Chapter 19: Two Against One

♥♥♥

“Wait, you’re aiming for a new world?”

Hamanami Megumi says.

A first-year disciplinary committee member. A short girl who worked with me on the cultural festival committee last month. During that festival, she successfully became lovers with her childhood friend, Yoshimi-kun.

“You just said ‘sharing,’ right?”

“I did. Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san are sharing me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!? I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

Exactly. It’s not a two-timing situation or polygamy. Two girls are taking the lead to share a guy.

“Where are the three of you headed? Don’t go showing your pioneering spirit in a place like that! Love’s frontier spirit!”

Hamanami screams.

It’s lunchtime, in a classroom on the first floor of the old school building used by the disciplinary committee.

Hamanami knows all about our situation and, having inadvertently helped with Tachibana-san’s swap trick during the cultural festival stage, she’s been concerned about how things turned out. So I told her it’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about.

“No way, it’s not fine at all, and I’m full of worries!”

“Is it?”

“Absolutely!”

Hamanami’s sharp retorts are on point.

“I was sure Kirishima-senpai would end up ruined. Love’s obsession is terrifying……”

By the way, Hamanami says, looking thoughtful:

“Doesn’t that mean the two girls are teaming up, putting the guy in a weak position?”

“Yeah. That’s why I have to absolutely obey both of them.”

“Kirishima-senpai, are you okay with that?”

“It’s all my fault, after all.”

When I became mutual with Tachibana-san, I couldn’t end my secondary relationship with Hayasaka-san as promised—that’s the root of everything.

“So I’m going to enjoy it.”

“?”

Hamanami tilts her head, touching her ear repeatedly.

“Kirishima-senpai, can you say that one more time?”

“I’m going to enjoy this situation of having two lovers.”

“…………”

Hamanami does a quick stretch before shouting at her loudest today:

“Incomprehensible mentality!!”

I get why she’d want to say that.

“That’s how it turned out.”

When the three of us talked, it felt like a reflection meeting. I apologized for causing this with my actions, Tachibana-san apologized for her half-hearted stance due to family issues, and Hayasaka-san just kept saying I’m sorry, I’m sorry over and over.

“But we can’t change the past, and moping about it forever won’t help.”

“No way……”

“The two girls decided to move forward first. They said, ‘If this is how it is, let’s make the most of it and have fun!’”

“So positive!”

“So I decided to move forward too.”

“You absolute moron!”

Hamanami looked like she had more to say but said, “Fine.” and pointed outside the window. Just then, Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san were walking across the courtyard.

They didn’t notice us and sat down on a bench with their backs to us.

“Eavesdropping’s not cool, you know.”

“Isn’t the important thing whether those two are really enjoying this?”

“Fair point.”

We quickly crouch under the window, backs against the wall.

As Hamanami quietly opens the window, the winter chill carries in the voices of Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san.

“Tachibana-san, have you submitted your career aspirations?”

“Yeah. The music department at the arts university. You, Hayasaka-san?”

“For now, I circled the national university’s science course.”

“Veterinary school? You said you love animals, right?”

It’s a gentle, fluffy girly chat.

“So, which university should we have Shirou-kun attend?”

“Going with Tachibana-san’s would be tough, wouldn’t it? Kirishima-kun can’t play an instrument.”

“The arts university has a fine arts department too.”

“Kirishima-kun’s art sense is utterly disastrous……”

“Right? I wanted to go to the same university.”

“If we live in Tokyo, we can meet up easily.”

A super fluffy, contentless conversation unfolds.

Hamanami looks at me with pity, communicating through eye contact.

Kirishima-senpai, they’re not even letting you choose your own career path, huh?

Looks that way.

The topic of my future ends there. The girls’ conversation jumps around, a phenomenon typical of them—talking about low pressure systems, rakugo, and hairdryers. Then:

“The girls keep asking me, ‘Have you done it yet?’”

Tachibana-san says in a sulky tone.

“Is that really such a big deal?”

“They just want to see you get embarrassed, Tachibana-san. Don’t worry about it. But……”

There’s no need to tell others. Hayasaka-san prefaces, before saying:

“I think doing that is really important for lovers.”

“Why?”

“Because…… it’s an act of confirming love.”

I can’t see from my position, but I can picture Hayasaka-san blushing as she imagines specific acts.

“You know how guys try to act cool? In the same way, we try to act cute, right? But there are tons of parts of us that aren’t like that.”

“True.”

“When you do that, guys get excited, and girls…… well, get all…… you know, turned on, right? Showing that side of yourself takes a lot of courage, I think.”

“Yeah. I’m too embarrassed to do anything.”

“But if you can show those not-so-pretty parts and still accept each other, I think that’s really wonderful. So I want to, or rather……”

That’s very Hayasaka-san. With her pure, pristine image imposed by others, she fears disappointing them if she strays from it. So she wishes her loved one would accept her imperfect self.

“……Was it like that with Shirou-kun last night?”

“……Yeah.”

Hayasaka-san’s voice takes on a moist quality.

“Guys, you know, they don’t calm down unless they go all the way.”

“I know. I studied up recently.”

“So Kirishima-kun kept getting, like, really worked up, over and over.”

“He didn’t try to sleep?”

“He did. But maybe sleeping in our underwear was a bad idea…… We tried to sleep holding each other, feeling each other’s warmth, but…… I kept stroking his back or shoulders and ended up kissing his body here and there…… and then Kirishima-kun got excited, and, you know, our bodies were touching all over, and I got all switched on, and then he started playing with my body, and I felt good, got wet, started moaning, and he got even more excited, and I…… I kept getting sent over the edge, over and over.”

Every time we tried to sleep, it repeated, Hayasaka-san says.

“In the end, I couldn’t keep my voice down, so I was face-down, pressing my face into the pillow. Kirishima-kun leaned over me, pressing down on my body while getting excited, and I was so happy and felt so good that drool and all sorts of things wouldn’t stop, and I’d already changed my underwear three times, but that time we had to change the sheets too…… and we were so exhausted that we finally fell asleep.”

“…………”

“Tachibana-san, you’ve got a nosebleed……”

“……Yeah.”

The sound of rustling pocket tissues comes through.

“S-sorry, I might’ve talked about some irrelevant stuff.”

Hayasaka-san says.

“What I meant was, doing that is embarrassing but precious, and…… with someone you love, it feels good……”

“Yeah…… I’ll try my best too.”

“T-Tachibana-san, you can’t go all the way either, okay!?”

“I know. No sneaking. It’s a promise, and there’s a penalty too.”

But can Shirou-kun hold back? Tachibana-san says.

“Guys want to do it, right?”

“What if he goes to another girl because we won’t let him?”

“About that……”

Tachibana-san says in a serious tone.

“Shirou-kun was touching another girl again.”

“Again!?”

“He seemed to be enjoying it.”

“……That’s unforgivable.”

“I asked him to stop touching other girls, but……”

“Kirishima-kun…… He has both me and Tachibana-san, and if he still doesn’t get it, let’s go break his glasses.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

Their footsteps fade. It seems they’ve walked away.

By the way, the “touching” Tachibana-san mentioned was just my shoulder brushing against a girl’s as we passed in the hallway. Tachibana-san was watching from afar, puffing out her cheeks. And I definitely wasn’t enjoying it.

“You’ve got it rough, Kirishima-senpai.”

Hamanami says in a carefree tone.

“But yeah, they do seem to be enjoying themselves.”

“Right?”

“If you ignore the fact that everyone’s moral compass is completely shattered!”

Hamanami suddenly ramps up her energy.

“And those two being all buddy-buddy? That’s definitely just temporary! It’s all surface-level! Surface-level monsters!”

“Is it?”

“There’s an obvious spark waiting to ignite! The whole…… doing it or not doing it thing.”

“There’s a strict no-sneaking rule for that.”

“When have any of you ever followed the rules!?”

That stings.

“And right now, you’re taking turns as their boyfriend, right? Then the day’s coming when you’ll have to choose one.”

“Christmas, right?”

“You know it.”

“I’m planning to spend it with all three of us.”

“Ugh……”

“We’re going on a group date this weekend to test if it’s possible.”

“Isn’t that basically hell?” Hamanami says.

“Those two are only cute on the outside—inside, they’re like kaiju’s! If you’re all together, it’ll definitely turn into a screeching kaiju war!”

“Don’t scare me like that. I’m going in unarmed, you know.”

“Try not to get crushed to bits.”

“I feel like Hayasaka-san’s the one who’d flatten me.”

“Who’s calling who a kaiju?”

A cold voice suddenly descends from above.

I immediately understand what’s happening. This is bad. Looking up nervously, I see Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san peering at us from outside the window.

“Hamanami-san, Shirou-kun, don’t move from there.”

Tachibana-san says expressionlessly.

“Kirishima-kun, so that’s what you think of me, huh?”

Hayasaka-san says with a calm smile.

Without saying more, they start walking toward the old building’s entrance. Looks like they’re coming for us. I should probably say goodbye to my glasses.

Beside me, Hamanami is clutching her head.

“Uh…… Hamanami, make sure things go well with Yoshimi-kun, okay?”

I say, and Hamanami glares at me, shouting:

“W-w-w-worry about yourself, you idiot~~~ !!”

♥♥♥

Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san are sharing me.

It’s a very adventurous endeavor.

The common rule of love is that only one person can be a lover, and everyone else who isn’t chosen ends up heartbroken. But if sharing is allowed, it adds more chairs to the single seat, reducing the number of people who get hurt.

Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san probably aren’t thinking this deeply, but as a result, they chose this approach. Whether it’ll succeed, though, is anyone’s guess.

Wanting to have the person you love all to yourself—that’s natural. Sharing goes against that impulse too much.

The fantasy of pure love is just one value system, so you can discard it by changing your mindset. That’s why I affirmed the feeling of loving someone as a secondary.

But possessiveness and jealousy are closer to instincts than values.

When the person you love is close with someone else, your heart aches before your mind can process it. So this experiment Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san started is a challenge to instinct itself.

To make sharing work, controlling these instinctive impulses is essential.

And the day to test that came quickly.

It’s the weekend, just past noon. I pass through the ticket gate, walking briskly. The train was slightly delayed.

As I reach the plaza in front of the station, I spot Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san by a bronze statue, being chatted up by a guy who looks like a university student.

“Shopping, just the two of you? Wanna hang out after you’re done?”

“W-we’re waiting for our boyfriend……”

Hayasaka-san is flustered as she responds. It seems they’re being hit on. Tachibana-san, standing beside her, has a sulky expression. They’re quite the contrast.

As I approach, Hayasaka-san calls out, “Kirishima-kun! Over here, over here!”

“You’re late.”

Tachibana-san spots me, runs over, and grabs my sleeve.

“We kept getting hit on by all sorts of people—it was rough.”

Hayasaka-san is wearing a warm-colored coat and scarf, giving off a soft vibe. Tachibana-san’s in a white, fur-lined long coat, looking every bit the refined young lady. With these two standing side by side, they’re bound to draw attention.

Still, Tachibana-san in girlfriend mode is, as always, super clingy. Even now, she’s blushing and nuzzling up to me like a puppy.

“Oh, you actually have a boyfriend?”

The guy hitting on them gives up easily and leaves. He glances back once, his face seeming to ask, Which one’s boyfriend?

“Alright, shall we go?”

Hayasaka-san says.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Tachibana-san looks at her hand gripping my sleeve, pauses to think, then lets go and exchanges a glance with Hayasaka-san. And then—

“This works, right?”

“Yeah, let’s do it this way.”

Tachibana-san and Hayasaka-san nod to each other and start walking hand in hand.

Apparently, that’s the conclusion they reached.

The two of them walk ahead, holding hands like good friends, while I follow behind. This way, there’s no fighting, and it avoids the dangerous situation where I’d have to choose one of them.

I feel like a total tagalong, but this might just make a three-person date work.

However—

“Kirishima-kun, why are you standing?”

“Sit down already, Shirou-kun.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

It’s at a famous fruit shop in the department store’s restaurant area.

The two had promised to eat a seasonal parfait here as part of today’s outing. Researching the shop beforehand is such a girl thing to do.

That’s fine, but as soon as we’re seated at a four-person table, the two of them sit across from each other. Meaning, I have to choose whose side to sit on.

“You want to sit next to me, right?”

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

If I move toward Hayasaka-san, Tachibana-san furrows her brow. If I move toward Tachibana-san, Hayasaka-san flashes a strained smile.

“You’re toying with me, aren’t you?”

They could’ve just sat side by side.

As expected, it seems to have been a joke. When I sit next to Tachibana-san, Hayasaka-san pouts but laughs it off with a “Can’t be helped.”

“If Kirishima-kun and Tachibana-san aren’t sitting together, it’d be hard to explain if someone from school saw us.”

Even while eating parfaits, the two chat amicably.

“Sweets are so delicious, aren’t they?”

“Yeah! I feel like I could eat another one~”

“Since we’re here, should we go for it?”

“Whoa, eating two would be wild! But I think I could~”

“No, two’s crazy, you’ll get so fa—………… Uh, sorry, my bad, totally my fault. Yes, I’ll shut up.”

The date proceeds enjoyably like that.

Both Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san are exercising a lot of self-control. But a small thing shifts the mood.

It happens after the two girls eat another parfait and head to the cosmetics section.

“Your companions are both so cute!”

A store clerk addresses me.

“Which one’s your girlfriend?”

An impossible question to answer. The clerk probably thought I, a guy, was bored in the cosmetics section and struck up a conversation to be nice. Out of extra hospitality, she even says:

“Oh, I’ll guess! I’m good at this. Your girlfriend is—”

From watching my little sister, I know girls are very conscious of how others perceive them.

Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san are no exception. In fact, because they’re so good-looking, they’re especially aware of others’ gazes.

Which one looks like my lover?

The moment their eyes change, it’s palpable.

♥♥♥

The girls’ competitive spirits ignite.

In the cosmetics section, the clerk looks between me and the two, says, “You’re the bag-carrier, huh!” and the situation is smoothed over.

But as I tag along with their shopping, clerks at every stop ask:

“Which one’s your boyfriend?”

To that, both Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san respond, “Who do you think is his girlfriend?”

Most clerks sense the pressure and, reading the room, say, “Hmm, I can’t tell…… You both look great together……” with a stiff smile, dodging the question.

But some clerks boldly take on the challenge.

It happens at a select shop where Hayasaka-san stops, saying she wants a new scarf.

The clerk there doesn’t back down and makes a guess.

“Got it. It’s you!”

She picks Hayasaka-san.

“Why’d you think I’m his girlfriend?”

“You two just look right together.”

“Ehehe~ Right~?”

Hayasaka-san beams, clearly delighted. While chatting with the clerk, she picks up not just a scarf but all sorts of clothes.

“Hey, hey, boyfriend Kirishima-kun! How’s this?”

“I think it suits you.”

“Then I’ll try this, that, and those too~ Gotta look cute for my boyfriend Kirishima-kun! I’m his girlfriend, after all!”

The moment Hayasaka-san enters the fitting room—

“What was that?”

Tachibana-san mutters sulkily under her breath.

“Even at the fruit shop, you two were playing footsie.”

“You noticed?”

“Obviously.”

At the fruit shop, while chatting with Tachibana-san, Hayasaka-san was poking my foot with her toes from across the table or trapping my leg between hers.

“Don’t do that kind of thing with other girls……”

Tachibana-san pouts, clearly dissatisfied. Unable to hold back, she lightly punches my shoulder with her small fist before clinging to my arm.

“I’ve wanted to do this all day.”

She even lets slip her true feelings: wanting to be alone with me.

“You’re my boyfriend, Shirou-kun. Don’t forget that.”

Then, standing on her tiptoes, she presses her lips to mine. A very brief kiss, less than a second.

But the clerk sees it and looks utterly shocked. Fair enough. A guy kissing another girl at the storefront while his girlfriend’s in the fitting room is pretty wild.

“Kirishima-kun, how’s this—”

Hayasaka-san emerges from the fitting room. Tachibana-san quickly pulls away, but girls seem to have a sixth sense for these things.

“……Hmph, so that’s how it is.”

I can tell Hayasaka-san’s switch has flipped.

And so, the “who’s the better girlfriend” championship enters its second round.

It’s when Tachibana-san is looking for a dress to wear at her piano competition.

“This one.”

That clerk declares me Tachibana-san’s boyfriend.

“Why’d you think he’s my boyfriend?”

“He’s got that look of being smitten with an untouchable flower.”

“Exactly. My boyfriend Shirou-kun is completely smitten with me. Totally, utterly.”

Tachibana-san keeps a calm face but, grabbing a pile of dresses, hums as she heads to the fitting room.

“Why…… Why do they say you’re Tachibana-san’s boyfriend?”

Now it’s Hayasaka-san’s turn.

“You’re my boyfriend, Kirishima-kun, right? My boyfriend, just mine, right?”

The premise is already crumbling, but if Hayasaka-san says so, it must be true. I just say, “Sorry.”

“And at the fruit shop, you were holding hands under the table, weren’t you?”

While chatting with Hayasaka-san at the fruit shop, Tachibana-san grabbed my hand under the table for a lover’s clasp.

“You noticed……”

“It was obvious! Tachibana-san’s way too transparent, and…… she’s too sexy……”

“Yeah, that.”

By nature, Tachibana-san has a poker face, never letting anyone read her. Her one weakness is being a total love-struck kid. She’s too shy to do “normal couple things.”

It seems Tachibana-san is trying to overcome that. She hesitantly guided my hand to her thigh under the table.

When she briefly touched my hand to her inner thigh, her face turned bright red.

“No matter how much she wants your attention, using her body is cheating!”

“Uh? Oh, yeah.”

“Resorting to seduction when you’re in trouble? That’s a total fail as a girl. Absolutely not allowed.”

“Y-yeah……”

“Hey, Kirishima-kun, let’s kiss.”

“What kind of pivot is that!?”

“I’ve been holding back all day. We haven’t had any alone time.”

“The whole point was to hang out as a group!”

Also, even if there aren’t many customers, we’re still in a store. But—

“You kissed Tachibana-san, didn’t you?”

Hayasaka-san’s eyes are locked on.

“I’m your girlfriend, so I need to overwrite that, right?”

“……Yes, we have to. Keep it short, please.”

Hayasaka-san presses her lips to mine, slipping her tongue in firmly. The clerk looks between us and the fitting room, terrified, as if she’s seen something horrifying. Understandably so.

“Shirou-kun, how’s this—”

Tachibana-san steps out of the fitting room. Hayasaka-san pulls away quickly, but her flushed cheeks give it away.

“—Don’t mess with my Shirou-kun.”

Tachibana-san says bluntly, sounding pissed and belligerent.

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“N-no, that’s not true!”

Hayasaka-san, face red, fires back.

“Kirishima-kun is my boyfriend! My boyfriend, just mine!”

Oi, where’s the surface-level friendliness?

From here, it’s exactly as Hamanami predicted—a kaiju war. They glare at each other with me in the middle, holding my hand when the other isn’t looking or trying to kiss me when no one’s around.

Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san being friendly with me as the tagalong? That two-against-one balance collapses entirely. Hayasaka-san pulls my hand from the right, Tachibana-san from the left—a manga-like tug-of-war scene forms. And they even argue.

“Shirou-kun’s totally not stylish, so I’ll coordinate for him.”

It’s when Tachibana-san drags me to a men’s select shop.

Over what to dress me in, Hayasaka-san, who wants casual, and Tachibana-san, who wants chic, clash fiercely.

“Chic clothes are impossible! It’s Kirishima-kun we’re talking about! He’d look totally mismatched, swallowed by the outfit!”

“Making it casual would just turn him into a Sunday dad! It’s Shirou-kun! If we don’t at least make his clothes cool, there’s no hope!”

“Ugh, Tachibana-san, you’re so clueless!”

“Hayasaka-san, you blockhead!”

“I’d prefer clothes that are easy to move in……”

“What did you just say!?”

Their voices overlap. I’ve seen that look in their eyes before, in a video—lionesses on the hunt.

“……No, it’s nothing.”

I thought the kaiju war would rage on like this all day.

But surprisingly, it ended quickly.

“More importantly, Tachibana-san, the time!”

Hayasaka-san says, checking her watch. At those words, Tachibana-san snaps back to reality.

They nod to each other, leave the shop, and start walking.

“Kirishima-kun, let’s go~”

Beckoned by Hayasaka-san, I follow like a puppy.

They lead me to a planetarium on the top floor of a large commercial building. Seeing the exhibition poster, I understand why this planetarium.

“It’s my favorite artist……”

It’s a program where you listen to music while watching celestial visuals, and the collaborating musician is unmistakably my favorite. The synthesizer sounds are poetic, with lyrics often mentioning “night,” perfect for a planetarium.

“Ehehe, you’re always listening to them, Kirishima-kun.”

Hayasaka-san says, looking pleased with my reaction.

Tachibana-san turns away shyly, murmuring:

“I’m glad you like it……”

They’d planned ahead, picking a place I’d enjoy. Apparently, the reason today’s date was near this major station wasn’t for their shopping convenience but entirely for this planetarium.

I think to myself:

They’re so kind.

This sharing arrangement is an expression of their kindness. Hayasaka-san respects Tachibana-san’s feelings, and Tachibana-san respects Hayasaka-san’s. They even think about me, setting up surprises like this planetarium.

Sure, they dive into kaiju wars in no time, and nine-tenths of the date is their shopping, but they’re still trying to make this three-person relationship something good.

“Thank you.”

When I say that, Hayasaka-san smiles happily, and Tachibana-san blushes.

I’ve always felt responsible for creating this situation.

But they’re moving forward, thinking things through, trying to find balance with their feelings. So instead of just feeling responsible, I should face this sharing relationship with a more positive mindset. That’s what I thought.

♥♥♥

“Sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

As we leave the planetarium, Hayasaka-san and Tachibana-san apologize.

I couldn’t focus on the planetarium program at all.

We sat with Hayasaka-san on my right and Tachibana-san on my left. The moment it got dark, Hayasaka-san, as usual, clung to me. She’d been holding back because we were a trio, but her restraint hit its limit, and she was fully in that mode.

From the left, Tachibana-san, trying to graduate from being a love-struck kid, made her move too. Naturally, they sensed each other’s actions, escalating things further.

It’s hard to listen to music when both ears have tongues in them.

“S-should we go again?”

Hayasaka-san says apologetically.

“It’s fine. I enjoyed it enough.”

Besides, going again would just repeat the same chaos.

“Alright, I’m gonna head out. I’ve gotta—”

“Huh?”

Tachibana-san suddenly looks anxious.

“Was the date…… boring? I-is it my fault? S-sorry……”

No, no, I wave my hands.

“I told you I have plans at six, right?”

Oh yeah, you mentioned it in a message, Tachibana-san says, calming down.

“I thought I could just whine a bit and change your plans……”

“Oi.”

Full-on spoiled ojou-sama mode.

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately, haven’t you? Making plans that don’t include me or Tachibana-san.”

Hayasaka-san gives me a suspicious look.

Naturally, they press me with, “Tell us what your plans are.”

But I hold my ground, refusing to say anything. In the end, since they want to keep hanging out, I’m the only one who leaves.

As we part, Tachibana-san runs up to me and gently presses her forehead against my chest.

“Don’t make me too anxious.”

She whispers.

“I’m already getting super jealous as it is.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine…… but your plans, they’re not with another girl or anything, right?”

“No, trust me.”

“……Okay, I trust you.”

Tachibana-san looks up at me with an endearing expression, closing her eyes. She’s totally waiting for a kiss when—“Ugh!” Hayasaka-san grabs her by the scruff of her neck and drags her away.

“This is a public place!”

I wonder which mouth is saying that, but people can’t see themselves, only what’s ahead.

“M-my boyfriend……”

Even as she’s dragged away, Tachibana-san reaches out.

“H-he’s my boyfriend!!”

Hayasaka-san says, her face red.

It looks like a dragon-tiger showdown is about to start, and with no time to spare, I quickly slip away.

Outside the commercial building, it’s already pitch dark. Christmas season illuminations are lit up everywhere.

The streets are festive, but the wind is cold.

I hunch my shoulders, shove my hands in my pockets, and wait for the signal to change.

Lately, Tachibana-san’s been more unstable than Hayasaka-san. I recall how, when we parted, she asked, “It’s not another girl, right?” with a face like a rain-soaked puppy.

Tachibana-san is inherently the “number one” type, completely unsuited for being secondary or sharing.

But her instability probably isn’t just because of me and Hayasaka-san.

That’s what I’m thinking when—

“Bam!”

A woman deliberately bumps into me.

She’s wearing an oversized thick hoodie, a long scarf wrapped around her neck, and the inner layer of her short haircut dyed pink.

“Looking forward to tonight!”

She says, laughing cheerfully.

“By the way, Kirishima, you were with some cute girls.”

“You saw?”

“I was shopping too~ So, the one with the big chest is your girlfriend, right?”

“Why’d you think that?”

“The ojou-sama type already has another boyfriend.”

Apparently, she saw her by chance last night. She stood out because she’s so beautiful.

“She was walking with a guy. Super handsome, like he plays soccer. They looked really close, holding hands.”