I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

It was just an ordinary day.

The school ended its week-long celebratory holiday, and the oppressive atmosphere that had followed the end of the one-man show dissipated considerably.

However, anyone who experienced the riots that day will probably still feel lingering fear about what happened.

However, there are always exceptions. They regarded that riot as one of the most exciting moments of their lives and preserved it intact through some means.

And they believe that this is the true mark left by youth.

Airi Sakura is one of them.

Looking at the photos covered in stickers, Sakura Airi smiled dreamily.

The same girl appears in every photo.

The girl's name was Miyako Amane.

While everyone was busy cheering for the 'righteous' side, the camera never left Sakura Airi's face.

Looking at her masterpiece, Sakura Airi's slightly gloomy mood was greatly healed.

She picked up a photo from the table; it was her proudest work, showing Amane punching Ayanokouji to the ground.

Although I felt a little bad for Ayanokouji, I couldn't bear to delete the photo because Sakura loved it so much.

And so, Ayanokouji pitifully became the background figure for another person.

Sakura Airi gazed lovingly at the figure in the photograph, then slowly approached, approached, and approached again...

Finally, they gave each other a light kiss on the photo.

"Yeah!"

Realizing what she had done stupidly, Airi Sakura quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped the glass frame of the photo.

Since then, it has been a long time since I've been able to speak with Tianyin.

So much time had passed that Sakura Airi could barely remember the last time she had spoken with Amane.

No, actually she remembers it very clearly.

Because that conversation was so unforgettable.

No matter how long she cries, time will not turn back.

Similarly, no matter how much Horikita apologizes.

What she lost can never be regained.

10 month 15 day.

It was just an ordinary day for others.

However, this day was especially important for Airi Sakura.

Although she herself felt that there was no need to care.

But who would want their most important day to be forgotten by others?

Today is her birthday.

P.S.: I'll be updating like crazy during the holiday! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me. I usually can't find enough time to update, so this is a rare break. I'll be posting three to five chapters every day during the holiday, continuing until the end of the holiday.

Chapter Sixteen: Burden and Self-Indulgence

"I can't log into external websites... Is it a network problem?"

Because Sakura has no friends, she doesn't plan to go out during the holidays. After all, there's nothing fun about going out alone. Even when watching a movie, she gets bored halfway through and is forced to leave early.

So, besides studying, the only thing she could do to pass the time was browse various websites. Although she had deleted her idol account, it didn't stop her from registering a new account specifically for uploading videos of her campus life.

Besides innate talents, a person's talents also include more versatile skills that can be acquired through continuous learning, thus becoming a person with expertise in certain areas. Such abilities are also considered a type of talent.

Sakura, who originally used the account only as a backup storage for photos, did not expect that the photos she casually took would attract a lot of attention. The photos she took this time had nothing to do with idols, nor were there any hot topics that could attract people's attention. She received a lot of attention simply because she discovered 'beauty'.

As Sakura watched the number of followers rise every day, her lonely heart found some solace.

She was somewhat glad that in order to take good photos, she was concerned about other people's opinions, which easily caused her to become nervous and her body to act uncoordinated. So she chose to learn photography and photo editing on her own, which is why her skills in these areas are now no less than those of professionals. Just before the sports festival started, she even achieved the milestone of having 10,000 followers. However, for this achievement... Sakura had no one to share it with.

Sakura decided to keep this a secret, so she could confide in someone about it later...

"Things like that... there's no one in this school who will listen to me anymore."

Sakura's situation was actually worse than Shibata's.

Shibata's betrayal mainly consists of two parts: one is the struggle for class leadership, and the other is his attempt to influence Ichinose by betraying the class's interests.

However, when he was vying for class leadership, he caused the class to suffer an unprecedented defeat, which made him infamous. After Ichinose regained power, Shibata was naturally marginalized, and his betrayal of the class's interests became an insignificant point.

All eyes were on him as a defeated contender. Although Shibata's abilities were questioned in Class D, it had to be admitted that Shibata's overall abilities were indeed among the best in the class. Therefore, even if Ichinose won the final victory, they still had to find a way to win Shibata's heart in order to restore Class D's competitiveness.

Compared to Shibata's situation where she had her own trump cards, Sakura's wrong decision at the time almost openly told everyone that she was an ungrateful wretch and that she openly colluded with other classes to frame people in her own class.

Perhaps Sakura didn't think that much at the time, but the result was cruel. Amane turned the tables and made Class B and Class C suffer a lot. Out of friendship, Amane did not go back to punish this traitor.

Because she was unable to explain the truth, she had to bear the responsibility of betraying her classmate alone... But this was not really wronging her. Just as Hirata had told her, no matter what her theories were or what her unspeakable difficulties were, betrayal was betrayal.

It was precisely because Hirata claimed that he could not forgive those who betrayed him that everyone in the class distanced themselves from Sakura.

Tianyin also said that this was the end of it.

They never spoke a word to each other again after that.

It was as if she couldn't be seen at all.

Sakura subconsciously touched the corner of her eye but found that no tears were falling, but she still wiped them with a tissue.

She didn't know how many days and nights she had cried here alone, until finally even her tears no longer wanted to accompany her.

Airi Sakura thought she would never shed another tear, until that day...

Horikita came to see her late at night and told her that the leak of the photos was entirely her fault, and even asked her to hit her.

She didn't understand why Horikita would do that.

Horikita's answer to her was simple.

Jealousy is at play.

Just a casual remark ruined three years of her studies!

After learning that she had been betrayed by Horikita, Sakura Airi couldn't help but shed tears again, and she cried all night long.

Just when she thought she was finally going to clear her name, she discovered that Horikita's apology was only directed at her personally.

She had no intention of making the matter public. In addition, Horikita had just become the class leader, and if any bad reputation emerged, the class, which had been so hard-won to unite, might immediately fall apart.

To prioritize the so-called "bigger picture," Sakura Airi chose to endure.

This continued until the preferential treatment exam ended and everyone returned to school. Sakura, who had long been disheartened about her future school life, had a glimmer of hope rekindled because of Horikita's apology.

In her opinion, as long as Horikita-san explained the reason for the matter in front of everyone, she would definitely be forgiven.

In that case... Tianyin will definitely be able to become friends with her again, even if their relationship starts from scratch. She has already spent so much time alone and has enough patience to cultivate and maintain her relationship with Tianyin, as long as she is still willing to accept herself...

traitor.

However, Horikita seemed quite surprised when she heard her request.

"Sakura-san, have you misunderstood something? Even if I leaked the photos, wasn't it Kanzaki who threatened you? And you did betray Amane under duress, didn't you? Even if I apologize publicly, what good will it do? Besides making me lose face and the class going back to the chaotic state it was at the beginning of the semester, what good will it do? Isn't this a very stupid decision for you, for me, and for this class?"

Sakura was unable to utter a single word under Horikita's questioning; rather than being unable to utter a single word, it would be more accurate to say that Sakura's mind had become completely blank.

She had no idea why it had become so difficult for her to simply ask Horikita to apologize and clear her name.

"But... but all I want is... to restore my reputation and innocence... I have no other desires."

When Sakura managed to utter her words, suppressing her fear and nervousness, she was met with a dumbfounded look from Horikita.

"Talking to you is such a headache. Don't you understand what I mean? I can agree to your request, but the problem is that it doesn't benefit anyone. Why do you want me to agree to it?"

"Sorry... I don't quite understand... Could you please explain it in simpler terms, Horikita-san?"

Sakura regretted not studying harder in elementary school.

She wasn't stupid; she could tell that Horikita didn't want to apologize publicly, but she didn't understand why a public apology wouldn't restore her innocence, or why it wouldn't benefit Sakura Airi. Logically speaking, if Horikita apologized in public, everyone should have been more understanding of her.

Perhaps understanding this is as simple as eating and drinking for Horikita, but for Sakura it's like listening to gibberish.

If I had to describe it, it would be like this: there was a question where Sakura wrote down what she thought was the correct answer using the simplest method, but Horikita saw it and told her directly that her answer was wrong, and then left her with what she called the correct answer.

However, Sakura racked her brains but still couldn't figure out how she arrived at the correct answer. Since the solution involved some advanced problem-solving strategies, it was very complicated to explain. So, she could only tell Sakura that her answer was correct and that she was willing to take responsibility for it.

Sakura no longer cared whether the answer was right or wrong, but wanted to know why she came to that conclusion.

Faced with Sakura's persistent questioning, Horikita finally told her the solution to the problem, which was...

"I really can't do anything with you. First of all, I only set a trap for you. Someone else used the trap I set to hurt you, and you chose to betray your companions to avoid even more painful harm. I admit that my trap was aimed at you... but the person who hurt you was not me after all. My apology to you is only for my trap. If everyone finds out, they will accuse me of being irresponsible, but does that have anything to do with you?"

Doesn't it matter?

Sakura noticed that Horikita was getting angry, but she didn't understand why Horikita was angry. If she was going to be angry, shouldn't she be the one who was angry?

Seeing Sakura's head bowed and her silence, Horikita knew that Sakura didn't understand the root of the problem at all.

That's the key to her headache.

However, some things are the most hurtful when laid bare, and Horikita, who already felt guilty towards Sakura, did not want to hurt her a second time.

It's clear that Sakura was trapped in a misunderstanding because of her apology, so she had no choice but to have a frank and open conversation with Sakura.

"Judging from your expression, I can tell you haven't understood at all, right?"

Sakura nodded hesitantly.

She could tell that Horikita was trying very hard to explain, but in her mind, Horikita was still unwilling to apologize publicly.

Where exactly did the communication go wrong?

"Since that's the case, then I'm going to say something hurtful. I hope you won't cry like last time... Sigh."

Horikita sighed, then took a pencil and wrote down Sakura Airi's name. He then circled her name with a red pen and wrote large, glaring letters next to it.

"traitor".

"Horikita-kun, what's going on here...?"

"Do you think I'm humiliating you? There's a limit to ignorance. What does my apology have to do with you betraying Tianyin? Does apologizing to you stop you from betraying Tianyin? Think back to why your situation in class has become so bad. The reason is that you've never considered yourself a traitor! You think you're innocent, but you are a traitor! Don't you understand what I'm saying? It was you who—betrayed Tianyin."

"But that's because of you, Horikita-kun..."

Did I ask you to betray Tianyin?

Horikita Suzune ended the argument with a single sentence.

Just as Hirata said, no matter the reason, betrayal is betrayal.

Sakura seemed to have lost all her strength and collapsed to the ground.

"I have never denied that I betrayed Tianyin."

"So you admit it? If I remember correctly, you haven't apologized to anyone in the class, have you? A traitor acting like nothing happened and attending class like that, what are you supposed to think? The reason you're being isolated and ostracized is your own doing, Sakura Airi."

Horikita Suzune's words back then were like daggers to the heart.

"But I just..."

"You want to bear this infamy alone, right? You think you're just an innocent victim being threatened, and that this so-called betrayal is a shackle imposed on you by others, right? Wake up! You're not innocent. You betrayed your companions just like me, didn't you? Besides, to be honest, I only had bad intentions towards you, but you directly betrayed your benefactor. Isn't that even more egregious than what I did? As for bearing the guilt, to put it bluntly, that's just your self-pity. In everyone's eyes, you're someone who betrayed others without the slightest remorse. That's why I said even if I apologize, it has nothing to do with you, because..."

"The one who should apologize is not me, but you... Sakura Airi"

"The one who should apologize is... me? I'm... the traitor?"

A sudden, intense headache pulled Sakura back to reality from her deep recollections.

Even though more than a month has passed, every time I recall that conversation, it feels like I'm reliving it all.

She was never aware of her mistakes, which led to her self-perceived 'innocence' being seen by others as unrepentant.

Is this just self-pity?

Perhaps, as Horikita said, it was all just her self-pity. What kind of person would bear the infamy? She claims she's going to bear the infamy but doesn't even have the courage to stand on stage and admit it. What kind of burden is that?

Is this the retribution for acting without thinking?

Sakura casually closed the webpage that showed "cannot connect".

Since the sports festival, all external websites have been inaccessible, meaning that the last place she, Sakura Airi, used to alleviate her loneliness no longer exists.