I Started a Lover-for-Hire Service, And For Some Reason, Only Beautiful Girls Are Requesting Me - Chapter 72: Ikki, Kanon, and Before the Incident

“W-What the hell…? What’s going on…?”

At an outdoor table.

Ikki let out a muffled voice as he covered his face with his hands. No matter how many times he looked, no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the photo in front of him showed nothing but the undeniable truth.

“I don’t get it… Why are Ryoma and Aira together…?”

In the picture, Aira was clutching Ryoma’s arm. Her expression—one he had never seen at school—was that of a lovestruck girl.

And Ryoma, on the other hand, looked as composed as ever, as if this kind of thing had happened to him countless times before.

Ikki had always seen Ryoma as a good boyfriend, a kind person. He had even admired him.

That was why this felt like a betrayal. A wave of unbearable resentment welled up inside him.

—Like someone had stolen the person he loved.
—Like someone had taken away the girl he had fallen for at first sight.

Ikki felt like he was going to be sick. His chest tightened painfully. He wanted to escape from reality.

“…Aira’s crush… was Ryoma all along…? How did that even happen…?”

Today, Aira had been more fired up than ever. Ikki, as her classmate, had seen it firsthand—there was no mistaking it.

The punishment for losing at rock-paper-scissors had been wearing a devil costume. That was all it was supposed to be.

But Aira had taken it further. She had brought her own makeup, earrings, and a big red ribbon hair tie.

Aira had an eye for fashion. She was skilled at coordinating outfits and accessories.

Even though it was a devil costume, she had transformed it into something she was satisfied with—an outfit that made her look the cutest, the most beautiful.

All for Ryoma to see her.

Hopelessly in love. There was no other way to describe it.

“Ha… haha…”

A dry, bitter laugh escaped from Ikki’s lips. His head was a mess. It felt like he had been thrown into a pit of despair.

Ryoma—the ex-boyfriend of his sister, Kanon—was the one Aira liked. And Ikki was the one who liked Aira.

A cruel twist of fate. A god’s sick joke. The worst possible reality for him.

And then, as if to make it even worse, the worst possible person arrived at the worst possible time.

“Sorry for the wait~! Ikki, I got your hot sandwich!”

It was his sister, Kanon.

Kanon had graduated from this school. Maybe she was feeling nostalgic, because she seemed to be in high spirits, practically bouncing as she walked over.

She wore a brown knit beanie, a V-neck black top under a chic Chester coat, and a short tight skirt paired with stylish short boots—an elegant, well-coordinated outfit that suited her perfectly.

Ever since she arrived at the school festival, Kanon had been drawing constant attention, with several guys even approaching her.

Yet, despite that—

“What’s wrong… Ikki?”

As expected of an older sister, Kanon immediately sensed that something was off about Ikki. Her cheerful tone shifted to a more serious one in an instant.

“I… I can’t even put it into words…”

“Come on, what’s really wrong…? Here, eat while it’s still hot.”

Kanon was being considerate, but right now, even that felt irritating to Ikki. He refused to accept his heartbreak. He absolutely couldn’t accept it.

“Hey… sis. How did you even endure it…?”

“Huh?”

“After breaking up with Ryoma like that…”

“T-That’s out of nowhere…”

Kanon had just been about to take a bite of her hot sandwich, but in this situation, eating was no longer an option. She carefully rewrapped it and placed it on the table before responding.

“…No, I didn’t endure it at all. Because, honestly, I still haven’t given up on Ryo-kun…”

“…”

“After sending that message to him… and seeing Makoto act all normal with me, like nothing had happened—I swore I’d get back at him.”

She spoke from the heart. But then, with a sigh, she added:

“But, you know…”

“This might sound like an excuse, but at the time, I was more focused on helping someone in trouble. That feeling was the strongest. So I completely forgot to contact Ryo-kun. If I had, things wouldn’t have turned out like that. So really, it was my fault.”

She couldn’t forgive Makoto. But blaming him wasn’t the right thing either. The responsibility was hers—because she was the one who forgot to reach out. It was a mature way of thinking.

“…I could never think like that. I’d rather hold a grudge against someone.”

“I did too, at first. After I graduated and found out about that message, the first thing I felt was hatred toward Makoto. But after becoming an adult, after time passed, I finally came to this mindset.”

Ikki was still a second-year high school student. He had just turned 17 a month ago. There was no way he could think the same way Kanon did—not after experiencing something like this.

“…Hey, sis. Do you want to see Ryoma?”

“O-Of course I do! But… today, I decided I’d just enjoy the festival.”

She spoke as if seeing Ryoma wasn’t even an option.

“Even if Ryoma’s here at this festival…?”

“Huh…?”

“Here, look at this.”

Ikki, after showing that photo, was thinking about one thing—

To bring Ryoma and Kanon face-to-face and completely disrupt the cozy atmosphere Ryoma had with Aira.

“Well, I get that my sister’s classmate was trash. I mean, he did all that just to break up my sister and Ryoma. Honestly, that’s not something a decent human being would do.”

Ikki had said that before, but that was only because he had been able to look at the situation objectively.

When it came to himself, though, that logic no longer applied.

“—Ah.”

A gasp of shock escaped from her lips, painted red with tinted lip balm.

“Th-This is… Ryo-kun…!? A-And this girl… is she his girlfriend…!?”

“This girl’s name is Aira. And she likes Ryoma.”

“I see… so that’s… how it is…”

Kanon’s expression turned pained as she gazed at the photo of Aira, smiling happily beside Ryoma. Three years ago, that had been her place. It was only natural that the memories would come rushing back.

“Sis, are you really okay with not seeing him? If you don’t do it today, you might never get the chance to make up with Ryoma again.”

“I know that… but if I interfere with Aira-san, I’d just be in the way…”

“Doesn’t matter to me either way. But if you don’t tell him about that message, Ryoma’s the one who’ll suffer for it. He’s probably carrying an even bigger burden than you.”

“…”

Because Ikki wanted to push Aira away from Ryoma, he knew exactly what to say to get through to Kanon.

“Y-Yeah… You’re right. It’s been a long time, but I have to take responsibility and tell Ryo-kun the truth…”

“I can find out where he is right now.”

“Yes, please… I’m going to see Ryo-kun. I really feel bad for Aira-san, though…”

“Don’t worry about her—I’ll keep her busy.”

“Thank you… and sorry, Ikki.”

Holding his phone up, Ikki typed into the Report LINE group, asking where Ryoma and Aira were.

There was even a photo of them. It wouldn’t take long to find their location.

And so, Ikki successfully steered the situation exactly how he wanted it to go…