After I left the Japanese language preparation room and did one small errand, I went back to the vending machine in front of the cafeteria. Kotani was still there, and she looked at me suspiciously for a moment when I came back, and then immediately looked down at her phone.

“Kotani.” This time, I called out to her.

“…What?” Kotani responded in a low tone without looking up from the screen.

“Sugawara-sensei wants us to clean up the Japanese language preparation room.”

When I told her that, she finally took her eyes off her phone, frowning in disgust, “…Why us?”

“It’s because you’re not doing well in the subject. He said if you clean up the room, he would give a little better evaluation. I was just nearby and got involved. What a hassle.” I lied through my teeth. I was so glad I had heard some stuff about her from Yuzu beforehand, like her academics.

She let out a deep sigh and put her phone away as if my words had stirred up some guilt, “What a pain in the ass. Well, what can I do? It’s a good opportunity to gain points too.”

Despite her complaints, Kotani started walking on her own. Naturally, she didn’t intend to walk side by side with me, so she just slunk off down the corridor by herself.

After that, we both went back to the Japanese language preparation room.

“…This place is always awful.” Kotani looked dumbfounded at the state of the Japanese language preparation room, which had fallen into disarray. However, since we have to clean up the mess ourselves, we couldn’t just remain astonished and do nothing.

“I’ll do the heavy work. Kotani, you take care of the detailed work.”

“……”

Kotani nodded firmly, though she looked uncomfortable.

I thought she was going to push everything to me and go back alone, but she didn’t do that at all. Maybe it was because of my position as Yuzu’s boyfriend, or maybe it was simply because Kotani was surprisingly serious.

Either way, it was great that we now gained the time, space, and motivation to communicate with only the two of us. If it was during a job, she would still have to have a proper conversation, even with someone she didn’t like.

“Hey, Kotani. Did you manage to ask Sakuraba out on a date?” When I suddenly hit her with a direct question, Kotani dropped the paper document in her hand at once.

Then she turned around and her face was very red,

“Hey, you, why would chu shuddenly ashk zat…?”

I had never expected it would agitate her to the point her speech would become so cute… Seeing her make such an innocent reaction, I felt a little bad to have asked that.

“No, I’m sorry. When Yuzu told me that she gave you the extra amusement park tickets, I thought you must have invited Sakuraba.”

“So, that’s how it is.”

I was not sure if she was satisfied with my explanation, but Kotani took a deep breath before answering, “…It’s not like I decided to ask Sota out.”

Muttering as if to confuse me, Kotani took something out of her pocket and held it in front of me. It was the amusement park tickets that Yuzu had given her.

“Whoa, are you asking me out by any chance?”

“Of course not. Give this back to Yuzu. Tell her I don’t need them after all.” Kotani shoved the ticket at me.

I had no choice but to take it, but I was not convinced.

“…Are you sure that’s what you want? You were waiting for Sakuraba today to ask him out, weren’t you?” When I cut straight to the point again, Kotani glared at me as if I was deeply annoying her.

“I wasn’t! It’s none of your business, is it? Can you please stop prying into my business? You’re creepy.”

“It is indeed my business. There’s a reason why I really want you to get together with Sakuraba. I’m the one who ordered Yuzu to give this ticket to Kotani in the first place.”

Even though I was shunned, I persisted, and Kotani tilted her head.

“What do you mean…? Why are you meddling with me like that?”

“It’s not meddling, it’s for my own sake. This is not something I want people to hear… Well, to put it simply, I don’t like having Sakuraba around Yuzu.”

“Oh…you mean…”

Kotani seemed half surprised and half convinced by the reason I gave.

“In order to do that, I need someone else to charm Sakuraba; sequentially, the only person I can ask is Kotani, right? Looking at the situation objectively, the girl who is the closest to Sakuraba is Kotani after all.”

“Oh…yeah?”

When I lifted her motivation up quickly and gave her confidence, Kotani looked embarrassed and fiddled with her hair, but she didn’t seem to be upset.

“As I previously stated, I’m not one to tie my girlfriend, but I do feel nervous about having a handsome guy like him—and single—to be around her, which is why I need you, Kotani, to get him off my back. For my sake and Yuzu’s sake.”

When I asked her to do so, Kotani stared at me.

“…What is it?” When I asked her what she meant by that look, she shook her head lightly.

“No, I really didn’t think you were dating Yuzu. To be honest, I’ve been skeptical until now. “

“Don’t say that; I know we’re not a good match even if you don’t say that..”

I frowned at the fact that she still had doubts about us—our acts were still unconvincing.

“I’m sorry. But what did you like about Yuzu? She’s the complete opposite of you, Izumi.” Kotani asked me a series of questions as if she was interested in me for the first time.

I wasn’t sure how to answer her question, but surprisingly, the answer came naturally.

“I think it’s good that we’re the complete opposites… Even if she sees the same thing as me, she sees it in a completely different way and feels it in a completely different way. That’s what makes it refreshing and comfortable.”

I was shocked by the words that came out of my mouth, but I was also aware that these feelings weren’t a lie as I continued, “Besides, it seems like when you’re with someone who’s totally the complete opposite of you, you don’t have to be so considerate to the other, like worrying what they might think or feel. So it feels relaxing to be together.”

Kotani smiled at my answer for some reason,

“You’re flaunting too much, I’m single here. “

“…You were the one who made me say that.” It was me who suddenly felt embarrassed because of the teasing.

However, Kotani might have been relieved by that, and this time she smiled innocently.

“Oh well, if you think about it, Yuzu is extremely popular, so it’s no wonder that Izumi likes her. What’s strange is that Yuzu likes Izumi.”

“Mind your own business! You know, my charm is like dried squids—the more you chew, the more flavors come out.”

“I am just that jersey-type boy1 and also a dried-squid-type boy.”