Chapter 3: The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

───● The Childhood-Friend-Type College Girl Worries ●○●

If you go to the university cafeteria during your lunch break, you often can’t get a seat.

The main reason is that there are overwhelmingly fewer seats than students, and because they know they won’t get a seat, not a few students head off campus as soon as class is over.

But still, it’s cheap, and the food isn’t bad, so if possible, students would honestly prefer to have lunch at the cafeteria.

“Koumi~! Yahooo~!”

That’s why having someone save you a seat in the cafeteria beforehand is a huge help in university life.

I carefully weaved through the crowd, carrying my lunch set tray, and reached Mizuho, who was waving her arm energetically.

“Thanks, Mizuho! You’re full of energy today too~”

“Nfufu. Well, of course! Let’s eat, let’s eat~!”

“By the way, Mizuho, katsudon for lunch… isn’t that heavy?”

Mizuho is the most energetic of all my friends.

She’s been bright and cheerful since high school, and I can’t count how many times I’ve been saved by that innocent cheerfulness.

Though getting shot down while trying to catch a guy has become her daily routine… I wonder why she can’t get a boyfriend when she’s this cute.

Her trademark twintails and her wide-open eyes.

She has a slender build, is shorter than me, and is what you’d call the ‘cute’ type.

An oversized T-shirt and a light denim jacket.

Her thin, beautiful legs stretch out from her black shorts.

Her friendly smile is so charming that even I, a girl, sometimes find my heart skipping a beat.

“Heh-heh~! Today is a super important day, so it’s katsudon! To win!”

“What kind of match…?”

“That, of course… is a match of love!!”

The feeling that she’s in love with the idea of love… I wonder if that’s the problem?

I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

“Are you going to confess?”

“Yes!! Man, I think my chances are high this time! We’ve talked quite a bit!!”

“Ah, could it be Keito-san from the badminton circle?”

“Yup, yup! I feel like we make eye contact a lot during club activities, so I’m sure of it!”

“Isn’t that a low bar…?”

That’s the kind of thing people who get to the front row at an idol concert often say…

“Ah~! Koumi, you’re looking down on me just because you’re on a roll lately, aren’t you!?”

“I-I’m not on a roll or anything~”

“Ah~! You’re grinning! That’s not fair, not fair!”

I feel bad for Mizuho, but it’s true that things are going quite well between me and Masato.

As I was wearing a triumphant expression, a hand was placed on my shoulder.

“Just you wait… when I successfully get him, we’ll go on a double date and show off…”

“No, that’s a death flag, so stop it…”

Mizuho really hasn’t changed a bit since high school.

Cheerful, at the center of the class, always livening things up.

It’s precisely because she’s like that that I sincerely hope she finds happiness.

After finishing her katsudon, Mizuho put her hands together.

“Thank you for the meal… And now! I am off to the clubroom, so await good news!”

“Ehh!? Right now!? Isn’t that kind of sudden?”

“Strike while the iron is hot! Fate does not always wait for you, young lady…”

Tsk, tsk.

With a cute gesture, Mizuho wagged her thin index finger and stood up.

I followed her with my eyes until she was out of sight, having left in high spirits.

“I wonder if she’ll be okay…”

While taking a bite of pasta, I vaguely calculated the probability of Mizuho’s confession succeeding.

Keito-san. A senior in the badminton circle, and it’s true that he’s friendly. But he seems to have a hidden side, and I’ve always found him a little off-putting.

He’s always blatantly only with a certain group of senior girls…

I look at my watch.

There’s still some time before third period begins.

“Maybe I’ll stop by the clubroom building on my way…”

Third period is the same class as Masato. As much as I want to save him a seat, I’m also curious about Mizuho’s confession.

If she succeeds, I’ll have to congratulate her.

After finishing my meal, I quickly sent a message to Masato and headed for the clubroom building.

The clubroom building.

This area, which gets lively around the end of third period, is still sparsely populated now.

It’s a bit of a walk from the lecture hall building, so the only people who come here between classes are those with a free period.

“…She’s not here.”

I went to check the badminton circle’s clubroom, but Mizuho was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe it’s already over, or there’s a chance the confession was called off in the first place.

“Guess I’ll go to class.”

I haven’t heard anything from Mizuho… but if she had succeeded, I feel like I would have been flooded with messages by now.

“Eh? Are you serious when you say you want to go out with me?”

I heard a voice.

A bad feeling came over me, and I headed toward the voice.

(…!)

I hid behind a corner.

At the very back of the clubroom building. In front of the emergency staircase, stood a boy and a girl.

The figure with her back to me, whose expression I couldn’t see, had her trademark low twintails.

(It’s Mizuho…)

There was no mistaking her. It was my best friend.

“Eh? Are you for real? Satsuki told me to talk to the first-years sometimes, so I was just doing it out of obligation, you know? Did you really get the wrong idea from that?”

“…I’m sorry.”

…Huh?

I felt my body temperature plummet.

“Well, that’s how it is… so don’t do this kind of thing again, okay? It’s a waste of time. Also, if you tell the other girls about this, I won’t forgive you. You should know your place, right? See ya.”

I can’t forgive him.

I can’t forgive him, I can’t forgive him, I can’t forgive him, I can’t forgive him.

I can’t forgive the fact that someone like him hurt Mizuho’s heart.

—Damn it. I should have recorded it.

If I had, I could have exposed his true nature and shamed him—

“Eavesdropping, are we? You’re a naughty one, too.”

“…! …Mizuho… I’m sorry.”

Before I knew it, Mizuho had come back to where I was hiding.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! You came because you were worried, right? The kindness of Lord Koumi brings this humble servant to tears~!”

“Mizuho…”

I know. I know because we’ve been friends for a long time, and even if we hadn’t, anyone would know.

The Mizuho right now is just putting on a brave face.

“Man~! I really thought I had a chance! But he shot me down, just like that! Gwaaaah, my HP is at zero now~ yoyoyo.”

“…”

Mizuho mimed being cut by a sword and stuck out her tongue.

“Things just don’t go my way! Lord Koumi, you’ll have to wait a little longer for that double date ☆”

“Yeah… I’m sure you’ll find someone way better than him, Mizuho.”

I know. I know that empty words like these can’t heal Mizuho’s heart.

I know it’s just cheap encouragement.

Mizuho must know, too, and yet…

“Uooooooh! I’m getting fired up!! I’m gonna do it~! …So Koumi, you better treasure your current guy, ya hear?”

“Yeah…”

Why is it that I’m the one who wants to cry? Why does Mizuho have to go through this?

Mizuho, who’s so cute, and cheerful, and kind to everyone…

“Hey. You have third period with him, right? Go on, get going!”

“Eh… but Mizuho…”

“This humble servant wishes to feel the night breeze for a while~! Don’t keep him waiting! Hurry, hurry!”

“…Mizuho.”

Shoo, shoo.

Mizuho made a light gesture with her hand.

So many words were about to come out of my throat… but I swallowed them all. I thought that no matter what I said now, it might have the opposite effect.

Right now, it’s better to leave her alone.

I headed for the lecture hall building. I didn’t look back at Mizuho.

Because the presence I felt from her back was many times weaker than usual.

The chime for the start of the lecture rang, and at that exact moment, I slid into the classroom.

(That was close~!)

I swiped my attendance card and looked around the classroom.

At the back, a lone boy was waving at me.

(Ah, I love him.)

I felt a surge of emotion… but then I remembered what had happened to Mizuho, and my heart ached.

That bastard… I’ll never forgive him.

“Sorry, thanks for saving me a seat…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We gotta help each other out, right? You always save a seat for me, after all.”

Ah—he’s too cool and cute.

A person who embodies all the good things in this world. A god. That’s precisely why the memory of that piece of trash made me want to puke. Black emotions swirled within me again.

Mizuho… how dare he… I can’t forgive him.

“…Did something happen? You look down.”

“…Actually.”

He noticed the subtle change in my expression and showed his concern. Masato is truly a good person.

I told him what had happened. Of course, I left out the part about Mizuho being boy-crazy. He knew I had a best friend, so I told him what happened to that best friend.

How much I couldn’t forgive that senior.

I desperately held back my voice, which was threatening to get too loud.

“…That’s awful… what the hell.”

“…Right?”

Masato frowned. It was too cruel, no matter how you looked at it.

It’s true that many men are insolent and arrogant, but this was exceptionally bad. It was the first time I’d ever heard someone say something so horrible.

“I can’t forgive that… I feel like I should just tell the other seniors what he did… but maybe that’s just naive of me.”

“…Mizuho’s too kind, so I don’t think she’d like that. Personally, I’d love to give him a piece of my mind.”

That senior is popular with the girls.

None of them know his true nature.

So even if I were to say something, it’s clear that we would be at a disadvantage. Knowing that just makes me more frustrated.

“…I don’t know, I definitely can’t forgive that guy, but… at this point.”

After thinking for a while, Masato turned to me with a bright expression.

“You just have to be happier than him. Like, ‘take that.’ Finding someone better than him and showing off how happy you are would be the best revenge, don’t you think?”

…Really, the person I like is just too nice.

“Yeah… that’s true. I want Mizuho to be happy.”

I remembered Mizuho’s weak appearance from earlier… and I thought that from the bottom of my heart.

Fourth period ended.

Today is Wednesday. I was hoping to go on a date with Masato today, if possible, but…

“Sorry! I got called out of nowhere and have to go home! My bad!”

I couldn’t stop Masato as he bolted out of the university.

When I asked him who called him out, he said, “Someone like a parent!” so I guess it can’t be helped. We’ll see each other tomorrow anyway.

After seeing Masato off, I opened my phone.

I haven’t heard back from Mizuho since then.

I tried calling her, but she didn’t pick up.

“…I wonder if she’s okay…”

Even though my best friend is used to being shot down, I think this time must have really gotten to her.

Watching her from the side, I always think that Mizuho is probably just in love with the idea of love, and not actually in love with the ‘person.’

I hope that one day Mizuho can find someone she can fall in love with from the bottom of her heart…

Someone like Masato is to me.

“Maybe I’ll treat her to a parfait tomorrow.”

Thinking of my sweet-toothed friend Mizuho, I started on my way home as well.