I Just Wanted a Girlfriend, But Now I Have Three Fiancées! …Even Though I Don’t Remember Proposing to Any of Them - Chapter 10: A Prescription for Overlapping Promises

Chapter 10: A Prescription for Overlapping Promises

How long had it been since I last spent lunch break with Mei?

Probably not since elementary school, if I had to guess.

Thinking about that, I walked back into class wearing a tired expression… and headed straight for Kyousuke.

“…Hey, Kyousuke.”

“What now?”

“So, like… what if, hypothetically—just if, okay? Total worst-case scenario, total what-if—”

“Man, just spit it out already. You’re dragging this out.”

“…What would you do if two really important promises overlapped?”

“Overlapped? You mean, like a double booking? Easy—go with the more important one.”

“But… what if they’re both equally important?”

“Then don’t let ‘em overlap in the first place.”

…Fair point.

Didn’t really help me, though.

I let out a sigh and kept going.

“C’mon, I said it was a what-if.”

“Hmmm…”

Kyousuke tilted his head, actually giving it some serious thought for once.

Then, finally, he said—

“Even then, you gotta go with the one that matters most.”

“…Yeah. You’re right.”

That was all I could say.

I didn’t have anything better than that.

“Haru-senpai! Long time no see!”

“We literally saw each other this morning.”

Since we had club today, I dropped by the clubroom—

And there she was.

Mitsuki, already seated with her nose in a book.

I set down my stuff and took a spot a bit away from her, cracking open the light novel I still hadn’t finished.

“Mind if I sit next to you?”

But Mitsuki asked with a sweet smile and plopped down right beside me—

Then happily reopened her book, like this was the highlight of her day.

“I haven’t even said anything yet, you know?”

“It’s fine. We’re dating, after all.”

“…………”

Oh, right…

I still hadn’t told Mitsuki about the whole ‘drank coffee and wiped my memory’ thing.

Yeah… really needed to deal with that.

“Anyway, senpai—what time should we meet up tomorrow?”

“Morning’s best. I wanna nap in the afternoon.”

Yeah.

I’ll wait until after the date.

I already agreed to it, and backing out now would feel like breaking two promises at once.

And that would just eat me alive.

I’ll tell her the truth on the way home.

“Ehh? You’re gonna sleep on your day off, Haru-senpai?”

“That’s exactly why I wanna sleep. Because it’s my day off.”

At that, Mitsuki beamed from ear to ear.

“Then I’ll come over and take care of you, senpai.”

“Why would I need a caretaker just for taking a nap?”

“Well duh, senpai. Sleeping too much is bad for you.”

“…And what exactly would you do if you did come over?”

“Let’s play Twister!”

“…Twister?”

“What? You don’t know it? It’s this big mat with colorful circles on it, and you have to put your hands and feet on the spots—like, twist your body around and stuff.”

She was way too into explaining it, but honestly, I couldn’t picture it at all.

“It’s this! This right here.”

Mitsuki let out a little sigh and pulled out her phone, showing me a picture of the Twister game.

“Oh, so this game actually had a name… Wait, how do you even know about it? Do you own one?”

“Of course not! We’re gonna buy it. As part of our date.”

“…Are you sure it’s even fun though?”

“It’s for flirting!”

“…”

And there it was.

The stress-induced stomach pain kicked in…!

“…Is flirting really that fun?”

“Haru-senpai, when it’s with someone you like, anything is fun.”

She hit me with one of those lines only a full-on normie could say—and I had absolutely nothing to counter it with.

Let’s be real.

I’ve never had a girlfriend in my life.

Textbook introvert.

Trying to argue would just make me sound like a bitter loser.

So I shut my mouth and opened my light novel.

“That’s why… even just reading books together like this—just the two of us—is fun, senpai.”

Her words caught me off guard.

“…Thanks.”

That really meant a lot.

Just the two of us, spending club time together like this.

Because honestly… I still had no clue what she really thought of me.

“You’re welcome! I’m doing it because I want to.”

Mitsuki smiled at me with that bright, carefree grin—

So bright, it almost hurt to look at.

Our beloved, tiny literature club didn’t really do anything aside from reading.

Back when the seniors were still around, they apparently made anthologies and stuff.

But me? I had zero motivation—or ambition—for any of that.

Honestly, I only joined the club to make my dad, who’s working away from home, feel better about me living a “safe and productive” school life.

That said, I’d been part of the literature club since middle school, so maybe I stuck with it because it felt familiar.
Like going back to an old hangout spot.
This tiny two-person club felt comfortable to me.
And I wanted it to feel the same way for Mitsuki too.

“…It’s not like I hate being liked.”

I muttered that to myself as I walked home alone under the darkening sky.

Mitsuki’s house was in the opposite direction, and Mei wasn’t in any club, so on club days, I always headed home by myself.

“It’s not a bad feeling or anything, but still…”

That’s exactly why it kept gnawing at me.

The fact that I blurted out a confession while high on coffee—with zero memory of it afterward…

The more I thought about it, the worse I felt.

“…Alright. I’ll tell her everything tomorrow. And apologize properly.”

As I walked, phone in hand, I started looking up stuff like “how to apologize to a girl” or “best ways to say sorry and actually be forgiven.”

“Huh… maybe I should bring a gift too…”

Yeah, I mean—getting Mitsuki’s hopes up this far was totally on me.

So maybe the best move now was to pry open my death-grip wallet and splurge on a proper apology gift.

“Yeah… I’ll apologize. Properly. And then, Mei…”

Just thinking about last night made my stomach twist all over again.

Apparently, when it came to me and Mei “dating,” there was no such thing as a veto.

That ship had already sailed—and sunk, too.

At this point, maybe my best bet was to just go with the flow and pray the whole thing fizzled out on its own.

Not like I could see any better way out of this mess.

When in doubt—delay.

That’s always been my go-to life strategy.

“…Wait. Isn’t that the reason everything keeps getting worse?”

I might’ve just uncovered the root of my current disaster…

But even knowing the cause didn’t help much, so I mentally filed it away for later.

“And Luna-chan…”

“Did you call me?”

“…Huh?”

That clear, almost-too-perfect voice definitely didn’t sound Japanese—

Because it wasn’t.

“…Luna-chan?”

“Yes, desu!”

She nodded enthusiastically, her Japanese still just a bit off—

While standing right in front of my house.

“…Why are you here?”

“Because Haru-san invited me over long ago.”

Now that she mentioned it…

I kinda remember saying something like that…?

Maybe?

“You actually remembered?”

“Non! I was just walking around town, and all the memories came flooding back!”

…Huh.

Okay, that actually kinda tracks.

If she’d remembered from the beginning, she probably would’ve shown up at my place right away.

“Well, since you’re here… wanna come in?”

“Is that okay? I mean, I only came to see your face and then head home…”

“You came all the way out here… and besides, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk about.”

Like that fake marriage certificate.

Even if we were just kids when we made it, it was still something we needed to talk about properly.

With that, I unlocked the door.

Luna was smiling softly, totally at ease—

While my smile was tight and awkward.

The contrast was… honestly kinda painful.