Still not in the mood to clean.

Silence. The apartment living room was filled with a comfortable stillness. It was hard

to believe three energetic high school boys were there. Only the rain outside, the blowing

breeze coming from the air conditioner, and the faintsound of penssliding across paper could

be heard. The relaxing mood along with the perfectly cool room almost made you want to

fall asleep—

"It's as dry as dust in here!"

Or at least, that was how things were until a certain boy suddenly stood up and screamed,

ruining the mood in the blink of an eye.

"Takeshi? You okay, man?" Masachika inquired.

"It's bad manners to slam your hands on the table, especially when you are a guest in

someone else's home." Hikaru threw in a scolding.

Masachika and Hikaru looked exasperatedly at Takeshi.

"What do you want me to do? Turn off dry mode on the air conditioner?"

"I'm not talking about the air conditioner! That's not what's dry!"

"Then what are you talking about?"

"I have a good idea what he means…"

But Takeshi didn't wince under his two best friends' unenthusiastic gazes and howled:

"Why the hell do I have to spend my weekend studying with two sweaty guys?! You're

supposed to invite girls to these study groups, too!"

"Yo, you're starting to sound like me," Masachika commented.

"I'm not talking about some nerdy anime fantasy of yours. I'm talking about in general!"

"Yeah, maybe if you're one of the popular guys at school, and you usually hang out with

the girls in your class, which I'm pretty sure we don't."

"Oh? Did that really just come out of your mouth? Did the guy who hangs out with the

two beautiful princesses of Seiren Academy really just say that?!"

"But, like… You know?"

The two beautiful princesses of Seiren Academy Takeshi was talking about were the

solitary princess, Alisa, and the noble princess, Yuki. And from Takeshi's point of view,

Alisa and Masachika seemed really close, since they were running together in the student

council election. Plus, they sat next to each other in class. And Yuki? She was a fellow student

council member and Masachika's childhood friend, as far as Takeshi knew. Although Yuki

was actually Masachika's little sister. He probably looked like the luckiest guy in the world

from Takeshi's perspective.

"Not only are you and Yuki close, but you're the only guy Princess Alya even talks to.

And yet you claim you don't have any female friends? Apologize to all the real losers at

school this instant!"

"Sorry I'm friends with two cute girls. Are you jealous? You are, aren't you?"

"You're sick!"

Takeshi glared at his smirking, trolling friend as if Masachika had killed his parents,

then slammed his hands against the table once more.

"Yes, I'm jealous! So hurry up and tell them to get over here!"

"Wasn't expecting you to admit it," Masachika said as Takeshi bowed to him, hands

still on the table.

"Just so we're clear, I never call them on the weekend to invite them to hang out or

anything. Yuki's probably busy with her extracurricular activities, and I don't think I've ever

called Alya for something nonschool related. Plus, even if I do get them to come over here

somehow, you'd be so nervous that you wouldn't be able to study."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that…," Takeshi agreed with a sigh.

After Takeshi dropped back into his seat, he rested his elbow on the table and his chin

on his palm as he begrudgingly stared at his textbooks…until he quickly lifted his head back

up as if a light bulb had gone off.

"What about that girl?"

"What girl?"

"You know, the one who was with Yuki at the debate the other day."

"Oh…," Masachika mumbled lifelessly the moment he realized Takeshi was talking

about Ayano, Yuki's maid and running mate.

"She didn't really stand out much, but she's actually really cute when you take a good

look at her. I've never seen her around school, though. Maybe she transferred from another

school?"

"Nah, she graduated from middle school at Seiren Academy."

"Wait. What? Really? Did she have some dramatic change when she started high

school?"

"…Nope. She's actually been like that since middle school."

"Huh… Interesting… Wait! You make it sound like you've been friends with her since

middle school, too!"

"Sorta… She's a childhood friend, too."

"What?!" shrieked Takeshi, his voice cracking a bit as he leaned forward, glaring at

Masachika from only inches away from his face.

"I've had enough of your bull, man! How many cute girls are you friends with?!"

"You jelly?"

"Yes!!"

Takeshi slammed his hands against the table, looked up, and bit his lip in frustration.

"So…do you think you could introduce me to her?"

"Nope."

"Why?!"

"What kind of guy would introduce his dear childhood friend to a horny monkey like

you?"

"Who are you calling a horny monkey?!"

"You. I thought I made that clear. Besides, if you want to talk to her, then why do you

need me? Just talk to her."

"…?! I can't… I get nervous talking to girls I don't know."

"Ah, like an innocent little boy."

After Takeshi bashfully looked away, Masachika watched him with disgust.

"I don't see why you'd be that nervous, since you never have any trouble talking to the

girls in our class."

"Come on. Talking to girls in our class is completely different from talking to a stranger

in a different class. Besides…"

"'Besides'?"

"…I usually only talk to the girls in our class as a group. I never talk to them

individually."

"…Oh. So you're fine addressing a group of girls all at once, but you can't talk to them

one-on-one."

"Because it makes me nervous."

"And that's what makes you so pure."

Masachika and Hikaru rolled their eyes, but they also smiled as if it had warmed their

hearts to learn how shy their friend was, since he usually acted flirty at school.

"Sigh… I bet you'd have a girlfriend or two by now if you weren't so shy."

"I agree."

"H-hey, gimme a break." Takeshi groaned.

He somehow managed to look bashful, troubled, and smug at the same time.

"I mean, you're a very positive, sociable guy, which most people like. And, well, you're

not ugly, I guess… You're not the best at reading the room from time to time, but you're

desperate for a girlfriend, so if you were only a bit more proactive, then I think you could

actually get one."

"Yes, I agree. I think girls would find you very likable, since you're an honest,

straightforward guy… You're not good at reading the room most of the time, though."

"Are you trying to compliment me or put me down?! Come on! Let me feel completely

good about myself for a change! Why do you always have to add a little jab at the end?!"

"Uh… Because…well…"

"Yeah…"

After Masachika and Hikaru exchanged glances and smirks, Takeshi felt disheartened

and sat back down, and for the next few minutes, he grumbled, "Look at me. I'm the guy

who never knows how to read the room," to himself before eventually glaring at Masachika.

"What about you? You seem to be quite the catch, if I do say so myself. Surely you'd

be able to bag yourself a girlfriend."

"Who? Me?"

"Like, I get Hikaru, since he has apparently had some unpleasant experiences in the past,

but you? Don't you want a girlfriend?"

"Hmm…"

Masachika crossed his arms and thought about Takeshi's question for a few moments.

"…I'm not really interested in looking for a girlfriend."

"Why? Don't tell me you're only into anime girls?"

"It's not that. It's just…getting a girlfriend doesn't really feel realistic to me. At all."

"Why? I hate to admit it, but you could almost be a perfect superhuman if you weren't

such a slacker. You don't look half bad, either. Got nothing on Hikaru, but still decent."

"Pretty sure I'm a solid six out of ten."

"I don't know about that. You'd probably fall into the 'hot guy' category with the ladies."

"Are you messing with me? I mean, I guess I have a decent body at least…"

I honestly feel like I'm average in the looks department. Of course, if you compare me

with Hikaru, you could easily point out a lot of my flaws, but I feel like that's the same with

most people, so it's better not to bring it up.

"I noticed you didn't deny that you are almost a perfect superhuman, though, huh?"

"…Well, I do realize that I'm somewhat athletically gifted and smart." Masachika

shrugged at Takeshi'sscornful expression. Masachika wasn't unaware of histalent, and while

he added the word somewhat, he realized that the exceptional talent he possessed far

surpassed somewhat. His nerdy sister jokingly said that he had the cheat skill "Gained EXP

× 10 (with the exception of sports involving balls)," but that wasn't too far from the truth,

either. Masachika had displayed talent in every field to the point that the employees of the

Suou household used to call him a child prodigy. But even then…

"The talent I have was something I was born with. It's nothing to be proud of or brag

about."

"I'm pretty sure it's definitely something you should be proud of…"

"Takeshi, let me fill you in on a little secret: There is no trope hated more than that of the

cocky, overpowered protagonist who hardly had to work for what he has because he was born

with it. You know those asshole protagonists who are reborn in a parallel world and given

cheat skills that make them overpowered, and then they get a harem? Yeah, those guys."

"All right, I think I get it, but you never really act cocky about being OP."

"That's because I don't want to get torn apart. Easier to just be modest," replied

Masachika blandly before lazily leaning back in his seat.

Besides, I can't just try to play life on easy mode using the talents my parents gave me.

That would be taking life for granted. It'd be arrogant.

Using above-average intelligence and skill to get into one of the top schools in Japan

with hardly any effort, joining the student council, and maintaining a decent track record was

more than enough to get his foot in the door anywhere. That would be taking life for granted.

It would be an insult to anyone who worked as hard as they could and took life seriously.

It was no different than a protagonist in a comic book easily getting the beautiful heroine—

unfair and deserving of criticism.

"'The goddess of love only smiles on those who take action for themselves,'" Masachika

quoted wisely.

"What does that mean?" Hikaru inquired.

"Is that a line from a comic book or something?" Takeshi guessed.

"What? No. It's an old saying my grandpa used to love. Said it all the time. He said it

meant that when it came to love, you had to be assertive if you wanted to succeed."

Incidentally, the grandpa Masachika was referring to was his grandfather on his father's

side, who loved Russia. He was the man who recommended Russian movies to Masachika

when he was a child and the whole reason Masachika was able to learn about Russian culture.

He was a funny old man over the age ofseventy who still dreamed about having two beautiful

Russian girls, one on each side, serving him vodka. The only problem was that he didn't

drink, so even a drop of vodka would have given him acute alcohol poisoning.

"Hmm… Well, I guess that makes sense… Hold up. What about Hikaru, then?"

"People born loved by the goddess of love herself don't count."

"It is a curse if you ask me," replied Hikaru instantly with a lifeless expression.

"Yeah, uh… I feel like the goddess of love is kind of a yandere with a scary style of love

in your case, Hikaru," Takeshi joked tensely.

"Goddesses are often portrayed as the jealous type, after all. I bet once Hikaru becomes

completely distrusting of women, the goddess is going to descend to the world and be like,

'I am the only one left now. I am the only one for you.'"

"Sounds more like a demon to me," Hikaru said tonelessly.

"True that."

"Guys, I don't care if she's an angel or a demon! I just want a woman to pursue me

like that!"

Masachika and Hikaru looked amused by Takeshi's unchanging desires.

"Yeah, but I think it's dangerous to wait for someone to pursue you. Like my grandpa

said, you'd be more successful if you went on the offensive yourself."

"'On the offensive,' huh? …All right! Starting now, I'm going to become a real hunter

and hunt me some cuties!"

"Yeah, go get 'em," Masachika said encouragingly.

"Don't get too carried away…," Hikaru warned.

Masachika only half-heartedly encouraged Takeshi because it wasn't any of his business

what his friend did… Little did he know that those irresponsible words would come back to

bite him in the ass in the near future.

"…Phew."

Even after Takeshi and Hikaru went home, Masachika continued to study in his room

for the next day's test, but…

"I don't feel like studying anymore…"

Even he recognized that he wasn't focusing and wouldn't be able to for much longer,

either. Nothing stuck. He was just running his eyes across the words in his textbook, even

though he knew it wasn't working. He couldn't absorb the information he was looking at, no

matter how hard he tried. Whatever he read almost immediately faded into nothingness. In

other words, he had a severe drop in efficiency.

"Oh… It's already eleven."

He had been studying for two hours or so after his bath, but it had been a complete waste

of time, since he wasn't able to retain anything.

"Brain Hazard's about to come on…"

Masachika started to feel anxious, since one of his favorite weekly late-night shows was

about to start.

I'm wasting my time forcing myself to study when I'm not remembering any of the

information. Maybe I should take a short break and resume studying after that?

He toyed with the idea, but if he were to run away to anime, he would never get back

to studying. Even Masachika himself knew that.

But spending more time doing something doesn't necessarily make me better at it. I've

already studied for what's essentially going to be on the test, and if I review in the morning…

I mean, just considering these options is already proof enough that I can't concentrate right

now…

He lazily leaned back in his chair and ran senselessly through excuses until it was time

for his show to come on.

"It's starting…"

But Masachika never turned on the TV in the end. After five minutes had gone by, he

faced his desk once more as if he had given up.

"Sigh… When did I become such a coward?"

He sighed at himself because only after waiting until the anime started was he able to

finally cast aside his doubts. The old Masachika would have put forth the effort for his mother

or that girl without feeling the least bit burdened. But now? It appeared he had forgotten what

hard work was after all those years being spineless.

Of course, he wanted to live up to Alisa's and Sayaka's expectations. He had to become

a vice president people respected, for both their sakes as well… At least, that was his goal

up until a week ago.

But who cares if my grades marginally improve? I made that goal for myself, and it's

not like I made a promise to anyone.

The fact that he was having these thoughts was proof he was losing motivation. This

was how much he cared about it. This was the man he was.

I was doing it to make myself happy. It was for me. But, well, I guess it is ego and selfsatisfaction that motivate us. Every man is his own worst enemy, as they say. Alya's amazing.

It's incredible how she has been able to keep herself going for this long.

Endlessly pushing oneself to become one'sidealself and working toward an unattainable

goal was not something any ordinary person could do. You could call it ambition, but it felt

like a disservice to put the blinding, sparkling light that Alisa had into a single word like that.

"No ambition here, though… There's nothing I even want, really."

He wasn't interested in status or honor, money or women—there was nothing he desired.

All he wanted was to continue living his relatively peaceful routine life, each day unchanging

and stable. If anything, he was against gaining status or honor if it meant losing the peace he

had. He didn't want to risk having any money or women disturbing his calm lifestyle, either.

That was Masachika's take on life for the most part. The reason he decided to run for student

council with Alisa, however, was because he felt a strange sense of urgency, like he couldn't

continue living this way, and he couldn't abandon Alisa, either.

"But to do that, I have to work at least half as hard as Alya…" Masachika groaned as he

sprawled across the table and rubbed his forehead on his textbook.

"I can do this… I can't let my reputation be the thing that slows Alya down…"

Masachika was currently an underachiever in the classroom, with poor behavior during

class and poor grades to go along with it, but he could most likely improve his reputation if

he bumped up his grades and became one of the top thirty students in his year—the ranks

were posted in the hallways.

That's it. I need to be the guy who sleeps the entire time during class but gets good

grades. That's what the male lead does in women's comics, after all! And it always makes

them clash with the heroine!

Almost everyone would prefer to be someone born with incredible talent than be

someone who worked incredibly hard to get where they were. It was kind of depressing.

People who got good grades but didn't seem like they ever studied were usually praised far

more than someone who got good grades because they worked hard.

The hell? People who work hard to get what they have are way more praiseworthy,

thought Masachika. However, that wasn't how the real world worked. Plus, he figured it

would be more in character for him to seem like that kind of person. In fact, the entire reason

he'd wanted to use the student council room was so that no one would see him study.

"Come on, brain. Just a little more."

After encouraging himself one last time, Masachika had just managed to get up when,

all of a sudden, his phone on his desk started to vibrate.

"Hmm? Someone's calling me?"

Flustered, he grabbed his buzzing phone and instantly froze when he saw the name on

the screen.

"A-Alya?!"

He was really thrown for a loop because he figured it was going to be his father or sister.

Alisa rarely ever texted him, let alone called him. Plus, it was the middle of the night. It was

far too late for a model student like Alisa to be calling.

"Oops. It stopped ringing."

The phone had stopped buzzing while he was busy panicking. Judging by the fact that

it stopped vibrating after only ten seconds, it was safe to conclude that Alisa had hung

up…which would lead one to believe that this wasn't anything important, but Masachika

decided to call her back anyway. The phone only had to ring twice before someone promptly

picked up.

"Oh, hello?"

"…Good evening, Kuze."

"Yeah, hey. What's up? You needed something?"

"That's not why I called…," Alisa replied vaguely, and it made Masachika grin

mischievously.

"What? Did you miss me?" he teased, ridiculously lowering his voice to sound as cool

as possible.

"…"

And yet his comment was met with silence. He grew antsy, as if he could sense her cold,

piercing glare, and he immediately cleared his throat to change the subject…

"<Is that a problem?>"

The abrupt comment in Russian almost knocked him out cold, and he fell forward over

his desk.

"…? What was that sound?"

"Oh, uh… Don't worry about it. By the way, what did you just say?"

"I called you an idiot."

"Uh-huh… So… What'd you need?"

"…You said you weren't motivated enough to study alone, so I worried you were having

trouble."

"…"

She'd hit the nail on the head, leaving him silent.

"Wait. Don't tell me you were slacking off," added Alisa, voice deepening darkly.

"No way. I was tempted to watch some anime for a while, but I overcame the temptation

and am studying now. I'm serious."

"…"

A few seconds of dubious silence went by before being followed by a brief sigh.

"Test week starts tomorrow, you know. I thought this was when you'd be studying your

hardest."

"Yeah, I get that, but…sorry. I have absolutely no willpower. I'm too weak."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that…"

"I just don't have the motivation to study anymore. Like, how do you do it?"

"…I don't know. I've never lost my motivation."

"Seriously? That's insane."

Masachika smiled a bit incredulously, but after a few moments of pondering, Alisa spoke

up and calmly explained:

"If anything, I always feel pressed for time. I'm always wondering if there's something I

forgot to do orsomething more I could do with the time I have,so I don't have the opportunity

to worry about being motivated."

"…You really are incredible."

She truly was a perfectionist, and Masachika was genuinely impressed by her neverending pursuit to reach new heights. He was even starting to feel a little embarrassed that

he'd considered calling it quits and reviewing in the morning.

"Anyway, I guess I shouldn't bother you any longer and instead work a little harder like

you. Thanks for the call, Alya."

"Huh? Ah…"

"Hmm?"

Right when he was about to hang up, Masachika noticed a twinge of panic in her voice

and placed the smartphone to his ear.

"What's wrong?"

"…"

"?"

But what his curious ear was met with was a provocative Russian sentence…

"<It's still…too soon…>"

The whisper made Masachika's head jolt back as if he had just been blasted in the

forehead, then his lifeless body rolled down his chair. The soft words had numbed everything

from his ear to his brain.

H-how dare she whisper something like that into my ear! And what does she mean by,

"It's still too soon"?! I mean, I'm sure she was talking about it being too soon to hang up,

but it's still too damn ambiguous, and now my imagination is running wild!!

The words tingled in his ear, overloading his nerd brain! He unconsciously visualized

Alisa bashfully averting her gaze while whispering those words in all sorts of scenarios.

"<It'sstill…too soon…>" Ack! That's what the heroine says before they kissin movies!

The guy goes in for the kiss, and the girl covers her mouth and says that! It's like when you

say good-bye and go in for a good-night kiss after the third date! …Oh, this is when things

get a little awkward between the two main characters, and a new charactersuddenly appears

to stir the waters, as if they were waiting for this moment.

"…Kuze?"

"And the new character knows a past secret of one of the two main characters and drops

hints that they know something, but they have ulterior motives. You can't trust the ones who

seem perfect and sweet at first."

"…What are you talking about?"

"Huh? You know. Like, why are transfer students usually bad people in comics targeting

women, while they're usually cute girls in comics targeting men?"

"…Well, I've learned one thing tonight. You absolutely cannot focus on studying for

the life of you."

"Oh, uh… Yep."

The awkwardness of realizing what he'd said shut Masachika up. Alisa filled the silence

with a brief sigh before redirecting the conversation:

"Okay… If you aren't feeling motivated, then how about we make a little bet?"

"A bet?"

"What's your goal?"

"My goal? You mean for the exams?"

"Yes."

"…I want to make it into the top thirty students in our grade."

"…That's quite a big goal. All right. If you can do that, I will grant you one wish.

Anything you want."

"Hmm? 'Anything'?"

"…Within the realm of common sense, of course," Alisa added coldly.

"Oh, uh. Sorry. I felt the urge to react to that. You know, being a nerd and all."

Masachika desperately tried to explain himself as his eyes wandered.

"…I have no idea what you're talking about. Anyway, is it a deal?"

"Uh… What if I don't make it into the top thirty?"

"Then you are going to grant one wish of mine."

"…Interesting. Could be fun."

"Kuze?"

"Oh, uh…! I didn't mean it like I wanted to be bossed around by you or anything! I'm

just curious what you might ask me to do!"

A few moments of skeptical silence followed his explanation, then Alisa suddenly

whispered in Russian:

"<…First name.>"

"Huh?"

"I was giving you a hint."

"…Not much of a hint when you say it in Russian."

"I know." Alisa laughed smugly.

I actually do understand Russian, thought Masachika, but that still didn't help him

understand the hint any better.

"Anyway, do we have an agreement?"

"S-sure… If I make it into the top thirty, you will grant one of my wishes, and if I fail,

then I will grant one of yours. Right?"

"That's right."

"Then we have a deal. Heh-heh-heh… You're gonna regret ever making this deal with

me."

"Hmph. Good luck."

"…You've gotten really good at brushing me off like that. You really should respect

your elders, you know."

"What? We're the same age," replied Alisa as if she were rolling her eyes. Masachika

was confused.

"No. We might be in the same grade, but I'm still older than you."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Her baffled voice made it easy to imagine the dumbfounded look on her face, which

Masachika responded to with a puzzled grunt of his own.

"Your birthday's November seventh, right?" asked Masachika just to make sure.

"Yes… How'd you know that?"

"Didn't you tell us when you first transferred to our school? I'm pretty sure I remember

hearing you mention it… Eh. Anyway, my birthday's April ninth, which makes me older."

"…"

"I'm already sixteen."

"…"

An indescribable silence followed until Masachika suddenly cleared his throat to play

off the awkwardness.

"Ahem! Anyway, it's getting late, so…"

"…Yes."

"Thanks, Alya."

"No need to thank me…"

"See you tomorrow."

"Good night."

After hanging up, he stretched his arms out wide.

"Mmm…! Let's do this!"

And he faced his textbook once more, as though the phone call had breathed new life

into him. His complete lack of motivation from a few minutes ago felt like a dream. It wasn't

the bet he'd made with Alisa that motivated him, though. Just having her, someone who took

the time out of her night to call him instead of studying, made him happy. He felt like he had

to pay her back for her kindness by studying, at the very least.

I'm still surprised she knew I was losing motivation, though…

While it was embarrassing that she saw right through him like that, it made him happy

as well. Call it telepathy. Call it a deep bond. Call it whatever you wanted, because whatever

it was, it touched Masachika.

"Thank you, Alya."

He smiled shyly as he quietly expressed his gratitude to his partner, then started doing

his final preparations for the test.

Meanwhile, his partner…

"I'm okay… I'm okay…"

Alisa was mumbling to herself after opening the door to her room. She wasn't doing

anything out of the ordinary, though. She was simply heading to the living room to get some

water. Why was getting a mere glass of water making her so taut and nervous? …It all started

a few hours ago during dinnertime.

"Lurking in the shadows are beings that are beyond human

understanding, with powers of unspeakable monstrosity. Tonight,

I invite you to a world of horror."

A haunting video was playing with a frightening background track, muffled with static.

When they'd turned on the TV during dinner, a show about the paranormal (which was pretty

common during the summer) started playing. Maria, who absolutely hated horror, quickly

finished her dinner and went back to her room, but Alisa's stubborn personality wouldn't

allow that.

"Tsk. Masha's such a scaredy-cat… Me, though? This is nothing," Alisa seemed to be

saying asshe slowly finished her dinner and calmly returned to her room like the show wasn't

a big deal. As one might imagine, it wasn't until the middle of the night when she started

to get scared. It was to the point that she was too afraid to walk down the dark hallway to

get a glass of water.

A—a ghost isn't going to just pop up out of nowhere, right?

Alisa's head was filled with flashbacks of the spiritual phenomena she saw on TV,

keeping her from taking anotherstep outside her room. With that being said,she still wouldn't

allow herself to pathetically run to her family for help. Not anymore. After worrying herself

sick,she decided to call Masachika, even though she realized how inappropriate it wasfor her

to be calling this late at night. Saying she was calling to check up on his studies was merely

an excuse she came up with on the spot. While a certain someone was bashfully crediting

the call to telepathy or some special connection the two of them had, the truth was far from

it. That was just how the real world worked.

"I'm fine… Okay, let's do this!"

After firing herself up, Alisa clutched her phone, which she had just been talking to

Masachika on, to her chest like a good-luck charm, then rushed out into the hallway on her

tiptoes. She looked straight ahead the entire time, not even glancing around her as she swiftly

ran through the living room; poured herself a glass of water at the sink, which she instantly

downed; and sprinted back to her room.

"Phew…"

She let out a deep sigh of relief after returning to her brightly lit room. But when the fear

started to fade away, it revealed discontent. What was she upset about? She was upset that

Masachika never told her it was his birthday back in April.

"What's his problem? I would have at least wished him happy birthday if he'd told me…"

If Masachika were there, he probably would have said, "If I'd told you it was my

birthday, it'd feel like I was pressuring you to get me a gift or celebrate it with me," but it

couldn't be helped. It was a cultural difference, after all. While it was normal in Japan for

friends or families to throw birthday parties for their loved ones, it was more common in

Russia, where Alisa was born, for someone to host a birthday party for themselves and invite

their friends and family. They'd say something like, "Thank you all for being here today on

my birthday! Eat and drink to your heart's content!" In other words, not telling Alisa about his

birthday = not inviting Alisa to his birthday party = he didn't even consider her to be a friend.

"And you said we were friends…"

While Alisa didn't invite him to celebrate her birthday last year, either, it was an entirely

different situation. It wasn't as if she hadn't wanted to invite him, but if she'd only invited

Masachika, she would never have heard the end of it. Her family would have teased her day

in and day out, but she didn't have any other friends she could invite, either, so she gave up.

…I wasn't crying. It didn't make me sad when I compared my birthday with Maria's

exciting party. Not even a bit. It only made sense that her birthday was so full of life because

her birthday is on Christmas Eve. That was why her birthday was more fun. I wasn't making

excuses to make myself feel better! I wasn't! Really!

"…Hmph! Whatever," Alisa muttered under her breath before she threw herself onto

the bed to relieve some stress. She squeezed her pillow to her chest while burying her face

in it. And then she suddenly released her tight grip, pouted, and whispered:

"…You're such a jerk."