V3Ch3: Blue Recruitment

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Translator: Soafp

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The news that I had joined the white faction spread in no time.

It was an unexpected development, but once it was out, there was no turning back. I had planned to say something if anyone tried to recruit me, so in a way, this saved me the trouble. I'll just stay positive about it.

Now, Akazawa, who had been giving me a piercing stare, didn’t take any action after that.

It felt strangely reassuring, yet at the same time, this silence felt ominous. I couldn’t figure out what was going on in her mind, so for now, I’ll just leave it alone.

It was lunchtime.

I ate lunch while chatting about random things with Mahiro. Normally, I would be eating the lunch my mother made for me, but today, it was the lunch Shion had prepared. It was really delicious.

Then, just as lunchtime was about to end—

“Y-ya, Nijitani are you also here!”

Aoyama entered the classroom.

It was just after Mahiro had left to go to the bathroom. The timing was almost as if Aoyama had been waiting for me to be alone.

“What a coincidence!”

“No, no, there’s no coincidence in you just walking into my classroom.”

“Is… is that so?”

“By the way, you look really pale. Did something happen?”

Aoyama’s face looked as pale as I had ever seen it.

“A lot happened!”

“If you’re feeling sick, you should go home.”

“I’m fine. Actually, I think it would make things worse if I went home right now. I'm not leaving until I finish what I came here for.”

What was that about?

Aoyama took a deep breath, then looked around the classroom. Her appearance, as one of the goddesses, caused a slight stir, but since my classmates knew I played games with her and Mahiro, it wasn't a big deal.

After catching her breath, Aoyama suddenly spoke.

“I heard that you’re supporting Shirosa, Nijitani. Is that true?”

“Ah, that…”

So, Aoyama had heard about it too. It seems my popularity was higher than I had thought.

“Yeah, it’s true.”

I pulled the white handkerchief out of my pocket, and Aoyama's face turned even more pale.

“Wh-why!?”

“Why, you ask…”

Crap. I hadn't thought about why I was supporting the white faction.

I had assumed that showing the white handkerchief would be enough to make everyone understand, like revealing a seal in an old period drama, but it seems my thinking was too shallow.

“I'm doing this to turn down invitations from other goddesses.” I could say, but that would be a mistake. It would mean I'd be directly picking a fight with the goddesses. I thought I had built a pretty good relationship with them up until now. Making such a statement would be strange, and there's a chance this could blow my cover and reveal that I'm Shota Mukawa.

I needed a different excuse.

“Because Shirase is incredibly cute.” I could say, but that would also be a huge mistake. A mistake, and nothing else.

I could easily imagine how troublesome things would become. It was too risky to throw that out as a quick excuse.

I wasn't even voting for Shirase in the contest anyway. If I said that and then voted for Shion, it would definitely create an awkward atmosphere.

As I hesitated to respond, Aoyama seemed to lose patience.

“Hey, Nijitani, we're game buddies, right?”

“Yeah.”

I hesitated for just a second at the word “buddy,” but we were indeed game buddies, having participated in tournaments together.

“And Nazuka is supporting me, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Mahiro had been part of the blue faction for a long time. He'd said it was because of his admiration for Aoyama, so unless something major happened, his support wouldn't change.

We had touched on this a few times during our games. Aoyama seemed a little embarrassed, but happy when she heard that she was being supported.

“So, why are you supporting Shirase?”

Hearing that question, I finally understood Aoyama’s true intention for coming over.

She came here to tell me to support her.

It seemed like Shirase had been right all along. And now that she knew I had joined the white faction, she was rushing to recruit me. It seemed like going on the offensive early had been the right choice after all.

This situation had escalated much quicker than I had expected, but I already had my response ready.

“I get what you want to say. But I'm going to stick with supporting Shirase.”

“Wh-why!?”

“Well, you see, it's because of that.”

“That?”

I swam my eyes around.

“…A lot happened.”

Since I couldn’t come up with a good excuse on the spot, I used a convenient phrase.

“You can’t say the reason, huh? Could it be that you’re being threatened by her or something?”

“Eh?”

“It’s impossible for Nijitani to support her. Absolutely impossible. So, the only explanation is that she’s threatening you and taking away your freedom of speech.”

That seemed to be more of a mutter, but it was clearly audible to me. Aoyama's distrust of Shirosa was brutal.

“Are you really not being threatened?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded firmly, but Aoyama still seemed doubtful.

“…Can I really believe that? But, you know, it's Mayuki Shirase. Maybe she's subtly threatening you and stealing your freedom of speech.”

That seemed like a muttered thought, but it was clearly leaking over to me. Aoyama's distrust of Shirase was brutal.

“You’re really not being threatened?”

“No.”

“Then, I still don't get it. That girl has such a terrible personality. She’s the type to cheat. In fact, she's definitely a cheating type!”

What kind of reasoning is that? It sounds like Aoyama has some past experience with cheating.

I wasn't sure whether it applied to me… or not. The time when I was finished off, it was Yakumo-kun, so it wasn’t really cheating or anything.

Besides, didn't Aoyama make up with Shirase already?

She was acting strangely aggressive.

While I can't deny that Shirase has a bad personality, from my perspective, the other goddesses aren't much different. In fact, some of them might even be worse.

As I was confused, Aoyama seemed to realize something and muttered, “Ah.”

“You're not misunderstanding, right?”

“Misunderstanding?”

“If it's about the Tenka Contest, you can vote for anyone. You don't have to stick to the current goddesses. You could even vote for Shion-chan or someone else.”

“….”

Wait, something’s been off this whole time.

Isn’t she trying to recruit me into the blue faction?

The way she’s talking makes it seem like she doesn’t want me to join any goddess faction at all. At least, that’s how it feels.

…Well, whatever.

No matter what she says, my mind is already made up.

“Sorry, but my decision hasn't changed.”

“Ugh.”

“Then, let’s call it quits on this discussion—”

“I get it!”

As I tried to cut off the conversation, Aoyama suddenly interjected.

“I understand how you feel, but still, let me say this. If you're going to choose someone, please choose me instead of her!”

Suddenly, Aoyama raised her voice. Her face, which had been pale earlier, was now filled with determination.

“I can’t say I'm better, but I absolutely don’t want to lose to her!”

“Eh, um…”

“Or, is there something wrong with me?”

This was not what I expected. Even showing the white handkerchief didn’t make her back down.

I couldn't think of a reason why Aoyama would be a bad choice. Well, that makes sense. I wasn't really supporting Shirase seriously, after all.

What should I do?

There were classmates in the room, listening to this conversation. If I reject her outright, the situation will just get worse.

I had to come up with something. A way to smooth things over.

“Ah, if Aoyama’s charm surpasses Shirase’s, I might reconsider.”

“…Really!?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“I’m not good at studying, but I’m confident in sports. My moment to shine is at the sports festival next week. I’ll change your mind by then. It’s a promise!”

With that, Aoyama ran out of the classroom. Her face had changed so much that she seemed like a completely different person compared to when she first entered.

“…”

It turned out to be a weird situation, but I was pretty sure the choice I made wasn't wrong.

After the exchange, I let out a breath.

At that moment, I noticed someone staring at me from the hallway. It was Tsukiyo Kuromine, with her pitch-black eyes.