Translator: Haruto.

After following Mahiro just like she requested, we arrived at…

“A diner, huh? Are we going to eat here, Mahiro-chan?” Yuito asks.

“No, that’s not what we came here for,” she responds.  

…one diner close to our school.

Mahiro is sitting in the same booth as Yuito, and Rina and I were told to sit at another table next to theirs. The only thing separating the two tables is a wall with a glass section on top.

Needless to say, Rina and I are sitting face to face, not side-by-side.

“Kasashima-kun, Rina, please stay there and listen to our conversation.”

“Got it.”

“Sis, why do I have to sit with Kasashima?”

“I’ll explain in a second.” Mahiro clears her throat, and begins, “You see, I made an appointment to meet with a certain someone, and…”

According to Mahiro, someone has been pestering her about wanting to date her, so she wants Yuito to act as her boyfriend, and hopefully, make her admirer give up once and for all.

“Oh, so I’ll be your fake boyfriend, huh?! I’ll do my best!” Yuito says.

“Thanks, Yuito,” replies Mahiro.

Unbeknownst to Yuito, though, Mahiro would probably want him to be more than her “fake boyfriend.”

“And what is our role, Sis?” Rina asks.

“I’d like you and Kasashima to be like my witnesses and also lend an ear to our conversation. You should be able to listen just fine from there. It’s just in case… well, you know…”

“So you say, but I think you also wanted to take this chance to have Yui-kun act like your boyfriend,” Rina asserts.

“Hehe. My, oh, my! Perish the thought!”

“At any rate, if he’s giving even you this much trouble, it must mean your admirer is pretty stubborn, huh,” I comment.  

Mahiro is so popular at school that people have even taken to call her the “School’s Prince.” I’ve seen guys confess their love for her plenty of times. She even has to leave school late often just to deal with them.

I’d always thought she had brushing off admirers down to a science, but…

“Oh, it really isn’t a piece of cake, you know? I mean, I’ve always… Ah! There he is…”

When I turn to the entrance, I see a guy looking from side to side before noticing Mahiro and walking over to her with a smile on his face.

Many girls have also confessed their feelings for Mahiro, so I thought for a second that her admirer could be a girl, but…  

“I’m sorry for being late!”

It ended up being a tall, handsome guy with blue eyes, blond hair, and a calm, soothing voice. His looks alone are on the same level as Yuito’s… however…

“…I’m team Yuito.”

“Yui-kun is better…” Rina says at exactly the same time as me.

“It’s fine. We just got here,” Mahiro tells him.  

“You’re so kind, Mahiro-san. I’m sure you actually got here a while ago… Thank you for being so considerate with me… By the way, the boy sitting next to you is…”

“He’s the most important person to me.”

“Nice to meet you! My name is Saeki Yuito!”

Yuito seems pretty nervous. I can’t blame him, though. This must all be too sudden for him.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you, too. My name is Saionji Rento. I’m a member of the student council at another school nearby. Do you mind if I call you, Yuito?”

“N-Not at all! Can I call you Rento-kun…?”

“Of course. Once again, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Saionji and Yuito shake hands.

“My, you poor thing. It seems your buddy’s gotten himself a new friend,” Rina says teasingly.

“Oh, hush. I don’t mind if Yuito gets more friends. That’s something to be celebrated,” I respond before returning my attention to Saionji.

“Unfortunately, though, it appears you’re my rival, Yuito,” he says.

“Your rival?” Yuito seems confused.

“Oh? Does having a rival make you want to give up?” Mahiro asks Saionji.

“It’s actually gotten me even more fired up. Besides, it’s not like I can give up when you still haven’t gotten to know me well, Mahiro-san,” he replies with a serious expression that further accentuates his good looks.

“This might be a challenge,” I say.

“He looks like a good person,” Rina remarks.

“Yeah, but that thing he said just now was kind of worrisome.”

“There’s always something wrong with people who don’t know when to give up.”

“Totally.” And it sounds even more convincing coming from you, Rina.

I take another sip of my iced coffee. It’s so cold and tasty, and—Aaaaah!!  

“…That guy is…” I finally remembered.

Apart from the main villain—yours truly—there was also a low-tier villain in the game that tried to bring the protagonist and the heroines apart: Saionji Rento. I thought his name was pretty cool so it stuck in my memory.

More importantly, though, he was involved in a bunch of stuff during the Summer Break Arc…

“I’ll go to the restroom,” I say.  

“You won’t listen to the end?” Rina asks.

“People tend to show their true colors in the restroom.”

“Aah, I see.”

Huh, it’s nice that Rina understood what I’m planning to do so easily.

I stand up and head to the restroom.

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