After the play teardown, back in uniform, I was face-down on a desk in the empty classroom. The play was over, but Reona’s stunt had left me too drained to move.
Everyone else was out enjoying the festival; no one would be back for a while. Perfect spot to recover. I was on the edge of falling asleep.
”…Don’t worry, you’ll know soon — what did she mean by that?”
Reona’s line — after the public kiss — kept replaying. Maybe it meant that.
But — me, Mob Character B, paired with main-heroine-tier Reona-or-Riona — not a valid match. Their attention had to be a phase.
So even if that was what it meant, the right move was to play oblivious. Almost certainly.
I had clearly fallen for them, but I would not be standing next to them. As I was thinking that, air on my ear.
“Whoa!?”
I yelped and shot upright. Riona. Reona-and-Riona apparently both love the ear-blow attack. I noticed Riona’s puffed cheeks and realized I’d messed up.
“I was waiting. Why didn’t you come? You were hard to find.”
“S-sorry…”
I’d promised Riona I’d tour the festival with her this morning, and I had forgotten.
Technically I’d remembered up until the play, and Reona’s improv had wiped it from my memory. Riona would not accept that excuse, so I didn’t try.
“Forgetting our promise is unforgivable.”
“I’m sorry, it was not intentional.”
“Adding a new penalty.”
Penalties were stacking. Was that going to be okay? Riona’s casual demands could be intense. Priority one: improve her mood.
“L-let’s go.”
“I’ve decided where to go. I’ll lead.”
She linked arms with me. Doing that to a normal guy would create a misunderstanding, please.
“Good job on the play. Unlike Ryouya, I did not forget to say it.”
“That has thorns, but thanks. Reona’s improv made it complicated, as you saw.”
“When you and Nee-chan kissed, the front rows got loud.”
I’d heard the murmur. Yeah, Mio was watching — she’s going to grill me.
“Where are we going?”
“The fortune-telling club’s Hall of Divination.”
“Right, the culture clubs do exhibits too.”
“They run a fortune-house every festival. Reputation for accuracy.”
I don’t believe in fortunes — but accurate fortunes were intriguing. I had not known we had a fortune-telling club.
I’d skipped the first-year club introductions, so my knowledge of school clubs was minimal. Combined with middle school, there are reportedly a lot.