Overlapping Timings
Chris was bustling about from early morning.
“Hmm… Is this okay…?”
Lately, she’d been skipping her morning training sessions with Emil to throw herself into something else every day. Deep down, she wanted to head out right now. After all, if she didn’t, Emil and Sierra would be left alone together.
…No, don’t overthink it.
But Chris steadied her resolve and finished what she was doing. Training time? She could have plenty of one-on-one sessions with Emil in the afternoons anyway.
After their date, with Emil’s feelings growing more intense, Chris decided to tweak her strategy.
What I’m lacking is… femininity.
She’d realized it during the date. She loved her time with Emil so much. She wanted to claim his heart for good.
“…A-alright.”
A week after that date, she finally wrapped up her daily morning ordeal. With a tense expression, she lifted it up.
Let’s do this…
Chris’s heart pounded harder than it ever did before heading into battle.
I finished my morning training with Sierra as usual and headed to the academy.
Chris hadn’t shown up for mornings lately.
Doesn’t seem like anything’s wrong, though.
She was back to normal during afternoon sessions, so it wasn’t anything major. The first day she missed, with Marie’s drama fresh in mind, I’d worried Marie might’ve done something. But thankfully, no.
Marie still came to the academy after that, but whenever our paths crossed, she’d just stare blankly with an uneasy look, hesitating to approach. So, probably not her messing with Chris.
Still bugs me, though…
Of course, Chris’s sudden morning absences were her own doing. But as one of my targets, any abrupt change caught my attention. Especially soon, with the big event coming up.
…Did she see me with Marie?
That was the one possibility that popped into my head. But no, that didn’t make sense. The boys’ dorm and girls’ dorm were separate. If she’d seen it, that’d mean Chris had snuck into the boys’ dorm like Marie. …Creepy thought.
Maybe ask her straight-up this afternoon…
No point brooding over it alone. With the upcoming conquest on my mind, I decided to just confront it head-on, simple as that.
And then, lunchtime rolled around.
“Emil~.”
“Yeah…?”
The lunch bell had rung, and with no real friends, I was prepping to eat alone as usual.
“Knew you hadn’t eaten yet. Hehe.”
Sierra showed up at my desk.
“……What’s that supposed to mean.”
“Come on, you’ve got no friends, right? So you’d still be hanging around class. That’s all.”
“You here just to tease me…?”
“Haha, as if.”
She waved it off with a laugh at my glare, then held something out to me.
“Ta-da~.”
“……A bento?”
“Oh, just so you know, this one’s mine.”
“……And?”
“Jeez, really? When a friend shows up to class with a bento, isn’t the reason obvious? Sometimes I question how you’re even top of the class.”
“…….”
In other words…
“…You wanna eat together?”
“Yeah, cool with that?”
“Sure, but… why all of a sudden…?”
“Huh? It’s fun eating together sometimes, right?”
“…….”
“Haha, and I saw you eating alone the other day. Felt kinda bad.”
“…….”
I eat lunch alone every day. She must’ve caught one of those moments.
…Still, her pitying me felt weird. Not ungrateful, but not exactly thrilled either.
“C’mon, let’s go? Where should we eat?”
“Wait, I haven’t even said yes yet…”
Sierra grabbed my arm and yanked me along.
Why was she doing this?
Not that I hate it…
Something indescribable swirled in my chest. If I faced it honestly? I was happy. Her calling me a friend, caring that I was alone—it touched me.
But.
A strange pressure weighed on my heart. Like I shouldn’t let those feelings out. As if a heavy iron lid sealed the exit.
Marie’s… not around, right?
As Sierra dragged me along, I scanned the area first. Couldn’t have Marie spotting this and flipping out again.
Thankfully, no Marie.
But someone else was.
“E-Emil…!”
“Oh? Chris?”
“Ah…”
Chris called my name from behind as we walked the hall. Sierra and I turned together.
Chris stood there in the corridor, fidgeting restlessly, clutching something tightly.
“Um… I mean…”
She’d called out on impulse, it seemed. Uncharacteristically flustered, her eyes darted around.
That’s…
Then I clocked what she was holding. Two bundles. Lunchtime—bentos, probably.
Ah…
Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces clicked. A cool wave of relief hit, but so did a fork in the road of awkwardness.
“Chris, what’s up?”
Sierra tilted her head innocently, clueless.
“Well…”
Chris blushed, grimacing as she bowed her head.
Damn…
Of all the timings, both today.
If one had come yesterday or tomorrow, no issue.
I inwardly cursed the cruel coincidence and dove into dilemma mode. The question: who to pick.
No, obviously Chris…
I shook off the dumb thought. Picking Sierra here would derail Chris’s route for sure. A simple confession from me? Fine. But my goal was her confessing.
Get tangled with Sierra, and Chris won’t confess.
No one attempts a doomed challenge.
“Hey, Sierra…”
“Yeah?”
I turned to her gently. She tilted her head with an innocent look.
Ugh…
Her expression choked my words for a second.
…What am I doing?
I had to speak up quick, but facing her sparked hesitation. What was this…?
Didn’t know. But.
“Y’know… I just remembered, I’ve got plans with Chris.”
“Oh? Okay.”
“……Huh?”
I calmed my stirring heart and turned down Sierra’s lunch invite.
“What~? You should’ve said so sooner! I came all this way for nothing!”
“You’re the one who showed up unannounced.”
“Ah, right.”
Thankfully, Sierra took it in stride without complaint. But she didn’t leave right away, just stood there blankly.
“…….”
She glanced at me with a blank face.
Then at Chris behind me.
“Hmm…”
Then straight back at me.
“Alright, next time then.”
She spun on her heel and walked off.
…What was that?
Her odd, fleeting behavior baffled me. As I puzzled over it,
“Um… Emil…”
With Sierra gone, Chris approached from behind.
“That was…”
She timidly gripped my sleeve, peering up cautiously. Like she was wondering how I knew.
I chuckled and said,
“C’mon, I’m starving.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed the flustered Chris and headed for the rooftop.
“Hmm… So Sierra wanted to eat together too, huh.”
As expected, Chris had made a bento for me.
That’s why she skipped mornings.
It was impressively put-together. She must’ve prepped thoroughly for today.
But she poked at her own side dish with a dissatisfied look.
“Thanks, this bento’s great.”
“…….”
She glanced at me only after the compliment.
“……For real?”
Her cheeks flushed faintly as she looked away again.
“Yeah, didn’t expect it. Thought you couldn’t cook.”
She seemed cheered up, so I gave my honest take again. Truth was, I’d never seen her cook like this before.
Not even in the 4th loop did she pack a bento.
A subtle emotion welled up. Proof her conquest was going smoothly—good sign. But…
In the 4th loop, I was the earnest one. No bento then. It stung a bit.
Guess she wasn’t that into me back then.
That’s why she went to Edric. Yeah, it clicked now.
“M-me too, y’know.”
“Hm?”
Chris fidgeted with her fork and spoke carefully.
“I’m… good at stuff like this.”
“……Yeah.”
“I’m always swinging a sword, but… I’ve got a domestic side you don’t know about…! That’s what I mean.”
“…….”
Her words explained the bento. She wanted to show her feminine side.
Of course, never happened in the 4th loop.
“Hey, Emil…”
“Yeah.”
“Got a question…”
“Shoot.”
We ate for a bit, then Chris asked cautiously.
“Earlier… why’d you put off Sierra’s invite…?”
“Oh, that.”
Blushing shyly, she stared right at me this time. I grinned back.
“Simple—I wanted to eat with you, not her.”
“…….”
Her eyes widened in surprise, then
“H-hmm… Got it.”
She turned back to her bento.
Good thing the conquest’s on track.
Looks like my morning worries were for nothing. Not some problem keeping her away—just her effort to score points with me.
Might as well push now.
With that confirmed, I moved to the next step.
“Hey, Chris. For the final joint practical exam…”
“Huh…?”
“…Wanna team up with me?”
The final joint practical exam.
Wrapping that event seals Chris’s conquest.