A-A-A-Aragaki-kun!
Why…?
With her mind in complete chaos, Utaha forced herself to stay calm. Bowing her head slightly, she managed a soft, stuttered reply.
"Y-Yes… mm-mm…"
She had meant to say good morning, but in her panic, her tongue caught between her teeth. The sudden, sharp pain brought tears to her eyes.
"A-Aragaki-kun!"
Covering her mouth with one hand, Utaha quickly bowed to the bewildered Miyahito before practically scurrying over to the bench beneath the other sunshade. She plopped down at the very edge, deliberately turning her face away from him.
Did I… mess it up?
Seeing Utaha act as though she were actively avoiding him, Miyahito stood frozen as worry crept into his chest. But he hadn't done anything. Well, technically, he hadn't even had the chance to do anything yet.
Sigh…
Did I come on too strong?
Whatever. The answer will come in time. No need to rush.
Feeling slightly dejected, he let out a quiet sigh, averted his gaze, opened the novel in his hands, and settled into reading. However, though his eyes traced the lines on the page as if deeply engrossed, his mind wasn't on the story at all. It was fixated on a single question—or rather, a troubling possibility.
Could it be that the current Kasumigaoka Utaha hasn't fallen for him yet?
This thought had struck him unbidden last night, right after he finished reading Love's Metronome Vol 3 in a single sitting. He clearly remembered a line from Episode 6 of the anime adaptation, where that guy had told Utaha: "First of all, a dual-heroine setup like this is completely broken. Mai couldn't possibly catch up to this level..."
Yet, after going through the entire third volume last night, Miyahito had found absolutely no trace of a "Mai" serving as a second heroine. In fact, Mai was little more than a background character, barely mentioned. She only appeared once, midway through the volume, where she confessed to Naoto—only to be decisively, unequivocally rejected by the protagonist. Her sole narrative purpose was to subtly underscore Naoto's feelings for Sayaka.
But it wasn't just Mai who differed from his memories.
There was another discrepancy.
Then again, perhaps he was simply overthinking it.
While reading, Miyahito kept getting a strong sense of déjà vu from the male protagonist's descriptions and his daily banter with friends.
It was as if...
"If you can touch that leaf, I'll admit you're good, Naoto."
"Hah, are you joking?" Dismissing Sayaka, who was covering her mouth and giggling, Naoto casually lifted his knee, his outstretched fingertips effortlessly brushing the leaf.
This interaction between the leads wasn't exactly identical, but at the very least, he had done the exact same thing as "Naoto" before... except the person betting with him wasn't "Sayaka," but Yuki.
Actually, these minor differences weren't the real reason Miyahito's mind kept circling back to one question: Could it be that the current Kasumigaoka Utaha hasn't fallen for him yet?
The real reason boiled down to what happened yesterday afternoon.
If his guess was right, and Utaha had actually made such an intimate gesture in reality...
Then he shouldn't keep acting so pretentious. He needed to step up like a proper man.
No more running away. No more self-pity. No more melancholic sighs.
Only...
Stay steady.
Quietly warning himself, Miyahito took a slow, deep breath to calm his racing heart.
I have to be careful. Even without 100% certainty, I can't go all-in on less than 50% odds... I absolutely cannot gamble! And I can't miss my chance!
Even though the difference between a secret crush and an open one is just a single character, a secret crush is ultimately a one-sided feeling.
Love requires mutual feelings. Charging in blindly, especially confessing on a gamble like rolling dice...
Will inevitably end in failure!
Just as Miyahito was running pep talks in his head,
Oh no... Did Aragaki-kun misunderstand?
Stealing a glance back at him, seeing him silently reading his novel, seemingly uninterested in talking to her, Utaha inwardly cursed her own clumsiness.
Originally, Miyahito proactively greeting her was a golden opportunity to close the distance between them.
But who would've thought she'd ruin it with a stupid, childish mistake like biting her tongue...
Ahhh, am I an idiot? I'm totally an idiot! Ahhhh...
Clenching her fists, Utaha wanted to punch her past self.
So stupid! How can someone be this dumb!
But what's done is done.
No matter how much she fumed silently, it wouldn't change anything.
Think of something! she whispered to herself, desperately brainstorming a way to break the awkward silence.
Just then,
"Since Aragaki-kun secretly hums songs on the rooftop, he definitely loves music! So, Utaha-chan, just start the conversation from music."
A certain editor's words echoed in her mind again, and Utaha suddenly had an epiphany.
Right! Aragaki-kun loves music! If I bring that up, won't that break the "zero communication" deadlock?
Besides, apart from those two girls from Class B, she'd never seen him proactively talk to other girls. At most, he'd just say "Good morning, everyone" when entering the classroom.
Even when other girls confessed to him, he'd just reply with, "Sorry, you're a really nice girl."
Today, he actually took the initiative to greet her, someone from a different class whom he hadn't spoken to before Friday.
Didn't that mean her place in his heart... was different from other girls'?
Alright! I've decided!
Action-oriented as ever, Utaha unclenched her fists and quietly turned around.
However, just as she was about to speak,
the familiar cover of the novel in Miyahito's hands caught her eye.
Isn't that Love's Metronome Vol 3!?
Frozen in place, Utaha suddenly remembered that her third volume had only been released a few days ago.
Didn't Aragaki-kun say he was just an ordinary reader who bought Vol 2 by chance?
Liar! What kind of ordinary reader buys the sequel less than two days after it releases?!
Honestly, Utaha didn't mind readers carefully studying her work in front of her.
But there was one thing: if the reader reading her book in front of her was the actual prototype for her male protagonist... even with Utaha's thick skin, she couldn't handle that level of cringe.
And the male lead was modeled after Aragaki Miyahito... while the female lead was modeled after herself! If that's the case, wouldn't it be like she was imagining...
Her mind refusing to go further down that path, Utaha lowered her burning face, silently turned back around, and faced away from him again.
She didn't dare say a word.
Honestly, facing this awkward situation, she really wanted to bolt.
But she couldn't... because if she ran away right now, wouldn't that cement the misunderstanding that "Utaha doesn't want to talk to Aragaki-kun, or even dislikes him"?!
Uuuu... s-so awkward...
50 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter
1 Review = 1 Bonus Chapter