I Won't Be a Loser

In the quiet stairwell, Haruto leaned against the window, watching the slender figure of Sayuri as she walked away from the schoolyard towards the gate.

The familiar silhouette, the graceful movements—it all stirred a sense of nostalgia within him.

"But I can't go back to those days."

Resting his hands on the windowsill, Haruto continued to watch the figure fade into the distance, letting out a slow breath. After a moment, he turned around and made his way toward his classroom.

Haruto entered the classroom just in time, slipping in through the back door and returning to his seat unnoticed.

Eriri, who had been keeping an eye out for him, spotted him just as the lesson began. Even though a sense of curiosity lingered, she couldn't get any answers.

After half an hour of introductions to the various subjects and hearing about the teachers' plans for the year, the class transitioned into a break.

Haruto sat at his desk, pondering whether to introduce himself to his classmates.

Just as he was thinking about this, a familiar figure appeared beside his desk.

The golden hair that reached her waist made it obvious who it was, and even without looking up, Haruto knew it was Eriri.

He smiled and looked up at her, his expression calm.

"Is something wrong, Sawamura-san?"

"About earlier... the fainting... thank you," Eriri said, her words hesitant.

As she looked at Haruto, his face seemed to overlap with the one she had seen in her dream when she fainted.

Her heart began to race, and she wanted to talk to him, but the dream had been just that—a dream. She wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

Haruto, noticing her slightly conflicted expression, also felt a bit nervous after hearing her call him "Haruto" earlier.

"It's nothing," Haruto said, smiling lightly. "I couldn't just stand by and do nothing when a classmate fainted. I was just doing what anyone would have done."

Eriri remained silent, her gaze fixed on him for a while before finally speaking up.

"Um, have we met before?"

As soon as the question left her lips, she noticed that several people had begun to turn their attention to them.

From her seat, Nino Nakano, who had been observing the situation, leaned her chin into her hand and let out a thoughtful "hmm~"

Nino, being quite the appearance-driven person, had already taken a keen interest in Haruto when she first saw him enter the class. However, she hadn't expected another girl to approach him before she had the chance.

"Still, the way you're trying to get close is kind of... low-key," Nino mused silently.

Haruto, who could sense that Eriri was testing him, smiled faintly and gave a vague answer.

"I've only been in Tokyo for a week, so maybe you saw me around the local shopping street? Tokyo really is an amazing city—everything is so expensive! Just buying some daily essentials almost emptied my wallet."

He didn't deny that they might have met before, but his answer didn't align with what Eriri was actually trying to ask.

Her eyes dimmed slightly as she processed his words.

"Have you heard of Sayuri?" she asked.

"No, I haven't," Haruto replied.

Eriri fell silent, meeting his warm, smiling eyes for a moment before quietly returning to her seat. She had no more questions to ask.

The other students in the class couldn't quite understand the awkward tension between them, but they could sense something was off.

However, their curiosity was short-lived, and they quickly turned their attention elsewhere.

"Hey, Nino, you've been staring at that Miyamizu guy for a while now. Are you interested in him?"

It was Ichika Nakano, who had approached her sister. She'd noticed Nino's lingering gaze on Haruto earlier.

Nino glanced at her sister and casually responded, "I'm a little interested, but if you like him, I'm happy to let you have him."

Ichika raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. She smiled and leaned in closer to Nino.

"Really? Since you're not interested, I'll take my chance, then."

"Do as you like," Nino said nonchalantly.

Nino had only a mild curiosity about Haruto, not enough to say she liked him. But if Ichika was genuinely interested, she had no problem letting her sister make the first move.

Ichika smiled and, after a quick glance at Nino, walked confidently over to Haruto's desk.

Not long after Eriri had left, Haruto found himself approached by yet another girl.

"Hey! Did that Sawamura girl thank you earlier?"

Haruto turned his head and saw Ichika standing beside him. Having already met the five Nakano sisters, he could instantly recognize her.

"Ichika Nakano-san, right?"

"Wow, you recognized me right away?" Ichika was surprised, but also impressed that Haruto had remembered her.

"Because you have a strong personality," Haruto replied with a smile. "It's easy to recognize someone when you pay attention."

"Calling me Nakano-san is a bit formal. Just call me Ichika, and I'll call you Haruto, alright?"

"Sure, that's fine. You can call me whatever you like."

Haruto's calm answer to Ichika's playful question caught her off guard. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze flicking to Nino, who was sitting not far away.

When their eyes met, Ichika's eyes narrowed with a mischievous gleam. Nino, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by her sister's antics.

Ichika then turned back to Haruto, clearly enjoying the situation.

"So, since you could recognize me, do you think you could identify the other four in the class?"

Haruto didn't miss a beat. He raised his hand, pointing out where each of the remaining sisters sat.

"Nino with the princess-style hair, Miku with her long hair covering one eye, Yotsuba with the medium-length hair, and Itsuki with the little hairpin on her head."

Ichika blinked, surprised by how Haruto had easily pinpointed each of the Nakano sisters, and even named them with precision.

She hadn't expected him to recognize all of them on the first day, let alone remember their names and individual characteristics.

Haruto, for his part, didn't look too fazed—he had spent some time noticing the details of the people around him. But Ichika's expression shifted to something more teasing.

A sly grin crept onto her face as she leaned closer, whispering in Kento's ear with a playful tone,

"You've been paying so much attention to us five sisters... Could it be that you're interested in... a sisterly... meal ?"

Her tone was mischievous, and the way she teased him made the air between them feel just a little more charged.

Haruto couldn't help but chuckle at the boldness of her remark, but he also understood that it was just another playful test from Ichika.