Aira said she received a date invitation from Damien.
Upon hearing that, we immediately moved locations.
A place where only we could talk.
Naturally, it was the rooftop.
Upon arriving at the rooftop, Aira immediately leaned against the wall, sat down, and began her story.
"Well, it was like this…"
The gist of the story was approximately as follows.
Following my instructions, Aira stayed with Damien until the end and refuted his opinion.
"I argued with him so much that I wondered if it was really okay to do so…"
"But how on earth did that turn into a date…?"
Sierra asked Aira, truly sounding as if she couldn't understand.
"Well, somehow… I ended up winning with logic…"
"Huh…"
What was the point of that?
…Sierra looked at Aira with that expression.
"I-It was truly sudden…! The President suddenly admitted he was wrong…! He said he'd treat me to a meal as an a-apology…"
"Indeed, so that's how it happened."
"Uh, am I the only one who doesn't get it…?"
"Honestly, I don't know why it turned out this way either…"
The two of them subtly looked at me.
"Me…?"
"Emil, you were the one who told her to argue with the President in the first place."
"Now that you mention it, at first it was a slap… My bad. Looking back, that might have been a good method too. …So why on earth did this work?"
"..."
Once again, the arrow turned back to me.
'This is why sharing regression information with others is such a headache.'
Until now, I had used the information gained from regression alone, so I never ran into trouble like this.
…So what kind of excuse should I make now?
Just then, something about Mari suddenly came to mind.
At the same time, a rather plausible excuse popped into my head.
"...Actually, I used to be in a study group with Damien Senior-nim's younger sister."
"Mari, you mean?"
"Ah, you mean the pink-haired student."
"…You heard it from Mari, didn't you? …Things like Damien Senior-nim's preferences."
"Hmm… is that so? A younger sister certainly might know."
"Huh, is that so…? I actually find it stranger for a younger sister to know her older brother's preferences."
Aira accepted it, and Sierra flinched as if she understood even less.
It seemed Damien's evaluation in Sierra's mind had dropped considerably.
'I feel a little bad for Mari and Damien…'
Well, both of them caused me trouble in the previous timelines, so does it matter?
"U-Anyway…! A more important problem remains! Emil, Sierra…!"
At that moment, Aira, who had finished her story, looked at us urgently and brought up another problem.
"Is there a problem? It worked out well, didn't it?"
"It worked out well, and that's the problem!"
"What on earth do you mean…?"
At my question, Aira's cheeks uncharacteristically flushed, and she mumbled evasively.
Finally, she cautiously spoke about the problem.
"I-I… I've never been on a date before…"
"..."
"Wow, Senior-nim, you're experiencing your first love!"
"…You can just do it. It's just a date."
"J-Just do it, you say…! Don't talk so easily, Emil! It's not 'just'!"
Honestly, I was dumbfounded.
…She's worried that much over just one date?
'She was very mature when she dated me in the second timeline.'
Was she that nervous and worried before our dates too?
...Honestly, I don't think so.
Aira is probably that nervous because the other person is Damien, whom she has a crush on.
"..."
As that thought crossed my mind, the lingering resentment from the second timeline slowly resurfaced.
'Should I change my plan now and just try to win her over?'
A dark thought suddenly bloomed in my mind, but.
I immediately shook my head.
Thankfully, I saw Sierra right next to me.
My dark feelings immediately subsided.
"So? Are you going to give up then?"
"N-No, that's not it…"
"I understand you're anxious, but if you don't gather your courage, you can't win love."
"When Emil says something like that, it sounds a little shameless."
"..."
I shut my mouth at Sierra's words.
…I, too, had shown a lot of courage in my own way.
The person involved has their own struggles that others don't know about.
Therefore, I was fully qualified to say such things.
But then.
"Then…! I'd like some help…! Emil…"
"Help…?"
Aira, still looking anxious, cautiously asked for a favor.
The Aira of the second timeline was always confident, mature, and full of charisma.
For her to show such a timid appearance like this.
I felt an awkward emotion towards Aira and asked her.
"What kind of help?"
"Could you… be my practice partner…?"
"Huh…?"
"Heh…?"
An exclamation that burst out simultaneously with Sierra's.
And I immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the dizzying sensation I felt beside me.
…Somehow, I felt like I shouldn't look towards Sierra.
"A practice partner… Surely not…"
"Th-That's right…! If I don't even have a rehearsal, I'll only show an embarrassing side to the President!"
"No, even so, practicing a date with another guy is…"
"Please! Please, I'm begging you! Emil…! You were the one who offered to help first, weren't you…! If you're going to do it, take responsibility until the end…!"
Aira grabbed my clothes and pleaded so desperately.
And then.
"Well… isn't it okay?"
"…Huh?"
Sierra, who was next to me, spoke quietly.
"Senior-nim says she really needs it. Isn't it okay?"
"Really…? Is it really okay…?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"...Is it really okay to do it?"
"Hehe, that's strange, Emil. …Why are you asking me for permission like that?"
"..."
This is ominous.
Having died five times, I could tell.
An ominous aura lingered.
However.
"Please…! I'm begging you…! Emil…! Sierra is saying so too, isn't she!"
"..."
It didn't seem like a situation where I could refuse.
***
"…I feel a little bad. But thank you. For helping like this."
"Your expression doesn't look sorry at all."
"Haa~, I'm relieved though. I really almost ended up eating like a wooden doll in front of the President."
"...In front of me, you look like a cotton doll."
"Hehe, well, of course. You're simply a junior. Besides, this is just practice."
"..."
Why was this?
I had clearly decided to replace revenge with making her unrequited love come true.
And helping her was my own choice.
…Yet, somehow, I felt like I was at a disadvantage.
'Just when my relationship with Sierra had recently gotten better…'
The moment the practice date with Aira was decided, Sierra seemed to be in a very bad mood.
That was definitely anger.
How should I appease her…?
"Anyway, it's really fortunate."
At that moment, Aira, who was just cutting the steak that had just arrived, said that.
"In what way…?"
"It's because it's you, Emil, who's the practice partner, not anyone else."
"Why is that fortunate…?"
At Aira's words, I recalled her from the second timeline.
At that time, it was right after being betrayed in the first timeline, a period when my heart was darkest.
That's why I chose Aira as a heroine.
Unlike Mari, she was mature and seemed like she would comfort me.
Of course, she did feel that way in reality.
…But now that I think about it, wasn't the reason she was so calm and mature back then simply because she didn't see me as a man?
The part Aira is calling fortunate now might be exactly that point.
However.
"Well, you already have someone, don't you, Emil?"
"Huh…?"
The reason she called it fortunate was a little different from what I thought.
"I have some common sense, so I can tell just by looking. …You like Sierra, don't you?"
"..."
"But seeing as you're not lovers, it means you two are still in the 'current progress' stage…"
"…More importantly, why is that fortunate?"
"Hmm? Hehe, isn't it obvious? If you were a man who already had someone, then this would be similar to cheating."
"You're not exactly in a relationship with Damien Senior-nim either."
"Ugh…! Th-That's true…! But it's a matter of feeling…! I want to be his woman, no matter what!"
Aira said that shyly, her cheeks flushing.
Seeing her like that, I once again recalled Aira from the second timeline.
'Is that what Aira looks like when she's truly in love…?'
A girlish side that wasn't visible when she dated me in the second timeline.
"..."
As I directly observed that look, I was reminded anew of how insignificant I had been.
I felt like I understood why she had abandoned me in the second timeline.
But the more I thought about it.
My resentment, having been betrayed and ultimately losing my life, surged.
"Hmm…? Your expression looks dark. Does the food not suit your taste?"
"No…"
"Hehe, I see. Let me guess."
"Huh…?"
At that moment, Aira, who had completely returned to her usual mature self, spoke playfully to me.
"You're worried about Sierra, aren't you?"
"Ugh…"
"That's the expression of hitting the nail on the head."
"No, you're wrong…"
"Hehe, don't lie. It's written all over your face that it's the correct answer."
"Seriously. I wasn't thinking about Sierra."
"Hmm? Is that so? …But your expression looked so tender."
"...Tender, you say?"
"It was the face of someone thinking of a beloved lover."
"..."
When she said that, it wasn't wrong.
'Because I did love her.'
In reality, I truly loved her in the second timeline.
Perhaps that's why such an expression appeared.
"Do you know something, Emil?"
"What is it…?"
"Whenever you talk about Sierra, you always have a face like you're in love."
"…Me?"
"Hehe, that's why I thought you were perfect as a practice partner. If I practice with you, I'll be able to get a similar glimpse into the President's feelings during the real date tomorrow."
"..."
A face in love.
Was it similar to Aira's face I saw just a moment ago?
If so.
…What kind of expression would Sierra have?
Sierra, when she faces me…
Would she look ambiguous, like the women in the previous timelines?
Or would it be the look Aira just showed?
"...I guess I was helpful too, Senior-nim."
"Oh, you seem to have decided something?"
"Yes."
I decided to stop recalling the injustice and resentment of the second timeline while on the practice date with Aira.
'Indeed… that's enough now…'
Whenever I faced Aira.
No, more precisely, whenever I faced Aira who liked Damien, resentment surged in my heart.
But now, I don't want to care about such things.
Of course, I can't completely let go of my desire for revenge.
But to hold revenge in my heart, my heart is now completely filled with thoughts of Sierra.
"Thank you very much today, Emil. Honestly, apart from practice, it was enjoyable. It was a learning experience too."
"That's fortunate."
The date with Aira wasn't very long.
It was merely eating together at a good restaurant.
Thus, the next day.
"Hmph, must've been fun. Lucky you, getting to date a pretty senior girl."
"It was just practice, though."
"So, was it good?"
I ate lunch with Sierra as usual.
Today was the day Aira was scheduled to go on a date with Damien.
Therefore, we, who decided to help her, had an empty schedule for the day.
"It wasn't bad."
"...Must've been good then."
"Yeah, I found a good restaurant."
"..."
Sierra silently put her fork in her mouth at my words.
She looked somewhat displeased.
She looked irritated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
And I, looking at such a Sierra, spoke.
"Let's go together."
Then, Sierra's eyes, which had been primly looking at the floor, slowly widened.
Sierra looked at me as if she hadn't heard.
To that, I smiled brightly and spoke again.
"It was good yesterday. I thought of you, and I wished I could go with you."
"Uh, uh…?"
Sierra, looking flustered, stammered with flushed cheeks.
And so that she could answer properly.
I spoke clearly.
"I'm asking you out on a date right now."
"..."
Then, Sierra, who had been stammering, promptly pressed her lips together, and with a tense expression, she gently lowered her head.
She slowly looked up at me and replied shyly.
"Idiot…! Coward…! Ugh… So annoying!"
"So you're not going?"
"I never said I wasn't going!"
Sierra sounded annoyed, but she seemed to have cheered up.
And afterwards, her glances at me until lunchtime ended.
I could feel distinctly different emotions compared to the women from previous timelines.