Weekend with the Main Characters

Seira arrived at the meeting place an hour earlier, too excited for the school festival preparations to wait around at home.

Seated on the park's bench, she grinned up giddily at the cloudy mid-afternoon sky. ‘I was too focused on the exams to help properly. And this is the first time I'll be out with the class! I'm so happy that the matter with the tests was solved immediately.’

Shun was astounded to read her essay, so were the faculty staff present in the office back then. They didn't anticipate such a well-done piece, especially from her. Seira had written the essay with everyone watching, though, leaving no doubt that she's the one who created it.

‘Thanks to all the anime and manga from my past life~ Heh.’ Feeling proud of herself, she had even bragged to the class president, “I guess we share the same IQ level, given how similar our answers are.”

Shun had an unreadable expression on his face the whole time. Unlike before, he had no violent reaction to the results. Instead, he had been apologetic for starting the argument.

“I’ve made a mistake. As the class president, I must uphold fairness at all times, yet this shows that my judgement is terribly biased. I shouldn't have accused you. My sincerest apologies, Airin Seira.”

Of course, Seira, being the magnanimous person she was, forgave Shun.

There was the male lead she knew. He understood when to accept he was wrong and how to correct it—an earnest, responsible person. This was what she believed the heroine deserved.

‘Speaking of, I wonder if she's coming… I hope she is.’

That day, Yume had revealed some hidden scheme against Seira. They had no clue who was behind it, and there was no telling what they were plotting next. That being the case, Kaien would often caution Seira.

‘This is karma. I was such a horrible person, though it's not really me…’

“Miss Airin?”

“Oh, it's Airin.”

Startled, Seira turned to the side. “President? And Akamine Ren?”

“What a coincidence,” Ren said, smirking. “Out on a date with your boyfriend?”

Her cheeks flushed. “I-I told you already. Kinryuji Kaien and I are not dating.”

“I didn't mention any name, though.”

“Geh! Quit playing around!” she harrumphed and pouted. “Why are you two here, anyway?”

“Just happened to see each other, too.”

“I’m on an errand,” Nao explained. “We were both only passing by this park.”

She crossed her arms. “And you're close enough to be walking around together?”

“Oh, dear. Are you jealous?”

“Want me to punch you?”

“Mind your words, young lady,” the student council president reprimanded. “Oh, I just remembered. I also saw some students from your class in the mall earlier. They said they were shopping for the school festival.”

“...Wait, what?”

“Are you meeting up with them?”

“Um, yes, but…”

Seira felt the pit of her stomach drop slowly—an ominous feeling.

Thick clouds rolled by and painted the sky in gray. Leaves and branches rustled from a strong gust of wind.

It was getting cold. Putting aside the urge to shiver, she checked her phone. There were no new calls or messages.

“We're supposed to gather here in an hour, then we'll go shopping and stay over at our classmate's house.”

Hearing this, their eyes widened.

Seira was aware she was no ordinary student. Still, she hoped she could somehow experience what others did, even if she did not fit in. Today, she thought she could try again, but it seemed that was no longer possible.

“But why are they in the mall?” Ren questioned, glancing at Nao, who answered, “That was…three hours ago.”

“Oh.”

“Maybe there's a misunderstanding?”

“Or they might've changed plans.”

“If so, someone would've told me,” Seira muttered, hanging her head low and gripping her phone tightly. “Unless they didn't want me to be there.”

They fell silent for a moment, then Nao asked, “Didn't Kinryuji tell you?”

“We don't have each other's contact info.”

“...Does he know where you live, at least?”

“My house is nearby, but no, he doesn't.”

“That mall is quite far from here, too.” Nao exchanged concerned looks with Ren. “I’ll call him.”

“I'll message him, too.”

“You have his number?”

“Dude, it's Kinryuji. The whole school does.”

“And yet, Miss Airin doesn't? Mind your words.”

“Ah.”

Seira sat there helplessly, feeling undeserving.

They could have gone on their way and left her be. But instead, they chose to stay and help. They were too kind to someone who caused them no end of trouble.

“Forget it.” Seira stood up from the bench. “Even if I go, I'll only make things awkward. I'll head home for now and just help out at school-”

“Airin!”

Her heart skipped a beat. She felt herself stop breathing.

Even without looking, she knew who it was from his voice alone. That was how long she’d been with him, how much she thought of him. Like this, he would appear when she needed it most.

Right ahead, Kaien was running with three more people behind him—Minato, Shun, and most surprisingly, Yume.

“E-Everyone…?”

“Finally,” Kaien breathed out heavily, stopping before Seira. “I was worried. It's about to rain, and I still couldn't find you. Just where were you? We met up hours ago, but you still haven't shown up.”

“Someone from your class must be sabotaging her,” Nao spoke up, throwing Kaien and the others off guard. “She waited, thinking you're just about to meet up now and here.”

“...She did what?”

“Why is Shirakawa with you?”

“And even Akamine, too…”

“Got a problem with that, Aoyama, Murasaki?”

“Well, you're usually hanging out with your girlfriends, and I've never seen the President other than at school, so…”

“Hold on, Airin,” Kaien cut into the back-and-forth to talk with Seira again. “You really were coming?”

Nao raised a brow. “Why would she be out here, then?”

“What a bad boyfriend. You left her all alone!” Ren teased.

“We didn't know, okay?” Shun sighed. “It's probably an oversight on my part. In the first place, I should've gotten everyone's contact number. But she also should've already been informed…”

“Yeah, someone said they called her,” Minato affirmed. “I can't remember who exactly, but it’s definitely one of the girls in our class.”

“Umm… Excuse me,” a small voice shyly spoke up. “I-I understand this is a serious conversation, but the rain…”

Seeing the girl of their dreams there with them, all four boys began acting as though a goddess had descended upon the mortal realm.

They looked at Yume with shining eyes and blushing faces, but this no longer thrilled Seira that much. After getting to know them more, she felt disillusioned. Rather than prince charmings, they now appeared more like puppies in heat.

“Here, it's cold.”

Suddenly, Kaien placed his jacket over her shoulders. Her cheeks flushed red. She felt warm.

“This isn't gonna save me from getting wet, you know.”

“Of course, it isn't,” he deadpanned. “It's a jacket, not an umbrella. Bear with it, you insatiable girl.”

“My word! Here I thought you're trying to flirt with me.”

His brows arched up. Seira went still, realizing what she said a second too late. Her face brightened even more.

Kaien smirked, then leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “Give me your number, and I'll try harder.”

“Huh?!”

“I wouldn't want you to wait alone next time, either.”

“E-Eh…?”

“Hey, get a room, you guys!” Ren shouted, making them quickly pull away from each other. “Maybe get us one, too. It's raining.”

“If we run now, we can still make it to the bus station.”

“Ah, I-I'm sorry. I don't think I can run anymore…”

“It's alright, Yume! I'll carry you!”

“Miss Sakura, you don't have to force yourself.”

“Would you prefer to stay somewhere else for now, Sakura?”

The male leads vying for the heroine's attention would always be peak entertainment.

But this was not the time for that. There was a situation at hand.

“Why don't we head to my place in the meantime? It's near.”

All eyes darted to Seira.

Despite their surprise, Kaien and the rest of the group readily agreed. They would get stranded there otherwise. There was no other option.

Little did they know they'd be in for a rude awakening.

“...This is Airin's house?”

After walking for several minutes, they arrived at a stupendous mansion with a lush garden and ivory-white walls. A maid welcomed them at the gate before leading them inside. For what seemed like a long while, they were too awestruck to do anything other than stare at the enormous, crystal chandelier in the foyer.

‘Ah, reminds me of when I first woke up to this world,’ Seira mused, smiling to herself.