Punishing with a Confession (2)
"Please, you have to give me an answer later! Just not now! I'm begging you!"
Watching Yuri bow her head as she pleaded, I could feel how awkward my own face must have looked. I had never expected to be on the receiving end of a confession attack—and the fact that the attacker was Senior Arin's little sister, Yuri, made the whole thing that much worse.
It was a cliché beloved of teen romances, dramas, and romance novels. The so-called Confession Attack. Its effectiveness had been proven since time immemorial: a last-resort finishing move, a signature secret art reserved for moments of crisis.
And what, exactly, made this technique a signature secret art of romance?
For starters, the performance was lethal. Yuri had just walked away with no fewer than three advantages. First, she had stolen the opening score of the "first confession," beating every other girl to the punch. Second, she had forced me to register her as a member of the opposite sex, brewing a delicate atmosphere I couldn't stop noticing. Third, by deliberately postponing my answer, she meant to keep that atmosphere alive and occupy the high ground.
A strategy with all three beats landing in perfect time. And the decision to put off the answer, in particular, was a judgment I had to admit was rather sharp.
A girl with zero dating experience coming up with a play of this caliber? Not a chance. Iris had to have been the one driving it.
I had predicted the technique's existence. I just hadn't expected them to fire it off this early. Had they been that far on the back foot? In what respect?
Ah. Beatrice.
Even Michelle had taken one look at us and decided we were a match made in heaven—that first-day date at the exposition. Iris, who had been watching my outing with Beatrice in real time, would have felt Yuri losing ground on the romantic front and grown impatient. And on top of that, I had dragged Magni into a double fake romance. Of course she would have wanted to land a clean hit on me. She had clearly set out to do this on purpose.
Ah, shit. Senior...
In this awkward predicament, I found myself thinking of Senior Arin. Of all people, it had to be her little sister. What was I supposed to do with this? It was hard to coldly reject the heart of a girl who had asked me with such trembling sincerity.
Was anyone nearby? The architect of this situation and the rest of the male-lead entourage were more than likely peeking. I even employed Observation to survey the area—and, fortunately, none of the club members were in sight.
Good. No need to worry about an audience. I felt a little easier.
"President."
"...! Y-yes!"
The moment I spoke, Yuri went even stiffer, her back ramrod straight. Somehow, the one who'd launched the confession attack seemed far more conscious of me as a member of the opposite sex than the one who'd been hit by it.
She looked almost pitiful. I opened with something gentle.
"Did someone put you up to this?"
"Huh? N-no!"
"Lady Iris? Or the other club members?"
"N-no! This has nothing to do with them!"
Her face scarlet, Yuri shook her head hard from side to side. She could deny it all she wanted; the truth was written all over her. Anyone could see there was a connection.
No need to press any further. For her sake, I kept my voice soft.
"If Lady Iris dragged you into this against your will, you don't have to force yourself. If this is uncomfortable, I can play along with whatever story you need."
This was Yuri, after all. Senior Arin's little sister, and a timid girl besides. When I thought of how much courage this confession must have cost her, I could only find it admirable. She was probably still repeating Is this really okay? over and over in her head. That was why her courage deserved respect.
But courage was one thing.
"So please don't lie to your own feelings."
Lying to her own heart was an entirely different matter. If you let the people around you sweep you along and say things you don't mean, the regret is yours alone.
I knew, because I had lived that life. During the Demon War, when I had infiltrated the Salah Tribe to carry out a mission, I had spat out words I didn't mean as if they were nothing. I had deceived myself in order to deceive others, and before I knew it I had nearly lost my own identity.
Of course, her case was different from mine. The weight of the words would not be the same. A young person's game would be as light as a sheet of paper. Even so—even then—I hoped she wouldn't lie about what she truly felt.
If anything, this worked out well.
The bold surprise attack had caught me off guard, but this confession was a chance to draw a proper line and set the relationship in order. Something I would have had to do properly sooner or later. There was nothing to gain by putting it off.
Except—
"N-no! I'm not being swept along by anyone! I-I have feelings for you too, Kassel. That's why I'm doing this!"
Contrary to my expectations, Yuri seemed entirely in earnest.
"Honestly, I was suspicious of you for a long time! A hidden son of the Cross Margrave? I'd never even heard of such a thing, and it reeked of something shady!"
Her face still burning red, she pressed on with everything she had.
"But I heard that no one is more sincere about the club than you are...! You said so yourself. That you hoped our club would become a good memory."
It was an honest heart. Nothing exaggerated, nothing dressed up—just what she felt, offered as it was. Her trembling voice was thick with earnestness. Yuri stepped slowly up to me and took my hand.
"So I want to know you better. What kind of underclassman you are. I don't know about anything else, but this much is real."
Was I supposed to take this as a child's game? Or meet it with genuine seriousness? The confession attack felt as if it had anticipated even this hesitation of mine, and aimed for it.
"...I'll be sure to give you my answer next semester, Senior."
"Ah... okay! Thank you, Junior!"
I had no choice but to accept it.
While Yuri's confession attack resolved itself without incident, Laura and Iris were staring in blank devastation, refusing to accept reality. What in the world was sitting in front of them? The magical tool discovered behind the booth had stolen the breath from their lungs.
An orb with a faint ashen gleam. Even Iris, who knew nothing about magic, could tell the thing looked suspicious. This was probably the trap Kassel had planted, then—the one meant for kidnapping the club members.
Of course, it might not have been a trap at all. It could simply have been an object that looked shady. Research materials someone had brought along and then dropped, perhaps.
"It has an aura similar to the mystic power Gashir showed us... There's definitely a connection."
Laura, however, was almost certain. The unidentified magical tool was related to Gashir, and the one who had planted it was Kassel.
Did it have to be Kassel? There was no physical evidence—only a mounting circumstantial case. Iris's instincts kept pointing toward him. She had seen too much from a distance.
Kassel... Kassel wouldn't do something like this...!
She wanted to turn her face from this tragic reality entirely.
Had it all been a lie? The feelings he'd shown toward President Yuri, the way he'd rolled up his sleeves for the club, the bizarre gambit of a double fake romance he'd extended to Iris herself—even the fake romance with Beatrice?
And yet Kassel's image still flickered before her eyes. The boy who pulled absurd stunts without batting an eye, who clutched his head in annoyance whenever the club members acted like idiots—and who, all the same, tagged along because they were fellow members, however reluctantly. That was why she had cheered for a pure romance between him and President Yuri more than anyone.
And yet—and yet...!
"Why? Why...!"
"Iris, snap out of it...!"
Why did Kassel have to be the villain of this world?
Had every face he'd shown them been nothing but a performance, a mask of pretense?
When she herself had been so sincere about him?
It was a truth she could not accept.
And then—
"Oh, Senior Yuri! You're back?! How did the confession go?"
"Ah, everything went well. Kassel said he'd be sure to give me an answer later. Hehe."
"Khh! Looks like that investment paid off!"
The news that Senior Yuri's confession had succeeded today left Iris no choice but to waver.
Kassel had to have his reasons. Someone had him by the throat; that was why he'd made this choice, and there had to be some greater purpose. She was rationalizing, and she knew it.
Which meant Iris had only one choice she could make.
"Professor Laura! I need to talk to Kassel!"
"...Iris, what are you—"
"If Kassel really is doing this out of malice, then I—I'll stop him by any means necessary! Even if I have to break both his legs!"
Meet him in person, lay everything on the table, and talk. Without overcomplicating it, charging straight ahead was the orthodox method, the royal road. It was, in every sense, the thought process of a romance-fantasy heroine.
Professor Laura, startled, tried to stop her—and failed.
"Kassel! Kassel...! Where are you!"
She ran, searching for him with everything she had.
And as for Eugene, currently playing the part of Kassel—
Iris has discovered something suspicious in the club room!
Realizing the suspicious object is a trap intended for a terrorist attack on the Academy, Iris—unable to accept this unbelievable reality—searches desperately for you!
He was smiling at the translucent notification window hanging in the air. Rina, standing beside him, tilted her head.
"What's with you? Something going on?"
"No. I think it's about time we launched the assault."
"That so?"
Every preparation was complete. All that remained was to detonate everything I had built.
I buckled the sword Beatrice had crafted for me at my hip and rose from my seat.