Rin kept her gaze down, her face burning red.
It was painfully obvious she was conscious of Haruya.
Ever since the Eikafest ended, she had seemingly lost the ability to face him directly. Sara watched her with a complicated expression before speaking again.
“Thanks to him, it’s true that our bond deepened, and I thought… maybe this could be an opportunity for Rin-san to resolve things with Akasaki-san too……”
“I see… Well, I don’t mind. Besides, Akasaki-kun and I are friends, after all… And it’s not like we’re staying alone—we’ll be at Sara’s grandfather’s house, with everyone else there.”
It wasn’t a stayover with just the two of them. The psychological hurdle wasn’t that high. Besides, she trusted Haruya—they were friends.
Yuna had no real reason to refuse.
“…Well, if the two of you insist, then I guess it’s fine…”
Rin murmured while fiddling with her bangs.
“But really… How did Akasaki-kun manage to make Rin act like this…?”
Yuna sighed under her breath as she glanced at Haruya, who was slumped over his desk as usual.
Rin, who was usually bright and lively—and hypersensitive to other people’s love lives—had suddenly grown quiet the moment Haruya’s name came up. There was no doubt about it: the lovestruck girl here was Rin.
“…B-but… If we invite Akasaki-kun, won’t it be awkward if he’s the only boy…?”
Rin asked softly, breaking her silence.
“Ah—that might be true,”
“Definitely a valid concern,”
Three girls and one boy—and an overnight trip at that.
The psychological hurdle for the lone male participant would undoubtedly be high.
“Should we invite another boy, then? But who else could we…?”
Yuna mused aloud, rubbing her chin. She briefly considered inviting Haru-san, the guy she was interested in, but Sara and Rin didn’t know him. Haruya probably didn’t either. And, well… Yuna herself suspected Haruya might actually be Haru-san…
Then, as if struck by inspiration, Yuna answered her own question.
“What about the guy Sara’s interested in?”
If they needed another trustworthy male, there was the one Rin had mentioned in their group chat—the guy Sara had a crush on. Of course, unbeknownst to the three of them, that person was actually Haruya in disguise. But since none of them had uncovered the truth yet, the suggestion wasn’t strange at all.
Sara shook her head vigorously at Yuna’s proposal.
(That person is Akasaki-san…, she mentally retorted.)
“If we want to make it easier for Akasaki-san to come, it should be someone he knows. Even if we trust the guy, if Akasaki-san isn’t familiar with him, it’ll just make things even more awkward…”
“…You’re right. If it’s a complete stranger, Akasaki-kun might not even agree to come,”
Yuna nodded in agreement.
As they pondered their options, Rin hesitantly interjected.
“Then… what if we invite someone close to Akasaki-kun…?”
Her gaze drifted toward Haruya’s seat.
“Well… I guess there’s only one option. Though, personally… I’m not exactly fond of him.”
“I’m not particularly fond of him either, but we’ll have to make do.”
“How should we invite him…? It’s kinda awkward, isn’t it? Should we all ask together?”
“Ah, no. Since it’s my house we’re inviting them to, leave this to me,”
Sara declared, puffing out her chest with determination as Yuna voiced her concern.
“G-good luck… Sara-chin. I-I’ll pass on inviting Akasaki-kun myself… Absolutely no way! I just… can’t do it…!”
“Wow, the girl who’s always hyped about romance talk turns into this when it’s her own crush, huh?”
“Ahaha, but it’s endearing, isn’t it?”
Sara quickly defended Rin.
Then, under her breath, she murmured,
“…They really are adorable.”
For just a moment, her eyes softened with something like envy.
After letting out a small, cute sigh, Sara quickly recomposed herself.
“Something wrong, Sara?”
“Nothing at all, Yuna-san. I’ll handle inviting them both, so don’t worry.”
“G-good luck… Sara-chin. If you get stuck… Yuna-rin will back you up!”
“Uh, you’re supposed to say you’ll back her up, not me… Well, I guess there’s no helping it in this state.”
Rin was practically glued to Yuna’s legs, her strength completely drained.
She must’ve been that conscious of Haruya. If she was like this now, how would she handle an overnight stay with him…? Yuna sighed faintly, already foreseeing the trouble ahead, but continued anyway.
“Well, like Rin said, I’ll back you up.”
“Thank you. But don’t worry—I’ll be fine!”
With a bright smile, Sara steeled her resolve.
Meanwhile, as the so-called “S-Class Beauties” were having this conversation…
Haruya, the very subject of their discussion, remained slumped over his desk, grinning to himself like an idiot.
(Finally, vacation’s here! I can binge-read shoujo manga, buy otome games, and play them all I want. It’s hard to do this without a long break, but now? No holds barred! All-night gaming sessions? Perfect! Reading marathons? Bring it on! No one can scold me for how I spend my time. Days of freedom await me…!)
His chest trembled with excitement—completely unaware of the event that would soon derail his plans.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
People say there’s something bittersweet about the closing ceremony, but Haruya felt nothing of the sort.
Even the cicadas’ usually annoying chirping sounded pleasant today.
Homeroom had ended with their homeroom teacher—Tokoyami Meika—grumbling jealously about their youth, but today was the closing ceremony.
Meaning: the first term was officially over. A clear endpoint to school life.
…And what a term it had been. Dense enough to rival the broth of a Jiro-style ramen.
Looking back, the sheer intensity of those two or three months was undeniable.
This term, he’d ended up crossing paths with all the S-Class Beauties. It had felt both fleeting and strangely drawn-out—an odd sensation. But now, it was finally over.
Of course, he’d still visit Nayu-san and Café Hinata’s Kohinata-san in his alternate persona, but as for his school self interacting with the S-Class Beauties? That wouldn’t happen again anytime soon.
Just that thought alone lifted a weight off his shoulders.
After homeroom and break, they’d gathered in the gymnasium to endure the principal’s long-winded speech—but Haruya didn’t mind at all. Even the grumbling student next to him (“This is dragging…” “I just wanna go home…”) sounded oddly pleasant to his ears.
(I must be sick in the head. Just how much was I looking forward to summer break…?)
And so, once the principal’s speech finally ended and they returned to the classroom—just when Haruya thought they’d finally be dismissed—
“We’ll do seat changes before ending the term.”
Their homeroom teacher—Tokoyami Meika—leaned forward on the podium as she delivered the announcement.
Haruya had assumed they’d just receive their report cards and leave, but no—they were changing seats.
Now that he thought about it, their seating had stayed the same the entire term.
The class erupted in cheers, clearly thrilled.
“I hope I’m next to ○○!” “Please, gods, let me sit near ○○-san…!”—voices like these filled the air around Haruya’s seat.
But for him, seat changes were the last thing he wanted.
(…Losing this spot is the one thing I wanted to avoid.)
The window-side seat at the back. Perfect for napping unnoticed.
If he could at least secure another rear seat, it’d be fine—but if he got stuck at the front? Game over.
Mimicking the praying students around him, Haruya clasped his hands internally.
(…Please, just let me keep a back-row seat! A good one!)
As he slumped over his desk, lost in prayer, someone tapped his shoulder from behind.
Turning, he found Kazami grinning at him, flashing white teeth.
“Gonna miss you, Akasaki.”
“…Yeah, sure.”
“Pfft. You mean that?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
Annoying as Kazami could be, he had been the one to keep talking to Haruya when no one else did. Now that they might be separated, Haruya did feel a little lonely.
“Let’s both pray we get seats near the S-Class Beauties, huh?”
“—!”
Kazami’s words jolted him. Right. That possibility existed too…
For any other guy, sitting near—or worse, next to—one of the S-Class Beauties would be a dream come true. But Haruya wanted to avoid it at all costs.
…No way. If it were just Sara—who already knew his secret—it might be manageable. But Rin or Yuna? His life would become a nonstop heart-pounding nightmare.
The mere thought made his hair stand on end.
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