Chapter 38: Date Arrangement Before the Holiday
With Satou's arrival, Ren's class now had four beautiful girls with pink hair.
One stood at the podium, one sat beside Ren, and the other two were positioned behind him.
Having a beautiful girl transfer schools just for you because she likes you—such a scenario would naturally make anyone happy and proud.
However, given that she had previously attempted suicide, Ren felt somewhat cautious. Besides, he already had a girlfriend; how could he easily be swayed?
The only thing to worry about now was preventing Hitori from overthinking, though that seemed easier said than done.
Hitori propped up a book to block Mafuyu's line of sight and glanced back, only to find Satou resting her cheeks in her hands, smiling sweetly at Ren. That blissful expression and lovestruck gaze made Hitori feel a pang of insecurity.
Does she like Ren even more than I do???
No, no—how can I let a rival boost her own morale while dampening my own?
I must protect everything that's mine!
Hitori secretly resolved to defend her happiness. If she backed down now, she'd truly be an incompetent lover—and she refused to let that happen!
"Ren, I made you a bento! I made it myself. Let's have lunch together~"
"Uh..."
Satou had waited until lunch break to approach Ren with two bento boxes, smiling brightly. Hitori let out a quiet groan and withdrew like a turtle into its shell, too timid to interrupt or join their conversation.
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
Ren politely declined. Faced with Satou's advances, he couldn't afford to show even a hint of interest, or she might misunderstand his intentions.
"Then we could still—Huh!?"
As Satou spoke, she suddenly stumbled, nearly falling. The bento box in her hand flew to the ground, scattering its contents everywhere.
"I'm so sorry, Matsuzaka-san! I was spacing out and didn't notice you there."
Yuno wore a panicked expression, repeatedly apologizing to Satou with a remorseful look. She had accidentally left her foot in the aisle and nearly tripped Satou—how terribly careless of her~
"?"
Satou remained silent, only shooting a fierce glare at Yuno. But Yuno had already gotten up to fetch a broom and dustpan, rendering Satou's glare useless.
This was the second time. Satou was certain Yuno had done it on purpose—that damn bitch!
"As an apology, please take my lunch. I'll handle the cleanup too, Matsuzaka-san. Please don't be upset."
Yuno returned with the cleaning tools, her apologetic expression unchanged, and earnestly offered her own lunch to Satou.
"Hmph, cut the fake kindness."
Satou didn't accept it. Instead, she leaned close to Yuno's ear and sneered coldly, suspecting Yuno might have poisoned the food.
In front of Ren, neither of them spoke too directly or acted too overtly. After scrutinizing Yuno and Ren for a moment, Satou finally left the classroom.
They were different yet similar types—both keenly aware in their hearts why they targeted others and why they became targets themselves.
In other words, Yuno also liked Ren.
"Hope I'm not disturbing your lunch break?"
After chasing Satou away, Yuno began cleaning up the mess on the floor. Satou had left without even packing her lunchbox, so Yuno swept it away while striking up a conversation with Ren.
"Not at all. I'll leave the cleaning to you."
Sensing the subtle atmosphere, Ren didn't want to get involved. After exchanging a brief word with Yuno, he stood up and led Hitori outside.
"Don't do anything naughty at school~"
Yuno's airy voice trailed after them as they walked out of the classroom. When Ren glanced back, he found her smiling gently.
Gabriel, who had chosen to remain in the classroom during lunch, took a couple of extra glances at Yuno. She'd once again felt that faint illusion of fate being altered—still very subtle. Was it connected to Yuno and Satou?
The only changed circumstance around her just now had been Satou's spilled lunchbox.
Gabriel decided to keep a closer eye on Yuno. After all, she was a top graduate from Angel Academy. Though currently addicted to games beyond redemption, she wouldn't simply ignore such matters. What if these fate alterations eventually affected her own luck and made her hit pity rate on gacha pulls?
This wasn't an overreaction either—she herself was an angel, and this world already had magical girls and aliens. There were even rumors about a dragon arriving from another dimension recently.
So having someone who could alter fate or foresee the future to interfere with reality wouldn't be particularly strange.
It was just puzzling why such a person would focus on trivial daily matters rather than major historical events.
With these thoughts, Gabriel pulled out her gaming device. Whatever—as long as it doesn't destroy the world.
Meanwhile, Ren didn't take Hitori to their usual spot under the stairwell today, instead bringing her to a tree behind the school building. He needed to occasionally bring Hitori out for sunlight, otherwise she might literally mold away. This also served to comfort her nerves.
"Is Bocchi-chan afraid of something?"
Ren held Hitori's hand. Being outdoors, he refrained from more intimate contact, but this alone provided Hitori with substantial reassurance.
"A little... Matsuzaka-san..."
Hitori left her sentence unfinished. The fiercer her rival's advances became, the more frightened she grew. She'd mustered courage earlier, but it instantly crumbled when the other girl made her move.
"I told you to trust me. Look, I blocked her."
Ren understood Hitori's anxiety—it was inherent to her personality and difficult to change quickly.
As he spoke, he took out his phone and showed her he'd blocked Satou on LINE. This served as proof of his innocence, though he technically didn't need to provide any. It did help settle Hitori's heart.
"..."
Hitori visibly relaxed upon seeing this. At least Ren still liked her. But she remained clueless about how to make her rival back off.
Should she wait for Satou to realize her efforts were futile and give up? Or should she go pull her hair out?
Hitori bowed her head, pondering how to make Satou lose interest. Would she really have to follow Ryo's suggestion and defend her happiness with a guitar?
"Don't let your mind wander. Let's talk about Golden Week plans—what are you all thinking?"
Ren called back Hitori, whose thoughts had drifted far away. Satou wasn't some shady character, so he wasn't worried, and Hitori didn't need to be either. It was better to start planning their Golden Week schedule.
This May holiday gave them a full seven-day break—more than enough time for them to go out and have fun.
"Nijika will be busy, so I'm free for the first three days. After that, I need to continue searching for band members."
The May holiday was just around the corner, and Nijika, as the band leader, had already made arrangements. She would work her part-time job for the first three days and only consider other activities later.
"The first three days? Got it."
Three days would be plenty for some fun. Ren fell quiet, pondering where to take Hitori.
Somewhere with few people, so she wouldn't feel anxious—places like amusement parks or shopping streets were out of the question.
Visiting tourist spots didn't seem like a good idea either; they'd definitely be packed with crowds.
Come to think of it, during the holidays, everywhere would probably be crowded—though most people would likely just be lazing around in bed.
In that case...
Ren thought of an activity that would have far fewer people: camping. May wasn't too hot or too cold—it was perfect weather for it.