When My Girlfriend Cheated On Me And Spread Rumors That I Was A Guy Who Would Sleep With Anyone, I Decided To Just Accept It And Ended Up Dating The Most Slutty Girl In School.

Blessings to the Unaware Victor.

Against the backdrop of a blazing sunset, Kirara’s profile was turned downward, her expression showing some anxiety.

Her gaze was directed toward the distant lower realm, the royal capital area.

By now, the Best Couple Contest must be underway there.

At present, the two of them were in the Ancient Forest Area. More precisely, they were riding on the gigantic Ferris wheel named after the World Tree, Yggdrasil.

Soon after parting with Chiharu, Kirara received a message from a friend on her phone. The message contained information about the school bulletin board, revealing that students were conspiring to sabotage the contest.

Naoki was shocked.

He had never even heard of the existence of the school bulletin board.

Seeing its contents only shocked him further.

The posts were so vile they made bathroom graffiti seem refined.

So, Naoki made a quick decision.

They would withdraw from the contest.

Initially, Kirara resisted.

“If we back down now, it’s a loss! Aren’t you frustrated…?”

“Don’t you think we can definitely win?”

Perhaps they could.

With Kirara by his side, Naoki felt he could overcome any formidable opponent.

But what would winning achieve?

It would only serve as entertainment for the idiotic spectators who were stirring up trouble.

“This competition is pointless.”

Winning or losing would only result in a loss.

Moreover, it felt as if their precious first date was being tainted.

Even if it were a false relationship or not a true date, it felt deeply unpleasant.

Naoki felt too embarrassed to say such things to Kirara.

However, she seemed to understand somehow.

Her face softened, and she spoke with her usual bright smile.

“…You’re right. If we enter the contest now, it feels like we’re just falling into that bitch’s trap. Besides, we never said we were definitely going to participate, right? How about we just skip it?”

So, while Chiharu was frantically trying to win against Naoki and the others, the two of them were fully enjoying Fantasy Land.

They had been having a blast just moments ago, exclaiming things like, “Amazing!”, “So high!”, and “It’s so scary!” But as the contest time approached, Kirara suddenly became sentimental and looked down.

“…Did you really want to enter the contest?”

Feeling a bit awkward, Naoki spoke up.

He had thought it was the right decision at the time.

But now, in hindsight, it felt like he had just backed out out of fear.

From Kirara’s perspective, it must have seemed like nothing but cowardice.

Because of this, Chiharu probably saw through him.

It seemed like they hadn’t come to Fantasy Land for any reason at all.

Naoki was sure the school crowd would mock him as a coward.

And it wasn’t just him; Kirara would suffer the same ridicule.

Realizing this now, Naoki cursed his own foolishness.

What a stupid thing I’ve done!

He was plagued by negative thoughts and anxiously glanced at Kirara’s expression.

“Huh?”

Kirara turned around with a puzzled look.

“No, not at all. I wasn’t thinking about that at all.”

Her overly casual response left Naoki even more bewildered.

“R-Really?”

“I was just mesmerized by the beautiful castle. And besides, why are you still dwelling on something so trivial?”

Kirara glared at him with a slightly annoyed look, as if he had upset her.

“S-Sorry… But when I thought about it, it felt like we were just running away… and I worried you might be mocked too, so…”

“Worried about what?”

He didn’t know.

It was just a vague feeling.

It felt wrong.

It felt apologetic.

It felt like he owed her an apology.

He had dragged her into this…

An ominous shadow fell over Naoki as he looked down.

When he looked up, Kirara was standing in front of him with an angry expression.

“Whoa!?”

“Hey!”

“Ouch!?”

He recoiled as Kirara flicked his nose with her finger.

“W-What are you doing!?”

“Because you were making such a miserable face!”

Kirara sulkily sat down beside him.

The sweet fragrance and her warm body made his heart skip a beat.

(…It’s almost ridiculously cute.)

A misplaced thought crossed his mind.

It was a thought that had crossed his mind a thousand times today.

Faced with Kirara’s gaze, Naoki fell silent.

There was a sense that he should say something, but in his current state, it felt like he could only say things that would anger Kirara.

After a moment of silent staring, Kirara suddenly turned her head away with a troubled expression.

(…Did she get exasperated?)

He sighed at the thought.

“I had fun, though.”

She spoke in a voice as if kicking a small stone at her feet, then looked back at him with a pout.

“…Is that not okay?”

His heart suddenly felt like it was going to collapse, and Naoki braced himself for the worst.

Had Chiharu gotten her hands on a death note?

He genuinely thought that might be the case.

Fortunately, it was just a painful feeling, not death.

Noticing Kirara’s anxious gaze, he quickly shook his head.

“No way! It’s definitely not a problem! I had fun too!”

Spending time with Kirara at Fantasy Land had been like a dream.

It was fun not only when riding attractions but even while waiting in long lines.

He laughed so hard his cheeks hurt and talked so much his throat became dry.

And whenever he felt a pang of anxiety, he wished this time could last forever.

Even now, he felt the same way.

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine!”

Her firm statement strangely reassured Naoki.

He couldn’t help but think of himself as a simple man.

“…Yeah.”

Kirara, wearing a slightly sad but gentle smile, returned Naoki’s gaze with a cheerful smile of her own.

“That’s right. So, let’s end this conversation here. We still have time before we head home! Put aside thoughts about Chiharu or school for now, and focus only on our date! Got it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Your voice is too quiet!”

“Got it!”

When he answered loudly, they both looked at each other and burst out laughing.

They then discussed where to go next, what to ride, and what to see, as they looked out the window together.

Before they knew it, they had arrived on the ground and hurried off to their next attraction.

Somehow, they were holding hands as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

When Naoki realized this, his heart skipped a beat.

But he pretended not to notice, fearing that mentioning it might make them pull apart.

They stumbled upon a demon parade on their way and watched it together.

Kirara’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she admired the costumes.

“I want to make a costume like that. And that one is cute too.”