Prove Your Eternal Love. There Shall Be No Heroine Correction. - Chapter 2 Part 5

“Ah! Suguru-senpai, I’ve got it. Here. If you read this part upside down—”

“Yeah. Nagisa, you did well. Then we could…like this! Yes!”

We high-fived each other in a good mood from the pleasure of having solved the mystery. This is Class D of the third-years, where riddles that must have been taken from the Internet and called “Riddle Research” are posted all over the room. Third-year students are busy with exams, so it was inevitable that they tend to put up exhibits that do not take much time to prepare.

When I submit the paper with the answers filled in, the third-years show their stamps in a clerical manner, saying, “Yes, that’s the correct answer, congratulations!” I opened my stamp book. They didn’t seem to notice that the stamp book we were using was different from the regular one.

The moment it was stamped — a storm of information blew through my head. When the storm passed, the empty space was filled with vivid memories.

—The memory began with the voice of Sasakura Sukuma.

“Hey, Shirase, why don’t you join us for Karaoke?”

I was alone in my classroom after school, leafing through a paperback book. I had started reading a book during a short break before sixth period and found it interesting, so I wanted to finish it as soon as possible. But Sasakura, who was sitting in front of me in order of attendance number, approached me with a worried look. What a bad timing, I thought.

“Karaoke?”

“It’s written on the blackboard. It’s a gathering. How do you do the same thing every day since you entered the school?”

“We’re doing it again today? I didn’t pay any attention to it. …I’m not good at reading the atmosphere and making things lively.”

We only mend the surface and make it look like we are somewhat friendly with each other. I could go with him and pretend to be friends with them because I was there. But what do they gain by doing so? Or was it a result of not being lonely? I could only think of the latter.

“I don’t know what you mean, but at this rate, aren’t you going to be a loner?”

“…I don’t mind. That’s how it was in middle school.”

I have long since learned that there are few people who would accept me as I was. I would rather be alone than bend myself to belong to a group.

“Wow, that’s hard to comment on.”

“No need to comment.”

My phone trembled in my pocket. Was it from Minagi, or was it a coupon notice? When I took it out, Sasakura was quick to notice the photo of Minagi on my phone’s home screen.

“Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, is that your girlfriend? ….I don’t think it was possible, she’s like an idol, a difference between Heaven and Earth. Who is she? What’s her name?”

“I won’t tell you…and don’t look at it without permission. She’s my girlfriend.”

“You and that girl? No, well, you sure don’t have a bad face, but with your lack of social skills, how did you manage to get such a beautiful girlfriend?”

“You know what? Isn’t it the first time we have talked?”

Sasakura Sakuma. What a rude man. I wished he would just let me read the rest of the book. Despite this thought, I continue my conversation with him because I feel something.

“By the way, Sasakura. By the way, Sasakura, are you sure you don’t want to go?”

“Oh, me? I ain’t going. I’m, you know, too much of an airhead, and I’m already being hacked off as soon as the second time around. I can read the air so well that I don’t even participate in the event because I understand that I’m being hacked, you know?　It’s terrible, isn’t it? I mean, if you’re a zero, I’m a minus.”

“Then you can’t say anything about me.”

“But because you look lonely.”

“Eh…what? Me?”

The unexpected words made me involuntarily close the book. I forgot to put my bookmark between the pages, but I was more concerned about his true intentions. He said I looked lonely?

“You’re in the habit of twisting things like that, and you want people to understand. I’m sorry, but that’s a bad attitude. Hey, why am I talking to you?”

Sasakura leaned back in his chair, pointing at me.

“—That’s because I’m irritated with you.”

For some reason, I was happy to hear Sasakura’s words. I naturally smiled and said, “Haha,” and I wondered when it happened. I had a feeling that I could get along with this guy.

“Then, Sasakura. …If you want, why don’t you become my friend?”

“…Haa? N-No, how can such words come out of this situation? I mean, how can you, a high school student, talk about being friends or something so crass and embarrassing?”

Sasakura’s eyes widened in surprise, and he looked into my face as if he were looking at something unusual, repeating the motion of wiping the desk with his hand busily. He seemed shaken.

“I’m the kind of person who has to define every single relationship.”

“Hahaha. You’re a hassle, you know that?

“Good observation. Nice to meet you, Sasakura.”

I see. I had taken it for granted that I was alone in this situation. But was I lonely? If Sasakura Sakuma had not pointed this out to me, I would never have realized it.

“—Sir? …Umm, Sir?”

I huffed. This was the second stamp, but still, when I retrieved the memory, I felt fuzzy, as if my brain has temporarily frozen. The attendant was worried about me earlier.

“Eh, ahh, I’m sorry. I was just lost in my memories.”

My only friend in the class, Sakuma. I wondered what would have happened to me if I had lost this memory. I realized again what Minagi said. Every memory was important. I don’t want to lose any of them, and I shouldn’t.

I walked out of the classroom, being escorted by the third-year students who looked at me doubtfully. Less than two hours have passed since the game started. We had lunch, were enjoying the festival, and were steadily recovering our memories. Now I have two memories of【Amusement Park With My Family】and 【Meeting Sasakura Sakuma】, and Nagisa has two memories of 【The Day I Ate Baked Pudding For The First Time】 and 【Running Away From Home With Minagi】. Unlike me, Nagisa’s lost memories were not so much inconvenient for her current friendships.

Nagisa suddenly squeezed my hand tightly, and when I turned next to her to see what was going on, she smiled happily and said, “Ehehe.”

“I really like spending time alone with Suguru-senpai the most.”

“What’s wrong, all of a sudden?”

“Because it’s been a long time. We haven’t been together like this.”

“…I know it’s been a while, but it hasn’t even been a week yet.”

Last Sunday was my birthday, and as an escape from the busyness of preparing for the Fuyo Festival, we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest.

I, who love Nagisa, fall in love with her again.

Such an impossible task was the condition for us to be together. So Nagisa tried her best to make me fall in love with her again. She planned a date course to my liking, gave me a surprise, hugged me tightly, and tried to kiss me—though failed because I still felt a sense of rejection.

“Yes, but ever since then, Suguru-senpai has been busy. It would be nice to be together for a long time, but I would like to see you every day, even if it’s just for a little while, you know?”

“That’s just the way it is. But, you know, the more time we don’t see each other, the more pleasure we get the next time we see each other, don’t you think?”

“Heh, hmmm, so Suguru-senpai is the type of person who gets bored if you see me every day?”

“…There’s no way that could be true.”

I squeezed Nagisa’s hand back tightly. If I could have such a cute girlfriend. I couldn’t imagine that I would get bored of her. But I know. I would get used to it someday. I would think that it was normal. When she was next to me all the time, no matter what, I would have the illusion of eternity.

As a result, I knew that the love between Minagi and I was gone, even though I had no memory of it.

“…Um. Suguru-senpai, can I ask you one thing?”

Nagisa looked at me anxiously as we descend the stairs. I listened to her.

“Don’t you want to ask me? Why did I join the Remember Rally?”

“…Yeah. But you don’t want to tell me.”

The reward for winning the game. It was the right to hear someone’s true feelings. What kind of true feelings does Nagisa want to know about whom and what kind of true feelings? It was obvious. My true feelings. She probably couldn’t trust me now. She was afraid that I still have feelings for Aogashima-san.

“You’re not angry? I was being bad. I couldn’t agree to accept Aogashima-senpai’s proposal to fulfill Jie-senpai’s ideals.”

“No way. I’m not angry. I know how you feel and I can imagine how everyone else feels. So I understand…that it is impossible for me alone to follow my principles.”

Yes, I do. I couldn’t do anything on my own. I held Nagisa’s hand tightly in frustration. I was just helpless at that place. I could not propose any practical measures. Ideals alone cannot change anything.

I already knew that. That was why I chose to be alone. I stopped belonging to a group. I stopped being involved in a world where I could not follow my principles. But…that was no longer the case.

There was no way I could continue to force Aogashima-san alone to take the loss.

At least I have to keep thinking about it. How to reach the ideal.

“On the contrary, Nagisa. If I tried to stop Aogashima-san, would you be offended?

“…I don’t know.”

Nagisa turned over and answered in a quiet voice. If I stopped Aogashima-san, it means that she would still like me. For Nagisa, it would only mean that the uneasy situation would continue. Ah, that was why it was a mistake to ask such a question in the first place. I was really no good at this.

“Sorry. Let’s not talk about this. Nagisa. I’ll never get tired of seeing you every day. After the Fuyo Festival…I’ll pick you up every day. Let’s go to school together.”

“Eh? You sure? But Suguru-senpai, can you even get up early?

“…Might be difficult.”

“Then, promise. Starting Monday, we would meet in front of the station every morning at 8:00 a.m. The one who arrives later will carry all the luggage of the one who arrives earlier. What do you think?”

A mysterious game element was added. The rule has a fatal pitfall. If I arrived early, I would be the one to make her carry my luggage.

But I pretended not to notice and nodded at her suggestion.

“Yeah, I’ll accept it.”

All I have to do was be a little late every morning. Thinking about it, I suddenly had a bad feeling. I wondered if there might be some pitfalls in this seemingly simple 『Remember Rally』.

Yes. I had the feeling that I was overlooking something serious.

Next, we set our sights on Nagisa’s 【Memories Of The Fuyo Festival】. The baseball club’s exhibit was located a little further back from the stalls lined up in the courtyard. I think it was a game in which a ball was dropped by hitting it against nine panels lined up in three rows and three columns.

“By the way, Suguru-senpai, there seemed to be a lot of balloons on display around here.”

Nagisa pointed to a cluster of colorful balloons, one after another, as she gazed up at the sky.

“Hm? Oh. It’s a specialty of the Fuyo Festival. They thread a string from the school building to the balloons, and at the end of the day tomorrow, they cut all the strings at once.

“So you’re going to make it fly all at once!? It must be beautiful. I’m looking forward to it!”

“Yeah. You can count on me—Oh. There it is, the baseball team. Well, it seems that if you throw nine times and drop two or more cards, you get a stamp, and if you drop three or more cards, you get a prize. How about it, Nagisa, how confident are you?”

“So-so I suppose. The question is whether the ball will reach the target.”

“I think that’s the premise…”

When I looked at the exhibit, the brown-haired staff member, exclaimed excitedly, “Join our club, Onee-san!” The audience laughed, applauding wildly. As I was about to get in line, Nagisa pulled my sleeve.

“Umm, Suguru-senpai, that.”

The direction of Nagisa’s gaze. A middle-school-aged girl with red-rimmed glasses was rolling up a pamphlet, tilting it, and tilting her head incessantly. She made eye contact with Nagisa. She looked lost.

“Sorry, Nagisa. I have to go for a bit.”

Just in case I was mistaken for a pick-up artist, I headed for the girl, wrapping the armband. But Nagisa jumped out and approached the girl before I could.

“Um, what’s wrong?”

It was a bit surprising to see Nagisa take the initiative. I had an image of Nagisa as more withdrawn and sheltered by her older sister. That was why she didn’t open up to me until lately. But she must have changed before I knew it. I was somewhat happy about that.

“I’m sorry. Actually, I got separated from my friend. …How can I get to this, Literature Club?”

“Literature Club…I think it’s on the second floor of the club building? Ok. Then, follow me.”

With a thud, Nagisa pumped her chest.

“Nagisa. I’ll guide her then. I’m a committee member. You just need to get a stamp—”

“Fufu. There’s no need to be in such a hurry, we can just come back later.”

Nagisa laughed and restrained me with her hand before leading the lost girl half a step while pointing at the school building. Indeed, Nagisa was right. The game was not over until tomorrow, so there was no problem if we lose a little bit of time. And yet…something was bugging me.

“Um. Thank you very much. For helping me out.”

The girl thanked us. It was somehow interesting that Nagisa, who was guiding me, was smaller than me. I smiled as I follow behind her like a guardian.

“Are you by any chance going to take our entrance test?”

“Yes. I’m in the third-year of middle school and this is my first choice. But I’m not very smart. My teacher said it would be tough.”

“It’s all right. If you work hard now, you can make it. My grades are not good either, and my first choice was a deviation lower than this school. But I started working hard right around this time. So, I’m sure we will meet again next year.”

Nagisa smiled, shook the girl’s hand, and encouraged her. At that moment, I could see that the girl’s mood had changed as well. It was as if something Nagisa possessed was transmitted to the girl.

Yes. If other senpais are like Onee-san, I definitely want to try. No, attend.”

“Fufu, I’m rooting for you. …Then, this is the Literature Club.”

“Thank you so, so much!”

The girl bowed deeply before slinking into the room. When Nagisa dropped her hand, which she had been waving for a long time, I tapped her shoulder from behind.

“…I’m kind of surprised. You take care of people.”

“That’s right! I tried a little too hard. But I would possibly be someone’s senpai in six months, so I have to break out of my cute character and show more of an older sisterly side.”

“Weren’t you a senior in middle school? …I’m pretty sure it was the, uh, crafts club?”

“That’s right! When I was in middle school, my seniors and juniors were all over me!”

“Then why do you want that now? You said you were going to be a respectable senior, yet now you are part of the go-home club.”

Then it was not so much taking care of someone else. I never expected to make acquaintances with juniors either.

“No, I’m not though? In case you are wondering, I am still a ghost member of the light music club. I tried to imitate my sister and joined, but I had no idea what I was doing, so I just stopped going.”

“It’s practically the same as go-home club, isn’t it?”

“Fufu. actually, I have another reason for wanting to be a senpai.”

Nagisa restlessly rubbed her index finger with the tip of her palm.

“Is that so?”

“…Suguru-senpai, do you remember me back then? Actually, I came to visit last year at the Fuyo Festival.”

That was a memory that Nagisa put off collecting just now. I tried to remember, but Nagisa’s face only dimly came to mind.

“Sorry, I don’t remember. …Which means that. You were here with Minagi?”

Unfortunately, I have not yet recovered my memories of Minagi.

“I don’t remember either, but it seemed so. So I got lost. If I had liked Sguuru-senpai at that time…I wouldn’t have left Suguru-senpai. It’s an unfortunate mistake.”

“What’s so unfortunate about it?”

Nagisa opened the stamp book. We both pointed to the corresponding circle. The nails of our index fingers clung to each other and the letters appeared.

【Memories Of The Fuyo Festival】──Tokiwa Nagisa, accompanied by Tokiwa Minagi, came to visit the 31st Fuyo Festival. However, she got lost on the way and was guided by a kind current student.

“What I remember is that after this, my first choice was this school. I’m sure I must have been very impressed with that senpai.”

So Nagisa has done the same thing to that girl now. To connect the fragrance she received from her senpai to someone else again.

“I can’t remember who it was, though.”

“Don’t be in a hurry. You’ll remember soon enough.”

“It would be so romantic if it was Suguru-senpai who showed me around.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think so.”

If I had been with Minagi, I would have searched with her. So it must have been someone else at all who guided her.

“Ah. Then, if it was a man, would Suguru-senpai be jealous too? If I admired a man who wasn’t a Suguru-senpai, followed him, studied hard, and got in…What do you think?”

“Eh. …What do I think?”

I meditated and imagined. Nagisa getting lost at the Fuyo Festival. Someone, a male student, took her by the hand and guided her. Nagisa’s eyes sparkled, she thanked him, and after that, she inspired herself to study, remembering that person—

My chest throbbed. An agony that gripped my heart and made my throat hot.

“Ah…Yeah I would.”

As soon as she heard my answer, Nagisa lifted the corners of her mouth in a smile and smack and rubbed her head against me in a pampering manner.

“Fu, heh, Suguru-senpai, it feels quite unexpected for you to have a side like that.”

“Y-You made me say that, didn’t you?”

“Fufu, it’s fine. Suguru-senpai is my only.”

I wondered if showing a little jealousy was enough to make people so happy. Jealousy was a difficult thing to understand. Not too much, but not too little. There must be a right amount, like a hidden taste.

“But where are we going next?”

Nagisa asked me, tracing the open stamp book. I remember that here on the second floor of the club building, there was a stamp for me — a stamp with my memories of Minagi. My tongue was wagging the moment the thought occurred to me.

“The Science Club.”

In the science club, students in white coats were performing various experiments like a magic show. Nagisa especially liked the flame color reaction experiment and has watched it many times already. Yellow, purple, green. Nagisa’s eyes sparkled as she watched the flames shimmering in various colors. I remembered that fireworks also use flame color reactions.

“Nagisa. Let’s watch the fireworks together.”

“Eh. Now? I’ve been planning to see the fireworks with Suguru-senpai since I heard about them.”

“I was going to, too, but I thought I’d put it into words.”

“Fufu, I see, how very disciplined of Suguru-senpai.”

The rule of the science club was that if you submit a questionnaire, you can have it stamped. We put our A4 forms face down in the collection box. There were no club members at the exit, and the stamp could be stamped as many times as it pleased them, regardless of whether or not we turned in the questionnaire. Well, as a member of the committee, we knew that there would be places like this. No one would steal the stamps, and there would be no demerit for the exhibitor, even if the stamps were collected illegally.

I grabbed the stamp, slowly and forcefully pressed it. What I was going to get back was my most precious memory. So I wanted the impression to remain beautiful.

“…Eh?”

Muttering, I released the stamp. Equally spaced from the outer perimeter, without a hint of gradation, my stamp book was indeed marked with the flask. And yet, why?

Nothing happened.

The bad premonition I’ve been feeling for so long has now appeared before my eyes as a real problem. The heat was quickly receding from my hands and feet. The sensation disappeared. …What in the world is going on?

“Um. Suguru-senpai? You look pale…What did my sister do to you?”

“No…my memory, I can’t get it back.”

Nagisa tilted her head dubiously and looked at my stamp book from the side. Pointing confirmation. Sure enough, the stamp was in the right place.

“It doesn’t seem to be a mistake. Oh, maybe the stamp was a fake. You see, for example, they lost the stamp and made a replacement in a hurry without permission!”

I stared at the stamp. It was definitely ordered by a committee member. It has not been misplaced with the stamps of other exhibits. The flask definitely belonged to the science club, and there must have been no other stamps with a similar design.

This stamp was for the Science Club.

The stamp of the science club corresponded to my memories 【Dating Tokiwa Minagi】.

The premise was not wrong. Then it was the rules that should be questioned. I think back to Ocupido’s explanation.

—One stamp corresponds to one memory.

—You can retrieve the corresponding memory from me.

And now I realized it. Ocupido uttered a series of unnatural phrases.

“I see! Tch. Ocupido…Never said that we would remember.”

“Eh, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he said, and in fact, we were able to recall it.”

“The result certainly appeared to be the same. But Ocupido said it kept our memories. We didn’t remember what we had forgotten. We just retrieved them and brought them back.”

Nagisa tilted her head at my words.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Not at all. Only you can remember, but anyone can retrieve.”

Of your own course, you can retrieve your own memories by pressing the corresponding stamps.

This game was so much more than that.

Push the corresponding stamp of someone else’s course and get someone else’s memories.

“In other words, in this game, you can take away the memories of other participants.”

The moment I swallowed the fact that I didn’t want to believe it and opened the stamp book.

“Yay, Shirase-san, you have hit the nail on the head! But you realized it a few minutes too late!”

Ocupido appeared happily and spiraled around me. I thought about knocking it off, but managed to hold back.

“…I thought we had an agreement that you would never appear before me again.”

“Haha, don’t be like that. You would have had more trouble if I didn’t show up after saying that, wouldn’t you?”

Ocupido, who landed with a shudder, gave a misanthropic smile. I looked around, but it seemed that no one but us could see this phony angel. Rather, I asked Ocupido in a whisper so as not to arouse others’ suspicions.

“…Why didn’t you explain?”

“Haa. Because you didn’t ask?

As if to reopen the matter, Ocupido fluffed up in the air.

“That’s unfair. I’m at a disadvantage because I don’t know the rules.”

“I hope you don’t blame the angels. There were people who were properly aware of the rules when they were explained. It is their fault for not sharing that information. That’s part of the fun of this game. Ah, don’t look so angry. You can still get it back.”

Its theatrical tone was a bit too much, but I watched Ocupido’s words and every move it made. Also with the utmost caution, as it may be hiding some information.

“Ehhh, come on. Memories of other people are essentially meaningless even if you have them. As long as they are not the person’s memories, they can be looked at, but they do not stay, so they would eventually disappear after the game. …Basically, you can exchange the memories you have with each other!”

“Memory exchange…Is it?”

“I see. So I should take the memories of the culprit who took my memories first?”

There was a participant who, for whatever reason, has acquired my memories. If I took their precious memories as well, they would have no choice but to exchange them for mine.

“As you might expect. If you two mutually agreed upon a handshake, exchange will take place.”

“I understand. By the way, does the other party know that we can make the exchange?”

“Yes. I already told that person when Shirase-san’s stamp was used.”

“So, who is the culprit who took my memories?”

“Ahaha, you’re so greedy, Shirase-san. I am sorry for your desperation, but I cannot answer that, of course. Well then, I wish you continued good luck.”

“Ah, wait—”

After finishing its explanation, Ocupido quickly disappeared. …But what the heck was that? We didn’t ask, so you kept quiet? That was part of the game? I don’t understand the logic behind this, but the bottom line was that Ocupido intentionally made this game so that it would cause upheaval. Really, what a joke.

“Suguru-senpai, what are you going to do now?”

“We need to hurry up and identify the culprits.”

Do we call all participants and ask to show each other the stamp book? But if we reveal the story as it is now, it could cause unnecessary confusion. I’d prefer to keep it between us if possible…

“In the first place, is there any possibility of an accident? Like they pushed it by mistake.”

“No, that’s not possible.”

Nagisa’s way of thinking was a very gentle interpretation. I don’t want to deny it either. If I deny it, it would mean that there were malicious people among the six.

“But there is no reason to go to such lengths simply to win.”

“In the meantime, though, there’s the added benefit of monopolizing the winner’s prize.”

At the end of the game, the participant who collected the most memories wins. Normally, there would be five winners, but if you take someone else’s memories and then have all of your own memories as well, you could aim for the sole top spot. In any case, however, the culprit’s goal was not to win or lose the game itself but to win something else. What was it? Just as I was about to start thinking about it, Nagisa mentioned something.

“Ah. …I’m not sure, but it might be Yuuhi-kun.”

“Yuuhi?”

I was reminded of the face of a fierce dog glaring at me. Right, he’s Minagi’s boyfriend, and he sees me as the enemy. But I don’t want him to hate me so much as to take away my memories.

“Yuuhi-kun, might want to erase the Minagi in you, Suguru-senpai.”

“Erase the Minagi in me…?”

If he wanted to erase me in Minagi, I could still understand. But if he erased her from inside of me, nothing would change for Yuuhi. Therefore, Nagisa’s hypothesis did not go through my mind easily.

“Maybe, he didn’t like it. Suguru-senpai knows more about Onee-chan that Yuuhi-kun doesn’t know.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I could understand his feelings a little. Because, if you could, you would want to monopolize the past and future of the person you love, wouldn’t you?”

I still don’t understand. But I thought that if Nagisa said so, it must be so.

If Yuuhi is the culprit, which memories should I take away? I opened the stamp book and found 【Dating Tokiwa Minagi】. The exhibit just above here was the table game club.

I checked the course of Yuuhi and Minagi and compared it with the map of the school in my brain. I was sure that Minagi would move without wasting time. If that was the case, then she must have come from the second floor of the classroom building by way of the corridor. At that timing, Yuuhi pretended to be a straggler and stamped in the science department. Then he would meet up with Minagi and go to the table game club. According to Ocupido, this happened a few minutes ago. Then it was not too late.

“I’m sorry Nagisa, I’m going for a while. Wait here for me.”

“Eh, Suguru-senpai?”

Without waiting for Nagisa’s approval, I jumped up and ran out, wearing the armband of the committee member. My phone trembled in my pocket, but that was not the point now.

Before Yuuhi gets it back, I’ll take it from him. I’m going to get my precious memories, my precious process that shaped me, back.

The line extended from the entrance of the table games section to the exit side. Around the middle of the line, I could see Yuuhi playing with his phone alone. Minagi was probably in the restroom…if so, that’s convenient.

“You’ve done a great job, Yuuhi.”

“Gee, Shirase! You already noticed!”

Yuuhi looked at me and frowned, not offended. It seemed that he had no intention of hiding his misdeed.

“Yeah. I was completely beaten. So—in exchange for the precious memories I just took from you, can I have my memories back? You heard it too, the rules of the exchange.”

I pointed my thumb at the exit of the club room on the back side of the room and raised the corner of my mouth.

“…Haa? No, you, what are you talking about? You weren’t in line when I got here. There’s no way you could have put the stamp on it when you came in later.”

Yuuhi’s point was absolutely correct. But I slowly shook my head.

“—No, I was first.”

I put my right arm out in front of me and showed Yuuhi my armband.

“I’m a member of the festival committee of this Fuyo Festival. I can enter the room without standing in line, and I could also stamp it unconditionally by saying something like checking the impression.”

“Huh? T-That’s not fair!”

“You, who was so devious, get to say that? Well, whatever…I’m a man of means.”

Of course, it was an outright lie to straight-up stamp it.

I was a man of means. Skipping the line and even ignoring the “play the game and win” requirement to get the stamp was, of course, against my principles. So the only thing left for me to do here was to bluff.

“If you say so much, show me your stamp.”

Yuuhi’s voice rises in excitement. Yes. he could tell if I was lying or not as soon as he see the actual thing. Instead of replying, I opened the stamp book and show it to him. The appropriate place is stamped.

“…Seriously. Shirase you, you are the worse!”

“Say what you will. Come on, Yuuhi. If you understand, I’ll ask you to return my memories.”

I tapped Yuuhi’s shoulder, gently this time.

I had already assumed that Yuuhi would be suspicious of me. So before I came here, I stamped the “hidden stamp” that the festival committee members have. Yuuhi doesn’t know the stamp of the table game club or our school emblem, which was the stamp of the hidden stamp. So he would not notice if another stamp was put on the table. The stamp had no particular meaning in the Remember Rally, but I never thought it would be useful in such a place. It was a good thing that I had planned this rally.

But my strategy ended here, too. As long as I don’t have Yuuhi’s memories in my hand, I couldn’t exchange them. If Yuuhi readily agreed to the exchange, the offense and defense would change, and now I would be in trouble. My ultimate goal was to keep Yuuhi from stamping here. In other words, to get him out of this line.

“I wonder what Minagi would think if she knew. Can’t we talk somewhere else?”

When I glared at him while threatening him, Yuuhi bit his lip hard and kept his eyes down. But he remained motionless, and a stalemate ensued. It was not going well.

Then my phone shook again. Or rather, it has been ringing continuously since a while ago. With a bad premonition, I glanced at the notification with one hand. There were fifty unread messages in the Fuyo Festival committee members’ group chat. I quickly open the screen.

“…No way.”

That was how I found out what was happening now in this Fuyo Festival.

“What? What no way?”

Yuuhi responded to my soliloquy. But I no longer have the time to pick up his remarks. This was not the time for a skirmish here.

Sorry, sorry, sorry to keep you waiting Yuuhi…hey, why is Suguru here?”

Minagi, who had returned, tilted her head curiously. At the same time, a loud voice was heard behind her.

“Why is this a stamp rally and there are no stamps!”

“I am sorry. We are having some trouble at the moment.”

“What? What’s the trouble?”

As if to answer Minagi’s question, there was a clatter. With a noise, an announcement was made inside the school.

『This is the Fuyo Festival Committee. This is the Fuyo Festival Committee. This is the Fuyo Festival Committee. We have noticed that some stamps have been lost in some of the exhibits. The corresponding items would be drawn even without stamps. The relevant items are—』

An incident.

It seemed that stamps were stolen from four different exhibits.

The phone in my hand trembled. Why would anyone steal a stamp?

My phone shook again. “I don’t know. For now, we’ll just have to find a remedy. Please notify the exhibitors as soon as possible.”

I laughed. I have no choice but to laugh. Because the Remember Rally that we participated in did not offer any such remedy. The only way to get our memories back was to put a stamp on them.

But what should we do if the stamp has disappeared?

The time was now 15:00. I have only four more memories to retrieve.

I wanted to call up the person who said this game was easy and question it right now.