"Satou Ayame-san… I really like you! Will you go out with me?!"
In the quietest corner of the school—the back garden—it was just the two of us. It was so silent that I could hear my own heartbeat pounding like it wanted to burst out of my chest. The girl standing before me, right under a beautifully blooming cherry tree, was Satou Ayame. The girl I had liked since the very beginning of our first year of high school, all the way to our third.
Long, glossy brown hair, a slender and stunning figure, a brilliant mind that won countless science and technology competitions, and even a former student council president. And yet… why would someone like me—a plain, average-looking guy, stuck in the middle of the rankings, and the president of a weird club called the "Love Problem Advice Club"—dare to confess to a girl who might as well be a goddess?
Obviously, because of my romcom knowledge—hmmp!
I grew up reading light novels, manga, watching romance movies, and playing dating sims. All that romantic knowledge? I studied it my entire life. Thanks to that, I've been helping people with their love problems since elementary school through high school, earning myself the title of the Love Advisor Master.
With a success rate of ninety percent, isn't it natural for me to be confident? Especially since I've helped Satou-san many times:
Helping a lost child when we coincidentally passed by together. Volunteering when she ran for student council president.Helping her find her beloved rabbit keychain that went missing.Giving her solutions to her student council problems while the two of us ate lunch together.
We were close—even if we were in different classes. So surely…!
I touched the edge of my glasses and adjusted them like some cool genius character, then did a victory pose in my head.
Probability of success: 90%—no, 100%!In dating sims, the heroine always gets flustered around the protagonist. That's a clear sign! I was certain she liked me, too. Yosh!!
I looked straight at her. Cherry blossoms fluttered in the wind, white doves cooed in the distance—an atmosphere so cliché yet so perfect. It felt like God was blessing our relationship.
…Unfortunately, I was wrong.
"I'm sorry, Isshiki-kun. I know we're close and you've helped me a lot. But I… I already love someone else, and that person is—"
*****
Clack!!
"Excuse me. Sorry to bother you—is this the Love Advice Club?"
The creaking door snapped me awake. It was the door of the light literature clubroom at Kanshuu University—though in truth, it was actually the secret base of the Love Advice Club, with only one member: me. Apparently, I had fallen asleep and was dreaming about my past.
"Um, sorry… I didn't mean to interrupt your nap," said the girl standing at the door—short orange hair, a black hairpin on her bangs, cute and stylish like a typical college freshman.
My consciousness slowly returned. I rubbed my eyes, reached for my glasses on the desk, put them on, then cleared my throat. I brought my fingers together, rested my elbows on the desk, and leaned forward with my signature serious pose.
"Ahem. My apologies for falling asleep and keeping you waiting. Yes, this is the Love Advice Club—though we're disguised as the Light Literature Club. Since you managed to find this room, that means you must have a love problem, and you're seeking help."
With full authority, I spread my arms wide.
"My name is Isshiki Yuuto. Welcome, dear client, to the Love Troubles Advisory Club."
This isn't a story about my past. This is a new story—about how I, someone who completely fails in my own love life, help others find theirs.
And it all begins in this small clubroom.