NTR Eroge ni Tensei Shite Kon'yakusha o Netorareta Ore o Sukutta no wa, Chijou Saikyou no Torimaki Mobu Joshi A Deshita [LN] Bahasa Indonesia

Chapter 2: An Atmosphere Devoid of Malice

The day of the opening ceremony.

Unmelted frost still clung to the edges of the sidewalk in white patches, making it dangerous to ride a bicycle without paying close attention.

The ceremony would take up the morning, with regular classes resuming in the afternoon.

Most of the students seemed sluggish, likely still shaking off the lingering inertia of the New Year's holiday.

—I had a bad feeling about this.

Snatches of conversation reached my ears as students passed by.

"Hey, did you hear?"

"Yeah, it's crazy. About Kazemiya, right?"

A certain rumor was rapidly spreading through the morning classroom.

"Is it true she cheated with the captain's boyfriend? That takes some serious nerve."

"More like she's so boy-crazy she just doesn't think things through, right?"

"But hey, if she's that desperate, maybe we've actually got a shot with her?"

In the center of the classroom, Akazawa's group was chatting away.

It was a scene identical to the one before winter break, yet the topic of conversation was completely different.

Kazemiya Kanon—who until now had been a popular, idol-like figure among the boys—was being openly mocked.

"I heard the girls' tennis club captain completely lost it on her!"

"Well, duh. Her boyfriend got stolen by a junior. There's no way she'd ever forgive that."

"It's so gross. I always hated her anyway."

The girls gathered around my desk were exchanging similar vicious gossip.

I immediately understood what had happened. It had to be about Christmas.

Kazemiya had been with Kiritani, a second-year from the boys' tennis club.

But Tsukimi-senpai had mentioned that Kiritani already had a girlfriend.

Someone must have seen them together. That was the only way this situation could have blown up like this.

The boys found it amusing, while the girls were openly disgusted with her.

That underlying tension had always been there, but this rumor had dragged it completely out into the open.

What should I do? It didn't matter how much I agonized over it; a loner like me couldn't do a single thing.

I caught Akazawa's eye for a moment, but he just gave a subtle shake of his head.

He was telling me there was nothing we could do right now.

He was right. Even if Akazawa stepped in to defend her, it would just be a drop in the bucket.

We didn't have any kind of plan to overturn this rumor, either.

The entire student body gathered in the gymnasium for the opening ceremony.

After lining up by class, we were left waiting with some free time before it actually started.

During that brief window, the nasty rumors about Kazemiya spread like wildfire among the first-years.

"Don't let it get to you. It's not your fault, Kanon-chan!"

"Yeah, exactly! Just let them talk behind your back!"

"You never meant to cheat with him, right? It's okay, I believe you!"

Kazemiya, staring at the floor, was currently being comforted by her male entourage.

"What is that about? So stupid. She brought this on herself, didn't she?"

"Honestly, it's just creepy how she's always surrounded by guys."

The girls nearby sneered, openly trashing Kazemiya where she stood.

Frankly, it was a terrible look. That only fueled the gossip further.

"—How noisy."

"—It's time to quiet down, everyone."

At that exact moment, Student Council President Kusunoki and Tsukimi-senpai made a dashing entrance.

Their voices weren't particularly loud. And yet, they carried perfectly, echoing clearly in everyone's ears.

The first-years who had been badmouthing Kazemiya fell dead silent. All eyes turned toward the two of them.

Their overwhelming presence completely snuffed out the whispers about Kazemiya. They had probably done it on purpose.

"Very good."

Tsukimi-senpai smiled sweetly, while President Kusunoki gave a short snort of approval.

"Now then, we shall begin the opening ceremony," the president announced.

Thanks to the two of them, the situation was temporarily defused, but it wasn't a fundamental solution.

Once the school assembly ended and everyone returned to their classrooms, the nasty rumors about Kazemiya would undoubtedly pick right back up.

I didn't have a single way to stop them.

It pissed me off to see a friend being trashed like this, but it was still a fact that Kazemiya had been with Kiritani.

In the end, until I heard the full story from Kazemiya tonight, I couldn't do a thing.

That night, after club activities ended, we gathered at our secret base.

We were supposed to be having a New Year's party, but the atmosphere in the room was incredibly heavy.

The reason went without saying. Kazemiya was sitting there, hugging her knees and staring at the floor.

"...Kanon."

Tsukimi-senpai murmured, looking at her with deep concern.

"...I didn't know."

Kazemiya whispered softly.

"I had no idea Kiritani-senpai was actually dating Shinohara-senpai."

"I figured as much,"

Akazawa agreed in a calm, flat tone.

"I didn't think you were the type to betray a senior who has looked out for you."

"Let me get this straight first," I said. "This Shinohara-senpai is the captain of the girls' tennis club?"

Kazemiya gave a small nod at my question.

"I already told you, didn't I? Kiritani-senpai asked me out for Christmas."

"Weren't you planning on turning him down?" I asked.

"...I couldn't bring myself to do it in the end. So I agreed, just for that one day..."

So that's how it was.

I had always thought so, but Kazemiya was simply far too soft.

Was her sharp-tongued night persona some kind of psychological backlash from her day persona?

"If you didn't want to go, you should have firmly rejected him," Akazawa scolded. "This is exactly what happens when you fail to do so."

"...I know that."

Kazemiya looked away, unable to meet Akazawa's critical gaze.

"Look, I just want to be loved. I don't want anyone to hate me. If I rejected him, he might have hated me. When I think like that, I have no choice but to accept. If they aren't completely pushy about it, I can usually dodge the question, but..."

This was way beyond just being a pushover.

Kazemiya's underlying nature looked more like some kind of deep-seated obsession.

"...So this Kiritani guy asked you out, even though he already had a girlfriend?" I asked.

"They got into a fight!" Tsukimi-senpai interjected. "I actually just got the scoop from Mikoto—the girls' tennis club captain!"

Tsukimi-senpai eagerly explained the situation to me.

Apparently, the captain of the girls' tennis club was named Mikoto Shinohara.

"They had plans for a Christmas date, but it got totally canceled because of the fight!" Tsukimi-senpai continued.

"Wait, wait... Even so, does that mean he asked out another girl when they hadn't even officially broken up?" I asked incredulously.

"...That's just the kind of person he is."

Kazemiya let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"If you knew he was a frivolous man, you never should have accepted his invitation," Akazawa stated.

"Akazawa," I warned.

"Am I wrong?"

His words were entirely correct, but they weren't what Kazemiya needed to hear right now.

"I'm honestly no different, basking in all the attention I get from boys," Kazemiya said bitterly.

"...I suppose you have a point," Akazawa conceded.

"Why are you agreeing with me?! Are you even trying to make me feel better?!"

Kazemiya glared fiercely at Akazawa.

Her comical outburst lightened the heavy mood in the room, if only a little.

"Can you even imagine how I felt when he casually mentioned he was dating Shinohara-senpai in the middle of our date?"

Kazemiya let out an exhausted sigh.

"Something along the lines of, 'Oh crap, what do I do now?'" I offered.

"Exactly!"

Kazemiya vehemently agreed with my guess.

"And then, to top it all off, he said, 'If you'll go out with me, Kanon, I think I'll break up with Mikoto'! Can you believe that?! What does he think Shinohara-senpai even is to him?!"

Kazemiya was practically seething with rage.

"But still... he told me something that messed up, and all I could do was force a polite smile. I'm so sick of myself."

"...Kanon, you okay? He didn't do anything gross to you, did he?"

Ogino asked, looking at her with genuine concern.

"He tried to pressure me into sleeping with him, so I ran away. I haven't spoken a word to him since."

"It seems even you have lines you refuse to cross," Akazawa said. "That's a relief."

"...I was just scared, that's all."

Kazemiya averted her eyes from Akazawa, who looked genuinely relieved.

"I was more terrified of being assaulted than being hated. That's why I ran."

She was likely disgusted with herself for making such a passive, cowardly choice.

"I should have just firmly rejected him in the first place..."

"...On Christmas. I actually spotted you and Kiritani-kun together in Takasaki!"

Tsukimi-senpai broke the silence, her expression grave.

That technically skirted dangerously close to the secret Tsukimi-senpai and I shared, but...

"You did? Around where?"

Kazemiya blinked in surprise as she asked.

"Near the station, around nighttime!" Tsukimi-senpai replied.

"So even you saw us, Kaede-senpai."

Kazemiya nodded in understanding. Beside her, Ogino tilted her head.

"What were you doing all the way out there on Christmas night, Kaede? Were you with someone?" Ogino asked bluntly.

"Yes, I was simply out with some of my second-year friends."

Tsukimi-senpai smoothly dodged the question with a composed smile.

It seemed she had hastily thrown on her perfect daytime mask to protect our secret.

That was a close one. If she had stayed as her usual night self, her eyes would have definitely been darting all over the place.

"...Really?"

"Is there a reason you doubt me?"

For some reason, Ogino was staring intently at Tsukimi-senpai.

Even if she tried to put on a mask around our alliance members, they could still sense that something was off.

It didn't seem like a trick she'd be able to use very often.

"More importantly,"

Sensing she was about to slip up, I quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"Let's get back to Kazemiya. How exactly did these nasty rumors start spreading in the first place?"

"Just like Kaede-senpai, someone else must have seen us together," Kazemiya explained. "They reported it to Shinohara-senpai, who confronted me directly. It's a fact that I was with Kiritani-senpai, so all I could do was nod... But, of course, she completely lost her temper. She wouldn't listen to a single word I said."

"She didn't even let you explain? I thought Shinohara was the captain."

"If a junior stole your boyfriend, you wouldn't exactly be calm about it, either. Even I'd be furious."

"...She is entirely lacking an objective perspective," Akazawa grumbled.

"You're being awfully defensive of me today, Akazawa."

"Those in positions of responsibility must conduct themselves accordingly."

Something about this whole situation had apparently struck a nerve with him, because he had been in a foul mood this entire time.

"It's super famous among the second-years that Kiritani-kun and Mikoto are dating, you know!" Tsukimi-senpai noted.

"It's probably common knowledge within the girls' tennis club, too. That's why her reaction was basically, 'There's no way you didn't know!' But because I'm totally isolated in the club, that information never actually reached me."

...Honestly, every single thing about this was going in the worst possible direction.

From what Kazemiya said, Kiritani was the root of the problem. It wasn't Kazemiya's fault.

"I was already alienated in the club, but because of this, they've definitively shut me out."

"...And because school started back up today, those nasty rumors ended up spreading to completely unrelated students," I concluded.

"I talked to Mikoto today, and... it seems she's still dating Kiritani-kun!" Tsukimi-senpai revealed.

"...Wait, what? Didn't he cheat on her while they were in the middle of a fight?" I asked, completely baffled.

"He claimed Kanon seduced him, and that it was just a momentary lapse in judgment!"

"...And she actually bought an excuse like that? He must be one hell of a smooth talker."

"Mikoto isn't an idiot... at least, I didn't think she was! But they do say love robs people of their reason..."

Tsukimi-senpai glanced at me. Our eyes met, and she quickly looked away, looking a bit flustered.

...I had to admit, there was a strange persuasiveness to that statement.

"Just to be absolutely sure, you didn't actually seduce Kiritani-kun, right, Kanon?" Tsukimi-senpai asked.

"I never intended to, but if they called my usual behavior a 'seduction', I honestly can't deny it," Kazemiya admitted.

Well, her overly sweet daytime persona was definitely the kind of behavior that could lead to misunderstandings.

"I totally told Mikoto she should probably look into it properly just to be safe, but..."

Judging from Tsukimi-senpai's expression, Shinohara probably hadn't listened to a word she said.

"It's fine. It's nothing you need to worry yourself over, Kaede-senpai."

Kazemiya shook her head from side to side.

"—Anyway, the real thing I wanted to discuss starts now."

Kazemiya straightened her posture, instantly bringing the tension back to the room.

Did she want our help dispelling the rumors?

Or was it—

"—I'm quitting the girls' tennis club."

Kazemiya's declaration caught me completely off guard.

But thinking about it rationally, it made perfect sense. Given her current situation, staying there was like sitting on a bed of nails.

"...If I'm not in a club, can I still come here?"

That was what she had actually wanted to ask us.

The third rule of our Covenant dictated that our secret base could only be used 'from the end of club activities until 10:30 PM'.

That rule didn't account for anyone who wasn't actually in a club.

Because those of us who didn't want to go home had, as a result, joined some kind of club to kill time.

"There's no rule saying you absolutely have to be in a club, but..."

Tsukimi-senpai faltered over her words before asking.

"...What are you gonna do until then?!"

"Whatever I can. I'll just kill time in the library or an empty classroom," Kazemiya replied dismissively.

"...That's no good! If you stick around school until night without a club, you'll stand out too much!"

Tsukimi-senpai furiously shook her head.

"Then I can just join the literature club or some other random club, right?"

"In theory, yes... but are you really gonna quit?!"

In response to Tsukimi-senpai's question, Kazemiya just shrugged.

"I've always sucked at it anyway, and I'm honestly bored of it."

"...Is that how you really feel?"

"What of it?"

I interjected before I could stop myself, and Kazemiya raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You were working so hard at tennis. Weren't you enjoying it?"

"...Well, yeah, a little bit. But once the social dynamics go sour, quitting is the only option, right?"

"So if those relationships improve, you can keep playing?"

"...I guess, but why do you care so much?"

"That's..."

...Why did I care? Even I wasn't entirely sure.

"It's fine. I only picked tennis on a whim anyway."

"That's just how it started. But things are different now, aren't they?"

Even if she wasn't the best at it, she was giving it her all. I didn't want her to just throw that away.

More than anything, it was completely unreasonable. Why should she be the one forced to quit the club?

Kiritani was the root cause of this whole mess. It wasn't Kazemiya's fault at all.

"...Then what do you expect me to do?"

Kazemiya muttered, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of tears.

Looking so lost and uncertain, she seemed just like a stray child.

"I want to clear up the misunderstandings. We're going to overwrite all these nasty rumors about you."

Before I knew it, the words had already left my mouth.

"Misunderstandings...? It's a fact that I went on a date with Kiritani-senpai."

"But it's a misunderstanding that you seduced him. You had no idea he was dating Shinohara-senpai, so it's not like you maliciously helped him cheat. Right?"

"Yeah, but clearing my name won't be that sim—"

"—We'll help you."

Kazemiya's head snapped up in surprise.

"I want this Alliance to be a place where we can help each other out."

I repeated the same words I'd told them before.

Until now, the Alliance had merely been a place for mutual support.

To put it bluntly, we were just a community of people licking each other's wounds.

But things were different now. We'd revised the Second Covenant. We could actively help one another.

"If there's anything I can do, I'll help."

Ogino was the first to nod in agreement with my words.

"As things stand, your school life is going to become unbearable. We definitely need to take action,"

Akazawa added, his expression grave.

"Alright then! Let's all work together to save Kanon!"

Tsukimi-senpai leapt to her feet, thrusting a fist toward the ceiling.

"H-Hold on a second! Why are you guys deciding this on your own!?"

"I just know we can turn things around if we pool our efforts! I've got a decent amount of influence, after all!"

Coming from Tsukimi-senpai, those words carried an absurd amount of weight.

"I never once asked for your help! Minase, you can turn this place into whatever you want, but I never asked to be saved!"

Kazemiya spat, glaring daggers at me.

"...It's fine, really. Even if my school life completely collapses. Because I still have this place."

As she spoke in that resigned tone, I suddenly understood exactly how she was feeling.

"—Are you scared?"

Her shoulders gave a violent flinch, as if I had struck a nerve.

"Scared of losing the Alliance?"

"...Of course I am. I finally got my sanctuary back, didn't I?"

Having everyone step in to help Kazemiya.

That meant drastically increasing the risk of the Alliance's secret getting out.

"...Losing this place is what terrifies me most. That is something my heart wouldn't be able to handle."

I understood her fears.

The safest course of action was to maintain the status quo—to remain nothing more than comrades who spent the nights together.

Even so.

"Then we just have to act without violating the Fourth Covenant."

In other words, we wouldn't directly interact with her daytime persona.

If we were going to help, an indirect approach would be best.

"What's the plan? Any blatant intervention is going to implicitly expose our connection to her," Akazawa noted.

"We'll have to iron out the specifics, but..."

Kazemiya was left utterly speechless by our exchange.

"Why would you go so far...?"

"Because I can't just stand by and watch you cry in silence anymore."

She might not admit it, but to me, Kazemiya was already a friend.

She wasn't just some associate. I couldn't simply ignore the sparks raining down on her.

"I-I'm not crying..."

Yet large teardrops spilled from her trembling eyes.

"H-Huh...? I'm really not crying... so why...?"

Ogino wrapped her arms tightly around Kazemiya's trembling body.

"It's okay, Kanon. It's going to be okay."

"Mi... sato..."

"—Are you on board with this, Tsukimi-senpai?"

Finally, I deferred to our leader's judgment.

"Yup! Let's all save Kanon!"

"However," Tsukimi-senpai added, her tone shifting to one of caution.

"We must abide by the Fourth Covenant. Everything we do must be to protect the peace of our Alliance."

"Understood."

Akazawa and I nodded, but Ogino was eyeing Tsukimi-senpai with a complicated expression.

"Hearing that from Kaede, who abandoned the Alliance, doesn't really inspire much confidence."

"Ugh...!?"

Ogino mercilessly stabbed Tsukimi-senpai with that incredibly sharp observation.

"P-Please forgive me for that already!? I've thoroughly reflected on my actions!"

Teary-eyed, Tsukimi-senpai clung to Ogino.

Tsukimi-senpai clinging to Ogino, who was in turn hugging a crying Kazemiya. It was a rather chaotic sight.

"...Seriously, you should think about how we felt too."

Having regained her composure a bit, Kazemiya wiped her tears with her sleeve and dogpiled onto Ogino's complaint.

"Guh... I don't have a single counterargument for this!"

"Anyway."

Shooting a glance at Tsukimi-senpai as she clutched her head in defeat, I steered the conversation back to the actual plan.

"First of all, our objective is 'to cultivate an environment where Kazemiya can remain in her club.'"

"And to do that, we need to clear up the nasty rumor that Kanon seduced Kiritani-kun."

Tsukimi-senpai instantly switched her expression. I figured she had swapped back to her daytime persona to help strategize, but her sudden shift to absolute composure was a bit terrifying, so I kinda wished she wouldn't do that.

"Right," Akazawa agreed. "If we can clear up Shinohara's misconception, we should at least resolve the tension within the Girls' Tennis Club."

"But right now, Mikoto won't even listen to me..."

"That would change if you had proof, wouldn't it?"

Tsukimi-senpai narrowed her eyes at my words.

"You have proof?"

"If you look at Kazemiya's RINE history, you can clearly see that Kiritani was the one who asked her out."

After all, Kazemiya herself had already shown it to me.

"...Yeah. The chat logs are definitely still there."

Kazemiya fiddled with her smartphone, bringing up her chat history with Kiritani.

Sure enough, the screen displayed undeniable evidence that Kiritani had been the one to invite her.

"...Even if this proves that Kiritani-senpai invited me on a Christmas date, it doesn't prove that I didn't seduce him. That's why I kept my mouth shut."

Kazemiya pointed out the flaw. It was essentially asking her to prove a negative.

"Well, realistically, it would be pretty hard for Kazemiya herself to just waltz up and shove this evidence in a furious Shinohara-senpai's face."

It would likely only add fuel to the fire.

"But if it's coming from a friend like Tsukimi-senpai, that's a different story, isn't it?"

"Yes. With this, we can cast doubt on Kiritani-kun's claims. However, it would be highly suspicious for me to know about this... since my daytime self has no relationship with Kanon."

So, what were we supposed to do?

We needed to engineer a situation where it would seem perfectly natural for Tsukimi-senpai to be aware of Kazemiya's chat logs.

If it were common knowledge, then Tsukimi-senpai would obviously know about it too.

"...For example, you're already aware of the nasty rumors themselves, right, Tsukimi-senpai?"

"Huh? Well, yes... I heard them from my classmates and Mikoto."

Then what if we spread a rumor of our own?

To begin with, the only way to completely erase a bad rumor was to overwrite it with an even stronger one.

If that was the case...

"—How about we use social media?"

"Social media?"

"Like Minstagram, for instance."

"Ah," Tsukimi-senpai said, instantly grasping my true intentions.

As expected, her daytime persona was remarkably sharp.

"That could certainly work. Kanon, your account has quite a few followers, right?"

"I have a few hundred, I think... What about it?"

"Are your followers mostly Sanrin students?"

"Yeah. I have some friends from elementary and middle school, but the majority go to Sanrin."

In that case, she had a decent amount of reach.

"We're going to screenshot your chat history with Kiritani and post it on Minstagram."

"W-What!?"

Kazemiya's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"What the hell is the point of doing that!?"

"It'll manufacture a brand-new rumor."

For better or worse, Kazemiya was currently the center of attention.

Which was precisely why releasing this evidence to the public would cause a massive stir.

Even if it didn't completely dispel the negative rumors, it would overwrite them with something far more explosive.

"With this strategy, I can confront Mikoto using the new rumor as my basis. Our connection to Kanon won't be suspected in the slightest."

"...But still, leaking private messages onto the internet like that is just..."

She clearly had some reservations about this approach.

I wouldn't argue that it was exactly an honorable tactic.

However, when faced with rumors spread without malicious intent, the only viable countermeasure was to overwrite them with something stronger. I knew from personal experience that this was our only option.

"Kiritani was the one who lied and pinned the blame on you first."

"...Well, that's true, but..."

Kazemiya hung her head, slowly shaking it from side to side.

"Even after everything that's happened, I'm still terrified of him hating me."

"...Just to be clear, you don't actually like Kiritani, do you?"

"Actually, I hate him."

Her reply was instantaneous. Her face twisted into a bitter scowl.

"But I... I don't want anyone to hate me, even people I despise. You probably think I'm crazy for saying that given the situation, but... I've always based my actions on wanting to be loved."

I remembered the words she had spoken to me one night.

A persona designed purely to be loved by everyone. Always walking on eggshells so she wouldn't be hated.

Operating under that premise, Kazemiya's behavior was painfully distorted.

"If you truly want to be loved, then you need to steel your resolve and accept that Kiritani will hate you,"

Akazawa told her, his tone strict.

I could tell he was saying it for her own good.

Because leaking those messages on social media meant making an absolute enemy out of Kiritani.

"...Even if Kiritani-senpai loves me, having everyone else hate me completely defeats the purpose, doesn't it."

Kazemiya murmured, seemingly trying to convince herself.

She probably knew that well before any of us had pointed it out.

It was most likely an instinctive reaction for her. That's why she couldn't bring herself to turn him down.

"You say you want to be loved by everyone, but you really ought to think about who it is you truly want love from."

"Who I... truly want love from...?"

Hearing Akazawa's words, Kazemiya's eyes flew open wide, and she brought a hand to her face.

"Who... is it that I want love from?"

She whispered, utterly dumbfounded.

The only one who didn't know the answer was Kazemiya herself.

—Her family. It had to be her family.

We didn't know what her secret was.

But the simple fact that she didn't want to go home allowed us to deduce the circumstances. We couldn't help but figure it out.

Her obsessive need to be loved by everyone was likely a substitute for the familial love she so desperately craved. Her extreme terror of being hated, and her bizarre tendency to skew towards behaviors that appealed to boys despite claiming she wanted everyone to like her—all of it probably stemmed from her past experiences.

Even so, there was no need to pry into that secret right now.

"This approach isn't without its risks. If we mess this up, you might find yourself in an even worse spot than you're in now."

I extended a hand to Kazemiya.

"But if we work together, I know we can pull this off."

For a long time, Kazemiya just stared at my outstretched hand.

"...You really are persistent, you know that?"

Finally, she let out an exasperated chuckle.

Then, grasping my hand, she pulled herself up.

"If you're all willing to help me, I'll give it a try."

With that expression of renewed determination on her face, she looked far more captivating than usual.

"Alright, everyone! Let's huddle up!"

Tsukimi-senpai bounded to her feet and placed her hand over ours.

Akazawa and Ogino followed suit, gathering into a circle and piling their hands on top.

"To ensure we can keep spending these fun nights together... let's save daytime Kanon!"

At Tsukimi-senpai's rallying cry, we all roared our agreement in unison. "Yeah!"

Since we were all in clubs, we were more than used to this sort of thing.

Now then, it was time to show the daytime crowd what the 'Don't Want To Go Home Alliance' could really do.

The next morning. Operation commenced.

As I arrived at school, I cast a quick glance into the neighboring classroom.

Just like yesterday, Kazemiya seemed to be the absolute center of attention.

For better or worse, her male entourage was vehemently protecting her, while the girls were shooting her looks of utter disdain.

Bathing in that unpleasant spotlight, Kazemiya was flashing her usual, practiced smiles.

It would look suspicious if I spent too long staring into Class 1-2, so I cut my observation short and headed toward Class 1-1.

Inside, Akazawa and the guys were chatting in the middle of the room, just like always.

"—Wait, I heard Kiritani-senpai was the one who asked her out, right?"

It looked like they were already in the process of rectifying those nasty rumors.

Hearing the words Akazawa so casually dropped, the others reacted with clear surprise.

"For real? I heard Kazemiya totally seduced him."

"Nah, I'm serious. Check this out."

"What's this? Kazemiya's account?"

The screen Akazawa was showing the group was a post from Kazemiya's Minstagram account.

There, along with a screenshot of her RINE chat with Kiritani, was a message designed to elicit sympathy: 『I didn't know he was dating Shinohara-senpai. Kiritani-senpai was the one who invited me in the first place, so why am I the one getting blamed...?』

For the record, Kazemiya herself was the one who drafted that text. How utterly calculating.

Comforting comments from her male entourage had already started rolling in.

"Whoa, that's totally different from what I heard."

"Right? A guy who follows Kazemiya told me about it."

The primary demographic of Kazemiya's Minsta followers was first-year boys. Akazawa was working to efficiently rewrite the rumors in Class 1, and Ogino was doing the same in Class 3, but the topic was bound to come up in other classes as well.

"So you're saying Kiritani-senpai is the bad guy here?"

"Sounds like it, doesn't it?"

And at the right moment, Tsukimi-senpai would make her move in the second-year classrooms.

If we could rewrite the rumors and clear up Shinohara-senpai's misunderstanding, Kazemiya's situation would naturally improve.

──At least, that was the ideal scenario.

"But man, even if Kiritani-senpai was the one who asked her out for Christmas, didn't Kazemiya totally lead him on? I mean, she's the kind of girl who's always surrounded by guys, right?"

The boy sitting next to Akazawa casually pointed out.

The surrounding classmates voiced their agreement.

"Yeah, that's definitely a possibility~."

"Honestly, isn't that way more likely?"

"Posting a screenshot like this feels super contrived, too."

"Ugh, I totally hate her!"

"Whoa there Nene, don't hold back! Hahaha!"

Akazawa narrowed his eyes slightly, but ultimately plastered on a fake smile to go along with the flow of the conversation.

...So it had come to this after all.

To be honest, I had anticipated this.

Kazemiya's usual behavior was getting in the way of dispelling the bad rumors.

As classes went on, I checked the progress of our operation during the breaks.

That said, all I could actually do was eavesdrop on my classmates' conversations.

Simply put, the operation had shown some degree of success.

The prevailing sentiment had shifted from 『Kazemiya is entirely at fault』 to 『Kiritani is also to blame.』

However, Kazemiya's situation hadn't drastically improved.

Well, this was within expectations. As long as it served as a catalyst for Tsukimi-senpai to reach out to Shinohara-senpai, that was enough.

Minase Shuuto: 『Tsukimi-senpai, how is the situation?』

Tsukimi Kaede: 『Mikoto and Kiritani-kun are about to make contact in front of the second-floor classrooms.』

During lunch break. I was assessing the situation when a report came in from Tsukimi-senpai.

As a loner, I had absolutely zero influence during the day. In other words, I couldn't be part of the active strike force.

Being the mastermind behind this operation, I had naturally fallen into the role of commander.

When I went up to the second floor, a massive crowd had gathered in the hallway outside the second-year classrooms.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

"No, I'm telling you, she invited me..."

"No matter how you look at it, you're the one who asked her out!"

"Look, there's like, a natural flow to the conversation, you know? Can't you understand that?"

At the center of the commotion, the guy Kazemiya had been with was arguing with a girl I didn't recognize.

To be more precise, the girl was cornering the guy.

The guy was Kiritani, and judging by the context of their argument, the girl had to be Shinohara-senpai.

A crowd of onlookers had formed a ring around them, wholly entertained by their lover's quarrel.

"──Any more of this is just pathetic, Kiritani-kun."

Parting the sea of onlookers, Tsukimi-senpai made a dashing entrance.

She positioned herself protectively in front of Shinohara-senpai and leveled a sharp glare at Kiritani.

"F-Fine! It was my fault. I admit I'm the one who asked Kazemiya out. You happy now?"

Crumpling under Tsukimi-senpai's intense pressure, Kiritani threw his hands up in surrender.

The fact that he was still wearing a flippant smirk showed that his frivolous impression matched reality perfectly.

"You no longer have the right to date Mikoto,"

Tsukimi-senpai declared in an unusually strict tone.

"I heard that Kazemiya-san seduced you, but that's a lie too, isn't it?"

Saying this in front of such a massive crowd was likely a calculated move to establish that Kiritani was the one at fault for the infidelity.

"N-No way! She was always coming onto me..."

"──That's a lie."

"H-Haaah...!?"

"I can tell. You're lying, aren't you?"

When Tsukimi-senpai said it, it carried a heavy ring of truth, even without any concrete evidence.

Overwhelming charisma. She was effectively utilizing the aura she had gained in the process of emulating Sakura-san.

"I-I was just..."

"I believed in you!"

Large tears spilling down her cheeks, Shinohara-senpai glared at Kiritani.

"We're breaking up! I never want to see you again!"

With that one-sided declaration, Shinohara-senpai turned on her heel and ran off down the hall.

"M-Mikoto!? Wait!"

Tsukimi-senpai hurriedly gave chase after her friend.

Looking incredibly awkward, Kiritani scratched his head before retreating into his classroom.

Countless gazes, a swirling mix of disgust and morbid curiosity, were directed at his retreating back.

"So Kiritani was just cheating on her like normal."

"He was always that kind of guy, right? Shinohara really has terrible taste in men."

"Still, that's the first time I've ever seen Tsukimi look so angry."

"True. Was she always that close with Shinohara?"

The second-year onlookers muttered amongst themselves.

It had been an incredibly flashy lovers' quarrel.

While things had gone according to plan, I hadn't expected it to draw such a massive crowd of spectators.

Most likely, Tsukimi-senpai had intentionally gathered an audience.

It was probably the optimal move for rewriting the bad rumors surrounding Kazemiya.

However, I couldn't help but wonder how Tsukimi-senpai's friend, Shinohara-senpai, felt about the whole spectacle.

...Whatever. It wasn't my place to think about it.

In any case, the student body, bored out of their minds with everyday school life, was starving for exactly this kind of drama.

By the time classes ended, the commotion would surely spread among the first-years as well.

That night, after club activities, I headed to our secret base.

Tsukimi-senpai, Akazawa, and Ogino had already arrived.

"Where's Kazemiya?" I asked.

"She isn't here yet,"

Tsukimi-senpai replied.

"I wonder how things went at her club..." I mused.

Kazemiya had attended her club activities again today.

But obviously, there was no way for us to observe what went on during practice.

"Mikoto told me she was going to apologize to Kanon,"

"Really?"

"Yeah. So I don't think you need to worry so much."

"You're amazing, Tsukimi-senpai."

It seemed she had successfully pulled some strings with Shinohara-senpai.

Of course, none of this would mean anything if Kazemiya's standing within the Girls' Tennis Club didn't improve.

After all, we had launched this entire operation precisely to prevent Kazemiya from having to quit her club.

The door to the secret base slid open with a clatter.

"──It's another beautiful night."

Kazemiya greeted us with a smile.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"When I apologized, Shinohara-senpai apologized right back. Just as instructed, right in front of all the other members."

She immediately launched into her report.

"Thanks to that, it seems the misunderstanding among the other club members has cleared up too."

"I made sure to drill it into Mikoto's head. I told her that, as the captain, she needs to keep everyone in line,"

Tsukimi-senpai winked, looking exceptionally proud of herself.

"...Thank you, Kaede-senpai," Kazemiya murmured.

"Fuhuhu~, I can do anything when I set my mind to it!" Tsukimi-senpai gloated.

"Honestly, you're a bit annoying," Kazemiya shot back.

"Kanon. You're saying the quiet part out loud," Akazawa noted.

"I can hear you, you know!? I'll have you know my mental fortitude is as fragile as glass!?"

We shared a good laugh at their banter.

Kazemiya chuckled along with us. The color had finally returned to her cheeks.

"Well, I'm just back to where I started. I still totally stick out like a sore thumb though," she admitted.

"Even so, it's not so uncomfortable that you feel like you have to quit anymore, right?" I reasoned.

"True. Shinohara-senpai has started acting a lot nicer to me, so I guess it has gotten a bit more comfortable."

"Just as we planned!"

Tsukimi-senpai crossed her arms, a smug grin plastered on her face.

"I'm just relieved the captain turned out to be a decent person,"

Akazawa shrugged with a sigh.

"This is the power of the alliance!" Tsukimi-senpai cheered.

"More like the power of Tsukimi-senpai," I corrected.

I had come up with the plan, but the one who actually executed it was almost entirely Tsukimi-senpai.

If we effectively utilized Tsukimi-senpai's influence, we could practically control the school during the day.

──However, there was another problem.

"It's good to hear that the situation in your club has been resolved," Akazawa stated.

At Akazawa's remarkably detached tone, Kazemiya furrowed her brow in confusion.

"...Yeah. That's right, but you make it sound like there's some other problem?"

I exchanged glances with Akazawa and Ogino.

"Did something happen?"

Tsukimi-senpai looked utterly perplexed.

It couldn't be helped. This was an issue that only we first-years were fully aware of.

"Your reputation hasn't improved as much as we thought it would," I told her.

After school, the commotion from the lunch break had spread like wildfire through the rumor mill.

And yet, the prevailing sentiment that 『Kazemiya is also at fault』 remained unchanged.

Having spent my time eavesdropping in various places before heading to practice, I completely agreed with Akazawa's assessment.

The fact that the first-years hadn't witnessed the lovers' quarrel directly, unlike the second-years, was likely a major factor. But that wasn't the core issue. The biggest problem was the blatant reality that the first-year girls simply despised Kazemiya.

At this point, whether Kazemiya was actually guilty or not didn't even matter to them.

Their default stance was hating her, so they were constantly searching for an excuse to tear her down. That was exactly why the cheating scandal had spread throughout our entire grade in the blink of an eye. But telling Kazemiya that directly would undoubtedly hurt her.

"Really? I wonder why? It wasn't like that among the second-years at all..."

Oblivious to the heavy atmosphere that had settled over us, Tsukimi-senpai mused aloud.

In other words, the second-years' consensus had shifted to view Kiritani as the perpetrator and Kazemiya as the victim.

She had successfully rewritten the bad rumors.

The reason for that was likely because they simply didn't know the first-year student named Kazemiya Kanon all that well.

"...So I really am hated, huh,"

Perhaps sensing the grim tension in the room, Kazemiya chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"By the girls, especially," Akazawa confirmed.

Realizing there was no point in sugarcoating it anymore, Akazawa pointed it out bluntly.

"..."

Ogino remained silent.

She was probably feeling her own powerlessness.

As a girl herself, Ogino could technically intervene in the vicious rumors circulating about Kazemiya.

However, it would be cruel to expect any kind of real influence from the daytime Ogino, who notoriously lacked assertiveness.

"Your behavior during the day is designed to win over the boys at the expense of alienating the girls. I'm sure you anticipated this outcome, didn't you? It's only natural that girls would despise the way you constantly pander to men."

"...I know that. I know full well that if I had acted better, I wouldn't be in this situation."

Kazemiya's face crumpled in anguish.

"Kanon──"

Tsukimi-senpai started to say something, but stopped herself.

"──Why did you start acting like that in the first place?"

Steeling her resolve, she finally posed the question to Kazemiya.

"T-That's..."

Clearly not expecting to be asked that, Kazemiya's gaze darted around nervously.

"It's not like... I ever wanted to be like this."

"Kazemiya..."

"I created this persona so that everyone would love me. This is the only method I know. I can earn the affection of boys just fine, but I've never had any idea how to get girls to love me!"

It was an agonizing scream.

"...I've thought this for a while,"

Ogino murmured softly.

"You're the one who avoids other girls, Kanon."

At that piercing remark, Kazemiya's shoulders jolted violently.

It was true. I had barely ever seen Kazemiya interacting with other girls either.

Even though she hung out with Tsukimi-senpai and Ogino all the time during the night.

"That's why girls hate you. They think you only care about guys," Ogino elaborated.

Unless she was actively avoiding them, the divide wouldn't be so glaringly obvious.

While pandering to the boys, Kazemiya was keeping her distance from the girls. Most likely, she was doing it entirely subconsciously.

"Is... that true...?"

Kazemiya looked completely dumbfounded.

Then, a look of sudden comprehension dawned on her face.

"...Now that you mention it, I never strike up conversations with other girls, do I."

"Even though you talk to us?" Tsukimi-senpai asked gently.

"The night is different. I'm this version of me right now, after all."

Kazemiya let out a dry, hollow laugh.

"There's no way they'd love me if I'm the one avoiding them. God, I'm such an idiot."

A suffocatingly heavy silence fell over the secret base.

"...If you truly want to be loved by everyone, then you have no choice but to change," I told her.

Among the first-years, Kazemiya's reputation was in tatters. The girls despised her, and the guys were just having a laugh at her expense. The only ones who 'loved' Kazemiya were the select few boys who buzzed around her constantly. And even then, there was no telling if their feelings were actually genuine.

If she kept wearing that mask, improving her interpersonal relationships would be near impossible.

"What do you want to do, Kazemiya?"

When I asked her that, she cast her eyes downward.

"...I want to change."

After a long pause, Kazemiya finally whispered her answer into the quiet room.

"The truth is, I hate being like this."

The words spilled out from deep within Kazemiya.

It was such a frail, delicate voice, it was hard to believe it came from her.

The strong-willed, sharp-tongued Kazemiya of the night, and the sweet, lovable Kazemiya of the day.

If one were simply a mask, it would be easy to change, but both personalities were likely a genuine part of who she was.

"I want... everyone to like me."

Right now, Kazemiya was *making choices that make her hated just to avoid being hated*.

It wasn't hard to imagine that this contradictory state was caused by her home environment.

"—Then I'll help you."

Before I knew it, the words were out of my mouth.

"I'll help you become the person you want to be, Kazemiya."

"...Why would you go that far for me?"

"I told you before, didn't I? I want to make the Alliance a place where we can help each other."

"You already did enough by clearing up Shinohara-senpai's misunderstanding..."

"But if we don't solve the root cause, you won't get the result you're hoping for."

"For a loner, you're pretty cheeky."

"I don't consider myself a loner anymore."

Because I have everyone. I'm not alone anymore.

"That was so cheesy I'm starting to feel embarrassed for you."

"I get it," Ogino muttered.

"Saying stuff like that so naturally is just so Minase," Akazawa added.

"I-I think it's really cool! Yeah!" Tsukimi-senpai chimed in.

It was super unpopular. Suddenly, I felt intensely embarrassed.

Sorry for acting so smug as a former loner. I know my place now...

Also, Tsukimi-senpai, you don't need to force yourself to back me up. It honestly just makes me feel worse.

"Well then, I'm sorry for being a burden, but..."

Kazemiya offered a soft smile.

"Will you help me change?"

And so, The 'Don't Want To Go Home Alliance' began plotting our next operation.

The next day. Night fell once again.

We were all gathered together again today.

The reason for everyone's perfect attendance was likely because we were all worried about Kazemiya.

"How was the club, Kanon?"

"We finished up without any issues again today."

Kazemiya answered Tsukimi-senpai's question with a smile.

"...Except for the fact that my tennis isn't improving at all..."

Just when I thought she was fine, she suddenly grew depressed.

Well, that was her usual worry.

"It's just... Kiritani-senpai is a central figure in the Boys' Tennis Club, and Shinohara-senpai is the captain of the Girls' Tennis Club... They used to get along so well, but now that they've broken up, it feels like everything's been fractured."

Kazemiya said with a troubled expression.

"That's not something you need to worry about, Kazemiya," Akazawa assured her.

"Right, exactly! I'm sure they would've broken up eventually anyway!" Tsukimi-senpai agreed.

"...I hope so."

Kazemiya was far too kind.

"...What about Kiritani? Has he tried anything since then?" I asked.

It wouldn't be strange for him to snap at her after she exposed his chat logs on social media.

Even though he brought it upon himself, he ended up getting dumped by his girlfriend, so we needed to be on guard.

"Nothing so far."

"I see."

That was a relief, for now.

"Maybe even Kiritani is reflecting on his actions," I mused.

"I highly doubt that..."

Tsukimi-senpai stared off into the distance.

Perhaps she had said something to him directly.

"Well, as long as Kanon is safe, that's what matters," Ogino said.

"Let me know right away if anything happens. I'll come running."

There was still a non-zero chance of Kiritani attacking her, after all.

"Oh? If you come rushing to my rescue, wouldn't that be a violation of The Covenant?"

"If it comes to that, we wouldn't have time to worry about the rules. Your safety takes absolute priority."

"...R-Right."

Kazemiya bashfully averted her gaze.

"Minase-kun is absolutely right. We can't lose sight of what The Covenant is for."

To be completely honest, the punishments for violating The Covenant had become nothing but empty threats at this point.

There was no way any of us could bear to banish each other anymore.

But right now, The Covenant exists to keep our Alliance going.

We all shared a mutual understanding that we wanted to uphold it as much as possible.

"How's school life going, Kanon?"

"You sound like an old lady from the neighborhood asking me that."

"Stop teasing me!" Tsukimi-senpai protested.

Kazemiya lowered her head with a melancholic expression.

"...Compared to before, the girls have been giving me much colder looks."

Just as I thought, Kazemiya herself was feeling it too.

"But it's not unbearable."

She said that, but she probably just didn't want us to worry.

I couldn't imagine that Kazemiya, who so desperately wanted to be loved by everyone, could withstand the current gap between her desires and reality.

"Hey,"

Eventually, Kazemiya spoke up, her face filled with determination.

"Would you guys mind being my practice dummies?"

"Practice dummies?"

That was a phrase I had heard very recently.

Tsukimi-senpai had called me her practice dummy for romance, or something like that.

"What exactly do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm going to interact with all of you using my 'Day' face, and I want you to respond to me normally."

After stating her plan, Kazemiya cleared her throat.

"—Good evening, Minase-kun!"

With a complete shift in demeanor, Kazemiya offered me a soft, gentle smile.

Even her voice had changed, turning incredibly sweet. As always, it was such a drastic transformation that it was hard to believe she was the same person.

"Would you be friends with me?"

"O-Of course."

For some reason, I found myself getting flustered.

"Why are you acting all smitten?"

Tsukimi-senpai, who was sitting next to me, kicked me lightly in the side.

"This is what I'm like *right now*. What do you think?"

"I'd say you seem like a really approachable girl."

"Really? I'm so glad!"

Kazemiya's eyes lit up brightly. Her expressive face was undeniably cute.

"Aren't you standing a bit too close?"

"Huh, you think so? It's easier to talk from this distance, you know?"

Kazemiya tilted her head innocently. That kind of comment was going to give a lot of guys the wrong idea!

So the guys around her were always subjected to this kind of behavior? No wonder she had an entourage.

"What about me, Kanon?"

Ogino approached Kazemiya, pointing at herself.

"U-Umm... Good evening."

"Your energy is completely different from a second ago," Ogino pointed out.

"G-Good evening! It's another lovely night, isn't it?!"

"Ooh, you can do it when you try."

Ogino praised her, but Kazemiya looked incredibly conflicted.

"...It might just be that I can talk normally because it's Misato."

Reverting to her usual tone, Kazemiya murmured with a gloomy expression.

"Let's try pretending that this is school during the day, and we're classmates," Tsukimi-senpai suggested.

"...Alright. I'll give it a try."

"Then I'll switch to my 'Day' persona too."

Tsukimi-senpai cleared her throat and swapped her personality.

In her daytime mode, acting under the premise that they were classmates, she smiled at Kazemiya.

"Hello there, Kazemiya-san."

"...H-Hello, Tsukimi-san."

"You know, I'd really love to become better friends with you, Kazemiya-san. Do you mind if I ask you a few things?"

"If you don't mind someone like me..."

"Well then, what's your favorite food?"

"...Probably chocolate, I guess."

Kazemiya's responses were noticeably shorter.

She maintained her polite smile, but she was completely on the defensive.

"...Hmm, it's definitely different from when you're talking to guys."

After ending the conversation at a natural pausing point, Tsukimi-senpai swapped back to her usual self.

With a slow sigh, Kazemiya also dropped her act.

It seemed she couldn't switch seamlessly like Tsukimi-senpai did.

"...I really can't hold a conversation, can I?"

Kazemiya murmured, sounding surprised by her own inadequacy.

"How did it feel?" I asked.

"...It made me incredibly nervous. Just telling myself she was a classmate and not Kaede-senpai was enough to do it."

Kazemiya's breathing had grown a bit ragged.

...Was it some kind of trauma regarding other girls?

No, maybe... it was her mother?

The memory of Kazemiya crying flashed through my mind.

"I've never been loved by anyone!"

"The real me doesn't have a single redeeming quality."

Kazemiya had spoken those words with such profound despair.

"I can't stay like this."

Kazemiya gave a firm nod.

"Do you think practicing with us will help improve things?" Tsukimi-senpai asked.

"Rather than practicing aimlessly, we should form a concrete image of what to strive for," Akazawa interjected.

"A concrete image?"

"What kind of person is loved by everyone?"

Akazawa's question seemed to strike at the very heart of the issue.

You can't work toward something if you don't even have an image of what it is.

"...I want to be like Kaede-senpai during the day."

Hearing those words, Tsukimi-senpai narrowed her eyes slightly.

We had heard something similar once before.

"...I've said this before, but I really don't recommend it."

Tsukimi-senpai shook her head.

In the first place, Tsukimi-senpai's daytime persona was a recreation of her late older sister, Sakura-san, something she had only managed to achieve through soul-crushing effort and determination. Because Sakura-san had been a genius, Tsukimi-senpai struggled immensely to replicate her abilities. That being said, if it was just recreating her personality, I didn't think it was entirely impossible.

"Are you talking about her personality or her abilities?" Akazawa asked.

"All of it. The way she treats boys and girls equally, her perfect grades, her athletic ability, how flawlessly she handles everything. She has such a strong presence and is beloved by everyone. I'm envious of... all of it."

"You're envious of the daytime me, huh..."

For Tsukimi-senpai, that was a mask she suffered greatly to wear.

But to Kazemiya, that same mask represented everything she admired and desired.

"...Being loved by everyone isn't an easy thing," Akazawa told her.

"And you need talent for it. But I can't do anything."

Kazemiya muttered self-deprecatingly.

"...That's why all I could do was fawn over boys."

"But you're putting a stop to that now, right?" I asked.

"...Yeah. Look at the disaster it brought me."

Kazemiya had clearly lost her confidence.

No, perhaps she never had any confidence to begin with.

"But I'm terrible at tennis, and I'll never be top of the class. I can never be like Kaede-senpai."

Kazemiya shook her head emphatically.

"...What am I supposed to do?"

"You have your own good qualities, Kanon," Tsukimi-senpai assured her.

"...Kaede-senpai, you're just saying whatever sounds nice again—"

"—How you always play along, even when I suggest something completely unreasonable."

Interrupting Kazemiya's denial, Tsukimi-senpai continued.

"—How you always take care of me, even while complaining the whole time."

Those were, without a doubt, Kazemiya's good qualities.

"—How your comebacks are always so sharp and spot-on."

One after another, Tsukimi-senpai listed all the things she loved about Kazemiya.

"W-What are you talking about?"

Kazemiya stood there, stunned.

"You know what I think?"

Tsukimi-senpai wore a radiant smile.

"I think the Kanon right here with us now is much more charming."

That was a complete paradigm shift.

"You're saying... instead of changing my 'Day' personality, I should just show everyone my 'Night' self...?"

"Yeah. Don't you think you have a much higher chance of being loved by everyone that way?"

"What are you even saying?"

Kazemiya's eyes went wide.

"Stop lying. There's no way someone like me could be loved!"

"But we're all here, and we truly care about you, Kanon."

I shared the exact same sentiment as Tsukimi-senpai.

"She's right."

So, I nodded in agreement.

"...Even though I have a horrible personality and say awful things?"

"You might think that about yourself, Kazemiya, but that's really not the case," I said.

"...Really?"

"We care about you, which is why we want to help. All of us do," Tsukimi-senpai insisted.

"But my dad... my mom... they both abandoned me!"

Those words likely tumbled out before she could stop them.

Kazemiya hung her head. The rest of us remained silent.

Most likely, the root cause of Kazemiya's desperate starvation for love was the lack of affection from her family.

"Look, Kazemiya. As much as I wish otherwise, we can't be your family."

"I know that."

"But... we can be your true friends."

Kazemiya snapped her head up in shock.

"True... friends?"

"The kind of relationship where we can bare our souls to one another and help each other out."

"...Will that give me the love I need?"

"Yeah. I love you, Kazemiya."

It was an incredibly embarrassing line to say, but I declared it confidently.

I said it so that Kazemiya could walk tall and live proudly for the rest of her life.

"...I don't believe you."

"If you don't believe me, I'll say it as many times as it takes."

"Why are you trying so hard?"

"Because I want to see you smile when we're here together."

I knew what love was.

It was the gift my late parents had left behind for me.

But Kazemiya didn't know what love was.

So, in place of her parents, I would be the one to give it to her.

"............Idiot."

Kazemiya threw herself against my chest.

Taken aback, I still caught her and held her tight, gently stroking her back as she sobbed.

Time seemed to slow down. Outside the window, a crescent moon hung in the sky.

It was another good night. I genuinely felt that way.

"...I showed you all something pretty unsightly."

Eventually, she pulled away from my chest and mumbled awkwardly.

Though she had stopped crying, the edges of her eyes were red and swollen.

"If you guys are going to go that far, I'll try showing everyone *this* me."

"Ooh~!" Tsukimi-senpai clapped her hands in delight.

By the way, as my embrace with Kazemiya stretched on, Tsukimi-senpai's gaze had grown alarmingly cold. It was so terrifying I couldn't even bring myself to meet her eyes. Let's just pretend I didn't notice.

"But if it were that easy, I wouldn't be struggling," Kazemiya added.

"Do you just naturally slip into your 'Day' personality when you're around anyone besides us?" I asked.

"...Yeah. It's basically a habit I've built up over years."

The only reason she was able to act like her true self around us from the beginning was probably because our Alliance started out as nothing more than a group of people killing time at night. Because it was a superficial relationship, she never felt the need to make us love her.

"Then I suppose all we can do is practice. To do that..."

There was an unavoidable hurdle we had to overcome.

Her tendency to fawn over boys and shy away from girls.

There was no need to say it aloud; we were all on the exact same page.

"Should we practice with the classmate setup like before?" Tsukimi-senpai suggested.

Kazemiya nodded at her proposal.

"...Alright. Would you mind?"

Clearing her throat, Kazemiya faced Tsukimi-senpai.

"..."

"..."

"Oh no! I don't have anything to talk about!"

"True..."

Tsukimi-senpai clutched her head in distress.

"How about we all play a board game?" I suggested.

That way, we wouldn't need to force any conversation topics.

We could balance Kazemiya's practice with our usual fun night. It was killing two birds with one stone.

"If it's too much like our usual routine, it'll be hard to convince myself that we're classmates," Kazemiya argued.

"Then how about we play in our daytime modes?" Tsukimi-senpai offered.

"...True, we'd essentially be completely different people," Akazawa gave a solemn nod at Tsukimi-senpai's idea.

"Uh... I'd really rather not..." Ogino grumbled.

"Misato, it's for Kanon's sake, remember?"

"...Fine, I guess I have no choice."

Ogino, who looked incredibly reluctant, gave in to Tsukimi-senpai's persuasion.

"...Understood. So the setup is playing a board game with my classmates."

Clearing her throat lightly, Kazemiya closed her eyes.

"This time, ta-da~! We're playing Pandemic!" Tsukimi-senpai announced.

"...Tsukimi-senpai, you haven't switched gears yet," I pointed out.

"Whoopsie-daisy... Ahem. Now then, shall we play Pandemic?"

It felt incredibly bizarre to see Tsukimi-senpai acting so composed while holding a board game.

The game Tsukimi-senpai brought out was the one we had played at the board game cafe the other day.

"...Isn't this game for a maximum of four players?"

I consciously put on my daytime mask as well, speaking to the group with a touch of distance.

"I'll be the GM for this round. I'd like the rest of you to play," Tsukimi-senpai said.

"...Have you played this before, Minase-kun?"

Having switched to her daytime persona, Ogino tilted her head in confusion.

Crap. It was definitely a question only someone who had played it before would ask. It was only natural she'd find it suspicious.

However, this was the game I had played with Tsukimi-senpai when we went to the board game cafe together.

I couldn't let everyone find out about our little secret.

I considered saying we had played it here, but the box Tsukimi-senpai brought was still shrink-wrapped, making it glaringly obvious that it was brand new. What should I do?

"...I explained the rules to Minase-kun the other day," Tsukimi-senpai intervened.

"...Right, you did. We were talking about how we wanted to play it soon..."

Tsukimi-senpai backed me up, so I nodded, hiding my internal panic.

While this exchange was happening, Kazemiya had remained completely silent.

"—I'm not particularly good at games that require thinking, so please go easy on me."

Kazemiya took a slow, deep breath before speaking.

At first glance, she seemed to be maintaining her nighttime persona.

However, her tension was palpable.

"...Yeah. I should be able to manage this," she said.

"Playing a board game with everyone's daytime selves feels incredibly bizarre..." Ogino murmured with a wry smile.

That was totally my line. I'd never even seen Ogino give a wry smile before.

"Right? Thanks to this, it genuinely feels like we're playing a board game with classmates we've just met," Kazemiya agreed.

"...What kind of situation is that even supposed to be?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Just focus on your role," she retorted.

Well, I supposed I could just treat this like another board game.

In TRPGs and murder mysteries, players were required to play assigned roles.

If this was similar to that, everyone here had plenty of experience.

To put it into perspective, it was like Kazemiya was the only one whose role had suddenly been changed.

"Explain the rules first! And make it easy to understand!"

Akazawa cheerfully laughed.

Amazing. His whole aura made him so much easier to approach.

...Even so, looking at us now, we really were a strange bunch.

"Can you switch easily too, Minase?" Kazemiya asked.

"...During the day, I just put up a wall between myself and others, so it's not hard."

"Wait, doesn't that mean—"

Kazemiya frowned suspiciously, but quickly shook her head.

"...No, never mind. Forget I said anything."

She probably realized that was stepping directly into my own secret.

I had asked Kazemiya to cooperate with my plan to uncover Tsukimi-senpai's secret.

Because of that, she knew the gist of my Double Confession Strategy.

In other words, Kazemiya knew that I had revealed my own secret to Tsukimi-senpai.

And she was also aware that I had uncovered Tsukimi-senpai's secret as well.

Despite that, the reason she hadn't pried—even after the second rule of the Covenant was changed—was likely because she didn't want anyone prying into her own secrets. While asking for our help, she kept her true nature hidden.

It was possible that, just like me, she had a trauma that made opening up about her past terrifying.

We needed to tread carefully while respecting her boundaries.

After I got home, I received a RINE call from Tsukimi-senpai.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, Shuuto-kun."

"What's up? We just parted ways not too long ago," I asked.

"I have something to talk to you about."

Apparently, it was a serious conversation.

For better or worse, we couldn't exactly have private chats back at the secret base.

"Is this about Kazemiya?"

"For Kanon right now, the alliance is a place where her heart can heal. If it becomes a place of practice... she might lose the one place she has to rest. So while practice is important, we can't forget about our normal activities either," she explained.

"That's... true."

"It probably won't go like it did with me, you know?"

"...I know what you're trying to say, Tsukimi-senpai," I assured her.

From here on out, we would be helping Kazemiya change.

But honestly, without knowing her secret, we couldn't give her any genuinely effective advice.

Even so, Tsukimi-senpai was warning me not to forcibly drag her secret into the light like I had done with her.

If we did that, there was no telling what it would do to Kazemiya's already unstable mental state.

"I'll wait for Kazemiya to tell us herself."

She relied on us. There was a chance she would share her secret with us eventually.

"Okay."

"Was that all you needed?" I asked.

"'Is that all'... isn't that a little cold?"

Even through the phone, I could vividly picture Tsukimi-senpai puffing out her cheeks in a pout.

"...From now on, I might not be able to show up to the alliance as often."

"...I see."

"It was decided that I should spend more time with my mother," she explained.

The discord between Tsukimi-senpai and her mother hadn't been completely resolved yet.

Time would surely heal things. But for that to happen, they needed to spend time together.

"It makes me sad that the time I get to spend with everyone will decrease, though," she admitted.

"...Even though you no longer have a reason to stay away from home, I'm just happy that you're willing to stay with us."

Truthfully, she had no reason to be a part of the alliance anymore.

An alliance without Tsukimi-senpai would be lonely, so I was just forcefully keeping her tied to it.

"Of course, I still plan to show my face to some extent, you know? It's just..."

Her main concern was probably Kazemiya.

That said, I couldn't exactly tell Tsukimi-senpai, whose family issues were finally starting to improve, to show up to the alliance every single day for Kazemiya's sake. And I had no intention of doing so.

"I can't just casually say 'leave Kazemiya to me,' but... I'll do my best," I told her.

When I deliberately said it in a cheerful tone, I felt a wave of relief wash over her through the call.

"Yeah, I'm counting on you, Shuuto-kun."

The call with Tsukimi-senpai ended.

...To be honest, I did feel a little lonely.

But the person I liked was relying on me. I had to give it my all.

The next day.

I roamed the first-year hallways, keeping an ear out.

Having a weak presence was incredibly convenient at times like this. It made gathering information a breeze.

However, the results I found weren't very encouraging.

It seemed the nasty rumors about Kazemiya hadn't quite been dispelled yet.

Specifically, the blatant bad-mouthing from the girls had increased.

While some of the guys found it amusing, few held a genuinely bad impression of her.

When I peeked into Class 1-2, Kazemiya was once again chatting with her usual male entourage.

"You wanna play too, Kanon? This is really fun."

"Can I really join in? Yay! I'm so happy!"

Invited to play a mobile game, she hopped up and down in excitement. So calculating.

Despite saying she was going to try bringing out her nighttime persona, there was no noticeable change in her behavior.

Well, if she could change so easily, she would have done so a long time ago.

As expected, it wasn't going to be that simple.

Night fell after club activities, and today it was just me and Kazemiya alone again.

During our practice where we acted as classmates in daytime mode, she had successfully managed to interact with us using her nighttime persona.

It looked like she had properly overcome her problematic tendencies as well.

However, she hadn't been able to put it into practice at school during the day.

"Somehow, I just got scared..."

Kazemiya looked down apologetically.

"...Because there's such a huge gap between this and how I've been acting up until now. I started wondering if it would really be okay."

Her inability to switch to her nighttime persona was likely born of anxiety.

Even though she logically understood that it would be better to switch, her emotions were rejecting it.

And so, she continued to wear her mask.

"If you're asking if it'll be okay or not, it probably won't be okay," I replied frankly.

"...Hey. This is the part where you're supposed to reassure me, you know?"

"There's no point in lying. I think the drastic shift in your personality will definitely confuse the people around you."

There was simply no avoiding that.

"What's important is what comes after. First, you need to become friends with the girls in your class."

"...You make it sound so easy," Kazemiya glared at me, looking slightly annoyed.

"If you can't do that, we can't even get started."

Her problematic tendencies—fawning over guys and avoiding girls.

If she could draw out her nighttime persona during the day, it would serve as paradoxical proof that she had conquered those tendencies.

"If only there was some sort of trigger I could use..."

Kazemiya sighed heavily.

"Thanks, Minase."

"What's this, all of a sudden?"

"...For helping me out like this."

"We're friends, aren't we?" I stated simply.

"Because you changed the alliance, everyone is helping me too."

...It was true. If the alliance had remained as it was, they wouldn't be helping Kazemiya.

We were supposed to just be people who spent the nights together, never asking about each other's reasons.

"I was only able to change the alliance because you helped me, Kazemiya. Consider this returning the favor."

It wasn't a lie. I was only able to persuade Tsukimi-senpai because of Kazemiya's support.

"...I suppose I'll accept that."

Kazemiya leaned her weight against the cushion Ogino usually used.

With just the two of us here, the secret base felt much larger than usual.

"My mother was what you'd call a 'tiger mom,'" she murmured.

Slowly, Kazemiya began to recount her past.

"She was incredibly strict. My curfew was way earlier than everyone else's, and when I was home, I only had one hour of free time. The rest of the time it was study, study, study. I was sent to cram schools from a young age, and I was forced to take lessons for piano, ballet, calligraphy... things like that. Well, as soon as it became clear I had no talent for any of them, she quickly made me quit. Even though I was finally starting to get the hang of it and was just starting to have fun. Not that my enjoyment mattered to her, of course."

"...Are you sure it's okay to tell me this?"

"Keep it a secret," she said, pressing an index finger to her lips.

"I took the middle school entrance exams, but I failed. My mother was furious—absolutely demonic. Once I was in middle school, she crammed my schedule with even more prep classes, and she would even tutor me herself at home. I tried my hardest, but I wasn't smart enough, so I just got yelled at all the time... I was never able to get the grades she wanted."

"...I see."

My late mother had also gotten mad at me and told me to study.

But I never took it seriously. When I was young, my family environment allowed for that.

But that wasn't the case for Kazemiya. She had been bound by her mother her entire life.

"It was tough, and it hurt, but I believed that if I just produced results, she would praise me someday."

"...Had you never been praised before that?"

"Even if I finally managed to do something I couldn't before, she'd just tell me it was only natural... or rather, she'd say she didn't understand why I couldn't do it before. Every single day was a repeat of that."

Kazemiya smiled faintly, looking lonely.

"In the summer of my third year of middle school, she abandoned me. She told me everything up until then had been a waste."

As a result, Kazemiya was here now.

She didn't want to go home, so she kept coming to this secret base.

"...Was there a specific trigger?"

"My test results were the worst they had ever been. I disappointed her."

And so, having been chained for so long, was Kazemiya finally free?

"After that, she stopped intervening no matter what I did or what time I came home. Every month she hands me my living expenses, and that's it. I don't know what she's doing, but she started coming home late into the night."

Whatever her mother had felt toward Kazemiya, it surely wasn't love.

That was why she could abandon her so easily.

"My dad disappeared around the time I graduated from elementary school. I still don't know the exact details, but back then they were fighting every single night. He probably got sick of my mother."

"...What kind of person was he?"

"My dad was kind. He would sneak me out to play. Even when my mother threw her tantrums, he desperately tried to protect me. I loved my kind father."

Kazemiya narrowed her eyes as if reminiscing about the past.

"—But he still left me behind."

"..."

"Leaves you speechless, right?"

Kazemiya gave a wry smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"That's why I kept it a secret. Talking about this doesn't make anyone happy."

"...Thanks for telling me."

It was proof that Kazemiya had opened her heart to me.

"I just felt like talking about it. So there's no need to reveal your secret."

Looking embarrassed, Kazemiya looked away.

"You don't need to treat this as an exchange. In fact, I don't really want to hear your secret. It's probably just like mine—a story that won't make anyone happy."

"...You might be right about that."

If that was what Kazemiya wanted, then I would keep my own secret hidden.

"My personality naturally became like this in middle school."

"Is the reason you avoid girls because of your fear of your mother?"

"...Yes. I can't think of any other reason."

"...Then, the reason you fawn over guys is..."

"Being abandoned by my kind father probably traumatized me."

Kazemiya analyzed herself dispassionately.

She spoke as if it were someone else's problem—perhaps because her mind would break otherwise.

"Because I believed that if I didn't become cuter, no one would ever love me."

That was the reason she was so starved for affection.

"When I entered high school, I had no idea what I was supposed to do."

Abandoned by both her parents, Kazemiya had lost her guiding compass in life.

"So I figured I should try finding something I wanted to do, and I went to observe the clubs."

"Why did you choose tennis?"

"It just looked fun."

Kazemiya's slightly joyful expression suddenly sank.

"But reality wasn't that sweet. Everyone around me had experience from middle school, and my motor skills are terrible... I was just dragging everyone down, and I immediately regretted joining."

True, Kazemiya's tennis skills weren't exactly something you could flatter.

If you asked whether she was suited for it, she probably wasn't.

"But you didn't quit, did you?"

"I just lost the timing to quit."

"If that were really true, you would have quit back then."

She had plenty of reasons to quit if she really wanted to wanted to.

And yet, Kazemiya was still playing tennis even now.

"You like it, don't you? Tennis."

"...As I kept playing, it started becoming fun. Even though I'm still terrible at it..."

"Even if you're bad at it, you should keep going if you like it. Club activities are just a way to kill time after school anyway. It's not like you're aiming to go pro. Even if there are people who are a bit better, it's basically just a battle of acorns."

"...That's an extreme way of putting it."

"...Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away. Nothing is off-limits anymore."

"You're in the Girls' Tennis Club, Kazemiya. Even though you tend to avoid girls."

"...That's right."

"How do you interact with the others during club?"

"I only have the bare minimum amount of interaction. That's why I've always felt so uncomfortable."

"Well, if you're in a club but barely talk to the other members, you're obviously going to stand out like a sore thumb."

"It's very convincing when you're the one saying it, Minase."

"We're in the exact same position. Except I'm doing it on purpose."

"I... want to change."

Kazemiya muttered softly.

"I genuinely want to get along with everyone in the Girls' Tennis Club. I hate how things are now."

She squeezed my hand.

Her hands were trembling slightly.

"I've decided."

"...Kazemiya?"

"Lately, Kiritani-senpai has started messaging me again."

Saying that, she showed me her smartphone screen.

It was her RINE chat history. Kiritani was trying to invite Kazemiya on a date again.

"I was wary that he might be angry about you exposing him on social media... but he's taking that approach, huh."

"Kiritani-senpai is completely underestimating me."

"He literally just got dumped by Shinohara-senpai, but he still has some nerve."

Well, since he didn't have a girlfriend anymore, asking Kazemiya out wasn't technically an issue. Logically speaking, anyway.

"I don't want to leave things ambiguous anymore."

Kazemiya's expression was filled with resolve.

"Minase... will you watch over me?"

"...I just need to be there?"

When I asked, Kazemiya nodded.

"I'm going to settle this using this me."

The next morning.

A large crowd of students had gathered in the hallway outside Class 1-2.

At the center of the circle were Kazemiya and Kiritani.

The reason for this was simple: Kazemiya had called Kiritani out here.

She had intentionally chosen a public place so that it wouldn't be unnatural for me to be there.

And also to permanently sear the events that were about to unfold into everyone's memories.

"Hey, Kanon. What's up? Calling me out to a place like this," Kiritani asked, looking understandably uncomfortable.

"Umm, well..."

Kazemiya let her gaze wander as if she were troubled.

That fake, endearing smile was exactly the same as her usual daytime persona.

"But man, I know it's a bit late for this, but that was pretty messed up, you know? Posting that stuff online~."

Seeing Kazemiya act like that, a vulgar smile spread across Kiritani's face.

"Were you mad? Because there was another girl?"

Kiritani placed a hand intimately on Kazemiya's shoulder.

Kazemiya didn't—try to brush his hand away.

"My bad. I know I didn't tell you."

Kazemiya silently looked down.

"But I broke up with Shinohara. So, go out with me for real this time."

A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd.

Kiritani assumed Kazemiya was just looking down because she was blushing.

In reality, she was terrified.

She was terrified of exposing her nighttime persona—her true self—in front of everyone.

But Kazemiya had decided to change.

I believed that the Kazemiya of today could do it.

Kazemiya's gaze wandered over the crowd. Eventually, her eyes locked onto me.

"You can do this, Kazemiya."

There was no way she could have heard my whisper.

The crowd was buzzing noisily, and I was standing on the outside of the circle.

Even so, the fear gradually faded from Kazemiya's expression, replaced by a calm composure.

Soon, Kazemiya gave a small nod.

That strong, defiant expression was the Kazemiya I knew.

"—Don't touch me."

Smack. The sound of a hand being swatted away rang out.

The noisy crowd instantly fell dead silent.

It was the sound of Kazemiya slapping Kiritani's hand off her shoulder. She was glaring coldly at Kiritani.

"W-What's wrong? Kanon. This isn't like you," Kiritani stammered.

"...You're right. It wasn't like me at all. Everything up until now."

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

Perhaps irritated, Kiritani closed the distance between him and Kazemiya again.

"Are you deaf? I told you not to touch me."

"You... Your whole character completely changed."

"Yes. Because this is the real me."

Kazemiya let out a small hmph, scoffing.

"Listen closely. —I don't like you in the slightest. In fact, I despise you. There's no way I could ever fall for a guy who tries to string me along while secretly having a girlfriend."

Kazemiya declared it in an icy tone.

Perhaps shaken by her harsh attitude, Kiritani took a step back.

"...So this is your true nature. You little bitch."

"Got a problem with it? I'm not going to be your convenient little plaything."

Looking closely, Kazemiya's body was trembling faintly.

Her fear hadn't completely vanished. She was forcing herself to be brave.

"You little—"

Kiritani, apparently driven by frustration, reached out to grab Kazemiya.

Crap. I tried to lunge forward, but I wasn't going to make it in time.

Just as I realized that, someone shot past me.

"—That's enough."

The one who had grabbed Kiritani's arm to stop him was none other than Student Council President Kusunoki.

"What exactly were you trying to do to her?" Kusunoki demanded.

"...Kusunoki. I was just trying to say my goodbyes," Kiritani scoffed.

"You are disrupting the discipline of our school. The student council will take action against such egregious behavior," Kusunoki warned.

"Tch..."

Kiritani shook off President Kusunoki's hand and stormed off in a foul mood.

"...Thank you very much, President Kusunoki," Kazemiya murmured.

"That was quite the fiery speech, Kazemiya-san," President Kusunoki praised.

"...How do you know my name? Have we spoken before?" Kazemiya asked, puzzled.

"I am the student council president, after all. I make it a point to memorize the faces and names of every student in this school," she replied smoothly.

She said it so casually, but was something like that even humanly possible?

Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd, President Kusunoki continued.

"If you ever need anything, please rely on the student council. We would be more than happy to welcome you."

It was a rather pretentious way of speaking, but it suited President Kusunoki perfectly.

"...Okay."

Kazemiya gave a polite bow.

President Kusunoki responded with a warm smile and turned around.

She was probably heading back to the second-year classrooms as she made her way toward the stairs.

As she passed by my side, President Kusunoki muttered under her breath.

"—Are you two friends?"

I felt like a frog caught in the glare of a snake.

For a while, I couldn't move from that spot.

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