By the time Erina-san finished laughing, the announcement for the final dismissal echoed throughout the school.
"Oops, should we head back to the library?"
"Yeah."
Erina-san stood up with a sniff.
As I started to walk up the stairs, Erina-san gently pinched the back of my uniform.
See, this person always does this kind of unnecessary skinship or whatever...
"Listen..."
When I turned around to caution her,
"Hm...?"
My eyes met Erina-san's, which were as red as a rabbit's.
"N-No, it's nothing."
I'm the type who ends up getting flustered...
I realized something as we climbed the stairs.
...Isn't it going to be incredibly awkward going back to the library?
Well, I left at almost the same time as Erina-san, so I'm fine, but the atmosphere in that room afterward must have been hell...
Sorry, Yuri-nee...
While I was apologizing to her in my mind, we reached the top of the stairs to find Azuma and Ichikawa standing in front of the library door.
"Uh, Konuma-kun and Erina-chan, are you two close now...?"
"They kicked us out because the library is closing."
Azuma gave a blunt explanation while handing Erina-san her luggage. "Thank yooou..." Erina-san said as she accepted it. (By the way, my luggage was, naturally, just sitting on the floor.)
"Uh, where are the other two?"
"First, Kenji said, 'Sorry, I'm going home,' and left. A little bit later, Sako said, 'Me too,' and went home."
"I see..."
"Honestly, everyone just suddenly had an explosion of youth..."
Azuma let out an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
"Well, it's fine, I guess..."
Azuma scratched her cheek, looking troubled by our apologies.
"Um, so, it seems like a lot happened...?"
Ichikawa started speaking hesitantly.
"Wait, 'seems like'? Ichikawa, you were in the same room the whole time."
"That's true, but...?"
As Ichikawa's eyes darted around, Azuma let out a massive sigh beside her.
"Anyway, let's head home. It's final dismissal time."
On the way to Shin-Koganai.
I let out a bewildered cry.
"Huh? You mean you didn't notice at all?"
"Ahaha... I think I was just, focusing a little..."
"That's not just 'focusing a little'..."
According to what an exasperated Azuma told me.
Even during that intense confession drama, and even when Hazama and Sako left afterward, Ichikawa apparently had zero reaction.
A while after it was just the two of them left in the group learning room, Ichikawa suddenly looked up and said,
'Oh, is everyone gone?'
"They say geniuses are a bit off, but I feel like I saw it today..."
"I see..."
While Azuma and I were coming to terms with that.
Ichikawa had been glancing over here for a while—specifically, at the space between Erina-san and me.
"...What's wrong? Genius."
"G-Genius!? You're calling me that!?"
Ichikawa was flustered. She's a suspicious-acting genius.
"Um, well, I wonder if I should ask... But it'll change how I act, so yeah, I should be allowed to ask..."
She was muttering something indecisive.
"Amane-chan?"
Erina-san spoke up.
"U-Um, you see!"
"Yeah?"
"Well, did Konuma-kun and Erina-chan end up dating?"
""...Huh?""
Erina-san and I spoke at the same time.
"Erina-chan, you confessed to Konuma-kun, didn't you...? Wait, did you try to confess...?"
What is this genius girl talking about? When I looked at Azuma, she simply said,
"I only told her the facts."
""Ahhh...""
Again, Erina-san and I spoke in harmony.
I see, so that's it.
It's true that Erina-san's true intentions and feelings were all discussed outside the library.
If you only state the facts from Azuma's perspective, it becomes: 'Erina was about to confess to Konuma, but Kenji interrupted to confess to Sakohasshu.' What even is that?
"Ichikawa, that was—"
"Hmm—I wonder?"
Erina-san interrupted me in a mischievous voice as I tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
Then, she looked at me and stuck her tongue out.
What was that for...?
"E-Etto, does that mean you are dating after all?"
Ichikawa was fidgeting in confusion.
"Erina, don't act like a child..."
Azuma said, pressing her hand to her forehead in exasperation.
What's the point of letting her be misunderstood?
"I'm not dating Erina-san."
When I said that,
"Ahhh, Takuto-kun said it! He ruined the plan! The alliance is dissolved!"
Erina-san protested while swinging my—my a-a-arm—back and forth.
"No, I mean, the plan is already over."
"It's not over! Erina's 'Romance' has only just begun!"
"Oh...?"
I see, her 'Romance' has just begun, huh.
I felt a little happy seeing Erina-san being so positive.
"What are you grinning for?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Hmph?"
Erina-san glared at me.
"Um, so in other words, Konuma-kun and Erina-chan aren't dating, right?"
How long are you going to keep talking about this, Ichikawa... That's what I just said.
While I was being exasperated,
"We're not dating! But!"
Erina-san pointed sharply at Ichikawa.
"Huh?"
"Takuto-kun isn't Amane-chan's property, you know!"
She declared it loudly.
"Ehh...!?"
Ichikawa was astounded.
"Erina-san, what are you saying...?"
I still don't understand what she means.
"I don't care! Anyway, people's feelings change all the time! Kenji, Sakosh, even Takuto-kun,"
Saying that, Erina-san h-h-hugged m-m-my a-a-arm tightly and said,
"And Erina is the same!"
"E-Erina-chan...!?"
"Erina is strong..."
Ichikawa looked dazed, while Azuma smiled.
As for me, I felt like I was going to lose it from the sensation on my right arm.
In that way, Erina-san's romance operation reached a temporary conclusion. (Or maybe it had just started.)
Later on, everyone, including Hazama, managed to avoid failing marks on their final exams.
All that was left was to practice steadily for Rock On, or so it was supposed to be.
The worst incident would happen after this.