“W-what is it?”

Being addressed by a heroine made me a bit nervous. Man, she really was beautiful…

“Um, well… I know this might be rude of me to say, but…”

She fidgeted with her hands, seemingly having trouble finding the right words. Ah, I think I got it.

“Don’t worry about me getting rejected. No need to be considerate about it.”

“How did you know?! No, that’s not it… S-since you’re not bothered by it, I’ll just say it clearly… I’m sure being rejected was very sad, but… thank you for confronting Ii-kun that time, asking him which one of us he liked…”

“…”

I froze for a moment, not expecting to be thanked.

Being thanked by the heroine I was rooting for—this must be an experience unique to someone like me.

I needed to crush that netori route to protect this smile and ensure she continued her relationship with the protagonist.

Suddenly, Haruka leaned in closer and said in a voice only I could hear:

“Just between us, I’m worried if I’m really suitable to be Ii-kun’s… I mean, Isamu-kun’s girlfriend, since he’s kind to everyone…”

“I see. It must be tough having such a popular boyfriend.”

“Y-yes, exactly! He’s so quick to be kind that all the girls misunderstand his intentions. Oh, sorry for stopping you and then talking so much.”

“It’s totally fine. This must be fate in some way. Feel free to talk to me anytime if you’d like.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Haruka bowed repeatedly, then left.

“Asatsuki-san really is cute, isn’t she?” 

“Great figure, excellent at sports, and well-liked! Her studies are… not her strong point apparently, but that makes her even better. She doesn’t seem perfect, which makes her approachable.”

While Friend #1 and Friend #2 were admiring her, I felt a sense of crisis.

…If Haruka was already feeling insecure at this point, it meant the netori route was steadily approaching.

By the second day, information about Isamu and the others’ actions would start coming in.

Isamu, despite having Asatsuki Haruka as his girlfriend, was still kind to all girls. It was the typical protagonist setting of being secretly popular.

Rumors circulated that Nanaka dated a different guy every month, but they were just rumors. People were split on whether to believe them. Apparently, she was very touchy-feely, which led to misunderstandings and frequent confessions from boys.

Haruka was truly worthy of being called the main heroine. There were no bad rumors about her, and everyone was in a celebratory mood about her lovey-dovey relationship with Isamu.

As for me, everyone had started to think of me as some kind of interesting person.

After school, while everyone was either heading home or going to club activities, I waited for a bit.

“Ii-kun, what are we doing after school today~?”

“Well…”

I saw Isamu and Haruka leaving the classroom. I shouldered my bag and followed them.

Nanaka was waiting at the school gate.

“Senpai~! Let’s go home together~♪”

“…Nanaka, come on.”

“What’s the problem~? A cute underclassman is asking to go home together~”

Nanaka clung to Isamu’s arm, completely ignoring that Haruka was right beside him. Her large breasts changed shape softly, pressing against his arm. For a moment, Isamu was lost for words, as if knocked out.

Hey, Isamu. Don’t give in just because her breasts were a bit bigger than your girlfriend’s. Size wasn’t everything when it came to breasts!!

Thinking that he was about to be swayed by Nanaka, I was about to say something, but…

“N-No!”

Haruka clung to Isamu’s free arm. Both Isamu and Nanaka were surprised by this unexpected move.

“Ha-Haruka…?”

“I-Ii-kun is MY boyfriend! So today… from now on, Ii-kun will walk home with just me! A-and of course in the mornings too! No matter how nice or cute Nanaka-chan is, or how close she is with Ii-kun, it doesn’t change the fact that Ii-kun is my boyfriend. I won’t back down on this…!”

“…Haruka.”

After his girlfriend showed such courage to speak up, the boyfriend surely wouldn’t remain silent.

Isamu disentangled his arms and looked straight at Nanaka.

“Nanaka, I want to cherish my time with Haruka. So from now on, I won’t be able to give you as much attention. I’m sorry…”

“Oh? I see, so that’s how it is…”

“Nanaka?”

“Well, you are lovers after all… I understand. I’ll watch over your happiness from one step behind. But please go along with me just for today, as this will be the last time. I heard there’s a new café near the school… let’s go together ♪~”

“W-well, if it’s the last time…”

A new café…

At that moment, memories flashed back. I recognized the scene that was about to unfold.

“While your girlfriend isn’t around~, let’s do it.” 

“We did it, didn’t we~. Oh, don’t look so sad~.” 

“It’s not cheating if no one finds out.” 

“You shouldn’t be conscious of it~ I’m just your underclassman. I’m not your girlfriend.”

That scene! This was bad… if events proceeded according to the script, we were heading straight for netori.

“…♪”

Suddenly, my eyes met Nanaka’s. She smiled at me provocatively.

“…Game on, then.”

The first route branch in this world.

I was going to crush this First Kiss netori route.

Chapter 8: “You’ve lost…” Huh?

“Well, this was bound to happen…”

On the way to the café, I sighed at the scene before me, which hadn’t changed since this morning, as I followed the three of them.

“Hey, stop clinging to me!”

“Come on, it’s fine. This is the last time after all~”

“Last time or not, it’s wrong to cling to his arm when his girlfriend is right here! I’m going to cling to him too!”

“H-hey, even you, Haruka?”

A beautiful girl sandwich with Nanaka on the right and Haruka on the left. The epitome of having it all. A sandwich that would kill anyone without a love life.

Didn’t their teachers ever tell them walking side by side like this was inconsiderate?

Still, Isamu couldn’t firmly refuse them. Protagonists were usually so pathetic. I remembered banging on my desk while playing games, yelling “Why?! Stand up for yourself there!”

After this, they’d get harassed by some thugs and cause a commotion. That should resolve itself without me stepping in.

What should I do when they reached the café…?

If I suddenly approached them, they might think “Who’s this guy?” and avoid me. That would affect things going forward.

“Hm? Wait… It’s because we’re students from the same school. If somewhere else… that’s it!”

The moment they reached the fountain area where they would encounter the thugs, I sprinted away without being noticed by the three of them.

(Nanaka’s POV)

Ahhh~~~~~♡♡♡ Senpai, you’re so cool after all~♡♡♡

Rewinding five minutes. When we were passing through the fountain plaza, Senpai stepped away from us to take a call from home. During that time, Haruka-senpai and I were waiting alone. That’s when some persistent guys tried to pick us up…

“I told you, we’re waiting for someone, so we’re not going anywhere with you!”

“This girl’s defense is tough…” 

“The other one should be fine, right? She looks experienced.” 

“True. She’s practically screaming ‘I’m a slut’ with that appearance.”

Taking advantage of my silence, the men laughed and said whatever they wanted.

I was being insulted because of my appearance. Thanks to my damn brother, I’d ironically built up tolerance to being called promiscuous.

“You think she’s easy? Experienced? Don’t be ridiculous!”

That’s when Senpai had appeared. He stood in front of us protectively.

“People who judge and insult others by their appearance are far more pathetic.”

“Huh? What did you say?!”

Senpai had apparently practiced karate and kendo until middle school, so he easily defeated the men who came swinging at him.

He was so cool… his words, his actions… I loved everything about him.

“Thank you for earlier, Senpai ♪. You really are so cool.”

“That’s an exaggeration…”

Senpai scratched his cheek.

His embarrassed face was cute too. I wanted him to show that expression to me… and only to me. To me, who loved him more than that woman, to me who should be his girlfriend…

Soon, soon—I needed to steal him away.

But I didn’t see that guy anywhere.

Mitarai Shotaro… the annoying person interfering with my plans.

He’d been following us since we’d left the school gate… Did he give up? No, he was not the type to give up so easily.

“—Fucking bitch.”

An irritating phrase. Infuriating words. Being called that made me momentarily lose my composure.

A match? As if that background character even stood a chance. I’d win by a landslide.

“Ah, here it is, here~”

We’d arrived at our destination café, a stylish place with black as its theme. Having just opened, it was completely packed with students inside.

“Looks like we’ll have to wait a while to get in.”

“Yeah. Maybe we should kill time somewhere else…”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Huh?” They said in unison.

Ignoring the two speaking in sync, I took out my smartphone. I had actually made a reservation in advance.

“I made a reservation, so they’ll call our number soon.”

“I see…”

“Reservations sure are convenient.”

“Yes, shall we wait inside until our number is called?”

At this point, I smiled slyly.

Now, Mitarai Shotaro, you have no chance to interfere. After all, this café is completely full. Even for a single man, it would take about 20 minutes before he could get in. That was more than enough time to carry out my plan.

Hehe, hehehe… You’ve lost!

The door chimed as I opened it.

“Welcome, you must be Seo-sama with the reservation.”

“Yes, that’s me… huh?”

“I haven’t made a mistake, have I?”

Why did he know my name…? I hurriedly look at the server’s face. Standing before me was Mitarai Shotaro, dressed in the café’s uniform…

“Huh…”

Whaaaaaaaat?!?!?!

~30 minutes earlier~

“Please!! Let me work here starting today… no, starting right now!!”

I was on my hands and knees, bowing desperately.