Although Kanzaki Sou’s favorability toward Kondo Haruka was still at 50 and seemed dangerously high, Xiao Chun Miura believed she couldn’t successfully interfere every time like she just did.
That kind of self-destructive action was fine once, but if she kept popping up with various accidents from different places every time Kanzaki Sou and Kondo Haruka interacted, even the dullest person would think something was wrong.
They wouldn’t know she was doing this just to survive—if she put herself in their shoes and tried to guess Xiao Chun Miura’s motives, the only conclusion would be: “Xiao Chun Miura is, in some sense, a stalker pervert who can only create opportunities to approach Kanzaki Sou through these methods.”
If it developed like that, she’d be doomed, and from then on, people would specifically guard against or avoid her, making it even harder to interfere with Kanzaki Sou and the Heroines’ favorability events.
…So Xiao Chun Miura thought it was better to come up with an excuse early on—one that would allow her to naturally and unnoticeably get close to Kanzaki Sou’s daily life, without raising suspicion among those around him.
***
She spent the entire afternoon lost in thought, not hearing a single word from the unfamiliar teachers at the podium—she wasn’t even sure if they were actually teaching.
—If they really were lecturing, maybe it would’ve been interesting…
But the thought only lasted a few seconds before Xiao Chun Miura denied it.
There was no way it could be interesting—she never wanted to go through high school studies again.
As the afternoon classes finally ended, Xiao Chun Miura finally came up with an idea.
…In the game, during the early part of the Common Route, Kanzaki Sou could choose a Club Activity to join.
In the game, this choice determined which characters the Protagonist could interact with after school in the following story.
But no matter which Club Activity he eventually picked, Kanzaki Sou would always go to the Library first and ask about becoming a Librarian.
At that time in the game, the lazy receptionist girl ignored Kanzaki Sou, causing his interest in becoming a Librarian to fizzle out.
After that, he happened to run into Kondo Haruka, who was just heading to a Club Activity, and ended up following her to the sports club…
No matter what, when choosing a Club Activity, the first step was always going to the Library.
…What if she could somehow arrange for Kanzaki Sou and herself to become Librarians together?
This idea seemed much more reliable than the others.
…All of it felt like social death so embarrassing she never wanted to remember it again.
Whenever Xiao Chun Miura thought about the mess she’d been imagining for the past few hours, she felt a chill.
Since she’d decided on a direction, she would focus her efforts there for now.
She tried recalling if there were any other survival-threatening events the Protagonist encountered later in the game, but Xiao Chun Miura came up with an optimistic answer—at least for today, aside from the accidental hug with Kondo Haruka at the start, the rest of Kanzaki Sou’s day was just normal and uneventful.
As the bell rang for the end of class, Xiao Chun Miura, slumped over her desk, finally let out a sigh of relief.
The teacher didn’t seem to care about the students’ states at all, simply finishing their allotted time and then leaving the classroom.
That made it easier for Xiao Chun Miura to focus on her own thoughts.
She had considered asking the classmates nearby for information at a time like this—but the idea of chatting with a bunch of side characters was frightening, so Xiao Chun Miura ended up quietly waiting for the end of class.
What if they were like those badly designed NPCs who only repeated a single line?
That would be way too creepy—it was better not to talk to them at all.
Thinking such pointless things, Xiao Chun Miura packed her bag.
Halfway through, she realized she was handling her stationery just like a real high school student and felt a little exasperated.
…But even that awkward peace wasn’t allowed to linger for long around Xiao Chun Miura.
Just as she was dawdling with her bag, a shadow fell across her desk, darkening her view.
Xiao Chun Miura looked up.
A tall figure with chestnut-red curls stood next to her desk.
Her heart skipped a beat.
There was no mistaking it—the person was Kondo Haruka.
She stood with her arms crossed, her face expressionless, but her gaze was no longer as straightforward and pure as it had been earlier in the day—it held a trace of scrutiny.
“Hey, you’re Miura, right?”
Even though everyone nearby had started watching at some point, Kondo Haruka ignored them, speaking in a tone that couldn’t be called friendly.
“Can you come out with me for a moment?”
Xiao Chun Miura’s heart leapt into her throat, cold sweat breaking out down her back.
…So this kind of thing happened too.
Was this an event that existed in the game—a scene originally meant for Kondo Haruka’s actions outside the Protagonist’s perspective?
If so, how could she still be called an NPC?!
She had her own life!
Utterly unprepared for this face-to-face confrontation, Xiao Chun Miura could only follow as she was led out of the classroom.
Once they reached a dim spot in the corridor, Kondo Haruka leaned against the stairway railing, arms folded, and studied Xiao Chun Miura.
The heavy silence made Xiao Chun Miura uncomfortable.
“Um, Kondo-san, is something wrong?”
“Eh? How did you know my name is Kondo?”
“–!”
Startled, Xiao Chun Miura almost bit her tongue.
Right—she hadn’t introduced herself yet.
“Ah, b-because Sou-kun called your name…”
“But he only called me Haruka, right?”
Kondo Haruka tilted her head, suspicion growing in her eyes.
…Overthinking!
Xiao Chun Miura screamed internally.
“Actually—actually, it’s because Kondo-san, you’re so famous…”
“——Hmm~?”
The chestnut-haired girl hummed.
…At least this much was true.
In the game, the childhood friend had significant popularity at school, thanks to her looks and status as a sports club star, so Xiao Chun Miura’s explanation was plausible.
So Kondo Haruka didn’t press further.
“Miura, why did you come to our classroom at noon today?”
Kondo Haruka stepped closer, her gaze sharp.
“Was it really just a slip of the foot?”
The air felt frozen.
Xiao Chun Miura could feel her palms sweating.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
—And she did feel guilty.
Her brain cells burned at unprecedented speed.
Having played so many text-based romance adventure games, she knew denying everything would be suspicious, but confessing completely was even more fatal.
After a moment, she looked up, her eyes behind her glasses moist with nerves.
“I-I’m very sorry…Kondo-san. I… I actually…”
She deliberately paused, as if gathering courage, her voice trembling.
“I actually… have always admired Kanzaki-kun.”
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