Everyone present, without exception, wasn't an experienced player in the field of love, but rather a novice with possibly not-so-rich theoretical knowledge. However, when giving advice to their friends, they transformed into love masters.
"At this time, there should be some special plot developments, right? For example—a girl who is usually dignified and composed, suddenly clinging to you in fear; or maybe she's too scared to open her eyes, so she instinctively grabs your sleeve and leans on you the entire time…" The one enthusiastically sharing these insights was, unsurprisingly, Tsubasa Tanuma. This guy was unusually invested in love topics.
"In short, there has to be some kind of 'affectionate' atmosphere, right? Otherwise, it's no different from a regular outing, is it?" His understanding wasn't unreasonable, though the details were a bit exaggerated. But generally speaking, a 'relationship upgrade' should involve moments like these.
"Of course, it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly like that. Any situation that brings two people closer works just as well, like…" Hachiman Hikigaya, despite usually being cynical about romance, actually chimed in. After all, he had consumed a large amount of light novels filled with these tropes. However, midway through his sentence, he suddenly paused and went silent for a long time.
Seeing that everyone was staring at him, patiently waiting for him to finish, he had no choice but to push forward awkwardly. "Like… an accidental hand-holding moment caused by some unexpected event. Then, when they finally notice, it's already too late to let go… In short, as long as the atmosphere is there, it counts!"
"Hmm?" Kanade Natsukawa, who had been enjoying the gossip, suddenly picked up on something odd in Hachiman's words.
He raised a hand and interrupted, "Wait a second! You just mentioned… holding hands by accident? So, are you saying you guys weren't holding hands the whole time at the venue?"
"Huh? As if! We're not elementary school kids. Why would we hold hands just because we're scared?!" Hachiman barked back, as if someone had just accused him of a heinous crime.
"…" Kanade Natsukawa, momentarily stunned by the sudden counterattack, quickly shook it off. His mind, however, was racing with a different concern—
If holding hands wasn't a requirement, then why had Kaguya explicitly told him to do so? …Just what was going on?
While Kanade mulled over this unexpected piece of information, Hachiman had already moved on, acting like he hadn't just set off a landmine.
"I see…" Though the conversation had been brief, Miyuki Shirogane seemed to have gained a lot from it. "So, in other words, adding a bit of unpredictability to the date can make things progress more naturally?"
"Huh? That phrasing feels kinda off…" Hachiman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Still, after thinking it over, he realized that—strictly speaking—Shirogane's conclusion wasn't wrong.
"Ah, sorry, maybe I didn't phrase it properly…" Miyuki quickly corrected himself. "What I mean is, I understand now. Thank you all for your advice! I feel like I've solved my problem."
To show his gratitude, he even stood up and bowed slightly.
"Oh, uh, it was nothing…" Hachiman scratched his head, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.
"You're welcome, Shirogane. We're friends, after all," Tsubasa added in agreement.
"…"
Only Kanade Natsukawa, after a long moment of silence, finally came back to reality and muttered, "Oh, well… glad it's all sorted. Let's move on to the next one…"
It wasn't that he didn't want to continue enjoying the gossip, but the information he had just received had thrown him for a loop. Still, under the expectant gazes of the others, he knew he couldn't just zone out now.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a second. But I'm good now—let's continue."
The mood was lively, and everyone was caught up in the conversation, so he couldn't afford to be the one to kill the vibe. Pushing aside his confusion, he resolved to investigate later.
"As for me… there was a bit of progress? But I'm not sure if it counts…" The next to speak was, of course, Tsubasa Tanuma. Unlike the others, he didn't hesitate at all—in fact, it seemed like he had been looking forward to this moment for a while.
"It doesn't matter. Just share whatever moments you feel count as progress! Details are more than welcome!" The others urged him on eagerly.
Judging by last night's conversation, Tsubasa's love life was probably the most dramatic among them—excluding Kanade, of course—which made it prime gossip material. Naturally, no one wanted to miss a second of it.
"Alright… I guess I should start from before I even chose a partner?" Tsubasa Tanuma paused dramatically, drawing in the attention of the entire group before continuing, "It's kind of a long story… but to sum it up, after listening to all of you last time, I started to suspect that maybe, just maybe, there was actually a girl in that group who liked me."
"Ohhh?" The others collectively leaned in, their curiosity levels spiking.
Tsubasa smirked at their reactions before going on, "So, I decided to take some initiative. A few days before the test of courage, I made sure to casually hang around their group, making sure they could overhear me. And then, at just the right moments, I'd drop a little nugget of information—something along the lines of 'Man, I really don't want to be assigned a random partner just based on student numbers. It'd be way better to go with a cute girl instead~.' Then I just sat back and waited to see if anyone would take the bait. After all, those girls are all top students… I figured at least one of them would be bold enough to say something."
"And then?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked, his expression a mixture of skepticism and reluctant admiration. "Someone invited you, right?"
"Nope!" Tsubasa shook his head, utterly unfazed. "Not a single one of them took the hint."
"..."
The silence was deafening.
Hachiman suddenly felt a pang of second-hand embarrassment. He had prematurely assumed that Tsubasa had some sort of protagonist-tier luck with girls, but reality had just delivered a swift gut punch. His head dipped slightly, almost as if he was apologizing for having had even a shred of faith in Tsubasa's supposed popularity.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Tsubasa blinked in confusion, noticing Hachiman's sudden shift in posture.
Kanade, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, easily guessed what was going on inside Hachiman's head. With a casual wave of his hand, he said, "It's nothing. Just keep going. Don't mind him."
"Alright…" Tsubasa nodded, before resuming his story. "So yeah, none of the girls responded at the time, but later on, a male classmate came to me instead. Turns out, he was originally assigned as my partner for the test of courage, but he had to drop out last minute because he promised to volunteer with his girlfriend. Since he was my friend, he figured I wouldn't mind."
"…"
There was a pause. A heavy pause.
Everyone in the group exchanged glances, their expressions varying from awkward sympathy to silent disappointment.
"So then what?" Kanade asked, breaking the silence. "You ended up solo?"
"Well… that's what I thought would happen at first, but then something interesting happened. Apparently, those girls caught wind of my 'tragic abandonment,' and one of them actually approached me later. She said, 'Since you don't have a partner and you're basically going to be left out anyway, why not just join us? You can be our guide and take care of the tough stuff for us. It's more convenient to have a guy help clear the way and solve the puzzles.'"
"…"
Another round of silence filled the room.
"Wait, so basically…" Hachiman rubbed his temples. "They recruited you as their errand boy?"
"I prefer to think of it as them recognizing my value as an essential asset to the team," Tsubasa said, straight-faced.
Everyone: "…"
Was that even allowed?