Volume 1 - CH 1.2

I had a hard time falling asleep that day, possibly due to all the tension of tomorrow’s confession, when Barato-san would confess her love to me.

Even at school, my mind was still somewhat in a daze.

The classrooms were empty and quiet, nearly lulling me to sleep.

It was then someone called out to the absent-minded me in the early morning classroom.

Turning my head in the direction of the voice, the first thing I saw were thighs, which were visible through a skirt.

…..No, no, no, remember, you have to look at their face.

“H-Hey, Misumai…..could I have some of your time after school today?”

Looking up, the voice was, as expected, Barato-san’s.

Her long fluffy brown hair swayed left and right as her voice trembled slightly.

“Ah, Yeah. That’s fine, Barato-san.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll see you later after school.”

In the early morning classroom with almost no students, Barato-san said to me.

She looked casual yet somewhat nervous, probably because she knew what would happen later on.

After saying that, she went back to her two friends.

I don’t like being late, so I always come to school rather early, but today, for some  reason, Barato-san arrived just as early as I was.

Perhaps she came in the early morning so as to not cause a ruckus?

Her two friends didn’t look at me in an unnatural way but instead rubbed Barato-san’s back as they encouraged her, saying, 

[you did your best, Nanami-chan, you did your best ……!] 

If I didn’t know what was going on, I might have misunderstood the scene.

It may look like she had the courage to speak with me.

But as a matter of fact, she’s not very good at dealing with boys, so she would most likely feel nervous towards any boy.

From that point on, we never talked again until after school.

I was basically alone or just talking to my classmates while she hung out with her friends and the other girls in her class. 

However, it was impossible for me not to be aware of her, as I would sometimes glance at her.

I wonder if it was the same for her, as there were times our gazes would meet.

And every time it did, she would turn her face away in a panic, with her cheeks dyed red…If I hadn’t known this was a punishment game, I might have misunderstood this.

She must be nervous. I’m nervous too, but thanks to Baron-san’s advice, I’ve been able to keep my cool, somewhat.

Before I knew it, school was over, and the fateful hour was now upon me.

“Misumai-kun, could you come with me for a minute?”

In the empty classroom after school, where there was only the two of us, Barato-san said that to me.

Her friends weren’t here at all.

Since it was a punishment game, I thought she would confess here in the classroom, but it seems like she’s going to change the location.

We didn’t say a word to each other, as I kept quiet and followed her.

I was supposed to be calm, but with every step I take, I seem to be getting more and more nervous.

And with every step she took, she would move her hips, making her short skirt sway from right to left, drawing my eyes towards it…Hey, wait, stop! Remember what Baron-san told you yesterday.

『Look, women are much more sensitive to stares than men think. When accepting a confession, you must look her straight in the eye. Don’t let your eyes wander around to her cleavage, her legs, or her……body.』

Yeah, that’s right…calm…stay calm. Look straight ahead, don’t look anywhere else.

I started to calm down when I remembered Baron-san’s advice.

We continued to walk on in silence until we arrived at the back of the school building.

There was no sign of anyone else, and there was no chance  of anyone seeing us.

However, the lack of popularity makes this place dangerous in the sense that no one will notice it, and the various wood scraps and other materials placed there makes it physically dangerous as well.

“Okay…then…I guess this is the right place….!”

She mumbles something to herself, then stops and turns to face me. The spinning momentum of her body caused her skirt to swoosh about, and I couldn’t help but admire it.

That gesture alone was enough to make my heart jump, but I have to remain calm. This was a punishment game confession, don’t get me wrong. But even though I know that, I can’t help but feel nervous just being in this situation.

“Thank you for coming, M-Misumai-kun. I have…something I want to say…actually…you know what I’m going to say…right?”

She took a long step away from me and began talking.

I don’t know if that ‘distance’ is meant to serve as a warning to me…or a sign that she’s not used to men…but I’m just going to keep quiet and listen to her until she finishes before responding.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t usually talk to you…Barato-san, so I’m not very sure why you invited me out here. I don’t have a lot of money on me or anything, you know?”

“I’m not trying to mug you or do anything like that!”

[I don’t know anything about this punishment game.], or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

So I joked about it and purposely pretended that I had no idea what I was being called out for.

For the time being, I wasn’t sure if I could get away with it, but as far as I could tell, it was fine.

“Um…well…that…erm….I…I……”

Stuttering constantly, she tried to get her point across. The person standing before me looked like a young woman about to make a courageous confession. It was hard to believe this was a punishment game confession.

Even though this whole thing was a lie, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous…yet I still looked her straight in the face and didn’t avert my gaze from her eyes.

However, the more I looked, the more I became aware of it, and my eyes began to swim.

Remember, Baron-san told me that if such a thing were to happen, I should look up a little instead of looking down.

If you’re looking down, you would be looking at her body, but if you were looking up instead, then you wouldn’t be able to see her body, so…lookup…lookup.

Following the advice from yesterday, I raised my gaze a little higher.

And because of that advice, I was able to see it, but at the same time, it also surprised me.

“I-I like you…M-Misumai-kun….so…p-please….go out with me, I’d like…to go out with you…”

As soon as I saw this, I started running towards Barato-san before she could even finish her sentence.

I mainly play video games, watch videos, and do strength training while I’m at home. 

Can I make it? But the distance between us both is rather far…

I’ve never heard of strength training making your legs run faster, and I’ve never actually tried ‘running’ before, but even so, I have to make it. Even if you don’t have the courage, you have to believe in yourself! Make it happen!!

What I happened to see was a large bucket peeking out of the window in the school building. I’ve heard about buckets being used for sweeping and cleaning. That must be it. The edge of the bucket was now starting to peek out of the window bit by bit.

The moment I saw this, I instantly remembered that this was a place where students sometimes throw out the bucket’s contents because they don’t want to bother with throwing away the dirty water after cleaning.

And now, underneath that bucket, was Barato-san. If I don’t do something soon, she’ll be covered in sewage.

The moment I thought about that, my body moved involuntarily.

Being exposed to water doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to suffer a monstrous injury. It’s only a matter of getting wet and covered in sewage.

Some people might say it’s a deserved punishment since she’s confessing to me because of a punishment game.

But I, for one, don’t think so. Even though this was a punishment game confession, she was still embarrassed nonetheless, and plus, she was also giving it her all just to string that sentence together.

I know this whole thing of hers may very well be an act. But even so, she was trying to find the courage to confess to me despite her inexperience with men, and as a result…I just can’t bear to see her getting covered in sewage like this.

“Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!????”

Barato-san screamed the moment she realized that I was closing in on her, but I disregarded that fact and shielded her. 

Thank god, I made it!

Just as I was feeling a little relieved, cold water slammed down on my back and spread all over my body.

That hurt more than I thought it would!　

It’s cold, it’s dirty, and it hurts!　

The cold water that had soaked into my uniform had taken away all of my body heat at once, leaving my body cold and shivering.

Damn it! 

Don’t use such cold water for cleaning!

Use something more lukewarm next time!

And, don’t throw it out of the window, for god’s sake!!

“Eh….? Eh…..!? W-What!? What’s this!? Is this…water!? Why….!?”

Suddenly, the woman who had closed her eyes finally got a grasp of the situation and looked around underneath me.

I looked at her and wondered if I had soiled the back of her shirt because the ground was not covered with pavement or if my slightly disheveled clothes were a disgrace to her eyes.

[Tl Notes: dirt ground basically]

Then, before I could say anything else…something heavy hit my head.

At the same time, a bucket entered my field of vision.

Apparently, the person who had emptied the bucket’s contents was startled by Barato-san’s scream and dropped the bucket.

Hey, hold on to it, will you?

There was a little bit of water left inside the bucket, and the water that spilt from the bucket had soaked into the ground….thank goodness, if that had hit her, she might have been hurt.

It was then I looked down at Barato-san’s face and noticed a red dot on her cheek.

Is she hurt….?

“Are you okay, Barato-san? Are you hurt?”

“I’m…fine…no wait, are you okay, Misumai-kun!?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine, just a little wet and cold, that’s all. Along with some minor injuries, I guess…”

“Minor, that’s not minor at all! Your head’s bleeding!”

When she told me that, I realized that I had cut my head with the bucket that hit me, and the red spot on her cheek looked a lot like my blood.

“Ah, sorry…I didn’t mean to stain your clothes with my blood…but you aren’t wet, right, Barato-san?”

“Enough about me! Your the one with the…!!”

Those were the last few words that I heard.

The instant I stood up to try to separate myself from Barato-san, my body started shaking. It seems that the impact of the bucket landing on my head was far greater than I expected. A feeling of dizziness struck me as soon as I stood up, and my body immediately collapsed.

“Misumai! Misumai!?”

I heard a voice screaming my name in concern just before I lost consciousness.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

“….Hey…is this…the infirmary?”

I assumed the first thing I’d see when I woke up would be heaven…but no, the first thing I noticed was the infirmary ceiling, and it was a ceiling I’d seen before, so it wasn’t hard to figure out where I was.

Hold up, why am I in the infirmary?

Let’s see…I’m pretty sure…Barato-san called me out…and confessed to me in the punishment game.

Oh, that’s right, a bucket fell on my head.

“Misumai-kun!? Thank god your okay!!”

I heard a girl’s voice coming from my side as I was thinking. It was the voice of the girl who had summoned me earlier, Barato-san. Did she carry me all the way here to the infirmary?

“Ah, yeah…did Barato-san carry me to the infirmary? Thank you…I was pretty heavy, wasn’t I?”

“You’re okay….you’re okay….thank goodness…..*sniffles* ” 

She didn’t respond to my words, but she was so happy that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

I’m sorry that I made you worry, but at the same time, I’m also a little happy that your worried about a guy like me.

…But you don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m glad Barato-san is okay, for the most part. At any rate, she was still in her usual school uniform and didn’t seem to have changed her clothes.

“Uhm, Barato-san, are your clothes dirty? You aren’t injured, are you?”

“Yeah…thanks to Misumai-kun…I’m fine…wait, enough about me! Is Misumai-kun okay!? There was a lot of blood, and you were also soaked by filthy water from the bucket. There could have been some germs in the bucket of water as well. Are you feeling sick by any chance?”

Was I really bleeding that much? Odd…I don’t feel any particular pain at the moment, maybe because I was already treated…the bleeding on my head was already patched up,, so that could be why?

Well, a little bumpy and sore, maybe? But that’s about it. I’m not really feeling anything else at the moment…so, yeah, I should be able to get up.

“I’m fine. But I’m glad you’re not injured.”

As I sat up in bed, I smiled at her, but she turned away her head from me immediately and looked to the side.

Eh? Did I offend her in any way? I don’t think there was particularly anything to be upset about.

She looked somewhat bewildered and opened her mouth, looking away.

“Ah…M-Misumai-kun…could you go to sleep for me? T-That would be a little…more…pleasing for me….”

She glanced sideways, her face flushed. I thought something was wrong, and when I looked down at my own body…I found out that…I was wearing nothing on my upper body. I was naked…I was buck naked!! No, wait, I’m wearing some pants underneath.

Even though just the upper half of my body was visible, the fact that a girl was looking at me naked for the first time made my face get hotter by the second.

“I-I’m sorry…..! For showing you something so unsightly…!!”

In a hurry, I hid myself under the sheets of the bed.

“Eh…no….uhm. Misumai-kun is surprisingly muscular? A thin macho guy….? Ah, wait, no!! Don’t misunderstand. It’s not like I took a closer look at you or anything!?”

I don’t really hang out much with my friends, and all I do while I’m at home is play video games or do some muscle training, so I guess you could say that my body was rather well toned.

Though I initially thought that doing this wasn’t practical at all, it seems that it came in handy for the first time.

I was embarrassed that a woman had seen me naked for the first time, and Barato-san was also embarrassed when she confessed to me that she had seen my body, so we both fell silent.

An awkward silence ensued between the both of us, that was…until the school nurse came in.

“What’s the matter with you both, turning all red like that? You weren’t using the infirmary as a meeting place, were you?”

The nurse’s words, which broke the silence between us, made both me and Barato-san blush even more. However, before we could even say anything else, she continued.

“Here, schoolboy, I’ve brought you a change of clothes. I’ve also packed up your dirty clothes for you, so you can just take them to the cleaners later on and wash them yourself.”

The nurse had apparently brought me a change of clothes.

I had a lot to say, but I was still somewhat relieved that the nurse broke the silence between us. As I took the time to change my clothes, I caught wind of Barato-san temporarily leaving the room.

The clothes that the school nurse had brought me was our school uniform.

I was told that the school always keeps a change of clothes on hand for such an occasion. And as such, I was glad I didn’t have to go to school or take classes alone in my gym clothes.

While I was putting on my school uniform, the nurse told me what had happened.

Apparently, I was taken to the infirmary by a male teacher, who Barato-san had called out after I had collapsed.

As it turned out, she couldn’t carry me well due to my head injury and all, and she decided that she couldn’t do it alone, so she ran into the staffroom without batting an eye, saying that there was a boy who was injured and requested for help.

You’re pretty calm, Barato-san.

If I were in your position, I’d pretty much be in a panic to try and carry that person over myself.

Also, they still couldn’t identify the individual who threw the sewage water out of the window.

There weren’t any surveillance cameras in the school, so it would be impossible to identify the individual. At most, what the school could do was just issue a stern warning to each class.

Well, not like I care about any of that.

“You should be thanking the girl. She’s been watching over you ever since you were taken to the infirmary. It’s good to be young, isn’t it? You get to experience youth, after all.”

The moment he said that my cheeks naturally heated up. For the time being, I chose not to respond to his words and continued to change my clothes in silence.

“That head injury of yours wasn’t too serious, but I fixed the cut. Are you feeling any better? If you feel any pain…..or wobbliness……I suggest you go to the hospital immediately.”

When I finished changing, I noticed some gauzes on my head. But other than that, I didn’t feel any pain, nausea, or any form of discomfort. My head was clear and concise…Maybe I don’t need to go to the hospital after all.

I’ll just tell my parents that I got hurt when I get home.

“Now that your boyfriend has finished changing, you can come over. But you’re not as naive as you look, are you? Considering how red you look.”

The teacher called over Barato-san and swapped places with her. When she came in, her face was still a shade of red.

And no, I’m not her boyfriend…but she did confess to me, albeit in the form of a punishment game, so I wonder if I’m in that position?

“I-Is…Misumai-kun…Okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Barato-san. I heard that you called for a teacher. Thanks a lot.”

“Mmm…..t-thanks for protecting me…Misumai-kun….”

Protect?

No, I was simply just trying to shelter you from that bucket of water. It’s not that big of a deal….though I am a little embarrassed to hear you say that.

There was a strange silence between the both of us. Let’s see…what should I talk about in such a situation? 

….Remember Baron-san’s advice…

Wait.

In no way were I given advice about what to say if someone hurts themselves during a conversation.

Then what should I even say to kickstart such a conversation!?

“…R-reply….”

“Huh?”

As I was desperately trying to remember the advice I got yesterday, and I realized that there was nothing given in the advice about what to do in this kind of situation until Barato-san muttered ‘reply’.

Reply?

“I confessed…my feelings…to Misumai-kun…so I was wondering…what’s your reply…to that…do you…remember?”

As she ran her fingers through her light brown hair, she tilted her head just slightly away from me.

Her cheeks were slightly tinged with a hint of vermillion red.

We were both turning red quite a bit today.

…..Oh yeah. I didn’t say anything about it because I ran up to her before she could even respond.

I had forgotten entirely about the reply because I had assumed that I had already accepted the offer. I guess I was temporarily confused because I was hit in the head.

Barato-san was squirming around anxiously.

Although she looked like a flamboyant gyaru-type girl, her appearance was like that of a pure and innocent girl. Could it be that this was her true self?

Let’s see…I’m sure Baron-san said it. When you give a reply, you should look straight into the other person’s eye…look her…in the eyes…gosh…this is pretty embarrassing…be brave, me.

“Yeah. I’m not sure why you chose me, but if it’s okay with you, then…I look forward to working with you, Barato-san.”

My reply turned her anxious-looking face into a smile.

Her smile resembled a flower.No, it was more akin to a field of cherry blossoms. Even if this whole thing was an act, just being able to see this smile alone makes me feel lucky as a man.

But even a smile like that could give me the wrong idea. This was a punishment game, so I had to be careful.

A small smile appeared on her face for a moment, but it soon faded. And then, she puffed out her cheeks…and muttered something.

“Nanami…”

“What?”

It’s her name.

Yeah, I know, but why did she mutter out her name?

Before I had time to wonder, the answer came quickly.

“Nanami…call me Nanami from now on…since we’re already going out…I’ll also be calling you by your first name, Youshin.”

It’s the kind of gesture that any man would definitely follow if someone said something so cute with an upturned gaze. The gesture itself was incredibly bruising, or rather, foully cute, to a man’s heart.

In all honesty, calling girls by their first names is a form of anti-social behaviour.

I’ve always considered someone like her to be from an entirely different dimension from me.

But now I’m going to say it.

My only concern is that I won’t be able to say it well.

“Erm….y-yeah…u-understood. Nice to meet you, Na…N-Na….Nanami-san………”

I could say it.

After a great deal of effort, I managed to say it. And after I said it, I realized that this was a hell of a lot more embarrassing than I thought. It makes me feel all mushy inside. Ugh, I wonder if I’ll ever get used to this.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Youshin-kun.”

She smiled at me like a flower again. Yes, this smile makes me want to do my best. Call me by name, and I’ll do my best.

I extended my right hand towards her. Though this was not something that Baron-san had advised me to do, I somehow decided to hold out my right hand and ask for a handshake.

She was a little hesitant at first, but she still returned my handshake. For the first time in my life, I shook a girl’s hands; her hand was soft, warm…and very small.

“What’s the matter with you both? Oh…you weren’t his girlfriend just yet, were you? Wow, I’ve seen some good stuff. Tis is youth, after all. Congratulations, boys and girls! But remember to keep it high school style, okay? And make sure to use contraceptives when you do it, kay?”

We hurriedly let go of our hands when we heard the words of the school nurse who had sneakily peeked into the room.

Her face turned a bright shade of pink, along with mine, when we heard the nurse’s words.

What the hell is this teacher saying all of a sudden!

“Sensei…isn’t this the part where you condemn me for doing it in the first place?”

“It’s the other way around, kiddo. It’s because your in high school that we have to give you the right sex education. Because if we tell them not to do it, they’ll want to do it even more. And if we tell them to do it, they’ll do it right away.”

The teacher replied to my protest with a cool face.

Well, the chances of that happening to me and my ‘girlfriend’ in a one-month long relationship is zero to nothing, but I’ll take the advice of an adult with open arms. 

I’ll keep this in mind, along with the advice that Baron-san gave me.

Then, after checking on me, the teacher told me that I could go home, so the both of us went home together.

While we were walking home together, Barato-san…no, Nanami-san remained somewhat quiet. I also didn’t know what to say in such a situation, so our converstation would inevitably be short and awkward between.

Even when I spoke to her, Nanami-san was somewhat absent-minded, dazed, as if she was in some kind of fever. 

I wonder what was going on?

Even now, I regret not asking Baron-san what I should talk about in this kind of situation.

It was the very first time I went home alone with a girl, so I was undoubtedly nervous. Then it occurred to me that maybe Nanami-san was just as nervous as I was.

I was silent, thinking it would be better for me not to talk to her, but eventually, Nanami opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

Hey…let’s get involved…like…exchanging phone numbers, apps, something that can make phone calls? Do you have an app for that?

“Ah yeah. I hardly ever use them, but I do have them.”

“if you’re not using it, then why do you have it in the first place?”

“You can get items and information if you register for official games through these apps.”

Hiding her mouth behind her phone, Nanami laughed strangely. I wondered if she was going to make fun of me, but what she did was rather unexpected.

“So I’m the first one? I’m so happy that I’m the first one who you registered with.”

What a cute reaction. That surprised me.

Then I asked Nanami how to do it, and we exchanged contact information. A cute dolphin icon appeared in my app, and next to it was a name written in hiragana, “Nanami.”

I’ve never seen such a cute icon before.

During our exchange, I expected her to be more against it since this was a punishment game…but was it just my imagination, or did she seem strangely happy about it when we exchanged contacts?

I really don’t understand the female mind.

If this was all an act, I have a feeling that she’ll be able to make a living as an actress right away.

After that, the tension between us slowly dissipated, and Nanami and I continued our conversation, albeit a little awkwardly. It really was just a simple conversation, only with a little probing here and there from the other party about their daily lives. But I was surprised to find myself enjoying the conversation.

As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. 

Eventually, the time had come for us to part ways.

As far as I could tell, Nanami and I would be separated at the station, so even though we were going home together, we weren’t really going home together.

On the verge of parting, I told her, “See you tomorrow, Nanami-san,” and she smiled back and said, “See you tomorrow, Youshin-san.”

After we had parted at the station, I headed home alone. I don’t know why, maybe it was the look on Nanami’s face, but I felt strangely lonely even though I was going home alone as usual.

I was fine with this until yesterday.

As I was thinking about this, I soon reached home. From there on, it was business as usual: my parents came home, I ate dinner, got dressed appropriately, and booted up the game.

Up to that point, that was my usual routine. However, there was one thing that was different that day.

“So, how did your confession go? Come on. You don’t have to hide it. tell me all about it, Canyon-san.”

The moment I settled down and entered the chat room, this was the very first thing that Baron-san said.

Judging from his text alone, I could already tell that Baron-san was grinning behind the screen. 

[He should already know how it went.]

But well, in return for the advice I’ve received, I was supposed to give him a report on how things went…and since he’ll be giving me future advice on what to do, I should at least give him something.

“Well, I received the confession as planned, along with some various things that happened…”

“Oh, various things? I’d like to hear more about these ‘various things’ that you’re talking about.”

Yeah…I knew he would say that.

In the meantime, I’m going to play the game while writing about the details in the chat, from the story of how I saved her to the story of how we went home together.

But I omitted the part of how she’d seen my naked upper body. I don’t want them to get the wrong idea. I had nothing to be ashamed about.

Hearing my report, Baron-san sent me a joyful reply.

“Well, that’s youth for you. I’d never thought that you’d be able to save a woman from a pinch, but it’s fate. Are you like that? A hero who has the qualities of everything?”

No, I’m just a loner who enjoys doing muscle training and social games. Saving her was merely a coincidence.

“But on the way back together, I felt lost. We both fell silent … I had no idea what we had in common, so I regretted not asking Baron-san what I should say beforehand.”

“To rely on me for such topics, I’m not impressed…well, in that case, you should try listening to her first, instead of talking about yourself.”

“It’s just too hard, I think, and that’s why I’m struggling…”

Even though you’re asking me to listen, Nanami hardly said anything herself, and from the beginning, she seemed to be somewhat distant herself, no matter what I said.

My only hobbies were muscle training and playing social games, so it would be boring for her if I were to talk about that……though the conversation between us became somewhat exploratory as we approached the station.

Well, I enjoyed the exploratory conversation, so there’s that.

“The first thing you should do is ask her about her hobbies, show that you’re interested in her, and then expand on the topic. If you make a mistake, don’t just talk about yourself.”

Not knowing what I was going through, Baron-san continued to give me advice.

Asking her about her hobbies…come to think of it, I really don’t know anything about her. The only thing I know is that she’s a girl who confessed to me in a punishment game, nothing more than that.

I think I’ll start from there, as Baron-san said.

“You sure know a lot of things, don’t you, Baron-san? Were you pretty popular back then in school?”

“No, it’s all from the internet. It was nearly impossible for me to be popular when I was a student. You can find out as much information as you want in today’s world. It’s so convenient.”

Return all the admiration I had for you, Baron-san.

But yeah, I’m sure there’s plenty of information about that on the internet…should I start looking into it from now on?

“….I don’t think it’s going to work out….you should break up with her, Canyon-san, while you can before you get hurt…”

Peach-san typed out a few words. I could tell from her text alone that it’s a kind of writing that conveys a sense of vindictiveness.

She was probably worried about me, as she was always opposed to my relationship with Nanami. I was grateful for her thoughtfulness, but I couldn’t afford to bring myself to say goodbye to her right now.

And also in the sense of self-preservation. Even just thinking about it, having the title of the man who rejected Nanami is just downright horrible.

“Well, I’ve already physically hurt myself by cutting my head, so I don’t think I can hurt myself any further than that.”

“Eh….? You got hurt….?”

Peach-san reacted to my joking banter. I added that I had hit the bucket and cut my head slightly and that she had carried me to the infirmary because I had collapsed.

“Canyon-san, you got hurt trying to save her? I didn’t hear about that earlier. Are you okay? Hitting your head is dangerous. You have to go to the hospital…this isn’t the time to be playing games.”

“…Is…your head…really okay?”

Both Baron and peach-san seemed to be worried about me. Baron-san appeared to be a little upset since I didn’t tell him about that detail in my explanation further.

I told them that I didn’t feel sick and wasn’t in persistent pain, so it was fine, but they both strongly reminded me to go to the hospital if I felt that anything was wrong.

….Hmm, I think I’m fine, but now that they mentioned it, I’m starting to get a little nervous. When my parents get home, I’ll talk to them about it.

When I told this to Baron-san and the others, they reluctantly accepted my proposal. 

To think that they were this concerned about me, I feel really grateful.

“Well then, now that you’ve successfully accepted her confession and started dating…let’s set some goals for the week.”

“Goals for the week?”

Baron-san said something strange.

What do you mean by goals for the week? Whenever I had a question, Baron-san would immediately post the answer on the chat.

“Let’s make it your goal to hold hands with her by the end of the week. There’s nothing wrong with that since you’re a man and a woman in a relationship. Oh, and don’t be unreasonably pushy, okay? You can only do it if she acts like she wants to hold your hand.”

Baron-san suddenly presented me with such a huge hurdle. 

Holding hands with a girl…I’ve never done anything like that before in my entire life.

Ah…but…

“You shook hands with her today, but that doesn’t mean we held hands…..”

“It can’t be helped. Since holding hands is too high a hurdle, how about only doing it on the way you go to school and back?”

Such a hurdle presented for me was already more than enough. 

Holding hands on the way to and from school is a situation that I’m sure most boys would love to be in, but how do I even get that level of closeness?

And I don’t even have a best friend that I can rely on to tell me what a girl likes. 

The reason it’s so hard to find love in the real world is because it can’t be expressed numerically, and even if it could, that number would be invisible.

I really have no idea what I’m supposed to do.

“You’re thinking way too hard. We’ll do this on Friday. How you want to earn her favorability, I leave it up to you.”

Friday…today’s Tuesday, so I only have three days left…or two days if you exclude today. Isn’t that a little too much to ask for?

Besides, you have to tell me how to do it. Don’t just leave it all to me—I’m begging you.

Just as I was about to reply in the chat…I received a well-timed message from Nanami.

Sure, we exchanged contact information, but I didn’t expect to hear from her on the first day, and I immediately displayed that message out of reflex without being mentally prepared for it.

When I saw the message on the app, my eyes widened.

“Since we’re dating, let’s go to school together tomorrow. Can you meet me at the station at 7:30?”

The message I saw was instantly tagged as read. If I hadn’t displayed the message, I might have been able to discuss it with Baron-san without the message being read, so I panicked and reported this back to him immediately.[duality check]

“I’m in trouble, Baron-san! She sent me a message to come to school with her tomorrow. What should I do!?”

“What’s the big deal!? It’s already been decided that it’s OK! Come on,  just reply!! And make sure you reply in a way that conveys you’re happy to be going to school with them!! Don’t just reply curtly. Quick!!”

Baron-san’s response to my panic was swift.

A sentence that conveys happiness? What does that even mean!? Sorry, but I’m no expert in writing. I can’t express my happiness in writing!!

After the message was tagged as read, I pondered about the text for a little while. What if she thought that I hadn’t read it?

No, no, no! You can’t just twist something like this! If you can’t think of anything else, just get straight to the point! Go, go, go!

“I’m so happy to be going to school with you, Nanami-san. 7:30 a.m? Understood. I’m looking forward to it.”

I know this sounds very stiff, but this is the best I can do for now. I can’t compose anything more sophisticated than this. This is my honest feeling.

I was anxious to see what she would think of me, and soon my message was read. And Nanami-san was quick to reply to me.

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

That was all that she wrote back to me, but I wondered what it was. I couldn’t stop my cheeks from smiling. Well, this was the first time that a girl said that she was looking forward to going to school with me…so it’s no wonder I’m smiling.

“I’ll be meeting her at the train station tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. What should I do, Baron-san?”

“…I wish you’ll start thinking for yourself a little bit, but…yeah, if you’re going to be meeting her at 7:30 a.m., it’s best if you get to the meeting place a little early, let’s say, 7:00 a.m?”

Isn’t that a little too early? As if to answer my question, Baron-san continued.

“It’s better to be a little early. It’s a lot better than being late. Being late ……is the worst thing you can do. Even if you don’t intend to, it will make people think that you are disrespecting them. And…….”

“And….?”

Baron-san paused for a minute before continuing to tease me.

“Wouldn’t you like to see your lovely girlfriend as soon as possible?”

Lovely girlfriend….the moment he said, my cheeks started flaring up.

Once again, I was told that Nanami was my girlfriend, even though it was only for a month…and when I realized it, I couldn’t stop my cheeks from smiling again.

“Okay, Canyon-kun. You need to get her to like you from now on. So…give her priority over anything else. Oh, and don’t worry about any in-game events. We’ll take care of it. Just leave the team to me, and you can focus on getting to know her first.”

I’ve been prioritizing social games more than anything else in my life, and you’re asking me to change my priorities? How could I do that?

The game was also in the middle of an event, and I wanted to keep going…More importantly, I don’t want to give my team a false sense of security by pulling out…I’m grateful to Baron-san for saying that, but I feel a little bad at the same time.

“It would be ideal if she could enjoy the same gaming hobby as you…but let’s leave that aside for now. You should get to know her first. Well, it’s okay. You could say love makes a person weak. If she likes you, she will surely do it with you.”

That’s true…If Nanami-san and I played the game together, I’m sure that would be pretty fun.

I try to imagine it a little, but…no. My poor imagination skills can’t quite picture the scene.

Still, Baron-san was right. I should leave much earlier than usual tomorrow.

“I understand. I’m going to leave early tomorrow. So I’ll go to bed now. Good night.”

“Yeah, good night. I hope it all works out for you.”

“Take care, Canyon-san.”

The last message from Peach-san seemed to indicate that she was still worried about me.

I can’t really turn towards Baron-san or Peach-san…heck, I don’t even know where they live or what they look like…I thought to myself as I tried to fall asleep while thinking about Nanami-san, whom I would be going to school with tomorrow.

But…

Tomorrow…meeting…with Nanami-san…going to school together…with her…Nanami-san….Nanami-san is my girlfriend…

As I lay in bed, I could hardly face reality. I turned off the lights, but I couldn’t get any sleep since I kept looking at the messages on my phone…

I’m sure I’ll have trouble sleeping tomorrow.

I felt strangely excited, and it took me almost an hour longer than usual to fall asleep, which made me realize how simple I am.