Prove Your Eternal Love. There Shall Be No Heroine Correction. - Chapter 4 Part 1

“Love” and “no response”.

Those two were the answers that the participants of our class’s show, “Love Fulfillment ♡ Haunted House,” said in response in the pre-survey, “Do you like your companion?” The answer was a choice that can be made in the following section.

I checked it on the staff terminal in my hand. It was almost time for the duo to arrive at the goal. Their answers were “love” and “love,” meaning they are in love with each other. If that was the case, then I would have to chant the fifth line of the template.

I was at the goal of the haunted house, dressed as “Okoko” and clutching a stamp. This is what was called cross-dressing. It seemed that yesterday, I broke Aogashima-san’s heart in public. I don’t know the details because I don’t remember, but it was purification for that.

I have a stamp in my hand that corresponds to my memories with Aogashima-san. If I stamp this in my own stamp book, the relationship between Nagisa and me would end. What should I do? Just as I was about to sink into the swamp of my thoughts, the blackout shook. I took a deep breath, meditated, and spread my arms ostentatiously to the couple who had arrived.

“They are the two people who have escaped my curse. Please answer my questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Eh? Minagi?”

I heard a voice biting back laughter, and when I opened my eyes, there they were, Minagi and Yuyo.

“Oh no, I’m not laughing, okay? Suguru. It suits you very well.”

“Pfft, this is the best.”

…No, it’s the worse.

“Why did you come?”

“Because you recommended this haunted house.”

“But that doesn’t mean you’re coming at this time. First of all, have you finished collecting stamps?”

“Not yet, but I remembered Suguru. So I wanted to see Suguru’s big day as a commemorative event. I’m very grateful to the caller who told me that I could see something good.”

“Damn you, Sakuma, I’ll remember this…”

I let out a sigh and a curse, then regained my composure and pulled a canned sentence from the back of my throat.

“Then answer my question. Do you like the person you’re standing next to?”

n response to my question, they both said “yes” in unison. They clasped their joined hands tightly. I was supposed to be playing the role of a grudge, but I was made to feel like a wedding minister.

“How wonderful! Then I will believe in love again—”

I recited Okoko’s lines as I reflected on the love that has disappeared between me and her. With this, Okoko was now a Buddha, and the two of them had successfully completed their mission. Originally, I would have stamped the stamp book at this point, but since doing so would have intercepted the memories, I omitted it this time.

“…You know, Minagi.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I was about to discuss Nagisa with her, but stopped. I knew it was not the right thing to talk to Minagi about. She would support me, I’m sure. She would tell me that I should destroy my options. If I could do that, I would have no trouble in the first place.

What I need now was not someone who could give me the words I want.

“So long, Yuyo and Minagi. Enjoy the Fuyo Festival we made to your heart’s content.”

“I’ve already had a lot of fun. So…good job, Suguru.”

Minagi smiled, a little sadly. It was very similar to the expression she showed when we parted.

“…Thank you.”

I spent so much time with Minagi. I could recall good and bad memories in detail now. Rather, they stay on the surface of my consciousness and I remember them whenever I have a moment.

Even now. Bad memories were more likely to rear our heads.

Right before I broke up with Minagi, we had a big fight. It started from a trivial thing.

“Why is that so, Suguru? All you had to do was be a little careful.”

“Not just a little. I didn’t see it coming.”

“So you’re saying it’s not that bad?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s not my fault.”

“Suguru is always like that. So self righteous, never reflects on what you did.”

“You are always like that. Don’t hold me to the same standards you hold yourself to.”

“I’ve had enough, I’m going home. …I’m going home, okay? Do you have anything to say to me?”

It had been a long time since we had fought. We hadn’t clashed in some time. I thought that was a good thing. I thought it was because our relationship had become more stable, because we understood each other better. A quarrel like this, which started by chance, would not be an obstacle for us now.

“No. Let’s just cool down.”

Give it some time, and things would be right back to normal.

“…I guess so.”

But it didn’t.

What we understood was how to swallow our frustration and settled the situation with a safe, clean slate. Because we cared about each other. Because we were irreplaceable. So we sought ways not to lose them. And somehow we forgot the most important thing, to love each other.

Seasons changed. Environments changed. And so people changed, even if they don’t want to. While mistakenly believing that love was unchanging and neglecting to confirm our love, we found that the person we loved was no longer the person we loved.

Our breakup came a week later. In short, we had let our heads get too cold.

“We take a five-minute break for equipment inspection and konnyaku loading. There are three groups of five in the waiting line. Next in line was a single customer.

“Love, I understand.”

A voice came over the intercom and I replied. One customer meant template number eight. Ask them about their views on love, and then give them a stamp, no matter what their answer was. As I was arranging the arrangements in my head, I heard the sound of a shutter click.

“Yes, Suguru. You look surprisingly good dressed like that.”

“I feel like all sorts of rights are violated at this very moment. For now, delete the photo, Sakuma.”

“Nope. I will sell this picture to Aogashima-san and your girlfriend for the highest price.”

“Calm down. Also, Nagisa is not my girlfriend.”

“No?”

“No.”

Sakuma tilted his head, seemingly unconvinced by my answer.

“But it’s that kouhai-chan who’s making you look like that, isn’t it? What’s going on? Don’t hold it in, tell me. Right?”

“…No, this is our problem.”

Besides, there was no way he would believe me if I told him about the Remember Rally.

“Just talk to me. We’re best friends.”

Sakuma took the liberty of borrowing one of the waiting chairs and sat down right in front of me. He lightly tapped the desk, saying, “come on, come on” with his cheekbones on the desk. Suddenly you were too relaxed.

“We’re not best friends, though.”

“I guess we’re best friends enough that you can deny it like that.”

This was the kind of thing that made us best friends no matter how I rejected it.

But the memory of my encounter with Sakuma, and the feelings tied to it, were coming back to me right now. So I should be honest with Sakuma once in a while, too.

When I briefly summarized and talked about the situation, Sakuma, who had been listening attentively, looked up to the heavens and grinned.

“─ Heh, a game of betting on memories, presented by a mysterious angel, huh?”

“You believe me?”

“It’s one thing to not believe the story, it’s another to not believe you. So, in effect, you can either stick to your principles and choose Aogashima-san, or you can bend your principles and choose your kouhai. You’re a bit of a pushover, aren’t you? Well, you know what? One thing I can tell you is that if you think too much, you will lose both of them.”

As he spoke, Sakuma looked more serious than ever. What was this habit of his of always speaking in a playful manner? It made me lose my temper, too. Maybe that was why. Even things that I had no intention of saying to anyone else sprang up from the depths of my heart and spilled out smoothly, “You know what, Sakuma?”

“…I think it’s time for me to move on.”

“From being process-oriented?”

“Yes. I’m still a kid, I don’t have much responsibility, and I can’t make great choices. So no matter how loudly I shout that the process is important, so far no one has bothered me. But from now on, I don’t think I can make people happy by sticking to my principles.”

At the beginning of the Remember Rally, I was reminded. Ideals alone were not enough to get anyone to follow you. What was right would not be chosen simply because it was right. I have been able to stick to my principles because I was a solitary person, and when I was not, those around me have been kind enough to accommodate me.

And the moment Nagisa forced me to choose between the two, I realized it as if I woke up from a dream.

I don’t have a way to stick to my principles in this reality.

Or maybe if I were as awesome as Minagi, it would be different.

“Haaa. You’re thinking of something troublesome again, aren’t you? Well, you may be right. You are always an outsider in a group, a child who doesn’t know the word ‘compromise’ and is always full of beautiful words.”

He was absolutely right. There was not a single point that could be denied. Sakuma continued.

“But you know what? I think it’s necessary to have people who keep shouting the right thing, even if it’s a pain. So I assure you. Your value, your greatness, your strength, is your stubbornness to stick to your principles. And the people you surround yourself with know that.”

“…Sakuma.”

“So my recommendation would be to go the Aogashima-san route. Even if you don’t remember, that was the original route, wasn’t it? Do you think that it is more difficult to have a miracle of a relationship in this world, and both you and kouhai-chan could just assume to give up? Hah? What’s with that giving up b*llshit and then going the Aogashima-san route? I’ll kill you.”

A simple rant came out on its own, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take it in.

“…Miracle, huh?’

In this world, Aogashima-san was the right choice and Nagisa was the wrong choice. It was something I understood even if only in a vague way.

Still, I tried to choose Nagisa. But as long as I still had feelings for Aogashima-san, I would have faced this problem anyway, even if the second game had not started.

Yeah. Then, after all, using Remember Rally to solve this problem was wrong.

“Thank you, Sakuma. It was helpful. By the way, what should I do to make a miracle happen?”

“I don’t know what you mean. But I think you still have a lot to talk about anyway.”

Sakuma pulled my phone out of my pocket. I remember that he saw a picture of Minagi before. It was not anyone’s picture now, just a landscape photo. “What’s your password?” Sakuma asked. I hesitantly reveal, “…0312.” With a quick movement, Sakuma took the liberty of calling Nagisa from the call history and tossed back to me, “Here you go.” The call tone was short and the phone connected immediately.

“A. Hey, Nagisa…”

『What’s the matter, Shirase?』

Somehow it was not Nagisa’s voice that came over the speaker, but Kuroiwa’s. I pulled my phone away from my ear to check. It was indeed 『Nagisa Tokiwa』 on the screen. There was no mistake.

“No…Why is Kuroiwa on the phone?”

『Ah, I’m here too, though?』

Nagisa’s voice appeared on the other end of the phone with a tone of voice that seemed to peek out.

“Nagisa. You’re with Kuroiwa.”

“Yes, it is. After seeing the fight earlier, I couldn’t leave Aika-senpai alone.”

Nagisa was quick to call Kuroiwa by her first name. They were getting along awfully fast.

『That’s right. I am comforting Nagisa-chan and she is comforting me.』

Come to think of it, Nagisa and I were appointed by President Fuyuki this morning as special mission committee members. The mission was to reconcile Kuroiwa and Aogashima-san. Nagisa seemed to be trying to carry it out.

“Kuroiwa. Aogashima-san was just surprised to hear that story out of the blue. It doesn’t mean that she dislikes you. That’s why—”

『Nagisa-chan told me that too.』

『Yes, that’s right. What I said, Suguru-senpai also said. In other words, it’s doubly okay!』

『But Yuno was so angry. She has never done anything like that before, so I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I did to make Yuno angry. If I do anything bad now, it will be the end.』

Kuroiwa’s voice was unusually weak and sullen, and she sounded as if she was in a lot of pain.

“Still, it’s all right. Things don’t end while you think they might end.”

The moment you think it would last forever, it begins to crumble. It was probably the same with love and friendship.

“So you should have confidence and be there for Aogashima-san in a way that only you can.”

Just as Aogashima-san was special to Kuroiwa, Kuroiwa was special to Aogashima-san. That was why she was so emotional.

“Hey Suguru. Looks like the break is over.”

Sakuma patted me on the arm. Oh crap, I haven’t been able to talk to Nagisa after all.

“Sorry Nagisa. I’m hanging up now, but I’ll talk to you later—”

『No, you can’t. I’m sure I’ll be easily seduced. That’s why I’ve already decided that the next time I’m going to talk to you is when at the last game. So please…talk to Aogashima-senpai properly, not me, okay?』

The decision would be made at 16:00 in the haunted house of Class 2A. We had agreed to do so.

“…Okay, Nagisa.’

I still couldn’t choose between the options presented to me. But time was not waiting for me. This was already an extension. To make good on a promise I never fulfilled.

The final game for my memories—has already begun.