"You said you didn't think I was a bother, but that's clearly a lie!" Eriri growled, her small frame trembling with indignation.
What kind of person could be so mean and still keep a straight face while doing it?!
"It's not a lie," Kanade replied calmly. "I told you, I've already made plans with someone else. How could I just leave them hanging?"
"After all, everything needs to be done in order, right? If I've already promised someone, I can't just break that promise to agree with you. You wouldn't want me to become someone who doesn't keep his word, would you?"
"I would," Eriri retorted with absolute seriousness.
"Uh…" Kanade was momentarily at a loss, but quickly came up with a counter. "So what about the things I've promised you before?"
"You can't go back on those! Breaking promises makes you a pig-headed jerk!" she shot back, unwilling to give an inch.
Kanade sighed silently, his expression saying it all: See? I'm not wrong.
But Eriri couldn't care less about logic or integrity. She didn't care about "keeping promises" or "who came first"—what did any of that matter to her? She just wanted to attend the event with someone she liked.
And worst of all, the person Kanade had plans with was clearly another girl—a rival! Just imagining that scheming, predatory woman circling Kanade filled Eriri with renewed resolve.
This wasn't about promises. This was a love war.
For girls, logic didn't stand a chance against emotions. What truly mattered wasn't fairness, but who was more important.
Plus, Kanade himself had said it: whatever her thoughts, she should share them with him. He wouldn't find her troublesome.
"Well, I don't care! I'm going with you, and if you say no, then you're calling me a bother!" Eriri declared with a tone of finality, ready to throw all pride to the wind.
By this point, her face was flushed, and her temper was nearing its peak. If she waited any longer, Kanade might really be stolen away. She wasn't about to let that happen.
Kanade, for his part, was stunned.
He never imagined the usually prideful Eriri could throw a tantrum like this. Was she actually pouting?
Her behavior was so out of character that Kanade didn't know how to respond. He stood there, caught between confusion and amusement, while Eriri mistook his silence for rejection.
Her insecurities bubbled to the surface. She wasn't exactly confident in herself, and if it weren't for a certain meddling woman's advice, she wouldn't even have dared to come back and rebuild her relationship with Kanade.
Losing ground to some unknown rival felt inevitable, so she quietly added, "Fine… If that's how it is, we can form a group of three."
Her voice was low and pitiful, her expression as dejected as a scolded puppy.
In truth, she'd meant what she said. Teaming up as a trio was better than nothing. But as the words left her mouth, Eriri realized it was actually a clever strategy.
If Kanade agreed, she could stop his relationship with this unknown girl from growing too close. Better yet, she could even show how "close" she and Kanade already were to scare off her rival.
And let's not forget—what normal girl would agree to such an awkward arrangement? If her rival refused, wouldn't that leave her to enjoy a private "date" with Kanade?
Eriri felt a swell of pride at her own brilliance.
However, Kanade dismissed her suggestion outright.
"Three people in one group? That's impossible. Even if it's not explicitly stated in the rules, every year it's always been two-person teams."
"But you're the student council president! Can't you bend the rules a little?" Eriri protested, puffing her cheeks in frustration.
"And what exactly do you think a student council president does…?" Kanade sighed, exasperated. The most he could do was tweak the participant list. Bringing along two girls openly and bending the rules for them would be pushing his authority.
What was he supposed to be—some kind of reverse harem protagonist? The implications alone were mortifying.
"So what now?" Eriri whined, her voice tinged with defeat. "You won't try harder for me?"
Kanade felt like he was nearing his wit's end. "This isn't about trying harder. I can't be in two places at once…"
"Wait… or can I?" he murmured, a thought suddenly sparking in his mind.
Before he could explain, he caught sight of Eriri's jaw dropping.
"Wait, you can clone yourself?!" she gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.
"…"
Kanade began to seriously question whether he was talking to a high schooler. On second thought, her middle-school-level antics and imagination weren't surprising. It was peak chūnibyō energy.
"I meant using another method," Kanade clarified, shaking his head.
He began explaining. "If we look at the schedule, it takes about half an hour to clear all the checkpoints and collect the reward medal. Including time spent walking and waiting, one full run should take around an hour.
"The event starts at 7 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m., which gives me enough time to participate twice. I can go once with my original partner, then a second time with you—"
Eriri sat there, stunned into silence.
While his plan sounded reasonable, there was one glaring issue he seemed blissfully unaware of: he was sitting there, calmly discussing how to attend the event with two girls in succession.
And one of those girls was her.
What kind of shameless playboy behavior was this?!
This was peak scumbaggery, so blatant that Eriri didn't even know how to begin roasting him.
To be honest, if Eriri didn't know Kanade's true nature, she would've already started yelling at him for such an absurd idea.
"Are you seriously considering this?" she asked, her expression a mix of disbelief and resignation.
"Of course, I'm serious. Why wouldn't this method work?" Kanade replied earnestly. Seeing her skeptical look, he added reassuringly, "Don't worry about me. Sure, it'll be a bit exhausting, but this way I can still join you and fulfill my original promise. It's the best of both worlds, isn't it?"
"…"
Eriri was silent for a long moment. She had so much she wanted to say, but just as she was about to voice her thoughts, Kanade pulled out his phone and gestured for her to remain quiet.
"…?"
"Hello? Is this Fujiwara?" Kanade began, having decided to call Chika Fujiwara instead of Kaguya Shinomiya.
Initially, he thought about contacting Kaguya, but since she was the one he had already promised to partner with, asking her about this might raise suspicions or even offend her. Fujiwara, on the other hand, was less formal—and less predictable.
Used to keeping his phone on speaker mode for convenience, Kanade inadvertently let Eriri hear the conversation.
"President? What's up? I'm eating lunch," came Chika's distinctive voice, accompanied by faint chewing noises.
"I've got a quick question…" Kanade paused briefly to word his inquiry carefully. "Do you know if it's possible for someone who's already participated in the courage test to go through it again?"
On the other end, Chika, who was happily enjoying her meal in the cafeteria, perked up, her face lighting with excitement.
"Oh! President, you're amazing! You've already figured out the loophole! It's true; the handbook doesn't mention that rule! I was planning to exploit it myself… Hello? President?"
Midway through her enthusiastic response, Chika realized the line had gone dead. She looked at her phone and saw that Kanade had already hung up.
"…!"
The pink-haired octopus puffed up with indignation, glaring at her food as if it were Kanade himself. She stabbed her fried meat viciously with her fork, muttering, "Darn President! Using me like a tool and hanging up right after! So mean! Bite, bite, bite…"
Her mood flipped almost instantly as she took a bite.
"Delicious!" she exclaimed, a radiant smile replacing her earlier scowl.
Meanwhile, Kanade, now confident in his plan, turned to Eriri.
"It seems like it's fine," he told her.
Not only did Fujiwara's confirmation put his mind at ease, but it also served a practical purpose. If anyone later questioned his decision, he could simply say Chika had told him it was allowed. He even recorded the call for good measure, ensuring that if any backlash arose, he wouldn't be taking the heat alone.
As for Chika's reaction to being implicated? A snack or two would likely smooth things over. Her forgiving nature would handle the rest.
"…"
Eriri, who had listened to the entire exchange, was utterly dumbfounded.
Her earlier thoughts about competing with Kanade's partner now seemed almost comical. After all, the girl on the other end of the call sounded completely unfazed, her voice devoid of the slightest hint of jealousy or concern.
It was as if she didn't mind Kanade finishing up with her and immediately moving on to another girl.
Who would believe that?!
Eriri even began to suspect that this "Chika Fujiwara" might have some… unusual preferences.
Yes, in Eriri's mind, Fujiwara was now Kanade's original partner, and this assumption threw her into a spiral of conflicting emotions.
"What's wrong? You look… weird," Kanade asked, puzzled by her complicated expression.
"It's nothing. I'm just… a little surprised," Eriri muttered, shaking her head.
"Alright then," Kanade said, not pressing further. He glanced at the time on his phone before turning back to her.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Want to grab lunch together?"
"…Okay."
Eriri nodded, her voice soft, as she followed him toward the cafeteria.