Can You Bear Ichinose's Life?

With their strategy decided, Chihaya Rei and Ichinose Honami set off immediately.

Guided by Ichinose Honami, the two arrived behind the school's Gymnasium No. 1 after passing through a small grove.

This area had no surveillance cameras, and no other members of the Student Council would specifically come here.

A cool breeze blew by, making one feel refreshed.

Coupled with the fact that it was nearly six in the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun spilling from the western horizon made the atmosphere feel wonderful.

It could truly be called a fine sanctuary for a confession.

After evaluating it in his heart, Chihaya Rei took note of this location.

The office building they had just left was not far from the gymnasium, so Chihaya Rei and Ichinose Honami arrived ahead of schedule.

But at almost the same moment.

Shiranami Chihiro walked out from another direction and appeared before them.

Both sides exchanged a glance.

The air fell into a brief silence for a few seconds.

Seeing the confession sanctuary she had worked so hard to find, along with the object of her confession...

There was actually a male standing beside Ichinose Honami.

Shiranami Chihiro's eyes widened instantly, and she looked at the two in front of her in disbelief.

"Honami-chan... you two?"

"It seems the person who gave me that letter really was Chihiro-chan..."

Although Ichinose Honami's voice was soft, it was filled with apology: "But I'm sorry, Chihiro."

"I cannot accept you; I don't have those kinds of feelings for you, not even a little bit."

Ichinose Honami had also done a lot of mental preparation before she could harden her heart and let out those words in one breath.

Chihaya Rei glanced at Ichinose Honami silently.

Wasn't Honami being a bit too impatient?

In this situation, shouldn't she wait for the other party to say a few words before rejecting them?

"..."

Shiranami Chihiro's arms trembled violently, and her heart ached even more.

Could it be... could it be that she wouldn't even be given the chance to confess in person?

Honami-chan had rejected her without a moment's hesitation.

How could it be like this?

She opened her trembling lips, "Honami, I..."

I won't give up easily.

These words had been on the tip of her tongue, but suddenly, she couldn't say them at all.

Instead, they turned into another question:

"Wuu, Honami, what is your relationship... with him?"

Shiranami Chihiro held back her tears, her sorrowful gaze involuntarily turning toward Chihaya Rei at the side.

Even if she were to die today, she wanted to die knowing the truth.

She had an impression of Chihaya Rei, but she hadn't noticed at all when he had made his move on Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, thinking that to make Chihiro-chan give up completely, she really had to use Chihaya-kun.

"Chihaya-kun is the person I like; he is my boyfriend now."

To increase the credibility, Ichinose Honami decisively reached out both hands, gently hooking Chihaya Rei's arm and pressing it against her chest.

Her face flushed red as she did so.

Chihaya Rei also cooperated by standing perfectly still, acting as a wooden statue enjoying the benefits.

He had always been a Honami Fan.

"..."

Shiranami Chihiro's eyes widened, her lips trembling slightly.

Honami had never been this intimate with her.

"Honami, you must be lying to me, right? You never mentioned this before..."

Shiranami Chihiro's gaze was earnest; how she hoped Ichinose Honami would quickly deny it.

However—

"I am not lying to you!"

Because of her guilty conscience, Ichinose Honami shouted these words with an even heavier tone.

"That is because Honami and I are not in the same class, and there is competition between classes. Since Honami is the leader of Class B, it is not very appropriate for her to be too intimate with me."

"That is why we decided to keep our relationship a secret for the time being."

Seeing that Shiranami Chihiro was still putting up a stubborn resistance even in this state, Chihaya Rei chimed in to provide a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Shiranami-san, please accept reality. Furthermore, I will not let you lay a hand on Honami."

Chihaya Rei's tone carried an air of unyielding resolve.

At the same time, he took hold of Ichinose Honami's slender, soft fingers.

He slowly raised their joined hands, interlocking their fingers right before Shiranami Chihiro's eyes.

"Are you willing to believe it now?"

Chihaya Rei's calm, unhurried voice paired perfectly with Ichinose Honami's shy, blushing cheeks.

"If that is still not enough, do you need us to provide some other form of proof?"

"No!"

Shiranami Chihiro blurted it out almost instantly.

Any more intimate contact—she did not want to see that kind of thing!

And so, witnessing this scene with her own eyes, Shiranami Chihiro finally believed it completely.

Her nose stung, and tears fell uncontrollably, one by one.

It was clearly me who came first...

Shiranami Chihiro's pupils lost their luster for a few seconds as she murmured:

"I understand. I wish you both happiness..."

Choking back sobs as she said these words, Shiranami Chihiro turned and fled in a hurry.

Seeing her run away, Chihaya Rei's eyes lit up slightly.

It appeared—the classic "run away at the slightest disagreement."

A familiar and nostalgic feeling.

"Wait a moment, Chihiro-chan!"

Seeing this, Ichinose Honami instinctively moved to chase after her to offer comfort.

However, she was intercepted by Chihaya Rei, who reached out a hand to stop her.

"Leave it to me. After all, I bear some responsibility for comforting Shiranami-san."

"Besides, I have plenty of experience in comforting people."

Chihaya Rei said confidently:

"If all goes well, I will return a Shiranami Chihiro with a normal emotional state to you by tomorrow."

"Eh?"

Ichinose Honami's expression was slightly confused.

Logically, shouldn't a girl be the one to handle this kind of comforting?

However, out of trust in Chihaya Rei, Ichinose Honami nodded.

Mostly because Chihaya Rei had already chased after her before she could say anything more.

Shiranami Chihiro's short legs did not carry her very far.

In the quiet little grove, she was caught up to by Chihaya Rei.

Chasing down a deserter and then subjecting them to torture was a part of his daily routine in the past.

At this moment, Shiranami Chihiro was like a little lamb encountering a big bad wolf, stepping backward until her small back hit a tree, forcing her to stop.

Chihaya Rei approached with calm, measured steps.

He stopped only when he was half a meter away from Shiranami Chihiro.

Tears welled up in Shiranami Chihiro's eyes, and she glared at Chihaya Rei with an expression of deep resentment.

"...What do you want?"

"I am here to guide you, Shiranami-san."

Chihaya Rei's tone was peaceful, and he took a moment to appreciate the girl's delicious expression, which was worthy of being turned into a meme.

"I don't need your guidance."

Shiranami Chihiro sniffled hard to keep her tears from falling.

Even if she needed comfort, she wanted it to come from Ichinose Honami!

If it were Chihaya Rei, Honami's boyfriend, it would only feel like the sympathy and mockery of a victor toward a loser.