Yes, the beautiful blue-haired âgirlâ was Hoshi Amami wearing female clothing and a wig.
âHehe, you saw through me as expectedâŠâ Hoshi rubbed his head where Seiji had struck him as he laughed and stuck out his tongue.
âOf course I saw through you, idiot!â Seiji struck him lightly on the head one more time.
âOuchâŠâ
âThen donât do such a thing!! Do you realize that right now I really want to fucking beat you up!!?â
âBut Senpai, yesterday you said that you were really looking forward to the classical scene of being confessed to on a rooftop⊠I just wanted to do something for you.â Hoshi was now cradling his head with both hands as he knelt on the floor. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.
âDo something for me!? What the hell!? A boy confessing to me like this will leave me with nothing but a bad memory!!! Also, stop acting cute, you bastard!!â
Seijiâs roaring rang throughout the entire rooftop, and it seemed to pierce through the heavens.
âOkay, take a minute to calm down.â
âŠ
After a one minute cooling-off period.
Seiji was finally able to calmly face Hoshi, who had now taken off his wig.
âWhere did you get these clothes and the wig from?â
âI borrowed them from a classmate in drama club. I later learned that she was an acquaintance of Wakaba-san, so I asked my classmate to contact her, and Wakaba-san helped meâŠâ
âI see.â
Seijiâs face twitched slightly as he recalled Chiakiâs unnatural expression. He felt like he really wanted to beat someone up right now.
It was definitely a plot, damn it!
âHonestly, making me see such a thing in the early morning⊠I feel like all the energyâs been drained from my body.â
âBut⊠Wakaba-san said that Senpai would be happy to see such a scene?â Hoshi nervously poked his index fingers and thumbs together, forming a diamond with his hands.
âChiaki!!â
âThereâs a witness statement providing concrete evidence. She is hereby judged guilty, and a beating will be administered to Chiaki the next time I see her!â
Seiji clenched his fists tightly. âI wouldnât be happy at all! Even though a trap character can be cute, to me, theyâre only cute when theyâre in 2-D!!â
âOh⊠How regrettable; I had confidence in myselfâŠâ
âWhat the hellâs with saying itâs regrettable!? Donât have confidence in yourself in such a strange way!!â
âBut this is just how I am.â
âIt doesnât matter even if itâs true! Anyway, didnât you want to become manlier!?â
âYeah, even though thatâs the caseâŠâ Hoshi smiled. âIâm beginning to feel like being a girl wouldnât be all that bad either.â
âStop! If you dare to continue this, be careful as Iâll really beat you up!!!â Seiji forcefully commented.
âI knew Senpai would react like this,â Hoshi thought to himself as he smiled wryly.
âBut this is how I really feel, Senpai. Thereâs no way I can finish expressing all my gratitude and adulation towards you. If thereâs another life, Iâd want to turn into a girl⊠But, right now, in this life, Iâm a boy. Thatâs whyâŠâ
âJust joking, Iâm a boy after all, so⊠Iâll become stronger in the future.â Hoshi looked directly into Seijiâs eyes. âIâll work hard to improve myself and get stronger, in order to become⊠someone worthy of being Senpaiâs junior!â
Seiji was stunned.
He could feel Hoshiâs determination.
A momentary silence fell between the pair.
âWhatâs this about being worthy? Youâre my junior regardless of whether youâre worthy or not.â Seiji chuckled as he averted his gaze and looked towards the sky.
âBut itâs great that you have the determination to become stronger. Just maintain your spirit, and donât forget your goal as you continue taking steps forward.â
âYeahâŠâ Hoshi turned around and also looked up at the sky.
The two of them gazed off into the distance and remained silent for a few seconds.
âHow⊠is the situation?â Seiji broke the silence first.
âMy sisters⊠theyâre going to leave home and temporarily live with my grandparents,â Hoshi said in a soft voice. âAnd me⊠Iâm also going to leave home and live together with Aunt Rika.â
Seiji raised his eyebrows in surprise.
âWhat about your parents, then?â
âGrandfather wants them to truly self-reflect on their own actions and decide if they will get a divorce or continue living together⊠something like that.â
Another brief silence fell.
âIt seems like you must have had quite the imposing family meeting.â
âYeah, as Senpai instructed me, we talked to Aunt Rika and told her everything. Then⊠Aunt Rika went and brought along my grandfather and grandmother, as well as my uncle.â
âMy grandparents⊠theyâre really strict. Father⊠heâs afraid of them.â Hoshi smiled wistfully. âIf only I could have seen the truth much earlier and asked for help⊠from Aunt Rika, my grandparents, and my uncle⊠Things wouldnât have become the way they are today.â
Seiji had no words to say in response.
âI regret it so much⊠But I also feel that itâs wonderful how things didnât turn out even worse. My sisters truly wish to change themselves now, so they⊠will definitely become better than before under my grandparentsâ guardianship.
âMy parents⊠are being watched over by my uncle, and I think theyâll reflect on themselves as well. Iâll continue to work in my auntâs confectionery store to train myself and become stronger.â
Hoshiâs smile kept increasing in brilliance as he looked once more at the tall figure besides him. âAnd I feel like the best part of it all was meeting you, Senpai. Even though I suffered a lot recently, if I think of it as something I needed to go through in order to meet Senpai, I feel like I can accept it all.â
âThank you for saving me. Thank you for saving my sisters. Thank you for preventing my entire family from sinking into a bottomless abyss. Thank you for everything⊠Iâm grateful to this world for allowing me to meet you.â
Seiji smiled and turned around to look at the person beside him.
âDonât say it like Iâm someone incredible, silly. Iâm simply your Senpai, as well as your friend; thatâs all there is to it.â
Thatâs all there is to it.
This was simply another case of âthatâs all there is to it.â
Hoshi kept smiling. His current smile was the most joyous smile of his entire lifetime!
He couldnât restrain his tears any longer, and they began rolling down his cheeks.
Ahhâhe hadnât wanted to cry; he didnât want to seem unsightly in front of this person anymore.
But he couldnât stop himself.
âThank you⊠SenpaiâŠâ
âYouâve finally stopped apologizing; at least thatâs progress.â
Seiji looked deeply at Hoshiâs brilliantly smiling yet tear-stained face.
Then, he averted his gaze, turned around, and began walking off.
âIâve received your gratitude. No need to be courteous with me, junior.â
He casually waved his hand as he walked off.
Hoshi etched the handsome figureâs back into his memory and slowly bowed deeply towards Seiji.
âŠ
*Ding!* A notification came from Seijiâs system.
A notification appeared in front of him.
[A male friend of yours now has a friendship rating towards you of over 100. The [friendship] option is now available. You can now see your male friendsâ friendship ratings towards you, and if a male friend with 60 friendship points or higher gives you any gifts containing their emotions, youâll also receive rewards through the [gifts] option.]
[A person now has a favorability or friendship rating towards you of over 100 for the first time. You have now acquired this personâs character reward card.]
Seiji was speechless at the situation.
What the hell, favorability⊠whoops, friendship rating over 100!?
This⊠could only be Hoshi.
If 1 friendship point equaled 1 favorability rating point, then this value⊠was even higher than Mikaâs favorability rating towards him!!
Seiji received yet another shock from his system.
Boys actually had a friendship rating, and it could even surpass 100âŠ
When Mika passed 90 points, his system had informed him that she would readily agree to become his intimate girlfriend. Now Hoshiâs friendship rating was over 100, what would he do?
Heavens, stop imagining such a thing!
Hoshi Amami! Your friendship is too much for me, hey!!
Seiji clutched at his face in frustration.
It was a good thing that a new option appeared, but his current feelings⊠were indescribable!
System⊠this is your idea of a joke, isnât it!?
Youâre just a freaking dating sim system, but you have an option like [friendship]!? How can this be seen as anything other than a joke!!!
If Seijiâs anguished mental shouting had been physical in nature, surely his shouting would have pierced the heavens!
He needed three minutes to calm down.
No wait, after three minutes, Hoshi will probably come downstairs as wellâŠ
Seiji could only sigh to himself as he continued walking.
He should have been happy about unlocking a new option, but right now he didnât feel like inspecting it more closely at all.
When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he suddenly caught sight of two identical beauties standing there.