Prove Your Eternal Love. There Shall Be No Heroine Correction. - Chapter 3 Part 6

Although it was still early for the doors to open, a line had already been formed by several students in front of the entrance of the Table Games Club. We were at the end of the line, and we were silent. What was the right thing to say in such a situation and in such a relationship? Nobody knew, but it was Nagisa who broke the silence.

“Um. …Aogashima-senpai. That fight with Kuroiwa-senpai, was that part of your plan?”

“No. That was serious. …I cannot approve of Aika’s behavior.”

Aogashima-san seemed to recall her anger and quietly gripped her skirt and wrinkled it.

“If someone sacrifices something, distorts something, for my sake, and gets what they want because of it, I’m not happy about it. That’s why I decided not to get involved with anyone.”

Such a topic came up during summer vacation when I talked with Kuroiwa at a ramen shop. She told me that Aogashima-san had been flatly refusing to be contacted by her classmates. I was convinced at the time, and I think I probably heard this story from Aogashima-san once.

“Did you tell Kuroiwa-senpai about it?”

Nagisa asked with a rather worried expression on her face, as if she was concerned about Kuroiwa. Aogashima-san shook her head shakily.

“We haven’t talked. …She never asked.”

“You didn’t want her to know?”

“I don’t think so…But I couldn’t say why. Maybe she was expecting it. She’ll understand even if I don’t tell her.”

It was impossible for anyone to understand without telling them.

“”That’s—””

My voice and Nagisa’s voice overlapped. But the dialogue was cut short by a chime that announces 9:00 a.m. The second day of the Fuyo Festival had begun. At that moment.

“Come on, Shirase Suguru, let’s settle this!”

Akikusa Yuuhi popped out of the restroom right there. The general public was supposed to enter now.

“No, why are you here? Don’t tell me you snuck in?”

“Why are you surprised? If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be able to beat you.”

Shaking off the leaves on his head, Yuuhi lined up behind me. Immediately after that, another pair of current students lined up. Yuuhi had made the right choice. Now I could no longer win without fighting him.

“You know what I mean, don’t you, Shirase? This is a serious one-on-one match. Whoever wins gets to put the stamp on it first. Understood?”

“Yeah. That’s the rule of stamping here in the first place.”

On a different note, this was the expected development so far. But was the crucial strategy still alive? I glanced at Nagisa, but she was sullenly deflected. Yuuhi watched me silently and smiled at me triumphantly.

We were guided by a club member and each took our seats. Yuuhi and I sat facing each other, and Nagisa and Aogashima-san were at the table next to us. We were just far enough from each other that one of us could reach them by reaching out our hand.

“Thank you very much for coming to our exhibit. Here is the game menu.”

A member of the club handed me a booklet with a spread that looked like a restaurant menu. From here, we choose the events to compete in…but Yuuhi, as if suddenly realizing something, taps the desk on top of the menu.

“Wait a minute! You two over there. Give the stamp book over here.”

Turning to Nagisa and Aogashima-san next to her, Yuuhi pointed alternately with his rudely raised index finger.

“Why would we do that?”

Aogashima-san quickly asked. A little intimidated by her beauty, Yuuhi answered.

“You might be colluding with Shirase. If you let Nagisa-san win the game, and she stamps her own stamp book here, like I did before, you could collect the memories. Then you would trade memories later. Yes. Of course, you all would!”

“…Well, I doubt it.”

Yuuhi was smarter than I thought. Or perhaps you could call it a competitive spirit. If you just treat him like an ordinary middle schooler, he would easily get you back. I had a hunch.

They took out the stamp book and handed it to Yuuhi as he requested. Yuuhi carefully examined the contents of the stamp book, then closed it and put it away on his desk as if satisfied.

“Ok. Now we can have a real serious game, Shirase.”

“…I’ve been meaning to do that all along.”

I replied with a slight shoulder shrug. I don’t know if Yuuhi took that seriously or not.

“The two of them gave in to your request. Now it’s your turn, Yuuhi. I choose this ‘balloon poker’ game. Is that fine?”

As a committee member, I know this game because I received an application to purchase the same balloons to be used for decorations, and I had scrutinized the contents of the balloons. I ordered from the dealer, and a bundle of cards and a hand pump were placed on my desk. The pump was fitted with a balloon. Nagisa, who was next to me and two groups at nearby tables also seemed to have chosen the same game, and the dealer explained the rules to all four tables at once.

To summarize briefly, we played a super-simplified poker game, and the losing side inflated the balloons with the pump. The loser repeatedly inflates the balloon, and the one who bursts the balloon loses.

We quickly drew cards one by one from the ten-card deck in the center of the table. The poker part of the game also has very special rules: there was no card exchange, and there was only one type of mark. I had to play with the five hearts I had just drawn. But this wasn’t a complete game of luck. There was one more important rule.

“Shirase—your cards are 6 to 8?”

“No, no, fold in 5.”

I answered and immediately put my cards on the table. Yuuhi’s hand had 9. I pushed and pulled the hand pump twice to inflate the balloon a little. It was still far from bursting.

“What? Why are you folding now?”

“Why, because you seemed to have a big hand.”

In the current turn, Yuuhi was the “questioner” and I was the “respondent”. The “Questioner” first presents the “Respondent” with a sequence of three numbers. The “respondent” answers whether his or her card is one of the numbers. Then the “Respondent” and the “Questioner” choose whether to fold or call, in that order.

If the player folds, air is pumped into the card twice. If the player calls, the player with the lower number is the loser, and the air is pumped according to the card number.

However, if “three consecutive numbers” hit the target, the “respondent’s” side cannot fold and is forced to play. In this case, if Yuuhi had selected “5 to 7,” I would have been forced to play and lose the game, and I would have had to pump air five times.

“That ain’t so. At the beginning of this game, you should be able to proceed without thinking about anything. The balloons won’t burst until the end of the game anyway.”

Yuuhi was right. There were imperfections in this game. Except for the endgame, there was no point in playing games. I thought this too, but it seemed that since the game was intended for the general public, the early stages of the game were intentionally made risk-free and positioned as a so-called tutorial.

“I guess that’s true. But the more information I have to find out your habits, the better.”

The game has already begun. While intimidating the opponent in an off-the-board battle, we gathered information.

I look at the two cards on the edge of the table. This was the last rule. Even if you hit a number, you can lie twice during the game and say that you did not hit the target. Therefore, in the end of the game, there was a possibility that you may get a lie too many times, and you may get a wrong reading, which may cause a lot of damage to you.

I shuffled the deck, and the next card I drew was — fortunately — a 10. The strongest number. The question was how to keep Yuuhi from realizing this.

“Okay, Yuuhi. Your cards are 2 to 4?”

“Nope. A smaller range means your hand isn’t that big. I have a feeling that you’re pretty strong, even if you’re pretending to be weak… Okay, here’s the fold.”

Yuuhi’s discarded card on the field was an 8. The game would have cost him eight times and a lot of damage, but he only had to do it twice… That was a pretty sharp read. I gave him a few earnest words.

“I thought we were supposed to be cracking the beginning of the game.”

“I was trying to see through Shirase’s obvious bluff and put some pressure on him.”

Although we had only played two games, it still seemed that we both were not an easy opponent to beat, in terms of response.

After that, we went through several more rounds. Were a little slower than our neighbors and other tables, partly because I chose to fold more aggressively.

I observed the red balloon in front of me. It was about the size of a mannequin’s head. I honestly can’t predict how long it will hold out from here.

Yuuhi was probably thinking the same thing, trying to estimate the number of times he could inject the remaining air by looking at the balloons on the other tables.

“Okay, Yuuhi, here’s a piece of advice. I know this because I used to inflate balloons as a member of the committee, but the red balloons are more likely to break.”

So I point to the balloons in front of me to confuse Yuuhi. By the way, this was a outright lie.

“…Hah? What the hell is that, it’s definitely a lie. Isn’t it supposed to be hard to pop or something?”

“If you think so, just keep playing the game.”

“I-I see. So you want me to think it’s hard to pop…?”

Yuuhi was falling into my trap. This lie doesn’t mean much. It was just a lie to make him waste his thinking resources. If he cared about it, he would lose.

I quickly drew a card. The number was 4, a very subtle number.

“Yuuhi. Your card…is it 7 to 9?”

“No, it’s not. All right, Shirase, let’s play.”

Yuuhi immediately answered and placed his card down on the table. What’s this? The designation “7 to 9,” if taken in the most straightforward manner, was a number to “make your opponent lose when you have 10,” and folding was a safe bet. Was it because he read my cards as low that he dared to get in there? In fact, I was numerically weak and need not be forced to fight. Then.

“Fold…”

I put the 4 of hearts on the table. On the other hand, Yuuhi’s card was 3. I was beaten… I would have won if I had played. I chewed my back teeth for a moment in pure frustration.

“Shirase. Your poker face is falling apart. I can usually tell when you’re about to make a move even when your expression is dead.”

“…because I’m usually honest.”

To be honest, it hurts a lot to be fake. Even after two pump, the balloon still looked like it had plenty of room from bursting. But setting up a losing trend was undesirable.

The heavy air felt like it was stagnant around me. The illusion that no matter what I did, I would be read. Yuuhi’s eyes created an atmosphere that only created such an illusion. I shuffle the deck awkwardly and take a deep breath to reset my mind. The moment I did so.

I heard a burst of sound from the next table — It was Nagisa’s table.

“Whoa!” “Kyaaaah!” “Whoo!”

Yuuhi jumped, Nagisa covering her face, and Aogashima-san lying on the ground. All three were startled by the broken balloon. At the end of the pump, which was thrown out on the desk, a blue rubber was hanging down.

My heart beat fast. What was the result…? Nagisa and the others sat up next to me. Which one of them won? And — Was our strategy still alive?

An uncontrollable, creeping tension rumbled in my chest. Before long, Nagisa stood beside us. I look up at her with anxiety. Then she responds.

“Suguru-senpai. I won.”

“I…See, congratulations, Nagisa.”

That meant that Aogashima-san lost. I glanced at Aogashima-san behind me. I wonder what she was thinking behind the blank expression on her face.

No, don’t think about anything else. The most important thing here and now was the memory of me and Minagi. I wonder if the strategy that Nagisa and I made was still effective or if Nagisa was still willing to cooperate.

Nagisa looked at me with a stiff expression, giggled, and put her mouth close to my ear.

“…Even though I say that, it was rough.”

“Nagisa, then—”

“Yes. I told Aogashima-senpai about the situation and asked for her cooperation. I’m not going to fight with you in a pinch …I’m sorry, Yuuhi-kun.”

Nagisa turned to Yuuhi and bowed her head.

“Eh? Huh? Why is Nagisa-san apologizing to me?”

Yuuhi was confused, but he seemed to be gradually coming to understand the situation and his body became restless. In other words, he realized the hypothesis he had initially mentioned — the collusion of the three of us.

“Sorry Yuuhi. I will take away your memories before I can settle things with you.”

I was sorry to interrupt the game, but unfortunately, I have something important at stake as well.

“I-I don’t get it! Because, because Nagisa-san’s stamp book was just now in my desk—”

Yuuhi stood up excitedly. But as if to deny him, Nagisa pulled out a second stamp book from her pouch and held it up.

“…Eh, what?”

Yuuhi hurriedly put his hand inside the desk. Then — he took out two stamp books.

“What do you mean, Nagisa? Are you saying that this one is fake? But the first one I received was for the Remember Rally, and it had Nagisa’s picture on it!”

“Calm down, Yuuhi. What Nagisa has was my stamp book.”

At my words, Yuuhi was startled. It was a very simple ploy.

“There is no need to go through the trouble of taking away memories. All you need is to get someone to push it on your behalf. I’m sorry, Yuuhi, but you’re not ready for this. I had left the stamp book with Nagisa yesterday. I even assumed that you would suspect Nagisa and seal her stamp book.”

It would never have occurred to me that I would be giving away my own stamp book from the very beginning.

“But what would you have done if you had won first?”

“That was why I picked this game and took the fold and played the cowpoke tactic. I wanted to make sure Nagisa would win faster than me.”

What was unexpected for me was the confrontation between Nagisa and Aogashima-san. But Nagisa was doing a good job in carrying out the plan, so I could get back what I needed.

“This is so stupid. After all, you mean it’s all in the palm of your hand…”

Yuuhi’s face contorted in frustration. He turned over, bit his lip, and clenched his fist tightly. Seeing this reminds me of his words this morning.

─Shirase Suguru. I’m going to beat you and become a man equal to Minagi-san.

“Then, Suguru-senpai. I’m going to put the stamp on you!”

My mind asked me a question. …Is this really the way to go?

“No—”

There was no way I could do that. I grabbed Nagisa’s arm, and she was startled. I didn’t look at Nagisa, who was surprised. The only person I should be looking at here was Akikusa Yuuhi.

“Don’t put your stamp on it, just watch the game.”

Yuuhi looked up with a start and was stunned. I smiled and declared.

“Well then, let’s continue, Yuuhi. We’ll continue as per the rules we set at the beginning. The one who wins this game will get the memory of me and Minagi.”

“…No, what do you mean? You’ve outfoxed me, so why don’t you just take it from me?”

“Yeah, I did. That’s normal, I know. …But I’m that kind of guy, though. I fail to bend myself. It’s because there’s something important at stake, which is why I couldn’t.”

I drew a card from the deck. Yuuhi said, “I don’t know what you mean by that,” but his eyes were shining. Yes, that was right. Games were simply meant to be fun.