The next day, the school was buzzing.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the whole school, but rather my class that was in an uproar.

It had become widely known that Fuyunagi-san and Sado had broken up, and that Sado and Sakurada-san had newly become a couple.

Some male students who were aiming for Sakurada-san looked dejected, while many female students were also shocked by the fact that Fuyunagi-san and Sado, who were thought to be the best couple, had broken up.

However, their strongest interest and concern was directed elsewhere.

Today…Fuyunagi-san is not at school.

She’s skipping school.

The people around them don’t know the details.

Some are saying that Sado dumped her for Sakurada-san, while others are even going so far as to say that Sakurada-san threatened Fuyunagi-san and stole Sado’s girlfriend position.

However, it seems that neither Sado nor Sakurada-san has told anyone around them the details.

They’re truly good people; they don’t spread bad impressions of others even if it means taking the blame themselves…

Sakurada-san and Sado are both good people, and I know it’s not right for them to be talked about like this without a chance to defend themselves.

“Yo, Majima, something seriously incredible is happening.”

“Ah, it’s Kato.”

Kato, one of my few friends, casually spoke to me.

“Man, those guys are the worst. I bet Fuyunagi-san is so shocked from what they did to her that she’s taking the day off school.”

“What do you mean, what they did?”

“I’m talking about the rumors, obviously. That bastard Sado tried to go after both Fuyunagi-san and Sakurada at the same time so he could have it both ways! Seriously, guys like that are the enemy of all men. Unbelievable.”

“I see… so that’s how the story’s spreading among the boys…”

“And Sakurada-san’s pretty bad too. Among the girls, it’s apparently well-known she’s been after Sado for a long time. She’s probably been targeting him from way back. Damn it… Fuyunagi-san really got the short end of the stick.”

“Kato…”

“Huh? What is it?”

“…That’s not how it really is. It’s not like that at all.”

“Eh?”

Katou is looking at me with disbelief.

I leave Katou there and stand up from my seat, walking towards the teacher’s desk.

My classmates are all staring at me, wondering what I’m doing as I stand at the teacher’s desk.

After scanning the entire classroom, I opened my mouth.

“Fuyunagi-san’s real boyfriend isn’t Sado…it’s me.”

The classroom falls silent for a moment.

But the next instant, the room is filled with laughter and commotion.

Everyone—both the popular kids and the outcasts—is laughing hysterically.

It’s as if they’re all saying, “What are you talking about?”

Well, it’s understandable. A nobody like me suddenly claiming to be the boyfriend…lover of Fuyunagi Shizuku, who is practically the class Madonna.

Even my friend Katou has a “what are you saying?” look on his face, so the others probably think I’m just some delusional weirdo with a pathetic imagination.

I might as well be seen as a crazy pervert with delusions of grandeur.

It’s understandable; who would believe me if I said something like this without any proof?

They won’t believe it because there’s no proof.

If you want to prove it, just show the evidence… that’s all there is to it.

“I have plenty of proof if you’d like?”

“Huh? There’s no way a pathetic guy like you could be dating Shizuku-san!”

“That’s right! Get lost!”

“Well, don’t say that… let me explain. Here, this is our line exchange.”

“Huh?”

“Wait… let me see it!”

Almost all of the classmates gather around the teacher’s desk.

I show it to the loudest and most assertive one as a representative.

In terms of the line exchange, I need to select messages that clearly indicate we have a relationship.

It’s a message about how I bought a cake as a souvenir when I went to Shizuku-san’s house.

In response, Shizuku-san replied with a photo and said “Thank you~”.

There’s nothing lewd in the picture.

The photo shows Shizuku-san wearing casual clothes, looking rough… or rather, a bit slovenly.

This might be weak proof of a romantic relationship, but I think it’s enough.

Because, as these guys say, I’m an unremarkable and plain guy.

That such a guy is exchanging messages with photos with the class Madonna, the unattainable flower, everyone’s beloved Shizuku-san… that in itself is unbelievable.

Therefore, just that fact alone exceeds their comprehension capacity and sends them into complete confusion.

“Huh…? This can’t be happening…”

“Wait, is this really her?”

“No way, it looks like her for sure.”

“But I’ve never seen Shizuku-san looking so casual before!”

The classmates start buzzing with chatter.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I blurted out:

“I’ve been secretly dating Shizuku-san… I feel bad about deceiving Sado and everyone else… I’m sorry… but it’s not Shizuku-san’s fault… she lied to protect me.”

“A lie?”

“The hell… what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Think about it, okay? If someone like me were dating the Fuyunagi-san, it’s obvious people would resent me for it, and it could even turn into some nasty bullying… That’s why she suggested we keep our relationship a secret.”

“No way! Why would she choose someone like you!?”

“So that means Shizuku-san has been deceiving Sado the whole time… That’s awful!”

“Yeah! It’s terrible! To deceive such a nice guy like Sado!”

“…”

I knew this would happen.

More accurately, it was inevitable.

If you lie and deceive people, this is the natural consequence… there’s no excuse to be made.

This is the price we pay for what Shizuku-san and I have done.

“And seriously! That ‘I’m her boyfriend’ attitude of yours is really pissing me off!!”

“I don’t know how you managed to get Fuyunagi-san’s attention, but don’t get full of yourself, yeah? There’s no way someone like you is actually liked by her!!!”

“………”

I already know that.

What she wants isn’t a boyfriend.

It’s someone to depend on.

She’s just using the pleasant-sounding word “boyfriend” to describe it.

“…Cut it out already!!”

At that moment, Sado raised his voice, breaking the tension in the room.

Sado took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking.