After helping Kanzaki Sou tidy up the scattered textbooks and stationery, Kondo Haruka practically dragged him out of the study room without looking back.
Kanzaki Sou didn’t even have time for a polite goodbye before his figure disappeared beyond the door.
The two of them didn’t leave a single word for Xiao Chun Miura.
“……”
Xiao Chun Miura could only stare blankly as the classroom door was firmly closed, just like Kondo Haruka’s clear-cut attitude that shut everyone else out of her and Kanzaki Sou’s world.
After a long moment, she shook her head helplessly.
This has gotten out of hand.
For the next few days, she probably shouldn’t even think about getting a chance to be alone with Kanzaki Sou.
——Kondo Haruka would be on high alert against her, no doubt.
Although there was still Library Committee work…
“Cough—!”
“Yah!”
Lost in thought, a cough suddenly came from the side.
Only then did Xiao Chun Miura remember she was still in the classroom, surrounded by unfamiliar students—the scene just now had been witnessed by outsiders.
She hurriedly stood up, forgetting her bag was still on the floor. She quickly squatted down to pick it up, then fled the classroom.
***
The lights in the teaching building’s hallway were still bright. Under their glow, Xiao Chun Miura left the classroom and went down a floor. Seeing no one in the corridor, she finally calmed down a bit.
“Hoo… This is difficult.”
Even though there was still Library Committee work, it wasn’t like she and Kanzaki Sou had no chance to meet.
But that wasn’t the issue.
……Judging from Kondo Haruka’s personality—
Even if Kondo Haruka skipped Club Activity the next day and came straight to the Library to keep watch over her, Xiao Chun Miura wouldn’t be surprised.
In fact, that would be a very “Kondo Haruka”-style move.
……
When she got home, the dormitory was still empty.
“I’m back~”
Unlocking the door with her fingerprint, Xiao Chun Miura spoke the words out of habit.
She watched as the voice-activated light turned on, and skillfully placed her outdoor shoes in the Genkan.
Though she had never lived in a place like this before, she felt she was gradually getting used to it.
Other than the house layout being quite different from where she’d lived before, everything else about this small building was pretty satisfying.
……For example, there was no specially raised step at the Genkan, no Tatami in the Living Room—such differences felt fresh to Xiao Chun Miura.
The idea of being unable to adapt due to unfamiliarity didn’t exist.
——After all, this was so much better than the rental apartments she’d lived in before.
It was free, spacious, and most importantly, for now, she was living alone.
……Those parents she’d never met still hadn’t appeared at Home.
Xiao Chun Miura had previously wondered if the Game World simply didn’t have “Koharu Miura’s Parents” data, so the game couldn’t generate a pair of parents for her to see.
But as for whether they truly didn’t exist, Xiao Chun Miura didn’t think so.
Previously, she didn’t know where “Home” was, but when she called “Mother,” the response didn’t feel completely fabricated.
The conversation was smooth, and at the end of the call, there were loving voices from Father and Mother—if it were all temporary content generated by the Game World, that would be a bit suspicious.
So every day, Xiao Chun Miura mentally prepared herself, hoping to see those so-called dance-loving parents when she returned Home.
But today, she still didn’t see them.
“Ahhh… Not today, either.”
Xiao Chun Miura let out an exaggerated sigh, swinging the fridge door shut.
Today, as usual, she ate Curry Rice that she still hadn’t grown tired of, skillfully steaming Rice Cooker rice and heating Curry in the pot.
“……”
“——There really isn’t anyone Home.”
She muttered to herself.
……Today, more than ever, she wished those unfamiliar parents were here.
***
Nothing noteworthy happened the next morning.
As soon as class ended, Xiao Chun Miura headed straight to the Library.
She was anxious to see how Kanzaki Sou would react to her now.
They hadn’t spoken when they parted yesterday, and since Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou had left together, it was entirely possible they’d discussed things related to her on the way.
So, all Xiao Chun Miura could think was, “I’ll just ask him and see,” forgetting all about yesterday’s awkwardness.
Kanzaki Sou arrived a bit late, but there was nothing strange in the atmosphere between them.
“Good afternoon, Miura-san—you’re already here, as expected.”
His attitude toward Xiao Chun Miura was as calm and gentle as ever, unchanged by Kondo Haruka or yesterday’s events.
Xiao Chun Miura felt a bit relieved.
She’d planned to start a conversation to test his attitude, but now it seemed there was no need.
……Kanzaki Sou really was the Protagonist—so emotionally stable and reliable.
Xiao Chun Miura secretly admired him.
Just as she let out a sigh of relief, thinking she could spend today in peaceful silence—
“——?!”
The long-haired girl suddenly shivered while turning for work, without warning.
——Xiao Chun Miura felt it.
Someone was watching her. It was subtle, but she was sure of it.
It probably wasn’t her imagination.
Using the bookshelf in front of her as cover, Xiao Chun Miura, now turned around, quietly shifted her gaze behind her lenses, trying to find the source of that chill.
——Found it.
In the area with study desks for students, at the side of the Front Desk and opposite the entrance, a difficult-to-ignore gaze was being directed this way from behind a raised book.
“…Ugh.”
Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t help but let out a helpless whimper.
At one of the desks, perfectly positioned to observe the Front Desk from the side, a student held up a book on the table, peering intently from behind it.
Naturally, the eyes and forehead visible above the book instantly gave away the person’s identity.
That maroon curly hair was way too conspicuous to hide.
……Come to think of it, does the school allow such bright hair colors?
Slight waves might be acceptable, but dyed hair…
If it’s not allowed, then it’s not allowed.
Maybe, since this is a Game World, minor details like this don’t perfectly match reality.
After all, there’s that meme—“If the heroines in text-based romance adventure games had realistic hair colors, you couldn’t tell who’s who.” In 2D, hair color and style distinguish characters.
……In any case, regardless of her inner complaints, Kondo Haruka’s maroon curls completely betrayed her identity.
Xiao Chun Miura felt helpless.
Once she realized it, she could only feel those eyes locked onto her.
She felt like Andy escaping from Shawshank Prison, and Kondo Haruka’s gaze was the Spotlight atop the prison wall.
“Don’t even think about sneaking away, vixen… Don’t even think about sneaking away, vixen… Don’t even think about sneaking away, vixen…”
She could practically feel that glare sending a powerful warning.
——Ah, geez.
If she were a Heroine, she might have been the one avoiding Kanzaki Sou.
Anyway, even if he ended up on someone else’s route, the Other Heroines wouldn’t be left out entirely. If she’d crossed over as a Heroine-level character, she wouldn’t be here scheming against Kondo Haruka.
She’d be enjoying school life by now—though she’d never actually fantasized about being a bright, youthful high school girl.
But that’s that.
Since she’d become a high school girl, why not enjoy a wonderful, fleeting dream in this Game World?
……If not for the circumstances, if not for the fact that her survival depended on it, she wouldn’t be here messing with Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou’s relationship.
If she had a choice, if she’d gotten Heroine treatment, she would’ve stayed far away from Kanzaki Sou—she didn’t want to be chased by him anyway, and Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou could be together happily.
……Who cares about you, anyway.
The more Xiao Chun Miura thought about it, the more wronged she felt, her nose slowly turning sour.
“——Miura-san? Miura-san?”
“Eh?”
Kanzaki Sou’s voice brought her back to reality.
She quickly turned her head—outside the Front Desk, a female student and Kanzaki Sou were both looking at her.
“This student wants to see the book in your hands—Miura-san, are you alright?”
“Ah! Ah, yes, I’m fine—here you go, classmate…”
Xiao Chun Miura hurriedly handed the book to the quiet female student outside the Front Desk.
The other girl flipped through it, then asked Kanzaki Sou if she could borrow it.
Kanzaki Sou spoke with her while Xiao Chun Miura stood there dazed.
What was I just thinking…
The girl’s delicate brows trembled slightly.
It really was the kind of thing a real girl would think.