Revelation and Disillusionment

What should I do?

Even though she prioritized classes above all else, Ochi Mana still couldn’t help but zone out during the third period.

“After class, could you meet me in the hallway? I have something to tell you.”

She had said this to Kanzaki Takuya before class.

When the class bell rang, Mana discovered that Takashiro and her two friends had spread the news on SNS that she was going to confess to Kanzaki Takuya… It wasn’t hard to imagine a crowd gathering to watch later.

Yes, what they wanted was for Mana to make a fool of herself.

Kanzaki Takuya was a school idol, even referred to as “Prince” by some, but he was also famously known for his intense hatred of evil. There were rumors of a delinquent girl confessing to him, only to be harshly humiliated, even driven to tears of self-doubt on the spot… Of course, these were just rumors, but one thing was certain—

Kanzaki Takuya would explicitly reject anyone he didn’t like.

However, Mana was unaware of this information. After discovering the actions of Takashiro and her friends, she hadn’t bothered to check other people’s reposts or explanations. The reason for her panic was her concern that her relationship with Kanzaki Takuya would be exposed.

[I’m going to confess to you later, you absolutely have to reject me!]

So, she passed him a note with this message.

Kanzaki Takuya didn’t play on his phone during class, but upon seeing the note’s content, he quickly checked online.

[Were those three forcing you to do this?]

[No, just reject me, okay?]

[You don’t have to go, and I don’t have to go. Let’s make it all fake news.]

Kanzaki Takuya offered a good suggestion.

[Sorry, I have to go.]

Mana knew she was being a bit too willful. If she had decisively broken ties with Takashiro Rie and her two friends, this farce wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

But she couldn’t ruin Yurina’s relationships, nor could she expose the fact that “she” and Kanzaki Takuya were already dating. She had no other choice.

She could imagine being rejected in front of everyone, with many people laughing at her. When she and Yurina swapped back in the future, Yurina would also be incredibly embarrassed… But a short pain was better than a long one. People would surely forget such a small gaffe quickly.

[I understand.]

Staring at Mana’s face for a while, Kanzaki Takuya tossed over the last note of that class.

“They’re here, they’re here!”

Although some people recognized the prank for what it was, the world never lacked those who loved schadenfreude and had strong curiosity.

So, as soon as class ended, people swarmed outside Class 2-C. Those unaware of the situation were quickly drawn in by the crowd, and after understanding what was happening, promptly joined the heckling and spectating throng.

Ah, youth… Mana decided to fully meet their expectations: confess, get rejected, and then run away in tears.

“Shizuki-san, is there something specific you wanted to tell me?”

Kanzaki Takuya was very cooperative, appearing somewhat bewildered as if he knew nothing.

“Kanzaki-kun…”

Mana took a deep breath, pretending to be nervous, and then—

“Please go out with me.”

“Okay.”

“?”

Mana froze, suspecting her ears had malfunctioned.

“Then, please take care of me from now on.” Kanzaki Takuya walked over, looking at her warmly.

Eh, eh, eh, what did you just say?

Mana finally reacted, but she was too surprised to say anything.

Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd had already erupted into chaos because of Kanzaki Takuya’s reply.

“Ahhh, Kanzaki-kun, how could you?”

“Oh my god, I didn’t mishear, did I? That Kanzaki Takuya said yes?”

“Fantastic, our springtime has arrived!”

“Girls of the school, I’m here!”

As the confusion on site threatened to escalate further, the teachers who had been observing quickly stepped in to disperse the crowd and summon the two main culprits to the office for a reprimand.

By the time they emerged from the office, twenty minutes of fourth period had already passed.

“This way, we’re now the school’s officially recognized couple,” Kanzaki Takuya said, smiling.

“Don’t talk about it!” Mana whirled around, “Didn’t I tell you to reject me? Why did you say yes?”

“Because I don’t intend to embarrass my girlfriend.”

Mana paused slightly, then understood. Kanzaki Takuya was unwilling for his girlfriend to suffer even the slightest ridicule.

“But we agreed our relationship would be a secret…” Her tone immediately softened.

“Whether our relationship is secret or not has nothing to do with those onlookers. If you feel uncomfortable in front of acquaintances, you can always explain that I was just playing along to save you from embarrassment.”

“No… let’s just make it public. Thank you, Kanzaki-kun.”

Mana knew that Kanzaki Takuya’s “acquaintances” referred to Mizushima and the others. But if she did that, others would know that Takashiro Rie was pranking her, and might even help her get revenge… Therefore, she decided to make her relationship with Kanzaki Takuya public.

“Why are you thanking me?” Kanzaki Takuya asked, “Are you perhaps thinking I’m reluctant to lose my fans?”

“Isn’t that the case?”

Mana spoke subconsciously. In her view, the most hurt right now would be secret admirers and fans. The former were fine; if they didn’t know, they could be treated as non-existent. The latter, however, might abandon him in large numbers, potentially causing the entire fan club to falter.

“I never considered myself a school idol. I’m just doing what I want to do, and I’ve been lucky enough to gain everyone’s approval and affection… If anything, we’re more like a mutually beneficial relationship.”

That’s right, Kanzaki Takuya wasn’t a commercial idol, nor did he seem like someone who would care about the size of his fanbase… After understanding the situation, Mana nodded.

Unexpectedly, Kanzaki Takuya didn’t intend to stop there, changing the subject:

“Besides, in my heart, my girlfriend is more important than all of that.”

This guy…

Fortunately, having gained a fair amount of experience, Mana wasn’t as surprised by Kanzaki Takuya’s sudden declarations of affection as she used to be.

Rather, she was very happy that Kanzaki Takuya regarded Yurina so highly.

“Thank you, Kanzaki-kun.”

Kanzaki Takuya gazed at Yurina, who smiled with relief, and said nothing more. The two returned to the classroom.

The moment they entered, the classmates stirred. However, as it was class time, under the teacher’s sharp gaze, they had to restrain themselves until the bell rang—

“What’s going on with you two?”

“Kanzaki-kun, you actually said yes?”

“By the way, have you two been dating for a while?”

“It must be! Shizuki-san changed so much, and her grades suddenly got so good.”

Despite being mentally prepared, when people swarmed over, chattering incessantly in her ear, Mana couldn’t help but panic.

“No, everyone, listen to me…”

She tried hard to explain but found no one was listening.

Ahhh, what should I do in this situation?

She had been taught since childhood how to remain calm among ill-intentioned people, but not how to deal with a group of gossiping classmates.

In the chaos, her hand was grasped by a strong, warm hand. Soon, the other person pulled her out of the classroom.

Undoubtedly, it was Kanzaki Takuya.

In fact, Mana had just been wondering where Kanzaki Takuya was when he had already acted, saving her from the crowd with a more decisive and firm demeanor than her own.

This guy… he really is amazing.

Mana looked at Kanzaki Takuya’s tall back, marveling inwardly while feeling a hint of longing.

Soon after, they avoided other students and successfully arrived at the empty classroom where they had eaten lunch yesterday.

“Yurina, I’m sorry, I opened your backpack without permission.”

Only then did Mana notice that Kanzaki Takuya had also brought her lunchbox.

How thoughtful… she smiled slightly.

“It’s okay. In fact, it’s great that you brought it for me. Thank you.”

“No, it’s all my fault for making you suffer. You’re not good at dealing with so many people, are you?”

“Mm, everyone was too enthusiastic, but this isn’t Kanzaki-kun’s fault. I’ll get used to it, please don’t worry.”

As Kanzaki Takuya’s girlfriend, being the center of attention was natural. Not to mention, she had already made up her mind to solve the problems arising from making their relationship public, one by one.

As for blaming Kanzaki Takuya, that was even more out of the question, especially since he was so genuinely considerate of Yurina… Seeing Kanzaki Takuya about to say more comforting words, she immediately brightened her smile:

“Kanzaki-kun, let’s not discuss this anymore. Let’s start eating lunch.”

That’s right, she couldn’t let Kanzaki Takuya keep worrying about her.

She wasn’t Yurina. If it were Yurina, she would have recovered quickly… she wouldn’t even have been disheartened in the first place.

She was different from a disgusting, gloomy person like her…

Seeing Shizuki Yurina pretend to be cheerful, Kanzaki Takuya quickly returned her smile, cooperatively took out his lunchbox, putting on a show of having been fooled and believing his girlfriend was fine.

Then, during lunch, when Yurina wasn’t paying attention, Kanzaki Takuya gently patted her shoulder with the hand wearing the Illusion-Breaking Ring.

Honestly, after everything that had happened, this Yurina must have been physically and mentally exhausted. Kanzaki Takuya had once wanted to postpone his plan again, but at this moment, all he wanted was to free the girl in front of him from the pressure of her disguise as soon as possible.

And then, he wanted to become her friend, to learn more about this girl…

“Kanzaki-kun, what’s wrong?” Yurina looked up, a little bewildered.

“There was something dirty, I helped you brush it off.”

This Illusion-Breaking Ring could store spiritual power, activating upon contact with the wearer. The drawback was that it could only be used once before needing to be recharged.

It was specifically for those who couldn’t use spells, but Kanzaki Takuya had no intention of using it a second time.

The problem was, Yurina’s body showed no change. However, just as he withdrew his hand—

“Huh?”

Kanzaki Takuya noticed that Yurina showed a very clear sign of wavering when she saw the ring on his hand.

She knew the ring’s function!