The Trigger Is Always Trivial. Love Is Heavy

(Setsu POV)

I never thought I’d fall in love.

Love at first sight seemed like something out of fiction.

Maybe I was content with where I was before all this.

I’m cheerful and pretty easygoing. I pride myself on being able to get along with anyone, whether they’re boys or girls. I have good relationships with many people, and I’ve never been one to be alone.

School life is fulfilling.

Whenever I do something clumsy, everyone laughs, and I laugh along with them.

I’ve always been the one to entertain others.

Bright, with a smile on my face, always cheerful and occasionally clumsy… that’s the kind of girl everyone seems to want, and that’s who I am, Setsu Katayama.

But even I want someone to entertain me. Not from my end, but from theirs. I want someone to make me laugh from the bottom of my heart. I want them to be captivated by me.

Once an impression is formed, it’s hard to change. No one has tried to truly understand me.

So today, too, I’ll play the role of everyone’s Setsu Katayama.

Play the role…? Why do I have to play a role?

It was during those days when I started to feel a sense of discomfort.

(Oh, I don’t have an eraser…)

During the midterm exams in my second year, I realized I didn’t have an eraser.

I wanted to go get one, but the exam had already started. The teacher was typing on the computer…

(Huh? Can I borrow from the teacher in situations like this? But as long as there are no mistakes, it should be fine…)

I gripped my pencil again. However, it’s always at times like these…

“Ah…”

I let out a small sigh.

I made a mistake in the answer I wanted to write down. It’s impossible to cover it up.

(What should I do, what should I do…)

The mechanical pencil I’m using doesn’t have an eraser…

I should have solved the other questions first, but at that moment, I was too flustered and couldn’t think straight.

As I remained frozen in place,

Roll roll

The eraser from the neighboring desk rolled and came to rest at my feet.

The adjacent seat belonged to a boy. His name was, if I recall correctly, Shuugo Kosura.

His appearance… was neither exceptionally handsome nor unattractive. He was just an average-looking boy. Wasn’t his little sister referred to as the school’s prince or something?

I glanced briefly at Kusora-kun. He seemed to notice that he dropped the eraser and raised his hand.

The teacher noticed and came over. I picked up the eraser and handed it to Kokusora-kun.

“Is this yours?”

“No.”

(No? But… it’s yours! You dropped it, didn’t you!?)

I couldn’t help but think that in my mind.

Why would he deny his own eraser? It was strange, but the reason became clear to me soon enough.

“Then, is it yours?”

“Uh, um, mine…”

It isn’t mine, it’s Kusora-kun’s…

As I thought this, I glanced at Ksora-kun from the corner of my eye, and he nodded slightly. It was as if he was silently saying, “Use it.”

(Is he… deliberately trying to lend it to me?)

Even though borrowing and lending stationery during a test was prohibited, he still wanted to lend me his eraser…

“Ah, it’s mine. Thank you…”

The teacher returned to their original position.

And on Kusora-kun’s desk, there was another eraser placed.

I glanced at Kusora-kun, who then gave a thumbs up before returning his attention to the test.

Yes, it was such a trivial trigger.

And from then on, I became close with Shuugo-kun.

Contrary to rumors, he was a very enjoyable person.

He didn’t just find amusement in my clumsiness; he also made sure I had fun alongside him.

I wanted to get to know him more deeply.

And I wanted him to know me deeply too.

His little sister… no, the prince, spreading the rumor of “Brother with a negative 15 favorability”… I now understood.

“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t want to lose him. Shugo-kun is cool. Yeah, to anyone.”

I opened the drawer and took out a small bottle.

I’ve kept it for so long, always thinking I’d use it someday.

“I see. Then maybe I’ll just steal him away.”

◆◇

“Alright, I’m done preparing the teaching materials.”

With the quiz and the textbook, I need to decide what to teach Katayama…

At that moment…

Ding dong, the doorbell rang.

“Hmm? A delivery, maybe?”

Should I go answer it if it’s a delivery?

Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong!

The incessant ringing seemed to leave no time for thought. Without pause, the intervals between chimes only grew shorter.

“That’s quite the relentless chime… Did Mishima forget something?” (Tl/n: Mishima is Takuto’s last name)

I hurried to the front door and opened it.

“Yes yes, coming… Oh.”

Standing before me wasn’t Mishima, but someone unexpected.

“Hey, Onii-chan.”

“I-Iori…”

It was Iori, with a smile plastered across her face. (Tl/n: How did she know where her house was?)