Yes, I… Konishi Tetsuko, together with Mitsui Ayumi-chan and Kurihara Kasuga-chan… am currently tailing our friend Amasawa Ichika-chan on her date!

“Ah! Ichika-chan is talking happily with that male senpai!”

“That senpai… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…”

This is the first time I’ve seen Ichika-chan look this happy, so it feels rather refreshing.

“Ah! I remember! That senpai is the one who talked to me and Tetsuko-chan during the Partner Written Exam!”

“Huh? Really?”

Hearing Kasuga-chan say that, I remembered too. Now that I think about it, there was someone like that…

“If I recall correctly… his name was Ayanokōji Kiyotaka-senpai, right?”

“Yeah yeah! After that, he partnered up with Hōsen-kun, right?”

At that time, Kasuga-chan and I had already secured our partners, so unfortunately there was no room for negotiation…

“And apparently… according to rumors, he scored a perfect 100 in math during that exam.”

“Eh? If that’s true… doesn’t that make Ayanokōji-senpai insanely amazing?”

“Yes… some of the math problems were at a university level, far beyond what a normal high school student could solve…”

Just what kind of person is Ayanokōji-senpai?

“Ah! Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai are starting to move!”

“Ayumi-chan, your voice is too loud… we need to follow them carefully so we don’t get noticed!”

At last… the date tailing operation by me, Kasuga-chan and Ayumi-chan has begun!

And… the first place those two entered was the movie theater.

“Right off the bat, a movie theater! Tetsuko-chan’s advice is working!”

“Watching a romance movie together while eating popcorn… it’s quite a nice situation, isn’t it?”

“If it were a normal guy, the atmosphere would definitely get romantic…”

Especially since the girl is someone as beautiful as Ichika-chan! No one could stay calm in that situation!

“Then we need to hurry and reserve seats too! As close to them as possible! I want to see Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai’s interactions!”

“Wait! If we’re too close, we might get caught. That’s too risky. Wouldn’t it be better to sit further back?”

“Sigh… have you forgotten that seating is limited? Let’s choose seats that are neither too close nor too far. There are lots of people, so as long as we don’t make noise, we shouldn’t be noticed.”

Fufu… now then, Ayanokōji-senpai? How long can you keep up that expressionless face?

* * *

The movie ended in no time. Since it was a romance film, it was quite fulfilling and very enjoyable…

“Hmm, the movie was interesting, but… right?”

“It made me want to watch it again, but… right?”

“But… right?”

However… something feels off…

That is…

“““Why are you expressionless!?”””

Because Ayanokōji-senpai stayed completely expressionless.

His expression didn’t change at all during any scene in the movie…

“Isn’t that crazy!? It makes it look like he’s reluctantly going on a date with Ichika-chan!”

“Yeah! This is just… I feel bad for Ichika-chan! Should I go complain to Ayanokōji-senpai!?”

It seems Ayumi-chan and Kasuga-chan are furious about his attitude…

“Please calm down. It’s possible he’s simply bad at smiling… if you confront him over that, you might hurt him… and end up making Ichika-chan angry as well.”

“Ugh… that’s…”

“In fact, Ichika-chan seems to have anticipated his reaction. Perhaps we should observe a bit longer?”

“…Okay.”

At my suggestion, Kasuga-chan reluctantly held herself back.

“Even when that elegant-looking upperclasswoman with the sunflower hair accessory spoke to him earlier, he stayed expressionless… so maybe Tetsuko-chan is right…”

“But still! Why is Ichika-chan even on a date with Ayanokōji-senpai?”

I wonder too… what Ichika-chan thinks of him…

No… in my case, there’s something else that concerns me even more.

“Ayumi-chan, Kasuga-chan… have you noticed? There are others besides us tailing Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai…”

“Huh? I thought there were a lot of people around… so that’s why!”

“No no, Ayumi-chan… I noticed that earlier~!”

Ayumi-chan is too optimistic… Kasuga-chan is as sharp as ever.

A group of four—two boys and two girls…

A pair of girls with a gyaru-like appearance…

A girl with an expressionless face just like Ayanokōji-senpai…

And a frivolous-looking guy grinning while filming Ichika-chan and Ayanokōji-senpai as if saying ‘What a great sight!’…

Aside from us… there are quite a lot of people tailing this date.

“Ayumi-chan, do you know those people?”

“I don’t think so~ What about you two?”

“I don’t know them either…”

“Hmm, me neither?”

Since we, Ichika-chan’s friends, don’t recognize them… maybe they’re all connected to Ayanokōji-senpai?

“Look! While we were talking, Ayanokōji-senpai is holding Ichika-chan’s hand!”

““Ooooh!!””

Not just us—everyone else tailing them is getting noisy too… judging by the situation, Ayanokōji-senpai must have taken her hand first.

‘Phew… they managed to hold hands… but what will happen next on their date? Since we’re going this far to tail them… please don’t disappoint us, okay?’

However, at that moment, I didn’t expect…

“Eh… you two! Look! That!”

“No way!? Ayanokōji-senpai… being this bold in a place like this!?”

That he would take an action far more daring than just holding hands…