Kazunari Did His Best.

Yuuji and Natsumi-senpai.

Hayato and Marina.

The relationships between my precious friends were beginning to take on new shapes, new forms of connection…

And if everyone could find their own happiness like this, nothing could make me happier. I genuinely felt that way.

Meeting Sara had turned my entire world upside down. I never imagined that someone who once believed he was living in hell could ever feel this level of joy.

Having someone truly precious in your life—it really is happiness itself.

That’s why, if my friends could grasp that same happiness, I wanted to help in any way I could. Even if it might come across as meddling… I just couldn’t help feeling that way.

***

“Yeah, it’s delicious, Marina.”

“Ah, really…? That’s… good…”

Watching Hayato eat with obvious relish, Marina broke into a beaming, almost blooming smile.

She still looked a little unsure of herself, but she could tell his words weren’t empty flattery. Little by little, her own smile was starting to shine through.

“How’s mine?”

“Ugh… I didn’t expect Natsumi-san’s cooking to be this good.”

“Fufun. So… you get it, right?”

“…I surrender.”

Over there, they were having some kind of exchange I couldn’t quite follow.

But they both looked like they were enjoying it, so… whatever, I guess.

“Good for you, Kazunari-san.”

“Sara-san?”

“I knew you were worried about your friends.”

“Well… yeah. If everyone’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

“Kazunari is kind.”

“Fufu… that’s so like you, Kazunari-san. It’s wonderful.”

Sara-san and Hanako always find ways to praise me, even over the smallest things.

I’m not doing anything special—just thinking normally.

But when they look at me with those gentle eyes… yeah, it still makes me embarrassed.

“Kazunari-san, cute♪ Here, ahh~n…”

Chomp

Chew chew…

“Kazunari, cute. Next one. Ahh~n…”

Chomp

Chew chew…

With soft smiles, the two of them resumed the “ahh~n” festival.

Only… the lukewarm stares from everyone around us made me really wish they’d stop repeating “cute” over and over.

“Kazunari-san, ahh~n…”

Chomp

Chew chew…

As always, Sara-san’s cooking was incredible.

The high-level techniques she learned from Mayumi-san.

The distinct flavors of the Satsukawa and Takanashi households.

And on top of that, she’d studied my preferences in detail and elevated both family recipes even further.

I could only bow my head in gratitude at her thoughtfulness.

That’s why I…

“Haa… so good.”

“Yes♪ I’m happy.”

I always made sure to tell her “delicious” with all the gratitude I felt.

That was one thing I would absolutely never forget.

“Kazunari, ahh~n.”

Chomp

Chew chew…

Hanako’s bento had its quirks—odd shapes here and there, a few slightly burnt bits.

But those were proof she’d poured her heart into making it by hand, and to me, that only made it better.

The taste itself was genuinely delicious—no flattery needed.

“Kazunari, how is it?”

“Yeah, really good.”

“I’m so glad. Hearing you say that makes me really happy.”

When I gave her my honest opinion, Hanako’s face lit up with pure joy.

She’d been talking about studying cooking for a while now, and I knew a lot of it was for my sake…

So that smile the moment I took a bite—I seriously wanted to capture it in a photo forever.

“Here, Kazunari-san, ahh~n.”

“Kazunari, ahh~n.”

But… you know.

I was truly happy about Sara-san and Hanako’s feelings.

As a man—as a guy—I was dead set on finishing every last bite, no matter how much there was. That resolve hadn’t wavered at all.

But… no matter how much spirit I put into it, no matter how much grit I summoned, there were still physical limits I couldn’t overcome.

In other words…

My stomach was reaching its limit soon.

“Somehow… it’s starting to look like Takanashi-kun is being fattened up…”

“Ahaha… or rather, Takanashi-san, isn’t your stomach about at its limit…?”

Nishikawa-san, sharp!

I didn’t even have the energy left to think up some lame “correct answer gets a prize” joke.

The amount of food itself wasn’t actually that insane… maybe it was because I was eating slowly? That might be making it worse…

“Um, Takanashi-san? While you can still eat, please try mine too…”

“Ah, then eat mine too!!”

“Takanashi-kun, mine can’t compare to Satsukawa-senpai’s at all… but if you’d like…”

“Right, this time I was absolutely determined to make Takanashi-kun eat mine. Ever since the three of us started eating together, Sara’s been blocking me every single time.”

Oof… a bento rush right now, in this situation…? This was bad.

I might be in serious trouble…

***

“Ahh… my stomach…”

“Kazunari-san, are you alright?”

We’d moved to a bench (tent and all), and now I was resting my head on Sara-san’s lap.

The old superstition about lying down right after eating turning you into a cow? Yeah, I didn’t care anymore.

I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for superstitions.

According to Sara-san, “It’s better to lie on your right side.”

So I was following her advice exactly—which meant…

“Kazunari-san, if you don’t come a little closer, you’ll fall off, you know?”

“N-No, um…”

“No holding back… that’s not allowed.”

“…Yes ma’am.”

Scolded (cutely?), I hurriedly scooted closer to Sara-san.

Which naturally pressed my face right against her stomach—soft, yielding warmth spreading across my entire face.

And that sweet scent… whether it was just my imagination or real, I didn’t know… but I was completely enveloped in Sara-san’s favorite fragrance.

For a healthy high-school boy like me, that was always a certain kind of dangerous something…

And if Sara-san leaned forward even just a little, my face would end up sandwiched between her thighs and paradise. Full-on heavenly lockdown. No escape.

“…Should we be jealous of that, or pity him?”

“…Kazunari has it rough. But managing to hold out this long even after getting engaged and living together? That deserves respect, I think.”

“…Yeah. As a guy, I can’t help but sympathize.”

“…Well, it just means he treasures her that much. Even if Satsukawa-senpai’s affection seems overwhelming, Kazunari probably loves her just as fiercely.”

“Kazunari… you okay?”

Hanako’s worried voice reached me, and another hand joined the one stroking my head.

Sara-san already had one on my stomach and one on my head… so now Hanako’s hand was added to the mix.

And—of course—they were carefully positioned so their hands didn’t overlap. That was the real trick.

Anyway.

“Sorry… might need a bit longer…”

“There’s still time. Please stay like this and rest for a while.”

As she spoke, Sara-san shifted slightly to adjust her posture.

Which naturally brought another wave of heaven-hell-heaven (???) crashing against my face… Dangerous. Stay calm. Stay calm.

Then, noticing my head had slipped a little from the movement, she gently pulled it back and pressed it firmly against her stomach with a soft gyu.

“As expected… or maybe beyond expectation—Takanashi-kun and Satsukawa-senpai really don’t change at all, even at school… and now Hanako-san’s joined in too.”

“Ahaha… well, I’ve finally started getting used to it recently…”

“But Satsukawa-senpai’s the student council president and Takanashi-kun’s the vice president, right? With them always like this… is the student council actually okay?”

“Hmm… in a way, you could say they’re… united in perfect harmony?”

“What kind of vague way is that to put it… ah, but somehow I think I get it.”

Wait—people were starting to get it just from that exchange?

Even I felt a little exposed…

But looking back, that human-barricade wall we made this morning… maybe it really did symbolize our entire dynamic.

It wasn’t pre-planned or anything… right?

“Anyway, what are we doing after this?”

“Right… Sara, how’s patrol duty looking after this?”

“Our main responsibility is patrolling the classroom building. The outdoor areas like the grounds and the clubroom building are handled by other groups.”

“Got it. So after this, we’re free to check out the class exhibits?”

“Yes. Club-related areas are tomorrow.”

By the way…

Each classroom had its own class exhibit.

The clubroom and practical training buildings mostly featured club activities.

The gym and outdoor special stage hosted timed performances—drama club, chorus, brass band, light music club, volunteer bands, and so on.

And tomorrow’s Miss Contest…

“Hey hey! Where’s the Miss Contest Satsukawa-senpai’s participating in tomorrow!?”

“That’s on the special stage in the school courtyard.”

That’s how it was.

I’d originally thought it would be in the gym, but apparently with the expected crowd it would feel too cramped. Since it was an annual fan-favorite event, a lot of visitors came from other schools and the neighborhood.

Just how big was this thing going to get…?

“Man, but if Satsukawa-senpai’s in it, the win’s basically guaranteed, right?”

“Hmm, not necessarily. Sara does have one weakness.”

“Ehhh!? Satsukawa-senpai has a weakness!?”

“She’s got zero charm. Doesn’t smile, keeps conversation to the bare minimum, says whatever she thinks without sugarcoating, has a sharp tongue, and lectures a lot. She’d never pander for votes.”

Hmm…

That sounded like boomerang-level toxicity coming from Natsumi-senpai herself right now.

But since Sara-san herself acknowledged it as fact, I couldn’t really argue.

And Sara-san? She didn’t seem to care at all—like it was nothing more than background noise.

Proof? She was still happily humming (a lullaby, maybe?) while stroking my head and stomach.

“I hear that a lot, but I’ve never actually seen that Satsukawa-senpai. I know Takanashi-kun is special to her, but imagining her being that harsh is kind of hard…”

“To me and Eririn, the Sara we’re seeing right now—giving Takanashi-kun a lap pillow and humming—is way harder to believe.”

“But this feels way more natural to me. Though… when Takanashi-kun got punched and Satsukawa-senpai snapped? That was terrifying.”

“Ahh… yeah, even I was shocked the first time I saw that. Basically, Sara’s harshness toward guys who aren’t Takanashi-kun isn’t just ‘harsh’—it’s on another level. Like a completely different person. Split personality tier.”

“Wow… so then on the Miss Contest stage…”

“Well, her looks are top-tier. And most of the guys fawning over her have never even spoken to her. They just build up this perfect fantasy in their heads. So even without trying, she’ll probably get a decent number of votes.”

As expected of Natsumi-senpai—she had the idiot fanbase’s thought patterns down perfectly.

In the end, the real problem was how many people were just projecting their delusions onto Sara based on looks, rumors, and nothing else…

“Sigh… it’s kind of complicated, huh. But since she’s actually participating, I hope Satsukawa-senpai wins…”

“I have zero interest in the Miss Contest. The result doesn’t matter to me at all. The opinions of random nobodies are worth less than garbage.”

“G-Garbage…? Yeah, I figured… but wow, guys other than Takanashi-kun really are completely irrelevant to you, huh…”

“Of course. Kazunari-san is everything to me.”

“Thanks for the meal. Takanashi-kun, you’re seriously the luckiest guy alive.”

Yeah… no need to tell me twice.

Being loved this much by Sara-san—I seriously believed I was the happiest man on Earth.

So in return, to let her feel even a fraction of my own happiness…

I hugged her just a little tighter.

Gyu…

“Fufu… my stomach’s a little ticklish now♪”

“Eh!? S-Sorry!”

Her unexpected reaction made me panic instantly.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, but her voice… just a little… you know what I mean, right?

“Kazunari-san, you can hug even tighter, you know?”

“N-No, that’s…”

If I hugged any harder in this position, I’d be the one in serious danger in all sorts of ways.

“…Um… why did they suddenly start getting all lovey-dovey again…?”

“…Because they do it all the time lately.”

“…Ahaha, yeah… they’ve been a bit skinship-heavy recently… but since it’s Takanashi-kun and Satsukawa-senpai…”

“…………Idiot couple…”

“…N-Nishikawa-san… again…”

“Kazunari, how’s your stomach?”

“Uh, um… probably a bit longer.”

Thanks to the stomach medicine (Sara-san had some on hand), it had calmed down somewhat. But honestly… it was still rough.

And no—this definitely wasn’t because I wanted to keep being spoiled by Sara-san. Absolutely not. Not impure at all.

“Then once Takanashi-kun can move, shall we get going?”

“Agreed! I’m looking forward to what’s next… oh right, Marina’s class is doing fortune-telling, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, a fortune-telling shop. We gathered all kinds of divination styles.”

“Ooh… that sounds fun.”

“Yeah, sounds interesting.”

“Mm, interesting.”

The unusually enthusiastic voices probably belonged to Natsumi-senpai, Yuuji, and Hayato.

They must have their reasons… surely.

Come to think of it—what about Sara-san?

“What do you think, Sara-san?”

“Hmm… I’m not really the type to care much about fortune-telling.”

“Same here.”

We’d actually never talked about fortune-telling before.

So her answer wasn’t surprising.

If she had been interested, I’d thought about getting something divined together… but if the result was weird, it might ruin the mood.

“But since it’s a special occasion, shall we have ours done together?”

“Yes! That sounds fun!”

Didn’t she just say the opposite?

Forget the past.

If Sara-san said so, that took top priority.

“Personally, I’m kind of curious about your class’s café, Takanashi-kun. Since Sara even went as far as taking cooking classes.”

“Ah, me too. And I’ve never been to a maid café before, so it sounds kind of fun.”

“Hey, Takanashi-kun—with this many people, will it be okay?”

Hmm…

Couldn’t say for sure without knowing how crowded it was. But probably fine?

Maybe I should message Yamakawa and the others just in case.

“I’ll at least send a message to the class—not a reservation, just checking. If a table opens up, they might be able to call us over.”

Going in with this group might cause a scene… but our class should be fine with Sara-san at least. Marina and Hayato were regulars there too… yeah, it’d probably work out.

“That would be great. By the way, Takanashi-san?”

“Yes?”

“How long do you plan to keep talking in that position?”

“Ugh…”

I knew it… I knew someone would call me out eventually.

Because I’d been having this entire conversation facing away, back turned.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Because the moment I tried to pull away or even just shift my body…

Gyu…

Yes. I still wasn’t allowed to move.

“…Kuuu… so lovey-dovey… all this lovey-dovey first…”

The mysterious mutterings and aura radiating from Nishikawa-san felt like invisible thorns stabbing straight into my back.

Actually… it was kind of scary. Nishikawa-san…