Chapter 2

"Baron, there's something I need to talk about... What should I do?"

"Hahaha, a confession as a penalty game. That's not bad, it's quite high school-like. It's just a youthful indiscretion."

I had been consulting with Baron, a teammate in a certain social game, via the chat app on my smartphone after returning home. The game had just entered a team battle phase, and we were in the middle of an important preliminary round, yet I was consulting him about my personal matters over chat. I felt guilty, but he was happy to listen to my concerns.

Even though I don't have many friends at school, I have plenty of people to consult with online. In this day and age, there's no need to confine friends to just the school setting... I was making excuses to myself.

By the way, I chat on my smartphone and play the social game on my PC. I'm not good with voice chat, so I deliberately chose this method.

"It's not a laughing matter, Baron... Try to put yourself in my shoes, being confessed to as a penalty game..."

"It's not your problem, so it's a laughing matter... But, I'm surprised you didn't notice? You're known as a quiet boy, but you're not that invisible. I'm a bit relieved."

Indeed, that was surprising to me too. Actually, the fact that those three knew my name was the biggest shock. I thought they didn't even know my face or name.

After that, I was surprised, but I managed to sneak out of the classroom. So, I guess I'll probably be confessed to tomorrow as a penalty game.

"What should I do, Baron... Being confessed to as a penalty game..."

"Well, why not just go with it? You don't have a specific girlfriend, right? It's a chance for her to get used to boys and for you to get used to girls."

I couldn't help but sigh at Baron's casual advice. If I could make that choice, it would be so much easier...

"I'm against it!! Playing with someone's feelings like that... You should reject it, Canyon!!"

"Don't say it so easily, Peach..."

Canyon is my in-game character name. The one who objected was Peach, a female player on the same team who I'm quite close to. Well, I've never met Baron or Peach, so I don't know their genders, but I assume Peach is a woman.

"Why? It's just a confession, so you can just reject it."

"Come on, Peach, calm down."

Baron was trying to calm Peach down. Right now, only the three of us are in this chat. The others are busy with the preliminaries, so they aren't joining our conversation. It's a team-wide chat, so they might read it later, but for now, it's just the three of us.

Peach said I should just reject the confession... But if I, a shy person, reject a girl's confession, how many enemies will I make? Yes, it's a penalty game, so the other party is at fault, but only the parties involved know that.

Accepting is hell, rejecting is hell... That's why I consulted Baron...

"Canyon, are you not thinking that both accepting and rejecting are hell?"

Baron's words seemed to see through my thoughts, making my heart beat faster. Even though it's just a chat app, how does he know what I'm thinking? That's why I consulted him.

"In that case, why not accept the confession? I think that would be the better option."

"Better...?"

"Because, whether you accept or reject, you'll still be under curious and critical eyes. She's popular, right?"

"Yes, she's very popular."

Nanami is very popular. She has a bright and cute personality and treats everyone equally, leading to many boys misinterpreting her actions as signs of affection.

Her fashion is what you might call "gal" style. She wears her uniform as cutely as possible, with her skirt so short that it's almost indecent. Her shirt buttons are open, revealing her well-developed chest... I always thought she seemed like a party girl...

(But, she's not used to boys... That was surprising...)

So, despite being confessed to by various types of handsome boys—sports team captains, slightly delinquent handsome boys, and studious, serious handsome boys—she has rejected them all.

Because she's not used to boys... No one had a chance.

The contrast made me feel that I was quite gullible... I never expected to be confessed to by her, even as a penalty game.

"Being rejected by a popular girl is worse than being confessed to by a popular girl and breaking up after a month. Besides, you should see this as an opportunity."

"An opportunity...?"

The opportunity he mentioned earlier was about getting used to girls, but Baron's idea of an opportunity was different.

"If you accept her confession, you'll probably date for at least a month. During that month, you should try to make her fall in love with you."

"Baron?! What are you saying?!"

"Huh?"

"Ah, maybe 'fall in love' is a bit outdated? I sound like an old man, don't I?"

Baron, that's not what I'm surprised about. I was so surprised by his unexpected words that I couldn't type a response. Peach was also shocked and couldn't continue.

"Listen, you have a big advantage. You know that this confession is a penalty game."

"Uh... I know that... Is that an advantage?"

"It is. If you didn't know, you'd be overjoyed, thinking she really liked you."

That's true... Even as a shy person... No, because I'm a shy person, the feeling of being "chosen" by someone in a higher social position at school would have caused a significant change in me. That's not funny.

"Well... I would be overjoyed... I might feel superior and get carried away."

"Then, after a month, you'd probably face a breakup. But because you know it's a penalty game, you can remain calm."

Calm... Is this really being calm? I'm not calm, which is why I consulted Baron.

Ignoring my feelings, Baron continued chatting.

"During that month, you can either break up with her as a form of revenge or continue dating. The choice is yours, but I think continuing and making her fall in love would lead to a more enjoyable high school life."

"...Baron, are you enjoying this?"

"I am. Oh, and make sure to report back. A high school student's love story is good entertainment."

I felt a bit regretful about consulting him, but the more I listened, the more I thought accepting the confession might be the better choice. Maybe I was being brainwashed by Baron.

Still, I made up my mind... to accept her confession as a penalty game.

"But, make sure to act like a high school student. Since she's not used to boys, don't suddenly demand physical intimacy."

"I wouldn't do that!!"

Don't think a shy person has that kind of nerve!!

After that, I continued the game while receiving advice from Baron on how to handle the confession. Peach was against it the whole time, but eventually stopped writing in the chat.

By the way, we successfully advanced in the team battle preliminaries. The other team members will probably tease me based on the chat logs, but that's another story.

Interlude: At that time, Nanami

"Tomorrow is the confession... Tomorrow is the confession... Tomorrow is the confession... Tomorrow is the confession... to Ayame... confession..."

Even though it's not a confession to a boy she likes, just thinking about it made Nanami's heart race and kept her awake.