"You said you didn't mind me being troublesome! You were obviously lying to me!" Eriri fumed, her frustration bubbling over as she clenched her fists.
How could he do this to her?! What kind of person says something so sweet and then immediately turns around to betray her expectations?!
"Of course not." Natsukawa Kanade sighed, rubbing his temple as if dealing with an unreasonable child. "Didn't I tell you? I already made plans with someone else. How can I just stand them up like that?"
"After all, priorities matter. Since I promised someone first, it wouldn't be right to just back out now. You wouldn't want me to be the kind of guy who doesn't keep his word, would you?"
Eriri narrowed her eyes. "I hope so."
Kanade paused, feeling a twinge of unease at her unusually serious tone. He had expected her usual tsundere outburst, but instead, she was... weirdly calm. Too calm. Like a general silently planning her next attack.
"Uh..." He hesitated but quickly tried to change the direction of the conversation. "Anyway, about the promise I made to you before—"
"Don't even think about backing out of it!" Eriri cut in, her blue-green eyes flashing with stubborn determination. "Anyone who doesn't keep their word is the worst kind of person!"
Kanade fell silent and gave her a pointed look as if to say, "See? That's exactly my point."
But Eriri wasn't interested in his logic. Who cared about promises or schedules? This wasn't about fairness or being reasonable. This was a battle—a full-blown war for love!
After all, if Kanade had already promised another girl, then that meant she had a rival. A love rival. And there was no way she was going to sit back and let some unknown girl swoop in and steal him away!
Because this wasn't about principles or fairness.
It was about winning.
"I don't care!" Eriri declared. "I'm going with you, no matter what! If you refuse, that just proves you think I'm annoying!"
Kanade blinked. Wait…
Did she just straight-up admit she was forcing herself into this?!
For a moment, he could only stare at her in stunned silence. The normally prideful, impossible-to-deal-with Eriri was willingly throwing away her pride? What kind of parallel universe had he walked into?
Even if she was shy, wasn't this a little extreme?
Just as Kanade was processing this absurd turn of events, Eriri misread his silence as rejection. Panic flared in her chest. She had already used up all of her courage to come this far—she couldn't back down now!
Fine! If she couldn't have everything, she'd settle for the next best option.
"If that's really impossible… then I don't mind if we just go as a group of three." Her voice was softer now, her confidence wavering. She looked up at him, practically radiating pitifulness.
Kanade narrowed his eyes. "...What?"
Eriri nodded to herself, convincing herself that this plan made perfect sense. Yes! If she couldn't stop Kanade from going with this mystery girl, then she would simply insert herself into the equation! That way, she could block any potential romance before it even had a chance to blossom.
And, if her luck held out, maybe the other girl would get annoyed and leave, letting her have Kanade all to herself.
She was a genius!
However, just as Eriri was feeling smug about her brilliant plan, Kanade crushed her hopes in an instant.
"Not happening."
Eriri's eye twitched. "Hah?! Why not?!"
"Because the event is strictly for two-person teams," Kanade explained, exasperated. "Even if there's no official rule against it, the pair format has always been the tradition."
"But you're the student council president! You can find a loophole!"
"What do you think the student council president even does?! I can maybe tweak a seating chart, not change the laws of reality!" Kanade groaned, feeling a headache forming.
Even if he could bend the rules a little, what was the point of openly bringing two girls to the event? Did she want him to be assassinated by jealous onlookers? Was she trying to turn him into some kind of legendary playboy doomed to die young?!
"Then what do we do?! You won't take me alone, you won't let me go in a group—can't you just figure something out?!" Eriri pouted, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.
She had pulled out every trick in her book, even acting spoiled, and yet this idiot was still standing firm.
"This isn't a matter of just trying harder," Kanade said with a sigh. "I can't exactly be in two places at once..."
He trailed off suddenly, his eyes narrowing as a thought crossed his mind.
Wait… maybe…
"Hang on…" Kanade muttered, gears turning in his head. "Maybe it's possible after all…"
"Huh?" Eriri blinked. "You're saying you actually can split yourself in two?!"
Kanade looked at her, deadpan. "...Are you seriously a high school student?"
For a moment, he genuinely questioned if the girl sitting in front of him had the mental age of a middle schooler. Actually, given her logic just now… maybe even younger.
Well, considering how much of an otaku she was, maybe she did think clone techniques were a real thing…
"I mean other methods." Natsukawa Kanade shook his head, sighing as he prepared to explain things to the airheaded golden retriever in front of him.
"If you go through the process properly, it'll take around half an hour to check in at all the levels and collect the reward medals. Factoring in other miscellaneous time-wasters, the whole event from start to finish should take about an hour." He paused, allowing the information to sink in before continuing. "The event starts at 7 PM and ends at 10 PM, meaning I can go out twice in that timeframe—once to keep my original appointment, and another time to participate with you."
"The only issue is that I don't know if I can enter twice. The manual doesn't mention it, and since partners are assigned by student numbers, logically, everyone might only get one chance..."
"..."
Silence.
Eriri stared at him, her brain struggling to process what she had just heard.
Wait, wait, wait... Was this guy really standing in front of her, calmly strategizing how to juggle two dates in one night? Right in front of her?!
What kind of shameless, playboy-level thinking was this?!
If she didn't know his personality well, she'd be launching into a full-blown rant right now. This was the kind of nonsense that would earn someone a slap in a shoujo manga!
"You're not serious, are you?" Eriri narrowed her eyes, her voice filled with suspicion.
"Of course I am. Isn't this the most efficient method?" Kanade responded with absolute sincerity, as if he were discussing a mere scheduling issue and not something that would get him labeled as a two-timing scumbag.
Seeing Eriri's increasingly complicated expression, he added in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry. Sure, it's going to be a bit tricky for me, but at least this way, I can keep my promise and still participate with you. Win-win, right?"
"..."
Eriri opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had too many things to say, but none of them could be voiced without escalating the situation.
Just as she was about to give in to her frustration, Kanade casually pulled out his phone and held up a hand, signaling her to be quiet.
"..."
"Hey, Fujiwara?"
He had initially planned to message Kaguya for clarification, but realizing she was the one he had the appointment with, he knew that would be a fatal mistake. If she caught on, he might not survive the night. So, he opted for a less reliable—but significantly safer—alternative: Fujiwara Chika.
Out of habit, Kanade turned on the speakerphone, so Eriri also caught the conversation.
"President? What's up? I'm eating," came Fujiwara Chika's distinct voice, accompanied by the sound of enthusiastic chewing.
"I need to ask you something." Kanade took a moment to organize his words. "I'll keep it short. Do you know if it's possible to enter the Test of Courage event more than once? The manual doesn't specify."
On the other end, Fujiwara Chika, blissfully enjoying her meal in the cafeteria, suddenly froze, her eyes lighting up with admiration.
"Ohh! The president found a loophole?! That's amazing! You're right—it's not mentioned in the manual! I was actually planning to exploit that... Hello? President?"
Click.
The call abruptly ended.
"..."
"Wha—?"
Back in the cafeteria, Fujiwara Chika stared at her phone in disbelief before her expression twisted in outrage.
"WAAAAHHH!!"
The pink-haired menace furiously chomped down on her fried meat as if it were Kanade's soul, muttering through clenched teeth, "Damn you, President! You just used me for information and dumped me! How dare you?! I'll bite you to death—"
"Mmm! So good!"
Her anger lasted exactly three seconds before the sheer deliciousness of her meal erased all grievances.
—
Meanwhile, Kanade pocketed his phone, turning back to Eriri with a satisfied nod. "Looks like it's not an issue."
Not only did this answer reassure him, but it also gave him an insurance policy—if anyone accused him of breaking the rules, he could just throw Fujiwara under the bus. After all, she was the one who confirmed it for him, and he had the recording to prove it.
If she complained, he could just bribe her with food. That always worked.
"..."
Eriri, who had silently witnessed the entire exchange, was at a complete loss. Her brain couldn't keep up with this level of absurdity.
The girl on the phone... she didn't even sound remotely upset? Not even a hint of disappointment?
She had just been used and discarded like a random NPC, and she didn't care?
Who in their right mind would believe that?!
Eriri's mind whirred with speculation. Maybe Fujiwara Chika had some bizarre kink she didn't want to think about...
But before she could spiral any further, Kanade's voice broke through her thoughts.
"What's wrong? You've got a really weird look on your face."
"No, it's nothing. Just... surprised," she muttered, shaking her head with a complicated expression.
Kanade tilted his head but didn't press further. Instead, he checked the time and then casually turned to her with an invitation.
"You probably haven't eaten yet. Want to grab something together?"
"...Um."