Eriri Spencer Sawamura had not expected this.
She had laid it out so obviously—how was this idiot still not getting it?!
If she really wanted to be with Kato, would she be acting like this? Did she seem like the kind of person who would swallow her pride just for some privileged treatment?
Honestly, she was beginning to suspect that this fool was pretending to be dense on purpose, just so he could watch her get flustered and frustrated.
"Don't bother Kato. Maybe she already has someone she wants to invite. We shouldn't disturb her..."
"That makes sense..." Natsukawa Kanade murmured. Considering Kato's personality, she would probably agree if they asked. But wouldn't that be unfair to her?
After all, she was supposed to be enjoying the event, yet here Eriri was, trying to rope her into an arrangement that might not be to her liking. Why should Kato have to play babysitter for this stubborn golden retriever?
Meanwhile, Eriri—completely unaware that Kanade had already mentally labeled her as a potential menace to Kato's fun—was still racking her brain, desperately trying to steer the conversation in her favor.
"Yes, yes, there's no need to trouble others with such trivial matters..."
"But in that case, there's no other choice." Kanade frowned in thought.
There was only one obvious option like Kato. The others were either unfamiliar with Eriri, unreliable, or both—like Fujiwara, who was an absolute wild card in every sense. There weren't many choices left.
"Idiot! No, there's still one person..." Eriri said, her voice taking on a meaningful edge.
Kanade blinked. And then, finally—finally—he understood what she was getting at.
"Ahh, I see... But I'm sorry to tell you," Kanade said with complete seriousness, "The second and third-year activities are held at separate locations. So you definitely won't be able to pair up with Senior Kasumigaoka."
"...???"
For a brief moment, Eriri's entire world stopped.
What. The. Hell.
After all that, after all her struggling and hints, that was the conclusion he reached?!
No one in their right mind would want to be paired up with that smug, black-stocking-wearing witch! Did she look like she had that kind of relationship with her?!
They were bitter rivals! Enemies on sight! Arch-nemeses!
Eriri clenched her fists, her whole body trembling in frustration. She pursed her lips, holding back the urge to scream in his face. Meanwhile, Kanade, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing beside him, took her silence as agreement.
"No need to feel down about it," he said, trying to be reassuring. "Even if you can't be with your usual friends, this could be a good chance to connect with your classmates. Who knows? You might even make a new friend."
"..."
But Eriri remained silent, head lowered, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Uh... then why don't we try asking Kato again? Maybe she also—"
"So in the end, you just don't want to be paired with me, right?"
Kanade barely had time to react before Eriri suddenly lifted her head, her voice trembling slightly, her eyes red-rimmed with frustration.
"Huh?" Kanade blinked, caught off guard.
Wait, what was going on? How had they gotten here?!
"After all, you just don't want to partner with me. You think I'm not cute, that I'm always mean to you, that I have a bad temper, that I'll only be a burden!" Eriri's words tumbled out, one after the other, her voice growing more strained with every sentence.
Kanade froze, staring at her, utterly dumbfounded.
She was angry—not just at him, but at herself. Angry that she had let Kasumigaoka's words shake her resolve. Angry that, despite knowing her own feelings, she kept doing things that pushed him away. Angry that she lacked the courage to just be honest with herself.
If only she had trusted him more. If only she had the guts to say what she really wanted. Maybe—just maybe—she would be nestled in his arms right now instead of standing here, her emotions in complete turmoil.
"Just go invite whoever you actually want to partner with! I don't need your help!" she snapped, turning away sharply, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay.
Eriri had braced herself for the inevitable—that unbearable moment when Kanade would pull away, mumble some half-hearted excuse, and walk off to find someone else.
But reality defied her expectations.
Instead of letting go, Kanade tightened his grip on her hand. And before she could snap at him to release her, she suddenly found herself pulled into his embrace.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice unusually gentle. "I didn't realize what you were trying to say..."
At that moment, logic and misunderstandings ceased to matter. The most important thing was to comfort the teary-eyed little golden retriever trembling in his arms.
"I don't dislike you, and I definitely don't think you're a bother. It's just that... I already made plans with someone, so I wasn't thinking about it that way," Kanade explained, his voice steady but sincere.
It was, in the end, a miscommunication—a simple case of missing information. But Eriri's personality had played a role in escalating it, too.
If it had been Kato, she would've just said it outright. Even if she had to make it sound playful, she would've confidently declared something like, "Junior, don't you want the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of spending a magical evening with me?"—forcing him into a situation where rejecting her would be nearly impossible.
But Eriri? She was hopelessly tsundere. Because of her pride, she always spoke in roundabout ways, making it painfully difficult for people—especially dense idiots like him—to grasp what she truly meant.
"H-Hey... Are you trying to smother me or something?" came a muffled protest from his chest.
Kanade blinked, realizing belatedly that he had hugged her a little too tightly. He quickly loosened his grip.
The feeling hadn't been quite strong enough to trigger a reaction from him, but if it had been Kato or Kasumigaoka... well, that would've been an entirely different situation.
"Of course, I'm serious. I wouldn't lie to you," Kanade said firmly. "You don't have to doubt me."
He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back just enough to meet her gaze. Her blue-green eyes, slightly misty from unshed tears, stared at him with a mix of frustration and reluctant hope.
"Besides," he continued, "how could I ever find you troublesome? If I thought that, I wouldn't have sought you out from the start."
From Eriri's perspective, he must have seemed indifferent, as if he were pushing her away. But in truth, Kanade had always understood what kind of person she was—better than she probably realized.
"But Eriri, I need you to understand something." His tone was patient, yet unwavering. "I'm not exactly the smartest guy around, and sometimes, I genuinely won't get what you mean. But no matter how clueless I may be, one thing will never change—I will never hate you, and I will never see you as a burden."
He exhaled, watching as the tension in her expression began to waver. "So please, when I'm being an idiot and failing to understand you, just tell me outright. Say what you really think. Whatever it is, I promise I'll listen."
Maybe nothing would change immediately, but this was his way of trying.
After all, he much preferred seeing Eriri in her usual, lively, if slightly insufferable, tsundere mode. This gloomy, heartbroken version of her—the one who brooded like a tragic heroine from a historical drama—just wasn't right. It was like watching the West lose its soul after the fall of Jerusalem.
Of course, there was a certain charm in this side of her too, but an Eriri without her tsundere spark was like an RPG protagonist without a main quest—lost and aimless.
"Okay..." she finally muttered, her cheeks tinged with pink. Then, with renewed determination, she met his gaze and made her request. "Then you have to come with me to the test of courage tonight!"
"That won't work." Kanade rejected her without hesitation.
"...?!"
Eriri froze, her mind short-circuiting.
Had she just gotten rejected again?!