…After the shocking reverse-proposal at the subway exit, chaos erupted so fast that curious onlookers started gathering in droves.
Seeing the situation rapidly spiraling into mush, Rinto scooped up the red-coated girl and Togawa Sakiko—one under each arm like sacks of rice—and bolted, with Momoka hastily following behind.
They'd fled in such a rush that Momoka only managed to grab her guitar, leaving the speaker and microphone behind.
One guy. Three girls.
And each girl's feelings pointed squarely toward that one guy in the middle. The relationship chart was a masterpiece of awkwardness.
In the end, Rinto brought everyone to a Yoshinoya in the nearby shopping district. A tanned, mask-wearing gyaru (probably fresh from a tanning salon) took their order—four beef bowls. He hoped food would keep them quiet, at least for a while.
As they waited, Sakiko, who'd naturally claimed the seat right next to him, was the first to strike.
"Bringing girls out for beef bowls after ten at night—classic move from a sadistic scumbag like you, Senpai. You just love filling women's stomachs, huh? Does it make you feel powerful?"
Rinto sighed. "Sakiko, is your tongue getting sharper by the day? What did I even do to deserve this?"
Hmph. (￢‿￢ )
The proud Miss Sakiko said nothing. Darkness level: 30%.
Meanwhile, since her sudden proposal back at the station, the girl in the red coat hadn't spoken a word.
She was a little shorter than Sakiko—next to Rinto's 182 cm frame, she looked like a small animal clinging to its handler.
She sat close, shoulders hunched, sneaking nervous glances at everyone else while still gripping Rinto's arm like a lifeline.
…And across from them, Momoka sat alone, chin propped in one hand, watching her boyfriend wedged between two teenage girls.
It wasn't exactly annoying. Not really. Not exactly.
Still, she tapped the table with her fingers in slow, steady rhythm.
"So? You ready to explain? Or should I go first—and start with our relationship?"
"...Please allow me." Rinto lowered his head obediently, carefully picking his words.
A few months earlier, during winter break of his senior year, Rinto had traveled to Kumamoto Prefecture.
Not for any particular reason—he just drifted where the wind took him.
Whenever he came across someone in trouble, he'd investigate, intervene, and "steal their heart." Then he'd quietly move on to the next town.
That had been his life for the past three years.
As for why he chose Kumamoto, it was probably just because he saw a train decorated with Kumamon when buying his ticket and thought, Sure, why not.
Kumamon had been all the rage once, though now most young people barely remembered that round, smug bear. But anyway—
After arriving in the countryside, Rinto spent a few lazy days enjoying the slow rural pace.
He'd already been half-considering retirement, so he just worked odd jobs, made friends with the locals, and lived without a care.
Then he heard a rumor from the townsfolk—already half in love with his mysterious, too-cool aura (?).
A local scholar's daughter had been missing for several days.
Since it was winter break and the girl had been fighting with her family and classmates, everyone assumed she'd run away. Her father hadn't gone to the police yet—he was handling the search privately.
And that was how Rinto met Iseri Nina.
The moment he heard about a missing seventeen-year-old, Rinto suspected the Metaverse was involved.
Sure enough, his investigation uncovered bullying at her school—and Nina was the victim.
The bully was a rich girl from a powerful family, a queen bee who got away with anything.
Nina hadn't just stumbled into the Metaverse—she'd fallen straight into her tormentor's Palace.
Even for Rinto, that was rare. So, of course, he went to rescue her.
…And, well, a lot happened.
He found Nina, who had been surviving alone inside the Palace for days.
He saved her, changed the bully's heart, and wrapped up the job neatly.
Everyone was happy.
Normally, it would've been just another routine mission—nothing special.
But since he obviously couldn't mention the Metaverse in front of the three girls now, Rinto opted for a very watered-down version.
"Anyway," he began, "this girl's name is Iseri Nina. Not Shrimp-Celery, not Dragon-Shrimp. Please, don't mess it up."
"Ah—! You're doing it again!" Nina exploded, slamming the table with both hands. "Nobody would even think to mispronounce it if you didn't keep bringing it up! Bully! Bully! Bully! 💢"
The cute red flower that had so gracefully burst into Rinto's life was now fuming, pounding the table like a street brawler.
The contrast between this and her delicate, teary-eyed entrance moments ago made Rinto seriously question his taste in women.
Meanwhile, Momoka and Sakiko's gazes were growing colder by the second.
Under the table, Momoka's foot pressed threateningly into his knee.
Clearing his throat, Rinto hurried on.
"Anyway, I went sightseeing in Kumamoto at the end of last year and happened to meet Nina there. She was being… bullied by another girl at school. I just lent a hand, that's all. We spent a few days together after that."
"Momoka, remember the girl I mentioned before—the one who recommended your music? That was Nina. She's your biggest fan."
"Oh…" Momoka straightened slightly, her expression shifting as she suddenly became aware of her idol image again.
At the same time, Rinto gave Nina's hand a discreet squeeze under the table—a silent warning to keep quiet.
"…"
Nina's lips parted slightly as her big blue eyes darted nervously between everyone.
Then, without another word, she looked straight at Momoka.
"You really are Momoka-san… and you're actually with Rinto!"
"What kind of coincidence is this? What kind of miracle?! The person whose music I love most, and the person I love second most, right here together—what am I supposed to do?!"
Momoka and Sakiko both froze, staring at her.
What caught their attention wasn't the confession itself—but that Nina hadn't called Momoka an idol.
She'd called her music.
It was strange phrasing, but that one word instantly earned her a flicker of respect from both women. They sensed a similar kind of sincerity in her.
Momoka finally sighed, lips still pursed.
"Even if you ask me, I don't know what to say. All I can tell you is Rinto and I are roommates. But you—what exactly are you to him?"
"It's already mid-April. School's started, hasn't it? So why is a high schooler from Kumamoto in Tokyo, hugging a guy in public and proposing marriage?"
"Because Rinto promised me!" Nina shot back, puffing her cheeks. "He said we'd be together forever! I came to fulfill that promise!"
Stare. (￢_￢ )
Rinto froze under three pairs of ice-cold eyes, utterly defenseless.
He could only cover his face with one hand.
Honestly, he'd just been joking back then—he hadn't meant it seriously at all.
It was right after he'd saved Takamatsu Tomori, a girl who couldn't stop repeating the words "stay together forever."
Apparently, the phrase had stuck a little too well.
...Besides, he'd promised her they'd be friends for life—then she turned around and forgot him anyway.
Back then, Rinto felt a weird heartbreak, like he'd just been dumped, which made him speak without thinking.
After meeting Nina—while comforting her, this girl who'd survived alone for days inside the Palace and whose mental state was hanging by a thread—he carelessly made that same lifelong promise he'd once given Takamatsu Tomori.
But at the time, Rinto truly believed Nina would forget everything, just like everyone else before her.
...Yet she didn't.
That hit Rinto hard, and now a thousand questions were jammed up in his chest, desperate to be asked.
Gyaru employee: "Here are your tasty beef bowls~♪ Oh, and these drinks are on the house. Enjoy~♥"
The sweet-voiced gyaru onee-san saved Rinto's life, easing the temperature in the room a few degrees.
After setting the drinks down, she even gave him a cheerful wave and a wink, as if to say, Hang in there~♥.
Gyaru onee-sans really were the best.
Rinto briefly considered confessing to her on the spot, getting rejected, turning emo, and using that as his excuse to bolt from this hellish situation.
"You're all hungry, right? Given the circumstances, let's eat first."
Even sandwiched between fire and ice, Rinto put his foot down.
Then he turned to Nina.
"I remember your family has a rule against eating out, right? Do you still follow that?"
"—Mm! This is actually my first time having a beef bowl!"
The red-coated girl's eyes instantly shimmered with tears as she nodded with all her might.
She showed zero restraint, pouring her whole heart into her gaze at Rinto.
"You remembered—you didn't forget me. That's wonderful, really wonderful!"
"Rinto, I love you! Once we're adults, let's get married—we can register right away and move in together!"
...Snap!
The sound of Momoka cracking apart her disposable chopsticks across the table was chillingly loud. Probably not his imagination.
Faced with Nina's full-throttle love, Rinto had nothing left. All he could manage was a stiff smile.
...And so, after somehow surviving this midnight-snack hell—
Togawa Sakiko: "I need to head home now. Sadly, I can't keep babysitting Senpai."
Apparently, this was also Sakiko-ojousama's first time eating Yoshinoya. She dabbed a bit of sauce from her lips, cheeks faintly flushed, looking surprisingly satisfied.
Boldly, right in front of the other two girls, she tugged Rinto two steps aside and looked straight up into his eyes.
"I knew Senpai was popular with women, but I didn't realize it was this extreme. Today alone gave me enough inspiration for five new songs, you know?"
Rinto: "Fantastic. At least my sacrifice wasn't in vain… Wait, that's not a compliment, is it?"
By now he was growing numb to the constant disses; his skin was thickening at an impressive rate.
Not that Sakiko minded.
But after a glance at the watchful Momoka and Nina, Sakiko lowered her eyes, a little deflated.
"I still know too little about you, Senpai. There are so many mysteries—things you can't tell me, right?"
"To be honest, I really admire Iseri Nina-san's courage. You could even say I envy her. If only I'd met Senpai before anyone else, I would've monopolized you completely."
Rinto: "Maybe not—chances are you wouldn't even remember me... I mean, it's not too late. If you're worried about anything, Sakiko, you can always talk to me. I'll be there."
"Thank you," Sakiko said, smiling bright.
Still smiling, she added gently, "Between the two of us, it looks like Senpai's the one with bigger problems. Please be careful not to get burned. It stops being funny if someone actually stabs you."
"As for us... we can pick this up after you clean up today's mess. Farewell, Senpai. I wish you happiness."
With that, Sakiko turned to go.
But after a few steps, she suddenly spun back and called out:
"Senpai, I'm a very tolerant woman. I'll never forgive betrayal, but I can accept a partner's past."
"So don't underestimate me. Save a spot for me in your heart—I promise I'll become a woman you can't look away from."
Wow...
Sakiko's line was seriously cool—Rinto had no idea how to respond.
All he could do was watch her go, etching the sway of her hair into memory.
...He hadn't even finished appreciating the moment when Nina popped out from under his arm.
This girl had zero sense of personal space, wrapping his waist in a hug as she squinted after Sakiko's retreating figure.
"She's got that full-on ojou-sama aura. Kinda scary... Rinto, is that your type? Pervert."
Rinto: "How does that make me a pervert? For the record, way more people prefer Sakiko's type to a tiny bean like you."
"And why are you dropping honorifics all of a sudden? When we first met, you called me 'Rinto-nii' so sweetly..."
Nina: "Pervert~♥ Back then I thought you were way older, so of course I said 'nii-chan.'"
"But when I found out we're the same age, there was no reason to keep saying it. Guys who want girls to call them 'nii-chan' are all scumbags—at least, that's what my sister says!"
Hahaha~ (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ
Rinto and Nina fell into noisy banter right away. Nothing about them looked like two people who'd just made a romantic confession; they honestly came off more like real siblings.
…Which left Momoka trailing behind, more confused than ever.
She wasn't even sure if jealousy was the right emotion anymore.
All she felt was emptiness—like instead of riding in the car, she'd somehow ended up underneath it.