Morning. When I entered the classroom, I noticed that Wakana was acting differently than usual.

She normally reads a book, but today she was lying face down on her desk and not moving at all.

“Good morning, Wakana.”

When I spoke, she slowly lifted her head.

“Good morning.”

“Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She said that, but she didn’t seem very energetic.

“Did something happen?”

Wakana looked a little hesitant before speaking quietly.

“I met Matsumoto-senpai this morning.”

“Matsumoto-senpai?”

Hearing that name, my expression tensed.

“Yeah. He said to come to the rooftop after school because he wants to talk.”

“Why don’t you just ignore him?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Wakana looked troubled.

“It’ll cause problems if I ignore his invitation.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

In this world, where the number of boys and girls is very uneven, turning down a boy’s invitation carries more weight than usual. If she ignored Matsumoto-senpai, other girls who like him might get annoyed.

“I want to handle it smoothly, but he seems persistent… It’s stressing me out.”

Her voice sounded worried.

“Got it. I’ll handle it.”

“Huh?”

“Leave it to me.”

When I said that, Wakana’s expression softened just a little.

✩ ✩ ✩

Lunchtime. I went looking for Matsumoto-senpai by myself.

I checked the third-year classrooms, the library, and finally the rooftop. In the end, I found him sitting on a bench in the courtyard.

Matsumoto-senpai was surrounded by a few girls while laughing and talking happily.

“Matsumoto-senpai.”

When I called his name, he turned around.

“Hey, Saotome. What is it?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Whoa, is this a confession? You're not my type, though.”

“Don’t joke around.”

He looked at me with interest.

“Could you step aside for a moment?”

When he glanced at the girls, they all got up and left.

Now it was just the two of us. He looked at me with a curious expression.

“So, what do you want?”

“Don’t bother Wakana.”

A faint smile appeared on Matsumoto-senpai’s face.

“Oh? Did Shiroyanagi ask you to say that?”

“No, this is my decision.”

“Then it’s none of your business.”

There was a teasing tone in his voice.

“It is my business. Wakana is an important friend of mine.”

“Friend?”

Matsumoto-senpai took a step closer.

“You really think friendship between a boy and a girl can work in this world?”

“It can.”

“You’re too naive, Saotome. Look at reality.”

Matsumoto-senpai stood up from the bench, placed his right hand on my shoulder, and leaned close.

“Maybe Shiroyanagi secretly thinks of you as a guy?”

“That’s not true.”

“Is it, though?”

His smile grew wider.

“Well, whatever. But I’m not giving up. Girls like her are worth going after.”

“Stop it.”

My voice got stronger.

“No way. I’m going to confess to her after school.”

“Even if you do, she’ll turn you down.”

“Hmm, we’ll see.”

Matsumoto-senpai shrugged.

“In this world, it takes a lot of courage to turn down a guy’s confession.”

That made my blood boil.

“That sounds like blackmail.”

“Blackmail? That’s a harsh way to put it.”

Matsumoto-senpai gave me a knowing smile.

“If you hate it that much, why don’t you protect Shiroyanagi yourself?”

“…What do you mean?”

“If she’s really your girl, I won’t touch her. I don’t want trouble over someone else’s girl.”

His suggestion left me speechless.

“Think about it, Saotome. This afternoon, I’ll confess to Shiroyanagi. If you want to stop me, you’d better confess first.”

With that, Matsumoto-senpai walked away from the courtyard.

I was left stunned, and then I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Wakana stepping out from the shade of a tree.

“You heard that?”

“Yeah, from the middle onward...”

Wakana walked up beside me and stopped quietly. A gentle breeze blew, making her hair sway.

Then she whispered softly,

“Ren, do you plan to make me your girlfriend?”

Her words made it feel like time had stopped.

Wakana didn’t say anything more. She held back the hair in her face and slowly looked away from me.

Chapter 13: "I Don’t Want My Childhood Friend Taken by a Flirty Senpai"