The Girl Everyone Admires Loves Me… and I Don’t Remember Why.

Resolve and Proclamation.

“I’m this girl’s boyfriend.”

……Let us turn back the clock just a little.

That day, I was lounging at home, idly turning the pages of a light novel I’d purchased some time ago.

“Alright. Finished.”

Now then… what next?

……For some reason, I’m in the mood to start a brand-new one.

“But everything I have here I’ve already read once… Fine. I’ll go buy something.”

I had originally planned to visit the bookstore nearby, but since it was a holiday and I had time to spare, I decided to make the slightly longer trip to the shopping mall instead.

Nothing more than a passing whim.

And yet, much later, I would come to think how truly fortunate it was that I made that particular choice.

Upon arriving at the mall and heading toward the bookstore—

“…Huh? That’s Takanashi, isn’t it?”

A short distance ahead, I caught sight of Takanashi Mitsuki speaking with two men.

The mood was far from pleasant. If anything, Mitsuki seemed faintly afraid.

They were most likely pressing her with an aggressive pickup attempt.

……Yeah. There’s no way I can just look the other way.

Especially since I know her.

Besides… I really don’t want to see that kind of shadowed, unhappy look on Mitsuki’s face.

So I walked straight over and called out.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I stepped cleanly between Mitsuki and the two men.

They flinched visibly at my sudden intrusion, but one of them immediately barked in irritation.

“Oi, what the hell? Who are you?”

A perfectly natural question. I’d been expecting it.

Calmly, I delivered the line I had already prepared in my mind.

“I’m this girl’s boyfriend.”

These men were clearly here to hit on her.

If they believed she already had a boyfriend, there was a good chance they’d back off without much fuss.

“Boyfriend? You’re her boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

I kept my expression perfectly composed so the lie wouldn’t show on my face.

Still, my words alone didn’t seem to convince them.

Which meant… I had no choice but to get Mitsuki to play along.

That was the exact moment I was thinking—

“…Yes. That’s right. He… is my boyfriend.”

Mitsuki stepped right up beside me and—

—slipped her arm through mine, linking us together.

A gesture meant to lend credibility to the lover pretense, no doubt.

……Though it felt a touch bolder than strictly necessary.

“And we’re about to go on a date, so—”

With Mitsuki smoothly matching my story, the men would have no choice but to accept that we were really a couple.

Just as we started to walk away together, one of them curled his lips into a sly, mocking smirk.

“Heh. Then how about a kiss right here? Should be easy for lovers, right?”

I genuinely hadn’t anticipated that.

They were still suspicious; this was nothing more than a test.

But seriously—who makes a suggestion like that? It’s far beyond ordinary common sense.

“What, can’t do it?”

“I can.”

Mitsuki answered instantly, her voice clear and resolute.

Of course, I never actually thought she intended to kiss me for real.

Still… to be able to reply so boldly, even if it was only to keep the lie from being exposed—that took real nerve.

“Of course I can do it too. But we have no intention of performing it in front of you. That kind of thing is special to us. We’re not going to turn it into some kind of spectacle. Also—if you continue to bother us, I’ll call a staff member at the top of my lungs.”

“…Tch. Mood’s completely dead now.”

Grumbling, the two men finally slunk away.

“…Takanashi, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I’m okay.”

“Good. Then let’s get out of here for now anyway.”

We stepped outside and moved to a bench nearby.

“Let’s sit and talk for a bit.”

I gently disentangled our arms.

“…Ah.”

For just a moment, Mitsuki’s expression looked faintly disappointed.

……Probably just my imagination.

“Miyase-kun. Thank you so much earlier. Really.”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, I’m just relieved nothing worse happened to you.”

“Mm… Thank you.”

Mitsuki’s cheeks flushed a delicate pink as she gave a small nod.

“But still—I can’t possibly do nothing after you helped me like that. So, Miyase-kun… on Monday during lunch break, I’ll bring you homemade karaage as thanks, okay?”

There was a quiet but unmistakable strength shining in her eyes.

Even if I tried to refuse, she almost certainly wouldn’t back down.

“…Got it. Thank you.”

“Mm. I’ll pour my whole heart into making it.”

The light returned to Mitsuki’s face.

……Yeah. A gloomy expression really doesn’t suit her at all.

“By the way, Takanashi… thank you for going along with me back there. You picked up on it really fast, even though it was so sudden.”

If she had denied the lie right then, the situation could have become seriously awkward.

“…Yeah. I think… I understood what Miyase-kun was trying to do.”

After a brief pause, she answered softly.

“And also… about the kiss thing.”

“……!”