After dinner, bidding farewell to the Shirogane family, Miyahito returns alone to his house next door.
Turning on the lights, swapping his shoes, he walks down the hall to the living room.
Tossing his schoolbag aside, he throws himself heavily onto the sofa. Tilting his head back, he stares blankly at the ceiling. Then, gradually, the joy he had been suppressing since saying goodbye to Utaha on the rooftop erupts in his heart without warning.
Unable to hold back his excitement, he flips over, burying his face deep into a cushion.
Then, hugging the pillow, he rolls around on the sofa like an idiot.
"So great, it's really so great. 'Senpai's' feelings won't be betrayed this time."
"I still have a chance!"
Rolling around happily like a fool, Miyahito loses his balance and tumbles off the sofa, landing heavily on the carpet.
But he doesn't care about the minor pain.
Again and again, his mind replays what happened during lunch today, and Utaha's attitude toward him.
Even though he hasn't personally heard her say "I haven't fallen for him" or "I don't like anyone yet," it no longer matters.
Because Miyahito already got the answer he wanted—the factual answer.
Se... Utaha hasn't fallen for anyone.
And it seems that because of those casually dropped words he said that day in front of Machida Sonoko...
Kasumigaoka Utaha in this world would never experience the same future as in the anime from his past life.
This fact alone was the main reason for Miyahito's current joy.
"Do you think... I can be a little greedy?"
Lying flat on the carpet, he removed the pillow from his face with his right hand. His left hand reached high, fingers splayed.
He stared blankly at his palm blocking the ceiling light.
He knew full well that, having been given a second life and many treasures he once longed for but never got, he shouldn't be trying to grasp for more.
Yet even so.
"Can I be a little greedy?"
"Not much... just a little bit is enough....."
.....
Friday arrived, the day every high schooler looks forward to.
The familiar Toyogasaki Academy rooftop.
The familiar lunchtime.
The familiar bench.
Only this Friday, compared to the earlier days of the week, the two youths who reported here punctually had undergone a subtle shift.
"I'm sticking to my opinion, Aragaki-kun."
Utaha crossed her arms, her expression slightly serious, her crossed right leg bouncing restlessly.
"I still think The Reincarnated Hero Who Fell in Love with the Demon King has absolutely nothing worth reading besides the illustrations."
"That's your prejudice speaking, Kasumigaoka."
Frowning slightly, Miyahito handed her a strawberry milk with a straw already inserted, and countered.
"Undeniably, if you only look at the prose, it's definitely at the level of 'buy the art, get the toilet paper free'."
"But if you set the prose aside, the satisfaction points and plot progression genuinely have highlights worth reading."
Hearing this, Utaha, sipping her milk, shot him an annoyed glare as he acted completely casual.
Swallowing her drink, she tilted her chin up, her tone slightly proud.
"But for a light novel, isn't grabbing the reader's interest the absolute priority?"
"With prose that bad, the first impression is ruined. No matter how good the plot design is, it's wasted effort."
But just like you, Utaha, your prose is great, but if your plot design was mediocre, you almost got canceled too, right?
Miyahito didn't voice this thought, keeping it to himself.
After all, the girl in front of him still firmly believed he didn't know that "Kasumigaoka Utaha is Kasumi Utako."
Because of that, it wasn't right for him to just blurt out the secret.
But whether he said it or not wasn't the important part.
For some reason, neither of them continued the conversation.
Yet even as the atmosphere fell into a quiet lull, neither Miyahito nor Utaha felt any awkwardness or discomfort.
Instead, a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere gradually replaced the silence.
Even if we don't say a word, it's fine.
As long as you're by my side, this place is where my heart finds peace.
'However.'
Leaning back on the bench with his hands behind him, looking as if he's gazing at the sky, Miyahito secretly shifts his gaze to Utaha's profile.
'Reality is truly full of coincidences.'
Look, Kasumigaoka Utaha has the "Kasumi Utako" secret, and Aragaki Miyahito has the "Miyani" secret.
Isn't reality just filled with such coincidences?
"Cherry blossoms, falling one by one."
"Swaying, embracing my thoughts."
"That dream of meeting you in spring."
"Is still clear in my mind."
"Cherry blossoms scatter."
"..."
It was Miyani's Sakura.
Utaha slowly lifted her head, looking at the boy beside her who was softly singing Sakura with a hint of curiosity.
"On the train, I saw."
"Your usual silhouette."
"The two of us, crossing the spring bridge together."
Even though it was just a cappella, the more she listened to his voice, the clearer the scene under the cherry blossom tree became in her mind.
"It feels just like Miyani."
Utaha didn't know why her favorite singer, Miyani, came to mind.
But as the melody lingered in her ears, gradually, the figures of Aragaki Miyahito and Miyani unconsciously drew closer in her wine-red eyes.
Slowly approaching, slowly overlapping.
Just as the two different yet somewhat similar figures were about to merge completely.
"Cherry blossoms, falling one by one."
"Spring steps toward its direction."
"Holding that dream we vowed to in spring."
"Tightly in my arms."
"Cherry blossoms fly away."
The singing stopped.....
"Kasumigaoka?"
"Ah, y-yeah." Noticing his gaze, realizing she'd been spacing out while staring at him, Utaha's cheeks flushed as she looked away, her voice slightly flustered.
"You sing really well, Aragaki-kun."
"Thanks."
Hearing her praise, Miyahito felt a bit shy and instinctively rubbed his nose.
Catching this shy mannerism from the corner of her eye, Utaha's lips curved upward.
So Aragaki-kun is actually a guy who gets embarrassed so easily?
Teasing him silently in her mind, she crossed one arm, her other hand's fingers restlessly playing with the hair by her ear, smiling at the slightly flustered boy.
"It really is good. Yeah, even better than what I accidentally heard that one time."
Miyahito's brain took a moment to process. Feeling her words carried another meaning, he thought hard.
That one time? Accidentally? Utaha heard? Sings well?
Following her keywords, a familiar memory slowly surfaced in his mind.
Then.
Miyahito instantly froze.
Utaha, who hadn't taken her eyes off him for a second, completely witnessed the process on his face: from confusion, to bewilderment, to all expressions solidifying into shock.
Thoroughly amused, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hehe... remember now, Aragaki-kun?"
"!"
"Stop laughing, Kasumigaoka."
"Nah-nah-nah! No way! You scared me so badly that time with your reaction."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? Just stop laughing."
"Hehehe....."
Watching Utaha clutch her stomach, covering her mouth and laughing softly, Miyahito tilted his head back, a look of utter despair on his face.
Ahhh... I just want to die. Let me die already.
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