Vol. 1 Chapter 9 – The Prince in a Wedding Dress

The next day, Sunday.

I had come to a quiet residential area on top of a small hill, about twenty minutes by bus from the nearest station to my house.

Although I say residential area, every building lined up there was either a detached house that could easily be called a mansion, or a high-class-looking apartment building. It was what you would call prime real estate.

On top of that, throughout the town there were gas-lamp-style streetlights, a foreign cemetery, churches, and brick-built Western-style mansions here and there. Apparently, this area had been a foreign settlement during the Meiji era, and those were remnants of that time. No wonder the streets had such an exotic atmosphere.

So, why had I come to such a high-class residential area? Of course, it was because the site for the part-time job Mizushima had forced on me was here.

“Oh, people have already gathered. Is that the place?”

After walking for a few minutes from the bus stop, I saw a stylish and sacred-looking stone cathedral, the kind that might appear in a fantasy RPG.

Beside the cathedral was a large garden, and there were already more than ten staff members gathered there, carrying all sorts of filming equipment and boxes filled with costumes.

“Um, hello…”

Feeling an intense sense of being out of place, I hesitantly stepped into the cathedral grounds.

“Hm? Ah, excuse me. You can’t just come in here without permission.”

Just then, a young female staff member who happened to be passing nearby noticed me as I came wandering in and came over to warn me.

“This area is off-limits to anyone except those involved. I’m sorry, but please leave.”

“No, um! I’m Sakuhara. I came here today as a temporary part-timer.”

After giving a brief self-introduction and bowing my head, the female staff member thought for a short while, then eventually clapped her hands and said,『Ah!』

“Come to think of it, Yoshida-san told me earlier that one male part-timer would be coming today. So you’re him, right? Um, I think it was…right, Sakuhara Souta-kun, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. That’s me.”

“Got it. Then I’ll be counting on you today. There’s still some time before the shoot starts, so for now, could you go change into the staff shirt and pants? I’ll explain the details of the job after that.”

“Y-yes. Thank you.”

Right. The reason I had come here was because I would be working for the day as a temporary staff member at the site where Mizushima was doing her modeling job.

When Mizushima agreed to serve as a substitute model for her colleague who was in poor health, this was the 『condition』she presented to her manager. Apparently, she had said that, in exchange for doing the job, she wanted them to hire one of her classmates as a temporary part-timer.

Even if she was a popular model, you would think that if a mere high school girl made such a selfish demand to her agency, they would just ignore it. But no, for some reason, it actually went through.

As a result, completely unexpectedly, I ended up experiencing the extremely rare part-time job of working “at a women’s fashion magazine photo shoot.”

Mizushima had said something like,『Now we can be together even while I’m working』but… yesterday and today alike, I never thought she would go this far. As always, she really doesn’t care what methods she uses, or something like that.

Actually, aren’t you spoiling Mizushima a little too much, Yoshida-san or whoever you are? If you had properly persuaded Mizushima, I would be proudly indulging in lazy sleep right about now, you know?

While grumbling about Mizushima’s manager, whom I had yet to meet, I put on the T-shirt and jeans for the photography staff and returned to the garden beside the cathedral.

I searched for the female staff member who had shown me to the changing room earlier and called out to her.

“I’ve changed.”

“Oh, you’re here. Then let me explain the job right away. That said, what I want you to do is carry luggage and organize pedestrians on the road. To put it bluntly, you’re doing odd jobs.”

Well, I figured as much. They probably wouldn’t let a mere part-timer, and a high school student at that, help with the main photography work or anything like that. Still, the fact remained that this was an unfamiliar workplace.

“…And that’s basically it. In general, just do whatever the other staff members around you ask you to do. All right, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

After briskly finishing her explanation, the female staff member hurried away.

Now then, I had immediately been thrown alone into an unknown workplace. What should I even start with? Actually, where was the all-important Mizushima?

“Oh? There’s an unfamiliar face here.”

As I was puzzling over it, someone suddenly called out to me from behind.

When I turned around, standing there was a girl with long reddish dark-brown hair and a floral-patterned headband that left an impression, giving off an obviously haughty-looking atmosphere.

“You seem to be wearing a staff uniform, but… who are you?”

“Ah, yes, hello. I’m Sakuhara. I’ll be working part-time at this site today.”

After being questioned by the headband-wearing girl who had suddenly appeared, I returned her greeting, slightly confused for a moment. Overwhelmed by the aura of the girl, who was clearly much more used to this place than I was, I naturally ended up speaking politely.

The slender girl in front of me, dressed in a cute one-piece dress, was probably the same age as me, or maybe around the same age as Suzuka, who was one year younger.

Seeing as she wasn’t wearing a staff uniform but no one was chasing her out, she might also be one of the models working at today’s site.

“Um, and you are?”

“Fujimaki Rino, fourteen years old. A currently active middle school supermodel.”

“I-I see.”

As I thought, this girl was apparently also a model being photographed at today’s site. Fourteen years old meant she was the same age as our Suzuka. The fact that she called herself『super』made her seem like someone with quite a lot of confidence.

Well, in reality, for a middle school student, she did have a mature and well-proportioned face.

“Still… Hmm, I see. A part-time job, huh?”

The headband-wearing girl, Fujimaki, suddenly turned a suspicious gaze toward me.

“So, what’s your goal?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Don’t『excuse me?』me. You don’t look like the type who’s interested in fashion, not even as flattery. There are plenty of other part-time jobs out there, so isn’t it kind of strange that you’d go out of your way to choose a place like this?”

At her sharp observation, I gulped and swallowed.

It was true. I was ignorant not only about women’s fashion but even about the clothes I wore myself. I was a typical gloomy loner who dearly loved guarding my house and watching movies.

Unless Mizushima had forced it on me, I was the kind of person who would normally never come to a place like this, a place that seemed to only allow top-tier boys and girls to set foot inside.

“You’re kind of suspicious. What was your goal in sneaking into this site?”

“T-that’s, um…”

“Could it be… you’re a stalker of one of the models here? Ugh, gross…”

“No, no, no, no! That is absolutely not it!”

About to be falsely accused of a baseless crime, I hurriedly denied her words.

That startled me. What the hell was this girl suddenly saying?

“Phew… Don’t say things that make me sound bad.”

“Oh, excuse me. Then, if you’re not a stalker, what are you?”

Trying to awkwardly dodge the issue any further would probably just make me look even more suspicious.

In response to Fujimaki’s question, I explained the situation I had arranged with Mizushima in advance.

“I was introduced here. I have an acquaintance among the models, and when I asked her for advice because I was having trouble finding a part-time job, she put in a word for me. It’s true that I’m not really interested in fashion and stuff but the daily pay seems high too. So I took advantage of the chance.”

Apparently, Mizushima had introduced me to her manager and the others only as something like『a classmate struggling to find a part-time job』. We couldn’t let our relationship become known, so I guess that was a reasonable decision.

Actually, if she was going to come up with such a roundabout excuse, I really wished she had just done the job alone without dragging me into it in the first place.

“An acquaintance? With who?”

“Mizushima Shizuno-san. Ah, at a place like this, should I call her『Sizu』instead?”

“Wha!?”

The moment I said that, Fujimaki opened her already large eyes even wider.

“Y-y-you’re acquainted with… Shizuno-oneesama!?”

…Excuse me? Oneesama?

“Answer me!”

In the next instant, she stepped right into my space as I stood there dumbfounded, closing in on me with enough force that she seemed about to grab me by the chest.

“How is a dull guy like you, who looks like he’s obviously at the absolute bottom of the school caste, acquainted with Shizuno-oneesama!? It makes no sense! Don’t tell random lies! I don’t know if it’s about a part-time job introduction or whatever, but there’s no way Oneesama would deal with a Mob B like you!”

That was a terrible way to put it. As expected from her appearance, she seemed to have a somewhat harsh personality.

That said, I’d been evaluated like this countless times before, and I admitted it myself too, so it wasn’t as if I was hurt by it now.

Still, I see. Judging by the fact that she called her『Shizuno-oneesama』it looked like this girl was also one of Mizushima’s devoted fans. The fact that she could charm even people in the same industry gave me a glimpse, even now, of just how capable she was as a model.

This made it even more important that our relationship not become known.

“A-anyway, I only came here because I was introduced. I need to go look for work, so I’ll be going now.”

Getting involved with this girl seemed like it would turn into a pain.

As if fleeing from the excited self-proclaimed supermodel, I turned on my heel to leave.

“Hey! Wait right there! I’m not done talking to you yet!”

However, she circled around in front of me!

“W-what is it? I’ve already told you everything there is to tell, haven’t I? Mizushima-san and I really are nothing more than classmates who go to the same school. The first time I even talked to her was about this part-time job.”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure. Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your story is true, I’m sure Oneesama only thinks of introducing you to this site as something on the level of『feeding a stray dog that was hungry on the roadside』!”

However, Fujimaki glared at me as if I were her parents’ mortal enemy and said,

“But what about you, I wonder? I bet after receiving Oneesama’s charity on a mere whim just once, you had some ridiculous misunderstanding like,『Could she be in love with me?』didn’t you? Did you think you might be able to get closer to her through this part-time job? Too bad! Onee-sama isn’t so free that she remembers every nerd like you, got it!?”

After saying everything she wanted to say and snorting, 『Hmph!』the self-proclaimed supermodel-sama quickly went off somewhere. The instant she was gone, I felt like the decibel level around me dropped all at once.

When people say someone is『like a storm』they’re probably talking about someone like her.

What was with that haughty girl…? Well, whatever. More importantly, work. Work.

In order to make up for my late start, I walked around the garden.

Then, beside the cathedral, in an empty corner where several cardboard boxes had been placed, I spotted a male staff member walking around with a camera in one hand.

Perfect. I’ll ask him for some work.

“Um, excuse me.”

“!?”

However, the moment I called out to him, for some reason, the male staff member practically fled outside the grounds. I was only going to ask if there was any work to do but he blatantly avoided me…

“Was he… busy?”

After thinking that far, I suddenly realized that the male staff member from earlier had not been wearing a staff pass.

Since he had a heavy-duty camera hanging from his neck, I’d assumed he was connected to the shoot, but… was he not?

“…Well, whatever. In any case, I need to find another staff member.”

Pulling myself together, this time I entered the cathedral and looked for work.

Along the way, I encountered staff members in uniform several times, but unfortunately, everyone looked busy, and none of them seemed to have the spare time to assign me anything.

Hmm, this is a problem. At this rate, I’m just a guy touring the photo shoot site.

“…What are you doing?”

Then, at the voice I suddenly heard from the other end of the hallway, I instinctively strained my ears.

That voice sounded somehow familiar… Could it be?

I strode down the hallway, heading toward the direction the voice had come from.

Before long, I arrived at a room with a paper sign posted on it that read, 『Models』Waiting Room.”

The door to the room was slightly open, and I could see what was going on inside from the hallway.

‘Is that… Mizushima, maybe?’

For a moment, I couldn’t tell who the person standing inside the room was.

And that was only natural. Today, Mizushima was wearing a black jacket with a back portion that stretched long like a bird’s tail, black slacks, a white shirt, and a white bow tie… She was dressed in a tailcoat.

Perhaps to match the outfit, her bangs were also swept back, which made her good looks stand out even more. Seriously, she had the atmosphere of a Takarazuka actress playing a male role. Apparently, that was her costume for today’s shoot.

“…Didn’t you think you might injure your face? You were really being too careless.”

“I-I’m sorry! Mizushima-senpai!”

However, an uneasy atmosphere was drifting through the waiting room.

I couldn’t see clearly from here but Mizushima, with an unusually stern look on her face, seemed to be admonishing another girl in the waiting room who looked like a fellow model.

It definitely wasn’t an atmosphere where I could call out to her. Without thinking, I held my breath.

“Hey, listen carefully. Even if we appear in fashion magazines, we’re ultimately student models. Maybe we aren’t that different from part-timers.”

Speaking to her fellow model, whose shoulders were trembling, Mizushima softened her expression somewhat and admonished her.

“But as long as we’re being paid to do this job, we’re 『professionals』. Our faces and skin are, so to speak, the tools of our trade as models. Taking the utmost care so that they don’t get injured is only natural as a『professional』. You understand, right?”

“Y-yes… I’m sorry. I was careless…”

The fellow model girl drooped her head, shun. Seeing her like that, Mizushima let the stern atmosphere she had carried until then loosen, and next, she gently smiled while patting the girl’s head.

“Mm-hmm. If you understand, then that’s fine. Well, I said a lot of strict things, but more than anything else, I’m just glad your face didn’t get hurt. Even putting the whole professional thing aside, you have such a cute face, so you need to take good care of it, okay?”

“Y-yesh! Th-thank you very much, Mizushima-senpai!”

“Fufu, there, there.”

Looking down at her fellow model, whose cheeks were faintly flushed, Mizushima wore an expression of affection.

Looking only at that space, it seriously felt like some scene from that kind of girls’ manga.

In any case, it seemed the matter had somehow been settled.

‘Still…I ended up witnessing an unexpectedly rare scene.’

Normally, she was aloof and did everything at her own pace to the extreme, but it seemed that in front of her juniors, she actually acted like a proper senpai more than I expected.

And to think she had that much professionalism toward her work. Even though she looked careless, maybe she did face her modeling work with a fair amount of sincerity.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. You girls make sure to prepare properly too.”

Wait, crap! Mizushima is coming this way!

I hurriedly moved away from the door and looked around but unfortunately, there wasn’t any shadow or object in the hallway that I could hide behind.

“Huh?”

“O-oh, hey…”

I ended up running straight into Mizushima as she came out of the waiting room.

“Ohh. You were already here?”

“Y-yeah. Just a little while ago. More importantly, you…”

When I started to speak, Mizushima held up her hand to stop me, then glanced back toward the waiting room.

“This isn’t really the place, so let’s move somewhere else.”

“…Yeah.”

True enough, if a model and a mere temporary part-timer stood there talking deeply, the other models and staff might get suspicious. Understanding what Mizushima was trying to say, I nodded.

After that, while avoiding people’s eyes as much as possible, we left the cathedral and came to an empty courtyard.

“Man, I guess I showed you something a little weird earlier.”

Stopping in a corner of the courtyard, Mizushima muttered that with an awkward smile.

Apparently, she had realized that I’d been eavesdropping on that conversation earlier.

“I’m not always scolding my juniors like that, you know? Actually, I’m known as a kind senpai who follows up with them by saying,『It’s okay』even if they make some small mistakes.”

Well, I could kind of tell that much. Just from seeing how attached that junior girl was to her.

“But today, I couldn’t just overlook it. That girl is serious and she isn’t a bad kid but she’s still new and a little careless. Earlier, she was so absorbed in a phone call with her friend that she didn’t notice a powered-on hair iron was about to touch her forehead. So I told her, 『What would you do if you got burned?』”

“I see. Yeah, that really is dangerous.”

“Right, right. She’s the type who properly understands once you tell her, so I think she’ll be okay now.”

“Huh. I didn’t know you were the type to take care of people like that. No wonder so many people adore you.”

She was always kind to everyone, but she was strict where she needed to be strict. She really was the ideal senpai.

Even setting aside her exceptional beauty and charisma, maybe she naturally had a personality that made younger people like her. For example, that self-proclaimed supermodel-sama from earlier.

“Yeah. But…that’s exactly why, once in a while, I want to be spoiled by someone as much as I can.”

No sooner had she said that than Mizushima spun around to face me and tried to hug me.

Just as she was about to cling to me, I reflexively stepped back and dodged.

“Mm, why are you running away? I was going to replenish my Soutanium before work.”

“Are you stupid? What if someone sees us? Also, there’s no such thing as Soutanium!”

“Boo, boo. Souta, you’re so stingy.”

Mizushima puffed out her cheeks in obvious dissatisfaction.

Hey, hey. Is this really the charismatic model who was talking about professionalism just a moment ago?

Seeing Mizushima completely return to her usual pace, I sighed and shrugged.

“Well, whatever. More importantly, Souta, it looks like you’re already working hard at your part-time job. The staff uniform suits you too.”

“Thanks, I guess. It’s just a black T-shirt and jeans, though.”

“Fufu. I’ll praise you for properly coming here without running away.”

Mizushima flashed a challenging grin. Hmph, acting all relaxed, are we?

“…Still.”

Shifting my gaze from Mizushima’s face to her outfit, I tilted my head.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“No, I mean, didn’t you say today’s job was to wear a wedding dress?”

“That’s right. We chatted about it last night too, but today is a bridal model shoot.”

“Then why are you wearing a tailcoat? I totally thought you’d be wearing a dress.”

When I asked, Mizushima gave me a mischievous little-devil smile this time.

“Ehh, what? Could it be, Souta, you wanted to see me in a wedding dress?”

“H-huh!? You idiot, that’s not it!”

Well, okay, I was admittedly a little curious about what would happen if a beauty on her level wore a wedding dress, but…

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, you know? If you want to see it, Souta, I’ll show it to you anytime.”

“I don’t need it! …So, why are you wearing a tailcoat in the end?”

Since it annoyed me to let Mizushima tease me any more than this, I forcibly brought the conversation back on track.

With a look that seemed to say『good grief』Mizushima shrugged, then slowly explained the circumstances.

“Well, the person who became unable to come because of poor health was actually the male model who was supposed to play the groom. But apparently, all the male models from our agency are out on other jobs today.”

“…I see. So that’s when they suddenly decided to pick you for the role.”

“That’s right. I’ve done shoots in male roles several times before too.”

Leaving aside the casual clothes she wore on our first date, now that I think about it, this was the first time I had seen Mizushima properly dressed as a man.

A beautiful woman in men’s clothing, a handsome butler, a prince… If I started looking for words that suited her, there would be no end to them. She looked so good that even I, a guy, felt like I might get a little jealous.

No wonder girls wouldn’t leave her alone. Even Ena-chan switching over so easily, I felt like I could understand that feeling a little now.

Because if I were a girl, I would definitely rather date this handsome girl than some dull, gloomy otaku guy like me.

“Yeah, it really doesn’t look that unnatural.”

“Right? Well, even so, this is my first time wearing a tailcoat, so I feel a little restless. My chest is also pressed down pretty tightly, so it’s a little hard to breathe.”

After she said that, my gaze naturally got drawn to Mizushima’s chest. As a healthy high school boy, I hoped I could be forgiven for that.

Right now, it was almost completely flat. But underneath that, those outrageous breasts were hidden… Hmm, this is beyond saving.

“Ah, Souta, you were just remembering me in my swimsuit, weren’t you?”

“Fwa!?”

She hit the mark dead-on and I became so shaken that I didn’t even have the composure to make an excuse.

Could this girl possibly be an esper? Was she an esper!?

“No, no, you’re just easy to read, Souta.”

“Um, could you please stop casually reading my mind…?”

“If you’re curious, I can show you. Inside my shirt.”

“I don’t need that! …Seriously, give me a break. If someone sees us messing around like this, who knows what that self-proclaimed supermodel-sama will say to me again.”

As that noisy voice flashed back in my mind along with a headache, I instinctively pressed a finger to the space between my eyebrows.

After all, she had made that much of a fuss just because I said I knew Mizushima.

If she saw us fooling around like this, it wouldn’t be strange if she tried to erase me by making it look like an accident during work.

“Huh? Souta, you met Rino-chan?”

“Hm? Yeah, earlier. So she really is your junior too?”

“Right, right. Actually, until last year, I went to the same middle school as her. It’s called Saint Elsa Girls’ Academy. Souta, you’ve probably at least heard the name before, right?”

“Huh. So you were an Elsa girl.”

Just as Mizushima said, Saint Elsa Girls’ Academy was famous as the girls’ academy with the highest academic standards in the city. Almost every student around here knew of it. Basically, it was what you’d call a『school for young ladies』.

“Even back then, Rino-chan was really attached to me. So when I told her I was going to a different school for high school, she looked lonely. She said,『But the girls』academy has a high school division too, so why?’”

Perhaps remembering that time, Mizushima gave a wry smile.

“Though right after that, she said,『I want to work as a model together with you』and applied to our agency.”

“Seriously? That’s some amazing initiative. But I’m surprised she got accepted with a motive like that.”

“Apparently, that girl is the daughter of the president of a major publishing company that has a close relationship with our agency. So it seems the president couldn’t treat her carelessly either. Well, Rino-chan herself has more than enough looks to be a model too. Apparently, she was accepted surprisingly easily.”

I see. So she was the young lady of a major corporation. No wonder she had such a selfish personality…

Actually, even though she called herself a supermodel, wasn’t she still very much a rookie? Because she had an aura that felt weirdly like a big shot, I ended up completely believing her.

“Well, she might be a girl with a bit of a strong personality but please don’t hate her too much, okay?”

“…I’ll at least try.”

Though if anything, she was the one treating me like her sworn enemy.

『Even so』as I shrugged my shoulders, Mizushima suddenly closed the distance between us.『Bringing up another girl in front of your girlfriend isn’t something I can really approve of』.”

As she said that, Mizushima pointed her index finger straight at me, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

“Huh? No, it’s not like I was…”

“But it’s okay. No matter how close you get to Rino-chan, I absolutely won’t lose.”

“Listen to people when they talk.”

“Most importantly, see, at the very least, I definitely win when it comes to breasts size. I’ve already figured out from our dates so far that Souta is into huge breasts. I don’t feel like I’ll lose.”

“What are you competing with a middle schooler for…?”

Mizushima made a mysterious smug face with a funsu. She was childish in weird places.

“Be-sides.”

After joking around for a while, Mizushima then, in the very next moment, whispered in such a handsome voice that even I, a guy, felt my heart skip a beat.

“From here on out, I’m sure… you won’t be able to see anyone but me.”

※

【I think you won’t be able to see anyone but me.】

When the bridal model shoot finally began, I was certainly made to realize the meaning behind the line Mizushima had said with such confidence.

After being moved from work in the garden to work inside the cathedral, I busily moved around between the photography staff, doing odd jobs here and there. Naturally, I had plenty of chances to see the photo shoot taking place inside the cathedral up close.

Today’s shoot seemed to be for introducing several new wedding dresses, and a number of models, each wearing a different dress, took turns standing in front of the camera.

And standing beside those models as the groom was, of course, Mizushima, perfectly dressed in her sharp tailcoat.

“All right, next, try linking arms.”

“Yes.”

“Right, right, that’s good. Sizu-san, could you turn just a few millimeters more to the right?”

“Like this?”

“Yep, perfect! Then we’ll take a few shots like this.”

Seeing Mizushima as a model for the first time, I was, how should I put it, even slightly moved.

I thought I had understood well enough that she was a charismatic model despite still being a high school student, but the『Sizu』I saw with my own eyes far exceeded my imagination.

That courage of hers, never getting intimidated even while surrounded by adults old enough to be her parents.

That skill of hers, perfectly responding on the first try to pose instructions from the photography staff, even when they were given down to the millimeter.

It wasn’t just that her face was beautiful. It wasn’t just that her figure was good.

Even to the eyes of a complete amateur like me, it was obvious that Mizushima had undeniable skill and sense as a model.

Honestly, I ended up thinking she looked『cool』.

“…The bride role has completely turned into a supporting role.”

The shoot being held with the cathedral’s stained glass in the background had already started to feel like a photo session with the cross-dressing Mizushima as the main attraction.

Even the other models dressed in wedding dresses had been tending to look more at Mizushima than at the camera for a while now.

“Hauu…Onee-sama is so wonderful that I feel embarrassed standing beside her. For someone like me to play Onee-sama’s bride, maybe I don’t match her at all…”

【That’s not true. Rino-chan, you look beautiful in your dress. So come on, smile, smile.】

【Fueh!? B-b-b-beautiful, you say… Pshuuu…】

As for the self-proclaimed supermodel-sama, she had taken Mizushima’s natural lady-killer cannon at point-blank range and had been shaken ever since. Her face was dyed bright red, with enough intensity that smoke seemed like it might start coming out of her head.

“…Haha. She really is amazing.”

Blending in among the staff as I watched Mizushima’s every movement, before I knew it, I had muttered that honestly and laughed, without any sarcasm or spite.

And so, although the shoot had more or less become Mizushima’s one-woman stage, it progressed smoothly.

“Hey, good work, Souta.”

At last, the final shoot ended, and the models withdrew to the changing room. The staff inside the cathedral were just about to start cleaning up.

Mizushima, still dressed in her tailcoat after just finishing the shoot, called out to me as I was picking up trash.

“How was the part-time job?”

“Yeah. Well, I got to have a pretty rare experience. The work itself wasn’t that difficult either. More importantly, good work to you too.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, today you came here for me, Souta. I ended up getting more fired up than usual.”

Saying that, Mizushima showed me an innocent peace sign while still wearing that refreshing, handsome face.

Hmm. This really might have an absurdly destructive power from a girl’s perspective.

“At yesterday’s hero show, I got to see how cool you were, Souta. So today, I wanted to show you my cool side.”

With her hands clasped behind her back, Mizushima looked up at me and asked,

“So, how was I today?”

“…Let’s see.”

It wasn’t anything special.

To begin with, I don’t really understand what makes a model amazing.

Well, I’ll at least admit that your visuals are good.

If I wanted to, it would have been easy to say something sarcastic or spiteful like that.

No matter how charismatic a model she was, no matter how handsome and beautiful a girl she was, the fact that she was my sworn enemy who had stolen Ena-chan from me had not changed even now.

I had thought there was no way I would praise someone like that. No, even now, I still thought so.

But.

“Yeah. You really were cool today.”

At that moment, somehow, I felt like pretending not to feel what I honestly felt would be『losing』. Before I knew it, I had said it so easily that even I was surprised.

And apparently, Mizushima was surprised too. Maybe because she had been certain I would act cold like usual, she showed a startled expression for a moment.

But even so, she quickly returned to a dignified expression, then gave a slightly bashful smile.

“I see. Then I’m glad.”

…Seriously, don’t look at me with such happy eyes.

It’s not like I said that to make you happy, you know? Really, it throws me off…

“A-anyway! We can’t just stand around chatting here forever. I’m going back to cleaning up, so you hurry up and get changed too.”

Unable to endure the strangely warm and fluffy atmosphere, I said that as if to gloss things over and resumed picking up trash.

“U-um, Mizushima-san. Do you have a moment?”

Just then, a small woman in glasses and a suit came over and called out to Mizushima.

“Ah, Yoshida-san. Good work today. What is it?”

I see. So this person was Yoshida-san, the manager.

Since she was in charge of Mizushima, I had imagined someone more stoic and veteran-like, but she was still completely young, and her personality looked obviously timid too.

Looking at her, yeah, there was no way she could firmly reject Mizushima’s selfish demands.

“Um, actually. The staff said…”

Yoshida-san whispered something into Mizushima’s ear.

Mizushima listened while nodding along, and after showing signs of thinking about something for a short while,

“…Yeah, got it. Then I’ll go get ready.”

“I’m sorry. This is so sudden…”

“It’s fine. In exchange, Yoshida-san, please handle the… okay?”

After whispering a few more words back and forth with Yoshida-san, Mizushima turned the conversation toward me beside her.

“Hey, Souta. Can I ask one last favor from you too? For work.”

“Work? What, you want me to go buy drinks or something?”

As I joked, Mizushima softly whispered the details of the job into my ear.

“…………Huh? Who? Me!?”

“Right, right. You’ll do it, won’t you?”

A-are you serious… Mizushima-san…?

※

“You really did it! You really did it, you Mob Guy!”

Ten minutes after the bridal model shoot had ended.

An extremely grating, shrill yell echoed throughout the spacious cathedral.

“C-calm down. For now, settle down, SM middle schooler.”

“Who are you calling an SM middle schooler!? Don’t abbreviate it in some weird way! It’s supermodel, supermodel!”

Fujimaki, who had already changed out of her costume and into her casual clothes, closed in on me with the ferocity of a raging bull.

“How could I possibly stay calm!? What kind of chain of events could possibly lead to this!? Give me a proper explanation that I can accept! Though I absolutely won’t accept it!”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do…?”

Well, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to panic this much.

After all, even I still hadn’t mentally prepared myself for it.

“U-um, Fujimaki-san. I’ll explain that, so…”

Yoshida, the manager standing beside us, somehow managed to soothe Fujimaki, who was stomping her feet.

From what I heard, Yoshida-san was apparently managing both Mizushima and Fujimaki in addition to Mizushima. Having two models with such strong personalities under her care must make this person a real sufferer too.

“Um… First of all, the shoot we originally planned has technically all been completed.”

“Yes. I know that.”

“Y-yes. But actually, just now, the photography staff suggested,『Since we have the chance, could we take a few final shots of Sizu in a dress too?』”

“Yes. I heard that from Oneesama earlier too.”

“And so… when taking those last few shots, it was decided that Sakuhara-san here would also cooperate with us.”

“That’s the part! That’s the part I can’t accept!”

When Fujimaki slammed the cathedral wall with a bang, Yoshida-san let out a tiny『Eek!』

“I’m very happy that, unexpectedly, I’ll get to see Onee-sama in a wedding dress. But, but… why is this Mob Guy playing the groom!?”

That’s right. The『work』Mizushima had asked me to do at the end was to be photographed beside her as the groom while she wore a wedding dress.

And so, in front of the staff members who were currently preparing for the shoot, I was standing by in an unfamiliar black tuxedo.

I never imagined I’d end up having to model together with her too… That damn Mizushima, right at the very end, she went and dropped an unbelievable bomb on me.

“Even if you’re going to assign someone as the groom, at least have a professional male model do it!”

Naturally, after learning about that, the self-proclaimed supermodel-sama had been absolutely furious for a while now.

Fujimaki, grinding her teeth and openly showing her hostility, looked like she was about to tear the tuxedo I was wearing to shreds at any moment if Yoshida-san hadn’t stepped between us. What is she, a wild beast?

“E-even if you say that, all of those male models are out on other jobs today, which is why Mizushima-san was playing the groom in the first place…”

“Then what about one of the staff? Surely they’d be better than this dull Mob Guy who doesn’t even know the『I』in Industry!”

“W-well, all the male staff at today’s site are about old enough to be Mizushima-san’s father… Sakuhara-san was the only male here around her age.”

At Yoshida-san’s tearful explanation, Fujimaki gnashed her teeth in frustration.

Her expression was one that an active model absolutely should not show in public, even as a pretense.

It was insanely scary. That was not the kind of murderous aura a young middle school girl should be giving off.

“In that case, I’ll just dress as a man myself!”

“P-please don’t say such unreasonable things…”

Ahh, seriously. How was I supposed to settle this?

Maybe I really should turn down the groom role, even now…

“It looks like things are getting lively.”

At the dignified voice that suddenly echoed through the cathedral, I turned around.

At the same time, for a moment, I unintentionally forgot how to make my voice come out.

“Hau!? O… Onee-sama… you’re too wonderful… kyuu.”

“F-Fujimaki-san!? P-please get a hold of yourself!”

As for Fujimaki, the murderous aura she had been giving off until just now scattered away like it had all been a lie. In fact, while mumbling some mysterious delirious words, she fainted with a blissful expression on her face.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sakuhara-kun.”

Of course, the person standing there when I turned around was Mizushima, but now she had changed out of her black tailcoat and into a pure white wedding dress, completely transforming her atmosphere.

Was it what they called an off-shoulder dress? The bold design that exposed her shoulders and chest area emphasized her mature beauty even more. On the other hand, the long skirt section was the type with layers of frills, giving it a cute impression.

Her hair, which had been swept back earlier, was now let down and given loose waves, and her lips were faintly tinted red.

Having completely transformed from a beautiful woman in men’s clothing, Mizushima was now standing there in orthodox pretty-girl mode, perfectly fitting the word『bride』.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

As Mizushima said that and showed a goddess-like smile, I could only silently stare at her for a while.

“Then, shall we start the shoot right away? Souta, are you ready too?”

“Ah, yeah…”

“Ahaha, you’re too nervous. You should relax your shoulders a little more, okay?”

“…You sure say difficult things.”

To be honest, I don’t really remember much about the shoot after that.

After all, it was my first time in my life trying to model, and on top of that, the person beside me was Mizushima, dressed up in a wedding dress.

Mizushima was the main focus, so my face wouldn’t be photographed but with my mind barely working because of my nerves, I took poses exactly as I was told and by the time I suddenly came back to my senses, the entire shoot was over.

At some point, I feel like Mizushima said something cliché to me like,『Being like this really makes it feel like we’re getting married, doesn’t it?』But I think even then, all I could manage was a half-hearted reply.

“Well then, thank you for your hard work.”

Eventually, the packing-up work was just about finished, and it was around the time when the models and staff were dispersing.

Mizushima, who had changed out of her dress and into her casual clothes, came over to me after I had also changed into my casual clothes.

“Sakuhara-kun, you’re taking the bus home, right? I’m taking the train but we’ll be together until the station.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right, Mizushima-san.”

While making it seem like we were merely classmates, Mizushima smoothly tried to go home with me. As expected, she wasted no movement.

“Th-thank you for your hard work today, Mizushima-san. I’m sorry for suddenly asking you to be a substitute.”

Yoshida-san, who had come to see us off, bowed deeply to Mizushima.

“It’s fine. I had more fun than I expected too. But this time was special, okay? Could you tell the president again that I’m not working until the end of May?”

“Y-yes. I’ll tell them.”

『Then, shall we go?』Mizushima said, beginning to walk.

I also gave Yoshida-san a light bow and said goodbye, then quickly left the cathedral.

Outside, the sun was already setting, dyeing everything orange. From somewhere, I could hear the caw, caw of crows. Before I knew it, it seemed evening had completely arrived.

“Fufu. Souta, are you tired?”

As we left the cathedral behind and headed toward the station, Mizushima peered into my face.

At some point, she had also switched to calling me by my first name without honorifics.

“Well, yeah. The odd jobs weren’t that bad but that final shoot drained me all at once.”

“Really? I had fun, though. Even if it was just for a shoot, I got to feel like I had really become your bride, Souta.”

“…You know what they say? If an unmarried woman wears a wedding dress, her chance to marry gets pushed further away.”

“Geez. You always say things that ruin the mood like that, Souta.”

Mizushima deliberately puffed out her cheeks, then returned to a smile and asked me again.

“So, how was it? After spending the whole day watching『Sizu』… watching me as a model.”

After she said that, I looked back on the events of the day.

Mizushima, perfectly wearing that tailcoat. Mizushima, boldly posing in front of the camera.

And then, Mizushima dressed in a gorgeous pure white dress, wearing a dazzling smile that anyone would be captivated by.

Today’s Mizushima had been thoroughly 『professional』to a degree I could never have imagined from her usual aloof, my-pace self, the one who always made it hard to tell what she was thinking.

Honestly, today, Mizushima had kept stealing my gaze so much that making awkward excuses felt stupid.

“Phew… Fine, I admit it. You really were cool today, and beautiful too. At least just this time, you got me good.”

So I said my honest impression without running away and without glossing it over.

For just a moment, Mizushima looked as if she had been caught off guard, but she quickly gave me a fearless smile.

“Ohh, you’re being honest.”

“S-shut up! Listen, don’t misunderstand, okay? I said  『just this time』. And what I’m acknowledging is your ability as a model. Becoming lovers or whatever is a completely separate matter.”

“Ah, there it is. Tsundere Souta.”

“I told you, I’m not dere!”

Tch. I knew I shouldn’t have praised her. After being teased by Mizushima, I instinctively turned my face away.

While we were doing that, before I knew it, our feet had brought us into the station plaza.

From here, I would take the bus back to the nearest station to my house, while Mizushima seemed to be going home by train.

“Oh no, we’re already here. I wanted to chat with you a little longer, Souta.”

Mizushima said that regretfully, but then she glanced at the clock, which was about to pass seven at night, and shrugged as if saying, 『I guess it really is late』.

“I was thinking we could at least have some tea…Well, I guess I’ll save that for tomorrow afternoon.”

“Huh? Tomorrow afternoon? What are you planning to do during class?”

Is she finally trying to skip class just to go on a date? I frowned at that, but Mizushima, on the other hand, chuckled as if to say, 『What are you talking about?』

“No, no. Did you forget, Souta? Tomorrow is the 『New Student Welcome Sports Tournament』right?”

“Ah.”

That’s right. So much had happened on Saturday and Sunday that I had completely forgotten but now that she mentioned it, it was tomorrow.

Sure enough, there would be no regular classes tomorrow because the sports tournament was being held.

And since the high school division’s tournament would end in the morning, in the afternoon, students could either stay and watch the middle school division’s tournament, or quickly change and go home.

“So tomorrow afternoon, you’re going to keep me company as much as possible, okay?”

“Ugh…”

Even though it was still the day before, I could already feel the desire to『go home』welling up inside me.

“Then I’ll be going now since my train’s about to come. Thanks for coming to the site today.”

With light steps that didn’t make her look tired from today’s work at all, Mizushima said,『See you tomorrow』and walked into the station. Even though she’d been standing for hours on end, she was really something.

Now then, tomorrow looks like it will be rough in its own way too, so I should hurry home and go to bed early today.

I had been seeing Mizushima off from behind but then I noticed a familiar face among the crowd in the station plaza.

“Hm? That guy is…”

When I narrowed my eyes and looked closely, it was the strange man I had seen earlier in the day at a corner of the cathedral.

When I first called out to him, he had quickly gone off somewhere but after that, he had still shown up inside the cathedral grounds here and there.

The way he kept wandering around as if trying to avoid people’s eyes was suspicious enough that I mentioned it to the other staff members.

【Ah…that old guy. I sometimes see him at shoot locations too.】

【He’s probably a fan after Sizu-san. I’m sure that’s why he’s here today too.】

【There have been several times when he entered the site without permission, so we chase him away every time.】

Apparently, he was someone who had been blacklisted among the photography staff.

If he were just an ordinary fan, that would be one thing, but apparently he was a troublesome guy who always sniffed out shoot locations and showed up. There had even been times when he tried to secretly take photos of Mizushima without permission.

In short, he was probably a stalker targeting Mizushima.

And sure enough, the man in the station plaza entered the station as if following Mizushima.

I had nothing but a bad feeling about this. Could it be…?

“…No, no. I’m overthinking it.”

When that uneasy thought crossed my mind, I shook my head, telling myself,『There’s no way.』

Even before now, Mizushima must have gone home alone from shoot locations plenty of times.

Maybe that man had tried to follow her once or twice before too.

Even so, if nothing had happened until now, didn’t that mean the man wasn’t dangerous enough to directly harm Mizushima?

He certainly acted a little suspicious, but there were probably plenty of stalkers of that level around Mizushima. She must have prepared some way to protect herself from those kinds of people too.

So there was no need for me to worry that much. This wasn’t my place to step in.

I turned my back to the station and headed toward the bus stop.

At the rotary in front of the stop, the city bus heading to my destination had just pulled in.

‘…In the first place. In the first place, I haven’t forgotten, have I?’

Mizushima is my『sworn enemy』.

She’s the outrageous girl who snatched away the girlfriend I loved right in front of my eyes.

I don’t plan on blaming her for that now, but that doesn’t mean I plan on forgiving her either.

Maybe because of my『match』with her, things have been getting a little strange lately, but normally, it would be proper for me to be on terms with her where I wouldn’t even speak to someone like her.

Much less do I have any obligation to worry about her safety…

“Route Eight, bound for Honmoku Garage…”

With a pshuu sound, the bus stopped right in front of me.

The folding passenger door opened, and I placed my right foot on the first step.

【After all, you really are my hero.】

But then, as if my foot had suddenly turned to stone, it stopped completely.

‘Damn it… Why am I remembering that line now?’

What hero? How stupid. She’s misunderstanding something.

I admit that I had helped her several times before.

But that was not because I wanted to help her, and it definitely wasn’t because I was some kind of hero. The situation was what it was, so I simply had no choice but to do it.

If I wanted to abandon someone like her, I could abandon her easily.

Even so, you still call me… your『hero』?

“Sir? Are you not getting on?”

Seeing me stop there, the middle-aged driver asked with a suspicious look.

At those words, which seemed to hurry me along, I almost lifted my left foot, which was still on the bus stop pavement.

“…Actually, I’ll take the next one.”

But in the end, I lifted my right foot off the step instead, turned my back on the bus, and started running.

Damn it… Seriously. Seriously, seriously, seriouuuusly!

“You’re always… saying things like you can see right through me!”

It had to be my imagination. So this was only just in case.

Just in case, I was only going to make sure Mizushima got home safely. It wasn’t like I was going out of my way to do anything about that stalker guy.

‘If nothing happens, I’ll just quietly go home.’

I pushed through the crowd in the station plaza and went down to the station platform, then jumped into the train car that Mizushima and the stalker man following her had just boarded.

※

After boarding the train while tailing the stalker man who was tailing Mizushima, I ended up arriving in the Minato Mirai district, a harbor area spanning the city’s Nishi Ward and Naka Ward.

Above the massive waterfront town, among various commercial and tourist facilities, tower apartments stood in rows, so tall I had to look up at them.

“She really does live in a nice place, huh.”

If she had come home here, then Mizushima probably lived in one of those tower apartments. Maybe not quite as much as Ena-chan, but it seemed her family was pretty well-off too.

“…Wait, that doesn’t matter.”

As if chasing after Mizushima, who had gotten off at Minato Mirai Station, the stalker man also got off the train, just as expected.

So that I wouldn’t lose sight of them, I followed after them as well. Right now, I was in the middle of tailing the two of them through the orderly streets unique to a redeveloped area.

It was already seven thirty at night. Around here, even at night, the buildings and streetlights kept things bright, but still, once you moved away from the central area, there were a fair number of dimly lit roads too.

For a while after leaving the station, Mizushima walked along a bright road with people passing by, but little by little, she moved away from the commercial area and headed down a dim, quiet street.

Ahead of this point was already the apartment district facing the artificial bay. If Mizushima got home without anything happening, then my tailing would end there. This time, I would finally be able to head home without any worries.

That was what I was thinking while watching the two of them from behind the shadow of a roadside tree.

Unfortunately, my『overthinking』ended up becoming reality.

“H-hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

Maybe he thought there were finally no people around, and that it would be difficult to follow her any further.

The stalker man finally approached Mizushima and called out to her.

However, Mizushima herself did not seem to notice at all and continued walking.

It was dim, so I couldn’t see clearly, but carelessly enough, Mizushima seemed to be wearing earphones.

“H-hey! Wait, Sizu!”

Irritated that she hadn’t noticed him even when he called out, the stalker man grabbed Mizushima’s shoulder.

The instant he did, Mizushima’s body jumped and she reflexively put several meters of distance between them before turning around to look behind her

“Eh… What? Who are you?”

“Y-you finally noticed me. Geez, that’s mean, Sizu. I called out to you so many times, you know?”

Now that Mizushima had finally noticed the stalker man, an expression mixed with confusion and fear appeared on her face.

At the same time, Mizushima slipped her right hand into the bag hanging from her shoulder. Her movement looked strangely practiced. Could it be that she really did carry some self-defense item around after all?

“Um… Are you, maybe, one of my fans?”

When Mizushima asked while staying on guard, the stalker man nodded happily.

“Y-yeah! I’m a huge fan of yours. I buy and read every magazine and I comment on every Instagram post too! I always go to watch your photo shoots too! Today too, ahh, you were so beautiful in your tailcoat and your dress.”

“Um, well, I appreciate your support, but… honestly, showing up all the way at photo shoot locations is a nuisance. Please stop.”

Even she, who would deal with fans without making a single unpleasant face if she met them during her private time, couldn’t be blamed for that reaction. Anyone would react that way.

“Don’t say that. Today, I came because I have a request as a fan.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Well, see, I’ve always supported you as a fan, right? So, I was thinking that once in a while, I’d like a little 『return』for that.”

While wearing a creepy, faint smile, the stalker man gradually closed the distance between himself and Mizushima.

And then, toward Mizushima, whose face was finally turning pale, the man blurted out something outrageous.

“Hey, Sizu. Just for tonight is fine, so… won’t you let me buy you?”

A tiny, voiceless scream leaked from Mizushima’s mouth.

“Please stop this. You’ve been saying nothing but selfish things this whole time… Being supported for such indecent purposes doesn’t make me happy at all. Please stop following me.”

“Don’t be so cold. Give me a little『fan service.』”

The stalker man continued to persist stubbornly, and Mizushima finally seemed to reach the limit of her patience.

“S-stop… Don’t come any closer!”

Mizushima pulled her right hand out from inside her bag. Gripped in that hand was, as expected, a stun gun that she had apparently carried for self-defense.

“If you come any closer than that…!”

Mizushima held the stun gun with both hands and threatened him.

However, the stalker man showed no sign of flinching at all, and at last, he tried to grab Mizushima.

Her body stiffened with fear, her lips trembled and then, Mizushima screamed.

“────Souta-kun!!”

The instant that sorrowful voice rang out.

Just like when Mizushima had nearly fallen from the stage during that hero show, my mind went completely blank.

My whole body became hot, kaa, and I entered a state where I couldn’t think of anything except one single『feeling』.

No… that wasn’t right. I felt like I had experienced this sensation even before that.

I couldn’t remember when it had been… but right now, none of that mattered.

‘…Damn it!’

My motto is, let sleeping gods lie.

I know very well that righteous heroes can only save people in fiction

Even though that was supposed to be the kind of person I, Sakuhara Souta, was.

She had stolen Ena-chan from me, and now, for whatever reason, she was saying she wanted to become lovers with me, her ex-boyfriend. She was that kind of hopelessly unpleasant person. My sworn enemy.

Even though that was supposed to be the kind of person Mizushima Shizuno was.

Simply because Mizushima was frightened.

Driven by nothing more than the thought that I had to save her, before I knew it, I had leapt out again.

“──That’s far enough, you stalker bastard.”

In the next moment, I grabbed the left arm of the stalker man, who had been just about to seize Mizushima.

“What the!?”

“Huh…?”

Mizushima and the stalker man cried out at the same time and turned to look at me.

“N-no way… Why…?”

“W-what the hell!? Who are you!?”

“Just a passing Mob Guy A.”

“Huh!? What the hell does that mean… If you’re not involved, stay out of this!”

The enraged stalker man shook off my hand, then swung his right fist down toward my face.

“!? Souta!”

At the same time Mizushima shouted, the stalker man’s fist went straight for my face… but before it could land, the right backfist I unleashed caught him right on the bridge of the nose.

“Fugah!?”

As he couldn’t help but bend backward, leaving himself wide open, I slammed a left straight punch into his solar plexus.

“Kah!?”

The stalker man staggered back two, three steps, then crouched down while clutching his stomach.

“Ugh, oegh… Wh-what the hell are you doing…!”

While letting out retching sounds like he was about to vomit at any second, the stalker man glared at me with a furious expression.

Without answering him, I silently stood in front of Mizushima as if shielding her and maintained my stance.

“Don’t… Don’t screw with me, you brat… Don’t get in my way!”

With a vein bulging on his forehead, the stalker man, having learned nothing, drew back his right arm in a large swing and charged at me.

But again, before his attack could hit, I stepped forward and launched a mid-level front kick.

The stalker man, struck in the solar plexus again, bent his body into a『く』 shape with an expression of agony.

At that timing…

“──Sei!”

“Guhah!?”

The spinning back kick I unleashed cleanly hit around his temple. The stalker man spun around and around like a top, then slowly collapsed onto his back.

“Suu… fuu…”

Looking down at the stalker man lying there, I lowered my stance and took a deep breath.

‘…Your body doesn’t forget that easily after all, huh.’

My mind, which had gone completely blank, gradually regained its calm.

Damn it. Even if it had been spur-of-the-moment, I might have gone a little too far…

“…Ah! R-right, Mizushima…?”

I hurriedly turned around and checked whether she was safe.

Mizushima, who had been standing frozen behind me, was simply staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Souta? Why are you… here…?”

With her expression still stiff, Mizushima muttered in utter shock.

This is bad. It was fine that I jumped out on impulse, but I hadn’t thought at all about how to explain this situation.

“Um, this is, well…”

“…!? Souta, behind you!”

Startled by Mizushima suddenly widening her eyes, I spun around as if I’d been flicked.

Behind me, the stalker man who should have fallen down was swaying as he stood back up.

“What!? This guy is still…!”

“…You damn brat…”

Apparently, I had been too careless in finishing him off.

The stalker man seemed unable to move his body properly because of the pain, but he had barely managed to stay conscious.

“!? Mizushima, run! This guy…his eyes are dangerous!”

Sensing something abnormal in the stalker man’s bloodshot eyes, I shouted toward Mizushima.

Sure enough, the man shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled something out.

What he gripped in his palm was a utility knife about ten centimeters long.

Illuminated by the streetlight, the exposed sharp blade glinted a dull gray at the tip.

“Stay away from my Sizu!”

Spraying spit from his mouth, the stalker man raised the knife.

Because I had been completely off guard, I was shamefully late to react.

This is bad…

“Souta!”

But…right before the stalker man swung the knife down, Mizushima stepped forward as if shielding me.

“Ugh!?”

The blade of the knife that was swung down sliced across Mizushima’s face.

Unable to endure it, Mizushima clutched her face and collapsed.

Standing right behind her, I reflexively caught her body as if supporting her.

“M-Mizushima!? Hey, are you okay!?”

Because of where the wound was, I thought her eye might have been hit, and the blood drained from my face all at once.

I hurriedly checked the condition of the wound, but fortunately, it seemed the knife had only lightly cut the skin around her hairline near her forehead. Blood was faintly seeping out, but at most, it was a cut on the level of being scratched by a stray cat. Since damage still remained in his body, he probably hadn’t been able to aim properly either.

Even so, after unintentionally injuring Mizushima, he seemed to suddenly lose his nerve.

With a stunned expression, the stalker man dropped the bloodstained knife. Then he shouted things like, “N-no! It wasn’t my fault!” and fled as fast as he could on unsteady feet.

“Ah! Hey, wait! …Damn it.”

I hurriedly tried to chase after him but then reconsidered, thinking that treating Mizushima came first right now.

The wound was shallow, but it would be better to disinfect it and stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.

And right, I should probably call the police too.

“Mizushima, are you okay? Can you stand?”

“Y-yeah… I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.”

“It is serious, you idiot!”

When I raised my voice, Mizushima’s shoulders trembled.

She blinked repeatedly, and each time her emerald-like eyes appeared and disappeared.

“…Souta… are you angry?”

Like a child being scolded by her parents, Mizushima timidly looked up at my face.

I didn’t want to frighten her unnecessarily any further, so I lowered the volume of my voice and continued.

“Yeah, I’m angry. I’m seriously angry.”

“Is that…because I was careless? Because I had earphones on and didn’t notice that person at all?”

“That’s part of it, but no. I told you to run. And yet… why did you do something so reckless? It’s good that you only got away with a light injury but one wrong move and something irreversible could have happened, you know?”

When I pressed her, Mizushima looked down for a while.

“…Because.”

But then, in the next moment, she said it with an utterly serious gaze.

“Because I hate the idea of you getting hurt many times more than I hate the idea of myself getting hurt, Souta.”

Mizushima’s eyes were serious.

She was always so aloof it annoyed me, so impossible to grasp, like mist, and no matter how hard I tried to look closely, she never showed me her true feelings at all.

And yet, in her eyes right now, I couldn’t sense even the tiniest trace of lies or deceit.

Because of that, I no longer felt like scolding Mizushima any further.

Instead, what swirled up inside my chest was nothing but the question,『Why?』

“…Why?”

I really didn’t understand.

You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you?

That a face is a model’s tool of the trade. That protecting it from injury is what makes someone a『professional』.

Even though you knew that something so important to you might end up with an irreparable scar, you still used it as a shield without hesitation to protect me.

“Why would you… go that far for someone like me?”

The words slipped from my mouth almost like I was talking to myself.

To you, I should be nothing more than a classmate you only met about two weeks ago, right?

Right now, we might be calling ourselves『trial lovers』or whatever, but surely that was just you teasing me and playing around with Ena-chan’s ex-boyfriend, right?

And yet, why would you…

“Because. I’ve been saying it from the very beginning, haven’t I?”

Mizushima’s answer was, as always, simple.

“Because I like you, obviously. I like you, Souta.”

They were simple words, yet very straightforward.

Thinking back on it, she had always been like this.

It was true that she lied without a second thought, and she was the kind of person who deceived others as naturally as breathing.

Even so, only when she said that she『liked』me, she always had serious eyes.

So much so that it felt wrong for someone else to casually decide that it was a『lie』or a『trap』.

Then…Then could it be that she really, truly, from the bottom of her heart…?

Zukin.

In Mizushima’s cloudless eyes that had been directed at me all this time. In her carefree smile.

I felt as though they had been overflowing with 『feelings』that I had completely assumed didn’t exist until now.

Even though I shouldn’t have been injured anywhere, I felt like my heart ached faintly.

※

After that, once we had finished first aid and called the police, the officers who rushed over briefly questioned us about the situation. Since it was already late at night, they then told us to go home quickly.

There were several security cameras installed around the scene where the stalker man had attacked her, and more importantly, the knife used as the weapon had been properly seized as evidence. So apparently, it was only a matter of time before that guy was caught.

We had gone through something terrible, but for the time being, it seemed safe to say that the matter was settled.

“…I see. So you got worried and came after me?”

Since I decided to escort Mizushima to her apartment just to be safe, I explained everything to her along the way.

How that stalker man had entered and left the site several times during the day. How he had been treated as a person to watch out for among the staff too. How I had seen that same man tailing Mizushima on her way home.

“Not really…I was just a little concerned, so I thought I’d see what was going on.”

“No, no, it’s way too late to try and gloss it over now. Souta, you were super desperate earlier.”

“S-shut up! Forget what happened earlier already!”

Mizushima, who had completely returned to her usual self, was, as expected, treating me like the perfect toy.

No, I knew it myself. Looking back on it calmly like this, even I thought I had done something stupid.

No matter how much danger Mizushima was in, challenging a grown adult empty-handed, and one with a blade at that, was seriously the height of idiocy. It was fair to call it a miracle that nothing major happened.

And on top of that…

“Still, Souta, you were so cool earlier. You appeared so gallantly, then declared,『That’s far enough』and everything.”

“Wah! Wah! I can’t hear you! I didn’t say such an embarrassing line!”

Seriously, I wanted to die.

What was with that line you’d only ever hear in fiction? Why did I go out of my way to blurt something like that out? There’s such a thing as watching too many movies and manga.

“At that moment, my stomach kind of went kyun. I fell for you all over again.”

“Shut up, shut up! Seriously, erase it from your memory right now! No, please erase it, I’m begging you!”

“Fufu, no way. I won’t forget it.”

After teasing me thoroughly while I practically begged her with my hands together, Mizushima said,

“…Hey, Souta.”

There, she suddenly pressed the fingers of both hands together, and in a complete change, showed a meek expression.

Her profile, faintly illuminated by the streetlights, looked slightly flushed.

“Actually, you were… really strong, weren’t you?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“No, I mean, earlier, you beat up that stalker guy pretty easily, right? I’m not that knowledgeable about it either, but those were『karate』techniques, weren’t they? Did you learn it somewhere?”

“…………Haa.”

Well, after seeing that, anyone would be able to tell I wasn’t a complete amateur.

It wasn’t something I would go around telling people on purpose, so I’d kept quiet about it, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.

“…When I was a kid, I seriously admired heroes. Cool heroes of justice who had the kindness to reach out a helping hand to anyone, no matter who they were, and the strength to follow through with that kindness.”

Thinking back on it made me laugh, but back then, I had seriously thought,『I want to become a hero』.

Young Sakuhara, who was right in the middle of his hero syndrome back then, had therefore begged his parents to let him attend a nearby karate dojo. Strength equals martial arts. Even I think it was a simple-minded idea.

And while I had started karate for such a childish reason, apparently, I had a little bit of talent for it. In fifth grade, I even placed at the national elementary school tournament, so I had achieved reasonably good results.

“Well, in the end, because of middle school entrance exams and other stuff, by the time I entered Hominato, I had completely quit.”

In other words, as of now, I had about a three-year blank period.

Even so, the fact that I had been able to move that much earlier surprised even me. It seemed that the elementary school version of me had trained far more seriously than I currently gave him credit for.

“…I-I see. So that really was it.”

Mizushima nodded as if convinced, then continued staring at me with that same meek attitude.

“W-what? If you have something to say, then just say it clearly.”

“Ah, yeah. I just thought that you really are kind after all, Souta.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why are we suddenly talking about that? I’m not kind or anything…”

“No, you are kind. Because if you got serious, Souta, you could have easily defeated someone like me, right?”

At the meaningful way she said it, I realized what Mizushima was trying to say and fell silent.

It was true that Mizushima had challenged me to physical contests several times before.

Each time, I had somehow managed to fend her off at the last second, but… honestly, there had definitely been parts where I held back quite a bit so that Mizushima wouldn’t get hurt.

“Haaah. Seriously, really.”

Mizushima deliberately shrugged as if completely troubled, then, in the next moment, peered into my face with her usual mischievous smile.

“──Even though I’m the one who’s supposed to make you fall for me.”

At that whisper, so sweet it almost gave me heartburn, my face unintentionally grew hot too.

This girl again… How could she smoothly say such embarrassing lines like that?

“Ah, you’re blushing. Looks like that one really landed, huh?”

“I-it didn’t land! It absolutely didn’t land!”

Damn it. Maybe this girl really was just enjoying teasing me after all.

“Oops, this is it.”

While we were talking like that, it seemed we had arrived at the apartment building where Mizushima lived.

The entrance of the tower apartment, which looked like it easily had over thirty floors, had an atmosphere almost like that of a luxury hotel. Water flowed down a lit-up marble wall.

“Thanks for walking me home, Souta. Want to come up? I can at least make you some tea.”

“No. I’m seriously tired, so I’m going to hurry home and sleep.”

Besides, I didn’t want her digging up any more of my shameful behavior from earlier.

“I see. Too bad. I wanted to thank you, even just a little.”

“Thank me…? For what?”

“For saving me earlier, of course. Coming to save me when I was in danger… As I thought, Souta, you’re my hero.”

Mizushima smiled innocently. Somehow, it felt like I was looking at the old me, the one who had admired heroes from the bottom of his heart.

But if she was going to say that… then she, who had tried to protect me with her own body, was much more of a hero than someone like me.

If we were talking about thanks, then if anything…

“But it would be bad of me to force you to come up. I’ll hold back for today.”

Mizushima shrugged, left me with a『See you tomorrow』and walked toward the entrance.

As she walked toward the automatic doors, her footsteps going against the marble floor, I found myself calling out to her.

“Mizushima. About… tomorrow.”