anymore.

Next, I sighed deeply and slowly explained everything.

"Uh... actually, I went to a double date with Amano-kun

and others last weekend..."

With that, I apologized and briefly explained why did I lose

my mind.

A double date with my boyfriend and a couple that we're

friends with.

Although a pair of sisters that we know showed up as well,

everything progressed smoothly.

So—

After a bunch of hassles, my boyfriend kissed my friend's

girlfriend.

"Why did that happen out of nowhere!?"

"I wanted to ask that as well!"

The reactions from everyone in the Game Club look like

they just saw a movie that jumps to the conclusion. However,
I also responded wildly with tears in my eyes.

"Once I snapped out of it, my boyfriend kissed Uehara-

kun's girlfriend in front of him, the Hoshinomori sisters, and
•
me!"

"What's with the sudden and unreasonable game over!?"

"THAT'S WHY I FEEL SO HELPLESS RIGHT NOW!"

Indeed, that's like a nightmare that even I felt there's no

way of happening. However, the sad truth is that this is
reality. After that, Uehara-kun, Hoshinomori-san, and I
pulled our cheeks countless times. Thanks to this, my cheeks
are a bit red today.

Just as I'm getting dizzy from remembering the nightmare,

Misumi-kun stood up abruptly and slammed the table,
seeming trying to intercede.

"N-No, no, no! Tendou-san, e-even if you said that, I think

it's just the usual misunderstandings! You know, the crazy
misconceptions that you and Amano-kun are the best at——"

"——There isn't a problem with tone interpretation. Also,

there are 4 witnesses."

"...Ugh."

Misumi-kun's face looks like that of a certain lawyer in Ace

Attorney. His face started sweating... It's hard for him to not
wanting to defend Amano-kun, his most treasured friend. I
deeply understood that.

However, the sad part is, I, the prosecutor, has an

overwhelming advantage right now. This part is the exact
same as that game. Moreover, in this real world, it's not
guaranteed that the defending side can turn things around.

•
 However, he is THE protagonist, Eiichi Misumi, after all.
Perhaps it's because of the emotion of "I'm not giving up on
my friend no matter how hopeless the situation is!" He seems
to be racking his brain for a solution. A true protagonist.

So, after a moment of silence... he slammed the table.

"A-Amano-kun-what did the defendant think about this

incident!"

Even his way of last resort questioning is the same as Ace

Attorney. I answered with a sigh.

"...Ay, the two defendants indeed reaffirmed that they're

innocent."

"What did they say?"

"Anyway... they mentioned something about kissing the

wrong person, and also that their lips barely counts as not
touching each other. None of those excuses really made
sense."

I can only explain everything. Then, Attorney Phoniex-No,

Attorney Misumi grabbed the chance and point at me as he
proposed.

"L-Look, it's obviously the plot that'll always happen

between you and Amano-kun! This means that the defendant
is innocent! I should say that Amano-kun is a good boy!"

"I-I don't need you to tell me that Amano-kun is a good

boy! I can't believe you try to exclude me and talk about how
attractive Amano-kun is, Misumi-kun, that's daring of you!"

•
 "Objection! I've thought about this all the time, Don't
Prosecutor Tendou think you're always trying to monopolize
everything! Now that we're talking about it, I wanted to be
allocated more time for me to play with Amano-kun as well!"

"Wait! Even if it turned like this, I, Karen Tendou, has

always shown symptoms of Amano-kun deficiency! I can
never agree with a person taking away my time from him,
especially a friend that he's not very close with!"

"Objection! T-That's precisely what I'm saying! Precisely!

...Man, that's why Prosecutor Tendou let her friend's
girlfriend gain a 1UP on her, right?"

"T-That argument has nothing to do with the lawsuit! I

request you to withdraw that——"

"——Silence, you two! Go outside if you two are fighting

over boys!"

Just as our argument is reaching its climax, the two

presiding judges — No, the two senpais, who had been quietly
watching our debate, rose up and stopped us.

Misumi-kun and I can only clear our throats before moving

on.

"A-Anyway, in reality, only the two defendants proposed

that they're innocent. But when there are up to 4 witnesses
around, their claim extremely lacks credibility. That's what I
wanted to say."

To my incredibly serious advocate, Misumi-kun let out an

"ugh" as he mumbled. After he sweated a bit more, he seems
to have realized the debate will end badly for him. So, he
•
subtly changes the topic.

"...B-By the way, uh, the ridiculous nightmare of

accidentally kissing the wrong person when everyone's
staring... Where and why did it happen? From what I've
heard, I guess you guys are holding a double date at an
amusement park somewhere..."

"Yes, the actual crime scene is at the Kizuna Dungeon of

the Viva Spiel Kingdom."

"T-The Kizuna Dungeon... in the V-Viva Spiel Kingdom...

right..."

Misumi-kun started trembling for some reason after he

heard the name of the crime scene. The more I continued to
explain, the more he trembles.

So, after I explained the situation... The boy wrapped his

arms around his head and started to get upset.

"Ugh... I didn't expect that you guys are really in trouble

there! Not only did I foresee that incident, I almost
encountered it head-on. I feel like I need to take up some
responsibility as well...!"

"You almost encountered it head-on? What are you talking

about?"

"I-It's nothing. A-Anyway! Based on what I've heard,

there's a massive indication that this is just a
misunderstanding! The staff members should be the most
responsible if we have to blame someone!"

Misumi-kun retorted at the top of his voice firmly. The two

•
senpais roleplaying as the presiding judges (or jurors) also
agreed with that... In reality, his explanation does make sense.
However...

I racked my brain for a bit before raising my hand quickly

and spoke up.

"Your honour, about this case... the prosecuting side would

like to call a new witness!"

"W-What?"

Although the two senpais tilted their heads shockingly

since they clearly can't follow up with the Ace Attorney joke
that Misumi-kun and I were in. A few seconds later, they still
managed to notice the mood that we're in and helped to
continue.

"W-Who are you calling?"

I smiled confidently at their question. Then... I crossed my

arms in front of my chest and announced chicly.

"The chief victim of this case other than me — Mr Tasuku

Uehara!"

***

『...I'm Tasuku Uehara... Sigh...』

We called him on the phone. Then, while he's willing to

stay in the witness stand (an ordinary table) hastily prepared
by the Game Club, his back is pretty curled up as he let out a
heavy sigh. The teenager, Tasuku Uehara.

•
 Just as everyone in the Game Club was speechless at that
depressing look, Nina-senpai, who got rather close to him,
tried to strike up a conversation with him, tremblingly.

"F-Fake Umehara? Uh, a-are you okay?"

『Hey, aren't you Nina-senpai... Good morning...』

"This guy is as good as dead, your greeting isn't even at the

right time."

『Ah, Nina-senpai, I'm a bit hungry. Can you give me a piece

of tissue?』

"No. By the way, what's wrong with this school? Is there a

fetish that requires you to eat tissues whenever you lost your
mind?"

"Ah, Uehara-kun. If you don't mind, please just use my wet

wipes."

"You too, Tendou. Don't just give people wet wipes like
you're handing out chips!"

Nina-senpai suddenly robbed the wet wipes away from us.

Just as Uehara-kun and I were staring at the wet wipes with
an anticipating look, Misumi-kun let out a cough.

"A-Anyway, let's continue. Uh, ..first of all, nice to meet

you, Uehara-kun."

『Oh, okay. I remembered you... You're Amano's...』

"Yes."

『You're Amano's — BL member no.2, right?』

•
 "No."

Misumi-kun denied sincerely. However, Uehara-kun

seemed to have misunderstood something as he started to get
anxious.

『I can't believe you said no... S-Sorry, I'm not giving you
the no.1 spot.』

Misumi-kun is shocked by his reaction.

"W-What kind of rejection is that! Uehara-kun, are you

really interested in those things!?"

『S-Stop messing around! Who'll be interested in guys! It's

just that for some reason... I'm a bit sad when someone robs
my no. 1 spot of Amano's BL membership.』

"That's supposed to be the mindset of the female

protagonist! It's just that... yeah, for some reason, now that
you're mentioning it, I feel like I want it as well. The no.1 spot
of Amano-kun's BL membership!"

『Hmph! But I suit Amano far more than you do——』

"Silence, you two! Go outside if you two are fighting over

boys!"

Protests started in the Game Club again. After Misumi-kun

and Uehara-kun cleared their throats, they introduced
themselves to each other usually and cleanly.

So, when everyone calmed down, Uehara-kun's testimony

and questioning finally began.

•
 First, Uehara-kun talked about his view of this whole event

『As for the part of whether this counts as an incident or

accident... honestly, I can't say anything. It's an incident if
we're talking about the interwinding planning and strategy.
Still, it's an accident if we account for everyone not expecting
that ending.』

"Then, can I interpret this as you're not going to blame

Amano-kun and your girlfriend?"

Misumi-kun tried to lead the conclusion. However,

Uehara-kun shook his head and showed a clear rejection.

『No, that's a separate matter.』

Uehara-kun's eyes brightened after he said that. Then, he

even clenched his right fist and slammed it onto the table.

『It doesn't matter whether that's an accident or incident!

The most important thing is — the two... kissed right in front
of us. This "fact" is the most crucial part! DAMN YOU!』

"O-Objection! Amano-kun proposed that their lips didn't

touch. I think it's too early to conclude that they kissed each
other——"

『——Shut up! Listen here! The most important thing isn't

about whether the lips touched or not! No matter the truth,
some people were already seriously hurt from this! In other
words... Tendou and I witnessed that kissing scene and was
struck hard. Isn't this the most crucial fact right now!』

"Ugh!"

•
 Misumi-kun was forced to lean back by Uehara-kun's
imposing manner.

Uehara-kun took a step further and continued.

『Yeah, while whether the lips touched does matter a lot.

It's more like, I also hoped that I can believe from the bottom
of my heart that they're right.』

"W-Well then..."

『However! That's a whole different thing! Right now, the

two of them scratched scars all over our hearts! To put it
simply, there are victims! Whether it's an accident or
incident, touched or not, we were hurt anyway! ISN'T THIS
FACT ALONE ENOUGH TO CHARGE KEITA AMANO!』

"OHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Misumi-kun leaned back even more. Honestly, his reaction

is too vigorous from his usual appearance. However, we
already devoted ourselves to this Ace Attorney roleplaying
completely, so his response isn't that disharmonious... But I'm
not going to mention that the two senpais aren't appreciating
this.

After Misumi-kun went speechless, I proposed my

advocate as the prosecutor again.

"Perhaps there's still room for discussion for the two

defendants' claim of the lips didn't touch each other. But even
if what they said is true... it can never resolve the mental
damage that we have taken!"

"UWAHHHHHHHH!"
•
 Misumi-kun wrapped his arms around his head and vexed
again. Although this victory made Uehara-kun and I looked at
each other before smiling in satisfaction, then we realized.
"Eh, this doesn't help anything?" The two of us then dropped
our shoulders depressingly... Why did we call everyone to
court in the first place...

Just as the scene came to a standstill... suddenly, Kase-

senpai, who had remained silent for now, spoke up.

"Can I say something, Tendou?"

"Ah, yes, senpa—your honour, please."

"Alright. Uh... I'm the type of guy that's completely

unfamiliar with relationship problems like this."

"You're right. Honestly, the prosecuting side thinks that:

You FPS otaku please just be quiet."

"I'll remember that. Ugh, forget about that. In terms of FPS,

that can be called friendly fire... In other words, while it's
frustrating when you accidentally shot your teammates, and I
do agree that there should be punishments. However, there
should be some room for discretion when we consider the
reasons behind..."

"The four-eyed FPS guy, can you just shut up for real?"

"You're finally insulting your senpai. Alright, we'll talk

about this later. What I wanted to say is that there's a big
difference between a douchebag that explicitly fires on
teammates and a newbie that accidentally fired."

"Well, isn't this the same as whether their lips touched or

•
not? No matter who's right or wrong, there isn't a difference
with the events that happened..."

"No, Tendou, that's actually a rude conclusion. Will you

report the players for accidental friendly fire in an FPS
game?"

"No, I won't do that... However, if you just stroll into an

online match that has friendly fire on even though you're a
scrub. That player should more or less take up responsibility,
right?"

"That's true. But there are other reasons when there are
accidental friendly fires in FPS."

"What are we talking about, senpai? It's time for you to

stop derailing this——"

At the moment that I'm about to respond to senpai, his

glasses brightens as he headed straight to the conclusion.

"——The fault isn't at the player that fired... but is actually

the dumb teammates that brainlessly charged into the fight
and caused the friendly fire. There's a situation like this in
FPS, and that's what I wanted to talk about."

"Ugh!"

This made Uehara-kun and I pressed our chests. Also,

Attorney Misumi didn't miss this detail.

"E-Exactly! Basically, why would you guys go into the

Kizuna Dungeon with that ridiculous arrangement!? We can
clearly see that there's a room of discussion in there."

•
 This made Uehara-kun started to sweat on his face, but he
still managed to retort.

『L-Like I've said this before, this has everything to do with

the staff members. We're not trying to do anything...』

"Is that really all?"

『Uh, w-while we made a slight mistake at the arrangement

part... But this has nothing to do with us if we're paired up
randomly!』

"I won't be too sure with that."

"W-What..."

Misumi-kun seems to have thought of something, he

puffed up his chest bravely. In comparison, Uehara-kun and
I... have been sweating a lot since then.

He tapped the document with a smug face.

"Here's the facility overview of the Kizuna Dungeon. It

looks like this is designed and famous for being an
entertainment place for normies... and couples."

"W-What's up with that...?"

"It's nothing... I just feel like, this is clearly a place that

Amano-kun is uncomfortable with."

"Ugh!"

Uehara-kun and I can't help but gasp. Crap. I feel like this...
is going to be bad for us!

•
 "The same goes for this whole "double date" plan. While
I'm not sure about Uehara-kun's girlfriend, this plan clearly
doesn't fit with Amano-kun's style. Right now, can I please
ask the two of you... Who and what is the goal behind this
whole plan?"

"W-Well...!"

Uehara-kun and I are sweating unusually profusely.

Misumi-kun grinned mischievously as if he knew

everything already.

"It can't be wrong from your reactions. In other words, this

double date... was planned by you two all along!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Uehara-kun and I can't help but scream and step

backwards.

Nina-senpai tilted her head. It seems that her brain can't

follow up with the change.

"Uh, so... what's happening? Misumi, what're you trying to

say?"

"The same thing with Kase-senpai's explanation of

accidental friendly fires. Perhaps Amano-kun needs to take
up a part of the responsibility as well. However, if these two
did spend a lot of effort to arrange this date and that KISS,
then..."

"Then?"

•
 This time, Attorney Misumi calmed down for a moment...
Then, he smiled brightly as he threw this out!

"The person at fault would be these two instead of Amano-

kun!"

"U-UWAHHHHHHHHHH!"

We're pushed to the edge of the cliff! If this is really Ace

Attorney, the BGM will be especially triumphant right now.

"Also, even if Amano-kun and Uehara-kun's girlfriend

wanted to cheat, kissing in front of everyone... especially their
friends is too risky and dumbfounding as well. Moreover, this
can't be any more ridiculous when we consider Amano-kun's
personality."

"B-But they still did that as a result..."

I retorted, but Misumi-kun is already firm as he continued.

"Yes, while the result did take a worse turn. Amano-kun

did do something that doesn't fit his style. However, this
means that... there's a 'strong motive' set up by you two for
him to do that!"

"Y-You're saying... a strong motive?"

"Yes. And that... is enough to confirm that the defendant

Keita Amano is innocent and should be subjected to a lenient
treatment!"

"W-What are you talking about...?"

"Your honour! The defending side requests — a phone call

•
with the defendant Keita Amano!"

"Permitted."

The two presiding judges permitted casually. It looks like

they wanted this to end quickly.

Under the nervous attention of Uehara-kun and me,

Misumi-kun called Amano-kun on his smartphone.

"Amano-kun? I'm sorry for the sudden call. I wanted to ask

you something related to that double date before... Ah, hmm,
why am I asking that... Uh, think about it, a lot of things
happened after. Yep, I was dragged into this mess as well.
Let's just put it that way. Thanks for your consideration."

Misumi-kun then happily started to chat with Amano-kun

slowly. At the same time, he began to dig into the core.

So, about two minutes later... he finally arrived at the main

issue.

"Amano-kun. So, to you, what were you 'thinking' when

you... tried to kiss?"

Misumi-kun asked this as he quickly clicked on his phone.

The call can now be heard from the entire room.

Everyone is listening silently.

Amano-kun's embarrassed... yet determined words were

played to the clubroom with Misumi-kun's smartphone.

『Uh... of course, I did that because I mustered up my

courage and wanted to kiss Tendou-san...』

•
 "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The prosecutor — which is me, immediately blushed so

hard that my face is as red as a tomato. I even swung my hair
around like I'm a maniac. All of my elegance disappeared
today.

When Uehara-kun admitted defeat as he plopped his head

down depressingly, Misumi-kun only said "thank you very
much" to the phone before disconnecting. Then, he puffed up
his chest and looked at me, Uehara-kun, and the two
presiding judges.

Influenced by the atmosphere, Kase-senpai, one of the

presiding judges, cleared his throat.

"Yep... I've been active in this club for a long time, but this
is the first time that I'm involved in something like this."

Of course. This was never supposed to happen in the Game

Club.

"A-Anyway, I should just announce it clearly. The

defendant Keita Amano... Upon considerations in every
possible way, we judge that..."

Kase-senpai announced to everyone respectfully after a

beat.

"Innocent."

"Wow, wow, wow."

At the same time, Nina-senpai sprinkled the paper flowers

that appeared out of nowhere in the club room emotionlessly.
•
 ...Well then.

This is the end of Ace Attorney: Game Club of the

Otobuki High School Episode 1: The Dumbest
Reversal Ever.

***

"Even so, I also felt the most terrible for Tendou-san and
Uehara-kun."

Misumi-kun walked along the corridor of the old school

building where we can see the sunset as he gave me a bitter
smile.

I let out a huge sigh as I answered casually. "Thanks then."

After the jury is over, everyone in the Game Club is free to

disband. Although they can leave once the activity ended...

"...I know you care about me, but you don't need to go out
of your way to walk home with me."

I stared at the former attorney on the opposite side after I

said that. He scratched the back of his head a bit
embarrassingly.

"Uh... but, I still think I need to apologize to you first. I

acted like I'm blaming you two just then, sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize for anything..."

"No, I was immersed in that game, after all, even going so

far to act the "catching the real criminal" part out that wasn't
an attorney's job..."

•
 "Yeah, you're really a protagonist from the bottom of your
heart."

"Ugh..."

Misumi-kun lowered his head embarrassingly. To him, I

sighed before giving him a faint smile.

"It's okay, Uehara-kun and I weren't hurt by this simulated

court at all. Instead, it helped to clear my stress out when
we're yelling and messing around like that."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that."

Misumi-kun pressed his chest in relief after he heard what

I said.

After I answered him with a smile... I continued without

hesitation.

"Sigh, we have already taken the most severe damage in

our lives previously."

"...Y-You're right."

Misumi-kun's face twitched. Then, he tried to go back to

what we were talking about.

"It's because you two are the most deeply hurt in this
incident, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. I know how
you two felt."

"Thanks... Honestly, this doesn't soothe anything."

"I guess so."

•
 The two of us walked under this extremely gloomy mood
for a while, the old wooden floorboards will often make a
cracking voice.

So, when we arrived at the corridor in front of the main

building, Misumi-kun spoke up again.

"Although I agreed with Amano-kun that their lips didn't

touch, and I also defended him to prove that he wasn't bad or
wanted to cheat... On the other hand, I also deeply
understand the crux of this issue isn't about "that part" at all."

"............"

When I fell silent, Misumi-kun continued melancholy.

"It should be tough for you... That feeling of witnessing

everything."

"...Yeah."

I didn't look at his eyes. Instead, I grabbed my arms tightly

as I answered.

The team cheers from the racing sports clubs passed

through us.

"...In reality, even when the case was marked with

'attempted' in the end. For Uehara-kun and you at least, it
looks like the incident actually happened..."

"...Yeah... I can't really do anything about it..."

"I feel like you two shouldn't take the blame. For example...
if I saw Amano-kun and my sister-in-law did that, I think I

•
would be pretty shocked as well."

I can't help but smile mischievously at his words.

"Hey, Misumi-kun, you finally admitted that you're

interested in your sister-in-law——"

"——But Amano-kun and I are way closer compared to

her..."

"You're jealous about the guy instead of the girl!? T-There's

a new question stemmed from my heart just then! Misumi-
kun!"

"Eh, let's forget about that first."

"Can we even forget about that? Won't this go badly if we

don't deal with it now?"

Although I complained vehemently, Misumi-kun remained

firm. He even swiped his soft hair upwards as he gave me a
very startled look.

"...Amano-kun is still very good at pulling people's

heartstrings, how sinful."

"Yep. S-Sorry, Misumi-kun, I can no longer sincerely take

what you just said as comforting words."

"However, I do love that side of him unexpectedly."

Misumi-kun said that with a bright smile... Ah, crap, I'm

increasingly biased towards him like he's interested in a
relationship with Amano! I was able to accept that with no
problem at all in the past!

•
 To make up my mind, I walked as I took a couple deep
breaths.

The texture of the floor went from the old wooden boards
to the brand-new plastic of the main building, the footsteps of
the two of us followed were lighter. I took another deep
breath before continuing.

"Sorry. In reality, even though talking about this is just

rebooting the debate we had earlier... However, whether we
can 100% trust that Amano-kun and Aguri-san advocate of
'not touching' is another question."

"Ah... about that."

Misumi-kun seemed like he took a hit as he scratched his

head.

"Hmm... from Amano-kun's behaviour, instead of saying

that he's trying to bait himself out, it's more like he's
considerate to Uehara-kun and you."

"Yeah. Uh... during that phone call, the boy mentioned at

last... well... the 'motive' of kissing. I-I didn't suspect that at
the slightest."

I can't help but blush as I plopped my head down. Then,

Misumi-kun laughed and said. "Alright, alright, alright.
Thanks."

We arrived at the entrance of the school after a while of

chitchatting. We changed our shoes and walked outside. The
sun is about to disappear into the mountains.

Misumi-kun seems to be taking the bus, while I wanted to

•
clear my mind up and just take a walk on the streets, so we
said goodbye to each other at the bus station.

However, during this time, "At last, I wanted to ask

something..." Misumi-kun spoke up with a serious face.

"Tendou-san, will you and Amano-kun... remain as a

couple like in the past?"

"Well..."

I was speechless... That's the fatal question... that I've been

pondering about in these days.

What do I want? How should I deal with this? Is there a

best way? I can't see the future at all, no matter how many
times I think about it.

Then, I realized it has always been like this since when I

met Amano-kun.

This is different than in the past. Nothing goes according to

my plan.

I got rejected when I invited him to the Game Club. We

started dating unexpectedly just as I'm planning to slowly
improve our relationship. Then, just as I'm scrambling my
brain to create an indisputable fact... I somehow ended up
losing my female protagonist status to another girl.

"...However, this is just a small bummer in my life..."

Just as I curled my lips and mumbled, I immediately

realized.

•
 "Ah... I think I understand how those kids felt when they're
unwilling to admit that I defeated them..."

I lost at the part where I can't make up for it even when I

put all of my efforts in. A situation like this...

"I really wanted to find an excuse for my inability..."

I feel a tinge of pain in my chest. But, on the other hand, I

was exceedingly thrilled to know I was finally "in the same
spot" as everyone. I can't help but chuckle.

"T-Tendou-san?"

During this time, Misumi-kun was startled as he secretly

glanced at me.

"Uh... I-I'm not letting you eat tissues!"

"What's that? Why would anyone eat tissues? Misumi-kun,

please don't mess around right now."

"Eh..."

Misumi gasped as if he's unconvinced from the bottom of

his heart. I laughed before saying that it's just a joke, then I
walked to the time schedule board of the bus station.

"...There's no way for everything to go according to plan..."

"You mean when the bus will arrive? Of course, it depends

on the traffic."

"Yeah, you're right... Right now, I'm different than in the

past. I'm not only competing with myself now. Even when I
didn't win like I've expected, I guess that's normal..."
•
 "Uh, are you talking about gaming or something else?"

"Eh?"

Misumi-kun unexpected question made me turn my head

around. So, he froze confusingly as well.

"Eh, am I wrong?"

He asked, then I answered with a faint smile.

"No, you're right, perhaps that's the case. It's actually the
same as gaming, both sides can never go according to plan...
Also, that's why... I wanted to face them seriously..."

Suddenly, I feel like... all the clouds in my heart started to

disappear, just for a bit.

Of course, the damage I took when I witnessed that scene,

and the problems that came with it, none of them were
resolved yet.

But... at least, right now, I—

—Karen Tendou, as a gamer and Keita Amano's girlfriend,

finally understood what I wanted to do.

"...Well. Then I'll be leaving, Misumi-kun."

I took a step forward as I made up my mind. So, Misumi-

kun freaked out and spoke up from behind.

"Please, what are you going to do with Amano-kun in the

end...!"

I paused for a moment at his question, so I can only turn

•
around again.

I answered him with a determined look.

"At least, I have no intention to — keep it the same as

before anymore."

•
 Chapter 02: Keita Amano and All-out Defeat

In a loner's life, it's hard to find a word that appears more

frequently than "embarrassment."

After all, except during lessons, we are almost always

invaded by this emotion in our school life. Whether it's the
short breaks between lessons that we have no places to go, the
lonely lunchtime that we just plop our heads down and eat, or
the time that we're forced out to move out of the normies'
way when we're on the bus.

We carry a fidgetting sense of "embarrassment" at all

times.

The same goes for talking to other people as well. Everyone

has a tongue twist once in a while. However, only people like
us will screw it up at crucial times. The kind of mishaps that
weren't even adorable or hilarious at all. For example, the
humiliation between girls accidentally said "good morning" as
"good mourning" is entirely different than me, the guy that
once read "next sentence" as "next penis" during lessons. To
put it simply, that's why... Uwah, my face flared up once I
think about it. Sigh, how could I pronounce it like that...

(Note: The pronunciations of "penis" and "sentence" are

entirely different in Japanese.)

A-Anyway.

I'm an 『Embarrassment Taster』 that takes on all kinds of

embarrassment in large doses every day.

•
 This is the title bestowed upon on loners... which is me at
the same time, Keita Amano.

Alright, even though I held such an empty Embarrassment

Taster title like this.

Currently, I still encountered the most embarrassing

moment in my life.

"............"

"............"

I made sporadic eye contact with the girl in front of me as I

gulped.

The family restaurant, after school. Under the hustle and

bustle with all the customers, only our seats are silent like
we're the eye of a hurricane.

A drop of sweat appeared on my temple... As a taster, I'm

undoubtedly sure right now.

"Yes... This tangy, rich aroma... and the color after

fermenting, and constant mixing... Also, the intense sourness
flooding out from my stomach..."

I took a deep breath when I thought about this. Then... I

managed to hold myself from vomiting and bulged my eyes

——Is this the rarest sight in the industry — The Hell!

-I'm alone with "my friend's girlfriend" that almost kissed

me in the after school family restaurant.

Have I encountered an even more embarrassing situation

•
before?

Nope, there isn't. It will be a big problem if there is. Even

when I'm in 1st grade, the time that I yelled "Taiyaki!" sleepily
on my great-grandma's funeral wasn't that terrible.

I kept sweating even when it's not hot at all. My stomach

hurts. I'm dizzy, and there's a needle in my brain. At the same
time, I'm feeling increasingly stuffy.

"............"

The gal in front of my eyes... Aguri-san curled up her hair

with her finger as she chugged countless cups of oolong tea
down her throat from the drink bar.

She prompted me to start chugging my own oolong tea as

well. So...

Klink...

We put the cup back onto the table at the exact same time.

"............"

With that alone... this moment is already as embarrassing

as it could be. Both of us subconsciously lowered our heads.

...Embarrassment, hatred, anger, regret, anxiety... and also

the overwhelming of guilt to each other.

These kinds of emotions merged together in our hearts,

and then we lost track of the words that should be said to
each other. In the end... we ended up spending 30 minutes
doing nothing but chugging oolong tea.

•
 ...Why are we still coming to the restaurant together, are
we trying to show off our wealth?

How should I put it? Even so, the two of us still thought
that "we need to discuss this face-to-face" as soon as possible.
In reality, it's been two days since that incident passed.
During this period, of course, Aguri-san and I tried our best to
explain it to each of our partners... However, we're just
getting busy on our own. The two of us never had a uniform
conclusion.

This is not going to go well... if we do care for our future.

No, we're not trying to make up a conclusion.

Basically, Aguri-san and I can swear to god that our lips

didn't touch.

That's true. However... for example, if my explanation to

Tendou-san is slightly different than Aguri-san to Uehara-
kun's, what would the two of them think? Will they be even
more confused?

To avoid that kind of absurd tragedy (and it's entirely

possible to happen for us), Aguri-san and I must share the
same acknowledgment. Then we'll use it as a weapon against
each of our partners... We both knew that in our hearts.

While we knew that...

""...!""

During this time, we accidentally made eye contact again,

so we looked down... From the others, perhaps we look like a
pair of fresh new couples.
•
 However, our hearts are filled with... nothing aside from
bitterness, not to mention sweet and sour.

——Even so... this silence has to end...

I sighed and made up my mind to face the issue head-on

——Yes. Aguri-san was the one that leads the discussion

usually. In times like this, the least I can do is...!

To cheer myself up, I randomly grabbed the glass of oolong

tea on the table and chugged it down at once. Then, I finally
spoke up the first sentence—

"A-Amanocchi. That's... my cup of oolong tea..."

"............"

—I messed it up completely when I was about to say

something. I banged my head onto the table a couple times as
I mumbled with tears in my eyes.

——D-D-D-Don't tell me I-I-I just indirectly kissed you i-in

a situation like this...!

I want to die. This way of screwing up things kind of fits my

style. I've always been like this. When I tried to save
something, I ended up getting despised for some
dumbfounded reasons. A firm determination coupled with a
cowardly end. My life has been repeating like this... So, I
ended up being such a coward.

I tried to prevent myself from getting people's attention,

but I still continued to bang my head onto the table.

•
 Aguri-san then chuckled quietly and smoothed things over.

"Hoho, you're dumb, Amanocchi. It's okay, the side that

you sipped is the opposite of mine."

"Ufufu... r-really?"

I raised my head with tears in my eyes. During this time,

Aguri-san nodded with a smile.

"Yep. Right now, I'm not going to lie on things like this. It's
alright, you didn't mess it up."

Suddenly, I let out a big sigh in relief as I continued

happily.

"Ah, good to know that! Honestly, I don't want to have an

indirect kiss with you at all, absolutely not! Hiya, I'm saved! I
really thought that I'm going to die!"

Aguri-san immediately pouted her cheeks.

"T-This is weird, for some reason, while your reaction is

right since you have a girlfriend... However, I really wanted to
beat you up hard right now!"

"Eh? No, sorry. Well... I-I really wanted to kiss you

indirectly! Alright, I'll pretend that I'm the host of Gilgamesh
Night and lick the other side of the cup with my tongue——"

——(Note: Gilgamesh Night, a softcore porn Japanese TV

show from the 90s.)

"——That's a no as well!"

"Ugh!"
•
 I ended up getting punched. She's quite brutal, and my
cheeks hurt. Also, the waiter got scared away.

Aguri-san sighed. "Jeez." Then, she leaned her body on the

back of the seat and even drank the not-so-iced-anymore cold
water instead of oolong tea.

I followed her and took a sip of my cold water. Then...

Klink...

When the noise of the cups being put on the table

overlapped again.

"...Pfft!"

-Aguri-san and I can't hold our laughs anymore.

We laughed at each other carefreely for a while... Then, this

time, we sincerely looked at each other's eyes.

"Well, let's start our emergency conference right now,

alright, Amanocchi?"

"Alright, I understand, Aguri-san."

We used this overly innocent opportunity and returned to

normal.

***

"Amanocchi. Firstly, I need to confirm this no matter

what."

"Yes."

•
 After the conference started, Aguri-san crossed her arms
on the table and looked at me face-to-face.

"We... barely counts as not kissing each other, right?"

"Yeah, of course. That's obviously true, I have no doubt

about it."

The two of us nodded at each other. Then... two seconds

later, we sighed deeply at the same time.

"Phew... Hey, good to know that. I was confident that we

didn't kiss each other. Still, when Tasuku and other people
suspected me... I'm starting to get worried as well."

"Me too. I'm the type of guy that's never sure of his
opinions. However, I think I'm definitely right about this.
After all, I..."

"Yep, me too..."

After we said that, the two of us blushed as we gave our

reason why we're so sure.

"We were completely focused on our lips..."

This is reasonable. Although Aguri-san and I kissed the

wrong person... we were trying to "receive our
boyfriend's/girlfriend's first kiss" at the time.

If we did touch our lips a little bit, that feeling would be

carved into our hearts forever.

Aguri-san continued helplessly.

"Ay, even though it's true that the distance between

•
Amanocchi and me was enough to cause a misunderstanding
in everyone's mind..."

"The same goes for me."

We let out a sigh in relief again.

Aguri-san wetted her lips with a cup of water... Then, she

suddenly stared at me.

"By the way... when I found out the person in front was
Amanocchi instead of Tasuku after the lights were turned on.
I was so depressed!"

"W-Why are you acting like you're the sole victim! I was
the same as well! When the angelic Tendou-san in my mind
suddenly turned into a rebellious gal, that's a big
disappointment!"

"Wha...! I-If you're putting it that way, I was the one that
was hurt the most when my handsome boyfriend turned into
a bean sprout little kid!"

"What was that!?"

"I'm putting it that way, fight me!"

The two of us stared at each other angrily. Then, around 5

seconds later... we dropped our shoulders at the same time
and sighed.

"This feels empty..."

As energetic as we are, we ran out of stamina to rub salt on

each other's wounds.

•
 So, we ended this mutual attack and even took the
beverages from the drink bar on our own to change the mood
before we discuss it again.

"...Even so, Amanocchi, I didn't mean to target you when I

said that... However, I'm still the one that took the most
damage."

Aguri drank her cup of juice as she said that. I scratched

my head.

"Yep, I'm really a disgusting otaku, sorry about that-"

"No, it's not about that. While this "attempted kiss"

incident is quite shocking and dwarfs other things... I actually
witnessed the scenery of 'Konoha Hoshinomori sticking up to
Tasuku' as well."

"R-Really... I understand."

The "attempted kissing" is indeed a powerful bomb. It

made me forget that aside from us, other partners that
entered the maze have their own issues as well. Specifically,
Aguri-san saw that Konoha Hoshinomori sticking real close to
Tasuku Uehara. On the other hand...

"However, I witnessed the scenery of 'Tendou-san cuddling

with Chiaki' as well, I should have taken the same damage,
right?"

"No. How should I put it... you can clearly sense that it's
just an accident between the two girls. No matter how I put it,
you wouldn't seriously suspect that they're interested in each
other, right?"

•
 "Uh, you're right..."

Even so, in actuality, a seed of suspicion that said "don't tell

me..." was planted in my heart. However, I guess this is just a
minor issue.

Aguri-san continued helplessly.

"But, when we compare the scenery of Tasuku sticking

close to another girl to our attempted kissing, the impression
should be far weaker. However, I'm still Tasuku's girlfriend,
this is still agonizing."

"Hmm... yeah, I get it."

Even though this is just an accident, but if I saw Tendou-

san cuddling with other boys, I would be shocked as well. Of
course, I'm not going to overreact and scold the guy for being
a cheater, but I'm confident that I'll hesitate for a long time."

"While that's true, Konoha-san and Uehara-kun should be

the same as well. An accident is an accident."

"Perhaps you're right..."

Aguri-san curled her lips out of her jealousy. I sipped some

iced coffee before continuing.

"Especially Uehara-kun acted like he's rejecting it."

"Right, Amanocchi, Tasuku thought that it was you at that

time."

"Ugh...! W-Why!? When I heard you said that, I feel like

I'm shocked."

•
 "No, no, no, what's wrong with you! Tasuku wanting to
touch you is the main issue here!"

"Y-You're right. But, for some reason... I'm a bit thrilled."

"Amanocchi, you're too dangerous!"

Aguri-san clicked on her smartphone rapidly as she said

that. It seems that I was on her watchlist for "potential
cheaters of boyfriend" already, with a high ranking.

I willingly subjected myself to a treatment like this and

continued chatting with her.

"Konoha-san was the one that I disillusioned myself from.

Although she was already quite erotic- Uh, no, she's supposed
to be an innocent person. Still, I didn't expect her to flirt with
another girl's boyfriend... It's a guy that she just met..."

She was acting so repulsive just then... Well, to be honest,

Uehara-kun is a handsome guy. Forget about girls... even I'm
willing to stick close to him. However, my rationality
successfully held all these thoughts back.

Just as I'm complaining angrily, Aguri-san tilted her head

unbelievably.

"Eh? No, I confirmed the color of the headphones' lights

later. Instead of that Konoha girl wanting to stick close to
Tasuku, it's more like her wanting to..."

Aguri-san is staring at me quietly...?

"You're saying... the colors of the lights? Ah... sorry, I didn't

remember what everyone was doing back then. I only
•
remembered Tendou-san thought her partner was me. That's
why she hugged with Chiaki... Hoho..."

I suddenly remembered this critical event, so I can't help

but give a reveled smile. Then, Aguri-san gave me a
dumbfounded look for some reason and even mumbled.
"Sigh... it's a bad thing to cause troubles."

"Hey, then where were we? We were talking about

Konoha-san..."

"Ah, no, it's fine. I wanted to say that girl is quite an

anthomaniac, way different than her sister."

"No, no, no, she's not an anthomaniac at all..."

Although I immediately wanted to defend my friend, I

went utterly speechless after that, sadly... "Sorry, Konoha-
san, I don't think I can retort when others called you an
anthomaniac...!"

I cleared my throat.

"Speaking of her sister, why did Chiaki cuddle with

Tendou-san back then? Did she think that it was Uehara-
kun?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Come to think of it, I think the girl

never mentioned the color change of her partner's
headphones."

"Hmm..."

I'm getting more suspicious about the whole lesbian theory.

Chiaki didn't mention Tendou-san's headphones color... Is it
•
because Tendou-san's color didn't change? Didn't Chiaki hug
Tendou-san because she recognized her?

Just as I'm mumbling with a confused look, Aguri-san

suddenly took a sip of my iced coffee and spoke to herself.

"After all... it's because she thought that it was Tasuku..."

Aguri-san drank half of my iced coffee directly like it's

nothing... Although we were freaking out with the indirect
kiss just then, come to think of it, Aguri-san taking my stuff is
nothing unusual. It's just that I've never done the same to
her... I feel I was dumb for getting immersed in the mood.

I led the discussion again.

"Well, we have to bear the most responsibility, though."

"...Yeah."

We let out a big sigh again. Aguri-san flattened herself on

the table.

"I spent a lot of time explaining to Tasuku, and Tasuku did

smile before saying 'I understand'... But, honestly, I still don't
feel like they treat us as innocent."

"The same goes for me. Although Tendou-san also smiled

and said she understands... that was just a 'courtesy Tendou-
san' smile.

"But, we really didn't kiss."

"Yeah."

"We are supposed to be innocent. Sigh, this world doesn't

•
make sense. Right, Amanocchi?"

"............"

"Amanocchi?"

I didn't go along with her, Aguri-san then stood up, and she
looked at me.

As for me... I stared at my crossed hands on the table and

answered.

"No... at least, it's a fact that I hurt Tendou-san."

"But, that was just the result of a string of accidents and

misunderstandings..."

"Even so, a fact is a fact. I'm not shameless enough to hurt

my girlfriend and smiled to think that "this has nothing to do
with me" before leaving."

"............"

"Of course... I've already explained that I really didn't kiss

with another girl. However, aside from that, I feel like... I
need to express myself even more sincerely."

After Aguri-san heard my serious explanation... she seems

embarrassed suddenly, and even scratched the back of her
neck anxiously.

I noticed that and immediately tried to smooth things over.

"Ah, s-sorry. I didn't say that to ask you to be more

responsible. Compared to Uehara-kun, I feel like Tendou-san
would be hurt deeper..."
•
 After I said that, Aguri-san smiled in relief.

"Yeah, I guess I understand. After all, you two just started

dating."

"Yes. I think you and Uehara-kun developed trust for each

other over time. So, as long as you explained clearly, you two
can definitely move on from this temporary 'shock'... Uh, but
Tendou-san and I..."

"Hmm... I know what Amanocchi is trying to say. But what

are you going to do when you said that you want to show your
sincerity?"

"Well..."

I was speechless... Although a couple ideas came to my

mind, honestly, none of them are positive... Also, I feel like
that's guaranteed to piss Aguri-san off.

However, Aguri-san stared at me sharply like she knew

what I was thinking. Her face turned stiff as she questioned
me.

"Hey, Amanocchi, if you are trying anything funny..."

So, when she's in the middle of her sentence.

"——E-E-E-E-E-E-Excuse me!"

"!"

Accompanying the sudden greeting, an uninvited clump of

seaweed appeared on our seat.

"C-Chiaki?" "Hoshinomori-san?"
•
 She ignored that we're still shocked and even stick her soft
body to me and try to squeeze space for her to sit. Aguri-san
and I immediately moved inwards as we went speechless.

Chiaki was the one that ran to us, but she blushed real hard
like she's very embarrassed... However, at the same time, she
glared severely at Aguri-san and me

The situation is too sudden, we can't say anything. Chiaki

told the waitress, "Uh, I want to order drink bar services as
well!" After a short explanation, she put her bag next to her
and took a deep breath...

Then, as if she's trying to blame us, the girl cried out for
some dumbfounded reason.

"I-I still... I still can't acknowledge the r-r-relationship

between y-you two! I-It's because... It's because I... I...! I
also...!"

"...What?"

"...W-What?"

So, this is it.

No one understood the situation, the three of us was

clouded with confusion.

***

"I-I'm really sorry..."

Chiaki slowly sipped her water as she blushed even more

and plopped her head down.

•
 Aguri-san and I looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

...Around 5 minutes after Chiaki's intrusion, she finished

listening to our explanation of this meeting. When she
understood the situation, her anger disappeared quickly and
entirely reverted to that... embarrassed Ms. Chiaki
Hoshinomori mode, which is the same as me.

She still lowered her head and explained before grabbing

her drink.

"No, well... our parents aren't home today. So, Konoha and
I came to the family restaurant for dinner... However, when I
witnessed the moment that you two are talking to each other
intimately, my mind replayed that scene a couple days ago.
My anger flared up... Once I realized, I'm already sitting next
to Keita..."

"...Really."

To us, her explanation seems a little vague.

——If it was Tendou-san, it's reasonable for her to burst

into here like that since she's my girlfriend... But why did
Chiaki got angry at times like that...?

That sounds like she's falling in love with me. Hmph, this
isn't a rom-com, anyway.

If that's the case, hmm, is it because of rage? For example,

Chiaki thinks that Aguri-san and I have our own lovers. This
is too despicable... Is she even that serious towards love? But I
guess Chiaki is slightly interested in Uehara-kun... Hmm...

...It's kind of unrealistic, no matter how you think of it.

•
Even so, Aguri-san and I have no interest in bullying Chiaki
anymore.

Aguri-san spoke up, signaling that she's trying to smooth

things over.

"Y-Yeah, I'm already alone with Amanocchi only a couple

days after that. This feels not right. We'll admit that.
However, that's the reason why we picked another family
restaurant..."

She said that and glanced outside the window.

"...By the way, even if this counts as downtown, it's still

more or less quite close to Hoshinomori-san's home..."

"Yeah... I'm sorry. Although it's not like a couple steps

away, our family will get dinner here based on its taste and
price... I'm really sorry..."

"No, there's nothing you need to apologize for..."

Aguri-san gave me an awkward look and signal me to think

of a way to get out of this... W-Why do you have to ask me...

"...C-Chiaki, what games are you playing recently?"

"You're way too terrible at chatting, Amanocchi! I can't

believe you got the nerve to talk about gaming with a
depressed girl!"

Aguri-san complained at the top of her voice. However-

"Ah, I started playing Dragon Blood Tree's Maze 5. Keita,

you played that as well, right?"

•
 "You two are chatting!"

Aguri-san was shocked. I focused on talking with Chiaki.

"Of course! I'm on level 3. What about you?"

"Me too! Man, why does the middle part is the most
compelling in these type of games!"

"It's super effective as well! What's wrong with gaming

otakus! They'll go high whenever someone throws the word
'gaming' out!"

Aguri-san seems to be talking about something, but us

gamers can't hear her already. Chiaki and I sat next to each
other and even turned our bodies as we chatted
enthusiastically.

"I know you! When there're a lot more missions available

in the mid-game after you passed the tutorial, it really excites
me!"

"Yeah! Especially when there's a job system in the game.

After you found a quick level-up spot in the mid-game or late-
game, the 'experience ceiling' is expanded at once. It feels my
heart with hope and expectation, and that's the best part!"

"I 100% agree with you! Level 3 in this generation is

exactly the same! I stopped advancing through the main
storyline for 10 hours, just to level up my character!"

"Yeah! That's it! Once you start leveling up, it already feels
like you're not doing it to beat the boss, you're just doing it for
the sake of gaining experience! You don't like going through
the story anymore, am I right!"
•
 "I feel like I would just live there. That's like getting stuffed
up in an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"That's a great metaphor, Keita! Sigh, but that sense of

depravity is a fun part of the game..."

"That's true, Chiaki-san."

The two of us just looked at the sky and let out a reveled
sigh.

...At the opposite seat, Aguri-san put her elbows on the

table and looked at us dumbfoundedly.

"...How should I put it? If we put all the complicated

situation aside... how about you two just start dating right
away?"

She seems to be babbling about something, but Chiaki and I

are entirely devoted to chatting about the game, so we didn't
have time to care.

Just as we're relished in this blessed moment like we're in a

hot spring, we spoke up at the exact same time.

"By the way, the best part of this generation is still——"

"By the way, the worst part of this generation is still——"

Then, both of our voices overlapped.

"——The girls are all pretty cute."

"............"

""HUH?""
•
 We instantly glared at each other fiercely. Suddenly, loud
claps can be heard from the seat in front.

"——Yo, Master Amano! Master Hoshinomori! Hiya.

Although I saw the small conflicts between you two in the
past... I'm still throbbed when I saw such a concrete and
classical argument plot! I feel like I just watched a traditional
performance. I learned something. I'm super delighted right
now."

Aguri-san is getting thrilled over nothing, but we don't have

time to care for her.

Chiaki and I discussed moe elements for 15 minutes

straight just as usual. When we exhausted our energy, we
finally realized that Aguri-san is still here... Both of us
apologized to her.

"S-Sorry..."

"It's okay. I appreciated your performance. It's a wonderful

pre-dinner show."

Once we snapped out of it, Aguri-san is eating a bowl of

French fries that she ordered some time ago. She even treated
our fight as a side dish and seems to be enjoying it.

Then, Aguri-san directly asked an unbelievable question.

"By the way, how many kids do you two have?"

"No, we're not married."

"Really?"

•
 Aguri-san was thoroughly shocked for some reason. Also,
Chiaki blushed suddenly as well. She doesn't need to be that
pissed with a joke of this level, right...

Anyway, the embarrassing atmosphere caused by Chiaki

gradually disappeared.

After Chiaki took a beverage from the drink bar, we

grabbed the opportunity and asked her about the incident.

"Chiaki, about the things that happened in the amusement

park..."

"Ah. I get it, you two kissed on that day, right?"

""No.""

We started explaining to Chiaki once again. Although she's

unwilling to admit it, she understood what happened and
nodded.

Chiaki took a sip of the warm black tea before pouting.

"But, from my perspective, I only felt that you two 'kissed'

each other."

"Ah... right... I guess so..."

Aguri-san and I found this troublesome. If Chiaki viewed it

that way... this means that other people's reaction has to be
the same. This is an actual ingrained issue. Even if we actually
didn't kiss, their testimony is more concrete. We would have
lost if this is a lawsuit.

So, even Chiaki seems to be trembled by our reaction. She

•
gave us a slightly caring look.

"Well... even so, we're not absolutely not believing you two.
It's just that... we can't find a compromise between that and
what we've witnessed."

"U-Ugh..."

This is a crucial point. However, at the same time, this is

just increasing our frustration. We can't do anything to help
it... But it's because we can't help it, there's no used to
continue to be bothered.

I decided to change the topic.

"By the way, Chiaki, I don't really understand a part since

then."

"Really, which part?"

Chiaki elegantly took a sip of her black tea as she answered.

I asked her without meaning anything.

"Chiaki, why were you shocked when you saw Aguri-san

and me kissed?"

"—Bu!?"

Ms. Chiaki spewed all her black tea out. Luckily, it was only
on the table and didn't reach the food or anyone. I do feel
terrible for her. Chiaki is coughing hard from her choke, she
even wiped the table with tissues quickly as she answered.

"I-It's nothing, uh, well, well, it's because, because..."

"C-Calm down, Chiaki. That's the first time I've seen such a
•
reaction aside from humor comics. So, I don't know what to
do, just calm down for now, anyway."

"A-Alright... Phew... ha..."

"You good?"

"Yep... I'm fine. Sorry for scaring you two. I'll take a sip of
my black tea first."

"Alright, glad to hear that... Anyway, why were you shocked

when you saw Aguri-san and me kissing—"

"—Bu!?"

"You're like a character in comics! That's incredible!"

Aguri-san and I were quite amazed by that at this point.

She didn't mess up anything except the tables, that's
precision. It's like a kind of unique ability.

Just as we're staring at Chiaki with sparkling eyes, she

quickly wiped the table with tissues and cleared her throat.

"O-Of course... it's not common to see my friends in

separate relationships kissing each other in front of me. It's
hard for me to not feel shocked."

This is absolutely reasonable. However...

"But this isn't enough to hurt your heart, right? However,

including your little sister Konoha, I felt like you two are
overreacting..."

The Hoshinomori sisters are just as shocked as Uehara-kun

and Tendou-san. This is weird once you think about it.
•
 I asked a question purely, but Chiaki's eyes started rolling
around for some reason.

"Uh, it's nothing. That's just because... well, well..."

So, at the next moment, an unexpected person came to her

aid.

"Amanocchi, don't act like that. It's quite shocking and

hurtful when you witnessed two unexpected friends kissing
alone."

Aguri-san swung her finger while letting out her

disapproval. I can't help but tilt my head.

"Aguri-san? Uh... what do you mean by that?"

"Well, here's an example from your perspective... For

instance, how would you feel if you saw Hoshinomori-san
kissing with that Misumi guy?"

Eh... Misumi-kun and Chiaki...?

"Uwah! Although I don't understand the reason, I feel like I

would be shocked!"

I took more damage than expected after I imagined it!

What is this!? This feels disgusting. Two friends that I don't
even know how they connect to each other just unexpectedly
kissed! I've never imagined such a horrible scene even when
I'm still in my loner stage! I'm defenseless!

Just as my heart is pounding, Aguri-san blinked slightly at

Chiaki. To that, Chiaki hastily lowered her head and thanked
her... What's with that interaction between them? Chiaki
•
appreciated her so much just for conveying her thoughts. I
think it's too ridiculous...

Anyway, I understood how Chiaki feels. I apologized to her

once again.

"Sorry, Chiaki. I think I understand that you'll be shocked

as well."

"R-Really? That's good... Phew..."

Chiaki finally calmed down and drank her black tea.

I smiled and continued.

"Chiaki, I really don't like seeing you kissing another boy."

"—Bu!?"

"What's triggering it now!?"

I freaked out when Chiaki spewed her black tea again. At

the next moment, I was somehow glared by the two girls
fiercely.

"Shut your mouth when others are drinking!"

"This is unreasonable!"

I was the one at fault again! I didn't even say anything

remotely hilarious! Chiaki should be the one to blame for
acting so brainlessly!

I thought about this, but the stress coming from the two
girls is immense. So, I zipped my mouth.

•
 Chiaki finally sipped her black tea normally and slowly.
She rested for a while.

"Phew... Anyway, our sisters' reaction isn't the most

significant issue right now. The main problem is you two's
partners, right?"

"You're right..."

Honestly, we tried to move away from the issue explicitly

when Chiaki showed up. However, the main problem is
indeed not the brainless reactions of the Hoshinomori sisters.

Chiaki secretly glanced at Aguri-san as she continued.

"However, uh, it's not right to say this in front of Uehara-

kun's girlfriend... But, I don't think he understands the
concept of chastity, am I right?"

"It's really not right to say that in front of a girl! But... the
regretful thing is, I can understand what Hoshino is trying to
say..."

"H-Hoshino?"

Chiaki was confused at Aguri-san's sudden change in

naming. Aguri-san continued like it's nothing.

"After all, the name 'Hoshinomori-san' sounds pretty long,

right? Including the Hobby Club, we obviously have a lot of
chance to talk, so it's quite weird to keep calling you that. A
nickname should be allowed, right."

"A nickname... nickname... My friend just got me a

nickname... Ho, ho, haha... hahahaha..."
•
 Chiaki laughed disgustingly. This feels creepy... Although I
wanted to tell her, the regretful part is, I also understand how
precious it is to have a nickname from your friends.

Even so, I guess Aguri-san is just trying to shorten the

name, so she continued with the intention of smoothing
things over.

•
 "Uh, I can change it back if you don't like it..."

"No, please just use the nickname! Yes, please call me with
the nickname!"

"Really, if that's so... I'll keep it like that. Right, then I..."

"Ah, well, please let me call you Big Sis!"

"Big Sis?"

Aguri-san and I were surprised at this, but Chiaki answered

like there's nothing wrong.

"The name 'Shin-chan' doesn't carry any negative meaning.

To a person that's willing to give me such an adorable
nickname, how can I not treat her as a superior!"

"Eh, we're equals! I hate it when a girl at my age call me

Big Sis! It's like when Amanocchi treated me as some kind of
god, why are you two thinking so highly of me right away!?"

"I-It's because..."

"It's not because! How about you just call me 'Aguri-san'

like usual!"

"T-That doesn't feel right!"

The two girls went back and forth about the name... So, 5
minutes later, the two finally managed to find a compromise
and solution.

"W-Well, Hoshino will call you 'Agu-nee' from now on..."

•
 "I-I guess it can't be helped..."

After the conclusion is made, the two of them greeted each

other with a smile.

"Well, nice to meet you, Hoshino."

"Yes, Agu-nee."

I followed them soon.

"Nice to meet you, seaweed head."

"Shut up, you bean sprout midget."

We fought each other with furious glares. Aguri mumbled

dumbfoundedly. "In a sense, I'm quite envious of the
relationship between you two..." I don't understand at all why
she is envious of our fierce rivalry.

Then, Chiaki cleared her throat and continued.

"Uh, well, about Uehara-kun. Well, what I want to say is

that... at least when compared to Tendou-san, he's the kind of
guy that can let this go quickly. So, as long as you explain it
clearly, I feel like there's a good chance that he'll understand."

"Really... Hmm, if Shin-chan said that, I feel a bit better

now."

Aguri-san cheerfully scratched her cheeks... Just like when

they're calling nicknames, I think these two people are way
closer now... Although, from my perspective, they should be
love rivals in fierce competition.

Just as I'm pondering dazedly, Chiaki dampened my

•
enthusiasm right away.

"However, Tendou-san will not let this go that easily, Keita.

How should I put it... It's because she's innocent and has a
love for cleanliness. Even when you explained everything, it's
hard to estimate how hurt she would be..."

"Yeah..."

She has the same idea as I do. No matter whether we kissed

or not... before we discuss the truth, Tendou-san was perhaps
already severely hurt when she witnessed that scene.

Chiaki took a step further and asked me.

"Keita, what are you going to do with her?"

"Uh... about that, actually... I've already made up my mind

on how I should 'end' this."

"End? What does that mean..."

"Hmm..."

After I took a sip of the iced coffee, I showed the girls my

determination once again.

"Firstly, if Tendou-san lost all hope with me... I'm planning

to cut all ties with her when the time arrives."

""WHA-""

The girls were speechless. Then, they freaked out and

immediately spoke up.

"No, no, no, Amanocchi, you don't need to be that resolute

•
suddenly...!"

"Agu-nee is right, Keita! Your idea is way too extreme, no

matter what! That's your bad habit!"

The two scolded at me. Even so, I'm still not backing down.

"No, I think I need to go from an extreme perspective.

After all... as boyfriend, I literally kissed another girl in front
of my girlfriend. It's hard to find a more lethal attack than this
one, right?"

"Well..."

"Even if our lips didn't touch, nothing changes if Tendou-

san can't clear away her suspicion. Also, instead of making
her uncomfortable and keep maintaining this relationship
where only I can benefit... I need to act decisively and cut all
ties, even if that will make her hate me. She has a great future
ahead of her. I shouldn't drag her down."

That's the same as me in the spring. I had a great time

because of Tendou-san.

"............"

The two girls back down and fell silent. I quickly cheered
them up.

"N-No, we still don't know how it will end yet. Perhaps

Tendou-san will 100% believe our explanation and agree that
we didn't kiss. So, it's not guaranteed that we'll break up. How
should I put it, I'm just talking about my own realization and
decision. Right, whether did we break up or not, I need to
bring an end to something else, and that is-"
•
 "A-Amanocchi!"

During this time, Aguri-san gave me an all-out look and

suddenly interrupted me.

I stopped and looked at her. Then, she sat upright and

lowered her head to apologize.

"A-Amanocchi... Well, uh, I'm sor——"

"——W-Wait up!"

This time, I was the one that interrupted Aguri-san. She

was shocked as I hastily continued.

"Aguri-san, what are you trying to apologize for!? Please

don't do that! If you say sorry right now, doesn't that make us
look like we actually kissed each other!""

"But... even if we didn't, if you ended up breaking up with

your girlfriend because of that..."

"Aguri-san, this is at least absolutely not your fault. It's

more like, if you just bear the responsibility carelessly, it'll
only make Tendou-san and I feel uncomfortable. So... instead,
you need to be yourself and act politely."

"Amanocchi.."

Aguri-san silently looked at me... Then, she nodded her

head confidently.

"...Okay, I understand. I won't say anything or apologize. I

will just... pray silently in my heart and wish that things will
be beautiful with you and Tendou-san."

•
 "Thanks, Aguri-san."

Aguri-san and I smiled at each other warmly. During this

time... for some reason, as if she's trying to compete, Chiaki
injected into the conversation as well.

"W-Well! I'll back you up as well!"

"Eh? Yep, okay, thanks...?"

"Also, Keita, even if you broke up... Uhhhh, it's not like
your future is totally over yet! There's a chance for you to
continue your youth! You can have a great life!"

"W-What? I can still... continue my youth?"

"Yes! T-Think about it... For example... uh, p-perhaps

there's another girl who matches you perfectly as well... T-
That development is quite possible..."

For some reason, Chiaki blushed as she mumbled at last...

Uh, what's wrong with her? Is she nervous because she's not
used to smoothing things over for people? Even so...

"Eh, it's not going to happen, Chiaki."

"Why are you so sure!?"

Chiaki was somehow struck hard. I continued with a

serious look.

"We're talking about me, the lonely passerby Keita Amano.

Also, I just experienced 'a relationship with Karen Tendou',
which had already exhausted all my luck in my entire life.
Usually... the rest of my life is a straight path towards being a

•
mage. It's more like being able to date Tendou-san for a short
time is already a miracle. I will forever treasure that
memory."

"You are taking yourself too lightly! Even though I'm the
same as well!"

"Moreover, you can expect how much I'll earn based on my

crappy base stats... With this, I guess even the women that are
just trying to scam won't get near me as well."

"Please don't talk about your miserable future this calmly!

K-Keita, where are your hopeful adolescent delusions!?"

"That's not a problem. I'm looking forward to becoming the

first person to use the strongest fire magic ever!"

"Please don't look forward to learning magic! D-Don't be so

apathetic!"

"Chiaki, please team up with me as a mage when the time

is right! We'll play together!"

"Why are you dragging me down as well!? I-I still haven't

given up on my life yet!"

Chiaki ran out of breath as she complained. Hmm, I didn't

expect this. Does she wish for a future with a boyfriend? Ah,
is it Uehara-kun? However, hmm... even though she got a
confession somehow before; if he already had Aguri-san,
who's such an incredible girlfriend, I feel like the competition
will be harsh..

Just as I'm thinking, Aguri-san, who nearly finished all of

the fries on her own, spoke up.
•
 "Well, it's been a long day. I think it's time for us to go,
right?"

"Ah, right. Uh, what about you, Chiaki...?"

"Ah, I'll wait for Konoha here--Oops, just a second."

Chiaki pulled out her smartphone that seemingly got a

message and checked. Then, a few seconds later, she let out a
big sigh as she hastily prepares to leave.

Aguri-san and I were confused. So, Chiaki explained.

"Konoha wants to watch TV shows, so she's planning to get

her dinner from the convenience store... I guess I should go
with you two."

"Alright."

So, the three of us left the family restaurant. During this

time...

"Ah, right. That 'something that I want to bring an end to'

was skipped..."

Although I noticed about this, there's no reason to go back

to the seat and chat now.

We went outside after we paid at the cashier. The sun was

already gone when it's not even 6.

The three of us chatted halfheartedly as we strolled on the

street.

"The sunset is so early now."

•
 "Yeah."

"This feels the same as Amanocchi..."

"While I'm not sure what are you trying to say, anyway, can
I punch you?"

"Please don't do that, Keita! Why are you so violent to Agu-

nee?"

"That's a dumb question, Chiaki. It's because she's Aguri-

san."

"That's a dumb answer, Keita. This doesn't make any sense!

Don't you think you two's relationship is too unique!"

We were delighted at this bizarre conversation. This is the

salvation that I don't have when I'm a loner. When the two
girls are around, who I kept arguing with... right now, I
sincerely appreciated that... H-However, it's because I'm
unwilling to tell Aguri-san and Chiaki directly. But I should
thank them in my heart... Really, thank you so much.

Then, Chiaki is seeming trying to mediate the argument

between Aguri-san and me. So, she went close to me
forcefully and started to chat about gaming.

"S-Speaking of Dragon Blood Tree's Maze, the bosses are

challenging this time!"

"Eh? Oh... it's actually hard. You need to fight your way to
the boss without a lot of save points. It's tough to challenge
again as well."

"Yeah. I ended up spending all my effort on leveling up

•
instead of fighting the boss without noticing... Moreover, the
punishment for a game over is really harsh."

"Yeah, you'll lose all your items once you lost in this
generation... Thanks to this, currently, my team is very fragile
from my losing streak."

I smiled bitterly at Chiaki. So, she gave me a surprised look.

"Eh? Why? Didn't you also level up your team before you
fight a risky boss like a well-prepared player? Why are you
wasting your time for additional tries and even sacrificing all
your stuff..."

"Oh... right, you're correct. But..."

I looked forward, as I answered.

"Recently, I feel like it's an excellent experience to screw

everything and just go all-out and challenge something that's
guaranteed to result in a defeat."

"I can understand that if you're talking about fighting

games... But, in RPGs that carry risks when you lose, there's
no benefit for a defeat at all..."

"Hey, of course, I want to win as well. But 'Challenge,

Defeat, Lose' sounds like an enjoyable gaming experience as
well. I think. I started to believe that recently."

I smiled as I conveyed my idea. Then, Chiaki... answered

with a slightly lowered head.

"...That's exactly what Tendou-san would say, Keita."

•
 "Eh? Right... I guess you're right once you said that. Really?
While I don't look like it, I think I was influenced by Tendou-
san quite a lot without me knowing it."

I agreed wholeheartedly with Chiaki's point, so I can't help

but give her a smile. However, for some reason... she
answered me with an empty smile.

"?"

I'm not sure what she meant. Just as I'm about to ask her,
at that moment, Aguri-san, who's at the front, turned back
and asked us.

"By the way, Amanocchi and Hoshino, is it fine for you two
just walk to downtown with me?"

After she asked that, we stopped talking about gaming and

answered.

"Ah, yes. I'm taking the bus. Let's walk together for now."

"I-I'm meeting Konoha at the station as well. It's alright."

"Okay. Then let's go to the bus stop."

So, the three of us partnered up and walked along the

streets in the night. I initially wanted to ask Chiaki what does
her reaction mean... However, right now, she's chitchatting
with Aguri-san, so I missed the chance.

Sigh, I can't just keep bothering her. I changed my mind

and looked at the roads dazedly.

...But, by the way, come to think of it, it's quite rare for the

•
three us to be in a group. Although we're all Game Hobby
Club members, perhaps it's not easy to only see a 3-person
gathering.

——The Keita Amano that's walking on the streets at night

with a gal and a seaweed head... I don't even know what will
the former self think if he saw this.

No matter how you put it, I feel like my relationships had a

massive change in these few months. Even so, meeting with
these two people is just the start. The most shocking fact is
still "becoming couples with the legendary Tendou-san."

——A couple, huh...

I still felt like this is unrealistic by today's standard... not to

mention me a few months ago.

But it's hard to blame me. The opportunity for us to start

dating is literally—

"Eh, w-weird?"

"What's wrong, Aguri-san?"

Since Aguri-san stopped suddenly, I snapped out of my

thoughts and asked.

So, Aguri-san pointed at the bus station that we can see

already, and she even looked back at me with a perplexed
look.

"...I think I saw Tasuku, Tendou-san... and Konoha-san...

walked into the station together..."

•
 "...What?"

............

...On the same street, there seems to be another unlikely

trio.

***

When we walked into the station, we saw the three arguing

over something on the sofa in the middle of the hall.

Just as we're rushing there, we began to slowly hear what

they're fighting over.

"——I've said this many times. I didn't mean to do that."

"If that's so, how would you explain the fact that you
played with my body during the date!?"

"This is injustice!"

"Look, you're using erotic words like 'injustice' again!"

(Note: The pronunciations of 'injustice' and 'wet clothes'

are the same in Japanese.)

"Eh, what's with the unreasonable accusation! Who's the

erotic one here!?"

"It's Trashara-senpai, of course. Anyway, I bet 80% of your

brain is thinking about 'a big breast, defenseless, young wife
with clothes wetted' when you said that's injustice."

"That's real injustice when you put it that way!"

•
 "Please just calm down. We shouldn't be arguing like that
in public..."

"Sigh, Tendou-senpai, you got some issues as well.

Although you're trying to act like a mediator just then, I'm
just as mad at you! You already have Amano-senpai as your
boyfriend. I can't believe you're still walking on the streets
alone with a pornstar that sold his body like him...!"

"No, like I've said before, we really just met each other
coincidentally. Then, you're the one that overreacted and
makes a big deal over this——"

"——No, no, no, Tendou. You should ask her to take back
that whole 'pornstar that sold his body' thing-"

The three of them seem to be in a standoff. Although we're

close enough to hear what the three are saying clearly... we
stopped walking towards them and came to a standstill.

That's because...

"""...Uwah, I don't really want others to know that I'm

friends with them..."""

Our thoughts are perfectly synchronized here.

We looked at each other and nodded before deciding to

leave quietly——

"——Eh, weird, Amano-kun? That's you, Amano-kun,

right?"

"Crap!"

•
 "What?"

Tendou-san was struck with the fact that her boyfriend just
swore to her brutally. I'm sorry, Tendou-san... However, I
think the problem has to do with the people talking like that
in the station...

Anyway, we can't help it when we're busted. We turned our

heads stiffly, and Tendou-san stopped arguing with the other
two and bulged their eyes surprisingly.

"...What's the unbelievable trio doing here?"

"""That's literally our line!"""

We can't help but yell at the top of our lungs.

Then, after that, all of us finally understood what's going on

after a 5-minute talk.

Tendou-san and Uehara-kun went to the Game Club after

school today, seemingly based on "a variety of reasons." After
that, they left the school separately, but the regretful part is
that since both of them love gaming, so they met up again at
the arcade near the station. If they met, how about just go to
the station while chatting... So, after a short walk, I think
they're under Konoha-san's inspection.

Being misunderstood as cheating by a girl from the

Hoshinomori's family, and even bursting in angrily... I think I
heard that somewhere else. Is it what's trending these days?

Our side started to explain our situation, as well. However,

we're different than Tendou-san. This isn't a coincidence right
at the start, we even met alone in the family restaurant.
•
 Honestly, there's no way we're getting out of this if we're
suspected of cheating. Aguri-san and I were prepared for
this...

However, Tendou-san and Uehara-kun trusted us right

away, unexpectedly.

Just as Aguri-san and I found this unbelievable, the two

looked at each other's face and answered powerlessly at the
same time.

"Sigh, it's because we were taught a brutal lesson on the

court..."

"The court?"

Aguri-san and I tilted our heads to express our confusion...

This doesn't make sense. What court?

But I guess Tendou-san and Uehara-kun don't want to

explain in detail, so they just moved on quickly.

"A-Anyway, right now, Uehara-kun and I were self-

reflecting."

"Yes. So, we're not in the mood to suspect whether you two
are cheating or not..."

"Oh... really... okay...?"

W-What is wrong with me? I'm feeling unsatisfied even

we're not under suspicion. Should I say that this isn't fun? ...
After all, Aguri-san and I were well-prepared to explain
ourselves...

•
 But if we're trusted this way, I need to sincerely appreciate
them.

So, after everything's cleared up, Uehara-kun spoke up like

he's trying to lead the discussion.

"Anyway, everyone's going home, right? Whether you're

taking the bus or walking."

"Yeah, you're right."

Tendou-san nodded. Uehara-kun said, 'right' before

continuing.

"Well... it's useless for us to just stay here, shouldn't we just

disband?"

His suggestion is absolutely right. However, everyone just

answered with a subtle silence that's hard to tell whether they
agree or not.

Uehara-kun scratched his head awkwardly and looked at

Aguri-san. Aguri-san is a bit embarrassed, so she looked away.
The reaction between Tendou-san and I is more or less the
same.

"...Ah, right..."

Currently, we were relieved to know the "attempted

kissing" incident was over, on the surface. So, there shouldn't
be any reason for us to feel awkward right now.

But, we ended up not being able to be ourselves... From

this perspective, in actuality, all the issues remained unsolved
in everyone's heart. Also, we all knew this fact.
•
 "............"

We can't go home first, yet we don't have any ideas to

lighten the mood, either. In the end, everyone remained
quiet. It's because all of us are being considerate in our hearts.
That's why it caused this sense of... stagnation.

It'll only be even more embarrassing if this continues.

"Uh, uh, well, Amano-senpai, hentai gam... No... uh..."

To change up the mood, Konoha-san wanted to throw

something new into the discussion, but she can't reveal her
hobbies as well. This isn't going great.

Also, it's humiliating for us to be cared for by a junior from

another school like this. The atmosphere ended up even more
awkward. So...

"W-Well... uh... game... right... Dragon Blood Tree's

Maze..."

There's a very silent voice that only I can hear coming from
the side... So, I turned my head and looked. Then, right
there...

"Chiaki..."

I don't know whether she's doing it for her little sister or

us... A gaming otaku girl is trembling and blushing really hard
as she tries to find something for us to talk about, even
though she's not used to this at all.

............

•
 At that moment, I finally made up my mind and decided to
screw it — Alright.

"Please listen to me!"

"?"

I spoke up with a voice that's enough to overpower Chiaki's

weak mumbles. Just as everyone's raising their heads in
surprise... I puffed up my chest and took a couple steps
forward.

Then, I stood in front of Tendou-san.

"...A-Amano-kun? W-What's wrong?"

"Tendou-san. I deeply understand that I shouldn't bring

this out in front of everyone... However, to us, I think we can
call everyone here a 'friend' and irreplaceable to us. So, I
hope you can forgive me."

"O-Okay. Uh... Amano-kun? What are you trying to say..."

Tendou-san stunned. Just as everyone around is watching

us speechlessly... I straightened my back seriously and asked
that one thing.

"I want to talk about, of course, is how we should 'end' our

relationship."

"!?"

It's not just Tendou-san, I can sense that everyone present

paused breathing.

I took a deep breath before continuing.

•
 "Tendou-san, I want to confirm this with you first..."

"A-Alright."

Tendou-san gave me a nervous look... So, I made up my

mind and asked that question.

"About the scene where Aguri-san and I kissed, can you

agree with our 'attempted' explanation, let this go, and go
back to the relationship we used to have?"

"............"

To my question, Tendou-san remained silent and slowly

closed her eyes first.

With that, she pondered about it with her eyes closed for
nearly 10 seconds.

When Tendou-san opened her eyes again... that pair of

blue pupils were already boiling with a firm determination.

She faced me directly and slowly spoke up...

"No. I don't want to keep it the same as before with you

anymore."

"Really..."

Even though I was prepared for this already, but my throat

still froze when I actually heard that.

During this time, Aguri-san suddenly spoke up from

behind.

"Eh, w-wait up, Tendou-san, Amanocchi didn't do anything

•
wrong——"

"——Aguri-san!"

I yelled and stopped her. Although Aguri-san is still not

willing to let this go and said, "but...!" When I looked back
and mumbled, "thank you," she almost cried out for a
moment, but she bit her lips and lowered her head before
backing down.

I faced Tendou-san once again and tried my best to

squeeze a smile on my face.

...Honestly, I wanted to cry right now. I really can't hold my

tears back if Aguri-san continued to defend me.

However... I can't let a girl that I've respected for so long to

see such a feeble side of mine.

Just as everyone's watching the event unfolds silently, I

continued.

"Tendou-san. I understand now. Well, from this moment

and on, we're already..."

"Yes, you're right. Amano-kun... let's end this relationship."

I almost whimpered when I heard her saying that so

decisively.

However... I'm not done. I'm not done yet.

After all, right now... I'm only halfway through the 'end' I
wanted to make.

"Amano-kun——"
•
 Tendou-san reached her hand to me and wanted to say
something.

However, I took a step back and yelled as if I'm rejecting it.

"——THAT'S DIFFERENT!"

Tendou-san was scared right away. Also, the same goes for
everyone and a couple of passersby that are just joining in the
fun... Ufufu, this is embarrassing. But I don't care.

This is the only moment that I have a chance to end this.

I puffed up my chest and announced loudly!

"I-I w-wanted to use this as my last chance! I-I-I want to

'end' this relationship in my own style! Tendou-san! Please
listen to me!"

"Hmm? A-Amano-kun? W-What are you talking about..."

Tendou-san is oblivious to the situation, and her eyes are

rolling. Everyone around us is observing with a confused
look.

I... have never blushed this hard before in my life.

Even so, to "end" this completely...

I still yelled at the top of my lungs and channeled all my

feelings... to Tendou-san!

"Karen Tendou-san! I... I love you!"

"Hiya!"

•
 "!?"

Tendou-san let out a weird noise as she blushed and even

leaned backward out of her shock. All of my friends bulged
their eyes, and the people in the station stopped.

This is so embarrassing, I want to die. I want to disappear.

However, even so... I still didn't stop.

I continued my confession.

"I love your smile! Your smile pulled this plain and useless
boy out of his miserable daily lives. It makes me sincerely
attracted to you!"

"Eh, wait a minute, A-Amano-kun..."

Tendou-san freaked out. How poor of her for being

dragged down by my weird move. Although I thought about
this, I have to do this for a proper "ending."

I continued once again.

"I love your serious side! You'll never go easy on someone

in a game or in a competition. I've always looked forward to
that, and it made me fell hopelessly in love with you!"

"Uh, well, how should I, this... hey..."

"I love your slightly biased sensibility! You made me laugh

with your unique views on everything, and it made me proud
of you as well! This is the first time that I have experienced
such a real feeling when I'm with someone! Perhaps I'll be
teased like a little kid when I'm saying this, even so, I'm

•
thinking, maybe this is how it feels to be in love with
someone. Yes, I can sense that it is a part of love! Thank you
very much!"'

•
 "Ah! N-N-N-No..."

Tendou-san covered her face with both of her hands. Even

my friends blushed right now, not to mention her.

However... even so, no matter how embarrassing this is, I

need to go all-out until the last second.

"Also! Most importantly... the times that I'm playing video

games with you... and the times that we're chatting about
gaming... those were the most blessed moments of my life!"

"Amano-kun..."

Tendou-san peeked at me from the gaps of her fingers.

I smiled at her, then...

I decided to confess my feelings once again to bring this to

a conclusion.

"Karen Tendou-san! I really... I really love you! The end!"

"............"

Once it's over... not only Tendou-san, all of my friends are

so embarrassed that their heads are steaming.

Also, even the crowds gave me a round of applause... H-

How embarrassing!

Just as I'm about to die from embarrassment, Tendou-san

is still trembling. But she asked me this.

"A-A-Amano-kun? W-Why did you say all that...?"

•
 To her absolutely reasonable question...

I took a few deep breaths and managed to act normally

again. Then, I answered with a bitter smile.

"I-I've said this before... that's because I wanted to 'end'

this. The importance is like accepting a break up calmly, or
maybe it's even more than that. Anyway, this is my way of
'ending' this."

"The 'end' that you k-keep talking about... what are you
trying to end?"

"What am I trying to end... Uh, isn't it already clear?"

"Eh? W-Well... I just felt... that was literally a confession..."

"Y-Yeah, that's right!"

"...Eh?"

Tendou-san and everyone around us was frozen.

I decided to convey my thoughts to her again.

"Tendou-san, after all, I've never properly 'confessed' to

you, right?"

"...Oh..."

Right away, everyone understood what I'm trying to say.

I continued.

"Think about it, the chance for us to start dating... it's based
on a series of biases, misunderstandings, and verbal error.
•
How should I put it... I can't get it off my head. No matter how
we'll break up, I still feel like I need to confess to you
properly.

"Amano-kun..."

"After all, if I don't do this... I'll feel terrible for those who
confessed to you sincerely and got rejected... I didn't even say
anything remotely related to a confession. Then I acted like a
boyfriend because of your kindness... I think I'm definitely
not supposed to do that."

"............"

"B-But, as a result, I didn't expect that I'll only yell out my

confession once we broke up. I guess this could be one of the
most stupid confessions in the world..."

After I said that, I scratched my cheeks before continuing.

"However... I'm glad that I said this out. It feels far better.
Think about it, it's like fighting a boss in RPG that you can
never hope to win. Although you can just quit early on and
restart, right now, I still feel like I should do an all-out
challenge, then got annihilated and return to the title screen. I
just think it feels way better."

"............"

S-Strange, what's wrong? No one is giving me any

reactions... Did I mess this up when I tried to relate this to
gaming?

I decided to end this with a short conclusion.

•
 "Uh, that's all. Thank you for dating me before, Tendou-
san!"

I lowered my head and greeted her... Although no one gave

me a response... even so, I can still feel the mood among
everyone has lightened up.

Anyway, this is enough embarrassment for a day, and I lost

my girlfriend... As long as I can improve this tightened
atmosphere, all the things I just did was worth it. Yes.s

I'm satisfied with the result, so I spoke up to everyone

shyly.

"Well, it's getting late, let's disband——"

Just as I suggested that.

"——No, u-uh, wait up, Amano-kun."

"Tendou-san?"

Tendou-san walked forward embarrassingly with a blush.

Everyone is looking at her to see what she has to say... So,

Tendou-san cleared her throat.

She looked away awkwardly as she mumbled.

"...When did I..."

"What?"

Crap, even I, the guy that claimed to be the best at listening

to other's mumbling, can't hear it.

•
 In reality, I think no one heard that as well, all of them
stepped closer to Tendou-san.

Then, although Tendou-san paused for a moment with an

"ugh..."

But, at the next second... she seems to have given up on

herself and decided to shout it out.

"W-When did I say I'm breaking up with you!?"

"...Huh?"

All of us don't know what she meant, our confused voice

overlapped each other.

Strangely, Chiaki was the one that questioned Tendou-san

first.

"No, no, no, Tendou-san, i-it's because you just said 'let's
end this relationship' to Keita, right? Doesn't that mean you
two are breaking up..."

"Ugh! No... that's because of... uh..."

Tendou-san grabbed the corner of her skirt embarrassingly

as she lowered her head.

Uehara-kun immediately laughed mischievously.

"Haha, I guess you're falling for him once again after

hearing Amano's confession, right?"

"I-It's not like that! It's not that! I... uh... meant that from
the start... that's why I'm here..."

•
 Konoha-san interrupted her mumbling sharply.

"You meant that at the start? This means that you planned
to forgive Amano-senpai from the beginning and stay as a
couple? If that's the case, why are you saying that you wanted
to end this relationship...?"

"I-I said it's not like that!"

Tendou-san kept waving her hands like a child throwing a

tantrum. However, even if she said that none of us can
understand her meaning from such shattered information.

"Ufufu..."

Tendou-san's face is blushing harder and harder. She

mumbled on her own, "I didn't plan to say this in front of that
many people..." However, I guess she realized she can't get
out of this if she doesn't explain clearly.

Tendou-san took nearly 3 deep breaths, and then she

started to explain bit by bit.

"S-So, I... uh... d-decided to... end 'this relationship' with

Amano-kun at the beginning... The 'this relationship' I'm
talking about means... uh... it means..."

"What does it mean?"

I tilted my head out of my confusion and asked.

So... Tendou-san cried out as if she's embarrassed from the

bottom of her heart... At the same time, she covered her face
with both of her hands... and then she finally said what she
meant out loud.
•
 "I mean it's almost time for us to end this kind of 'level 1
couple' relationship... a-and advance to the next phase... Uh, I
mean... it's the phase... where we can k-k-k-k-kiss soon..."

"...!?"

Then.

We got another person who's blushing like a red tomato.

***

In the end, we reached a whole new meaning of

'embarrassment' that's different than the start. After we bid
farewell to each other, the group was quickly disbanded...

I can't believe the bus I need to take to go home was the

same as Tendou-san's. Also, there are no passengers aside
from us.

"............"

We sat at the back of the bus, and there's a person's wide

gap between us in the middle... Initially, we can just pair up
and take the 2-person seat. However, currently, it'll be too
much for us to handle if we stick that close to each other...
Even so, it's weird to sit separately, so it ended up like this.

"............"

...Aside from our silence, there's only the engine running

noise of the bus... I didn't expect that my ranking of the "most
awkward situation in my life" updated once again in just a
couple hours.

•
 Moreover, this awkwardness isn't caused by tensions... The
embarrassment caused by both sides liking each other is way
too novel. I didn't know what to do, my chest and my stomach
are so itchy.

——Also, the bus still isn't moving...!

Whether it's for Tendou-san or me, our homes are just a

walk away. In other words, taking the bus wouldn't take us a
long time. We only decided to take it because it's getting late.

However, speaking of this bus, I don't know whether it's

related to the bus schedule or something, it's not going to
start any time soon. By the way, I only noticed this now, but
the driver wasn't even on the bus. He's chatting with other
drivers. Seriously, how long does it take for this bus to start
moving?

"............"

But this silence is intolerable. I managed to muster up my

courage and work up my sense of humor to the extreme, then
I tried to talk to Tendou-san.

"...It's quite awkward for us to meet right after we said

goodbye."

"Y-Yeah. This is awkward."

"R-Right. It's awkward."

"............"

"............"

•
 Crap, this is just telling each other that we're embarrassed.
This is getting even more awkward. What's wrong with my
chatting ability? I'm utterly hopeless with myself.

"Sigh..."

I let out a huge sigh and dropped my shoulders. So, at this

moment, I can hear Tendou-san's chuckles from the side.

I looked, and I saw Tendou-san's glancing at me with a

smile.

"Amano-kun, this is unbelievable. You're always Amano-

kun."

"Eh? What does that mean? I feel like I'm not getting
praised..."

"Ah, that's fine. Honestly, I'm not praising you."

"Ouch!"

"However, I'm not despising you either."

Tendou-san laughed cheerfully after she said that...

Although I'm not sure what's going on, the mood has
lightened up anyway.

I pressed my chest in relief as I faced her once again.

"Uh, sorry, Tendou-san. I can only give you weird reactions

for your feelings to me..."

After I apologized, Tendou-san smiled and answered.

"Nope, Amano-kun, aren't you like that at the start? Like

•
when I invited you to the Game Club, you acted really
strangely as well."

"Ah, I knew I was looked down upon at the time as well."

It's true when you think about it, but I'm still struck hard
nonetheless. From my impression, Tendou-san was
considerate to me with an angelic smile... Sigh, now that I
remembered it, that smile and reply was literally the polite
version of Tendou-san.

Tendou-san moved closer to me once I start getting

depressed.

"But you're still quite positive in my heart, I really like you

going all-out on something."

"Ho, ho, after I heard you said that..."

"I think the ratio between the good impression and disgust
is 9:1."

"Ah, you're feeling a little bit disgusted."

I immediately put back my serious face. What's wrong. It's

already a 90% good impression. A total win compared to the
10% disgust. I shouldn't underestimate how destructive the
word 'disgust' can be.

Tendou-san smiled happily when she saw me like this

again... Yep, I'm glad to know that I'm disgusting when I can
see a reaction like this.

Just as I'm going over these dumb thoughts, the driver

finally came back. He closed the door as he announced that
•
the bus will start soon.

The bus slowly went through the roundabout. We stared at

the view outside dazedly, the lights coming from the bustling
downtown is flashing through the window.

After the bus started moving, there's not a lot of time for us
to be alone together. It was embarrassing just then, but now
I'm starting to miss the time we had.

"My home is at the next station."

"Yeah. You'll go shortly."

"Yeah. That was fast."

"............"

"............"

The artificial voice announcing the next station is echoing

throughout the bus... After this one, Tendou-san will drop off
at the next stop.

"............"

Even though I knew I should say something, nothing

showed up on my mind right now.

I'm thrilled to know that my girlfriend just said she wanted

to take our relationship a step further. That's a blessing for
the guy. I was suspecting whether I'm dreaming or not.

However, this is reality. Also, that's why... I can't just be

reveled on my own. No, it's more like...

•
 ——What... should I do...

My future was suddenly expanded in an unexpected

direction. I'm confused.

——What should I do that suits Tendou-san's future the

most... Wait, this is wrong, the problem has nothing to do
with her, it should what do I want, right? If she already said
all those things, it should be fine for me to go a bit tougher...
a bit tougher... No, no, no, she will suffer irreversible damage
if I messed it up! Uh, even though that's true, I don't think it's
right to keep this sheepish beta male attitude...

I don't know the answer at all... but I really love Tendou-

san. It's because I love her so much, I can't decide anything.

This is different than gaming. I can't use "it's fine to lose"

or "let's just screw everything and go for it."

However, I knew that this isn't working for me.

Just as I'm getting frustrated, the bus announced the next

station. Tendou-san pressed the drop-off button.

...No. There's no way for me to keep it the same as before

and be indecisive.

I got closer to Tendou-san. Then, I mustered up my

courage and tightly held her hand on her lap.

Tendou's eyes are sparkling. I stared right at her with a

severe blush. Then, even though I still haven't made up my
mind yet, I said what I had to say.

"Uh, well, Tendou-san! I also hope to take a step further

•
with you as well...! But, uh, I still don't know what's the best
for you right now——"

After I said that.

Tendou-san silently put her finger on my lips and stopped

me.

"Amano-kun, you're disgusting."

"............"

"Even though I loved you way more than that."

"..........."

Tendou-san smiled. That look made all the anxiety in my

heart magically disappeared. Instead, a gentle and carefree
sense of love came back again.

Her finger is still on my lips as she smiled embarrassingly.

"Honestly, I still haven't made up my mind yet up until this

moment. What should I do next? I don't have the answer.
But... when I saw you're getting this nervous, I think I know."

After she said that, Tendou-san smiled again and moved

her finger off my lips.

So, at the next moment, she put her finger on her own lips.
She's so beautiful.

"Well, let's be anxious and find that real answer excitedly

together."

"...Okay..."
•
 This is too much love for me. I can't help but answer
dazedly.

During this time, the bus is gradually stopping. Tendou-san

grabbed her bag and stood up before waving at me and say,
"Bye, Amano-kun."

"Ah, alright, ..see you..."

As for me, I'm still dazed in thought as I answered. Then,

when the bus completely stopped, Tendou-san walked to the
door—

—However, she seems to have remembered something and

turned her head to ask me.

"Ah, right. Please come to my room to play soon, Amano-

kun. Let us advance our relationship to the next level."

"Ah, yes, I would love to."

"Well then, I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye."

I answered calmly and waved at her. I saw Tendou-san got

off the bus, then I waved at her once again to bid farewell
from the window.

After that... I just sat dazedly on the bus for 3 minutes.

"...............WHAT!?"

I suddenly shouted as I stood up. The driver freaked out,

and his shoulders started trembling.

•
 I immediately apologized to the driver before sitting once
again.

Then... I plopped my head down powerlessly and

mumbled.

"...E-Even though if we're taking a step further, isn't this

too fast, Tendou-san..."

I ended up dropping off 10 stops away from my home.

•
 Chapter 03: Keita Amano and Karen Tendou and Complete
Victory

A day in autumn, when the time of sunset got earlier, and

people are starting to miss the warmth on their skin.

Right now... rough moaning of a couple are echoing

throughout a dim high school girl's room.

"...Ah... ah... Amano-kun... you should be on top...

sometimes..."

"Ugh... Tendou-san... b-but I'm satisfied as long as you feel

good..."

"No... Amano-kun... I... I want to see how strong you are..."

Her cheeks are blushing with a faint sakura color from the
heat, and her watery eyes look as if she's begging me.

"T-Tendou-san!"

If the girl acted like this, the guy can't stay silent!

I stood up from the bed and changed my pose, then I

stared at Tendou-san's crystal-clear blue eyes once again.

"Tendou-san... h-here I go."

"Yes, come, Amano-kun... make me... make me even more

excited!"

"Tendou-san!"

•
 "A-Amano-kun! I-If you go that fast right away, I-I will...!"

"N-No, Tendou-san! I can't hold myself back anymore...!"

"Ah, Amano-kun! Amano-kun! If this continues... if this

continues, I will...!"

Tendou-san's rapid breathing is starting to signal a sense of

excitement and anxiety.

So, at the next moment, her moaning echoed throughout

the gloomy room!

"If this continues, I-I will...! Ugh, just like every time
before... AHH!"

"U-Uwah, Tendou-san, what the-, you're amazing, A-

AHHHHHH!"

The screams of the couple blasted through the room.

So, just as our vigorous emotions are reaching high-tide-

『FINISH!』

The screen played the sound of an unrelenting game over

screen of a fighting game. Also...

『1P WIN!』 『PERFECT!』

From the 2P perspective, the screen is only displaying even

more miserable details... Why does this fighting game have to
specify this? My character is lying at the corner of the screen
sadly, and Tendou-san's character is putting her victory pose.
Also, her HP is still full. I guess you knew the result just from
this alone, right?
•
 "Phew...phew..."

I'm in my uniform... sitting on the bed in her room. My

hand is holding the wireless controller as I stared at the
unfamiliar ceiling with a burnout face.

A day in autumn, after school. I, Keita Amano, came to my

girlfriend's room for the first time...Just like what you saw,
we're "combating" each other with fighting games in school
uniforms...No, it's actually "defeat" instead of "combat."

Tendou-san, who's next to me, sat on the bed as she let out
a huge sigh and glared at me with the corner of her eyes.

"...I'm so disappointed at you, Amano-kun."

"Ouch...!"

Usually, she would forgive the "Keita Amano that loves

gaming but is a noob at the same time." Still, she's acting way
harsher when I lost multiple times today.

I put my sweaty hands on the controller, and the game

went back to the character selection screen. At the same time,
I tried to find an excuse without looking at Tendou-san.

"N-No, think about it, even the e-sports players don't have
a consistent victory rate in fighting games..."

"Nope, you just lost 20 rounds in a role incredibly, in a

sense, your victory rate is quite consistent."

"...Sigh, even the pros will lose if they're up against

someone who trained beforehand..."

•
 "I've said this before. This is the first time that I've played
this..."

"............"

"Moreover, you should be way more familiar than I do

since you're the one that brought this game over-"

"Uh, b-but, I'm the type that grows in battle, let's just play a
couple more rounds..."

"Nope, we were equal at the start, and now it's already a

total competition. From this miserable state, I'm gaining
experience a lot quicker than you do, to put it simply, I'm
better than you now..."

"............"

"............"

Silence fell onto us. The joyful BGM of the character

selection screen is making this even worse somehow.

After I deeply sighed, I secretly looked at the corner of the

room...before curling my lips and mumbling.

"...Tendou-san no baka..."

"Are you 12 years old!?"

Tendou-san stood up abruptly. I followed her soon and

directly start arguing with her.

"T-This is the first time that I'm at my girlfriend's house.

Yet, you just electrocuted your excited and nervous boyfriend
20 times in a row. You're the last person I want to hear that
•
from!"

"You know that I'm this type of player, right! I'll go all-out
even if I'm up against a newbie!"

"I know! I know you. If that's the case... then please don't
give me requests like 'I hope Amano-kun ('s ranking) can be
on top sometimes' when I can't even do it!"

She probably didn't know that kind of request is kind of

erotic.

This time, Tendou-san's cheeks are blushing like sakura

again as she requested me once more.

"I-It's because I'm on top (of the ranking) every time... I'm
the only one that feels good (when I'm playing the game)...
Amano-kun, that's why I hope that sometimes, you can fondle
with my (character's) body..."

I answered her in a similar tone since she dragged me

down into this.

"While that's true, Tendou-san, you're always going all-out

to toy me!"

"...It's because... my heart really wanted it... and my body is

feeling good..."

"If you want me to fondle with you (your character), you

should give me something in return!"

"Amano-kun... don't tell me... you want me to use my

mouth (to praise your skills)...?"

•
 "Ay, I'm not going to force you, but you, as a girlfriend,
should at least contribute something, right?"

"Ugh...!"

I smiled mischievously, the girl with blonde hair and blue

eyes then gave me a humiliating look as if she's a knight that
was captured by an orc.

To be honest... both of us realized that this conversation is

a bit weird, but we went along with it because it's quite funny.

Clang!

...Then, we can hear that someone broke something outside

the door.

***

"...Tendou-san, honestly... this is the most depressed I've

got in a couple years."

"What a coincidence, Amano-kun, me too..."

The two of us walked dispiritedly on the streets at night.

6:30 PM. The sunset is earlier in the northern part during
autumn, it's already dark everywhere. But because of the
time, there's still a lot of people around.

Tendou-san and I walked shoulders to shoulders as we

sighed deeply. We can see the white breaths radiating, even in
the darkness.

"Although... after our explanation, Tendou-san's mother

seems to have understood the situation... Sigh."

•
 Even if the misunderstanding is solved, the fact that her
daughter's boyfriend messed up at the first meeting will never
disappear.

Tendou-san let out a white breath that's similar to mine in

size.

"Well... it's fine if this is just the usual

misunderstandings...But we wanted to prank for a bit, and it
just feels even more depressing."

"Yes... we shouldn't try something that we're not familiar

with. We really need to reflect on that one. Ah, I'll pay for the
broken cups——"

"——Ah, no need. After all, my mom and I should be

responsible as well. It'll only make my mom feel bad if you
paid for it."

"Really...?"

I'm glad that I heard her say that. I pressed my chest in

relief as I mumbled.

"But uncle wasn't home today, perhaps this is the fortune

of the misfortune."

"Yeah. While my father wasn't aggressive... but he's an

irritable person in every way."

"R-Really, an irritable person in every way...?"

W-What does that mean? My body was shivering when I

imagined the day that I need to meet my girlfriend's father.

•
 So, Tendou-san tried to be considerate and changed the
topic.

"Right, I'm sorry, Amano-kun. I'm acting so wilfully for

accompanying you to the bus station."

"Eh? Ah, r-right. When I thought about my adorable

girlfriend has to go home alone at night after you sent me
there, I, as your boyfriend, meant to reject that..."

I stopped for a second here before smiling at her.

"However, there's something that you want me to hear,

right?"

"...Correct."

Tendou-san answered with a bright smile. After I looked

around, I continued.

"Hmm... if that's the case, I'll allow you to do this for

once..."

"Just for today? Then I can't go out at night?"

"Well... Hmm, I can reluctantly accept if there are that

many people and lights around. B-But, after 8 PM... no, you
can't go out alone after 7:30PM! Please ask me to come with
you when you want to walk around! I'll be there right away!"

After I tried my best to explain to her, Tendou-san

chuckled. Then, she answered me with a slightly embarrassed
yet mischievous face.

"Yes. I got it... My. Love."

•
 "———————"

...Holy crap, that was close. I almost ascended to the

heavens just then.

——I feel like I'm already satisfied with my life, but it's
going to be troublesome if I died here....

To keep my soul inside my body, I slapped my own cheeks.

As for Tendou-san, she seems a bit embarrassed after saying
that as well, so she coughed to clear her throat.

Then, she changed the topic as if she's trying to cover

something up.

"Uh, w-well, about the thing that I wanted to say to you..."

"R-Right, you wanted to talk about something! W-What is

it?"

The two of us are still a bit excited, but we moved on

nonetheless.

"Uh, next week is my birthday... Amano-kun, didn't you ask

me before about what present do I want? Well, I've been
thinking recently..."

"Ah, yes! P-Please say it! I'll prepare with everything I got!"

I straightened my back as I announced that out... It's

already nervous when an indoor loner has to give his
girlfriend a present. Moreover, recently, I felt awful about
missing out on one of my friend's birthday. So, right now, I'm
unusually worked up about Tendou-san's birthday.

•
 Tendou-san smiled at my energetic look as she continued.

"Amano-kun... if it's possible, I hope you can bang me."

"......Huh?"

I seemed to have heard something incredible, so I can't

help but stop walking. Then, Tendou-san... chuckled slightly
mischievously.

"Sorry, I'm just saying that on purpose."

"...I thought my heart was stopping."

At that moment, I'm so freaked out that my mind just

beamed me a screen of a Japanese curry rice advertisement
for no reason.

Tendou-san continued.

"To be correct, it should be... I want you to 'beat' me."

"...Ah... you mean in video games?"

After I answered in relief, Tendou-san gave me a slightly

apologetic look.

"I'm sorry. Of course, I understand your attitude towards

gaming and the difference in skill levels between you and me.
However... this is unbelievable, I'm so focused on victory
usually when I'm playing video games... But, when I'm facing
you, sometimes, I really wish that I could lose."

"...Really."

"Even so, I don't want to purposely go easy on you... How

•
should I put it? I hope that I can acknowledge your victory in
a serious situation... Perhaps it's because I purely wanted to
see how strong you can be, that's why I thought about this...
Ay, what was I going on about? Uh, sorry, I feel like I'm so
capricious."

"...No... it's totally fine..."

Just as I plopped my head over my inability, Tendou-san

seems to have freaked out as she quickly tried to smooth
things over.

"Uh, ah, right, Amano-kun. I think it's better for you to just
pick stationary as a present for me, yes! T-Think about it. This
way, I can smile idiotically at it during lessons. Yep, what a
great idea! It really only has to be something cheap, Amano-
kun, please?"

"Tendou-san..."

I want to say something to hear, but I can't think of

anything. So, just as I'm struggling, we arrived at the bus stop.

At the same time, the bus arrived and opened the door in
the middle. I'm the only one that's getting on here, so I can't
drag things out.

"Bye, Amano-kun."

"Eh? A-Alright, see you later, Tendou-san..."

Although I'm uncomfortable in my heart, I still got on the

bus. The door closed instantly. After I sat down near the door,
I quickly waved at Tendou-san from the window. Tendou-san
waved back at me with a smile...However, after the bus
•
started moving, she immediately disappeared from my sight.

"...Sigh."

I sat tight depressingly before letting out a sigh.

Then... I stared at my hands that just held the wireless

controller in her home for a good 10 seconds.

"...Let's do it."

I, Keita Amano, decided to train hard on gaming for the

first time in my life.

***

"So, Uehara-kun, please teach me the basics of fighting

games once more."

"Huh?"

Two days later, after school. I quickly asked one of my few

friends, Tasuku Uehara-kun, to teach me. He then gave me an
explicate wondering look.

He left me down for a moment and bid farewell to

everyone in the class like a normie. After that, he quickly
grabbed his bag and gave me a polite smile.

"Bye, Amano. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Don't just escape like nothing has happened, Uehara-kun!

What are you trying to pull off!?"

"That's my line! You know how much you suck, yet you're
begging me with that kind of extremely troublesome and
•
stressful chores!"

"I-I'll pay you something! I'll give you the invitation code of
the mobile game as thanks!"

"Who needs it! Also, you're acting like you're giving me a

reward, but you're the only one that ended up profiting!"

"H-How about I'll give you 10 coupons that you can use to
play video games with me!"

"I told you I don't need it! Why are you giving me this kind
of weird 'massage coupons' suggestions! Also, you're still the
only one who's benefiting in the end!"

"I'll give you a paulownia chest of drawers if you accept it

right now!"

"Don't need it! Though I'm kind of curious about where

you can find that!"

"Ugh... I can't believe you're still trying to exploit me...

Uehara-kun, you're brutal!"

"What do you mean by exploiting, I didn't even take

anything from you! You're the one that's trying to pay
tribute!"

"...I feel like that's what a mugger would say, Uehara-

kun..."

"What kind of threat is that! Uh..."

Once we took a look around, everyone in the class is staring

at us as they're whispering.

•
 Uehara-kun gasped. "Ugh..." Then, he let out a huge sigh...
After that, he finally backed down.

"...I got it. Anyway... I'll train with you at the arcade today."

"Wow, thanks, Uehara-kun! You're reliable, after all, yes!"

"...Recently, I can't help but view you as a demon that

pretends to be innocent..."

Uehara-kun seems to be complaining about something, but

I readily ignored all that. I grabbed his arms and headed
toward the arcade immediately.

***

"I surrender. Really, please forgive me, Amano-sama."

"Jeez... Uehara-kun, you're useless."

It's been around 30 minutes since I started playing that 50-

yen-per-try, unpopular fighting game with him at the arcade.

Uehara-kun plopped his head down at the machine in front

of me, helplessly. Then, I puffed up my chest and crossed my
arms as I yelled at him.

"I can't believe you admitted defeat after you crushed me

with a mere 10 overwhelming victories in a row, how
useless!"

"I don't feel like it, THIS IS SUPER BORING!!!"

Uehara-kun peeked at me from the opposite side as if he's

dropping blood tears and told me that.

•
 I ignored my defeated character on the screen and shook
my head helplessly.

"When can I get stronger, Master Uehara?"

"Why are you still acting all smug right now! Please, learn
for a bit. How could someone be weaker as they played more
rounds..."

"I'm afraid it's because my passion for fighting games has

already reached its peak. After that, I'll start to get bored with
it and don't want to play anymore. Honestly, I'm a bit tired
right now."

"Self-motivation! You want to be better at gaming, right! If

you want it, then please act like you want to learn!"

"How impolite. I'm learning in my own ways, as well! Look,

this time...I learned that resistance is futile, and not fighting
back will make me feel better!"

"That's the worst thing you can take away from fighting
games! The most important thing to do everything is to never
give up and stay high-spirited! Most manga and anime
mentioned that time and time again, right!"

"But don't those pawns from Kingdom die in an instant

before they can talk about that kind of philosophy? I, Keita
Amano, is even worse than those pawns, please acknowledge
that! It's basically impossible for me to kill legends like you or
Tendou-san!" [Note: Kingdom, a Japanese seinen manga
based on the Warring States period in China.]

"Then there's nothing left for me to teach you! You will

never get stronger!"
•
 "P-Please, Master Uehara...There's a cheat called
'protagonist hack' in this world, right? Can you think of a
method...to share some of that to me?"

"How despicable! By the way, I don't have that at all!"

"Really? What the hell, I shouldn't find you if I knew it. I

should've asked the real protagonist Misumi-kun
instead...What a failure."

"You mean asking your friend to waste 30 minutes with

you is a failure!"

"Ah, well, Master Uehara, thanks."

"You're literally forcing me to end our friendship! You

know that!"

Just as Uehara-kun is screaming, I suddenly sensed that

someone is behind.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

No matter how unpopular a game is, someone ought to try

it after we wasted 30 minutes. I initially decided to give my
seat as soon as anyone showed up, so I hastily stood up and
gave it to that person. However, I guess he or she doesn't
want to sit down yet. Moreover, I think I'm getting stared.

"?"

It wasn't until this moment that I turned and looked at that

person... Then, I realized it was a familiar face.

"O-Oiso-senpai?"

•
 The beautiful gamer girl with a bit of lazy temperament is
standing there just as usual. She put her hands in the pockets
of her sloppy uniform as she chewed bubble gum
emotionlessly.

"It's really you, Keita Amano. Thanks for the work."

"T-The same goes for you, senpai..."

I still greeted at Oiso-senpai despite a bit of hesitation. So,

Uehara-kun, who was on the opposite seat, noticed her as
well. So, he greeted her as he fought against the CPU
character.

"Ah, Nina-senpai, thanks for the work."

"Fake Umehara, thanks."

The two said hi to each other simply...I've heard that they

knew each other without me realizing it. However, I feel like
these two are much closer than I thought...Hmm...

But now's not the time for that. I gulped and begged
sincerely to this relatively unfamiliar senpai.

"W-Well, Oiso-senpai! There's a favor I would like to ask

you as a fighting game pro!"

"Ask me? You? Keita Amano?"

Senpai bulged her eyes in shock. Honestly, the relationship

between her and me is just "we knew each other," and that's
it. The distance between us is never close enough to ask for a
favor.

•
 Uehara-kun, who's still busy fighting the CPU, managed to
interrupt. "You idiot, how can a noob like you drag Nina-
senpai down into this mess...!"

But, even so, I mustered up my courage and spoke up.

"Uh, I hope senpai can teach me how to be better at

fighting games!"

"Teach? The only way to be better is to practice."

Senpai said it directly. However, that's why this is so

convincing. Just as Uehara-kun is mumbling dumbfoundedly,
"Didn't I tell you..." I...I abandoned everything and plopped
my head down to beg senpai.

"Please, senpai! It's fine for me to use cheats or shortcuts,

just please teach me how to win!"

After I said such an embarrassing wish, a tense atmosphere

suddenly appeared among us. It's not just Nina-senpai, who's
a fighting game pro...Now, even Uehara-kun is getting
annoyed with me.

I gulped since I'm already such a coward, then senpai

warned me with a slightly thorny attitude.

"The one thing that I hate the most is that kind of 'shortcut'
attitude, you should know——"

"——I know!"

However, I cut her off and shouted. Just as the two are a
bit surprised... I clenched my fist tightly and stared at the
floor of the arcade, stuck full of bubble gum... Although I'm
•
about to give in to my own embarrassment, I still said my
arrogant and capricious wish.

"Even so, this time, no matter what... I'll have to beat

Tendou-san within a week no matter what! Also, I understand
that it's not going to work even if I put it the effort normally
for a week...!"

"............"

I clenched my fist tightly. This attitude is so terrible that

I'm about to cry. However...!

"Even a guy like me knows that the worst attitude you can
have is to rely on cheats or shortcuts when you want to be
better at gaming! So, the two of you can despise as much as
you like! But... even so, I'm still trying to hold my
embarrassment back and beg you two! Please, teach me a
shortcut! I beg you!"

"............" "...Amano..."

Oiso-senpai and Uehara-kun are staring at me with an

expression that's either despise or sympathy.

So, the silence lasted for around 10 seconds.

Oiso-senpai mumbled and tried to bring on a conclusion.

"...The weakest and worst character, Keita Amano, is trying

to find a shortcut to beat Karen Tendou, a super genius with
terrifying stats..."

"............"

•
 "...Raise your head, Keita Amano."

After Oiso-senpai urged me, I tremblingly... raised my face

with my heart prepared for the most severe despise of my life.

So, in front of my eyes—

"That sounds fun, please let me join."

—Oiso-senpai is smiling innocently like a boy planning for

his pranks.

***

A week later, on Tendou-san's birthday.

"You really want to do it...? Amano-kun."

In Tendou-san's room, she's still sitting on the bed like she

was a week ago, but she's staring up to me with a bit of
anxiety.

In response, I answered her with an entirely determined

look and nodded.

"Of course. That's why I never learned my lesson and came

to your house to bother you again."

"It's fine for you to come to my home... but..."

Tendou-san said that as she glanced the thing on her table.

That's a brilliant letter opener designed after swords in
fantasy RPGs.

"Look, you already gave me such a fantastic birthday

present, there's no need for you to..."
•
 "No, please let me do this. Please, Tendou-san."

"W-Why are you bowing down to me...! I-I understand!"

After Tendou-san answered that, she immediately grabbed

the controller once again. I smiled at her, then she replied to
me with the same but a bit perplexing smile.

——Sigh, well... when the birthday ended peacefully, of

course, she doesn't want to go out of her way and crush her
boyfriend with a game...

I deeply understand the reason why Tendou-san doesn't

want to play fighting games right now.

However... I can't back down either. After all, in this one

week... I concealed the fact that I tried my absolute best to
walk the shortcut!

——Right now, this battle is dedicated to Uehara-kun and

Oiso-senpai as well...! If I prioritized this normie couple
atmosphere and forget about the match, I can't bring myself
to face them!

To be honest, I know that Tendou-san is emitting a strong

"why is my boyfriend still pressing on for a match in
situations like this" aura... B-But I don't mind! We're fighting
if I said we're fighting! Although if Aguri-san, my mentor in
relationships, is here, she would probably look me down.
"Amanocchi, that's your bad habit!" Even so, I'm still fighting!

Just as I'm waiting for the game to load, I yelled out quite
excitedly.

"Tendou-san. On this memorable occasion, I'm definitely

•
going to smash with you!"

"Words! Amano-kun, are you saying that on purpose!?"

"Eh, on what purpose?"

"Hiya, I can't believe you're saying that naturally. This just

makes it even more disgusting! Let me tell you, my mom is
home today as well!"

"It's okay. I'm going to smash with you even if we're in

front of your mom."

"Why are you saying that with a manly look!?"

"I'm just talking about fighting games."

"You should be! Even though I deeply understand that as

well!"

Tendou-san seems to be tired of complaining, she's

running out of her breaths... Good.

"I feel like she's getting less concentrated!"

Master Uehara proposed an external tactic — "The

Shocking Words" is working. According to Uehara-kun, "Your
words have an unusually high chance of making Tendou freak
out. It should be able to weaken her performance."
...Honestly, I don't understand how does this works, but I
think it's working.

"...Sigh, I can't take this..."

Tendou-san complained as she looked at the TV. Right

now, it's displaying the character selection screen.
•
 I observed silently. Tendou-san then "uhh" and acted like
she's hesitating. Usually, she would pick a character that she
has "trained" before. However, when she's up against me,
she'll use different ones as practice and to go easy on me.

So, today, she picked the protagonist-like fighter for no

particular reason. Then, during this time, I acted naturally,
while actually meaning to "pressure" her and suggested.

"Why don't you just pick E. Hongo."

"Eh?"

Tendou-san turned and gave me a confused look. She's so

cute. I beamed her a gentle smile before telling her once
again.

"I think you should choose E. Hongo. Look, this sumo

player is handsome."

"Eh? No, i-instead of a sumo player, I want to use a faster

character..."

"E. Hongo is so fast that I'm feeling terrible for him to only
be a sumo player!"

"Amano-kun? Why are you recommending E. Hongo to

me! What are you trying to pull off!?"

"What am I trying to pull off? I-I'm not trying to do

anything. It's just that, Tendou-san... Look, I think a sumo
player matches you well."

"How could you say that to a girl!?"

•
 "I want to ask, how could you say that to Mr. E. Hongo?"

"What kind of weird comeback is that! ...Honestly, I'm

getting a bit pissed off. I decided to remain firm and pick a
fighter to combat you!"

Tendou-san relentlessly clicked the confirmed button on

the fighter character. However, I still haven't decided mine
yet. So, it's not over... I smiled at her once again.

"...A-Are you going to switch?"

"Am I going to switch? No, no, no. I'm really picking this
character."

"............"

"Ugh, m-my boyfriend's stare is too watery and moving.

More importantly, it looks so miserable! I-I got it, I got it! I'm
picking E. Hongo."

Tendou-san finally backed down and chose E. Hongo

before pressing the confirm button.

At this moment... I can't help but clenched my fist

excitedly!

"YES!"

"Yes? Eh, Amano-kun, you're clearly baiting me..."

"Hm-mmm-mm-hmm!♪"

"Wait, Amano-kun? You sang that out loud while picking a

character that's basically an 'E. Hongo killer' and started the
game right away!"
•
 "Tendou-san... Let us fight legitimately today!"

"I can't believe you said that!"

Tendou-san was shocked. But... now's not the time for that!
I have to do this if I have to beat you within a week!

I remembered what I've heard from Oiso-senpai around a

week ago.

"To be fair, in fighting games, the abilities of the character

and mutual counters play a substantial role. Of course, it's
basically a dream for you to be able to overcome this. If the
player is already the weakest, you'll have to use this to its full
strength. In other words... you'll have to make Tendou use a
character that she didn't train for, and also one that was
classified on the weaker side based on the game balance.
Moreover, you must pick a character that's designed to
counter her while having decent stats at the same time!"

Yes, this is the shortcut directly passed onto me by Master

Oiso. I call this the Cheater's Counter!

...Eh? I mean, this is legal, completely legal. Where're my

manners? W-Well... I'm a beginner and a noob at fighting
games, so there's a lot for me to learn...

Anyway, the match started right away.

My character... the American soldier, Keanu, quickly

maintained the distance and activated his ranged attack
repeatedly. Tendou-san's sumo player is better at melee, so
naturally, she was forced to remain in a defensive position.
Even so, there's a way for her to counter this.

•
 "Ugh... then I'll use this!"

E. Hongo jumped up high towards the enemy and used the

move to crush the opponent with his massive body. This is a
ranged attack for him based on the balance of previous games
in the series. This move can dodge the attacks while rapidly
closing the distance in the air.

However, my response to this is...

"Hiya!"

"Wha—"

I countered this with Keanu's overpowered anti-air move

and kicked Hongo back.

Tendou-san asked me in shock.

"W-What was that? That expert input skill and the ability to
act according to the situation. It doesn't look like you!"

"Ho, ho, ho...Of course, Tendou-san. After all, I, during this

one week..."

I kept on unleashing my ranged attacks on the screen... as I

laughed devilishly!

"During this one week, I've 'only' been practicing on how to

screw E. Hongo over with Keanu!"

"YOU'RE REALLY GUILTY OF THIS AFTER ALLLLL!"

Tendou-san yelled. I fondled my bangs as I countered

Hongo with Keanu's anti-air attacks and mumbled.

•
 "Tendou-san... It's a mistake for you to use the word 'guilty'
right now."

"My boyfriend is so annoying right now!"

She was really pissed off, and that affected her

performance during the match... It looks like the external
tactics proposed by Uehara-kun is working again. I calmly
responded, so...

『2P WIN!』

After the result is announced, a short silence fell onto us.

So, when we're waiting for the next round to start, Tendou-
san glared at me fiercely.

"Amano-kun... You used to hate impolite behaviors like

cutting the connection from the bottom of your heart when
you're gaming, where did that nice concept of yours go?"

"How impolite, Tendou-san. That side of mine is still in my

heart."

"A-Amano-kun...R-Right, I'm really sorry——"

"——That side of mine will be forever treasured like all the

beautiful memories I had in my heart."

"He's a complete goner, right!"

So, the second round began when Tendou-san is

complaining. All that conversation pissed Tendou-san off
once again. Her movements are still just as easy to predict,
Hongo's HP bar is slowly decreasing from my ranged and

•
anti-air attacks.

Tendou-san is getting increasingly frustrated. Even so, I

still didn't slack off.

So, once I snapped out of it, I can't believe it...

『FINISH!』

"Ah."

Tendou-san's and my shocked voice overlapped each other.

It's because the result is...

『2P WIN!"』

...Of course, I won. Also...

"PERFECT!"

—I can't believe I didn't get hit for even once, a total win is
achieved.

"............"

An overwhelming silence soon descended onto the room.

When I looked, Tendou-san lowered her head, and her

shoulders are shivering.

As for me... I gently put my hand on her shoulder and

spoke up.

"Tendou-san... what do you think? This birthday surprise

where I beat you... does it... make you... happy?"

•
 "Amano-kun..."

She slowly raised her head and looked at me with tears in

her eyes.

We looked at each other passionately and lovely, a flood of

emotions swept through us.

So, after a few seconds.

Tendou-san wiped her tears and glanced straight at me...

Then, she said it with a bright smile.

"Honestly, that's not what I wanted."

"I guess so."

In reality, I've subtly noticed this during the training stage!

But I can't say it out loud when my two masters are ethnically
teaching me!

"...Sigh."

The two of us sighed loudly on the bed

***

"But Amano-kun, I really hated what you did there. That

wasn't you at all, it freaked me out."

Just as I'm about to go home depressingly, Tendou-san,

who's still on the bed, chuckled.

I shrugged and answered her.

"Of course. I didn't even sleep for this week just to practice
•
that... Phew."

After the main show is over, tiredness soon swept towards

me. To alleviate this sleepiness, I let out an "ugh" before
stretching my arms. "Ah." Tendou-san let out a noise like she
noticed something.

"Amano-kun, your hands..."

"Eh? Ah... sorry about that."

I looked at the slightly swelling callus on my left thumb and

smiled bitterly.

"Considering the environment and my own skills, I kept

practicing with the cross buttons... Then, I finally grew the
first gaming callus of my entire life."

"Really... that's why..."

Just as Tendou-san is giving me a dumbfounded look, I

continued scratching my brain once again.

"I feel like... I really suck when I got a callus from

practicing a cheap shortcut. I feel terrible for you. Yeah, come
to think of it, you said you wanted me to beat you... It's out of
'wanting me to show my manly side' instead of acting like a
jerk... I... completely... got it all wrong..."

I sighed loudly before becoming depressed quickly... Ugh,

where did it go wrong? Everything should be going according
to plan up until the moment when I swore that I have to
defeat her...

——Ah, the reason has to do with I forgetting to explain to

•
Uehara-kun and Oiso-senpai 'why I want to win' her right!"

After this self-reflection, it seems to be my

misunderstanding and slow of speech... In other words, this is
all my fault.

Just as I'm getting more and more deflated... Tendou-san is

staring at me blankly and even mumbling to herself.

"...The Amano-kun that I know...I can't believe you didn't

sleep... and even managed to get a gaming callus..."

"Ugh..."

F-From Tendou-san's words... I think she's really

dumbfounded at my idiotic actions!

I can't stay here anymore. So, I quickly grabbed my bag and

say, "W-Well, I'll be leaving!" Then, I promptly put my right
hand on the door handle and plan to leave—

"Wait."

—At this moment, my left hand is wrapped by something

very soft.

I turned back with a surprised look... then I found out

Tendou-san is wrapping her hands lovingly around my
callous left hand for some reason.

Just as I'm feeling the warmth of Tendou-san's hands, and

while I utterly don't understand what is the meaning of that.
So, I freaked around and looked around-

Then... Tendou-san raised my hand in front of her as she

•
spoke quietly with her goddess-like face.

"I really witnessed it... your manly side."

"T-Tendou-san?"

"...Hoho!"

"!"

She's suddenly giving me a throbbing and embarrassed

smile... My heart is pounding so fast.

So, even though I don't understand the situation... I'm not

dense enough to unable to feel her overwhelming love
towards me.

"Tendou-san..."

I was stunned as I can't help but put my hands on hers.

Tendou-san is slightly embarrassed... but she didn't look away
from me entirely, and she even spoke up determined.

"I think... I want to see...the strong side of you... more

often."

"Tendou-san... you mean..."

A loving atmosphere appeared between us. We're slowly

closing our distance, then...

Clang!

We can hear that someone broke something outside the

door.

•
 ""...Sigh.""

Tendou-san and I sighed deeply at the same time, and then

we smiled bitterly at each other.

After that, I immediately opened the door and helped

Tendou-san's mom, who's freaking out, to sweep the floor as
we explained like usual.

"W-Well, auntie, this is just a usual misunderstanding

between us. When she said she wanted to see how manly I
am, it's still only limited to gaming... Right, Tendou-san?"

To ask for my girlfriend's acknowledgment, I turned

around.

In the end... Tendou-san blushed for some reason... She

even looked away from us and cleared her throat, then she
mumbled quietly.

"...Please allow me to remain silent."

•
 Chapter 04: Tasuku Uehara and Weakened Restart

"You want me to meet with another girl today after

school?"

"Yes."

I questioned him with a face full of distrust. Then, Masaya

gave me that usual suspicious and nasty smile and put his
hand on my shoulders like we're whispering. I can't help but
sigh loudly and stare at the sky from the window of the dirty
toilet of the old school building.

——The lesson will end in 10 minutes. When Masaya

explicitly asked me to go to a toilet like this with him, I can
already tell that something's going on...

This is the third worst terrible development that I've

imagined when we're on the way. Also, in my mind, the worst
would be that he's inviting me to smoke, and the best is that
he's going to give me concert tickets.

"Nah, I need to meet someone important today."

I grabbed my phone out of the pocket to check how long

until the lesson finishes, but Masaya didn't back down from
my apparent lack of interest. He even pulled me over
forcefully and continued.

"Hey, listen to me, the girl's called Tsuji Otonashi... She's a

junior that I've met during a gathering."

"Gathering... that's not an abbreviation for a friendly

•
concert, right?"

(Note: The word "gathering" in Japanese can either mean

an actual meeting or friendship.)

"Of course not, it's just a typical gathering. A meeting for

boys and girls to fool around."

"Oh, is it a joined concert of Johnny and AKB?"

"That can really bring boys and girls together if a concert

like that actually exists! Eh, please."

"Sorry. Even if that's true, you're in high school only, and

you have a girlfriend already. Why would you go to a
gathering like that...?"

I looked at Masaya dumbfoundedly. He's still answering

me with a warm smile.

"Well, to be honest, I'm just dragged by my brother in

university to make up the numbers. I will be lying if I say I'm
definitely not going to mess around. However, I'm going to
treat 90% of it as a social study."

"A social study..."

I didn't know there's such a frivolous social study.

However, in reality, Masaya has always been like this. While
it's true that he's flippant, but he's honest and kind. So,
unbelievably, none of us dislikes him.

"So, of course, all the participants are in university. But for

some reason, there's a girl that's about as young as I do. After
I asked, she said that she's in year 1 of our school.
•
 "I got it. Then? Don't tell me... that Tsuji girl is interested in
me, the charming normie handsome guy?"

"You got that quickly."

"Nope."

"Eh, that's too fast for a conclusion, please!"

"It's not about fast. Like I've said at the start, I got to meet
someone important today after school."

"You can always delay small things like that. I guess it's just
your daily walk home with Aguri, right?"

"It's indeed just a daily activity, but I'm really occupied

when I said I'm occupied."

"No, no, no, that's not related whether you're free or not!
I'm talking about the prioritization!"

"Uh, so, in my concept, I prioritize someone that I've

already decided to meet..."

"There's something even more important than gathering

with an 'easy' girl!?"

"There is! Also, don't force that sexually-driven mindset of

yours onto me!"

I threw away Masaya's hand and planned to leave the

toilet, then he quickly tried to save.

I stopped walking and let out a loud sigh, then I turned

back and looked at him.

•
 "Hey, hey, hey... why are you being so stubborn. What's in
it for you if I meet with that girl?"

"My best friend will be blessed. That's what in it for me!"

"Really. Well, the actual situation is?"

"I used my friend's virginity as an exchange, and asked the

girl to introduce an 'easy' friend to me!"

"You're a total prick!"

I take back when I've said. This guy is honest, kind, and so
cheerful that it's hard for people to dislike him, but he's a
total prick inside... By the way, a douche that doesn't make
people hate him is quite terrible, right?

"P-Please, Tasuku! Otonashi said she's totally uninterested

in me, but she's quite fond of you. If that's the case, it's hard
to not make a deal. This is the only way to achieve a beautiful
double-win!"

"You and that girl are the only ones winning, right!"

I let out a sigh because I might have befriended the wrong

person in high school. Then, Masaya tilted his head in
confusion.

"What? Uh, but this is not a bad thing for you."

"This is the bad thing, right. I need to meet someone today,

and more importantly, I already have a girlfriend..."

"Eh? But, recently, things between Aguri and you aren't

going well, right?"

•
 "Ugh..."

My heart was severely hurt when another person says that

"things aren't going well" between us.

I pressed my chest and asked Masaya.

"M-Masaya... when you said things aren't going well

between us, where did you hear that from...?"

"No one told me about it... It's just something I concluded

when I observed you two from the side."

"W-Which part tells you that our relationship is rough?"

"Which part? ...When a young boy and girl aren't making

any progress for half a year, it's already pretty much that, if
you know what I mean. Also, recently, I can see there's a
subtle distance between when you two are together."

"Ugh..."

Exactly. Aguri and I... aren't going too well these days. We
treated it as a misunderstanding about the time when she
almost kissed Amano. Even so, a separate issue is that we
need to slowly figure out how we should treat each other.

——How should I put it... Perhaps it's because we're timid.

It's the same for Aguri and me.

Both of us look like we're the bold and open type. In

reality, we tend to prioritize "respecting the partner" at no.1.
So, that's why we kept thinking, "is it too weird to do this" or
"will the person misunderstand if I did that." In the end, we
can only talk about our daily lives.
•
 Then, of course, when others saw this, they'll feel like that
"things aren't great" for us...

——No, it's not just 'it looks like.' ...things really aren't
great for us...

I acknowledged this once again and let out a sad sigh.

Masaya seems to realize that there's a gap in my heart that

he can exploit, so he suggested to me once again.

"Anyway, in times like this, how about you meet with a

junior that's kind of attracted to you..."

"Still, no."

"This boy is unexpectedly conservative! Eh, please, Tasuku.

Just meet the girl for once, then you can do whatever you
want."

"Like I've said before, I have a girlfriend..."

"You dare to say that you have? In this situation? Really?"

"............"

I can't answer immediately... There isn't a memorable fact

for proof, we even began to chat less frequently. Can I really
call a girl with such a relationship to me a girlfriend? This is
an entirely different question than the feelings that I have for
Aguri.

"Moreover, we just witnessed Amano and Tendou pairing

up together in plain sight..."

Right now, there isn't anything comparable to them

•
between Aguri and me.

"Sigh..."

Masaya patted my shoulder at this quiet moment as he

shoved his schedule to me.

"Alright, after school, the girl will wait for you behind the
old school building that's originally a parking lot for bicycles.
Thanks!"

"Hey, wait! I already said I have a meeting today——"

"——I can't hear it! I can't hear it!"

Masaya ignored my complaint and even covered his ears as

he makes a beeline out.

——That guy...! He planned to escape after he said

everything, right! I'll be a douchebag that leaves a girl that's
interested in me waiting on the field if I don't go after school,
am I! You got to be kidding me!

Although I tried my best to chase after Masaya after I

realized what he's trying to pull off-

-In the end, until that troublesome after school moment

arrived, Masaya covered his eyes and totally avoided me.

...I take back what I said once more.

Masaya isn't a prick. I've already found him being this

wholeheartedly nasty respectable.

However...

•
 ...I'm pretty sure that I made a wrong friend.

***

"Also, that girl isn't even here yet..."

After school, I can't help but go to the abandoned bicycle

parking lot for the meeting. There's no one here, not to
mention a girl. There's only the screeching noise of the rusted
tin roof of the storage house being blown by the wind.

Even when I'm stepping onto the grass that grew between
the gaps of the stone slab road, of course, the only place that I
can see doesn't even have a wall to lean onto. This is
extremely uncomfortable.

"I want to quickly finish this and actually go to my original

meeting..."

I rubbed my neck boringly as I waited for the girl. Actually,

I wanted to grab my phone out to play as well. However, I
don't think it's good for the girl to see me clearly using the
phone to kill time. Even if there's nothing to do, even it's not
comfortable, I still maintained my nervous attitude and stood
upright.

"...How should I put it? Perhaps this is my bad habit..."

I feel like I shouldn't have anything to do with the girl, yet I

still ended up considering her so much. If I'm really
prioritizing Aguri over everything, I shouldn't have come here
in the first place...

"...I just can't do it."

•
 That's why I was described as a smooth and slick person,
right? But this is really who I am, I can't help—

"——You can't do what?"

"!"

Someone's suddenly answering me from the back.

Although I was scared for a moment, I quickly turned back.
Then, there's a girl with a reddish-brown short bob hair and
ultra-short skirt. She looks pretty refined.

I'm starting to freak out, but I still immediately gave her a

smile and raised my hand.

"H-Hi, uh... it's okay for me to call you Tsuji-san, r-right?"

After I smiled, I immediately regretted it. "Why the hell am

I smiling?" ...Why do I quickly want to show my sweet side
despite there's no need for that... Sigh.

However, this girl... Tsuji-san wouldn't have noticed my

regrets. She even smiled innocently.

"Ahaha, yeah, thanks. Ah, you don't need to be so nice. Just

call me Onnmu is alright. By the way, senpai, you came super
early. That's cute!"

Tsuji-san- no, Tsuhi talked as she laughed out... The

serious side of mine let out a big sigh in my heart. Ugh, hmm,
after I got in high school, I thought I was more or less getting
used to a girl like her... It looks like there's still a long time for
me to adapt.

I first make sure I calmed down before facing Tsuji again.

•
 "So? Uh, Tsuji, perhaps Masaya didn't mention it to you,
but I already got a girlfriend."

"Hmm? Ah, I know. That Aguri girl, right? I've heard it

before. Senpai's surely cute!"

"You think I-I'm cute?"

"Yeah, I heard that you two did nothing even dating for
half a year, isn't that right?"

Tsuji answered me without any embarrassment or

hesitation... This time, it's not just in my heart, I almost
wanted to sigh in real life as well.

I scratched my head and asked her.

"Uh, well, if you know that I have a girlfriend, why are you
looking for me?"

"Why? You mean why I'm looking for you, right. You're
really asking me this? Uh, ah, how about please go out with
me, senpai."

"What do you mean by how about..."

I fell silent, yet Ryoutszui continued calmly.

"Eh, it's because senpai's relationship isn't going well,

right? Then it's fine, right? Coincidentally... I can count as
being single right now."

You can also count as being single right now?

"No, it's not fine. How should I put it... Uh... this is just a
temporary roadblock... I still have my feelings for her..."
•
 Why am I saying this in front of a junior that I just met for
the first time? My face is blushing from all the
embarrassment.

I hastily concluded to finish this quickly.

"So, I can't go out with——"

"——Ah, alright."

"...Eh?"

The girl backed down immediately, and it made me let out

a weird noise. It feels like I just hit nothing during a sumo
match.

Even so, it's great to know that the girl is willing to back
down. I raised my hand lightly and continued.

"Uh, w-well, that's it..."

"Yes, this is it. I'm entirely okay with it!"

Tsuji answered with a baffling smile for some reason. I

raised a "?" on my head. However, I'm good as long as she can
understand. So, I decided to turn around and leave—

"...!"

—At this moment, I suddenly felt that my right arm is

wrapped in something soft, so I freaked out and stopped
walking.

I anxiously tried to confirm. Then, I found out... Tsuji is

sticking really close to me and wrapping her plumpy chest
around my arms.
•
 She glanced up at me and smiled.

"Then let's go, Tasuku-senpai."

"Eh, huh? Eh, where are we going——"

"——Hmm? Ay, I can do it wherever you wish, anyway."

"What do you mean by you can do it wherever——"

"——It's okay as long as there's a quiet place for us to be

alone."

"..."

Suddenly, I realized that my heart is gradually calming

down to a point where I was surprised by it.

I forcefully... got my arm off her, and then I answered her

calmly with an emotionless tone.

"...Tsuji, didn't Masaya tell you? I need to meet someone

today."

"Really? But senpai, I'm pretty sure that I can make you
happier."

Tsuji said that with an innocent smile.

I can't help but... despise her.

"Ha! That's absolutely impossible."

Suddenly, she was triggered and answered a bit angrily.

"What was that. Don't tell me the girlfriend that doesn't

•
allow senpai to do anything is better than me?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"!"

I answered like it was nothing. Tsuji immediately glared at

me anxiously... Uwah, I feel like this girl is finally showing her
real side. How terrible...

"Please, senpai, can you not act like this? I'm feeling cold."

"Oh, it's good that we're cooling down. See ya."

I waved casually as I planned to leave, but Tsuji grabbed

my shoulders forcefully... I told you this girl is super scary.

"Just say it directly if I'm not your type."

"Sigh, that's not the problem——"

"——That's the problem. Isn't everything fine if there's

nothing wrong with my look?"

"No, no, no. It's not fine."

"As long as senpai's girlfriend doesn't know about this——"

"——THAT'S ENOUGH!"

I can't take this anymore, so I shouted at the top of my

lungs. However, the girl is still my junior. Once I saw her
trembling in fear, I scratched my head and said, "I'm sorry."

"How should I put it, Tsuji... Anyway, I'm not really trying
to reject you. Although I'm not in love with you, I still think
•
it's not bad to do that with you."

"............"

"However... I'm still not interested in that. Sorry, go look

for another guy. In reality, I think you're really adorable,
objectively, yes—"

—I immediately realized my mistake in the middle of my

sentence. T-This is my bad habit, right! Why am I praising her
looks! Do I really have to talk well to a girl in this situation!
I'm helpless! I can readily enter the top 16 if there's a global
competition for being smooth and slick!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

I feel like I can't be helped. So, I banged my head on the

rusted rebar on the side. So, Tsuji freaked out at my strange
reaction for a second... But then, she let out a sigh and
mumbled in defeat.

"...Tasuku-senpai, you're really just the same as what

Masaya-senpai told me."

"Same as what Masaya told you?"

"He said you're an obedient little sheep disguised in a

handsome wolf skin."

"Ugh!"

I can't believe that stupid Masaya saw me right through!

For real? Don't tell me my wish for "a stronger restart" in high
school is actually not remotely as successful what I'm
imagined?
•
 I pressed my chest and gasped. Then, Tsuji seems to be
smiling in relief.

"Eh, but I didn't expect you to be this obedient. You're the

friend of Masaya-senpai, who asked me 'do you want to go to
another place' 10 minutes into the gathering. Tasuku-senpai,
it's more like, why are you friends with him?"

"...P-Perhaps I want to ask someone else about this as

well."

After I answered, we can't help but smile at each other

bitterly. Sigh, actually, Masaya is a nice person... even though
I wouldn't comment on his sexual desires.

"Uh, well, I need to meet someone at the entrance of the

main school building..."

I planned to leave after I said that. Tsuji didn't stop me, but
she said "I'll go with senpai as well" before walking next to
me.

I scratched my head as she gave me a little devilish smile.

"It's fine. I'll leave Tasuku-senpai before the girl finds out."

"Ugh..."

I think she saw me right through... Am I the type of guy

that expresses all his feelings on the face?

Tsuji and I tagged along the road back to the school

building... Honestly, there's not much that we can talk about...
but I'm terrified of those so-called silent moments. Once I
snapped out of it, we're already chitchatting.
•
 "Tsuji, I've always wanted to become a normie before."

"Really... Sigh, but I don't think you can be one when you
rejected a girl's confession that blatantly."

"Ugh."

Tsuji twirled the tip of her hair as she casually replied with
a bitter comeback. Although I was hurt for a bit... even so, I
still answered in my own style.

"R-Right. In the end, perhaps there's no way for me to

become like you or Masaya."

"Aha! I can't believe a handsome senpai is saying

something so depressing to a junior that he just broke up
with, that's super cute!"

Tsuji clapped her hands as she burst into laughter. Jesus,

this girl is really a bitch. Uh, even though it's true that I broke
up with her! However, usually, that's not a reaction a
depressed girl will give!

While I'm still annoyed, I turned my head to the front...

and cleared my throat.

"But, after I met a couple of new friends, I started to think

about what is it that I really want."

I paused for a moment here... after a second of hesitation, I

grabbed the chance and said the conclusion with a bright
smile.

"I think it's okay as long as I'm chasing after the 'enriched
normie life' in my heart——"
•
 "——Ah, Hiro! Eh, you guys are not going to the club
activity today? Wow... I'm glad to know that! Then I'll go with
you too! Hey, hey, hey, if you got the time, why don't we find
a quiet place? I'm just kidding... Hiya, I'm really sorry."

"What the-, are you serious?"

The senpai was halfway through his philosophical

presentation, and she dares to start squiring noisily to another
boy? How did she change her mind that quickly? Same as
Masaya, she's so ridiculous that I'm beginning to respect her.
The Easy Girl Otonashi Tsuji. A born normie is really
something else.

Just as I'm feeling somewhat convinced, Tsuji noticed that

Hiro guy is trying to get something excitedly, so she turned
back to me.

"Well, Tasuku-senpai, I'll be seeing you. Help me say hi to

your girlfriend."

"Who's helping you? Basically..."

"——Ah, Hiro, wait for me! Eh, you're grabbing something

from the clubroom? Uwah, I really like a sports clubroom full
of the smell of men! I'm going with you!"

"...I feel like you're amazing."

In a sense, this girl's reputation is skyrocketing in my heart.

Otonashi Tsuji. Perhaps this is a name that'll be recorded into
history in a certain way, I'll have to get her signature the next
time we meet.

I watched Tsuji slowly disappear from my sight. After that,

•
I started walking to the place for the meeting again, which is
the entrance of the school building.

So, just like I expected, the person is waiting for me there.

After seeing me, that person rushed here with a smile like a
puppy... However, she suddenly seems to have noticed
something and pouted angrily.

"Eh, you're too slow! Didn't you say that you'll come back
quickly!"

She looked up to me and is even getting angry in a

somewhat adorable and innocent way.

I played with that person's hair as I apologized.

"Sorry to make you wait, Amano."

She... no, it's he, Keita Amano, escaped from my hands as if

it's tickling him as he smiled embarrassingly... However,
based on the baffling sense of responsibility that he has to be
angry in this situation. The boy answered me with a pretty
subtle tone.

"I-It's really long! But... we're not in a rush today,

anyways..."

"Isn't it fine then?"

"B-But, I don't think it's good to be late and acted like

there's nothing wrong when you're meeting with someone."

"I already apologized. If we're friends, you have to forgive

me on minor issues like this."

•
 "F-Friends! Y-You're right, we're friends... Y-Yes."

The classmate that's easy to coax is mumbling a bit

excitedly, "Friends... ho, ho, friends."

I shrugged my shoulders helplessly at Amano, then I urged

him "we're going" before taking the first step.

"Ah, wait... wait for me, Uehara-kun."

Then, Amano quickly rushed next to me and walked on my

side.

We directly left the school and headed towards downtown.

During this time, Amano slightly tilted his head and asked
me.

"By the way, Uehara-kun, where did you go? It looks like
you're walking to the entrance from outside..."

"I need to do some errands."

"Errands... it sounds like there's another meaning."

"Nope, it's not like that. Although I want to bicker with you,
it's really just something trivial."

Indeed, perhaps there's not another word other than

"trivial" can be used to describe what I went through.

In the end, Amano seems to be curious and asked.

"What's with that, I'm super curious. Explain in details,

please."

•
 "No, no, no, you're really annoying right now."

"Eehhh."

Amano pouted his cheeks, unwilling to give up. That

reaction made me can't help but laugh. Then, he suddenly
gave me a serious look and asked respectfully.

"But... Uehara-kun, should you really be going with me

today?"

"What do you mean by really going with you?"

"Uh, it's because ... there are no Game Hobby Club

meetings today. I'm just going to the game store to check out
vintage games. That's all."

"Yeah, but I'm the one that asked to go with you. In reality,
I'm interested in vintage games as well."

"Uh, but... I guess you had to deal with something today,

right? Isn't that supposed to be something more important
than going to the game store with me?"

"Hmm?"

It seems that Amano noticed something and is worrying for

me. After all, I'm "late" today when I'm a guy that's
surprisingly good at arriving on time.

I looked at his eyes... and then I smiled as I started to rub

his hair with my hands again.

"Nope... it's not like that at all. Your side is way more
meaningful, and I also prioritized you first."

•
 "R-Really? That's good to know..."

Amano smiled a bit embarrassingly. However, I think he

doesn't want me to see a reaction like that. So, after he
cleared his throat, he dared to start talking trash to me.

"Uehara-kun, but if I'm looking it this way, I didn't expect

you to have this much free time. Are you really a normie?"

"Shut up."

"Ouch!"

So, I poked his head forcefully.

Well, today, I still started my lethargic, unconstructive, and

youth-wasting after school time lazily—

—And even laughing like an idiot with my best friend.

•
 Chapter 05: Chiaki Hoshinomori and Broken Multiplayer

A morning in the middle of October, where the red leaves

can be seen everywhere in the mountains of the northern
region.

After I covered my lips with the scarf that I'm not used to
wearing because it stings my skin, I'm still waiting for the bus
to the school alone while sighing as usual.

"...It suddenly got cold."

The September that still reminded me of summer is

already a distant memory... Usually, this season should be
called autumn. However, to a person like me, Chiaki
Hoshinomori, who can't withstand hot or cold, as long as the
temperature outside is making me cold, it already counts as a
full winter.

"By the way, what's with the indefinite period of autumn

and spring, it's literally testing whether an awkward loner like
me with stand out from the crowd. I hate it."

The same can be said for the fluffy scarf that I covered my
chin in, nobody knows how long did I observe the
surroundings and how determined I am to wear it. My little
sister Konoha even said this.

"Uh, does wearing a scarf or not matter that much? Just

wear whatever you want..."

She's always despising her sister with a dumbfounded look.

Seriously, this is weird. That's why I'm really anxious around
•
hardcore normies. To a coward like me, my "clothes" will
always be prioritized over everything else.

"Will it be weird compared to others?"

Also, I choose what I wear based on a standard like this,

things like cold resistance will always be considered later.

I can't help but exhale forcefully and clench my fists.

"From this perspective, I'm the girl that's paying the most
attention to her outfits!"

............

While it's fine to look, but I realized that things are

definitely not going this way, so my face flared up. I coughed
to clear my throat. During this time, I can feel the vibration of
my phone in the pocket. I wanted to know what's going on,
and then I realized it's a notification of the mobile game that I
didn't touch on for a while.

At one point, I raised my head to confirm that the bus isn't

coming for a while before opening the game. First, I took the
login rewards and checked my progress. After all that...

"Ah..."

...I found out there's a message sent to my account.

"Is it some kind of compensation from the system

maintenance a while ago?"

My mood was slightly uplifted due to the free spin, so I

opened the inbox. At that moment, the text that came into

•
view is...

『Sender: Tsucchi』

"!"

The appeared text freaked me out. I can't help but raise my

face and look around meaninglessly... Then-

"Ah..."

Coincidentally, the bus slowed down and stopped at the

station I'm waiting. Although I was a bit restless, I still went
onto it and walked along the empty carriage the same as
usual. Then, I sat down at the double seat at the front that I
treated as my own personal space.

"Phew..."

When the bus started, I put my bag to the side and took off
my scarf and let out a sigh in relief.

The plain and boring scenery slowly passed by the window.

I can hear the engine of the bus and the chitchatting behind
from time to time.

I'm still holding my phone with my right hand and looked

outside the window dazedly... Basically, it's hard for me to say
that I like going out or going to school alone. However, I
really love the 15 minutes that I'm taking the bus to the school
leisurely in the morning. This is slightly different than the
"leisurely alone" time in my room. Also, the time when I'm
taking the bus ranks no.2 in where my creativity runs high.
No.1 is when I'm washing my hair in the bathroom. Recently,
I'm taking good care of my hair because a certain bean sprout
•
midget has been taunting me as a seaweed head. That's why
I'm getting exceptionally creative... .Ah, it's not like I care.

"...By the way, why would he send an in-game message to

me in times like this..."

I adjusted my breathing and looked at the screen again. It's

still showing the message with Tsucchi as the sender. It seems
like my eyes are working correctly.

"The body is... An Invitation to Checkpoint Tours...? What

does checkpoint mean... Ah!"

I almost tilted my head for a second, but I immediately

realized what that word means.

"Right, this game, GOM, added something new in the last

update."

I mumbled as I closed the inbox, and then I checked the

help screen of that system.

"Mm-hmm... ah, right, the one that uses your real-time

location to play."

Honestly, this is just something ripped off from Ingress and

Pokemon Go. By using the GPS on your phone and arriving at
specific locations in real life, you can acquire items or
characters.

In reality, this never impressed an indoor loner like me, so

I used to ignore it entirely.

After I understood what it was about, I returned to the

inbox again and checked the message.
•
 『Sorry for the sudden message. Are you still playing GOM?
If you do, do you want to play that new checkpoint quest with
me? I'm fine as long as you're free.』

"...W-W-WHAT!?"

I almost dropped my phone. Since the bus is pretty quiet,

someone is glancing at me at the side. So, I apologized and
held my phone tight with both of my hands. My sight browsed
through the screen a couple times.

"T-T-This means that K-Keita is inviting me to go out and

play with him... right?"

I'm mumbling with a voice that only I can hear... and my

heart is pounding so fast. The last time that I'm this nervous
was already the first day that I'm walking in Otobuki High
School.

Although I kept shivering, and my face is flaring up... I

immediately made up my mind and first expressed my
willingness to go to the boy. So, I replied as quick as possible.

『Of course, I'm going!』

I pressed the send button, and my breathing went rough...

It's actually rare for me to accept an invitation like this
without any hesitation. Usually, I would overthink it until my
stomach is starting hurt, and then I'll reject it politely.

However...

——W-While I'm unwilling to admit this, but stuff like this

would happen! I became way too excited and forgot about
everything, not to mention all the complicated questions that
•
are surrounding me. This immediately became the first
priority in my heart! It's literally like the release day of a
game!

I held my phone with both of my hands and can't wait to

see his reply, and I can't even stop my legs from kicking in
excitement.

——I-I can't deal with that fanatic gamer Keita. He

already has Tendou-san as his girlfriend, yet he's
immediately going crazy once it's related to gaming. Going
so far to even invite me first, j-jeez...

Going on a tour while playing the game that both of us like

with Keita warmly... Oh my god, how should I put this, even
though I'm unwilling to say this... but I'm really looking
forward to it! This hurts my brain! What's wrong with me! Is
it even alright for something this blessing to suddenly happen
to me! Things won't be balanced if there aren't any terrible
traps waiting for me-

"Hiya, there's a reply!"

There's a new message in the inbox. Keita's definitely

texting me on a bus to school, right... U-Uwah, what is this?
Texting each other in the morning, i-it's like... we're a pair of
sweet couples!

I opened the message delightedly and confirmed its

content with a blessed heart.

『That's great! Then we'll figure out a time where we're both
free, let's head out as soon as possible! I'm looking forward to
it!』

•
 "I'm the one that's looking forward to it!"

I can't help but salute my phone. Then, I wanted to tell him

that I have an empty schedule—During this time, I suddenly
found out that's not the end of Keita's message. It looks like
the screen can't show the entire thing due to the limited
spacing.

I scrolled down the screen while humming a song since I'm

in an excellent mood, then I realized—

『——I'm looking forward to it! Konoha-san!』

"...Ah."

-Then, I realized I've already fallen into a terrible trap.

***

"Are you an idiot!?"

Uehara-kun looked at the scenery outside the window from

the stairs that are headed towards the roof. Then he sighed at
me, completely dumbfounded.

As for me, I sat on the stairs two steps from the platform
and grabbed my phone with both hands before speaking up
with watery eyes.

"W-What should I do, Uehara-kun?"

"I can't believe you're asking me..."

Uehara-kun, who's putting his right elbow on the edge of

the window, answered lazily.

•
 "Well, I do admire the fact that you're willing to trust me
and view me as a friend, even going so far to provide all the
online interactions you've done."

"Y-Yes. I do think that all of these are quite shocking to

you..."

"Nope, it's not that at all. You're just nagging over the
intelligence that I gathered a long time ago once more."

"How... how did you know everything beforehand! Don't

tell me... you're actually..."

Don't tell me Uehara-kun has been stalking me! I trembled

as Uehara-kun scratched his head like it's nothing and
continued.

"By the way, how're you going to face Amano now? Don't
you view him as your rival?"

"W-Well..."

I lowered my head awkwardly. Then, Uehara-kun sighed at

me.

"Sigh, you can keep that part to your own. I already figured
things out on my own."

"I-I'm convinced."

I lowered my head and glanced at Uehara-kun's slightly

melancholic face.

——But, didn't Uehara-kun say that he loves me...?

So, his confession earlier was really just a joke, right? Well,
•
I guess so... but... hmm...

Just as I'm pondering, Uehara-kun continued.

"Usually, why don't you just say that 『I'm still busy』 and
reject him?"

"I-I can't say that. I already said that I'm joining at the
beginning, and the date is already in the 'a time that both of
us figured out that we're convenient' phase. Right now, I'm
afraid that I can never come up with a good reason to reject
him and say we can't go together..."

"Ah... you're already replied that you wanted to go."

"I-I'm sorry..."

I turned depressed. Then, Uehara-kun scratched his head

and acted like this is a troublesome task... but he's still racking
his brain for me.

"Indeed, it'll be weird if you rejected it at this stage. How

about... right, why don't you ask Amano's plan before saying
no. Just say 『oh I'm busy at that time, how regretful, we'll see
if we're lucky enough next time』 and things will work out
fine..."

"Well, basically, Keita is 'always' free."

"That guy doesn't have that many friends, after all!"

"Also, the regretful thing is, I'm even freer than him!"

"You two should just go and be a pair of couple, I beg you!

Both of you are loners, you two need to stay together and be

•
blessed!"

Uehara-kun is somehow screaming at me with tears in his

eyes... I'm baffled by his recent actions. It seems that he
already forgot about his confession to me completely, right?
Although this might just look like I'm finding an excuse again,
it's not like I can bring this up when Uehara-kun is giving me
this attitude...

In the end, I feel like we're back to square one... While I'm
not sure whether I can say that, but Uehara-kun and I were
back to each other's "discussing partners" once more. Thank
god... Hmm...

I decided to reaffirm who should take the most

responsibility here and change this stagnating mood.

"Jeez, GOM is really good at adding unnecessary

functions!"

"There's a limit for pushing away responsibilities, right!

Also, I didn't know that GOM is the name of the mobile game
you two are playing... I've never heard it before."

"Ah, right, this is an abbreviation. The correct name should

be Gate of Mars."

"Oh, I think I've seen that on an ad. But I think the

abbreviation makes the game less dull, what was that called...
Ah, right, it's called Gamar-"

"Nope, you have to call it GOM."

Uehara-kun blinked his eyes in shock from my firm stance.

I let out a 'hmph' before continuing.
•
 "You know, I really hate this kind of abbreviation. The
company is obviously just trying to attract new customers'
attention with it."

"Hoshinomori, it's been quite a while since I've seen such

an annoying side of you!"

"I-It's not just me! All the veterans must belong in the GOM
faction. It has always been like this since the release of the
game. Right, why don't you ask Keita and see what he'll say! I
bet that he'll be just as pissed as I do when you're using a
weak abbreviation like that! He'll fight until his last breath!"

"What kind of baffling trustworthiness is this. I really don't

understand the feelings between you two. Jeez..."

After Uehara-kun mumbled dumbfoundedly, suddenly, he

seems to have thought of something and looked at me.

"This is simply a question. Will weird gamers like you call

Dragon Quest as DQ?"

I smiled smugly at his question.

"R-Really. So, you two won't let that weird temper out
often..."

"As for FF, our attitude is, of course, hoping that it could
explicitly use the vintage name Space Warrior. However,
basically, there're absolutely no issues to just call it FF."

(Note: In Taiwan/Hong Kong, the old translation of Final

Fantasy is called Space Warrior during the 80s.)

"Can you really 'of course' that? It's not right. I think that
•
part definitely varies from person to person!"

"Nope, at least my opinion is completely identical to that of

Keita's."

"You two can really go marry each other!"

Uehara-kun is yelling at me based on his mysterious

judgment. While it's good for me to know that he's actively
supporting the relationship between Keita and me for some
reason, but sometimes he'll complain. "You two should marry
each other!" I was baffled by this. I guess Keita's the same as
well.

Uehara-kun looked outside of the window and brought us

back to the topic of discussion.

"Sigh, if we're thinking about this normally, you can just

hand your phone to Konoha-san and let her go for you. Case
closed."

"Yeah. But if I did that... there's still a big problem that

can't be ignored."

"There's a problem? Ah, like Konoha-san unable to keep

the secret?"

"While that's more or less true... but there's a bigger issue."

"A-A more significant issue? Eh? What's so serious to the

point of making you say that?"

Uehara-kun turned to me with a confused look. To that, I

nodded and answered gravely.

•
 "I want to go out happily with Keita as well!"

"You're really in love with Amano!"

I can't blush after Uehara-kun yelled at me.

"I-It's not like that! It's not because I have any feelings for
Keita! Uh, well... this is just a great activity that represents the
accumulation of feelings between Mono and Tsucchi! I feel
like it's too much if I'm giving it to my little sister..."

Uehara-kun is already giving me the billionth

dumbfounded look of today and answered.

"The root of the issue is you randomly making up a lie. It's

harder to find a case that exemplifies the term 'you get what
you deserve' even more than this."

"Ugh...! W-While that's true, but!"

"Hmm, I get what you're trying to say. How about... right,

why don't you just say 'hey I'm just coming with my little
sister' and just chill in the event?"

"M-My dignity doesn't allow me to be treated as 'third

wheel' like that!"

"I can't believe you're still mentioning 'dignity' in times like

this!"

"It's because if I'm participating with that excuse. I feel like

Keita will definitely be baffled by this. 『W-Why is the
seaweed head coming as well?』 Then, my sister will glare at
me and say, 『Onee-chan is surely annoying...』 That would
ruin my whole holiday."
•
 "Indeed, it'll be terrible. Even so, it's not like you don't
deserve it. Hmm... eh...? Come to think of it, the big premise
is, will Amano go alone?"

"Eh?"

I let out a weird noise at Uehara-kun's question. He

continued.

"Uh, usually, will Amano invite Konoha-san to go out on

his own? Now that I'm thinking, that guy is very loyal to his
girlfriend."

"I... I guess that's true when you're putting it that way. He's
not a crappy player like you..."

"Don't just hurt someone who's trying to figure this out

with you. That's scary."

"But, in reality, Keita becomes a different person when it

comes to gaming. While I'm not entirely sure about this, but
perhaps he didn't notice that this is something between a boy
and a girl. He just invites Mono... Konoha, because he's
excited."

"Right... this is entirely possible... Hmm..."

Uehara-kun is started to get frustrated again. During this

time, the bell that signals the morning assembly will begin in
5 minutes rang across the school.

I stood up from the stairs. Then, Uehara-kun said

"anyways" and brought up the conclusion.

"I'll try to get Amano to say something about this after

•
school without a trace. You can decide what you should do
after that, right."

"Ah, sure, sorry about that. While it's quite troublesome,

but I can only rely on you."

I lowered my head and greeted Uehara-kun. So, he patted

my head and continued with a bright and sincere smile.

"I got you covered. After all, I already decided that I'll
support you more than anyone."

"............."

Suddenly, I can feel a tinge of pain in my chest.

I chased after Uehara-kun as I wiped the sweat off my

forehead.

——Did I... did I... just do something very cruel to a guy

that's seeming attracted to me...?

Although this idea popped out in my head, it was

overwhelmed by a train of emotions flooding in my heart.

First of all, I'm thinking of myself too lowly, which caused

me to feel confused with my feelings towards Uehara-kun.

At the same time, there's a sense of reliance on Uehara-kun

since I treated him as a guy that I can talk to and figure out a
solution.

Also, most importantly... the increasingly deepening

feelings towards Keita.

All of the emotions were swarming up and got mixed into a

•
huge mess. I have no idea what I should do about them.

"............"

I can only plop my head down and slowly walk down the
stairs.

Once I snapped out of it, I unconsciously grabbed my

phone and opened the browser... At this moment, I'm shocked
with myself.

"Am I... trying to search for something? To try and search

for an answer."

I can't help but laugh at myself for lacking any sense of

autonomy.

That's why I'm helpless.

I can only secrete glance at other's faces when I'm asking

for suggestions. When that person is looking directly at me,
I'll immediately be embarrassed and escape.

...I'm scared to express my sincere feelings.

"As a creator... didn't I have much more power to express

myself truly than anyone?"

If this continues, I'll be thrown away by Tendou-san, Aguri-

chan... No, I'll be thrown away by Keita.

Instead of letting myself falling towards that abyss, how

about I just screw everything and go for it.

Instead of slowly degenerating into my former self that's

full of regrets and self-hate, how about I just screw everything
•
and go for it.

Even though I deeply understand that this will cause

nothing but troubles.

Even so... even so.

At least I have to decide on which path I wanted to take!

"Please... please listen to me!"

"?"

Once I snapped out, my back is already facing the

sunshine. At the top of the stairs... I loudly suggested to
Uehara-kun, who turned his head around with an
unbelievable expression.

"Well! I think... I should get everyone on board on this

tour!"

***

Amano Keita

"Hmm... Konoha-san is still not answering..."

Lunchtime. Today, Tendou-san invited me to the Game

Club clubroom as usual. Right now, I'm opening my bento as I
glanced at my phone on the table to check.

Tendou-san pinched up a small piece of tomato deftly with

her chopsticks as she asked.

"Ah, is it about that 'cheating permit' you're asking me

earlier?"
•
 "I don't remember for asking such a permit. I'm just asking
you whether I can go out alone with a person that's slightly
anthomaniac towards me."

"I feel like that's already a ridiculous request."

Tendou-san said that as she put that piece of tomato into

her mouth... Hmm, I feel like she's not angry, but I don't think
she's happy about this either.

I turned off the screen of my phone and faced her again.

"Uh, but, out of all the people I know, only Konoha-san is

playing GOM. Moreover, she... no, Mono, has always been a
good partner of mine..."

When I realized that someone that has been playing the

same game with me for a long time is so close, and the game
decided to add something that's based in the real world in this
situation. How could I not invite the person to have a good
time together?

Even so, I do understand that 'inviting a girl other than my

girlfriend to go out alone' kind of counts as cheating or
betrayal. So, that's why I tried to get a permit from Tendou-
san beforehand...

Tendou-san put down her chopsticks temporarily and

sipped a carton of green tea silently... She's still an elegant
person in every way, far different than the crude and careless
Aguri-san.

"What's wrong, Amano-kun? Why are you looking around

suddenly?"

•
 "I-It's nothing, I feel like... right now, it's not out of the
realm of possibility for me to receive an inter-dimensional
punch to my face."

"Why is my boyfriend suddenly talking nonsense this

brainlessly?"

Tendou-san sighed dumbfoundedly. She said a "whatever"

as a conclusion. Then, she put her green tea on the table and
looked at me.

"As your girlfriend, I really admired your attitude for

saying your goals clearly and asking for permission
beforehand. Also, you swear that 'you'll maintain a certain
distance when you're with Konoha-san.' This clearly shows
that you're aware of the relationship with me. The
walkthrough mindset from a gamer's perspective is also
working correctly, I can only say that it's perfect. This already
proves that it eliminated all possibilities of cheating in that
activity."

"Then there's no problems——"

"——There is."

"Eh?"

There's already no way for me to cheat... yet there's still a

problem?

I tilted my head, and Tendou-san said it with a calm and

natural look.

"I'll feel lonely."

•
 "That's a big problem!"

I can't help but stand up abruptly right away. Tendou-san

nodded and continued.

"The time that was initially just for you and me will be
robbed away by some other girls. Moreover, it's a game
activity that feels quite interesting. I feel lonely."

"Y-You're right! Uh, if that's the case, why don't you just
come with us..."

Tendou-san put out her palm and rejected me abruptly in

the middle of my suggestion.

"My dignity as Karen Tendou doesn't allow that either!"

"Hiya, that's troublesome!"

"The boyfriend just sincerely asked whether he can go to

the meeting beforehand. If the girlfriend is still joining
together like it's nothing... I feel like it's a bit too much for a
woman."

"I get what you're trying to say... However, hmm, if that's

so, I should just cancel going out with Konoha-san, and the
case will be closed——"

After I said that, Tendou-san rejected it even more

vigorously than before.

"——M-My dignity doesn't allow that even more! Please

just go out and enjoy your time! I, Karen Tendou, will never
be a girl that tries to manage her boyfriend's hobbies! Please
don't underestimate me!"
•
 "R-Really. Thank you. Well, then I'll go out happily with
her——"

"——Ugh."

"There's no way for me to go out of this alive! I feel like I'm

the one that's saying nonsense, right!"

I quickly plopped my head down and apologized! Yep, this

is all my fault! This is all my fault for planning the activity too
casually! What Tendou-san thinks doesn't matter, I'm already
stuck as soon as I came up with the plan!"

Even so, I can't just give up thinking directly.

I scratched my head and tried to search for a compromise.

"Uh, how about... this. Tendou-san, I'll ask others to go

including you, does that sound good?"

"Ask the others? For example?"

"Think about it, like finding Chiaki."

"Hoshinomori-san..."

During this time, Tendou-san is curling her lips up for

some reason.

"...Amano-kun, you always call her your rival... yet she's on

top of your list when you're trying to find someone to play.
You're even calling her name directly."

"Eh? Ah, it's not like that. She just came up on my head
because I'm considering people related to Konoha-san... Also,
the reason that I call her name directly is only that it has
•
always been this way since I met her..."

"You and Hoshinomori-san are already best friends at the

start."

"Uh, instead of calling us best friends..."

I almost wanted to retort right away. But, when I'm actually

thinking about this... indeed, I remembered. Initially, we're
really calling each other's names directly because we like each
other. It has always been like this even after we became rivals,
so I just eventually forgot.

Actually, in the beginning, Chiaki and I called each other's

first names because we're good friends.

After I felt silent, Tendou-san tapped her chopsticks on her

lips gently... and looked away from me. Then, she mumbled
as if she's throwing a bit of tantrum.

"...I want you to call my name directly as well..."

"Eh..."

My heart skipped a beat as I froze... The ticking sounds of

the clock is gradually filling up in the clubroom.

After I gulped... I quickly decided momentum is crucial for

things like this. So, I tried to say it swiftly to prevent this
pause for going too long.

"Karen."

"............"

"............"
•
..................................

...UWAHHHHHHHH.

At the same time, both of our faces flared up immediately.

•
 Crap. This is so embarrassing. What the hell? Why is this 10
times more embarrassing than when I'm confessing?

I guess I can skip the part for thinking, "who the hell do
you think you are" when I'm calling Tendou-san's name
directly.

Well, the deeper part is that our hearts suddenly got too
close together.

It feels like I'm wall-pinning her out of excitement.

From such distances, expressions, and the girl's reaction, it

made me think about a lot of things related to our future.

Those images swept us like a wave of tsunami. In the end,

we can only be engulfed in this storm and do nothing aside
from feeling embarrassed.

We plopped our heads down and fell silent for a while. It

feels like the room got two degrees warmer.

So, after a whole minute, I cleared my throat when I barely

recovered and continued.

"S-So... Tendou-san, about the plan for finding more

people to join..."

"Y-Yeah. Yep, I'm Tendou-san, right..."

The two of us looked away from each other and pretended

nothing happened.

Tendou-san quickly chugged two mouthfuls of rice and

answered.
•
 "It's a good idea to find more people... but I can think of
two problems."

"Like what?"

I also looked at my bento as I talked. Tendou-san then

continued.

"First, like what you've mentioned earlier, right now, only

the two of you have played that game before. Let say I'm
starting to play immediately, can I enjoy the entertainment of
that new function?"

I immediately answered Tendou-san's question. "Ah, I

think it's fine."

"You can use the new 'GOM Search' function right away. I
think it's still entertaining if you treat it as a real-time location
game. Also, the abilities of the starting characters are quite
good as well, perhaps they're even better than veterans like
Mono and me."

"Really? Well, let's forget about this one first. The real issue
is the next one."

"Hmm?"

I can't help but raise my head from my bento and made

eye-contact with Tendou-san.

"............"

We blushed and fell silent for a while again. However,

Tendou-san cleared her throat and activated her "Polite
Tendou-san" mode before answering.
•
 "I feel like that Konoha Hoshinomori-san wouldn't allow us
to do that."

"Why?"

"You're still asking why... From the things that Konoha-san

have done in the theme park, it's evident that she wanted to
be alone with you——"

Just as Tendou-san is in the middle of her unbelievable

sentence.

My phone on the table is vibrating. It looks like there's a

notification.

"Ah, I'm sorry."

I paused the conversation to confirm the content. So, just

like what I expected, that's a message from GOM.

I quickly clicked on my phone with my left hand and

grabbed a piece of sausage with the chopstick on my right
hand.

"Eh, Amano-kun, that's impolite."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

After this family-like interaction, I temporarily put down

the chopsticks and looked at my phone.

Then, it wrote...

"...Tendou-san, I think that problem of yours... is solved

already."

•
 "What's going on?"

Tendou-san pinched a mouthful of fried egg that was cut

with her chopsticks as she tilted her head. To this... I
answered while tilting my head as well.

"Uh... I have no idea what's going on as well."

"What?"

Tendou-san blinked.

So, I let her look at the screen of my phone as a "?" popped

above my head. Then, I conveyed the content of the message.

"I think Mono is suggesting that we should go in a group."

***

Uehara Tasuku

10 AM, on the fourth weekend that signals the end of

October.

Under the clear sky, I went through the park and arrived at
the fountain, which is where we decided to meet. Then, I saw
someone I know not far away in front of me.

"Aguri."

"Hmm? Ah, Tasuku, good morning."

"Oh, hello."

I turned around and waved at Aguri, who's smiling at me,

as we gathered together. It's been a long time that I've seen
•
Aguri in such brilliant casual clothes. I'm feeling a bit
embarrassed, but I still acted calmly and strike up a
conversation.

"You went out of your way to come here. Sorry, I'm forcing
you even if you're uninterested."

"Really. However, it's okay as long as I'm with you."

My girlfriend just gave me her warm words before

smiling... Crap, what's with this girl? She's super cute. Right
now, I really wanted to give up this boring real-time location
game meetup and just have a sweet date with her.

Just as I'm seriously considering such a proposal, someone

abruptly interrupted me.

"——Ah, Uehara-kun, Agu-nee! Good morning!"

Once I looked back, there's a girl that's greeting us happily

as she rushed here, also...

"...Good morning."

There's also the sulky student president of Hekiyou High

School that's greeting us as if she was forced to do so. The two
of them slowly walked towards us.

We greeted each other before strolling forward. During this

time, Hoshinomori spoke up with a bitter smile.

"Sigh... it looks like we got more people than expected."

"Of course. There're already 6 people who were confirmed

to join."

•
 Also, it included us four plus Amano and Tendou, 6 people
in total. To put it simply, it's the Game Hobby Club +1.

I glanced at Konoha-san, and she stared right back at me

explicitly. She even started to provoke me.

"Sigh, this was supposed to be a sweet time for Amano-

senpai and me only. It turned into this because someone has
been pulling some strings behind."

""Ouch...""

Hoshinomori and I mumbled. Aguri, who seemingly didn't

understand what's going on, tilted her head to express her
confusion.

"Eh? Isn't this an 'everyone play with Amanocchi'

gathering?"

After Konoha-san witnessed Aguri's innocent look... she

sighed a bit less vigorously and beamed her a smile.

"It's nothing, you're right. Aguri-senpai."

"Really? Konohacchi."

I think Aguri's way of calling Konoha-san suddenly

changed without me knowing it. Sigh, she can rapidly get
close to someone since a long ago. Honestly, Konoha-san also
acted like she didn't mind and answered. "Right."

"However, initially, only Amano-senpai and I have played

this mobile game before. So, there are just 2 participants at
the beginning of the plan."

•
 "Really. Well..."

So, Aguri's still using her innocent, yet an unbelievably

provocative tone and pissed Konoha-san off.

"In the end, all of us get to enjoy this happily. Isn't that
great, Konohacchi!?"

"...! R-Right... Agu-senpai."

"Ahaha, what's with the name. It sounds like a species of

pig. Jeez..."

(Note: This refers to the Agu pig, sometimes known as the

phantom pig in Okinawa.)

"Yeah... doesn't that sound good? It's quite cute, Agu-

senpai."

"Jeez, Konohacchi. I can't stand such manners coming

from a junior."

"I'm sorry. I really can't help but get into a fight with the
gentle Agu-senpai."

While both of them are still smiling, but I can feel that
they're slightly triggered... I think these two don't match each
other very well. However, instead of saying this as a
relationship conflict, I guess this has more to do with the
two's completely different personalities.

However, Hoshinomori is seemingly unconscious in such a

tense atmosphere. She's even waving her arms up and down
excitedly as she walked next to me.

•
 "Hey, hey, but anyway, I'm still glad that this turned into a
wholesome and enjoyable activity!"

"...Really?"

Her smile made me press my chest in relief... It's perfect to

know that this girl is feeling blessed. Actually, I wanted her to
stay with Amano alone...

Just as I'm thinking about all that, we can already see the
fountain that we're meeting at. Also, the long bench at the
side...

"...Uh, I would like to ask all the seniors that are studying
in Otobuki here... is that person acting explicitly like that?"

Konoha-san suddenly gave us a lifeless look as she asked a

question like that.

After we heard that, all of the Otobuku students present

shook their heads.

"No, the scariest part is that she's doing it naturally."

"For real..."

Konoha-san looked at the scenery in front of her with half

respect and another half dumbfounded.

We also smiled bitterly... as we looked at that again.

...Right there.

Under the shades of the trees, there's a beautiful, yet

slightly melancholic girl with blonde hair sitting on the bench
by the fountain. She's even flipping the pages of a book
•
elegantly with her slim fingers.

Everyone around the fountain, regardless of their gender,

stopped walking and reveled in that scenery.

Kohona-san sweatdropped as she mumbled.

"No, no, no, what's with that, she's literally an angel!"

"She's really an angel."

"Is it okay for a person like that to exist outside the world
of light novels! Isn't that too weird!"

"Every student in Otobuki is witnessing this light novel

scenery daily, though."

"W-Why would a kind like that be Amano-senpai's

girlfriend!?"

"This is one of the Eight Wonders of The World."

"Ah, even the Otobuki students are so surprised to the

point that they added a new wonder to our world!"

Just as we're yelling at each other, and this is reasonable in

a sense, the angel — Karen Tendou noticed us and raised her
head.

She put a bookmark between the pages before rising up

from the bench. Then, she walked towards us cleanly and
elegantly as if she's a model. After that, the girl stopped in
front of us and smiled.

"Good morning, everyone."

•
 """G-Good morning."""

Everyone's replying nervously for some reason. During this

time... she looked up to the sunny sky and continued as if it's
too charming.

"Such beautiful weather. What a great day for gaming!"

"Indeed, she's really that guy's girlfriend!"

"Eh? What's wrong?"

We realized something on our own, and it confused

Tendou... Yep, the jokes should stop here.

Everyone walked towards the bench that Tendou sat on as

we waited for the remaining participant... The man at the
center — Keita Amano.

Aguri mumbled confusingly.

"This is rare. I can't believe Amanocchi is the last to show

up. He'll always arrive at the meeting place first and even
salute while waiting for me."

"Why are you making him salute? But, I guess it's quite
strange for Amano to be late."

Just as Aguri and I are starting to chat about this, "Ah,

about that." Tendou helped to explain.

"He messaged me just then, it seems that he wanted to

bring another person in. So, they took the next bus and will
arrive one or two minutes later."

The part that he went out of his way to contact us that he'll
•
be late for a minute is really like Amano.

After Aguri and I answered, "we got it," Hoshinomori tilted

her head unbelievably.

"However, who's the person? Although we indeed wanted

to invite more people to this, I think Keita's friends aside
from those in the Game Hobby Club..."

"It's probably Misumi, right?"

"Ah, yes, I think so."

Tendou agreed with my guess, everyone nodded and

acknowledged that as well.

So, after 3 minutes of chitchatting...

"——Ah... hey! Sorry, I'm late!"

A boy was waving his hands high at the entrance of the

park and apologized as he dashed towards us.

It's Amano. We waved back at him. However...

"Who's... that guy? It's not Misumi."

"Eh?"

The person who's rushing here next to Amano is clearly not

Misumi. Tendou and I were shocked.

Aguri mumbled.

"I think it's a guy... who's that? I have never seen him at
school."
•
 "None of the Otobuki students knows him. Perhaps it's just
Amano-senpai's old friend, right?"

"It's impossible for him to have a friend like that."

"You guys are so confident! That's brutal!"

Konoha-san freaked out. However, it's not like we don't

understand why she's complaining... But, we remained very
close to Amano for nearly half a year. So, we're sure that's not
the case. If Amano really does have a friend like that, first of
all, we can guarantee that he would've absolutely told us.

However, in reality, he really just brought a total stranger

to us.

Everyone's uproaring due to sheer anxiety. But... Amano

and his friend arrived before we can mentally prepare
ourselves.

"S-Sorry, everyone. I'm late... I'm really sorry..."

"I-It's fine..."

I answered Amano, who's out of his breaths as he's

apologized, with a stiff smile as I glanced at the person next to
him.

The guy is highly contrasting with Amano. He's not panting

at all. A tall boy with black hair and an incredibly refreshing
smile. Also, speaking of this person...

——Eh, isn't this guy... too handsome...

This is a boy that even I had to bend my knees down to.

•
Also, he's not the same as me. He's letting off a completely
natural aura. I guess I can represent this kind of
"outstanding" existence if I say that his impression matches
that of Karen Tendou's.

However, his handsomeness isn't the only thing that we're

confused about.

——I feel like... this guy looks similar to Amano?

Honestly, their appearances aren't remotely similar. But,

unbelievably, the guy's face is giving off an Amano-like
impression.

Just as we're utterly speechless, Amano looked slightly

startled as he scrambled his brain to try and introduce the
person next to him.

"Ah, sorry, uh, this guy is... coughs*"

Amano probably choked because he ran all the way here.

Tendou, as his girlfriend, quickly tried to attend to the boy...
However, the handsome guy next to Amano acted first and
rubbed his back as he frowned worriedly.

"A-Are you okay, brother?"

"""B-Brother?"""

We said the exact same thing out of our shock. The tall boy
looked at us a bit embarrassingly... Then, he rubbed Amano's
back, who's still coughing nonstop as he spoke up.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm my brother — Keita Amano's

little bro, Kousei Amano. I'm really sorry for participating in
•
this even though I'm a middle schooler that's not in the Game
Hobby Club. To avoid any inconvenience, I'll try my best to
stay at the side. Thanks for everything."

The handsome junior that's too polite bowed down

respectfully.

Although he got this especially "refreshing" aura, we were

still shocked...

"...N-Nice to meet you..."

We barely managed to give a reluctant and stiff smile to

him.

***

Hoshinomori Konoha

In contrast to the subtle nervousness within everyone

based on last time's experience, this activity is unexpectedly
smooth... Moreover, this is really peaceful and enjoyable.

I think the biggest reason has to do with that GOM Search

is somehow quite entertaining.

Walking around in the real world and collecting items

around checkpoints with emotional ups and downs. While the
game mechanics are pretty cliché, but there're so many
checkpoints that you don't need to worry about not being able
to find one, even in rural areas like this. Together with the
easy-to-use controls and the ingenious item collection
mechanic based on luck, all the elements merged into this one
great game.

•
 In the end, we chatted happily as we strolled along the
park excitedly and went from checkpoint to checkpoint. Two
hours had already passed before we knew it.

Amano-senpai is looking a bit exhausted, so he let out a

"phew" and sighed.

"We walked quite a lot. My legs are getting tired."

The tall, refreshing, and handsome boy next to him —

Kousei Amano answered relaxingly.

"Brother, you're still just as inactive as usual."

Also, he's calling Amano-senpai with "brother" or "onii-

san" while I just call my older sister "onee-chan." It feels that
they're not very close upon hearing that...

"K-Kousei, you're annoying."

"Hehe, I'm different from you. I've always trained my

physique back in my middle school's Volleyball Club."

The little brother smiles innocently at his older sibling.

Amano-senpai pouted his cheeks angrily.

"Kousei, you really robbed everything from me, whether

it's height, intelligence, appearance, or physique."

"Ah, brother, you forgot about 'gaming skills' as well."

"Ugh! I really hate myself for not being able to retort and
can do nothing aside from getting sulky!"

"Hey, hey, brother, I'm sorry for being such an elite little
brother."
•
 ...Hm. It looks like the relationship between the brothers is
even closer than us sisters in a sense. However, if that's the
case, why doesn't he just call him "bro" directly... perhaps this
is the difference between sisters and brothers.

——But... it doesn't matter. I'm only interested in the older

brother, anyways.

I centered my vision at Amano-senpai, who's taking heavy

footsteps, as I can't help but lick my lips and covet inside my
heart.

——Ahh, for some reason, I'm quite fond of seeing Amano-

senpai suffer.

Today I realized an unexpected sexual fetish of mine once

again... Yep, should I try an even nastier hentai game next
time?

Just as I'm thinking about it, my older sister suddenly

spoke up with a relatively loud volume, which is quite rare.

"W-Well! E-Everyone... it's almost time for lunch, right?"

"...Yep."

After we heard her suggestion, we finally realized it's past

12 PM already... Also, coincidentally, we can see a rural
burger steak restaurant in front of us.

Agu-senpai pressed her stomach as she moaned.

"Ah, I think I'm starving right now."

"Really? Uh... it took us a while to get here, let's just go in

•
for lunch, alright. Everyone agrees?"

All of us raised our hands at Trashara's question, and we

agreed to enter the restaurant. Amano-senpai, who's twice as
exhausted and emaciated as others, pressed his chest in relief.

We acknowledged our hunger once again. Then, we

chitchatted about what we should order as we stepped into
the restaurant gleefully. However-

"7 in total, right? Uh, right now... let me see. All of you will
be split into two 4-person tables that are a bit far away, will
that be too inconvenient?"

At the moment that the waitress asked us, that cheerful

atmosphere of us disappeared immediately and turned into
the usual "battle of wits" mode-

"Ah, other customers are coming as well, let's just sit

randomly."

Right there, Amano-senpai gave a reasonable suggestion.

We were forced to take a seat before we even had a chance to
think.

In the end...

"............"

...Trashara, Karen Tendou, me... and the new face Kousei

Amano. The four people that weren't supposed to be together
seated in the same table.

"............"

•
 Tendou-senpai is with Trashara, and I'm with the little
brother... We stared at each other silently as if we're at a
funeral.

Tendou-senpai and Trashara are seemingly unable to get

their partners off their heads... However, well, of course, I
wanted to sit with Amano-senpai and onee-chan as well.
From the little brother's perspective, I guess he wanted to sit
in the same table with the only person that he's familiar with.
That's why...

"............"

...None of us moved an inch. There're only 3 people on that

table, so one of us can go there... But that's why no one is
moving, everyone's in a status quo.

The four of us are pinned down in this overwhelming

silence. On the contrary, that table... Amano-senpai, onee-
chan, and Agu-senpai's side.

"Ahaha, even the meal choices are the same as well.

Amanocchi and Hoshino, you two are adorable together!"

The menu is placed in the middle of the table. Those three

people playfully and cheerfully ordered their dishes. My
sister is even cleverly occupying the seat next to Amano-
senpai. How blessed.

In comparison, our side...

"""...Sigh."""

Our sighs wholly overlapped. This is literally hell. None of

us are benefiting.
•
 Even so, we can't stay depressed for long. We opened the
menu on the table as well... but we're not as enthusiastic as
the other side. We just decided what we want to eat plainly
and ordered after we called the waitress.

"............."

The silence returned to the table again... To be honest, I

feel like, in situations like this, Tendou-senpai or Trashara
should lead the discussion since they're seniors... However,
the two of them are way too focused over the next table. I
think they're busy.

I let out a sigh as I admitted defeat. Fine, whatever. Then, I

followed my desires and tried to strike up a conversation with
the little brother next to me while smiling.

"Hey, your name's Kousei, right? Can I ask you

something?"

"Sure. What do you want to ask?"

Kousei-kun took a sip of the cup of water as he answered

me with a bright smile. As for me, I fiddled the tip of my hair
a bit embarrassingly... and looked up to him.

"Let me ask you about that brother of yours... Uh, from a

little brother's perspective, do you know... what type of girls is
he into?"

Tendou-senpai and Trashara were shocked at my question.

As for the little brother... he quickly answered my question
with a warm smile.

"Ah, you're asking this? Hmm, I do know my brother's

•
preferences."

"R-Really? Uh... c-can you tell me?"

I straightened my back and faced him with excitement. Just

as Trashara and Tendou-senpai are slightly interested in this
topic...

The little brother gave me the answer clearly with an

angelic smile.

"At least, bitches like you will never be his type. Know your
place, slut."

(Note: That's really what he said. I'm not translating it

aggressively.)

"Oh. Really..."

""!""

W-Weird, I think I heard something shocking just then...

Uh, must be my imagination, right? Trashara and Tendou-
senpai bulged their eyes as well... Hmm, both of them got it
wrong as well, right?

Moreover, in reality, the little brother is still giving us his

refreshing smile. Yep, there's no way for a guy like this to say
something along the lines of bitches and sluts to seniors that
he just met. Ahaha, I'm such a silly girl! Did I play hentai
games too much!

"What's wrong? Did I just say something impolite?"

The little brother tilted his head and expressed his

•
confusion to our stiff attitude... Yep, I must be imagining
things. That's great, I thought something went wrong for a
second.

I answered with a forehead full of sweat. "I-It's nothing,

everything's fine..." Then, I think Tendou-senpai is trying to
switch up the mood, so she started talking to Kousei-kun,

"Uh... right, Kousei-kun. Do you feel uncomfortable staying

around your brother's friends all day? I hope you can enjoy
yourself and didn't hold back..."

She's really a real angel. What a natural way to show that

she cares.

To that, Kousei-kun straightened his back as he waved his

hand, and hastily denied. "No, no, it's fine! I'm totally not
holding myself back, not at all!"

"Really? That's great."

Tendou-senpai smiled as she said that. Kousei-kun also

answered "yes" as he gave us a warm smile—

—He spoke up embarrassingly with that smile.

"There's no reason for me to hold back against the dust and

trash that float around my brother!"

"...Hmm?"

Our suspicion just then is now almost confirmed... At the

same time, we started sweating real hard on our faces.

Kousei-kun still faced Tendou-senpai and Trashara with a

•
refreshing smile.

"Right! I've heard about you two from my brother! He

described you two as an incredibly cute, handsome, and
respectable girl and a gentle, reliable, good friend!"

"R-Really."

The two seniors are suddenly praised to the top, so they

scratched their heads embarrassingly.

Kousei-kun took a piece of paper towel from the side of the

table. Then, he carefully wiped the water droplets spilled onto
the table from his cup as he continued with a bright smile.

"However, once we actually met, I realized you two are

indeed retarded peasants that can never hope to match my
brother. I'm feeling a bit more relieved."

""...? R-Retarded... peasants?""

Tendou-senpai and Trashara seemed like they didn't

understand what did he just say, so they repeated those
words as if they're parrots.

As for Kousei-kun, he continued while facing the two

seniors without any hostility.

"Sigh, I guess that's fine as well. The two of you are

irreplaceable for my brother, after all! Really!"

"R-Really?"

The two were a bit embarrassed again. Kousei-kun smiled

and continued.

•
 "Yeah! Please continue to pretend as a 'fake friend' and
'fake girlfriend' from now on. It would be great if you two can
stay on good terms with my brother for a long time!"

"F-Fake...?"

"Yeah! After all, you two aren't in the same league with my
brother at all. However, right now, he misunderstood that you
two are his friend and girlfriend. So, it's a fact that he earned
some sort of mental comfort from this. In this sense, I think
the two of you are still really important to my brother."

"R-Really..."

"Even though you two are absolute trash when compared

to him!"

"!"

What kind of emotional shock is this? Right now, what did

the little brother do to the two people in front of me?
Torture? Is this some kind of new extreme punishment or
what?

However, Kousei-kun continued innocently to the two

seniors.

"So, Tendou-senpai! Uehara-senpai! From now on... please

continue to be my brother's 'soul fertilizer' as well!"

""...Uh...""

What the hell is this guy talking about?

The two normies from Otobuku can only fell speechless

•
after hearing that.

...What should I do? What's with this atmosphere? This

shocking first experience of my life made my brain stopped
working entirely.

A-Anyway, the one thing I can guarantee is that... we would

all lose our appetites if this continues.

I let out a forced "ha... haha" laugh as I tried to smooth

things over.

"A-Alright, this little brother just suddenly said something

surprising. Even so, from the fact that he still agreed for us to
stay with Amano-senpai at last, I guess it's cute if you
considered that as a Tsundere reaction——"

"——Nope, you're different, Konoha Hoshinomori. Please

disappear immediately from my brother, you slutty bitch."

"Why!?"

I can't help but slam my hands on the table as I stood up.

So, everyone in the restaurant, including Amano-senpai's
table, glanced at us.

Amano-senpai looked at us worriedly. Kousei-kun then

replied with a bitter smile.

"Haha, brother, is it really the time to be worried about

someone right now? I don't think you guys are talking
enough..."

"I-It's fine! Y-You're annoying, Kousei. This is none of your

business. Jeez."
•
 Amano-senpai turned back angrily to continue what they
were chatting about. During this time, Kousei-kun nodded
respectfully at onee-chan and Agu-senpai when they're
looking at us.

I sat back down after I witnessed their interaction. Then, I

racked my brain and started talking acridly to this guy... this
stinky douchebag with a stomach full of crap.

"Hmph, you're already calling me a bitch... K-Kid, you sure

do know how to act innocently."

"Eh? You say... I'm acting innocently? What are you talking
about?"

He tilted his head as if he's genuinely confused... T-This

prick!

"I-It's because your attitude is entirely different for us

compared to them!"

I pointed out my reasoning clearly. Even so, the little

brother... No, douchebag Kousei is still giving us an
unbelievable look like he doesn't understand what we're
talking about at all.

"Ah? Uh, this is something that's bound to happen, right.

It's because that table is my brother and his genuine friends.
There's no reason for me to treat them impolitely. Did your
brain rot after you turned into a bitch?"

"Huh!? T-To your brother, this table is also full of his

treasured friends, right!"

Tendou-senpai and Trashara nodded vigorously at what I

•
just said.

However, Kousei-kun let out an "ah?" before giving us a

serious look.

"Nope, you three are different. I've already said this a

couple times, right? In this table... there's only 'my brother's
fake friend', 'my brother's fake girlfriend', and the 'pure bitch.'
Sigh, how regrettable."

"No, no, no! I'm the one that should feel regret right now!"

"Yes. You should be regretful of your chastity."

"It's not about that! Jesus, I-I've had enough!"

I scratched my head frustratedly! W-What's wrong with

this guy!? Rage kept funneling up to my brain, I'm so angry
that I don't even know what to say!

Just as I'm mumbling to myself, Trashara tried to continue

and asked.

"Uh, K-Kousei? I do have a question..."

"Ah, okay, what is your question? U... Ue... the green leaves
senpai who's just acting as a foil to my brother."

"G-Green leaves... Whatever. I-I'll bring that up later.

Kousei? Just then... you were saying it like you're highly
respecting the members from that table. However, that
means..."

After Kousei heard what Trashara just said, he answered

with a random bright smile. "Ah, right."

•
 "Aguri-senpai and Chiaki-senpai. I really respect them.
Sigh... my brother got himself two great friends in high
school. To that, I'm delighted to know this today..."

Kousei wiped the tears off the corner of his eyes after he
said that... T-This guy is crazy. He's excelling my "hentai game
lover despite being a student council president" side. He's a
complete psycho. I can't believe Amano-senpai's little brother
is actually a guy like this...

——No, this makes so much sense once I thought about it.

After all, Amano-senpai is like a device that attracts

weirdos. Even though I don't count.

Tendou-senpai and Trashara seem to have also adapted to

my mindset as well. The three of us understood what's
happening at the same time.

Just as I'm pondering about it, the meals arrived.

Kousei-kun is still acting so politely that we began to

suspect what's wrong with that toxic discussion just then. He
started eating after announcing, "thanks for the food."

We felt that this is pretty dumb as well, so we started

chewing on our burger steaks deflatedly.

After a while, suddenly, Tendou-senpai asked Kousei-kun

something tremblingly.

"Uh... Kousei-kun?"

"Ah, yes, what's wrong? Uh... Te... Te... Tempura crumbs?

No... uh... right, the female side character senpai?"
•
 "Side character... W-Whatever, it's okay. Uh... Kousei-kun, I
have a simple question. Why are you just acknowledging
Aguri-san and Hoshinomori-san as your brother's friends?"

"Eh? You're asking why... Isn't that obvious? They're

entirely different than you three trashes. Those two are pretty
amazing, way out of your league."

"R-Really...?"

Even Tendou-senpai mumbled a bit dumbfoundedly.

Trashara and I said "that's enough" before skipping the

conversation between them. Then, we ate our meals.

However... Kousei then said something that made us

stopped eating.

"It's because those two noticed that my brother isn't feeling

too well today."

"...Eh?"

We bulged our eyes in shock. Kousei-kun still continued

eating as he spoke up again.

"All of you thought that I'm only here to check on my

brother's friends, right?"

"Quite possible."

The voices of the three of us completely overlapped.

Kousei admitted. "Yep, I do." Then, he continued.

"In reality, I do mean to just 'accompany my brother' if

we're just talking about today. Ah, even when I said he's not
•
feeling well, of course, it's only limited to a slight headache.
I'll never let my brother go outside if he's really sick."

"T-Things like that... If the guy doesn't say anything, we

wouldn't have know..."

Trashara looked away as he mumbled. I didn't Kousei-kun

to not only agree with him with a "yeah", he even continued
after taking a bite of the burger steak.

"Honestly, I also felt that it's quite extraordinary for people

to be able to notice small things like that. Come to think of it,
only a family member who stayed with him for a long time
can do it. However, that's why I thoroughly respect those two
for realizing that my brother's under the weather. Ay, Chiaki-
senpai and Aguri-senpai are really amazing. I can't believe my
brother can meet such incredible friends in the school. I'm so
throbbed right now."

"............"

Tendou-senpai and Trashara lowered their heads at what

Kousei just said. Kousei then cut his burger steak with
chopsticks.

"Ah, please don't misunderstand. This is just the reason for

me to 'respect' those two. That's not why I'm treating you
three as trash. I'm not despising you all out of your inability to
notice that my brother's not feeling well."

Kousei smiled after he said that. It looks like he got a

unique view on everything.

He continued.

•
 "So, the reason that I'm giving you guys a bad rating is just
that I hate 'people that thought they're smooth and slick' at
everything. My brother has always been hurt by people like
that......... including myself."

Just as we're holding our breaths, Kousei chugged a cup of

water down his throat as if he's trying to vent something out.
Then, he glanced at his brother with a look filled with a traffic
of emotions.

...Perhaps... this guy is different than what I thought. He's

not just a guy with a stomach full of crap—

"But that bitch right there is a piece of universally-agreed

trash."

"You're talking too much!"

—I wanted to hit his head, but he easily dodged it without

even looking at me... Ugh, he got strong base stats! What's
with this person!? Onee-chan, I think I got myself a rival as
well!

Tendou-senpai and Trashara remained silent since they

can't retort Kousei.

As for me, I mumbled as I glared at Kousei... Then, I

suddenly realized he's absolutely not just paying attention to
his brother.

"...Kousei, why are you staring at my sister?"

"!"

Kousei immediately freaked out as his body froze. He

•
blushed a bit embarrassingly and mumbled. "...Shut up, you
bitch." Then, he quickly cleared all of his rice.

...Ohhh?

"Really. I get it. You have a massive brother complex.

When there's a cute girl who's personality is the exact same as
your beloved brother, of course, you'll pay attention to her."

I spoke up and revealed Kousei's thoughts. However, he

wiped the corner of his mouth with tissue nervously as he
gave me an icy stare.

"Huh...? Hmph, that's what a shallow bitch would think. As

a biological being, it's reasonable to have an intense sexual
drive. Still, if that comes at the cost of rationality, it's
absolutely over for a human."

"W-What!? How could I be wrong to think that you're in

love with my sister?"

"No, I do agree that I 'love' Chiaki-senpai."

"L-Look. You're indeed falling for my sister."

"That's the difference. That's the decisive divergence

between a bitch and me. The dream that I've painted for
Chiaki-senpai... It's not those kinds of pathetic loving
relationships. Instead, it's a far more noble and sublime
imagination."

"Huh?"

Kousei just said something baffling. The three of us looked

at him dumbfoundedly. So... Kousei suddenly brought up his
•
disgusting wish intoxicatedly.

"I'm thinking about whether my brother can marry Chiaki-

senpai. If that happened, there will twice the existence of my
brother. If they gave birth to children, there'd be 3 to 4 times
as many beings that resembled my brother..."

"...Uwah..."

We can't take it anymore, that's crazy. Kousei Amano, he's

super insane. I can't believe Amano-senpai has such a
shocking trump card behind him. N-No, perhaps senpai
didn't even know that his little brother's real side... However,
I guess it's better for him to not know.

After that, we continued digging in silently. However, it's

different than when we just took a seat. It's not because we
felt awkward.

——Kousei Amano. My appetite is losing for every second

spent talking to him!

Depression. Intolerance. His attitude and ability to cast

these emotions onto us make it extremely difficult for us to
enjoy our meals. Kousei Amano. He got a caring heart for his
brother, a wicked tongue, a stomach full of crap, a love of
cleanliness, and purity found in middle schoolers. What a
miraculous chemical reaction.

After we robotically swept up our burger steaks, we quickly

called the happy, lunchtime-enjoying trio that's far better
than us to leave the restaurant... Although we feel kind of
terrible to them, it's now too suffering for us "The Trash
Group" to talk to Kousei Amano.

•
 "W-Well, what should we do next?"

Everyone finished paying up and walked to the door of the

restaurant. Trashara glanced at Kousei Amano's movement
with the corner of his eyes as he asked for everyone's
schedule.

Amano-senpai is the first to answer.

"If everyone's still interested, I kind of wanted to take a

short walk and continue playing GOM search. It helps with
the digestion."

Kousei Amano answered with a bitter smile.

"Jeez, brother, you will always be active in times like this."

"W-What's wrong, Kousei...? Why does it matter."

"It's fine. However, in reality, I'm not as interested in the

game as you, brother..."

"U-Ugh, Kousei..."

"It's pointless to let out a sound like that. This is decided by

everyone, right? You're the one that said it, right, brother? 'If
everyone's still interested' ...everyone agrees?"

Kousei Amano looked at us with a refreshing smile after he

said that.

"............"

Tendou-senpai, Trashara, and I immediately started

sweatdropping.

•
 ——Before we ate that lunch... I can sincerely agree... he's
trying to be a 'good little brother that knows when to exhort
his brother' when he said that.

Honestly, onee-chan and Agu-senpai, who don't know

Kousei's real side, answered with a polite smile.

"Ah, I guess I should play with Amanocchi sometimes."

"I wanted to play for just a little bit more like Keita..."

Kousei continued. "Really? I'm sorry. My brother's causing

quite a hassle..." What a polite reply.

...Yep, that's fine. That's really fine... However...

Kousei then turned to us, with his super bright smile.

"Uh, but, it's not like I need everyone to stay with my

terrible gaming otaku brother, though."

(Didn't my brother say he wanted to go for a walk! Say

"yes" right now, you peasants!

——I think we can hear what he's actually trying to say!

We can't help but tremble.

What the hell is this? Kousei Amano is super insane. While

it looks like he's a typical 'good little brother' type, and it does
look genuine. However, there's a pretty horrible dark side
hidden in it. In comparison, I think my switch between the
student council president mode and the hentai game lover
mode isn't even that bad.

...Anyway.
•
 Just like that, -everyone "agreed" to retake a stroll for the
checkpoints.

***

Amano Keita

——Ugh... Kousei is still just as serious when it comes to

me...

I walked alone behind everyone depressingly.

We're already in the rural area that's far away from the
downtown area filled with game stores and other shops. It's
only a short walk away from the area that's full of natural
scenery. However, right now, there are only food processing
factories and car reseller shops that no one visits. There's
nothing that can calm down my restless heart at the moment.

In the end, I can only put my mind on the friends that are
walking in front of me...

"............"

In front of me, my little brother is already getting familiar

with everyone in just a couple of hours. While he's young,
he'll never be shy to express himself... At the same time, he's
chatting with everyone with perfect politeness.

I stared at them dazedly before I let out a lamenting sigh.

——Kousei's sure incredible. In terms of strong

communication skills, I think he shares that with Uehara-
kun and Tendou-san... However, there's a slight difference
between them... Hmm... what is it?
•
 I looked at the back of my outstanding little brother for a
while.

So, just as he's... chatting with the three people that he just
sat with for lunch extra peacefully, I finally realized.

——Right. There's a "sincere" and "likable" part of Kousei

that he shows everyone but me, yes!

I'm reveling in my accurate observation. Yeah, exactly.

Although Uehara-kun and Tendou-san are both excellent as
well, Kousei's situation is that he's innocent and
straightforward from the bottom of his heart.

——I must be right to think that his "kindness" is already

known by everyone at this point.

Look. Tendou-san, Uehara-kun, and Konoha-san smiled

robotically just then. Being able to make three people with
different personalities grinning the exact same way, my little
brother is undoubtedly incredible.

——Sigh. In comparison, I...

The more that I'm proud of my little brother, the more

apparent it shows how useless I'm.

Honestly, even one of the reasons that I invited my little

brother is... This is embarrassing, but trying to brag "hey, I got
myself a bunch of good friends and a girlfriend as well" is
included. However, once the result is revealed... It only
proved that I'm still only myself in front of my excellent little
brother.

——Ay, but I guess this is not all bad. I think I'm acting a
•
bit too proud lately.

Even if I got a girlfriend, and my friends are benefiting me

so much. I'm still me. I acknowledged the fact that I'm just
"Keita Amano" once again. Yep, from this perspective...

——Perhaps... it's right to call Kousei here.

I looked at Kousei, who's chatting happily with Uehara-kun

and his friends, as I can't help but smile... Despite everything,
I'm still really delighted to know that Kousei's happy when
he's around my favorite friends.

Just as I'm pondering alone, in that group... there's an

angel with blonde hair who left silently and came to me.

"T-Tendou-san? What's wrong?"

I asked her with a slightly sharper voice out of my

nervousness... Even though we're dating each other for a
couple of months, I'm still straightening my back whenever
she's next to me. I'm really not in the same league with my
little brother, how useless.

Tendou-san smiled warmly at me... but her face

immediately darkens for some reason before asking me.

"Uh... Amano-kun? Well... are you feeling better now?"

"Eh?"

I freaked out at the unexpected question... A-Am I feeling

better? Why is she asking that... Ah.

——Come to think of it, I have a slight headache since

•
morning. It lasted all the way until we had lunch.

Since it's quite mild, I'm fully recovered by now. So, I

eventually forgot about it.

I answered Tendou-san with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm absolutely fine now. Thanks for worrying over

me, Tendou-san!"

"R-Really. Glad to hear that..."

Tendou-san pressed her chest in relief. That look... I'm

really proud of her.

"Sigh... you're really amazing."

"Eh?"

"I'm confident in myself for not acting like I have a

headache... I can't believe you're still able to tell it. I'm
throbbed to know that."

"Eh? Ah, that's because..."

Tendou-san plopped her head down somehow... Is it

because she's embarrassed?

I also scratched my face. Although I'm feeling a bit

embarrassed... I still said my thanks.

"Uh, you're indeed my girlfriend. No one can do what you

just did. I really appreciate that."

"...It's okay..."

•
 Tendou-san is holding herself with her arms tightly for
some reason. She's even looking away from me...?

——Ah... did I make her uncomfortable just then? I-I guess

it's right. I think "you're indeed my girlfriend" is quite lofty.
Uwah...

I'm freaking out at Tendou-san's reaction. I-I really didn't

mean anything aside from expressing my gratitude...
However, that's why it'll be weird to take it back right now...
Ugh!

During this time...

"Ah, Tendou-senpai, there's something I would like to ask

you for. What does this reaction mean? It doesn't look like an
item or a character..."

"Eh? Ah, a-alright, that's..."

Thanks to Kousei for suddenly speaking up to Tendou-san

at the front, we managed to get over this stalemate vaguely...
T-Thanks, Kousei!

——However, this means that my little brother can't stand

anymore and helped me.

Crap, I'm so depressed right now. Seeing my perfect little

brother chatting happily with my girlfriend from behind
dazedly, it's really disheartening. While I don't feel anything
remotely related jealousy... I feel like I can't be any more
useless.

This time, Chiaki was the one that walked next to me while
I'm feeling hopeless.
•
 She's looking at me with her usual, slightly provoking
stance.

"Keita, is the meal good?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that? I mean, it's okay... but
you're not the one that cooked it, anyways."

"You're right..."

"W-What's wrong? Why are you looking at my eyes."

"It's nothing... Hmm, good to know that. Yes. Sorry for the
simple diet."

"Uh, why are you saying that like you cooked it."

Chiaki chuckled... W-What's wrong with this girl? I feel like

she found out a new way to tease me.

I shrugged helplessly before grabbing my phone out of the

pocket and checked GOM. So, Chiaki quickly noticed it and
reminded me.

"You're on your phone while walking."

"Why are you saving that up until now? There's no one

around, and the path is wide, please just leave me alone."

"...But you're on your phone while walking."

How annoying. I let out a helpless sigh and stopped as I

went to the side of the road to check my game. Although we
distanced ourselves from everyone else for a bit, it'll be quick
to check, so everything should be fine.

•
 Chiaki laughed. "Good boy." Then, she stood next to me
and checked her game as well.

"You're playing too?"

"Of course, I'm here to play this."

"...Really."

Chiaki stayed next to me cheerfully. She checked the

location around her with a face full of excitement... Jeez.

——The part that I hate the most is that I can actually

understand what she's thinking...

Our views for everything are almost identical. This hurts

my brain.

After I'm finished with my game, I glanced at Chiaki's

screen without thinking. Then, it showed...

——Ah, her level is indeed low.

That's totally the stats of a new player. Chiaki must have

registered just for this activity, right.

——I think I've seen her playing GOM a while ago... was it
just my imagination?

Although I'm still a bit suspicious, I looked at Chiaki's

screen as I spoke up to her.

"Your username is... Haru?"

"Ah, wait, don't peek. You pervert."

•
 "What kind of fetish do I need for me to be turned on with
a game screen like that..."

I let out a sigh and asked her again.

"By the way, why are you calling yourself Haru (Spring)?"

"No reason, I just named it randomly. I guess it's because I

like spring if you want a reason."

"Oh... you're still as bad with talking to people as I do,

Chiaki."

"Please leave me alone! Also, Keita, is it okay for you to

insult me like that!"

Chiaki complained vehemently, but I didn't care. I just

answered, "I'm going." before taking the first step. So, Chiaki
immediately replied. "P-Please wait." Then, she chased after
me.

I looked at the white fumes coming out from the factories

in front as I got lost in thoughts.

——Haru... that's more like what Konoha-san would use.

Sigh, there's nothing concrete about my suspicion. After all,

nothing is forcing people to call their characters with their
real names.

After walking with Chiaki for a while, we caught up with

everyone. All of them stopped to check on their phones.

"Ah... hey, Amano, I think there're rare characters around

here."

•
 "Eh, really? What characters?"

I grabbed my phone out to check once again. Then...

——Ah, this is...

That's a special character that was released in previous

missions. One of the new functions that made GOM enjoyable
is using this to release "vintage characters" or the ones that
were missing in previous rewards. I think it's a pretty good
mechanic.

Speaking of the characters, it's a handy one that was

released in a short activity a while ago. Its weapons are top-
tier.

I'm so excited that I can't help but raise my face. However,

the newbies that only started playing today will never know
its real value—

"...Hmm?"

—For some reason, I made eye contact with Chiaki.

"!"

However, Chiaki quickly plopped her head down...? What's

wrong with her? Just as I'm hesitating whether to talk to her,
then...

"Ah, Hoshino, Hoshino, I think I just got a weird screen!"

Aguri-san called Chiaki out of her confusion, so we missed

the chance.

I let out a gentle sigh and attempted to change my mood.

•
"Ah, right." Then, I rushed next to Konoha-san.

"Konoha-san, Konoha-san! I feel pretty good!"

"...Hiya?"

Konoha-san looked away from the screen and towards me

as she tilted her head confusingly... What?

She was shocked for a while. After that, she answered with
something that's not even remotely related.

"Did we have sex already, senpai?"

"That's a ridiculous reply. I'm not 'feeling good' in that way.

Look at the character!"

"Eh, this character isn't a virgin? But her face is so cute...

I'm turned on."

"What are you talking about? You can get this character,
this one. Don't you remember?"

"...? Ah, r-right. Uh... it exists."

For some reason, Konoha-san's eyes are starting to float

around. I tilted my head and glanced at her screen as well.

——The username is Mono... I still found this unbelievable

even when I saw it once again.

I can't believe this person is Mono that I've played with for
so long... at the same time, she's supposed to be the F2P game
creator NOBE that I respect. Even if my brain understands,
right now, I still feel like they're not related to Konoha-san.

•
 ——Despite confirming Konoha-san's username from her
phone, I still feel unrealistic... From this perspective, I think
I'm quite weird as well.

People often have more or less the same as I do when they

meet someone they know on the internet in real life, right?
Like, the "different than what I expected" impression... Uh, I
think I'm not expecting anything from Mono or NOBE,
though...

Just as I'm thinking about this, Konoha-san called her

sister, who just finished teaching Aguri-san, for some reason.

"Onee-chan, come! Come here!"

"What's wrong, Konoha?"

Just like that, she wrapped her arms around her older
sister's shoulders. Then, she even glanced at me before
whispering about something I don't know.

——I feel like it's better for me to not listen to it. Even
though I don't know what do the girls want.

Usually, I would pay 100% attention to what others are

saying, but not to the point of eavesdropping on people's
secrets.

I looked at my phone and did some casual missions to kill

time.

So...

"Hey, sorry for the wait, senpai! Greetings, I'm Mono!"

•
 Konoha-san suddenly came back to me and self-introduced
herself again, which has been repeated so many times at this
point.

"R-Really, Nice to meet you..."

"Damn, by the way, Tenshou is out again! The character

with the OP leader's ability — Lightflare. Everyone calls her
the Shining Sky because of her cute forehead. I can't believe I
got it right now. Damn, that feels good, go new function!"

"R-Really. Y-You're right..."

"Hey, what's wrong, senpai? You're not high enough! Don't

you feel excited!"

"I... I'm excited, uh..."

W-What's wrong? Konoha-san is so high right now. Her

suggestion is super correct, and it matched with my
knowledge as well... but it feels really out of place. However,
it's not like I can just say it.

Well, all I can do for now is to give a vague smile. Konoha-

san is laughing stiffly as well.

............

"Well, it's time for us to get moving again."

Uehara-kun noticed everyone's finished with their game, so

he lead the discussion. After we responded, we put back our
phones and started walking.

After a short walk... for some reason, I looked back and

•
glanced at the two people that are far behind the group.

——Konoha-san and Chiaki are holding each other's

phones and whispering over something...

The sisters are surely close. I feel like Kousei doesn't like
me very much, so I can do nothing aside from getting envious.

***

In the end, a couple of incidents like that happened

afterward.

Even when I'm speaking to Konoha-san excitingly about

the characters and items, I don't get the expected reaction
from her. Just as I'm feeling regretful, she'll continue the
discussion a minute later very energetically. I'm quite fed up
with it. This situation repeated again and again.

Even so, GOM Search as a real-time location game is still

very enjoyable. We continued to play since it attracts us a lot.

So, once we snapped out of it...

The seven of us are watching the beautiful sunset from the

parking lots at the top of the hill.

...Uehara-kun looked from a distance as he mumbled.

"...I think... we walked the path to the hill unconsciously..."

".........."

Everyone immediately lowered their heads... Well, we're so

fascinated with the game that we climbed up the hill and met
the sunset. This is quite shameful even for gamers like us.
•
 However, the one good thing is that there's a recently
constructed rest area near us. A lot of buses heading towards
downtown and other places are operational as well.

After we checked our respective bus schedule for heading

home, we gathered up at the rest area and started to wait for
the bus. However, none of the couples are chatting with each
other happily...

".........."

Even Tendou-san can't hide her tired look. This shows that
how exhausting and unconstructive today really is.

We're sitting there tiringly as if the whole group just went

through intense training in the sports club. I felt responsible
since I'm the one that planned this, so I tried to mobilize my
low communication skill and attempted to make small talks.

"Uh, i-is everyone's bus schedule separated from each

other?"

The one person that's willing to answer my "unnecessary"

question is still my girlfriend, Karen Tendou.

She's wearing that "Karen Tendou's smile" on her drained

face as she summarized for everyone.

"Yeah. It's either to Amano's house, to Hoshinomori's

house, or to downtown. The members that are taking the
buses are the same. The Amano brothers. The Hoshinomori
sisters, and the rest of us."

"Really. Uh, well, the bus to our home is leaving 20

minutes later at 6:30 PM. Tendou-san, how about you?"
•
 "The downtown gang is leaving at 6:25 PM. Hoshinomori-
san, what about you?"

"Ah, we're going at 6:35 PM. We're quite close to you guys."

"Really..."

The conversation ended entirely. Yes, it's over. It's not like
the usual "after a subtle silence," instead, it's absolutely over.
I can say that everyone doesn't want to talk in the least bit.

Usually, in times like this, Aguri-san or Uehara-kun, who's

strong at chatting with each other, will initiate the discussion
first... However, they're really exhausted by now. The two of
them are lying on the table lovingly.

I feel like it's not going to help to keep talking, so I just

minded my own business and played on my phone... After all,
I have the least stamina in this group. In reality, I'm just as
tired as everyone, but I'm not "exhausted." Instead, my eyes
are still sparking actively. This is a kind of excited state. I
guess I'm like those elementary kids eagerly waiting for their
trip and unable to fall asleep.

I clicked on my phone as I can't help but smile.

——I can't believe I'm playing with my friends on the

holiday until we're all drained... To me, it's not that easy to
find such a blessing experience like this...

There's no way for me to be really tired right now...

However, I still pretended I do to avoid getting embarrassed.
Even so, it's not to the point that I have to rest my eyes-

——Eh, that's weird?

•
 -Now that I'm looking, Chiaki seems to be playing with her
phone as well. I think she's in the same excited state as I do.
In reality, her relaxed smile is blossoming as if she's blessed
from the bottom of her heart...

——Uh... ah!

Just as I'm smiling when I saw her expression, I quickly

tried to tone it down... Feeling gratified because of my rival's
feeling blessed, what am I doing? Jeez.

When I confirmed no one around saw me smiling, I put my

focus back onto the phone and opened GOM Search.

——Although I'm already done with it today... there's

nothing else to do.

Moreover, we only checked the area in front of the parking

lot under the sunset. Perhaps there could be more
checkpoints around here.

I looked at the screen and checked the characters and

items near this rest station, but I can't find anything eye-
catching. After I got all those and feeling there's nothing to
do... I can't help but zoom out of the map and look at the
locations further ahead.

During this time.

"Ah."

-I can't suppress my voice. Also, Chiaki made the exact

same noise at the same time for some reason as well.

Chiaki and I made eye-contact... Then, I asked her about it.

•
 "Uh, what's wrong, Chiaki?"

So, Chiaki blushed a little somehow as she shook her head

and answered. "I-It's nothing."

"I'm okay. I'm just reading the online news, yes. W-What
about you, Keita?"

"M-Me? Uh... it's nothing, should be the same as you.

There's nothing to worry about."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Our conversation ended, just like that... I let out a faint sigh
as I stared at the screen once again.

——This... I can get this if I take a short walk from here...

That's a coupon for challenging the multiplayer battles in

the past again. The multiplayer battles are mostly missions
that require you to "cooperate with other players" and slay
the enemies. You'll get all kinds of rewards after defeating the
boss. Basically, once the activity is over, you can't challenge it
anymore.

However, the special item that allows you to participate in

the battle once again is right there.

I can't help but cross my arms as I sighed.

——I really want this. But... it's really far and the bus is
arriving soon...

I remember that if I miss this, I'll have to wait for an hour

•
for the next one. Honestly, that's really exhausting.

——Moreover, even if we won this multiplayer battle, the

rewards are a bit too shabby.

From a pure gamer's perspective, this boss isn't really

worth it, at least I'm definitely not going to wait an hour for
another bus just to get the reward. However...

"Hey, everyone. I think the buses are arriving one by one

into the station."

Kousei suddenly spoke up. Then, we snapped out of it and

checked the bus terminus from the glass window near the rest
area entrance. Just like what he said, although there's still a
bit of time, the buses to all destinations are on stand-by.

Uehara-kun let out a "phew" as he stretched his back, then

he was the first to stand up from the chair.

"Well, it's almost time for us to leave, right. No use

dragging our feet here."

After we heard what he said, we slowly rose from our

respective chairs and walked to the entrance of the rest area.
In the meantime, we bid our farewells to each other.

——Ah, right...

I thought of something after I finished talking to Tendou-

san, so I rushed next to Konoha-san.

"Konoha-san! Uh, actually, there's a Star Dragon Novajak

boss fight close——"

•
 "——Ah, I'm sorry, Amano-senpai. Just a second... phew!"

Konoha-san interrupted me and yawned as if she's

thoroughly exhausted. Well, she's still the student council
president of Hekiyou, after all. Comparing to her normal
anthomaniac state, I think her yawning face is quite adorable.

After I saw her like that... I...

"Ah, so what do you want, Amano-senpai?"

"...Uh... ah, well... Konoha-san. I-I really appreciate you for

playing with me today! I had a good time!"

"Eh? Ah, a-alright. If senpai's happy... well... I guess I'm the

same..."

After I thanked her with a smile, Konoha-san lost her usual

calm and is trembling embarrassingly. I left after praising her
once again.

Once we walked out of the rest area and arrived at the bus
terminus, Uehara-kun turned back and looked at us as he
concluded.

"Well... thanks for today, everyone!"

"Thanks for today, everyone!"

With that, we finally disbanded.

The bus is lining up according to the departure time. I

waved at Tendou-san before going onto the second one with
Kousei. The bus is empty. We decided to take one of the
double seats each and sat down with one person in front of

•
the other.

"Phew."

Once I sat down, Kousei let out a huge sigh in front. I

praised him with a bitter smile.

"Thanks for today, Kousei. You must've been exhausted

after dealing with a bunch of strangers."

"Hmm? Nope, it's not like that. I'm not you, brother. I'm
not afraid of people."

"Ugh..."

"However—"

Kousei seems to be acting like he's teasing someone as he

said that. Then, he looked outside the window and mumbled.

"...Ah, I guess there's still a bunch of good friends that care

about me. If we're talking about you, brother."

"Kousei..."

While he acts coldly, he does care for me. Hmm, my little

brother is still just as outstanding as usual. He's so perfect
that it hurts my brain, this little brother.

I'm so excited that I started leaning forward and talked to

him.

"Kousei, I think everyone really likes you today!"

"...Who knows."

•
 Kousei chuckled like there's a deeper meaning behind this.
What a humble person. I really like him for not being
arrogant. This is the little brother of my house. I should say
that he's very social while keeping his true self.

In comparison, I...

"............"

I leaned my body on the back of the seat entirely before

looking outside the window.

I can't see the sun anymore, and there's star sparkling in

the sky. The weather is clear, the air is clean, it should be a
night with beautiful stars to see... Even though I can't see
anything inside the well-lit bus.

I grabbed my phone from the pocket and turned on the

screen.

6:25 PM... During this time, the bus in front that's heading
to downtown is starting.

Due to the position, regrettably, I can't see Tendou-san

from the window of the bus. However, I'm still staring at the
bus leaving dazedly.

I sighed and paid attention to my phone once again. 6:26

PM. It would be not long before we're leaving as well...

I decided to switch up the mood by playing mobile games

and surfing the net, so I unlocked the screen. Then...

"............"

•
 The screen of GOM Search that I opened earlier filled my
sight.

...Sigh, fine.

"Kousei."

"Y-Yeah?"

I patted Kousei's shoulders, who's already getting drowsy.

So, just as he's rubbing his eyes while turning to me with an

annoyed look. "What's wrong, brother..."

I... scratched my cheeks with a bitter smile and said

something that even I would agree that it's a dumb
suggestion.

***

Hoshinomori Chiaki

"Sigh, even I felt like it's dumb for me to do this... Why is

this happening... Phew... phew..."

I walked along the path to the hill in the cold night as I

grieved.

It's been just 5 minutes since I started climbing the stairs

behind the rest area that's heading towards the plaza. Due to
the tiredness today along with the steep stairs, honestly, I
already wanted to quit.

"I... picked... the... completely... wrong... option..."

I basically leaned my entire body to the brand new handrail

•
that's supposed to be designed for the disabled as I climbed
the hill slowly.

Thanks to this being a tourist's hotspot with extensive

planning, there's stairs and lights even in the mountains. I
guess I should be grateful for this. Also, although there's not a
lot of people around, other tourists are still here. So, even
though it's a mountain at night, it's not a dangerous
environment that no girl should walk alone.

——Although I used this reason to make Konoha go home

first and climbed this alone...

After I reached the halfway of the mountain, I stopped at

one point and sat on the stable handrail. I took a couple deep
breaths. The scent from the trees and the grass filled my lungs
up with fresh and clean air.

I tried to not disrupt other tourists as I grabbed a bottle of

340ml mineral water from my bag that I bought at the rest
area. Then, I took a sip.

"...Phew."

Just as I'm going to stare at the sky dazedly... I quickly

stopped myself.

——No, no, no! I'm going to Starry Plaza next. I need to

save staring at the sky until then!

This path is heading towards Starry Plaza. Just like its

name, it's a vast space where you can see the beautiful stars at
night. I can't look at the sky like this halfway in the mountain.
That would be like secretly munching on half the main dish...
Ah.
•
 ——No, no, no, the starry sky isn't the main dish.

When you consider my "initial" goal, the starry sky is like

an appetizer. However, no matter what, it's pointless to stare
at the stars here.

"Alright..."

After I confirmed how much my stamina has recovered, I

started climbing up the stairs once again.

So, after I moved my feet silently for 5 minutes.

"...I'm here...!"

I finally arrived at the destination.

Starry Plaza.

This is a semicircular plaza that seems to be built by

flattening a part of the hillside.

There's a bunch of equally-distanced benches at the outer

ridge of the circle. The seats are adjusted in a way that you
can lay down. It must be designed this way so that you can
watch the stars easily.

There's almost no source of light around here. Only a bit is

used to point out the location for the fences and the benches.

"Ohh, this is surprisingly beautiful...!"

To be honest, I've always skipped this place since I used to

treat it as a rural tourist's hotspot in the past. However, I
didn't expect this turned into an elegant space after some
planning. Also, that's why...
•
 ——Just like what I've expected, it's full of couples...

A lot of the benches are already filled with people that

arrived first... A bunch of young boys and girls.

I sighed helplessly and started moving around the plaza.

There's not a whole lot of tourists around, but the seats are
still almost full.

——I really wish there's a place for me to sit down and rest
if possible...

I thought about this as I kept on looking for empty benches,

but there's none. I let out a sigh and stood at the center of the
plaza... Then, I can't help but stare at the sky. So-

"...Wow."

A sky filled with twinkling stars filled my vision. Thanks to

the dim and wide area, a lot of tiny stars that I'm unable to
see usually are revealing themselves. I can't help but be
immersed at the moment.

——I'm happy that I still came here.

The late bus, the exhausted body, and all the stairs are
worth it.

If there's a regret, it should be that I hope everyone that

went back home first can see this starry sky as well. If I can
see with all of my friends, I wonder how thrilling it would be.
Watching with them...

——Sigh... I guess I still want to come here with Keita...

•
I wanted to see the sky with him. Then, together...

——No.

•
 I stared at the bright sky as I can't help but smile bitterly.

——What are you talking about. This is wrong, Chiaki

Hoshinomori. The reason that you're here today... is to bring
an end to everything, right?

Yes. The reason that I'm asking Konoha to go back first and
to go out of my way to come here... I'm not trying to flood
myself with that kind of sweet imagination.

Instead, I'm here to end this.

I'm here to treat this as the finale... I'm here to disconnect

from words like "chance" or "fate." That's why I'm here
alone... This is the place where "something" that I have a
miraculously profound memory of belongs-

"——Chiaki?"

"............"

During this time, someone spoke up behind me, so I froze

completely.

How is this possible? Why is this happening? This is the

worst time possible.

I'm still swept up in a wave of emotions... However, once I

thought about, "No, perhaps I just imagined things due to my
secret wish. That's absolutely right. That's the most
reasonable explanation!" To prove that I'm correct, I stopped
watching the stars and turned back.

So, after I slowly glanced downward, I saw it.

•
 "Good evening, Chiaki. I didn't expect you're that similar to
me to the point that we're here to watch the stars alone... This
is a bit hilarious."

The person that I'm in love with — Keita Amano is standing

there with an innocent smile.

I pressed my chest in pain as I looked up to the sky once

again.

——Please forgive me, I beg you... really...

Then, I begged to the gods that have been pranking me

from the bottom of my heart.

"Ah, Chiaki, I think there's an empty bench there. Let us sit

down."

"Eh? Ah, sure..."

Keita urged me to the side of the bench. Then, we sat down

with shoulder to shoulder... It's like we're couples...

"Weird, what's wrong with you? You're sitting all the way at
the edge."

"W-What's wrong? Why does it matter? K-Keita, are you

really that kind of person? Do you want to stick really close to
a girl other than your girlfriend!"

"I didn't say that... but it's hard for me to talk to you when
you're that far away."

"You... you're right. I-I feel like this bench can squeeze 5
people in."

•
 "Then come closer if you know that."

"What are you trying to pull off?"

"I want to chat with you."

"You want to chat about erotic things?"

"We're just chatting. Why are you thinking in the same way
as Konoha-san does? Uh, it's more like..."

Keita glanced around as he said that. Then, he suppressed

his volume slightly.

"After all... it's not good to talk loudly in places like this,
right?"

"I-I guess you're right... Ugh... I-I understand..."

Although I'm trembling with my face as red as tomatoes, I

still dragged my way towards the center of the seat inch by
inch.

Keita gave me a dumbfounded look.

"W-Why are you giving me that shameful look... I feel like

I'm guilty of something."

"Ugh... C-Chiaki Hoshinomori is here!"

"Do you need to be that determined for just closing off a

couple centimeters! I will still be depressed even though
you're my rival!"

Keita's eyes are starting to get watery due to the

misunderstanding. After I briefly adjusted my breaths, I
•
smiled warmly at him.

"I-It's okay, you're not smelly. Really. You're really not

smelly."

"Eh, are you really trying to smooth things over? Don't do

that. Please don't do that."

Keita said that as he tried his best to check his odor... I

already said it's not smelly.

After I calmed down a bit, I asked Keita once again.

"By the way, Keita, why are you here? Where's your little
brother?"

Keita stopped checking his body after hearing my question.

"My little brother got home first. Then, the reason that I'm
here..."

"Keita?"

Keita felt silent suddenly after giving me a bitter smile. I

tilted my head out of my confusion.

He scratched his head a bit awkwardly and said, "Uh, it's

nothing big..." He's clearly hesitating. Then, he spoke up
sheepishly after a while.

"Honestly, this is quite embarrassing... It sounds girly. I

really hope that you can keep it a secret."

"Really. Girly? Ah, perhaps you love watching the starry

sky, that's romantic of you...?"

•
 "Uh, it's not like that."

At this moment, Keita grabbed his phone out of the pocket

and clicked on it. Then... he turned the screen to me.

"T-This is..."

"Yes. I'm here to look for items in GOM Search. I really

wanted the rewards in this checkpoint, no matter what. The
reason for that is because..."

"............"

I can't help but take a deep breath when I saw what was on
the screen.

It's because... It's because that's...

"——It's because this is where Konoha-san and I met up for

the first time and defeated the boss."

"............"

Keita answered me embarrassingly, yet I can't say anything.

That's because I'm here for the exact same reason.

Keita misunderstood that I'm shocked by the dumb reason.

So, he continued in a self-mocking tone. "Eh, it's disgusting,
right?"

"I gave up the bus just to acquire a multiplayer battle boss

from my memory. I'm really helpless... Do you want to know
the even more helpless part? To all of that, I think Mono..."

My heart skipped a bit because someone suddenly called

•
my username. However, I immediately realized Keita's not
talking about me. Yes, the Mono that he's talking about is...

"...I think Konoha-san doesn't remember anymore. I should

say that she's not even interested."

"!"

Keita mumbled depressingly, and I can feel a tinge of pain

in my chest. N-No. It's not like that, Keita. I... I remembered
all of them in my heart...!

However, Keita knew nothing about that. He's even staring

at his phone while continuing sadly.

"To me... that's a very memorable boss. At that time, I knew

nothing about efficiency. I'm still taking my baby steps then.
Mono and I tried our best to defeat the Star Dragon Novajak...
Although we didn't even message each other, that's why I felt
that our souls are connected."

"...!"

I fell speechless.

...Me too. Me too. Me too!

Even though I'm practically screaming inside my heart...

he's still feeling a bit lonely next to me.

"However, I guess this is only a 'one-sided' imagination. I

realized that when I saw Konoha-san's reactions today. To be
honest, I'm pretty embarrassed."

I can't look at Keita's disheartening smile. Why... Why is

•
this happening? I... I...

Just as I'm clenching my fists tightly on my lap, Keita

seems to have noticed that the mood is going off. So, he
quickly tried to smooth things over. "Ah, sorry!"

"Ah, instead of saying this whining, I'm treating that as a

'disgusting embarrassment' and shared it. Well, I don't mean
to blame Konoha-san in the least bit. Uh, so, it would be great
if you can keep yourself from mentioning this to her."

"...Alright..."

"Glad to hear that... Yeah, so that's what happened. I also

thought that it's not necessary to get the Star Dragon Novajak
and went onto the bus. In the end, after I talked about it with
my little brother, I changed my mind for a bit... I think that's
not the right thing to do."

"That's not the right thing to do... What do you mean by

that?"

Upon hearing my question, Keita scratched his face and

answered embarrassingly.

"Even though Konoha-san doesn't think that I'm important

to her, to me, Konoha-san is still... No, Mono is still my
treasured partner. The times that we've played together will
remain a beautiful memory, no matter what. That's the
thought I had after changing my mind."

"!"

Why, why is this person always messing with my heart that

easily...
•
 Keita continued as if he's trying to stay on topic.

"Ah, but coming here alone to get a boss from my memory,

I still think this feels pretty girly judging from the action
alone. Ugh."

After he mumbled like that, he directly laid down to the

back of the chair.

Then...

"Uwah! Chiaki lay down with me! There's a lot of stars!"

"Eh? Ah, alright, I'll lie down as well."

I followed Keita and laid down my body to the back of the

chair, and then I looked at the sky. Indeed... the stars are
sparkling that makes you feel that you're in a dream no
matter how many times you've watched it.

"...It's beautiful..."

Once I snapped out of it, I'm already praising it without

noticing.

——Jeez, I'm surely innocent as well...

I was just feeling distraught just then. However, when I'm

looking at the starry sky with Keita... the person I love, I'm so
blessed that I threw all those things to the back of my head.

Keita's still watching the stars next to me as he asked.

"By the way, Chiaki, why are you here all alone? Do you
like watching the stars?"

•
 "Eh? Ah..."

Although I hesitated for a bit... I immediately answered

with confidence.

"Yeah. I love it... I love it to the point that I wish I can just
lie down and stare at it forever."

Right now, I sincerely wished that was true. Keita

mumbled. "Really."

"While it's been a long time since I can watch the stars like
this... hmm, I guess it's not too bad to do this sometimes."

"See, the stars are great, right?"

"Yep."

The two of us just looked at the sky for nearly a minute...

What a blessed moment.

However, Keita still seems to be Keita wherever he goes.

"...I still think this is boring. While the starry sky is

fascinating, I hope that I can watch it while playing games."

"Hoho, what was that. Jeez, you're terrible."

"Don't you feel the same way?"

"I'm a mature adult, so I won't feel bored at all. Moreover, I

need time for my ideas to sink in when creating."

Keita burst into laughter after I said that. Ugh.

"Haha, it's not your style to look at the night sky for ideas.
•
For example, the Peony Cake Eater..."

"I-It's not like that! As long as I wished for it, I can also
write something that will go down in the history of the entire
universe...! Ah, speaking of the universe, did you get Star
Hero 5 in the end?"

"Ah, right, this reminded me of that game! Actually, I

finished it in one go right after I got it. Sigh, it's because I
knew beforehand that the ratings for it are pretty low, so I'm
quite worried about playing it... In the end, I think it's alright!
It's fun!"

"Ah, exactly. I'm not a fan of the series, but I still had a
good time. I like the refreshing battles, and the degree of
completion is really high."

"Yeah! Ay, in reality, the experience system is—"

Just like that, we chatted about gaming excited as we

stared at the beautiful night sky.

To be honest, there's nothing romantic about it. In a sense,

we're literally spoiling the incredible scenery and are just
killing time.

However-

To me, this moment is so blessed that I broke into tears.

Then, after the game talk ended, Keita still stared at the sky
as he spoke up a bit respectfully. "Ah, right."

"Thank you, Chiaki."

•
 "Hmm? W-Why are you suddenly thanking me?"

Being thanked by my rival Keita, this scenery is too rare. I

can't help but look to the side. After that...

——Uh...

Keita's face is really close to me. I freaked out and blushed

really hard before immediately staring back at the sky.

He doesn't seem to mind what I just did, so he continued.

"First of all, it's about what happened today at noon. I just

realized... did you suggest us to have a break because you
noticed that I'm not feeling well?"

"Ah? W-Well..."

I acted normally before giving the boy a mischievous smile

and answered.

"That's why I hate a self-conscious bean sprout midget like

you. It's just because I'm hungry. Moreover, we'll have to take
a break sooner or later since it's lunchtime, so even if I care
about you, there's no reason for you to thank me."

"...Really. Oh... hmm, glad to hear that."

Keita mumbled softly, and then he continued.

"However, there's something else that I have to thank you

for."

"What's wrong? Is today your transformation from the

tsun-tsun phase to the dere-dere phase?"

•
 "Ay, sometimes."

I can feel that Keita's smiling bitterly next to me... I'm

really calm right now.

"...Hey, didn't I confess to Tendou-san in front of everyone

a while ago?"

"...Yeah."

I remembered what it was like back then... it's supposed to

be painful to witness someone I love confessing to another
girl. However, unbelievably, I'm not repulsive to Keita's
confession scene. Instead, I can feel warmth flowing in my
chest when I thought about him at that time.

——Also, that's why... today, I came here alone and try to

"give up" and end my love...

I thought about that as I slightly closed my eyes.

After a short silence, Keita leads the discussion again.

"I feel like... I would have never done that if it was me in

the past. No, instead of saying me in the past, I think it's
better to say the original me, right?"

"...You can't do that normally."

Like right now... even though I'm alone with you, and
you're next to me. I still can't say anything.

I slowly opened my eyes and pondered about it.

When did I got left behind by Keita? Why?

•
 "...Sigh."

I can't help but let out a hopeless sigh.

But Keita didn't seem to notice this... he continued and said

something I wasn't expecting.

"However, the reason why I'm brave enough to do that is

because of you."

"...Eh?"

Upon hearing those surprising words, I looked at Keita's

face again.

The starry sky is reflecting off his eyes as he told me.

"I mentioned this to you before, right? I don't know

whether it's under Tendou-san's influence, recently, I started
to think that perhaps it's not a bad thing for me to go all-out."

"Ah, yes, I remembered that."

"That time... At that moment, I thought that I'm completely

influenced by Tendou-san's gaming perspective. However,
recently, I discovered that there's another critical factor."

My heart is pounding faster and faster after I heard what

he just said.

"Well... uh, and that critical factor, is me?"

"Yep, you're right."

Keita replied quickly and continued.

•
 "Think about it, the only reason that we know each other is
because I was basically trying to strike up a conversation with
you back then, right?

"Yeah... That's not something you would do, no matter how

I think about it."

"Exactly. I don't remember how painful my stomach was..."

"Haha, I can imagine that."

I would probably be the same if I was him.

Keita slowly reached his head into the sky.

"...However, putting all the moe conflicts aside... in the end,

we're still like this. Uh, how should I put it, we're frie- ... No...
we're getting clos... That's not right, either... Ah, right, didn't
we become g-gaming buddies?"

At the last moment of hesitation, he brought up the term

"gaming buddies" to describe our relationship. Then, he
quickly skipped this topic.

I chuckled, and Keita cleared his throat.

"That perhaps... made me really happy, and I'm proud of

you."

"You're saying that... you're proud of me?"

"Yep. After all, the person that I mustered my courage to

try to talk with is still now chatting about gaming with me.
Come to think of it, this is a great achievement. Also, I'm
finally getting more passionate about 'going out and try

•
things' because of my first success. I guess a part of me still
view it that way."

"...Keita."

After I looked at him... suddenly, Keita turned his face to

me as well. He made eye contact with me before smiling.

"So, thank you, Chiaki. Thank you for willing to... uh,
become friends with me."

"............"

I felt speechless, all I could do is to look at his eyes.

Keita... I... I also...

Then.

"Hey, time's almost up, Chiaki."

"Eh?"

Keita suddenly let out a "hey" before standing up from the

back of the chair. After that, he took his phone out and
clicked on the screen.

"Indeed, there are only 15 minutes before my bus arrives.

It's time for us to go down."

"Ah, y-you're right."

I checked the time on my phone after I hastily stood up...

Then, I suddenly remembered.

"Ah. R-Right, I still haven't got the boss here."

•
 I glanced at Keita to confirm. He seems to have already
received it before meeting up with me, and even rising from
the bench and let out a "phew" as he stretched his back.

I secretly changed the position I sat and hid my phone

away from him.

(I exchanged my phone with Konoha during the day... so

it's quite troublesome if he saw it."

Although we got the same phone cases beforehand to

prevent people from realizing that we exchanged our
phones... it's still in my interest for Keita to not know it.

——At least, I hope that the information from this boss

fight... will be saved in my phone...

I opened GOM Search and smiling faintly when I saw the

boss, and then I quickly clicked the screen to acquire the
character.

At this moment, a notification popped out on the screen...

I'm in haste, so I clicked on it before even reading the content.

The screen changed. It shows that...

——Ah, the detailed records of the boss fights in the past.

It showed which date and when did we battle, what did we

get, and... which player did we cooperate with.

I can't help but scroll down the screen in a rush of

nostalgia. So, when the bottom of the screen... which is the
first record of the boss fight is showing.

•
 "What's wrong, Chiaki? We're going?"

"Hiya."

I freaked out since someone spoke to me from behind, just

as I'm standing up abruptly...

"Ah."

My phone slipped off. However...

"Oops."

Keita caught it brilliantly and prevented the phone from

falling onto the ground. After I pressed my chest in relief,
Keita started looking at the screen of my phone.

"Eh? GOM?"

"It's nothing, that's—"

I quickly tried to take my phone back. However, perhaps

it's because I've been lying down to see the starry sky up until
a moment ago, I felt dizzy from standing up too fast, and I
missed. Although I quickly recovered from it, Keita's already-
finished reading the text shown on the GOM Search screen.

"...Hmm? It says that the player you're cooperating with is

Tsucchi...? Eh?"

"Hiya! It's not, well, uh, that's..."

Keita raised his head from the screen with an unbelievable

look. As for me... I first robbed my phone back from his hand
before freaking out and looking away.

•
 T-Think about this... I need to think about this as quickly as
possible! I'm the best at overcoming difficult situations like
this, yes!

...Uh, uh, uh...!

Yes, let's go with that!

As usual, I quickly thought of a good idea and told him

immediately.

"T-This is Konoha's phone. S-She requested me..."

"Eh? It's Konoha-san's request? Getting this boss from the

multiplayer battle?"

"Yes! Jeez, K-Konoha's undoubtedly a headache, though! I

can't believe she asked her sister to run errands for her just
because she got her own schedule..."

Just as I'm saying that with a smug face, I suddenly

realized... Keita's face is decorated with a bright smile.

He's mumbling as if he's delighted to the bottom of his

heart.

"R-Really. Konoha-san still remembers... this boss."

"............"

At the moment that I saw his smile.

I feel like something has been lifted off my chest.

"...I-It's not like that."

•
 "...Eh?"

Keita tilted his head in confusion over my sudden words.

I lowered my head and grabbed my phone tightly as I

continued.

"This... isn't... Konoha's phone..."

"Eh? Uh, but that's Mono's game record, no matter how

you look at it..."

Keita froze since he can't understand what's happening at

all.

To him, I... I...

"!"

"...Chiaki?"

I raised my head and looked at him with my eyes full of

years. After that, I shouted loudly.

"The fight with the Star Dragon Novajak is really

memorable for both of us! However, if we're talking about the
history of our alliance, we must mention the following battle
with the Ghost God Bolger! After all, we were wrecked so
hard from start to finish! We put even more time into GOM
because we're unwilling to admit defeat there! So, we acted as
if we're sharing the same brain at the following multiplayer
battle, The Attack of the Four Legendary Beasts! I had a great
time there!"

"Chiaki...? How did you... know all of that...? Ah, did you

•
hear that from Konoha-san... No, even if that's true, you're
way too familiar..."

Keita was shocked by that. As for me... I continued.

"However, the most memorable event for me... is still the

rescue mission with a harsh time limit... in this year's spring.
That was my first time... to send a message to you... I
managed to send it after I mustered my entire life's courage."

"...Don't tell me..."

Keita seems to be finally understanding what's going on.

I made up my mind... and put my hands behind me as I

gave Keita a sincerely gratifying smile.

"Thanks for everything."

"You're... Mono...?"

Keita pointed at me tremblingly.

After I nodded my head, he...

He froze with his mouth half-open and just stared at me.

Although I can't help but laugh at his reaction...

But if I'm in this phase already, I might as well tell him

everything.

"Also, well... I'm NOBE as well."

"...Huh?"

•
 "Uh, so... how should I put this... Well... you always thought
that Konoha is your 'online friend.' In reality, it was me all
along... Well... I accidentally lied to you because I'm too
embarrassed..."

"............"

Keita lost all of his expressions and fell speechless. He even

sat back onto the bench out of fatigue.

——I think... he's angry, right?

Of course, he should be angry. After all, I've always lied to

him, not to mention that this is something essential.

——I guess it can't be helped even if he got mad... or reject

me.

However, I'm mentally prepared for his rage. Even though

I know this might happen... I still wanted to confess my true
identity and my feelings, no matter what. I don't feel regretful
saying that. But even though I didn't regret anything...

"Really. So, that's the case... My online friend is you,

instead of Konoha-san. I got it..."

"W-Well... Keita? Uh... I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry..."

Keita's seemingly mumbling out of his depression as he's

sitting down. I peeked and looked at him with a face full of
worry.

——He's furious... right?

My heart is pounding really hard as I observed Keita's

•
look... So, he slowly raised his head.

"Chiaki, if what you said is true..."

"!"

I immediately stopped moving. I'm already prepared for

the boy to be mad at me!

Just as I'm confirming his expression tremblingly while

squinting my eyes.

His... his face—

—is filled with an unexpected, yet gentle smile.

"Ahaha, I think I understand everything now. Really, that

made sense. Ay, I've been suspicious. After all, Konoha-san
doesn't look like the type to create free games at all."

Keita burst into laughter sincerely after he said that.

I felt dazed and asked him once more.

"Keita, uh... you're not mad?"

"Eh? Ah... hmm, honestly, I'm more or less surprised..."

"R-Right. So, Keita, you should be angrier if that's the

case..."

He heard what I said.

Keita stood up from the bench and faced me with a bright

smile.

•
 "However, I think 'excitement' is overflowing in my heart
right now."

"............"

His words... and his innocent smile. It made me took a

deep breath.

My heart is beating so fast.

Keita continued.

"After all, that means that my partner Mono came here

because she shared the same feelings as I do, right? There's
nothing in the world that can make me happier than this. Isn't
this reasonable?"

"............"

Even though I heartlessly hid everything from him.

Even though I heartlessly lied to him.

He... didn't care any of that. Instead, his face is only

showing nothing but joy at me.

——Keita... I... I

There's something in my heart that's about to overflow.

So, there's some kind of emotion swelling rapidly inside my

heart.

Suddenly, Keita straightened his back respectfully and

wiped his right hand on his jeans forcefully.

•
 "?"

Comparing to me, who's tilted her head out of confusion.

Keita... reached his head out to me with a slightly

embarrassed look.

"H-Hello, NOBE! I've always been a big fan of you!"

——Ahhhh.

Suddenly.

In my heart... the path leading to my "true feelings" that

was blinded with a complex web of lies and excuses
previously.

Right now, I can already feel that path is completely clear.

——Yeah, that's right. If that's the case... all I can do is to

step forward, right. Just like what happened to Keita. To
me... that's the only proper way to end this.

I silently put my hand on my chest as I bit my lips... I didn't

shake his hand as NOBE, all I'm doing is facing the ground.

"Chiaki?"

Keita's hand is still there. He blinked his eyes confusingly.

I just kept my head down as I told him.

"Keita, there's... there's nothing else that I wanted to tell

you today."

My words made Keita put back his hand as he let out a

•
dumbfounded sigh.

"What's with the formal tone. Don't tell me there's

something you're hiding from me as well? Alright, say it. At
this point, I'm confident that I won't freak out even if you tell
me that you're actually an alien——"

Just as Keita's joking around like that.

I can feel my cheeks' slightly flaring up. My eyes are filled

with determination as I raised my head-

Keita, who's looking at me and holding his breath for no

reason.

Under the starry sky.

I puffed up my chest and announced to him with a top-tier

smile, devoid of haze.

"Keita. I... I really love you."

•
 Afterword

Hello, I'm the author that washes his upper left arm first
during a bath, Sekina Aoi.

...Well, we're starting the afterword with the most useless

information in the world. I think smart readers will have an
idea already, this will be a lengthy afterword too. As usual,
even there are no additives, no processing, and no adjustment
in content, the word count somehow got higher. It can't be
helped. I can't violate the laws of nature.

...Now that I'm writing this, everyone, who's living

cheerfully and relaxedly, may feel, "Hiya, how shameful, why
can't it be like refined, no-pesticides vegetables?" However,
even if it's veggies, no pesticides and whether it's tasty or not
are two separate issues. Instead of letting everyone read that I
wash my upper left arm first, it's better for the readers and
Fantasia if I just put advertisement here. Moreover, it can
reduce my workload.

...The author is upset, the editors and proofreaders need to

do more work, and the reader will be in pain too.

...When it ended up like this, people will start to seriously

wonder who did I write this "afterword" for, and why did I
publish it. If I just made the topic a bit more serious, I can
write a super stern article called "The reason I was born is..."
that contradicts itself. Perhaps this is even a precious plot that
can be adapted into a Hollywood movie in the name of
ATOGAKI. [Note: Atogaki means afterword.] I'm just making
that up. Also, I think I might have used this topic already.
•
 Anyway, because of that, I need to write a lengthy
afterword again.

However, about the pages of the afterword, it's really

decided by fate. So, sometimes there will be a bunch of long
ones, and sometimes a bunch of short ones. But, somehow, I
don't feel good of the latter, the difference is way too much,
and it bothers me. I feel like it would be better to just give up
my "no adjustment" style, but I already created a reputation
bafflingly. I think the consumers will furiously complain if I
suddenly started using additives now, what a difficult
situation.

Even so, ...for example, in those travel shows where it's

only fun when the cast met an unfortunate accident, if the
director suddenly forced some activities in, I'll also feel like
"That's not what the audience wants to see!" However, when I
saw those episodes with no accidents at all, I will also
complain, "This is really boring."

By applying that principle, in other words, I'm now in the

eternal hell of "didn't explicitly adjust the word count, but it's
long for some reason..." The cast in this show will eventually
explode. In the future afterwords, if I suddenly-

Well, please watch the following Fibonacci sequence for a

while.

0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89. 144, 255...

When I started writing stuff like this, it would be really

helpful if the readers can write a letter to the editors and say,
"Please let Aoi-sensei rest more." However, I guess the editor
should worry first since he's the one that read the draft of this
afterword.
•
 By the way, if the editorial department cares about my
mental health, I feel like it's time for me to act brainy and
bring up a "Long Afterword Termination Plan" out. For
example...

"Although I'm sorry for Aoi-sensei, ...please include

advertisement this time, no matter what! I beg you! Initially,
we also hoped to read sensei's incredible afterwords too! But
you need to preserve the editor's reputation too! Please be
considerate!"

If the editorial department is willing to bow down and beg

me, it's not like I can't fondle with my mustache and...

"Well, if you guys are saying that, it can't be helped. For the
readers, and for the reputation of 'lengthy afterwords,' I
wanted to write a long afterword too. But I'm impressed by
your enthusiasm. Alright, I decided to...not write a lengthy
afterword this time!"

I can answer like that too. Please let me answer that way.
Please. I beg you. I can kneel down, or I can lick your shoes.

After the long-awaited complaint about lengthy afterwords,

here comes the most helpless part. In reality, the editor will
actually-

"We have X pages for this time. ...Is it okay? Do you want to
change it?"

He'll ask me kindly, but I-

"Uh, it's okay. It'll be troublesome to change it. (picks my

nose)"

•
 I accepted it casually. Everything's my fault, ...yet I kept
blabbing. Sekina Aoi is undoubtedly annoying. I'm really
sorry.

However, please be considerate, everyone. ...Just a little

bit.

After spending two hours writing this dissatisfying trash

text with a stomach full of complaint, I proofread it and
mocked myself. "Yep, what a piece of trash." Then, I quietly
mailed the draft to the editor before taking a sip of the
canned coffee that cooled down already. A lonely man who's
deeply sighing.

It's like playing a game for two hours without saving, and
then the fuse blew. This feeling. Also, after reading that
description-

"I can't believe Sekina Aoi spent two hours on a text like
this? It looks like he's not talented to write afterwords."

To the readers that see me this way, you're absolutely

correct. I'm not talented in writing afterwords. I'm not writing
this casually at all. Instead, I mumbled "ughhh" in my mouth
as I thought about it for a long time before finishing this junk.
Come to think of it, I'm helpless...

Once I snapped out of it, I started complaining again.

Sorry, let's switch up the mood.

Anyways, here's 『Gamers! 6 — The Lonely Gamer and Love

Confession Chain Combo』. How does everyone feel?

From the creator's perspective, perhaps this feels like

writing a long story. Although the content is still a continuous
•
short (medium) story. I guess the plot development will be
lengthy.

It's also quite rare for a volume to have plot twists in the
middle and at the end.

Instead of saying it's a bunch of misunderstanding, the 6th

volume is more like a resolve. It would be my honor if
everyone enjoyed this volume as well. The problem is with
the way of solving the misunderstandings. Based on different
perspectives, perhaps some will feel that things only got even
more troublesome.

However, like what I've written at the end of Volume 5, this

is a romantic comedy. It would be my honor if you can wait
for the next volume in a relaxed manner.

Ah, also, about the subtitle. Instead of seeing it from the

ending's perspective, perhaps people will think, "oh, that's
why" if they thoroughly read the entire book.

............

...Well, there's a piece of bad news, everyone.

This is the unexpected end of the afterword main dish that

talked about the plot in Volume 6.

...Ah, r-right, let's announce something related to

multimedia!

Thanks to everyone, 『Gamers!』 will have a manga and a

planned anime adaptation. First of all, the manga part is
already published in the October issue of Monthly Shōnen
Ace. Props to Tsubasa Takahashi-sensei and his fantastic
•
drawing skills.

As for the anime adaptation, uh, there's an anime, yes.

There'll be more details in the future.

.........

H-Hiya, this is weird, that's all about the news. It's

especially disappointing when the anime topic can't even drag
the word count up! Currently, aside from the "there's an
anime soon, wow," I have literally nothing to talk about! What
is this? Should I just say there'll be a giant robot in the anime?
But people will often mention a plot like that even if it's not
related to anime, right?

...Ugh! D-Didn't I say this before? I'm not talented to write

afterwords...!

Actually, that character has that background. ...There's

literally nothing for me talk about regarding that topic! I'm
the type of author that can't say anything unless it's related to
the main story! Especially for this series!

For example, ...recently, there was a conference for the

anime adaptation. It feels like it's related to my work. Still, my
attitude for that is basically, "There's nothing I can give you
guys aside from the original light novel, how about that?" In
the end-

(Then what is this Aoi guy doing here...)

(The original author is the worst person when it comes to

producing the 『Gamers!』 anime...)

The conference is even filled with this hopeless

•
atmosphere. (Paranoia accounts for 90%)

As for the detailed settings and future developments, ...I'm

the person that wants to know them the most!

Especially the so-called "behind-the-scenes settings," I've

always been confused about that.

Uh, ...it's BTS settings as long as it's not a setting appeared

on the surface plot, right?

- Actually, Tendou-san loves udon.

Like this, right?

Uh, although I just wrote a setting like that, I'm not sure
whether Tendou-san is an "udon lover." I entirely made that
up just then. However, if the author specifically mentioned
that in the afterword, it's obviously a BTS setting, right. Yep,
but if we actually ask Tendou-san...

"Udon? I don't hate it, it tastes good..."

I feel like she would give a vague answer like this.

However, the author guaranteed that "Tendou-san loves
udon" in the afterword already. It has to be right. You should
believe the author instead of the puzzled Tendou-san.

But if that makes sense, I can write whatever I want in the

BTS settings.

- Actually, Keita Amano is a girl.

- Actually, Chiaki Hoshinomori's hair is really seaweed.

- Actually, everyone in 『Gamers!』 has passed away already.

•
 Hiya, all of those were shocking, right. However, they
should be correct if the author said it, even though none of
them will appear in the plot! Alright, the staff responsible for
the manga and anime adaptation, pay attention to this part!
Please draw the faces of all characters in a subtly lifeless
manner, let's follow the BTS settings!

Alright, let's put the jokes aside. Actually, I didn't even

write any BTS settings. Sigh, I get it. Basically, BTS settings
aren't here because the story needs BTS settings. Instead, it
should be "the settings that were designed but weren't
mentioned in the story, or it was included in the background,"
right.

So, just like the example above, it's not BTS settings if you
made it up later. It only counts as the author saying random
things. I'm sorry. The stage is not based on an afterlife world.
...Uh, even though if you say the characters are actually in the
"Hell of Romantic Comedy," I feel like a lot of parts can be
explained at once.

However, I do hope that I can talk about these BTS settings

with a smug face, even though there are no settings at all.
What should I do with this desire? Hey, can anyone give me
the BTS settings for 『Gamers!』?

Ah, but I remembered this. If we're talking about secrets

like "the character from previous novels is actually already
with this character...", I have something too! Here it comes,
the secrets that feel like BTS settings! The one that authors
will often brag about with a proud look!

However, I'm not going to reveal it.

Uh? You're asking why? ...After all, perhaps I'll use it later
•
in some other places. Even if I don't, it'll be extremely
embarrassing if people started complaining about it. More
importantly, to the people who have only read 『Gamers!』,
that's something that they would never care about. ...Or I
should say, it's not worth mentioning to someone else...

............

Crap. This isn't a BTS setting, it's actually an "in-name-only

setting."

I guess this counts as the same type with the "frail"

attribute of the female protagonist two novels ago. The
settings that aren't going to benefit anyone even if you knew
it. Whatever, let's move on.

So, that's all for the BTS settings for 『Gamers!』. Hey, it's
really an afterword-style afterword! I feel like a healthy light
novel author right now! The guy that spent 5 pages
complaining about afterwords wasn't me at all!

A-Alright, the remaining pages will be for daily reports.

Recently, I've watched a lot of overseas shows. When the

TV that can play internet shows arrived at my home, I'm
immediately globbed up by its convenience.

Speaking of overseas shows, although the cast keeps

changing, it can still last something like "season 10." I'm
somewhat admiring them.

I hope 『Gamers!』 can adapt the same approach and aim to

release 100 episodes.

I guess the original cast wasn't here anymore if there are

•
100 episodes. Even Amano, who's the protagonist...

"The mysterious middle-aged gamer bloke (who sucks)

that barely showed up in Episode 54 will be his last
appearance, right?"

I'm afraid that it would come down to this. The 100th

episode of the main story will probably be about 8 boys and
girls renting an apartment together in France. All the gaming
elements will be gone. Also, there wouldn't be any
misunderstandings as well. More importantly, the author who
moved to France, claiming that he wants more ideas...

"Today, I'm still presenting you with this chapter at the

side of the Seine River."

I've heard that every afterword will start with this sentence
from now on...

...Uh, sorry, this series will still end before the 100th
episode.

Well, here's the appreciation speech.

First of all, Cactus-sensei, thanks for your illustrations. I

really appreciated your work. A romantic comedy that's based
on conversations doesn't have a lot of chances for illustrations
to shine. Your dynamic drawings adorned my work. Thank
you. I'll be relying on you.

Then, props to the editor. Even though I'm the weirdo that
agreed to write a lengthy afterword and nag about it, you still
patiently accompanied me. Thank you so much. I can
guarantee that I'll write something long about this next time
too. Hope you don't mind.
•
 Finally, thank you, readers. Thanks for reading this
volume. You guys even read the afterword that's full of
complaints, not to mention the annoying main story. Perhaps
your stomach is full already, but the story and afterwords will
continue. So, I hope everyone can spend a few months on
digestion.

Well, see you in the next volume.

- Sekina Aoi

•
 Credits

Source/Translator:
reddit.com/user/your_pingas
skythewood.blogspot.com

PDF+ePUB:
fb.com/AdminAzuraRen