The Beautiful Senpai from the Archery Club Is Sleeping in My Room with Her Stomach Exposed. - Chapter 5: Consultations and Consultations.

Consultations and Consultations.

Lunchtime is when I settle my dues.

Since I keep my friendships broad and shallow, I don’t have a fixed lunchmate. No full party for me. More often than not, I end up eating solo.

Not that I mind—it’s nice to have some quiet time. Everyone needs a moment of peace, even at school.

With the “Big Sister’s Love-Filled Bento” (※Official name—calling it otherwise leads to consequences) that Mei packed for me, I discreetly leave the classroom.

Maybe I’ll eat in the cafeteria today. It’s too noisy for my taste, but hey, why not mix things up?

Just as I take a step toward my randomly chosen destination, a voice calls out from behind me.

“Amemoto Touya! C-can I come with you?!”

“Huh? Urushibara… Kouta?”

My baby-faced classmate calls me by my full name, as if bracing himself. Reflexively, I return the favor.

Even among my many shallow connections, Urushibara was on the particularly shallow side. We had played FPS together once—just once—as part of a group hangout.

“Amemoto! I need to talk to you! Everyone says you’re good at giving advice, so… p-please help me with my troubles!”

He sounded like a samurai. His face was red, and the yakisoba bread in his right hand was getting crushed from his grip. Dude was nervous.

“You don’t have to be so tense around me. We’ve gamed together before, right? Just relax. Take a deep breath in, and out.”

As I say this, I give his right arm a light tap—solid muscle underneath. Unexpected. I’m quietly impressed.

The surprisingly athletic Urushibara takes a deep breath, then looks up at me with a bashful smile.

“…Thanks. Amemoto, you’re kinda mature and different from everyone else, so… i-it’s weird, right? Getting nervous around a guy from my own class!”

Urushibara flails his left hand in embarrassment.

Yeah, first of all, his impression of me is off. Mature? No way in hell does that word apply to Amemoto.

“Let’s work on fixing that misunderstanding and easing your nerves. So? Can we talk while walking?”

“Ah, if possible, somewhere private! My problem is, uh, y’know, about love.”

“A love consultation…? Are you sure I’m the right guy for this?”

“Of course!”

Of course not. I’ve never received a Valentine’s chocolate from anyone besides my sister. Where’s this ‘romance expert’ aura he’s supposedly sensing?

“You seem trustworthy, and everyone says you give good advice!”

The only reason I don’t spill secrets is because I don’t have deep friendships. My advice? Just glorified small talk. At best, I’d rate myself ☆2.

Clearly, Urushibara has the wrong idea. I’m not some all-knowing guru about love. Like? Kissing? No clue, man. (Real talk.)

I was about to turn him down when suddenly, Urushibara straightened his back.

“—Good afternoon, Captain!”

“Ah, good afternoon, Urushibara. Your greetings are as impeccable as always. And hello to you too, Amemoto-kun.”

Even in the noisy hallway during lunch break, Watanuki-senpai’s calm voice carried effortlessly. Her presence was striking, not just in looks but in tone as well.

As always, she wore her white cardigan. Unlike last night when her medium-length hair was loose, today it was neatly tied up in a bun. Normal mode engaged. Up close, she had an even more refined, delicate air.

“Do you have a moment?”

I wonder what kind of magic it is that makes even the simple gesture of tucking her hair behind her ear and tilting her head slightly give off an air of sophistication rather than mere cuteness.

“Um… Ushihara asked me first, so—”

“No, no! Sorry, Amemoto, but prioritize the captain! The captain comes first—I’ll be fine later! Excuse me!”

“Thanks for letting me take this one. I appreciate it. See you after school.”

So, Ushihara was in the archery club. Was he the one who mentioned me to Watanuki-senpai?

Could it be that his love talk was actually about Watanuki-senpai…? No, that doesn’t seem likely. From the way he reacted just now, all I sensed was a kind of deep respect.

I watched as Ushihara hurried away, then turned my attention back to Watanuki-senpai. She simply said, “Come,” before starting to walk.

I scrambled to follow—not running, but quickening my pace just a little.

Somehow, she gives off a much stronger impression than yesterday… I feel like I might get overwhelmed. If I weren’t already used to interacting with older people in full-party games, I’d probably be floundering right now.

“Well then—it’s been since last night. Did you sleep well?”

“I could ask you the same thing. After feeling unwell, running all the way home, and then staying up late—you didn’t do that, right?”

“Heh, a sharp reply. Even I went straight to bed after getting home. Thanks for worrying about me. Your kindness really helped me yesterday.”

She paused for a moment, placing a hand over her chest, where her white uniform slightly lifted. Then, she gave a polite bow. The movement, as natural as it was, had the grace of a knight.

This is a complete turnaround from the fragile image she gave off yesterday…

“Let’s get to the main topic. Remember when I mentioned wanting to thank you?”

“Oh, right.”

So that was what kept me tossing and turning all night…

“I was thinking about it during class today—but I couldn’t come up with anything. So I decided to ask you directly.”

“You’re being surprisingly straightforward about it.”

So basically, you had no plan at all yesterday? Does that mean I spent my night agonizing over a question with no answer?

I shot her a mildly resentful look, but she just smiled back at me—calm, composed, completely unfazed. She really is a strong senpai.

“I still don’t know much about you, Amemoto-kun. The only thing I do know is that you’re an interesting underclassman.”

“Well, we’ve barely known each other for a day. It makes sense that our impressions of each other are still vague.”

“Exactly. So I’d like you to tell me—what do you want from me? What would you like me to do?”

“That’s… quite the difficult question.”

Even as I said that, my mind was already racing.

When presented with an overwhelming number of choices, my instinct is to make a snap decision. It’s an unfortunate habit I developed after spending thousands of hours playing battle royale FPS games.

Before I even realized it, I had already fired back with a question of my own.

“Then, could you tell me why you need so many energy drinks? Specifically—what’s troubling you?”