For the first time in her life, Beatrice had been turned down by a man.
That fact came as no small shock to her.
And it wasn't even another woman who had beaten her out — it was a workbook.
The shock doubled.
A heavy, pressing weight settled somewhere in her chest.
This was…
Yes. Humiliation.
*How long has it been.*
It was an emotion she hadn't felt in a very long time.
She couldn't even remember the last time someone — or something — had gotten the better of her.
…Well. This time it wasn't someone, but a workbook.
Beatrice turned the feeling over in her mind for a while before murmuring to herself.
"…Strange."
She recalled the target's face from moments ago.
The target, refusing her seduction.
Beatrice, who had deceived and enticed countless people, could read it clearly.
There hadn't been a single flicker of desire in his eyes.
Like a monk who had transcended earthly wants?
No.
It was different from that.
There hadn't even been any sign of him holding back.
In other words, her seduction had simply not worked on him at all.
On that man — the one who used to fall apart at the sight of a pretty face.
It made no rational sense.
He had changed. Completely.
Not in the process of changing.
Already, entirely, changed.
……
Was that… even possible?
Could a person really… change?
Beatrice's beautiful face twisted.
No. Impossible.
People don't change.
They only pretend to change.
No matter how different the surface looks, the essence of a person never changes.
She knew that better than anyone.
She had felt it to the bone.
Thirteen years ago.
"…Ugh."
As the memory brushed past her, Beatrice let out a small, involuntary retch.
The mere fact that she had briefly pictured that person's face was enough to make her sick.
"…What terrible luck."
She drew a quiet breath and let out a thin, humorless smile.
Right. That person had been the same way.
Always pretending to change. Always driving a knife into her back when she least expected it.
The girl she had been back then had been foolish enough to believe it, again and again.
But that naive little girl had died a long time ago.
The target would be no different.
Pretending to have changed.
Pretending to be different.
Performing so perfectly that even she had almost been fooled.
"I need to get serious."
The corner of her mouth curled upward in a crooked arc.
A strange smile — asymmetrical, off-kilter.
It had been a long time since she'd let personal feeling bleed into what was supposed to be a simple job.
"I'll strip that mask right off you."
She would tear away every last shred of his hypocrisy.
Peel it all back, until he was someone who couldn't survive without her.
And then she would prove it.
That people never truly change.
***
"…Oh."
She had pulled an all-nighter.
She hadn't been able to sleep.
How could anyone sleep with a fresh stack of brand-new workbooks piled up right beside them?
The moment I got home, I played with Snowy for a bit — and then I didn't come up for air. Just problem after problem, straight through the night.
Honestly… it was an absolutely exhilarating stretch of time.
*The problems just keep coming.*
Textbooks had so few problems that I'd always been stuck reworking the same ones from different angles just to get any review in.
But workbooks — every time you turn a page, a whole new batch of problems comes pouring out. What greater happiness could there be?
By the time I came back to myself, the sun was already rising.
And so here I am — having arrived at school in a half-asleep daze, sitting blankly at my desk.
Man, I'm tired.
Tired means it's time to do problems.
I stretched lightly and reached into my bag for my English workbook — and then:
*Slide.*
The back door opened, and Arisu walked into the classroom.
Not a scratch on her, so at least she hadn't tripped while running.
"Morning."
I gave a casual wave, the same as always.
"……"
The moment our eyes met, Arisu's face went red in an instant.
And without a single word, she scurried back to her seat.
Ignored.
*…Did asking if we were friends really bother her that much?*
Being avoided that openly stung a little, honestly.
"You all made it to Friday. Tomorrow's the weekend, so just hang in there through today. Alright, I'll take attendance."
Morning homeroom began.
About two minutes in:
*Buzz.*
A Lane message came in.
It was Arisu.
▷ U-um, Ryuzaki
▷ I wanted to say something about yesterday…
I didn't rush her. I just waited quietly for the next message.
What followed was… well.
The literary equivalent of a Möbius strip — an endless parade of talking in circles.
▷ No, I mean, please don't misunderstand, it's not that I dislike Ryuzaki at all, I just…
▷ But if I think about it calmly, we haven't known each other that long, right? There's still so much we don't know about each other…
▷ And I guess I'd say I'm not mentally prepared yet… it's embarrassing but I've never dated anyone before so I want to be careful about these things…
……
I'm not exaggerating — the English mock exams from my past life in Korea were more direct than this.
Another two full minutes passed.
▷ So… I think it's a little too soon to start dating. How about we stay friends like we are now, and think about it more seriously later?
And the moment I read that last line.
"……?"
I'm not exaggerating — my brain just stopped.
It takes a lot to halt my thought process, but she managed it.
*Is my Japanese still that rough?*
The words were clearly readable, but the meaning wasn't computing.
I blinked and read it over several times.
It said exactly what it said the first time.
The context being: I had confessed, and Arisu was turning me down.
*I never confessed to anything.*
I was genuinely starting to wonder if Arisu might have some kind of delusional disorder — and then it hit me.
…Oh. Wait.
*She mistook that question for a confession?*
If that was right, then everything about Arisu's behavior yesterday and today suddenly made perfect sense.
So this was the legendary zero-confession, first-rejection situation.
I never thought I'd be the one experiencing it.
A dry laugh rose up inside me.
▷ No, please don't misunderstand! It's absolutely not that I dislike Ryuzaki…
▷ It's just that we haven't had enough time to really know each other yet for something serious…
Messages came in one after another.
I glanced over toward Arisu.
"……"
She was looking back and forth between her phone and me, visibly flustered.
She seemed worried that my slow reply meant she'd hurt my feelings.
She really is a good person.
The sight of her was so endearing that a small smile slipped out before I could stop it.
◁ Arisu
▷ Yeah!
◁ I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding
▷ …A misunderstanding?
No point dragging it out. I went straight to the explanation.
◁ You know what I said when we parted ways yesterday
◁ That wasn't a confession — I was genuinely just asking if we were actually friends
◁ I've never really had a friend before, so I wasn't sure if I was allowed to call you one
◁ Sorry. I worded it in a confusing way
◁ I'm glad you think of me as a friend. Looking forward to it going forward
That should cover it.
I shook off the drowsiness and waited for a reply.
But no reply came.
I tilted my head, wondering if the message hadn't gone through — and then:
*Thud!*
Something fell, and the entire class turned to look in the same direction.
"Ah, ugh."
There was Arisu — face as red as a tomato, trembling from head to toe.
Her phone was rolling across the floor.
"Oh, Arisutchi! Are you okay?"
"Hira's hurt!!! Someone call an ambulance!!!"
"Go get the school nurse!!!"
The perks of being the class celebrity.
Her face just got a little red and the whole room erupted.
I didn't need to guess why her face had gone that color.
She'd gone and interpreted someone else's words as a confession — of course she was mortified.
"You can pick up your phone after class."
"……Y-yes."
"…Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"
"……"
Instead of answering, Arisu pressed her forehead down onto her desk.
The class stirred again at that, and I quietly slipped my phone back into my pocket.
*…So we were already friends.*
I looked at the workbook sitting on my desk.
A workbook bought by my first friend.
Thinking of it that way, it felt strangely more precious than before.
***
First period. Math.
*…I want to die.*
Arisu was contemplating reasons to live rather than solutions to the problems on the board.
Nothing on the chalkboard was making it into her head.
Which was only natural.
During morning homeroom, she had single-handedly authored a piece of personal history so mortifying it would flash before her eyes on her deathbed.
And she had done it entirely to herself.
*…I'm so embarrassed I could die!*
Ryuzaki had simply, genuinely asked whether they were friends.
He hadn't been asking if they were something more.
Ryuzaki was far more innocent than she had given him credit for.
She had completely overlooked that.
To make a fool of herself like that in front of the first male friend she'd ever made.
And of all people… in front of Ryuzaki.
Ugh.
If there were a hole in the ground, she'd dive into it right now.
*Ding-dong-dang-dong~*
"That's it for today. Don't forget to review."
She hadn't managed to focus for a single second of the entire class.
Her face was still burning.
She let out a long sigh and dragged a hand down her face — and then her friend approached, carefully.
"…Arisutchi, are you okay?"
"Rio. When do you think a person dies?"
"W-well, I'm not sure?"
"Right now."
"D-don't die, Arisutchi! You have to fall in love first!"
"Ugh—!"
Arisu was writhing in embarrassment when:
*Slide!*
The back door opened, and someone walked into the classroom with complete composure.
Not a student from this class.
That was…
*…The student council president?*
A girl with black and white hair intertwined.
The moment she stepped into the room, the noisy class went silent as if a switch had been flipped.
Her name… Arisu couldn't quite recall.
But the first thought that came to mind the instant she saw her was a single one.
*She's genuinely beautiful.*
That kind of quiet, atmospheric beauty was rare.
Arisu had her own confidence in her looks, but this girl was stunning enough to make her feel a pang of envy.
More to the point — why was the student council president in their classroom?
*Ryuzaki?*
In the now-silent room, the student council president was heading straight for Ryuzaki's seat.
What was going on?
Had Ryuzaki done something wrong?
No.
He wasn't that kind of person.
Arisu swallowed.
She was ready to speak up for him if it came to that.
But the situation unfolded in a direction entirely different from what she'd expected.
"Underclassman. Pardon the intrusion."
"Sure, come in. What brings you all the way to my classroom?"
They were talking.
And in a remarkably familiar way, at that.
"Some paperwork came up that needs to be handled urgently. I determined it would be too much to manage alone."
"In other words, you're asking for help?"
"…In conclusion, yes."
Ryuzaki and the impossibly beautiful student council president.
"When does it need to be done by?"
"As soon as possible would be ideal, but I would like it finished by the end of school today at the latest."
"Got it. In exchange, buy me a drink from the vending machine at lunch."
"If that is sufficient for you."
A peaceful exchange, without a hint of conflict.
Not a single thing she had worried about came to pass.
And yet…
"……"
"A-Arisutchi? Your eyes are kind of scary right now."
…Why did it bother her so much?