"Why had I done that just now?"
Toru Hasegawa brooded regretfully as he ate breakfast alone at Keyaki Mall.
Showing a girl how much he liked her so openly was bound to put her on guard, no matter how you looked at it!
But I really couldn't think of anything else!!!
It was impossible to actually apply dating sim strategies to real life, right?
Come on, where were the cheat codes from dating sims in real life? Things like "effort always pays off" or "sincerity always earns sincerity"?
Toru Hasegawa had boldly, yet cautiously, set his plan in motion.
"But if it's Ichinose, I guess there's no problem."
She'd started out with a base affection level of 90 toward him... or, more accurately, toward everyone. In the end, he'd managed to raise that number by one for himself.
That was progress!
After breakfast, Toru Hasegawa wandered around campus.
The group Ike had created, made up mostly of Class D boys, had been overflowing with all kinds of messages yesterday, too.
Topics like "What's for dinner tonight?" and "Kushida is definitely mine" never got old. There were messages like that almost every day.
Toru Hasegawa wasn't especially interested in that sort of thing, but, surprisingly, he sympathized with Ike's desire to get a girlfriend.
Perhaps that was what friendship between men was all about.
Thinking this, Toru Hasegawa entered the Special Building, where people rarely ever went.
Even the clubs didn't use it, and on ordinary days, it was practically deserted.
Taking advantage of the day off, he decided to explore places he hadn't checked out before.
"Still, there aren't any security cameras on the third floor."
After quietly committing that piece of information to memory, Toru Hasegawa continued wandering.
Then, as he turned a corner in the hallway, he saw a girl.
She hadn't noticed him. She held a digital camera and seemed to be taking selfies.
Toru Hasegawa recognized her. He'd seen her at the entrance ceremony. She was a girl from Class D who seemed quite pretty... at least from behind.
What should he do here?
Should he quietly leave while she hadn't noticed him, or should he speak to her?
If his goal was to get a girlfriend, there was probably only one choice, right?
"Um... hello? I'm Toru Hasegawa from Class A, first year."
He greeted her, and she jumped as if startled. In a panic, she pulled something from her bag and put it on her head.
Glasses, maybe?
Toru Hasegawa wasn't sure, so he waited for her to respond.
"Sorry, I think I startled you." At any rate, he started by apologizing politely.
The girl shook her head, making her fiery red hair sway. "It's fine. I just didn't expect anyone else to be here at this time."
She'd gotten up early to work on her passion, only to be seen right away. Things couldn't have gone much worse.
"If I remember right, you're a student in Class D, right?" She kept her head lowered the whole time, which was very strange.
Was it because she didn't want anyone to see her face?
"Huh? You know who I am?"
Seeing her become visibly wary, Toru Hasegawa hurriedly explained why. "I remembered your hair from the entrance ceremony. You were in the Class D line, so that's how I knew."
"I'm Airi Sakura from Class D." After hearing Toru Hasegawa's explanation, Airi Sakura relaxed a little and introduced herself.
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Perhaps intrigued by their fateful encounter, she somehow found the courage to bring up a topic herself, though she still kept her head lowered:
"What brings you here, Hasegawa?"
"I didn't have anything planned this morning. After breakfast, I felt like I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd wander around campus. What about you, Sakura?"
"Ah, um... I'm interested in photography, so..."
"Can I see?" Toru Hasegawa deliberately said something that might help them get to know each other better, watching Airi Sakura's reaction.
She'd clearly been taking selfies just now, and people only showed their true selves when they were alone.
Toru Hasegawa was curious about what she was really like. He had a feeling that the glasses she wore didn't suit her.
She hadn't been wearing glasses when she took those selfies...
Toru Hasegawa was almost certain of it.
"No, no!" As expected, she reacted strongly to his request. Seeming to think she needed to explain herself, Airi Sakura hurriedly added, "I'm... not very good at it."
This had been the perfect chance to make a friend, but she'd shrunk back, afraid someone might discover who she really was.
Airi Sakura berated herself for it.
"I see..."
Her words clearly carried a note of refusal. Toru Hasegawa wasn't insensitive enough to say, "I don't mind." He simply nodded.
"Then I guess there's nothing I can do. Want to exchange contact information?"
Wouldn't it have been better to say, "I don't mind"?!
Toru Hasegawa couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth.
Was he getting carried away after earning the approval of Student Council President Manabu Horikita?
Or had he simply not recovered from his encounter with Honami Ichinose?
He tried to act calm, but was nervous to the point of trembling as he waited for Airi Sakura's reply.
"...Okay."
Things went unexpectedly smoothly, and Toru Hasegawa got Airi Sakura's contact information.
By rights, he should have left after getting her contact information.
By rights...
But Toru Hasegawa had grown a little curious.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Manabu Horikita, Kikyo Kushida, and Airi Sakura, who stood before him—all of them were from Class D.
And, as everyone knew, Class A was where the best students in the school gathered... At least, that was the assumption he'd make for now.
Then what about Class D?
Were its students really just here to play the role of also-rans?
What potential had the school seen in them?
He wanted to know the answer.
So Toru Hasegawa asked the question she absolutely couldn't avoid: "Why was your first reaction to put on your glasses the moment you realized someone else was here?"
"Huh? That's because... my eyesight isn't very good." Airi Sakura sensed an intimidating aura coming from Toru Hasegawa, and she couldn't help wanting to run away.
But her legs suddenly felt incredibly heavy, as if they'd taken root.
Airi Sakura was trapped. There was nowhere for her to run.
"Is that so?" Toru Hasegawa smiled faintly. "If you can't see someone clearly without your glasses, wouldn't that affect your photography?"
"Only when I'm taking pictures..." Airi Sakura tried to explain further.
But Toru Hasegawa cut her off. "Those glasses you're wearing don't have prescription lenses, do they?"
"Eek—!"
Struck down by that fatal blow, Airi Sakura's legs gave way, and she slumped to the floor. She'd accidentally sat on her hair, and pain crossed her face.
Toru Hasegawa: "..."
No, why had she fallen over from that? Had what he said really been that scary?
But the girl slumped on the floor didn't give Toru Hasegawa time to keep standing there in a daze. A faint sound of sobbing drifted over—
Airi Sakura burst into tears.
Before you continue