Chapter 10: That which defines is that which exists.

"Wh-what’s wrong, Kaimori-chan?"

She’d been so frozen that I grew worried and called out to her. Kaimori-chan jolted, then slowly turned back to me with the kind of expression one might give something truly terrifying.

…No, seriously, what’s wrong? Is this about the cookies—like, “Two whole days just for cookies… this person takes way too long…”? Well, I did think that myself. In my mind, cookies are something you knead and then immediately toss into the oven… Still, maybe this is actually a good opportunity.

"Kaimori-chan! Next time, can you teach me how to make cookies? Let’s eat them together once they’re done."

"…!? M-me!? You mean me!? Is something going to happen!?"

Still seated, Kaimori-chan scooted backward about three steps with a loud scrrrape. Impressive. I’d thought we were getting a little closer, but the distance she put between us felt like a reflection of how far apart we really were—and it stung a bit. It seemed Kaimori-chan was a complete non-believer when it came to the occult. But that’s not it—I don’t have any strange powers like that.

"No, I just want to talk a bit too. I don’t like how things are right now."

"Something you want to talk about…?"

I smiled as I spoke. Though she leaned back nervously, Kaimori-chan did respond. Her eyes, however, darted all over the place. Painful.

…Wait, isn’t this my fault? Because I brought up cookies in the first place? Was that some kind of trap set by Takahiro? Schemes that drag others down never lead to anything good.

"You’ve got things on your mind too, right, Kaimori-chan? Let’s talk it over slowly—just the two of us."

"I-I don’t have anything on my mind, really."

"No way. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have asked that this morning… ah."

I clamped both hands over my mouth. Kaimori-chan stared at me, her expression stiff and frozen. Crap—that slipped out.

"W-w-w-why do you know about this morning…? Ah—did you hear from Ryuzouji-senpai…?"

Looking for help, Kaimori-chan glanced toward Takahiro. But when she saw the question mark practically floating over his head, her expression shifted into pure despair.

I mean, there’s no need to be that scared… Could it be that Kaimori-chan is just easily frightened? …Was she? In the game, I feel like she enjoyed haunted houses while screaming her head off… Well, I’d better just explain it normally.

"I didn’t hear it—I saw it. I just happened to be there."

"You saw it? But there wasn’t anyone there…"

"Ehh? I was right next to you the whole time. Like, right beside you."

"R-right next to…? W-where?"

Kaimori-chan glanced toward where she and Takahiro had been that morning. It was true—over in that corner of the courtyard, there was nothing but a wall and some bushes. No obvious place to hide. But those bushes are actually hollow inside. Once you know that, there’s nothing mysterious about it… oh.

…But that was Yunochan’s secret base. It didn’t feel right to expose that. …Then where was I supposed to say I’d been? Aside from the bushes, there was only the wall… The wall? Could I make that work? Could I bluff my way through this?

"Hehe, I was just standing by that wall the whole time. Kaimori-chan, what were you planning to do with that rock?"

"…Eek…"

Ah—that was a mistake. Kaimori-chan’s face went pale. Thinking about it calmly, someone just standing by the wall behind the school building since morning would absolutely seem creepy. I can’t fix this on my own. I need a third party to step in… A third party. There are two people here, but I didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

"Senpai! Please help me! I just want to make cookies together and get along…"

"Why is that so difficult, I wonder?"

Avoiding eye contact with Takamiyagi-senpai’s perfectly straight-faced question, Kaimori-chan let her gaze wander. Well, it’s not exactly easy to say, “This person looks like she can see through everything and it’s scary,” right to their face.

"So you’ll make them for us?"

"U-um…"

"Oh… you don’t want to… I see…"

"…Ah, geez! Don’t make that face…! Fine! I’ll make them as many times as you want!"

Suddenly, Kaimori-chan stood up and puffed out her chest, as if she’d thrown caution to the wind. Oh—she’s coming through for me! Yes! Yes!!

Grinning, I grabbed her hand and shook it enthusiastically over and over. Though she looked troubled, Kaimori-chan didn’t pull away, letting herself be swung around. Looking up at her, I smiled once more.

"Then it’s settled—you’ll make them with me as many times as needed. Nice to officially work with you from here on out. …I was really happy when you said you’d make them."

"…Ugh, seriously! That’s so unfair!"

Kaimori-chan stomped her feet in frustration, but it was too late. Heh—got her word. Since we’re at it, maybe I’ll call her over five times a week under the pretense of baking sweets… Though that might be a bit much? *1

After that, Kaimori-chan, who’d been breathing heavily, gradually calmed down. I sipped my tea and looked up at the sky. Another clear autumn day—perfect weather. …Oh. Speaking of autumn—

"Come to think of it, the school festival’s coming up soon."

"Ah… yeah, that’s true. Shio—on—Senpai, do you have any plans?"

"Hmm… I’m not in any clubs, so maybe the class has already decided something…"

Though honestly, I’ve been skipping the last few days anyway. Well, whatever. The class plans don’t concern me. I just need to make sure Takahiro goes on dates with the heroines. …Speaking of which, didn’t Kaimori-chan have an event too? Hey, want to try going on a date with Takahiro?

I started running through the festival schedule in my head. With only two days, how could I clear multiple heroine events…? Hmm, it’s tricky. But if I construct a meticulous schedule—like a mystery novel culprit—it shouldn’t be impossible.

After finishing lunch and returning to the classroom, I found the blackboard completely filled with colorful writing.

Takoyaki stand, play, maid café… Looks like the class had been discussing festival attractions. Well, do whatever you want. I won’t be helping.

Just then, one of the background girls hurried over to me as I sat down. She was the one whispering with Takahiro earlier when we went to see Takamiyagi-senpai. They seem to be friends. Thinking about that, I found myself staring off into the distance.

…Friends, huh… If you asked whether Kaimori-chan and Senpai were Takahiro’s friends yet, it still felt uncertain. …Hey, do you feel like becoming a heroine starting now? Did you come to report that?

Unfortunately, that wasn’t why she came. Stopping in front of my desk, she spoke eagerly.

"I want to do a live performance at the festival."

O-okay. Whether it’s a live show, a solo act, or even a tuna-cutting demonstration, do whatever you like. But did you really have to run all the way over here just to tell me that? Aren’t you aiming this at the wrong person?

But there was more. Apparently, I was exactly the person she wanted to petition. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand firmly and raised her voice by about thirty percent.

"So, I want Shione to be the vocalist—or guitar, or bass, or keyboard. If it’s you, Shione, we’ll definitely get popular and draw a huge crowd!"

"…Could you say that again? I’m not quite confident I heard you correctly."

"I want to do a live show."

"No, not that part. The vocalist, guitar, bass, or keyboard part."

"What? You heard me just fine. And yet you say you’re not confident."

What I’m not confident about is your sanity. Shione can’t sing at all. If you’re her friend, there’s no way you wouldn’t know that. So vocalist is out.

And guitar, bass, or keyboard—that’s far too broad. You haven’t gathered any members at all, have you? I can’t do all of that. Baking sweets is one thing, but if a guitarist suddenly started baking on stage, the audience would just be confused. Like, what are we even watching?

"Sorry… I feel bad, but… I can’t. I’m not allowed to do music."

"That’s a thing!? S-sorry… I see, your doctor told you not to, right…"

Seemingly satisfied with my random excuse, the background girl trudged away. …Come to think of it, what was she planning to do at the live show herself?

And just as that conversation ended, another pair of background characters approached me—this time a boy and a girl.

…What now? Is this some kind of system where declaring something in front of me makes it come true? If they start pledging eternal love here, I might actually flip the desk. I don’t have the luxury of wishing for other people’s happiness right now.

With what was probably a pasted-on smile, I watched as the two of them began speaking one after the other.

"Yozakura-san, we want to do a haunted house!"

"Ah, okay… I mean, you can go ahead if you want…"

"So, we came to ask you something… We want Shione-chan to play a zashiki-warashi! Just imagining it, it fits perfectly! If there were a zashiki-warashi this cute, we’d have lines out the door!"

Hmm… compared to earlier, this request is at least more reasonable. She’d definitely suit the role—no doubt about that. But in a haunted house, it’d be hard to slip out midway. Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.

"Sorry, I’m not good with zashiki-warashi…"

"You’re not good with zashiki-warashi!?"

"I mean, I’m bad with haunted houses in general. If I were inside, I’d probably be screaming the whole time."

"I-I see… well, I guess it can’t be helped then…"

My excuse was kind of horror-worthy in its own way, but they seemed like decent people and backed off. “Screaming the whole time,” huh… *2

"…Shione, please! I’ve got something I want to ask you!"

"Before that, can I ask something? Why does everyone keep coming to me?"

Before the third person could say their piece, I voiced my confusion. Judging from the several others glancing this way, this probably wouldn’t end with just three people. What is this? Does the school festival require my approval now? Is Shione secretly some kind of shadow authority figure?

"Well, it can’t be helped. You’re cute, Shione…"

"…And…?"

"We just can’t decide what to do. So what you agree with matters a lot. Just having you on board basically settles things—you’re that big of an asset."

Well, Shione is cute, so I won’t deny that part. …Anything’s fine as long as I agree? I wonder if they’d nod along if I suggested something like a “heroine route tour.”

"So, which do you like? …How about a play?"

"What would we perform?"

"How about Alice in Wonderland?"

Ahh, that blue dress would definitely suit her. But that’s basically casting Shione as Alice from the start. There’s no way I’m taking the lead role. I can’t memorize lines. If I didn’t have to say a single word, maybe—but then the audience would just be confused. “Why is the main character silent…?” I don’t want my name attached to something that avant-garde.

"No, that’s too embarrassing."

"It’s not embarrassing! It’ll totally suit you! And it doesn’t have to be that play—we can do anything!"

I’m not rejecting it because it wouldn’t suit me. Mob D, please listen to what I’m actually saying.

"If I had to compromise, maybe I’d do No-Face from Spirited Away."

"But that’s a masked role! What a waste! And he barely talks! We said main role, didn’t we!?"

"No-Face shows up within ten seconds in every trailer version, so he’s basically the main character, right?"

"I don’t get what you’re saying, but I understand you don’t want to do it."

As the others who’d been listening in caught on, more classmates began gathering around my desk. It seemed they’d judged that a play wasn’t popular and had come to push their own ideas instead.

"Takoyaki! Takoyaki! Takoyaki!"

"No way, goldfish scooping! Suggesting takoyaki—where the results vary depending on the person—is honestly questionable judgment!"

"What month do you think it is!? This calls for refined and precise balance—an art of water! An aquarium exhibit!!"

"Ahwahwahwahwah!"

With three different proposals being shouted from three directions, my head started to spin. Seafood—are we grilling it, scooping it, or displaying it? I’m not Prince Shōtoku, you know—speak one at a time! And before that, didn’t I say I wasn’t doing anything? Hey, calm down!

I slammed both hands onto the desk to quiet the crowd. pat-pat-thump!—a surprisingly light sound echoed. Still, it did the trick, and everyone fell silent.

"Listen, I—!"

…Wait. But hold on. Is doing nothing really okay? I’m already being treated specially with all this “let’s go with what Shione-chan wants.” Maybe it’s fine since I’m basically the class mascot, but if I push it too far, I might end up ostracized in the girls’ social circle.

I don’t mind gossip or insults, but if they start hiding my shoes, throwing my bag into a pond, or scribbling over my textbooks, that would be a problem *3. It’d worry Mother.

"…Umm… I think I’d prefer a behind-the-scenes role. I’ll do my best to help no matter what we choose. So I want you all to decide what you want. I probably won’t be very active on the day itself anyway."

"…Behind the scenes…? Why!? That’s such a waste…!"

"No, wait. Then… if that’s the case…"

If it’s setup work, I’ll probably be free during the festival itself. And if it’s food, I can just mass-produce anything that can be prepared in advance. The important thing is being free on the actual day. Honestly, it doesn’t matter much what we end up doing.

After whispering among themselves for a while, the group of classmates returned—this time all together. Then, a bespectacled boy who looked particularly studious stepped forward.

"By the way, Yozakura-san—how far does your definition of ‘behind the scenes’ go?"

"D-definition!?"

"After all, that which is defined is what exists."

"W-wow… that sounded like something a mathematician would say… D-definition of behind the scenes? Like… helping out without appearing on-site…? That’s what it usually means, right…?"

"…You heard her. If that’s the case, she’ll do it."

"Y-yeah… I guess…"

Seemingly satisfied, the group dispersed.

…Wait, was there something in that answer that made sense to them? W-well, it got across, right? That I’ll be busy clearing heroine routes on the festival day."