That day, I was downcast right from the morning.

Even during the break time, I grimaced, resting my cheeks on my hands on top of the table and scattering a negative aura around me. It was definitely a nuisance to my surroundings.

During the lunch break, the only person who took the trouble to talk to me was Koutora, 

“What’s wrong with you today, Subaru? Is it constipation?

“No it’s not, Koutora.”

Even though the words uttered by this friend of mine were full of ridicule, I knew full well that he was only expressing his concern for me.

To tell my true feelings, I had this urge to vomit this out and ask for advice. But I can’t do that.

Perhaps he might have or have not guessed some reason in his head while looking at my gloomy face, as he didn’t ask any further regarding it.

“So, what will you be having for lunch? Cafeteria or purchase something from the store?”

“Ah, …, I have my lunch with me today.”

“I see.”

“Sorry.”

I lied so as not to make Koutora worry about me any longer.

Seeing off Koutora who was going towards the cafeteria, I got up from my seat. 

I wanted to go off to somewhere where I could get away from everything and all. When I arrived at the hallway, I could hear lively voices coming from all over the place. 

This feels a little annoying at this moment.

“Hey, hey, what do you want to have for lunch?”

“It’s getting colder at this time of the year, let’s go to the courtyard.”

“Then I should go with something in the school store~.”

“I hope there is still something good left~.”

Walking along the corridor, I met Rin Nanjo at the center surrounded by many girls. Moreover, even Hiyori was among them.

“… A…”

[TL: new Gawr Gura candidate?]

“―u.”

Our eyes met each other. Until now, even if our line of sight were to meet each other, we would just go on as if nothing had happened.

And yet—…

“…u”

Hiyori, while looking in my direction, made a small, awkward wave of her hand, ―but I decided to look away even after seeing that. I’m sure I’m making a strange face right now. I didn’t want to see her doing that.

“Is something wrong, Yoshida-san?”

“…, un~n, it’s nothing.”

“Really? Are you okay?”

“Yes. …”

I turned my head down, trying not to look at them, and passed Hiyori and the others.

“A~h!”

“What’s wrong, Rin-chan?”

“U~un, nothing.”

“Let’s get going quickly, alright?”

What shall we have for lunch? About yesterday’s show! I hate the follow-up exam we’re having next week.

I listened to those fast-paced conversations of the girls walking away behind me. It’s a fun conversation. Hiyori was also in that circle. That’s a very good thing. But …

The door opened up with a dull creak. And then, sitting down on the emergency stairs, I let out a huge sigh.

“Ha~a,…, I don’t know what I’m even doing anymore.”

Saying that, I looked up at the sky. Contrary to my messed up heart, it was a cloudless sunny day.

As I closed my eyelids, the image of Hiyori surfaced in my mind. I have been behaving very coldly/badly since this morning. The distance between us, which had just begun to close up, might open up yet again. Thinking of that happening made me feel even more disheartened.

At a time like this, if it was Philia-san, that Philia-san whom I was yet to know was Hiyori… If it was her, she would ha—

“Found you!”

“Phi—…Nan-jo, san?”

“Uh-, wow,…, you smell pungent! Please stop that~, your odor will spread to me.”

“Sh—Shut up … !”

I was confused because of this situation. The emergency escape was located on the north side of the school building, an area that is not frequented by people.

It was dimly lit, with little to no sunlight coming in. It was not a place that people would want to come to. Most of all, if I remember correctly, Nanjo Rin should have been with Hiyori and others during this time.

“Oh, my God, why do you look so gloomy? Oh, maybe you fell in love with me? A~ah, I’m so guilty of being this cute.”

“Shut up, you makeup mania!”

“Wha!? Haa! Do you know what you are saying in front of a young maiden!”

“…Maiden …?”

“Wai! Why are you laughing at it now? You’re being so rude to a woman, damn it?!”

“Hehehe”

When you look at her closely, Nanjo Rin was trying her best to hide those dark circles under her eyes with makeup. And somehow, she was strangely high-spirited.

She had a strange feeling to her.

What I knew about Nanjo Rin was only limited to what I heard from Koutora talking about her. Moreover, I never had a proper conversation with her before.

And yet, the words that came out were as smooth as if we had been talking to each other for a long-time. As if we were fellow evil friends.

I remembered this feeling of déjà vu.

It was a feeling which I had of the former Hiyori where the image of Philia-san overlapped with the words spoken by Nanjo Rin.

“Well, whatever. More than that, I want to ask something. If your fam—, no, if you were to find out that your close friend was being bullied in the past, what do you think you would do?”

“—Ha~a? What is with this all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing. Just let me know that for reference.”

“Subaru… I never heard about you being bullied in the past though?”

“No, that— … they’re from another school.”

If you think about it, it’s certainly a strange question.

Nanjo Rin looked into my eyes with suspicion. Her eyes were probing, as if to make out the real meaning behind the words I spoke.

“…Fu~un.”

… Was I too abrupt? Well, if you think about it, it’s certainly a hard question to answer, even for a normal friend.

“… So basically, you didn’t know that your friend was actually being bullied behind the scenes. And now you happened to find out about it, you’re wondering what to do now?”

“…That’s right.”

“Understood.”

She was able to understand what I was trying to say and even summarized it in a concise manner. I was tongue-tied.

Nanjo Rin’s eyes narrowed.

There was no sign of her usual personality. Even her gaze pierced me as if she were determined to see through what she was doing until the end.

“Are you an idiot?”

“… Wha-!”

What came back was instead a surprise. 

With a fed-up face, she claimed it as a trivial issue one-sidedly.

“Or are you perhaps trying to make fun of your friend?”

“Hey, Nanjo!”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice in retaliation. My head was boiling in anger.

— I am making fun of Hiyori? I couldn’t ignore those words.

Maybe she was surprised by my voice as Nanjo Rin opened her eyes and sighed, “Heh.” She was looking at me as if she saw something unusual. Then she gave me a somewhat amused but saddened expression before laughing.

“Hey, why do you think that your friend kept quiet about it to you?”

“… Why …?”

That’s exactly the question I wanted to ask.

But did Nanjo Rin think properly? She looked at me as if she was probing me. I couldn’t help but get close to her unconsciously.

…The reason why Hiyori didn’t tell me?

“Doesn’t she want it to be known?”

“But that’s—”

“If you were in her position, what would you have done?”

“That would be …”

Yes, I would probably just keep my mouth shut. I wouldn’t want to make her about it, and even in games she was a best friend whom I thought of as my equal.

Even if that were to happen in real life, it would be a trivial matter when it comes to playing games.

Because in the game, as fellow best friends … A~ah, so that’s how it was.