Vol 1 CHAPTER 9: Tailing【Volume 1: Preparation Arc】

After that, I continued gathering detailed information about Ichinose-senpai.

Apparently, he had close childhood friends—four people in total, including himself. Three guys and one girl. It was apparently a tight-knit group that had already formed back in middle school.

And there was a rumor that Ichinose-senpai and one of his childhood friends—the girl—were in a romantic relationship. When I asked if this was confirmed, I got “I don’t know that much” in response. So it wasn’t definite information. But if it were true, there couldn’t be more valuable intel than that.

An ex-girlfriend.

As Ichinose-senpai’s “cheating target,” she was the perfect candidate. If I could reignite that spark, it would burn beautifully.

I immediately brightened up and thanked the male student who’d given me the information. As a gesture of gratitude, I handed him a food voucher from the school cafeteria—a “Special A Set”—and he was thrilled.

　──

　──

I continued my inquiries after that, but nothing particularly noteworthy came up. However, from one of Ichinose-senpai’s classmates, I learned something unique:

“Ah, when was it… a few months ago? Before spring break, I think? He seemed really on edge, kinda suspicious in his behavior, so I decided to ask him about it.”

“Suspicious?”

“Yeah. He was acting like he was afraid of something, but at the same time, he kept going around asking people, ‘Could someone introduce me to a girl?’ I thought, How desperate is this guy? So I asked him, ‘Will any girl do as long as she’s your girlfriend?'”

“What did Ichinose-senpai say to that?”

“Well, he didn’t really answer directly, but while looking at his smartphone screen, he kept muttering to himself: ‘I need to get a girlfriend soon… before that one comes back… before that one comes back…’ It freaked me out, so I didn’t push it any further.”

I obtained that piece of information, but I couldn’t make sense of what it actually meant. Apparently, as a result of Ichinose-senpai’s “desperation,” I ended up having Kotofuki snatched away from me. But with the current information, I could only speculate.

For now, I decided to file that information away and turn my thoughts to the relationship between Ichinose-senpai and his ex-girlfriend.

“Ideally, they’d have some lingering feelings about how they broke up… No, best-case scenario would be if they’re still connected, or if he’s already cheating on his current girlfriend…”

I plotted various schemes. I thought about how I could act so that Ichinose-senpai would lose interest in Kotofuki and shift his focus to his ex. But ultimately, I reached the conclusion that without truly understanding the man himself, I couldn’t come up with an effective strategy.

So I decided to tail him.

I figured that if I kept watch long enough, he’d eventually slip up. I decided I wanted to see that moment with my own eyes.

For that, I needed to understand his behavior patterns.

I casually worked a question into conversation with Kotofuki, asking her what days Ichinose-senpai didn’t have plans. If there was ever a moment when he’d let his guard down, it would surely be when his girlfriend wasn’t around.

I worried she might suspect me for asking something so specific, but Kotofuki answered surprisingly easily—almost anticlimactically.

Apparently, I was positioned in her mind as “a trustworthy person,” and the amicable breakup I’d orchestrated had really paid off. I made sure to continue building on that positive relationship with her going forward.

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The next day.

After classes, I quietly tailed Ichinose-senpai as he hurried off somewhere. I’d already confirmed he wasn’t with Kotofuki today.

If Ichinose-senpai was hiding something, I wanted to expose it.

But I understood this wouldn’t be a quick situation. That’s why I’d prepared myself for a months-long stakeout—or so I thought—

“Se-e-enpaiii! Have you been waiting long?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Not at all.”

“Ehehe, then let’s go on a date again today, senpai!”

“A-Ah, yeah.”

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Right there in front of me were Ichinose-senpai and an unfamiliar girl, walking arm-in-arm in an intimate way. The two of them moved through the street with their bodies pressed close, and their relationship definitely looked like more than just friends.

“Yes! He did it, that goddamn playboy!“

And as for me—I snapped photos with my smartphone like some paparazzi, the fervor so intense that passersby started giving me weird looks from a distance.

That asshole had made me drink plenty of bitter wine, but here he was, displaying the behavior of a total scumbag, and somehow… I felt a little gratitude toward him.

This guy was proving himself to be a truly unprincipled fool. I felt deeply reassured by it. Now I could happily proceed with “stealing” Kotofuki.

Vol 1 CHAPTER 10: A Heavenly Maiden’s Beautiful Smile【Volume 1: Preparation Arc】

During the twilight hours in the bustling downtown.

I suppressed my excitement while tailing the male-female pair ahead of me.

Because I was keeping a fair distance behind them, I couldn’t hear their conversation. But even so, I could tell quite a bit from their behavior and mannerisms.

“…!”

“…mm…?”

“…”

It looked like the girl was the one taking the initiative, while Ichinose-senpai seemed rather passive. Constantly outpaced by his enthusiastic girlfriend, he followed along while occasionally managing a wry smile.

They wandered through window displays—clothing stores, accessory shops, bookstores—before finally entering a café with a terrace. Given that it was approaching summer, this time of day would be comfortable for a relaxed conversation.

“This is definitely a date,” I concluded, watching the two of them.

For someone with a girlfriend, this wasn’t exactly commendable behavior. While the degree might vary, it was clearly infidelity—a problematic act.

And it was exactly the kind of behavior I needed from Ichinose-senpai.

“But just a date isn’t enough,” I thought.

There were plenty of people out there who dated people other than their romantic partners. Depending on the circumstances, some situations were even considered acceptable.

To get real leverage on Ichinose-senpai, I needed more decisive information.

“Alright.”

So I made a decision: I’d enter the café terrace.

While concealing my presence, I took a seat at an appropriate table—directly behind Ichinose-senpai, in a spot where I could hear their conversation clearly. Then I ordered a ridiculously large café au lait and prepared for a long stakeout.

Listening silently, I caught fragments of their conversation—

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“Ahh, that was so much fun. Right? Senpai, you had fun too, didn’t you?”

“A-Ah, yeah.”

The two were now exchanging impressions about today’s date. The plush toys at that accessory shop had been cute. They should’ve bought the new books at the bookstore. They exchanged these trivial remarks.

But while the girl’s voice was buoyant and cheerful, Ichinose-senpai’s voice sounded stilted somehow. There was a hesitance in his tone—a kind of reluctance.

As I was pondering the reason behind this, the girl continued happily:

“Ufufu, but I’m so glad I came back. Even between couples, time apart is hard. A year… it really was a long time, wasn’t it?”

And just like that, a major clue emerged from her mouth.

From her manner of speaking, it seemed the two were in a romantic relationship, but they’d spent a long period recently where they couldn’t see each other casually. In other words, Ichinose-senpai had been betraying the girl—whom we now knew was his girlfriend—from the moment he confessed to Kotofuki.

I immediately felt the rush of having obtained crucial evidence.

But that elation was quickly negated by what Ichinose-senpai said next.

“About that… I thought we broke up—”

Wait, what?

The statements from Ichinose-senpai and the girl didn’t match, and I was confused.

“Ah… Senpai, I don’t acknowledge that, okay?”

“But I told you—I said that because we’d be long-distance, I couldn’t be with you anymore—”

“That’s exactly why I came back to this town in April. It’s the power of our love, right? Now we can be together forever.”

“…!”

The nature of their relationship was hard to grasp.

If I believed what Chiyu was saying, the two had been together the entire time. But from Ichinose-senpai’s side, there was absolutely no hint of the sweet, tender atmosphere you’d expect between lovers.

In fact, it seemed more like… he was afraid?

“Oh, by the way, I heard something, Senpai?”

“Wh-What?”

“Apparently, while I was gone, you went hitting on girls with Sub and stupid Yasu, didn’t you?”

“H-How did you—?!”

“Sub spilled the beans real quick when I pressed him. Apparently, once you found out I was coming back, you got desperate and tried to make another girlfriend… Sigh. I’m shocked, you know? I never forgot about Senpai for even a second, but Senpai was doing stuff like that?”

“I-It wasn’t—”

Ichinose-senpai’s voice was definitely trembling.

It was like a frog cowering before a large serpent. They say a cornered rat will bite back, but from him, I couldn’t detect even a shred of the spirit needed to mount a counterattack.

And then Chiyu—the girl who bore that name—slowly opened her mouth.

“So, Senpai? You… haven’t cheated on me with anyone, right?”

From my seat, I couldn’t see her face. Ichinose-senpai’s back blocked my view. But even so, I had absolutely no desire to catch a glimpse of it. There was such a menacing presence in her voice.

“Wh-What if I said… that I was seeing someone other than you, Chiyu…? What would you do?”

Ichinose-senpai spoke without bothering to hide his fear.

“That’s obvious, isn’t it—”

The girl’s next words dripped with something like contempt.

“I’d crush you. Completely and utterly.”

At that moment, Ichinose-senpai’s back shifted slightly, and I got a glimpse of her face.

It was beautiful—a smile as radiant as a heavenly maiden’s.

Vol 1 CHAPTER 11: Impressions of the Rival【Volume 1: Preparation Arc】

I continued listening, eavesdropping on their conversation, but I couldn’t extract any particularly useful information.

That was because Ichinose-senpai had become visibly flustered and started avoiding the core topics. Comments about how nice the weather was, how delicious some restaurant’s food was—none of that was useful to me.

Strangely, the more I learned, the more my impression of him underwent a complete revision.

Initially, because I’d been “cuckolded” by Ichinose-senpai, I had a confident image of him as a charming scoundrel—a bad guy who indulged in womanizing without hesitation. But after hearing about how he met Kotofuki, that image was corrected: at least he wasn’t a bad guy.

After all, he was honorable enough to refuse the persistent advances of a girl he didn’t even know. I figured Kotofuki must have been drawn to him because of his dependability and kindness.

But what was this?

The man standing—or rather, sitting—before me didn’t feel like the same “Ichinose-senpai” that Kotofuki described at all.

He seemed utterly unreliable.

From the way he reacted with a start to every word the girl said, I couldn’t detect even a hint of the spirit or conviction needed to uphold one’s own justice.

—There’s definitely something off about this…

Despite these misgivings, I continued my eavesdropping.

In the end, I couldn’t extract anything particularly useful that day. The two stood up, indicating they were about to leave the café.

For a moment, I felt the urge to follow them, but it seemed they were heading home separately. So I decided to call it a day on the tailing.

I watched them pay their bill and exit the shop.

And then I began analyzing the information I’d gathered today. I placed my smartphone on the table and reviewed the secretly taken photos and the conversation I’d started recording partway through.

There was a lot to think about.

Were the two really former lovers? If so, what about now? Hadn’t there been a clear temperature difference between them? What kind of feelings did Ichinose-senpai hold toward the girl called Chiyu?

As I was wrestling with these questions, the massive café au lait finally reached the bottom of the cup.

—I’ll sort it out when I get home, I decided.

I was about to stand when I noticed someone was sitting directly across from me.

“…Huh?”

My heart froze.

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　──

“Who are you?”

The person across from me stared directly at me, and without any preamble, asked that bluntly.

“…Uuh…”

An odd sound leaked from my throat involuntarily.

The person sitting across from me was none other than the girl I’d been tailing—the girl referred to as “Chiyu.”

“You’ve been stalking me and Senpai this whole time, haven’t you? I’m guessing you realize that’s called stalking, right?”

Only then did I become aware that my heart was pounding violently in my chest. I was too confused to properly comprehend what was happening.

—What’s going on? And when exactly did she figure out I was following her?

Thinking about it wouldn’t give me answers anyway. And even if I figured out the cause, it wouldn’t change anything.

She continued her interrogation.

“So, what’s your goal?”

She asked in few words why I’d been following her and Ichinose-senpai around. I couldn’t immediately decide whether I should answer her question or not. I had no idea what the optimal response was in this situation.

“Never mind. Either way, you’re obviously in the way,” she said.

As she spoke, her hand reached for my smartphone on the table. She glanced at the secretly taken photos and said, “Huh, pretty decent shots,” before continuing:

“Tell me who you are, where you’re from, and what your goal is in following us. If you don’t… I’m going straight to the police with these.”

“…That would be a problem.”

If she did that, I’d be finished.

I thought about it. What was the best move in this situation?

If I revealed my identity under her demand, that information would immediately reach Ichinose-senpai as well. And if it got passed along to Kotofuki through him, that would be the worst outcome. I’d lose all the trust I’d carefully built with Kotofuki in an instant. I couldn’t afford to make excuses.

I considered grabbing my smartphone back and making a run for it, but that wouldn’t help either. It was easy to imagine that I’d eventually be identified as a suspicious person anyway.

—What do I do? What can I possibly do?

I racked my brain for some clever way to escape this situation. But even as I did, the distrust in her eyes grew denser and denser.

And facing this decision, I finally gave her an answer.

“My name is Kudo Arata. I’m the guy who got his girlfriend stolen by Ichinose-senpai—I want to ask for your cooperation.”

“Heh… Well, tell me more about that,” she said, nodding with evident interest.