This was the best! So happy! Everyday was such a blast!

Alright! My name is Amaori Renako! Right now I am a totally ex-social recluse girl
succeeding in my high-school debut☆

I’m a first year student at Ashigaya High, belonging to the most popular group at the
top of the school’s social pyramid. Plus, even though the five of us are girls, two of them
are in love with me☆

Good grief, Renako’s really troubled, y'know! Don't fight over me(∩//ω//∩) fufu, lol.

Something like this, something straight out of a dream, really surprised me☆ Geez,
even though I’m only an ordinary girl with no special traits, the type of average girl
who was as common as if mass-produced☆

And that was how I spent recess, shut inside a humid toilet stall far away from the
classroom. I covered my face with my palms.

“…I wonder why… even though I only did my best everyday to survive… could it be that
I’d unknowingly unleashed my hidden bright character persona…?” The words
trickled from my mouth like some sort of curse.

The summer break had ended, and we were one week into the school year—and I
already felt like I was at my limit with each passing second.

It sounded like someone had entered the bathroom. Well of course, since this was a
public bathroom, it was natural for people to come in. But still, it surprised me so much
that I instinctively held my breath.
“Ugh, school is so annoying~ if only the summer break could last forever~”

“That’s true~”

It sounded like another group of girls I’d never met before, which put me at ease. For
a moment, I was afraid that someone I knew had come looking for me. Good grief. I
really needed to stop being so overly self-conscious like this.

“Ah, come to think of it, I heard that Takuma confessed to Oozuka Mai.”

“Eeeh, for real? How funny.”

Hearing a familiar name come up in their conversation, I turned stiff.

Their conversation leaked into my ears bit by bit.

“Ah, I just remembered that Shindou also confessed to Koto Satsuki.”

“Eh, so she’s on that side?”

“Well, it’s understandable though.”

“Sena too.”

“Aaah.”

“How popular.”

“As expected.”

“Right?”

“So lovable, right~”

Beyond the closed door came their laughter. They sounded like they were having fun.
The striking beauties from Ashi-High had the power to bring people happiness simply
by chanting their name.

After having an excited conversation, they finally left the bathroom.

I knew. I knew that those people were living in a different world than me. No one had
mentioned my name after all. And of course, my name wouldn’t have a magical effect
like that. I left the toilet stall.

The Amaori Renako reflected in the mirror was someone with a blank expression, a
face without any emotions.

Back in the classroom, I reactivated my old habit, trying to appear invisible in my

surroundings. When I arrived at my desk, someone greeted me, waving her hand.
“Hey.”

It was Ajisai-san, who sat right in front of me. She greeted me with a carefree smile on
her face, “Welcome back, Rena-chan.”

“Ah, yeah…”

I nodded my head casually with a blank expression, then realized: No, this was wrong.

The me right now was a girl who belonged to the most popular group of the school, a
charismatic individual—and on top of that, a super awesome person who had been
confessed to by the top beauties of Ashigaya High.

I punched the inner me away and let out a bright smile.

“I’m back! Listen to this, I was so surprised. The bathroom was so crowded, kind of
like some amusement park attraction where you need to line up for like 45 minutes.
If that really is the case, I need to get some kind of fast pass whenever I need to go,
huh?”

“Huh? That’s funny.” Ajisai-san giggled when she heard my answer.

I was perfectly sure that her smile was extremely adorable. But I couldn’t look at it.

“No, I’m being serious! Ah, but don’t you think that kind of bathroom would be great?
Like, if they gave out a single fast pass everyday, where you can use the toilet before
everyone else once a day, something like that. A pass where you can scan it on your
phone like a toilet reader!”

“Eeh? That sounds a bit complex.”

“Let’s go with a physical pass then! The school hands out a pass to each person every
morning at the gate, and if you don’t end up using it by the end of school, you can
exchange it for something like candy… but oh, would that mean people would just save
their passes then?!”

I rambled on with a grin. I was doing my usual where I blabbered on without really
thinking about what I was saying. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t have the ability to consider
whether I was saying something inappropriate or not.

“Ahaha.”

Ajisai-san broke into laughter again. It seemed like she was having fun at least, which
was great. During moments like these, I felt like I regained my purpose to live.

The teacher eventually entered the classroom. With a smile, Ajisai-san spun around
while saying, “Let’s talk again later.”

The noise from the classroom disappeared as the math class started.

Sena Ajisai—my classmate. If I had to describe her with a metaphor, she was an angel.

She was gentle and gorgeous, with a soft and sweet voice. Not only was she kind, she
was very determined, while also really great at socializing. The kind of girl where you
wouldn’t be bored by anything as long as you were with her.

Ajisai-san was like some sort of pancake made from all the universal qualities of “the
ideal girl”. In short, she was the very definition of a maiden.

And she—
During summer break, she confessed to me.

“I like you. Please go out with me” was what she’d said.

It was a simple, straightforward confession, something that had been dreamt of by

many people.

Something like that between girls might not be very common. But still, when someone
like Ajisai-san confessed her love like that, no one could deny the sensation of being
on cloud nine. Something like that would make the person receiving the confession
happy, feeling as if their future would be painted in a rose-tinted colour.

…even so, I…

Staring at the black board, my memories flew back to that day.

***

It was evening, and we were in the park. Ajisai-san stood before me, squeezing out
every bit of courage she had.

“Okay……” After a few seconds, I finally came out of my trance.

“Ha!” I said.

“Ah, no, well—!”

The heck had I just said? Cold sweat poured down my back.

“That wasn’t it! Uh—”

My mind was so chaotic that I practically shouted in panic.

“Hearing your feelings really makes me happy! Like, I really didn’t know you felt that
way towards me! Eh, no, umm, I feel very honored! I honestly think that’s wonderful,
but, you see, I just, somehow—!”
I felt like an empty lottery spinner that kept churning and churning, yet the right
words wouldn’t come out. It sent me into such a horrible panic I could barely see
clearly.

That was when Ajisai-san took a deep breath. “Fuuuh.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. Time seemed to stop at that moment for me.

“Aah, that was nerve-wracking.” She squinted at me. “It’s natural if you’re shocked
hearing something like that out of nowhere.”

“Ah, no! I’m really happy! Really… really!”

“It’s okay. I said it out of my own selfishness anyway. Thank you for listening to me.”

When Ajisai-san beamed at me, I desperately tried to process the meaning behind her
confession from earlier.

Did it mean… did it mean that…

What did it mean?

We were talking about Ajisai-san after all, so I was sure it wasn’t some bad joke. But if
that wasn’t the case, why would she say that she liked me…? And that she wanted to
go out…

I stood awkwardly.

I felt like a kid who had been brought to the bank by her parents to run an errand. I
really didn’t have any idea what to do. I was so troubled I glanced towards Mai,
requesting help.
Wh-what was happening right now…?

Mai stared at us without any reaction, then she cleared her throat and started, “Umm…
so with this… basically, you two are… dating?”

“Fufu, I wonder~?”

Ajisai-san sounded like she was floating. Her voice reminded me of myself whenever
I was uncertain about something.

“This development really is gut-wrenching.”

“It seems like Mai-chan is also taken aback.”

“That’s right, but considering how wonderful you are, it means that your charm really
reached her. Somehow I feel proud of that.”

“Everything is thanks to you, Mai-chan.”

As expected, I had no idea what they were talking about. Why were they getting along
so well? And why was Mai being so calm like that?

No, but I thought Mai liked me so much she would be the first person who would
charge in when I carelessly nodded my head to Ajisai-san’s confession… Could it be
that she had already lost interest in me…?

No, that wasn’t it. Ah, I couldn't stop my endless thoughts. Rather than that, I should,
to Ajisai-san—

“Ah, no……… dating is a bit……”

There were things you couldn't take back after you did it, things like reaching out your
hand, or the words that came from your mouth. Things like that had once caused
humanity to engage in war in an ongoing cycle of history.

Sweat trickled down my back and my ears buzzed.

“So…”

It had been my habit for a long time to answer with a form of rejection when someone
suggests something to me. Considering how many times I had rejected Mai, it didn’t
mean that Ajisai-san was an exception. That was too convenient for closure.

Having lovers was plainly impossible. I wanted to stay as friends.

But could I really say that to Ajisai-san? Was I really going to say it?

—could I really? Someone like me?

“………………………… ―time”

“…time?”

Ajisai-san peeked at my face. I wanted to disappear.

With a voice like I was already at death’s door, I told her, “Can you… give me some
time?”

“Time?”

“Yeah… like the time… to respond you…”

Ajisai-san listened to me with a serious expression. She nodded.

“I understand.”

“………y-yeah…”

“How long?”

“Eh?!”

Even though she was only asking me normally, I felt like a sinner seated in front of
God.

“Th-three………………………… years…”

“Eh?!”
Without thinking, I’d replied with an answer that would’ve allowed me to continue life
without limitations for the longest time. Ajisai-san widened her eyes in surprise.

No, no no no!

“O-one month! How about that?”

Under normal circumstances, one month for a reply would have also been quite long.
Even so, Ajisai-san was considerate of me.

“I-I see. I understand, Rena-chan.”

Right, I always procrastinated when it came to facing my problems. But…

To be frank—someone like Ajisai-san confessing to me really was bizarre, so much

that I felt like I couldn’t breathe normally.

If Ajisai-san kept looking at me with those eyes, I might die of suffocation.

At that moment, Ajisai-san held out her hand.

“Ah.”

My finger—Ajisai-san grabbed my index finger with her hand.

Ajisai-san’s hand was very hot.

“Rena-chan, I really mean it… these feelings, my feelings, everything is real.”

I knew. It had properly come through to me, Ajisai-san’s feelings.

I knew. Ajisai-san was someone earnest, she was brazen, she was a splendid person.

It was just—I wasn’t someone capable of honestly accepting her feelings.

Ajisai-san smiled.

“You don’t need to push yourself. But still, I’ll wait for your answer.”
“Ah, uuh……”

I couldn’t respond.

After that, Ajisai-san left the park. Not long after, with a face like she itched to say
something, Mai also walked away, leaving me alone. I stared down at my palms,
murmuring, “…… Ajisai-san, why…?”

I was wretched for daring to put a hold on Ajisai-san’s confession.

Illuminated by light, the days where I faced my grim self began.

One week passed after that, and school started again—

I had less than four weeks before I had to give her my answer.

—again, I found it hard to breathe.

***

“Ah…”

I hung over the rooftop fence, turning into a futon.

My body swayed with the wind, and I felt like one with nature.

From this viewpoint, life felt so insignificant.

Any worries and concerns I’d had simply faded away…

Nah, nope, they didn’t.

The noise from lunch pulled me back to reality where I had to admit that I was a
human that, whether I liked it or not, was a part of society… Right, I was a human. I
wasn’t a futon. Actually, I…

Creak. The iron doors to the rooftop entrance pushed open.

“Heya, so you’re here.”

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

It was Oozuka Mai. She walked over and stood right next to me. She was an
extraordinary beauty with sleek blonde hair who worked as a model.

An outstanding academic, gifted in sports, gorgeous in appearance, Mai was like the
embodiment of heaven’s blessing, a girl who received practically everyone’s attention.
Thus, she had been nicknamed Super Darling, or SupaDari for short.

There was a forceful side to her, of course, but I was convinced the one dating her
would be blessed with happiness.

Even so, there was someone bold enough to not accept her confession. Either that was
because she had a peculiar taste, or she was just someone with a twisted personality,
someone that better off dead.

For example—someone like me.

“This reminded me of the day we got to know each other better.”

Mai’s voice always sounded neat, like an electric piano.

“…you’re right.”

I rested my chin on the fence. Mai entered my field of vision with a smile. It made my
heart beat faster. Even though I didn’t have that right.

I hung my head.

“…Mai, I’m sorry.”

“Mm.”

The scene before my eyes was… concrete. The words that came from my mouth flowed
like tears falling to the ground.

“Somehow… it ended up like that.”

Whether it was Ajisai-san's confession, my half-baked answer, or how I’d been happy
even though Mai was present… everything was jumbled up and glued to my throat.

But everything sounded so foolish that I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I ended up only
saying something vague.

“Something like that… or that.”

Mai let out a small giggle. “I didn’t expect this outcome. But I feel kind of responsible
for it.”

I instantly lifted my head. “That’s—you’re not!”

I’d surprised her with my loud voice. There was still an awkwardness between us, so
I averted my gaze.

“Ah, no… because, in the end, the blame is on me since I’m being indecisive…”

I felt so terrible that I couldn’t look her in the eyes. I slumped down.

“Even though I received your feelings, I ended up answering Ajisai-san’s confession

with something like that. Even though it was not intentional, I still… I’m really the
worst…”

“It might sound weird if I say this, but—” Mai gazed up at the clouds above. What was
going on inside her heart? I had no idea.

“Even though you allowed me to approach you, your action made it seem like you
chose Ajisai over me in a second. Well, of course that sounds awful. But, it wasn’t like
we had been in a relationship, right? Since that was the case, it wasn’t like you did
something unreasonable.”

“That’s…”

During times like this, when Mai showed her understanding side, it made me
perplexed.
Our relationship was—we were just Rema friends.

We treasured each other, would spend our three years in high school together,
sometimes we would kiss and make it special for us, but it was like what she said. We
weren’t lovers.

But still…

“…I can’t.”

I gripped the fence before me tightly.

“Because, I… I said that I would properly think about your feelings…”

After a short pause, Mai opened her mouth.

“If that’s what you think.”

“Not at all, something like this, I didn’t think it through thoroughly…”

I shook my head. I felt nauseous. Once again, I opened my mouth like spewing things
out from my stomach.

“Before I properly come up with an answer for you, I can’t let things be like this.”

My tone was so stubborn that it came out a bit harsh. This wasn’t the tone I was
supposed to use toward Mai, who was only concerned for my well-being.

Fuu. Mai took a breath. “This isn’t something as simple as who you like between me
and Ajisai?”

I desperately racked my brain. “I don’t know… something like that… liking someone, I
wouldn’t know…”

Why would Mai like someone like me? Why would Ajisai like someone like me? I really
had no idea.

“………… since I—even though I don’t like myself……”

This was definitely not something I could say in front of Ajisai-san.

Because when I myself denied my own values, it would be like denying Ajisai-san’s
view of me by saying something like that in front of her.

“The girl you like and want to have a relationship with, she is a very terrible person, you
know? I really hate her.”

Of course, I couldn’t say something like that before her.

Even so, I could say it in front of Mai.

Even though she also had the same thought. No, it was more than that. Even though
Mai was the first person who recognized my value…

“Ah…”

When I raised my face, Mai looked at me with a smile.

She patted my shoulder and rested her hand there.

“Renako, I like you.”

“…………”

I really wondered why she was being this kind. And I also wondered, why my heart
didn’t budge.

No, that was wrong. The more Mai showered me with her light, the clearer my shadow
became.

In the first place, everything was so weird. If Ajisai-san confessed her feelings, of course
I would feel elated. That was a given. That was the natural thing to feel.

Of course, after that I would’ve felt a bit giddy, like aah I really am blessed. Thinking
something like that would be the normal course of events, right? That was how it was
supposed to be, but why had I desperately run away like this…

“I…”

Aah, I see.

I finally figured it out.

—I didn’t crave people's affection.

Feeling like wanting to be liked by someone, dreaming of a best friend, being someone’s
number one.

Having those kinds of outrageous thoughts had simply been a lie all along.

Being invited and included in a group, getting to my own place where I belonged,
having people listen to me when I talked, having someone react to something I did…

Those were—everything was, in short it was because—

—I simply didn’t want to be hated by those around me.

When I said I didn’t want a lover, it was also because I didn’t want them to discover
my true self. The moment they saw it, they would definitely hate me.

That wasn’t it. No, that was probably it. I was convinced that they would be repulsed
the moment they found out about this side of me. Since I—the one who knew me
best—couldn’t help but hate myself.

That was why I had desperately put a distance between Mai and me. I had pushed her
away numerous times because of that.

The moment she stepped closer, the moment she knew this side of me, “Could it be
that she wasn’t as nice as I first thought?” Thoughts like that would sound in her head.

Somehow, I had desperately crafted a cheerful persona on the surface, fooling everyone,
thus managing to befriend those around me. I had done my best and was finally able
to hide myself behind this shallow, artificial character.

I had said all of that, but the moment I pushed people away, I also clung to them. I
wanted them to stay close to me. I did things similar to manipulating people around
me.

Something like longing for ‘a true friend’ was a complete lie. That was the moment
where a thought came inside my head. Could it be that when I said things like craving
for a relationship where we could show each other’s weaknesses was just a hope for
a ‘guarantee’ so they wouldn’t hate me easily?

Everything, everything everything everything, everything I did was all for my own
sake—

Mai rested her palm on my cheek.

“Ah…”

She lifted my face to meet hers, and her beautiful face entered my vision.

I thought she was going to kiss me.

If she forcefully longed for me, then maybe I could feel a sense of security about my
own worth. Like, you often see it in the manga, something like, “Please, let me forget
everything else…” Well, if only the situation wasn’t something like this, I might have
been moved by that.

But Mai didn't bring her face closer. She pulled her hand away from my cheek.

“…let’s stop for today.”

“Mai…”

It wasn’t like I wanted it. I also didn’t want her to do it. Even so, somewhere inside my
mind, I was afraid that she would hate me if I didn’t allow her to.

There was really no other way.

She gazed at me as if in pain, then let me go. Right. Even Mai who was supposed to get
along with me. I could no longer remember the days where we laughed together side
by side.

Bam. The rooftop’s door closed.

I scrunched down and hugged my knees close.

Tears of self-loathing flowed from my eyes.

“Uuu… uuuhhh… uu…”

The Renako from my middle-school days who had seen everything stared at me with
contempt. Stop being overly spoiled like this. Everything had been wrong from the
beginning. Wanting to change and become someone who is good at socializing was
plainly impossible, she muttered to me.

Right, everything was just like she said.

It wasn’t like I had been mistreated. It was also wrong if I said I received some violent
treatment. I also hadn’t been avoided. Forget about that, since everyone was being
kind—or rather, they were directing their affections towards me.

No one was angry at me.

Even so, I had become overwhelmed with everything. I totally looked like a girl with
mental health problems.

Mai, Ajisai-san.

I’m really sorry.

It would have been great if I was really someone charismatic, someone strong,
someone who always looked ahead no matter what happened. Just like what the two
of them saw in me.

Or it didn’t have to be as grand as that. It would have been great if I simply had the
strength to keep deceiving people with my artificial side until the end.

I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to be someone who only thought about how others saw
me, someone who desperately didn’t want to be hated for being overly conscious of
other people’s reactions, someone miserable.

Really, I was sorry.

I was sorry for making you misunderstand.

“……I want to die……”

The bell signaling the end of the afternoon break rang.

For the first time in my life, I skipped class after lunch and didn’t come back.

I skipped the entire afternoon, and only returned to the classroom when I no longer
sensed anyone’s presence in the school.

Skipping class, eh… so I finally turned into a delinquent…

Even though I’d already felt uncomfortable in school, to skip class like this increased
my fear of what others thought about me. You couldn’t skip school simply out of fear,
you know…

Feeling like I was some criminal, I went to the classroom…

There was no one there.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

If by any chance I encountered Ajisai-san, I would definitely say something like I

suddenly felt sick and spout more lies, which would pile up my sins.

“…Ajisai-san.” While tidying up my desk, I looked at her desk. “…why would you, for
someone like me?”

In the end, it was meaningless to keep thinking about this. After all, I kept asking the
same question to Mai and she kept answering me with the same reply, but I just couldn’t
comprehend those answers.

You see, during these moments, I couldn’t shift the setting to ‘Alright, let’s just stop
thinking!’. It really showed how flawed the humankind is. Just hurry up and upgrade
your setting, won’t you, society?

I let out a huge sigh and then picked up my bag.

“Let’s go home…”

Driven by a sense of guilt for skipping class, I left the school like I was running away.

It had been nerve-wracking, but luckily, the school didn’t contact my family today.

At dinner, I didn’t say much and hurriedly finished my meal, locking myself inside my
room after. I thought my little sister said something, but it didn’t reach my ears.

Without dipping in the bath, I crawled into bed. Even though I was mentally exhausted,
the negative thoughts in my brain kept me up.

I kept saying to myself that one night’s sleep would make everything better. I forced
myself to shut my eyes. And the next day…

Forget about getting better mentally. It was turning into a far worse condition.

***

“Mom… I don’t feel too good… I think.”

“Oh my. Really? What about school?”

I stood in the living room, still in my pajamas. “I don’t think I can go,” I answered in a
tiny voice, averting my gaze.

My mother studied me. While at first she seemed worried, she formed a smile.

“I see. You’ve done your best since starting high school after all. It’s okay. But still, you
can’t use it as an excuse to game the whole day, okay? Just go to bed and rest.”

“Yeah…”

I nodded and tottered back toward my room.

When I met my sister on the way, she tilted her head and asked me, “Huh? Big Sis, are
you not going to school today?”

I didn’t answer her and kept walking to my room.

I could hear the conversation between her and my mother behind me.

“Did Big Sis catch another skipping school sickness?”

My heart stopped.

“…”

Nah, I was really feeling under the weather today! Not being able to shout my thoughts,
I continued to walk toward my room.

Once again, I crawled into my still-warm bed and laid down.

Right as I started to take out my phone, I stopped. It was possible that someone might
contact me, but things were getting awkward since I skipped yesterday. I couldn’t
bring myself to look at the screen.

There were sounds from the front entrance. My sister said, “I’m going now.” The sound
of my father who was also leaving for work. The sound of my mother doing her chores
from behind this door.

In my bed, I ignored those noises.

“Aaah…”
I felt like I had carefully, fearfully furled a spool of thread while travelling through a
huge maze, only to have it snap. I had no clue where to go.

Nah, of course that’s not it. Something inside of me tried to put up a brave front.

You were just getting too tired. For something like this, you only need a full day’s rest and
then you’d be good to go. That’s why, tomorrow you’ll go to school with your usual
cheerful smile.

You’re exaggerating. To think that you’re discouraged from overanalyzing how others
think about you… of course no one cares if you’re skipping class. In the first place, you’re
only feeling under the weather. Mom also said the same thing, right? That you’ve done
your best since starting high school.

Tomorrow, you’ll get better and go back to being your usual self.

Being my usual self.

“…yeah.”

Inside my room, with the curtains concealing the sun, I brought the covers up over my
head.

Even so, I knew this.

During my shut-in days in middle school, I’d felt the exact same thing on the first day.
At first, I’d been awkward about showing up to class, and it made me hesitant to go,
but then the feeling persisted for a long time.

Somehow I ended up falling asleep without even knowing it. When I woke up, the sky
outside was orange.

I rubbed my eyes and got out of bed.

“How sluggish…”

I hadn’t dreamt of anything during my sleep.

Even though one day usually felt so long, spending it at home made it pass by in the
blink of an eye. I wondered if this was what they meant by the theory of relativity(?).

After rinsing my face and taking a shower, I waited absentmindedly for dinner.

Without my phone, I really didn’t have anything to do. It couldn’t be helped, so I stared
at the evening educational show on television. There was a boy and a girl with a bright
future ahead of them looking like they were having fun. I wondered if next year, or the
year after, the few people on the show would still remain on TV or not… Somehow my
thoughts naturally drove toward negativity.

Meanwhile, my mother asked questions like, “How are you feeling?”, “Are you able to
go to school tomorrow?” or “It would’ve been great if we stopped at the hospital this
morning.”

Hearing her, I answered vaguely in response.

Then my little sister came home.

“I’m home—uwaa, you look like you’re dead.”

“…”

When she didn’t get a reaction out of me, she snorted and walked off to her room.

I ended up thinking that it would have been better if I’d locked myself inside my room
until dinner. Exposed to my bright, extroverted sister only reminded me of people
from school.

My sister returned after changing into her loungewear. She took a seat, playing with
her phone.
“Big sis, you’re…”

“…what?”

“Mm… nah, it’s nothing. It’s just, when you make that kind of sullen face it makes me
think, uwaa, how ugly you are.”

“Ha?”

Today I set my role as a sick person though? Why did she have to say something like
that? I responded with a single answer, my eyebrows furrowed.

My sister, still in her awful attitude, changed the topic.

“Ah, come to think of it, do you remember the girls who came over in the summer?
They said that they want to see your old photos. Do you remember where we put our
family pictures? Are they in Father’s room?”

“Eh, what the heck? Of course I’m not showing them my photos.”

“Nah, it’s okay. We can find it if we look for it carefully, right? It’s just one photo—even
if it’s of you, maybe like during kindergarten, or your baby picture.”

“I already said no!”

I struck the table.

The noise was louder than I expected.

The living room grew silent. The only sound came from the television.

My little sister stared at me coolly.

My blood ran cold as I met her fearless gaze.

“You’re so loud. If you don’t want to, just say so. You didn’t have to hit the table.”

“…ah.”
I drew back my arms, unable to apologize.

My mother came to see what had happened and I brushed past her, leaving the living
room.

—that day, if my little sister hadn’t brought up my old photos, I was sure I wouldn’t have
realized it. In some ways, it would’ve also delayed my rehabilitation for a functional
member of society.

But of course, I wouldn’t say that everything was thanks to her!

I grabbed our photo album from my father’s room and threw it on the table inside my
room.

Sitting on the chair, I hugged my knees.

“Even though I’d said that I didn’t want to… Haruna is being too inconsiderate.”

My sister’s words kept repeating inside my head, recalling a chain of unpleasant times.

“I wonder… why everyone can easily step inside into other people’s space like that… I
really want them to stop… Just, stop paying attention to me, someone like me… Just
pretend that I didn’t exist…”

I groaned.

From inside my drawer, I took out a single photo.

It was a photo of the three of us given by Ajisai-san. We’d taken the photo over the
summer. Even though I looked awkward, the me in the photo had a smile like she was
having fun.

I was in the center, with Mai and Ajisai-san on either side. We were close to each other,
as if we had been best friends for a long time. I really wanted the relationship between
the three of us to stay like that. On the other hand, I was sure that since both Mai and
Ajisai-san were strong, they could accept any change that came their way. The only
person who was a coward and hadn’t changed was me. I had been left alone by them,
still imprisoned in that summer moment.

I slowly caressed the photo, my fingertip burning. That was when someone knocked
on my door.

“Big Sis, I’m coming in.”

“Eh?!”

Flustered, I hurriedly hid the photo under the album.

She barged in like some trespasser, making me shriek.

“How can you let yourself in like this? Considering what you did earlier? Did you already
forget? Did your brain unable to remember something more than five minutes?!”

“What the heck are you saying? The photo album is missing from father’s room.
There’s nobody else but you to suspect anyway.”

I hugged the album to my chest like it was my beloved child.

“I already said no, right?! How many times do I need to repeat myself?!”

“But there must be a few photos that are presentable, right? You just don’t want to
show your lame ones, right? Let’s just look for a good one.”

“There’s nothing—not even a single good photo! I’ve been trash since the day I was
born!”

“Haa?”

My little sister let out a low voice like she was disgusted. Hii.

“The only times you were being trash is when you were in middle school, though.”

“Stop saying that people are trash!”

“You said it yourself…”

Haruna swiped the album from my hand.

“Just shut up and let’s do this.”

“Aah!”

Considering our differences in strength, it would definitely be my loss if we fought for

real. I only managed to grab Haruna’s sleeve weakly.

“I-if I don’t allow it, you really can’t, okay…? If you can't find even a single picture, just
give up… that’s my only condition… if not, I’ll burn the album right here right now…”

Haruna sat on my bed, flipping through the album.

Most of our family photos had been taken when our father had been obsessed with
playing with his camera. There were also photos I had taken when I didn’t have a
phone yet and borrowed his digital camera. Haruna had also borrowed his camera to
take photos of her friends and other stuff.

“Ah, how about this?”

“No! I look silly!”

“Then what about this?”

“My hair looks so weird though?!”

“You’re such a pain in the ass…”

“Your choices are awful!”

I turned the pages desperately.

Was there nothing? Not even a single presentable photo? A photo where I looked like
a normie leader, was there really none? A miraculous photo?!

“Big Sis, you’re…”

“What?”

“Today, you skipped school, right?”

“Eh?!”

I raised my face quickly like a pop-up pirate toy.

“N-nah~ I—I just felt an immense pain in my stomach, that’s why, I took a break just
in case, you know~”

My sister's gaze was like she already saw through me.

Guh… what was it, was I that obvious…?

“I don’t know what happened, and no matter how many times you decide to skip
school, it would never impact my life whether it’s now or in the future, which is why, I
really, really don’t care about this, but—”

Aren’t you being too much?!

“But well, if you keep getting along with charismatic people like what you’re trying to
be right now, I would also be affected by that. Well, that’s unexpected, I know.”

“……the heck is that?”

I carefully observed Haruna’s behavior.

Judging by only her facial expression, I had no clue how she was feeling when she said
those words.

It felt unfair even though she was my little sister, I wanted her to bare her feelings
more.

“It’s not like I did my high-school debut for your sake though.”

“Of course I know, but I accompanied your special training and everything after all.
That’s why, just treat that like some sort of compensation. Right, something like an
advance payment.”
“…that’s, well…?”

In fact, she really did help me a lot.

“You couldn’t go to the salon by yourself, and you said that it was embarrassing to go
to the hair salon with Mom—that was when you made me accompany you. I even
helped you with choosing clothes and makeup. Now if I think about it, that isn’t
something you should ask a girl who was still in elementary school until a year before,
right?”

“Well, that’s…”

What she said wasn’t everything. There was still a lot of minor stuff she did for me.

Even the current Haruna who always spoke bluntly was because I’d earnestly begged
her in the past, “Be honest with me if I say anything weird!” Thanks to that, my rapid
blabbering was fixed, and I also got better at controlling my boring talk that didn’t
appeal to people.

It was embarrassing to say this out loud, but more or less, I was grateful to her for
sticking with me this far.

But there was one thing that made me very thankful towards her.

“Which is why, if you go back to being a shut-in, it will also mean my failure, including
the time I spent for your sake. That’s why, tomorrow you’re going to school, right?”

“I-it’s not like I skipped school! I was already planning to go once I feel better! I’ve
already decided that I’ll go tomorrow…”

Without warning, my little sister took my phone and unlocked it.

“Ah—wait!”

“Uwaa, look at how many notifications you got. Here—Mai-senpai and Ajisai-senpai
are worried about you. Alright, let’s reply to them, ‘I’m okay, I’ll go to school tomorrow,’
and… send.”
“Wait! Why did you move on your own, st—stop it!”

Whoop. She threw my phone back to me.

When I looked at the screen, uwaa, she really had sent them a message…

“This is crossing the line even for you… by sending LINE…”

“You should be thanking me. Since I’m always easily doing the things you find difficult.”

“This girl is making it feel like I owe her… scary… I really want to see how this girl’s
parents are like…”

Mai, Ajisai-san… and there were also messages from Kaho-chan. On top of that, when
I saw a few more of my classmates’ names, it made me feel miserable.

Everyone was really kind.

I wanted to properly respond to their kindness. I knew it wouldn’t go smoothly like I

wanted, but… these feelings were real…

“With this, you’ll definitely be going to school tomorrow, eh?”

Haruna looked proud as she stuck her hands on her hips.

The heck was with that face? Even though she did it by backing me into a corner…

“You’re so harsh…”

“No, I’m not. I treat my juniors in the club far more harshly than this, you know? I’m
handling you gently. Anyway, you can do something like this easily, right? Since you
share the same DNA as me.”

This girl truly spared no mercy for me. She blocked off all escape and left me without
a place to run to so I could only move forward. Every time I felt desperate, she’d
forcefully corner me and make me look ahead.

I’d never say it out loud, but that was the one thing I was most appreciative for.
But well, it would’ve been great if she could treat me more gently!

“Ah, this pic is good, right?”

Haruna did everything as she pleased—forget about being a trespasser, she was also
a looter. She had found the photo on my table, the one I’d hid behind the album earlier.

The one of Mai, Ajisai-san, and I. The memories from that summer.

“That’s—”

Not really an old photo though…

I reached out my hand, then stopped midway.

“Um, well, I don’t mind though. Handle it carefully.”

If it was something that my little sister would get a hold of, well, that one was alright.

That photo was too beautiful for me. It made me feel sorry that I was the one to hold
it.

“Thanks, Big Sis.”

With a cheerful thanks expected from a sporty girl like her, she left my room.

Leaving as soon as she got what she needed, huh. She really had a different outlook on
life compared to me who had skipped school.

She really was—good grief…

I sat back on my bed and ended up grabbing the album. Since Haruna and I had been
half-heartedly flipping through the pages in a rush earlier, I started from the front
again.

How nostalgic. Well, I hadn’t been terrible at socializing back in elementary school.

There were pictures with my friends. Among those, there was a girl who had inspired
me to become a charismatic person, plus other girls I couldn’t remember the names
of. There were really a lot of memories.

I wondered if… these girls also felt the same as me right now. Whether it was worrying
about things, having conflicts with their surroundings, doing their best everyday.

It would’ve been great if we could have a nostalgic conversation. I wanted to talk with
someone to recall our fun days.

Perhaps this wistfulness was a form of escape from my current situation. But I only
exist right now thanks to my past. So I was sure that it was okay to reminisce about
the past…

Was there anyone I could contact?

Someone who didn’t find it weird with me contacting them now that I was in high
school… Or possibly, someone who would pamper me and satisfy my sense of pride…
Ah, that last thought was totally from Amaori Scumnako.

“…ah, this girl.”

I focused my gaze on a single photo.

On the page was an elementary school girl flashing a peace sign at the camera. It was
something that I had taken with my digital camera during the time I went to cram
school.

She had glasses and a slightly hunched back. In my memory, she was a docile and
gentle girl. We often chatted about our favourite manga, or had a blast discussing the
anime we watched. Those were some truly happy days.

During our cram school days, we always spent time by ourselves without worrying
about how others saw us. We simply had fun, so much that it passed by in a blink, our
sparkling days.

“…it would be great if I returned to my elementary school days when I wake up

tomorrow.”

If my wish was granted, I could have fun in elementary school playing around,
reconnecting with that girl from cram school to talk about manga… laughing until we
had stomachaches, then getting lectured by the cram school’s teacher since we were
being too loud. Plus, while we pretended to reflect on it, we would stick out our
tongues behind the teacher’s back.

Thinking about the past, I ended up staring absentmindedly at the picture before me.
A strange deja vu hit me.

Uh, somehow, I felt like I’ve seen this face…?

Nah, of course that was because this picture was something I took, but that wasn’t it.
I wondered what these feelings were. Somewhere, something that I’d seen.

“…Hmmm?”

As I stared intensely at the album in front of me, a notification popped up on my phone

screen.

The name that appeared on my screen was—

[Rena-chin, we’re waiting for you, okay?]

—eh, impossible, could it be that—

“………… huh?”
The name of the girl who went to the cram school with me, if I wasn’t mistaken, her
name was……

Minaguchi Kaho.

For some strange reason, she had the same first name as a fellow member of Mai’s
group—Koyanagi Kaho.
Without a doubt, books were the reason behind my attachment to gaming. During
elementary school, I loved reading books and as a kid, I would often read them in the
library.

My reading preferences were quite wide, ranging from picture books to children’s
books, and even light novels. I think most of them were fantasy.

From then, I started liking fantasy-themed games. I, who became immersed in settings
featuring unknown worlds, took interest in watching game streams. Then, once I
discovered the world of FPS, I was hooked on games with war elements…

But well, let’s return to the main subject.

That time, Minaguchi-san was the one who got along best with me.

Since I had no schoolmates with the same interests, I could talk about my hobby to my
heart’s content with her.

Things like our favorite character or the particular scene we agreed on regarding its
awesomeness. Sometimes we also read manga magazines together and after finishing,
we often tried to predict the plotline for the upcoming chapter.

Now that I thought about it, I felt like she was the only friend who shared the same
interests as I did…

Well, we were both boring people, so that might have been the reason why we hit it
off so quickly.
At first, I’d planned on going to cram school only over the summer, but somehow I
ended up continuing for half a year because I wanted to see her.

We got along well after all.

If that was… if that Minaguchi-san was Kaho-chan, then…? Was this kind of coincidence
really possible?!

“G-good morning…”

I entered the classroom timidly, trying not to appear conspicuous.

Since the class was crowded though, like it or not, I ended up being the center of
attention. Hii! Everyone’s stares!

At that moment, two girls walked towards me, obstructing their gazes like a shield. It
was the usual duo, Hasegawa-san and Hirano-san.

“Good morning, Amaori-san!”

“We’ve been worried since you were absent. Are you okay now?”

“Ah, yeah.”

It made me so happy when they talked to me like this, I almost let out a creepy laugh.
I managed to compose myself and compromised by lifting the corner of my lips.

“Thank you, both of you. I’m alright now.”

“I see. Since the seasons are changing, it’s easy to get under the weather after all!”

“But you see, when Amaori-san isn’t here, it feels like the class became half as lovely.
It’s great if you’re okay now!”

“Eh, you’re exaggerating, to say something like that, it’s one third as lovely at most,
right?”
The two responded to my answer with laughter. Ah, how great.

Right, let’s act like an elegant beauty perched at the top of the school’s social hierarchy.
Since both of them talked so highly of me like this, it no longer scared me when others
stared at me… thank you…

“Morning, Rena-chin!”

Suddenly, someone leaned their body on my back, hard. Guh.

I stumbled forward to keep my balance, then turned around. My nose caught a

refreshing citrus scent from the girl who brought her face close to me and hugged me
from behind.

“Ka-Kaho-chan, morning.”

“Yup!”

She let out a bright smile that could energize anyone who saw it.

Seeing Kaho-chan’s smile after a day of absence made it seem like a smile that came
from a true beauty. It was dazzling. I tried my best to not act weird. I really couldn’t
have an ordinary day if I kept getting flustered with Kaho-chan’s skinship…

Hawawa. Hasegawa-san placed her hand on her mouth.

“Seeing two of the Quintet interacting like this… closely…!”

“Eh?”

“I can’t bear to exist in the middle of the air that’s dense with beauties’ aura…! Well
then, I hope you two stay healthy, Amaori-san, Koyanagi-san! If you can, please have a
long, happy, healthy life, okay?”

Hasegawa-san and Hirano-san left us, waving their hands.

Kaho-chan answered, “See you again!” while also waving her hand. My break time,
end!

While Kaho-chan dangled on my back like some sort of a backpack, I muttered, “…what
was that, the Quintet…”

“Somehow we’ve been called that recently.”

I searched it up on my phone. After duo, trio, and quartet came quintet. It meant a
group of five.

“That’s the first time I heard that. Is it because there’s five of us?”

“That too, but you see, MaiMai’s company’s name is Queen Rose, right?”

“Um… ah, uh-huh? I see?”

Was it because the word ‘Quintet’ read the same as ‘Queentet’? Whoa, that sounded
hyper cool.

Kaho-chan released me and flashed the peace sign next to her eyes.

“So from now on, you should say ‘I’m Amaori Renako from Quintet♡Sparkle☆’
whenever you’re introducing yourself, alright?”

“What kind of act would I be trying to pull there…”

Considering the excess privilege I had with this status, I was placed in a rather
alarming position.

Kaho-chan snickered.

“There’s no guarantee that no one is planning to stab you in the back and take that
empty seat for themselves after all, right?”

“That would be a bunch of frightening people hiding disturbing schemes…”

I hugged myself out of fear.

While we had a conversation in the back, the classroom slowly filled with people.

“Ah, Rena-chan, good morning~”

“Morning, Amaori.”

“Wa, Ajisai-san, Satsuki-san, also, Oozuka-san.”

“Heya, Renako, morning.”

The Quintet we’d talked about earlier was present.

I felt like I heard some “Oooh~…” sounds somewhere. After summer break, it seemed
like the talk about us had spread around on a larger scale, so much that people from
other grades sometimes came to our classroom to take a look. That kind of attention
intimidated me, so I naturally took a step back.

Smiling widely, Ajisai-san clapped her hands.

“Somehow it feels like it’s been a while since we gathered like this. How fun.” Ajisai-
san directed the question to me, “Right?” It was a kind of question that came out of
consideration to me since I’d found it hard to rejoin this circle after summer break.

“Y-yeah.” I nodded stiffly.

I had coincidentally found out she was helping me this time, but most of the time, I
didn’t realize I was being showered by her grace. It wouldn’t be a stretch if I said that
the day where she became an angel, or a Goddess, wasn’t so far away.

“Amaori, don’t forget to let Sena or someone else show you their notes.”

“Ah, that’s right. Oh, but since we don’t have Classical Literature class today, I didn’t
bring my notebook with me.”

“Then I’ll let you see mine! Since I left my notes at school after all!”
“That’s not something you should be proud of, Kaho.”

“Ahaha… Ajisai-san, Kaho-chan, thank you. You too, Satsuki-san.”

I pressed my palms together as I thanked the members who were kind enough to take
pity on me.

Everyone really treated me well. No one was avoiding me or acting like I was some
weed after my break from school. In the end, my anxiety came from me being overly
conscious of myself.

“…”

Except the fact that I felt like Mai was behaving unlike her usual self… it was possible
that she was worried for me.

Of course I wasn’t capable enough to say something like, “It was nothing! I’m perfectly
alright!” to appease her worry, but I felt a sting somewhere inside my chest.

“I’ll show you my notes before class starts then.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you.”

After that, everyone returned to their own seats.

Right, since I skipped school, my MP (Mental Point) had recovered a bit, but in the end,
the root of my problems hadn't been solved yet.

I understood perfectly that I should hurry and do something about this, but… I also
realized that the deep griefs would also quickly decrease my MP.

Honestly, the problem I had right now was something I couldn’t solve by myself,
considering my current level as a human. If I kept insisting on pushing it, I had to
increase my status, whether it was by challenging a last boss out of desperation, or
choosing another path and having new life experiences to level up.

It seemed like I had no spare time for the second option though…
I should at least stabilize my mental condition. If not, I was sure that I would fall back
into the state from yesterday… Thanks to my sister, I had managed to control my urge
to slack off after a single day. But I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t turn into a shut-in
once again when the time came. Since the only thing I believed in myself was my small-
fry level of mentality!

Alright, if so—

“Listen, Kaho-chan,” I said, as she brought me her Classical Literature notes.

“Hanya~?”

“Err…”

“?”

Kaho-chan tilted her head.

If Kaho-chan was really the Minaguchi-san that I once knew… What if she listened to
my worries and then we became friends again…? It was also possible that with her, I
could defeat the enemies I couldn’t face by myself.

Gathering the team members was a basic activity in RPG after all… Well, this sounded
too convenient for a solution though!

Nah, it wasn’t like we should discuss my problems. We could do other things like chat
about our memories, which I would be perfectly satisfied with. On top of that, I would
be delighted if I could get along better with Kaho-chan anyway…

Since Kaho-chan had no clue about my middle-school experience after all! This was a
pretty convenient situation for me!
But, well.

I stared at Kaho-chan.

Right, the shape of her face had a minor resemblance to the face of the girl in my
memory… But, that girl was supposed to be more quiet than the girl in front of me. At
least, she wasn’t someone who perfectly understood her own cuteness and presented
it with a calculated angle while saying, “Hanya~?”

Kaho-chan, the symbol of cheerfulness, was positioned between the ‘resemble’ and
‘doesn’t resemble her’ line.

What should I do? Should I bet on this chance……? If I was wrong and she wasn't the
girl from my past, I would only need to apologize anyway…

Yeah, let's do it. I had nothing to lose after all. (Worst case, I would just cringe in my
bed tonight.)

“Err, listen, ummm… right here might be, a bit, uhh, how about during lunch break…?”
I earnestly asked Kaho-chan, who looked puzzled.

“I’m cool with that.” She asked me teasingly with a laugh, “What is it, what is it? A
surprise confession?”

In front of me, Ajisan-san whirled around quickly. “Huh?!”

As if I would confess to Kaho-chan! Considering Mai and Ajisai-san’s feelings, I would

basically be a totally vile woman if I did that! Of course that wasn’t it!

At lunch break, I told Kaho-chan to come to the deserted spot behind the school
building.
“Eh, what is it? For you to call me to this kind of place—are you really going to confess?”

“I already said that’s not it!” I shouted at Kaho-chan at the top of my lungs. She had
both palms on her cheeks, looking excited.

Aah, geez. This mood made it hard to start the real conversation!

Kaho-chan was the only one in our circle who didn’t make me nervous, and I could talk
to her normally.

She often asserted the clownish role, and since she let herself be the subject of jokes,
she easily allowed people to go along with her pace.

In short, it was easy to know how to respond to her properly. It was like everything
was already planned, similar to some sort of a skit, manzai, or even scenario. Like
whenever I spoke with her, I felt some kind of consistency, something like that.

That was why, how should I put this… when I spoke to her outside the standard
settings, above the ‘consistency’, I ended up feeling nervous. Right now, I was totally
experiencing that feeling.

Uu, but I already took up some of her precious time…

I didn’t have any other choice except to say this…!

“Ah, umm, Kaho-chan, this—”

I took a photo from my pocket and showed it to Kaho-chan.

“This is you, right?”

“…………”

She was smiling.

But her smile somehow felt different… it was like… a smile from a Noh mask.
Eh, eh eh eh?

As I became flustered, Kaho-chan plucked a stone off the ground in front of me.

“Rena-chin, do you know what humanity's oldest weapon is?”

Why… why?!

“You see, the answer is a rock from the ground. Since then, humans have used rocks as
their weapon many times, even while fighting animals far larger than them.”

“Ka-Kaho-chan…?”

Step by step, Kaho-chan slowly came closer. Was it because she carried the stories of
human history on her back that her small body appeared twice or three times larger
than usual?

“I see, so you’re finally decided to come out and threaten me, eh, Rena-chin? If so, right
now, I’ll use humanity's oldest weapon to fight you… I won’t let you leave here alive…”

“Th-that’s not—!”

“There’s no use! Prepare for destruction!”

Kaho-chan was really going to attack me! I had said that I wanted to level up by
defeating the last boss, but this wasn't what I had in mind!

I caught her right arm, the one with the stone in it, desperately resisting her. Pushed
by Kaho-chan’s force, I ended up falling onto the ground. With my back pressed to the
ground, Kaho-chan, sitting on top of me, came in for a second strike.

Hiiiiiiii! I’ll be hunted!

“I already said that’s not it!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Another piece of old-age wisdom from humanity: right, language!

“My only intention is—! Purely! I want to talk to that girl again!”

Kaho-chan stopped moving at that moment.

“I've been feeling cornered lately! And then, I found a photo inside an old album… and
that’s why, um, I thought it’d be great if I could talk to her… that was my only
intention…”

Kaho-chan stared at me intently from above.

“…really?”

“R-really!” I didn’t know how much she believed, but for now I shouted my answer
desperately. “But still, I’m sorry! Even though I understand that talking about
something from the past like this isn’t nice for some people… I ended up bringing it up
for my own convenience. I’m really sorry for that…”

Well now if I thought about it, if someone talked about my social outcast days I would
also quickly come up with a perfect crime scheme.

I had been careless this time since I wasn’t aware of other people’s triggers.

“Sorry… about today, I won’t bring it up anymore… of course, I also won’t tell a soul…
that’s why, you should also forget about this, Kaho-chan.”

Kaho-chan sighed quietly.

She tossed the stone away and moved away from me.

…I, I survived…?
Pan, pan. Kaho-chan brushed the dirt from her hands.

And then, she stretched her hand out to me, who was still on the ground.

“You had a lot to say, right?”

“Ka-Kaho-chan……?”

Kaho-chan lifted the corners of her lips, and then let out a sophisticated smile.

“What about after school today?”

“Kaho-chan…!”

I gripped her hands.

“Yeah, yeah!”

Somehow, humanity’s oldest piece of wisdom had defeated humanity’s oldest weapon.

Today, I’d experienced a historical event, the cycle of humanity’s war and peace… Nah,
I really didn’t understand it, but I think this was it… probably.

And then—to make up for our three years' separation, we headed to the nearby family
restaurant after school.

***

At the family restaurant after school, we sat at our table, Kaho-chan facing me. I ended
up staring at her face.

Now when I thought about it, I was the type who couldn't speak properly while seeing
the other person’s face. That was probably why I couldn’t really remember Kaho-chan’s
face well. Somehow I suddenly felt bad.

“Nah, to think that you really forgot about me, it really was shockingly shocking, y’see.”

“S-sorry.” I apologized earnestly. Since the blame was on me for forgetting her, I had
no choice other than to apologize genuinely.
“It’s because Kaho-chan, you really have a different air around you… and also, you
wore glasses back then… I didn’t realize you switched to contact lenses…”

“Eeh, this isn’t your everyday manga though,” she retorted while eating her french
fries.

“The Minaguchi-san in my memories was, she was more, like…”

“The plain glasses, socially awkward girl?”

“Err! She was a docile girl! A girl of few words!”

Ahaha. Kaho-chan laughed.

It was just, whenever Minaguchi-san talked about the stuff she liked, her eyes would
glimmer behind her glasses, and I loved seeing that.

“Well, my last name changed after all.”

“Ah, that’s—yup, that’s right.” I nodded awkwardly.

Kaho-chan waved her hand. “That’s not really a big deal.”

It was just, my parents divorced, and Papa married another woman. It was nothing, was
what she said.

When I responded to her with “I see!”, out of formality, she snickered at my pathetic
attempt.

“But even so, the first time I saw you I thought immediately, ‘Ah, it’s Amaori-san!’, you
know?”

“Uuu… I-I’m really sorry. B-but you should’ve said something if you’d figured it out!”

“Nah, well, if by any chance you completely forgot about me and I talked about that to
you, it would make things awkward, right?”

That’s… well, that was true.

“Well, I honestly thought that it would be alright if you forgot about me. Since we
ended up in the same group, we could become friends once again after all. In fact,
when you reached out to me after half a year, my only reaction was only, ‘After this
long?!’”

“I’m ashamed…”

Since, since…

While staring down, I squeezed the words out from my mouth.

“Since Kaho-chan, somehow, you become very… um, much cuter than before…”

“Nn… nn… we-well? If that’s really the case, it can’t be helped.”

Kaho-chan cleared her throat a few times. I felt anxious thinking she wouldn’t believe
me.

Right, complimenting her out of nowhere like this might only leave a bad impression,
so I decided to convey my thoughts with proper words.

“Since Kaho-chan’s appearance is really adorable, like, you have gorgeous facial
features, like, you’re really sparkling, someone like an idol… well, your skin and hair
are also glimmering. Anyway, you look really stylish, and you have a great fashion
sense. Ah, you are also really good at communicating with people, you also have a very
cute voice…”

“W-w-wait, time out!” Kaho-chan stopped me sharply. Her cheeks were painted red.

“Ah… I’m sorry, I ended up talking by myself!”

“No! Well, that was also it, but…”

Kaho-chan cleared her throat again.

She looked away, and while she acted like she was hiding her embarrassment, she
muttered under her breath, “Since this is a normie cosplay after all…”

“Eh?”
“Nay, nay, nothing.”

Kaho-chan changed the topic in a single moment. “Anyway, Rena-chin really hasn't
changed at all, eh?”

“Eh?! F-for real?”

I naturally placed a hand to my chest. Even though Kaho-chan looked like a beautiful
butterfly with her charismatic aura, I was the only one who stayed the same…? That
was a bit… no, that was really a huge shock…

Kaho-chan spoke again with a smile.

“Because like what you said since the old times, you were a popular person and would
always be the center of class.”

I felt like dying instantly.

“Ah, ahahahaha! Did I say that?!”

“Yup. You said that you always came up with new games everyday and dragged either
boys or girls with you. Back then I felt envious of your school since it sounded so fun
and lively.”

Which one was real?! Could it be she knew the truth and was teasing me?! Nah, but
this sounded like she was being honest though! It really sounded like she believed that
I was a total normie from back then! Inside my head, it was a constant switch between
delight and despair!

“Well, something like that really happened, huh!”

It was obvious that the things I told Kaho-chan had been complete lies. The me from
the past, chased by the death god and his scythe, had been cornered and spouted lies
like that. I could no longer return from this path…

But, so, that was it. Kaho-chan recognized me as one of the normies then… it wasn’t
like she had bad eyesight, I think!

With this, once again, I swore to myself that I would never tell her the truth for the
rest of my life. It was nothing but for my own sake.

Somehow Kaho-chan seemed lonely when she asked me, “Hey, are you also done with
anime and manga, Rena-chin?”

“Of course not!”

I told her a few of the manga titles I was still reading. I also honestly said that most of
my allowance was running out from buying games and manga reading apps. Even
though I’d stopped watching anime, it wasn’t like I had completely erased them from
my life.

“Rather, aren’t you the one who’s no longer interested in that stuff?”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because…”

Because you got along with everyone as a normie like that anyway…

I didn’t say it. I shut my mouth. As expected, I couldn’t say something biased like that.
Even Ajisai-san took a liking to the Magical Girl’s show after all.

Kaho-chan laughed.

“I love them, I really love them! In fact, I might like them more than before!”

Kaho-chan’s eyes sparkled with the same light as it had in the past.

“Then, what series are you hooked on right now?”

“Errr, this season, there’s—”

From then on, leaving the stories about our pasts, we quickly jumped into talking
about our favourite works. We had a conversation that we normally wouldn’t have had:
“I really like that series”, “I really love that character”, “those lines are really passionate
after all”. We took turns sharing these things, and we could relate with each other’s
words.

We had so much fun we forgot about the time. Deep down, I felt like my soul had healed
quite a lot.

For the first time since summer break ended, I felt like I purely had a great time like
this…

Oh no, my feelings were in such chaos that I felt like crying…

“Thank you, Kaho-chan…”

“Eh?! For what?!”

Sob. I sniveled.

“Lately, I've had a lot on my plate, that I feel like I already had enough… meeting with
you like this really makes me happy…”

“Aah, yeah, you said it… err, did something happen?”

“That’s…”

Pon, pon. Kaho-chan thumped her chest with her hand. “Just tell me. It’s alright. We’re
friends, right?”

Like some sort of detective character, she raised her index finger.

“This is a pretty common thing to say but, sometimes talking to someone can ease
your burden, you see? I know that I’m not the type to have a serious discussion with
you, but since we’re friends from the past, I’ll hear you out. Just treat it as some sort
of our reunion celebration.”

“Kaho-chan… but—”

The reason I was so doubtful was that, well, it was obvious, since Kaho-chan harbored
special feelings toward Mai.
Imagine what would happen if I told her that Mai confessed to me. I bet she would
only become hurt by that. Kaho-chan kept staring at me as I felt uncertain.

“Haha~n, well, that’s alright. We’re in high school now after all. It’s a given if things
had changed compared to back then. Haa, it’s lonely but that’s life, huh.”

“Th-that’s not it!”

I waved my hands, flustered. Kaho-chan rested her cheek on one palm. She had a sulky
expression. Th-this was a problem…!

“You might regret it after hearing it though?!”

“Nah, that’s something I will decide.”

She had a point!

By the time I was able to control my thoughts, I said it honestly.

“Err… you see, umm, Ajisai-san confessed to me over summer break!”

“…he?”

“And that’s not all, actually. Mai confessed to me before that…”

“…………… ha?”

I covered my face with my hands.

“It’s plainly impossible, you know, for me to choose between the two of them… Since
both Mai and Ajisai-san are far too good for someone like me… Someone ordinary like
me, the plain and mediocre me, a girl with no strong presence, of course I don’t deserve
them…”
For a while, Kaho-chan didn’t say anything. Her body trembled.

She must have been fed up with my indecisiveness.

“Wha… wha……”

Kaho-chan groaned. Hearing her like that reminded me of a volcano right before
erupting.

“Yes?” I asked her.

Right after that—

“THE HECK IS THAT!”

Whoosh! I fell onto the ground.

“Ka-Kaho-chan?! Why so sudden?! Have you gone crazy?!”

She dragged me forcefully from the family restaurant to the nearby riverbed.

Was it a thing to get thrown onto the ground twice in a day?!

Kaho-chan, illuminated by the light glowing from the sunset behind her, picked up a
stone the size of a human fist.

“Rena-chin, do you know what humanity's—”

“I’ve had enough of that!”

Around us, people walking their dogs stopped to look at us two eccentric high school
girls. I hurriedly stood up from the ground and confronted Kaho-chan directly.

I couldn’t clearly see her expression since the light behind her was so bright.

“If right here right now you say, ‘Everything I told you earlier was a lie!’, I would
genuinely forgive you.”

Kaho-chan dragged her feet closer. She was being really frightening!

“It’s not about your forgiveness! Since everything I said was real! In the first place, I
was being honest since you were the one who said I could tell you anything…”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

She trudged towards me with an intimidating aura, and then she grabbed my collar
tightly. Hiii!

“So everything, the nostalgic stuff, everything was because you wanted to brag, huh?!
You just wanted to say it, right?! Y’see, I’m rweally troubwled since I’m so popwular~
kind of thing, right?! What are you?! Normie?!”
“Th-that’s not—”

“You wanted to tell me that we lived in different worlds after all, right?! This is why
popular girls are so—!! This is the first time in my life I feel like I’ve been extremely
underestimated like this!”

Seeing my friend who totally snapped got me in jitters. I’d never seen her like this. I
realized that I had just stepped on a very huge landmine and couldn’t move.

“A-as if… as if I was bragging around!”

Bam. I shoved Kaho-chan away.

“That’s the type I hate the most after all! I’m being really serious when I said that I was
troubled by it!”

“Alright, of course, those kinds of trouble, I see! The kind of trouble when you’re
wondering which one to choose between shortcake or chocolate cake for your dessert,
how troubling~♪ right?! So are you saying that someone like me only deserves sugared
water, huuuh?!”

“I had no choice after all! Since they are the ones who ended up liking me!”

My yell was loud enough to beat the cicadas' cries that were still around us from the
sign of summer.

“Whether it’s Mai or Ajisai-san, both of them said that they liked me! I don’t get it at
all! Why would they choose me? I really don’t understand! I’m the one who doesn't get
it!”

I spouted out the worst words possible, words that I could never say genuinely to
anyone.

“Even me, I would never think to date someone like me after all! The one who said it
was them! That’s why I’m troubled! Since I don’t… want to, hurt them…”

I looked at the ground, balling my hands into fists.

I bit my trembling lips.

Drip. The tears started falling down and I couldn’t hold it in.

“…Rena-chin.”

Somehow, Kaho-chan’s voice sounded gentle.

Through my eyes filled with tears, I looked back at Kaho-chan.

“Kaho-cha—”

Fireworks exploded right before my eyes.

“It hurts~~~~?!”

Without holding back, Kaho-chan had whacked my forehead with her own.

I crouched down, clutching my forehead. My tears were really streaming nonstop for
a completely different reason!

Kaho-chan also crouched down right in front of me.

“Who the heck cares?!”

Seeing Kaho-chan, I couldn’t do anything other than move my mouth like a lost
goldfish.

“Wh-what do you mean… even though I, my situation is…”

“I listened to everything! Everything! Like, eeeeveerythiiing! Besides listening to

everything, I also envied it! The heck is that! Just choose one of them as you like! The
one you want!”

“B-but, if I choose, the other one would be hurt”

“Just pick Ajisai-chan then! With that, I’ll wholeheartedly comfort the tattered MaiMai!
See, closure!”

“That’s—that’s not really the right way to do things, I think!”

“Of course, huh! In the end, you just want to show off your popularity, right! This, this,
this little!!!”

“Uwaa, wai, no, stop.”

During our struggle, I ended up falling backwards, my butt hitting the ground.

My butt that fell first was in pain.

“You always behaved like this since back then, looking like you’re some sort of an
exceptional person! Getting spoiled by everyone in the end! It must be great, eh! Having
an easy mode in life where everything goes smoothly like you want! How envious!”

“That’s not—you’re wrong!”

This time, it was my turn to push her down. I stared at her from above.

Doing something like this was like we’re arguing. This was probably the first time in
life I had a wrestling fight.

“I’d never say that everything in my life goes smoothly! But even so, I did my best in
everything! That’s why, that’s why the current me exists! Even though you know
nothing!”

“As if I would know! You’re always smiling thoughtlessly! Showing everyone only your
good side! In the end, you just desperately do it so you won’t be hated by others
anyway. Lame!!”

“…!”

Without thinking, I lifted my hand.

“Is that bad?! Trying my best to not be hated by others?! After all, it’s not like I ever
said that I wanted a lover anyway! Even so, they did as they pleased and confessed to
me! Even though, even though, the only thing I want is our current relationship, the
one where we spend fun times together!”

Kaho-chan squeezed her eyes shut.

But in the end, I couldn’t move my hand.

From below, Kaho-chan stared at me sharply.

“………lame.”

“……………………”

I couldn’t do anything other than cast my eyes down.

Looking like an old rag, Kaho-chan pushed me away. She stood up and snorted at me.

“I’m going home.”

After saying that, Kaho-chan grabbed her bag and left.

For a while, I stayed at that spot and crouched down. The wind was refreshing since
my body temperature had risen quite a bit. It felt like summer was nearing its end.

When I arrived home and my mother found me covered in mud, she was really
surprised.

Ignoring my clear trace of tears, I answered her shortly with confidence, “I tripped.”

***
The next day, I felt like dying instead of going to school… This wasn’t on the level where
I felt awkward… It was something farther than that, beyond the farthest boundary…

But if I chose to skip today, it would mean that I had admitted to everything Kaho-chan
had said. Or rather, it was like I’d succumbed to Kaho-chan’s words and lost. Of course
it would make me extremely frustrated.

Honestly I felt like crawling to school…

With dread, I got ready for the upcoming class. That was when Kaho-chan came to
class a bit late.

“Morning!” Kaho-chan greeted the class cheerfully with a band-aid plastered on her
forehead. Everyone ended up questioning it.

Even so, she answered every question jokingly. No matter how I looked at her, she was
really different from the Minaguchi-san I had known from back then.

I think that Kaho-chan had also done her best in her own way. She’d changed her
appearance, and even the way she spoke. Even now, her way of communicating with
others was far above mine.

If I thought about it, considering her efforts, of course she would be pissed if I, who
had come out of nowhere, suddenly said something like that.

…even though I thought that I finally had a friend I could share everything with…

…no, but!

This time, I wouldn’t apologize!

…well, I admit that I could’ve done better by choosing the right words though… but.

Uuuhh…
I spent the whole day feeling gloomy. Even during lunch break, our eyes didn’t meet,
not even once.

And when we accidentally said something at the same time.

“Fun.”

“Fun.”

Like that, we turned our faces away from each other.

Right. I had a will of steel, so I wouldn’t try to make up with her… until she’s the one
to initiate it. Definitely…!

Even if something like this happened after our lunch.

“Re-Rena-chan… did something happen with Kaho-chan?”

Right. Ajisai-san appeared before me, tugging on my sleeve weakly, her face worried.

Even so, my heart wouldn’t budge! As if I would care about that person!

As I thought that, I opened my mouth and answered Ajisai-san, “Err, yup, well, stuff
happened! Hahaha!” I only able to did it around that degree, though!

But still, this time, I was really angry, Kaho-chan!

***

Several days passed like that. Then after school—

Even though I had reached out to Kaho-chan to recover my MP, I ended up having a
sense of uneasiness and it worsened my mental state. I felt like someone desperate to
pay back the interest while carrying a mountain of debts. Considering my current
condition, regardless of which luxurious inn I stayed at for self-recovering purposes, I
bet it wouldn’t do much to retrieve the MP I had lost……

I dragged my feet toward the shoe locker.

It was there I encountered a sudden scene.

It was—

“—whatever! Stupid Saa-chan!”

The one shouting angrily was Kaho-chan.

Kaho-chan was someone who expressed her emotions quite intensely, but up until
now, her anger was only for joking purposes. For Kaho-chan to express her anger
seriously like this rarely ever happened. Of course, the battle with me last time was
also an exception.

On top of that, to think that her opponent was Satsuki-san. Feeling like I was
witnessing a scandalous event, I naturally hid myself in the corner of the hallway.

“Well then, I’m going home now.”

“Penny pincher!”

“That’s not something an employer should say.”

I peeked out from the side. Satsuki-san and Kaho-chan stood facing each other. While
Kaho-chan looked cranky, Satsuki-san appeared calm, like she was thinking about
today’s weather—

Eh, crap, our eyes met.

“Amaori.”

“Ah, err, ehehe… hello.”

Getting between your friends’ fight without understanding the circumstances was one
thing most people definitely didn’t want to be involved in. I came out from my hiding
spot, wishing I was invisible right now.

And then, Satsuki-san spoke nonchalantly.

“Right, how about asking Amaori?”

“Eeeh―――?!”

Kaho-chan yelped in agony. I also wanted to do the same.

In the first place, Satsuki-san must have realized the cold war that was currently
happening between the two of us, but she still chose to say that! I would definitely not
do it this time, okay?

“I don’t know what you two are talking about, but replacing Satsuki-san would
definitely be impossible for me, right?!”

“Well, I also think so.”

“You knew and still said that?!”

Koto Satsuki was someone who could stand as Oozuka Mai’s equal in terms of beauty.
Not only that, she was also a talented woman who always put in the effort day and
night. Even so, unlike Mai, she really didn’t spare any effort for her human relationships,
so much that she often spent her time alone.

She was a very high-spec person, and everything she done was for her own sake. With
her unwavering principles, I had no word other than ‘cool’ to describe her.

“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you, Amaori.”

“Huh? No, wait a minute! This can’t be—don’t leave us alone!”

I changed my shoes in a fluster. Kaho-chan moved and stood in my way.

“…Rena-chin.”
“No, wait, umm… Kaho-chan, I prefer if you don’t stand there though…”

Since I had zero experience fighting with friends, I couldn’t grasp what kind of attitude
I should be displaying during this situation. The only thing I could do was speak in a
hushed voice.

Of course I couldn’t say something like “Move,” or “Go away,” right now… It sounded so
rude after all… Wait, being rude with someone you have beef with wasn’t really rude,
right?!

Placing her hand on her chin, Kaho-chan kept muttering.

“Rena-chin, eh… but, no… I have no other choice… if it’s now… but, if it’s Rena-chin…
it could, I wonder if it's possible, no, it’s quite…”

“Umm…”

And then the next thing Kaho-chan did was—

She prostrated on the ground, groveling.

“My deepest apologies!”

“Eeh?!”

“Everything was my fault! I’m sorry please forgive me I swear I won’t ever do something
rude like that to you ever again really sorry truly sorry my bad I admit that everything
was my wrongdoing!”

She rattled on at high speed. My emotions couldn’t keep up with her.

“Nah,”
“—I’m sorry!”

“Umm…”

“—Forgive me!”

Whenever I wanted to say something, Kaho-chan, in a dogeza, would fire back an

apology forcefully.

Was this the infamous ‘apology is the best violence’?

Rather, since she did something like this in the shoe locker area, other students would
be able to see this scene. This could start a huge rumour! Wait a minute!

“Kaho-chan, it's alright, just raise your face, please!”

“You forgive me? Glance.”

“That’s—”

“Glance glance.”

“Aah, geez! I forgive you, I forgive you temporarily! Just stand up for now!”

Kaho-chan jumped up, reminding me of Super Mario, and then she grabbed me into a
bear hug. She brought her face close with a huge smile—yup, she was really cute!!

“Thank you, Rena-chin! Let’s get along like the old times! Let bygones be bygones!
‘kay?”

“This jerk…”

I grinded my teeth in frustration. Seeing that, she stared at me with wide eyes. The
beauty with glistening eyes launched her attack by looking at me from the corner of
her eyes. Kuh, how strong…

“…could it be that, you’re still mad?”

“That’s, well…”
With a determined face like a warrior, Kaho-chan once again prepared to do the
dogeza. Seeing that, I quickly pulled on her arms, stopping her.

“Stop, please stop that! I’m not mad at all! Totally not mad!”

“Rena-chin is very kind. Meow, purr purr meow.”

“This sleazy cat…”

I groaned at Kaho-chan who was rubbing her face on my body. That was the first time
in my life to use that kind of vocabulary. Whoever thought that I would direct it to
Kaho chan, Ashi-High’s little sister mascot.

To think that we would make up with something like this… No wait, the whole thing
really felt fishy though.

I was already tired from the whole fiasco. Could it be that I was extremely weak toward
beauties…?

“Hey, Rena-chin.”

“What is it…”

Kaho-chan embraced my arm. Like we were in the middle of a secret trade, she
covered her mouth and whispered to me.

“—for the proof of our reconciliation, I want you to help me with something, meow.”

“…huh?”

Ajisai-san, Mai, and myself.

Everything that burdened my head heavily, her proposal—something that would

wreck the mess inside my head—was something that resembled a spider web.

Whether it was the thread that would lead me to heaven, or would bind me even
tighter, the current me had no idea.
With that, without expecting anything, I walked home together with Kaho-chan…

“And y’see, that means Greece from ancient times normalized the relationship
between men right! Which is why, it’s okay to think that someday those things would
once again become the norm, right!”

“U-uh-huh.”

Kaho-chan appeared so lively as she kept spewing fun facts that I hadn’t been able to
understand since earlier. Judging from her behavior, I could sense that she was
desperately doing this so we wouldn’t talk about our recent fight.

Since it was going like this, it seemed like I was the only one who still felt awkward. I
had completely no idea how to behave after having a kind of huge fight like that… I
ended up feeling so lost.

But anyway, I didn’t really want to hear about humanity’s oldest weapon or something
along those lines again if we kept wandering around like this, so I cut to the chase.

“Umm, Kaho-chan, what do you want from me…?”

“Eeh, so you’re finally asking me about that?”

Kaho-chan looked at me from below, calculating her angle so she could show her
cutest side.

Um, no, well, I perfectly understand that both her gesture and appearance scored a
perfect score, but y’know…

“Well… I prefer to ask about that rather than being forced to bring some fishy suitcase
to some station and get tangled into some troublesome stuff…”

Kaho-chan flashed a peace sign under her chin, and of course accompanied it with her
full-fledged adorable smile. This girl, how many types of smiles could she prepare
anyway…!

“Don’t worry! It’s not fishy at all! It is completely, totally, not strange at all since the
reaction you would have at most will be something like, Eh? This ain’t sketchy at all~
how shocking! Kind of a reaction!”

“Uh, if it’s not something suspicious but you keep repeating those ‘not sketchy not
sketchy’ stuff, it would result in the opposite outcome, you know…”

“It’s just a biiiit of exposing your skin, a bit, alright? Around 1 mm? So it’s so minor,
just a little bit.”

“I see. Well then, I have a sudden errand to do, so I’m going home now!”

“Eh?!”

Kaho-chan caught my hand.

“Hey, I’m begging you~!”

Hearing her voice that sounded desperate and earnest, I stopped in my tracks.

“Since Saa-chan turned me down, I really have no one to rely on right now!”

Kaho-chan stared at me like some sort of an abandoned dog.

Uuh… so this was Ashi-High’s little sister’s pleading beam…?!

It was different from Satsuki-san, who ruled others through fear. Rather, Kaho-chan
skillfully used people’s conscience and guilt to land her attacks. Even though it was
already hard for me to reject people’s favour without something like that…

Now I knew that Kaho-chan launched her attack by behaving spoiledly!

“Especially since we finally reunited in high school, even though I was so thrilled by
that…”

“Guh…”
Kaho-chan twined around her fingers bashfully like an elementary school girl in front
of her crush, looking straight at me.

“Since I also don’t want our relationship to stay like that and turn sour over time…”

“The one who pulled the trigger was you though…”

But still, if by her third dogeza (even though I knew that her apology wasn’t really
sincere!) and I still didn’t forgive her, then the last option would be shaving her head.
When I imagined that one day Kaho-chan would come to school with her head shaved,
I felt extremely sorry for her. The last thing I could do was to throw myself off the third
floor.

Of course, since I had no experience in navigating arguments before, I also didn’t know
how to reconcile. It was practically a fierce battle between my ego that didn’t want to
back down, and the desire to erase this discomfort and hurriedly make peace.

Aaah, it seemed like I had no other choice but to unleash my bravery…

Kaho-chan and I were different people. Of course we would have disagreements with
each other. But still, interacting with others showed how far you were willing to bend
your ideal to tolerate those differences.

Kaho-chan was angry, I was angry, and right now, Kaho-chan had apologized. That was
why we were even. Even though the whole thing was just a charade, something like
human interactions, they were full of acknowledgement and contractual obligations
anyway.

Unexpectedly, things like fighting and making up were… quite deep…

I let out a huge sigh.

“I get it, Kaho-chan… let the things from the past be something in the past…”

“Yay! Thanks, Rena-chin! Just tell me when you’re ready to reject MaiMai!”

“I still can’t really say something related to that!”

With this, did we really reconcile with each other? Well, I couldn’t let my guard down
around Kaho-chan’s schemes though!

“Uh hey, how about you… are you, um, not annoyed?”

“Mmm, I’m annoyed more or less, but I already said everything that I wanted to say so
I’m feeling refreshed. This one is real. And so, right now this thing is far more important
anyway! That’s why, I wuv you, really wuv you, Rena-chin!”

This jerk… rather than say it nicely she chose to whisper her affection with that
emotionless tone, huh… Should I pay back the attack from our fight right now…?

Although I thought of that inside my heart, of course I didn’t have the ability to make
it come true. In the end, I asked her in an exhausted tone.

“…so? What should I do?”

“That is, if you say you’ll do it I’ll tell you!”

“Nah, but…”

“Hey, hey, I’m begging you, Rena-chin. Please, please I’m really asking you. It's not
something bad anyway, okay? Don’t cast me away, Rena-chin! Please please please
please.”

“Uuuuh… B-but… showing my skin is…”

Sensing the air of doubt from me, right there, Kaho-chan threw her last trump card.

“I get it! Money! I’ll pay you! If you help me out until the end, I’ll definitely pay you! Do
you know money?! It’s that thing that could buy you stuff you want even if it’s
something like a country!”

“Money…!”

“Moreover, if you really help me out until the end…”

Kaho-chan showed me three fingers. Nah, but…

“Three thousand, huh.”

I’d drained my savings using it for the inn I stayed at over the summer. For me, getting
money like this was something I was grateful for, but… I could use it to buy the latest
game I wanted, but…

Kaho-chan changed her expression. She was like a fox who had successfully baited me
into her den.

“Thirty thousand.”

“Thirty thousand?!”

My eyes opened wide. What was that?!

Suddenly changing her way of speaking into a business-like tone, she whispered to
me.

“I’ll definitely put out the same-day payment. You’d be able to bring the cash home
that day.”

Yeah, this was definitely something dangerous!

“I’m going home!”

“Eh?! Wait!”

Too bad but I wouldn’t take that bait! I was just a hyper peasant-level citizen after all!

I freed myself from Kaho-chan's tight grip and then ran away.

“Money is very important, you know?!”

I knew!

But more than that, I treasured my mental condition far more greatly! I really didn’t
need to add more problems to my life right now!
After I parted ways with Kaho-chan, for some reason I kept running until I arrived at
my house.

I stepped through the front door and then walked furiously toward my room. Hurling
my bag and with a movement like sliding into my bed, I slumped into It, then hugged
It with my whole heart.

My lifelong companion.

Its existence, for me, was so important that without needing any reason, I could
scream my love for it, loud and clear.

My PS4.

“Aaaah, Four-kun, I’m home!”

When I pulled it into my embrace, I felt the sensation of the cold plastic-based material
touching my skin.

Humans were scary. I couldn’t predict their actions. I couldn’t understand others’
feelings.

“But even after everything that happened, only you, only Four-kun would never betray
me… You will… stay by my side forever, right?”

I rubbed my cheek on it. Its body was really hard after all, but it was alright since it
was necessary to protect the delicate part inside, like the circuit board or the drive. I
really could rely on it.

If only I was also a console, I wouldn’t need to doubt my value as a human being, and
I could totally have fun without a single worry.

I didn’t move for a while.

“Big Sis, it’s time for dinner—”

My little sister who came to call for me stopped near my open door.

“…………”

Like that, she pretended that she saw nothing.

Most likely, it was hard for her to admit that she shared the same blood with a woman
who was desperately hugging her console while covered in tears.

Whatever. In the end, the only one who could understand my feelings was this guy.
This guy was the only one who’d stayed by my side during my sickness and health—
only Four-kun.

“Thank you so much, Four-kun… aah, how warm… well of course since I turned it on…”

I decided that I would embrace it in my sleep tonight.

It was something resembling a little girl hugging her plushie in her sleep. Considering
this guy had an unrefined structure, it gave off a feeling of something foreign, and was
honestly a nuisance, since it pressed against the bed quite a bit.

Even so, this guy already did a lot for me. It was the one who had strengthened my
heart so much that it was practically protecting me.

Once I woke up, I wished to become a denizen of a game world…

Over there, I wouldn't be tied down by any weird obligations toward fellow humans…
I could become the only legendary sword user over there, regaining an unparalleled
unique skill, being relied on by a lot of people and comrades. By the end, without any
need of support, I would slay the last boss on my own, and become a living legend…

While thinking about that meager dream, I slowly fell into a slumber.

*
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I found my PS4 lying on the floor as the
victim of my kicks thanks to my terrible sleeping posture.

“Four-kun?!?!?!?!”

It wouldn’t turn on.

It was completely broken…………

“Why?”

I slowly fell onto my knees. Tears falling from my eyes, I gathered its dead body into
my arms.

“Why?! Why did things become like this?! Someone, someone help! Someone help this
guy―――!”

My little sister who passed by since she needed to go for her morning practice looked
at me with disdain. Watching me crying until my eyes became swollen, she groaned.

“Why have you become like this, Big Sis…”

“Morning, Rena-chan. You sure are early today,” Ajisai greeted me with a smile as she
entered the classroom.

I ended up arriving too early today only because I couldn't think about anything since
this morning…

Because I already determined that I would act cheerful as usual in front of Ajisai-san,
I waved my hand and gave her a bright smile.
“Mo… r, ni… ng… uu…”

“Rena-chan?! Eh, your eyes are swollen. What happened?!”

It didn’t go as well as I wanted though. What a huge failure.

“Y’see, um… n-no, it’s alright, I’m alright. I’m perfectly… alright, and full-spirited… sob.”

While I tried to tell her it was nothing, I ended up crying again. Still carrying her bag
on her shoulder, Ajisai-san sat down while looking at me with worry…

“Rena-chan… somehow, you seem troubled by a lot of things lately…”

So she figured it out…?

Indeed, a while back, I became so depressed that I skipped school. After that was my
fistfight with Kaho-chan… and then the finishing blow was the tragedy this morning.

I was supposed to recover my lost MP, but forget about that—it kept decreasing each
day. Where did my peaceful days go…

“I’m here if you want to talk, okay…?”

“No, it isn’t a big deal, really… My console broke and it no longer works…”

When I spelled it out like this, everything sounded so trivial. You cried because your
console broke? What are you? An elementary school brat? And to think that this was
the thing that shocked you the most… it was kind of suspenseful and thrilling.

When I prepared my heart for the incoming scorn from Ajisai-san, something like “Eh?
For real? Lol. Are you an idiot or what? Pfft.”

“I see… you must have it rough…”

Turned out that she also became dejected, the same as me… Uuuh, sorry for making
you feel like that… I slumped my shoulders, getting more depressed. At that moment—
Swish. Ajisai-san’s hand moved.

She placed her hand on my head, and then caressed it.

“Eh…?!”

“Ah, aaah, err.”

Seeing my immediate response, Ajisai-san instinctively pulled her hand back in a swift
motion and looked away. Her ears turned red.

“I, I’m sorry. It just happened…”

“Y-yeah…”

To think that she’d patted me in the middle of the classroom… Nah, but trying to cheer
up a friend by patting their head wasn’t really something weird, right…?

No! Ajisai-san liked me after all! If so, then what she did was out of her goodwill…

L-like…? Ajisai-san liked me…? Crap, what should I do? My head was in chaos. Without
a word, I hung my head in shame.

“If you’re okay with this… wanna come over again?”

“Eh, th-that’s.”

Ajisai-san’s cheeks instantly turned red as she fiddled with her fingers in front of her
chest.

“Ah, no, not in a weird way… it’s just, you know, you can bring over your game and play
it at my house? And so.”

“Ah, so that’s it… but considering it would take hours to clear the game, I would
definitely bother your family and I feel sorry for that…”

“Ah, I see. Of course. It would also trouble you since you need to commute anyway. S-
sorry.”
“N-no, it’s alright… I don’t really mind.”

In fact, considering I had a justifiable reason to keep going over, things would get risky.
I mean, I would frequent her house, which would make it look like we were dating,
right!

“Rather, I’m really thankful for your offer… since I also want to go to your house
again…”

Those were my honest feelings. Appearing a bit bashful, Ajisai-san averted her gaze
and answered shortly, “Yeah…”

…wh-what was this sensation? For some reason, the inside of my mouth had a strange
taste, like, bittersweet…!

Looking slightly absent-minded in front of me, Ajisai-san opened her mouth.

“But well… somehow I feel glad.”

“Glad?”

“Ah, no, of course I feel bad since your console broke… but that’s not it.”

She shook her hands, flustered, and then intertwined them before her chest.

“Since Rena-chan, you kept pushing yourself to appear cheerful before me… that’s
why, I kind of feel relieved when we can talk like usual right now.”

“That’s…” I mumbled.

Ajisai-san really saw through me.

I should admit that I really pushed myself since I didn’t want Ajisai-san to become
disillusioned after she saw that side of me. I had overdone it since I had really tried to
cover up my pathetic self.

Even though I always thought that I did well, so that wasn’t the case…?

If so, from her point of view, I simply looked so pitiful, then…

“…I don’t have any other choice, I’ll go die…”

“Eh?!”

Ajisai-san’s expression changed in an instant. Ha, did I say it out loud? N-no, no, that’s
a misunderstanding, I’ll live!

“Umm, well! M-my behavior, d-did I really behave that unusually…?”

“N-not really. It was just my own thought since you looked like you did your best. It
was, completely, not weird at all!”

Ajisai-san shook her head swiftly. Right now, even though I had zero skill to perceive
others’ feelings, I was a woman who (groundlessly) interpreted the hidden meaning
behind her words.

Did your best = pushing myself without acknowledging my own limit

Just my own thought = everyone also figured it out

Not weird at all = it was so weird, practically bizarre

I felt miserable.

While I tried my best to keep the pain in my stomach in check, I peeked at Ajisai-san’s
expression.

“Umm… Ajisai-san, between the me from before and the me right now… which one do
you prefer?”

“Eh? That’s, well, I like both sides of you. I think becoming the one you want to be is
the best thing to do, and… probably, the one who made you act like that was me after
all.”

Saying that, Ajisai-san let out a self-deprecating smile.

That was… as expected, I couldn’t find room for an excuse. I wasn't able to say
anything.

“Sorry for suddenly saying something like that. Of course you’re startled, hearing
something like that out of the blue.”

Ajisai-san blushed adorably in the almost empty classroom.

She didn’t need to point out what ‘something like that’ referred to. Even this dense me,
someone as thick-skinned as a hippopotamus, could figure it out.

It was about her confession.

I shook my head.

“N, no it’s alright… in fact, I was happy… y’know?”

“Fufu, thank you. I really tried to be brave after all. I'd be content if you said so.”

“…Um, hey.”

I threw her a sidelong glance and asked her, “Why me?”

“Eh?”

“Nah, because… I’m, well, it’s me, after all.”

I casted down my eyes.

I had intentionally asked her something like this since I wanted to hear her feelings,
since I didn’t have the confidence. Even though I knew that hearing it wouldn’t change
anything. I really loathed this particular side of me.
Nevertheless, Ajisai-san earnestly tried to come up with an answer.

“I always think that people’s personality is like a Lego brick.”

“Mm, mmm…?”

With both of her index fingers, Ajisai-san drew an imaginary rectangle in the air.

“Lego bricks have a lot of shape, right? Whether they’re shapes that could complement
other shapes, or the opposite. Perhaps, my shape—personality—is the type that could
complement a lot of other shapes, but in the end those shapes would only become
something ordinary.”

I diligently listened to Ajisai-san’s difficult words.

“Rena-chan’s shape is a bit irregular. It doesn’t seem to complement a lot of other

shapes, but for me, connecting my shape and Rena-chan’s shape is the one I like the
most.”

“In short that is… something like compatibility?”

“Yup. That's why, there’s nothing like above and below. Since I like Rena-chan’s shape.”

I mumbled in silence.

For Ajisai-san, that might be the truth. But for me, something like above and below
was a norm.

Actually, if by any chance I didn’t change and kept being my recluse self, I might not
have met her. Ajisai-san was someone above me, while I definitely would’ve been in
the bottom. It would be visible to anyone who saw it.

Which was why it wouldn’t do if I didn’t match her.

Ah, I couldn’t do this. My head was in a jumble again.

“You see, Ajisai-san.”

“Yes?”

For me… I don’t want to disappoint you, that was why I want us to stay as friends.

In the end, I couldn’t say the words that were stuck in my throat. For once, I thought it
was for the best.

Since if I said it out loud, I would hurt her by denying her words.

“…thank you.”

“Yup, you’re welcome.”

I half-heartedly expressed my words of gratitude, and Ajisai-san answered me with a

lovely smile resembling a blooming flower.

As I thought, I really did like her after all.

Unlike the past, ever since I heard her feelings, I couldn’t irresponsibly say something
like, “Waah, I like you!” or “My idol!” easily like that… But of course, liking someone
like Ajisai-san who was gentle and passionate was a given.

Even so.

I also liked Mai, and I also liked Satsuki-san. Of course, It was the same for Kaho-chan.
Kaho-chan too…? Well, yeah, Kaho-chan too.

Was there a difference between those feelings? I still hadn’t figured it out.

Even though I hadn’t figured it out, I should choose between Mai or Ajisai-san, and
then—the one who would get hurt by that outcome.
Surely, no one was in the wrong, but why had things become like this?

“Rena-chan…”

Ajisai-san looked at me as I said nothing and lowered my eyes. Once again, I was going
to make her worry for me at this rate. This made it clear that whatever happened I
should push myself to appear cheerful in front of her. Aah, what a vicious cycle.

After that, as expected, I really couldn’t control my feelings and appeared unstable.
Even so, Ajisai-san pretended to see nothing while she talked to me. To think that I’d
burdened her with something like this, I really was pathetic…

***

After school, when we were preparing to go home, a few male students approached
our desks. Shocking! Male students! Nah, this school was a co-ed school, what were
you saying, me…

“Heya, Sena, Amaori.”

“Can we talk a bit?”

The ones who came were the popular Shimizu-kun and Fujimura-kun. Ah, it was the
male language…!

“Un, what is it?”

Like an interpreter, Ajisai-san answered them. She naturally saved me with her action.
I was really thankful…

“Nah y’see… actually, ah yeah, as expected, it’s hard saying something like this.”

“Ditto…”

“What is it, what is it?”

The boys traded a look, and then—

“Where should I start… ah right. Shimizu and I have been playing soccer since we were
young and we know this Kaidou guy in our club… He's a tough defender, a strong
player. So I'm kind of in a rivalry relationship with that guy, and one day during our
ski training camp, we ended up stranded together in the snow, in a life-or-death
situation. That was when—”

“This guy from another school asked us to introduce him to you.”

“Eh, is that so?”

Ajisai-san placed her hand over her mouth. As for me, I was personally curious about
the things that had happened when they were stranded…

“There was one time when we took pictures together and I put them on Insta, right?
He saw that and it caught his interest. That’s why he suggested that we should hang
out together, and that’s why we came to ask you.”

“Hmm…”

Normally, as long as Ajisai-san was free and didn’t have any family errands to do, she
wouldn’t turn any invitation down. The probability that this invitation was also
extended to me didn’t enter my head.

Speaking of which, if you asked me whether I found it annoying when I thought of

Ajisai-san walking around with another guy from another school or not, the answer
was definitely no. That was a given. Ajisai-san was a blessing from heaven, a treasure
given to the earth. In contrast, if I was the one who walked next to her, it would be a
huge loss for her.

Ajisai-san placed her finger on her chin, and then joined her palms in the form of an
apology.

“Right now is a bit… since I’m not in the mood for that kind of thing.”

That was unusual.

The boys who got turned down clearly showed their disappointment, nodding. “Right,
I see.”
“We will turn down his suggestion then. Sorry for saying something like that so
suddenly.”

“No, it’s okay, me too, I'm sorry for that.”

“Don’t mind it. Kaidou isn’t just strong physically, he also has a strong mentality.”

After saying that, both of them walked away. It seemed like Kaidou-kun was really an
excellent player.

Ajisai-san who waved her hand took a breath. Fuu.

“I turned them down.”

“Y-yeah.”

Seeing me who had become timid since I thought about that possibility, Ajisai-san
laughed.

“Ah, I didn’t do that for Rena-chan’s sake. Right now, I also want to challenge a lot of
things. You see, these days I started to think that I want to do things I usually think I’d
better not.”

“I-is that so.”

“Yup.”

Ajisai-san, who had said it with a smile, was extremely adorable, but as expected, it
was too bright for me.

The way the differences between us slowly became more and more clear was starting
to bother me.

That was why I, well, after all, it kind of made me uncomfortable.

“Ah.”
That moment, a girl who left the classroom entered my vision.

I picked up my bag and then stood up.

“Sorry, Ajisai-san. I should get going now. See you tomorrow.”

“Ah, yeah. See you, Rena-chan.”

I said my farewell and left the classroom. I trotted along the corridor, catching up with
that girl.

That girl I could talk to freely without having to fear anything among the Quintet
members tilted her head when she saw me approach and walk next to her.

“What is it, Amaori?”

“Ah, no… I wonder if we could go home together.”

“I don’t really mind.”

After she said that, she brought her gaze back to the front, appearing uninterested.

“I didn’t like you, nor hate you, since I didn’t really think of anything about you from the
beginning.”

I remembered Satsuki-san’s words. Now if I thought about it, those words were
something that reverberated inside me the most, since I was someone who didn’t want
to get hated by others. That was why being with Satsuki-san like this calmed me the
most.

In a way, Satsuki-san, who treated everyone coldly, was the opposite side of Ajisai-san
who treated everyone gently.

Since I understood that she would treat me indifferently, I didn’t get my hopes up. With
that, we could always be friends in our unchanging relationship.

Oddly, seeing Satsuki-san’s attitude that regarded me like I was some sort of weed was
so reassuring…
“Are things alright with Sena?”

“Ugh.”

Forget feeling reassured, I was instantly struck by a headshot.

“H-how much do you know, Satsuki-san…?”

“Not a lot. I don’t really care anyway. It’s just, no matter how I look at it, you really are
a helpless being who acted so shady I couldn’t help but catch onto what was
happening.”

“Even though I’m just doing my best to survive…?”

“It can’t be helped. Since good-for-nothings who trouble their surroundings simply by
existing are everywhere.”

“Those kinds of people really exist, huh?! Unforgivable!”

Satsuki-san showered me with a gaze of contempt when she saw my resentment. How
painful.

We exited the school’s gate and walked toward the station. My shoulders slumped…

“Umm… what do you think I should do, from here on…?”

“As if I know… but, let’s see.”

Her face really looked like she honestly didn’t care about my problem at all. Even so,
she was still here. The action felt so Satsuki-san-like. As expected from my friend…

“It would be alright as long as you do what you want, right? Either way, no matter
which one you choose, or even if you don’t choose anyone, in the end someone would
be hurt anyway.”

“…guu.”
I was also thinking the same thing but… when she made it clear like that, it really
sounded like the definite truth.

“I can’t guarantee anything though, since I don’t know what kind of circumstances you
have with Sena… Good grief, why does everyone treat me like I’m some sort of support
service even though I’m not?”

Satsuki-san’s eyes didn’t waver. Scary.

“But you’re right… Things turned out like this because I didn’t think thoroughly…”

“That’s true. But well, if from the beginning you chose Mai, Sena wouldn’t express her
feelings and things would be different. Something that others regard as the true choice
might mean someone else’s misfortune after all. It’s like the result of our battle—your
victory meant my, as well as Mai’s, defeat.”

“W-well, that’s, if that time I hadn’t won, around now, I would also face another kind
of gravely difficult situation, you know?!”

“And if by any chance that time I won, right now you wouldn't be in anguish, huh.”

“Eh?!”

Hearing her nonchalant words, my heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

If that time Satsuki-san had won, on top of going out with her, we would also set on
the path of getting married.

Getting up each morning with her wake-up calls, studying before our tests and letting
her teach me, having baths together at night, I bet we would also wash each other’s
body indecently… What an outrageous thing to do…

She made sense. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have had to choose between Mai or
Ajisai-san, but…

“Even so, that would also become another kind of sorrow, I think…”

“You’re right. That’s how it is.”

Satsuki-san brushed back her hair elegantly.

“Being alive means making decisions. We’re not God, so we would never know what
the future holds. Even so, we should keep choosing and advancing through our
choices. Even though we know it might bring us tons of regrets.”

Hearing the significance behind her words, my bag felt heavier than before.

“…Satsuki-san really is mature after all…”

“Not really. I am no different than you. I live my life shrouded in regrets. For example,
even though I knew that I would definitely regret it, I still chose to go to the same
school as Mai like I had no other choice…”

When I saw the glimmer of malice in her eyes, I decided not to pry further. The first
thing to do was to decide my first step.

“Human relationships are so complicated…”

Satsuki-san opened her bag and brought out her stationery.

“That’s right. For now, why don’t we try to draw the current situation that you created?.”

“Draw?!”
Satsuki-san moved her pen skillfully. At one point, she furrowed her eyebrows,
appearing puzzled.

“What is this, this Four-kun.”

“That guy is the one who has always supported me, but he’s broken right now though…”

“I see…”

Satsuki-san didn’t probe further. It might also be a form of her kindness.

“Ah, you made a mistake right here. Satsuki-san’s feelings for me are ‘mutually treat
each other as the most precious best friend’ right?”

“What I feel right now is deep agony since I figured out you couldn’t show that
extremely thick-skinned side of yours in front of others.”

Pat. Satsuki-san closed her notebook.

“I’m not going to ask you to hurry and come up with an answer right now. In the first
place I don’t really care whether you come up with an answer or not… but well, if you
think that you can’t come up with anything quickly, what if you think about it slowly
and take a detour?”

“Detour.”

“In survival mode, the most important thing to keep alive is to gather the necessary
weapons, right? At first glance, it seemed like you did it in a roundabout way, but in a
way, that tactic is also the most efficient thing to do.”

“Satsuki-san is explaining everything in game terms so I can understand better…! How

awesome. Right now I can feel an overflowing friendship between us! How thrilling!
You’re right about everything! Right now, I really want to level up! So I can face the
incoming difficulty! So I can protect you!”

“Rather than me, you have other things to protect, right? Like social norms or morals.”

I felt better now after receiving Satsuki-san’s encouragement.

But taking a detour, huh. What kind of thing should I do then? Go to the mountain and
meditate under a waterfall? Challenge a new type of makeup to level up my girl
power…? This me?

“And so, since I already listened to your problems.”

“He?”

Satsuki-san pointed her finger in the direction of a girl who was waiting in front of the
station.

“Ooo~i!”

It was Kaho-chan.

Wait—eh?!

“Well then. I’ll leave the rest to you, Kaho.”

“Leave it to me! Alright, let’s go, Rena-chin!”

“What is the meaning of this?! Satsuki-san, did you sell me?! Satsuki-san, despite the
fact that we are bound eternally by the oath of friendship! Eternal! Satsuki-san?!”

Without bothering to glance back, Satsuki-san left us and quickly disappeared from
my sight. Kaho-chan snagged my arm and dragged me away. Satsuki-san, you idiot!

Next to me, Kaho-chan had a huge smile plastered on her face.

“This kind of forceful method…”

“Thank you for giving me your time, Rena-chin!”

“Nah… since I also need money right now…”

Everything that happened was because Four-kun had broken after all…!

It seemed like I didn't have any other choice than sending Four-kun to a repair service
after all. When I searched up whether I should exchange the components or change
the circuit board, every option cost quite a lot. No matter how, my allowance wouldn’t
make it…

That was why I wanted money… money… uuu…

This couldn’t be. What if Kaho-chan was the one who crushed Four-kun when I was
asleep…?! Like using something like psychokinesis of sorts…!

“In the first place, what’s happening between you and Satsuki-san? To think that the
two of you schemed something like this to trick me… What kind of relationship do you
two have…?”

“Eeeh, are you curious? But well, I really get along with Saa-chan anyway.”

Kaho-chan placed her palm over her mouth and stared at me while giggling playfully.
Clink. Something clicked inside me when I saw her putting on an airy kind of gesture.

“I-it tickles my curiosity, indeed…”

Because, Satsuki-san was my precious friend after all…! That’s, well, I knew that Kaho-
chan was also someone who—more or less—got along with Satsuki-san, but…!

“It can’t be helped, meow. Well then, should I let you in on a secret then, meow?”

Kaho-chan opened her mouth again.

“Saa-chan is helping out with my side job. At first I reached out to her without expecting
anything since I had nothing to lose anyway. But well, since she said she wanted to
make money, we entered a win-win situation.”

I see. In short, these two were involved in a business relationship. I had nothing to
worry about then. Me and Satsuki-san got along so well we’d entered the same bath
and kissed a few times after all. No, wait. Everything that happened had been
inevitable though!

But, I see, so I would help out with her side job, huh.

“I was under the impression that this was some kind of fishy job, but alright, since
Satsuki-san did it, well, I’m kinda relieved…”

“She looked like that, but Saa-chan is quite a pushover, y’see.”

“That’s… well, probably…?”

Satsuki-san was really good at taking care of people around her. I believed that she
would help others if they asked her.

“So you took advantage of that side of hers…”

“The way you phrased it is a bit mean, don’t you think?! I just begged her sincerely, you
know! She turned me down around one hundred times in the process though.”

“Freaking diamond-level mental toughness right there, huh.”

Somehow, my language was kinda becoming rougher whenever I spoke with Kaho-
chan… It was possible that I had lost all of my restraint for her since we already fought
before.

Wait, this was something that took Satsuki-san to turn her down a hundred times
before she accepted, right…? Why would I agree to it from the first try?

“Saa-chan is crazily gorgeous after all. She has great looks, is sharp-witted, and has a
nice body. She’s practically a goddess. My idol!”

“I-I really agree with you but… aren’t you a Mai stan, Kaho-chan?”

“Fufun. It’s not like I’m switching since it looks like you will snatch her, okay? I’ve felt
this way since back then.”

Hearing the cause of our fight casually come out of her mouth made me nervous. But
with a face like she had already forgotten the stuff that had happened that day, she
pointed at her black high-neck.

“I properly wear them, see. Saa-chan’s image colour!”

“Eh, that's the reason?! That’s a bit of a stretch, ain’t it?!”

“Since I really like that type of beauty anyway. Nah forget that, I bet that type is
humanity's favorite.”

I nodded in agreement with Kaho-chan, who was deep in thought, her arms crossed.
“Well, she’s gorgeous. That's a fact…”

We let out a sigh of admiration in unison and then nodded at each other like we were
experts. Somehow we had a conversation that was usually between Hasegawa-san and
Hirano-san.

…when we talked like this, I felt like we went back to the past. That time when we
passionately chatted about our favourite characters in cram school.

When I was thinking about that, Kaho-chan let out a wide grin.

“Hey, we often talked like this during our time in cram school, right?”

“Eh? Ah, y-yeah…”

I couldn’t stop myself from being a bit giddy due to the sudden wave of nostalgic
memories.

There had been a moment where I couldn’t really behave normally in front of Kaho-
chan, since she had really changed into someone so bright and became so cute. But…
at this moment, I felt like I could relax and laugh naturally next to her.

We had bared our feelings to each other during our last fight, which was why a thought
came into my mind, that it might have been the best thing that happened. With
everything that had occured, I no longer needed to hide this part of me when I was
with her.

I believed that there was always meaning behind things that happened in life… So I
was finally able to see the negative through positive lenses, huh… The wisdom that
came from a life filled with negatives…

When I thought of that, everything turned bland… or so I felt.

I asked Kaho-chan again. “And so, umm, where are we heading now?”

“Nn, my house.”

“Kaho-chan’s house, eh…”

Counting this one, I had officially conquered the houses of every member of Mai’s
group, eh. The first visit was to Mai’s, then followed by Satsuki-san and Ajisai-san’s
house, and Kaho-chan would be the last.

“Well, I know that visiting another girl’s house would be very nerve-wracking, but
now, now, don’t be so stiff, alright?”

“Nah, in fact, I really don’t feel anything right now…”

“But why? Be nervous! Ah, well then, let me tell you something, my parents are coming
back late tonight~”

“So I don’t have to greet your parents… that’s a relief…”

“I have a one hundred-headed lion as a pet!”

“That won't make me nervous, but scared instead, though?! That’s practically death!”

As we bantered, we arrived at Kaho-chan’s house.

Her house was normal, just like mine. She had a relatively huge garden, and the first
thing that caught my attention was the big dog house.

“So you have a dog, Kaho-chan?”

“Yeah, but since it's been hot recently we keep my dog in the house. But well, since
winter is also cold, we basically always keep my dog inside our house. Ever since Papa
got remarried, he kept clinging with my new mother after all, so Mokeko is my only
family.”

“…heavy…”

Since our household didn’t keep any pets like dogs or cats, I didn’t really understand
others’ pet circumstances anyway. The only pet I’d ever got for myself was a Pocket
Monster, I think? That wasn’t a pet though.

“Umm, err, sorry for the intrusion.”

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

I took off my shoes and placed them randomly. Kaho-chan never talked about having
siblings, so I always assumed that she didn’t have one, but it seemed like it wasn’t true.
I wonder if they came from the remarriage.

“This way, this way.”

Following Kaho-chan's signal, I put on a pair of doggy slippers and went upstairs. It
really smelled like another person’s house.

Walking along the corridor, we finally arrived at Kaho-chan’s room.

There was a sewing machine in the corner of her room, which instantly took my
attention. So Kaho-chan used something like that. When I observed the room more
carefully, I could see a lot of fabric inside boxes and sewing tools on a shelf.

This room really screamed ‘a girl’s room’ in a certain meaning.

Su su su. Kaho-chan came next ro me. From below, she stared at me through the corner
of her eyes. Her huge eyes really resembled a cat.

“How's it? It’s just the two of us, y’see? Are you nervous now?”

Nah, alright, honestly that gesture really got me. She was adorable after all!

“Why are you so persistent in making me feel like that since earlier?!”

“If I succeed, it would make my standing higher between the two of us, which would
secure my position.”

“So you really thought it through, huh?! And it’s for a vile reason!”

Kaho-chan giggled, “Tehepero~”.

Considering her gesture since earlier truly looked adorable it made me more pissed
than ever. But yeah, she had really come this far from that time, huh. Really, where did
she gain these skills anyway? Did she do some secret training in order to polish her
cuteness in another space where time had stopped?

At that moment, Kaho-chan suddenly pulled out her phone.

“Ah, my bad. Is it alright if I respond to these notifications first? If I keep them unread
too much, it would get bothersome later. I have 999 unread notifications after all.”

“In a day?! That’s too much?!”

Was it really alright to keep those numbers unread? I personally thought that 10
unreads already felt so troublesome to check every one of them. It was bothersome to
reply to every one of them.

“I will do this in a flash, like, uryaryaryarya.”

Kaho-chan moved her fingers at a high-speed, like some sort of a gamer. Without
reading the content of her messages, I observed her hand’s movement. She really
operated at a different speed compared to mine.

“Alright. Done.”

“Too fast?!”

She threw her phone onto her bed. Her speed in life was so much different compared
to mine. I bet we were built on different operating machines… If Kaho-chan was a
sports car, I would be ChoroQ…

“Nnn, well.”

After she thought of it for a while, she swung her index finger. Ckckck.

“It couldn’t be helped if I just sent them thoughtless replies, since right now, my time
is yours only.”

How cunning…

“I-if you think by doing those and putting on an adorable act like that you can secure
yourself a higher standing, you’re terribly wrong, okay!”

“Haha~n?”

Hearing my yelp, Kaho-chan slowly shortened the distance between us.

W-wait a minute.
Moreover, she kept moving and finally she placed her ear on my chest.

Close! I could smell her hair! She smelled great!

“W-what is it?! So suddenly?!”

“Rena-chin… you.”

Kaho-chan stared at my face while smiling. Her eyes looked like she knew something.

“Your heart is beating extremely fast, meow.”

“No it’s not! And I did not! Haa?! Every living thing has a heartbeat, though?! You don’t
know that?!”

Even so, a grin on her face, Kaho-chan kept staring at me.

I averted my eyes instinctively. Nah, this didn't mean I was nervous. It was just that I
had difficulty seeing other people in the eyes since I had a communication disorder…
Wait, huh? That was too miserable for an excuse!

“Indeed. Rena-chin is, well, since you are troubled by MaiMai and Aa-chan’s confession,
that means… in short, Rena-chin, you like girls, right?”

“—that’s wrong!”

Every time, every time, every time, so many times I had already lost count, I dismissed
the claim!

“It’s not like I’m interested in girls though! Why does no one ever believe me!”

“Since, right at this moment, your heart is beating like crazy.”

“Even you, if Mai chases you, you would become like that, right?!”

“Well, that’s a given since I like MaiMai. I like cute girls after all, that’s why.”

Kaho-chan poked my cheek.

“I also like you, Rena-chin♡”

“Hii.”

Kaho-chan showered me with her little devil-like smile along with slightly visible
canines. I unconsciously stepped back.

Kaho-chan got more delighted seeing my reaction.

“I see, nyow… when it comes to Rena-chin, rather than money, or making use of tears,
it’s far more efficient if I seduce you from the start.”

“Even I’m starting to think how pathetic I am!”

Why did I become this kind of human…

Everything, Mai was the beginning of everything that had happened. But considering
the chain of events that kept happening up until now, I started to think that the
problem was me.

Admittedly, the root cause behind my weakness toward good-looking girls was
because I always admired those kinds of bright figures. If by any chance those people
started paying attention to me, it would impact me on a mind level. Since that was the
case, I really wanted to improve myself to become someone who was acknowledged
both by myself and others. If not, it would become a huge problem for me!

“It’s understandable if we talked about Mai and Satsuki-san, also Ajisai-san… but when
I think that I also feel the same toward Kaho-chan who I knew since back then… how
frustrating… so vexing…!”

It was plausible that I didn’t manage to raise my hand against Kaho-chan back then for
the same reason—because I didn’t want to hurt that cute face. If that was true, then
10:0, everything would become my utter defeat from the beginning…

Kaho-chan snickered as she looked at me. This cunning devil who loved to trample on
human emotions…!

“Just see… I will definitely pay this back…”

“Unlike Rena-chin, I’m not someone who has the tendency to cheat and always became
stimulated no matter who the other party is as long as they’re cute, y’see~”
“This jeeerk! Even though you said that you like me! You sly woman!”

“Sly woman… I like how it sounds, meow.”

Kaho-chan laughed carelessly. This, this was so… so unacceptable. Just see… just see…!

“Well, honestly I don’t really mind if we keep flirting like this.”

“If you don’t have anything to say, I’m going home now!”

“But this is the right timing to tell you. Let’s talk about the job.”

Kaho-chan left the room and beckoned to me to follow her to the next room.

“I kinda think everything will be faster if I just show you the content of this room.”

Numerous signs were plastered on the door. The things that were written were:

[Room of Taboo] [💀] [Death and Hell] [Absolutely No Entry]

I yelped. “How excessive!”

It would have been faster if she showed me this, she said!

“I’ll release the seal now.”

Kaho-chan pulled out a small key and inserted it into the keyhole on the door.

“Now the time hath come for thy devil that hath been sealed for five hundred million
years…”

“What creatures from the Cambrian Period did you seal here… pinnacle of the living
things that are long gone, something like Anomalocaris…?”
Kaho-chan kept jesting around that I had no choice to play the straight-man role in a
comedic duo.

Dammit, had she also calculated this?! Was I that easy to predict?! Was it really that
fun to lead me around by the nose, huh?!

I kept barking inside my mind. When our eyes met, Kaho-chan grinned, laughing at
me.

Uuh. I felt like I would never be able to defeat her, in a different way from what I felt
toward Satsuki-san. Wait, don’t give up, Renako! You stood on the same start line with
her during elementary school, right!

“Well then—open sesame!”

With an exaggerated flourish, Kaho-chan opened the door. The things that existed
inside the room were—

Of course a gleaming treasure chest did not exist. Instead, there were numerous
clothes racks laden with costumes.

It was a costume room. Even if all of these weren’t Kaho-chan’s, it was still awesome.
To think she had this amount of clothes, it was like she was a model or idol.

“These are my beloved costumes!”

“Huh, this?”

No, I was wrong. These weren’t mere clothes.

A one-piece type of clothing with a huge ribbon attached, or these types of goth-loli
attire that looked strange. There were even numerous uniforms that of course weren't
Ashi-High’s uniform. The others were an uncommon version of maid uniform with cat
ears-attached parka, also a lot of wigs in different colours.

These were… definitely clothes for cosplaying!

“Fufufu, how is it? It’s awesome, right?”

“A-awesome… eh, handmade?! Extremely awesome!”

Inside the room, there were also props like swords and guns, detached armours, and
many others lined up. I felt like I was visiting a specialty cosplay store.

As a result, when I saw everything, the deeply buried memories that’d been sealed for
the past 500 million years started to resurface. Gogogo…

“Hanya?”

Trembling, I pointed my finger at Kaho-chan.

“Nagipo@JKLayer!”

“Oh my.”

She rested her chin on her palm, revealing her true identity.

“So you found it out, huh? Eeh, when someone says that right before my face it feels a
bit embarrassing, meow. Someone who found out about this amongst the students
from our school, Rena-chin, you’re my—first—time, you know?”

Kaho-chan pressed her finger against my collarbone. As expected it was ticklish that I
yelped at her to stop.

During the summer break, I had accidentally stumbled upon Satsuki-san’s cosplay
photo. The one who had uploaded that picture was an account with the name
[Nagipo@JKLayer].

Of course, thanks to the makeup and her transformation, she gave off a very different
impression, but I could figure out the trace of her looks. Moreover, [Koyanagi Kaho]
and [Nagipo]—right, that was obvious.

Discovering that my friend was a cosplayer should’ve been a very shocking truth, but,
well…

How could I forget about that up until now? Well, of course. Thanks to everything, my
internal storage space only had 0 kilobyte left!

There were also a lot of bookshelves in the costume room, with many anime Blu-rays
and manga. Kaho-chan picked one of them from the collection and hugged it to her
chest.

“For me who couldn’t draw or write, the only thing I could do to express my love for
my favourite series was this: doing cosplay. After that, I ended up getting really into
it.”

“Hee…”

“Right now, well, I still feel the same, but more than that, I also think it would be great
if I could promote the series I like by doing cosplay. And so, I couldn’t stop doing it and
it turned into this, just like you see.”

Kaho-chan spread her arms wide to show me her room, and then she rubbed the area
below her nose.

“Fuu. Now when I see this, I sure have come a long way, huh.”

“…somehow, you really are amazing, Kaho-chan.”

I loved gaming, but I’d never really thought something along the lines of wanting to
participate in a tournament, or promote the greatness of the game I liked so many
people would take interest in it.

Nah, I know that when the game’s sales were high, the probability for a sequel would
be higher. It was also more fun when a lot of people talked about it. Well, it would’ve
been nice if I had also done the same, but… yeah, it was probably impossible for me.

That was why I genuinely thought that Kaho-chan who did it the way she thought was
amazing.

“Stop it, you make me shy.”

“This is the first time I found something to respect from you.”

“Oi, there are lots of other things, right!”

Wham. She swatted me.

Still, a huge determination and bravery were needed when she decided to come out
about her cosplaying hobby. Though for me, telling people I liked gaming was enough
to make me shiver out of fear.

Well, this could also be her form of revenge against the things with Mai and Ajisai-
san… that was possible, right…? As I was deep in my own thoughts, Kaho-chan pulled
something from the rack.

“Mmm, mmmm, which one is okay? I wonder. Nah, as expected it’s definitely this one,
right? Yeah, yeah.”

The one she took out was a pair of western-styled outfits. It had bunny-ears
attached—a bunny maid costume.

It was a costume from a popular anime that had launched a while ago, but was still
going strong up until now. I often saw it on my timeline so I easily figured it out. I
wondered if she had also handmade that one. Awesome.

“Eh, could it be that you’ll show me your cosplay?”

Even I would get excited about that.

The cute Kaho-chan with cute costumes. I wondered how far her cuteness would go. I
started to fear it.

But then, Kaho-chan shook her head.

“Nuh-uh.”

And then, she grinned.

“This costume is—they are for you to wear, Rena-chin.”

“He?”

“Eh?!”

Somehow I ended up in only my underwear.

“Nah, umm, this is…,”

We were in Kaho-chan’s room now. I was only in my bra and panties and had become
the object of her focused gaze. When I tried to escape her stare by shielding my body
from her, she—

—Kaho-chan kept moving around my body, so that I couldn’t hide anything. She stared
at me like she was licking my body with her gaze.

“Haaaa―――your boobs are so big.”

Along with her sigh, she shared a frank thought that made my face burn in mere
seconds.

“What the heck?! What are you—?!”

“Nufufufu…”

Kaho-chan took out a rope-like thing and smacked it against her hand.

“Th-that’s, what is your intention, to use something like that against me…!”

“Well now, how do you want it to be, meow?”

I stepped back slowly but she mercilessly inched closer to me.

“S-stop it… that, only that, please have mercy, don’t come closer…”

“It’s alright, it's alright… kufufu…”

“Noooooo!”
Kaho-chan wrapped her arms around my waist, and then—

For the next few seconds, she took measurements of my waist.

“Uuuuuuh… even though I already said to spare me from this only…”

“Hohou, I see, this is quite…”

“Uuuuuuuuuu………”

Hearing the things that came out from her mouth, I felt like crying. To think that a
classmate who was cuter and more slender than me was taking measurements of my
body… what kind of punishment game is this!

While I was stricken with grief, she proceeded to measure my hip and also bust. Ugh,
my personal information…

“For what purpose are you doing this…”

“That’s obvious, right? I need your exact measurements so I can adjust the costume.
My clothes would definitely rip apart with these boobs of yours, these boobs.”

“Can you stop saying boobs, boobs like that!”

I covered my bra with my hands.

Normally, I did this since I felt something like, “I’m sorry for showing you something
so unsightly like this…” but since she kept behaving like that, I ended up feeling plainly
embarrassed by that. Even me, I was also a girl in puberty, you know.

“Huh, adjust the costume…”

“Yup, to wear it. Rena-chin will be wearing… this adworable costume.”

“Right…”

Nah, I had figured it out earlier, since Satsuki Moon-san had her photo with Nagipo-
chan uploaded.

Satsu… Moon-san wasn’t someone who would be excited to do cosplay. I couldn’t

imagine that. Even though she was someone I hadn’t been acquainted with, I could
guarantee it. If we asked Moon-san, “How deep is your interest in cosplaying?” I was
sure she would answer confidently, “Let’s see, as deep as my interest in cellophane
tape, I think…”

That was why, Mutsuki-san cosplayed for money, and this time she had other things to
do so that role fell on me.

I was perfectly aware that there was no way it would be an easy job when it came to
30 thousand yen… This would be alright, rather than being forced to be a cashier and
talking with strangers. Doing something like this was a hundred million times better.

“Huh, could it be that the reason you chose me was because of my chest…?”

If so, Ajisai-san would be a better choice… nah wait, I wouldn’t let anyone put those
kinds of skimpy clothes on Ajisai-san though!

Hearing my question, Kaho-chan’s expression turned serious as she shook her head.

“That’s not it. The reason is that Rena-chin has the same vibe with the characters I had
in mind.”

“Characters?”

“Yup. Like a tall girl with long, black hair with a cool personality is very different from
the little devil-like, sly, but adorable type of girl, right?”

Naturally, she took an example from a certain person from our class, but oh well, she
made sense, I think? And so I nodded along with her.

“Well, of course it’s better with the boobs. Two dimensional characters basically have
it huge after all, so it would be more charming with that.”

My gaze impulsively fell on Kaho-chan’s chest. Nothing.

Without any delay, Kaho-chan looked at me with disdain.

“Rena-chin, you perv.”

“Even though you kept saying the same thing to me?!”

Dammit, she really never let go of any chance to strike an attack on me. This jerk…!

“But well, it’s a problem that can be solved by making it anyway. You just need to put
on a nu-bra, wrap it in clothes, or use silicon. You only need to pile it up or reduce the
prop based on your own preferences. Things like boobs are really trivial in the world
of cosplay.”

“Uh-huh…”

“I still envy them on a daily basis though! It must be great, huh, those giant boobs!
This, this little—!”

“Hyaa!”

Kaho-chan placed her hands on my chest and fondled it roughly. It was so ticklish I
unconsciously let out a very girl-like cry. Well, I’m a girl, though! But this was
extremely embarrassing!

“Geez, cut it out, won’t you!”

I paid back what she did to me by putting my hand on her chest.

“Kyaa~ Rena-chin so scary~”

I pressed on her chest, and toward Kaho-chan, who sat with her legs folded sideways,
my hands were. My hands were…

“Kuuuh……”

I drew back my arms……

I couldn’t help it, alright…? I was someone who lived so far away from physical touch
between girls… it only took a tap on my shoulder from Ajisai-san to make my face red
after all. Of course touching someone else’s chest was impossible even as a joke…

“Eh~? You won’t do anything, meow?”

“T-today is not a good day for that…”

“……fufufu, Rena-chin you gutless♡small fry♡lo~ser♡”

Th-this jerk… one day, just see, one day I will make you understand…!

After a while, Kaho-chan, finally satisfied with teasing me, stood up, “Here we go. Now
then, once again… do the banzai pose, please~”

This time, she became more detailed and measured here and there. Like my upper
arm, my thigh… To think that the slender Kaho-chan did things like this… kuuh.

After that, I fixed my clothes and sat in Kaho-chan’s room. Nah, she was really giving
me a hard time…

Studying the notes filled with my private information, Kaho-chan nodded to herself,
appearing convinced.

“As expected, there are a lot of things to fix, meow. Well, I can probably do it in a week
with this much, I wonder?”

The thickness of the summer uniform on my skin was relieving. Clothes were really
awesome after all… It was the armor that protected my body.

“And so, I just need to wear those costumes next week, right…?”

“Yup, exactly. Next week, and the week after that. Two times in total. That is the mission
I bestow upon you.”

I thought about it for a moment.

“…and thirty thousand for me?”

“Yer right exactly. That’s it~”

Kaho-chan averted her gaze and started whistling.

“You’re definitely lying, right?! That reaction of yours basically tells me you’re lying!”

Kaho-chan shook her head calmly. She changed her way of speaking, using a tone like
she was persuading a little girl.

“You see, Rena-chin, listen to this carefully. It’s not like I’m lying, okay? It’s just, I didn’t
tell you about the important thing you’re gonna do.”

“Say it then!”

As if she was trying to calm my forcefulness, she raised her index finger serenely in
front of her face.

“The things I ask you to do are very simple. You just need to put on makeup and wear
the costumes. And after that, together with me, okay?”

“Together with you?”

She grinned.

The small and slender beauty before me laughed.

“Right, a joint photoshoot!”

And one week later. I was brought to a photo studio away from Tokyo.

“……………………… ha?”
Except at that time, I had yet to realize her deceit went deeper than this.

That for the second photoshoot—I’d never thought I would have to wear something
like this in front of a crowd.
“We’re allowed to use our phones at Ashigaya, right? How lucky.”

“……eh?”

I was washing my hands at the sink when the girl next to me started talking. I thought
she was talking to herself, but her voice was too loud for that. Besides, there was no
one around in the closed space.

The girl, Koyanagi Kaho, reapplied her lip gloss while gazing in the mirror.

Her hair was tied up on one side, and she was pretty short. She looked petite with her
small face and body, her back curved like an S-shape.

It was three days after the opening ceremony.

“Y’see, in my friend’s school, they have to apply for permission to bring their phone to
school. On top of that, they need permission from the homeroom teacher and the
principal! Plus, they have to put their phone in a designated locker for the whole day,
only taking it out when school ended. That’s ridiculous, right?”

At this point, she turned to me.

Her large eyes sparkled like cat eyes. Her adorable fangs were slightly visible under
the corner of her lips.

The first impression I had of her was that she was someone born to receive others’
affections, a person very much like a cat.

“Ah, umm…”
Even though I pushed myself to appear cheerful in class, when someone talked to me
out of nowhere like this, where I couldn’t prepare myself in advance, my socially
awkward side would emerge. I could only shift my eyes restlessly while not knowing
how to respond.

“Well, personally, I don’t really use my phone during school, so…”

“That’s not the problem.” Tsk, tsk, tsk. She shook her finger.

Back then, I’d determined that the moment my opinion was crushed by someone else
and I received huge damage from it, I would not open my mouth for the rest of my
life… (it was back then, alright! Right now it’s better!). Even so, the girl didn’t make me
feel that awful for some reason.

“Ah I can’t use it now! How troublesome~ That kind of thing, when you need to use it
at a certain time, you know? Like, when you need it for a group chat, as an example.
It's the same as that. It’s not like we need to drink for a whole day, right? But it also
means that we can’t not drink for a whole day, right?”

She prattled off, her answer ten times longer than mine.

“Well, sure…”

“In short, it’s something like that. This isn't a binary measurement, like 0 or 1, or even
something from 1 to 100. That isn't the case at all. And so, I’m super grateful I’m at this
school. Obviously, I also feel bad about my friend, who’s trapped in the prison of radio
waves!”

“Prison of radio waves…”

Even as we left the bathroom, the girl kept trailing behind me. We walked and finally
arrived at A-class. Huh? Why was she still here?! was what I thought, but of course I
knew she was also a member of our class.

Moreover, she had really high social skills, considering she kept pressing me with
conversation even though we’d never spoken before.

We returned to our classroom, and while I rejoined Mai and Ajisai-san’s group, she
didn’t leave. Somehow, our conversations became livelier and more enjoyable than
before after she joined us.

Now, when I thought about that time…

Kaho-chan had probably recognized me and tried to test me to see if I remembered

her, but in the end, I hadn’t shown any signs of figuring her out.

…I’m sorry for not figuring it out at that time. But this also meant that Kaho-chan really
turned into a whole different person. She definitely became cute.

Also, this one too, was a memory from a different past:

“Hey, Amaori-san, have you already read the latest chapter?”

We were sitting next to each other in cram school during summer break. It was a time
when we’d read our manga magazine and have a blast talking about it. A time when
we were still innocent.

“Yup! That’s why I wanted to talk to you about that, Minaguchi-san!”

“You see, you see, actually… yup, I was also thinking the same thing, fufufu.”

The girl who was slightly taller than me and had sparkling eyes behind a pair of
glasses, really shone brightly in my eyes.

“Personally, I really like this girl… Somehow in this kind of manga, rather than the
main character, the heroine is far more interesting, don’t you think?”

“So you prefer this kind of woman, huh. I see~”

“Eeeh, is that weird?”

“Ah, nope, it’s not weird at all! I also can kind of relate… since I want to try to become
someone like this heroine, I think…”
At this moment, both the memories from the past and things that were happening
right now merged back and forth, creating a huge mess in my mind.

It was like a clash between light and shadow, my recluse side and my normie side. I
didn’t know which side of me I should show her and which side of me should speak to
her.

But, you see.

The truth is, Kaho-chan—

I couldn’t be honest since I knew that you had feelings for Mai, and I was also the one
who had received a confession from her, but actually…

Even though I spoke to you harshly, even though I was reluctant to help with your job,
I actually…

To think that once again, like old times, I could do something together with you like
this, I really—truly feel happy.

……well, the one who couldn’t let everything end in a pretty way was Kaho-chan
though, whom I should be wary of…

***

It was a photo studio located a bit far from the center of the city.

It seemed like it had been a small-scale wedding place before, but nowadays they’d
changed it into some aesthetic place for photoshoots where people could rent out for
their personal use.

It was Saturday. Dragged here by Kaho-chan, I let out a voice in awe, “Oo…”

“This is awesome, so they take pictures in these kinds of places, eh.”

“We can do things like casual photoshoots in the city in the morning, but taking photos
in the studio is the most calming choice, meow.”

“Heee, heee.”

I kept letting out a voice of amazement as I admired the exterior that looked more
gorgeous than I first thought.

“What a great job you did—as expected from the popular cosplayer!”

“Hohoho, to think that you can praise me like that. You can say more, you know!”

“The world’s number 1 Layer-sama! Fairy of gadgets! Great photo editor! Cunning!
Short-fuse! Maniac of stone-related story! Ill-tempered!”

“Keep sticking to praises if you want to praise me, you little—! Good grief… well
anyway, take care of me for today.”

“Y-yeah……!”

I had zero knowledge about cosplay and really pushed myself to study about it this
past week. Even Kaho-chan was becoming repulsed by my intensity.

First, I spent two days over the week watching a two-cour anime. Basically it was a
SOL anime, but it had really moving parts in some scenes. In short, it was a very great
piece.

Next, I repeatedly watched the scenes where the girl I would be cosplaying appears. I
kept examining the part where she spoke her particular dialogue to imitate it, trying
to become her at least starting from the feelings.

I observed her expressions and her poses properly, and then checked my gestures in
my full-body mirror. During that time, I felt that my practice for the cosplay was similar
to practicing to become a normie. Unexpectedly, I was able to do the training quite
smoothly. The only problem was that I practiced too intensely and ended up hurting
my muscles nearly every day. Posing takes a huge effort after all, eh…

On my way to school, I’d look through fan-made works to deepen my understanding

of the character. I mainly checked Pixiv novels and tried to grasp her character through
many people’s perspectives. With that, I felt like I could portray her character better
through these efforts.

With a look of disgust, Kaho-chan asked me, “Why are you being that desperate…?”
She sounded a bit creeped out.

“I want to prove myself”—of course I couldn’t say it out loud. Instead, I chose to
answer her with something ridiculous, like, “It was a revelation from God.”

Right, why was I working myself this desperately, even I couldn’t really understand. It
was just, I had a hunch that if I did a great job in doing this and I got Kaho-chan’s
approval like, “Rena-chin, you did great!”, something would change.

Sometimes, reality would pull me back and slap me with the fact that… what the heck
am I doing right now, neglecting Mai and Ajisai-san like this? And it made me dejected.
But I still had time until the deadline. Even Satsuki-san had said that taking a detour
was right in some cases.

That was why, for now, the thing that I could do was successfully completing the tasks
she asked of me… was what I thought.

Ha! Could it be that, Satsuki-san’s words were God’s revelation itself…?!

With that, one week passed in the blink of an eye, and today had come.

“Most cosplayers I’ve met are thin, but everyone sure is strong, huh…”

Right now, both of us were tugging a cart along. Mine was something I borrowed from
Kaho-chan. We’d stuffed it with costumes and makeup, as well as other small but
necessary items. It was relatively heavy.

“We need to be careful with our body proportions, so a lot of us especially take care of
our muscles, you see!”

“You too?”

“Fu-fu-fu, wanna have an arm-wrestling match with me next time?”

“Sounds like I would lose…”

Kaho-chan looked very confident with her hands on her waist.

Then, she went to the reception and asked about our reservation. We were led to a
small, clean room with a large full-body mirror that resembled a waiting room.

It seemed like the room was used for changing and applying makeup.

Speaking of cosplay, other than going as individual characters, there was a culture
where cosplayers partnered with each other as joint characters.

For example, there was the ‘A series’, where one cosplayer would dress up as the
protagonist, while the partner would be the rival. By doing that, they could expand the
worldview, or something along that.

And I kind of understood that logic. Cloud was gorgeous alone, but with Sephiroth next
to him, we could see their characters from different points of view.

(TL Note: FFVII, in case you’re wondering who these characters are)

So right now, I became the character next to the one Kaho-chan wanted to cosplay.

Except there was one thing I couldn’t help but feel curious about.

“Right, today is a photoshoot, right?”

Kaho-chan stopped while spreading out her costumes.

“Nn, nnn? Yer right, indeed?”

“Who will take our photos then? Are we using a timer or some sort?”

“Aa, weeelll, uh-huhhh, it might be a fairy, I wonyder.”

Kaho-chan’s eyes swam around like a fish. Huh? Excuse me?

I grabbed her slender shoulders desperately.

“Wait a minute! Who’s taking it?! Who’s coming?!”

“Who? Well, y’see.”

Kaho-chan playfully struck her head—smack☆—then let out a giggle, looking playful.

“Today is a photography event.”

“Photo… graphy… event…?” I traced the words slowly.

“That—did you say ‘event’, like, it means there are more than two people involved?”

“But a gathering of two people can also be referred to as a ‘forum’, right?”

“I see! It makes sense!”

My eyes probably had swiveled around in a circle at this point that I naturally nodded
my head. Without taking my hands off her shoulders, I kept staring into her eyes.

“And the truth is…?”

“Both today and next week, two times in total, a lot of people will coming☆”

“I just remember that I have a sudden errand to do!”

When I thought of a quick escape, Kaho-chan tackled me around my waist.

“Ughaaa!”

“This isn’t the time to give up, you see! If you thought earning money is simple, you’re
very mistaken!”

“But that’s because you didn’t say anything! You’re the one who’s at fault here because
you didn’t explain anything clearly from the start!”

“All you need to do is throw a smile casually here and there! Leave everything else to
me! Now shut up and go change!”

“Impooossibleee! Having my pictures taken in front of a crowd is impossible for me!”

I, the struggling one, shouted desperately…

“You already practiced that intensely, right?!”

I instantly froze upon hearing those words.

Uuh… she was right. I really did try my best this past week, working hard…

The memories of my hardships flashed before me. For me, who was really bad at
getting her photos taken, I’d really pushed myself so I could find a perfect angle for the
shots that I practically kept doing selfies…

Thinking something along the lines of, “Oo, this angle is kinda perfect, I guess?”
somehow made me want to send those photos to someone, but as expected, it was
embarrassing to share something like that. In the end I chose to stash them away…

During the times I was immersed in taking selfies, I ended up staying up too late since
it felt so fun somehow. Of course by the next morning, I was so embarrassed I felt like
dying when looking at those pictures…

Everything, the memories from those moments—

“Even though I’d be okay if it was only the two of us…”

“Oh my.”

Kaho-chan placed her hand over her mouth and made an adorably surprised face.

“I never knew that Rena-chin really really really wuv me that much, meow. If so, you
should do your best☆for my sake☆”

“For your sake my foot…!”

But still, if I chose to run away right now, I knew perfectly that she’d make fun of me
for the rest of my life. If that was the case, I would definitely feel frustrated…

In the end, things were going in that direction. Willpower should beat the shame…

Uuuuhh……
“But, you see, I kinda pity the photographer if they took pictures of someone like me…
it’s an extremely rude thing to do or well… what if the expensive lens cracked because
they took a picture of me…”

“Umm, I think your level of self-deprecation is already very bad. It might be a crime,
meow…”

Kaho-chan folded her arms while saying things I couldn’t really understand.

“It can’t be helped then. Let’s switching plans, the praising strategy might do. Yeah,
let’s do that.”

I heard everything you said though…

“Listen, Rena-chin. Let me say this frankly, you are already pretty cute by societal
standards, alright? You are a very wuvable high school girl.”

“Eeh…?”

“Looking at your face that clearly shows, ‘She’s lying’ somehow pisses me off, meow.”

My goal was to become an average girl, like some sort of mass-produced type person.

Considering those thoughts, when I received these kinds of words it somehow made
me feel sorry or something.

But I should admit that my sister was a beauty, so since we shared the same DNA,
theoretically it wouldn’t be strange if I was also cute on the outside. Eh, was it
something like this…?

But, but! Being cute was… 80% done by arranging your hair, expressions, gestures,
mannerism, and makeup, right?! For me, who exuded the scent of a recluse and on top
of that, had a totally uncute base appearance, I was definitely not someone cute!

Eh, but, but, but! Right now, I did my best in order to de-recluse myself… Mai and
Ajisai-san also told me I was cute… Nah, wait, I think those kinds of praises were often
said by easygoing people like, “How cute~” The kind of praise you say lightly…

“Aah, geez!”
While I was drawn into my own thoughts that steamed like an acidic pond, Kaho-chan
stood up suddenly. She took a five-yen coin from her purse and tied a thread through
it.

“Rena-chin, look here.”

“Umm, alright…?”

Suu. Kaho-chan took a deep breath, and with a stern face, she swung the five-yen coin.

“You will slowly think that you’re cute… you will slowly think that you’re extremely
cute~…”

“There’s a limit for pulling out a classic move, you know?!”

A hypnosis technique that she sloppily did by watching others didn’t have any effect
on me. That was a given though!

When we finished with our preparation, it was also precisely the designated time for
our meeting, and we left the studio to the reception area. Right there, I saw several
people—our photographers for the day.

There were three people, all women. I let out a sigh of relief. Nah, that was a lie. I was
totally nervous.

“Waah, thank you for comeowing! Miharu-san, Ema-san, Perman-san!”

Kaho-chan, who had already changed into her cosplay attire—currently Nagipo-
chan—greeted them with a lovely voice while waving her hand. The women saw her
appearance and let out a squeak.

“Kyaa! Nagipo-chan, you’re so cute! Awesome, you’re truly adorable!”

“This is your first time showing your new cosplay, right? I was really looking forward
to it! Uwaa, ten billion points!”

“Aaaaaaa how cute, too cute, thank you, thank you very much, thank you for being
born……… aaah Goddess… Nagipo-san I like you…”

They sure brimmed with passion…

Actually, right now, Nagipo-chan really looked like someone who came straight out of
the anime world with her lovely appearance that resembled a fairy. Kaho-chan was of
course lovely on the outside everyday, but this was on a different scale.

This time, we became the maid-san characters of a popular anime [Anima Maid!]

It was a gentle world setting, a story between girls with a working theme about the
maid-san who used an animal-theme costume concept.

The costumes were so adorable that it had gained popularity from both male and
female audiences. The unexpected plot, thick with passion and tears also made a lot
of people talk about it.

Kaho-chan became one of four main characters. Her character was good at making
people spoil her, a character with a cat-ears maid appearance. As for me, I was a
character in a rabbit-ears maid outfit who always appeared confident and thought that
she was the cutest in the universe with a taste of mental health problems and a little-
devil like personality.

The character was basically someone far from my current self, right…? Or so I thought,
but when I looked at her, judging from the visual, I might be the one who resembled
her the most inside our Quintet group…

But well, I wondered if this would be alright… I was afraid this character would be
cursed since I became her… What if these ladies got mad at me…

When I became shy on my own, Nagipo-chan introduced me.

“This girl right here, she’s my partner this time! She’s my friend and her name is…”

“My name is Re… Renakoala. Please take care of me!”

I said the alias that I’d sloppily thought of and bowed my head.
When I did that, the ladies changed their attitude 180 degrees and behaved courteously
while answering me with their head bowed as well. “Please take care of us.” Seeing
their mature conduct, it somehow made me feel pressured.

“Alright then, it would be a waste if we only stood here. Let’s get started!”

Nagipo-chan raised her fist energetically in the air and the other ladies also followed
her along while saying, “Ooo!”

From the explanation I received earlier, the people here today were special guests who
often gave her support. It wasn’t only financial support, but they also behaved
respectably with refined manners, a perfect partner for my battle debut.

Nah, but that was also the very reason I should feel sorry if something happened,
right…?

Because I was so nervous, I moved stiffly. Like a figure with limited joints, I stood up
rigidly.

The other two ladies with their huge lenses had already sandwiched Kaho-chan with
their intense cameras, squealing. They looked like they were having fun.

The other lady approached me.

“This is really amazing, very adorable. I am Rina-pyon’s fan, you know. When she said
that Rina-pyon is coming, I told myself that I should definitely come today!”

What she meant by Rina-pyon was the name of the character I was currently wearing,
the maid with rabbit ears.

“Ah, no, well…”

“Renakoala-san, Rina-pyon’s outfit really matches you well. You truly portray her
perfectly. Is that outfit handmade?”

Hawawawawa. While my lips trembled, Nagipo-chan came to my rescue from across

the room.

“Her costume was also made by me! Right, Renako?!”

“Y-yes.”

“Waa, is that so? Nagipo-chan always brings out new costumes for each event. She
really has high energy, huh. That’s the reason I really have fun following her works.”

Fufufu. The lady before me let out a refined laughter. Even though she had a very
elegant appearance like some announcer, the huge camera that resembled a bazooka
swinging below her neck gave off an air like she’d just returned from an intense
battlefield. It kind of scared me.

“Do you have an account, Renakoala-san?”

“No, since I still haven't…”

“Then it means you really are a genuine first-timer, eh? This is kinda touching. Well
then, let’s have a fun photoshoot, shall we?”

The lady smiled while holding her camera. Meanwhile, the smile that formed out of
my mouth looked like someone who had been stared at by Medusa.

“P-please do it gently………”

It will be alright, it will be alright, it will be alright.

I did practice a lot at home after all.

Remember the hundreds of pictures that you took. There was no difference between
photos taken by yourself and photos taken by others. It would be alright. Be confident,
Renako. No, Renakoala. Right, the me right now was a cosplayer after all. I should
become the character.

If it was Rina-pyon, she definitely would have formed a sweet smile.

“You should properly catch the most adorable side of me with that film, and let it become
your most treasured possession, alright♪”

While saying that, she would strike a pose that would captivate both men and women.

The me right now—I was Rina-pyon after all…!

“E, ehehe… is it alright like this…”

Unfortunately, my pose right now really showed a lack of confidence, an amateur-like

awkward gesture.

The lady was kind enough and took my photos, “That’s alright. I’m going to take it
now.”

Right. I was probably the one who understood this the most, that what I did was the
peak of failure.

No matter how many times she tried to encourage me and treat me kindly—“Ahaha,
you really are nervous, eh. Let’s relax a bit, okay?”—it didn’t change anything.

Our situation ended with a situation like it had really been a waste for her to take my
pictures.

Even during the switch-off from the first lady to the second and third, nothing
changed. It was still the same even during the joint photoshoot with Nagipo-chan.
Everything, everything was a huge failure.

I told Nagipo-chan that I was going to take a break for a moment and then escaped. I
sat in the corner of the studio, looking dejected.

“As expected, the first photoshoot is really nerve-wrecking, right?”

“Eh? Ah, umm.”

The lady handed me a bottle of warm milk tea. It was practically still summer, but since
I was wearing thin clothes that exposed my skin, my body temperature had dropped.
I didn’t expect less from her shrewdness.

“Th-thank you very much. Umm, is it alright, the photoshoot?”

I tried to not make the mood worse by forcing a smile. Right now, Nagipo-chan was
having a solo photoshoot with the other two ladies who looked like they were having
a blast.

“Yeah, I also kind of feel tired since I keep holding this camera. Is it alright if I sit right
next to you?”

“That’s—of course, go ahead, please.”

If it was Rina-pyon, she would definitely say something along the lines of, “To think
that you’re having me for yourself, what a lucky person,” with an adorable smile, huh.

In this situation, I was the one who felt bad since I’d made her accompany me.

“Nagipo-san keeps bringing beauties these days. Even today, I personally think you
two really look good and adorable in your [Anima Maid!] cosplay.”

“Beauties… could it be you are talking about Moon-san?”

“Ah, so you know each other, eh. Right, right—Moon-san. She’s also someone who
wasn't really used to cosplaying, but, how should I put this. Something like her
presence? It was like she controlled the whole venue with her aura, just like a pro.”

“Haha… Moon-san really is an amazing person after all…”

Well, it was Satsuki-san after all. If someone like her suddenly walked close to me,
without any doubt, everyone’s attention would be focused on her.

Rather, she had probably done some modelling gigs with Mai before. She was crazy
gorgeous after all, so of course the demand would be high.

“I’m really sorry, since today I was…”

“Ah, don’t mind it, really. There is a type of cosplay that can only be pulled off by
Renakoala-san, right? Honestly, I already feel satisfied since I was able to see that.”

Did something like that really exist… even though it existed, wouldn’t it be something
that fits humanity’s lowest kind of compatibility, right…?
No, wait, I shouldn’t! I would worsen the mood again! I should say something!

“U, umm, are you a long-time fan of Nagipo-chan, Miss?”

“Oo, a nice question for an old time, eh. You’re right. I discovered her light when she
was still a JCLayer of Nagipo-san. Since then, I’ve always followed her.”

“As expected, Nagipo-san is… well, quite amazing, right?”

(TL Note: While JK is joshi-kousei (high school girl) JC is joshi-chuu (middle school girl))

The lady before me seemed to faintly understand the implication behind my question.

“Nn, let’s see. I think she is very amazing. She always makes her costume by herself,
she also passionately researches her makeup technique, so that it’s easy to figure out.
She’s also careful when she treats the photographer and skillful in treating her fans…
The most amazing thing is, I can feel her deep affection for the series she portrays.”

“I see… so that’s why.”

Standing in the middle of the studio, Nagipo-chan sparkled like a celebrity. When I
remembered that once she used to be in the same place I was… it really emphasized
the distance she’d drawn between us.

Well, that was kind of a given though. While Kaho-chan had been trying her best, I
hadn’t done anything after all.

“It’s just…”

The lady, while still staring at Nagipo-chan, talked slowly.

“Lately, I get the impression that she was worrying about something. Even with
today’s photoshoot, it seems like she’s really desperate looking for a partner until the
last stretch… Even though we don’t mind doing solo photoshoots with her like the old
days.”

“…which means?”
“Ah, no, it was my own thought! Aha, ahaha! To think that I feel like seeing something
within her since I saw her through my lens too many times! So gross, right! Ahahaha…”

“…………”

If what she said was true…

Kaho-chan would definitely not tell me what was troubling her even though I asked,
right? I couldn’t even properly have my photos taken in front of others.

It struck me that I was wrong most of the time. I always thought that other people
lived a proper life and did their best everyday without a worry.

But that was where I was wrong. Even Ajisai-san, Satsuki-san, and of course Kaho-
chan too, everyone had problems deep inside. While struggling through bitter
memories, they kept moving forward. And perhaps, that included Mai too.

“Umm, miss… this time, I really apologize for what I did. I couldn’t do anything right
after all. But…”

I placed my hand on my chest, then gazed at the lady before me.

“Next time, umm, I don’t know if there’s next time, but… I will do my best so you can
take my picture well… I’m going to do my best!”

She looked at me, slightly surprised.

And then, she smiled.

“Your expression just now—that’s the one. That was really great. It would be nice if I
could capture it though.”

And with that, the two-hour photoshoot session came to an end.

Nagipo-chan shone all the way until the end, looking perfectly adorable.

***
“I’m truly, truly sorry…”

“Hmm.”

Right after the photoshoot, we left the studio to catch the train and returned to Kaho-
chan’s room again. And then,

—I did a dogeza before her.

“It honestly gave me the impression that Koala-chan’s awkward first time is really
heartwarming and endearing though.”

“But things only turned out like that because those photographers are good people.
The same thing won’t happen for my job, which is the next photoshoot, and I don’t
have the confidence to pull it off next time…”

“Hmm, you really are oddly diligent in weird places.”

Kaho-chan sat crossed-legged on her chair and rested her cheek on her palm.

“I also am kind of responsible for this since I didn’t think that it was that serious… we
don’t have any other choice than to do something before the session next week.”

“Indeed…”

It was easy to sob and apologize like, Forgive me, it’s impossible for me after all, it’s
really impossible (*It was impossible!). But I’d already declared my determination to
that lady… saying that I would do my best was… that was completely driven by
impulse.

“But before next week is… I spent my 16 years of life as a timid and shy person
though…”

I couldn’t imagine we would succeed in fixing my problem within a mere seven days…
unless we resorted to giving me amnesia…

I kept kneeling on the carpet while looking up at Kaho-chan.

“Kaho-chan, what did you do to become the current you?”

“In my case…”

She smiled wryly.

“Well, it’s a given that I also behaved stiffly during my first time… Changing clothes in
some unknown place where I didn’t know anything, standing up with a pulsing
heartbeat… I had a few of my photos taken. That’s it, probably.”

“I see.”

“I didn’t know anyone after all, so it was kinda discouraging… But, well, I tried to
motivate myself by thinking, ‘It’s my first time cosplaying outside y’know!!’ and with
that, I was able to change my gear out of momentum. And so, that’s why it might be a
bit different for you since Rena-chin is doing this out of duty.”

“Guh…”

Even though I’d also tried to do it by thinking cosplaying would be very exciting… if
so, then the main problem was me after all…

“Even so, somehow I have a hunch on how we should continue from here on.”

“Eh, really?”

“I don’t know if this will work or not, but we won’t know until we try it.”

I nodded my head repeatedly.

I really didn’t want to see that pathetic me again. It was frustrating when Kaho-chan
took pity on me, and more than that, I thought I would hate myself even more if I kept
being mushy like this!

Which was why, it would be okay even though it was only an illusion. Just let me think
that I can do this well!

“Copy that! I will definitely do anything as long as it’s in my ability!”

“Oho, you said that you will do anything… If so, then I will also do my best to cast magic
on you!”
“M-magic…?!”

So Kaho-chan is a lovely, lovely magic user…?

“I’m a woman who will use every means possible.”

“Scary.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.” Kaho-chan pressed her index finger and thumb together to
make a small hole.

“I will only, a tiny biiit, destroy that brain of yours.”

“You’re being so scary though?!”

I did say I would do anything, but it didn’t mean anything! I definitely couldn’t accept
something that will leave an after-effect on my body, alright?!

With an unamused stare, she grinned.

“So our theme this time… it is, Rena-chin’s Magical Remodeling Plan!”

That night, Kaho-chan sent me an audio file.

Attached to that file were numerous warnings.

[Definitely use headphones when listening to this. Listen to it before a night's sleep.
To calm yourself, make your room dark, and fall asleep during it. That’s the ideal
situation!]

I wondered what it was. I kinda got an ominous feeling from this…

But still, it would be alright. As someone whose everything was falling apart—not only
self-esteem but other areas—for a piece of trash like me, listening to a track was still
manageable.

I ate my dinner and took a bath, and finally finished with my bedtime routine. I lay on
my bed and put on my headphones.

The length of this audio file was around 20 minutes. And so, what was it? Let’s listen
to it…

I played the track, my heart beating fast.

Suddenly, a sweet, whispering voice entered my ears.

“Re~na-chin💀”

I jabbed the stop button and propped myself up.

Eh, what was that?

That was… huh?

My heart beat faster. The girl’s sweet and bewitching voice enveloped my body. The
impact was tremendous. Even though it was only calling my name, to think that I
would become this distracted, being a human was really…

Err… if I wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like Khao-chan’s voice. Huh…?

I gulped. Hardening my resolve, I slowly played that audio file again.

“It’s okay, Rena-chin💀 Since you’re extremely cute anyway💀”

“You can wear anything since everything suits you💀 You’re the cutest in the
universe💀 Since everyone becomes instantly nervous just by seeing you💀”

“Me too, I also really reeeaaaally like you, Rena-chin💀 No, it’s not only me💀 Both
boys and girls, everyone is captivated by you, y’know💀”
“Hey, Renako💀 Very very adorable Renako💀 Hey, just relax and release the
tension from your body💀 Everyone likes you, Renako💀 They really like you💀
They love you💀 Renako is so popular that everyone loves you💀 Hey, see, just take
a deep breath, and let it go, take a deep breath, let it go… you really did the
breathing exercise well, how remarkable💀 You really are cute, Renako💀 Good
girl, good girl💀 I also really, really like you, Renako💀”

That record kept going on.

Inside my dark room, still laying in my bed with my headphones attached, my heart
pounded so quickly I was soon bathed in weird sweat.

This! This was definitely an audio hypnosis!

The next Monday morning, I charged into the class towards Kaho-chan.

“Kaho-chan, what the heck was that?!”

“Nn? You listened to the audio file properly?”

“I listened to it… and it was before sleep just like what was written on it.”

“I see. How remarkable, Rena-chin💀”

“Uu!”

I clapped my hands over my ears and stepped back.

What was that just now… a sensation shot through my ears into my brain like
electricity… With a grin, Kaho-chan made an expression like she was saying, “It works,
it works♡”

“W-what was that, geez… how on earth did you make it anyway?”

“I just recorded my voice, edited it a bit and that’s it. Since back then I’d thought of
starting a video streaming program after all, so I kinda half-heartedly gathered the
equipment.”

“You can do anything then…”

Pat pat. Kaho-chan patted my shoulder.

“That’s the case, so you need to listen to it everyday during your walk to and from
school, and also before you sleep.”

“It increases!”

“If I get new inspiration, I will send it to you directly, okay!”

I really had no idea what was running inside her head. I personally thought listening
to something like that everyday wouldn’t change anything…

In the first place, it wasn’t like that simply listening to an audio filled with praises like
that could increase one’s self-affirmation. If that kind of person really existed, as
expected they were too simple, right… She was really exaggerating, saying that she
would destroy my brain…

Well, since it was something Kaho-chan suggested, I would just play along with her…
I was only replacing the music I usually listened to with Kaho-chan’s whispers anyway.

Seeing my doubtful expression, Kaho-chan flashed her thumb out while laughing.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, just believe in me! If not, the effect would disappear, okay?
Here, just repeat after me. My words are the truth. Kaho-san is God.”

“Yeah, no! As expected, that kind of delusion is too much, okay?!”

With that, my days were disrupted by a sudden wave of Kaho-chan in the blink of an
eye.

***

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed…

“The audio files are increasing…”

At night, I sprawled out on my bed as usual while wearing my wireless Bluetooth
headset. I gazed at the list before me.

Super Idol Rena-chin Part was a story with a setting where I was an idol and Kaho-
chan was my fervent fan who supported me with all of her might. It had an effect to
boost your self-affirmation.

The Cosplayer Rena-chin Part featured Kaho-chan, who only started off as a cosplayer
for a month, and then she got praised by a legendary cosplayer, which was me. The
effect was boosting your self-affirmation. During this, I started to think that Kaho-chan
might be really talented at creating a fictional story.

Spoiling Rena-chin My Pet Part is a piece that really screamed trouble. Me as a pet,
and Kaho-chan as my owner. The content was Kaho-chan who did nothing other than
spoil me rotten as her pet. It was like she kept praising me by simply being there and
she also showered me with love. Of course it boosted my self-affirmation like crazy.
Around this time, Kaho-chan’s rampage started to appear and disappear.

The finishing blow was this one, A Story About Depressed and Abusive Boyfriend
Rena-chin and Her Girlfriend Who Desperately Says She Loves Rena-chin No
Matter How Many Times She’d Been Abused and Insisted That She Won’t Break
Up While Clinging to Rena-chin Part.

I don’t think I need to explain the content of this one, but somehow, I don’t know why,
this one also boosted my self-affirmation. Perhaps it was because I had a partner who
wouldn’t dump me regardless of how low I stooped as a human.

I rotated this one, also the normal one, I Really Like You, Rena-chin Part, all week
long. And the result of me who kept listening to it whenever I had the time was—

Nothing really…?

I didn’t feel a change at all.

“Good night.”

I whispered in my room, devoid of other people. Kaho-chan’s voice, which I had started
getting used to, was like an aphrodisiac flowing from my headphones. Her voice flew
inside my brain, stirring a honey-like sensation that kept entering my mind, in some
way, just like usual.

Nah, but this result was natural, right…? I was someone with an extreme complex
about herself. If the opponent was a normal girl, she probably would get tangled in
Kaho-chan’s plan, but I was… well, she had probably been mistaken about the nature
behind the recluse side of me.

Well, that couldn’t be helped. I always showed up as my cheerful and normie self after
all. Somehow I suddenly felt bad for her. I’m sorry, Kaho-chan.

That was why at least I would play along with her scheme…

Haaa… it would be great if only it became reality, that I could gain the maximum super
confidence by merely listening to these records and become the Super Renako…

***

On Friday morning, I woke up and suppressed a yawn as I walked to the washroom.

I was arranging my hair when my little sister came in. That little sister who, even
though she woke up later than me, somehow finished preparing herself for school
faster than me. An admirable little sister who knew the basics.

“Big Sis, are you going to take long?”

“Nn, just a lil bit. This one annoying strand of hair.”

A crowded washroom in the morning. Haruna took her toothbrush while shaking her
head like looking at something hopeless. “Geez.”

“Every morning, every morning, you sure take a lot of time. Even though your
appearance doesn’t change much.”

“Well, yeah. I look cute in anything after all.”

“Right, right………… huh?!”

I was finally able to conquer this annoying little cowlick and put on my hairclip over
my bangs. Well, this looked alright.

She stared at me as if looking at a revived dead person, her toothbrush still in her
mouth.

“Eh, what is it?”

“Nah……… nothing……………?”

“…? Weird lil sis.”

After eating my breakfast, I said, “I’m going now” and left my house like usual.

Now that we were into the end of summer, the colours were slowly changing into that
of autumn. Today’s weather seemed like it would be a cool one, a day that would pass
by easily.

At the school gate, I accidentally encountered Satsuki-san. Since beauties were easy to
spot, it was easy to find her. I raised my hand and greeted her.

"Ah, it's Satsuki-san. Yaay, good morning~"

“Morning… you—are you catching a cold or something?” she said as I jogged up to her.
I didn’t really understand, so I stared at her.

“Eh? Why?”

“No, nothing. You looked different from usual so I thought you might have a fever.”

“Weird Satsuki-san. But that side of you, it’s very Satsuki-san like. I like it.”

I covered my mouth with my hand and laughed. Seeing me like that, Satsuki-san
furrowed her eyebrows and looked uncomfortable. Why?

“Somehow… what? What’s happening, Amaori? Did you undergo some kind of
exorcism or what? The you who always floated around your surroundings—where did
those dull black clouds go?”

It was so unlike Satsuki-san to say something in such a roundabout manner. I tilted my

head.

“I don’t get it but… well anyway, today’s weather sure is great, right? I feel like
something special might happen. Well, it might be true since I met my very precious
friend Satsuki-san in the morning.”

“Gross…”

“What’s gross?!” I yelped at Satsuki-san, who bared her disgust.

We arrived at the shoe locker, changed into our indoor shoes, and then headed to the
classroom. As if she was tormented by a terrible headache, she kept massaging her
temples. It made me worried…

“Satsuki-san, are you sick…?”

“Yeah, well, that’s not really it but… no, it’s alright. I really don’t want to know what
specifically happened to you. As long as I can live my life peacefully and normally, that
is satisfying enough.”

“O-okay, since peace is number one, I understand. They say that stress makes your
skin bad anyway, and if that became reality, this adorable me would become less
adorable after all.”

She chopped my forehead with her hand.

“What are you doing?!”

“I reacted instinctively…”

That Satsuki-san stared at her own hand with surprise. Could it be that I’d accidentally
said something mean after all? I really thought that I’d said only normal stuff, though.

“Hey, are you really going with that character from now on? Really? I really want you
to consider doing things that won’t bother your surroundings. Just spare me from that
kind of personality I only see in nightmares.”

“This is the usual me, though?!”

I puffed out my cheeks. With that kind of mood, I embraced Satsuki-san’s arm.

“Aren’t you being too mean?! Even though I like you this much, Satsuki-san!”

“Ah, hey, what are you—”

During our intimate interaction, I heard a sound like something falling from behind
us.

I turned around. It was Ajisai-san. Ajisai-san, whose bag had fallen on the floor, pointed
at us with a shaking finger.

“W-why are you linking arms like that~………?”

“Morning, Ajisai-san.”

“Eh, kya—”

I let go of Satsuki-san’s arms and this time I clutched Ajisai-san’s hand.

“Today sure has been a beautiful day since the morning, huh, Ajisai-san?”
“M-morning… eh, eehhh~……?”

Ajisai-san’s face grew steadily redder as I carefully observed her. She really was cute.

“What happened, Rena-chan… doing something like this, since the morning.”

“Eh? But even Ajisai-san does physical contact a lot, right?”

“That’s—you’re right but~……?”

Ajisai-san fixed her bag on her shoulder and then looked at Satsuki-san, seeking help.
Satsuki-san shrugged her shoulders coldly.

“I have no idea. Maybe she just drank a lot of sake this morning.”

“Y-you can’t do that, Rena-chan! Sake is for adults, okay?!”

Even though it was a given that I wouldn’t drink sake, I still shook my head while
giggling. Fufu.

“You two are being so weird.”

“You are,” Satsuki-san said at the same time Ajisan-san blurted out, “Rena-chan is~!”

“To think that it would work this effectively… I’m starting to fear my own talent.”

It was lunch break. We’d finished our lunch and I headed to the courtyard with Kaho-
chan. There, we sat next to each other. Like a culprit of an accidental murder case, she
stared at her own hands.

“Err… what?”

“Of course, I was talking about my strategy to boost your self-esteem.”

“It’s not like it worked, though.”

“That’s alright, Rena-chin. Everyone who had their brain destroyed said the same
stuff.”
“It’s plainly scary when you phrase it like that though…”

See, I properly retorted when she said weird stuff, and I was also able to have normal
everyday conversations. I absolutely didn’t get my brain destroyed or something like
that.

“Anyway Rena-chin, how cute do you think you are?”

“Eeeh…?”

As expected, saying something like that from my own mouth was embarrassing…
Somehow I could see a pair of horns grow…

“Well, I think that I’m normally cute…”

“Normally, huh, normal. What a mild way to describe yourself. Alright, well then let’s
change the question a bit. What number do you think you are in our class?”

“An even more devilish way to ask that!”

Kaho-chan nodded like she was agreeing with me.

“…I see, so your reasoning is still properly working, eh. Well, this much would be easier
to control after all. It’s not like I accidentally birthed some sort of Happy Cute Monster
anyway.”

“What exactly are you saying…”

“Nah, just a thought to myself. Anyway, about our plan for tomorrow.”

It was here, the second round of the photoshoot session…

The memories of my failure from that day resurfaced from the depths of my brain. I
hung my head in shame while wallowing in self-deprecation.

“This time, it would be great if I could be of help… But still, this past week, I did nothing
that would make a difference… I did listen to Kaho-chan’s recording everyday, but that
was similar to doing nothing after all…”

“It will be okay!”

With that, Kaho-chan balled her hand into fist and gripped it tight.

“Since Rena-chin, you are this cute after all!”

You are cute, you are cute, you are cute…

The words echoed inside my ears. For some reason I felt a sensation like my head was
getting beaten.

Uh, my brain… indeed, I was cute indeed…?

Apart from the real Kaho-chan before me, another Kaho-chan with a seductive
expression came to me and whispered, “That’s right, Rena-chin. You are really
really cute after all💀”

With her visible fangs, she resembled a sexy loli kind of vampire who took her victims
captive.

“Of course everyone will rejoice. Since they’re able to take photos of a girl this cute
after all. Listen, just think about this calmly okay? You have nothing other than gain,
right?”

“Indeed… since I’m very cute after all…?”

My feelings slowly changed into positivity.

Brushing shoulders with this cute me was a joyous thing. On top of that, this cute me
would do a cute cosplay. Of course, I would become the ultra-cute version of me.

“…huh? But, if that’s the case, why had I failed back then…? Even though my cuteness
was supposed to be eternal…?”

“Well well, let’s stop fretting over minor things. Since you are cute after all.”

“I’m, cute…? Nah but, my goal was to become a basic kind of normal, a mass-produced
type of girl… huh…? Then the truth is, I’m not cute…?
My world spun.

Kaho-chan whispered behind her hand. “You don’t need to think about anything.
You’re cute, Rena-chin. Oh my oh my, what an adorable little puppy… come here,
good girl, good girl.”

Kaho-chan rubbed my head and my chin.

“Woof, woof.”

“Riiight, you’re cute, very cute, Rena-chin is the cutest in the world~”

“Kuun. Ha.”

When my head was drawn into her chest, I came to my consciousness. Just one step,
just one step, and I felt like I would totally stop being human.

But, right. Why was I worrying about something like this, I wondered. I only needed
to be alive to appear cute after all, so it was a given that everyone would be excited
when they heard about the photoshoot session with me. Something like that might be
a charity for me.

“Hmm, as expected, it had an instant effect, but it was also pretty weak, meow… nah,
but actually, to think that this would work was a miracle itself or so. Well, it would be
alright if it’s only tomorrow.” Kaho-chan said some very puzzling things that I didn’t
quite get.

And then, she let out a smile.

“I invited you because your face and body after all, so you just need to fulfill those
needs and everything would be clear! Since stuff like cosplayer’s pride, the perfect
angle and pose, appealing expressions, I didn’t seek those things from you!”

“I see… face and body, I have confidence if it’s only those… probably!”

“Right, right!”

Somehow, I felt like she had just said some really mean things but of course that wasn’t
it. Because Kaho-chan was my kind and gentle master, she would never do that. She
was someone who would always spoil me and dote on me and that was why I really
liked Kaho-chan—woof!
“Well then, let’s do our best tomorrow! Let the world know of your cuteness!”

“Oooh!”

I raised my fist in the air.

There was a thick smog in my head, but as long as I was happy, it would be okay!

Thus, Amaori Renako, just like Koyanagi Kaho had planned, completely fallen into the
swamp of hypnotism—in other words, she was caught in a kind of brain-washed
condition—in other words, she totally fell into her trap.

***

The next day was Saturday, the day for the second photoshoot.

Amaori Renako arrived at the waiting room, returning from the toilet, looking obedient.
She proceeded to sit and leaned on the table.

A pair of earphones still dangled from her ears. She probably kept listening to Kaho’s
gift—the hypnotic recordings—that she came this far.

Koyanagi Kaho, who applied her makeup before the mirror, turned around and
murmured, “Rena-chin did something like an athlete who needed to boost their focus
by listening to music.”

Of course that voice didn’t reach Renako.

Nonetheless, Kaho recalled stuff from last week.

Not even Kaho had thought that Renako’s shyness was on that level. She remembered
things from back then, and during those times Renako was the type who had talked
with anyone without holding back. Even their teacher in cram school often treated her
favorably.

If Kaho needed to phrase it out:

(I was supposed to be the one who was shy in front of strangers though…)

That time, Kaho had no friends other than Renako. In the first place, she’d never
thought of making another one.

(Well, even now I have no otaku friend though.)

Showing your hobby to people was a fearful thing to do. That feeling became stronger
since she had a successful high school life. Even back when she tried to ask Satsuki,
she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

(Even if it was the type of people like Saa-chan who harbored no interest in others,
that was already close to the borderline after all.)

When she looked back, someone like Satsuki was pretty rare to encounter. She did say
a lot of things, but in the end she properly came to the photoshoots and carried out
her job well. Those qualities of hers were already on a professional level.

(But, yeah. I had to receive a lot of smacking from that book cover of hers when I kept
insisting on making her wear risque costumes numerous times.)

It wasn’t like she was blinded by worldly desires. It was just that Satsuki suited the
role that Kaho wanted the most that she ended up envying her. That was her only
reason.

It wasn’t just Satsuki. Frankly, she also believed that people who could do it well also
applied to Ajisai and Mai, also Renako. Since everyone in Quintet had those qualities
in them—

(Was what I always thought, meow.)

She groaned as she saw Renako, who was lying flat across the table like a slime.

Amaori Renako, she had the same impression just like the old days. Someone who had
a cute appearance, and had now turned into a beauty.

(…Amaori, san.)

Thinking that she was currently present right here.

For a little bit, she couldn’t stop herself from almost bathing in the feelings of nostalgia.

(No…… right now, we’re just right before the important event. I should only think
about making this photoshoot session a success!)

Su su su. Kaho approached Renako.

“We’re close to the real thing now. How are you feeling, meow~?”

Her shoulders were shaking. With a movement like a rusty iron door, she sluggishly
stood up from her chair.

“I’m sorry, Kaho-chan…”

“Errr?”

This sounded bad.

As expected, stuff like audio hypnosis couldn’t pull this off. Well, she personally had a
lot of fun while recording it through.

Renako looked dejected as she slumped her shoulders.

“Even though today is an event that was organized by you… it would be possible that
since I’m so terrifically cute the photographers would become charmed by me and me
only…”

“Ah, that one, huh?!”

A perfect result.

“I couldn’t help but feel terribly bad, very bad… Hey, Kaho-chan, being too cute is a sin
after all. If things turn out to be like this, it might be better if I don’t participate this
time. Because I really don’t want things to become shaky between us again out of
something like this…”

Renako, who was seriously troubled by her own terrific cuteness, covered her face
with her palms.

“If it made me feel like this, it would be better if I was born as a flower or a tree… Why
was I born to become as dazzling as a flower that fully blossomed, I wonder? At this
rate, everyone in this world would fall for me… Even though Kaho-chan, you also want
to be loved by a lot of people, right!”

“Her self-affirmation went so over the top that it made her loathe herself. I really don’t
get this one, meow…”

Without a doubt, it was still Renako at the root. But Kaho couldn’t help but see it as a
byproduct of a huge contradiction when new information, which was [I’m terrifically
cute] was added to her brain. If she kept this up, Kaho began to think that it could
really destroy Renako's brain.

“Well then, Rena-chin, let’s start changing your costume and apply your makeup.”

“Me who is already cute, can become cuter than this?!”

She swiftly caught the reluctant Renako and quickly changed her attire.

It was difficult for an amateur like Renako to properly wear the costume with its lines
appearing perfect, so she needed help to properly wear it.

After Kaho finished changing her clothes, she needed to adjust her contour line. Kaho
took a lift-up tape. That tape was something considered important for a lot of
cosplayers since it had the effect of altering a face’s shape by restraining a certain
facial part. By using this technique, they could raise the face line, or even make their
eyes look sharp, and other stuff to help them imitate the character better.

She put a hair net over Renako’s head, applied the tape to restrain specific features of
her face, and recreated a smaller face that wouldn’t lose with the real bishoujo
characters from anime.

“Ouch, ouch ouch, Kaho-chan, aren’t you applying it too strongly?!”

“Since I picked the one with the strong adhesive after all. Here, Rena-chin, just endure
it. There’s a saying: ‘leave the perseverance to the cute girls’, right?”

“Th-that’s true… ~!”

Renako closed her mouth and pressed her lips together, entering her super endurance
mode. She just needed to hear something like, awesome, cute, and she could do
anything. Kaho thought that she should’ve made her clothes more exposed if she knew
things were going to be like this.

Kaho began to arrange Renako’s bangs with a safe-for-skin kind of glue, helping to
recreate the ideal hairstyle that resembled the character. With that, she was done with
the basics, and for now she let Renako do the tweaking for the rest of her makeup as
she proceeded to do her own transformation.

When they were done, the two lovely maids appeared.

“Hawaaaaa……”

Renako, who saw her reflection in the mirror, collapsed over her feet while clutching
her chest.

“Rena-chin, what’s wrong?!”

“Sorry, Kaho-chan… it’s just, the me inside the mirror is so extremely adorable that I
couldn’t keep my cool… Ha? I’m going to really fall for her though…? This feeling, is it
love…?”

“Ah, alright.”

Kaho wasn't aware of this fact, but considering that Renako was being so stubborn
even against people like Mai and Ajisai, to think that her first love would be herself…
This was really a huge tragedy.

Moving on from that, Renako shook her head while shaking her bunny ears.

“Hey, Kaho-chan… I wonder if this will be okay. What if I’m so cute that people would
confine me somewhere…?”

“I don’t think so.”

Kaho answered her sloppily, but then Renako’s cheeks turned red as her breath
became rougher.
“But, but, but…”

“Look, even MaiMai and Aa-chan are roaming free even now, right?”

“That’s, well… but.”

Seeing her own reflection in the mirror, Renako was lost for words.

“I feel bad for those two but… I might be cuter than them after all…? Wait, no, I’m
talking about overall quality, alright? Well, there are some aspects where I lose to
them, but it is possible that overall it would be my victory or so! I can’t help it, okay?
Since I was born this way after all!”

“Ah, ‘kay.”

Kaho couldn’t utter another answer under Renako’s intense stare. She feared her own
talent in hypnotizing people to the point where it basically messed with their dignity.

“At this rate, everyone will fall in love with me… What if one of the photographers is a
professional with some connection to agencies, and I’m being scouted as a super idol,
having a cute girl as my lover, and turning into some abusive boyfriend…?”

The content from the stuff Kaho sent to Renako was getting mixed here and there.

“Uuuh, this is impossible, Kaho-chan. If at this rate I keep receiving people’s affection,
and I can't do anything other than turn them down, it would be too painful for me…
Oh God, why did You make me this cute, why?! What have I done in my previous life?!”

Not even Kaho could stop herself from clenching her fist and making a face like she
had an urge to punch that face. Her hypnosis technique had worked too well. It wasn't
good at all.

But, well.

“Whatever, if this thing only lasted until the end of the photoshoot all is well, then!
Alright, let’s do this, everything is for the sake of exposing that beauty to the world!”

When she pulled Renako's hand—

“You can’t!”
Renako shook off Kaho’s hand.

What made her unhappy this time? Kaho wondered. But when she looked at her,
Renako was behaving a bit different from before.

“No, umm, listen…”

Looking bashful, she peeked at Kaho timidly from the corner of her eyes.

“So, like, I’m pretty cute, right…? That’s why, if you hold my hand like this, Kaho-chan
will end up liking me… something like that is, you can’t be careless, okay…? Geez, Kaho-
chan you’re so…”

“Hoon.”

Kaho stared at Renako, looking unamused.

“Nice one. That one was quite cute, Rena-chin.”

With a tomato-colored face, Renako yelped, “I already said that you can’t!”

Today’s photoshoot session was different from the last time. It had more people, and
the session was also longer.

There were also quite a few men who showed up. Just how deep was Renako’s
nervousness, even Kaho couldn’t properly measure it, but…

That very Renako, the moment she was showered with, “How cute.” or “So cute!” and
became praised excessively, she instantly got lost in rapture and carried away in
striking poses.

“Oh no, Renakoala-san, you’re very cute. You’re close to perfect in capturing Rina-
pyon’s character, it’s almost identical!”

“Ehehe… d-do you really mean it? Well, that’s normal for me though.”

“Aa, that pose is also cute! Please look over here!”

“Alriiight, I’ll give you my cute smile!”

“How cute! That line, it’s like the real Rina-pyon is here!”

…somehow she looked so delightful. Well, no problem there, probably. Even the
photographers looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Kaho ended up thinking that everything relied on self-confidence. Once you had it,
everything would become okay.

But then, a thought crossed her mind. At this rate, if someone said, “Well then, let’s
take off one layer of your clothes, since it will make you cuter,” by the end Renako
would end up buck naked. Somehow it sounded possible. The situation became
dangerous.

As expected, something like an after-event private session might not be happening,

but just in case, it can't be helped then, meow.

Kaho walked in Renako’s direction. Since she was the one who had asked her to do
this, she had to protect her.

“Alright then, Koala-chan! Next, let’s do a joint photoshoot!”

“What is that?”

“Something like this.”

Kaho swung her arms in vigor and embraced Renako. Renako yelped, “Hyaa!” and her
face turned red in an instant.

Ooo. Within a second, the audience burst into noise. A sea of camera flashes arose.

“Isn’t—isn’t this too bold…?!”

“Even in the anime, these two characters often do this, right?”

“That’s—you’re right, but still… uuu… you can’t do this, Kaho-chan… I already said it
earlier, right…”

Her weak, tiny voice reached only Kaho. The audience’s reaction became more
interesting, so Kaho decided to press her body against hers at the chest and other
parts.

“If you are being too close like this…”

“You’ll become troubled?”

“Kaho-chan will end up liking me, so…”

“…………………”

“Huh?! Somehow you’re pressing tighter than earlier?! B-but why are you doing this?!
Eh, could it be that you like, you do like me after all?! You can’t do that! Aa, it’s a
problem, my dear customer!”

That extremely foolish reaction somehow tickled the audience’s reaction, but still,
Kaho couldn’t stop herself from feeling a complicated kind of annoyance.

After that, they struck a pose where they brought their faces closer, hugging and
holding hands while looking at each other. Hugging and being hugged, at any rate it
was full of hugging each other.

It was an anime series with a lot of intimate touch between girls, but recreating those
scenes made them have risque body contact (like kisses on the cheeks) so much that
Renako couldn't stop herself from turning red from the beginning to the end.

“She, she’s going to like me now… Kaho-chan is, she’s going to like me… Aaah, you
can’t… Kaho-chan, liking me is, you can’t do that, you really can’t, liking me… aaa, like,
just now she’s going to like me even more…”

Again and again, Renako kept mumbling those words next to her.

Hearing something like that through day and night, even if it wasn’t Renako, of course
the inside of their heads would turn strange.

While she struck a pose that portrayed her character best, Kaho couldn’t stop herself
from wondering about that.
It ended.

I collapsed lifelessly into my chair, burnt out into nothingness.

The day had come to an end and the photoshoot that had been divided into two
sessions was completely over. We returned to the studio's waiting room.

Everything had wrapped up in a totally different way than the previous photoshoot
event. The one who made that change was—the one factor that changed everything
was… what was it again…? I really had no idea.

“Now that I think about it, how was I so bold during today’s photoshoot…?” I
murmured while gazing into the distance. “Smiling adorably like that while feeling like
I was the cutest character ever and also striking cute poses…”

I couldn’t believe it. Had someone installed another personality inside me?

Kaho-chan, who was with me in the waiting room, rubbed off her makeup. “That’s the
true charm of cosplaying. By doing it, it’s like you can change into someone other than
yourself.”

“I see… and so the reason I behaved like that…”

The memories crammed inside my brain started to seep out from the sealed door that
was opening slowly.

Inside that door was… something that I attempted desperately to seal inside, some
truly wicked and evil memories.

“I behaved like that?!”

I leapt up from my chair with a shriek.

“Eh, wait, wait a minute, Kaho-chan, what did I say?! I said a lot of ridiculous things,
didn’t I?! Did I really say all of that?! Even stuff that definitely wouldn’t be said by Rina-
pyon herself?!”

“You might be cuter than MaiMai and Aa-chan, you know♡”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

I howled as I clutched my head, my nails digging into my scalp painfully.

“Kill me…! Kaho-chan, I beg you, please just kill me off! Cut the thread that connects
my life force right here right now!”

“Something good will definitely happen so long as you live, you know?”

“What kind of face should I make the next time I meet the two of them
huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!!”

I couldn't stay seated in my chair. I began to roll around on the floor. That got a serious
response from an angry Kaho-chan: “Do that after taking off your costume!”

Hiin…

I removed my costume and sat on the chair without getting changed into proper
clothes, hugging my knees. After taking my wig and hair net off, my slightly ruffled
hair fell onto my shoulders.

Uuh…

“So this is how being freed through cosplaying feels… being someone other than your
usual self as part of the magic of cosplaying… this is scary, cosplaying is terrifying…”

Kaho-chan listened to my ramble as she tried to stuff the costumes back into the case.
“…that’s the only thing you felt?”

I peered over and met her pouting face.

“That’s, well… I did feel something like, it was kinda nice…”

“Nn…”

Kaho-chan peeled off the tape on my face.

Just like this, the tape could change your eye shape, even your body shape. I honestly
thought that the technique people used for cosplaying was amazing. The way Kaho-
chan’s hand moved skillfully gave off the impression of a magician helping Cinderella
attend her ball.

“Well, yeah. When you put it like that somehow it was… what was it like again, err—”

At this point, I couldn’t bring myself to look at her face.

“It makes me happy… someow-how,” Kaho-chan said jokingly.

…well, it wans’t really a joke, I guess. Honestly I didn’t think I could enjoy the whole
thing if I had done it by myself. It was because Kaho-chan had been with me that
somehow I felt a surge of nostalgia, so much that I had ended up enjoying it.

That was the thing, but it would’ve been embarrassing if I said it out loud so I chose
not to…

“Aa, um, if you don’t mind, Rena-chin.”

“Yeah?”

“Next time, together with me… umm no… it’s nothing, alright? It’s great if you enjoy
cosplaying, meow!”

I let out a groan as Kaho-chan mumbled something under her breath.

“Listen, Kaho-chan-san… in this world, there’s nothing you can enjoy one hundred
percent since everything comes with painful effort and troubles… point is, even
though I said I enjoyed it, in the end it also comes with a certain amount of grief which
can create yet another problem—ouch! That hurts!”

Kaho-chan mercilessly tore the rest of the tape off my face. I glowered at her
begrudgingly.

Kaho-chan giggled while shrugging.

“Good grief, Rena-chin, you really have an inconvenient meoway of thinking. Just live
your life by keeping it simple and enjoying it wholeheartedly! Ah, how about doing
cosplay forever? Something like, ‘Ehehe, today’s me is also extremely adorable, right?♡’”

“Cuuut thaaaat ouuuut!” I shook my head. “Even for me, I really think I should live my
life with a strong self-affirmation, you know! Of course, I’m not talking only about my
appearance, but also about a lot of other things like appreciating the efforts I’d done
for my own sake so I can have confidence in myself. I really want to try and make it
come true…!”

I gripped my knees tighter to my chest, murmuring, “Besides…… it’s not like I’m that
cute anyway…”

Kaho-chan stopped moving in an instant and stared at me.

She let out a really, really huge sigh.

“What is it?!”

“Nothing. I’m just thinking about which Rena-chin is better. The one from earlier, or
the one in front of me right now.” Kaho-chan approached me and began to grope my
chest. Hyaa!

“Geez, you always do that out of nowhere!”

“Hey hey, look at this, Rena-chin.”

While I was busy covering my chest, Kaho-chan made a gesture like she wanted to
show off something in her hand. In her fingers were a stack of 1000-yen bills. She
spread them out like a folded fan. My eyes turned into dollar symbols in an instant.
“Waa! Money!”

“Today’s participation fee! On top of that, there are also guests who pay via bank
transfer, so the total amount is more than this! And so, this is your share just like I had
promised—thirty thousand yen.”

It wasn’t fake. She really handed me real money.

Well, I’d already thought that the whole proposal was comparatively good, but when I
saw the real thing before my eyes, the feeling was multiplied. Aah, how incredible, it
was money… it really was money…!

“Is it really okay for me to receive this amount when I only put in minor effort, Nagipo-
chan-san…?”

“Well, honestly speaking, I also thought that I’d splurged too much, but a woman
should never go back on her words! This time, I received a lot of invitations to other
events, and I think it was also thanks to you anyway.”

“D-do you really mean it?”

“Yup. I did it with Saa-chan last time, so it might also be why a lot of people came today.
That’s why, I started to think that rather than doing it solo, doing it together with
someowne might be better after all.”

“That’s, well, it’s Satsuki-san after all…”

Kaho-chan was cute, of course, but when she was standing with Satsuki-san, her
cuteness was drawn out by Satsuki-san’s beauty.

“Hey, hey, do you want to see some of Saa-chan’s cosplay pictures?”

“Eh, I want to! Show me only the stuff where I won’t get hit by her!”

“She won’t know as long as we don’t say anything!”

Like a pair of snotty brats, we fixed our gaze to her phone.

The Satsuki-san on the screen, to say it frankly, was really dangerous. She was wearing
the magical-girl cosplay I’d seen before. It was like I was seeing the true definition of
beauty.

“I feel like my heart would burst if I saw her in person…”

“You see, I really really wanted Saa-chan to stand in the center of a park basked in
twilight. But she said it would be embarrassing cosplaying outside the studio so she
turned me down……”

“Uwaa, it sounds like it would really suit her.”

Magical Girl Moon-san, unable to move while basking in twilight right in the park. That
moment, a little girl passed by on her walk home. She looked at Moon-san and ended
up thinking that she had just met the real magical girl. Right there, Moon-san let out a
smile that felt magical, placing her finger on her lips. “Keep it as secret”—like that.

I bet the little girl who experienced that moment would end up as Moon-san’s captive
for the rest of her life, don’t you think…!

A woman full of sins…!

“Well, now you get it. Honestly, I didn’t do this because I wanted to earn a lot of money.
As long as I could cover the costs of the studio, costumes, and accessories, that’s
enough. And so, just take them with you, you robber!”

“Hyaau.”

Thirty thousand, get!

“Nah, but I’m glad I didn’t end up taking a loss’ this time. Everything ended pretty
well…”

Alright, I actually felt bad for Kaho-chan who had done everything out of her passion
for cosplaying, but since I was the true good-for-nothing, I was elated right now.

I shoved the 1000-yen bills happily inside my purse, stowing them away. With this, I
could have Four-kun return to me…
For some reason, I had felt really nervous during the event… but once it ended, it had
seemed enjoyable.

“Could it be that being an idol might unexpectedly suit me, or…?”

“Oo, we're going straight to high self-affirmation, eh.”

“You’re right!”

I’d challenged a new thing and successfully conquered it. Conquer… did I truly conquer
it? What if this time, my head had just worked in an odd way?

No, whatever, I really did conquer it! Since Kaho-chan had really paid me after all!

It became something along the lines of, even the me right now could do this, you know!
kind of feeling. It hadn’t been a misunderstanding or an illusion. The most important
thing was that I thought of it this way, since this feeling would become something that
triggered me to keep moving forward.

“Yup, yup… since I’m also properly able to move forward…”

“…”

I mumbled to myself, and then raised my face.

Kaho-chan, who was tidying up earlier, stopped. Without saying anything, she stared
at me. Our eyes met.

“…Kaho-chan?”

“Eh? Aaa… yeah, you’re right, you really did your best this time! Thank you for your
greaty great work, Rena-chin!”

“Yeah.”

For now, my chest was filled with a sense of accomplishment since I had managed to
overcome this.

With my help, she finally finished tidying up. We brought the jampacked case to the
door, and the cosplayer Nagipo-chan transformed back into the usual beauty Kaho-
chan.

That beauty thrusted her fist into the air.

“Uoooshyaaa!”

“Eh, what is it?!”

“It’s a Today is very fun! As expected, I really love cosplaying! kind of yell!”

She turned around with a smile stretching across her whole face. When I thought that
I had contributed even 1 mm to that smile, I felt happy.

“Hey, Rena-chin, how about an after-party? Don’t you want to do it? It’s on me!”

“Eeeh, is it really alright?!”

I wagged my tail at the unexpected invitation from my employer.

An after-party with a classmate.

Right, that was during the cultural festival at middle school. That time, I was already
being avoided by everyone, so much that I saw most of my class going to an after-party
while I walked home alone.

It wasn’t like I would’ve been invited anyway, and I also didn’t have any interest in
being invited. Why would you need other people for a meal anyway? It would be a
bother, right? You should eat your meal quietly. I really couldn’t understand what they
were thinking. As I filled my heart with those thoughts—

That day, my family had decided to have dinner outside. We ended up entering the
family restaurant where my classmates were having their after-party. I’d felt utter
disdain, the worst feeling ever, but… nah, it wasn’t like I’d envied them back then! Since
I would’ve been alright living the rest of my life on my own!

Renako from middle-school days said to me, “You’re right.”

“Something like an after-party is so lame, right? Something like that is, in the end, they
did it so they can say that everything turned out that way thanks to their so-called
efforts. Even though it wasn’t like they achieved anything by doing that, they kept
praising each other for their ego’s sake. Gross.”

Shut up! I mercilessly stomped on the spiteful and gloomy Renako. Don’t come out
again, ever. Just let yourself rest in peace, I beg you.

I drove away the vengeful spirit from my thoughts, then rubbed my hands together
with a smile while approaching the cosplay beauty.

“I will accompany you everywhere, wherever you want!”

“He, he, he,” Kaho-chan snickered.

The girl who had made my dream come true, the one who had spread out the bills in
her hands like a folding fan, said, “Well then, let me take you to another world—a
world full of sparkles!”

***

It was definitely a world full of sparkles—somewhere that felt like a gleaming world.

Inside the spacious room was an extravagant sofa and a huge television. The indirect
lighting that glistened here and there gave off an elegant mood. The flashy bed with a
huge canopy made the gorgeous atmosphere inside perfect.

I stood still as I held the case in one hand.

“Wa, waaa…”

“How is it, Rena-chin? It’s your first time coming to this kind of place, right?”

Kaho-chan laughed smugly with her usual gesture—flashing her index finger like a
finger gun.

That smile… it’s like you’re introducing me to a good ramen place, you know?
“Um, listen now. This place is… a place they call a love hotel… no?”

Because, see, that bathroom was covered only with glass, and also this atmosphere
was pretty much colored pink. No matter how I look at this, this place was definitely
no normal hotel.

At the entrance, we got to choose the room by touching the panel after all, and we were
also covert on our way here. All of this made it feel like my deductions were correct…

“Yer wrong. A love hotel is a place that forbids minors. Which is why this is not a love
hotel. In other words, this is a normal hotel. Anyway, Rena-chin, could it be that you
had gone to a love hotel before—.”

“Never! We see things like this often in manga or novels, right? Something like a love
hotel!”

“I wonder, do we~?”

It wasn’t like I read that kind of weird stuff, okay?! I only read normal kinds of shoujo
manga with a bit of spice!

With a Well, whatever attitude, Kaho-chan exchanged her shoes for a pair of slippers
and helped herself into the room.

She set down the plastic bag of snacks and drinks we’d purchased at the convenience
store on the way here onto the glass table, and then threw her body onto the massive
bed with a carefree, “Kyahooo~”

“Y’see, I’ve always wanted to try throwing a girls’ party in love hotel once.”

“You just said love hotel!”

“Eeeh?”

Kaho-chan rolled onto her back, then rested her cheek on her palm. With playful, lazy
eyes, she gazed at me.

“Well, you see, it’s alright for you to go home if you don’t feel like doing this, Rena-chin.
Since I can have fun by throwing an after-party by meowself in this place.”
“Kuh…”

As expected, if the other person was Mai, I would definitely back down and scream
“Impossible!” from the get-go. But this time, the other person was Kaho-chan… in
short, a friend…

Having something like an adult-like girls’ party in a love hotel with a friend was
definitely…

Definitely a fun thing to do!

“You need to keep this a secret from everyone, okay?! That we’re throwing a girls’
party in the love hotel!”

“Yup, since it would be bad if they felt like they were left out when we only threw the
party by ourselves… Nah, wait, if I tell everyone about this, it might be possible that I
could make MaiMai and Aa-chan turn their backs on you…?”

“If you do, I can also expose your photos from back then, you know?!”

We glared at each other. From the depths of our hearts, we had a fierce desire to keep
each other in check.

Fuu. Kaho-chan turned her face away.

“You sure have come a long way, Rena-chin… this is my loss. That’s why let’s forget
about everything and just have fun. Let’s have a party night!”

“Y-yeah… yeah? Yeah.”

Somehow, no matter which one of us lost, we were still going to have a girls’ party in
the end, huh…? No, well, whatever… it wouldn’t change the fact that we were going to
have fun anyway…
“Now now, just come here.”

Kaho-chan beckoned for me with her hand. I took off my shoes and laid down on the
large bed. Waa, how fluffy.

This was my first time in a huge bed like this… no, wait, this wasn’t my first time. Mai’s
bed was around this size.

Uuh, it reminded me of weird things. I shook my head to brush off the thoughts.

“Alright, let’s start the after-party, Kaho-chan!”

“Let’s start, eh. Rather, we’re currently doing it though?”

“This isn’t it! What I wanted wasn’t something so flat like this! I wanted to properly start
it with something like. ‘Well now, this moment is our after party!’ kind of ceremony!”

“Rena-chin is… how should I put it. You sure are weirdly fixated on things sometimes,
huh.”

I had no idea about that. I felt a pang in my chest.

“Eh? Y-you’re wrong… I think. I’m just a very normal, average, right in the middle, kind
of mass-produced type girl after all…”

“That’s funny.”

Funny…?! I was being serious though…

Kaho-chan jumped down from the bed. She took two glasses from the cupboard and
set them down on the table. Then she poured juice into those glasses, which filled with
foam from the drink.

“Well, if so, let’s start this after-party with the ceremony then. If you’re talking about
an after-party ceremony, of course we’re doing this.”

“…! Right!!”
I felt like a loyal dog when I took her hand and slid in front of her. She handed me a
glass and we raised them high.

“Kanpa~i!”

Crap. I was so thrilled right now.

“After-party… so this is an after-party…!”

“Rena-chin, could it be that you were actually raised in a mansion deep in the
mountains without any form of entertainment?”

I opened a bag of chips from one side. Wordlessly, Kaho-chan took the bag from me
and proceeded to tear it wide open, something often done during a party. I grew tense.

Could it be that she had already figured out that I wasn’t used to a girls’ party…?! Since
I’d never shared a bag of chips with anyone after all… She was going to make fun of
me again!

But what should I do… I didn’t even know how many chips to eat, or how fast I should
be eating them. Should I eat some of it and leave some for Kaho-chan…? Nah, it might
be better if I let Kaho-chan eat first and copy her. Like the key movement of the mochi
pounding.

Alright then, this really needed high focus!

Rolling onto the sofa, Kaho-chan opened her mouth.

“Rena-chin, you’re…”

“Eh?! Y-yes!”

If she said something along the lines of, it sure is gross to be stared at when you’re
eating like this, I decided from here on I would only hog the snacks and eat all of them
until I became a gluttony Renako…

Very casually, she asked me, “You never badmouth other people, huh.”

“Eh… r-really?”
“During a girls' party like this, getting fired up by talking about someone you hate is
normal, right? Even so, I’ve never heard anything like that come from your mouth.”

“Ah, that’s, because…”

My body trembled.

Now that I thought about it, I had once heard something like that. Like having a mutual
enemy was exciting. In short, besides catching up after being separated for so long,
should we also be talking about the people we hated to get along better…?!

I gulped slowly as I realized the difficulty of the mission before me.

“R-right… err, but you see! The girl from the class beside ours, she’s quite tall, right?
Whenever I pass her in the halls, she keeps glaring at me. Personally, I think she’s kind
of scary…”

Was this badmouthing? This was just me talking about my fear, wasn’t it…

“Aah, Haughty-san right. She sees Quintet as her enemy after all, meow.”

What an incredible nickname. Huh, this wasn’t the time to let out such a foolish
commentary. Starting now was the real thing. I should unfurl this conversation into an
intense badmouthing session…

“Eh, wait, you got it wrong. It wasn’t like I asked you to start badmouthing people.”

“Eh?”

Kaho-chan laughed while crunching on her potato chips.

“I just thought that it was rare. Since you know, I kinda move through a lot of groups,
right? That’s why I collect all kinds of conversations between girls.”

“Haa.”

So it was like that. But it wasn’t like I thought of myself as someone unique.

“The girls in our group never really talk about things like that, though?”
“Saa-chan does it.”

“Huh, is that bad mouthing…?”

The things that streamed from Satsuki-san’s mouth were justifiable after all. If by any
chance someone became criticized by her, I was convinced that the problems laid with
that person…

“Satsuki-san is—rather than bad mouthing people—she just has a bad mouth, no…?”

“You have a point!”

With that, Kaho-chan broke into laughter. It made me happy.

“And Mai is, she probably thinks that talking about things like that would be a waste
of time anyway. As for Ajisai-san, well I can’t really imagine her saying anything like
that.”

“If by any chance Aa-chan says something like ‘Hey, don’t you think that they are getting
too carried away lately? Shall we make them meet their end?’ I bet it would be super
scary.”

“!”

My eyes sparkled in an instant, a Pocky stick in my mouth.

“S-so you get it! Ajisai-san is, somehow, it’s like we can see that kind of darkness inside
her out of nowhere, right?!”

“I see it, totally see it. Because it’s impossible for that kind of perfect girl to exist after
all. It wouldn’t be weird if she’s actually hiding her 99 boyfriends.”

“Ri~~~ght~~~! I get you so much~~~!”

It was my first time sharing the same opinion about Ajisai-san with other people. I
couldn’t help but feel happy. So I wasn’t the only one who had a distorted hallucination
about Ajisai-san!

“And like, I also do it anyway.”

Ah, it was about badmouthing people. Kaho-chan stuck out her tongue.

“That’s why I think that Rena-chin sure is rare.”

Hmmm… The reason why I wasn’t really keen on badmouthing people was that often
things we spoke of others could boomerang back to us later on…

Like the time when we were treated unfairly by other people. Back in middle school,
my thoughts were only filled with myself after all, which had led to the unpleasant
treatment from those around me. That was the result of my thoughts.

“Nah, it’s not like I did it out of kindness… If I had to put it into words, it’s because I
had a complex about myself and I couldn’t bring myself to talk about other people, that
kind of thing.”

“Complex? You?”

“Eh?”

I was stunned at her skeptical expression.

“…on the other hand, did you see me as someone without a complex?” I asked.

“Nn… 50-50?”

“I’m smeared with it then, eh!”

I ended up shouting an embarrassing word inside the strange room of the love hotel.

“I wanted to be as pure and straightforward as Ajisai-san, as strong as Satsuki-san, as

bright and cheerful as Kaho-chan, and like Mai… no, forget about Mai… I’m always
thinking of things like that day and night!”

“Fuun…”

Kaho-chan gulped her cola.

“Well, I can understand that.”

“Kaho-chan can?!”

“Is it really that surprising? I don’t know what kind of person I am in your eyes, but
I’ve always felt jealousy toward the people around me. A how envious~ kind of thought
that has always lingered in my head.”

Envying others was understandable, but I didn’t really understand the feeling of
jealousy since it was something I rarely felt. After all, whenever someone of my caliber
felt any jealousy toward other people, Renako from middle school would come and
stab me with a nail, saying, “Don’t you dare to get too carried away now.”

Kaho-chan laughed, and then directed her cold gaze on the corner of the table. I had a
hunch that her true feelings were spilling out through that gaze.

Nevertheless, the girl who was always pulling stubborn and spoiled moves turned out
to have a complex, huh… You really couldn’t understand humans, eh.

No, but could it be that I also appeared the same to her through the way I saw Kaho-
chan…?

No no no, the ever-popular cosplayer Kaho-chan would never have reason to be

jealous of me.

Like blowing off the stagnant air around us, Kaho-chan opened her mouth once again.

“Even though with a little bit more height I can properly do the characters I want…!
Even height increase insoles have their limit after all! I need to add at least 15 cm if I
want to try cosplaying boys anyway! If only I was the same height as Rena-chin!”

“Th-that’s, I’m sorry for that…! I can’t share it with you after all, so…”

“Mukii!”

Kaho-chan threw her body onto me. I yelped in surprise and got tackled onto the
carpet.

“Fufufu, like this?“

“Ah, hehehe…”
Both of us were sprawled on the floor. Kaho-chan brought her face closer.

Her smile was different from the usual lively one she always had. That smile was… it
was so enchanting that I couldn’t compare it to anyone else’s.

“U-um you see,” I began.

“Hm?”

“So I… often thoughtlessly charge into something that is regarded as sensitive by

others, but you see, I always envy you since you’re able to put them straight back on
the right track easily, just like what you did.”

“Mu.”

I continued my words awkwardly.

“But you see, it’s not like that I feel jealous, maybe. Because Kaho-chan, you live and
interact with a lot of people properly, so much that you became the current Kaho-chan.
When I heard that you faced adults whenever you’re doing your cosplay, I instantly
thought that you sure are amazing. It’s not something I can do after all. And so…”

I always thought of you as someone dazzling.

Before I could say those words, Kaho-chan covered my mouth with her hands.

“Muguu?!”

“What is it? Rena-chin. Since we’re inside the love hotel, you’re trying to sweet-talk
me, huh?”

I shook my head desperately. You’ve got it wrong!

“You made my heart skip a beat though… how annoying. By someone like Rena-chin!
How annoying!”

“What the heck do you mean by ‘someone like me’?!”

The corner of Kaho-chan’s lips lifted into a smirk, “Hey, hey, I just thought of something
interesting. Is it alright if I tease and mess with you?”
“Do you really think I would allow that?!”

I fixed my posture on the sofa, and then Kaho-chan came up around me. She rested
her weight on me, embracing me from behind.

I wondered if her high body temperature was due to her petite stature. The softness
of her body lingered on me. Of course I could act calm… calm! I insisted.

“Ha, haa? I-it’s not like something this level can affect me though.”

This girl—it was because she was being oddly confident about her claims that I liked
girls… good grief.

“Rub rub, touch touch.”

“I’m not thinking of anything. Forget about getting excited, it’s making me ticklish
instead.”

I wasn’t going to be someone who always got beaten by Kaho-chan. Getting hugged
from behind inside a love hotel room wouldn’t do much for me. It wouldn’t work on
me!

“Tch, so my charm is no longer working on you and making you excited, huh. How
dejecting… Well then, let's just watch television then…”

“Fufun.”

Kaho-chan picked up the remote from beside me as I reveled in my victory over her.

Pat. The television flicked on. At that moment, I was struck by a loud moan.

[—————————]

………huh?!

I turned my body around, my reaction slightly delayed.

“What the heck is this, wait, huh?! Wa-eh?!”

“Ahahahahahahaha—” Kaho-chan roared with laughter.

On the television was—very very explicitly—the scene of a man and woman in the
middle of making love! But why?!

“Ka-Kaho-chan, this is…!”

“Nah, it sure is covered by mosaic, huh.”

“I don’t care though!”

I turned my face away with all of my might. Inside the room, the ah, ah, ah, ah voice
from the woman echoed. It was a given that I would feel awkward during this
situation!

“Nah, since we’re in a love hotel you know? We’re only watching it anyway, and it
would be a loss if we’re not watching it.”

“You said everything was for the sake of messing with me earlier, right?!”

“Ah, see there, Rena-chin. That actress, doesn’t she look like someone from our Quintet
group?”

“Eh?!”

I turned my gaze onto the television restlessly. In that particular scene, the camera
was filming the pretty actress up close… no, no no no no.

“She doesn’t look like anyone!”

“Ahahahaha! So, who did you think of?”

“Geez, just turn it off!”

While still trying to suppress her laugh, Kaho-chan clicked the remote again and
changed the channel.

“Ooh, this one is also porn, eh. The theme is picking up ladies on the street, eh. Look,
Rena-chin.”

“I’m not going to look, though?!”

Damn it, Kaho-chan you jerk… so you planned to beat me by doing this from the start…
Even though I’d felt the amazing air of friendship just a while ago…!

How frustrating. I wanted to have something I could use against her.

“Ah right, speaking of our final exam results—!”

“Ah, that, huh. I heard from Saa-chan that you did your best. How admirable. You’re a
very admwirable gwirl, eh. By the way, I placed ninth in our grade.”

Turned out that she was a being out of my reach.

“But why?! Even though we attended the same B-class during cram school?!”

“As a high-school girl, cosplaying as a hobby means a huge and tough effort should be
done in order to be acknowledged by your parents.”

“I don’t get it… why—why is it only me…?”

I covered my face with my palms. Mai, Satsuki-san, Ajisai-san, and Kaho-chan—

everyone had good grades. Everyone was different from me. They were incredible. I
was the only one who wasn’t good enough. I felt like I was free-falling into darkness.

Did I—did I really have no other option…? Kaho-chan’s weakness… somewhere,

whatever it is…

While I was lost in my own thoughts, Kaho-chan said, “I’m going to take a bath now.”
and left for the bathroom. Once inside, she poked her head out and gave me a teasing
smirk.

“Wanna dip in together, Rena-chin?”

“No thank you!”

“Huh, why though? Getting into the bath together with a friend is normal, right? Hey,
could it be that since I’m so adorable you started to become aware of me? Eeeh?”

“Grrrrr……”

Saying this and that unreasonably! Your mouth is sure in good shape, huh!
“I get it! I’m going too, I just need to go in, right! It is just something like rinsing our
bodies anyway! It really is no big deal!”

“I’m leaving you to wash my back, Rena-chin☆”

“Just do whatever you want!”

When I thought about it calmly, regardless of whether it was with a friend or not,
surely my heart would beat fast when I saw a cute girl naked (in a nervous way), which
only meant that it was my loss before the battle even started.

Life was sure… something, like this. Even understanding it would be a defeat,
sometimes we couldn’t stop ourselves from continuing to challenge the obstacle
before our eyes… Whether right now was the moment or not, I had no clue…

With that, not wasting any time, I stripped down to only my underwear. Clutching my
towel around me, I called to Kaho-chan, “The bath is ready now.” Let’s take the
initiative for now.

“Alright, I’m going now~”

Kaho-chan took out a glasses case from her bag and placed it by the sink.

Come to think of it, Minaguchi-san wore glasses, didn’t she? Well, compared to the
current Kaho-chan, I couldn’t see a single trace of the timid girl from back then…

“Kaho-chan, when did you change into contact lenses?”

“Around middle school, I think? It’s way easier once you get used to it. Besides—”

She took off her contact lenses since she was about to enter the bath.

And then, she stopped.

“Huh? Kaho-chan?”

Did your tummy start hurting? was what I was gonna ask before I saw her face turning
blue.

“This isn’t good…”

“Huh? What happened?!”

Kaho-chan murmured, “I ended up taking off my normie cosplay…”

……

“Huh??”

Huh, what did she mean by that?

Kaho-chan’s voice became high-pitched.

“O-okay, a bath with Amaori-san… wait no, Rena-chin, right… huh? A bath?! Nah it’s
alright though! Of course I can easily do that!”

“Err, uh-huh.”

As I was wondering what just happened, seeing the current Kaho-chan reminded me
of the stiff Amaori Renako who stood before the camera during the photoshoot.
“Uh… since I gotta take off my clothes, can I ask you to turn meoway… since it’s going
to be nerve-wracking.”

“Huh? A-alright, I got it.”

I imagined Kaho-chan as someone who wouldn’t mind not having a single thread
covering her body, so this kind of reaction was rather unexpected. Huh, could it be that
this was one of her latest ways to tease me…?

“Well then, I’m getting in first.”

“Yesh…” Her voice trailed off when she answered me.

I snuck a cover look at her profile that somehow painted with the colour of
anxiousness. There was also no sign of her composure from before. What exactly…

I rinsed my body under the shower and then soaked inside the hot water. The love
hotel’s bathtub sure had an uncommon shape: round and huge. Considering its size, it
was easy for me to straighten my legs.

“It feels so good.”

I let the hot water permeate my body. It was like my exhaustion had vanished.

But still, Kaho-chan sure was taking her time, eh. Right as I started wondering about
that, Kaho-chan entered the bathroom, hiding herself with a towel. Her red skin
reminded me of a baby's, which conveyed her embarrassment throughout her whole
body.

“U-umm, listen Rena-chin… since I didn’t really sweat today I only need to take a
shower.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Th-that’s a lie, well, that’s the case so…”

She was behaving awfully modestly.

I stopped nodding. Wait a minute. Detective Renako (who?) suddenly came over me
with these thoughts.

“Umm, Kaho-chan—back then you said “Normie cosplay” or something along those
lines, right? Could it be that it’s the same as mine?” I said it half-jokingly, but some of it
contained the results of my sleuthing,

“…y-yeah, well.”

Kaho-chan jolted and then began shaking. Her body suddenly seemed smaller.

“In short, Watson-kun, by putting on your contacts, you also hypnotize yourself to
become someone with a high level of social skills, am I wrong?”

“R-right…… Huh? What did—Watson-kun…?”

Seeing the flicker in Kaho-chan’s eyes reminded me of Minaguchi-san from my

memories.

“Eh, really? Then behind that Kaho-chan who always talked with me, the daily super
Kaho-chan, there’s the real Kaho-chan buried inside?”

“W-well… you can say it like that, probably meow… B-but, it’s not like I’m trying to hide
it. S-since it’s not something necessary for anyone to know after all… so…” Kaho-chan
began to mumble.

So that was why she had suggested something like that back then. It was out of her
personal experience after all. Her personality really took a 180 too…

I see, I see, so the current Kaho-chan still had that reserved side of hers from back
then, the timid Minaguchi-san. Indeed, she really had me convinced. It made me happy
to meet the friend from long ago.

In short, this was my chance, right? My eyes sparkled.

Of course I could use this opportunity to get back at her for everything, every time she
made fun of me, right? This moment.

Now was the only chance, the chance for Amaori Renako to defeat Koyanagi Kaho,
right?!

Alright. I laughed as I covered my mouth with my hand. Just like what Kaho-chan
usually did.

“Huuuh, Kaho-chan, could it be that you are too shy to take a bath together?”

Kaho-chan was—just like the usual me—flustered, her eyes moving about rapidly. She
looked at me, her whole face red.

“Eh?! N-no. Of course that’s not the case at all!”

“Well then, let’s get in together, Kaho-chan. Just come here, now.”

“…w-well, if you insist then, it can’t be helped alright? It's not like I can’t after all… ah,
but I should wash my body properly first…”

After saying that, Kaho-chan walked to the shower awkwardly and then stopped there.

“Kaho-chan.”

“W-what ish it?!”

Again, Kaho-chan spun around in surprise. To think that she let out that incredible
reaction, how amusing… For a bit, I started to understand how Kaho-chan usually felt.

“Nah, you still have your towel on, see? You won’t be able to use it later if you let it get
wet, you know?”

“Th-that’s true… eeh, I should put it away…”

Kaho-chan, who was removing her towel timidly, kind of gave off the impression of a
newly wedded wife on her first night. Somehow it was weirdly giving off a lewd feeling,
no…?

“Ooh right, I remember. Kaho-chan, back then you asked me to wash your back, right?”

“D-did I really?!”

When my naked body entered her field of vision, she yelped, “Myaa.” Even though I
was the one being seen, oddly enough, I didn’t feel any sort of embarrassment. So this
was how it felt when you were the one doing the attacking…!

“Uuuuu~~~…… why on earth did I say something conceited like that… Even though I
knew that I would have to take off my contact lenses before the bath~~……”

“Hehehe, now, now, just take a seat.”

I made Kaho-chan take a seat, and then positioned myself behind her. I retrieved the
towel to wash her back and twitched my hands. They were itching to do something.
Well then—payback time!

“Dear customer, you sure look shy, eh.”

“Th-that’s, because… it’s not like that I have a nice figure like you… of course this is
embarrassing for me…”

“Nah, you’re wrong. My chest is just a bit bigger…”

There was a huge mirror in front of us. Through that mirror, I could perfectly see Kaho-
chan’s red face. Kaho-chan, who had her hair down, looked so beautiful that I couldn’t
stop my heart from skipping a beat.

“Besides, Kaho-chan is, you see, I think you’re already cute anyway.”

“Uuu… th-thank you… But you don’t have to praise me like that…”

Kaho-chan somehow seemed smaller than before. Compared to her usual behavior,
this was dangerous. Because of that, I ended up thinking she was multiple times cuter
than before.

What was this feeling, I wondered…? The feeling like I wanted to tease her more,
wanted to see her troubled face more, wanted her to show me her embarrassing sides,
or so…

I bet this was the same feeling as the urge to keep messing with a cat who despised
being touched.

“Actually, I didn’t want to be cute since I wanted to be a beauty…” she said.

“Is that so?”

“Hyaa?!”

I slowly placed the towel onto her soft back. Kaho-chan was so surprised the muscles
in her back tensed up. I couldn’t stop the heat from filling my face.

“Kaho-chan, your reaction was a bit over the top, don’t you think…?”

“S-sorry! It feels ticklish so…”

She apologized despite not doing anything wrong. This really made me feel like I had
just done something I shouldn’t… Fufufu, let’s make her properly understand that I
wasn’t a small fry…

I washed every single inch of her skin, from her back to her butt, her shoulders and
upper arms. Slowly and gently, I moved my hand so I wouldn’t hurt this lovely girl’s
soft skin.

“Uh, nya……… nn, fuuh…”

Sometimes, I could hear Kaho-chan’s sighs mixed in with her voice. It slowly
overlapped with the moans from the television earlier, causing a sense of restlessness
inside me.

“Rena-chin… thash wash ticklish… nya, ah…”

Uuh, Kaho-chan’s adorable voice was, my ears…

Wait no, this was… if I kept doing this, I would turn weird!

It was fun washing a cute girl’s back with her consent like this, but it was plainly
impossible for me to continue! Let’s stop around here for now!

Before I bared my worthlessness more than this, I decided to retreat. Well, it was
sufficient enough anyway. Which means, I had returned every debt I had to you. Fuu…
that was nerve-wracking…

“O-okay then, I’m done with the back.”

When I thought I’d properly finished rinsing her back, at that moment—

“Uu… o-okaay……”

Like it was a very natural thing to do, Kaho-chan timidly turned around to face me.

Ha……………………?!

I froze for a moment.

Kaho-chan was shaking, her eyes squeezed shut. I understood that at this moment,
she was really doing her best to endure the disgrace she had been placed in. Her tiny
hands were crumpled into fists.

Eh, what was this……? Did she also want me to wash her front……?

Right now, Kaho-chan looked really vulnerable. Her petite chest, the slender and cute
waist, those soft-looking thighs, her toes that curled in—everything looked like a fine
dish on the plate. It was like everything, every part of the scene, was served for me
only. I didn’t expect her to be this defenseless.

Even I started to think that I’d pushed her too much! I was so—!

I perfectly understood that this was a sole opportunity for me, but! If right at this
moment I managed to turn around our standing, then I could secure this superior
position against her for the rest of my life, probably… In short, me above, and Kaho-
chan below…!

Should I do it…?

I slowly reached out and touched her body through the towel.

“……nyaa…”

“………………………”

The voice that escaped through her lips ignited the fire inside my head.

The popular girl at school, also the cosplayer Nagipo-chan, was currently in a form
that no one knew about… Kaho-chan who furrowed her eyebrows while filled with
shame was currently trembling along with each of my movements.

Somehow this was kinda…

It was kinda, dangerous, right!

I shouldn’t do this. This was the end of my courage. If I kept doing this, Kaho-chan
would end up showing up inside my dirty dream. Even this moment was already too
dicey for me. I felt like I had secreted far too much dopamine today.
I placed the towel on her palm.

“Alright, it’s over.”

Kaho-chan slowly opened her eyes. With a feverish face, she stared at me from the
corner of her eyes at a lower angle and asked me in a hushed voice,

“Ah, err… are you really done…?”

Eh?!

What the heck was with that question?! Did you imply that you wanted more?! Oi oi,
so you decided to plead, huh? What a cheeky little kitty, this…!

I was supposed to be the one attacking though, yet somewhere I had transitioned into
being the one attacked?!

Kuh, to get flustered right now, you’re sure behaving like a small fry, Amaori Renako!
Right now I was the one on top! Right now, the only thing I should do is to show my
composure and answer, “Well, this time is special, alright?” though?!

“Y-yeah. Kaho-chan’s skin was very soft. I had fun.”

Flash. I did the wink that I wasn’t used to. Kaho chan groaned, “Ah… uuuuuu.” For a
moment, like she had regained herself, she snatched the towel that I gave her earlier.

“Rena-chin you evil… you’ll pay for this~……”

Hearing that weak voice pushed me to boldly declare my victory.

“Fu, fufu~n, I’ll always gladly become your opponent, whenever you want♡ Well, for
you the weakling♡adorable~♡Kaho-chan, I don’t know whether you can defeat me or
not, though!”

“Rena-chin you, big idioooot~~……”

It seemed like I had managed to protect my position until the end. Fuuh. That was
dangerous.

Even being the one attacking required a huge effort, huh… Could it be that it was also
the same with Mai, Ajisai-san, and Satsuki-san all along…? Hm, nah that wasn’t
possible! They weren’t me after all!

Kaho-chan and I sat next to each other in the bathtub, soaking up the hot water.

Considering the size of the bath, it was easy for us to comfortably stretch our legs like
this. Love hotel baths were so pleasant. Also, we only needed to push a single button
to turn the bath into a jacuzzi. It made me very elated.

It also looked like Kaho-chan’s nervousness had eased up compared to earlier. Kaho-
chan was still in her recluse mode when she sunk into the water up to her mouth.
Staring at me resentfully, she murmured, “Rena-chin, somehow you seem like you’re
used to this…”

“Eh, really? (joy)”

Well, I had gotten used to having baths with beauties after all. I had a rich amount of
experiences in that aspect.

Sorry that was a lie. I wasn't used to it. I was betting on my life every time I did it.

“The power of normies…”

Yeah, as I thought, Kaho-chan might have very bad eyesight after all. Or, it was also
possible that because her overflowing normie power was suppressed right now, she
had been deceived by my normie power which basically amounted to nothing.

Splash splash. Kaho-chan wet her face with the bath water.

“I’m really not good, eh… the moment I take off my contact lenses, I can’t properly
communicate with other people… I also can’t really say the things I want to express.”

“Is that so.” (I get you.)

“While shopping in a convenience store, even though I bought a lot of things like bento,
ice cream, chips, and water bottles, I couldn’t bring myself to ask the cashier for a
plastic bag. Since I couldn’t find the right timing to say it, I ended up doing my best to
bring everything home by lugging it in my arms…”

“I see.” (I get you)

Renako from middle-school years appeared while nodding, “Aah, that type of socially
awkward person, huh.”

In this world, there were two types of socially awkward people. The one who didn’t
speak since they found it hard, and the type who kept talking without thinking since
they found it hard. While Kaho-chan was the first type, I belonged to the second type.
Past-tense, okay?!

“But it sure was interesting, that normie cosplay mode.”

“Nn… when I’m in it, I feel like I really can do it… I really like the feeling of completely
becoming a character after all, and thus, it becomeow like this… When I think of doing
normie cosplay, I start to be able to do things I usually can’t and I’m bolder than
usual…”

“I see. I kinda get it when you put it that way.”

Even my [High-school Debut] was something I did by envisioning the version of me I

wanted to become, so it kinda resembled cosplaying in some way.

The me right now was someone different from the usual me! If I didn’t keep repeating
those words inside my head, I might have ended up unable to speak to Mai on that
opening ceremony day.

“Kaho-chan really likes cosplaying, huh.”

“……yup, I like it.”

Hearing that honest and simple answer, even I could understand that her words were
genuine, without any useless embellishment in the way she spoke.

“There’s only one me and I’m proud to say that I like cosplaying without losing to
anyone. That’s why I really had fun when I cosplayed together with Rena-chin. I really
had fun.”

“Ah, yeah…”

Her feeling of endearment was so direct that I naturally nodded along.

Then, I asked her.

“Hey, Kaho-chan… that ‘like’ feeling of yours, how does it feel?”

“How does it feel, eh… Hmm… it made my body feel like floating, something that makes
me want to run, I wonyder…?

“…I see.”

Kaho-chan was really incredible.

I wondered if I had the same amount of feelings toward something.

I was convinced that the feelings Mai and Ajisai-san harbored toward me might have
been the same type of passion like the one Kaho-chan had toward her cosplay. It made
me happy but… yeah, it was frightening.

I wondered if I could reciprocate the same level of emotion.

I didn’t know. It was also possible that I would never be able to reciprocate… even so,
I wanted to return their feelings.

I wanted to have confidence, I wanted to reply to their words with my own words,
something that was born from within my own heart.
“Hey, Kaho-chan.” My mouth stopped before I could ask her. What do you think I should
do?

I almost said something naive. Yeah, as I thought, asking her something like that
wouldn’t do me any good.

This was something I definitely should solve on my own.

“You see…”

But well, of course I wasn’t clever enough to come up with something quickly halfway.
With that, my head and my body acted in a different way than I had intended.

In short, while I was staring at Kaho-chan next to me, I ended up saying something
like this.

“Your boobs have a really pretty shape, huh.”

“———”

Kaho-chan swiveled around swiftly. With teary eyes, she shouted, “Rena-chin you huge
pervert!”

After that, Kaho-chan immediately left the bath so I enjoyed the wide bathtub by
myself. Her voice saying ‘huge pervert’ kept reverberating in my head. Somehow her
voice inside my head pained me…

It wasn’t like I was a pervert though… Because, if by any chance I was one, I would
definitely not let go of the chance to grope her boobs while washing her body earlier,
right…? In short, I wasn’t a pervert, right? This was the perfect argument, don’t you
think? As expected I wasn’t one after all!

At that moment, I heard a scream from the room.

“Honyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Eh, an enemy’s attack?!

Swish. I quickly got up from the bath. I dried off my body sloppily with a towel and
then hurriedly approached Kaho-chan.

When I got there, Kaho-chan was peering at her phone through her glasses in shock.

“Wh-what is it, what’s happening…?”

“Ah, Rena-chin… huh wait, why are you naked?! Are you showing off your boobs or
what?!”

“I’m not! It’s because you were screaming out of nowhere!”

She covered her face with her palms, and between those fingers, she peeked at me. It
was rather embarrassing, so I retreated to the bathroom once again. After I put on my
bathrobe, I approached her again.

I examined her carefully. For now, it wasn’t like she had been shot out of nowhere, so
that was great. But considering her wide eyes, she probably wasn’t in a great condition.

“I-is something wrong?”

“You see, you see… something crazily incredible just happened. That incredible, you
see…”

Kaho-chan kept rambling, unable to tell me what was happening. In the end, she
shoved her phone into my face and let me see it by myself.

“I got invited… this me, to the Makuhari Cosplay Summit. I got invited to…”

“Eh?!”

I gazed at the screen that was awfully close to my eyes. It seemed like a direct message
that had come from the organizer.

“It’s an event where they invite eight groups of cosplayers currently trending to put
on a show… It’s held every year, but they always invite popular cosplayers only… To
think that they invited someone like me to this event… is this real…?”

“Eh, incredible. It’s very amazing then, Kaho-chan! Eh, how amazing is this?”

“If my cosplay power level is around 12,000…”

“Uh-huh. Eh? Ah, uh-huh.”

She suddenly said an interesting word. I ended up thinking, that’s based on follower
count, right?

“This one is only befitting for people in the top 500…”

“Funfun… Eh?! Kaho-chan, you’re among Japan’s top 500 cosplayers?! Isn’t that a very
amazing feat?!”

Hearing my question, Kaho-chan shook her head, flustered.

“You’re wrong! The godly popular cosplayers are for the top 300! Below that, we’re
practically just casually bunched up together! That’s why it isn’t like that to someone
like me, that’s not—that’s not it!”

Kaho-chan only let out a loud voice when denying something. I felt an oddly familiar
feeling. (I get it)

“Makuhari Cosplay Summit is an event where only those in the top 100 are invited. It’s
a distinguished event nationwide……”

That moment, Kaho-chan suddenly stopped, just like a breakdown machine. It was
worrying.

“……………… that’s why, it’s also understandable if the organizer wants to discover new
talents by handing out invitations to the newbies, and I think I fulfilled that condition,
but—”

Hearing this much, my thoughts hadn’t changed at all. I was still thinking: “Kaho-chan
is awesome!”

Because, it was like those FPS pro-gamer videos that I often watched casually, people
who were invited to special events like that, right? She was totally on the performing
side, then…

“You’re incredible after all, Kaho-chan! Kaho-chan’s the best!”

In contrast to my excitement, Kaho-chan’s eyes spun.

“I’m going to turn them down…”

“Wait?! Why?!”

I grabbed her wrist as Kaho-chan typed with her unhuman speed, “It is impossible for
me, my apologies.” I restrained her in a fluster.

“Because if someone like me joins this event, I feel bad for the others who didn’t get
invited…” she said.

“But you are the one who got chosen, right?! Be proud of that!”

“Even though there are others who walk this path far more seriously than me… but if
I’m the one on that stage… it would offend them…”

That way of thinking was painfully familiar, but still!

“You’re wrong! This means that they approve of all the hard work you’ve done up until
now!” I shouted from the depths of my heart. Kaho-chan raised her face.

Against those eyes that were filled with uneasiness, I tried to convince her.

“You sincerely enjoy cosplay and bring enjoyment to people who see you! This is why
you’re able to achieve great things! This is the result of your own hard work!”

It was also written in the message. The reason they had invited Nagipo-san was
because they wanted to broaden the fans’ age range.

Even the ladies who had come to her private photoshoot sessions had done it because
they wholeheartedly supported her. She had made a lot of people fall for her by
showing her genuine passion toward cosplay.
“That’s why, you see, it might be hard to make a decision right now, but…”

Doing this, I couldn’t help but think even though I couldn’t push myself to be brave, I
sure jumped far ahead by pushing Kaho-chan like this.

Even so, even so… the truth was that I also wanted to show my courage.

Kaho-chan too… I was sure that she also felt the same.

That was why… I held Kaho-chan’s hand and then stared into her eyes.

“Let’s try doing it, Kaho-chan. I will definitely support you as long as I’m capable of
that.”

“Rena-chin…”

Her eyes wavered, but—

Kaho-chan gripped the phone in her hand. And then nodded slightly.

“Thank you for telling me that… It’s not only fun stuff since sometimes I had the
thought to stop even though I’d come this far, but yeah. I’ll think about this a little bit…”

“Yup!”

The deadline for the confirmation of attendance was next week. She had a lot more
time to agonize over this, but I believed in her. Because—

When I looked at her smile, I could see a faint glitter in her eyes. I wanted to believe
that it was proof of her hard work up until this day.

I finished drying my hair and then plopped down in the bed next to her.

“Kaho-chan, you’re going to sleep already?”

“Umm… I think I started to feel sleepy…”

She lifted herself up while rubbing her eyes.

We brushed our teeth next to each other using the hotel's (probably) amenities. Kaho-
chan somehow looked listless compared to her usual liveliness. I was shown yet
another side of hers, which was unbelievably adorable. She had really done her best
today. Also, to think that kind of message came at the end of the day, she must have
been exhausted both in body and mind. Even during today’s photoshoot, she’d given
off the air that it was her one-man show.

“Kaho-chan, we’re close to the bed.”

“Unyaa…”

I led her to the bed by the hand. Just like that, Kaho-chan threw her body across the
fluffy huge bed.

I tucked the blanket over her body. Doing something like this made me feel like I was
her big sister. Ashi-High’s little sister wasn’t born simply because of her cosplay, it was
also because Kaho-chan's own charm pulled out people’s desire to protect her.

Well, that was a given. It was impossible to turn into a completely different person by
only changing clothes. It would’ve been great if that was true, but… of course that
wasn’t how things worked. I was also sure of it because Kaho-chan said that she
‘wanted’ to be a beauty.

“Rena-chin~…”

“Yee~s.”

I also slid onto the bed. The love hotel bed was huge after all. Forget two people, I bet
four people could easily climb in and sleep together.

But, huh, how to turn the lights off…? I fiddled with the buttons near the bed, but it
only made a song come out, or controlled the strange indirect lighting above us.

Somehow, I managed to find the right button and switched off the lights. I should get
to bed then.

Kaho-chan shifted closer to me.

Waa. Suddenly Kaho-chan placed her head on my stomach with a purr in her throat.
She was very light, like a real cat.

“Ka-Kaho-chan?”

Her body that had been in the bath earlier felt warm. It made me think that it must
feel great to embrace that warmth for a good night's sleep.

“Eh, what, what is it?”

Having things happen like this wasn’t about normies and recluses. This was a reality
where I was in a situation with an extremely adorable girl right before me…!

What if Kaho-chan said something like, “I can’t sleep without my body pillow,”? Would
I spend a long night awake getting hugged by her?

That moment, with a voice like she was dreaming, Kaho-chan opened her mouth.

“Rena-chin’s stomach is so squishy… what a great pillow. So comfortable for sleeping…”

“Of course—huh?! Eh, I sincerely thank you for your humble praise?!”

Did she just imply that I was fat? That was—

Fufu. Kaho-chan giggled.

“I heard that the approval rate would be higher if you’re a bit squashy.”

But actually, you girls who were more slender were far more popular than me,
though… I managed to hold back from shouting that in her tiny ears.

Since the fact was that the one person Kaho-chan had feelings for liked me.

With the same voice, Kaho-chan asked me.

“Hey… Rena-chin, do you still like MaiMai?”

“That’s—”

It felt like something from a long time ago. That day at the hotel in Akasaka, the time
when Kaho-chan asked me, “Rena-chin, you also like MaiMai, right?!” That time, I was
convinced that she had the wrong idea, but…

Since that day, a lot of things have happened.

Mai’s gentle smile flashed inside my mind

The warmth of her fingers, her scent.

The taste of her kiss.

Being stubborn, I had pretended not to see everything, trying to hide it all.

Even so, I wanted to be like Kaho-chan.

To be able to honestly face it, my feelings of ‘liking’ someone.

I didn’t say anything for a while. And then, I opened my mouth.

“……yeah, I like her, probably.”

I felt like I was only able to be honest because the one before me right now was Kaho-
chan.

I felt like she was laughing as she heard my answer.

“I see.”

Since she was still using my stomach as her pillow, I was worried she would be able to
hear my loud heart beat.

If we were simply talking about whether I liked her or not, perhaps, I have liked her
since the beginning.

I only kept saying that I wanted us to be friends because I didn’t have the confidence.
I didn’t want people to hate me. Of course, having a relationship like a lover was
something that felt too far away for me.

“I too, will not lose.”

There was a pain in my chest. I wondered if Kaho-chan would resent me in the end,
whoever I chose…

I kind of hated it though, being resented by Kaho-chan…

If that was the case, wouldn't it be better if I didn’t choose anyone—? Yeah, these kinds
of thoughts only allowed me to run away. Let’s just lock them inside.

In life, there were a lot of places to run away from every problem. In fact, I also kept
running away from a lot of things, for the sake of protecting myself.

It was just—it made me wonder. In the end, what was my main goal of having a high-
school debut?

Could it be that I had wanted a friend who would never betray me, or to achieve a
standing where my classmates always made a fuss over me, or to lead a blinding high-
school life?

If those weren’t my desires, then—

“Yeah, Kaho-chan.”

I stroked her soft hair.

“I’ll also do my best.”

“Nn!”

With a lively nod, she pumped her fist in the air. It grazed my nose—scary.
“…let’s just sleep, Kaho-chan.”

She didn’t respond to my words.

“…Kaho-chan?”

I lifted my head and looked at Kaho-chan.

She was sound asleep, lying comfortably on top of my stomach.

“Wait, Kaho-chan?! Eh, wait a minute! I can’t move an inch though?!”

You’re going to sleep like this tonight?! Kaho-chan, Kaho-chan!!

After a while, Kaho-chan left to use the bathroom, sounding half-asleep. Using that
chance, I was finally able to fall asleep properly. That was dangerous. Well, having a
cute girl sleep this defenselessly and so close that our shoulders were practically
touching also seemed dangerous though…!

But well, yeah, I felt like my MP that kept being exhausted since the end of the summer
had recovered quite a bit.

The odd thing was—even though I skipped school and laid on my bed for a whole day,
my body had been refreshed but my mind hadn’t.

Instead, when I walked toward a certain goal, and in the end, I could complete the
obstacle before me to reach that goal. Having an after-party with a friend like this.
Talking about stupid things and laughing together. Doing all of these somehow,
somehow made my mind clearer than ever. I wondered what the reason was.

Finally, I could say that I felt calm and composed.

Thank you, Kaho-chan.

With this, I came to the determination to stop myself from running away and properly
face the problems before me.

Next, it would be my turn to do my best.

That had happened during middle school. More specifically, it’d happened when I had
yet to become a shut-in, when one of my classmates had made a fuss about her having
a boyfriend.

My thoughts at that time were simply: “Fuun.”

My other impression was something along the lines of it feeling like an event that had
happened in another world.

Perhaps that was also why when Mai confessed to me, I answered her straight up with,
“I can’t go out with you.” I had chosen that path, which had eventually led me to mix in
every single reason I could find to justify my argument.

For me, [Going out with someone] was an action with the same meaning as [Taking
responsibility for each other’s lives]. It was that heavy.

Because, even within the shounen manga I read, the protagonists would make a once-
in-a-lifetime confession, and that scene would be the climax of the story. Never once
had I realized that in the real world, there would be a continuation from that moment.

I also didn’t know that most humans couldn’t have their first love fulfilled, go through
breakups, and become an adult while walking through those phases. During their
growth, eventually they would meet ‘the real one’, marry each other, and then start
walking down the path of life together.

Well, if that's the case, isn’t it okay to treat your first lover lightly?… those kinds of
thoughts didn’t form inside my head. If someone’s ideal could be changed that easily,
then I bet life would be far more easier…

On top of that, to think that my first confession came from the most popular person in
our school, someone extraordinary who resembled the sun—it would be a given that
if I actually went out with her, I would be attacked by my own complex 24 hours a day,
becoming overwhelmed and crushed.

It wasn’t like I wanted to be a protagonist from shoujo manga who somehow catches
the Super Darling’s eyes. I simply wanted to live the pages of a slice-of-life manga,
where I could enjoy my days peacefully.

Even so, the days I spent with Mai had been enjoyable. My heart beats fast when our
hands intertwined. Our kisses sometimes led to some dangerous situations where our
bodies laid on each other. Considering everything that happened, somehow, I still
stubbornly said that we were friends.

Humans weren't simply formed by themselves.

Humans received influence from others when growing up. Something like manga,
games, or television shows, or also from families, friends, stuff they see on the news.
In the end, humans were composed of a lot of things.

And that moment, I realized my body already had a piece of Oozuka Mai fused inside,
which had become a part of me.

The messages she sent late at night while I was gaming. The photos of herself, the
dashing Oozuka Mai. Her voice on the phone during our casual phone calls. Her smile,
which resembled the sun.

Since the beginning, Mai had displayed everything and showed me the truth.

It was impossible for an Olympic athlete to have a short-distance running match with
a grade-schooler. But the ability to communicate with each other wasn’t something
visible. Even though we could bare our true abilities to some degree, in the end we
couldn’t really comprehend each other’s level of communication no matter how hard
we tried.

I’d like to think that the relationship between Mai and I was something along those
mechanisms.
Me, who desperately kept up my appearance even though I was barely able to have a
conversation with other people, was like a baby learning to walk for the first time. On
the other hand, Mai was like a mother, gently holding my hands and guiding me.

Patiently waiting for my mind to mature.

She kept lighting my way—always, always, leading me.

Honestly, I still couldn’t surely say that these feelings are love, even so.

Towards Mai, I—

What exactly could I do to repay everything she did for me?

***

“Oozuka-san?”

“Y-yes.”

It was break time, and I met Michiru-sensei in the hall to ask whether she saw Mai or
not.

“Err, I’m sorry, I didn’t see her.”

“I-I see. I understand. I’ll look for her. Thank you for telling me.”

After I walked for a few steps, she called my name from behind.

“Ah, right right, Amaori, you shouldn’t go to the rooftop so often, okay? The fences
were quite short there. It can be dangerous. That’s why it’s forbidden to students,
alright?”

Michiru-sensei’s tone when scolding her students was always light. Her way of speaking
never made the students want to rebel against her. Most of them properly accepted
her requests. I respected her for that. It was like she was born for the sake of being a
teacher.

“Ah, yes, I understand. I’m really sorry.”

I bowed my head. If by any chance I told her that I’d already fallen from it once, I bet
it would instantly get blocked, huh. After we parted ways, I walked off hurriedly.

It was the weekday after the love hotel party with Kaho-chan. I was looking for Mai,
hoping I could properly speak with her.

For some reason, I hadn’t been able to find her. Considering her extreme popularity, it
should’ve been easy enough to find out where she’d gone. However, I was only able to
get some information from people I asked. It was starting to feel like I was searching
for a legendary creature.

If I still couldn’t find her, then… I headed to the one place, the last spot I had in my
mind.

I climbed the stairs. At the unlocked iron door, I placed my hand on the doorknob.

I slowly opened it.

Once it opened, my eyes were filled with bright light.

Under the vast sky stood Mai.

She stood there, but…

“Mai…?”

Rather than joy since I was finally able to find her, I felt perplexed the moment I saw
her figure.

Mai turned around.

“…so it’s you.”

“Just now…”

I stopped my sentence midway and closed my mouth. Mai was someone who had
always shone brightly just like the sun in the sky, of course that would never be the
case.
The fact that she had looked so hopeless, like someone who was ready to jump from
here any time… of course that was out of the question.

“No, nothing. Umm, you see, I have something I want to talk about with you.”

I smiled and approached her. It had really been a while since the last time it was just
the two of us, alone like this. Would I be able to make a proper expression?

Mai instantly brightened. She looked like her usual self like this.

“I see. What a wonderful coincidence. The thing is, I also wanted to talk to you about
something.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yeah.”

I faced Mai and stood right before her.

This was different from talking to Kaho-chan. I needed to look up when I talked with
Mai. Somehow, this angle that I was supposed to have been used to felt so nostalgic.

“Umm, you can go ahead then.”

“Aah, alright. Let’s see.”

It was hard to find the right timing. I couldn’t really remember how I had normally
interacted with Mai before. What kind of expression had I made whenever I was
together with her, I wondered.

“If you’re okay with this—”

Mai’s hair swayed in the breeze as she let out a gentle smile, a smile that was truly
Oozuka Mai-like.

“I finally managed to catch a break this Sunday. I was thinking of inviting you
somewhere. Let’s go on a date.”

“A d-date!”
It had been a while since the last time I received a straightforward invitation like this.
Her words rang inside my chest. I bet this was also the effect of my recovered MP. It
basically increased my sensitivity to every external stimulation I received. Simply said,
it made me behave like some sort of inexperienced person…

Mai giggled at my huge reaction.

“It’s definitely worth the effort when I manage to surprise you like that,” she said.

“Th-that’s—the timing is a bit bad or so…”

Mai shrugged her shoulders at my nonsensical excuse.

“Well, it’s not like it will be only the two of us. It’ll be the three of us with Ajisai. That’s
what I wanted to tell you.”

I blinked at her.

“Eh… the th-three of us…?!”

“Of course, if you’re not willing to, then—”

“W-wait, wait a minute,” I interrupted Mai’s sentence by shaking my hands.

Not only had I continued with the flow of the conversation, somehow, I’d also managed
to stall time for myself to think properly about the topic. It wasn’t an exaggeration if I
said that I’d grown a lot since my first encounter with Mai… if that was the case.

The three of us, eh.

In short, that was… it would be the continuation from that day, right?

Mai stared at the skies above.

“Well, it’s best if you don’t put up your guard like that. It’s not like I’m pushing you to
hurry and come to a conclusion. It’s just—I think it’ll be agonizing if no one does
anything and just wait for the time to pass like this. So, what do you think? If it puts
too much burden on you, we can do it next time.”

I ended up nodding at her suggestion.

“………I understand.”

I still had some time until the deadline, but… if during this time, I kept looking away
from this problem, which only added to misery for them, then… No, I couldn’t really
say anything about Mai though!

I clutched my hands tightly, then nodded to Mai’s suggestion again.

“I’m looking forward to it!”

“Nn… I see. Well then, it’s decided then. Since we’re doing this, how about going to the
amusement park?”

“Amusement park!”

Somehow it made the date sound like a date.

Well, three friends having fun at the amusement park did sound exciting, but this time
might be different. This wouldn’t be simply interesting—it’d probably lead to another
difficult situation.

But still, I wasn’t going to run away. I would face the two of them properly.

“Ah, but you definitely can’t rent the whole place, okay?! That would be so
overwhelming my stomach would split open!”

“Alright. About renting the whole place, let’s put that on hold until after we listen to
Ajisai's opinion. In case we can’t really agree on that, we can decide by taking a vote.”

“Let’s aim for consensus then!”

I forced myself to look like I was in high spirits. Mai laughed.

“Ah right, what was the reason you were looking for me earlier?”
“Ah, err, yup.”

I scratched my cheek and averted my gaze. While letting out an awkward laugh, I
opened my mouth.

“Since we’re doing this, umm, I’ll tell you during our date. And so, umm, yup.”

“I see. I get it. I’m really looking forward to it.”

I came this far thinking I had something to talk to her about, but it wasn’t like I had
formed a concrete plan. After all this time? It somehow made me embarrassed. Could
it be that I had simply wanted to hear her voice after all? Yeah right… My cheeks were
slowly getting warm.

“?”

I snuck a look at Mai, who tilted her head at me. Then I glanced away. Aa-aah, this
wasn’t good. My answer to Kaho-chan from that day kept repeating inside my chest,
just like an organ that kept playing.

“It’s nothing!”

It’s just—I perfectly understood that she was supposed to be a beauty, but the Mai
right now… had she been this beautiful all along…?

Geez. Now that I had admitted to my feelings, I was sure that it would be impossible
to keep things as is. I understood that. Even so, I was convinced of one thing—the fact
that nothing was constant.

Whether it was people, relationships, or feelings.

At first it was Mai, and then Ajisai-san. They showed me their courage, for the sake of
changing our relationship.

And so, next would be my turn.

 ***

After talking to Ajisai-san about our plan and getting her on board, we confirmed our
three-way date.

Oddly, I felt calm throughout the whole week, until our promised Sunday.

I wondered if it was because I was determined to do this, that my brain had somehow
started taking things seriously. While waiting solemnly for the last verdict, I tried to
think not only about myself, but also Mai and Ajisai-san.

It was just… admitting something like this was kind of, quite, how should I put it… It
made me rather pessimistic.

Ever since my high-school debut, I’d always faced a storm of troubles, so much that
peaceful days free of troubles seemed nearly nonexistent. That was the kind of life I
was living.

Our date was a huge success! It was practically smooth sailing! Happily, ever after!…
yeah right, considering everything that had happened to me, that kind of ending would
never happen…

But, whoever thought that, and to think that—Mai had suggested something like that,
I really didn’t expect that.

Currently, I had to do everything just in order to survive. I had no space to properly be

considerate of how others felt. Which was why I was sure that I’d neglected a lot of
people’s thoughts due to my ignorance.

If I could, I really wanted to have a proper talk with Mai from this moment forward.
After all, we were talking about Mai, someone who was far more stubborn than me.
Well, I didn’t think that she’d easily tell me about the honest thoughts in her head
though.

Hey, Mai.
What are you always thinking about?

***

When Sunday came, I toughened my resolve and boarded the train.

Due to my anxiety, I woke up at five this morning and ended up taking two showers.
Then I put on my best clothes. After that, I arranged my hair properly and put on my
makeup. I also cleaned my room a bit.

Rather than a fun date, I felt like I was headed to some battleground. I was starting to
consider borrowing Kaho-chan’s fake katana to make me feel better, the one she
usually used for cosplay.

I got off at the designated station and walked in the sunny weather. It made me recall
Mai’s words from back then: The weather would be sunny as long as I wished for it.
That’s the kind of woman I am.

If so, then today’s clear sky might also be thanks to Mai’s wish.

I arrived a bit earlier than the time we’d agreed on. I thought about Mai who was bad
with crowds. What if she was surrounded the moment people figured her identity? It
would be a mess.

When I approached the ticket entrance, I still hadn’t caught sight of Mai and Ajisai-san.

I stared blankly at the couples and families that passed by while I waited for them.

“To think that I’m coming to an amusement park together with Mai and Ajisai-san like
this,” I murmured slowly. Considering everything that had happened in the past, it was
hard to believe this was reality.

Once I realized I’d already come this far… since the day of my high-school debut…

Arms folded, I drowned myself in my own thoughts. That was when I caught someone’s
figure from afar.

The first one to arrive was Ajisai-san. Once she saw me, she trotted to me.
“Hello Rena-chan.”

“G-good morning!”

Ajisai-san was so cute!

Oh no, I should keep my composure… my eyes would turn heart-shaped at this rate…

Once I managed to overcome my rapid heartbeat, the next to follow was misery. This
heart sure was demanding. You didn’t need to behave this enthusiastically since I was
normally really grateful to you, so just calm down a bit, Heart-kun…

However, Ajisai-san kept staring at me, so being composed in this situation was
something hard to do!

“W-what is it…?”

“Hmm, I'm just thinking, will she say it today? so I ended up staring at you.”

“What could it be…… ah, today’s weather sure is great, huh…?”

“You’re right.”

Ajisai-san laughed, her head tilted slightly, but she formed an x-mark over her chest.

Wrong answer!

In a fluster, I shouted as I tried to recover my tainted honour.

“I-it makes me happy that I’m able to meet you on the weekend!”

“Nnnn~~ me too.”

Ajisai-san clutched her skirt and looked down. Could it be that my answer was right…?
Nah, I wonder… Her expression was kinda hard to read.

Ever since her confession, she was trying to cut down the distance between us, which
was aggressive to the point of fearsome.
My normie mask was as thin as the shell of a cream puff pastry, so I was under constant
fear of my true colors showing. I really had to do my best to not show her my gross
side… So, I decided that I shouldn’t carelessly open my mouth and keep saying, “You’re
cute, so cute,” like what I’d done during summer break…

“So, Mai-chan hasn't come yet?” Ajisan-san asked.

“Y-yeah. Well, it’s possible that she’s already waiting in her limousine at the parking
area though.”

“Aah, that limousine. She’s always in that limo on rainy days or some other occasions,
right? As expected, a true lady really is amazing after all.”

After she said it, Ajisai-san noticed something and pulled her phone from her bag.

“Ah, it’s from Mai-chan. Yes, hello?”

I wondered if she was telling us that she might get a bit late.

After a short conversation, Ajisai-san took the phone away from her ears, looking
troubled.

And then, slowly, she said something surprising.

“Mai-chan, she has a sudden job so she can’t make it today… was what she’d said.”

“Eh…?”

In short it was—err, what?

Placing a hand over her mouth, Ajisai-san averted her gaze and then told me, “Mai-
chan also said, ‘You two should enjoy yourself today’…”

“Eeeeh……?”

Wait a moment, Mai. That was, uh, that was sure out of nowhere, huh?!

Just me and Ajisai-san? Of course I hadn’t prepared beforehand. I had been thrown
into a huge mess.
“Nah, well it can’t be helped if she had a sudden job, but as expected…”

“Yeah… what should we do?” Ajisai-san asked anxiously.

If you asked me something like that…

“Ah, well then, since Mai is not here, I’m going home now. See you tomorrow at school!”

As if I could say something like that!

“L-let’s enjoy this then, just two of us…”

“But—”

Crap. I’d been so nervous I’d whispered that. It would only make Ajisai-san feel more
anxious than before, right? You got it wrong!

“Let’s ultra enjoy this, just the two of us! Let’s go, let’s go! Nah, I really was looking
forward to the amusement park! With Ajisai-san on top of that! Yaay, yaay!”

“Waa.”

I pulled Ajisai-san's hand forcefully and headed toward the entrance.

I was too late to realize. Hand… this, this was Ajisai-san’s hand! How soft!

“Ah, nah, umm, you get this wrong!”

Right before I was going to let go of her hand, Ajisai-san held my hand back while
looking nervous.

“Y-yeah… I understand. Take care of me today then.”

Hii, she grabbed my hand, she really grabbed it.

The distance between us while holding hands meant a distance where our hands were
intertwined. If we tried to pull away, the distance would be 2 meters at most. If we
walked like that, it was plainly difficult by society standards, so we huddled close,
keeping around 30 cm of distance between us.

In short, Ajisai-san was close. I didn’t have any idea what perfume she used, but she
smelled amazing. I see. This made my heart beats furiously.

“Since we’re here, let’s enjoy today.”

Ajisai-san smiled, almost like she was inviting me to skip class to go to the beach.

Whether my heart would be able to endure today, stay tuned to find out!

Mai, you little…

After entering the ticket entrance, we spread out the pamphlet and picked our first
destination.

It was obvious, but during this time, Ajisai-san was also so close to me. And naturally,
my breath caught in my throat. It seemed like the average for humans to hold their
breath was around one minute. That was the only time I had until I reached my limit.

“Rena-chan, are you alright with riding a jet coaster?…… Rena-chan?”

“Ah, yes.”

I pulled my face away and took a breath. So I just figured out that humans need to
breathe in order to speak properly. You couldn’t have a conversation while holding
your breath. I see, I just matured nicely once again.

In the first place, I had never come to an amusement park before. Which was why I
didn’t have a clue to whether I was comfortable with the jet coaster or not. Well, as
expected it looked a bit scary, huh. Thrill rides like those were… even the name
sounded scary. If by any chance I came by myself or with my family, I would probably
turn down the idea.
“Err, how about you, Ajisai-san?”

“I… well, I kind of want to try it.”

She giggled, hiding her mouth behind the pamphlet. Fufufu.

“Whenever I come with my family, we would have to go on the rides my brothers

wanted. So things like the merry-go-round or the teacup ride. Geez, I'm already a high-
schooler though, so those are kinda embarrassing, eh.”

Ajisai-san riding a children’s attraction would definitely look adorable. I nodded along
at the thought.

“I see! Let’s ride that then!”

“Is that okay with you?”

“Huh, yeah, of course. I don’t really get dizzy even after playing 3D games!”

I didn’t know whether these things were related or not, but I might have a pretty tough
semicircular canal. Well, the only problem here was my fear though.

“I see, well then—err, it seems that there are a lot of different types of jet coasters.”
Ajisai-san looked like she was enjoying herself as she pored over the pamphlet,
pointing things out with her finger.

Instead of looking at what her finger was tracing on the pamphlet, I gazed at her
profile.

She was everyone’s Ajisai-san at school but, right now, she was my Ajisai-san and mine
only, eh…

To think that a girl with beauty on a national level had said that she liked me… eh?
Was it real? I wasn’t hypnotized or anything, but it felt like my mind was on the verge
of being crushed.

“What is it?”

Noticing my gaze, Ajisai-san asked me, her head cocked to the side.
“Ah, nothing.”

I raised my hands like I was guarding myself, then said it bashfully.

“It’s just, Ajisai-san sure looks cute today, or so…”

“Ah, that.”

Ajisai-san’s face instantly reddened. She looked at me from a lower angle though the
corner of her eyes.

“You finally said it—that I’m cute.”

“Uee?!”

I was bathed in such an adorable reaction from her out of nowhere that I was only able
to shriek.

“No, no no… to think that you count things that come out of my mouth, that’s only 1%
of what I was saying in my mind, you know…”

“…well then, does that mean you said the other 100 inside your mind?”

Her probing was getting too deep.

“Y-you’re right, that might be true…”

“Eeh?”

Hearing my answer, she looked so unsatisfied that she pouted. But why!

“Ah no, even 100 times might be too few after all! Because, I always think about your
cuteness every second and every moment. Even now, I also think that you’re so cute!
Perfectly adorable!”

“Th-then~~…”

She opened her mouth reluctantly, like she was going to say something difficult to
speak of. Considering this was the playful Ajisai-san, the one that only appeared when
it was just the two of us, I wondered what kind of thing she would utter that she found
hard to say. That definitely would be a fatal blow, no?

“It would be better if you properly put it into words when you think about it, right~?”

Ultra super difficult quest had appeared.

Nah, saying it out loud might be easy, but… it was something like uttering, “Sugar is
sweet” or “The evening sun is red”…Still, I couldn’t help but think how pathetic I was
considering the number of times I’d repeated that. But well, this was something
requested by Ajisai-san, so… For me who kept doing dishonorable things, I had no
right to turn her down.

I placed my hand on my chest, and then took a deep breath.

“I understand. Ajisai-san, you’re cute.”

“So abrupt?!”

“Even the surprised Ajisai-san is also cute. Your retorts are also cute. Your voice is
already cute in the first place.”

“G-geez—we’re going now, Rena-chan!”

“Aah, even the walking Ajisai-san is so cute. The sounds of your footsteps are so cute.
It’s like adding cuteness on top of cuteness, how cute. You even look so cute from
behind.”

“Geez, I get it! It’s my fault so stop it~!”

Even after getting scolded by her, I didn’t stop saying cute, cute for a while. The moment
Ajisai-san gave me a harsh, “Bad!”, I stopped. Even the angry Ajisai-san was so cute.

It was my first jet coaster experience, so we decided to start from the easy one.

We chose the thrill ride aimed at first-timers. It was the kind of attraction that brought
us to a certain height, and then dropped at a high speed. It wasn’t a jet coaster, but an
attraction called free-fall.
We lined up for a while, and then finally our turn came.

We settled into the designated seats. From above, a cushion-like safety lock fastened
over us and held us in our seats. I couldn’t move my body.

“S-somehow, this makes me nervous…”

“R-right? I also feel so excited. I can’t wait.”

Ajisai-san looked like her little brothers when her eyes sparkled like that.

Slowly, the thrill ride started to move. I began to hear people’s yelps from here and
there. We were slowly getting higher. My legs felt like they were floating in the air. It
was kinda disheartening. Could it be that I shouldn't be doing this…? my heart
whispered.

I looked at the view. We were already at a height that might be higher than a building.
Stuff like this might spell an end for people with height phobia, huh… But I was still
okay. I was still barely alright. I was a first-born daughter so I could hold back. I
wouldn’t be able to do it if I was the second daughter.

Finally, we arrived at the highest point of the attraction.

That moment, in one shot—

I felt like I was being pulled by gravity itself.

I fell.

—the sense of floating around.

“Hii.”

“Kyaaaa.”

I desperately clutched the safety bar. Next to me, Ajisai-san was screaming whole-
heartedly like she was enjoying it. It felt like my insides were being pushed around.
My eyes spun.

I felt like I was being shaken by the titan's arms, going back and forth between up and
down. The elevator with the duty of making people scream finally arrived at the
bottom… and then it stopped.

The safety lock was taken off. With shaky legs, I placed my feet on the ground. I took
my bag, and then left the attraction with Ajisai-san.

Ajisai-san looked excited, smiling widely while fixing her hair.

“That was incredible! That was fun right, Rena-chan?”

“I, I-I, I…”

“Re-Rena-chan? A-as I thought, was it too scary? Should we take a break…?”

I gripped my hands tightly.

“—I had a blast!”

“Wa, it’s like Rena-chan’s eyes are sparkling!”

“Yup! Since I really had fun! It felt so great!”

From my first experience, I ended up becoming hooked on thrill rides.

Somehow, it had been incredible. I had just tasted something so incredible…! Everyone,
so everyone was experiencing this without telling me…! How unfair!

That moment, I had a sense of deja vu.

The same feeling I had during my date with Mai. The date course I’d chosen at that
time was bringing her to the VR studio. During that time, Mai also seemed like she was
having fun from her laughter. Pang. There was a slight pain in my chest.
“Rena-chan?”

Ha, I felt like I was suddenly pulled back to reality. I looked around my surroundings.
Right now, we were at the amusement park. Right now, I was with Ajisai-san. Despite
the fact, I was still thinking about someone else.

“S-sorry, did you say something?”

“Not really. I just asked where we should go next.”

“R-right. For now, we shall conquer every thrill ride in this park!”

“You sure look excited! Ah, but—”

After Ajisai-san thought for a while, she blew a sigh, seeming to release the tension
from her body, and then laughed.

“It would be great if we leave one attraction… So, we can ride it together with Mai-
chan next time.”

“Ah…”

So it wasn’t just me. Ajisai-san had also thought about Mai.

When I saw Ajisai-san's smile, the guilt I had been feeling since earlier slowly faded
away. I see. It would’ve been better if I’d said it clearly from the beginning. As I thought,
Ajisai-san is really kind. She was amazing.

“Yup.”

I nodded, also laughing.

“I wonder what would happen if it turns out that Mai is bad with thrill rides, eh.”

“Ahaha, that possibility might not be zero. If so, we could have fun with the three of us
riding the merry-go-round.”

“Eeh, that sounds so cute. If we go, I really want to record that.”

We headed to the next ride while laughing together.

We lined up at the thrill ride attraction, rode it, took a break at the cafe, then headed
to the next one.

We kept repeating that and before I noticed, the skies were already basked in twilight.

Thanks to our activities, we had ended up memorizing the park’s maps. We took a seat
at the bench for a rest.

“We sure played around a lot today!”

“Sure did~”

The exhaustion in our bodies somehow felt great, and we laughed next to each other.

At first I really had no idea how things would unfold, but spending a day with just the
two of us like this had been fun.

Of course, the fact that Ajisai-san had high social skills also played an important role.

Even so, the amusement park also played a crucial part to the day. I was able to think
of a lot of topics while walking around the park, such as sharing our impressions of
the previous attractions we went on while we lined up for the next one. The time had
passed in the blink of an eye.

Today, I was able to truly understand why the amusement park was a standard date
spot. Somehow, we’d simply had a lot of fun…

“We still have time for one more ride, eh. Hey Ajisai-san, do you have something else
you want to go on?”

“Ah, well then, umm…”

Ajisai-san almost raised her hand but then drew it back, her gaze wavering.

“What is it, what is it? You can say anything. Today we kept riding things I’d wanted
after all. You should get dibs on the last ride!”
“I’d also wanted to go on the thrill rides you chose, but yup, thank you, Rena-chan.”

“It’s nothing!”

“The thing is, I think it might be too soon, but… but since we’re here anyway, I was
thinking that I wanted to ride that with you.”

Her voice somehow sounded so beguiling.

I glanced at where she was pointing. Instead of pointing at the map, she was gesturing
at a single attraction, its gondolas moving like the hands of a giant clock. It was a ferris
wheel.

Ajisai-san's cheeks became redder than before.

“You see… I always wished that one day I could ride a ferris wheel with the person I
like.”

The passion stemming from her swept over me like a storm swaying my hair.

Once I had a taste of that storm, it suddenly felt suffocating.

“Ah, err…”

I was sure that if I was the same person as before, then I would thoughtlessly nod my
head out of momentum.

Right now, I couldn’t say that I liked myself but still… nonetheless, as someone who
received Ajisai-san’s love, I wanted to acknowledge myself. Those were my true
feelings.

And my first step toward that was to properly accept Ajisai-san’s feelings.

“…yeah.”

I nodded and stretched out my hand.

“Let’s go.”

The expression that emerged on her face wasn’t a smile.

“Yeah… Rena-chan.”

It reminded me of a little girl who became confused by the weight of her luggage. It
was that kind of expression.

On the gondola, with only the two of us, Ajisai-san chose to sit next to me instead of in
front.

It wasn’t the same as our time at the free-fall attraction, since right now it was only
the two of us inside this tightly-closed space, cut off from the outside world.

If by any chance in the next 10 minutes I had the urge to run outside, it wouldn’t be
possible except I decided to jump off the gondola in midair.

This was a completely different feeling from riding with my family. So this was a ferris
wheel date…!

“…you see, Rena-chan.”

“Y-yes.”

Ajisai-san sounded a bit bashful beside me.

“You see, right now… I feel nervous.”

“I-is that so…? Me too…”

Well, I basically always felt nervous around Ajisai-san so it wasn’t like I could use that
as a reference this time though…
Ajisai-san spoke slowly.

“That’s why, umm… I might do something a bit weird, an action you might be confused
by. So I’m sorry if I surprise you later.”

“I, I see… but it’s okay! Since I’m already used to being surprised!”

If I scored my answer for her just now, then out of a perfect 100, it scored 2.

Since Ajisai-san didn’t react to my answer, it seemed like she really was nervous this
time.

What should I do… I’d never experienced this pattern before so I couldn’t prepare for
whatever might be coming.

“A-are you okay? Should I do the Big Sis Renako? Good girl, good girl…”

I spoke with a tone that I had used to talk to the five-year-old Ajisai-san. Seeing that,
Ajisai-san looked rather annoyed.

Hii!

“Geez… right now isn’t the time for that.”

“My apologies!”

She might think that I was fooling around just now. But still, a peevish Ajisai-san was
also extremely adorable, it was great…! But it seemed like pouring oil to a blazing fire
if I said that out loud. I closed my mouth.

Slowly, Ajisai-san placed her hand on top of my palm.

Uwaa…

The soft sensation tickled me. I felt as if my senses were focused on the single spot
where we were touching.

“Re-Rena-chan…
“Yes, uh…”

“…I like you.”

“………y-yeah…”

With only those words, I felt like my consciousness was going to be blown away.

“I really like you, Rena-chan… thank you for today.”

“No it’s okay… the feeling is mutual.”

“I had fun.”

“Yeah, me too.”

At that moment, Ajisai-san finally smiled.

The tense atmosphere from earlier was slowly fading away.

And then, Ajisai-san let out a huge sigh.

“Haa… saying something like that sure needs a lot of courage, eh. Rena-chan is
incredible…”

“R-really?”

“Since you normally keep saying that you like me.”

“No well… it’s the same as the time I said cute, and I really meant it…”

And also, perhaps… since I didn’t really mind the other person’s reaction, it was
something that the present me pushed one-sidedly. Which meant it was on a different
meaning with Ajisai-san’s [like].

…well, I wasn't really sure about my current feelings though.

My body grew hot in an instant. Aah geez, even though Ajisai-san was next to me, I
definitely didn’t want to smell like sweat. I didn’t have a way to fight the physiological
phenomenon though…

Then Ajisai-san laughed.

“But still, we should keep it a secret from everyone that we rode the ferris wheel and
had a date today, eh?”

“Y-you’re right.”

Ajisai-san placed her finger on top of her lips.

“Here, like this, a secret. Rena-chan, you should do it too.”

“Okay.”

I followed Ajisai-san's gesture while laughing.

“A secret—”

The moment my finger touched my lips, Ajisai-san closed her eyes, and then brought
her lips closer.

“Eh—”

My vision was filled with Ajisai-san.

And there were my lips.

—or not… her lips touched the finger placed between us.

She kissed me.

“Aha…”

Ajisai-san pulled away, her hair swinging around her. Her laughter was as beautiful as
a blooming flower. With half-closed eyes, she squeezed her cheeks between her hands,
as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

“……that was nerve-wracking.”

My heart was beating so fast, yet I could feel a pang in my chest.

I couldn’t hear anything other than my loud heartbeat.

“A… Ajisai-san……”

My index finger was still stuck on my lips.

“Um, you see.” Bashfully, Ajisai-san slowly opened her mouth. “Since we’re still not
going out yet, we couldn’t kiss. But you see, I wanted to do it… And since I wanted to,
I did it through your finger.”

It was so adorable, just like the time she’d thrown me a kiss.

To think that there was a human who had touched Ajisai-san’s lips. It was something
so far from my imagination that I’d never thought about it before.

It was so sudden that I couldn’t even remember the sensation of her lips from the
moment it touched my finger.

One thing was certain—I’d never be able to erase Ajisai-san’s current expression from
my memories, her bashful appearance before me in this moment.

The gondola that brought us touched the ground.

It was a sign that the secret time between the of us ended.

“Well then, bye-bye, Rena-chan.”

Our bodies swayed in the night train, and then we arrived at Ajisai-san’s stop.

“Yup… be careful on your way home, Ajisai-san.”

“That also applies to you, since you’re a very charming girl yourself.”

“R-really? I see.”

Ajisai-san thrusted her finger at me. Her movement was beautiful, like a theatrical
gesture, and at that, I was only able to answer with a foolish laugh.

“So, um… good night.”

“Okaay, good night.”

The doors started closing. At that brief moment, Ajisai-san flashed me a smile that
seemed lonely.

“Next time, we’ll go together with Mai-chan, okay?”

I didn't understand the meaning behind her words.

“Yup… with Mai.”

I couldn’t respond with anything other than repeating her words. I clenched my fists.

Ajisai-san stayed there until my train left the station and saw me off until I could no
longer see her.

And then I was alone. I released a huge sigh instinctively.

After being showered with Ajisai-san’s cuteness for a whole day, I felt like it wouldn’t
be easy to return to reality.

…that was fun.

I really meant that.

Well, that last part when we had an indirect finger kiss made my heart feel like it would
burst, though.

“Haaa…”

But, well. Even so.

I’d already decided.

Between me and Mai, also with Ajisai-san. What kind of relationship I sought from
them.

The last thing I needed was courage.

I’d already believed myself with this decision. I only needed to ask them now.

My stomach hurt, like I’d just eaten burning stones.

Beyond this was the light—Mai and Ajisai-san. But when I turned around, the one who
greeted me was the other side of me, an unending darkness.

That darkness kept trying to persuade me to stop doing this.

I don’t want to choose anyone. I want to keep things this way. I want to stay in this
comfortable lukewarm water. I want to cover my ears and not move from here. I want to
run away. I want to pretend nothing happened. I want to stay locked in my room. I don’t
want to face the consequences. I only want to spend my days joyfully, having a good time
like that.

I chose to swallow every foolish and naive rant and rave I said in my head.

I glanced at the night scenery outside the window.

The moon, shining brightly amidst the night sky, also looked pretty today.

I wondered if I had managed to become closer—even for a little—to the ideal version
of me that I had dreamt of since that day. I didn’t have the answer. In the first place,
what kind of ideal state did I longed for? I couldn’t see her face clearly as it was covered
by the light. I was only able to see her silhouette.

Nonetheless, time wouldn’t stop. Just like the moving ferris wheel, the hands of the
clocks wouldn’t stop moving.

“Next time, when I meet Mai and Ajisai-san at school, then that time I will properly…
properly…”

I wondered if the current me would be able to say it or not. Once again, I felt like my
heart would be engulfed in darkness.

That moment, I got a notification from a message.

It was from Kaho-chan.

[I decided that I would go to the Makuhari Cosplay Summit]

I stifled my voice with my hands.

I wasn’t sure why I felt like crying.

Even though we had a completely different situation, I couldn’t stop myself from
feeling a deep sense of empathy that made me happy right now.

[As I thought, I really do love cosplay. That’s why I’m sure that if I let go of this chance
and let other people take my place, I would feel nothing other than regret.]

Yeah.

I understand, Kaho-chan.

[That’s why even though there might be a lot of people who say that I’m not suited for
this… even so, I still want to go. Since it’s a place I’ve always yearned for.]

Yeah, yeah.

Other people had nothing to do with this. Because that was what it meant by ‘liking’
something.

I bet it would be far more nerve-wrecking considering the huge stage. If it was me, I
bet I would be frozen solid even if it was only a rehearsal. But Kaho-chan was different
from me. Since she had slowly accumulated everything to allow her to grace that stage.

That’s why I would definitely cheer on you, Kaho-chan.

Since I would definitely support my precious friends.

[—so, Rena-chin. I ask you to lend me your strength once again. Together with me, *

………huh?

I kept re-reading the message. And then, I bent my neck.

“What’s the meaning of…… together……?”

“A partner performance?”

“Eh? Yup.”

I felt like fainting.

“Rena-chin?!”

I hadn’t realized before. Kaho-chan had said [eight groups of cosplayers] that time. If
the participants were eight ‘people’, they wouldn’t use that word. In short, there were
actually eight attendees with two people pairing up to participate……

“Impossible… this is impossible…”

The next day was Monday morning. I collapsed at the back of the classroom, ignoring
other people’s gazes on me. It was unworthy behaviour from someone within the top
level of the social hierarchy, but it was good enough that I hadn’t fallen unconscious…

Performing on the big stage at the cosplay show? Me who wasn’t even able to do
anything when surrounded by the three photographer ladies, huh…

However, I really wanted to ask Kaho-chan… did she really think I could do this…? No,
but if she didn’t think that, she wouldn’t have invited me in the first place!

Still staggering, I tried to stand up properly.

“If that’s the case, how about you ask Satsuki-san…”

“Rena-chin is okay!” Kaho-chan said, looking directly into my eyes.

“Cosplaying together with Rena-chin is okay.”

Uuh…

Indeed, I was the one who had pushed her to consider it… Also, that time I recalled
calmly saying something along the lines of, “I will definitely support you as long as I’m
capable of doing it!”…
What if at this moment I firmly answered with, “Nah, I’d only come up with those
words randomly and ended up pushing you by saying something irresponsible like
that. You should be the one to overcome it, so don’t rope me into this lol.” Could I really
say that? If I could, I would be better off as someone who deserved to be alone for the
rest of my life…

“I see. I understand, Kaho-chan……”

The one who’d said it was me, the one who’d said it was me…

The words I’d said were like the hands of a clock that had already moved. I realized I
couldn’t take any of it back.

I placed my hand over my chest, then took a deep breath. Timidly, I stared back into
Kaho-chan’s eyes.

“I might cause trouble for you but… wait, in fact, I’m one hundred percent confident
that I would impose on you, I’m sure of it!”

“To be so confident in that aspect…”

“But still, if you’re really okay with that, umm… let me help you!”

I bowed down my head and stretched out my hand. Seeing that, Kaho-chan laughed.

“Why are you the one asking me? The role is reversed, right?”

“Y-you’re right but… well, since it’s obvious that I would be extra baggage for you after
all…”

I wanted to be Kaho-chan’s strength. I also really wanted to help her, but at the same
time, I also didn’t want to be a bother for her. Kaho-chan held my hand, as if wrapping
all of these complicated feelings inside my head.

“It’s okay, you know. Because for me, I like it best when I’m doing it together with Rena-
chin.”

Since we were in the classroom, she didn’t use the ‘cosplay’ word. She nodded at me.
I nodded confidently in response. “Yup!”
Averting her gaze, Kaho-chan murmured, “After all, Saa-chan said she has something
else to do anyway.”

Kaho-chan? Why would you ask Satsuki-san first? Am I not your best partner? Hey,
Kaho-chan, hey!

Once I arrived at my seat, I slumped down on my desk. I ended up promising

something difficult. I wondered if it would evolve into another series of sleepless
nights up to the day of the event…

“Err, Rena-chan, did something happen? You’ve been looking depressed since earlier.”

Ajisai-san, who sounded concerned about my well-being, turned around in her seat. I
waved my hand wearily.

“It’s alright, no worries… you sure are kind eh, Ajisai-san…”

“Y-you look terrible though!”

“The thing is, Ajisai-san…”

Ajisai-san tilted her head. “Yes?”

I snuck a secret look in Mai's direction from my seat. Earlier, Mai had approached us
and apologized since she canceled on us last minute.

“I really am sorry for last weekend” she’d said, referring to the amusement park outing
from the other day.

It’s alright, you had a job after all so we couldn’t do anything about that. Hearing our
answer, Mai flashed a smile that somehow looked a bit troubled and also lonely. Even
then, since I had my hands full thanks to Kaho-chan, I didn’t have any mental space to
think about her reaction and couldn’t say anything.
No, well, I did feel sorry since in the end I completely put everything on hold, unlike
my determination from before, but…

I lowered my head.

“It’s just, I ended up getting tangled in another difficult situation… And that’s kind of,
I’m not even really sure if I can do it even if I used up all my MP, since it’s one kind of
a tremendous magic.”

“O-okay.”

With an expression like she was trying hard to understand the nonsense I spouted,
she nodded earnestly.

“Actually, if only these things didn’t happen, I planned to give you and Mai my answer
today… but since things have become like this… I’m sorry…”

“O-okay, I see… Huh?! Eeeh?!”

Ajisai-san’s cheeks were painted red in an instant.

“A-answer today is…… eeehh……? S-so that is… how surprising……”

“Eh? Y-yup… I’d planned to, after I did my best to think it over…”

At least that was what I thought…

For a while, Ajisai-san, who had her hands pressed to her chest, murmured, “…I-isn’t
this too soon…? There’s still a lot of time until the one-month deadline after all…”

Did you really just say that?!

“Nah but, since I would keep the two of you waiting at this rate, isn't it better if I do
this quickly?!”

“Y-you’re right about that but~… i-in the first place.”

Ajisai-san puffed out her cheeks, face still red, as she glowered at me from the corner
of her eyes. Huh, did she really glower at me?!
“It makes me happy when you say that you thought about this properly, and I can also
gladly wait if you want me to wait~…… but this isn’t something you can talk about at
school, right in the morning where everyone is present, right~…… Rena-chan…”

“That—that makes sense! I’m really sorry!”

As if she was trying to hide her embarrassed face from the rest of the class, Ajisai-san
placed her hands on either side of her face and groaned.

My yelp echoed in the classroom right before homeroom started. Once again,
everyone’s stares were focused on me. It was extremely embarrassing!

***

From that day on, the schedule was tight.

I kept going back and forth to Kaho-chan’s house.

For the costumes, we would use the cosplay of [Anima Maid!] from back then, the cat-
ears and bunny-ears maid costumes. Kaho-chan modified the costumes down to the
subtle details and made them appear even more gorgeous.

That wasn’t the problem at all. No, well the skin exposure was becoming a bit more
extreme and it made me nervous—I also thought that wasn’t good at all. If I was being
honest, I would definitely prefer to come on stage while wearing a full-body costume.

But there was an even bigger problem than that…

“P-performing…?!”

“Right right, each team is expected to perform around three minutes on the stage!
After that, there will be voting at the venue and online. They’ll use the results then for
deciding the ranking!”

I stared in shock at Kaho-chan as she showed me the video on her phone.

On the stage were cosplayers with gorgeous costumes. There was a pair who did
sword battle… and another pair reenacting the scene from an anime… also yet another
pair who was doing something like a live performance, doing a dance…
M-me and Kaho-chan, doing something like these…?

“You want me to do this—an ordinary high school freshman that somehow ended up
in a decent position in the class?!”

“And so, we’re doing a special training from today!”

“By doing special training, what exactly are we going to do…? Won’t it just change the
level from [amateur’s performance] into [amateur's+ performance]…?”

“Even so! Since it would become a plus, we should do it! After all, we’re doing this not
because we don’t want to bring shame on us, but for the sake of showing our love for
cosplaying!”

Gagaan. I felt like thunder had struck my head.

She was right… I knew nothing about cosplaying, but I’d be satisfied as long as I could
be the tool to help Kaho-chan express her feelings.

Better yet, I should become the best tool ever to help her!

Kaho-chan had encouraged me when I had nothing but my insecurities. Even though
she had her own worries, she kept tugging my hands along.

The results of the schedule until the summit completely made my mind unstable.
While I was also affected by the deadline for my answer to their confessions, I felt a
huge uneasiness, so much that I even began to lose track of time. “Even though I did
nothing, somehow my Friday night suddenly became late night on Sunday?!”

One day, I decided to ask Kaho-chan.

“Hey, is this really alright…? I’m not an extraordinary beauty like Satsuki-san, and I’m
also not someone with a brimming presence who naturally pulls everyone’s attention
like Mai or Ajisai-san…”
It had always been like this. Until when would you keep becoming so anxious even
though you were already determined to do it? I was so frustrated with myself that I
became angry at myself.

Kaho-chan also always acted like this: she always faced this cowardly me properly.

“I… I have always, for a long time, wanted to do something with you, to have fun with
Rena-chin again.”

“Kaho-chan…”

Inside the room, while she was using the sewing machine to fix the costume, Kaho-
chan spoke, “But at that time, you had completely become a person from another
world. I thought you already forgot every memory you spent with me.”

“That’s…”

I also had the same thought.

Kaho-chan had already lost every part of her from the past. She had completely grown
into an optimistic, energetic, and very adorable girl. It convinced me that someone like
me wouldn’t even enter her vision.

Even then, Kaho-chan had invited me again.

It wasn’t like we simply had a chat about anime and manga like the old days. Right
now, Kaho-chan had brought me into a new world—the world she was engrossed in.

It was definitely something that resembled the moment I’d brought Kaho-chan into
the world of manga.

That both of us were doing the same thing together.

“Being with Rena-chin is alright. Hey, I don’t know if you’ll end up liking cosplay, but,
nevertheless, it would be great if you accompany me for a bit longer, Rena-chin. Let’s
play together on top of that stage—together with me.”
Her hands on the sewing machine stopped. Looking a bit embarrassed with a red face,
she looked up at me.

“Having fun like the old days… no, more than those days, spending a better time
together!”

“If you invite me with that passion…”

I slid towards her and pulled her delicate body into an embrace.

“Of course I can’t turn you down! Kaho-chan! My best friend!”

Kaho-chan circled her arms around me. I could feel her body temperature. I smiled.

“Yaaay! Rena-chin!”

That moment, I finally felt that I could connect with the Kaho-chan from back then.

I definitely wanted to make this event a success. I definitely didn’t want to see her
smile become sad. I was someone who others couldn’t rely on when I became too
enthusiastic about something. Still, I wanted to properly hold onto and protect these
feelings.

My days with Kaho-chan had intertwined once again.

Kaho-chan was the one who thought of and choreographed our performance. Day by
day, we kept training while also improving our movements to polish our performance.
During those days, I couldn’t help but enjoy the whole thing.

I ended up becoming lost in it. Sometimes I longed for the clock hands to keep going,
or to stop at a certain moment.

Maybe Kaho-chan also had the same thoughts.

Once the summit began, these fun days would be over. That was why she might’ve
thought she wanted this moment to last. Well, as expected, all of these might be only
my mere wistful thinking, I guess?
It was just like those times at cram school, where we sat next to each other, hoping the
short break before the class would continue—

—but even those days finally had their end.

The day when I arrived at a turning point in my life had finally arrived!

***

Once we entered October, the day for the Makuhari Cosplay Summit came.

It had been half a year since the opening ceremony. I, who had finally been able to go
through everything that happened, made it to this place at last…

The result of me who kept running away from the battle against the small fries
somehow brought me to face the last boss while I was still at beginner level. My chest
felt like it was burning.

I promised to meet Kaho-chan that day at the nearest station from the event venue.

It seemed like there were also few anime-related events at the venue so the station
was quite crowded. Looked like Kaho-chan’s claim about this event being one of the
largest events in Japan wasn’t a lie.

While I was playing with my phone, Kaho-chan finally came with her case, arriving
later than the designated time.

“Yahoo, Rena-chin! It sure is a great day for some cosplay, huh!”

Kaho-chan had her contact lens on and was in her normie mode. With a cheerful smile,
she looked so blinding in her sparkling, cute everyday mode.

“Morning, Kaho-chan. Please take care of me for today.”

“Ahaha, let’s enjoy today. Just have fun!”

She smacked my shoulder. I felt like I could rely on her seeing her smile. I would fall
for her at this rate.

“As expected from Kaho-chan… you look like you’re not nervous at all…”

“Well, that’s a given. A perfect socialite normie would never be nervous no matter which
scene they’re in. Since they always think they stand at the center of the universe.”

“Is that how things go?! Well, they really do have that kind of image though!”

“But since I’m a recluse, of course it’s not something I can handle. Which is why I tried
to preserve every single one of my normie modes by staying awake long enough to not
be too sleepy for today, then quickly taking off my contacts just before I fell asleep.”

This skill-holder, she perfectly understood the way to use her power in the ultimate
way.

“How strong… if only I had the same skill as you where I can self-suggest myself… Like
I can instantly become a normie the moment I put my hair clip on my bangs.”

Tugging our cases, we walked toward the venue side by side.

“If it’s Rena-chin, you have audio hypnosis, right?”

That thing, huh…

“Whenever I listen to it, it makes me feel strange after all…”

Well, I had listened to it though. It might not have worked as well due to my sloppy
efforts though.

Kaho-chan halted. Huh? And then she turned around.

“Made you feel strange is… eh?”

“Eh?”

Our eyes met. Kaho-chan blushed in an instant.

In just a short moment, sweat started gushing from my body.

“Eh, eh?! No, wait, Kaho-chan, what exactly are you imagining right now—I don’t have
any idea, but?!”

“Nah~… how should I put this? Um, how should I say this… when I heard something
like that straightly from my friend’s mouth, as expected, it's kinda embarrassing
right~… nyahaha…”

I really had no idea what was going on inside her head, but she was probably
misunderstanding something!

“You have it wrong! I was talking about your face that popped out strangely when I
listened to the recordings, and then it reminded me of the things I’d said and done
during the photoshoot. Plus, the moment I rolled around the floor after the mess I
made! So, in short, you’re wrong, okay?! I totally didn’t have any dirty thoughts at all,
alright?!”

While I was being hasty, we made it to the venue. For a while, we couldn’t look each
other in the eyes. Did she think I’m a pervert again?! She got it wrong!

We followed the direction of the crowd and then arrived at the venue entrance. Kaho-
chan signaled with her hand, asking me to follow after her. We walked away from the
crowd.

“Huh? Kaho-chan, it’s that way?”

“Fufufufu, that’s right. Since we have the participant pass after all! This entrance is for
authorized use only!”

“Authorized use only!”

At the back entrance, Kaho-chan went to the table and showed the staff her invitation.
After that, we wrote our names on the attendance list, then received two name tags
and was led inside. It made me nervous.

The name tag under my neck had [Cosplay Summit’s Participant] written on it. We
weren’t in the world of Alice in Wonderland, but I felt like we had arrived at another
world. Well, I would be Rabbit today though. Kaho-chan would be the Cheshire Cat, I
guess…

We walked down the corridor, and then they directed us toward the locker room.

It was quite spacious, and it seemed like all the participants would change here. Me
and Kaho-chan had our designated lockers placed next to each other. The locker even
had a lock on it. How convenient.

The staff told us to gather thirty minutes before the event started. After that, they left
the room.

In short, err, we had plenty of time. Also, there was still no one here.

I wondered what I should do now. Should I change now? I peeked at Kaho-chan.

Kaho-chan was trying to stuff her belongings in the locker. She turned around.

“Yossha, Rena-chin! Why don’t we take a quick look around the venue?”

“Eh, is it okay to not stay here?”

“I bet it’ll be alright! Let’s simply enjoy this like how normies do it! Go go!”

“Wa, wawawa.”

Kaho-chan pulled on my arm and we walked along the path that led us toward the
main venue.

The moment the door opened, the heat and spotlights made it seem like we’d arrived
at the planetarium. A few stages already seemed to be having their own events with
anime corners. The whole venue was bustling.

“Somehow, this is amazing…”

The light fixtures sparkled like stars in the skies. This might have been the reason I
had the impression we were inside the planetarium earlier.

This was another galaxy made of a lot of different forms of what people ‘liked’. It was
so beautiful, my breath caught in my throat.
“Ahaha, this is amazing, right!”

Kaho-chan laughed and tugged on my hand again. At that moment, she seemed like
the star that shone the most brightly in this new universe.

Someone who wouldn’t lose against anyone in this place. Someone so strong, someone
who looked radiant.

“And of course, we’re going to be part of that amazing thing, okay!”

Aah, how stunning.

Kaho-chan always went straight to the thing she liked.

Something that I had once held—the glimmers I’d let go from long ago—were things
Kaho-chan still held dear even now. She was so brilliant in my eyes, I couldn’t help but
envy her. If I kept behaving this way, I might lag behind her forever.

Ever since the beginning, since the day I started to properly consider my relationship
with Mai and Ajisai-san, since the moment when I reached out to her, Kaho-chan’s
feelings of ‘like’ that she showed, I wondered if everything was because I’d wanted to
understand.

Because I was sure that her feelings were something that resembled that of ‘love’.

“Yup!”

As Kaho-chan and I walked around the venue and looked at the stages, we became
excited. We approached a few booths and got to rest our eyes seeing the female guides
at each booth. We really had a trip around this whimsical space.

Since it was an anime event, there were a lot of cosplayers strolling around the venue.
While we passed by, Kaho-chan couldn’t hold back her voice of excitement.

“Uwoo, to think that popular person is also present!” she’d say, before proceeding to
talk in detail about that person. Because Kaho-chan, who was stanning her stan, had
a higher spirit than the usual Kaho-chan at school, she kept saying “Like, like, I really
like them, I love them~!”. I ended up laughing when I saw her in her fangirl mode.

And so, it was finally time to go back to the locker room.

That was the moment when I realized that it was our turn to become those stars.

“This stage sure seems narrower than it appeared to be, huh, Kaho-chan.”

“Yup. Even though it looked so wide from the live-stream. I wonder if it’s a kind of
technique to make it wider than the appearance? I don’t get it, but it sure is awesome.”

Both of us had already changed into our costumes, and we were in the middle of doing
our makeup.

The locker room was now cramped since we’d carved out a space for our personal use
so we wouldn’t bother other participants.

At that moment, an odd shadow moved closer, which turned out to be another
participant.

Ha. This is bad. I didn’t know the proper etiquette for cosplayers… Could it be that the
right thing to do was exchanging something like a business card beforehand…?! Even
Kaho-chan seemed like she had politely greeted each of the participants before…

Crap. Did I mess something up again? Right when I thought of that—

“We meet again, Nagipo!”

I was attacked by a loud voice. My ears buzzed.

Kaho-chan, who was sitting in front of me, stood up suddenly. “Mumumu! That voice
is!”

What was it, what was it? Suddenly the situation had changed into something that
resembled a battle genre. I would really appreciate it if you stop it. It was scary after
all.
“So, you’re here! The current JC Cosplayer! Serara・Serararara!”

“JC?!”

That was surprising. Along with my yelp, from every direction I could hear voices:

“A middle school student?!”

“What sort of person, that’s too young…!”

“Doing cosplay using their parents’ money!”

There were a few hostile comments also mixed in there.

Her eyes, which looked displeased, became more irritated as she stared at Kaho-chan.

“Who the heck is that? It’s Serara! Your eternal rival!”

Standing in front of us was a younger girl carrying an assault rifle, looking like a pretty
soldier.

Ah, I knew this game! It was a character from the FPS game that I played!

Uwaa, the costumes were really well-made. How adorable. Amazing. It made me
excited.

I wondered whether her perfect facial features and flawless lookalike to the youthful
character was due to her exceptional makeup skills.

Middle-schoolers nowadays sure looked so mature, huh… Or could it be that this girl
was a special case? Well, I didn’t have any kouhai I adored after all, so the one who I
could use for comparison was my little sister.

…hm? Little sister?

Huh? This girl, I saw her before…

“Eh?!”

While she squinted at me suspiciously, it seemed like she noticed before I did.
“Big Sis-senpai?!”

“Eh……………”

Practically nobody called me -senpai, whether they were from elementary, middle, and
high school. In short, someone who called me that was—

“Lil sis’…”

If I concentrated and observed her, her face had changed since she’d applied makeup
for cosplaying, but this was no doubt my little sister’s friend who had come over
during summer break. Ah, that particular girl who was being so pushy?!

“W-why are you, in a place like this…”

“That’s my line!”

It was Seira-san… or no, right now, she was Serara-chan, and she was currently
pointing her gun at Nagipo-chan.

“You’re being unfair, don’t you think?! Why on earth would you bring over Big Sis-
senpai! You brought an extremely tough mercenary from outside, don’t you think~!”

Uu, my chest hurt. So Serara-chan thought of me as one of the strong characters…

Before, I’d talked a lot about being best friends with Mai, or the business card thing
from Mai’s mother in front of my little sister after all…

No, this would be fine. Kaho-chan also thought of me as a normie after all! That was
why I shouldn’t say anything careless!

As expected, Kaho-chan flashed a smug grin.

“Fu, fu, fu. This is my true power. I would use any means possible for the sake of
winnying.”

With her usual way of speaking, Kaho-chan laughed cynically.

“This, this~!”

Serara-chan pulled the trigger of her rifle in frustration. But of course, nothing fired
off from the muzzle. Even so, Kaho-chan clutched her stomach dramatically and
uttered, “Guhaa.” She sure had a nice reaction.

“Now you can say something so brazen like that… Once you see my partner, you will
definitely cry until you vomit your guts. Prepare to take off your wig and prostrate
before me~!”

Hearing that, Kaho-chan perked up and asked, “And where’s this partner of yours?”

“It’s not time to meet yet, so…” Serara-chan averted her gaze awkwardly.

“I see… and if they didn’t make it, it’s disqualification, huh… Betrayal to the fans who
supported you… a huge turmoil in the internet… exile to the edge of the world… and
then retirement…”

“I don’t need your mouth that’s only spouting nonsense!”

Bang bang, bang bang bang bang. Kaho-chan’s body turned into something that
resembled a bee’s nest. I ended up delivering a monologue in my head.

As I watched whatever was unfolding in front of me, Serara-chan pointed her gun at
me. Eh.

“How dare you… even though you’re a beauty, someone who appeared so charming,
to think that you’re the enemy all along… You sure are betraying my heart, huh~……!”

“Uu.”

For real? So she really thought of me like that… I-I’m sorry, I really wanted to apologize.
I didn’t want people to hate me after all!

Kaho-chan, who was supposed to have already been killed by the gun, woke up. She
stood before me and shielded me.

“Serara・Serararara, you have it wrong. Rena-chin is simply doing the things she
wanted to do. It’s not something that deserves to be rebuked by other people.”

“Stop calling me like you’re saying Bobobo like that!”

Serara-chan stuck out her tongue at us.

“Whatever, just do as you like! Let’s decide this on the stage! As if I care about Oozuka
Mai! Since I’m far cuter anyway~!”

Serara-chan stomped back to her own locker.

No, well, that was nerve-wracking. Good grief… To think that I’d met an acquaintance
in a place like this, what a coincidence…

Next to me, Kaho-chan slowly opened her mouth.

“Her parting words just now really sounded like a dog that ran with its tail between
its legs, meow…”

“…that’s… well, indeed.”

I nodded quietly.

Anyway, who exactly could Serara-chan’s partner be…?

Could it be that… this was just a mere speculation but—it wouldn’t be Haruna, right?!
Spare me from that!

We finished preparing our costumes, then moved toward the backstage.

There, Kaho-chan told me about Serara-chan. It seemed like they had cosplayed
together before. Then, somehow they got into a quarrel, and since then she saw Kaho-
chan as her enemy.

Forget angering people. Kaho-chan would never make anyone feel bad in the first
place. Her social proficiency was on par with Ajisai-san after all. Which was why, as
long as she didn’t deliberately pissed off people, I couldn’t imagine anyone would
detest her, but…

With a gloomy tone, the Kaho-chan told me, “Well, there’s a lot going on between
cosplayers after meowall… like jealousy or resentment…” Thus, ever since then, Kaho-
chan never invited anyone for a joint cosplaying.
“It was a world grimmer than high school…”

Sounded like something I couldn’t survive in.

“But well, since I like it, the moment I decided to walk this path, I no longer had any
option other than to keep going ahead even if there are troubles. Putting on my normie
armor, you see.”

“Isn’t that tiring?”

“I do feel that sometimes. I don’t really like battling with others anyway.”

Are you sure? You almost knocked me with that stone back then though…

“But well, this is something I want to do after all. If I’m not facing my own desires, then
I would become nothing.”

She looked up toward the stage as she said that.

“That’s why I really pushed myself to encourage the shy side of me. I burned up my
will to fight for the sake of facing the obstacles. Even though I might make enemies, I
wanted to become the one that attracts everyone’s attention the most. And so, it
pushed me to keep doing my best for the sake of becoming the best!”

Swish. Kaho-chan thrusted her index finger high into the air.

I'd already heard the real her talked before, so I knew she was putting on a false sense
of bravery. Wait, no, I couldn’t really say that everything was the absolute truth. Since
for me, I was sure that both sides of her showed her true feelings.

The Kaho-chan who always thought she didn’t deserve to stand on the huge stage. Or
the Kaho-chan who was determined to beat every one of her rivals for the sake of
being the best. It was a matter of which side she chose to show in front of others. At
this point, the only thing I could do was to not be a hindrance for her.

After that, the lights dimmed, and the event instructions were announced. The
participants with the highest number of votes would receive a certain amount of
money and other benefits.
Kaho-chan whispered to me, “This event is of course going to be broadcasted through
live stream. If we manage to increase our popularity, it can boost our follower count,
which can make it possible to increase the rate of the photoshoot event. On top of that,
the whole business itself could also flourish better.”

“I see…”

I didn’t really know how amazing the scale was, but I nodded anyway.

Come to think of it, I wondered whether Serara-chan’s partner came. I’d scanned the
room earlier, but I didn’t know who she’d come with. As I zoned out, the briefing came
to an end.

“Errr, so in short… we line up at the stage in the beginning, and then we go back
backstage, and it continues with each group going up on stage and doing their
performance, right?”

“Exactly! We’re so close to the real thing that this warrior (me) is trembling.”

It still didn’t feel real to me.

No matter how I looked at it, the other cosplayers seemed so impressive, it was a feast
for the eyes. To think that these people were competing with me, how unbelievable…

It was just, there was no time for me to falter. They called for us to take the stage.

At that moment, I couldn’t hear any sound as I walked into a world basked in bright
lights—

“Well then, the contestants are gathered here today. Let’s hear their introductions in
order. Please tell us your name, the character you’re cosplaying, and anything else you
would like to highlight to the audience—”

Looking down from the stage, I could see a lot of spectators.

A countless number of stares. Stares. Stares. Stares.

Everyone was staring at me.

What was this?

My vision darkened.

At that moment, I realized.

Ah, this is impossible.

The wonderful cosplayers began their self-introductions in order.

My vision was becoming distorted.

This was a stage limited only to those with ‘talents’.

This wasn’t a place for someone like me, an ordinary high schooler who came here
driven by a series of random events. This wasn’t a place for someone so half-heartedly
doing this.

Someone suited for this stage was either Mai or people who did their best in cosplaying,
someone like Kaho-chan. People who deserved to be acknowledged by a lot of people.

All I wanted to do was to run away from the stage, but my legs wouldn’t budge. The
time wouldn’t stop, and it was my turn when Kaho-chan handed over the mic to me. I
was stiff all over.

“My name is Renakoala—”

The words that I’d repeated over and over during practice flowed out flatly like a
robot's voice.

In the midst of not knowing what I was saying, my turn was over.

I handed over the mic to the next person. I felt like I’d just exhibited the don'ts to a lot
of people with my introduction.
I hung my head in shame.

Aah.

To think that I messed up in this place. What the heck had I wanted to do?

Did I want to be Kaho-chan’s power on this stage?

Did I want to be closer to the place where Mai and Ajisai-san stood?

Did I think that I could like myself a bit more by standing on the stage?

The piercing stage lights on me melted my toughened resolve.

And with this, my heart was completely—

Suddenly, easily, very very simply—

Torn apart.

Alright… Up on stage, I clenched my fists and made a decision.

Once this session ended, I would apologize to everyone. I’d tell them the truth was that
I was a pathetic recluse who deceived everyone. Then I’d ask for mercy.

And then, I would go home to Australia. While clutching the eucalyptus tree, spending
20 hours a day sleeping… Goodbye, human society… I would only bring my phone.

While I was still stricken by grief, the time kept ticking.

It was finally down to the final pair. There were 16 people on the stage, and I was the
only one who had nothing.
Aah, now come to think of it, who was Serara-chan’s partner?

At that moment, a thunderous applause could be heard. It seemed like it was someone
famous.

Might as well take a look at their face while I was still a functioning human being.

The one who stood there was—

“My name is Moon. At this event, I’m going to cosplay as Phantom from PEAK.”

She was a gorgeous soldier with her long, jet-black hair tied up, a gun gripped in her
hands.

I clamped my hands over my mouth to stop from making noise, but I was screaming
inside.

You’re Satsuki-san!

“Why?!”

Once backstage, both of us stormed to Serara-chan’s team.

“Ahahaha! Defeated Nagipo!”

As if to show that Satsuki-san was hers, Serara-chan wrapped her arm around Satsuki-
san’s waist, puffed up with pride.

“When your previous cosplay photos came out, I came directly to her and managed to
bring her over to my side~ Now we’re even, since you also totally rely on your partner
over there, right?!”

“Gununu! Why are you doing this, Saa-chan?! Aren’t we supposed to be in a

relationship where we love each other?! Why?!” Kaho-chan shouted things that would
totally invite misunderstandings from a lot of people.
Moon-san opened her mouth, her face expressionless.

“I’m okay with anything as long as I get the cash. That’s why I accepted the one who
approached me first.”

“Waaa! Saa-chan, you stupid!”

“A professional mercenary…”

Kaho-chan ran off. I trembled before Satsuki-san, who hadn't moved a single facial
muscle.

I was supposed to feel empty just now, but due to Satsuki-san’s sudden appearance,
the shock was far too great and a lot of things ended up being blown away…

Putting that aside, when I compared Moon-san’s beauty with the others, she really was
on a different level.

“What’s that?”

“I bet she’s a pro that was hired from a professional agency…”

“Somehow a real model appeared though…”

I could feel gazes directed at her with those kinds of eyes.

Well, that was a given though!

Moon-san folded her arms and stared at me, looking displeased. Eh?!

“Anyway, you over there. Don’t you think you’re mistaking me as someone else? It’s
our first meeting, right? I’m Moon-san, a wandering cosplayer. I don’t need any other
name.”

Even though she had been completely busted, she still insisted on keeping this up,
huh…

“Does your ID have ‘Moon’ written on it…?”

“Yeah. From my personal ID to my library card, they have ‘Moon’ written on it.”
“I see…”

I couldn’t answer with anything else, so I put on an ‘I see’ expression.

Serara-chan tightened her embrace on Moon-san’s arm, and then in a sweet voice, she
said, “Well then, since we’re close to our performance time, we’re going ahead~ Ufufu,
let’s go, Moon onee-sama~♡ Ah, ah, Moon onee-sama, too fast, you’re walking too fast!
Don’t leave me behind!”

I was dumbfounded as I watched them walk away.

But somehow… yeah. Seeing Moon-san recognizing her own beauty and monetizing it
gave me peace of mind. I truly wished for her to continue to use her beauty and lead a
happy life.

Cheers from the audience burst from the stage and I instantly snapped back to the
present. The feelings that had been driven away for a brief moment were pulled back
by the blinding light from the stage.

Right, I’d been beaten down while I was on stage, and ended up getting so scared I
couldn’t move my body even an inch. That was why, to keep going on would be
impossible. I needed to tell Kaho-chan about this…

I searched for Kaho-chan in the dim backstage.

The gloomy feelings stabbed my stomach and spread through my body like gushing
blood.

I found her. I wondered how I should talk to her. If I frankly said something like, “I’m
sorry for not being able to fulfill your expectations,” I bet she wouldn’t forgive me that
easily. Since I’d selfishly turned my back on her like this.

My heart hurt.

But I no longer had any other choice…

Humans had their own limits.

Someone like me couldn’t soar in the skies. That was why…

I found Kaho-chan hunched in the corner. A female staff member was squatting next
to her.

…? I wondered what happened.

Without thinking it through, I carelessly approached them.

The lady kept bowing her head as she apologized.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, this only happened because I bumped into you…”

Eh.

“Kaho-chan, are you okay?”

I ended up calling her by her real name. Crap.

Even so, Kaho-chan flashed her usual peace sign while smiling stiffly.

“I-it’s alright, totally alright… don’t worry. We’re in the middle of an event and I know
you must be busy. It was also my mistake since I stood there absentmindedly.”

The lady checked Kaho-chan’s costume from every angle. It seemed like there had
been no damage on the costume. What a relief.

Once again, the lady bowed her head and then returned to her duties.

It was great that nothing had happened. No, well, it wasn’t that good but… Even so, I
would definitely never think it would be great if Kaho-chan ended up with an injury. I
had to take responsibility for my own weakness after all.

“Listen, Nagipo-chan… You see, umm, actually I…”

It felt as bitter as rejecting someone’s confession. There was a heaviness on my

stomach.

I couldn’t do this. It was impossible. Right, if I could, I would never say those words
again for the rest of my life, but—

But, the impossible was impossible.

I ended up thinking that I should ask the lady from earlier to let Kaho-chan go on stage
by herself. As if she was cold, Kaho-chan hugged her body tightly.

“…Nagipo-chan?”

“No…”

While still looking down, Kaho-chan murmured, “While I was fixing my contact
lenses… we bumped… and my lenses fell somewhere…”

Eh.

I also didn’t move.

Right as I turned to sprint off, Kaho-chan grabbed my hand.

“If I can make it to the locker room, I can take your spare contact lenses.”

“You won’t make it. The crowds have filled the whole venue. You won’t make it back
here in time.”

Then, errr, then…

“Let’s look for the contact lens then!”

“Yup… ah, but the costume would get dirty!”

Kaho-chan stopped me as I started to crouch down to search for it.

I peered at Kaho-chan’s face, my stomach churning like it always did on a crowded

train.

At this rate, Kaho-chan would…

“It would be painful for you, Kaho-chan…”

I understood., Something like normie cosplay sounded like an odd self-suggestion. But
for Kaho-chan, it was a charm she could rely on every time.

She giggled, still hanging her head.

“It’s okay, don’t worry… I still have the other one after all, so I still can see well…”

“Ah, err… is it okay if it’s only one side?”

“No, not really but…”

“So it’s not good after all!” I ended up shouting.

Kaho-chan lowered her head, looking dejected.

“That’s right… someone like me is totally not good. This is the end…”

“Kaho-chan?! Wait a minute, eh you’re joking, right? Kaho-chan?!”

“Why would I come to this kind of place anyway… Even though my cosplaying track
record was in the bottom tier. I ended up getting too ahead of myself… I bet the
livestream will be filled with hate comments… I don’t want this… I want to cry…”

“I understand your feelings, but—!”

What was with this situation…?

Our turn was inching closer with each passing second, but Kaho-chan kept destroying
her own confidence with her recluse self.

Once Serara-chan and Moon-san ascended the stage, our chance of winning would be
hopeless… but let’s put that aside for now. I also had my heart crushed from my
previous moment on stage.

This was the worst. I felt so awful right now. I just wanted to lie down.

If things had turned out like this, it was fine for the two of us to withdraw from the
event, right? Even Kaho-chan had become like this. You can run when you want to run
away. You don’t need to push yourself and let yourself pile up bad memories.
Even though I really thought that from the depths of my heart…

“Honestly, I could understand how you feel right now, but! If you say something like
that, what should I do? I got roped into this situation?! I’m a nobody… I would
definitely get attacked by the haters, you know?!”

The words that came out of my mouth sounded like I had yet to give up.

That was because—

I knew how strong Kaho-chan’s feelings for cosplay were from the way she spoke
about them.

“The costumes that I made were completely not fit for display. It’s something I like
doing but am bad at… in short, the outfits aren’t fit to be seen by other people… if it’s
for the sake of wearing them, Rena-chin would be alright, but if someone ugly like me
showed up like wearing it, it would be gross, right…”

“Are you really saying that?!”

Without thinking, I grabbed Kaho-chan’s shoulders with all my might.

“That’s, well, yeah…”

Kaho-chan nodded as she averted her gaze.

I could understand the reason and I also thought that it couldn’t be helped.

But still, that was why!

To think that she really looked down on every hardship she had experienced until
now…!

Kaho-chan, who held her frustration before me, looked like someone who had kept
holding back and this was the backlash from everything she had to endure.
Her mouth spilled out her dejected thoughts like the Niagara Waterfall.

“I’m just a gloomy person after all. I’m someone who can’t really call on others for
photoshoot events, so I ended up asking for Saa-chan and Rena-chin’s help… Still,
people misunderstand my intention… the truth is, I know my own limits…

“It’s quite hierarchical in the cosplayer’s world, you see… cosplayers at huge events
and part of the industry are basically treated like Gods, but for me, that’s just a mere
dream… at school for example, I’m only a small fry who loiters around the popular
kids…

“Honestly, the organizer who extended the invitation to this is also cruel… if they show
me this world like a dream, I would feel on a cloud nine, right… but despite that, I still
took a week to decide whether I should accept it or not… if only I’d faced reality from
the beginning…

“In the end, you really need to acknowledge your status, right… Even for people who
say they like baseball, they would be eager to enter a leading school, and once they
become part of the team, they would definitely get bored if they just kept being asked
to pick up balls from the ground… People have to be in a place that suits their ability
after all…

“I lack popularity, skills, and followers. Even if I keep chasing after my dream, I would
only hurt myself… An outcast should behave like an outcast. It wouldn’t do them any
good if they disturbed other people’s sight. They’re better off living their life by staying
in the corner…

“Don’t get it wrong, don’t be conceited, don’t ride the moment, I need to properly
condemn myself… No matter how many times my fans tell me they like me, I’m only
just a water flea after all, which is why I shouldn’t forget these thoughts…

“I really am so ugly I hate it… I want to die… I’m also so short I’m basically a pipsqueak.
I’m also stupid. Nobody likes me. I have no dreams or any hope… I just want to quietly
erase my memories from people’s minds… I want to redo everything from elementary
school…”

I placed my hands on her shoulders.

“Kaho-chan…”

I stared into Kaho-chan’s eyes with a clear gaze.

“Rena-chin.”

Kaho-chan slowly raised her face. The light that shone in her eyes was the colour of
sorrow.

Towards this kind of Kaho-chan, I—

“This jerk!”

“――?!”

Without holding back, I struck my forehead against hers. It hurt!

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

Kaho-chan stepped back and pressed on her forehead. Tears welled up in her eyes. I
was also the same.

“I kept listening to your prattle without saying anything since earlier, but you sure said
a lot of awful stuff, huh! I even thought that my chest would get torn and my organs
would spill over if I kept listening!”

“But everything’s the truth.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

I desperately clamped my hands over my ears, lost in agony.

Every single one of Kaho-chan’s words was like a thorn that pierced my body.

If her words were thorns, I’d basically look like a hedgehog with every word stabbing
me across my body.
Standing before me, Kaho-chan looked frightened. For some reason, she reminded me
of someone. Myself.

Being confessed to by Mai and Ajisai-san, getting so lost about it, and becoming filled
with dread.

“In this world, I have something I definitely, absolutely cannot forgive…”

“Re-Rena-chin…?”

“That is someone who keeps depreciating their own value even though they clearly
are blessed with everything!”

I gritted my teeth and crouched down until my eyes were at the same level as hers.
And then I shouted.

“What the heck is ugly! Does every mirror in your house break or what?! No matter
how you see it, Kaho-chan is a total beauty! Are you not aware of that fact?!”

“No, but—”

“I get it. I finally get it now! Everything you said to me on that day! The reason why
you smacked my forehead while getting so angry, I finally get it! On top of it, everything
really bounced back to me so much that I felt like dying! I’ll live though!!”

“What are you saying—”

“Listen here, Kaho-chan. You are cuter than me, you are smarter than me, you are more
popular than me in school. Now imagine, how miserable would I feel if you
depreciated yourself like you did just now?! If you’re a water flea, then what am I?
Paramecium?!”

“That wasn’t my intention—”

“Of course! But still, even though you didn’t intend to, it would come off like that right?!
For an outcast to behave like an outcast and live their lives in the corner while not
crossing other people’s sight, right?! Alright, I get it! Argh, how noisy!”

Kaho-chan scowled at me.

“But you—you were confessed to by MaiMai and Aa-chan right? If you are paramecium,
then is being the First Lady of America the only way to be considered as human then?!
Stop making fools of everyone!”

“Right, of course, now I’m finally able to understand not only your mind but also your
soul! In short, this is something like that!”

This was what they meant by grass is always greener than the other side! It really was
a great proverb!

If only people could feel others’ grief through their lenses, I bet 90% of conflicts would
be gone from this world.

For me this past month, I had already become so lost I could almost be knocked over.

I couldn’t help but feel envious of Kaho-chan, who was able to keep chasing after her
dreams in the world of sparkles. I always thought that she had no worries while living
days full of joy.

But just like me, Kaho-chan also felt envious of me. That day when I depreciated myself
in front of her, Kaho-chan must’ve also felt miserable.

I stared at her face.

“No matter what people say, you deserve to stand on that stage, Kaho-chan. You
already did so much up until this point, right? You don’t have to pay any attention to
others. Let’s knock them to the dust. You also want to have the greatest moment, right?
Since you like cosplaying and all, right?”

“Even though you said that…”

Kaho-chan looked daunted. As expected, she must be frightened.

“Actually, you really are thankful for the chance, since this is your dream, right? That’s
why, you see, please stop hurting yourself with every excuse. Just think of every reason
that allows you to stand right here. This moment is your chance. You understand that,
right? That you definitely can’t let this chance go.”

My words came out naturally

Because these words were things I’d always said and wanted to do for my own sake.

To have people as lovely as Mai and Ajisai-san liking someone like me sounded
ridiculously impossible after all. As the clock ticked, I was keeping the two of them
waiting for me. I wondered how huge my sins were for that.

Instead of feeling grave regret by declining them both, it would be better if I responded
to their feelings, even if the relationship might fall apart later. I was sure of it.

Even I could understand that much.

Fair arguments built on pretty words, of course it stung my ears.

Kaho-chan cast down her eyes as if she was suffering.

“I understand. Something like this is really obvious without you needing to spell it out.
I already know… But still, I don’t want that… Like being laughed at by a lot of people,
getting hate, I don’t want that…”

Behind the dark stage, two shadows—us—huddled close together.

Our turns approached as the clock ticked onwards.

As if giving my heart a rich amount of oxygen, I breathed in deeply.

I understood the feelings of not wanting to be hated by people. At that moment, I

realized this wretched side of me.

I also understood that if I kept forcing Kaho-chan more than this, it would backfire and
probably make her despise me.

“…hey, Kaho-chan.”

In the end, I was convinced I couldn’t go on without telling her.

If you asked me what the reason was…

It was because the me who ‘liked’ myself, existed only at the end of this path.

Someone who was always here, someone who always watched over me.

Amaori Renako.

I didn’t want to be hated by her.

“Let’s go, Kaho-chan. I will stay right next to you.”

“You’re saying this because, Rena-chin… you have nothing to lose…”

“That’s true.”

Right now, Kaho-chan might feel that every drop of her hardships was on the verge of
destruction. Her attachment to her hobby, the voice of her fans who supported her,
every effort she poured into this—everything.

The things that she piled up little by little could turn into nothingness in mere seconds,
like a bubble in the sea.

Those memories would leave a deep scar inside her mind. She might be hurt every
time she remembers that moment.

“But still, I can imagine it.”

I touched Kaho-chan’s cheeks gently.

Cupping her face, I stared straight into her eyes.

“The regrets where you chose to do nothing would always linger inside you. Actually I
was able to do it, I would’ve been able to accomplish it had I done it. You would keep
repeating those thoughts to deceive yourself. I don’t want that. No matter how
miserable things might turn out, I don’t want you to run away from things that you
like.”

“Why?” she asked me. “Why do you think that way?”

“That’s because…”

The memories of the past half year played out inside my mind.

The series of challenges that kept coming to me.

It was full of things I couldn't do, and it was frustrating. I even spent a lot of nights
crying under my covers. I had run away many times, but in the end, I chose to accept
everything and faced it head on.

“Because I like it.”

My friends.

People who thought of me.

People who shaped me this far.

Everyone.

Towards them—

“Since I like it, I don’t want to betray this feeling.”

The face came to my mind, the face of someone I held dear.

And then it was gone in an instant. In exchange, before me, Kaho-chan’s wide eyes
gazed at me.

“Rena-chin…”

Kaho-chan stretched out her hands timidly.

“I might mess up with today’s performance.”

“Yeah.”
“I’d already forgotten most of the things we practiced. This is really the worst.”

“Yeah.”

“I might really, really cause trouble for you.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded my head.

“The same goes for me.”

I grabbed Kaho-chan’s hand, and then decided to tell her the truth.

“You see, I shouldn’t say this to you, but the truth is, people’s eyes scare me. Since I
always think that people would think bad of me, like, how boring, just hurry and get it
done, thoughts like that.”

“I see.”

“Honestly I can’t say I have the confidence to make sure that everything will go
smoothly. Even now, my hands are trembling. I also really want to run away, and right
now I feel nauseous.”

“…thank you for not running away.”

Kaho-chan tugged on my hand.

And then she embraced me.

“Let’s fail together. And then, we can laugh about this while saying, that sure was the
worst. Since Rena-chin is here, I feel like I'm no longer afraid.”

“Yeah.”

I closed my eyes.

I could feel Kaho-chan.

The sound of a heart rapidly beating—I was sure that this wasn't only mine.
It was like we were synchronized.

It was like seeing my own reflection in a mirror, which might be why we were both
only able to show half our powers. But that was also why when we joined the halves
of us, we would become one.

“I’m glad you’re with me, Rena-chin.”

The voice that entered my ears wasn’t the voice from the usual bright and cheerful
Kaho-chan. She sounded so unreliable, her trembling voice colored in insecurity.

Still, I was sure that the Kaho-chan right now was the girl who I’d known since back
then.

I pushed myself to smile, and then spoke in a lively tone, “Yup… I want to make special
memories, just between the two of us.”

The staff called our name, and then we walked toward the stage.

I couldn’t stop myself from seeing the stage, basked in the sea of lights, as the most
blinding place in this world.

Extra - Minaguchi Kaho's Story

It was true that unlike school, there probably weren’t any rules forbidding manga in
class.

Still, the girl who sat next to her looked so immersed while reading the manga magazine
she’d brought. It was like she was absorbed in her own world.

Even the glasses girl who observed her felt like holding her breath when seeing the
girl’s behavior.

The thick book in her hand was a manga magazine that was intended for boys. That
girl who read the magazine kept switching her expressions. She really had a rich
amount of expressions that she displayed, it was striking.
Finally, the girl finished the magazine and snapped it shut. Haa. She let out a sigh.

In an instant, their eyes met. She’d discovered the glasses girl observing her. It was
because the glasses girl found her interesting. The glasses girl felt awkward, so she
averted her gaze.

“Ah, err, want to read this?”

The girl handed her the magazine. Since it was so sudden, the glasses girl ended up
taking it. The glasses girl couldn’t help but think that the girl was the type to light-
heartedly chat with people around her like this. It shocked her.

“…I have never, read this before.”

“Eeh, really?! Then, I really recommend this… aah, but then you won’t be able to read
it from the first chapter! What should I do? Ah, then, let me bring the tankoubon next
time!”

Eeeh…? And so, with that kind of forceful manner, the glasses girl got roped in. Even
then, the glasses girl didn’t really mind it.

The manga girl flipped back to the table of contents and started talking about which
one had the interesting story.

Well, she didn’t really mind since she had nothing to do while waiting for the class to
start, but…

“And then, you see this boy, I have no words other than cool to describe him…! Hey,
he’s really good-looking don’t you think?! He always behaves like this, but he’s really
considerate about his comrades, it's really filled with passionate friendship!”

Seeing her eyes light up like she was in love, the glasses girl couldn’t hold in her
laughter, and then she ended up getting drawn into her world.

That girl only attended cram school for half a year and then stopped coming, and the
glasses girl felt disappointed that she could no longer talk to her. But thanks to her
influence, she ended up liking manga.

Looking forward to Monday every week, drawing her favorite characters, writing
original characters in her favorite world.
Kaho, who somehow ended up devoted to her otaku hobby, started to enter the world
of cosplay. It also could be said that this was inevitable.

Her mother was always good at arts and crafts anyway, and she had a sewing machine
in her house. When Kaho was still a child, she liked to make handcrafted items or use
beads to create something.

In the end, she started to wonder how it would feel if she wore the same costumes as
her favorite characters… Excited, she brought up the courage and tried to sew her own
costumes. This was during her first year of middle school.

Using her new phone that she had received from her new mother as a present, she
took secret selfies and uploaded them onto social media. After that, she received a lot
of compliments.

Kaho ended up getting into cosplaying since it allowed her to express her love for her
favorite series, and she also could also fulfill her longing for others’ approval.

Her activities went well, and parallel to her feelings that became stronger, her
followers count also displayed positive results. She also participated in a lot of events
and got to know a lot of acquaintances.

At the beginning, she cosplayed with feelings of ‘fun’ and ‘like’ at the foundation.

But when the number of events she participated increased—when her followers
multiplied—those feelings gradually changed.

It wasn’t only the matter of enjoying things you like. She realized she also needed to
put up with a lot of hardships. She needed to be considerate of a lot of things, and she
started to be mindful of people’s way of seeing her. She started to worry about her
social life.

She understood perfectly from the beginning that doing something like this didn’t suit
her personality at all. She was a reserved girl that always hesitated when it came to
registering for an event. She was also often feeling upset when she thought that the
costumes she made wouldn't suit someone like her.

Kaho started to lose sight of her feelings of enjoyment and began to think she could
no longer continue as a cosplayer. Only the times where she tried to become a heroine
she longed to be, when she was able to cover the pathetic side of hers.

—if so!

At the end of her days of agony, she had an idea. It would be okay if she kept cosplaying
on a daily basis.

It was a great idea. She made a new version of herself for the sake of her passion, and
she started to play her part as a bright and cheerful girl.

Someone dazzling, someone charming, a positive girl who always laughed and brought
joy to people around her. She became someone with a bit of a careless side, tried to
not talk trash about others, and became someone who was loved by everyone.

That was it.

Let’s become her.

The girl who she’d spent half the year with.

Act like that girl, be her.

And just like that, starting from the day she made up her mind, she started to work
hard.

That time, Kaho didn’t imagine that once she started high school, she would once again
be reunited with the heroine she’d always looked up to.
Both Kaho-chan and I changed into our normal clothes, then sat in the corner cafeteria
in the venue.

Kaho-chan, who’d already put in her contact lenses, was glued to her phone. I peeked
at her screen with a sour expression.

“It can’t be helped, because I’m terrifically cute after all!”

On the screen danced a girl on stage, dressed like Rina-pyon. She imitated bunny ears
with her hand, then jumped around, bearing a forced smile.

Just from that, I was taking out my white flag. It was so shameful my skin was crawling.
It was definitely a huge embarrassment.

“Umm, Kaho-chan.”

“Uwaa, look at this. This really got a lot of hate. How funny, lol.”

“What kind of self-punishment is this?!”

“Eeh, but don’t you get curious about the comments?”

We were watching the recording of our show earlier that had been broadcasted online.
The comments were flooding in so fast I couldn’t keep up with the words. It seemed
like Kaho-chan’s eyesight excelled at detecting rapid movement.

Finally, the cat-eared maid Kaho-chan arrived. The way we moved made it seem like
we were enjoying our work. Like we’d gone through chaotic days together, but also
joyous events.

I’d always imagined that if I managed to become someone with a bright personality,
my days would turn out to be something like this…

But I ended up being wrong. Unpleasant things would keep coming no matter what.

Even within the world of [Anima Maid!], there might be unpleasant things happening
backstage. Alright, if that was the case, then I felt like I could empathize with Rina-
pyon better…

“Ah, this one!”

“Huh? Ah, Perman-san?”

It was only a split second, but I saw the lady I remembered from before. The special
member from the first photoshoot session, that photographer lady.

“Even Miharu-san and Ema-san also came, see?”

“I didn’t realize… as expected from Kaho-chan’s fans…”

I see… This time, I’d managed to show a better version of myself compared to the last
time.

When I thought of it that way, I started to see the girl with rabbit ears who’d tried her
best to become a character from an anime as someone brave.

Once our performance ended, the screen changed into a polling session. After a 15-
minute break, it was time for the online and in-person attendee vote collection and
count. Then it went straight to the announcement of the winner. Kaho-chan flicked her
finger across the screen to skip to the end.

“Now, the result of this splendid grand prix—”

It wasn’t us. But it also wasn’t Serara-chan’s group. I bet the winners were the popular
cosplayers.

I glanced at Kaho-chan’s face.

“That’s too bad, huh. The result.”

“Not really though? We placed 7th place among 8 participants, but that’s a given
considering our popularity. Rather than think of it that way, we should feel grateful for
the 854 fans who had voted for us, right!”

Kaho-chan pointed at the number 854 on her screen with a smile. That way of
thinking, so unlike a comment from a recluse, was really wonderful. That was really
what I thought but…

“What if those people only chose us because they’re [Anima Maid!] fans…”

“Why would you think something negative like that?! It’s not a problem right, to
choose the most convenient way to wrap this up nicely!?”

I couldn’t say anything as Kaho-chan scolded me. Dammit. Even though my standing
had been higher until a few moments ago…!

It seemed like I could never beat Kaho-chan in her normie cosplay for the rest of my
life.

After everything ended, we stuck around the venue.

It seemed like Kaho-chan was done with the event now that her purpose was fulfilled.
On the other hand, since I was nervous from the beginning, I thought I’d at least make
some enjoyable memories while I was here.

“Somehow, having tea while wearing my cosplay like this feels so strange…”

“Nah, doing cosplay at this scale is practically heaven, though. If only school allowed
cosplaying daily, meow…”

“Oozuka Mai would be unbeatable though.”

“It would be awesome though?! As a cosplayer, cosplaying is of course very enjoyable,

but! Seeing the pinnacle of cosplay is the best of the best feeling ever!”

In contrast to Kaho-chan’s sparkling eyes that revealed her excitement, I had yet to get
used to this whole situation. I couldn’t shake off the odd feeling of sitting around while
wearing a bunny maid costume.

I looked around me. Well, there were a lot of cosplayers around, but still… For example,
the girls who sat at the table diagonally from ours……
“Huh? You’re Satsuki-san, right?!”

There she was. Satsuki-san, who was still in her cosplay, had precisely the same
appearance when she stood on the stage.

“I have no idea who you are talking about. My name is Moon.”

“I see. It’s my bad, sorry! But why are you here?”

She had her legs crossed and an open book in front of her. The girl sitting across from
her didn’t look like Serara-chan.

“Serara went home first. With my change of clothes.”

“Eh?!”

The frown on Moon-san’s face strangely suited her.

“It’d been a bad idea to come here with only one bag. I tried to call her but she won’t
pick up. Everything’s kind of messed up. I guess that’s what people mean when they
say the world is an ephemeral place.”

“So ephemeral, with a quality like the overwhelming presence of yours.”

“That Serara ・Lalaland girl, why would she behave like a flustered Santa Clause like
that?” Kaho-chan asked her.

“I don’t know exactly why but it seemed like not getting first place shocked her. She
was stupefied, then started weeping uncontrollably.”

“Aa…”

As if she came up with an idea, Kaho-chan folded her arms.

“That girl, she’s quite an individualist after all. I wonder if she’s never participated in
an event with a ranking system like this.”

“Ah, as expected, you two interact a lot, eh.”

“Yup. I was the one who showed her the basics at her first event. During those times,
she kept following after me, “Senpai, senpai♪” like a little puppy, just an adorable girl,
meow.”

“Eh, really?!”

Holding her anime collaboration pine juice with both of her hands like a cup of warm
beverage, Kaho-chan muttered, “But then, not long after, her attitude became
arrogant… In this industry, as expected, the most valuable thing is youth and visuals
after all. Of course those two aren’t the only factors, but the moment people start to
think, ‘Ah this one already surpassed my popularity,’ that person can end up being in
a risky position.”

“Scary…”

It was a women’s world I had no knowledge of. It was great that I attended Ashigaya.
As long as I held my position as a member of Quintet, our leader would never be
overthrown from her position.

“It’s just—she really does cosplay seriously. It seems like it’s because she’s serious
about her dream to become a model. It’s not like I hate her guts, even though we’re at
each other’s throats like this. Well, since the beginning, we’d never really had the same
views about our impression and interpretation about anime though!”

Kaho-chan flashed a smile that made her look like a senpai.

It was like her body emitted an aura of composure. I honestly thought that she was
incredible from the depths of my heart. I’d like to believe that Serara-chan also didn’t
hate this reliable part of Kaho-chan. Rather than feeling underestimated, maybe it was
more like the annoyance of getting treated as a child, I guess.

“I also don’t hate her, but I’d prefer if she gave me back my clothes at least.”

“About that, what are you going to do, Moon-san? You can’t just board a train home in
that outfit, right? Ah, should I get you a shirt?”

Still in her soldier costume, Moon-san adjusted her assault rifle that rested on top of
the table while showing a troubled expression.

“It’s… kind of a waste to buy a shirt.”

Uuh… if Moon-san with her frugal living was saying that. It felt a bit weird if I offered
to buy it for her. This was complicated.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to be so considerate of me. I’ve got my own plans. For now,
I’ll just kill time here until her performance is over.”

“Ah, I see, it’s good then. Is your cosplayer acquaintance performing?”

“…she’s not really a cosplayer acquaintance.”

That was an odd answer from Moon-san.

I tilted my head. Now that I thought about it, I was having a conversation with Moon-
san while ignoring the girl sitting across from her that positioned between us. I
naturally apologized, “Ah, I’m sorry,” and bowed my head at the person before me.

“N-no, it’s okay…”

She looked uneasy and didn’t turn towards us.

…huh?

My usually dysfunctional sixth sense had picked up on something. This girl… She
hurriedly moved behind Moon-san.

The girl was wearing a gorgeous Chinese dress that was daring, but suited her very
well.

“Eh, ah.”

The girl turned her face away. Her ears were red.

“Hm……?”

I moved to face her, and then observed her face more carefully. This time, she turned
her whole body around and covered her face. We kept repeating these movements,
circling around Moon-san.
“The heck are you doing, Rena-chin…?”

Kaho-chan sounded exasperated. Nah, I definitely wouldn’t ever behave insistently

like this under normal circumstances, you see. But this time…

“Ajisai-san……?” I muttered.

“!”

The girl let out a major reaction, her shoulders trembling.

“He? As if Aa-chan would come to a place like—”

Before Kaho-chan finished her sentence, the girl raised her face like she was
interrupting Kaho-chan.

As if she was already resigned to her fate, she timidly raised her hand.

“…yes, this is Sena Ajisai.”

“――eh?!”

Kaho-chan's eyes bugged out.

“Why is Aa-chan—?! In a place where a bunch of gloomies pretend to be normies by

wearing their masks, at the Japan Animation Event—the genuine and pristine normie
Aa-chan?!”

“You’ll piss a lot of people off, you know!” I said.

Why on earth did you yell something like that right in the middle of the event… the
people around us were reacting pensively though. Nah, why were they accepting her
remark?!

“But she’s right. Why are you…”

“Err, you see. I was kinda invited by my friend.”

So Ajisai-san would cosplay if she was invited. As long as she was invited, she would
wear a Chinese dress with a thigh slit like that, huh… If so, did that mean that she
would wear cute clothes like that if I invited her…?

“A friend… is it Moon-san? Huh? Moon-san?”

I really, truly, completely couldn’t imagine Satsuki-san sending a message toward

Ajisai-san, “I’ll do cosplay so come watch,” after all. In fact, she looked like she would
type something along, “If you come, you die,” instead.

“I wouldn’t say something like that, though.”

“You’re always reading my mind!”

“You’re just too easy to read. In the first place, I wasn’t the one who invited her. I just
met Sena coincidentally here.”

Out of nowhere, Moon-san pulled out the Makuhari Summit pamphlet and showed us.

“It’s written here that a special guest will appear for today’s main event, right?”

“Ajisai-san is the special guest?!”

If so, then I could understand. If we did a ranking for high-schoolers in Tokyo, I bet
Ajisai-san’s kindness and beauty would place among the top… no wait, she would be
the first. If that was the case, it wouldn’t be weird.

When I became convinced, Ajisai-san yelped, “You’re wrong! Listen, it’s not me, it
really is not me, err you see…”

As if she was troubled, Ajisai-san threaded her fingers together. As expected, her
cuteness was incredible.

“Satsuki-chan, what should I do…?” She looked at Satsuki-san for help with a
disheartened gaze. But suddenly, that desperate look disappeared from her face. “Ah,
sorry, it’s not Satsuki-chan… right, umm, Moon-chan? Right now, it’s bad if I call you
by your name, right?”

“…it’s not like I really mind.”

This was completely different from her usual vicious smile. She looked a bit
embarrassed with that expression.

“You’re okay to call me by that name.”

“Really? Well, Satsuki-chan…?”

“Yes.”

Moon-san nodded her head slightly at a meek Ajisai-san. Then, Ajisai-san laughed,
“Ehehe.” As if she was hiding her embarrassment, Moon-san directed her gaze on the
book before her.

Kaho-chan and I traded a look.

…somehow, the way she treated us was completely different, no?

Kaho-chan pointed her finger at Moon-san, and then immediately filed her objection.
“Why, Moon-chan?! You favour Aa-chan too much!”

“I don’t.”

“Then, it’s alright if we also call you by Satsuki-san right, Satsuki-san?! I’m not someone
who understands that well about cosplaying after all! Hey, Satsuki-san, are you
listening, Satsuki-san?!”

Bam, bam. She struck us with her book in order.

“Shut your trap, idiot #1 and idiot #2.”

“How cruel!” we shrieked in unison, clapping our hands over our heads.

Satsuki-san gazed at us like we were teammates who burdened her. Then she opened
her mouth. “From your perspective, with your unrefined level of vocabulary, you might
say it’s favoritism, but it’s not that. There’s a difference here. The value of words isn’t
solely based on the words themselves; it also depends on the person saying those
words. Since Sena was the one who said it, I can accept that. There’s nothing more to
it.”
“In that case, it’s favoritism, right…?”

“I already told you that’s not it. Speaking hypothetically—well, it’s impossible for
Oozuka Mai to discriminate against others, but this is a what-if. If by any chance you
and Sena both have the same degree of virtuousness, and then the other side received
a more favorable treatment, in a sense it might be favoritism, but actually it’s not as
simple as that, right?”

“U-uh-huh.”

Well, as expected, there wouldn’t be a single homo sapiens who insisted they were on
par with Ashigaya’s angel when being compared.

Moon-san relaxed her cheek and formed a cold smile.

“I’m happy you finally seem to get it. Listen, Amaori. You’ve been getting ahead of
yourself lately, but don’t misunderstand. As for me, I personally harbor nothing
towards you, whether it’s a feeling of like or anything else.”

“Satsuki-chan.” Ajisai-san furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Satsuki-san, seeming

displeased. “I’m sorry. I really am happy when I know you cherish me that much, so
thank you. But saying something like that is… you said too much, don’t you think?”

“That’s right.”

WIthout missing a beat, Moon-san bowed her head.

Moon-san bowed her head?!

“Apologies, I ended up saying something rude and hurt your feelings. You’re my dear
friend, Amaori. Please take care of me from now on.”

“Are you some sort of a spoiled brat?!”

The effect of seeing Satsuki-san who earnestly did everything that Ajisai-san said
shocked me so much that I had no time to feel hurt… Eh, what was that? What was the
meaning of this? Were the two of them dating? You two? Was there a possibility of
AjiSatsu?

As if the shock was not enough, Ajisai-san smiled warmly while looking at Satsuki-san.
“You apologized. That’s remarkable.”

Satsuki-san averted her gaze while looking shy, her cheeks reddening. “It’s nothing…”

“I do get it that Saa-chan respects Aa-chan very much based on what’s happening right
now, but… I can’t be fully convinced by this situation yet meow…” Kaho-chan
murmured.

I wanted to nod my head along with her statement like fans banging their heads at
some heavy rock metal festival.

And so, errr…

“If it wasn’t Moon-san who invited you here, then who did, Ajisai-san?”

I returned to the topic. By doing this, I could erase the discomfort I’d felt earlier for
the sake of calming my mind. This was one of my high-level techniques.

For a moment, Ajisai-san held her breath… or that was my impression of what she was
doing.

After looking like she was brooding over something, she opened her mouth. “Un, you
see.”

At that moment, the room turned dark.

Oho… I looked around. The screen at the center stage unfolded and started playing the
event video. After the introduction of the performers, they announced the special
guest for today’s event.

The screen showed a girl backstage, in the middle of having her makeup done.

Long blonde hair. Amidst the flickering sea of light, there was only a single light that
didn’t budge. A true star.

A woman as if she was the sun.

“Take care of me for today.”

When she flashed a wink, everyone let out a shriek, “Kyaaa!” from every nook and
cranny, filling the whole venue.

My mouth hung open. I was completely taken aback by the situation. While fixated on
the screen, I murmured, “O-Oozuka Mai…”

“It’s MaiMai!” Kaho-chan yelped without a moment’s delay, absorbed into the venue’s
enthusiasm.

“Y-yup, so this is why.” Ajisai-san nodded slightly.

I see, so Ajisai-san was invited by Mai… Huh? Ajisai-san was invited by Mai? But why…
on what grounds? Wait, they were friends after all so getting invited to hang out wasn’t
something so odd… But still, just two of them?

“Well, that’s the case.”

I could understand Satsuki-san’s circumstances. Since Mai would definitely bring a lot
of outfits, Satsuki-san, who’d heard from Ajisai-san that Mai was coming today, perhaps
thought that she could head home together with Mai after. They lived relatively close
to each other after all.

But the huge question that resounded in my head was quickly overwritten by the
excitement from the venue’s atmosphere.

An excited and cheerful Kaho-chan clenched her fist.

“Hey, hey! Let’s quickly go to the stage! MaiMai is performing, right?! I definitely want
to watch her! From the front row!”

“Eh, ah, okay.”

People from other tables also headed towards the main stage. I stood up, flustered,
while Kaho-chan hurried us along.

“Then, um, ah! Ajisai-san too, let’s go!”

“Eh, eh, okay, you’re right.”

Ajisai-san, who definitely would go along with the flow during moments like this, also
stood up, then she stretched out her hand to Satsuki-san.

“We should go. Here, Satsuki-chan too, let’s hurry.”

“M-me? I’m alright. I’ve seen her work a lot before, so I—”

Even then, Satsuki-san, who was sweet towards Ajisai-san, couldn’t do something like
shake off her hand.

“I-I get it. I’m going—I’m really going now.”

“Yup!”

With this, the four of us rushed to the main stage.

“This is kinda incredible! To think that the Quintet has assembled completely in this
place!”

“Yup. A lovely coincidence like this really could happen, eh!”

“This is nothing though. We always meet at school anyway, so to go out of our way to
meet like this on the weekend isn’t really necessary right…”

“What are you saying, Satsuki-san!”

Watching the scene before me, I said to her at the top of my voice, “———this is fun
,right!”

After a quiet effort of pushing and pressing, and also luck, we managed to secure the
front seats right before the main stage. The only thing left to do was to wait for the
show to start in excitement.

Kaho-chan, Ajisai-san, and then Satsuki-san, and I. Now come to think of it, we’d never
really had an outing together on the weekend before. There was this super busy
person who couldn’t match our schedule after all.

After half a year, did that mean that the distance between all of us was getting closer,
like I wished?
There were a lot of spectators around us. Everyone’s eyes sparkled as we waited for
Mai’s arrival.

Waaah. Cheers began to fill the venue once again.

The spotlight had fixated on a single point. The one who slowly came out was Queen
Rose Apparel’s star model. She was also wearing cosplay. She really appeared brighter
than anyone else.

She had on a splendid dress with a touch of the Chinese style. It reminded me of Mai’s
fashion show event during summer break. Her long legs and her high waist clearly
showed off her otherworldly charm as an entertainer. I wondered if the girl before me
was the most beautiful person in the world.

“Hey there, everyone. Did you have fun at today’s Makuhari Cosplay Summit?”

The Oozuka Mai on stage, a microphone held in her hand, looked so dignified despite
the gazes that rained down on her.

Well, it wasn’t really weird since she’d even showed up on television before. And of
course, she’d stood alone on an even more grandiose stage than this, surrounded with
a larger audience. In short, to truly live meant accumulating experiences. It was the
same with RPG.

“Up until today, I hadn’t really had a chance to experience cosplay and become another
person, but this is quite fun. It feels oddly familiar, but maybe that’s because it’s similar
to the way of enjoying fashion.”

While showing off her costume to the audience, she smiled.

“This reminds me of something. When I was a kid, I had special clothes that were
bought for me, and whenever I wore it, it made me feel more glamorous. It was like I
could be more confident and stand up proudly. So I ended up thinking that this is
probably also the same.”

Mai’s voice sounded calm and gentle as it echoed in the venue and permeated through
everyone’s body.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kaho-chan staring at Mai with adoration, dazed.

I perfectly understood that she shouldn’t be compared to someone like me, but as
expected, Mai really was amazing.

There was one thing I was aware of: I could faintly pinpoint Mai’s position right now.
She had already walked so far ahead of me.

Whether it was her academics, her stage experiences, or even confessing her feelings
of affection to someone, she did her best in all of it. Unlike Mai, I couldn’t do those
things smoothly. Nevertheless, it didn't mean that Mai had been good at everything
from the get-go.

“Mai-chan,” Ajisai-san murmured in a hushed voice. From her voice, I could sense a
feeling of anguish.

I looked at her.

Ajisai-san was staring at Mai with wide eyes that looked slightly wet. I felt my heart
skip a beat. It reminded me of that summer day when she suddenly cried before me.

“A-Ajisai-san…?”

“Eh?”

Ajisai-san’s cheeks slowly turned red.

“N-no, it’s nothing. It’s just—I just thought that Mai-chan sure looks pretty.”

“I-I see.”

At that moment, I brushed her reaction off with a thought: “Ajisai-san sure is easy to
be moved, eh.” But I might had been so dazzled by Mai’s appearance on stage that my
train of thoughts weren’t working properly.

“Well now, going by the schedule, we’re supposed to have an event to recap everything
that happened today, but before that, the truth is we have another guest for today. It’s
my precious friend, someone who will bring to this stage a beautiful atmosphere, like
a true flower. Let me introduce you.”
From her spot on the stage, Mai looked in our direction. I wondered if she’d already
noticed our presence since the beginning. We were in the front row anyway.

Mai moved the microphone away from her mouth and beckoned to us.

“Come here, Ajisai.”

“Okay.”

Huh?

Ajisai-san stepped out of her seat, and then started towards the stage.

Could it be that the reason behind her cosplay was because of this?

I stared at the back of Ajisai as she went further away from us. There was a feeling like
I was sending her off.

At that moment, Satsuki-san suddenly grabbed my wrist. She pulled me towards her
with all of her might.

“Mue?”

I tumbled forward and fell onto Satsuki-san’s chest. And then she embraced me. The
material of her costume was firm—no, rather it was stiff and tough.

“W-what is it?”

When I looked up, for a short second, Satsuki-san seemed like she also hadn’t expected
to do that. She bit her lip.

“You also should go.”

“Haa?!”

This might have been the most unreasonable request I’d heard in my entire life.

“What are you saying, Satsuki-san?!”

I really didn’t get her. In the first place, it wasn’t like I was the one being called to the
stage. Mai was only standing there because it was her job after all. If I carelessly got
up there, I’d definitely end up in the security guard’s office after they caught me
backstage.

I was about to make a fuss about that when Satsuki-san stopped me with her gaze.

“Whatever. Just go.”

“No, no no no no, no no…”

Nah, this was impossible… Even when I wanted to go back to my seat, Satsuki-san
wouldn’t let go of my hand. But why?

Perhaps it was because she had heard Satsuki-san’s voice, Ajisai-san stopped walking
and turned around.

“Ah, sorry, Ajisai-san. Just go ahead without minding us…” I said.

Ajisai had both hands clutched at her chest.

“Rena-chan… I also, want you to come,” she said.

“Eeeh……?”

I was instantly bewildered. Wh-why…?

Ajisai-san stretched out her hand.

“Please.”

I didn’t get it.

“For Mai-chan’s sake.”

No, it was the opposite, though! I would only trouble her, right?!

“—it would be meaningless, if it’s not you.” Ajisai-san’s earnest tone made me even
more confused.

“For Mai’s sake, what…”

Standing between Satsuki-san and Ajisai-san, I still couldn’t understand the situation.
In the first place, even though without someone like me, she could stand by herself
splendidly, magnificently—

As I was still filled with doubt, I looked up at the stage.

My eyes met Mai’s.

In that moment, I felt like I could hear voices.

—if that’s what you think, then.

—As for me, I really like you.

Mai always conducted herself properly. She was strong, and that was why—

That was why someone like me was…

“I can’t see!”

“Owaa.”

Kaho-chan suddenly thrusted me out of her way, into the direction of the aisle,
towards Ajisai-san.

“I don’t know what’s happening but, if you need to go, then go! There. Do your best!”

“Something extremely unreasonable like this…!”

Somehow I ended up grabbing Ajisai-san’s hand. And then—

Ajisai-san, bursting with what was going on inside her heart, shouted, “Mai-chan is
always waiting, more than anyone. She is always waiting for your answer!”

The memory of Mai’s face, smiling weakly, flashed inside my head, then scattered.
—aah, geez!

“But that doesn’t mean that doing this—doing something like this is…! Geez, I’m going
though!”

I tugged on Ajisai-san’s hand.

I could see a glimmer of pain in her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. With a
blooming smile, Ajisai-san nodded.

“Yup.”

Whatever. I had something I needed to tell her anyway. If so, whether it was now or
later, I should still go see her. To confront Mai.

But still, no one told me that I would have to do it on stage, though!

I get it, alright then, I’m going now. I’ll just do this, alright!

To the stage, the place where Mai was waiting for me!
Preface

An eternal lie, could also be referred to as the truth.

Written from here on is the love story of a certain girl.

She was strong and beautiful.

She was intelligent and brimmed with confidence.

She was loved by everyone around her, a charismatic girl.

No matter how difficult a situation was, she wouldn’t fail.

She would keep climbing over the tall wall that stood in her way with her own power.
She faced forwards gloriously. She was Oozuka Mai, Ashigaya’s Super Darling. The sun
that blinded everyone with her shimmering light.

Still, was that really the truth?

Renako was supposed to have already understood. It didn’t matter who it was—
everyone had their own worries, whether big or small. Nonetheless, they kept going
on no matter how painful it was.

No matter what position you were in or how your personality was, life meant
encountering a series of worries, struggles, uplifting moments, and tears, but somehow,
one was expected to move forward, since there was no other choice.
Or it was also possible that, among the 7.8 billion people on earth, there was a single
person who was the only exception to all that—Oozuka Mai.

This story was something that definitely hadn’t been known to Amaori Renako.

Up until now, and perhaps even from here on. Forever.

Because this was the story wished for by a girl in love.

Volume 1 - After the Party

“Why did you do something like that?”

That day, Mai had dinner together with her mother who had just arrived in Japan.

It seemed like the news of her renting an entire hotel hall to organize a party had
reached her mother’s ears in no time. She chewed on the appetizer before her,
maintaining a calm expression. It had marinated olive, known for its sourness and a
taste strong enough to peel people's eyes wide open. Putting it frankly, it wasn’t her
favourite ingredient.

“It means I’m at that age.”

Since her mother spent most of her time in France, they conversed in French all the
time. Honestly speaking, for her who was half-Japanese, not really being proficient in
Japanese bothered her quite a lot. From the scheduling of her work to instructions
given to her on her job, everything was relayed in French.

“Keep it in moderation. You’re still a student after all.”

“I know. I’m perfectly aware of my position as a person in charge of promoting Queen

Rose. I’ll make sure to not overdo it from now on.”

“Please. I don’t want to deal with trouble in the Tokyo branch from my office in Paris.”

Clink clank. For a while, the room was only filled with the clatter of tableware.
“And so, just like what I told you before, this summer will be busy. I’ve already given the
detailed schedule to your manager.” (TL note: Hanatori-san)

“I understand. So, how’s the company going?”

“Let’s see. If you’re asking about the overall performance, it wasn’t bad. The design is
what’s bothering me. It’s still too far from something that can be called a masterpiece.
The new designs have been recycled versions of the original, after all.”

Her mother, Oozuka Renee, was Queen Rose’s top designer. The company’s
performance was reliant on her brain and her nimble fingers. Over the years, the
company had grown so large it put her mother under more pressure.

She had also begun to talk about the business with her daughter like this since recent
years. It might have been that she could no longer shoulder every responsibility by
herself. Even then, the only thing Mai could do was lend an ear to her mother’s
complaints like this.

“In recent years, the only inspiration that motivates me is seeing your growth. To think
that my daughter has let go of my hand and become a completely different person. It
really is a refreshing experience.”

“Mama and I are different people after all.”

“The moment I realized that was when you rebelled against me at age 10.”

“Rebelling is… that’s such an exaggeration.” Mai let out a bitter laugh.

Her mother wasn’t the best at expressing her emotions. This might be the very reason
she became a designer.

Having a conversation with someone who didn’t understand her was like eating a
salad filled with toppings she despised. Never knowing when she’d bite into something
bitter, she could only take careful bites.

“That’s why…”

“On n’a qu’une vie,” she uttered, “There’s only one life. I don’t regret anything, and I don’t
want you to have any regrets. So be prudent with your actions, ma chérie.”
“…Yes.”

Those were the words that often came out of her mouth. It sounded like something
said for her sake, but behind those words, the true meaning behind those words—

You keep saying, ‘you don’t want me to have any regrets’. In short, you’re telling me to
follow your path, right?

Mai kept questioning that inside her mind.

With a height of 167 cm, in France, she was considered small-statured among the top
models, unlike in Japan. Her very presence was unremarkable in France. Even though
she had bright blonde hair, there were many other people with the same hair color
overseas.

Originally, it wasn’t like she even had that much talent to rise to the top overseas. The
reason she had been appointed for the responsible position was because she is her
mother’s daughter.

A reason as simple as that allowed her to push away every other young and talented
candidate and she secured Japan’s top position for her own. So many people were
defeated in the process and ended up choosing to give up on their dreams.

That was why Mai thought that she should push herself for the sake of those people
who lost their dreams.

Which was why losing the position at the top of the pyramid was definitely not an
option.

Nonetheless, Mai also thought that her job as a model was the chain binding her to her
status as Renee’s daughter, and nothing more. She had no say in her future. Everything
about her life was controlled by her mother. There had only been one time—one single
moment—to which her mother referred to as a ‘rebellion’, where Mai drew a line in
her life for herself.

“If you have something you want, or you want to settle down with someone, you just need
to say it so I can hurry and make arrangements for you. You don’t need to hold back.
Since you’re my precious daughter after all.”

“…thank you, Mama.”

The night continued bit by bit. Even as she dined together with a person who was
supposed to understand her the most, that night, she couldn’t help but feel that her
stomach was filled with emptiness.

Volume 2 - After the Defeat

“I lost, fufu, I lost… A loser, I’m such a loser…”

After Renako and Satsuki went home, Mai sank into her chair, motionless. It was like
her soul was seeping out from her mouth.

It had been a serious match. Betting on the chance to marry Renako, together with
Satsuki, they had a match between three of them. The result of the match was Mai’s
utter defeat. It had been a crushing failure. Up until now, she had no clear recollection
of her past defeat, even as she dived deep into her memories. Right now, Mai was a
pathetic loser.

The one who watched over this pitiful side of hers was… none other than Hanatori.

“Milady, let me bring you something warm to drink…”

“Fufu, thank you, Hanatori-san.”

Mai gazed into the distance with empty eyes. Even at this moment, Mai was someone
who wouldn’t ever forget to show her gratitude and Hanatori respected it very much,
she thought that as she poured lavender herb tea into her cup. It had an elegant aroma,
a fragrance that suited Mai very much. She hoped it would help cheer her up a little.

She placed the cup on the table with a clink. Usually, she would only stand around
solemnly, but seeing Mai who looked like she had lost all motivation, she decided to
say something as an encouragement.

“Excuse me, I might be insolent by saying this, Milady… But Amaori-sama has already
played this game for a long time, right? If so, then Milady doesn't have to be…”
“No, that’s not true, Hanatori-san.” Mai shook her head, “No matter what kind of match
it is, on top of accepting the challenge, it means I should strive to win with all my might.
It’s unacceptable if I lay out excuses after tasting defeat for my own consolation.”

“I-I… really apologize for my impudence, Milady…!”

She covered her mouth with her hand and her face turned pale.

“For me to say something so unthinkable to tarnish Milady’s noble and pure spirit… I-
I will accept any punishment you give me. Tell me your order, Milady!”

Seeing Hanatori kneeling before her, Mai let out a gentle laugh.

“It’s alright, Hanatori-san. You just wanted to comfort me, right? I’m always saved by
that kindness of yours. Let’s see. Well then, you should keep helping me from now on.
That is my order. Let’s settle with that.”

“Milady…!”

Hanatori wanted to embrace Mai at that moment, but since it would be disrespectful,
she was only able to squeeze her hands together.

Mai hugged her knees. While resting her cheek on her knee, she opened her mouth.

“Right, just for a bit, can we talk about Renako?”

“…Yes, I’m listening.”

“Fufu, it would be nice if you don’t show that concerned face, Hanatori-san. Do you
remember that time when I was troubled about my decision to stay in Japan or
continue high school in France, as suggested by Mama?”

Hanatori was reminded of the Mai during middle school and smiled lightly.

“That’s true. That time, you also confided in me.”

“It sure brings back memories. You’d suggested that since my name and hair colour
were too prominent in Japan, I should move to France.”
“Yes. By doing that, you can also live together with your family.”

She clearly remembered that time. Even the usual radiant Mai had appeared lost
during that time. Hanatori, who had become very worried, lost 3 kilograms thanks to
that.

As long as it was for Mai’s sake. She’d bravely suggested it while also preparing to
move to France herself.

Mai set her cup down.

“But in the end, I chose to attend Japan’s high school.”

It might have been a minor act of defiance towards her mother. Even so, Hanatori
thought her choice hadn’t been wrong.

(Since Milady had been placed in the same class with Koto-sama after all.)

Hanatori had been very moved when she heard about Mai and Satsuki’s past, the same
Satsuki who also participated in the match where Mai tasted an utter defeat. If only
she weren’t in front of people, she would surely be flooded in her own tears.

As long as Lady Koto Satsuki stayed as her friend, Hanatori was sure that Mai wouldn’t
be trapped in loneliness. She was convinced by that fact. She was reassured that it was
true love.

It was what she believed…

(I’m sure that both Milady and Satsuki-sama are independent people who don’t need
to rely on others. Perhaps their relationship isn’t one of dependence on each other.)

The distance between Mai and Satsuki was something that stretched far but appeared
close, yet also close but looked far apart. The relationship that Mai needed wasn’t a
predestined rival, nor a bond that stirred both her mind and body.

What she longed for was something that allowed her to feel comfort from the depths
of her heart, even if it was plain…
“And that moment, I met Renako.”

Mai’s words made Hanatori feel like her fingers had been sliced by a knife.

“…that girl.”

She managed to suppress her next sentence: “Of all people”, only because of her loyalty
towards her master.

Amaori Renako. Both her appearance and personality were absolutely plain, and she
didn’t show any unique traits so far. Girls like her could be found easily in both high
school and college.

In spite of that, even it was unbecoming to think that Mai had fewer life experiences
compared to Hanatori—aside from that time when she was lost while deciding her
high school choice. Because, ever since she was little, Mai had met many charming
people. She had been raised to become someone who could judge people well.

Even so, Hanatori still couldn’t understand the reason behind Mai’s strong attachment
toward Renako.

“I was excited for a new life. Whether I could get used to the new school or not. Right,
that’s a normal worry. On top of that, I’d also turned down Mama’s invitation for the
sake of attending a school in Japan, so my stress was doubled. I would never regret
this decision. That was what I stubbornly thought since I definitely didn’t want to think
that way.”

“That was… I understand.”

For Hanatori, Renee was a good employer, but she always decided on things by herself.
Even Hanatori couldn’t really grasp her true intention. In the first place, she didn’t look
like someone who was interested in having a conversation with her own daughter.
Even though they were the only family to each other.

“I’d already gotten used to being surrounded by people watching from a distance,
treating me carefully, like I was some sort of serious illness. Still, I also wanted to taste
happiness just like other people, as an ordinary high-schooler. While also holding that
kind of expectation, at the same time, I was also swayed by the uneasiness that it
couldn’t happen.”

“Is that so…”

Even if it was in front of Hanatori, Mai was someone who would never show her
vulnerable side to anyone. Even though she told her stuff like this, it would be when
everything was over. No matter how many times, Hanatori would never get used to
this feeling of frustration.

“But then, when I was deep in my own insecurities, she came and blew it all away.”

“…that girl did?”

Like a flower bud that slowly bloomed after the snowflakes had melted, Mai smiled.

“—will you be my friend, was what she asked me.”

“That’s…”

There weren’t many people who managed to reach out to Oozuka Mai proactively. The
probability would be slimmer if it excluded pure curiosity and interest. That moment,
even Hanatori had her breath taken away.

“Now when I look back at it, perhaps it was at that moment where I’d already fallen in
love with her.”

“Milady…”

“Hanatori-san, I’ll show you that I can become someone who could stand next to her.”

Mai pledged before Hanatori.

“…is that so, Milady?”

Mai was a girl who could love someone dearly and devote everything to that. This time,
Hanatori who listened to everything directly from Mai couldn’t help but earnestly
support the feeling of love Mai had—

(—is of course something that I would never think of, not even the slightest…)

For now, Hanatori decided to spend her salary from work to request information from
a detective agency on the girl. No matter what, she would uncover the true identity of
Amaori Renako.

What was her true intention in making a connection with Milady? If by any chance, it
turned out that she was a poisonous insect that would ruin the flowers, then when that
time comes…

Even so, Hanatori acknowledged Amaori Renako’s achievement when she was able to
blow Mai's anxiety away on the day of the opening ceremony.

Volume 3 - After the Confession of Ajisai

This happened at the end of summer break, a while before the second semester
started.

“I’m home.”

That day, Satsuki had arrived home from her part-time job to find an unfamiliar pair
of shoes at the door.

She gazed at it impassively. Seeing an unfamiliar pair of shoes at the door gave her the
unmistakable feeling of nostalgia from her childhood. She opened the door. Inside, she
saw a girl facing the wall, her knees tucked to her chest. She seemed smaller than usual.
The only thing that seemed normal was her bright, dazzling blonde hair, reflecting the
light.

“There’s a big kid here.”

“………”

She sighed and set down her bag, then organized her school stuff for tomorrow. Things
were harder to do when she was sleepy, so she decided to sort things out as soon as
she could. Mai was motionless, as if she’d transformed into an ornament.
I bet she’s going to be like that until I ask her what’s up. From the depths of her heart,
Satsuki couldn’t help but think that this was going to be a pain.

She almost thought of saying, “Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t rely on me again?” and
then bring up things that had already happened. But not even Satsuki was cruel
enough to say something like that.

“So, what is it again? Why are you here tonight?”

She brewed a mug of instant coffee for herself, but still got no reaction from Mai. She
opened her textbook. After that, Mai opened her mouth.

“…it might be possible that I’m not loved by everyone around the world after all.”

“………………………”

At that moment, Satsuki wanted to kick her out, but it was still okay, she still could
manage this. It was unfitting for her as Oozuka Mai’s childhood friend to have a short
temper.

“…and?”

“No, I’m sure that there are a lot of people who like me. That’s a given. Because I don’t
need to do anything to make people love me after all…”

“………”

Alright, let’s kick her out. It seems like it’s not something urgent anyway. Right after
thinking that, Mai spoke.

“It’s just, I’m not their number one after all.”

Mai’s voice sounded lonely. Satsuki looked over her shoulder.

From her eyes, Satsuki saw someone resembling a kid who had been scolded. A
gloomy expression spread across her face. This was a side of Oozuka Mai she would
definitely not show to anyone other than Satsuki.

“…just tell me what happened.”

Seeing her so downhearted like this was rare. It wasn’t because Mai didn't need to rely
on Satsuki anymore since starting high school. It was more because her emotions had
become more stable now.

It couldn’t be helped. Satsuki dropped her pen and faced Mai.

For a while, Mai looked like she was having a hard time saying the things on her mind,
but she’d already come this far to Satsuki’s place anyway.

“Actually…”

Mai recounted her story.

Not even Satsuki could hold back her surprise.

“Sena confessed to Amaori? Eeh…?”

She had been aware of Ajisai’s interest in Renako, but all along, she’d always thought
of it as friendship, not something she needed to act upon.

Since a long time ago, Satsuki had been a perceptive and sensitive girl, someone who
could detect changes in her surroundings and sense the mood, so much that it
sometimes seemed like she could read minds.

She didn’t really want to admit this, but perhaps she’d inherited her mother’s skills.
Her mother had to survive in society by being good at socializing, after all.

Except, even though she could read the mood, whether she could properly do as the
situation demanded was a completely different matter.

Because of her perceptive nature, she was able to carefully select people she could
regard as friends, and then spend most of her free time at school immersing herself
inside the world of the books. Like someone with an exceptional eyesight choosing to
live on a cramped street in an urban city, interacting with thoughtless people would
only exhaust her. And so, the only thing Satsuki wished for was to be able to spend her
days peacefully.

Her current relationships with the other group members were relatively on the stable
side, and it made her happy.
She also had friends whom she’d thought of keeping in touch.

Sena is unmistakably in that category. While Amaori is… Amaori is—well, let’s put her
aside for now.

“I see, now I get it.”

I do get how Amaori messed everything up. Now then…

“And so, in short she put a hold on both you and Sena? How should I put this—
Amaori… she really is hopeless. If only I was present at that time, I would probably
punch her.”

She could also understand why Mai was reluctant to talk about this. No matter how
she narrated the story, Satsuki would be pissed off at Renako and her actions.

“But you see, that's okay. I’d chosen to wait it out so we can discuss it properly.” Mai
solemnly shook her head. “It’s just—how can I put this… the moment Ajisai confessed
her feelings, Renako’s expression was… the look on her face keeps lingering inside my
head.”

“…her expression?”

“Yeah.”

Mai smiled absently. With such a powerless smile plastered on her face, Satsuki
thought she looked like an ordinary young girl.

“Her expression was like—the moment she fell in love. That’s the impression I got
from that face.”

Mai must have uttered those words while holding back overpowering emotions.

“That’s—” Satsuki was speechless.

The truth was, right now, it no longer mattered.

The problem in front of her right now was…

(If you’re the one to say it, then… if you really think of it that way, then… everything
would really turn out that way, right?)

Her chest tightened.

The way Mai said it was like she declared her defeat.

Satsuki was shaken, though she couldn’t really understand why.

She didn’t want to see Mai easily admit her defeat to others like this.

“Well… what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

(What do you mean by you don’t know? It’s not like it’s too late to do anything.)

The usual Mai would’ve answered with something like, “I’ll definitely make her turn
in my direction,” with full confidence.

Indeed, you’re someone who would always come to my house and complain, or share
everything about your worries, every time you failed at your work or had a fight with
your mom. But after you finish ranting, you always say you’ll do your best starting
tomorrow, with renewed energy.

(Even after all of that, to think that you’ve become like this because of love…)

Oozuka Mai wasn’t supposed to be someone who was easily crushed like this.

Love was, to put it simply, something that resembled junk food for students who had
no interest in studying.

If Mai had already tasted the sweetness of love and lost her ability to stand up on her
own, then…

If so, what if I stole those lips at this moment and said, “Rather than thinking about a girl
like her, let me help you to forget her.” Would Mai feel at ease? Or it would also be possible
that I would end up not being able to contain my own annoyance though.

(That’s not the problem here…)

She shook off the weird ideas. Doing something like definitely strayed too far from
what a friend should do.

Even if by any chance Mai could recover from that, she would consider that kiss
worthless. It annoyed Satsuki a lot to know she would be the only person losing out
on something if she really did that.

Mai parted her pink lips and averted her gaze.

“My only thought right now is that as long as Renako is happy, everything’s going to
be fine.”

“…what’s with that? Since when you turned into such a saint?”

Satsuki clicked her tongue as Mai stayed silent.

Satsuki had tons of things she wanted to say and do. To Renako too, but also toward
Ajisai. Even so, if she really spewed out everything inside her mind, she’d be the only
one to feel relief from doing so. If she chose to do that, it would’ve been better if she
hadn’t listened to Mai’s story at the beginning.

That was why Satsuki couldn’t say anything to her. Nothing at all.

She shifted beside Mai, then placed her hand on her back. Referring to everything Mai
said, she asked, “Really? Do you mean it?”

“I…”

“Even though you wouldn’t be the one standing next to her?”

Mai couldn’t answer Satsuki’s question.

It was the same as staying next to someone she loved so dearly, but killing off all
emotions and feeling nothing, simply watching over her from the sidelines.

From the deepest part of her heart, she really thought it was foolish.
To think that a woman who could get anything with her bare hands ended up wishing
for something like that.

(But you’re always like that, Mai… You always try to fulfil everyone’s expectations of
you… You really are a real idiot…”

That time, without saying anything, Satsuki kept caressing Mai’s back. She didn’t know
why she was doing that, but she continued to do that for a while.
Volume 4 - After the Send Over on Amusement Park Date

It was the last event at Makuhari Cosplay Summit.

The moment where Ajisai and Renako went to the stage where Mai waited. And then—

—let’s turn back time for a little bit.

“Mai-chan,” Ajisai called for Mai in the hall.

It was the day after the amusement park date. Monday at school, during break time.

“Oh, it’s you, Ajisai.”

Ajisai found it difficult to say anything when she saw her composed attitude. Mai was
smiling like a child who’d been found while playing hide and seek.

Ajisai stepped forward and opened her mouth. “You see, about yesterday.”

Several students passed by and waved at Mai and Ajisai. Naturally, Mai smiled as she
waved back.

“Aah, right. I, too, have something I want to tell you. I have a feeling this has been going
on for too long.”

In contrast to Mai’s calm demeanor, Ajisai looked full of concern.

“Can we talk about this in a quiet place? Like that time at the aquarium… Well, but
since this is a school, that’s difficult, right?”

“I know a place.”

After saying that, Mai led Ajisai to a deserted place. The rooftop.

A sudden gust of wind struck them once they opened the iron doors. Ajisai grabbed
her hair that had come loose from the breeze.
“Waa. Isn't the rooftop forbidden to students?”

She felt strangely elated the moment her feet touched the concrete. She was wearing
indoor shoes, after all.

Even though it wasn’t that high up, the clear skies felt almost closer as Ajisai stretched
out her hand.

Mai giggled behind Ajisai. “Of course it’s forbidden. That’s why this is a secret between
us.”

“Fufu, I see. We’re doing something bad, eh.”

Mai walked to the edge of the roof. There was a fence wrapped around the perimeter,
but it was short, only reaching her waist. It was a simple enough boundary with other
side to cross, as long as the momentum to jump from this place was present.

“This is kind of scary.”

“Don’t get too close to the fence.” Mai muttered in a hushed voice, “Because the me
right now isn’t someone who can fly in the sky.”

Ajisai couldn’t understand the meaning behind her words, but Mai did seem like
someone who could fly in the sky. Though right now… she wasn't really sure about that.

“Come here.” Mai beckoned her to come closer. Ajisai stood between her and the fence.

“Hey, Mai-chan.”

“Hmm?”

“The day of our amusement park date… you already knew you had work, right?”

The vast skies above them were clear and brilliantly blue, the clouds floating overhead
looking like they had been painted perfectly with a brush.

“Did you invite me and Rena-chan for the sake of letting us be together?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Mmm~… I’m just wondering.”

Ajisai had felt like something was off when Mai called at that time. Maybe it had been
because Mai’s voice was calm when she’d told them that she couldn’t go, almost like
she’d anticipated it.

That was why Ajisai couldn’t shake off her thoughts. Why Mai did something like that.

The only answer Ajisai could come up for that question was—

Mai kept her answer short while smiling in a way that seemed self-deprecating.

“About your question… I don’t really want to answer it.”

Ajisai’s eyes wavered as she heard the strong rejection from Mai, which was
completely unlike her.

“Mai-chan…”

“I don’t really want to lie to you. Because you’re one of the very few people at this
school who can get along well with me and treat me as an equal.”

“That… I also have the same feelings.”

Ajisai slowly touched Mai’s arm. It was thin, undoubtedly the arm of a girl.

If it was the old her, she would just back down after being rejected.

Nevertheless, right now she had enough strength to confront her, thanks to Mai herself.

“The me right now only exists because you were the one who pushed me at that time.
That’s why I’m truly grateful to you. Hey, Mai-chan, why did you leave the two of us
alone that day?”

“………”

Despite that, Mai still didn’t say anything.

Aijsai placed her hand over her chest, and then cast her eyes down.
She chose to say something sly.

“You see… that day, I kissed Rena-chan.”

There was a great pain deep inside Mai’s heart.

“It made me so excited. I really couldn’t stop my heart from beating so fast. And then,
we went home with our hands intertwined. Hey, I already said that you don’t have to
worry about me, right…? Even then.”

She lifted her face and examined Mai’s expression.

“At this rate, I’m going to win, you know…?”

It would be Mai’s definite loss if she dropped out of the competition of her own accord.

“Rena-chan will be completely mine, you know? Mai-chan… are you really alright with
that?”

Of course not.

Even then, Mai was—

“As long as Renako is happy.”

“Mai-chan!”

Ajisai seized Mai’s hand. She didn’t resist.

“Why would you say something like that! As I thought, everything is like this because
I confessed to Rena-chan—”

“You’re mistaken, Ajisai. You didn’t do anything wrong. Everything is my fault.”

Ajisai snapped out of the impulse that had pushed her to come this far.

“Your fault is—what do you mean…?”

Mai gritted her teeth, still looking down.

“I was thinking about things, and I realized I’m too self-centered. I always thought that
as long as I did everything my way, it would turn out to be okay. I was immature. But
the truth is, this world is running on something more complex than I had initially
thought.”

Mai was referring to a deeply rooted problem that went beyond the discussion about
the date.

Ajisai didn’t want to lose anything, not even the smallest piece of information, so she
kept studying Mai’s elegant face.

“…let me hear it.”

“I’m void of my own self,” Mai said. “I always perform my part as the ‘Oozuka Mai’ that
Mama wishes for, the woman suitable as Queen Rose’s star model. Someone strong
and intelligent, and loved by everyone. That Oozuka Mai really is a splendid figure, I
personally think.”

The way she phrased it was like she was telling Ajisai about another person’s traits.

“As long as I play my part well as Oozuka Mai, it’s a given that everything will go
smoothly. I can be the virtuous person. Ajisai, the one who pushed your back that day
was Oozuka Mai. The real me would never be able to say it.”

“Even so… whichever one you are, you’re still Mai-chan to me. Even I also have a part
of me that’s not a good person. I have my unfair and selfish side, and I admit that… If I
can do that, then I’m sure that Mai-chan can also…”

Mai shook her head gently. “…it was my first time falling in love.”

She placed her hand on her chest.

“I was drunk on the sensation where my body was burning deep in passion. I felt
ecstasy toward her. Doing something impulsive based on what my body longed to was
enjoyable. I thought that was what it meant to be free. But then…”

She dropped her gaze.

“I ended up hurting her.”

“Mai-chan…”

“I understand that the shape of my love isn’t something that Renako seeks from me.
I’ll never be able to have her love as long as I stay as this me.”

“Something like that is…”

“If that’s how things will turn out, then the only thing I can do is be kind. Whether it’s
during the time with Satsuki, or with you. But you see, once I do that, I have no idea
how to eliminate the distance between us. Because the Oozuka Mai that’s loved by
everyone would never place her love on one person.”

Mai’s words sounded cold and heavy, like they were made from a wall of ice.

Everyone had their own masks based on the situation they were in. This was also the
truth for Ajisai. She showed a different side at home, at school. She even had a different
face she only showed to Renako. Even in front of each of her friends, she showed
slightly different sides. That was a given.

But Mai’s mask was too firm. It was a curse—or rather, it could also be referred to as
her fate.

“Despite everything, I still love Renako. I don’t want to give up. But then, in spite of
that…”

Mai took a deep breath, and then she uttered, “I’m scared of being hated.”

She didn’t mind if other people hated her. It couldn’t be helped if people harbored
negative feelings towards her. She’d intended to live her life that way after all.
Still, I don’t want to be hated by Renako, and by every one of you.

“I don’t know what I am supposed to do now.”

—Ajisai couldn’t say anything for a long while, facing Mai, whose eyes were lowered
to the ground.

She was convinced that up until now, a lot of things must have happened. From Ajisai’s
point of view, the Mai who survived and kept winning in the modelling world was
something so far away she couldn’t even imagine it. Perhaps, she also had been
surviving in that world by hurting other people.

She couldn’t bring herself to thoughtlessly say, “It will be alright.”

Even so, she wanted to do something for her. Gently, Ajisai wrapped Mai’s body into a
gentle hug.

“…Mai-chan.”

While still looking down, Mai murmured.

“Why are you the one crying, Ajisai?”

“I’m sorry… Unlike Mai-chan, I’m weak after all…”

“You’re wrong. Rather than weakness, I’m sure that it’s kindness. It’s something I can’t
have.”

Mai folded her arms around Ajisai.

“As long as you make Renako happy… then, Ajisai, I won’t—”

“You can’t do something like that. It’s not right. You can’t give up your love for that
reason. I won’t forgive you if you do that.”

Ajisai gently pushed away Mai’s body.

She scowled at Mai, her eyes wet with tears.

“If you do that, it will be my turn to hate you, Mai-chan.”

Looking sorrowful, Mai dropped her gaze again.

“That would be… heart-breaking, eh.”

Ajisai swallowed her words, then shook her head.

“I lied. That’s not it. I won’t hate you, no matter what. I will always like you, Mai-chan,
no matter how long. That’s why… don’t make me hate you, Mai-chan.”

Ajisai slowly reached out her hand towards her.

As if wanting to reconcile, Mai held her hand.

After Ajisai wiped the corner of her eyes with her handkerchief, she gazed at Mai.

Mai, reflected in her eyes, somehow reminded her of a preschool kid waiting for their
parents to arrive.

Ajisai forced a smile.

“Hey, Mai-chan. Next time, go on a date with me.”

“…with you?”

“Yup. We don’t need to invite Rena-chan, it’ll only be us. I have a lot of things I want to
talk with you about. For me, I really want to do everything for Mai-chan’s sake since
you saved me. No, let me do everything I can for you.”

“…to think that I made you say something like this, I’m really sorry.”

“I am stubborn and selfish. So Mai-chan has discovered this side of me.”

Ajisai stuck out her tongue.

She did her best to act silly to lighten Mai’s heart even for a bit. Still, the gaze Mai
directed at Ajisai seemed so lonely.

“Yeah, Ajisai… just give me a moment.”

Ajisai nodded, “Of course,” and then let go of Mai’s hand. Mai unlocked her phone and
checked her schedule. She gave her a pained expression.

“It seems like it will be impossible… for a while. My schedule doesn't look so good.”

“I see… you really are busy, eh, Mai-chan…”

Nevertheless, Ajisai didn’t want to keep waiting for one or two months with these
painful feelings. It would be easier to give up and admit she couldn’t do anything, but
then Ajisai forced another side of her selfishness.

“Then what if I tell you I’ll wait until your work is done just like during summer
break?”

“Then I’ll feel bad for you.”

“If you really think that… then it’ll be great if you can meet me earlier though~”

Even Ajisai felt surprised with the forceful things that she was saying. It felt refreshing.

“If so… alright then, err, on this weekend, I have work starting in the afternoon, and
so, I have free time after that. You might have to wait a bit at the venue though.”

“I’m okay with that. I like watching you work after all.”

Ajisai made an okay sign with her fingers, and then she smiled.

“Is that so? Okay then.”

“Yup.” Ajisai nodded with a smile.

However—

Deep down, she also noticed that she might do something unusual after all.

Even though her own love would be granted the moment Mai gave up her feelings for
Renako.
Even though her wish to be happy by confessing to Renako wasn’t something
superficial.

—as expected, that wasn’t the form of ‘selfishness’ she wanted to do.

She wanted other people to be happy, but she also wanted to seize her own happiness.

Still, she wanted to grant her own happiness in the way she wanted to.

They left the roof together. As the iron doors closed behind her, inside her heart, Ajisai
wondered.

(I might be… more selfish than I initially thought…)

Or maybe, she was only mimicking the way Mai had been when she saved her—even
so, that was okay. Because the Mai on that day had been more beautiful and charming
than anyone else.

***

On the day of the event, Mai bowed her head before Ajisai when they met at the venue.

“My apologies, Ajisai.”

“Eeh~… I don’t mind though~…”

Who could’ve expected a situation where they didn’t have enough people for the
event?

There had been another model who was supposed to be on stage with Mai, but she’d
caught a cold at the last minute and couldn’t attend the event.

Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been fine for Mai to appear by herself on the
stage. But this time, it seemed like Mai’s character was to be performed as a pair, and
she couldn’t do it without a partner.

And so, Ajisai, who arrived at the venue, caught the stage manager’s eyes. “This girl, is
she Oozuka-san’s friend? How about doing it together with her?!” And then she ended
up cosplaying for the first time in her life.

“This is embarrassing… I’m not a beauty like Mai-chan after all…”

“Haha, it suits you well, Ajisai. You really are adorable.”

“Well then, if you say so…”

Mai let out a refreshing laugh as Ajisai peeked at her from the corner of her eyes.

“But this is unexpected. You do things like this as part of your job, Mai-chan?”

“It’s a coincidence this time. Queen Rose is one of the sponsors of this event, and so I
was invited to perform. I don’t actually know a lot about anime, but I read the material
for this character. I did all the things I needed to understand about this, so I don’t think
I’ll do something that offends the fans of this series.”

“Ooo…”

Ajisai clapped her hands. She couldn’t help but think that Mai really was on a different
level when she did her job as a model.

“Then me too. I’ll learn about it as much as I can!”

“Really? Even though I’m making you help me out. My bad…”

“No, that’s okay. It’s better knowing a bit than nothing, right?”

Inside the waiting room, only Mai and Ajisai were left. The staff kept hurrying back
and forth though, so it wasn’t like they were left completely alone.

Since they huddled their bodies together, peering at the small screen of the phone,
they felt like they were the only two in the world.

As the rumble of the crowd reached them, Mai slowly opened her mouth.

“Ajisai is really a good girl, huh.”

“What’s that? If you praise me out of nowhere like that, I can’t do anything but be shy
though?”

Ajisai peeked at Mai’s profile. Due to the makeup, her beauty was more surreal than
her typical gorgeousness. She couldn’t stop her heart from skipping a beat. Ajisai
distracted those sudden thoughts with frivolous talk.

“Geez, you keep praising me ever since back then… if you keep saying stuff like that, I
will end up liking you, you know?”

“As for me, I like you, Ajisai.”

“I already told you, that’s…”

Ajisai unconsciously spoke with a spoiled tone, and when she realized that, she
couldn’t bring herself to speak clearly. It was Mai’s fault.

“If by any chance I didn’t meet Renako, and I received a confession from you, I wonder
what I’d do, whether I’d accept it or not.”

“Eeeh~………? What would be your decision?”

That sure came out of nowhere, but considering the topic, Ajisai couldn’t help but feel
curious.

“It wouldn’t be bad. Depending on the timing, I might agree to your confession. But
whether I could kiss you or not, that’s another question.”

“Kissing Mai-chan…”

Ajisai’s eyes fell on Mai’s lips. She glanced back at the phone, flustered. She placed her
hands on top of her lap.

“S-somehow, it’s like I’m being rejected by you, even though I’ve never confessed to
you before.”

“Haha, my bad. But you see, it feels strange. To think that I’d regard Renako as someone
special… what exactly is the feeling of ‘like’, I wonder.”

Mai didn’t seem to be looking at the phone, but at the Renako that existed in her mind.
Ajisai nodded slightly. She could understand what Mai said. But since she could
understand Mai, she also ended up confused.

“Yeah… I wonder how liking someone feels… why would it differ for each person…?”

“Rema friends.” Mai moved her lips.

Ajisai had heard that before, the name of a specific relationship between Mai and
Renako.

“It might be possible that, just like my feelings toward you, Renako also harbors the
same feelings toward me. If so, as expected I really did something unforgivable…”

“…Mai-chan.”

“Lately, I feel scared whenever I show up in front of people who support me.”

Mai brought up her hands, one hand supporting the other.

“My body is, as expected, something that exists solely for the sake of Queen Rose. Even
so, what would people think if they realized that there’s something impure mixed in?
My feelings for Renako are real and I really love her, but it scares me if by any chance
those feelings start to seep out.”

“…that’s not something impure.”

Also, love didn’t always bring bad influences. Because Mai, who was currently in love,
really appeared so radiant it made Ajisai's heart beats rapidly even as someone of the
same sex.

“Everyone loves you. That’s why it will be okay. Also, unlike idols, there’s nothing like
a no-romance rule for models, right?”

“That’s true. Even so, if I fail my performance, I will disappoint everyone.”

“Then you can’t do anything other than do your best to prevent that from happening…”

Ha. At that moment, Ajisai realized something. She grabbed Mai’s hands.
“But that doesn’t mean you should give up on Rena-chan, okay?”

“Yeah, thank you, Ajisai… Aa-aah, I really don’t like this…”

Mai hugged herself.

“I really don’t like this me who has become so weak that you have to keep encouraging
me. I don’t like it when I can't step onto the stage with confidence. I can’t endure the
feeling of pessimism of being unable to fulfil people’s expectations. This is the first
time that I’m tasting this kind of emotion.”

It was also the first time for Ajisai to see such a grim and frustrated expression from
Mai.

To think that she was seeing that Oozuka Mai in her weakened state.

“Ever since I fell in love with Renako, I keep seeing the side of me that I hate. Fear, also
cowardice, this worthless side of mine, these were all only shown to me because I fell
in love… I never knew that I was someone that could be crushed this much by my own
feelings. I’ve always thought and believed that I would be okay under any
circumstances…”

When Ajisai thought of Mai who was expected to appear on stage with a brilliant smile
plastered on her face, she couldn’t help but feel an immense pain in her chest.

“Hey, Mai-chan. If you’re willing, why don’t we get some fresh air—”

Mai pulled her into an embrace mid-sentence.

Ajisai couldn’t hide her surprise. “Wa, waa… Ma-Mai-chan, the makeup is…”

“It seems like it’s true that being treated gently when you’re in a weak state can cause
a feeling of love. Ajisai, I’ll keep saying this: thank you. I’m glad that you’re my friend.”

It was a short hug, where she didn’t even rest her chin on her shoulders. Mai placed
her hands on Ajisai’s shoulder abruptly and pushed her away.

“Can you let me be alone for a bit? It’s okay. I only need to reorganize my feelings
before the show. You can come to the stage later.”
“But Mai-chan…”

“I’m okay. Since I’m a pro, after all.”

Ajisai knew that she was pushing herself saying all that, but she couldn’t do anything.

You are an ordinary girl, before you put on your professional side, was resembled
something Mai had conveyed to her before.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to utter those words. Mai would most likely only smile
sadly when hearing her own words directed back to her.

(Aah, everything is because I showed my courage back then…)

She rose from her chair and placed her hand on her chest.

She liked Renako. At the same time, Mai was her irreplaceable friend. She held both of
them dearly.

And for Ajisai, friends meant—

(I only want to share my happiness with them. I don’t want them to feel something
like pain or agonizing memories. I wanted to shoulder every one of those ugly
burdens.)

As she grasped the doorknob, she turned.

Mai’s figure from behind, as expected, appeared so small. It was like she had sunken
to the bottom of a dark lake.

(God, please forgive me.)

She wished for it.

(I won’t say something like wanting to be happy again, I definitely won’t. That’s why—
)

She brought up all the strength in her body to stop the tears from welling in her
already watery eyes.

Right now, the only person she could make happy was not herself. There was only one
person.

(Please, make Mai-chan, someone I hold very dearly, be happy… I beg you, Rena-chan.)

After that, as Ajisai was strolling around the venue, she coincidentally met Satsuki.
And then…

She headed to the stage where Mai waited.

(I beg you.)

—while her hand was intertwined with Amaori Renako’s.

As I headed to the stage, I couldn’t help but wonder.

If there really was a way to prevent people from hating you, there was only one
method.

It was by being [normal].

By having the same interests and disliking the same things, as long as everyone had
the same opinions, there wouldn’t be any conflicts, and conflicts usually led to
hostility. It practically formed the ultimate barrier.

I’d always wanted to be the same as the others. To match myself with everyone, and
then to become a perfectly [normal] person. I wanted to be a ‘real’ human. I wanted to
be a basic girl, seemingly mass-produced.

For the sake of that, I refused to tell anyone about my love for gaming, since a high-
school girl obsessed with playing FPS wasn’t considered normal.

I did my best to search for a ‘normal’ kind of hobby that most girls did, so I could like
the same things as them and, in turn, become ‘normal’.

In order to not deviate from the ‘normal’ part of society, I had to be really careful with
my behavior. Well, I was still the same inside, so things didn’t go smoothly, but… I still
aimed for it anyway.

For me, being “a normal girl that you can find everywhere” was the ultimate
compliment I could receive.

I was fine not being a popular person in class. I simply wanted to be someone normal
who wasn’t hated by people around her.
Oozuka Mai, the girl I’d reached out to during the entrance ceremony, was someone
[special].

By being special, it meant that she was someone far beyond normal.

Special people stood above everyone. Because of their charming personality and
traits, they wouldn’t be hated by anyone. However, if by any chance, someone did
harbor hostility towards them, these special people could choose to ignore them. In
turn, those displaying unfriendly feelings towards them would be seen as wretched.
Oozuka Mai was that type of an exceptional being—someone special.

Number one. Or possibly, the only one. As long as I kept being a normal girl who
remained glued to Oozuka Mai’s back, I could have a good high school life. That was
my intention.

But it turned out that I was wrong.

On a certain day in July, I ran toward the rooftop.

I couldn’t become someone normal.

If being special meant surpassing the ‘normal’, then what would happen to those who
couldn’t become normal?

It would be a given that they’d lag far behind.

Even so, after seeing that side of me, Mai kept treating me as her special one.

Our secret relationship started, and I honestly felt content with that.

While Mai treated me like I was someone special, I felt like I couldn’t mature properly
and ended up retaliating against her. Even though I was simply a failure who couldn’t
be normal.

Using the word [best friend] as my shield, I desperately hid the ugly side—the true
side—of me.

Because, girls going out with each other wasn’t considered normal. Having a celebrity
as your lover wasn’t considered normal. The me who had been approached by
someone like her wasn’t considered normal. It couldn’t be.

As I was drowning, feeling absolutely miserable and holding onto the last straw
labeled [normal], I couldn’t bring myself to let it go.

I was weak. I couldn’t swim on my own.

Mai’s group was filled with special girls. They had the dazzle I didn’t have, and each of
them were progressing steadily towards their own goals. Whether it was Satsuki-san,
Ajisai-san, and Kaho-chan, everyone was amazing.

The one who feared being hated by others was definitely only me. I cracked a dull
smile while holding the wretched emotions in my chest.

Always.

Even then.

If I could have a second chance.

Just like that time during my recluse days, inside my dark bedroom, longing to become
those bright, charismatic people I saw on my phone.

If it was okay for me to—starting today—reach out my hand to become the new me…

Then this time————

I had something important to tell Mai.

I slowly got up on stage.

Let’s go—to the place where Mai was waiting.

This stage was my stage.

***

“Mai.”

As I entered the stage from backstage, my body was instantly basked in the spotlight
that pierced me sharply. Because it was the main stage, the audience was relatively
larger than the one before.

We were three cosplayers on stage. Right in front of me was Mai, and behind me, Ajisai.
I really was presumptuous, placing myself at the center, sandwiched by the two of
them.

“Let me introduce them,” Mai said to the audience. “These girls are my good friends,
Ajisai and Renako.”

Right away, she was greeted by thunderous applause. From my spot on the stage, I
could feel the ground tremble. Honestly, I was starting to feel anxious.

Still, I was feeling unexpectedly fine.

Perhaps, it was because my brain no longer could process anything. (I wasn’t being
arrogant.)

I didn’t move, my gaze was still fixed on Mai.

“Well then. Let’s go straight to the first round. It’s Q&A time, so if you have anything to
ask me, we can do that now.”

I’d missed half of what she’d said, but I opened my mouth.

“Why didn't you come to the amusement park that day?”

Mai was about to hand over the mic, but stopped.

After a moment of hesitation, she responded to my question without speaking into the
mic.

“I told you already. I had work last minute.”

“Was it because my response toward Ajisai-san’s confession?”

“We’re already moving to the second question? You sure are fast.”

“I already told you, right? That it wasn’t like that. Even so, why would you go and
decide things on your own…”

The audience began to stir.

I bet it was because they couldn’t hear our voices. I continued attacking Mai with
questions in front of the people who were starting to wonder whether this was part
of the show.

“I said that I was seriously thinking about it. Well, I can’t blame you since I am me after
all. Of course, you can’t help but feel anxious… even so…”

“I’d never feel any sort of anxiety. Someone like Oozuka Mai would definitely never
feel that kind of emotion.”

Mai flashed a tight smile.

I heard Ajisai-san’s voice from behind me.

“That’s right, you’re the one at fault here, Rena-chan.”

“Eh?”

“Mai-chan was feeling super anxious. That’s why she kept having negative thoughts.
Even Mai-chan is lost about this.”

“Really?”
Pang. There was a stab of pain in my chest.

That was right. Even though I was supposed to have already understood. The fact that
Mai could get hurt.

All along, I was only thinking of myself.

Mai was still smiling, but her eyes slowly turned serious.

“Ajisai, this isn’t the place to talk about something like this. I’m working right now.
Let’s talk about this later.”

Right. We were in the middle of the stage. Mai had to make this event a success. If only
I had a bit more time, was of course merely wistful thinking.

But I wondered why. I had a feeling that if I let go of this moment, I would never be
able to exchange words with Mai properly again, and it made me waver.

As I thought about it, I heard voices coming from the audience.

“It looks like they’re having issues with the mic right now! Just a little bit, please wait
for a bit! That’s what Oozuka Mai is saying!”

The loud voice that echoed around the venue startled me.

Another surprise was that the person who’d shouted those words was none other than
Satsuki-san.

Eh. Why would Satsuki-san…? Why did she do something like that?

“Satsuki…”

Not even Mai could keep her composure. She furrowed her eyebrows. At the same time,
this time it was Kaho-chan’s turn who responded with another shout, “Apparently that
is the case!” followed with a cough.

I locked eyes with Satsuki-san. I had a feeling that she was looking at me with a gaze
that said, I’m already doing my part, so the rest is on you. I clenched my hands.
As if she was being cornered, Mai muttered, “Why are you doing something like this?”

“Everyone is wishing for your happiness, Mai-chan. It’s not just us, but everyone
here—your fans, everyone. That’s why I want you to understand.”

Mai shook her head, like she was rejecting Ajisai-san’s words.

“You have no right to take it this far. Ajisai, I’d never think that you would probe this
much.”

“You can say anything right now and I won’t care. What I want right now is for Mai-
chan to stop running away.”

“I’m not running away.”

I—

I took a step towards Mai.

“To you, is it better if I chose to go out with Ajisai-san instead?”

Mai’s expression crumpled in an instant.

The conclusive words I uttered were like a knife.

“That’s… yeah, of course. Ajisai is kinder than me. She’s a lovely girl. I’m sure that she
can make you happy. You two are destined to be together.”

“Mai-chan!”

From behind, Ajisai-san was about to rush over to her, but I held her back with my
arm.

I closed my eyes gently.

Aah, my heart wouldn’t calm down.

Going out with each other meant taking responsibility for each others’ lives.

Whether it was Mai or Ajisai-san, their minutes or even seconds were so precious.

I couldn’t stop thinking that they shouldn’t be using that precious time for me.

It would be wasted on someone like me, who kept running away.

But I was wrong.

They were being very kind and I broke their heart by constantly saying that someone
like me wouldn’t suit them. And so, I kept running away. It would be simple to reject
them and see their sorrowful expressions.

But the only thing that I could do for them was—

To become someone who could proudly stand next to them.

So in my opinion, a confession was like a form of ceremony to reveal determination.

“I also like Ajisai-san, you know. The moment I received your confession, I finally
understood. Ajisai-san, you would be wasted on someone like me, but… even so, I have
a lot of fun whenever I spend time with you. I also can’t keep my heart still whenever
I’m talking to you.”

Anguish crossed Ajisai-san’s face as she heard those words. She pressed a hand over
her mouth.

“I see. If so…!”

“Yes, that’s why.”

I took a deep breath.

One time, I had pulled on Mai’s hand to leap into the pool.

The courage I had back then was something that I had conjured up by squeezing
bravery from every inch of my body. It might have taken around three years’ worth of
Amori Renako for that single action.

Which was why…

I was sure that at this moment, I had used up everything that I’d had for a whole
lifetime.

I looked straight into Mai’s eyes, and then gave her my answer from that summer day.

“I choose to go out with Ajisai-san.”

I’d brought up the courage.

In a hushed voice, Ajisai-san uttered, “Why…”

Even then, Mai looked like she’d gotten her salvation.

“Aah, is that so.”

Their reactions were the polar opposite. Light and darkness. Like a messily made
collage, both Mai and Ajisai-san’s expressions were mismatched.

“I’m so glad. With this, I can keep being the Oozuka Mai.”
“Hey, Rena-chan. Why?”

Ajisai-san clutched my arm.

That side of you, it really was gentle, Ajisai-san.

Rather than being happy, you chose to grieve over Mai’s sorrow. Because of this side
of you, I’m truly enjoying my high school life.

But it was also the same with Mai.

I looked at Mai, who was smiling.

Mai, who kept forcing herself for my sake. Someone who always shone upon me, just
like the sun. Illuminating the ungrateful me who was too engrossed with my own
shadow on the ground.

I liked both of them.

That was why, I—

This time, I—

“And I will also go out with Mai!”

—who cares about being normal!

“……………………… ha?”

“Eh…………?”
This hurt.

The silence pricked my skin like needles.

I really, truly didn’t want to see their expressions right now… To say those words just
now made me feel like I’d used up a lifetime’s worth of courage… You couldn’t make
something that didn’t exist actually exist, huh, courage…

If I said this much and closed it with, “Well then, I no longer have anything to say so
I’m taking my leave now!” and fled the stage, went to the rooftop and then launched
myself off of it, the only thing left for me was to be featured in tomorrow’s morning
news. So right at this moment, I didn’t have any choice other than to say something…
Even though it would’ve been great if humans didn’t have mouths…

“I’m going to date Ajisai-san and also Mai!”

The words that I repeated held no new information. If I had to describe it, the
metaphorical [jerk] word written on my face boldly with oil-based ink was becoming
clearer than ever.

It would’ve been great if it was just a mere hallucination, but I felt like I heard Satsuki-
san mutter, “Trash…” I was totally cornered.

No, this wasn’t over yet. I still had my mouth. I had the tool from ancient human
wisdom—words!

“I-I like you, Ajisai-san! Just like what I said earlier, I’ve always liked you! I can’t
confidently say that this feeling is love, but if I think about it, since the first time I met
you, I was probably already in love with you anyway, and my heart can’t stop beating
whenever I look at you! I like you, Ajisai-san!”
“O-okay………”

Ajisai-san, bewildered, didn’t accept my words. That was given. It was good enough
that she wasn’t repulsed by my actions… It wasn't impossible though!

“And then! I like you, Mai! Since that time you saved me on the rooftop, I might have
already been attracted to you! Because it wasn’t like that I’d really hated it when you
pushed me down after all! I’m sorry for being so stubborn up until now! I like you,
Mai!”

“A-aa………”

As if overwhelmed by my sudden forcefulness, Mai could only nod stiffly. It was rare
for Oozuka Mai to be lost for words.

Today, I’d reconfirmed that the tool from ancient human wisdom—words—was a
really powerful weapon that had ignited the tremendous number of conflicts since the
old times.

No, wait! I couldn’t give up yet!

“Normally, I would think that in this situation, I should accept one person and
apologize to the other person. I even intended to do that before. But when I looked at
Mai’s face showing an expression like it was a given I would turn you down, of course
I definitely couldn’t say that I would date Ajisai-san instead…”

“What are you saying?”

“Even you, Ajisai-san, you’re the same! You’re too kind. Rather than yourself, you were
too engrossed in thinking about Mai being rejected, don’t you think?! I’m sorry if I was
wrong! Since I know nothing about you, Ajisai-san… Even so, if that’s really the truth,
just say that directly!”

“That’s…”

Ajisai-san placed her finger on her lips, and then averted her gaze. I was glad she didn’t
answer me with, “That’s right lol, midway through, I’d already forgotten about Rena-
chan, lol.” Huh? This wasn’t the time to feel reassured.

“That’s why I decided to forget about being ‘normal’.”

I placed my hand on my chest, and then declared, “I’m not saying I’m choosing neither
of you. I’ve properly decided to choose both of you. I know that I’m spoiling myself like
this. Still, I really want to be in a relationship with both of you, Mai, Ajisai-san.”

At my words, the two of them—

“……Mai-chan.”

“Ajisai……”

Both of them exchanged glances, like they were discussing what they would do about
this situation.

Somehow, this mood was very far from the cheerful, ‘banzai, it’s the three of us!’
atmosphere though!

“Hey, Rena-chan.”

Ajisai-san opened her mouth while meeting my eyes. Her gaze was so intense that I
unconsciously held my breath.

“I understand that you are properly thinking about us, thank you. Even so, as expected,
rather than me…”

“Wait a minute, Ajisai.”

Mai caught Ajisai-san’s hand and interrupted her words mid-sentence.

“If you say it, I will never forgive you. You are a woman who deserves happiness,
Ajisai.”

“Mai-chan…”

Once again, they stared at each other.

“That’s why this isn't something like that!”

I forced my body between them rudely.

“So, the things I’d wanted to convey didn’t reach you at all, huh! You’re getting it
wrong! What I want is to date both of you! It has nothing to do with your feelings!
What I want, what I wish for, is to take these hands—both of you!”

I gripped both Mai and Ajisai-san’s hands.

Their unrivaled, gorgeous facial features invaded my field of vision. It made me want
to apologize somehow.

The thought that someone like me wouldn’t suit someone like them entered my mind
and pushed me to let go of their hands. But if I let it become like that, I would only
repeat the same things that had happened up until now.

What this situation needed wasn’t gibberish for the sake of restoring the mood. What
I needed to do was to show my resolve. In order to regain their trust, I should properly
do this.

“Hey. What if… I choose to go out with Mai, what are you going to do, Ajisai-san?”

“Eh… t-that’s…” Ajisai-san’s eyes wavered.

“I will cheer on your relationship, of course.”

Her eyes were watering!

“No way! I definitely don’t want that! Because I want to continue what we’d been doing
during our date last time!”

“Continue what we were doing from our date, that’s… eh, umm, what happened in the
ferris wheel…?”

Ajisai-san’s face slowly turned red. I nodded my head enthusiastically. My back was
drenched in cold sweat since I was wondering what the heck I was saying. The way I
phrased it was like my only goal was to kiss Ajisai-san, right…
No, but, if you asked me whether I wanted to do that or not, well… it is something like
that though!

“What about you, Mai?! What are you going to do if I date Ajisai-san?!”

“I’ll go study abroad in France and wish for your happiness under the faraway sky.”

“The heck are you saying?! That's definitely not good though! Eh, wait a minute, you
really planned to do that?! Eh, even Ajisai-san is shocked!”

“…Mai-chan…?”

Mai sounded serious with her declaration. She nodded.

“If I keep being around you, I would only make Ajisai anxious, since we wouldn’t know
if Renako might turn in my direction. If so, keeping a distance between us would be
the most beneficial for both of us.”

“That’s a completely, utterly, very Mai-like reason, but! I don’t want that! I don’t want
to be apart from you!”

As if securing the bond between us, I strengthened my hold on their hands.

“Since I like you, Mai…”

“But you and Ajisai—”

“I also like Ajisai-san though!”

I was completely serious.

“Both of you are too kind to the point of choosing to step down for each other, but
that’s not good. Because, right now, I totally have the intention to do this. Since I’m
already currently doing the best for my own sake, I want to grant myself happiness! If
I can’t date both of you, I would be miserable!”

“Rena-chan… what on earth is that…”

Ajisai-san broke into laughter as she watched me become desperate.

“Because… that is two-timing you know…?”

“…yeah.”

I nodded meekly. Right, society labeled my intention as two-timing. On top of that,

society also branded my intention as the worst conduct ever. It seemed like people
who did that got stabbed sometimes. Scary.

Ajisai-san rubbed her sternum as if trying to calm herself down.

“Personally, it’s surprising since my first lover is starting our relationship by blatantly
declaring to two-time.”

“That's true. It means that, in our long journey of life, these kinds of things can
happen………”

This was bad. I felt like I was spouting horrible things the more I talked. Two-timing
Ajisai-san as my partner? I was better off getting shipped straight toward a black hole
if I really did that.

Don’t be disheartened now, my heart. Don’t think of this logically, my brain. No matter
how awful moral standards were chasing after you, you should remember the warmth
of their hands.

“But you see, up until now, I couldn’t believe the stuff that Mai kept saying to me. The
fact that before I met her, I’d never thought of the possibility of a relationship with the
same sex, since it wasn’t normal. That was completely impossible for me, but in the
end she changed my thoughts.”

“Is that so?”

Mai seemed surprised, like this was the first time she heard about this. Oi.

“That’s why, if so, I ended up thinking why should I be the only one who stays normal
by getting tied to a one-to-one relationship? Which is why it would be great if this time
you are the ones to match my choice."

“……………………………………………………”

Mai and Ajisai-san could only stay silent after hearing my pushy argument.
Yup… uh-huh.

This was definitely weird… Even though I was the one who received their confessions
at the beginning. What was this feeling? This mood was completely giving off the air
where I was the one begging, “Wait! Don’t throw me away!” as I clung to them. That
kind of thing.

The one who broke the silence first was Ajisai-san.

“Hey.”

Ajisai-san turned and then looked at Mai with a troubled smile.

“What should we do, Mai-chan… if things become like this, should the two of us go out
instead?”

“Me and Ajisai, huh… That’s—I see.”

“Wait! Don’t throw me away!”

I clung to them.

If they left me alone in this place, I would no longer have confidence to continue this
life!

“I will definitely make you happy! The two of you, I will definitely make both of you
happy!”

In that place, I ended up getting down on my knees and taking both of their hands.
This moment, the trace of someone who was lecturing Kaho-chan back then was no
longer visible. The one standing in this place right now looked like a knight who had
been caught cheating.

“Well then, three years! Go out with me until we graduate from high school! I will
definitely make you think that you’re glad you decided to date me this day! I will
definitely make both of you fall for me completely!” I shouted.

“I will never say ‘someone like me’ and belittle myself again! I also won’t doubt the
feelings that you tell me! I will do my best in order to keep your affection for me! I will
show you that I can be someone fit to be your lover! That’s why—that’s why…………”

Tears suddenly filled my eyes and the words were stuck in my throat.

Because everything that I said was unproven.

The feelings I had toward them were real, and my intention to go out with both of them
was also real. Still, whether I really could make them happy, everything would depend
on me.

I couldn’t guarantee that. I couldn’t promise. It might be too much to ask for them to
believe in my words.

Even so, I wanted to believe. I wanted the two of them to put their faith in me. If they
did, then I felt like I really could make everything come true.

“Please go out with me, Mai, Ajisai-san… I will show you that I can properly make you
happy… Because I really like both of you…”

A very very pathetic confession, the one resembling one from a spoiled kid.

I bared all of myself right at this moment.

From now on… our future would be… no, at least, I could create a world where I
granted my own happiness. This was my not-normal form of feelings.

The rest was up to the two of them.

“I’m sorry for saying something sly, Rena-chan.”

Ajisai-san pulled me into an embrace, as if she was trying to hide my tears.

“No, it’s a given that you ended up wanting to say something like that. Since I also
realized that I said something unbelievable to both of you…”

“…for me, as expected, I still can’t believe this. I can’t stop myself from thinking that
from now on, things may only get more painful and many sorrowful things might
happen.”

“Yeah…”

Above the stage with a crowd of spectators below…

Amidst the world of light, Ajisai-san opened her mouth. “But you see. I was the one
who stepped ahead without knowing what awaited me. Despite that, I also don’t want
to deny everything that you had bravely said without listening to you properly.”

I raised my head and looked at Ajisai-san.

She smiled at me gently.

“Because, Rena-chan already said it right? That you want the three of us keep having
fun together.”

I felt like I had said something along those lines.

The summer break that we’d spent together had been very enjoyable.

So Ajisai-san also remembered it.

“I’m selfish and get angry easily. Even so, I really like Rena-chan after all…”

Ajisai-san’s voice resembled warm rain.

“Ajisai-san…?”

I held my breath.
“From now until graduation, I guess? Fufu. Me too, please take care of me.”

“Eh, then, does it mean…”

I slowly stood up. Her eyes met mine. Ajisai-san shifted her hold so our fingers were
intertwined, like lovers.

Ajisai-san, the popular girl in class, someone who I’d always looked up to.

Shyly, Ajisai-san said, “Let’s continue what we were doing from our date. Next time,
okay?”

Right now, right at this moment.

Ajisai-san became my lover.

My head became so dizzy, I felt like fainting. In some sense, I also wanted to run around
the stage.

“Thank you, Ajisai-san, thank you!”

“Kyaa.”

When I gathered her into an embrace, she let out an adorable shriek. Oops, I couldn’t
mess up our costumes. I let go respectfully and returned to the spot I’d stood.

I shouldn’t be too hasty. So from now on, I could do something like this anytime… Nah,
what did I mean by something like this, I didn’t know myself. And in the first place, this
wasn’t the end yet!

Another one. I still have another girl I confessed to.

I also needed to properly hear her answer.

I rubbed my eyes, then directed my gaze toward Mai.

“Mai.”

Mai’s expression made it seem like she was feeling out of place, even though we were
standing on the stage that suited her existence the most.

The thing was, we still had a mountain of things we needed to talk about.

“I’m sorry for making you wait for me. I kept swinging your feelings around for my
own convenience, and for that, I’m really sorry. I didn’t have the courage and
confidence to do otherwise. Even so, I really thought about wanting to change. I want
to change myself. If it’s with you, I feel like I can move forward from now on. That’s
why.”

I reached my hand out to Mai, who looked so fragile bathed in sorrow.

The spark that had started everything was the moment we began a bet on the role
between best friends and lovers—our match.

I was putting an end to that right now.

“There was a time when you hugged me and then jumped into the pool, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“That moment, I interpreted that action as your willingness to spend your days filled
with anguish with me even if one day I can no longer fly in the vast skies.”

“Yeah.”

No matter how many times Mai failed, I would continue staying next to her and
attempt to encourage her. I wanted to tell her that. Being together with your precious
one meant we should continue sharing those times, even if they were happy
experiences or painful moments.

“Those words really made me happy. Since that day, my feelings for you keep growing.
But then… if you really say that you will go out with both me and Ajisai at the same
time…”
With teary eyes, Mai said, “That would be a very tough thing to do, you know? It means
that you will carry the burden of our problems for both of us, since you’re kind. Thanks
to what had happened recently, I discovered another part of me. The fact that I might
be incredibly high-maintenance woman. Knowing that, what are you going to do
now?”

What was I going to do?

What was I going to do if I also took part in carrying the burdens that both of you
carried?

I was going to—

“I’m going to do my best.”

My answer didn't change, not even the slightest.

I looked at Mai who had her eyes wide opened, and insisted, “I’m going to do my best,
of course. For now, I will definitely, totally push myself to do my best. I’ll be someone
far stronger than the me right now. And by doing that, I can properly support you,
Mai.”

—honestly, I’d been thinking about this for the past month.

If it was truly alright for me to stretch my hand out to the new me from this day on.

Strong like Satsuki-san.

Gentle like Ajisai-san.

Honest with her passion like Kaho-chan.

Captivating like Mai.

I wanted to be me, with those qualities—

I was convinced that it was a goal so high up that it would make my neck sore simply
by looking at it, but still.

The four people, the [special] figures that existed next to me.

It was impossible to not admire them when I spent almost everyday talking to them.
And also, they truly acknowledged my existence. Once in a while, I also wondered if I
was useful as a friend. That was why, even though I kept deprecating myself again and
again, I couldn’t stop myself from rejoicing even slightly.

The things I thought about under my blanket at night weren’t always bad.

Like the time when Satsuki-san praised me for getting a good score in my test. Or the
time when I made Ajisai-san laugh with my joke. Also the moment when Kaho-chan
chose me to be her partner. And all those times when Mai showed me her smile. I was
also brimming with happy memories.

I’d always hurt myself with my own words, and buried myself using self-criticism as
my shield. There was hardly any, but still, behind those shadows, deep down I still had
the words to encourage myself.

It wasn’t easy for a girl who shut herself inside her room to come out onto a stage with
her friend, right? To think that I wouldn’t appreciate her effort for that, in contrast it
would be impossible to not acknowledge her even a little.

Since I’d really done my best after all.

Ever since I started high school, I’d really pushed myself to do my best.

Having [Don’t want to get hated by people] as a goal was very painful, you see.

The truth was, I hated it when I let people’s judgment of me determine my actions and
thoughts, despite pushing myself and placing effort into everything I did.

I wanted to change.
Hey, Amori Renako. Even when you face a huge failure and it breaks you, just leave it
at that moment. You can charge your MP and then stand up once again. Get used to the
failures.

Since I will also do my best.

I will do my best so you can look at me in a more positive light.

“From now on, I will also do my best, Mai. I will show you that I’m not saying empty
words.”

“You are.”

The light shimmered in her eyes.

“Trust me, Mai.”

Her eyes wavered.

The light turned into a teardrop that flowed down her cheek.

“I want to become lovers with you, Mai. I don’t want to be best friends. I also don’t
want Rema friends. Instead, I want you to be my lover.”

“Renako.”

“I like you, Mai.”

Aah. Mai let out a voice of astonishment.

“I’d never thought that this day would come.”

Mai was—Oozuka Mai was crying.

Something that she definitely wanted to hide from me. She was there before me as her
face glimmered with tears.
“I really hated it… Since I really love you, I didn’t want to give up on you for Ajisai…
But, I didn’t want to show you my pathetic side, so much that I ended up thinking I had
no other options, that it was the last option I could choose for your sake…”

Ajisai-san put her arm around Mai’s shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah… Mai-chan. It’s okay now. It’s alright for you to not push yourself now.”

This was the first time I was seeing this side of Mai.

She was really adorable and endearing.

I wanted to cry again.

“That’s true. Mai, you were being too stubborn. Even back then, you ended up
organizing that party on your own. That gave me a hard time, you know?”

Both Ajisai-san and I hugged Mai while smiling.

Under the spotlight, we had tears in our eyes. Somehow it was so bizarre.

I like Mai, and I also like Ajisai. My chest felt so full.

The feelings I had for them both were overflowing.

Where had these enormous feelings been sleeping all this time, I wondered?

It felt so lovely and endearing that I felt like crying.

“I really like you, Mai.”

“Me too. I like you. I love you, Renako.”

Mai nuzzled her head on mine. Her fragrance mixed with my messy hair.

At last, I could share my true feelings.

With this, I became lovers with Mai.

We stepped into another new relationship.

“Hey, I like you, Ajisai-san.”

“Yeah. Me too. I like you. I like Rena-chan.”

We pressed our foreheads together. I could feel her warmth.

“I will definitely make the two of you happy. I will do my best so I can be someone fit
to be your lover.”

I was sure that I’d declared something like this since I was getting ahead of myself.

Even so, right now I couldn’t hear my inner voice, which was likely saying, “What on
earth are you talking about?”

Because what I said wasn’t a promise. It was also not a contract. It was simply a wish.
A vow for the future.

I was determined to live with that intention from now on. I was sure that many difficult
obstacles were already awaiting me in the future. There were too many variables to
count. In the first place, to think that someone intended to date Mai and Ajisai-san at
the same time and wanted to become a person who suited them… what kind of super
woman was that?

Also, I still didn’t really know but something called jealousy was apparently a very
strong emotion, and I might not be able to win.

Even so, I would just think about it when the time comes.

This was okay. Often, something that was decided thoughtlessly tends to fail numerous
times. And if it was something like failure, I was already used to it.

From now on, I might be shown again, again, and again how powerless I was as a
human.

And when that time comes, I would definitely be troubled by it and struggle, but stand
up once again.
Nevertheless, I would continue moving forward even with tears filling my eyes, since
that would be the only thing I could do.

It would be alright. The goal was so faraway, but still, I was sure it wasn’t something
unattainable.

Because I am Amori Renako.

I am someone who received their affection after all.

I pressed on my forehead.

After that, Mai carried out her duties until the event was over. I couldn’t help but think
that Mai sure was incredible while she did that. The problem was what happened after.

“The three of us started going out!” was of course clearly heard by Satsuki-san and
Kaho-chan, who were right in front of the stage.

“THE HECK WAS THAT!”

Kaho-chan attacked me by knocking her forehead against mine.

Mai and Ajisai-san didn’t help me even one bit… for some reason…

Well, I was lucky enough to not receive any strikes from Satsuki san… Nonetheless,
she kept staring at me with scary eyes, though… she didn’t say a word to me at all.

And so, in my room, while clutching my handheld mirror, I rubbed ointment on my

forehead.

“Haa… but still, that was seriously amazing… so incredible…”

To think that we’d come to this ending, I hadn’t expected it myself.

The three of us dating? Who on earth was the one to say that? The lowest scum of
humans, I wonder?

I let out a huge sigh.

I wanted to ride a time machine and meet the me who had yet to be confessed to by
Ajisai-san and tell her, “Yo! In the future, you’re going to two-timing Mai and Ajisai-
san, so do your best!” I wondered how she would react. Well, I might get stoned by her
though.

That moment—bambam—there was a loud rap on my door. Judging by the idiotic

sound, it could only be my lil’ sis.

“Yeaash.”

My little sister barged into my room with a box in her arms.

“Big sis, there’s a delivery.”

“Ah!”

I slithered toward my little sister’s feet. Seeing my youkai-like movement, my little

sister groaned, “Ugh,” while shifting backward. I snatched the box from my little sister,
and then hugged it to my chest.

“Four-kun~~~~~!”

“Eeeeh……?”

“Welcome home! My Four-kun! I was so lonely. I was helpless without you by my side!
I love you, Four-kun!”

“Gross…”

Even the mean remark from my little sister wouldn’t affect me right now. Now that I’d
gotten reunited with Four-kun, I was invincible. I was the strong Renako. As if I could
be discouraged by something so minor like that. I was determined to do my best after
all.

Still, even a warrior needed a good rest. My sister stayed put as I rushed to hook Four-
kun up to my TV screen.

“Hm?”

“Seira-chan told me to tell you, ‘See me next time!’ Did something happen?”

“Eh?! Nah, nothing?! I wonder if it’s because I couldn’t properly meet her eyes the last
time she visited, so that might be the reason, I guess?! Maybe she told me to make
proper eye contact the next time we talk, that kind of thing!”

“Her tone wasn’t implying something like that though… well, whatever. Alright.”

My little sister handed me a picture.

Ah, come to think of it, she’d borrowed this, huh. Lately I’d gotten roped into so many
bizarre things, I’d ended up forgetting about the photo.

“Thank you for lending me that. The reaction toward Oozuka Mai’s casual photo was
huge.”

“Casual, huh! If it’s that, I have a lot stashed in my phone!”

“Eh, really?! Send everything to me, everything!”

“No way. That’s a pain in the ass! I’m gaming now, so leave, leave!”

I kicked her out. Tch. She left while clicking her tongue. But I bet she would come again
to get more photos… that girl, she was stubborn after all.

Now then, I could finally be alone together with Four-kun… ufufu…

I was about to place the photo in my drawer, but I stopped.

“…………”

I tucked the photo inside the picture frame that had been buried in my drawer.

And then I placed it on my desk.

…it was a really good picture.

I relaxed my cheeks into a smile. And then I shared some unnecessary advice with
myself.

“…you, from now on, you’re going to be two-timing Mai and Ajisai-san, you see? It’s
going to be immensely difficult. But, well, just do your best and don’t give up until the
end.”
Of course, the me inside the picture didn’t answer.

Tsun. I flicked her with my finger.

“And then… even if it’s a little bit, you’re going to like yourself more.”

Tack. It was a sound, the sound of the second hand of a clock moving forward. This
moment too, would keep repeating over and over.

Oozuka Mai, Sena Ajisai, and Amaori Renako. The picture that had three of them,
somehow, even just slightly, seemed like they were equally balanced… or at least that
was the impression I had.