I was walking to school on a clear and breezy morning.

With no other students in sight, I was about to be late; I yawned from lack of sleep.

“I’m sure I played too many games yesterday…”

I got my hands on the ‘Robot Buster 2R’ that I’d been longing for, and the overflowing sense of excitement pushed me to finally open and unpack it yesterday.

Of course, I’m a gamer who can strike the right balance between hobby and real life. No matter how much I wanted to play the game, I was going to keep it to a level that would not affect my school work the next day.

“But it was four in the morning before I realized it.”

I was really concentrating. Why can’t I use this concentration for my studies?

That’s how I ended up almost late to school.

Well, I didn’t have anyone to meet up with anymore, and there was no reason to rush to school, so it was fine…

“Oh, here you are at last! Yamato-kun, you’re late!”

…Or not.

I saw a girl who unexpectedly stood waiting at the place she always waited for me in the morning…

She had semi-long hair dyed just to an extent that won’t be admonished by the teachers, and a well-developed face that still looked cute even when she had a grumpy expression on her face.

My ex-girlfriend, Nanamine Yuzu.

“What is it, my ex-girlfriend? I thought we’d already broken up.”

I gave Yuzu a dubious look, but she smiled back at me without a care in the world.

“Don’t say that, my ex-boyfriend. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t get along just because we broke up, right?” While saying this, Yuzu walked alongside me.

“Well, yeah, but…”

But I didn’t think this girl was waiting for me for such a cute reason.

“So, why were you waiting for me?”

“No, I was worried that Yamato-kun might be lonely since he broke up with his pretty and perfect girlfriend. Don’t you think I’m so kind?” Yuzu said it so matter-of-factly. This narcissistic attitude first thing in the morning made my stomach churn.

“No, aren’t we usually together like when we play games in the literature clubroom…?”

Since we were a fake couple from the beginning, there was little change in our relationship even after we ‘broke up’.

“Em, but we don’t meet up in the mornings anymore and we also have lunch separately, so I thought Yamato-kun must be lonely now that we’re suddenly distant..”

I snickered at Yuzu’s tone of conviction. “You said that but isn’t it you who’s feeling lonely?”

“That’s true too!”

“Hey, you even admitted it so vigorously. I was expecting you to deny it.”

Her affirmation caught me by surprise.

As I stood there bemused, Yuzu then pulled the sleeve of my uniform and said in a sulky tone,

“I’m indeed lonely… Don’t you feel the same, Yamato-kun?”

She then gazed at me somewhat fawningly and filled with expectations. If she looked at me like that, I couldn’t push her too hard.

“Well…maybe a little.”

“Oh, I knew it! Yamato-kun really loves me, doesn’t he? Well, it’s not unreasonable though!”

Yuzu got carried away in an instant. I shouldn’t have been so naive.

“So, Yamato-kun, if you want, I can date you again, okay?

“I politely decline.”

Yuzu’s cheeks puffed up as I cleanly refused.

“What is it? What part of me are you dissatisfied with?”

“You’re too arrogant to know that.”

When I refused her with a series of good arguments, Yuzu let out a deep sigh. “Yamato-kun, you’re not very straightforward. So much for my charm offensive style. Let’s talk about business matters.”

“Bring that up from the beginning.”

“The best way to settle this was to use my charm to enchant you.”

After looking at me with a bit of reproach, Yuzu coughed and cleared her throat to change the subject. “As Yamato-kun knows better than anyone, I’ve been having some troubles within my clique until recently.”

“That’s right.”

How we ended up dating:it was caused by a love triangle that occurred within the Riaju clique that Yuzu was a part of, and the commotion surrounding it. In the end, it was settled by me taking a big stand—albeit reluctantly—and Yuzu’s courage.

“Thanks to Yamato-kun, a lot of things have been cleared up and we managed to avoid the worst of it…To be honest, we’re still in the process of fixing things to return to where we were.”

“…Well, you can’t expect everything to go back to normal right away.”

Human relationships could change at the slightest opportunity, and once they did, it would be hard to get them back to normal. For Yuzu and her clique, now was the exact crucial moment for them.

“That’s what I mean. Especially right now, it’s very delicate and sensitive, so everyone is still trying to figure it out. We’re hanging on a very unstable balance. If you add to that a further event of Yamato-kun and I completely dissolving our fake couple, what do you think will happen…?”

“Uh…” I wondered what would happen.

This fake couple was an arrangement prepared as a precautionary measure, openly stating ‘Yuzu has no intention of dating Sakuraba.’ After all that happened, even if the truth was revealed, it should be no problem… No, wait, precisely because the truth was out,  dissolving this fake couple could send the wrong message to that group.

How would Sakuraba, who liked her, react when he saw Yuzu completely single? Even if Sakuraba wouldn’t make a move, how would Kotani, who liked him, feel?

“Ugh, just thinking about it gives me trouble…”

Dissolving it would definitely create doubt and anxiety and stuff like that.

“Right?” Yuzu looked a little tired.

At the very least, I was sure that our separation wouldn’t bring any good effects.

“And if I break up with you so soon, I might be perceived as a playgirl. So, I want Yamato-kun to pretend that he’s dating me for a while longer so that I can build up my image as a loyal woman.”

“…What’s in it for me?” I asked with caution, foreseeing that I might get into some kind of trouble again, and Yuzu smiled her best smile.

“Hmmm…Yamato-kun may have forgotten, but there will be a cultural festival soon.”

“Oh, that reminds me. So, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Of course there is. You’ll be rewarded with a date to the school festival with me. In addition, there are many events coming up in the future, such as Christmas and New Year. You can spend them with me as a couple…What better reward could there be?”

“So you’re saying I work for free?”

“To put it bluntly, yes!” Yuzu again readily admitted.

To be honest, it was not a worthwhile proposal. At least, if it had been me in September, I would have turned her down. In fact, I actually turned down Yuzu then, who first confessed to me under the same conditions.

But….

“…Well, I guess I can’t help it. I’ll take it as an after-service to my last job.” When I assured her of this, Yuzu’s expression brightened.

“Really? You are really smart!”

“Right? You should be thanking me.”

“Yes! This is all thanks to my irresistible charm! I should be grateful for my cuteness!”

“You’re amazing, Yuzu. You are the only person in the world who can praise herself at this time.” As I was admiring her beyond dismay, Yuzu gently squeezed my hand.

“Of course, I’m grateful to Yamato-kun as well, okay?”

“…Darn you cunning girl1”

Absent-mindedly, I felt my heart thumping at her cute gesture, and I was disappointed in myself.

So, even though my job was originally over, I was getting caught up in a whole new set of troubles.