After explaining everything in Ebizuka Tomo's room, he went to RUPA's room.
After he told her what Ebizuka Tomo had said to him earlier, which she had been worried about, she slowly exhaled, and her tense body relaxed.
"So that was it. Tomo really did tell you all that..."
For people as familiar with each other as they were, it had not been hard to guess.
At the same time, the dark cloud that had weighed on her heart for so long finally began to slowly disperse when she learned that he did not hate her or distance himself from Togenashi Togeari because of her.
Heartbreak was certainly painful, but if her own mistake caused the band that had finally gotten back on track to fall apart again, she probably would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.
For a moment, a ringing filled her head, leaving her slightly dizzy.
"Thank you for keeping what happened between Momoka and me a secret, RUPA," he thanked her.
It would not have mattered much even if she had told the others, but keeping quiet did spare him the trouble of being questioned.
"It was nothing. It was what I should have done." RUPA smiled faintly, making her handsome features seem a little brighter. "I think Momoka would not have wanted us to know about it either."
"Probably." Given her pride as both the leader and the oldest, that was likely true.
"..."
They looked at each other, and the atmosphere grew somewhat tender and ambiguous as neither knew what to say.
People said that once a confession began, a relationship would undergo an irreversible change. That was no exaggeration.
A relationship that could remain unchanged after a failed confession—such a thing was almost impossible.
If it did exist, then one