───● The Literary High School Girl Offers Advice ●○●
Winter break was over, and the third term had officially begun.
It was lunchtime, and a subtle chill crept through the classroom, as though the biting winter air outside was slowly seeping in.
“Wait, are you for real?” I asked.
“Totally for real,” my friend Mana groaned, slumped over her desk. “I’m so ridiculously bummed out…”
Whether to fight off the chill or just out of utter defeat, Mana had pulled her gym track pants on under her uniform skirt, sprawling face-down across her desk in misery.
From what she had told us, the upperclassman at her part-time job—the one she’d been harboring a massive crush on—already had a girlfriend.
“Honestly, Mana, based on everything you’ve told us about the guy, my only takeaway is that of course he has a girlfriend,” Miaki pointed out nonchalantly.
“Yeah, hard to argue with that,” I agreed.
I nodded in agreement with Miaki’s casual assessment.
Mana worked at a local cafe, and the guy she was pining over was apparently a college freshman.
She had shown us a picture of him before, and he was undeniably handsome—plus, by all accounts, he was genuinely attentive and thoughtful.
Well, he’s obviously nowhere near the level of my beloved Masato-sama, though.
Right at that moment, Mana suddenly reached over and pinched the back of my hand.
“Ouch?!” I yelped, pulling my hand back. “What was that for?!”
“Well, Shiori had this smug grin on her face, so I just knew you were thinking something totally rude,” Mana grumbled.
“What are you, a psychic?” I deadpanned.
It was infuriating how accurate her gut instinct was.
I mean, I actually was thinking that, so it’s not like I can deny it, but still~!
“Seriously, I’m so heartbroken…” Mana whined, slumping back onto her desk. “How am I even supposed to face him at work now…?”
“Uh, just act like you normally do?” Miaki replied flatly.
Watching Mana bury her face back into her arms, I had to admit Miaki had a point.
If Masato-sama had already been taken when I first met him, I undoubtedly would have ended up in the exact same state of total despair.
Honestly, knowing me, it probably would have been a thousand times worse.
Just then, Miaki took a bite of the sweet roll she had bought from the school kiosk and chimed in.
“Though, it’s not like you actually have to give up on him, is it?” Miaki remarked.
“Huh?” Mana blinked, lifting her head from her desk.
Still lying flat on her desk, Mana turned her bewildered face toward Miaki.
It wasn’t just Mana, either—both Hatsumi and I naturally turned our attention toward Miaki as well.
“I mean, think about it,” Miaki explained. “There’s all that talk on the news lately about legalizing polygamy, right? Since the male population is shrinking as it is, why force yourself to throw in the towel?”
“Is… is that really how it works?” Mana asked hesitantly.
“Well, if you genuinely can’t stand sharing a guy with another girl, then sure, move on,” Miaki shrugged. “But if you really don’t want to give up on him, I think it’s definitely worth taking your shot.”
Just as Miaki said, there had been a massive push recently regarding the government potentially granting legal recognition to plural marriage.
Even without formal legislation, it was common knowledge that plenty of people were already living in de facto polygamous relationships anyway.
“Good guys are practically an endangered species as it is,” Miaki added. “Who knows when you’ll ever chance upon another one?”
“That is… painfully true,” Mana admitted with a sigh.
“Besides,” Miaki continued, turning her eyes straight toward me.
“We literally have a friend sitting right here who’s actively trying to scoop up the crumbs of a prince who undoubtedly already has a whole harem around him.”
“Oh, right…” Mana hummed, the realization slowly washing over her face.
“Can you please stop using me as the punchline for your inspirational speech?!” I protested indignantly.
A burst of lighthearted laughter echoed across our cluster of desks.
Seeing the gloomy shadow vanish from Mana’s face made it worth it, so I decided to let it slide.
I lowered my eyes to my nearly empty bento box.
I wonder what Masato-san thinks about all of this?
If he’s open to dating more than one person, then maybe… just maybe, I might actually have a fighting chance.
My odds of ever being with him—which I previously pegged as lower than a paramecium’s—might increase by just a tiny sliver.
…Then again, knowing how earnest Masato-sama is, he’s probably built differently.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he firmly believes he should dedicate his heart to only one single person.
If that turns out to be the case… I won’t stand a ghost of a chance.
“Shiori, what’s up? Lunch break’s almost over~” Miaki called out, snapping me out of my trance.
“Oh, right!” I squeaked.
Hastily, I popped the last piece of rolled omelet into my mouth.
Mom’s cooking was always delicious, but…
For some reason, today’s lunch tasted just a little bit bland.
Saturday arrived.
“Good afternoon, Masato-san,” I greeted him warmly.
“Hey, good afternoon,” he replied with a gentle smile.
As usual, Masato-san had arrived at my house for our tutoring session.
…Honestly, every single time he steps foot into my bedroom, I’m seized by a sudden urge to pin him down, but if I actually pulled something like that, he’d stop tutoring me altogether. So I restrain myself with an ironclad, unbreakable willpower.
Honestly, I deserve an award for self-control…
“We still have a bit of time before our session starts, so why don’t we just chat for a few minutes?” Masato-san suggested.
“Score!” I celebrated enthusiastically.
Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was about ten minutes before our scheduled three o’clock start time.
Masato-san always arrived a little early like this, giving us a sweet little window of free time before we opened the textbooks.
I absolutely treasured these casual, lighthearted chats with him.
What should we talk about today? Maybe the manga I lent him?
Or maybe that hilarious new anime I discovered recently?
As my mind bounced between possibilities…
…it occurred to me that I was almost always the one doing all the talking about myself.
“How about you, Masato-san?” I asked, turning the tables. “Has anything interesting happened in your life lately?”
“Me?” Masato-san blinked, pointing to himself.
I decided it was high time I tossed the ball into his court for a change.
Masato-san was such a fantastic listener that I always ended up hogging the conversation, leaving so much about his own life a total mystery to me.
At my question, Masato-san rested his hand against his chin, taking a moment to ponder before speaking.
“Shiori-chan… what does ‘liking someone’ actually feel like to you?”
“Guh?!” I squeaked, my brain instantly short-circuiting.
Where in the absolute world did THAT wild question come from?!
“W-W-W-What is that supposed to mean?!” I spluttered, flustered beyond belief. “I like you, okay?! I like you so unbelievably much, Masato-san! Do you have a problem with that?!”
“I’m not really sure why you suddenly went into combat mode…” Masato-san offered a weak smile, holding up his hands defensively. “Thank you, though! But ah, sorry, sorry! That’s not quite what I meant.”
It is NOT my fault that I got carried away and ended up double-confessing on the spot! …Wait, what even is a double-confession?
With a faint blush dusting his cheeks, Masato-san let out a troubled chuckle.
“Well, the truth is, my ex-girlfriend suddenly dropped by my workplace the other day,” he confessed. “She asked me if we could give our relationship another shot.”
“Right, okay, that is way too much high-yield information to drop at once,” I managed to squeak out. “Why don’t we both just take a seat for a second?”
EXCUSE ME, SAY WHAT NOW????
Breaking out into a torrential cold sweat on the inside, I ushered Masato-san toward a chair.
“E-Ex… girlfriend…?” I stammered.
“Yeah. Though honestly, it was so brief it’s questionable if we were even truly dating, you know?” Masato-san sighed, scratching his head. “So having her say that to me out of nowhere…”
Just hearing the words “Masato-san” and “ex-girlfriend” in the same sentence was enough to make me nauseous and emotionally unstable, though logically it made sense for a guy like him to have a past.
And now that very ex was begging him to get back together…
Wait a second! This is a massive, code-red emergency! How are we supposed to study at a time like this???
“So we agreed to meet up and talk again soon, but I still haven’t really sorted out my own feelings about it all…”
“I-I see…” I nodded slowly.
Are you SERIOUSLY asking romantic advice from the girl who is head-over-heels, hopelessly in love with you?!
Setting that screaming inner voice aside for a moment… Masato-sama was an innocent soul who wasn’t accustomed to navigating these messy romantic feelings. It couldn’t be helped.
He was built completely different from a filthy, mud-brained otaku like me.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to think rationally.
Since he had trusted me enough to come to me for advice, I wanted to answer him with absolute sincerity.
“Um, Masato-san… before she showed up, did you ever find yourself reminiscing about her or thinking about how fun it was when you were together?” I asked gently.
“…No, not really,” he answered after a moment’s thought.
“When you saw her again after all this time, did your heart flutter at all? Did you think she was cute, or feel anything like that?”
“No… nothing like that either, I guess?”
Hearing his answers, I nodded along approvingly and flashed him a confident thumbs-up.
“Then you don’t like her! Case closed, go ahead and reject her.”
“Ehh?!” Masato-san gasped, eyes wide.
This verdict is purely the result of my objective, sincere analysis! It’s totally not for my own personal gain or anything!
Seriously, who am I even trying to make excuses to right now?
“Well, jokes aside, if your feelings are that crystal clear, I don’t think there’s any reason for you to be conflicted.”
“Is… is that so?” he murmured, still looking somewhat uncertain.
Watching Masato-san still wrestling with hesitation, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
I opened my mouth to speak—and then snapped it shut.
For a split second, I hesitated over whether I should actually say what was on my mind.
After all, pointing it out might very well work against my own romantic interests.
…Yet, in the end, I parted my lips once more.
“Masato-san… is the reason you’re hesitating right now simply because you feel sorry for her?”
“…!”
A look of startled realization washed over Masato-san’s face.
Seeing his reaction confirmed my suspicion, so I pressed forward.
“Even if you force yourself to stay connected out of pity, I don’t think that does her any real favors in the long run.”
“…You’re right,” he admitted quietly.
Masato-san was just far too kind for his own good.
It was completely okay for him to be selfish when it came to his own heart.
…And besides.
“Besides, you didn’t feel your heart flutter at all around her, nor did you think she was cute, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he confirmed.
“Th-Then… wouldn’t I be… um… a much better choice?”
I had intended to deliver that line with absolute swagger, but my voice ended up trailing off into an embarrassed squeak.
Ah, the tragic physical limits of an introvert…
At that, Masato-san’s entire face flushed a brilliant shade of crimson.
“…Well, I mean, I definitely think you’re way cuter, Shiori-chan…” he admitted sheepishly.
“Aaaaaah~~~ Can you please just lay down on the floor right there for a second?!” I blurted out, my brain completely short-circuiting.
“I told you, no way!!” he yelped, backing away in a panic. “Look! It’s three o’clock now! Let’s!! Study!!”
“Ehhhh~~~?!” I groaned, flailing my arms.
Although my supposed iron willpower (lol) had shattered into a million pieces in a single instant, Masato-san forcibly coaxed me back down into my chair.
As I reluctantly pulled out my prep books, Masato-san let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Still… thank you, Shiori-chan. You really helped me put things in perspective.”
“In that case… I’m glad,” I murmured softly.
A soft silence settled between us.
As I arranged my notebooks and pencils…
…I couldn’t help but question whether I had really made the right call.
Part of my irredeemable, trashy introverted heart had secretly hoped Masato-san might feel a little bit of pity for me.
Like, “I can’t date you, but I feel too sorry for you to quit being your tutor.”
Or even, “I feel so sorry for Shiori-chan, maybe I should date her as well.”
I felt as though I had personally destroyed a potential route that might have opened up for me.
…Still.
“…Hmm? Is something wrong?” Masato-san asked, noticing my slight pause.
“…It’s nothing at all. Shall we get down to studying?” I smiled.
“Sounds like a plan!” he agreed cheerfully.
If someone asked if I really wanted him to date me out of pity or sympathy… well, actually I would, but still…
I’d much rather get properly turned down first, and then…
Study hard, get accepted to the exact same university as Masato-san… And give it another honest shot from scratch.
I couldn’t help but harbor such slightly dramatic, high-minded thoughts.