The Heroines Want to Confess.

Someone who's truly prepared to confess simply picks a breezy, clear afternoon, wears the most ordinary sportswear, walks onto the stadium field, and doesn't look back.

Only those who haven't made up their minds will hesitate endlessly—because for the one confessing, hesitation is just a waste of time. The kind of people who keep saying, ["She probably doesn't like me"], and have to look back five times with every step they take—those are cowards with no courage, who'll give up the moment they hear a single ["Forget it"].

Sakurai Saki is not a coward!

He walked straight toward the broadcasting booth by the stadium. Inside, the principal and Media Club member Kino Karen were announcing the results of the latest events.

"Karen, can I say a few words?"

Sakurai Saki gave her a soft smile.

"Looking for someone?" Kino Karen turned off the mic.

"No, it's something more important."

Kino Karen smelled a big scoop and obediently stepped aside.

Sakurai Saki sat down in the chair and glanced at the principal beside him, who was smiling, and asked—

"Principal Adolphe, during the sports festival, what happens if I use the PA system to confess to the person I like?"

The golden eyes of Adolphe Pescarolo looked toward Sakurai, his accent thick and foreign:

"Sakurai-kun, are you sure you want to do that?"

Behind him, Kino Karen covered her mouth with her hand, eyes filled with shock!

What the heck?! That's so cool! Insanely romantic!

Karen: ヾ(｡✪ω✪｡)ｼ

"The person I like is a coward. If I don't do it this way, she'll never say yes," Sakurai Saki sighed.

Principal Adolphe stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes: "Three written reflections, one-week suspension. Sakurai-kun, if it's just a confession, you don't have to go that far."

Kino Karen tried to persuade him: "The Devoted Hearts Festival is coming up soon. You could confess then too!"

"Oh. So I won't get expelled? That's a relief," Sakurai Saki said, then—under Kino Karen's astonished gaze—flipped on the microphone switch.

He tapped the mic, producing a sharp screeching noise.

The entire stadium turned their attention toward him.

"Good afternoon, fellow students. I'm the student council's general affairs officer, Sakurai Saki."

"What I'm about to say next is very important, so listen up! I'll only say this once!!"

The entire stadium instantly grew restless. Students began whispering, some even took out their phones to record.

The brief moment of noise was soon replaced by an eerie, deathly silence.

At that very instant, Sakurai Saki shouted at the top of his lungs, as if pouring out every ounce of strength he had, his voice echoing across the stadium—

"Classmate Hayasaka Ai from Class 2-A!!!!!"

"I like you——!!!!"

As soon as he finished, someone let out a loud cheer, and then the entire crowd erupted, even more chaotic than before!

Even a few teachers sitting inside the school building, working on lesson plans, couldn't stay still. One by one, they opened their windows to see what was going on—how many years had it been since a student had the guts to do something like this?!

"I swear before all of Minato Ward, Tokyo!! Before this entire Earth!!! Ai-chan——!!! I seriously! Seriously! SERIOUSLY love you!!"

"Please——!! Go out with me!!!"

Sakurai Saki stood there shouting, then bent over, bracing himself on his knees and gasping for breath.

Damn, confessing really takes a lot out of you.

Kino Karen handed him a bottle of water, her voice filled with admiration: "Sakurai-san, you're amazing."

Sakurai Saki took the bottle and drank a gulp.

The principal sighed emotionally: "Ah~ youth is wonderful~ Sakurai-kun~."

And then...

Sakurai Saki was taken away by his homeroom teacher.

Very realistic.

ദ്ദി(,,╥﹏╥,,)

...

Beside the stadium.

The student council members were completely stunned.

Especially Shinomiya Kaguya—she truly never expected Sakurai Saki would dare to do something like that.

Wasn't he afraid of being expelled? As far as Kaguya knew, violating the rules to this extent could result in expulsion!

"Sakurai's seriously impressive," Shirogane Miyuki said with deep admiration.

Didn't it look super cool? Standing in front of all the teachers and students to confess to the one you love—super cool!

Even if it had a bit of chuunibyou flavor, and even if it might get him expelled later, what he did took real courage.

"Eh?!" Ishigami Yuu was the most shocked of them all.

Hold up! So Sakurai-senpai wasn't dating Fujiwara-senpai after all?

Huh? No way! Then what the hell have I been misunderstanding this whole time?!

I want to die! Ishigami Yuu was so embarrassed, he just wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

'That was so amazing.' Fujiwara Chika silently felt a pang of jealousy in her heart.

If only the one Sakurai confessed to today had been her...

————

The Nakano quintuplets were also at the scene.

"Nino, are you okay?" Itsuki looked at Nakano Nino, who was standing frozen, and asked with concern.

Nakano Nino's mind was in chaos with a hundred jumbled thoughts. "It's nothing."

Ichika already knew Sakurai Saki had a girlfriend, so she didn't show much reaction.

Miku was staring off at a distant light pole, where a black crow had perched.

She just gazed blankly, her thoughts unreadable.

'So he already has someone he likes.' Nino murmured to herself in her mind.

Hmph, well… that makes sense.

Still, she didn't expect it to be Hayasaka Ai, not Fujiwara Chika like she had thought before.

'So what should I do now?'

It felt like a void had suddenly opened up in her heart—it was such a strange sensation.

A sharp pain suddenly twisted in her chest, like something had clamped tight. Nakano Nino felt the strength drain from her legs, and she slowly sank to the ground.

Her stomach also began to churn, a sour ache spreading through her.

'Thinking I had a chance with him… I was such a fool.'

————

In the faculty office.

Sakurai Saki was brought to the counseling room in the corner by his homeroom teacher, Masaki-sensei.

After sitting down, Masaki-sensei pushed up her red-rimmed glasses, which had nearly slipped off from the shock earlier. Her skin was very fair, and her glasses suited her quite well.

The homeroom teacher asked, "Sakurai-kun, you knew the consequences before doing that, didn't you?"

Sakurai Saki sat up straight across from her and nodded. "I did."

"Then why did you still go through with it? …Sakurai-kun, you're still very young. There's no need to ruin your future over something like this." Masaki-sensei said with concern.

"Principal Adolphe told me that if someone confessed publicly during the sports festival, they'd have to write three reflection letters and would be suspended for a week." Sakurai Saki repeated the principal's words.

"..." Masaki Megumi rubbed her forehead.

That's it?

Sakurai Saki was one of the students she was most proud of—polite, outstanding grades, practically the model student—and yet he was the one to cause such a scene at the sports festival! Maybe it was precisely because he'd been so well-behaved all this time that it all built up and exploded in one go.

At first, she thought he'd at least be suspended for a month—or worse, expelled. After all, he was just an Impure-admitted student, surely without any backing. But if the principal really had said that, then there was still a chance to salvage things.

"…Fine, you can go for now. The final decision about disciplinary action will be communicated by phone." Masaki Megumi waved her hand as if shooing a fly.

"Next time, don't do something like that again."

Sakurai Saki lowered his head slightly, his voice gentle: "Thank you for your concern, sensei."

After he left, Masaki Megumi sighed.

This student… doesn't seem as "mild" as I thought.

Looks like I misjudged him.