If it were Natsu-kun...

"Then what should I do?"

Fukada temporarily set aside the thought of leaving and asked again.

U Amakusa pondered for a moment: "Has a girl suddenly appeared by your childhood friend's side, someone he seems to get along with well?"

"Yes, yes, that's it! How did you know? I'm clearly the one who knows Natsu-kun the... best."

Fukada began to trust U Amakusa a little; after all, they were complete strangers, yet he was able to point things out time and time again.

Good grief, the classic 'childhood friend loses to the girl who just arrived' trope.

U Amakusa said: "No need to panic. At least they aren't together yet, right? But if you, Fukada, continue to be so 'tsun' without the 'dere'..."

Fukada asked anxiously: "Then what should I do? I don't want to lose Natsu-kun!"

U Amakusa gently patted her shoulder: "Don't panic. Just make a bold move. It's best to be direct; you'll be sure to succeed."

For a typical Japanese-style male lead like this, as long as the childhood friend has the courage to confess directly, she simply cannot lose.

He will end up self-indoctrinating, after all, this Fukada is a rare beauty in her own right.

A simple adolescent boy, once he knows a girl actually likes him, will inevitably fall for her on his own.

Of course, that is assuming the girl is good-looking, though it seems the same applies to girls as well.

"Eh?... Is that really going to work? If I confess directly..." Fukada imagined the scene of Natsu accepting her confession, and her cheeks flushed.

"No, he will reject you." U Amakusa said this without a shred of hesitation.

"Ahaha, Master, what are you saying? I must have misheard, right?"

"No, you heard correctly."

This was a fact—a fact U Amakusa had seen using his cheat.

Immediately after, U Amakusa continued:

"Don't worry, this is just the appetizer. After he rejects you, he will become incredibly preoccupied with you. You just need to ignore him, go to school as usual, and it would be best if you could chat and laugh with other boys."

"Huh? Why? I don't want to! I only like Natsu-kun!"

"Hey, don't be impatient. This trick is called 'playing hard to get.' It works every time. Just trust me; you'll definitely be able to win him over."

Fukada thought about it with a bitter expression, then nodded: "Fine, I'll trust you this once. I'll give it a try."

With that, Fukada stood up to leave, but U Amakusa intercepted her and pulled out an object to hand over.

"Don't be in a rush. This method is effective, but you can't be impatient. It needs to last at least a month, otherwise, the effect won't be good."

"Ah? That long? I can't talk to Natsu-kun for over a month..." Fukada was visibly losing her nerve.

"Hey, look at you, getting impatient again. See this?" U Amakusa held up the item he had just handed over.

"This is the 'brocade pouch' I prepared for you. When your childhood friend can't help but approach you, and you don't want to continue the plan anymore, only then can you open this pouch. It will give you a helping hand."

"Really! Thank you so much!"

Fukada excitedly reached for the pouch in U Amakusa's hand, but he pulled it back, and she missed it.

"Guaranteed results. Ten times the refund if it's fake. That will be 5,000 personal points. Scan the code to pay."

As he spoke, U Amakusa pushed the payment QR code on the side toward her.

"...Didn't you say it was free?"

"Fukada, the free part was the fortune-telling, not the brocade pouch. Don't you agree?"

"..."

Fukada bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind to scan the code and pay the 5,000 personal points, taking the pouch from U Amakusa's hand.

"I hope this really works." Fukada gripped the pouch tightly and turned to leave.

U Amakusa watched Fukada's retreating figure, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

Who would have thought? Who would have thought.

That Shimizu guy gave me this thing, and it would actually come in handy one day. I suppose this counts as helping someone achieve their happiness?

At the thought of the moment Fukada would open that pouch, U Amakusa couldn't stop his mouth from curving up, because his cheat told him that Fukada would actually have the guts to do it.

The answer was that the boy named Natsu would be firmly captured.

Natsu~ you really should thank me.

Look at her, Fukada is a rare beauty, after all.

Especially that chest that lives up to her name; since she's already taking the initiative, you can't possibly be useless, right?

In the days that followed, Fukada tried her best to restrain herself from paying attention to Natsu-kun.

And Natsu-kun seemed confused and lost by Fukada's sudden coldness, feeling a sense of itchiness in his heart whenever he saw her chatting happily with other boys.

It was as if something of his had been snatched away. Clearly, he was the one who came first; clearly, he and Fukada were childhood friends.

Natsu-kun finally couldn't hold back and came to find her, wanting to make things clear.

"Naoka, I... no, why have you been avoiding me every time you see me these past few days?"

Natsu frowned and rubbed the back of his head, his face flushed with a slight redness that made him look incredibly awkward.

Seeing Natsu-kun looking so awkward and unable to articulate himself, Fukada began to grow anxious as well.

Fukada remembered the brocade pouch; turning her back to Natsu-kun, she opened it with trembling hands, only to find a Faint-Inducing Pouch inside.

Fukada's eyes instantly turned into dots, her cheeks turned crimson, and her entire head began to emit steam like a locomotive.

The ultimate move the master spoke of is actually this...!

No! Dame dame! It's too embarrassing and shameful!!

What if Natsu-kun thinks I'm a loose woman!? Dame dame! Absolutely dame!!

What kind of master is that! I think he's just a pervert!

In short, it's just dame!!

Seeing Fukada standing with her back to him without saying a word, Natsu-kun felt deeply frustrated, as if something were missing from his heart.

He lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Is it really because of that? I may have rejected you, Naoka, but... surely that doesn't mean you have to ignore me entirely... We are childhood friends after all, aren't we?"

Fukada, holding that object, wasn't listening carefully to Natsu-kun's words; she was currently caught in a mental storm.

As a result, she did not reply to Natsu-kun.

Natsu-kun gritted his teeth tightly, a look of unwillingness appearing on his face.

"I still want to remain friends with Naoka, just like before. Being like strangers... I don't want that, and besides, you..."

You changed your heart way too fast, didn't you? It's only the second day and you're already laughing and joking with other boys.

The Naoka I know isn't like this!

Fukada finally snapped back to reality, opening her mouth, but not knowing how to answer; she simply kept her head down to avoid looking at Natsu-kun.

In reality, Fukada just didn't want Natsu-kun to see the flush on her face.

"...Can we not even be friends? I'm sorry, I overstepped my bounds, Fukada-san. Goodbye."

Having said that, Natsu-kun turned to leave.

Fukada panicked, hurriedly grabbing Natsu-kun and shouting, "Natsu-kun, it's not like that!"

"Naoka..."

"I still like Natsu-kun!"

With that, Fukada gripped the brocade pouch in her hand tightly and made up her mind.

If it's Natsu-kun...