After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange

“Hey, Yukina, you’re in an excellent mood today.”

“Oh? Do I look like it?”

“Did something good happen?”

“That sounds suspicious.”

“W–wait, it’s not like that!”

Tomorrow was the start of Golden Week, and the students all seemed a little more restless than usual.

Watching Orihara-san… chatting with her friends, I felt relieved. Looks like she managed to invite them out to hang out after all.

That was because of what happened yesterday, when she called me out behind the school building.

After I calmed down the suddenly changed Yukina, something else happened after that.

＊＊＊

Standing in front of the suddenly changed Orihara-san, I had to think carefully about what to say.

The affection she spoke of didn’t really sound like it was directed at Shindou as a person. It felt more like the kind of gratitude she’d have toward someone who saved her, a benefactor.

From the way she talked, it sounded like “Shindou = that benefactor,” but something about it didn’t sit right with me.

“Um… who is this benefactor you mentioned?”

“In middle school, my little sister got into danger once, and someone helped her.”

“Shindou did?”

“No. She never saw his face clearly. She said she was too shocked at the time to really look.”

“I see. But then, why did you think it was Shindou?”

“Because of what my little sister said and some clues. She said the guy’s uniform had an ‘S’ stitched on it.”

“—!”

…An ‘S.’

That letter’s been showing up a lot lately. I didn’t expect it to appear here, either. Could it be that the ‘S’ isn’t about the owner’s name at all?

Our middle school uniforms did have embroidery, didn’t they? Well, Shindou went to the same school, so that makes sense.

“When I asked Shindou-kun about it, he said he might know what I was talking about! And when I told him the details, everything matched perfectly!”

“Then doesn’t that mean it was him?”

“Yeah… that’s what I thought at first. But I’ve been feeling unsure lately. I don’t have proof yet, so I’m still checking.”

She’s still unsure…

Hearing that, something about it started bothering me, too.

Wanting to thank the person who saved her younger sister is natural, but would that really lead to such deep emotions?

I don’t know how other people think, but the weight I felt in that notebook couldn’t be explained by gratitude alone.

And soon, I’d find out the reason why.

“Besides, I think I might’ve been saved by the same person, too.”

“…You think?”

“At the time, my glasses had fallen off, so I couldn’t see his face.”

Both sisters didn’t see his face. It was different situations, but definitely sisters.

“Then how do you know it was the same person?”

“That’s… well… it’s kind of hard to explain.”

She clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

So, the benefactor who saved her younger sister might be the same person who saved her, but whether that person is Shindou or not, that’s still unknown.

“Why not just ask about the time Orihara-san was saved?”

“…No way.”

“Huh?”

“No way! Back then, I was super lame!? There’s no way I can admit that was me! So embarrassing!”

“I-I see…”

There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, but it looked like her feelings weren’t really for Shindou himself; they were for the person who had saved her.

So, at this point, she probably didn’t romantically like Shindou. That much was clear from what she said earlier.

Since it wasn’t confirmed that the benefactor was Shindou, it was hard to say for sure if Orihara-san was the one who owned that notebook.

Still, the part that said that she changed everything about herself and how she looks for him fit her perfectly. And now, I understand why.

“Hey, is there any good way to find out for sure!?”

“That’s kind of sudden. Even if you ask me, I don’t really know.”

“I feel like if I just had one more clue, I could tell. But seeing him only at school doesn’t really help.”

Another advice request…

Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of these, especially from people who might be connected to that notebook.

Like Sena-san. Why do they all come to me? Don’t tell me the notebook has some weird power or something.

Honestly, I might start believing that.

Speaking of Sena-san, she said she was going to ask someone out on a date, but there hasn’t been any sign of that happening yet. I wonder if she’s okay.

“Hey, come on, do you have any ideas?”

“…Hmm. How about just asking him to hang out?”

“…!!”

“Um, Orihara-san?”

I had been thinking about Sena-san when I said that, so it came out without much thought.

But when Orihara-san’s eyes suddenly lit up, I panicked for a second. Did she get mad because that was too lazy an answer?

“That’s it! Shiomi, thank you! I’ll do that!!”

Don’t scare me like that.

Though it was honestly kind of the most obvious idea. Still, she seemed happy about it.

“What is this Shiomi?”

“Hm? I just think it sounds friendlier. I’m gonna call you that from now on, okay? You don’t mind. No?”

“…I don’t mind.”

“Then it’s settled! Oh, and you can call me Setsuna from now on! It’s not fair if only I use a nickname.”

“I’m not sure what’s supposed to be fair here, but not Yukina?”

“It’s fine! For some reason, I don’t mind at all when you say it!”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Great! Alright! I’m gonna ask him out today!”

What incredible energy she has.

“Oh, and by the way… what did you mean by that weird feeling you mentioned?”

“The smell.”

…The smell?

＊＊＊

“Ah, good morning, Shindou-kun!”

“A-ah, good morning, Yukina.”

Yukina greeted Shindou cheerfully as he arrived at school.

That advice I gave her wasn’t really advice at all, but if she actually manages to reach her goal because of it, then great.

If he’s not the person she’s looking for… well, we’ll deal with it when it happens.

It’s not like that.

Wait. Was this really okay?

“Shiomi-kun, what’s wrong?”

While I was staring blankly at the two of them, Sena-san came up to me. She must’ve come to school separately from Shindou.

“It’s nothing…”

Actually, I had been thinking about Sena-san.

She was the one who said she was going to ask Shindou, her childhood friend, out on a date. I even gave her advice about it. And now, I’d basically just helped her rival instead.

If they asked me whose side I was on, I wouldn’t be able to answer.

I wanted both of their feelings to work out, but if that happened, one of them would lose.

And if the loser turned out to be the notebook’s owner… that would mean a bad ending. Shindou would die.

Even if it just happened naturally, I couldn’t help feeling guilty.

If anything went wrong, I’d have to face the consequences myself. Just thinking about it made my stomach hurt.

If Shindou died because of me… it’d be way worse than just losing sleep.

“Those two…”

Crap.

Sena-san must’ve noticed where I was looking. She glanced at Shindou and Yukina and murmured something under her breath.

If she found out they were planning to hang out, that could get bad. She might even get jealous and maybe even snap. I had to say something or anything!

But when I cautiously looked at her again, she didn’t seem angry at all. Not even a little.

Huh?

“Hey, hey, Shiomi-kun. Do you want to hang out with me?”

“…Huh?”

Did she just say…?

Instead of being angry, what came out of Sena-san’s mouth was an invitation to hang out. I was so unprepared for it that my brain just stopped working.

What does that even mean…? But, Sena-san likes Shindou, right?

…I have no idea what she’s thinking.

Maybe she noticed the confusion on my face, because she chuckled softly.

“See, I thought it’d be better to do a little rehearsal first!”

“…Rehearsal?”

“Yeah, I mean, before I actually go out with him, I should check if my plan works, right?”

“I see.”

So that’s what she meant.

…But am I really supposed to just accept that?

Who asks another guy out for a practice date before asking out the one she likes?

“Hey, is that a no?”

“Ugh…”