Part-3 Ch-02 Ep-01

Except for rare exceptions like Asahina-kun, all of the capture targets were essentially meant to fall in love with Maki. 

That was supposed to be the most natural thing in the world. Or at least, that was what I had believed.

"Is Nagase-senpai here?"

When that voice reached me in the third-year classroom and I turned my gaze toward the entrance, I saw a single male student standing there alone, his face bright red and his entire posture radiating tension.

"Huh? Inuino-kun? What’s this all of a sudden?"

It was Inuino Ken-kun, one of the capture targets and an underclassman a year below us. But why me? I was not even on the sports committee anymore.

Now that we were third-years, I did not belong to any committee at all.

So even though the new student welcome sports tournament had been held again this year, I had only participated normally, and my contact with him should have been almost nonexistent.

And yet, he had come all this way in person. Was this the forced power of the scenario at work? But if that were the case, he should have come looking for Maki instead.

While thinking that and beginning to rise from my seat, I noticed that Maki reacted faster than I did and hurried over to him.

I was fairly certain that Maki had become somewhat acquainted with him last year as well. Perhaps she intended to hear him out on my behalf.

When they had first met, she had seemed to harbor a faint sense of rivalry toward him, but in the end she also possessed a caring, attentive side.

The moment Maki reached Inuino-kun, she opened her mouth.

"What do you want? Mari is busy right now."

With those words, she firmly planted herself in the doorway, openly blocking his path.

"Ah, uh, umm……" Inuino-kun faltered under the pressure.

I take back what I thought earlier.

It was clear now that she fully intended to turn him away before he could even say a word to me.

In truth, I was not busy at all. If anything, it was lunch break, so I had more than enough time.

"Inuino-kun, long time no see. What’s going on?"

I hurried over and stood beside Maki, doing my best to soften the intimidating atmosphere she was giving off as I spoke to him.

The moment our eyes met, he said, "Ah, Nagase-senpai," and immediately broke into a bright, joyful smile.

Seeing that puppy-like expression, I thought, “How cute. Just as expected from my former favorite character,” but at the same time, a quiet sense of unease spread through my chest.

Doesn’t this situation make it look like he likes me?

The instant that thought crossed my mind, cold sweat slowly began to seep out.

"Um, since you stopped being on the sports committee, I haven’t had many chances to see you, senpai. So I was thinking maybe we could talk for a bit. Um, today…… would you maybe like to walk home together……?"

He spoke hesitantly, choosing his words with care.

"We can’t," Maki said.

Her reply came so quickly, without even a moment of hesitation, that both Inuino-kun and I widened our eyes and turned to stare at her.

Since when did you become Nagase Mari?

Even after being treated like that, he might have tried to say something back, but Inuino-kun merely blinked repeatedly, glancing between Maki and me in confusion.

"Maki, hey, that’s rude. He’s our underclassman, so try to be a little kinder."

I quickly stepped in between them. Maki stood there with her arms crossed, her expression icy and defiant. In her mind, it seemed that he had already been classified as an enemy.

Well, considering Maki’s personality, that was not entirely surprising.

And judging from Inuino-kun’s attitude, it really did seem like he harbored feelings for me.

I gently patted Maki’s tense back in reassurance, trying to calm her down.

In my heart, it felt as though I were soothing a wild animal. There, there. Keeping a close eye on Maki’s mood, I turned to him and asked, "But why me?"

We had worked together on the committee a few times, but I did not recall us ever being particularly close.

However, I vaguely remembered that last year, during one of our conversations, he had mentioned being moved by the sight of me running at the sports festival or something along those lines.

"Ever since around last year’s sports festival, I’ve wanted to get to know you better, senpai. Am I bothering you……?"

I see. So that really was when he had started paying attention to me.

Originally, that should have been the point in the scenario where he and Maki began interacting, but somehow it had shifted toward me instead.

"Yeah, Mari has entrance exams this year, so she doesn’t have the leeway to deal with an underclassman."

"Maki-chan, be quiet for a second."

Since the conversation was not progressing at all, I pulled Maki closer and covered her mouth with my hand. When I did, she made a clearly displeased face, but she quieted down a little.

Even so, the coldness in her gaze was sharp and painful. Meanwhile, Inuino-kun stared at me intently. After thinking for a moment, he seemed to come to a decision and spoke.

"Um, then I’ll cheer for you, senpai. I won’t get in your way. Instead, um, I’ll support you."

"Eh, support…… how exactly?"

While holding back Maki, who looked ready to explode at Inuino-kun’s words, I asked him that.