Even fetch quests raise your level

It was break time before switching classrooms.

"…Okay."

I was standing nervously in front of the door to the

library.

At this time of day, Kikuchi-san would be already in there.

When I opened the door, I would enter her calming, peaceful

world. And by now, I should be completely used to talking

one-on-one with her—right?

But on this day, I felt a little different. Of course, there

was a reason I was so nervous.

I slowly reached out to the door, thinking back to my

meeting with Hinami that morning.

* * *

"All right, let's wrap up the small talk and discuss your plans

moving forward."

"You never waste a second, huh?"

A second earlier, we'd been deep in conversation about

the incident between Tama-chan and Konno, but then

Hinami had just casually switched to a completely different

topic. I had to stay focused so her conversational agility

wouldn't trip me up.

But the way she repositioned herself so easily was pure

Hinami. Mask or no mask, she had the raw ability.

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"Of course not. Especially when it's been weeks since my

last chance to give you an assignment for your goal."

"Well…that's true." I nodded.

My goal—to have a girlfriend by the time we started our

third year. Fall was already turning to winter, so that only

gave me three or four more months, including winter break.

"We need to make up for lost time."

"So you're saying…you have a new assignment for me?" I

asked with some resignation.

Hinami grinned. "Hexactly."

"Haven't heard that in a while."

I guess her mind was on other things.

Huh… That's actually kinda interesting.

That meant her life at school must have calmed down

enough for her to joke around. Of course, I was a little

embarrassed by the nostalgia I felt hearing her say

"hexactly" again.

"Right? I have to use it now and then, you know. Hanabi

established her 'character' thanks to your strategy, and I

have to set an example, too."

"So it's all part of the plan…"

Hinami giggled. It was really only when she said

"hexactly" or talked about gaming that I could see one layer

past her mask. Which meant that most of the time, the mask

was way too powerful.

"Anyway, what's my assignment?"

"Well…" Her expression turned suddenly serious, and she

seemed to size me up with her eyes. "You've said it yourself

in the past."

The mood was quickly getting heavy, and I gulped. "…Said

what?"

She slowly pointed a finger at me. "That you'd like to set

your goals and assignments based on what you really want."

I nodded. "Yeah. No lying to myself, no acting fake. And I

reserve the right to turn down any assignments or exercises

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that would make me do that."

For some reason, Hinami grinned at my straightforward

answer.

"Right," she said, baring her white teeth ominously. "And

I hope you're ready to live up to those words."

I flinched; she was up to something. What? What kind of

sadistic command was she about to give me? But I wouldn't

let her beat me. I was at a higher level now. Bring on the

ridiculous assignments.

Suddenly, I felt bolder than before.

"Of course I will. A man never goes back on his word."

"In that case…I'll start by asking you a question."

"Okay, what?"

She rested her cheek on her palm and leaned toward me

with a sadistic gaze.

"Who would you rather date right now—Fuka-chan,

Mimimi, Yuzu, or Hanabi?"

"Wha…?!" That was a fastball. I leaned back.

As I stood there reeling from all the information whirling

around my mind—not all of it necessary or relevant—Hinami

closed in for the next hit.

"Or maybe…me?"

"You…?!"

Hinami rested her finger on her glistening, exquisitely

parted lips, drawing my eyes to them. The glint of the winter

light highlighted the vaguely seductive moisture.

"So…who do you like?"

She was obviously acting as she looked up at me with

adoring eyes, but I still couldn't help feeling flustered by the

cuteness of her expression, gestures, and tone of voice. It

was just instinct.

"Um, well…"

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Her question was definitely designed to throw me offbalance.

"Yes?"

Her moist eyes were doing a perfect job of making me

blush…

But if I focused on the content of the question…I had to

admit it was important.

I'd told Hinami I didn't want to chase after a girl if I

wasn't sure I liked her—and that I wanted to work toward

what I really wanted in life.

She'd accepted that.

If we were going to use my own feelings to decide the

target of my next assignment, then this was a crucial

question.

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She was asking me to choose for myself, of my own free

will, who I wanted to date.

Kikuchi-san, Mimimi, Izumi, or Tama-chan. Those were

my options.

"…Hey, wait a second." I'd just realized something.

"What?"

"Why did you include Izumi? That doesn't make sense."

Weren't Izumi and Nakamura starry-eyed, newly matched

lovebirds? I mean, Mr. Cool Guy was walking around with a

hand-knit tissue cover in his pocket. Guess he does have a

sweet side after all.

Hinami sighed. "You may have moved up a level or two,

but you will always have the heart of a virgin."

"I literally am a virgin, not that it's any of your business."

I wish she'd stop full-on dissing me. It was depressing.

"Listen. If you want to pick Yuzu, that's a legitimate

option. Relationships are shaky—they can end at any

moment. And it's not like they're legally bound to each

other. It's ridiculous to give so much respect to something so

impermanent."

"U-uh, I'm sure you're right, but…"

Ninety percent of high school romances probably don't

last, but…I could hardly believe she'd say that after seeing

how Izumi and Nakamura got together. I mean, it took all

our help and some major effort from Izumi herself, but now

they were dating for real. I'd hoped Hinami would say they

might end up getting married or something.

"I bet you think they might end up getting married or

something, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, it's not unthinkable, but it's ridiculous to tiptoe

around hoping for it. They're a bunch of idealists who

worship romance like it's a religion. It's so boring."

"Wow, that's a pretty strong opinion when you don't even

know if that's what I was thinking."

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Of course, her guess was exactly right. Sometimes, I felt

like she had ESP. It happened when we were playing

Atafami, too. Scary. I wish she'd stop with that.

She waved off my complaint.

"There's no rule that says you're not allowed to go after a

girl with a boyfriend. It's entirely acceptable. They're not

married, and even if you did steal her from him, it would just

mean you won at the game of love fair and square by being

the better guy. No one would hate you for it. You could even

say it was a good thing in the long term, if it means you and

your rival ended up as better people."

"Well, if you put it like that…"

I could see her point. I had a weakness for arguments that

used game analogies; her values were so close to mine in

that realm.

"Right? Still, Yuzu would be a very challenging choice for

you at this point. You'd be wiser to choose someone else

since you're still barely out of the tutorial. You'll be at a

disadvantage in terms of raw stats at least until you start

your third year."

"I wasn't planning to pick her anyway…"

She and Nakamura were too perfect together, and I didn't

have the motivation to try to break them up.

"Oh, so Yuzu isn't your type?"

"That's not what I meant!" I shot back anxiously. I could

see how my comment could be interpreted that way, though.

Bottom-tier characters can sound stuck-up when they don't

mean to.

"So you do want to date her?"

"No, I didn't mean that, either…"

"Mm-hmm…" She gave me a challenging look.

"What?" I stared back at her.

She stuck her pointer finger in the air. "Okay, imagine

this," she said, smiling as she prepared to get to the heart of

the matter. "If Yuzu broke up with Nakamura and told you

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she wanted to go out with you, what would you do?"

"What?!" That was so far out of left field, I almost jumped.

"That would never happen!"

"You're right. It wouldn't."

"Um, no," I said, depressed that she agreed with me so

quickly. So why did she ask?

"But hypothetically, what if she did? What would you do?"

"That's a tough question to answer…"

"Listen. This doesn't just go for Yuzu. The same goes for

Mimimi, Fuka-chan, or Hanabi. If one of them told you right

now that they liked you, what would you do? Haven't you

ever thought about that?"

Honestly, no. "I mean…that would never happen."

"I know."

"Hey now."

Again, she agreed right away. I know it's true, but it still

hurts. Can't you soften the blow a little? Bottom-tier

characters are people, too, you know.

"…But your inability to say unconditionally one way or the

other is connected to your situation right now."

"Huh?"

"Never mind what I just said. If one of them confessed to

you, what would you do? You say you don't want to pursue

anyone until you're sure you like them, but you haven't even

thought about who you might like. Don't you think that's

even more insincere?" Hinami tore into me, completely

brushing over the part I was most curious about.

"Well, if you put it like that…"

She was right; it was hypocritical to say my goal was to get

a girlfriend and then completely ignore my own feelings. The

only places a guy can get a girlfriend without taking any

risks are a dating sim or a harem rom-com.

"This is all hypothetical, so give it some thought."

"Right, all hypothetical."

"Yeah. Okay, so imagine you're chatting with a girl, and at

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the end of the conversation, she asks if she can talk to you

after school. She says she wants to have a private

conversation, so she invites you to meet her on the landing

of the stairs in this building, because no one ever comes

here. And when you get here and you're alone together, she

blushes and tells you that actually, she's liked you for a

while. That kind of thing."

"Yep, I'm definitely imagining it."

When she described it in that much detail, I could almost

see the whole scenario.

Here in the old school building…just the two of us. What

is this, a movie? Plus, I haven't done anything in this scene.

Is that okay?

But the question is, how do I react? If I turn her down, I'll

come off as conceited, but if I go along without feeling the

same as she does, that's wrong, too.

The vague hypothetical turned into a movie in my mind.

So what if all that happened, and then…

…Tama-chan said she liked me?

Or Izumi said she liked me?

Or Mimimi?

Or Kikuchi-san?

Right then—

"You're blushing."

"What?!" I yelped.

Hinami was having the time of her life with this. I swear.

She definitely did that on purpose. I just about died of shock.

"Well? Now that you've played out the whole thing in your

mind, did you figure it out?"

"…Figure what out?" I asked uncomfortably.

Hinami tapped me on the center of my chest. "Wasn't

there was someone you could imagine dating?" She smiled

confidently.

"No… I mean, I don't know."

Hinami reacted triumphantly to my vague answer. "Well,

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that person will be the target of your future assignments."

She raised one eyebrow. "Which means those assignments

will be based on what you want, correct?"

"…Yeah."

Hinami snorted condescendingly. "Your assignments

from this point on will mainly be about getting you two

together."

She won, I had to admit. Her ever-rational approach left

no room for contradiction.

Just now, she'd made me imagine a certain scenario in

order to assess my feelings, then said she'd base my

assignments on those feelings.

That way, what I wanted became the foundation for her

actions, and my original concern was done away with. I'd

been swept up by her negotiating skill; since there was no

possible counterargument, I couldn't do much about it.

"By the way, it's best if you have at least two options."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

Hinami gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm fairly sure I

explained that a long time ago. Do you need to hear it

again?"

"…No."

As she stared at me, I tried to think back. Yeah, we had

talked about something like that when I first started

training.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember. You said it's

like how in a shooting game, you can play better if you've got

a couple of lives left instead of just one, right? 'Cause you

can't play as well when you know you might be screwed."

"Right."

She had a point. It wasn't just shooting games, either—

whenever I have only a few stocks left, I get panicky and

sloppy.

"And you said it was better to go after more than one girl

at a time for the same reason."

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"Exactly… Oh, wait," she said, pointing at me sharply.

"Hexactly."

"It doesn't really work if you forget the first time."

Hinami smiled with satisfaction. "You really are getting

better at firing back during conversations."

"I—I thought I'd give it a shot anyway…"

What, so she was giving pop quizzes now? Just having a

normal conversation with her is exhausting. I wish she'd dial

it back every so often.

"But you're right. Remaining composed is extremely

important."

"Composed?" I wasn't following.

"Listen. Love is a battle, and human emotion is a variable

that also happens to be critical to the fight. When you lose

your cool, your emotions get confused, and when your

emotions get confused, your actions do, too. And when that

happens, the other person can tell, and that sets your

relationship back. I might even go so far as to say that

maintaining a stable emotional state in a strategic and

rational way is the single most important point when it

comes to love."

So that's the key, huh?

"Then can't I just try not to lose my cool? I shouldn't have

to go after more than one person at once, right? There's

gotta be other ways."

"What, like meditating or something?"

"Th-that's not what I meant… Don't you have any other

suggestions?"

Hinami sighed like I'd completely missed the point. "You

have no idea what you're talking about because you have

zero experience in love. The reason most relationships fail

before they even start is that one person gets worried that

the other person is going to disappear, and so they start

fawning and acting all weak and turning the other person

off."

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"R-really?"

Hinami nodded. "I don't know if you've ever experienced

this, since games are your one true love…but it's like when

you get a LINE message from the person you like and freak

out. You start swinging from happy to sad until you can't

think logically at all, and the reply you send is totally

unnatural. Or you end up overthinking it and write

something that sounds cold. Then you hate yourself for it,

and when you see the person, you spend too much time

explaining yourself, or you panic and leave awkward silences

in the conversation."

Wow, that was a strangely specific example. Was this

Hinami's own weakness, perhaps?

"Speaking from experience?" I asked jokingly.

Hinami giggled, sounding very unruffled. "Sure am. This

poor guy tried to dump me."

"Oh…"

I'd just been treated to a beautiful reflect spell, a reminder

of why she's in the top tier. My noob skills don't work

against her at all.

Hinami went on, having taken no damage whatsoever.

"My point is, panicking and messing up in love is usually

caused by the cognitive dissonance that occurs when you

believe there's only one person in the world for you. It's a

narrow-minded perspective."

"Cognitive dissonance…?" I parroted. For a talk about

love, this was getting really technical.

"It's an easy mistake to make. I bet you're thinking I'm

telling you to pursue multiple girls at once, but you're

worried that will be too difficult."

"Well, basically. I mean, it sounded like the strategy of a

bona fide Casanova."

"Actually, the opposite is true."

"The opposite?"

Hinami stuck her pointer finger in the air.

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"When it comes to love, pursuing multiple people at once

is easier than pursuing just one."

"…Huh."

I was genuinely surprised; that thought had never entered

my head.

"Just telling yourself that there are other people who you

could date gives you a bit of distance, and that allows you to

keep your cool so you can make your decisions rationally."

"I can see that…"

Leaving aside the question of integrity, her technique did

seem like it would help me maintain some perspective when

I was thinking about everything. I could probably even run a

list of pros and cons with my options. But was that really a

good thing?

"This isn't just defensive; it's an offensive move, too.

When you let your crush catch a glimpse of her competitors,

you throw her off-balance."

"Hold on. That is a really underhanded thing to suggest."

She sighed. "It's nothing. Calling it 'underhanded' is just a

sign that you're still worshipping romance, too."

"You mean it gets worse…?"

Is love really such a dirty game? And if so, can someone

like me really win at it?

"Don't forget; there's one more added benefit."

"There is?"

So we're killing three birds with this multiple-girl strategy

now?

Hinami grinned and pointed at me. "You're convinced it's

hard. So you'll have more self-confidence after achieving it."

"…Ah."

Once again, she had me convinced. Still think we're

playing dirty with this, though.

On the other hand, I really could use more confidence. I

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had it in spades when it came to games, but when it came to

love, not so much.

Thanks to my gaming confidence, I was able to make

decisive choices at critical points in Atafami, and I could see

how the same thing would apply to love. That ability to trust

myself at key moments was more important than I'd

realized.

"You need to be more confident. That's another reason

why I want you to start getting closer to multiple girls at

once—it'll help, I promise. It's an effective strategy for a

noob, and your chances with either of your choices will also

improve. Of course, this is assuming these are all girls you'd

be interested in dating to start with, and I'm not suggesting

you cheat on anyone and ask two girls out at once. All I'm

saying is that you should get to know them more as people.

Then, based on that experience, you can go out with the one

you genuinely want to date. What do you think?"

She was firing arguments at me so fast, it was like I'd just

speed-scrolled through a product list on Amazon. I was

starting to feel like I'd wanted what she was selling all along.

"Okay, okay… That's really all I have to do?"

"A response worthy of nanashi. You catch on so quick."

"U-uh, thanks…"

"All right then, from now on, I'll be giving you

assignments with all that in mind."

"O-okay."

It was really hard to say no right after she complimented

me. That must be another of her negotiating techniques.

Scary.

"Which brings us to the question of which two you want to

get to know better."

"Umm…well…"

"Yes?" She smiled, waiting for my answer.

"…Can I have a little more time to decide?" I asked,

glancing away from her.

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She made a dissatisfied hmph. "How long is 'a little more

time'?" Her voice was completely flat.

"Um…about a week?"

She sighed very loudly. "I see."

"Um, sorry."

I apologized reflexively. She could express anger without

saying anything specific—that was a high-level technique. I

was getting used to her sharp tongue, but when she changed

up the pattern, my resistance went down again. Huh. That

must have been her goal.

"So? What do you need it for?" she asked curtly.

"Uh…" I searched for the right words, trying to organize

my thoughts.

I honestly didn't know why myself, but I really didn't like

the idea of just throwing out a name.

And that uncertainty was why I wanted more time. I

wanted to give the assignment appropriate attention, too.

"I guess I want to really think about how I feel toward

each of them."

"To really think about it, huh?" Hinami's face was blank.

She sighed loudly again. "Fine. It's true that you've been so

caught up in assignments and class drama that you haven't

had many opportunities lately to examine your feelings.

Maybe it would be more efficient to take some time now to

think. Resting is a basic component of contemporary

bodybuilding techniques, you know."

"Thanks, that's a big help." I wasn't sure why she had to

mention bodybuilding, but I let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay, you have one week. Two at the most. Spend that

time considering who you're interested in and who you want

to get to know better."

"A-all right."

Hinami looked up. "Buuuut it would be a waste of time to

leave you without any assignment at all, so…I'll give you an

easy one."

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"Easy?"

"Yes," she said, fiddling with her cell phone. After a

second or two, she showed me a slick-looking web page.

"…Instagram?"

There was a long stream of pictures showing trendy

clothes, tasty-looking food, images of Hinami and her

friends goofing around, more pictures of Hinami's face or

her whole self against an elegant backdrop, etcetera,

etcetera. So this is her page, I'm guessing.

"So you want to remind me that not only can you do

anything, you're also a great photographer… Whoa!"

When I scrolled up to the top of the page, I saw how many

followers she had.

"Three thousand… You have three thousand followers?"

"Yup," she answered casually, slipping her phone back

into her pocket.

"Wait, why? How did you get so many?"

"Who knows?"

"Come on." What kind of answer is that?

"I honestly don't know. If I had to explain it, I'd just say

I've consistently posted high-quality, public photos of

subjects people want to see, and that attracted a lot of

followers. I didn't post stuff for a public audience, so it really

wasn't intentional on my part."

"So you're an…Instagrammer…" I said the word timidly,

since it came from a totally alien world to mine. It felt so

strange in my mouth.

"Not particularly. People can follow me if they want, but I

don't intend to tailor my content for the public. I don't have

the time to put in the effort to be a top influencer."

"You're so disciplined."

Since she couldn't aim for the top, she wouldn't do it at

all.

"What did you expect? Youth and beauty will always lose

value in the long run. I maybe could expect a return on the

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investment if I wanted to attract a rich man to marry and

take care of me for the rest of my life, but I want to win by

using the abilities I built up on my own. That means instead

of using temporary youth as a shortcut to my immediate

goals, it makes more sense to devote myself to improving my

individual skills, which will pay dividends in the future."

"I'm starting to get scared by how far into the future you

look…"

The way she kept so cool was really frightening. I

wondered what sort of vision she had for her life.

As I sat there in shock and awe, Hinami coughed. "…

Anyway, we're getting off topic," she said, tapping the screen

of her phone with her fingernails. "Social media is the

point."

Social media—so sites like Twitter and Instagram, and

older sites like mixi. Ah, good old mixi. I used to belong to a

group on there called "Masters of Atafami." Little did I know

back then that I really would master it.

"I think by now, you understand from experience that in

order to live the life of a normie, at least at school, you need

to rise in the class hierarchy."

"Yeah, that's a really basic thing."

I think everyone has a strong sense of that hierarchy to

begin with, but I'd truly begun to notice it once my

assignments started. In a closed environment like school, it's

genuinely hard to escape the tyranny of the pecking order.

"Of course, one of the first things you have to do is join a

top-level group. Once there, you have to maintain a good

position without getting labeled as a poser. Are you

following me?"

"Yeah, I get it. Although I'm not sure if I'm already doing

that or not."

Lately, I'd been hanging out with Nakamura's group, but I

wasn't quite sure what my standing was.

"Right. You're like 'the funny guest' with them."

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"The funny guest?" That's…vague.

Hinami nodded. "You're not a fully integrated member,

but you're entertaining and unique, which makes you like an

invited guest. It's very common in the school hierarchy."

"It is?"

Maybe it was because I'd been at the base of the pyramid

until recently—buried beneath it, really—but I didn't quite

get her point.

"Yes. People who are good at something are temporarily

invited into a group, and for a while, they entertain the

group with that skill. Then the group either gets bored of

them and phases them out, or they get attached to them as a

person, and the guest becomes a regular."

I'd never been interested in classroom politics, so I hadn't

observed the phenomenon myself, but I could easily imagine

it.

"But I'm not particularly good at anything," I said.

Hinami raised one eyebrow. "You're not? Didn't you tell

off Erika Konno? And didn't you insult Nakamura on our

trip?"

"That's my skill?"

Actually, the first time Mizusawa talked to me, it was

about the incident with Konno. And I did feel closer to

Nakamura after the overnight.

"Since Nakamura is the dictator type, there aren't many

people willing to fire back at him and be funny about it. That

makes people take an interest in you."

"I have felt more comfortable since that happened…"

"Right?"

I'd assumed the reduced distance was because of our

naked encounter in the hot spring, but I guess another factor

was at play, too. Of course, all that started with another one

of Hinami's assignments.

"That's an example of how positions gradually change,

both within groups and the class as a whole. And they never

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change because of the person's thoughts or ideas—it's always

because of how other people see them."

"Yeah, I can appreciate that."

When you're dealing with a group, positions are always

shifting. Mood and image matter more than one's individual

will. If you wanted to get a little pretentious, you could say

it's all about branding.

"So your assignment starting today—is to start a private

Instagram and post photos on it."

"You want me to post…on Instagram?"

Just saying the word was still uncomfortable, and now I

was supposed to run my own account…?

"Yes. That will give you a new understanding of how

people see you and make you more self-aware. Then you can

start controlling your image. Those are the two main goals of

this assignment."

"To understand and control my image?"

"Right," Hinami said, showing me her phone again.

"Imagine if you didn't know me but you saw this page. What

would you think of me?"

"Well, um…"

I took another look at Hinami's photos.

All of them were the kind of thing you'd expect to see from

a girl keeping up with the latest trends, but because of the

wholesome images of her hanging out with her friends, it

wasn't off-putting. There was also a smattering of cute

pictures of Mimimi, Izumi, and other girls having a good

time together.

Then, every so often, she'd posted pictures of Nakamura

and Mizusawa, and since anyone could tell at a glance that

both of them were popular, normie guys, that exponentially

increased the normie vibes coming off the whole account.

Wait a second, where's Takei?

"I'd think you were a super normie. But in a nice way, not

an obnoxious way."

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"Right? That's what I'm talking about. And good work

noticing the niceness; that shows you've grown."

"Oh yeah…?"

I was torn between basking in her praise and being

annoyed that she called herself nice, which left me without

much to say.

"Anyway, using social media and posting snapshots of

your life is an opportunity to show off your position to

people who look at the page."

"Sh-show off?"

"Some people in class still don't pay any attention to you,

right? If they see, like, 'Hey Tomozaki's having fun with

Nakamura's group,' you can manipulate your position in

class."

I gave a hollow laugh at her calculated approach. "You are

a force to be reckoned with."

She was asking me to make a strategic move after

scrutinizing how other people saw me. Was that why she was

on social media herself?

"I saw some pictures of Mimimi and Nakamura on

there…"

"Yeah. I always make sure to get their permission first,

but they don't really mind."

"Oh, okay…"

Given that I'd been online constantly since early

elementary school, I wasn't entirely comfortable with having

pictures of my face posted on the Net…but I guess normies

didn't care? Maybe that attitude is old-fashioned now.

"So do you get my point? You're going to use social media

to convince the classmates who think you just occasionally

drop in on Nakamura's group that you're really a part of it.

Solidifying your class image is the goal of this assignment."

"So basically…strengthening my foundation?"

"Mm-hmm. As long as a certain someone keeps stalling

on the romance front, that's about all we can do, isn't it?"

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"S-sorry…"

I can never let my guard down with her; she hits me with

those comments when I least expect it. And they sting extra

because I'm not ready for them. Ouch.

"Anyway, I want you to create an Instagram and take the

pictures I tell you to take every day."

I thought for a second. "And they'll be normie-ish

pictures?"

"Yeah. But that's too broad, sooo…" She grinned. "…

During the coming week, while you're deciding on your love

interests, I'm giving you a seven-item photo quest."

"A photo quest…"

Again, straight out of a video game…

"Every day, I want you to choose one of the seven

assigned photos to shoot and show to me. You'll do that for a

week until you've got them all."

"Wow, you weren't kidding…"

Embarrassingly enough, I was actually excited about this.

Such is the nature of a gamer.

"I'll send you the assignments now. Wait a minute."

She started briskly typing something into her phone, and I

could tell she was really enjoying herself. Man, I bet this is

gonna be a tough one.

After a couple of minutes, my phone vibrated.

"I sent you them on LINE."

"Oh, okay."

I opened the chat window and read the following

message:

• A shot of you with Shuji Nakamura and Takei

• A shot of Takahiro Mizusawa wearing glasses

• A shot of Hanabi Natsubayashi making a funny

face

• A shot of Yuzu Izumi eating ice cream

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• A shot of at least two girls you've never talked to

before

• A shot of Minami Nanami eating ramen

• A shot of you with Fuka Kikuchi

"Wait a second now…"

"Piece of cake, right?" Hinami was smiling happily, but all

I could see on her face were the words Resistance is futile.

"Uh, y-yeah, sure…" I crumbled instantly.

She nodded, still smiling.

"But I noticed you said seven photos, not five this week…"

"That's right."

"Meaning you want me to work on the weekend…"

"Of course." A huge grin still covered her face.

"Whew…okay!"

I couldn't help sighing, but I still switched to a peppy

response midsigh. For nanashi, a man of his word, there was

nothing for it but to complete the assignment.

Earlier, she'd talked about resting and taking time to

think, but this week was shaping up to be super busy, thanks

to her.

* * *

So there I was, standing in front of the library in a daze.

One of the seven photos in my quest was a shot of me with

Kikuchi-san. I hadn't noticed at first, because some of the

other assignments were more striking, but when I thought

about it, this was the only one that required me to take a

picture with one other person. This was gonna be tough.

That's why I was standing nervously in front of the

library.

If I was going to get this shot, the ideal time would be to

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stop by the library before changing classes. I could have

started with one of the others, but I figured I should go for

the tough one while I had the chance.

Plus, I'd been wanting to have a good conversation with

Kikuchi-san ever since the conclusion of the Tama-chan

incident.

I slowly pushed open the door. A gust of healing air gently

caressed my face; negative ions and plasmaclusters or

whatever had nothing on this. Kikuchi-san's healing powers

lay beyond the realm of both science and the occult.

She was enshrined delicately in her usual spot.

I slowly approached. When she noticed me, she gave me a

gentle smile that embodied love itself, perfecting the scene

inside the library.

"Hello."

"Hello."

We greeted each other at almost the same time, and I sat

down next to her. I was able to do that totally naturally now,

since I'd stopped worrying so much about how close or far

from her I should sit. But today, I was super nervous.

"It's so good that things have settled down a bit, don't you

think?" she said succinctly. By "things," she definitely meant

the Tama-chan situation.

"…Yeah."

This was the first time we'd really talked since then. She'd

helped out a lot, and I still hadn't thanked her.

"Hanabi-chan was amazing." She smiled faintly, like

morning sunlight melting the snow.

"Yeah, she was." I returned her smile.

She nodded, like morning dew dropping from a leaf. "She

had so many barriers in front of her, but she just flew over

them," she said warmly. "I think Hanabi-chan always had

the strength, but she didn't know how to use her wings."

What a very Kikuchi-san-like metaphor. It made sense,

though.

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Tama-chan had changed her surface-level behaviors and

laid the groundwork to get the class to accept her character.

But beneath it all, the underlying foundation was made from

the strength she always had.

And that's the dream, isn't it? To be accepted without

changing who you are at heart.

"Yeah…and because she was so strong, once she learned

to fly, I think she became completely free."

Kikuchi-san smiled happily at my continuation of her

metaphor. "…Exactly."

I smiled back at her. "Thank you again for all your help…

It really meant a lot."

She shook her head slowly. "No, it was nothing. If you

ever need anything in the future, I'd be happy to help."

"Okay, thanks."

"…Although, there's not much I can do."

"That's not true." I contradicted her modesty with as

much sincerity as I could. I mean, she really had saved us.

Tama-chan's heart had been shut tight to the world, and

there was no question that Kikuchi-san's words played a big

role in opening it up.

"Just hearing you talk about your perspective opened her

eyes to a lot of things," I said.

"…Did it, really?"

"It did! That's why I know I can count on you in the

future."

She nodded slightly as a blush crept up her face, then she

looked up at me. "All right… Let me know whatever you

need."

The gentle, gradient shades of her white skin, faintly

flushed cheeks, and mysteriously tinted eyes enchanted me

like the northern lights, touching my retinas with a whole

rainbow of colors. My brain, unable to process her

overwhelming beauty, flickered like an old TV as my heart

thumped wildly.

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"O-okay… Thanks. I will."

"O-okay."

We both fell silent, and time ticked awkwardly on. The

books around us seemed to grow a little warmer under this

restless, yet gentle and comfortable atmosphere.

"…But…"

"Huh?"

Kikuchi-san's expression as she broke the silence was

strangely solemn.

"I wish I knew what Hinami-san was thinking that day,"

she said.

"…Uh-huh."

"Something about it seemed so wrong…"

She was talking about Hinami's showdown with Konno.

To most of our classmates, Hinami had probably looked like

the perfect heroine. Her performance was almost flawless.

"Wrong…?"

But her cunning still showed through, just a little.

She hadn't been able to fully hide the cunning of the

demon queen.

Mizusawa had sensed it, and so had Tama-chan. And

apparently, Kikuchi-san, too, given she'd been interested in

Hinami's motivations the whole time.

"I don't know how much of that Hinami planned out, or

what she was trying to do. I'm not even sure if it's all right to

ask you about it."

"…Uh-huh."

As someone who knew the truth, I was grateful she wasn't

taking this anywhere more specific.

I didn't want to lie or hide anything if she asked me a

question.

"But—if what I think is right…," she said, getting deeper

into the topic. "Then the question that bothers me is why she

decided to go that far."

"…Yeah, I know what you mean." I wondered the same

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thing.

Why on Earth didn't she stop when she'd won?

"I think she just couldn't accept something about that

situation."

"…Maybe so."

I was impressed by how close Kikuchi-san was to the

truth.

Hinami had said the exact same thing that morning.

"…There are some things even I can't accept."

Kikuchi-san really did seem to be able to see things no one

else could.

"When people get angry, I think it's usually because the

situation isn't what they think it ought to be. On that day,

the situation had diverged so far, she simply couldn't bear to

leave as it was."

"The way they think things should be…"

"Yes." She nodded.

I thought for a moment, but I couldn't say for sure one

way or another.

Still, if I was to borrow Kikuchi-san's words, I think I

could call what she was describing Hinami's "ideal."

"I wonder what that is for her." I could only answer in the

vaguest terms.

"So you don't know, either…"

"…No."

I didn't.

I felt close to Hinami sometimes, but in fact—I knew

nothing about her.

That was exactly why I said what I did in front of the shoe

cabinet that day.

When Mizusawa asked me what I thought of Hinami, I'd

answered like this:

"I think I want to see who she really is."

"Oh right…" Kikuchi-san seemed to have remembered

something.

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"What?"

"If you don't mind, there's something I want you to see…"

"Really?"

She touched her finger to her cheek shyly, looking away.

"I…wrote a new book. I thought…" The words trailed off,

fading like sound in a dense forest. But that only made them

all the more mysterious, and the unspoken request reached

my heart like an enchantment.

"Oh yeah, I'd love to."

"Th-thank you…," she said in a barely audible voice, her

face flushed bright red. I wondered a little why she'd

suddenly remembered at that exact point in time, but when

she gave me that look, my brain basically stopped working.

"W-well, next time…I'll bring it."

"O-okay."

"Okay, bye!"

She bowed deeply and then disappeared out through the

library door. The image of her receding into the distance was

even prettier than usual, but I was in too much of a daze to

file it away in my memory. I'd completely failed at my photo

quest. No—that holy atmosphere made it impossible. If I

took a photo in there, I bet it would come out filled with

fairies and elves.

* * *

After school, I met with Hinami and explained that I hadn't

taken my photo for the day. She brushed it off casually.

"Sounds like you didn't really have a chance to get out your

phone."

When I thought about it, I realized that aside from the

shot of me and Kikuchi-san, I'd probably have to get all the

others after school or on the weekend. Most of them had to

be taken while I was hanging out with someone.

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Hinami said it would be fine to take them after school and

then show them to her the following morning.

With that in mind, I finished the meeting in a hurry and

rushed back to the classroom. I had to figure out a way to

walk to the station with Nakamura's group and stop

somewhere on the way.

When I got to the classroom, they were still talking by the

back windows. Close call. If they'd already left, today's

mission would almost certainly have failed. Starting the next

day, it would probably be a good idea to skip the after-school

meetings if I could.

"Hey."

I walked casually toward them, making a conscious effort

to look like I belonged. The three of them returned my

greeting without any real reaction, accepting me into their

circle like it was the most normal thing in the world. It was a

little thing, but I couldn't help feeling happy about it.

Suddenly, I noticed something.

"So…you guys don't have practice today?" I asked as

naturally as I could.

Mizusawa didn't belong to any sports teams as far as I

knew, but I was pretty sure Nakamura and Takei both

played soccer.

"Yeah, I quit after the rookie match the other day,"

Nakamura answered gruffly.

"Oh yeah?"

He nodded, and Mizusawa stepped in to explain.

"Some of the guys said they'll be playing till the end of the

year, but since it looks like the team won't make it to the

prefectural playoffs, most of them are quitting now."

"We're supposed to focus on test prep, so we can't play in

any tournaments next year!!" Takei sounded extremely

disappointed about that.

"Huh," I said, then realized something else. "…So what

about Hinami?" She was still attending morning track

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practice, and I think she was going after school, too.

Nakamura waved his hand dismissively. "She's her own

thing. She went to the big interscholastic meet this year, and

I bet she'll keep going to meets next year, too," he said.

"Yeah, everyone thinks she'll win some medals."

"O-oh…"

When you take an objective look at Hinami, it's honestly

hard to believe she's real. She even gets special treatment at

school. Well, I guess if she does well at track, it's a good

advertisement for attracting new kids to the team.

The four of us picked up our bags and exchanged casual

glances.

"Let's get going," Nakamura said, and we left the

classroom. They were acting like I was a regular member of

the group, and it made me nervous.

* * *

I was starting to get really anxious now.

On the way to the station, I'd been planning to find a good

moment to stop somewhere and nab the shot of me with

Nakamura and Takei, but it didn't look like that was going to

happen.

Because…

…we'd just walked by the arcade the four of us often went

to hang out at.

There was a diner near there, too, and a couple of other

places, but we'd passed every single one of them. The only

thing left ahead of us was the station. In other words, if I

didn't do something, we'd all just go home.

But actually, it made sense. It wasn't like we stopped

somewhere every time we walked to the station together.

Before I steered us toward taking a picture, someone needed

to suggest we go somewhere.

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But that didn't seem likely to happen. And that meant I'd

have to do it myself. Ah, I get it now, Hinami. This was

actually an all-around training assignment.

I took a deep breath. "You guys wanna stop by the

arcade?"

I'd never made a casual invitation like that before. It was

embarrassing, and surprisingly nerve-racking.

"I'm too burned-out today," Nakamura said, like that

settled the matter. Seriously? That happens? I was shocked.

Since I'd never invited them to hang out before, I didn't

account for this possibility.

But what to do about it? If we went home now, I wouldn't

be able to complete the day's assignment. I had to hold my

ground somehow.

"Come on, let's just go!"

"…Huh? What's with you today?" Nakamura looked at me

suspiciously. I'd never even made a suggestion before, and

now I was being weirdly persistent about it.

But as a gamer, the key thing right now was to do

everything I could to complete the assignment given to me.

That meant I had to negotiate. Mizusawa and Takei weren't

saying anything, so if I could just manage to convince

Nakamura, we'd probably all end up going.

So if I used the fact that Nakamura hated to lose…

"What, you scared of losing to me again?" I said

theatrically. There, that should get a reaction out of him.

"…Dude, come on."

But Nakamura just looked at me pityingly, like this whole

conversation was a waste of his time. Huh? It didn't work? I

felt like I was running in circles—like my feet were sliding

out from under me.

"I—I did beat you at Dogfight 4…"

"I know that…"

My desperate attempt to explain myself was in vain.

Nakamura was still giving me that weird look. Shit, I messed

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that one up. Now everything was weird. How stupid of me to

take on a normie superboss in conversational combat.

Trying out new stuff always has risks.

"Heh-heh, you really are funny."

Now Mizusawa was teasing me, too. Damn it. Why was

this happening?

Nakamura gave me a confused look. Then he sighed.

"Whatever. If you want to go that bad, then fine."

"Satisfied, Fumiya?"

"Whoo-hoo, let's go!"

"…Uh, okay…"

So they ended up going to the game center with me out of

pity. Well, all's well that ends well, so I'll take that as a win.

* * *

The four of us were inside the arcade, playing a music game

I'd just started practicing.

"Ouch…"

"Man…"

Nakamura and I were in 1v1 mode, and the battle was

intense.

Nakamura had said he was "pretty badass" at the game, so

I had assumed I might lose, but after practicing once a week

or so, I was giving him a run for his money. It was probably

because gamers and nongamers don't always use the same

words to mean the same thing. To me, just started

practicing meant I'd been working on it for about two

months, but that probably came across differently to

Nakamura. Meanwhile, he'd started showing up on the

ranking lists at the game center, but he was still weak. In my

book, badass was a term reserved for the best players in

Japan.

"Yesss!"

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In the end, I beat him by the skin of my teeth.

"Shit!" Nakamura said, standing up and taking a swig of

soda. For someone who didn't want to go to the game center

in the first place, he sure was getting into this.

"Hey," Mizusawa said casually. "Wanna take a break?"

Nakamura clicked his tongue in annoyance. Yikes.

"Ha-ha-ha. So, Shuji, thoughts on the school festival?"

Mizusawa asked.

Nakamura frowned. "Huh?"

"The organizing committee and stuff."

"Oh."

"You're gonna do it, right?!"

Nakamura sounded like he couldn't care less, Mizusawa

was as cool and collected as usual, and only Takei was super

excited—or so I thought.

Nakamura grinned and scratched his neck. "Do I have a

choice?"

"Not really, huh?"

Mizusawa and Nakamura nodded at each other. Hmm.

That was surprising.

Apparently, all three of them were into it, actually.

Mizusawa looked at me. "What about you, Fumiya? You're

joining too, right?"

"Huh?"

"The committee. You in?"

"Uh, o-okay."

I nodded, swept away by the momentum. That was pure

Mizusawa—his way of speaking seemed so casual but was

actually quite aggressive. Well, I didn't have any reason not

to run for the organizing committee other than fear, and I

had a feeling Hinami was going to tell me to do it anyway.

"Wonder which girls are gonna run!" Takei said eagerly.

After thinking for a few seconds, Mizusawa said, "Erika

and her crew will probably ignore the festival completely, so

I'm guessing Mimimi and her friends?"

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Nakamura nodded. "Yeah, probably."

Huh. So normies had different stances toward the festival

depending on their group. I'd noticed the same thing with

the sports tournament. Some, like Nakamura's and Hinami's

groups, got really involved, while others, like Konno's group,

avoided it completely.

Nakamura sat down next to me again. "Okay, Tomozaki,

one more game."

"Good. I've been waiting," I said cheerfully. By this time,

Nakamura was able to put up a real fight, so playing him was

fairly fun. Damn, I was getting so caught up in this that I

almost forgot about taking the picture. I had to start

strategizing.

But instead, I got lost in the game again, pushing the five

buttons in time with the rhythm of the music.

If I knew this was going to happen, I would have practiced

more. Honestly, I'd just gotten in a few rounds here and

there between other games. I was hardly at a level I could

feel proud of.

Nakamura won that match.

"Got 'em! "

He was obviously pleased with himself.

Shit, that sucked. I wanted to play another round. I'd

crush him next time for sure… Uh, wait a second. Is this my

chance? Since he was in a good mood, he was probably more

likely to say yes if I asked for a photo. Maybe I'd lost the

battle to win the war. When you lack the skill to make the

moment, you've gotta seize the opportunity when it comes. I

couldn't let it slip by.

With those thoughts in mind, I turned to Nakamura.

"Hey, wanna take a picture to celebrate?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, that was a great game. And…I was thinking of

starting an Instagram?"

In the middle of my explanation, I realized it made no

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sense, so I scrambled to come up with something more

convincing.

"No way, Tomozaki's got an Insta?"

"Uh, um, yeah."

"Yeah. Whatever, fine." He seemed slightly suspicious, but

at least he said yes. Now I just had to get Takei in with us,

but I had a feeling…

"Takei, wanna get in the picture?"

"For sure!!"

…Yeah, that wasn't hard at all.

I opened up the camera app, which I'd learned how to use

when I got the assignment, and took the shot.

"Okay!"

Beaming happily, I put my phone away. Assignment

complete.

But for some reason, Mizusawa was giving me a confused

look. I made eye contact, and he smiled cynically.

"Most people don't want to take a photo in front of the

results screen after they lost…"

I glanced behind me and saw "YOU LOSE" in huge letters

on the screen. No way, I just took a picture with that behind

us?

I checked the photo on my phone.

"…No, it's fine."

"What's fine?" Mizusawa said, unconvinced. I showed him

the photo.

"You can't read the words, so it's all good."

The picture pulled up on the screen was so blurry, you

couldn't even tell what the words said. Behold, my

nonnormie photography skills. Guess I lost that round.

"Oh. Okay."

Mizusawa gave me a pitying look. Figures. Our faces were

totally blurred, too. Hopefully, a certain someone would be

understanding…