What a twist! The loser heroine!

Things are getting more and more complicated.

"Yeah, I'm planning to go cheer on Lemon. Hehehe, this is a very important part of the plan!"

Banami nodded, then revealed a mysterious smile.

She held up a finger and tapped it in front of the warm water, then said with a smile, "Didn't we say before that if you want to cultivate feelings, you have to cultivate common interests first, right?"

"Well, that's true." Wen Shui nodded.

However, the actual implementation will depend on your efforts...

"So! If I ask Kusuke now if he wants to go watch the game, he definitely won't refuse me."

She confidently patted the railing beside her: "After all, the midterm exams are over, so he has no reason to refuse me anymore."

"So you're planning to take him to the lemon game on Sunday, and then what?"

he asked.

“It’s not just about watching the lemon competition.” Banami explained her plan in detail to her advisor: “It’s a city-level competition, there are many kinds of events, I’ve looked them all up.”

"When Kusuke was in junior high school, he was a member of the soccer team. There was a soccer game on Sunday, so I'll use that opportunity to start a conversation. Hmm, that's decided."

So this guy hasn't finalized his plans yet.

As the two were talking, they had already reached the rooftop.

Normally, this place is full of students after school, but today everyone is busy discussing the midterm exams, so the rooftop is empty.

The sky was a clear, deep blue, without a single cloud, a rare treat in recent days.

Amidst this azure blue landscape, a girl with long, azure hair stood beside the railing and waved to him.

So he walked to a spot not too close to her, leaned against the railing, and looked at the water tower in the distance.

"Warm Water Guy, what do you think of my plan? Is there anything that needs to be changed?"

"I think it's okay."

Wen Shui nodded: "Let's treat this competition as a stepping stone, and gradually and steadily build up our relationship."

"Okay! It's settled then." She smiled, clenched her little fist as if cheering herself on, and looked very happy.

After thinking for a moment, Wen Shui continued, "By the way, as I mentioned before, I'll be teaming up with Hakamada when I go hiking. I plan to ask him for some information."

"Intelligence?" Banai looked puzzled.

"Yeah, even though you've been childhood friends for 12 years, he's never had any feelings for you whatsoever. While there's some scientific evidence that opposite sexes who grow up together may lack attraction as adults, it still feels a bit strange—"

“It’s strange, isn’t it!” Banami immediately nodded in agreement: “Childhood friends have known each other for so many years, they know each other inside and out, they should be together! Look, Lemon and Ayano have already started dating, haven’t they?”

That was based on mutual liking...

Ignoring Banami's inexplicable trust in their childhood friend relationship, Wenshui continued:

"...Anyway, I'll try to get some information out of Hakamada to find out why he doesn't like you."

He paused for a moment, then added some specific details: "But don't worry, if Hakamada-kun speaks recklessly and says anything that involves your privacy, I will forget about it immediately... no, I will stop him from saying it immediately."

Hearing this, Banami paused for a moment, then turned her head. She stared at Wenshui's profile for a while before smiling and saying:

"Thank you... That's very thoughtful."

"You're the one who came up with the plan; I'm just helping to review it."

He waved his hand, indicating that he hadn't done much.

The first step in everything is often the most difficult. If Banami can successfully take the first step, then the rest will likely proceed smoothly.

Cherish this opportunity, Hanami-kun.

In that case, the image she supposedly had in her intuition could certainly be avoided.

When Wen Shui thought of her intuition, she recalled the thrilling scene that had occurred a few days ago in the literary society's office.

He looked with some concern at the girl beside him who was lost in some unknown delusion, smiling and chuckling foolishly.

"Um... last time at the Literature Club, did you trigger your intuition twice in a row?"

Upon hearing this, Banami's silly grin froze on her face.

She lowered her head and whispered, "Mmm."

"Based on your description, this situation should have never happened before."

Wen Shui asked with concern, "Is there something wrong with your health? Everyone was shocked when you fainted."

"No, I was just a little mentally tired, but I recovered after eating some of my mom's baked pancakes."

Does anyone know how to use food to treat mental health issues?

"Um... so what did you see from your intuition this time?"

Wen Shui snapped out of her吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to complain or criticize) mode and then asked with some curiosity, "Of course, if you don't want to say it, you don't have to."

Upon hearing this, Banami turned around and nervously gripped her left wrist with her right hand.

She first glanced at Wen Shui's inquisitive gaze, then lowered her head to think for a moment before carefully choosing her words and saying, "At that time... well, anyway, Hua Lian dragged me to the Literature Club, and then inexplicably triggered my first intuition."

[...? Was there some prior context?]

Wen Shui remained silent, waiting quietly for what she was about to say.

"My first instinct... I think I'm eating rock-paper-scissors gummies in the literature club's office." She said softly, "Warm Water-kun should know those kinds of gummies, right? The ones with rock-paper-scissors—"

"I've never eaten it before... Sigh, go on."

"Anyway, it's a really delicious gummy candy. I'll give you some when I have the chance." She smiled. "Then, I saw some pictures of the arts club activities, which looked somewhat familiar, and it made me a little happy—"

"It's like... it's like I'll be joining the literature club someday."

Banami asked in a low voice:

"Warm Water Guy, does that mean I should have been a literature major?"

~Eighth Defeat~ Busiest Person

It wasn't until she heard this that Wen Shui realized why she had talked so much about sports.

Perhaps she was somewhat confused by the clues her intuition was giving her.

What kind of superpower is this? Not only does it hard-control people when it's triggered, but the prompts it gives are also confusing. Recently, it's even gotten worse, and people have been sent to the infirmary.

He pursed his lips and said, "I think it's unnecessary to always follow the ideas of superpowers, right? You see, maybe it's reminding you to avoid that kind of situation in advance? Just like the scene you saw before where your childhood sweetheart was... stolen away."

"So you mean... it would be better if I didn't join the arts and culture scene in the future?" she asked softly.

"probably."

Wen Shui nodded, glancing with some concern at Banami, who looked conflicted.

"Perhaps that's a possibility, but the sense of relaxation and peace I felt from those clips felt quite real." She shook her head. "Besides, everyone in the arts club is lovely, and I quite like that atmosphere."

Unwittingly included by Banami, the adorable Wenshui Kazuhiko touched his face.

"Ever since I started high school, it's been triggering more and more often."

Banami sighed and awkwardly twirled her hair.

"Has it already affected your daily life?"

"That's not true."

Why did you end up in the infirmary?

After thinking for a moment, Banami shook her head and said, "Warm Water, do you know about a kind of activity called 'check-in stamp collection'?"

"Yeah, the mobile games I play often have this type of event."

"I see. Now you can probably understand what I'm about to say."

She went on to explain, “If I’ve triggered an intuition in a certain place, then it won’t happen again. That’s something I’ve learned over the years.”

"So this kind of precognitive superpower is a one-time thing."

"It's not a problem to say it's a one-time use item."

This time, she did not deny the claim of superpowers.

Banami revealed a confident smile, and said as if showing off, "So in the past few months since the start of the school year, I have often wandered around various corners of the school by myself, just to deliberately let those fragments appear, so that I can collect more information."

Turns out I ran into a speedrunner.

Wen Shui thought to herself with a sense of sympathy.

However, since the intuitive imagery triggered at a certain location is a one-time event, then—

"Then why did it trigger a second time when we were in the Literature Club? Did you see anything?" Wen Shui asked curiously.

"Well……"

Seeing that Banami looked very troubled, Wenshui quickly waved her hand: "Well, if you don't want to say, then I won't ask."

"………Thanks."

She seemed to remember something and quickly explained, "Well, it's not because I don't want you to know, it's because..."

"No need for too much explanation, I understand everything."

Wen Shui smiled and gave her a reassuring wink, then took out her phone, which had been vibrating the whole time, from her pocket.

"what."

He let out a soft sigh, then said to Hanami, "I might have to go home early today. If you don't have anything else to do, Hanami, I'll be going now."

"Wait, um... I actually forgot to mention this. Uh, there's one more thing."

A barely perceptible blush appeared on the girl's face.

Wen Shui remained calm and waited quietly for her to speak.

"Um..." She hesitated for a long time before stammering, "Um, you might find it a little strange. But..."

"If I'm going to the stadium on Sunday, I feel it would be more appropriate to wear some sporty clothes."

Her gaze darted left and right: "I'm planning to go to the department store to buy a few sporty outfits... so you'll be there tomorrow..."

"Please wait a moment."

Upon hearing Banami's words, Nukumizu Kazuhiko immediately flashed a professional smile, took two steps back, and used several honorifics in succession:

"Hanami-kun, you don't mean you want me to go shopping with you, do you?"

"Please, you're the only person I can find right now." She clasped her hands together and said quickly in a low voice, "When I saw your clothes before, I felt you were someone who knew a lot about fashion..."

"No, it was all thanks to my sister." He asked calmly, "Besides, wouldn't it be better to ask Hakamada-kun about this kind of thing?"

"I wanted to give him a surprise."

"If that's the case, why don't you ask one of your middle school classmates to keep you company?"

"They'll definitely put my photos on Instagram, and Kusuke will see them too."

"The students in that class, for example—"

"I don't really trust them."

[You might as well believe it!]

Now, Wen Shui could only ask hopefully, "Is there really no one else? If it's just about choosing clothes, Himegami shouldn't have any problem, right? Besides, her family owns a clothing company..."

She said she was going to visit relatives out of town with her parents tomorrow, so she was busy.

[Is that so? Why didn't she tell me?]

He paused for a moment, looking at Banami who seemed a little nervous, as if afraid he would refuse, and could only nod, which was considered an agreement.

However, it took him two seconds to belatedly realize what was happening.

【Huh? Can't she go by herself?】

◇

About ten minutes later, Wen Shui came out from the side door of the old school building ahead of time.

Because he had spent a lot of time chatting with Banami on the rooftop, by the time he reached the school building entrance, there were hardly any students left in the corridor.