Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"That was just a joke. I'll be at the door soon. Goto-san, just wait for me at home."

But now such things obviously cannot be changed.

Hibiki Iruma had no choice but to quickly search on his phone to see if there was any place at the train station where he could buy some souvenirs.

And in fact, perhaps he should have thought that Goto Ichiri would choose his home as the meeting place.

Iruma sighed.

They had no idea that the tragedy had just begun.

For example, after he turned around here and there and finally arrived at the agreed door of Goto's house, Iruma Hibiki was actually worried at first that he couldn't find the place.

Could Goto Ichiri please come out and pick him up——

Let’s just forget about things like this.

He still had such concerns.

But the moment he reached the intersection, Iruma realized that his concerns were actually completely unnecessary.

Therefore, at this moment, on the wall of the second floor of Goto's house, there is a large banner hanging -

Welcome to Goto's home, Iruma-san. Please enjoy a pleasant afternoon!

The banner was so huge that even passersby in the surrounding area could notice it.

For a moment, Iruma Hibiki felt a sense of social death.

He stood there in a daze for a while, then sighed helplessly.

"This is Iruma Hibiki. I agreed to come and disturb you at this time."

He walked to Goto Ichiri's house and rang the doorbell.

Then--

As the door opened, Hibiki Iruma saw an even more terrifying scene.

There was nothing wrong with Goto Ichiri wearing his signature pink sweatshirt.

But at this moment, she had a strange ribbon with the word "One-Day Responsibility" slung across her shoulder, and she was wearing strange glowing star-shaped glasses on her face. Then, with a snap, the fireworks in her hand exploded.

"Welcome, welcome——"

5.

Then came Goto Ichiri's somewhat weak welcome.

For Hibiki Iruma, Goto Ichiri's strange behavior at this moment no longer shocked him.

When he actually met Goto Ichiri, Iruma Hibiki only felt some complicated emotions.

"That's a really interesting outfit, Goto-kun."

he said softly.

"Do you like it, Iruma-san? Hehehehe..."

Goto Ichiri, who was standing by, took it completely seriously. She touched the back of her head and gave her signature weird smile.

"Yeah, I like it very much."

And Iruma Hibiki responded somewhat helplessly but gently.

"I was a little surprised to be invited to Goto-san's house, but when I think about it, we've known each other for over three years. It would be strange if we hadn't visited each other's homes."

Iruma Hibiki sighed slightly.

"How was your summer vacation, Goto-kun?"

Hibiki Iruma walked in and asked with some concern.

"Ah, it's not bad... I have Iruma-san and Kita helping me, so school is no problem at all... except for the summer homework."

When talking about summer homework, Goto Ichiri kept glancing at Iruma Hibiki.

"I'll help."

Then Iruma Hibiki gave Goto Ichiri a faint smile.

"Very good--"

Goto Ichiri said in surprise.

However, after a long separation, when he saw Iruma Hibiki again, Goto Ichiri's heart might not be filled with excitement and joy, but also with other complicated emotions.

Because at this moment, the two of them are just [friends].

As for the previous confession, the two of them just tacitly agreed not to mention it again.

Since then, the relationship between the two has actually been maintained at a delicate distance.

This time I paid a visit.

To some extent, it is a slight crossing of the line.

14 Reconciliation and Progress

Show your best self to Iruma-san, who is still important despite this.

This is probably what Goto Ichiri felt these past few days, feeling hopeless, humble, unproductive, and absolutely afraid to express.

For this purpose, she prepared her outfit, tidied her room, and read one guide after another to make sure the day would not be boring.

Despite often being hurt by the experience of Yangjiao.

But she still didn't give up -

Keep researching and keep working hard.

Just to be able to show a different side of myself in front of Hibiki Iruma.

Goto Ichiri carefully prepared for the meeting that day.

Made my best effort.

Although it's extremely funny.

In the end, her plan to be a party goer was so embarrassing and funny that anyone who saw it would find it embarrassing and funny.

But this was all she could do.

So when bringing Hibiki Iruma into the house, Ichiri Goto was very cautious and checked Hibiki Iruma's mood almost every few seconds.

It’s like a girl in love, constantly worrying about her lover’s feelings in the relationship.

Until the moment her room was opened——

"Welcome... Iruma-san!"

The hard work of Goto Ichiri over the past few days finally culminated in the barrier composed of light balls, balloons and various party supplies in this room.

In her opinion, this was all she had to offer.

It is a magic weapon that will definitely not let today's important meeting be dull.

"So, what's the first activity of the day?"

Iruma Hibiki put down the bag in her hand.

It contains all the documents needed to prepare for today's summer homework.

But the moment he entered the door, he planned to talk about this topic a little later.

In fact, he himself was not a party guy at all.

He doesn't like flashing lights or noisy parties. He doesn't smoke or drink, and he is not the kind of person who sings and shakes his head wildly in the middle of the night.

To be honest, his life is actually a normal high school student.

but--

At this point, he didn't mind being a party boy.

Hibiki Iruma looked at Goto Ichiri, whose glasses were gleaming with rainbow light, and smiled gently, looking very interested.

【So this is the first event of the day! 】

As for Goto Ichiri.

At this moment, she actually almost cried.

This was the first time that an event organized by her had someone recognize it.

There is someone willing to accompany her.

……

"I'm sorry, uncle and aunt, for disturbing you today. Goto-san fell asleep a while ago. Please remember to tuck her in. These documents will help her complete her summer homework. I've written all the annotations on them."

Goto Ichiri's party didn't end until 5 o'clock in the evening.

Because she had been working all night for several days, she fell asleep leaning against the table while cleaning the room.

It was time for Hibiki Iruma to leave, but in the end he waited until Goto Ichiri's family came back before saying goodbye.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Iruma-san, my family has caused you trouble."

"Not much trouble."

Iruma Hibiki responded softly.

"In fact, maybe I'm the one causing the trouble."

After agreeing again, Iruma Hibiki walked out of the Goto family's house.

The banners upstairs had been taken down at this moment, and the Goto family returned to their usual daily life. Soon the street was filled with the aroma of food.

As for Hibiki Iruma—

Did you enjoy meeting Goto Ichiri today?

Very happy.

[Ijichi, the relationship between Goto-san and I has probably returned to normal.]

On the way home, he couldn't wait to chat with Ichichi Hongxia.

[Eh? What do you mean, restored to normal?]

Ijichi Hongxia asked with some confusion.

"Didn't I reject Goto-san's confession before? After that, our relationship became, very bad... Goto-san was always worried about something, suffering from something, and I..."

There is absolutely no way.

Hibiki Iruma's distress practically filled the screen.

【At that time, I thought I was going to lose two important people at the same time.】

【Losing my first friend and my first love.】

【But now, everything seems to be getting better. 】

He was typing furiously.

But in fact, this is not what Iruma Hibiki wants to say at the moment.

He had something he couldn't wait to say to Ijichi Hongxia.

"That's great, Iruma! Congratulations!"

[I feel like this is a good thing that needs a celebration party! ]

Ijichi Nikka was genuinely happy about the situation on Iruma Hibiki's side.

"What's wrong Hongxia?"

And among the stars, in the rehearsal room, Yamada Ryo spoke.

After all, Ijichi Hongxia's action of stopping practice was a bit abrupt, which was totally unlike her.

"Nothing, it's about Iruma. He seems to have cheered up a bit recently."

There was joy in Ijichi Hongxia's tone.