***
Thanks to that dream, Xiao Chun Miura spent the entire morning feeling uneasy.
The situation in the dream was just too surreal.
Changing clothes just to meet Kanzaki Sou?
Picking out a few random pieces is one thing, but carefully selecting an outfit with “dress-up”—and even choosing earrings at the end??
And what was with “Haru-chan”… too absurd.
Come to think of it, sending messages to go to Book City together already feels like a date, doesn’t it?!
Who wants to go on a date! Isn’t going on a date supposed to increase Favorability Value?!
Even if she was determined not to let Kanzaki Sou enter her route, it’s not like things like dates wouldn’t matter at all!
During lunch break, Xiao Chun Miura scratched her head in frustration.
……To begin with, she’d barely ever gone on a date.
All because of the System’s unnecessary actions, she ended up dreaming about that kind of thing.
“Tsk.”
“——Eh!? Miura-san, did you just—?”
A female student from Class (5) passing by heard the sound of tongue-clicking next to her and stared at Xiao Chun Miura in shock.
This delicate girl, who had never shown a displeased expression before, actually clicked her tongue!
——Something really terrible must have happened…!
***
“Haah……”
Even by the scheduled time for Librarian duties at noon, Xiao Chun Miura still felt a bit like running away.
She wanted to avoid Kanzaki Sou.
After all, seeing Kanzaki Sou from the dream, where they went on a date together… was just too overwhelming for her.
If she saw Kanzaki Sou and, out of curiosity, let something slip and got questioned…
Xiao Chun Miura was the type who couldn’t keep secrets.
She lay across the front desk with her upper body, exhaling with a clear sense of self-awareness.
……But fortunately, the situation seemed much more optimistic than she’d imagined—there was nothing unusual on Kanzaki Sou’s side.
As always, gentle, steady, without mistakes, just like the dependable boy who often drew admiration.
“Miura-san, could you handle this part of the registration? After that, we need to sort some files—will that be alright?”
“Ah, um, no problem—leave it to me.”
Such natural conversation felt like their usual daily routine… making Xiao Chun Miura feel that nothing was out of place.
It was as if the previous conversation with the System never happened… Kanzaki Sou showed no unusual behavior, nothing that seemed like it would “affect the game world.”
Because of that, in the very place she most wanted to escape, Xiao Chun Miura finally calmed down for the first time today.
“Then I’ll head back first, Miura-san.”
After saying goodbye to Kanzaki Sou, Xiao Chun Miura was left alone in the Library.
When work was done, Xiao Chun Miura said she wanted to spend some quiet time reviewing before going home.
Though Kanzaki Sou showed a worried expression, perhaps after thinking it over, he agreed with Xiao Chun Miura’s reasoning… so he didn’t say much and neatly got ready to go home on his own.
He didn’t try to interfere… this Main Character was as sharp and thoughtful as ever.
Then, Xiao Chun Miura sat alone in the empty Library for a long time.
The sky outside the window changed from orange to deep blue, and the streetlights on campus lit up one by one.
She finally figured it out.
……About the problem of getting along with Kondo Haruka and Kanzaki Sou.
If she hadn’t suddenly encountered the System, Xiao Chun Miura wouldn’t have known what actions she would take next.
Instead, after the System appeared and helped refresh Kanzaki Sou’s Goodwill toward Kondo Haruka through the Favorability System… Xiao Chun Miura understood.
Her strategy had been wrong from the beginning.
From the start, she placed herself directly opposite Kondo Haruka.
Whether it was the time they spent together, their status, or even their reasons for interacting.
……She placed herself as Kondo Haruka’s opponent, trying to compete for Kanzaki Sou.
However, the more she did that, the more it fueled Kondo Haruka’s fighting spirit and protective instincts.
Since Kondo Haruka viewed Kanzaki Sou as a Childhood Friend, she assumed Kanzaki Sou would “naturally favor his Childhood Friend more,” which made her act more boldly.
Facing herself as a stranger, Kondo Haruka, harboring hostility, instead used the bond of Childhood Friends to create a sense of a “united front” with Kanzaki Sou.
She had pushed the two of them together.
……Moreover, as a supporting character, it was inherently unreasonable to confront the heroine who had the huge advantage of being a “Childhood Friend.”
——She’d thought about these things before.
But back then, Xiao Chun Miura had no direction, nor did she know which choices or attitudes were better, so she just flailed around like a headless fly.
……But all of that was because the so-called Favorability hadn’t changed.
Precisely because Kanzaki Sou’s Goodwill toward Kondo Haruka stayed at 50, Xiao Chun Miura didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
However, according to the System, after this series of events, Kanzaki Sou’s Goodwill toward Kondo Haruka had decreased.
——So he couldn’t agree with many of Kondo Haruka’s actions, either.
Kanzaki Sou disliked the recent behavior of his “Childhood Friend.”
……With this realization, Xiao Chun Miura found her next direction.
Rather than “separating” Kondo Haruka’s intense reliance on Kanzaki Sou, the correct approach might be to “catalyze” it.
Catalyze—amplify the flaws in Kondo Haruka’s personality.
Entice her to reveal her possessiveness, her impulsiveness, and her insecurities.
Under this premise, as long as she herself appeared innocent and vulnerable enough in these events… Kondo Haruka’s overreactions would gradually seem truly “unreasonable” in Kanzaki Sou’s eyes.
Kanzaki Sou was a gentle and considerate person—there was no doubt about that.
He could “tolerate” a Childhood Friend’s spoiled behavior, but was even less likely to “like” a partner who lost control and lashed out regardless of the situation.
Because that conflicted with his own way of dealing with people.
And when Kondo Haruka’s emotional outbursts became a burden—causing him to feel that “the relationships around him were being distorted”——
The tolerance born from their Childhood Friend relationship would begin to collapse.
***
——Ugh.
No, even if that’s true, is it really okay to do this?
While thinking, Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t help but shiver.
She rubbed her arm, feeling goosebumps all over.
This… isn’t this just like the “green tea” behavior in real life?
Using other people’s kindness and sympathy to achieve her own goals, all while pretending to be innocent.
“……Ugh.”
“——But this is a matter of life and death.”
The girl shook her head, trying to dispel her self-disgust.
……No, now’s not the time for these thoughts.
This was for survival—she had to steel her heart.
“Whoo——”
Xiao Chun Miura took a deep breath, her eyes regaining determination.
She now had a concrete direction.
And now……
Xiao Chun Miura’s gaze sharpened.
——She needed a brand-new Plan.