The final event with Chris had ended.
All the strategies I had used in the previous four playthroughs were exhausted.
That's why I fell into a dilemma.
'What should I do…?'
Originally, I planned to conclude my strategy for her with this joint practical training event.
After giving her the certainty that I had feelings for her, I intended to receive Chris's confession, as she would be tired of waiting.
However.
…Helping Chris was explained not as having feelings for her, but as merely doing what was naturally expected.
"Sigh…"
That's why my head ached.
'Should I try using other heroines' events…?'
I even considered such methods.
But that won't work.
Summer vacation is coming soon.
If I use the summer vacation events, the heroine I'm trying to conquer during that period will be pushed back.
'I need to get results before summer vacation…'
So I was racking my brain over Chris's strategy.
Just then.
"Aren't you sighing a lot today, for some reason?"
"…"
Sierra, who was sitting in front of me reading a book, said that.
At her words, I gazed at her intently.
And next to Sierra.
"U-um… S-Sierra-nim. That's my seat…"
"Ah, I'll just use it for a bit during break time. Hehe, it's fine, right?"
"U-uh, yeah."
The original owner of the seat Sierra was currently occupying hesitated and stepped back.
'No, fight back.'
I lamented inwardly as I watched the seat's owner.
He, an extra male student like me, simply stood dumbfounded, his cheeks reddening as the beautiful protagonist, Sierra, sat in his seat.
"So? Why are you sighing so much?"
Just then, Sierra, who had been reading, glanced at me and asked again.
Of course, there was no way I would answer truthfully.
"It's just, you know, some days are like that sometimes."
"Hmm… I guess so. …It's not because of me, is it?"
"What…?"
"Are you sighing because I'm bothering you or something like that?"
Thud.
Sierra closed her book and gently glared at me.
"No, it's not like that."
"…Then it's fine."
What was that about?
Sierra withdrew her glare, crossed her arms, and turned her head away.
She no longer read her book.
I couldn't understand why she was occupying an innocent male student's seat and acting like this.
"Hey, you know."
Then, Sierra, who had turned her head away, looked back at me and spoke cautiously.
She uncrossed her arms, placed her hands on her knees, and adopted a quite demure posture.
"You haven't been coming to morning training lately…?"
"…Huh?"
"I go out every morning, but you're not there."
"Oh, that's because the final practical assessment is over now."
"…Ugh, well, that's true, but."
As if my answer didn't quite please her, Sierra pouted her lips with a flustered expression.
What is it?
Does she want to train?
I've never seen any information stating the protagonist has such a passionate attribute.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Just then, the bell signaling the end of break time rang throughout the surroundings.
"Alright! Anyway, you're not doing morning training anymore, right?"
"Huh? U-uh, yeah."
Hearing the bell, Sierra stood up from her seat.
Then she glanced at me and strode quickly towards her classroom.
Once Sierra moved from the seat, the hesitant male student finally sat down in the chair.
"Ohh…! I-it's warm…"
"…"
I glared at the back of the male student in front of me for a moment, then sighed again.
***
Chris fidgeted with her fingers and paced the hallway.
Meanwhile.
Sierra, having heard the class bell, exited the classroom and returned to her own class.
'Why are they sticking together so much lately…?'
Chris glared at Sierra's retreating back with uneasy eyes.
Recently, she had made up her mind about something.
To convey her honest feelings to Emil.
But she couldn't just suddenly go and blurt it out.
Chris was biding her time, looking for an opportunity.
'Now that sword training is over, opportunities are hard to come by…!'
Personal training with Emil.
There had been an agreement that it would last until the final practical assessment.
Therefore, after the practical assessment ended, their personal training concluded, also serving to allow Emil's body to recover.
Thanks to that, the only times Emil and Chris currently encountered each other were when walking in the hallway or during lunchtime.
But even then.
'Emil! Where are you going?'
'Emil! Let's eat together today!'
'Emil! I have this…!'
Because Sierra kept appearing, an opportunity never came her way.
'This won't do…'
She didn't know why, but Sierra's approach to Emil had changed.
…Perhaps she, too, felt the same way as Chris?
Such a thought couldn't help but cross her mind.
'I'll aim for after class ends…'
Chris made that plan as she headed to her classroom for class.
And so.
Time passed, and it was after school.
Thump-thump-thump!
After the dismissal bell rang, Chris hurriedly packed her bag and left the classroom.
And the place she headed was Emil's classroom.
'If even after-school time is taken by Sierra…!'
It was difficult to wait any longer.
She had to somehow approach Emil first and talk to him.
As Chris ran frantically.
When she rounded a corner and entered the hallway of Emil's classroom.
Crash!
"Ack!"
"Ugh!"
Chris collided with someone and fell to the floor.
"…Ugh, …huh? …Chris?"
"…H-huh?"
At the voice she heard, Chris looked at him, startled.
And what she saw was Emil.
"You startled me, is something urgent?"
Emil got up and extended a hand to her.
In response, Chris's cheeks lightly reddened, and she took his hand.
"Ugh…"
"Hm?"
Meeting the person she had been aiming for so suddenly, Chris felt an inexplicable embarrassment and lowered her head.
"What's wrong?"
Emil asked her, puzzled.
'What am I doing… If I stay like this…'
She shouldn't waste time.
Because if she messed up, she might lose the opportunity she had just found.
Squeeze…
Chris clenched her hand, braving her embarrassment.
"Emil…!"
"Oh, yeah!"
Chris looked straight at Emil.
And then.
Grab!
"Huh?"
"Follow me!"
"…Huh?"
Chris, tightly grasping Emil's hand, forcefully pulled him along.
Emil, not resisting, was pulled along by her with a bewildered expression.
The two of them walked down the hallway like that for a while.
Glance.
Chris glanced at Emil's hand that she was holding and his other hand.
'He has his bag…, so he must be heading home, right?'
Since he was indeed heading home, there was no problem with dragging him along.
Chris simply dismissed it as such.
"Uhm… C-Chris."
"…What?"
"Where are we going?"
"…Can't you tell? We're heading home."
"Oh, so this was us walking home together."
"Ugh…"
At Emil's puzzled voice, Chris's face instantly flushed.
And then, she subtly let go of his hand.
Only then did Emil's bewildered expression disappear, replaced by a faint smile as he walked beside her.
"If you wanted to go together, you could have just said so."
"…"
Emil spoke kindly.
He could have been annoyed by her forceful approach.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
At such a small gesture, her foolish heart strangely pounded.
'Now… what do I do…?'
As Chris was too embarrassed, there was no conversation between the two.
It was just Emil leisurely observing the scenery and Chris, with her head down, walking the same path together.
And after walking like that for a while.
The two of them had already left the academy's main building and started walking down the road.
Their destination, the dormitory, was getting closer and closer.
'Seriously… w-what do I do now…?'
In truth, Chris had no clear plan.
Only a goal existed.
To convey her honest feelings to Emil.
That's why she sought an opportunity to create time alone with Emil.
However, now that she had seized the opportunity.
'Huh…? A c-confession…? How do you do that…?'
Because she had been born and raised on the battlefield since childhood.
Chris had absolutely no information about the bittersweet tale of romance.
Thus, she also didn't know how to convey her feelings.
'D-don't people usually go on dates…? …Or drink? Oh, we're not allowed to drink… Th-then…'
The stories her rough mercenary comrades told her when she was in the mercenary group, mixed with love stories she'd vaguely overheard, became a chaotic mess in her mind.
In the end, Chris's face just flushed, her eyes spun, and she couldn't collect herself.
Soon.
Even though they were almost at the dormitory.
And then.
"Chris."
"…"
"Chris?"
"H-huh?"
Emil, who was walking beside her, gently called her name.
At that, Chris, who had been looking at the ground all along, looked up at Emil, startled.
"Hey, you know what?"
He stood with the sunset light at his back, gazing at her with a gentle smile.
"…"
Chris stared blankly at Emil.
As if she were captivated.
And Emil continued.
"Are the injuries you sustained in the dungeon before all healed?"
"Huh…?"
"You were a little hurt, weren't you?"
"…I-it's fine. …Yeah, no problem."
"Haha, really? That's good to hear. You looked a bit unwell, for some reason."
"…"
Chris gazed at Emil's brightly smiling face.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
And she felt her heart pounding uncontrollably.
'Ah…'
From the box of her heart, which she could no longer force shut.
She gently let go.
"I like you…"
"…What?"
As she let go, the box of her heart seemed to burst, spewing out its contents.
As its contents were conveyed to the other person through her mouth.
Her feelings became impossibly honest, no longer able to be contained.
"I like you… I like you, Emil."
"…"
Was this the right way to do it?
She didn't know.
Should she have found a better place?
She didn't know that either.
Chris just blurted it out.
This person who didn't hesitate to get messed up for her sake and protected her.
And this person who worried about her even though he was more seriously injured than her.
She wanted to convey her feelings to this person.
She simply followed that irresistible urge.
"Ah, that…"
And Emil, who had just received a truly sudden confession, instantly snapped back to reality and organized his thoughts.
"Ah, ahh, ahhh…"
In that fleeting moment.
Chris, who had been in a daze, snapped out of it.
Her face flushed bright red, and her mouth gaped open.
What she had just said.
She only realized it then.
"Um, Chris…"
Just then, Emil, with a serious expression, tried to say something.
But.
"Aahhhhh!!"
Chris.
Ran away.
"…Huh?"
A golden opportunity.
Emil, who had unexpectedly gained an opportunity.
Gazed at Chris's back, as she fled to the dormitory before even hearing his answer. He stared with a dumbfounded expression.