I Won't Be a Loser

Under the soft glow of the moonlight, Setsuna gazed toward her home. The familiar sight was shrouded in darkness—there wasn't a single light on.

Her mother had probably already gone to bed.

Pausing only for a moment, Setsuna then shifted her gaze toward Haruto's apartment, curiosity welling up in her heart.

A faint glow seeped through the windows and the cracks of the door, a clear sign that her boyfriend was still awake. Setsuna's eyes lingered on that door, her mind wandering.

What is he doing right now? Is he thinking about me?

The longing within her surged. She unconsciously bit her soft, pink lips, tightening her grip on the telescope. If only she could rush over to him this very moment and stay by his side…

Beside her, Sekai had been watching in silence. She wasn't sure what Setsuna had seen, but as she noticed the way the girl was staring so intently, her own nerves began to tingle with unease.

"Wait… is she looking at Haruto's apartment? Did she figure out what I've been using the telescope for?"

Damn it.

In her eagerness to make sure Setsuna stayed over tonight, Sekai had completely forgotten to tidy up her room—let alone hide the telescope. Now, anxiety crept into her chest.

Meanwhile, lying nearby, Kotonoha tugged at the edge of her bath towel, shielding her smooth skin. She watched as Setsuna peered out the window, while Sekai sat nearby, fixated on Setsuna.

Something about the scene felt strangely familiar…

In a different part of the city, Haruto was in the middle of a conversation with Mai when his phone suddenly rang, interrupting their discussion.

With an understanding nod from Mai, Haruto picked up the call. It was from Mitsuha.

The moment he answered, she launched straight into complaints.

"You only sent two packages? I was expecting more! I mean, besides the skincare products and snacks, you didn't send anything else unique to the big city?"

"If you'd convince Dad to send me a little more allowance, I wouldn't mind shipping extra stuff back to Itomori."

"You've only just moved to Tokyo, and you're already running out of money? Wait… did you spend it all on adult magazines?"

"..."

It wasn't that he wasn't interested, but unfortunately, his current age made it tricky to buy those sorts of things. Given how young he looked, any store clerk would probably give him a suspicious once-over before selling anything.

Some stores might not care, but… it wasn't worth the trouble.

Glancing across the table, he saw Mai sipping her tea quietly. Refocusing on his phone call, he spoke again.

"If there's nothing urgent, I'm going to hang up now. It's not that late in Itomori either, so get some rest."

"Wait, wait—so you really don't have enough money?"

"I have enough to last the month. Next month's allowance should come in on time, so there's no issue. Why?"

"…No reason."

In her bedroom back in Itomori, Mitsuha reached out and ruffled the hair of her younger sister, Yotsuha.

Yotsuha, who had been quietly listening to the call, frowned and shot her sister an annoyed glare.

"You're the one who wanted to check in on him," Mitsuha said, handing Yotsuha the phone.

The younger girl eagerly took it, her voice laced with concern.

"Hey, Brother! How's life in Tokyo? Are you eating properly? Are your classes tough?"

Compared to Mitsuha's nagging, Yotsuha's questions were filled with genuine worry.

Haruto gave her a few brief updates, assuring her that he was doing well. Before ending the call, he reminded her to take care of herself and to keep an eye on their mother's health.

"That's all you wanted to ask?" he checked with Mitsuha before hanging up.

"Actually, I just thought of something. Yotsuha's question reminded me."

Mitsuha's lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

"Have you gotten a girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, I knew you—wait… what?!"

Beep, beep…

The call had already ended.

Mitsuha stared at the screen in stunned silence. Then, as the realization hit her, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath—

"THAT BASTARD—!!"

Flopping onto the floor, she rolled around in frustration.

It wasn't just that he had cut her off so abruptly. The moment she heard Haruto confirm that he had a girlfriend, she felt a heavy weight settle in her chest—like something was pressing down, making it hard to breathe.

Biting down on her blanket, she let out a muffled whimper.

Yotsuha, who had witnessed everything, stood up with a look of pure disgust and quickly left the room.

"Mom! Big brother got a girlfriend in Tokyo!"

"And Mitsuha's losing it again!"

After abruptly ending the call, Haruto chuckled softly, imagining Mitsuha's furious reaction. He turned back to Mai, who was sitting calmly in the living room, and took his seat across from her again.

"Your family?" Mai inquired, having caught a few keywords like "allowance" and "father" from his conversation.

"Yeah, that was my sister."

"Would that be Mitsuha and Yotsuha, the sisters you mentioned before?"

Haruto nodded. "When I first came to Tokyo, Mitsuha asked me to send some local specialties back home. I sent a package recently, and she just called to let me know it arrived."

"You're such a considerate child, Miyamizu-kun. It's wonderful that Setsuna has someone like you in her life."

Mai's eyes softened as she spoke. It was rare to find a young man so caring toward his family—at least, she hadn't encountered many.

Most of the young people she saw on the streets were often complaining about their parents, rarely expressing genuine concern for them.

"..."

Haruto felt a bit awkward under the weight of her praise. He could only offer a polite smile in response.

"But... you did tell them you're dating Setsuna just now, right? Is that okay?"

"It's fine. It's something my family would have learned sooner or later. Whether they find out now or later doesn't really matter."