Chapter 172: Just How Much Do You Want Us to Like You?! 

"Makeup!"

"Done!"

"Mental preparation!"

"All set!"

"Underwear that Minami-kun can see!"

"...Already wearing— cough cough cough?! H-Huh??"

Just as Inoue Takina was about to respond, she immediately realized something was off and started coughing violently.

"Hehehe... Looks like you actually remembered what I said before and put it on, huh?"

Nishikagi Chisato blinked playfully.

"If you're going to say that— what about you, Chisato?"

Takina's face burned red as she counterattacked directly.

"Of course, I'm completely prepared!"

Chisato confidently placed her hands on her hips, completely unfazed.

"In fact, I even brought a 0.01(Condom) just in case—wanna see?"

"STOP! STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Takina's entire face turned red as she frantically looked around.

Thankfully, there were hardly any people in the restroom. The occasional visitor would just come and go, barely paying attention to them.

"Eh...? What's there to be embarrassed about?

Doesn't Takina like Minami-kun just as much as I do?"

Chisato pouted, clearly dissatisfied with being interrupted.

"Liking Minami-kun is one thing! But— but— but!"

Takina's voice started off firm, but soon got smaller and smaller as she turned her head away.

"...But that kind of thing is only for after marriage."

"Eh—?"

Chisato let out a disappointed whine.

"Being upset about it won't change anything!

We must maintain the purity of our relationship!"

Takina spoke seriously, her expression determined.

"But in those memories, Takina was the one who enjoyed it the most out of the three of us."

Chisato pouted cutely.

"Ugh—!"

Takina turned beet red.

"That was just in the memories! It doesn't count in real life!"

She protested loudly—

But her voice was clearly lacking confidence.

"Hehe, I actually think honest Takina is even cuter."

Chisato giggled, deciding to end the teasing here.

She glanced at the time—

They had been in the restroom for about five or six minutes now.

If they stayed any longer, Minami might start wondering what was taking so long.

With that, the two girls put away their idle chatter and returned to Minami Shouji's classroom.

By now, the crowd at Shuka High's cultural festival had reached its peak.

Compared to the early morning, the entire festival had transformed.

Some classrooms were fully decorated—

Hanging lanterns, waving signs, and filled with endless streams of visitors.

Even in small classroom spaces, the event was bustling like a festival street market.

Students from Shuka High, along with outside visitors, moved about in excitement.

Outside Minami's classroom, a long line had formed.

It seemed the chocolate bananas were getting good reviews, and many people queued up to buy them.

"Minami-kun~!"

Chisato beamed brightly, waving cheerfully at Minami Shouji.

Her striking golden-white hair stood out in the crowd, drawing plenty of attention.

And standing beside her—

With a cool and elegant aura—was Inoue Takina, exuding a presence like a solitary orchid in a deep valley.

The moment the two of them appeared, many eyes turned in their direction.

But neither Chisato nor Takina paid any attention to the curious gazes.

They simply jogged up to Minami Shouji.

Takina glanced at Minami's busy classmates, then hesitated before asking:

"Mi-Minami-kun... Are you okay?"

She still wasn't used to this form of address, and it sounded a little stiff coming from her.

"Hm? What do you mean by 'okay'?"

By now, Minami had already spent five or six minutes digesting his food.

Though he still felt extremely full, at least standing and walking wasn't an issue anymore.

Hearing Takina's words, he tilted his head slightly.

"I mean, the class activity—it looks like you're pretty busy?"

Chisato pointed toward the long queue at the chocolate banana stand, clarifying Takina's concern.

"Ah... That?"

Minami immediately understood.

"There's no problem at all.

It's not my turn to work yet.

My shift is from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM—just one hour."

Since this was a class project, he couldn't just skip his shift.

But for now—

He was still free.

"Is that so?"

Hearing his words, the two girls breathed a sigh of relief.

As they left the rest area, Chisato was the first to speak.

"So, where should we go next?"

"Hmm… up to you two."

Minami yawned, stretching slightly.

Having lived through his previous life as a full-fledged working adult, he had little interest in student-organized festivals.

Still, since Chisato and Takina wanted to explore Shuka Festival, he wasn't going to turn them down.

"Then I wanna eat something delicious!"

Chisato's energy was in full swing—this lively, party-like atmosphere suited her perfectly.

The only issue was…

Minami had already eaten way too much this morning.

Not only had he tried nearly every food stall, but he had also eaten the bento both girls had made.

So, he immediately declined, saying he wouldn't buy anything for himself, but they were welcome to enjoy whatever they wanted.

The three of them strolled through the festival, stopping at various booths.

Or rather, Chisato excitedly explored while Minami and Takina followed behind, watching her goof around.

Minami, still uncomfortably full, wasn't in the mood for much activity.

Meanwhile, Takina, with her naturally composed demeanor, wasn't the type to jump into festival games either.

So, the two of them simply observed as Chisato happily munched on cotton candy, admired masks, and enjoyed a candied apple.

Then—

"Oh?!"

Chisato suddenly halted, her eyes sparkling as if she had found something truly exciting.

Following her gaze, Minami looked ahead and spotted the stall that had caught her attention.

It was a shooting game booth.

Various prizes were displayed on the shelves behind the counter, and a few couples stood at the front, trying their luck with air rifles.

Minami and the girls stopped to watch a particular couple.

The boyfriend had already fired nearly ten shots, spending about 600 yen, yet he still hadn't hit anything.

The tall young man sighed, lowering the air rifle in embarrassment.

"Let's try again another time, Yumi. I swear, this gun must be rigged—it's impossible to aim properly."

"What? But Shouta, aren't you normally really good at these shooting games? You're just not focusing on me enough, that's why you keep missing!"

"No, no, it's not that! There's a huge difference between FPS games and real-life shooting!"

"I don't wanna hear it! You clearly don't love me anymore!"

"W-Wait! Fine! Boss, give me ten more shots!"

The boyfriend, now completely panicked, hurriedly purchased another set of rubber bullets from the booth owner.

Minami had to wonder—was it because Chisato came from Lycoris Recoil, a gunfight-themed anime, that she seemed particularly drawn to this game?

Without hesitation, she grabbed both Minami and Takina by the wrists and dragged them to the stall, eagerly requesting an air rifle from the vendor.

After loading the rubber bullets, she held the rifle in a stance uncannily similar to a Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle, squinting as she aimed.

Even then, she didn't forget to check in with Takina.

"Takina! Is there anything you want?"

"Ah… I don't really need anything."

Takina glanced at the prizes on the shelf.

They were mostly cheap dolls, hairpins, and other small trinkets.

But she had zero interest in accessories like dolls or hairpins, so she frowned slightly and continued.

"Chisato, maybe we should just skip this. Other people have spent so many shots without hitting anything—it's obvious the guns are rigged."

"Huh? Other people are other people. I'm me! I'm the one and only Unrivaled, Unmatched, Enemy-Annihilating, Ultimate Sniper, Chisato the Great!"

For some reason, Chisato always seemed to have unshakable confidence in herself.

"Unrivaled, Ultimate Sniper…?"

Hearing that exceptionally dramatic nickname, Minami finally shifted his attention away from the struggling couple.

Fortunately, Takina stepped in to explain before he had to ask.

"It's like this. Chisato is ridiculously good at FPS shooting games. No matter which one, she's always among the top players. Because of that, people gave her this nickname."

"I see."

Minami nodded.

It didn't surprise him at all that Chisato excelled at FPS games.

After all, her "Reaction Speed LV5" ability wasn't just for show.

According to the system's description—

Her reaction time was fast enough that she could dodge bullets at close range.

And FPS games? Those were entirely dependent on reaction speed.

So, if Chisato was a top-tier FPS player, it really wasn't surprising in the slightest.

"Minami! Is there anything you want? No matter what it is, Chisato-sama will win it for you!"

Seeing her best friend and partner-in-crime hyping her up so much, Chisato was now even more determined to impress Minami.

"In that case… I'll take that panda plushie."

Not wanting to ruin her enthusiasm, Minami casually pointed at a prize on the shelf.

"Got it!"

Grinning, Chisato firmly gripped the rifle, took aim—

And fired.

Bang!

…She completely missed.

"Huh?"

Minami blinked in surprise.

Based on what he remembered from Lycoris Recoil, Chisato was never bad at shooting.

Even when using low-accuracy non-lethal bullets, she could still hit her targets with precision.

But here—she missed entirely.

Though, compared to Minami's surprise, Chisato seemed completely unfazed.

Without hesitation, she loaded a second bullet, narrowed her eyes, and focused.

"The first shot was just to get a feel for the gun. The second shot is the real deal."

She locked onto the standing panda plushie—

And pulled the trigger.

Bang!

As Minami Shouji watched—

Just as Chisato had said, the rubber plug hit the panda plushie dead-on, knocking it over effortlessly.

At the same time, he overheard a couple's conversation nearby.

"Shouta! Look, even other people can do it—why can't you?! This just proves your feelings aren't strong enough, doesn't it?"

"W-Wait, wait! Boss! Give me five more shots!"

That was the panicked voice of the boyfriend.

Even as Shouji walked away, he had no idea whether that guy—Shouta—had managed to win the prize his girlfriend wanted or not.

The three of them continued strolling through the Shuka Festival.

And just as Ijichi Nijika had said—

This festival was far more diverse than a typical high school cultural festival.

Not only were there various food stalls, but even accessory booths selling all sorts of trinkets and decorations.

Clearly, these booths were targeted at female customers.

And sure enough—

Most of the visitors browsing the stalls were women, or women dragging along their boyfriends.

Chisato was having a blast shopping around, and of course—

She wouldn't miss out on this area.

She eagerly pulled Takina along, checking out this and glancing at that.

Meanwhile, Shouji wasn't particularly interested in this kind of shopping.

But seeing how enthusiastic Chisato and Takina were, he decided to take a break, casually scanning the surrounding decorations.

✨ Sparkling bracelets.

📱 Cute phone cases.

💍 Small, rhinestone-studded rings.

They didn't seem expensive, but each one was delicately crafted and charming.

It was clear that the students running these booths had put in a lot of effort.

As Shouji's gaze wandered—

He suddenly let out a soft 'huh?'

Among the racks, he noticed a cute little orange cat-shaped hair clip tucked away in a less noticeable corner.

It wasn't expensive, but it was adorably crafted—

A tiny orange cat with its mouth curled into a playful smirk, looking almost like it was grinning mischievously.

"Excuse me, could you take that one down for me?"

Shouji called out to the shop owner.

As he took the cat hair clip in his hand, he examined its small, charming design and felt a sense of satisfaction.

This would make a great gift…

Should be no problem.

"That's so nice~"

Right then—

Chisato's voice suddenly rang out next to him.

Minami turned his head—

Only to realize that, at some point, Chisato had snuck back over to him with her usual cheerful smile.

"If you're buying that for Takina, I bet she'd be really happy, right?"

"For Takina?"

"Yeah! Think about it—

Takina's so cute, but she never wears any accessories, right?

Isn't that such a waste?

If you give this to her, she'll definitely become even cuter!"

Chisato glanced enviously at the cat hair clip in Minami's hand, grinning brightly.

Takina had never been interested in accessories.

She simply didn't care about dressing herself up.

But—

If it was something Minami gave her—

No matter how uninterested she was, she'd definitely appreciate it and accept it gratefully.

However—

"I wasn't talking about Takina—

I meant you."

Minami glanced at Chisato.

"If I'm only getting something for Takina, then what about you?"

That's right.

Takina's gift was decided.

But what about hers?

What was she supposed to do?

"Eh...? Me...?"

Clearly—

Chisato hadn't expected him to ask her that.

She blinked, momentarily stunned.

"You always care too much about Takina's opinion."

Minami Shouji looked down at the cat-shaped hairpin in his hand, shaking his head as he continued.

"Caring about someone you love isn't a bad thing. But if you get so caught up in someone else's feelings that you start neglecting your own… you'll only lose yourself. That's all there is to it."

Then, he raised his head and asked,

"Chisato, don't you want this hairpin too?"

"..."

For once, Chisato, who was always so bright and cheerful, fell silent at Minami's question.

But only for a moment.

"I mean… I do want it. But compared to me, Takina probably needs it more."

A gentle smile bloomed on Chisato's lively, expressive face.

Her thoughts were always simple.

Takina's happiness was her happiness—nothing more, nothing less.

But Minami clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer.

Instead, he turned to the student running the stall and asked,

"Do you have any more of these orange cat hairpins?"

"Ah… Sorry, Minami-senpai. These hairpins have been pretty popular. This is actually our last one."

The student running the booth apologized, clearly feeling bad.

"..."

Minami remained silent for a moment.

"It's fine, Minami! It's just a hairpin. I don't mind at all."

Chisato returned to her usual, carefree smile.

And she wasn't lying.

She would never get upset at Minami or Takina over something as small as a gift.

To her, those two were the most important people in her life.

Compared to them, a simple present like this meant nothing.

At most, she might feel a little jealous—but that wasn't a big deal.

She spoke casually, brushing it off.

But Minami didn't respond.

He simply paid for the hairpin, turned around, and quietly walked off toward another booth.

Chisato rested her cheek against her hand, watching him go.

Her golden-red eyes were filled with warmth.

"This guy, seriously..."

She had already told him it was fine.

Even without a gift, she wouldn't be upset.

So why was he still being so stubborn?

Chisato didn't understand.

But there was one thing she did know…

At this moment—

More than one second ago—

She liked Minami even more.

...

"Seriously—how did we lose you while walking around, Chisato?"

After finishing their stroll through the accessories booths, Takina had finally rejoined Minami.

Now, she was directing a small complaint at Chisato.

"You were the one leading me around, and then you suddenly disappeared."

By the time she turned back—

Chisato was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, standing beside her was Minami Shouji.

Fortunately, their phones still worked perfectly fine—

Otherwise, trying to find Chisato in this massive sea of people at the Shuka Festival would've been like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As Takina grumbled about that—

Minami, standing beside her, suddenly extended his hand, holding out a small paper bag.

"Here, Takina. This is for you."

"Eh…? A gift?"

Takina blinked, visibly surprised.

She instinctively peeked inside the bag—

And there it was—

A cute, orange cat hair clip, resting quietly at the bottom.

"That's so nice~ Takina gets a present from Minami-kun!"

Chisato, who had somehow reappeared, grinned playfully as she glanced at the orange cat clip.

She truly envied Takina for receiving a gift from Minami.

But—

Just as she had said before—

That feeling was only admiration.

Nothing more.

Because, to Chisato—

Simply seeing Takina happy was more than enough.

As long as Takina was smiling—

That was all that mattered.

Chisato thought to herself quietly.

But—

"What are you thinking about?"

Minami's voice suddenly cut in.

"Eh?"

Chisato turned to him, confused.

"This one's for you."

Right in front of her—

Minami pulled out another paper bag.

"This is…?"

Chisato instinctively took it and peeked inside—

Inside the brown paper bag, a black cat hair clip rested quietly.

Unlike the smiling orange cat, this one had a calm, aloof expression—

A cool and lazy kind of charm.

"I couldn't find another orange cat clip."

As Chisato stared, momentarily caught off guard—

Minami continued speaking.

"So I found a similar one instead… Oh, right."

His voice paused for a moment.

Then, with his black eyes meeting Chisato's gaze, he added—

"Just to clear up any misunderstandings—

The orange cat clip was chosen by Chisato for Takina.

And the black cat clip was chosen by Takina for Chisato."

"Eh…?"

As soon as he said that—

Both Chisato and Takina were stunned.

They turned to each other—

Eyes wide—

Completely speechless.

Meanwhile, Minami simply sighed, exasperated.

When he had been picking out the black cat clip, Takina had explicitly said—

"I just want Chisato to be happy."

She had wanted him to give the clip to Chisato.

And when he had been picking out the orange cat clip, Chisato had told him the exact same thing—

She had wanted Takina to receive it.

Without knowing what the other was doing—

Both of them had made the exact same choice.

Each one sacrificing their own chance—

For the sake of the other.

And yet—

By sheer coincidence, the smiling orange cat and the cool black cat had ended up perfectly representing their personalities.

These two girls—

Always had each other in their hearts.

In every way, they were inseparable.

At that moment, Minami finally understood.

Why, in the simulation, the route where he married both of them had been so easy to unlock.

Because from the very beginning—

These two had always been deeply connected.

One couldn't exist without the other.

They were both willing to sacrifice their own happiness—

For the sake of each other.

However—

"I understand wanting the other person to be happy."

Minami spoke calmly.

"But at the same time—

You shouldn't ignore your own happiness either."

Chisato and Takina fell silent for a long moment.

Then—

Without any hesitation—

Chisato threw herself into Minami's chest, rubbing her face against him.

Takina, a bit more reserved, simply wrapped her arms around him gently.

Ahh—!

Seriously!

This man!

This man is too sinful!

How much more do you want us to love you?!

Do you want us to hand over our whole hearts to you?!

Geez—

Geez—

Geez…

Chisato and Takina thought to themselves—

As they savored this fleeting, tiny moment of happiness.