I Won't Be a Loser

"Ah, well, I was just asking out of concern for Haruto. Nothing else."

Feeling Setsuna's piercing gaze on her, Mai Kiyoura's eyes darted away briefly before settling on Haruto's face. She quickly offered an explanation to her daughter.

However, her demeanor and tone weren't all that convincing. Fortunately, Haruto stepped in to help ease the tension.

"I only have three pairs in total, so now I'm down to two. I'll have to buy new ones after school tomorrow. Let's put an end to this topic for now. If we leave dinner in the pot any longer, it'll turn to mush."

"Right, then… dinner first."

Avoiding her daughter's accusatory glare, Mai joined Haruto in bringing the prepared dishes to the table. Meanwhile, Setsuna carefully picked up the white undergarment, set it aside on the floor, and wiped the table clean. With everything set, the three of them sat down to eat.

Throughout dinner, the room remained quiet. Everyone focused on their food, each lost in their thoughts about the unsettling event Haruto had gone through.

Mai never expected Haruto to experience something like this. Though he was a boy, this kind of situation would be difficult for anyone—regardless of gender—to accept.

As the only adult at the table, she felt the weight of responsibility pressing on her. She needed to come up with a proper solution. Otherwise, how could she maintain her dignity as an authority figure in front of Setsuna.

Meanwhile, Setsuna kept glancing at Haruto, her eyes filled with a mix of worry and something even more complex. After each glance, she would lower her head and quietly nibble on her vegetables, her small bites resembling those of a little rabbit.

Haruto, on the other hand, tried not to dwell on the issue. No matter how troubling a situation was, he made it a habit not to think about it during meals.

Instead, he simply focused on eating, letting his mind take a break from all the chaos.

Once dinner was finished, Haruto started cleaning up, but Mai stood up first, taking the initiative to clear the table. Haruto remained seated, locking eyes with Setsuna across from him.

"Haruto, have you considered transferring schools?"

"Huh?"

Setsuna's words broke the silence, catching Haruto off guard. It took him a moment to process her question, but once he did, he understood her reasoning.

"You mean transferring because this happened at school?"

She nodded.

"It's not a bad idea, but transferring schools is a huge hassle. Plus, the semester just started—it's not really ideal. That would only be a last resort if things get completely out of control."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Setsuna's face. She had her own reasons for suggesting it. More than anything, she wanted to be at the same school as Haruto. And after hearing about his experience today, that feeling had only grown stronger—she wanted to protect him.

"Is there really no way?"

"Even if I were to transfer, my dad would want an explanation. If he found out about this, he might decide I can't handle living alone and just send me back to Itomori for school instead."

Setsuna pressed her lips together tightly, fully understanding the implications of Haruto's words.

If his family learned about this incident, their top priority would be to protect him. Whether out of concern for his safety or because they felt he wasn't capable of handling things on his own, they would likely call him back home. If that happened, he would leave Tokyo, and she would have no excuse to follow him to Itomori.

That would mean… they'd be separated.

Her teeth gently bit down on her lower lip as her resolve hardened.

"Then I'll transfer to your school instead," she declared. "That way, I can protect you."

Haruto was taken aback for a moment. Looking at the determined expression in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel moved. A small smile formed on his lips as he reached out and playfully tapped her forehead.

"That would be way too much trouble. It'd be a burden on Mai-san, too. Besides, I'm a guy—having you protect me would be kind of embarrassing."

"But—"

"If it's for Haruto, I wouldn't mind Setsuna transferring schools," Mai chimed in.

Setsuna, who had been about to argue, paused in surprise. She turned to look at her mother, only to find her smiling gently at her. Then, Mai glanced at Haruto with a knowing look.

Haruto hadn't expected that response, but as both Setsuna and Mai waited for his answer, he shook his head firmly.

"If I can't even handle something like this on my own and end up causing trouble for both of you, how could I ever face future challenges in life? No—this is something I need to deal with myself."

"..."

Haruto had originally planned to report the incident to the police. But after thinking it over, he felt an even stronger urge to prove himself—to show that he could handle things as a man.

Mai observed the boy in front of her, then glanced at her daughter. A resigned smile tugged at her lips.

"Alright, then."

She chose to believe in him.

Setsuna still had many things she wanted to say, but after looking at her mother, then at Haruto, she ultimately chose to trust him as well.

As they left for the night, Setsuna took the white lace underwear with her, leaving Haruto alone in his apartment. He sat there for a moment, gazing out the window.

"Even with a fresh start, trouble still finds me."

He had never encountered anything like this before—why did it have to happen now?

Pressing his lips together, Haruto could only hope that the culprit wasn't some burly, muscle-bound guy but rather a delicate, cute girl. That was the only silver lining he could imagine in this absurd situation.

"Come to think of it, the size of that thing was pretty small. Most girls wouldn't wear something that tiny…"

But the design was oddly mature.

It was just a hypothesis—nothing certain.

But…

Was it possible that the culprit was actually a legal loli?

The next morning, Haruto woke up early. After retrieving his laundry from the washing machine, he hesitated before hanging them indoors, in the bathroom. He wasn't about to risk drying them outside again.

Returning to his room, he cracked the small window open just enough for ventilation. Then, he wedged a pen into the window track to ensure it wouldn't be opened wide enough for someone to slip inside.

His apartment didn't contain anything valuable, but he had no intention of letting that underwear thief break in again and do something even worse.

"This should be fine."

After double-checking, he picked up his school bag and headed out the door.

On his way downstairs, he spotted Sekai Saionji waiting on the sidewalk. Setsuna still hadn't left yet.

"Good morning, Miyamizu-kun~"

"Good morning, Saionji-san."

"Still calling me 'Saionji-san'? Just call me Sekai!"

"Alright… Sekai-san."

Despite her repeated attempts, he still kept his distance. Sekai sighed internally but didn't push further. Instead, she glanced at the apartment behind her before turning back to Haruto.

"Setsuna might not be up yet. Why don't you go wake her up? You could even give her a sweet good morning kiss~"

"She's probably already awake," Haruto replied. "And no, no morning kisses. Besides, why don't you go wake her yourself?"

"Hmm? Me?"

Sekai pointed at herself, feigning surprise before chuckling and shaking her head.

"I could, but staying at someone else's place feels a little awkward. I'd rather wait out here and watch the world rush by. It's much more entertaining."

"You've got an interesting sense of humor."

"You're heading to school too, aren't you, Miyamizu-kun?"

"Yeah."

Standing before him, Sekai smiled playfully, but Haruto couldn't help but feel a flicker of suspicion. Did she have something to do with what happened? It was true that she seemed interested in him, but pulling a stunt like that… seemed unlikely. Besides, Setsuna had been with her the whole time. Even if she had the intention, she wouldn't have had the opportunity.

"Are you waiting for Setsuna so you can say goodbye to her before heading to school?"

Sekai covered her mouth with a giggle, her teasing gaze fixed on Haruto, as if hoping to see a flustered reaction.

"…I think I'll pass today."

Haruto glanced up at Setsuna's apartment and smiled faintly.

"There are some things I need to take care of, so I'll head to school first. When you see Setsuna, let her know I left early."

"Huh? Did something happen?"

"No, it's just some school matters I need to deal with."

Flashing a reassuring smile at Sekai, Haruto turned and walked toward Toyosaki, leaving her standing on the sidewalk, momentarily dazed.

Not long after Haruto left, Setsuna stepped out of her apartment. Dressed in the uniform of Sakakino Academy, she walked over to Sekai's side. Seeing Sekai lost in thought, staring at the ground, she reached out and poked her gently in the waist.

The sudden tickle made Sekai straighten up in surprise. She whipped around, her eyes wide.

"Oh, it's you, Setsuna. You scared me."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Hmm… Nothing, really."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes slightly, instantly recognizing the lie.

"Really?"

"Of course… Ah, actually, I just ran into Miyamizu-kun. He left for school already and asked me to pass along a greeting to you. Did something happen?"

Sekai skillfully shifted the topic, hiding her true thoughts while using Haruto's departure to divert Setsuna's attention.

And indeed, it worked. Setsuna's brows furrowed slightly as she recalled last night's events. She had spent the whole night thinking about what had happened, but since she didn't go to the same school as Haruto, she had far too little information to piece everything together.

She needed to investigate directly.

"After school today, come with me to Toyosaki."

Setsuna lifted her head, looking straight at Sekai, whose eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Toyosaki?"

Haruto arrived at school early, stepping into the classroom before anyone else.

After settling into his seat, the first thing he did was check inside his desk.

"…"

A small patch of light blue fabric peeked out at him. Without a second thought, he grabbed it, stuffed it into his bag, and decided not to examine it any further. Instead, he pulled out his textbook and calmly resumed reading, as if nothing had happened.

Since he had come so early, his classmates were surprised to see him already seated when they arrived.

"You're here early today, Miyamizu-kun."

A cheerful female voice greeted him. He looked up and found Hinami Aoi standing nearby. She was quite popular among the girls and had good relationships with many of the students.

Haruto hadn't expected to see her this early. He glanced around the classroom—she was the second person to arrive. He hadn't known she was someone who came to school so early.

"…Yeah. I couldn't sleep well, so I came early. I'm surprised to see you here too, Hinami-san."

Under different circumstances, he might have been suspicious of her arrival time. But since the item had already been in his desk before she even showed up, there was no need to dwell on it.

"Oh, I always go to bed early, so I wake up early too. Since I have nothing else to do, I just come to school." She clasped her hands behind her back, then smirked. "But you—losing sleep? Could it be… you have someone on your mind? Stayed up thinking about them all night?"

The short-haired girl playfully leaned closer, teasing him.

By now, school had been in session for a while, and Hinami had already established good relationships with many of their classmates. With her bright personality and excellent grades, she was well-liked by both boys and girls.

However, she hadn't interacted with Haruto much. So when she spotted him at school early, she saw an opportunity. She figured it was a good chance to start a conversation and lay the groundwork for a potential friendship.