C06

Chapter 6: Looking Back on That Day

Kokona Suzumura Side

After school.

Parting ways with Tachibana-kun, I walked the road home alone. The evening shopping district was moderately bustling with students returning from school and people back from shopping. I felt like the sweetness of the crepe we'd been eating together just moments ago still lingered slightly in my mouth.

(...It felt kind of strange, somehow.)

I've almost never made a detour after school with a boy. Buying a crepe on the way home from school and walking while chatting about trivial things. That kind of time was a first for me.

(Is being a couple supposed to feel like this?)

Of course, we aren't real lovers. I know the whole relationship started from a punishment game, and that it's a lie. Even so, walking together after school, talking about nonsense, and laughing together felt a little fresh... and it was more fun than I'd expected.

My smartphone vibrated in my pocket. Looking at the screen, a LIME message had arrived from Rinko.

Rinko: “You're totally enjoying playing lovers!”

I couldn't help a wry smile.

Kokona: “That's not true.”

When I replied, it was marked as read within a few seconds.

Rinko: “Just a little longer, so hang in there!”

“I'm looking forward to the reveal!”

Staring at the screen, I let out a small breath.

(...Just a little longer.)

When that's over, everything ends. I need to properly apologize. Tachibana-kun must have been so surprised to suddenly be told that out of nowhere. That's why I'll properly apologize for dragging him around in all of this. He might get angry. He might be disgusted. Even so, if I apologize properly, it'll be over...

...Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.

◇

Returning home, I collapsed onto my bed still in my uniform.

"I'm so tired..."

My body sank into the futon. Lately, it's not just school. Ever since I started modeling for teen magazines, holidays mean photo shoots from the morning. Meetings after school have also been slowly increasing. Since it's a job I've longed for since long ago, it's not painful. Rather, it's fulfilling. Still, it was a fact that every day was hectic.

"Balancing it with school is pretty tough..."

The muttered voice dissolved into the room. Ever since I started modeling, people telling me "That's amazing" has increased. I've started standing out more at school than before, too. But on the inside, I haven't changed at all from the old days. I can't refuse when asked, and I'm bad at breaking the mood of the room. That's why this time too—I got swept along.

"Was I... supposed to refuse after all?"

That day, Rinko said with a laugh: “Then the punishment game is decided as a fake confession!”

The atmosphere shifted with those words. Someone laughs. Someone else laughs. Before I knew it, everyone on the spot was talking about how fun it sounded. Only my childhood friend Kaho had a bewildered look on her face, just like me. Kaho mustered up her courage and said, "Isn't it better to call it off?", but the momentum of the room couldn't be stopped anymore. Kaho couldn't say anything more either, quietly closing her mouth.

(...Kaho tried to stop it properly back then. Even so, no one listened to her words.)

And I was one of the ones swept along by the room's mood. There was no way I could object now. I too gave a small smile. Before I knew it, I had nodded along. I thought it was a bad thing. But at the time—

(It's just to surprise him a little.)

Back then, I tried to tell myself that, trying not to think too deeply about it...

◇

Staying sunk in the futon, Kokona quietly looked up at the ceiling. Today's events slowly flowed through her mind. As she recalled the words exchanged in the classroom, the crepe shop we stopped by after school, and the casual conversations on the way home one by one, she suddenly felt a tiny sense of incongruity.

(...Huh?)

At first, she intended to just talk to him because she was playing the role of a lover. The morning greetings, the promise to walk home together—it was all to look like a real couple. She was just moving as Rinko and the others told her to. But...

Looking back on today, it felt like she hadn't been thinking about things like that midway through. Before she knew it, she had walked over to Tachibana-kun's desk on her own. It wasn't like she was thinking about what to talk about. She just said, "Good morning," chatted a bit, and laughed together. That had started feeling like the most natural thing in the world.

(...Why is that?)

She was acting out a fake romance. She was a little surprised herself at how much that awareness had faded. Because of that, a corner of her chest tightened slightly. Tachibana-kun didn't know anything, smiling back at her without a single shred of doubt. To an opponent like that, she would eventually have to say that it was all a lie.

Tachibana-kun's face popped into her mind. Quiet in the classroom, a person who rarely smiled. But at the arcade, he had smiled a little shyly. That wasn't all. When I was being hit on, Tachibana-kun stood in front of me even while hesitating. Even though he usually seemed to avoid interacting with people. Back then, he mustered up his courage and moved to save me, trembling. Today too, the whole time we walked together, he was calm and gentle.

(...He's a kind person, huh.)

Exactly because she had come to know that kindness, there was a part of her imagining what kind of face Tachibana-kun would make when it was all over. Even so... Before she knew it, she was thinking about something else entirely.

(...What is he doing right now?)

Has he already gone home? Realizing she was thinking about such things, Kokona was slightly baffled. In the quiet room, she let out a small breath. As her gaze drifted, the "Potemaru" plush toy Tachibana-kun had given her caught her eye. Deep in her chest, there was a tiny, sharp pang. Slowing her eyes, she closed them as if to hide it.

◇

Reo Tachibana Side

The moment I got home, I stripped off my uniform. Tossed my tie onto a chair and sat right down in front of my desk.

"Now then."

I turned on the PC. The familiar Asuon launcher booted up, and without hesitation, I pressed the login button. Event Day 4. I headed to the hunting grounds, as if to make up for the hours spent at school.

Koyori-chan: “Welcome back, Leo-kun~♪”

Leo: “I'm back.”

Gonzaemon: “Good work on your student duties.”

Shigumin: “West.”

Leo: “Understood.”

Gonzaemon: “Are you guys a special ops unit where everything gets across in single words lol”

Koyori-chan: “Such seamless teamwork♪”

On the other side of the screen, Shigumin was already starting to gather enemies.

"Like I'll lose."

I gripped the gamepad tighter. As if those daytime hours were a lie, my mind was entirely consumed by Asuon. The EXP bar stretched up satisfyingly.

(This is it, for real.)

There's only one thing I have to do. Raise my level as much as possible during the event period.