Chapter 368: Really So Beautiful

This day, on the Ferris Wheel at the Amusement Park, Aoyama Nanami confessed to Himekoji.

It was said that every cabin on the Ferris Wheel was filled with happiness.

Wishes made at the top of the Ferris Wheel would come true.

【Ding!】

Without Himekoji noticing, the System responded for the first time.

It responded to someone besides Himekoji—

The girl who made a wish.

…

“Because I like you.”

A confession?

It was a confession?!

No, no, he had to quickly say something in response.

His brain was a mess. What should he say?

He didn’t know.

But anyway, just saying something would be best.

“I…”

However, before whatever words he didn’t know could escape his lips, Himekoji’s mouth was covered by Nanami again.

This time it was with her fingertip.

Just a fingertip?

That thought popped into his head first.

Himekoji himself was startled by it.

Could it be that he was still hoping for another kiss like before?

…

“Don’t respond now.”

Nanami, who covered Himekoji’s lips, looked straight into his eyes.

“Wait until after the selection is over.”

Whatever the answer was—whether he surprisingly accepted her or unsurprisingly rejected her—neither would let Nanami calmly face her next big challenge.

So, it was better not to hear it just yet.

She saved the hope and suspense for the end.

After all, the best came last; that’s how stories were written.

“Oh…”

Himekoji nodded dumbly.

“Also, by then I’ll have tidied up everything and moved out.”

“Huh? Moved out?”

His mind was already wrecked. Still reeling from her sudden confession, and now hearing this shocking news, Himekoji’s mind went completely blank. Chaos crashed in.

“Didn’t I just come to stay temporarily? But I ended up staying so long by accident. I even wished to stay longer. To stay forever… But that’s impossible, right? It’s not allowed. So I have to leave. Staying just because it’s comfortable and easy is totally lame. Before it’s too late, I need to firm up my resolve without delay.”

“…”

What if she stayed forever? His room was empty anyway—wasn’t it wasted space?

The words begging her to stay floated like goldfish in a fishbowl. The moment he opened his mouth, they became a string of dots.

Himekoji’s lips always failed him at the most important times.

“So, there may not be many days left where I can stay by Himekoji’s side.”

As Nanami said this, she smiled brightly, yet with deep sadness. For an instant, misty sunset hues swirled in her eyes—as soft and lovely as falling cherry blossoms.

Dazed and abandoned in shock, Himekoji’s vision filled only with Nanami’s profile, muttering “It’s really so beautiful” at the nightscape below.

Only her profile showed in his sight.

Nothing else existed but Nanami’s face in his eyes.

“It’s really so beautiful.”

Without meaning to, Himekoji echoed her words.

A hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times prettier than the night view…

Was Nanami.

…

Gloomy clouds blanketed the whole sky. The weather forecast had said rain would come by evening.

Several days had passed since that date at the Amusement Park.

It was lunch break. Himekoji slipped away alone to the school rooftop.

He lay stiffly on a bench, lost in thought. Only one thing filled his entire head.

Nanami.

Ever since returning from the date, he’d thought of Nanami. Only Nanami. It was like a spell.

Whether awake at midnight or dreaming at noon, whether eating breakfast or using the toilet—even while bathing, going to school, or playing games—whenever Himekoji snapped out of his daze, he found himself digging through his memory cabinet for pictures of Nanami.

But wasn’t that natural?

After all, that had happened.

Trying not to care, to pretend nothing had changed—impossible.

No matter how expert he was at dodging trouble and forgetting things.

Compared to Himekoji’s extreme fixation, Aoyama Nanami—the one who caused it—acted completely normal.

This morning too, he saw her at home and in the classroom as usual—

“Morning, Himekoji.”

She even greeted him that cheerfully.

After a kiss and a confession—such huge things—Himekoji alone seemed off-balance.

Even when their eyes met by chance in class, only he panicked and looked away.

“Are you okay? You seem super distracted.”

She even worried about him like that.

Nanami’s attitude—pretending nothing happened—only confused Himekoji more.

Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to mistake the date for a dream.

Because that kiss was real. Absolutely real.

Its soft touch was more compelling than any hard proof; it lingered on his lips. Closing his eyes, he once more felt the tension and heartbeat of that moment.

It became one of Himekoji’s few unwavering, vivid memories. Imprinted deeply in his heart.

“Don’t respond now.”

“Wait until after the selection is over.”

Nanami gave Himekoji time to sort his feelings out.

But for him, that time wasn’t enough. Because Nanami’s selection was tomorrow.

Even now, Himekoji couldn’t find an answer.

That only made him more frantic. More unable to stop thinking of her. He set everything else aside—just Nanami.

He even failed to notice that the System hadn’t pinged for days—something he’d never miss normally.

…

Over and over he thought back. From their first meeting—when her strong Kansai dialect made him notice her. Then they got close through taking care of Hikari together and working part-time jobs.

Later, because of the System, they saw less of each other. But sharing the same class and Hikari meant they still chatted sometimes.

“How’s Hikari?”

“Oh, she’s doing great.”

Even though they were small, simple talks, he strangely recalled every single word.

Even tiny changes in her expression as she spoke felt fresh and alive.

If anything brought them closer again, it was Nanami moving into his home because she owed dorm fees.

Seeing her focused determination up close made him naturally want to cheer for her dreams. He truly prayed her hard work would be rewarded.

Thinking of her failed selection now—it felt like yesterday.

He likely could never forget how Nanami tried hard not to cry… yet wept out loud anyway.

Seeing her cry but unable to help—that helplessness was true bitterness.

Beyond that, they also had arguments, fights, cold silences.

Happy moments, unhappy ones. But as memories flickered like slides through his mind, overwhelmingly, the happy ones narrowly won each round.

Being with Nanami was joyful.

Just recalling her filled up his heart bit by bit.

Could it be…

He liked Nanami, too?

The instant that thought hit, Himekoji’s mind went blank. Like a heavy hammer had struck it.

…