55 All to Myself
“Um, Suzuna, did you have something to do after school?”
Riri-chan tilted her head as I struggled to answer.
If I told her I was gathering Shindo-kun and the heroines… how would she react?
…She probably wouldn’t be happy.
“We’re having a study group.”
“Eh, you are, Suzuna? With who?”
Riri-chan, knowing that I don’t have any friends, asked a natural question.
“Shindo-kun, Kokona-chan, Kanaori-san, and Futaba-senpai.”
“…What’s with that group?”
I couldn’t tell her it was the protagonist and the heroines.
They seem to have nothing in common at first glance, so it would just be confusing.
“Shindo-kun asked me to help him study, but I thought I wasn’t enough on my own, so I gathered other people…”
“Hmm. And what about me?”
“I didn’t… ask you, Riri-chan…”
“Why?”
Riri-chan’s eyes narrowed, and her voice sharpened.
“Well, um, that’s…”
“You wanted to study without me?”
…It’s not like I’m trying to increase the chances of a route without Riri-chan.
“I didn’t want you to participate, if possible.”
When I told her directly, Riri-chan’s eyes widened in surprise, but her expression quickly hardened.
“Even I get hurt sometimes, you know…”
Riri-chan gritted her teeth.
I didn’t want to make her look so pained.
“I-It’s not like that, Riri-chan. There’s a reason.”
“What reason?”
“Well, um… you know…”
I can’t say the real reason out loud.
“You don’t really get along with Kanaori-san, and things are awkward with Kokona-chan and Futaba-san…”
“So you were being considerate of me?”
“Well, yeah…”
That’s not the real reason.
But I couldn’t think of any other excuse that would be somewhat convincing.
“So, you’re saying it’s okay if I participate as long as I don’t cause any trouble with the others?”
“Eh, ah, well…”
Riri-chan wouldn’t back down.
“There’s another reason, isn’t there? Tell me.”
She glared at me.
I can’t deceive Riri-chan, huh…
“…Shindo-kun will be there.”
“So?”
“You might… fall for him, Riri-chan.”
“…Huh?”
What are you talking about?
That’s what her eyes seemed to say.
“Me? Fall for Shindo?”
The reason is obvious to me.
I don’t want Hinase Riri to be the heroine who ends up with Shindo Minato.
I don’t want to see an ending where Shindo-kun and Riri-chan end up together.
That feeling has become a major part of me.
Would she believe me if I said, “This is a dating sim, and I don’t want you near him because you might fall for him”?
“He is a boy, after all.”
“…No, that’s not going to happen.”
That’s not true.
Riri-chan can say that because she doesn’t realize she’s a heroine.
“There’s always a possibility.”
“That’s because you used to like Shindo, isn’t it, Suzuna?”
“…Why would you think that?”
“Since you liked him that much, you probably still think he’s a good catch.”
She doesn’t understand.
Because of my irregular existence, Yukitsuki Mashiro, in this dating sim, my feelings don’t reach her.
It was Amatsuki Suzuna who liked Shindo Minato, not me, Yukitsuki Mashiro.
“That’s not true.”
“Okay, let’s say, hypothetically, that you’re worried about that. But that means you’re not really thinking about me, are you?”
Riri-chan moved closer.
Her tone was softer than before, but there was still a hint of reproach in her voice.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I don’t think you should gather everyone just to teach him.”
What does that mean…?
“Are you saying I should always be alone?”
“I’m here.”
“Only you, Riri-chan?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
Is she enjoying looking down on me, the loner?
“…Are you trying to bully me?”
“No, I’m just saying it’s fine if you’re only with me.”
She’s saying strange things again.
What does Riri-chan want to do, leaving me alone like this?
“So I’m going to stop you from being with other people, Suzuna. No objections.”
“Eh…”
In the end, I was forced to give in.
◇◇◇
So, after school, everyone gathered in the student council room.
Kokona-chan and Futaba-senpai haven’t arrived yet since they’re in different years.
“Well, well, well… This is the student council room, where we value discipline. I don’t know what you were thinking, but you have some nerve entering this room in such a disorderly state.”
Kanaori-san suddenly launched into a sarcastic tirade.
Directed at…
“I just came to study, and I have no business with you, so you can leave.”
Riri-chan, of course.
“As I said, this is the student council room. Why should I be the one to leave?”
“School is a place for students. That sounds like you’re abusing your power and treating the school as your personal property.”
“She’s only making sense now…”
Ah… this is what always happens between Kanaori-san and Riri-chan.
—Click
“Huh… Hinase Riri? Are you here to study too?”
Kokona-chan, who arrived late, sounded surprised.
“Of course I study.”
“…So, repeating a year has finally become a reality, huh?”
Kokona-chan looked at Riri-chan with pity.
“It’s not that bad!”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to hide it. You look like you’re bad at studying.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover!”
“A gal who can’t be judged by her looks… does that even have value?”
“Are you picking a fight with me?”
Hmm… these two are also on the verge of a fight.
—Click
“Ah, you’re…”
Futaba-senpai, the last to arrive, noticed Riri-chan.
“You’re the one from the other day…”
“You’re with Suzuna-chan again. Did you really take my words seriously and become this possessive?”
“I don’t remember anything you said.”
Riri-chan, you made a similar remark to me earlier…
You don’t remember…?
I really don’t understand what she’s thinking.
56 Study Session
“Shall we begin…?”
Since everyone had gathered, it was naturally time to study.
However, currently, everyone except Kanaori-san was standing.
At the back of the room was Kanaori-san’s desk, and in front of it was a long table.
The student council officers probably work here regularly.
Naturally, we’d be sitting at this table to study, but…
“Please, sit wherever you like.”
Kanaori-san graciously gave us permission.
“Everyone…”
But even as I looked around, no one seemed inclined to move.
Why…?
“You should sit down first, Amatsuki Suzuna.”
Kokona-chan urged me.
It seemed like I, the one who proposed the study session, had to take the initiative.
“Okay, then I’ll sit down.”
I decided to sit on the right side at the far end of the table, as seen from the entrance.
“Then I’ll sit next to Suzuna…”
Just as Riri-chan started walking—
“Kokona will sit next to Amatsuki Suzuna.”
Kokona-chan spoke up.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Kokona’s the only underclassman, right? I’ll be lonely surrounded by senpais, so isn’t it natural for me to sit next to Amatsuki Suzuna, who I know?”
She said that to Riri-chan, her senpai, without a hint of hesitation.
“You can say ‘lonely’ with such confidence?”
“Ah, senpai is scary~”
Kokona-chan pretended to cower and tremble.
“And if you know someone, you have your brother, don’t you?”
“Onii-chan wants to become more independent from his little sister, so it’s fine.”
“?!”
Shindo-kun’s eyes widened in surprise at Kokona-chan’s words.
He seems to have no such intention.
“Independent little sister” is probably more accurate.
“Then, as the only third-year, I feel a little uneasy, so I think I’ll sit next to Suzuna-chan.”
Futaba-senpai unexpectedly joined the fray.
“You’re an upperclassman, so you should be able to communicate just fine.”
And, naturally, Riri-chan tried to stop Futaba-senpai as well.
“Everyone gets lonely when they’re alone.”
“Says the girl who’s always alone on the rooftop.”
And as expected, the three of them stared each other down.
…Should I just leave?
“I understand. Since this is going nowhere, I will sit next to Amatsuki-san.”
Finally, even Kanaori-san stood up from her desk and approached the table.
“You should stay in your fancy seat over there!”
“Wouldn’t it be inefficient to teach from a distance?”
In the end, no one was willing to compromise.
Why is this happening?
“Then why don’t we draw lots?”
Shindo-kun, seeing the stalemate, offered a suggestion.
“We won’t decide otherwise.”
‘…’
Everyone fell silent, but no one objected.
◇◇◇
The final seating arrangement, as seen from the entrance, was like this:
Kokona-chan, me, Futaba-senpai
Riri-chan, Kanaori-san, Shindo-kun
“Why does this always happen to me…?”
Riri-chan grumbled.
She ended up diagonally across from me on the right.
“That’s my line. Why do I have to be with you…?”
Kanaori-san, next to Riri-chan, also grumbled.
“I can’t get Suzuna to teach me from this seat.”
“Study by yourself.”
Kanaori-san retorted bluntly to Riri-chan, who was pouting.
“Then what’s the point of this study session?”
“Studying is basically a solitary activity. The purpose of this kind of gathering is to create an environment where you can’t escape from studying.”
“But you being next to me is making me lose motivation! This is a terrible environment!”
“You…”
As usual, they were saying whatever they wanted.
“Amatsuki Suzuna, I’ll help you if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
Kokona-chan, sitting next to me on the right, offered kindly.
“Kokona-chan, do you really understand the second-year material?”
“For the most part.”
“Your grades must be good.”
“I’m second in my year.”
Kokona-chan is smart…
Shindo-kun must have a hard time, having a younger sister who’s smarter than him.
…Wait, where’s Shindo-kun?
I looked diagonally to the left.
“…”
Shindo-kun was there, silent and looking uncomfortable.
This study session was supposed to be for him, but it’s a problem if he’s just being quiet.
I have to do something to help…
“Futaba-senpai, may I ask you a favor?”
“What is it, Suzuna-chan?”
“That boy over there… Shindo-kun isn’t very good at studying, so could you help him?”
Shindo-kun shifted in his seat.
This was an unexpected development, it seems.
“Is that so?”
Futaba-senpai looked at Shindo-kun.
“Uh, well… I’m not very good at it.”
Shindo-kun replied, looking away and mumbling.
I know I’m not one to talk, but this isn’t the time to be shy, Shindo-kun!
“Is there anything you want help with?”
Even so, the kind Futaba-senpai continued to ask Shindo-kun questions.
“I want to know what kind of person you like, senpai.”
Shindo-kun…
Your timing is way off…
“U-Um… it’s a secret.”
Futaba-senpai seemed taken aback.
“Shindo-san, what kind of question is that to ask in the student council room?”
Kanaori-san sounded slightly angry.
“Sigh… Onii-chan, I’ve been telling you, girls really hate that kind of thing.”
Kokona-chan sighed.
Their intimacy levels with him aren’t rising at all…
—Ping
“…?”
My phone suddenly beeped.
“Is there any point in this study session?”
It was a message from Shindo-kun.
“Give me back my effort.”
That was my honest feeling.
◇◇◇
Since I organized this study session, I have to study hard.
I was diligently writing with my mechanical pencil when I encountered a problem I didn’t understand.
I needed to ask someone.
But who?
It’s not a difficult problem, just something I forgot, so anyone could probably answer it…
But I hesitated to ask.
“Suzuna, what’s wrong?”
But the first one to notice my hesitation was Riri-chan.
“Ah, well… I don’t understand this part…”
I pointed to the part I didn’t understand in the textbook.
“You can use this formula—”
“If you use this formula—”
“Apply this formula—”
Three voices overlapped at once.
“Hey, I was the one she asked!”
Riri-chan looked indignant.
“Because Amatsuki Suzuna looked troubled.”
“Because it seemed like Amatsuki-san didn’t understand.”
“I wanted to explain it to Suzuna-chan.”
Kokona-chan, Kanaori-san, and Futaba-senpai spoke in unison again.
What’s with this overprotective study environment…?
If they directed even a fraction of this tutoring towards Shindo-kun, the story would move forward.
But the person in question—
“…Zzz…”
He was nodding off, looking sleepy.
Th-This is hopeless…
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