Chapter 2 – The Result of My Hard Work

If you want to do something, actually do it (as long as you do it, who cares how long it takes). That was my motto.

“Now, what should I do?”

I was currently struck in a dilemma, standing in front of a door with the nameplate ‘Hinata’ on it.

This morning, I left for school an hour earlier than usual and stopped by my childhood friend, Himawari’s house. The reason why I did this was simple. I wanted to make up with her.

The reason why I tried to approach her first was because her house was the closest to mine and I could visit her easily if I wanted to. This was merely the first step of my plan.

However, there was a problem. I didn’t plan for anything further than this.

It was great that I managed to drag my body to do it, but taking on Himawari without a plan was foolish.

That was why I wanted to come up with something before she got out of her house.

I should make a ridiculous plan and a realistic plan so that I could keep my options open and choose the best plan to make up with her! Okay, thinking time start!

First plan: Just talk to her naturally as if nothing had happened between us.

When she appeared, I just had to greet her as naturally as possible, talk with her then eventually we’ll make up this way.

…This plan was no good. I couldn’t just brush the incident off like that. If I were to do that, both of us would be haunted by anxiety because we weren’t able to solve things between us properly.

The point of us making up was so that our relationship could return to normal. To do that, we had to erase any lingering regrets between us.

Therefore, rejected.

Second plan: Guilt trip her and make her apologize.

What I would do for this plan was to disregard my own fault in the incident and lashed out at her so that she would be forced to apologize. After that, when she started looking depressed, I’d graciously shower her with my forgiveness.

…This plan was also no good. Regardless of what actually happened, the incident was my fault. I promised her that I’d help her but I ended up betraying her.

Besides, if I were to lash out at her, she could lash out back at me or just sulked instead.

Therefore, rejected.

Third plan: Get on my knees, apologize to her and lick her shoes.

…No. I should apologize, yes, but anything other than that was just…too much.

Besides, if I handled it incorrectly, the braided devil might find out and who knows what would happen to me afterwards.

Worst case scenario, she’d be offering me her shoes every single day.

Therefore, rejected.

No good, I went on a ‘therefore, rejected’ spree again.

It couldn’t be helped. I guess I should just pick the safest plan of them all. First Plan, let’s go…

“…Joro?”

“Hm?”

Before I knew it, Himawari was right there, front of me staring.

Suddenly, I ended up doing a 5-7-5, using Himawari as the subject¹The previous sentence was a 5-7-5 haiku, I did my best..

Wait, that wasn’t it! I was so deeply in thought that I failed to notice Himawari before she got this close to me! Anyway, commencing the first plan!

“Um, Himawari…”

“!”

Oh no! The moment we made eye contact, she immediately backed away. She was going to run away, wasn’t she?

Despite the gender difference, she was still the ace of the tennis club. If she were to dash away now, I couldn’t even hope to catch her. That meant, I had to think of something before she could get away from my sight!

“Himawari-san! I’m sorry! Please, forgive me! I beg you!”

Crap! Why the hell did I start the third plan out of nowhere?!

“That’s a hell of a dogeza. He’s keeping his head a centimeter off the ground. This lad has a bright future.”

“Isn’t that Himawari? What are they doing? Is there a fight going on?”

Ah… I could feel the gazes of the other people on the street…

“J-Joro! Don’t do that in a place like this! They’re giving me weird stares too!”

But, my effort wasn’t in vain.

To my surprise, Himawari wasn’t creeped out by me and ran away, instead she went to my side. Alright, let’s keep going!

“I understand! I’ll lick your shoes as an apology!”

“W-Why?! Don’t do that! A-Anyway, why don’t you stand up first?!”

I didn’t need to lick her shoes? What a nice girl. Lickity lick.

Anyway, she urged me to stand up, so I did without making a sound.

Phew. Now we can finally talk properly…

“T-Then! I-I’m going!”

“Oi, wait!”

As if I’d let that happen! I wouldn’t let her get away from me now that I got this far! Just as she turned her body around, I grabbed her arm and caught her.

“Let go of me! I’ve caused you enough trouble! I don’t want to cause any more trouble for you! That’s why, let me go!”

No matter how much she struggled, I didn’t weaken my grip. Before we could say our apologies and thank you properly, I wouldn’t let her go!

“You aren’t causing me any trouble! Just listen to me first!”

“Uuuu! No way that’s the case! Don’t lie to me! I’m sorry that I caused you much trouble, but you’re still a terrible person, Joro!”

“I know I’m a terrible person, that’s why I’m here! To apologize and give my thanks to you! When I got into trouble, you were the one who came to me and helped me! Why can’t you understand my intention you dumbass?! Seriously, use your brain for once!”

“I’m not stupid! I’ve been wanting to make up with you, but I don’t know how! You’re the idiot here! You don’t even know what I’ve been trying to do for you, idiot!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know what I’ve been trying to do for you! I was the one who’s been trying to make up with you! You’re my childhood friend! Yes, I hate you, but you’re still important to me, so I really can’t hate you for too long! How dare you call me an idiot! Well, that doesn’t matter! No matter how much you struggle, I will make up with you!”

“Joro!”

“Himawari!”

The situation turned volatile as both of us glared at each other’s eyes with hostility in our eyes.

“Hm?” “Huh?”

Suddenly, at the exact same time, we tilted our heads sideway.

Huh? Our conversation just now? There was something strange… She said she wanted to make up with me?

“Uh, Himawari?”

“Um, Joro?”

Despite her confusion, Himawari didn’t avert her gaze from me. She looked cute like a puppy.

“So, you want to make up with me, Himawari?”

“…Y-Yes…”

She shook her head in embarrassment.

“T-Then… S-Shall we make up?”

“Yes! Let’s make up, Joro!”

Let’s go! We finally made up! Man, that felt good… Huh?

“O-Oi!”

Himawari suddenly fell backwards. Watch it!

In a panic, I managed to grab her waist, preventing her from falling to the ground. That was a close call though!

“Thank God~ I felt so relieved that I lost all my strength… Hehehe…”

As she gradually recovered her strength, she jumped straight into my chest.

What a natural bitch. I guess this was the privilege I got after making up with her, huh?

“Thank you, Joro! I’m so happy!”

She said as she embraced me tightly with a smile on her face.

It had been a while since the last time I saw her smiling like this.

“Alright, then, I’ll be in your care again, Himawari!”

“Likewise, Joro! A-Anyway, um…”

Don’t worry, Himawari. I knew what you were thinking about.

In fact, I was about to offer the solution to your problem myself.

“I’ll help you with the midterm exam.”

As soon as I said that, her face brightened up even more than it already was. So cute.

“Ehehe! As expected, it feels right to be taught by you, Joro!”

Well, honestly… Teaching her wasn’t exactly an easy job… Oh, well…

* * *

Himawari and I made up without any incident (?) and we went to the school, walking side by side.

She was clearly in a good mood as she clung to my arm tightly, in turn, it also made me happy.

Viva natural bitch! Thank you very much! …Anyway, that aside.

“By the way, Himawari, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

Actually, there was another reason why I chose to make up with Himawari. Aside from the fact that she lived close by and it was easy to contact her.

“Well… Um… About Sun-chan…”

“What about him?”

It was because I didn’t have the courage to take on the person I wanted to make up the most with. Sun-chan a.k.a Oga Taiyou.

But, there was a problem with that. What did she think of him?

To put it bluntly, Sun-chan hurted Himawari plenty in the last incident. I knew he had apologized to her, but I didn’t know if she had forgiven him or not.

“You see, I want to make up with him. What about—”

“Me too! I want to make up with him too! I miss the time when us three used to hang out!”

I wished that she had listened to me until the end first, but at least her answer was a positive one.

“After that incident, he apologized to me. ‘Sorry for deceiving you,’ he said, but he never talked to me again ever since.”

She seemed to be depressed as she recounted briefly about what happened between the two of them. Maybe she still had feelings for him? Well, that wasn’t any of my business.

“You see, Sun-chan is a good friend of mine! Um… I don’t have feelings for him anymore, but he’s still an important friend to me!”

Ah, really? That wasn’t a flag for me, was it? Well, I wouldn’t be fooled anymore. Never again.

“I see. Alright, I know this will be difficult, but can you help me to come up with a plan to make up with him, Himawari?”

“Mm! Let’s do it, Joro! Together!”

In regards to the incident that Himawari and I were talking about, I had the opportunity to apologize to everyone involved except for Sun-chan.

The last conversation I did with him was me yelling at him with all my heart.

I didn’t apologize to her because it felt like if I were to do that, I’d be taking back all the words I’ve said to him back then… Ah, I suddenly felt nervous!

“You know… Maybe he doesn’t want to make up with me?”

“That’s not true!”

The moment I let out those weak words, Himawari strongly denied them.

“He definitely wants to make up with you! After all, he kept looking in your direction for a while now! He sighed sadly every time he did it too!”

That was unexpectedly maiden-like of him.

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes! Trust me!”

Her bright smile gave me enough motivation to try.

How to get a maiden-like man to like you, huh?… I could ask Aisaka-san or Kushieda-san²Toradora reference? Aisaka Taiga and Kushieda Minori are the main girls in that series and I guess you can call the Toradora’s MC, Ryuuji, maiden-like despite his appearance… about this, but I didn’t have enough time for that.

“So, what do you think I should do to make up with him, Himawari? I thought about something, but I don’t think it’ll work…”

“Hmm… Ah! What about giving him something that he wants?”

“What does he want?”

“The last time I talked to him, he said he wanted to drink a sports drink made from Kona Nigari³It’s one of the most expensive mineral water in the world, according to Google, it’s 402 USD per liter.!”

“No. Do I look like I have that kind of money?”

Water that had a higher price than PS4 wasn’t something that a high school student could afford!

“Eh? Then, what about the soil from Koshien?”

“That’s something that he should get himself. It defeats the whole purpose of it if I were to give it to him.”

“I see… Wait, Joro, why am I the only one who comes up with ideas?!”

She puffed her cheeks like a hamster as she complained.

Right, I should tell her what I came up with too. Well, I wasn’t sure about it yet, but it wouldn’t hurt to tell her…

“Let’s see… What if I tell him that I’ll teach him for midterms?”

“That won’t work! You know how stubborn Sun-chan is! He’ll just tell you that he’d study by himself!”

“Right… What if I just talk to him naturally as if nothing happened?”

“That won’t work! He will hate it if we don’t give him a proper conclusion to the incident! It’s always either black or white with him!”

“Right… What if I lash out at him and tell him to beg for my forgiveness?”

“That won’t work! He hates to lose! He’ll just get heated up and things between you two will worsen if that were to happen!”

“Right…”

Himawari was right. His guard was too tight, jeez.

Why was he so stubborn, fussy and competitive?…

“Right!”

“W-What is it, Joro?”

“I got it, Himawari! I got a great idea!”

“Um? What is it?”

Heh. She seemed to be at a loss after seeing my sudden excitement.

“Right, since Sun-chan is stubborn, fussy and competitive, I should just use that personality of his to my advantage! Hahahaha! Good job, Himawari!”

“O-Okay? I don’t get it, but sure…”

“Hehehe, just wait, Sun-chan. Your fate has been sealed. You’ll be making up with me whether you like it or not!”

“Joro… When you show your true feelings like this, you turn into a horrible person…”

What a rude childhood friend. I wasn’t a horrible person by any means.

Well, whatever. I had already decided on a plan! Now, to execute it!

“Himawari! Sorry, but I need you to go ahead of me and wait for me at the rooftop! If there are other guys around, make them go away! Meanwhile, I’ll be going to the convenience store for a bit!”

“Eh? The rooftop? Convenience store? O-Okay, g-got it!”

After that, we went our separate ways as I walked toward the convenience store.

* * *

After I arrived at school, I did my business at the shoe locker and went straight to the rooftop, where Himawari was waiting for me. My goal was to wait for the person who’d be coming here, Sun-chan.

“Joro? Why are you crossing your arms in front of your chest like that?”

“It’s just for posing.”

Of course you’d have to stand in Gainax pose⁴Gainax pose also known as Gunbuster pose. It’s a pose Studio Gainax loves to use in a lot of its media including the aforementioned Gunbuster, Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill. The pose is essentially just crossing your arms in front of your chest and trying to look as menacing as possible. whenever you were waiting for someone that you have summoned. I swear, this girl had no common sense at all.

“Will Sun-chan really come?”

“Yeah, he will.”

Hehehe, don’t give me that worried look, Himawari. My plan was perfect!

“Ah!”

Himawari’s face, which had been looking down dejectedly, suddenly propped up as she glanced into a certain direction, the door to the rooftop. I followed her gaze to see a certain someone’s figure.

180 cm tall boy with slim, macho and athletic body. A boy with a sporty haircut. Sun-chan!

“Amazing, he really came, Joro!”

“What did I tell you?”

Well, him being here didn’t mean everything was solved. Without paying any attention to our excitement, Sun-chan approached us with a certain object in his hand.

That object was the secret weapon I used to summon him here.

An object that could stimulate his stubborn, fussy and competitive personality. And that object was…

“A letter of challenge, huh? What an interesting present you gave me, Joro.”

Exactly. Earlier, I placed it inside his shoe box.

I went to the convenience store to buy a red envelope and wrote a big ‘Letter of Challenge’ on it. Inside the envelope, there was a letter that said ‘I’ll be waiting for you on the rooftop, fight me. Kisaragi Amatsuyu.’ I didn’t tell him the specifics about our ‘fight’ though.

Of course I wouldn’t actually get into a fist fight with him. He was the ace of the baseball club, if I were to actually fight with him, I would be the only one getting hurt. In the first place, I could never even hope to beat him in a fight…

That was why I challenged him to a whole different thing, which was…

“So, what are we going to compete in? Baseball? Softball? Cricket? In any case, we can’t play any of those games here as it would be dangerous on the people below. Let’s move to another place.”

Okay, it was my fault for not writing the content of the challenge clearly, but why did he only mention sports?

“No, I’m not going to challenge you to a game of sports… Instead, let’s compete in our studies.”

“Huh?!”

Uwah, the moment I said ‘studies,’ he made a very reluctant look. Crap… I think this plan is a bust!

“Stop wasting my time, there’s no way I’m going to compete in that. Whatever, I’m going back to class…”

Ah! Don’t just turn around and leave so suddenly like that!

“Sun-chan, wait!”

Nice, Himawari! Before he could walk away, she had already dashed in his direction and stood in front of him with her arms outstretched. As expected of the ace of the tennis club, her feet were quick!

“Move, Himawari.”

“No!”

When she was being stared down by the 180 cm Sun-chan, Himawari faced his gaze head on. Though she might seem not to be intimidated by him, I could tell that she was scared. Look at her legs, they were shaking.

“Don’t go!”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve apologized to everyone already, except to Joro. I would never apologize to someone like him. He deceived both of us, Himawari. I don’t even want to look at his face.”

Right… I guess it was true that I had been deceiving everyone by pretending to be someone I wasn’t. Someone like me was the person that he hated the most…

I guess it was impossible to make up with him, huh?

“Uuu! Sun-chan, you’re an idiot! Just listen to what Joro has to say first!”

“I have no intention to listen to a word he says, nor do I have the intention to make up with him.”

…Huh? What did he just say?

I sent him a letter of challenge, but I never mentioned anything about making up with him.

Also I’ve never mentioned it directly to him either.

“Are you going to run away, Sun-chan?”

I called him out in a provocative way.

Everything would be alright. He wanted to make up with me.

That was what gave me courage to talk that way to him.

“Me? Running away? From what?”

He turned to my direction and angrily approached me.

“Ah, J-Joro!”

Don’t worry, Himawari, everything was under control.

Also, even if Sun-chan were to face me and growl like a dog, it wouldn’t affect me.

“I’ll explain what the challenge is about. I’ll teach you what you need to know for the midterms. If you don’t get any red marks, then you win. However, if you still get a red mark even after being taught by me, you lose. Do you get it?”

I said those words without averting my gaze from him.

“I’m not going to be taught by anybody and I won’t be playing in your games.”

Instead of his usual hot-blooded voice, what came out of his mouth was an unusual icy tone.

Too bad for him Pansy was scarier than him. His intimidation would never work on me.

“Hah! All that posing and in the end you’re still running away? What a lame ass motherfucker.”

“What?! I’m not runn–”

“Stop bullshitting me. You know that if you get a red mark you’ll be banned from all club activities, right? I thought you’re the guy who prioritizes baseball over anything else, but it seems like you care about your pride more. Seriously, you’re so lame.”

“Screw you! I care about baseball more than anything else!”

“Meh, if that’s the case then you’ll accept my challenge. Oh, is it what I think it is? You turned down the challenge because if later you ended up failing the exam you can just blame it on not having someone to teach you? You aren’t confident that you’ll get a passing mark even if I were to teach you, that’s why you’re trying to run away.”

Due to his personality, there was no way that he’d back down after I said all this to his face.

With this, my plan was a succ— Wait, not yet…

“If you say so, then—”

“No, never mind. Forget about what I said.”

“Haah?”

While it was true that if I were to help him study for the midterms we’d have more opportunities to talk…

And it would be more than possible for our relationship to be mended from then on…

…But that wasn’t the outcome I wanted. Remember when I tried to make up with Himawari?

We made up without any bad feelings about what happened between us and that was the result that I wanted.

That was why, I’d do what the braided four eyes told me. I’d be honest with him and tell him everything that was on my mind.

“Sorry, I took advantage of your personality to drag you out here. The whole letter of challenge thing is just a pretext, in truth…”

I gulped and made a short pause. Meanwhile, Sun-chan was focusing his gaze on me.

“I want to make up with you. I want to get along with you just like before.”

“Um, me too! I want to make up with you too! I want us three to hang out together like we used to, Sun-chan!”

Thank you for the backup, Himawari.

“…That was unusual for you. I didn’t expect you to come forward so honestly like that.”

Sun-chan said after a few moments of silence. When I glanced at his face, his cold look was gone, replaced by the hot-blooded look that I was familiar with.

“A good friend of mine threw up a curveball, that’s why I went with a straight ball instead⁵Joro basically said that since Sun-chan can’t be honest with himself, he’ll be the one who does it instead..”

His smile made me loosen my cheeks.

“I see… Alright! I’ll take on the challenge!”

The annoying hot-blooded voice. This was the Sun-chan that I knew.

Great… He was back! The usual Sun-chan was back!

“Alright, Himawari! Let’s surprise him by showing what we can do!”

“Mm! Let’s learn from him together and make his eyes wide open in surprise!”

Himawari nodded with a bright expression at Sun-chan’s words.

“Oi, Joro! Let me tell you, I’m good at learning things from my best friend. That’s why, I already pretty much won this challenge!”

Oi, oi, suddenly offering his hand like that…

“Don’t be so sure.”

Of course I’d take that hand of his. It wouldn’t be making up without a good ol’ handshake.

“I’ll be in your care, you lousy scumbag and a big ass liar, Kisaragi Amatsuyu!”

“Likewise, you two-faced annoying jerk, Oga Taiyo!”

Doing this kind of thing on the rooftop felt embarrassing, but that feeling was overridden by the joy I felt. Then, the three of us walked together to our classroom.

* * *

Lunch break. After confirming that Sun-chan had gone to the cafeteria for lunch and Himawari went to the rooftop to meet up with the senpai she recently befriended, I left the classroom and made my way to the library.

I was practically skipping my steps on the way there.

Who could blame me? I finally managed to make up with Himawari and Sun-chan!

Being true to myself and giving it my all was the answer to my problem! Having everything sorted out felt amazing!

“Yo, Pansy!”

I opened the door to the library before giving out a cheerful greeting to the braided four eyes at the reception desk.

“Congratulations.”

As expected of her, I didn’t even need to tell her, she already knew everything.

“Thank you! Let’s go to the reading room and eat our lunch!”

“Sure.”

Later, after we finished eating our lunch in the reading area, I called out to her.

“Thank you for your advice. If it wasn’t because of you, I wouldn’t be able to make up with Sun-chan and Himawari! Also, your cookies taste as good as always!”

The sweets Pansy made were always tasty, but today they were especially tasty!

“…Hm?”

As I happily munched on a cookie, Pansy tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s a little different than I expected.”

“Huh? What is?”

“No, never mind.”

After saying that, Pansy sipped on her tea without saying anything else.

What exactly was she expecting? I was curious about it, but whatever. There was something more important than that.

“By the way, Pansy, can I ask you something?”

“Oh, are you finally making an effort to understand me? Sure, you can ask me anything.”

“What do you think about Sun-chan and Himawari?”

Suppressing the excitement I felt earlier, I asked that question in a calm voice.

Pansy was also involved in the previous incident, so it was important to know what she thought about those two.

“I envy Hinata-san for being your childhood friend. I also envy Oga-kun for being your best friend. Both of them have a connection with you that I never have.”

“I see. In other words, you don’t hate them?”

“No, I don’t hate them. Both of them are cheerful, sincere and kind people.”

Really? I didn’t expect that she had such an open mind.

Himawari aside, to not hate Sun-chan after the thing that he had done to her… Seriously, I couldn’t believe it!

“By the way, I love you so much that my eyes don’t feel hurt even when I’m staring at you.”

“Yes because I’m the one who’s hurt here!”

Since she could still say those venomous words, I guess there wasn’t anything wrong with her head right now. Well, if that was the case…

“Then, after school, what about—”

“No. While I helped you to make up with them, the matter with you offering to help them study has nothing to do with me, so don’t involve me in that. You’re so predictable.”

How?! I haven’t even finished explaining everything, yet she had already guessed my intentions and stated her rejection!

“B-But why? You’re always ranked first when it comes to language related subjects, can’t you just teach them that? It will be fun, I swear…”

“I’m occupied with my own studies, I can’t afford to care about someone else’s.”

So cold! This girl wasted most of her time in the library! What did she mean by she was occupied by her own studies?!

“Give it up. I have no intention of playing along with your silly antics.”

She was a tough nut to crack.

Then, time to use my trump card, the thing that she would never be able to run away from…

“If you’re going to use the library after school to teach them, go ahead. There will be fewer people around and your surroundings will be quieter, you’ll get your studies done. I’ll be going home after school though.”

At least let me say a few words first! Stop rejecting me before I could say anything!

I couldn’t even use my ‘Since you’re in the library anyway’ card…

“You braided–”

“Four-eyes, so I said, but the truth is I love Sumireko-chan with all my heart, wuuv her!”

“I’d never say something so crazy! Also, if you’re trying to make an impression of me, at least do it properly! What’s with that ‘wuuv her’ in the end?!”

On top of predicting my words, she even went out of her way to add unnecessary lines into it…

I sent her a glare, but this seemed to trigger her usual antics of seeing things in a positive way.

Slowly, she moved her chair closer to me as I backed away to gain distance from her.

“Stop being shy, I know you want me to fawn on you.”

“Yes, fawn on me, help me teach those two.”

“I told you I don’t want to. I have no reason to do it.”

Urgg… Just wait, I’ll find a way to convince her to do it— Wait, I just found it…

“You’re right, you have no reason to do it, but can’t you do it for me? You owed me one, no?”

“…What are you talking about, I wonder?”

Hehehe, that abnormally long pause meant that she knew what I was talking about.

But, if she were to acknowledge it, she’d have to agree to fulfill my request.

That was why she said that half-hearted lie instead.

“You broke your promise yesterday. You didn’t let me see your true appearance.”

I said with a villainous smirk.

“I showed you my face.”

“Only your face, you didn’t unbind your chest binding.”

Yesterday, Pansy failed to fulfill her promise because my mom barged in at the last second. On our way home, she took off her glasses and untied her braid for me, but…

She couldn’t unbind her chest binding. Now, that was a checkmate if I ever saw one.

“I always thought that you’re the type of girl to keep your promise, Pansy-chan~ Reality is cruel~ She broke her promise without the slightest remorse~”

“…Now that’s…”

Hehehe… HAAHAHAHA! I BEAT HER! I BEAT HER IN A BANTER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!

I guess I was on a roll today, huh?

“But you don’t need to worry, Pansy-chan, I’m not a heartless person, I’ll forgive you if you were to help me teach Himawari and Sun-chan~”

“What if I say that I don’t want your forgiveness?”

Oh, that was a good one. That one question immediately humbled me…

“T-That will make me very angry with you? Like me angry angry not the other kind of angry…”

“What are you even talking about? Also, you’re always angry with me.”

Dammit, she got me! If only I had the guts to threaten her by saying I wouldn’t come here anymore!

But, I didn’t want to miss the chance to see her true appearance, you know?

“In any case! You’re going to help me teach Sun-chan and Himawari and that’s final!”

“Now that’s just petty and uncreative.”

“Shut it! Can’t you just help me? P-Please? With cherry on top?”

Not good… At this rate, she’d truly reject me…

“…Haah… Fine. Just for today, okay? I won’t help you tomorrow.”

“Eh? Really?! Thank you, Pansy! You’re my savior!”

She didn’t reject me!

This was harder than making up with Sun-chan and Himawari, but at least everything ended well!

I was so excited about it to the point that I grabbed her hand and waved it up and down without realizing it.

“D-Don’t act so happy about it. I-I’ll only help you for today…”

Huh? Was she being bashful?

That was new. I never expected her to act like this after thanking her just once.

“By the way, Joro-kun, are Oga-kun and Hinata-san the only ones who’ll come here after school?”

Pansy asked in an indifferent tone, probably to hide her embarrassment.

Also, she needed to stop rubbing my hand. I knew she was in a good mood, she didn’t need to show that off in a creepy manner.

“Hm? Yeah, they’re the only ones. What about it?”

“…I see.”

There was no way that I’d bring anyone else with me. What was she so concerned about?

“Anyway, I’m going back to my class. Come here after school, okay?”

I stood up and headed to the exit, trying to escape from Pansy’s hand.

“I understand. By the way, if you don’t remember about it soon, you’ll get yourself in big trouble, Joro-kun, so beware… Though it’s probably too late for you…”

“Huh? What?”

“This is something that you have to figure out yourself, dummy.”

Pansy said that in a somewhat pouty tone as she turned her face away. This gave me new information about her: she was someone who loved to hide her expression, whether she was in a good mood or a bad mood.

And honestly, I found this side of her a little cute… Though I pretended that I’d never notice that feeling of mine.

* * *

As I walked down the hallway, I tilted my head in confusion.

Hmm… What was Pansy talking about? What was it that I forgot?

I’ve made up with Himawari and Sun-chan. I arranged for her to help me teach them.

Did I need to do anything else? No, right?

“Ah, so you’re here, Joro!”

On my way toward my classroom, I saw a girl with a ponytail.

“Asunaro? What are you doing here?”

“Hehehe, I’m glad you asked! You see, since I’m a member of the newspaper club, I’m trying to find out about what each class does for the Hyakka Festival!”

Asunaro said as she proudly held up her red pen and camera.

“The Hyakka Festival, huh? Everyone doesn’t seem to look forward to it though…”

“I know, right? Everyone’s hyped up for the Ryouran Festival in September since it’s pretty much our school’s cultural festival. Compared to that, the Hyakka Festival is just a two day exhibition about random topics.”

“True. Well, there’s the ‘Kabuten’ on the first day of the festival. You know, the dance they showcased in the school’s introduction video? It’s quite popular because of the legends surrounding it, but because you need three girls and a boy for it, not everyone can participate.”

Oh, whoops, Asunaro should know about this already. There was no need for me to explain anything to her.

Well, you guys didn’t know about it, so just treat it as me trying to explain everything you guys needed to know about the festival.

“That’s true! By the way, Joro, can I ask you a question?”

“Hm?”

What was up with her? She was looking behind me with a furrowed brow.

“Um, someone’s been peeking at you for a while now…”

“Huh? Me… Woah!”

As soon as I heard Asunaro say those words, I turned around. Seeing the scene right behind me made shivers run down my spine.

There was a girl five meters away from me, sticking her face from behind a wall while staring at me. She looked terrifying.

Her bangs were hanging down like a certain ghost that popped out from a cursed video tape.

She exuded the thick aura of despair.

“…O-Oh crap! S-She’s coming!”

That was when I realized. This was what Pansy was talking about. The thing that I had forgotten.

“…Phew.”

When she noticed my gaze, she smiled before hiding her face behind the wall again.

“Oh no! Asunaro, I got to go!”

“Ah, Joro!”

I went after her as fast as I could. This was bad, this was bad!

“Wait! Wait for me!”

Luckily, the girl didn’t seem to have much stamina, so I caught up with her easily.

After that, I grabbed her shoulders and turned her body around so I could see her face.

“H-Heya, Joro-kun… I-It’s been a while, isn’t it?”

She had long hair that reached her waist and sharp eyes that felt stagnant like muddy water. Right… I had forgotten about her…

This girl was another person whose relationship with me turned awkward because of that particular incident.

“Y-You made up with Himawari-san and Sun-chan, but you forgot about me… T-To you, am I just… N-No, it’s fine… I-It’s okay…”

The girl who was crying with an empty look was Akino Sakura.

She was the student council president and like everyone else, she also had a nickname that was derived from the kanji in her full name.

“No, it isn’t like that, Cosmos! Wake up!”

As I was shaking Cosmos’ body, whose soul was about to pass to the other side, my phone received a text message.

Slowly, I checked it and saw…

[Told you.]

It was Pansy… Her words earlier were true, even if she were to tell me about this, it was already way too late…

* * *

After school. If we were to follow the original plan, we would be gathering in the library now. But, because of a change of plan, we were inside the student council room. The upcoming exam ceased every club and student council activities, so there wouldn’t be any problem if we were to use the room, but due to our current situation we couldn’t really afford to enjoy it.

I was sitting side by side with Sun-chan, both of us were sweating profusely. The cause of it was the girl seated in front of us, Sadacosmos, with her pink note that she placed right by her side.

“…I heard the story from Himawari-san today at lunch.”

Cosmos’ voice was heavier than the atmosphere.

It seemed like the senpai that Himawari met up with was none other than Cosmos.

Seriously, it would be really helpful if she were to tell me, wouldn’t it?! I sent my gaze filled with complaints toward her, but she didn’t seem to notice it.

Instead, she blinked while making a confused look.

“I heard that Himawari-san, Sun-chan and Joro-kun have reconciled this morning…”

“Yes! I’m glad that everyone is friends again now!”

Woman! Read the air a little! Why did you look so happy?! Idiot!

“Me too, I’m glad that everyone is friends again… I don’t mind being left out, not at all. I’m in a different grade after all… T-To Joro-kun, I’m merely his former superior… I’m fine~”

Okay! If she didn’t mind then, it should be okay for me to go! See you, Cosmos!

…If only things were that simple…

“T-That wasn’t my intention…”

No, wait! She was a senpai! I had to be more polite!

“Someone like me doesn’t deserve to be treated like a senpai~”

Someone like her? What did she mean by that? Be more specific!

Anyway, I should ask for Sun-chan’s help so that— No, that wouldn’t work.

He sat straight with a resolute gaze, making him seem dependable, but his sweat-stained shirt screamed that he was in the same desperate situation as me.

“T-That isn’t true, Cos— Prez… I-I mean, you’re a year older than me…”

“You don’t need to mind that~”

Our dear student council president had turned into Simba⁶Simba from The Lion King if you for some reason don’t know about it.! Her vibrato was amazing!

“Cosmos-san, Cosmos-san.”

“What is it, Himawari-san?”

Then, Himawari called out to Cosmos with a big smile on her face.

“You see! I don’t think Joro and Sun-chan had any intention to leave you out! I’m sure they were making some kind of plan to make up with you!”

Great! Yes! I hadn’t thought of anything, but way to go, Himawari!

“Really?”

Life had returned to Cosmos’ eyes. Nice support my dear childhood friend!

“Yes! When he made up with me, Joro said ‘I’ve always wanted to make up with you!’ There’s no way that I’m the only one he’s thinking about! So, you don’t need to worry, Cosmos-san!”

Excellent! She was right! I definitely had Cosmos in mind!

It was just, there were a lot of things going on and I kinda forgot about her!

“I-Is that so…?”

Cosmos’ eyes turned even more lively! Good, Himawari! Give her one more push, please!

“Of course! Before he made up with Sun-chan, he had been racking his brain trying to come up with a way to do it! Naturally he would have thought about Cosmos-san too!”

Marvelous! Thank you!

But, the more she said something like that, the guiltier I felt, so, please stop, Himawari!

“Really?!”

The light in her eyes was fully restored! Great job, Himawari! What a useful little bitch!

“It’s all true, Prez! W-Well, since we’re here already before I could do anything, let me just be straight with you. Can you forgive me for everything that I’ve done? And thank you for helping me! If there’s anything you want me to do, just tell me!”

“I-I’m so happy…”

We were almost there! Let’s go! Alright, now it was his time to shine!

“You’re with me, right, Sun-chan?”

I immediately made eye contact with Sun-chan who was sitting beside me.

‘Praise her.’

Sun-chan immediately sent a reply to me, indicating that he understood his assignment.

‘Understood.’

Way to go, my best friend! As dependable as always! I could give you a bear hug right now!

“Of course! I’m always thankful to you, Cosmos-san! I also think that I haven’t apologized enough!”

“B-But, I haven’t really done anything to earn your thanks…”

Alright! Time for me to join back in!

“That’s not true! When I was in trouble, it was you and Himawari who saved me, Prez! Your help genuinely made me happy! Seriously, thank you, you two!”

“Hehehe, you’re welcome, Joro! You know, it was Cosmos-san who had the idea to help you out back then!”

“I see! As expected, you’re an awesome person, Prez!”

“S-Stop it… I-It’s embarrassing!”

Good! I still hadn’t loss my touch in ass kissing!

Cosmos’ mood was starting to get better!

“I’m thankful to you too! The lunch you gave me was tasty!”

“Right? I had the chance to eat it too! Seriously, you’ll make a good wife, Prez!”

“I-Is that so…?”

Great! Sun-chan was on a roll too!

Look at her! She was all giddy while writing in her note!

“That’s why Supreme Lead– Ahem, Prez! Will you make up with me⁷There are references that I didn’t get in the previous narrations and this line in particular. Joro was actually calling himself ‘Jorogoro-san’ and Sun-chan ‘Sangoro-san’ in the narration. Then he called Cosmos ‘Chou-Cosmos’ in this line. I assume it has something to do with either a period drama or a really old anime, but who knows. Tell me if you guys know about it.?”

“I want to make up with you too, Cosmos-san! I missed the time when we used to hang out together!”

When Sun-chan and I leaned forward to express our intent more clearly, Cosmos turned her note around before covering her face with it. On the page she showed us, there was…

‘Sakura-chan is feeling better! Just a little bit more, guys! Good luck!’

A strange mascot character (Cosmos-kun) with those words written in a speech bubble.

What the hell was wrong with her? Did she really just write those by herself?

From behind the note, I could see her peeking eyes sparkled as she was looking at us…

“I-Is that true?”

Oh no! The light in her eyes dimmed a little after seeing our brief hesitation! Quick! Come up with a response!

“O-Of course! A school life without you is like a school life without a pen! You’re indispensable to me, Prez!”

“To me too! A school life without you is like going to the mound without a ball! There’s no meaning to it!”

As we desperately appealed to her, she slowly put down her note and from behind that note, her grinning face appeared.

“Can’t help it then~! If you two want to make up with me that much, then I have no choice but to make up with you~”

With this, I finally made up with her, but… Everything hadn’t been cleared up yet…

“I was sooo lonely! I really wanted to make up with you two right away after everything was done! Wouldn’t it be nice if we were to stay friends and get along well with each other~? Anyway since you two asked nicely and I also have the same intention, I guess it wouldn’t be hurt for me to accept~”

Yeah, I get it, she was happy, but I wished that she could stop poking me with her pencil.

Wait, didn’t she have a feeling for Sun-chan? You know what? I don’t care anymore.

“A-Anyway, Joro-kun…”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Prez?”

Now she was acting all shy for some reason.

Maybe she had something to ask me?

“U-Um… You guys are going to study in the library after this, right? C-Can I join?”

Her voice started to fade halfway, but I had a good pair of ears, so I could hear everything that she said.

“Um… But, why?”

“Because I’m your senpai, no? I thought that it would be a good idea if I were to help you to study!”

“Eh? Cosmos-san, you’re going to teach us?”

“Really?! Please do! That’ll be a big help for me!”

Those two just agreed without thinking! Well, she was on the top three of the school ranking, so, their reaction was understandable.

“Y-You two are exaggerating… A-Anyway, what do you think, Joro-kun…?”

“If you want to, sure, you can join us. I need all the hands I could get to teach those two anyway.”

Well, it wasn’t like I could reject her in this situation.

Perhaps she was happy after hearing my answer, Cosmos stood up and grabbed my hand with a bright smile.

Since she was the student council president, I guess she was happy to be relied on by someone, huh?

“Yay! Then, I’ll be in your care, Joro-kun, Himawari-san, Sun-chan!”

And so, the four of us made our way to the library.

* * *

We ended up going to the library later than we previously planned. When I entered the library, Pansy was looking at me with an indifferent look.

“You’re late. Very late.”

“I texted you about this, didn’t I?”

“Yes. Now, this is all the people I previously expected you’d bring with you. Glad to see that you’ve made up with all of them.”

She just casually spewed some venom at me. Everything was resolved already, so I’d appreciate it if she’d spare me.

“Hey, Pansy-chan! I’ll be in your care today~!”

“Hello, Pansy-san. I’ll also be in your care today.”

“Likewise, Hinata-san, Akino-senpai.”

Surprisingly Himawari and Cosmos seemed to treat Pansy nicely.

I thought there would be at least some air of awkwardness between those three. Well, I guess that was how girls’ friendships work?

“Hello, Oga-kun.”

“U-Um, Sanshokuin-san… S-Sorry for causing you much trouble the other day…”

Unlike the two of them, though, Sun-chan couldn’t act as comfortable. He bowed his head awkwardly as he mouthed an apology to her. I told him that Pansy wasn’t angry anymore, but it seemed like my words didn’t erase his guilt.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t care anymore.”

“B-But… T-To you, I…”

“You tried to do something bad to me. But in the end, it didn’t end up happening, so don’t worry about it.”

Why couldn’t she act as kindly to me?

Normally, girls would treat someone that they liked nicely, you know?

It was so annoying to see her treating another guy nicely while treating me like trash.

“But, I’d appreciate it if you keep it as a secret.”

“Of course! I swear in Nomo⁸He referred to Nomo Hideo, a retired pro baseball pitcher who’s a legend at this point. His legacy carried on from NPB, which is the Japanese’s baseball league to the MLB.’s name, I’ll keep it as a secret!”

Was that really the right person to swear to? Well, I guess that was how much he loved Nomo.

I remembered the time when he cut his eraser’s case in half then rearranged the word on it and said, ‘It’s Nomo eraser!⁹So, you know those erasers come with the paper package with the brand name and ‘do not eat’ warning on it? That’s the eraser case Joro is talking about. Also, one of the bigger eraser brands in Japan is Mono, so what he’s trying to say is that Sun-chan cut the Mono logo in half and rearranged it to Nomo.’ Good times. Since he loved Nomo that much, I guess it wouldn’t be weird to see him swear in his name.

“Listen to her, Sun-chan. She said she doesn’t care about it, so stop worrying.”

“O-Okay!”

When I patted his back as encouragement, Sun-chan looked back at me happily.

Look at that smile, it was so bright it was hurt to look at.

“Anyway, let’s go to the reading space. We’ll help Sun-chan and Himawari with their studies, but…”

“If you don’t mind, I can help you two teach them, Joro-kun, Pansy-chan! I’ve prepared myself properly!”

“Okay, we can use your help, Prez. I appreciate it.”

“Leave it to me!”

Wait, if she had prepared herself properly, that meant she already knew that we would be studying here.

Her face was beaming as she scribbled on her pink note.

* * *

As we entered the reading space, all five of us took our seats.

The seating order was: Pansy and Sun-chan on both of my sides, Himawari and Cosmos right in front of me.

Pansy prepared some cookies and brewed tea for all of us.

While I appreciate the gesture, I didn’t particularly appreciate that if we were to put our two cups together, it’d make a heart.

“Alright! Let’s start with giving out some tips and methods for studying! Starting with math!”

When everyone was ready, Cosmos stood up.

Well, since she was in the top three ranks, I was quite curious about what kind of tips she’d give us.

“Studying is mostly about memorizing things and math is no exception to this rule! Math is all about applying the right formula to the right problems. In other words, all you have to do is to memorize the formulas and the patterns that the problems have. The best way to do this is to solve a lot of math problems! You’ll remember everything in the process!”

Oh! That was a reliable method! I guess I could count on her to teach us, huh?

“That’s why, I’ve prepared 50000 math problems for you to solve! At first glance, you might think that it’s difficult to solve everything by today, but don’t worry, it isn’t that hard! If you solve one problem every two seconds, you’d finish everything in three hours! The hard part is that you can’t blink while you’re doing it or else, you’ll lose some time, but it isn’t that big of a deal!”

I’ll take back my words. Akino Sakura was the devil herself.

Not only did she come up with a plan to break someone’s mind, she also came up with one that could break someone’s eyeballs.

Pansy looked expressionless, so I didn’t know what she was thinking, but God, look at Himawari and Sun-chan’s faces…

They were horrified. Hell, they were literally shaking…

“Um… T-That’s a little…”

“I understand your concern, Joro-kun. Since it’s 4.20 pm right now, you think that if we were to spend three whole hours here, we wouldn’t make it before they close the library, right? Well, I, the student council president, had already asked for the teacher’s permission to use the library all night long!”

That wasn’t my concern at all! Also, how well-prepared were you?!

“Alright, then, let’s–”

“Please wait, Prez.”

“Hm?”

“Just in case, can I ask you something? Have you ever taught someone to study before this?”

“Hehe, what a foolish question, Joro-kun.”

Foolish question my ass! Stop looking so smug!

“Of course I have! I taught my classmates before!”

“And how did you teach them? The same way as what you’re doing right now?”

“Yes! Back then we borrowed the student council room and studied for a week without sleeping!”

“A-And the result was?”

“They liked it! Everyone was motivated by my teaching! They even said that they’d study hard on their own from then on! Also, I don’t know why, but they called me ‘Your Ladyship’ for a while. Isn’t it a perfect nickname for me?”

“No, it isn’t! ‘Your Demoness¹⁰A pun. 貴婦人/Kifujin literally meant ‘Noblewoman’ sounded the same as 鬼婦人/Kifujin, which meant ‘Demon Lady.’’ would be more perfect for you!”

“Stop~ You’re making me feel embarrassed~!”

Okay, now how to deal with this Marie Antoinette¹¹The infamous Queen of France. In this context, Joro is taking a jab at Cosmos for her disconnection to reality, just like how Marie Antoinette was when she said the line she was infamous for, ‘Let them eat cake,’ when the people were protesting about not having any bread to eat.?

I glanced at Himawari, who was appealing with her eyes to make this girl stop. Meanwhile, Sun-chan had already taken a padmasana¹²Padmasana, or the lotus position. pose.

Was he getting ready to do some yoga?

“Akino-senpai, I think it’ll be more efficient if we were to split the subjects separately, especially between the humanities and science subjects. I’ll be teaching Hinata-san Modern Japanese, what do you think, Hinata-san?”

“Sure! I’m really bad at Modern Japanese, so, I’d appreciate it, Pansy-chan!”

“I-Is that so…? W-Well, I guess it’s good to start from the subject that you’re bad at…”

Ah, those two were running away! How dare they just dumped this dumb thing on us!

What should I do now? I couldn’t even rely on my best bud here because he had started doing yoga for real!

“Then, Joro-kun, why don’t we—”

“Wait, Prez.”

“Hm? I feel like you’ve stopped me once already… What is it?”

Think! Come up with something so that I could get away from this evil plan!

“U-Um, Prez, you’re trying to teach all of us, right?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“But, there isn’t much time before the exam starts, so wouldn’t it be hard for you to teach all four of us at once?”

“That’s true, but if we all cut our sleep time to thirty minutes a day, we should manage to finish everything before the exam starts.”

At least get us an hour of sleep…

“No, we can’t bother you that much, Prez. That’s why I came up with an idea.”

“That so? Let me hear it.”

Why was she so smug? She came up with this kind of crazy idea, why the hell was she so smug about it?!

“U-Um… Y-You see, what about teaching us based on the questions that might come up in the exam?”

“Hm?”

Yes! Good on me! I managed to come up with something on the spot like that!

“Yes! What if you made a prediction of what questions that might come up in the exam? We can try to solve those instead!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared those too!”

Really?! How far had she prepared for this?!

“Alright, before we start doing those, I’ll help Sun-chan out with his studies. In the meantime, can you make some variations of those questions, Prez?”

“Sure, I can do that! I’ll make 20 variations of each question for you!”

This girl was as thorough as the Abashiri Prison¹³It’s the legendary prison that was dubbed as the inescapable prison in Japan, as well as the most brutal prison there. The inmates that were placed there were forced to do what we’d call ‘community service’ in a really harsh condition; no food, barely any rest and a completely unsafe work environment that led to hundreds of prisoners dying in the process. In history, there’s only one inmate that managed to escape from the prison, Shiratori Yoshie.… She completely blocked off all my escape routes…

“But… You know what, I think you have a point. I don’t know everyone’s capability yet, so I’ll see what you can do first for today. I can make personalized questions for each of you afterwards.”

“Now we’re talking! I’m all for that! You’re the best, Prez! I knew I could count on you!”

“I-Is that so? B-Being praised like that made me feel embarrassed…:

Despite the cute face she made while being bashful, I knew that there was an evil demon deep inside her heart!

“Alright, it’s decided then! I’ll see what everyone can do first, then I’ll make questions that are appropriate for your levels!”

“Please do! Alright Dhalsi¹⁴Dhalsim from Street Fighters. Sun-chan is still in the Lotus position, so this is pretty self-explanatory.— I meant, Sun-chan, time to start studying!”

I called out to Sun-chan who was about to ascend to the Nirvana next to me.

Cosmos was a smart gal, but at the same time, she was a big idiot.

And so, an hour passed since we started studying. Currently, I was teaching Himawari, while Pansy was teaching Sun-chan.

“Pansy-chan, your cookies are tasty!”

“Really? Thank you.”

Said Himawari happily while fiddling with the mechanical pencil in her right hand.

“Seriously, how did you do it? Can you teach me how to make them sometime, Pansy-san?”

“Sure.”

Cosmos also seemed impressed as she munched on the cookies with a delightful expression.

“Why don’t you eat some too, Oga-kun?”

“I’m more of a kushikatsu guy than a cookie guy.”

I guess he was trying to be considerate. I could tell that he wanted to eat the cookies though.

Honestly, when it came to the relationship between those two, I didn’t really need to do anything.

Sun-chan was a kind person and Pansy… was a kind person too, I guess.

Since Pansy was watching over his studies, it would be a perfect time for him to do something about it.

By the way, before we got here, I asked him a question about his feelings toward her. The answer he told me was vague, ‘I have something more important to accomplish in my life,’ or something like that, but I could tell that he still had feelings for her.

It seemed like he was trying to form a somewhat favorable relationship with her. Instead of his formerly unsettling awkward show off tone, he had been using his usual hot blooded tone when he was talking to her.

“Sanshokuin-san! You know, lately, I got into jazz!”

“That so? Who do you listen to?”

“Aerosmith¹⁵For the zoomers out there, they’re a legendary rock band.!”

In which multiverse Aerosmith’s songs were considered as jazz?

Or maybe rock jazz was a real thing now¹⁶Jazz fusion was a thing, but Aerosmith definitely wasn’t one of the bands that explored the genre.?

…Anyway, at least they could have a conversation with each other.

“Am I doing it correctly, Joro?”

As I watched over them, Himawari suddenly leaned over to me while showing me her note.

“Yes, it’s perfect. Good job.”

“Ehehe~ I knew I could do it if I were to try hard enough!”

When I praised her, she puffed her chest proudly.

“I made some questions for you, Joro-kun. Can you look over it?”

“Sure— Wait, what the hell is this last question?”

When I checked the set of questions I received from Cosmos, the last question caught my eyes. Why? Because ‘What are the good points of Akino Sakura?’ had nothing to do with the exam. It was a completely pointless question.

“I was just playing around. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”

“Is that so?”

“That is so.”

Her face looked sketchy as she said that, but I didn’t utter a single word of complaint because I could tell that she was in a really good mood.

* * *

Time flew by. We were done with our studies, packed our stuff and left the school building. A certain student council president complained because she went out of her way to get us permission so we could use the library all night long, but everyone ignored her.

“We studied a lot today, didn’t we, Sun-chan?”

“Yeah! If we keep this up, we’ll pass the exam no problem!”

Himawari and Sun-chan walked ahead from the rest of the group, clearly in a good mood.

They were happy because they made so much progress in their studies, something that they had been struggling with since forever.

“You’re amazing Pansy-san. You made modern Japanese look so easy.”

“You’re even more amazing than me, Akino-senpai. I can never make such precise predictions like you did.”

But, the best thing about today was still the fact that Pansy talked to everyone other than me for the whole study session.

Even now, she was talking amiably with Cosmos while walking right behind the high tensioned duo. I couldn’t guess what was going on in her mind, but at least I knew that she wasn’t shy around other people now.

“Pansy-chan! Are you going to make more sweets tomorrow?”

Himawari turned around and asked Pansy that question. It was clear that she was looking forward to her sweets.

“No. I won’t be joining the study session tomorrow. This is only a one time deal.”

“Eh, really?! Aww…”

Was she disappointed about Pansy not going to join us or was she disappointed about not getting to eat her sweets?

…Maybe both?

“With Joro-kun and Akino-senpai around, I don’t think you’ll need me to teach you.”

“But, I want you to be there too, Pansy-chan! Your teaching method is fun and easy to follow! C’mon, can’t you just join us tomorrow? Everything will be more fun if you do!”

“I agree with Himawari-san. You’re more patient and polite than Joro-kun. I honestly think that you’re a better teacher than him.”

Like she was the one to talk. She was an even more horrible teacher than I was.

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do.”

She was suited to be a student council president. When I glared at her, she didn’t drop her smile.

“What? Joro is fine! I like the way he taught me!”

As expected of my best friend. He understood!

“But, I…”

“Whatever excuse you’re cooking, it won’t work. You’re literally the one with the highest grade in our grade and you’re the top student in our school when it comes to literature.”

I wouldn’t let a good opportunity pass by, so I quickly interrupted Pansy’s words.

Since I’ve done that, I’ll leave the rest to Himawari and Cosmos.

“Stop bullying her, Joro! Jeez, I feel sorry for Pansy-chan now…”

“Can’t you word it more politely? Don’t you think you’re too harsh on her?”

Oi, I was literally on those two’s sides. Why the hell were they berating me?

“Well, that was on you, Joro.”

Even Sun-chan betrayed me?! Damn it!

“So, what do you think, Pansy-chan? Can you join us tomorrow?”

“It would be great if you can join us. I’d definitely want to get to know you better!”

Pansy still looked emotionless, but I could tell that she was having trouble trying to reject those two.

I wouldn’t lend her a helping hand. I wanted her to join our study sessions to begin with.

“Joro-kun?”

“What?”

After a while, Pansy nonchalantly called out to me.

“What do you want to eat tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about sweets. I baked cookies today, but I want you to tell me what you want to eat tomorrow. Why don’t you tell me which sweets you like the most? I think it would be better if I were to bring the tastiest sweets so everyone could enjoy them together.”

“I see…”

That was a good point.

“Huh? Then, are you going to join us tomorrow, Pansy?”

“Yes, since Hinata-san and Akino-senpai treat me so kindly, unlike a certain someone.”

“Yay! You’re right, though! Unlike a certain someone, I am, indeed, kind!”

“I’m glad to hear that! Also glad to know that you think of me as someone kind, unlike a certain someone.”

Those guys… It was nice to see them getting along, but I’d appreciate it if they weren’t throwing shades at me.

“So, Joro-kun. Can you tell me what you want to eat?”

Pansy’s sweets, huh? Honestly, everything she made was tasty, especially…

“Macarons.”

“Oh, the sweets that a certain someone praised. I remember he said something like wanting to marry the person who made those sweets.”

“Shut up.”

I hated that she kept saying unnecessary things with that expressionless face of hers. But, since she did well today, I let it slide.

Despite going through a lot of troubles, I managed to create the situation that I wanted.