Confession

School back gate.

Ichinose had probably considered that the front gate would be crowded—with her popularity, she might not be able to get away for a while.

But the back gate had plenty of people too. Ichinose underestimated her own popularity; even at the back gate, quite a few people recognized her.

Qiuyue stood off to the side, watching Ichinose greet one person after another, and let out a deep sigh.

Qiuyue: (...The person who least wants to attract attention, paired with one of the most attention-grabbing people around.)

Qiuyue kept himself hidden, careful not to let Ichinose spot him. With Ichinose's personality, she'd probably call out his name directly—and then he'd really become famous.

He waited until there was almost no one left around Ichinose greeting her before stepping out.

"...Ichinose-san, sorry, kept you waiting."

"Not at all, it wasn't long at all. Let's go, Qiuyue-kun."

Ichinose glanced at her watch and said so.

Qiuyue: (No, you clearly waited a while. Looking at the time, it's getting late—should be almost time for Chihiro Shiranami's confession.)

(As the Great Angel, Ichinose doesn't want to hurt anyone. But the way you looked at your watch and then rushed off eagerly completely exposed the fact that I was late. Though it's not like we set a time...)

Qiuyue followed Ichinose to the back of the gymnasium, where she stopped.

Qiuyue: (...Here, huh. It really is a great choice for a confession spot. Too bad Ichinose is planning to turn it down.)

Ichinose faced Qiuyue but kept her head down as she spoke.

"It's... here. The place where I'm going to be confessed to. ...Here, take this."

"What's this?"

Qiuyue: (...Ichinose is probably embarrassed. Being confessed to and all... And this letter she gave me is most likely Chihiro Shiranami's confession letter.)

"...It's exactly what it looks like... Mm... Qiuyue-kun can read it, since I asked you to come..."

Qiuyue: (She really is a love novice... How can you just hand someone else's confession letter to another person like that?)

(I am a bit curious, but I'd better not.)

(In the original story, Ichinose was like this, and she's still like this now. Looks like even though I've come to this world, the character settings won't change because of me. That's good news.)

"No, I won't read it. She wrote it for you. This is someone's feelings for you—it's not something just anyone can look at."

Qiuyue said this as he handed the letter back to Ichinose.

Ichinose took the letter with a dazed look and was about to say something when Qiuyue's voice rang out.

"Ichinose-san, the person confessing is from Class B, right? That's why you found someone from another class like me."

"And what method are you planning to use to reject them? You'd better not do something like fake being my girlfriend."

"Ichinose-san, any genuine feeling deserves to be taken seriously."

Qiuyue: (Seriously... don't do it. If you pull that plan from the original story—fake being my girlfriend, then have me dump you—)

(Then I'd get tied up and roasted by the FFF Inquisition formed by Class B! Ichinose! Are you trying to make me a sinner?!)

"But... ah...!"

"Ichinose-san, he's..."

Qiuyue followed Ichinose's gaze to the source of the voice. There stood a girl with short gray hair.

"Uh... ah... eh... Sorry, Chihiro-chan. I brought someone you don't know. He's Qiuyue-kun from Class D."

"...Could he be... your boy—"

Chihiro Shiranami's eyes brimmed with tears, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke, the last two words never coming out.

"Qiuyue-kun... he's..."

Ichinose grew flustered as well, whether because Qiuyue's words had taken effect or because she didn't want to lie.

Qiuyue: (Sigh... Looks like she can't say it. But she doesn't want to hurt the other person either. And yet, that's often what makes the wound deeper, Ichinose.)

(Choosing to lie because you don't want to hurt someone—that's just an excuse.)

(A gentle lie. It sounds like it flickers with hope on the surface, but in reality, it's a roundabout way of expressing despair. The speaker probably knows deep down that they can't follow through, leaving room for retreat for everyone.)

(That's no good for you or her. In the end, both of you will just get hurt.)

(Sigh... I really am a hypocrite. So, Hachiman-sensei, lend me your self-destruct skill.)

"There's nothing hard to say. Ichinose-san, this is Shiranami-san, right? Actually, I was the one who asked Ichinose-san to come here. She didn't want to hurt me, so she said she brought me here instead."

"I don't know what important thing you wanted to say to Ichinose-san here, but my business just ended."

"You know how it is—Ichinose-san is too kind, which is why she was stammering like that. I just confessed to Ichinose-san here."

"As expected, I got rejected. Ichinose-san said she's not ready to date anyone yet."

"But luckily, I asked Ichinose-san, and she doesn't have anyone she likes right now. I still have a chance. I plan to exchange contact info with Ichinose-san first."

Qiuyue: (Huh, that should be fine. From the side, I told her that confessing now would get rejected, then gave her hope that there's still a chance. At least I stopped her from confessing right now.)

(This is pretty much me rejecting her on Ichinose's behalf. Temporarily, anyway. The problem isn't fully solved.)

(I suppose in the end, Ichinose needs to sort this out herself—it's a chance for her to grow.)

(No matter what, Shiranami's feelings are genuine, and any genuine emotion deserves to be taken seriously.)

Ichinose stared blankly at Qiuyue, while Shiranami's face showed no small amount of surprise. After a brief flicker of dimness, her smile returned.

"Ichinose-san, could you give me your contact info?"

"Eh... ah... oh... oh oh..."

Ichinose fumbled to pull out her phone.

"Alright, added. Ichinose-san, Shiranami-san still has something to tell you, so I won't intrude. Bye."

Qiuyue pocketed his phone and turned to leave. Ichinose was still dazed, quietly watching him go.

"Ichinose-san?"

"Ah... Chihiro-chan, what is it?"

Ichinose still looked a bit nervous as she faced Chihiro Shiranami.

"Nothing. Let's head back together."

"Eh... sure."

Dormitory Building, Room 415

Qiuyue looked at his sparse contact list, tapped on "Ichinose," and edited a message to send.

[Ichinose-san, are you asleep yet?]

[Not yet. Qiuyue-kun, how could you do that today? I told Chihiro-chan not to tell anyone else—if it gets out, it'd be bad for you. But still, thank you, Qiuyue-kun. Next time, I'll treat you to a meal.]

Ichinose replied quickly.

[No, it's nothing. Someone at my level getting rejected by Ichinose-san—even if others find out, it's only natural.]

[Qiuyue-kun, if you talk about yourself like that, I'll get mad. ヽ(≧Д≦)ノ]

[But, Ichinose-san, that's not what I wanted to talk about.

Do you know how much courage it takes to confess to someone?

It's not the fear of rejection—it's the fear that if you fail, you'll lose even the status of being friends.

That's why there's 'Valentine's Day' on April 1st—you can brush it off as a joke.

So, you need to have a proper talk with that classmate. Convey your true feelings to her.]

[Yeah, I understand. Tomorrow, I'll find Chihiro-chan to apologize.

Thank you, Qiuyue-kun. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to come to me. I'll try my best to do whatever I can.]

Thanks to the sparse crowds of Ixion for the bubble tea yesterday and today.

The author has something to say, but it can only be used after getting a recommendation, so I'm posting it here.