2

Even fetch quests raise your level

It was break time before switching classrooms.

“…Okay.”

I was standing nervously in front of the door to the library.

At this time of day, Kikuchi-san would be already in there. When I opened the door, I would enter her calming, peaceful world. And by now, I should be completely used to talking one-on-one with her—right?

But on this day, I felt a little different. Of course, there was a reason I was so nervous.

I slowly reached out to the door, thinking back to my meeting with Hinami that morning.

* * *

“All right, let’s wrap up the small talk and discuss your plans moving forward.”

“You never waste a second, huh?”

A second earlier, we’d been deep in conversation about the incident between Tama-chan and Konno, but then Hinami had just casually switched to a completely different topic. I had to stay focused so her conversational agility wouldn’t trip me up.

But the way she repositioned herself so easily was pure Hinami. Mask or no mask, she had the raw ability.

“Of course not. Especially when it’s been weeks since my last chance to give you an assignment for your goal.”

“Well…that’s true.” I nodded.

My goal—to have a girlfriend by the time we started our third year. Fall was already turning to winter, so that only gave me three or four more months, including winter break.

“We need to make up for lost time.”

“So you’re saying…you have a new assignment for me?” I asked with some resignation.

Hinami grinned. “Hexactly.”

“Haven’t heard that in a while.”

I guess her mind was on other things.

Huh… That’s actually kinda interesting.

That meant her life at school must have calmed down enough for her to joke around. Of course, I was a little embarrassed by the nostalgia I felt hearing her say “hexactly” again.

“Right? I have to use it now and then, you know. Hanabi established her ‘character’ thanks to your strategy, and I have to set an example, too.”

“So it’s all part of the plan…”

Hinami giggled. It was really only when she said “hexactly” or talked about gaming that I could see one layer past her mask. Which meant that most of the time, the mask was way too powerful.

“Anyway, what’s my assignment?”

“Well…” Her expression turned suddenly serious, and she seemed to size me up with her eyes. “You’ve said it yourself in the past.”

The mood was quickly getting heavy, and I gulped. “…Said what?”

She slowly pointed a finger at me. “That you’d like to set your goals and assignments based on what you really want.”

I nodded. “Yeah. No lying to myself, no acting fake. And I reserve the right to turn down any assignments or exercises that would make me do that.”

For some reason, Hinami grinned at my straightforward answer.

“Right,” she said, baring her white teeth ominously. “And I hope you’re ready to live up to those words.”

I flinched; she was up to something. What? What kind of sadistic command was she about to give me? But I wouldn’t let her beat me. I was at a higher level now. Bring on the ridiculous assignments.

Suddenly, I felt bolder than before.

“Of course I will. A man never goes back on his word.”

“In that case…I’ll start by asking you a question.”

“Okay, what?”

She rested her cheek on her palm and leaned toward me with a sadistic gaze.

“Who would you rather date right now—Fuka-chan, Mimimi, Yuzu, or Hanabi?”

“Wha…?!” That was a fastball. I leaned back.

As I stood there reeling from all the information whirling around my mind—not all of it necessary or relevant—Hinami closed in for the next hit.

“Or maybe…me?”

“You…?!”

Hinami rested her finger on her glistening, exquisitely parted lips, drawing my eyes to them. The glint of the winter light highlighted the vaguely seductive moisture.

“So…who do you like?”

She was obviously acting as she looked up at me with adoring eyes, but I still couldn’t help feeling flustered by the cuteness of her expression, gestures, and tone of voice. It was just instinct.

“Um, well…”

Her question was definitely designed to throw me off-balance.

“Yes?”

Her moist eyes were doing a perfect job of making me blush…

But if I focused on the content of the question…I had to admit it was important.

I’d told Hinami I didn’t want to chase after a girl if I wasn’t sure I liked her—and that I wanted to work toward what I really wanted in life.

She’d accepted that.

If we were going to use my own feelings to decide the target of my next assignment, then this was a crucial question.

She was asking me to choose for myself, of my own free will, who I wanted to date.

Kikuchi-san, Mimimi, Izumi, or Tama-chan. Those were my options.

“…Hey, wait a second.” I’d just realized something.

“What?”

“Why did you include Izumi? That doesn’t make sense.”

Weren’t Izumi and Nakamura starry-eyed, newly matched lovebirds? I mean, Mr. Cool Guy was walking around with a hand-knit tissue cover in his pocket. Guess he does have a sweet side after all.

Hinami sighed. “You may have moved up a level or two, but you will always have the heart of a virgin.”

“I literally am a virgin, not that it’s any of your business.”

I wish she’d stop full-on dissing me. It was depressing.

“Listen. If you want to pick Yuzu, that’s a legitimate option. Relationships are shaky—they can end at any moment. And it’s not like they’re legally bound to each other. It’s ridiculous to give so much respect to something so impermanent.”

“U-uh, I’m sure you’re right, but…”

Ninety percent of high school romances probably don’t last, but…I could hardly believe she’d say that after seeing how Izumi and Nakamura got together. I mean, it took all our help and some major effort from Izumi herself, but now they were dating for real. I’d hoped Hinami would say they might end up getting married or something.

“I bet you think they might end up getting married or something, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Well, it’s not unthinkable, but it’s ridiculous to tiptoe around hoping for it. They’re a bunch of idealists who worship romance like it’s a religion. It’s so boring.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty strong opinion when you don’t even know if that’s what I was thinking.”

Of course, her guess was exactly right. Sometimes, I felt like she had ESP. It happened when we were playing Atafami, too. Scary. I wish she’d stop with that.

She waved off my complaint.

“There’s no rule that says you’re not allowed to go after a girl with a boyfriend. It’s entirely acceptable. They’re not married, and even if you did steal her from him, it would just mean you won at the game of love fair and square by being the better guy. No one would hate you for it. You could even say it was a good thing in the long term, if it means you and your rival ended up as better people.”

“Well, if you put it like that…”

I could see her point. I had a weakness for arguments that used game analogies; her values were so close to mine in that realm.

“Right? Still, Yuzu would be a very challenging choice for you at this point. You’d be wiser to choose someone else since you’re still barely out of the tutorial. You’ll be at a disadvantage in terms of raw stats at least until you start your third year.”

“I wasn’t planning to pick her anyway…”

She and Nakamura were too perfect together, and I didn’t have the motivation to try to break them up.

“Oh, so Yuzu isn’t your type?”

“That’s not what I meant!” I shot back anxiously. I could see how my comment could be interpreted that way, though. Bottom-tier characters can sound stuck-up when they don’t mean to.

“So you do want to date her?”

“No, I didn’t mean that, either…”

“Mm-hmm…” She gave me a challenging look.

“What?” I stared back at her.

She stuck her pointer finger in the air. “Okay, imagine this,” she said, smiling as she prepared to get to the heart of the matter. “If Yuzu broke up with Nakamura and told you she wanted to go out with you, what would you do?”

“What?!” That was so far out of left field, I almost jumped. “That would never happen!”

“You’re right. It wouldn’t.”

“Um, no,” I said, depressed that she agreed with me so quickly. So why did she ask?

“But hypothetically, what if she did? What would you do?”

“That’s a tough question to answer…”

“Listen. This doesn’t just go for Yuzu. The same goes for Mimimi, Fuka-chan, or Hanabi. If one of them told you right now that they liked you, what would you do? Haven’t you ever thought about that?”

Honestly, no. “I mean…that would never happen.”

“I know.”

“Hey now.”

Again, she agreed right away. I know it’s true, but it still hurts. Can’t you soften the blow a little? Bottom-tier characters are people, too, you know.

“…But your inability to say unconditionally one way or the other is connected to your situation right now.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind what I just said. If one of them confessed to you, what would you do? You say you don’t want to pursue anyone until you’re sure you like them, but you haven’t even thought about who you might like. Don’t you think that’s even more insincere?” Hinami tore into me, completely brushing over the part I was most curious about.

“Well, if you put it like that…”

She was right; it was hypocritical to say my goal was to get a girlfriend and then completely ignore my own feelings. The only places a guy can get a girlfriend without taking any risks are a dating sim or a harem rom-com.

“This is all hypothetical, so give it some thought.”

“Right, all hypothetical.”

“Yeah. Okay, so imagine you’re chatting with a girl, and at the end of the conversation, she asks if she can talk to you after school. She says she wants to have a private conversation, so she invites you to meet her on the landing of the stairs in this building, because no one ever comes here. And when you get here and you’re alone together, she blushes and tells you that actually, she’s liked you for a while. That kind of thing.”

“Yep, I’m definitely imagining it.”

When she described it in that much detail, I could almost see the whole scenario.

Here in the old school building…just the two of us. What is this, a movie? Plus, I haven’t done anything in this scene. Is that okay?

But the question is, how do I react? If I turn her down, I’ll come off as conceited, but if I go along without feeling the same as she does, that’s wrong, too.

The vague hypothetical turned into a movie in my mind.

So what if all that happened, and then…

…Tama-chan said she liked me?

Or Izumi said she liked me?

Or Mimimi?

Or Kikuchi-san?

Right then—

“You’re blushing.”

“What?!” I yelped.

Hinami was having the time of her life with this. I swear. She definitely did that on purpose. I just about died of shock.

“Well? Now that you’ve played out the whole thing in your mind, did you figure it out?”

“…Figure what out?” I asked uncomfortably.

Hinami tapped me on the center of my chest. “Wasn’t there was someone you could imagine dating?” She smiled confidently.

“No… I mean, I don’t know.”

Hinami reacted triumphantly to my vague answer. “Well, that person will be the target of your future assignments.” She raised one eyebrow. “Which means those assignments will be based on what you want, correct?”

“…Yeah.”

Hinami snorted condescendingly. “Your assignments from this point on will mainly be about getting you two together.”

She won, I had to admit. Her ever-rational approach left no room for contradiction.

Just now, she’d made me imagine a certain scenario in order to assess my feelings, then said she’d base my assignments on those feelings.

That way, what I wanted became the foundation for her actions, and my original concern was done away with. I’d been swept up by her negotiating skill; since there was no possible counterargument, I couldn’t do much about it.

“By the way, it’s best if you have at least two options.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

Hinami gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m fairly sure I explained that a long time ago. Do you need to hear it again?”

“…No.”

As she stared at me, I tried to think back. Yeah, we had talked about something like that when I first started training.

“Now that you mention it, I do remember. You said it’s like how in a shooting game, you can play better if you’ve got a couple of lives left instead of just one, right? ’Cause you can’t play as well when you know you might be screwed.”

“Right.”

She had a point. It wasn’t just shooting games, either—whenever I have only a few stocks left, I get panicky and sloppy.

“And you said it was better to go after more than one girl at a time for the same reason.”

“Exactly… Oh, wait,” she said, pointing at me sharply. “Hexactly.”

“It doesn’t really work if you forget the first time.”

Hinami smiled with satisfaction. “You really are getting better at firing back during conversations.”

“I—I thought I’d give it a shot anyway…”

What, so she was giving pop quizzes now? Just having a normal conversation with her is exhausting. I wish she’d dial it back every so often.

“But you’re right. Remaining composed is extremely important.”

“Composed?” I wasn’t following.

“Listen. Love is a battle, and human emotion is a variable that also happens to be critical to the fight. When you lose your cool, your emotions get confused, and when your emotions get confused, your actions do, too. And when that happens, the other person can tell, and that sets your relationship back. I might even go so far as to say that maintaining a stable emotional state in a strategic and rational way is the single most important point when it comes to love.”

So that’s the key, huh?

“Then can’t I just try not to lose my cool? I shouldn’t have to go after more than one person at once, right? There’s gotta be other ways.”

“What, like meditating or something?”

“Th-that’s not what I meant… Don’t you have any other suggestions?”

Hinami sighed like I’d completely missed the point. “You have no idea what you’re talking about because you have zero experience in love. The reason most relationships fail before they even start is that one person gets worried that the other person is going to disappear, and so they start fawning and acting all weak and turning the other person off.”

“R-really?”

Hinami nodded. “I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this, since games are your one true love…but it’s like when you get a LINE message from the person you like and freak out. You start swinging from happy to sad until you can’t think logically at all, and the reply you send is totally unnatural. Or you end up overthinking it and write something that sounds cold. Then you hate yourself for it, and when you see the person, you spend too much time explaining yourself, or you panic and leave awkward silences in the conversation.”

Wow, that was a strangely specific example. Was this Hinami’s own weakness, perhaps?

“Speaking from experience?” I asked jokingly.

Hinami giggled, sounding very unruffled. “Sure am. This poor guy tried to dump me.”

“Oh…”

I’d just been treated to a beautiful reflect spell, a reminder of why she’s in the top tier. My noob skills don’t work against her at all.

Hinami went on, having taken no damage whatsoever. “My point is, panicking and messing up in love is usually caused by the cognitive dissonance that occurs when you believe there’s only one person in the world for you. It’s a narrow-minded perspective.”

“Cognitive dissonance…?” I parroted. For a talk about love, this was getting really technical.

“It’s an easy mistake to make. I bet you’re thinking I’m telling you to pursue multiple girls at once, but you’re worried that will be too difficult.”

“Well, basically. I mean, it sounded like the strategy of a bona fide Casanova.”

“Actually, the opposite is true.”

“The opposite?”

Hinami stuck her pointer finger in the air.

“When it comes to love, pursuing multiple people at once is easier than pursuing just one.”

“…Huh.”

I was genuinely surprised; that thought had never entered my head.

“Just telling yourself that there are other people who you could date gives you a bit of distance, and that allows you to keep your cool so you can make your decisions rationally.”

“I can see that…”

Leaving aside the question of integrity, her technique did seem like it would help me maintain some perspective when I was thinking about everything. I could probably even run a list of pros and cons with my options. But was that really a good thing?

“This isn’t just defensive; it’s an offensive move, too. When you let your crush catch a glimpse of her competitors, you throw her off-balance.”

“Hold on. That is a really underhanded thing to suggest.”

She sighed. “It’s nothing. Calling it ‘underhanded’ is just a sign that you’re still worshipping romance, too.”

“You mean it gets worse…?”

Is love really such a dirty game? And if so, can someone like me really win at it?

“Don’t forget; there’s one more added benefit.”

“There is?”

So we’re killing three birds with this multiple-girl strategy now?

Hinami grinned and pointed at me. “You’re convinced it’s hard. So you’ll have more self-confidence after achieving it.”

“…Ah.”

Once again, she had me convinced. Still think we’re playing dirty with this, though.

On the other hand, I really could use more confidence. I had it in spades when it came to games, but when it came to love, not so much.

Thanks to my gaming confidence, I was able to make decisive choices at critical points in Atafami, and I could see how the same thing would apply to love. That ability to trust myself at key moments was more important than I’d realized.

“You need to be more confident. That’s another reason why I want you to start getting closer to multiple girls at once—it’ll help, I promise. It’s an effective strategy for a noob, and your chances with either of your choices will also improve. Of course, this is assuming these are all girls you’d be interested in dating to start with, and I’m not suggesting you cheat on anyone and ask two girls out at once. All I’m saying is that you should get to know them more as people. Then, based on that experience, you can go out with the one you genuinely want to date. What do you think?”

She was firing arguments at me so fast, it was like I’d just speed-scrolled through a product list on Amazon. I was starting to feel like I’d wanted what she was selling all along.

“Okay, okay… That’s really all I have to do?”

“A response worthy of nanashi. You catch on so quick.”

“U-uh, thanks…”

“All right then, from now on, I’ll be giving you assignments with all that in mind.”

“O-okay.”

It was really hard to say no right after she complimented me. That must be another of her negotiating techniques. Scary.

“Which brings us to the question of which two you want to get to know better.”

“Umm…well…”

“Yes?” She smiled, waiting for my answer.

“…Can I have a little more time to decide?” I asked, glancing away from her.

She made a dissatisfied hmph. “How long is ‘a little more time’?” Her voice was completely flat.

“Um…about a week?”

She sighed very loudly. “I see.”

“Um, sorry.”

I apologized reflexively. She could express anger without saying anything specific—that was a high-level technique. I was getting used to her sharp tongue, but when she changed up the pattern, my resistance went down again. Huh. That must have been her goal.

“So? What do you need it for?” she asked curtly.

“Uh…” I searched for the right words, trying to organize my thoughts.

I honestly didn’t know why myself, but I really didn’t like the idea of just throwing out a name.

And that uncertainty was why I wanted more time. I wanted to give the assignment appropriate attention, too.

“I guess I want to really think about how I feel toward each of them.”

“To really think about it, huh?” Hinami’s face was blank. She sighed loudly again. “Fine. It’s true that you’ve been so caught up in assignments and class drama that you haven’t had many opportunities lately to examine your feelings. Maybe it would be more efficient to take some time now to think. Resting is a basic component of contemporary bodybuilding techniques, you know.”

“Thanks, that’s a big help.” I wasn’t sure why she had to mention bodybuilding, but I let out a relieved sigh.

“Okay, you have one week. Two at the most. Spend that time considering who you’re interested in and who you want to get to know better.”

“A-all right.”

Hinami looked up. “Buuuut it would be a waste of time to leave you without any assignment at all, so…I’ll give you an easy one.”

“Easy?”

“Yes,” she said, fiddling with her cell phone. After a second or two, she showed me a slick-looking web page.

“…Instagram?”

There was a long stream of pictures showing trendy clothes, tasty-looking food, images of Hinami and her friends goofing around, more pictures of Hinami’s face or her whole self against an elegant backdrop, etcetera, etcetera. So this is her page, I’m guessing.

“So you want to remind me that not only can you do anything, you’re also a great photographer… Whoa!”

When I scrolled up to the top of the page, I saw how many followers she had.

“Three thousand… You have three thousand followers?”

“Yup,” she answered casually, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

“Wait, why? How did you get so many?”

“Who knows?”

“Come on.” What kind of answer is that?

“I honestly don’t know. If I had to explain it, I’d just say I’ve consistently posted high-quality, public photos of subjects people want to see, and that attracted a lot of followers. I didn’t post stuff for a public audience, so it really wasn’t intentional on my part.”

“So you’re an…Instagrammer…” I said the word timidly, since it came from a totally alien world to mine. It felt so strange in my mouth.

“Not particularly. People can follow me if they want, but I don’t intend to tailor my content for the public. I don’t have the time to put in the effort to be a top influencer.”

“You’re so disciplined.”

Since she couldn’t aim for the top, she wouldn’t do it at all.

“What did you expect? Youth and beauty will always lose value in the long run. I maybe could expect a return on the investment if I wanted to attract a rich man to marry and take care of me for the rest of my life, but I want to win by using the abilities I built up on my own. That means instead of using temporary youth as a shortcut to my immediate goals, it makes more sense to devote myself to improving my individual skills, which will pay dividends in the future.”

“I’m starting to get scared by how far into the future you look…”

The way she kept so cool was really frightening. I wondered what sort of vision she had for her life.

As I sat there in shock and awe, Hinami coughed. “…Anyway, we’re getting off topic,” she said, tapping the screen of her phone with her fingernails. “Social media is the point.”

Social media—so sites like Twitter and Instagram, and older sites like mixi. Ah, good old mixi. I used to belong to a group on there called “Masters of Atafami.” Little did I know back then that I really would master it.

“I think by now, you understand from experience that in order to live the life of a normie, at least at school, you need to rise in the class hierarchy.”

“Yeah, that’s a really basic thing.”

I think everyone has a strong sense of that hierarchy to begin with, but I’d truly begun to notice it once my assignments started. In a closed environment like school, it’s genuinely hard to escape the tyranny of the pecking order.

“Of course, one of the first things you have to do is join a top-level group. Once there, you have to maintain a good position without getting labeled as a poser. Are you following me?”

“Yeah, I get it. Although I’m not sure if I’m already doing that or not.”

Lately, I’d been hanging out with Nakamura’s group, but I wasn’t quite sure what my standing was.

“Right. You’re like ‘the funny guest’ with them.”

“The funny guest?” That’s…vague.

Hinami nodded. “You’re not a fully integrated member, but you’re entertaining and unique, which makes you like an invited guest. It’s very common in the school hierarchy.”

“It is?”

Maybe it was because I’d been at the base of the pyramid until recently—buried beneath it, really—but I didn’t quite get her point.

“Yes. People who are good at something are temporarily invited into a group, and for a while, they entertain the group with that skill. Then the group either gets bored of them and phases them out, or they get attached to them as a person, and the guest becomes a regular.”

I’d never been interested in classroom politics, so I hadn’t observed the phenomenon myself, but I could easily imagine it.

“But I’m not particularly good at anything,” I said.

Hinami raised one eyebrow. “You’re not? Didn’t you tell off Erika Konno? And didn’t you insult Nakamura on our trip?”

“That’s my skill?”

Actually, the first time Mizusawa talked to me, it was about the incident with Konno. And I did feel closer to Nakamura after the overnight.

“Since Nakamura is the dictator type, there aren’t many people willing to fire back at him and be funny about it. That makes people take an interest in you.”

“I have felt more comfortable since that happened…”

“Right?”

I’d assumed the reduced distance was because of our naked encounter in the hot spring, but I guess another factor was at play, too. Of course, all that started with another one of Hinami’s assignments.

“That’s an example of how positions gradually change, both within groups and the class as a whole. And they never change because of the person’s thoughts or ideas—it’s always because of how other people see them.”

“Yeah, I can appreciate that.”

When you’re dealing with a group, positions are always shifting. Mood and image matter more than one’s individual will. If you wanted to get a little pretentious, you could say it’s all about branding.

“So your assignment starting today—is to start a private Instagram and post photos on it.”

“You want me to post…on Instagram?”

Just saying the word was still uncomfortable, and now I was supposed to run my own account…?

“Yes. That will give you a new understanding of how people see you and make you more self-aware. Then you can start controlling your image. Those are the two main goals of this assignment.”

“To understand and control my image?”

“Right,” Hinami said, showing me her phone again. “Imagine if you didn’t know me but you saw this page. What would you think of me?”

“Well, um…”

I took another look at Hinami’s photos.

All of them were the kind of thing you’d expect to see from a girl keeping up with the latest trends, but because of the wholesome images of her hanging out with her friends, it wasn’t off-putting. There was also a smattering of cute pictures of Mimimi, Izumi, and other girls having a good time together.

Then, every so often, she’d posted pictures of Nakamura and Mizusawa, and since anyone could tell at a glance that both of them were popular, normie guys, that exponentially increased the normie vibes coming off the whole account. Wait a second, where’s Takei?

“I’d think you were a super normie. But in a nice way, not an obnoxious way.”

“Right? That’s what I’m talking about. And good work noticing the niceness; that shows you’ve grown.”

“Oh yeah…?”

I was torn between basking in her praise and being annoyed that she called herself nice, which left me without much to say.

“Anyway, using social media and posting snapshots of your life is an opportunity to show off your position to people who look at the page.”

“Sh-show off?”

“Some people in class still don’t pay any attention to you, right? If they see, like, ‘Hey Tomozaki’s having fun with Nakamura’s group,’ you can manipulate your position in class.”

I gave a hollow laugh at her calculated approach. “You are a force to be reckoned with.”

She was asking me to make a strategic move after scrutinizing how other people saw me. Was that why she was on social media herself?

“I saw some pictures of Mimimi and Nakamura on there…”

“Yeah. I always make sure to get their permission first, but they don’t really mind.”

“Oh, okay…”

Given that I’d been online constantly since early elementary school, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with having pictures of my face posted on the Net…but I guess normies didn’t care? Maybe that attitude is old-fashioned now.

“So do you get my point? You’re going to use social media to convince the classmates who think you just occasionally drop in on Nakamura’s group that you’re really a part of it. Solidifying your class image is the goal of this assignment.”

“So basically…strengthening my foundation?”

“Mm-hmm. As long as a certain someone keeps stalling on the romance front, that’s about all we can do, isn’t it?”

“S-sorry…”

I can never let my guard down with her; she hits me with those comments when I least expect it. And they sting extra because I’m not ready for them. Ouch.

“Anyway, I want you to create an Instagram and take the pictures I tell you to take every day.”

I thought for a second. “And they’ll be normie-ish pictures?”

“Yeah. But that’s too broad, sooo…” She grinned. “…During the coming week, while you’re deciding on your love interests, I’m giving you a seven-item photo quest.”

“A photo quest…”

Again, straight out of a video game…

“Every day, I want you to choose one of the seven assigned photos to shoot and show to me. You’ll do that for a week until you’ve got them all.”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding…”

Embarrassingly enough, I was actually excited about this. Such is the nature of a gamer.

“I’ll send you the assignments now. Wait a minute.”

She started briskly typing something into her phone, and I could tell she was really enjoying herself. Man, I bet this is gonna be a tough one.

After a couple of minutes, my phone vibrated.

“I sent you them on LINE.”

“Oh, okay.”

I opened the chat window and read the following message:

“Wait a second now…”

“Piece of cake, right?” Hinami was smiling happily, but all I could see on her face were the words Resistance is futile.

“Uh, y-yeah, sure…” I crumbled instantly.

She nodded, still smiling.

“But I noticed you said seven photos, not five this week…”

“That’s right.”

“Meaning you want me to work on the weekend…”

“Of course.” A huge grin still covered her face.

“Whew…okay!”

I couldn’t help sighing, but I still switched to a peppy response midsigh. For nanashi, a man of his word, there was nothing for it but to complete the assignment.

Earlier, she’d talked about resting and taking time to think, but this week was shaping up to be super busy, thanks to her.

* * *

So there I was, standing in front of the library in a daze.

One of the seven photos in my quest was a shot of me with Kikuchi-san. I hadn’t noticed at first, because some of the other assignments were more striking, but when I thought about it, this was the only one that required me to take a picture with one other person. This was gonna be tough.

That’s why I was standing nervously in front of the library.

If I was going to get this shot, the ideal time would be to stop by the library before changing classes. I could have started with one of the others, but I figured I should go for the tough one while I had the chance.

Plus, I’d been wanting to have a good conversation with Kikuchi-san ever since the conclusion of the Tama-chan incident.

I slowly pushed open the door. A gust of healing air gently caressed my face; negative ions and plasmaclusters or whatever had nothing on this. Kikuchi-san’s healing powers lay beyond the realm of both science and the occult.

She was enshrined delicately in her usual spot.

I slowly approached. When she noticed me, she gave me a gentle smile that embodied love itself, perfecting the scene inside the library.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

We greeted each other at almost the same time, and I sat down next to her. I was able to do that totally naturally now, since I’d stopped worrying so much about how close or far from her I should sit. But today, I was super nervous.

“It’s so good that things have settled down a bit, don’t you think?” she said succinctly. By “things,” she definitely meant the Tama-chan situation.

“…Yeah.”

This was the first time we’d really talked since then. She’d helped out a lot, and I still hadn’t thanked her.

“Hanabi-chan was amazing.” She smiled faintly, like morning sunlight melting the snow.

“Yeah, she was.” I returned her smile.

She nodded, like morning dew dropping from a leaf. “She had so many barriers in front of her, but she just flew over them,” she said warmly. “I think Hanabi-chan always had the strength, but she didn’t know how to use her wings.”

What a very Kikuchi-san-like metaphor. It made sense, though.

Tama-chan had changed her surface-level behaviors and laid the groundwork to get the class to accept her character. But beneath it all, the underlying foundation was made from the strength she always had.

And that’s the dream, isn’t it? To be accepted without changing who you are at heart.

“Yeah…and because she was so strong, once she learned to fly, I think she became completely free.”

Kikuchi-san smiled happily at my continuation of her metaphor. “…Exactly.”

I smiled back at her. “Thank you again for all your help… It really meant a lot.”

She shook her head slowly. “No, it was nothing. If you ever need anything in the future, I’d be happy to help.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“…Although, there’s not much I can do.”

“That’s not true.” I contradicted her modesty with as much sincerity as I could. I mean, she really had saved us.

Tama-chan’s heart had been shut tight to the world, and there was no question that Kikuchi-san’s words played a big role in opening it up.

“Just hearing you talk about your perspective opened her eyes to a lot of things,” I said.

“…Did it, really?”

“It did! That’s why I know I can count on you in the future.”

She nodded slightly as a blush crept up her face, then she looked up at me. “All right… Let me know whatever you need.”

The gentle, gradient shades of her white skin, faintly flushed cheeks, and mysteriously tinted eyes enchanted me like the northern lights, touching my retinas with a whole rainbow of colors. My brain, unable to process her overwhelming beauty, flickered like an old TV as my heart thumped wildly.

“O-okay… Thanks. I will.”

“O-okay.”

We both fell silent, and time ticked awkwardly on. The books around us seemed to grow a little warmer under this restless, yet gentle and comfortable atmosphere.

“…But…”

“Huh?”

Kikuchi-san’s expression as she broke the silence was strangely solemn.

“I wish I knew what Hinami-san was thinking that day,” she said.

“…Uh-huh.”

“Something about it seemed so wrong…”

She was talking about Hinami’s showdown with Konno. To most of our classmates, Hinami had probably looked like the perfect heroine. Her performance was almost flawless.

“Wrong…?”

But her cunning still showed through, just a little.

She hadn’t been able to fully hide the cunning of the demon queen.

Mizusawa had sensed it, and so had Tama-chan. And apparently, Kikuchi-san, too, given she’d been interested in Hinami’s motivations the whole time.

“I don’t know how much of that Hinami planned out, or what she was trying to do. I’m not even sure if it’s all right to ask you about it.”

“…Uh-huh.”

As someone who knew the truth, I was grateful she wasn’t taking this anywhere more specific.

I didn’t want to lie or hide anything if she asked me a question.

“But—if what I think is right…,” she said, getting deeper into the topic. “Then the question that bothers me is why she decided to go that far.”

“…Yeah, I know what you mean.” I wondered the same thing.

Why on Earth didn’t she stop when she’d won?

“I think she just couldn’t accept something about that situation.”

“…Maybe so.”

I was impressed by how close Kikuchi-san was to the truth.

Hinami had said the exact same thing that morning.

“…There are some things even I can’t accept.”

Kikuchi-san really did seem to be able to see things no one else could.

“When people get angry, I think it’s usually because the situation isn’t what they think it ought to be. On that day, the situation had diverged so far, she simply couldn’t bear to leave as it was.”

“The way they think things should be…”

“Yes.” She nodded.

I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t say for sure one way or another.

Still, if I was to borrow Kikuchi-san’s words, I think I could call what she was describing Hinami’s “ideal.”

“I wonder what that is for her.” I could only answer in the vaguest terms.

“So you don’t know, either…”

“…No.”

I didn’t.

I felt close to Hinami sometimes, but in fact—I knew nothing about her.

That was exactly why I said what I did in front of the shoe cabinet that day.

When Mizusawa asked me what I thought of Hinami, I’d answered like this:

“I think I want to see who she really is.”

“Oh right…” Kikuchi-san seemed to have remembered something.

“What?”

“If you don’t mind, there’s something I want you to see…”

“Really?”

She touched her finger to her cheek shyly, looking away. “I…wrote a new book. I thought…” The words trailed off, fading like sound in a dense forest. But that only made them all the more mysterious, and the unspoken request reached my heart like an enchantment.

“Oh yeah, I’d love to.”

“Th-thank you…,” she said in a barely audible voice, her face flushed bright red. I wondered a little why she’d suddenly remembered at that exact point in time, but when she gave me that look, my brain basically stopped working.

“W-well, next time…I’ll bring it.”

“O-okay.”

“Okay, bye!”

She bowed deeply and then disappeared out through the library door. The image of her receding into the distance was even prettier than usual, but I was in too much of a daze to file it away in my memory. I’d completely failed at my photo quest. No—that holy atmosphere made it impossible. If I took a photo in there, I bet it would come out filled with fairies and elves.

* * *

After school, I met with Hinami and explained that I hadn’t taken my photo for the day. She brushed it off casually. “Sounds like you didn’t really have a chance to get out your phone.”

When I thought about it, I realized that aside from the shot of me and Kikuchi-san, I’d probably have to get all the others after school or on the weekend. Most of them had to be taken while I was hanging out with someone.

Hinami said it would be fine to take them after school and then show them to her the following morning.

With that in mind, I finished the meeting in a hurry and rushed back to the classroom. I had to figure out a way to walk to the station with Nakamura’s group and stop somewhere on the way.

When I got to the classroom, they were still talking by the back windows. Close call. If they’d already left, today’s mission would almost certainly have failed. Starting the next day, it would probably be a good idea to skip the after-school meetings if I could.

“Hey.”

I walked casually toward them, making a conscious effort to look like I belonged. The three of them returned my greeting without any real reaction, accepting me into their circle like it was the most normal thing in the world. It was a little thing, but I couldn’t help feeling happy about it.

Suddenly, I noticed something.

“So…you guys don’t have practice today?” I asked as naturally as I could.

Mizusawa didn’t belong to any sports teams as far as I knew, but I was pretty sure Nakamura and Takei both played soccer.

“Yeah, I quit after the rookie match the other day,” Nakamura answered gruffly.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded, and Mizusawa stepped in to explain.

“Some of the guys said they’ll be playing till the end of the year, but since it looks like the team won’t make it to the prefectural playoffs, most of them are quitting now.”

“We’re supposed to focus on test prep, so we can’t play in any tournaments next year!!” Takei sounded extremely disappointed about that.

“Huh,” I said, then realized something else. “…So what about Hinami?” She was still attending morning track practice, and I think she was going after school, too.

Nakamura waved his hand dismissively. “She’s her own thing. She went to the big interscholastic meet this year, and I bet she’ll keep going to meets next year, too,” he said.

“Yeah, everyone thinks she’ll win some medals.”

“O-oh…”

When you take an objective look at Hinami, it’s honestly hard to believe she’s real. She even gets special treatment at school. Well, I guess if she does well at track, it’s a good advertisement for attracting new kids to the team.

The four of us picked up our bags and exchanged casual glances.

“Let’s get going,” Nakamura said, and we left the classroom. They were acting like I was a regular member of the group, and it made me nervous.

* * *

I was starting to get really anxious now.

On the way to the station, I’d been planning to find a good moment to stop somewhere and nab the shot of me with Nakamura and Takei, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

Because…

…we’d just walked by the arcade the four of us often went to hang out at.

There was a diner near there, too, and a couple of other places, but we’d passed every single one of them. The only thing left ahead of us was the station. In other words, if I didn’t do something, we’d all just go home.

But actually, it made sense. It wasn’t like we stopped somewhere every time we walked to the station together. Before I steered us toward taking a picture, someone needed to suggest we go somewhere.

But that didn’t seem likely to happen. And that meant I’d have to do it myself. Ah, I get it now, Hinami. This was actually an all-around training assignment.

I took a deep breath. “You guys wanna stop by the arcade?”

I’d never made a casual invitation like that before. It was embarrassing, and surprisingly nerve-racking.

“I’m too burned-out today,” Nakamura said, like that settled the matter. Seriously? That happens? I was shocked. Since I’d never invited them to hang out before, I didn’t account for this possibility.

But what to do about it? If we went home now, I wouldn’t be able to complete the day’s assignment. I had to hold my ground somehow.

“Come on, let’s just go!”

“…Huh? What’s with you today?” Nakamura looked at me suspiciously. I’d never even made a suggestion before, and now I was being weirdly persistent about it.

But as a gamer, the key thing right now was to do everything I could to complete the assignment given to me. That meant I had to negotiate. Mizusawa and Takei weren’t saying anything, so if I could just manage to convince Nakamura, we’d probably all end up going.

So if I used the fact that Nakamura hated to lose…

“What, you scared of losing to me again?” I said theatrically. There, that should get a reaction out of him.

“…Dude, come on.”

But Nakamura just looked at me pityingly, like this whole conversation was a waste of his time. Huh? It didn’t work? I felt like I was running in circles—like my feet were sliding out from under me.

“I—I did beat you at Dogfight 4…”

“I know that…”

My desperate attempt to explain myself was in vain. Nakamura was still giving me that weird look. Shit, I messed that one up. Now everything was weird. How stupid of me to take on a normie superboss in conversational combat. Trying out new stuff always has risks.

“Heh-heh, you really are funny.”

Now Mizusawa was teasing me, too. Damn it. Why was this happening?

Nakamura gave me a confused look. Then he sighed. “Whatever. If you want to go that bad, then fine.”

“Satisfied, Fumiya?”

“Whoo-hoo, let’s go!”

“…Uh, okay…”

So they ended up going to the game center with me out of pity. Well, all’s well that ends well, so I’ll take that as a win.

* * *

The four of us were inside the arcade, playing a music game I’d just started practicing.

“Ouch…”

“Man…”

Nakamura and I were in 1v1 mode, and the battle was intense.

Nakamura had said he was “pretty badass” at the game, so I had assumed I might lose, but after practicing once a week or so, I was giving him a run for his money. It was probably because gamers and nongamers don’t always use the same words to mean the same thing. To me, just started practicing meant I’d been working on it for about two months, but that probably came across differently to Nakamura. Meanwhile, he’d started showing up on the ranking lists at the game center, but he was still weak. In my book, badass was a term reserved for the best players in Japan.

“Yesss!”

In the end, I beat him by the skin of my teeth.

“Shit!” Nakamura said, standing up and taking a swig of soda. For someone who didn’t want to go to the game center in the first place, he sure was getting into this.

“Hey,” Mizusawa said casually. “Wanna take a break?”

Nakamura clicked his tongue in annoyance. Yikes.

“Ha-ha-ha. So, Shuji, thoughts on the school festival?” Mizusawa asked.

Nakamura frowned. “Huh?”

“The organizing committee and stuff.”

“Oh.”

“You’re gonna do it, right?!”

Nakamura sounded like he couldn’t care less, Mizusawa was as cool and collected as usual, and only Takei was super excited—or so I thought.

Nakamura grinned and scratched his neck. “Do I have a choice?”

“Not really, huh?”

Mizusawa and Nakamura nodded at each other. Hmm. That was surprising.

Apparently, all three of them were into it, actually.

Mizusawa looked at me. “What about you, Fumiya? You’re joining too, right?”

“Huh?”

“The committee. You in?”

“Uh, o-okay.”

I nodded, swept away by the momentum. That was pure Mizusawa—his way of speaking seemed so casual but was actually quite aggressive. Well, I didn’t have any reason not to run for the organizing committee other than fear, and I had a feeling Hinami was going to tell me to do it anyway.

“Wonder which girls are gonna run!” Takei said eagerly.

After thinking for a few seconds, Mizusawa said, “Erika and her crew will probably ignore the festival completely, so I’m guessing Mimimi and her friends?”

Nakamura nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

Huh. So normies had different stances toward the festival depending on their group. I’d noticed the same thing with the sports tournament. Some, like Nakamura’s and Hinami’s groups, got really involved, while others, like Konno’s group, avoided it completely.

Nakamura sat down next to me again. “Okay, Tomozaki, one more game.”

“Good. I’ve been waiting,” I said cheerfully. By this time, Nakamura was able to put up a real fight, so playing him was fairly fun. Damn, I was getting so caught up in this that I almost forgot about taking the picture. I had to start strategizing.

But instead, I got lost in the game again, pushing the five buttons in time with the rhythm of the music.

If I knew this was going to happen, I would have practiced more. Honestly, I’d just gotten in a few rounds here and there between other games. I was hardly at a level I could feel proud of.

Nakamura won that match.

“Got ’em! ”

He was obviously pleased with himself.

Shit, that sucked. I wanted to play another round. I’d crush him next time for sure… Uh, wait a second. Is this my chance? Since he was in a good mood, he was probably more likely to say yes if I asked for a photo. Maybe I’d lost the battle to win the war. When you lack the skill to make the moment, you’ve gotta seize the opportunity when it comes. I couldn’t let it slip by.

With those thoughts in mind, I turned to Nakamura. “Hey, wanna take a picture to celebrate?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, that was a great game. And…I was thinking of starting an Instagram?”

In the middle of my explanation, I realized it made no sense, so I scrambled to come up with something more convincing.

“No way, Tomozaki’s got an Insta?”

“Uh, um, yeah.”

“Yeah. Whatever, fine.” He seemed slightly suspicious, but at least he said yes. Now I just had to get Takei in with us, but I had a feeling…

“Takei, wanna get in the picture?”

“For sure!!”

…Yeah, that wasn’t hard at all.

I opened up the camera app, which I’d learned how to use when I got the assignment, and took the shot.

“Okay!”

Beaming happily, I put my phone away. Assignment complete.

But for some reason, Mizusawa was giving me a confused look. I made eye contact, and he smiled cynically.

“Most people don’t want to take a photo in front of the results screen after they lost…”

I glanced behind me and saw “YOU LOSE” in huge letters on the screen. No way, I just took a picture with that behind us?

I checked the photo on my phone.

“…No, it’s fine.”

“What’s fine?” Mizusawa said, unconvinced. I showed him the photo.

“You can’t read the words, so it’s all good.”

The picture pulled up on the screen was so blurry, you couldn’t even tell what the words said. Behold, my nonnormie photography skills. Guess I lost that round.

“Oh. Okay.”

Mizusawa gave me a pitying look. Figures. Our faces were totally blurred, too. Hopefully, a certain someone would be understanding…

* * *

The next day was Wednesday. When I showed Hinami the picture at our morning meeting, her reaction was…mixed, shall we say?

“This is really blurry…”

“…Yeah, I know…”

Of course she would point that out. As I searched for the right words, she sighed.

“Well, you technically passed the assignment…but I never guessed I’d be critiquing your photography skills…or lack thereof.”

“Uh, is it really that bad?”

She nodded. “I mean, I told you yesterday—you’re taking these photos to post on Instagram. Even if people can see you’re with Nakamura and Takei, is this really something you want to show them?”

“Um, I guess not…”

I’d figured taking the picture was the important part, like in Pokémon Snap or something, but as Hinami pointed out, I was going to show these to people. Just taking any old photo wasn’t enough.

“It’s fine to have one or two crappy pictures, though, since only people you know will be able to see it. Just be more careful from here on out.”

“O-okay…,” I said dejectedly.

Hinami briskly moved onto the next subject. “Okay, then why don’t we get it started right now?”

“Get what started?”

“Can’t you guess?”

She tapped her phone with her fingernail. Oh right. The photo was supposed to go on Instagram.

“You mean my account?”

Hinami replied by showing me her phone. A note with the word “Hexactly” was displayed on the screen.

“Wow, you’re really dedicated to your catchphrase.”

Here at last, a silent Hexactly.

“Just go ahead and create a normal account,” she said, ignoring my joke. What was with her?

“…Um, is there anything I need to be careful of? Like my username or account name or profile pic?”

Hinami nodded. “Well, you should probably give a little thought to the profile, but for now, you can just use that blurry shot of the three of you.”

“I-is it okay to use a bad picture?”

“People will still be able to tell who everyone is. The blurriness might work nicely for a pfp, and it’s not like you have any other photos, right?”

“Um, no…”

Photos of me looking happy basically didn’t exist, aside from maybe a couple that Takei took on the overnight trip.

“Well, if you make that your pfp and use it as your first post, I’ll consider the first assignment of your photo quest complete.”

“Okay, I’ll do it right now.” I downloaded the Instagram app and created an account.

“While you’re doing that, I’m gonna tell you something.”

“What’s up?”

“I’ve got a new assignment for you that you can only do now,” she said very casually. “Think you can handle both at once?”

“Uh…what?”

I looked up. She was staring at me with an expression that said, Isn’t it obvious?

“What?” she said.

“N-nothing, I just thought I was supposed to be taking time to examine my feelings this week.”

Instead, I felt like I was about to collapse under the weight of all these assignments.

She nodded, drawing her eyebrows together. “That’s true, but preparation for the school festival is about to start. It only happens once a year, and it’s your best chance to deepen your relationships with the other people involved. It may be challenging, but you can’t let this opportunity pass you by.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…”

After all, school festival had a strong association with normie. I had no idea how exactly it was going to help me make friends, but it was such a classic event that I couldn’t help agreeing that it had to be a good opportunity.

I had a feeling I knew what the extra assignment was.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Today, during long homeroom, we’ll probably choose the organizing-committee members. I want you to volunteer.”

“That’s what I thought…” I smirked before continuing. “I was planning on doing that anyway.”

Hinami blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Um, yesterday, when I was with Nakamura and the guys, we all decided to run for the committee.”

“…Wow.” She nodded, looking impressed. “You’ve grown a lot if you’re already diving in headfirst.”

“Uh, thanks.”

Her straightforward compliment made me a little bashful.

“Of course, this is you we’re talking about. I’m sure you were just trying to fit in.”

“Oof…”

Then she followed it up with a direct hit. Alas, Hinami-san, you are correct.

“Well, that’s fine. As long as you don’t bail.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“From what I can tell of the current class mood, I’m guessing all the other candidates will be normies. You’ll be able to collect some EXP, and everyone will see you blending in with these normies. That’s important.”

“Kind of like the social media thing…”

“Correct.” Hinami grinned. “Running for the committee should make your photo quest easier, too. If you’re spending more time together with the relevant parties, you’ll have more chances to get your shots.”

“…So you think Mimimi and Izumi will run, too?”

That would definitely fit with their past behavior…but Mizusawa had said Konno’s group probably weren’t interested in the festival, which made me less sure about Izumi. Of course, none of that changed the fact that Hinami was making me volunteer.

“Yes. So your new assignment is to run for the committee and, once you’re on it, to play an active part in the festival, push your ideas through, and let everyone know you’re there.”

“That sure is a vague assignment.”

Hinami nodded. “If I got any more specific, you’d end up with too many miniassignments. Pointing you in the general right direction is perfect for this.”

“Well, thanks for the slack, I guess.”

Maybe the lack of detail also had to do with the fact that I’d already agreed to run for the committee with Nakamura’s group.

Hinami frowned. “Slack? Not exactly. If you slack because the assignment is abstract, you’ll fail. You need to be as proactive and involved as possible in all kinds of different situations.”

“As proactive as possible…?”

She’d suddenly raised the bar way higher. Damn, I shouldn’t have used that word. Should have let sleeping dogs lie…

“Um, okay…,” I said dejectedly.

Hinami gave a satisfied smile. Goddammit. I think she might be increasing the difficulty level of these assignments until she sees me acting depressed. Better watch out for that next time.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Make sure you give everyone your Instagram info.”

“I guess if I’m taking the trouble to make it…”

I was nervous people would think I was getting full of myself, but I guess these days, everyone is on social media, so it’s no big deal. Plus, I’d already mentioned it to Nakamura’s gang.

“All right, keep your nose to the grindstone.”

“So even you’re admitting it’s a grind…”

And so another assignment-packed day began.

* * *

In the morning, I shared my Instagram account with Nakamura, Mizusawa, and Takei, and then in the afternoon, we had long homeroom.

“Okay, everyone, like I told you before, we’re going to put together the organizing committee for the school festival today.”

It had begun. The selection of committee members—and my second assignment.

Kawamura-sensei stood in front of the podium, looking out at the class. “Ideally, we’ll want a few girls and a few guys. Let’s start with the guys. Anyone want to volunteer?”

“Me!!”

To no one’s surprise, Takei shot his hand into the air as if by reflex. The class snickered. He brought peace wherever he went. He was a maestro, in a way.

But now I had to volunteer, too. Better do it before anyone else did, if I had to do it either way.

I also thought it would be a little sketchy to raise my hand after Nakamura and Mizusawa, so I glanced around and timidly raised my hand. Nakamura and Mizusawa raised theirs at about the same time. All eyes were on us. I wondered what everyone was thinking about me right then.

“Okay, so we’ve got Takei, Tomozaki, Nakamura, and Mizusawa.”

“Yeah!!” Takei whooped.

Mission successful, I guess?

“Shut up, Takei,” Nakamura shot back with withering annoyance. Everyone snickered again. Amazing how they got a positive response from such a tiny exchange. Guess they saw it as a little in-joke between the members of the top-tier group.

“Is that it for the boys? Anyone else interested?”

No one else raised their hand. It would take quite a bit of courage to jump into the middle of a group of four who had obviously decided beforehand to volunteer together. Although, with a loser like me in the group, they really didn’t have to be intimidated.

“All right, then these four it is,” Kawamura-sensei said, writing our names on the blackboard. “And now the girls. Any volunte—?”

“Me, me!”

Mimimi, the self-appointed class cheerleader, excitedly raised her hand before Kawamura-sensei even finished talking. That was fairly predictable, too. Her shtick is kinda similar to Takei’s. Does that bother her, I wonder…?

“Ha-ha-ha. Nanami is our first candidate. Who else?”

“Tama!! Run the festival with me!!” Mimimi stretched out her hands toward Tama-chan, who looked back at her as seriously as ever.

“Nah. I don’t want to.”

The whole class giggled at her cut-and-dried answer.

“What? Aww, you’re so mean, Tama!”

The laughter grew with Mimimi’s heartbroken theatrics.

I had huge admiration for Mimimi’s ability to make everything bright and cheerful—but I also noticed that something about their exchange was very different from before.

The timing of the laughter.

In the past, when Mimimi and Tama did their routine, it was always Mimimi who got everyone laughing.

Or to put it more accurately, Mimimi would notice that Tama-chan’s directness was making things awkward, then step in and rescue her by making it part of a joke. That was how it worked.

But this time, it was different.

Everyone started giggling as soon as Tama-chan said, “Nah.” They didn’t need Mimimi’s comeback.

This little exchange was a quiet reminder that Tama-chan really had found a place in the class, as herself.

“Too bad, Nanami. Anyone else?”

“Aoi!” Mimimi tearfully sought Hinami’s help.

Hinami put on a blank face. “Nah. I don’t want to, either,” she said in a near-perfect imitation of Tama-chan.

Everyone lost it.

Classic Hinami. Her joke was so simple, even I could have guessed it would get a laugh. She was quick.

“Hey! Once was enough to break my heart, geez!”

Now the class was really laughing. Mimimi had set off a triple-jump routine to get everyone in a good mood. So that was how good communicators played off each other. They left me in the dust.

“Ah-ha-ha. But seriously, I have a lot of work as student council president.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Mimimi gave in supportively.

“Very true. She’s not allowed to do both jobs at once. So anyone else?”

As Kawamura-sensei looked around the class, a sporty girl who was friends with Mimimi raised her hand.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks, Yuki!”

“Me too!”

With that, two of her friends had volunteered for the committee. Mimimi was genuinely popular.

“Um…me too!”

Just then, Izumi raised her hand a little bit hesitantly, as if she’d made up her mind to do something hard. So she did end up volunteering.

I hadn’t expected her to get very involved since Konno wasn’t interested in the festival…but now I wasn’t sure.

I looked over at Konno. She was sitting with her cheek in her hand, letting everyone know she was completely unmoved by the fact that Izumi had volunteered. Man, was she scary. As the only member of that clique to have raised her hand, I was sure Izumi must be thinking something right now. She said during the sports tournament that she was the type who really gets into these events, and I guess it was true this time, too. Or maybe she volunteered because Nakamura was on the committee?

“Great, so we have four girls. Is that it?”

No one else raised their hand.

“I’m writing these names down, then.”

Well, that was quick and painless.

On the guy’s side, we had the normie trio of Nakamura, Mizusawa, and Takei, plus me, a frequent add-on to the group who was slowly integrating. From the outside, I probably looked out of place, but I didn’t actually feel that uncomfortable.

On the girl’s side, there was Mimimi and two girls from a group she was friendly with, plus Izumi. Even though Mimimi and Izumi belonged to different main groups, they got along, and the four of them were appropriately normie-ish.

The overall impression was definitely a bunch of normies plus me, but I didn’t think it would be that difficult to navigate among the individual members. And if this was my mindset, my position must have improved somewhat. Well, the people Hinami had told me to make friends with were all standout members of the class. Blending in with them meant I’d look like a pseudonormie myself. And honestly, I was happy about that.

“Okay, then it’s decided. I’m counting on you guys,” Kawamura-sensei said flatly, turning to us. Mimimi and Takei looked at each other.

“Leave it…”

“…To us!”

They both punched their fists toward the ceiling. They were really in tune. With these two involved, I bet we’re all gonna get really into this. Wonder if I’ll be able to keep up…

* * *

The eight of us newly selected committee members were standing in front of the blackboard.

As soon as the committee was decided, we had segued right into making decisions for the festival, so we were asking for input from the class.

Meaning I had to stand up there in front of everyone, actively talking and pushing through my opinions. I’d had an assignment on that last part before, but doing it in front of everyone was different.

According to Kawamura-sensei, the festival was basically going to be the same as last year—class booths, programs by the organizing committee and by after-school clubs, skits by volunteers, stuff like that. But since I didn’t remember anything from last year, it was all brand-new to me.

“Okay, everyone, let’s start by deciding on our class booth!”

Mimimi planted both her hands on the podium and leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. You could tell from her expression that she was genuinely looking forward to this thing. And from how eager she was to take charge. It’s nice how easy she is to read.

So we were starting with the class booth. It was going to be tough to push through an opinion on this one, but I had to try. At least I’d been thinking about my strategy ever since Hinami gave me the assignment in the morning. What kind of ideas had the highest chance of being accepted? How should I defend them? Since it wasn’t likely anyone else had given that much serious thought to this, just coming in with a solid plan should give me a definite advantage. Bring it on.

“Does anyone have an idea?” Mimimi asked.

A smattering of hands went up.

“A haunted house!”

“A takoyaki stall!”

“How about a shooting range or a ring toss?”

“A treasure hunt!”

“I want to do a café!”

“A batting cage!”

One of the girls from Mimimi’s group wrote down the list of typical school-festival-booth ideas on the blackboard. Every time a student suggested something, Takei let us know what he thought of it (“Great idea!” or “Huh, really?”). Even though he had no special right to finalize the decision, the ones he didn’t approve of somehow seemed less likely to succeed. Behold, the simple power of a loud voice.

Everyone was getting really excited, and kids were pulling out their phones to look up ideas for booths. Interesting. The school festival seemed to bring out a normie-ish level of enthusiasm in everyone.

Now the question was, how should I act in this kind of mood? What should I do to make sure my idea was chosen?

I weighed what I could and couldn’t do, then made up my mind.

I turned to Mimimi, who was pretty much leading the discussion.

“We’ve got a lot of ideas, so now maybe we should ask everyone to give more details about what they want to do.”

“What kind of details?”

Since Mimimi had responded to me, most of the class was now at least partially listening to our conversation. This was probably the best way to get my idea across to the maximum number of people. Ideally, I would have faced the class and said the same thing in a loud voice, but that was just too hard for me.

Still, all the attention was more stressful than I’d expected. I felt my breathing getting shallower and my brain slowing to a crawl. What was wrong with me?

“Um, I mean, if someone wants to do a haunted house, what’s their concept? If they want to do a café, what kind of food do they want to serve?”

I tried to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at me and speak to Mimimi as naturally as possible. But since my goal was for everyone to hear me, I also had to talk a little louder than normal.

“Oh, I get it! Those kinds of details!”

“Yeah.” The aim of my suggestion was both to make voting easier and to steer the conversation toward the plan I’d come up with.

As we were talking, Mizusawa smoothly joined in. “Good idea; let’s do that. Okay, guys, tell us what kind of haunted house you want to do, or whatever,” he asked the class.

He didn’t sound stressed-out at all. That mysterious casualness was his hallmark. He always seemed so at ease. I think that was the secret to popularity that Hinami had told me about.

“If we do a haunted house, I want to make it like the one at Fuji-Q Highland!”

“Uh, is that even possible?”

“That place is supposed to be terrifying.”

“Wouldn’t we have to use sounds and stuff?”

The discussion was picking up now.

“If we do a takoyaki stall, couldn’t we do minicakes, too?”

“We could use pancake mix…”

The ideas were coming into focus, so it was time for me to add mine to the mix.

“Actually, I have an idea, too…”

“Oh, cool. What is it?” Mizusawa asked.

Once again, since we were semi-authority figures up at the front, even a tiny exchange drew all eyes. Wow, I am getting major EXP right now.

Despite my insane levels of anxiety, I decided to go ahead and suggest the idea I’d been considering since this morning. I had a lot of faith in it, as I’d given it a fair amount of thought.

“Um, if we do a café…what if we had a bunch of manga there that people could read, like a manga café?”

There was a short pause, and then Mizusawa laughed a little. “…Huh. That’s pretty good.”

Some of my tension drained away, and I felt relaxed enough to get a little cocky. “I know, right?”

“So everyone could donate manga they had lying around?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

As I talked with Mizusawa, the details started coming into focus. Everyone could hear us, and since they were already warmed up from the discussion earlier, some people started chiming in enthusiastically. “I’ll bring Kingdom!” someone said.

Nice. My idea was striking a chord.

It didn’t get a lot of points for originality, but it was designed to influence a big group.

People would not only be able to bring their own manga, but they could read whichever other ones they wanted, so a big portion of the class latched onto the idea. On top of that, I’d only added a single element to the typical school-festival café booth, which should make it easier to win over our teacher. She didn’t have any real grounds to veto the idea, and she wasn’t really the type who would, so we didn’t experience any opposition from her.

In other words, I was showing how my idea was the best for all involved and persuading the most powerful person present. It was a simplified version of what I’d done when Mimimi ran for student council president. It’s a gaming basic—figure out your core strategy and re-create it whenever necessary.

“That’s great! Anyone have any other ideas?” Mimimi asked the class.

A few more people gave their suggestions. Everyone seemed to be having fun. It was probably like this last year, too, but I didn’t remember. I was completely uninvolved with any of it.

Once we’d talked through all the ideas, we transitioned into voting.

“Okay, guys, time to make a decision!” Mimimi announced enthusiastically. “Who wants the haunted house?”

A few hands went up.

“One, two, three…”

Izumi, who was standing next to Mimimi, earnestly counted them up. She was so sincere about everything, even tallying votes—I think you could say it was her defining characteristic. Her eyebrows were even scrunched together.

“Five votes! Okay, next…”

The class voted for one idea after the other, and the results were written on the blackboard. So far, the takoyaki stall had gotten the most, with eleven votes. I think the popularity was thanks to the normie-ish idea of using pancake mix to make a sweet version to sell alongside the savory octopus balls. Either way, that would be my main rival.

“…Okay! Next is the café! The manga café, that is!”

Finally, it was time to vote on my proposal. The response had been fairly positive, but how would it turn out?

Some hands went up. From a quick glance, my idea seemed to be giving the takoyaki stall a run for its money.

“Um…” Izumi carefully counted the hands. “Fourteen!” she announced, holding up four fingers.

“Okay! And since the takoyaki stall got eleven votes…” Mimimi drew a big circle around the words Manga Café written on the blackboard. “That means the manga café wins!”

A soft round of applause spread through the class.

“Hear that, Fumiya?”

“Uh-huh.”

Mizusawa congratulated me casually on my victory. He was so good at that kind of thing.

But wow, that happened quickly. My main assignment was still the after-school photo quest, which made this more of a subquest, but that didn’t change the fact that I had pulled this one off easily. I guess my overall level really was going up, even when it came to little things like this. I mean, when you’re the type of guy who skips out on the culture festival to play Atafami at home, people don’t usually choose your idea for the class booth.

As I stood there quietly reflecting on my own growth, I saw Kawamura-sensei stand up out of the corner of my eye.

“…Well, this booth is definitely in the gray zone. If you’re going to do it, I want you to be careful it doesn’t become a problem. You especially, Tomozaki, since you’re the one who suggested it.”

“Uh, um, of course!”

I guess this was my payback for being slightly devious in how I got the teacher’s approval. Yeah, grown-ups aren’t that dumb. Mizusawa cackled at me.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me!” I joked.

“What? I’m not laughing at you.”

“Uh, I think you are.”

Mizusawa wasn’t a normie to me anymore—he was just Mizusawa, which was why I felt comfortable joking around with him.

After that, the class got noisy, and everyone started chatting about the festival with the people sitting near them.

That’s when something unexpected happened.

“I’m sorry, Tomozaki-kun,” said one of Mimimi’s friends. I think her name was Kashiwazaki-san?

She had straight brown hair and an animated personality. She wore makeup and stuff, too, so I got major normie vibes. What was going on? Why was she talking to me all of a sudden?

I was surprised, but I held on to my training as I scrambled for the right reply. Her apology didn’t really make sense, since we’d decided by majority vote…

“Um…if you’re apologizing, then everyone who raised their hand is guilty of the same crime…”

“Ah-ha-ha, good point.”

Kashiwazaki-san giggled and lightly pressed her fingers over her mouth. I wasn’t sure if my response had hit right, or if I just sounded like a typical nerd who was talking too fast about a bunch of stuff all at once. But she’d laughed a little, so I couldn’t have messed up too bad, right?

“Look at you, Fumiya, talking like a pro,” Mizusawa said.

“Th-thanks to you.”

“Oh, your first name is Fumiya?”

Kashiwazaki-san peered into my face. There it was—the mysterious normie disregard for personal space. But I was fine. She wasn’t half as bad as Mimimi and Izumi. Those two were special cases.

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“Ah-ha-ha. You guess?”

Yeah, that was a weird thing to say, and I deserved to be laughed at. But I made sure not to collapse like a wet noodle, standing up straight and sticking my chest out instead. I’d learned over the past six months that when my body was standing at attention, my mind was, too, and I had to take advantage of that when I was in trouble. It was like intentionally starting with a Kabuff in boss fights.

“The only person who ever calls me that is Mizusawa.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Yeah, I might be the only one,” Mizusawa said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, and he started talking to me out of the blue, too.”

So there I was, suddenly having a conversation with Kashiwazaki-san and Mizusawa. I’m still not exactly sure why it happened, but I guess it’s not that unusual for normies to chat with classmates they didn’t already know well. Actually, I’m the weird one for hardly ever doing that in the past.

Kashiwazaki-san was looking at me and Mizusawa with a curious expression.

“You two have been hanging out a lot lately, haven’t you?”

“You mean me and Mizusawa?”

I summoned all my confidence and made an intentional effort to take part in the conversation. If I got scared, Mizusawa would take over everything from saying yes or no to introducing new topics. My strategy was to join in a little more than I was comfortable with, which would actually end up as just the right amount. It was a new situation for me, and I wanted to take advantage of it by trying out some new things. Plus, everyone else was distracted by their own conversations, so we weren’t exactly the center of attention.

“Yeah! I thought it was a little strange!”

“Oh yeah, I guess,” I said, looking at Mizusawa. “When did we start hanging out? Right before summer vacation or something?”

“Sounds about right. I like weirdos, so you know…”

“Are you calling me a weirdo?”

“Ha-ha-ha.” Kashiwazaki-san listened to our conversation, smiling brightly. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever talked to you! Looking forward to working on the committee together!”

“Oh, uh-huh. Me too.”

Then Mizusawa just had to butt in. “Hey, by the way, Fumiya just got an Insta. You have one, too, right, Sakura?”

“Yeah!” said Kashiwazaki-san, whose first name was apparently Sakura. “What’s your username?” she asked me.

“Uh, um…”

I didn’t want to lose my footing, so I made an effort to turn my reply into a real sentence and exchanged account info with Kashiwazaki-san. Uh, aren’t we still in class? Are we gonna get in trouble for doing social media stuff?

“Wow, this photo sure is blurry!” Kashiwazaki-san peered at my profile photo, smiling.

“I wanted to start an account, but I suck at photography…,” I confessed.

She laughed. “Aww, no! You better practice.”

“Y-yeah, I will.”

With that, our conversation ended. Huh. I didn’t understand why, but I had a new follower on Instagram. Mostly thanks to Mizusawa. But why had she started talking to me all of a sudden? Nothing like that had ever happened to me before.

Kawamura-sensei coughed over the noisy chatter. “Okay, guys, it’s not break time. We need to talk about the program in the gym…”

Suddenly, everyone was focused on her. When you think about it, teachers are constantly the center of attention. My legs turn to jelly when people look at me for one second; adults live in an alternate universe. They’re amazing.

“Any class that wants to can perform something on the stage. Some classes do, and some don’t. What do you guys think?”

I thought back to last year. Now that she mentioned it, I vaguely remembered a bunch of classes did dances, comedy routines, plays, and stuff like that. Given it existed in my memory, the show must have taken place right after the opening ceremony or something. If it had been optional to watch, I wouldn’t have even known it existed.

“Hmm, a performance…,” Mimimi said thoughtfully and looked at us.

So apparently, we got to choose whether or not to do it. But not me. Since my assignment was to actively participate and push through my opinions, I probably was supposed to nudge everyone toward doing a performance. Man, I was acting like one of those people who just couldn’t get enough of the school festival.

I thought for a second and came up with the most efficient strategy.

“What do you think, Takei? Should we just do this thing? After all, it’s our last shot at it.”

“Of course we should do it!!” he shouted.

A tiny spark of enthusiasm on my part was enough to light his fire. Ah, Takei the human megaphone. He took my words and repeated them at full volume to the whole class. Everyone probably assumed it was his idea now, but I’d still said it first, so I figured I was safe in terms of my assignment.

“We might as well!”

“Yeah!”

Kashiwazaki-san and Mimimi’s other friend added their approval. Izumi was nodding, too. Being invested in the festival was quickly becoming the norm for what was “right.” Hinami gave me a nod as well. O-okay, bring it on.

“Everyone, are you okay with doing a performance? Anyone against it?” Mimimi asked the class.

No one spoke up. I mean, it would be really hard to raise your hand and say no by this point. Mimimi probably didn’t realize that, but it was practically decided already.

“Yeah, why not?” Nakamura said. He seemed to be on board, if not really following the conversation.

“Right?”

Mizusawa was in, too, and the general mood was coming together in favor of making the most of our last school festival. The top-tier Nakamura had given the final push, and the decision seemed set in stone. I wasn’t sure why Nakamura was excited about it, but in some ways, he tended to ride the wave, too.

Mimimi looked around the class and nodded to make it official. “That’s that, then! Kawamura-sensei! We’ll do it!”

Kawamura-sensei thought for a moment before answering. “In that case, I’d like you to decide what you’re doing…but since long homeroom is almost over, let’s tackle that part next time.”

“Okay! So we’ll do something, but we’re not sure what yet!” Mimimi said.

No one else said anything, so that concluded the meeting.

Kawamura-sensei nodded. “All right, I think that’s it for today’s discussion. I’ll go over the schedule now…”

The members of the committee went back to our seats to listen to her explanation.

There were a few twists and turns along the way, but I think I completed the general assignment. Doing stuff tends to create new situations, like that mysterious conversation with Kashiwazaki-san. All seemed good for the moment. The photo quest was turning out to be the harder of my two assignments…

* * *

After school that day, the committee members all met up in the small auditorium.

Apparently, four representatives from each class were going to gather in a big group to discuss the festival, and our team included Izumi, Mimimi, Takei, and me. We’d all volunteered for the role. Aside from me, they were all super into it and seemed right for the job. I volunteered because of my assignment. It’s not that I wasn’t excited, but let’s face it: I’m not cut out for this.

A tall, skinny teacher from another class made an announcement.

“Okay, let’s choose the committee chair. Any volunteers?”

Everyone looked at one another.

The chair, huh. Maybe the ideal would have been for me to volunteer, since my job was to be proactive, but that also seemed like a bridge too far. I didn’t have the skills to bring everyone together, and in the long term, it seemed like a bad idea to take on the name of chair without really doing the job.

I decided to lie low. Not even Hinami could give me grief for it.

For a few moments, everyone seemed to be waiting to see what would happen.

Then a hand shot into the air, and the teacher looked to see who it was.

“Izumi-san from second-year Class Two, right?”

“Uh, mm-hmm!”

The teacher smiled. “Thanks for volunteering. As long as no one else is interested, we’ll go with Izumi-san. Anyone?”

No one stepped forward, so Izumi was named chair.

She nodded as if to confirm the direction she was heading in. I was sure she had her own reasons for taking on the role.

I watched her take that small step forward as the committee meeting moved ahead.

* * *

After the meeting ended, Mimimi, Izumi, Takei, and I were walking down a big hill on the way to the station. When I thought about it, this was an unusual group. We all had individual relationships with one another, but normally, the four of us would never have hung out.

Anyway, we were heading home, but I still hadn’t completed my photo quest for the day. I mean, right after school was pretty much the only time I could work on it, which meant I somehow had to accomplish one of the assignments before we split up.

I opened up the message from Hinami that listed the items in the quest. Given the group I was walking home with, there were…two possibilities.

Neither one would be easy. This was way too specific. I’d have to intentionally set up the situation for the picture, which in this case meant I had to take the initiative in inviting either Izumi or Mimimi for ice cream or ramen. Damn it, Hinami, what’s “easy” about this assignment?

What was I supposed to do now? It didn’t really matter which one I attempted, but considering I’d have a chance with Mimimi after we got to Kitayono Station, I figured I should try to do the Izumi assignment right then.

“Good luck with your new job, Chairwoman Yuzu!” Mimimi said cheerfully.

“Thanks!”

“You’ve been doing a lot lately, huh, Yuzucchi?!” Takei said.

“I guess so,” she answered, scratching her neck.

Mimimi turned to Takei. “I’ve been thinking the same thing! She took over as captain in the sports tournament, too!”

“Oh, um…yeah, maybe.” Sounding embarrassed, Izumi gave Mimimi a troubled smile.

They were talking about the changes they’d seen in her since the sports tournament and the Nakamura situation. I’d been close to her through the whole thing, but the transformation was so dramatic that even Mimimi and Takei had noticed. Mimimi aside, anything big enough for Takei to notice had to be significant.

“You definitely have! They say people change when they get a boyfriend—do you think that’s you?” I was really impressed by how Mimimi was able to subtly balance the teasing with an affectionate tone as she playfully elbowed Izumi. “Huh? Huh?”

“No way!” Izumi said, squirming around.

“Huh? Huh? Huh?” Mimimi escalated her attack, poking Izumi’s side over and over. So it was beginning.

“Stop!”

“Hee-hee-hee.” Mimimi grinned fearlessly; she was in full silly mode now.

She tickled Izumi faster and faster.

“Come on!”

Izumi’s flexible shoulders and hips writhed, revealing the contours of her body. Her skirt briefly slipped up, the shadow flickering over her thighs, and I caught the scent of vanilla as her hair swung in front of my face. I had to look away from her flushed cheeks and slightly parted lips.

Still having a great time, Mimimi agilely snuck up behind Izumi.

“Boo!”

And then she grabbed Izumi’s huge boobs.

“Eeee?!”

Mimimi sank her fingers into Izumi’s button-down shirt, bunching it up. The sight of her slim white fingers pressing into their victim was kinda hot, both in a sexy way and an embarrassing way.

“Hey!”

But Izumi was the sporty type, too, and she looked over her shoulder, spun out of Mimimi’s grasp, and slapped her on the forehead.

“Ooh, you’re fast! ”

That concluded Mimimi’s bizarre little girl-on-girl escapade, and peace returned to the street. What the hell was that about anyway? I was still reeling, and I was only on the sidelines.

It occurred to me to wonder what Takei was doing…and I caught him staring at the two of them with googly eyes. You follow your heart, dude. I’ll give you that.

Wait a second, I had an assignment to do. I was trying to get a shot of Izumi eating ice cream. So first, I had to…

“Mind if I stop by the convenience store?”

“Sure! What’s the Brain want to buy?” Mimimi asked casually, having returned from her alternate universe.

“I could use a snack.”

“Yeah, we’re going home a little later today than usual.”

If we didn’t go to the convenience store, the quest was dead in the water. I had no idea how I was going to get Izumi to buy ice cream, but at least this was the first step. But what to do? If I randomly said something like, Izumi, you should have some ice cream, she’d get confused and probably tell me to just eat some myself. Hmm.

The four of us went into the store and started wandering around to explore.

I had to create some kind of opening.

“Ooh, this looks good,” I said, pointing to a cup of cream-cheese-flavored ice cream. I didn’t really care which flavor I chose—and no, the fact that I happened to point to Hinami’s favorite kind meant nothing.

Now if Izumi would say something like, Ooh, ice cream, that sounds good! and buy one, I could ride the wave of excitement and get a chance to snap a photo, and my assignment would be complete. But would she do that?

Mimimi looked at the ice cream. “Ooh, that does look good! But it’s so cold outside…,” she said sadly.

She had a point. It was November, after all. Maybe Hinami made ice cream part of the assignment specifically to make this harder. She does like to make my training hell in every way imaginable; that’s something she would do.

“No way, Mimimi, ice cream tastes the best when it’s cold out!” Surprisingly, Takei sent out a rescue boat.

“Yeah! You wouldn’t think so, but it’s true!”

That’s the kind of thing normies say, right? I was fighting hard to get everyone to eat ice cream, but Takei was inexplicably all-in on my idea, so the battle actually didn’t look that tough.

Unfortunately, Izumi was looking at Takei and me like we were a couple of children she had to take care of.

“You two have nerves of steel.” Those were the words of someone who did not intend to eat any ice cream.

“Uh, you don’t want any?”

“Nope. Too cold out.”

“Oh, okay…”

This was bad. Maybe even checkmate. Now that she’d so clearly said she didn’t want any, I couldn’t say, Come on, just try it! Plus, she was very unlikely to change her mind on her own. Hmm, it was looking like I’d have to put this quest off to another day. I still had another one I could work on, after all.

“Hey, Farm Boy! I’m gonna have some!” I wasn’t sure why, but Takei was super excited about this ice cream. Now the mission was truly compromised. “You’re getting some, too, right?”

“Uh, yeah…”

Takei and I both bought the cream-cheese flavor.

Then we went outside, and the two of us stood there in the cold eating our ice cream. What the hell am I doing?

Now extremely happy, Takei took a picture of us with his phone camera. Uh, right. As long as someone’s having fun.

“Capture the moment! This is going on Twitter!”

Izumi and Mimimi watched us, smiling. Damn it, I wanted Izumi to eat the ice cream, not Takei, and I wanted the photo on Instagram, not Twitter… This was not going well.

* * *

Having failed at the Izumi ice-cream photo, I attempted my next challenge.

The setting was Kitayono Station, where both Mimimi and I got off the train to go home.

From this point on, it was just the two of us. I needed to get a picture of Mimimi eating ramen…but why did it have to be ramen? I didn’t exactly see Mimimi as a ramen kind of person. Hinami’s sadism really shone in her efforts to make everything as difficult as possible.

Actually, like the Izumi ice-cream assignment, she probably intended it as practice for “pushing my opinion through” at the school-festival meetings. She wanted me to push for ramen if I wanted ramen, and ice cream if I wanted ice cream.

“The manga café is gonna be so fun!” Mimimi said excitedly as soon as we were through the ticket gates.

“Yeah,” I answered, still ruminating on my assignment. “I wonder what we’ll end up doing for the performance…”

“Ah-ha-ha! Yeah, that’s the question! We kinda just decided to do it because everyone was feelin’ it!”

“What do people usually do? Skits and comedy routines?”

“Yeah. Or, like, dances or songs!”

“Oh, I didn’t realize those were okay, too.”

I’d ad-libbed a conversation starter, and it was working. Very good, very good.

Dances or songs, huh? If we ended up doing that, I bet Hinami would tell me I had to perform. That was not going to happen. In fact, I wouldn’t be able to handle a role in a skit, either.

“I can’t wait to see you dance!” Mimimi said jokingly. “Hey, that reminds me, you cracked people up that one time…”

During the election, I’d tried to copy Mimimi’s pose, but everyone had laughed at me. My talent level for dancing is zero.

“Uh, no, I don’t dance…”

“Well then, how about a comedy routine? You can be the straight man!”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not cut out for the stage,” I replied, casually giving up on the whole thing.

Suddenly, Mimimi clapped like inspiration had just struck. “Very true! You’re the Brain, after all, and brains gotta brain!”

“…You mean I should do the thinking for the performance?”

I managed to interpret Mimimi’s use of brain. I swear, it never crosses her mind whether what she says will make sense to anyone else but her.

“Yes, you knew exactly what I meant!”

“Well…by now, I’m used to the random stuff you say when you’re excited.”

“I think we’re totally in tune!”

She grabbed me by the shoulders and leaned her weight on me.

“Hey!”

Her super-normie surprise attack almost knocked me off-balance, but she was unexpectedly light.

“Oof.” I managed to stand up straight again.

“Oh, Brain, you’re stronger than I thought!”

“No, it’s just that you’re so light…”

She really was slender, although she still had curves.

Once I cleared my head, I realized this wasn’t a problem of physical balance but of distance. Since she was hanging off my shoulders, her perfect, evenly featured face was right next to my shoulder—right next to my face. I’d regained my physical balance, but my emotional balance was done for.

Our eyes met at close range for a second.

“…”

“…”

A strange silence followed, and you could tell from our wide-eyed expressions that both our brains had stopped working. The depths of Mimimi’s eyes were so clear; I was magnetically drawn in by how beautiful they were, and I normally hate looking people in the eye.

The line of her nose was a perfect downward sweep above her evenly drawn lips. From this new angle, I was reminded once again how incredibly beautiful she was. Okay, wait. My face was weirdly hot all of a sudden.

Finally, Mimimi was the first to speak and end those awkward seconds of silence. “…Uh, welp, thanks for not saying I’m heavy! Let’s get going!”

Without looking me in the eye, she took a few steps forward, waving at me to follow.

“Oh, okay.”

I lagged behind her for fifteen or twenty seconds to let my face cool down. I didn’t want her to see me blushing.

Eventually, the cold winter wind calmed me down, and I stepped up to her side. Now I had to ask her to go get ramen with me.

But in Kitayono, instead of going to a ramen shop…

“Uh, Mimimi?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go to Manshu Pot-Sticker Palace?”

It wasn’t exactly the kind of place to take such a beautiful high-school girl to, but I had no other choice. It was the only place I knew of around here that served ramen. And it definitely met the one and only standard for nonnormie restaurant reviews: Would I feel okay going there by myself?

“Right now?”

“Yeah. I’m still a little hungry.”

For some reason, Mimimi smirked. “Well, I’m a little hungry, too, but…”

“What?”

“Are you going through a growth spurt or something?”

“A growth spurt?”

Mimimi nodded. “I mean, you just had ice cream, and now you want ramen.”

“…Oh.”

She had a point. I must be coming off like a real glutton.

I anxiously searched for an excuse. “No, it’s just…sometimes, when I start eating, it makes me want to eat more.”

“Oh, I definitely get that!”

She seemed convinced by my excuse. And I really did feel hungrier after eating that ice cream. Saved by my stomach.

“Okay, I’m in!”

She waved her hands excitedly at me and started marching forward.

“Wait a second,” I said, cutting her off. “Mimimi. Wrong direction.”

“Seriously?”

Yeah, she really does everything by feel.

* * *

As soon as we got to Manshu Pot-Sticker Palace, I ran into a hiccup.

After I ordered ramen, Mimimi turned to the waiter.

“I’ll have the pot-sticker set!”

Yeah. I took her to a place that serves all kinds of Chinese food, so of course she ordered the pot stickers. Not her fault, obviously—I’m the idiot here. I mean, the restaurant is literally called Pot-Sticker Palace.

Now what should I do? All that courage I expended inviting her here would go to waste if I didn’t do something quick.

Mimimi gulped down some water. Who drinks water that enthusiastically? “Well, this is unusual, you inviting me somewhere!” she teased, grinning at me.

“Um, well…yeah.”

I’d never have the courage to do it if it wasn’t for an assignment. I mean, yeah, we were just stopping by on the way home, but was it normal for a guy and a girl to go somewhere together like this? Was she going to read too much into it? Or maybe not. She didn’t waffle that much before saying yes, so maybe it wasn’t a big deal. I had no idea.

“I think this might have been my first time. Inviting someone to get a bite to eat on the way home from school, I mean.”

“…No way!” Her response came just a little too late. Huh? Did I say something weird?

She tipped her empty glass to the side, clanking the ice around.

“So…why’d you decide to do it now?”

“Huh? Uh…”

I scrambled for an answer as she watched me intently. Why did I invite her? If I told her the truth, I’d have to say, Well, I wanted to take a picture of you eating ramen so I could post it on my Instagram account, which was so awful, I’d have to be exiled from Japan for admitting it. That was out.

And I was bad at lying on the fly, so I had to find a way to just smooth it over.

“Uh, well…ramen,” I mumbled.

Mimimi burst out laughing. “You wanted to eat ramen that badly?!”

All I’d done was murmur one word, and her super-normie special skill, Auto-Conversation Completion, had kicked into action, completing my alibi. Okay, Mimimi, let’s go with that.

I contented myself with her explanation. “…Yeah. I was just dying for ramen.”

“Uh-oh, think just one bowl will be enough?”

“Of course, I couldn’t finish two!”

She was kind enough to laugh at my dumb response. That was Mimimi. She let you know making other people happy made her happy, so talking to her was super low stress.

Anyway, back to my assignment. Since she’d ordered the pot-sticker set, I wouldn’t be able to get the photo if our meal went along as normal.

What to do…? Well, I knew what to do. There was only one option left.

After we chatted for a while, the waiter brought our orders to the table at just about the same time.

My one remaining option. This was it.

“Oh, wow, this is amazing!” I began by letting her know how good my ramen was as soon as we started eating.

“For real?!” She latched right on.

“For real! Um, want a bite?”

Okay, so it was a really simple strategy. The plan was to get her to take a bite of my ramen and then snap her picture. Honestly speaking, the “indirect kiss” thing or whatever was kind of touchy for a bottom-tier character like me, but Hinami had called me immature in the past for worrying about it. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal after all. I might struggle internally, but I could handle that.

But again, Mimimi’s response to my casual question came a beat too late. “Uh, um, really?”

For some reason, she looked unsure. Huh? What just happened to the mood?

“Uh, yeah, just a bite,” I repeated.

Very quietly, I heard her mumble, “Huh?”

“What?”

“Am I worrying too much?”

“A-about what?”

“…Nothing, never mind! Okay, I’ll have a bite!”

She grabbed my bowl with both hands, pulled it toward her, and started to slurp it down. Why is she so fast? Crap, photo, photo!

I grabbed my phone, which I’d set on the table to be ready for moments like this, speedily opened the camera, and snapped a photo of Mimimi.

But I was in such a panic, I left my finger on the button too long, and it started taking a bunch of consecutive shots. Snap-snap-snap-snap-snap-snap!

“Hey! Why are you taking so many pictures of me?!”

“Agh, I screwed this up!”

“Screwed what up?!”

“Nothing, just…!”

Suddenly, everything was chaos, but my assignment was complete. Now the only question was how well I could explain myself to Mimimi, which was a very real problem.

“I—I mean, you looked like you were gonna eat a ton!”

“So you took my picture?!”

“Y-yeah, as evidence!”

“Come on, how obsessed are you?!”

“It’s, y’know, my growth spurt!”

I was making my reputation as a glutton a lot worse, but I think I escaped by the skin of my teeth. Actually, since suddenly taking a picture of someone eating ramen was already kinda sketchy, I’d come up with an excuse in advance. Taking twenty photos instead of one didn’t really change my approach. I was screwed from the beginning, so it all worked out. Impressive, right?

“Oh man…” Mimimi smiled and rolled her eyes, pushing my bowl of ramen back toward me. “Here you go,” she said.

“Th-thanks.”

I peered into the bowl. To tell the truth, it did get to me. If I ate another bite, I was pretty sure it’d be the indirect whatever.

But I’d acted like I didn’t care a minute ago, so now I had no choice but to casually dig in.

Mimimi seemed unimpressed. “I still have questions…”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

She pouted for a second, looked down at her pot stickers, and smiled deviously. “Okay, Tomozaki.”

“What?”

I looked up at her. There was a pot sticker in front of my face.

“I’ll give you a bite of mine, too.”

“Uh…”

She suddenly thrust the pot sticker that was held between her chopsticks toward me.

No, no, no, no way!

“What? What’s the matter?”

She was obviously feigning innocence. What was going on? What was she trying to do? This was going way beyond the indirect kiss; this was like…that thing couples do!

As I was trying to figure out what to do, Mimimi said, “Hmm?” and wiggled her food in front of my face. She was staring at me with a peculiarly determined expression. Why the display of iron will? What kind of battle were we in? Why was I feeling so much pressure?

Still, I couldn’t think of a logical reason for refusing her offer, so I tried to suppress my pounding heart and put the whole thing in my mouth. I was fighting to stay calm. But I definitely was not succeeding.

Mimimi kept staring at me. I was staring back at her, because I had no idea what this meant. This was the second time today, too.

It was a really, really weird moment.

Then, a few seconds later, Mimimi looked away before I did and pouted. Why did she seem upset? She shifted her gaze around and blinked a few times, then glared at me again. Seriously, what is going on?

“Something’s fishy here!” She threw her napkin at me.

“…Huh? What?”

I was completely confused. Then she started wolfing down her pot stickers like nothing had happened. Now I understood even less. What was this, an eating competition? At that speed, I’d better hurry up myself, or she’d have to wait around for me after she finished. And as a bottom-tier character, that would be rude.

So I started slurping down my ramen as fast as I could. Which then led her to ask, “…Why are you eating so fast, Tomozaki?”

“Huh? …I mean, it’s just…”

“…What?” She sighed, as if she was pleased to see me struggling for an answer. Then, apparently reassured, she smiled kindly. “…You’re such a weirdo.”

For whatever reason, she was satisfied now.

“…Huh?”

If you wanted to talk about weird, then what the heck had Mimimi been doing for the past few minutes?! Yeah, I had no idea what was going on.

* * *

“See you tomorrow!”

“Okay, see you later.”

Mimimi and I parted ways at the usual corner, and I headed home by myself. Man, today was one hell of a roller coaster…

When I got home, I went up to my room, opened my phone, and checked my LINE messages from Hinami.

Now that I’d managed to get the shot of Mimimi eating ramen, I had five assignments left. What would I need to do and with who to finish them? Where should I ask them to go? What excuses should I use to get them to do what I wanted? I was plotting my strategy as well as my F-tier skills would allow.

After all, even a guy at the bottom can get stuff done as long as he has a strategy. I’d learned that lesson plenty of times on past assignments.

For instance, the old me was totally incapable of jump-starting a conversation and tailoring it to who I was with, but when I gave it some thought ahead of time, I was now able to do it in real life. By memorizing conversation topics over and over, I learned how to come up with the topics themselves, and by this point, I was decent at creating them on the fly.

Right now, I couldn’t invite people out and get them to do what I wanted to do. Like, at all. But if I practiced coming up with strategies ahead of time and implementing them, I was fairly sure I’d eventually be able to do it naturally on the spot.

After all, that’s what you do in games—practice your moves in training mode so you can use them in a real match.

Glancing back and forth between my phone and a notebook, I worked out a strategy for each assignment.

Oh right…

We were already connected on LINE, so if I sent today’s picture right now, the next morning meeting should go more smoothly.

I chose one of my many shots of Mimimi eating ramen and sent it to Hinami. Right away, the icon popped up showing she’d read it. She was always on top of her communications.

A minute later, a message arrived from her.

[Are you only capable of taking blurry photos?]

I realized then that I’d gotten into continuous shooting mode because I was panicked, which had freaked me out even more, which had probably made my hand shaky. When I looked at the photos again, I discovered a dozen or so shots that were just as blurry as the previous day’s.

Um, Hinami-san. I suspect this particular assignment is challenging me for reasons that have nothing to do with normie-ness. Photography is hard, don’t you think?