I Won't Be a Loser

Sekai and Setsuna left school together. However, due to a message from her mother, Sekai and Setsuna didn't spend their usual time together. Instead of letting Setsuna go home on her own, Sekai hurried to her mother's restaurant to help out.

Although there were employees working at the restaurant, on busier days, Sekai was often called in by her mother to assist.

As usual, Sekai entered through the back door, made her way to the staff room, changed into the restaurant's uniform, and was about to head to the dining area to help. However, her eyes unexpectedly fell on her mother's office.

"Mom must be in the office right now, I guess?"

She planned to check in with her mother about her work for the day and let her know she had arrived at the restaurant.

"I don't know why she's in such a rush."

But just as Sekai approached the office door, ready to push it open, she overheard a familiar voice—the voice of Setsuna's mother, Kiyoura Mai.

"Last night, Setsuna came home and asked me when she could marry him. She casually mentioned it, and then said they planned to 'graduate' together this weekend..."

"You could've just stopped her right there."

Sekai's mother, Saionji Yoko, responded with a casual tone. Sekai, standing outside the office, felt a deep sense of confusion. She quietly moved closer to the door, trying to listen to the conversation.

"How could I stop her? I already agreed to their relationship. So, eventually, this day would come—whether now or later, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

Mai sighed and rubbed her forehead, clearly troubled by how to handle her daughter's situation. After work, she rushed over to Yoko's restaurant, hoping to discuss things.

Rather than a formal discussion, it felt more like an outpouring of her concerns.

"So, have you completely given up?"

"Setsuna loves him so much. Rather than my own feelings, it's more important to make sure Setsuna doesn't get hurt."

"Then why did you come to talk to me today? To tell me your daughter's relationship is progressing and now they're ready to take things to the next level?"

Saionji Yoko looked at Mai with a confused expression. Mai bit her lip, sat down in a chair with a defeated look on her face.

"Knowing my daughter is about to 'graduate'... how could I not feel anything? If Sekai started dating someone, and within a week, they were planning to take things to the next level, could you really pretend you didn't know?"

"They're already high school students. What happens at that age isn't such a big deal. Didn't we also have daughters while we were still in high school?" Yoko responded casually, not particularly concerned. Even though she had never forgiven that man, it didn't prevent her from accepting that her daughter might date someone during high school and something happen with the person she liked.

Standing outside the office, Sekai felt a storm of thoughts in her mind.

'Setsuna... is she going to 'graduate' with Miyamizu-kun?'

...

"Ryuji?"

Hearing someone call his name, Takasu Ryuji, walking home, turned around and spotted Haruto standing behind him.

"Isn't it the first day of school for you?" Haruto asked, noticing Ryuji's school uniform.

"It just started today. Isn't your school starting next month?" Ryuji replied.

"Not until next month, around a week from now. You guys started pretty quickly."

Ryuji hadn't seen Haruto in a while. Despite the school uniform not being particularly stylish, Haruto still managed to look sharp, which made Ryuji feel a bit envious. He wasn't expecting to look like a model, but he did wish his gaze wasn't so intense.

"Are you heading home? Or going somewhere else?"

"Actually, there's a sale at the shopping street today. I need to pick up some groceries, and I have some coupons that are about to expire. Want to come with me?"

"Sales, huh?" Haruto thought about the food still in his fridge from when he last went grocery shopping with Ryuji. They still had some, but since there was a sale, it seemed like a good opportunity to stock up on a few things.

"Alright, let's go check it out."

"Here, these are the coupons."

Ryuji pulled out some coupons he had from a previous shopping trip and handed them to Haruto. Haruto thanked him, took the coupons, and the two of them made their way to the shopping street.

Even though Haruto still had food in his fridge, once they entered the supermarket and saw the sale items—fresh ingredients and discounted products—he couldn't resist.

By the time he realized it, he had already bought a pile of groceries, vegetables, and fruits, and was walking home with Ryuji.

"Is it really okay to buy so much? Is one person going to be okay with all this?" Ryuji asked, noticing the full bags.

Looking down at the shopping bags in his hands, Haruto forced a smile.

"It should be fine. Besides me, my girlfriend will be coming over for dinner, so the food should be used up pretty quickly."

"Girlfriend?"

Takasu Ryuji glanced at the boy in front of him. He was about the same height as Haruto and remembered that the last time they met, a girl had confessed to him.

For a moment, Ryuji felt a bit envious. He had never experienced being confessed to by a girl.

"The one from last time?" Ryuji asked.

"Last time?" Haruto was puzzled.

"You know, the girl with long black and curly hair," Ryuji said, recalling the image of Sekai.

Haruto's body stiffened at the mention of Sekai, and he quickly shook his head.

"No, no, no! That wasn't her, that's my girlfriend's friend."

"…."

Ryuji fell silent, studying Haruto, unsure whether he liked his girlfriend or her friend. Although they had become friends, it wasn't really his place to comment on such matters.

The air grew quiet for a moment as Haruto wondered why Ryuji had assumed Sekai was his girlfriend. Before he could dwell too much on it, Ryuji spoke up, his voice carrying a note of concern.

"Take care of your health."

As a friend, Ryuji could only give such a subtle reminder.