"Ughhh..."
A groan reached my ears from the seat behind me during the lunch break.
"Ando, what's wrong...?"
I turned sideways in my seat to look at Ando.
"My stomach hurts... Even if I read it backwards, my stomach hurts..."
"If you read it backwards, it's 'Itai-ga-i'..."
While giving him a deadpan response—unsure if he was simply mistaken or just joking—I suddenly wondered if Ando also knew about what was happening after school today.
Since they were band members and he was a manager, and even besides that, Hazama and Ando seemed close, so the possibility was high. In fact, he might even know Hazama's 'answer.'
I shifted my gaze to the homeroom representative who was at the edge of my field of vision. As she turned around while chatting cheerfully with other classmates, our eyes met.
As soon as Erina-san made eye contact with me, she gave a 'nihihi' grin. Probably trying not to be too obvious, she made peace signs with both hands near her waist and wiggled her fingers a few times.
I didn't really understand the meaning, but she was likely trying to show she was doing fine. ...Or maybe she was just putting on a brave face.
"Ando, it's tough for you since you're close to both of them..."
As I muttered that while watching her mysterious actions,
"Eh, you mean the bathroom...? How did you know...?"
He gave a completely nonsensical reply while clutching his stomach.
"No, that's not it... ...No, never mind."
"Haa?"
For a moment, I wondered what he was talking about, but since Ando probably didn't know that I was aware of the circumstances, he might just be deflecting to another topic to avoid revealing his friend's important secret.
That Ando was being considerate. It would be tactless to dig deeper.
"Dammit, just because I finally learned to drink it, I went and drank too much coffee... I'm going to the bathroom..."
...Wait, was he being serious?
As I frowned, unable to grasp Ando's true intentions from start to finish, Erina-san came trotting over to take Ando's place as he left for the restroom, sitting in his seat.
She brought her calculative, smirking face close to mine, smelling sweet as she began to speak.
"What is it, Takuto-kun? You're staring at Erina so much. Are you interested in Erina? I'm gonna tell Amane-chan!"
"Saying I'm 'interested' is a huge misunderstanding..."
Also, Amane-chan is already glancing over here from her seat by the window, so I don't think there's any need for you to tell her...
"Gohei-mochi?"
"So you know what Gohei-mochi is?"
Lately, I really don't understand the range of Erina-san's knowledge.
"It's not that I'm interested... I'm just simply concerned. Precisely because I know various things."
"Huuuh, so you're concerned about me..."
Since I was aware that I'd shown a moment of vulnerability, I expected her to do something mean again, but she didn't. Instead, she just scratched her cheek shyly, saying "ehehe."
"Well then, why don't we go on a store date together with Erina, the person you're so concerned about!"
"Could you stop adding those unnecessary two words?"
I didn't have any objection to going to the school store itself. I felt a cold gaze piercing me from a distance, but I decided to turn a blind eye to it and left the classroom. ...I'll explain everything later.
While walking along the corridor on our way to the store.
I saw what appeared to be first-year students. A petite girl and a tall boy were walking a little ahead of us.
The girl smiled brightly and spoke to the boy.
"Hey, hey, Ren-kun! What do you think about sharing a Papico?"
"What do you mean 'what do I think'? Well, I guess it's a total classic trope for a rom-com."
"You think so? But have you actually read about it in a manga or novel?"
"Of course... Hm? Wait, now that you mention it, maybe I haven't..."
"Ehehe, I knew it! It's a total blind spot, right? For example... I'd be sitting on a bench in the courtyard, and then I'd suddenly feel something cold on my cheek! I'd turn around and go 'Hya!' right? And then, Ren-kun would be there. 'Haha, you have a great reaction, Natsumi.' 'Geez, stop it, I thought my heart was gonna stop...!' Or something like that, you know? But the reason I thought my heart stopped was actually because Ren-kun's face was so close! Mm, not bad!"
"Uwaa..."
Though the boy replied bluntly, deep down his expression looked like he was enjoying her story.
Erina-san smiled gently as she watched the backs of the two as they entered the building and turned in a different direction from the store.
"That kind of thing is cute, isn't it?"
That smile was just like a Holy Mother's, and I felt a bit bewildered by this different side of Erina-san.
"I think a relationship where you can just say 'I love you' like that, without worrying about anything at all, is really nice."
"I'm not sure if they were saying 'I love you' though."
"But you can tell too, can't you, Takuto-kun? That sparkling aura or whatever you call it."
"I guess..."
I felt like there were similarities to the atmosphere Erina-san used to project toward Hazama, but unfortunately, Erina-san acts a bit like that with everyone...
"By the way, Erina-san, why is it that you... regarding Hazama..."
"Like him?"
"Yeah."
Now that I thought about it, I realized I might not have asked her before.
Since he's someone she's so fixated on, there might have been something dramatic that happened during their first year, which I don't know about.
"Hmm."
But the answer was.
"I guess, just because."
"Eh?"
My voice cracked from the anticlimax.
"Hm? What's wrong? Most things are 'just because,' you know?"
"Is that how it is?"
"That's how it is. Then, Takuto-kun, why do you like Amane-chan?"
"That's..."
Starting with her attitude toward music, if I were to list things one by one, there would be no end to it. But I felt hesitant to actually do that, so I lost my words.
"Well, I'm not really interested, so you don't have to say it, okay? But weren't you about to say 'what you like' about her? 'What you like' and 'why you like' are different, you know?"
"Is that... so?"
I didn't quite get it, but having it put into words made me think it might be true.
"It's just because. It's not that I like those conditions, I like that person."
After saying that much, she let out a sigh and continued with a wistful smile.
"That's exactly why it has to be that person and no one else..."
"I see..."
To Erina-san, this was surely something so obvious it was beyond questioning—something that most people other than me might have already realized.
Even so, I truly felt that this person is always facing things without form, like love and affection.
And.
The conclusion derived from that sometimes takes the most cruel form for Erina-san herself.
...As usual, I'm only being taught things and can't do anything.
"Erina-san, are you... alright?"
First of all, I'm way too bad at worrying about people. I was dismayed at myself for only being able to offer such below-average words.
"I'm okay. Erina just has to wait now."
"I see..."
And I could only nod at Erina-san's strong resolve.
"Hey, Takuto-kun, what are you doing after school today?"
"I have band practice today."
"Got it! ...Today, no matter which way the result goes, I'll LINE you."
Even so, this person trusts and relies on someone like me.
"...Thank you."
When I managed to nod, Erina-san gave a big smile.
"'Thank you' is my line!"