Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I became friends and exchanged contacts with Ruka.
We even made a promise to play at her house sometime. Rukatan and Misakin, friends for life.

But I’m freaking tired.
Talking to someone you don’t usually talk to is exhausting.
Also, it’s kinda hard to match her vibes… Frankly, she’s so sincere and energetic that it’s blinding.

She’s the type that’s fast to go, *「Oh, this is nice; this one’s cute!」*
Meanwhile, Miyu and I would be, *「I mean, well, it is cute… But isn’t that fake?」*

To tell the truth, I’m sure people like Ruka enjoy their lives more.
More like, aren’t we just cynical?

In the end, school ended without Miyu and me exchanging even a single word.
Miyu and I always go home together. I’d go to her seat, telling her, 「Let’s go home!」 but right now, I’m at my seat watching dusk fall.

A beauty basking in the setting sun with a sorrowful expression. Picturesque.
But within her mind,

*After blatantly avoiding her, it’s so awkward to initiate. I wonder if Miyu’s mad at me. Maybe she is. It’d be nice if she came to my seat instead. Maybe she’s going home with her so-called boyfie¹. Maybe they’re going on a date after school.*

It’s filled with low-level worldly thoughts.
In other words, I’m a passive bottom right now. I mean, passive waiter².
　
Despite waiting for so long, she didn’t come up to me.
I timidly, quietly, turn around to see Miyu’s seat.
She’s not there. It’s empty. She went the f̲u̲c̲k̲ home without me.
She absolutely chose the date with her boyfie over me.

Ah, crap.
I’m imagining Miyu flirting with some guy right now, and I wanna die.

Unable to sit still and stay a drama queen, I stood up. To expel my worldly thoughts, I decided that I need to move my body around.

I joined the baseball club in their fungo hitting³.
They kept yelling, *Harder! Stronger!* which creeped me out.
I was invited to be a manager with great enthusiasm, but I had a hunch that it’d land me in an eromanga scenario, so I refused.

I challenged the man-hoe-infested soccer club to a penalty shoot-out with virginity at stake.
I was close to losing, but at the end, the enemy got flustered and missed the goal. Apparently, he got so hard that it hindered his kicking ability. I was invited to be a manager [redacted].

I dived into the pool in my underwear and swam for around 100 meters.
I insisted that I was wearing a swimsuit, but it was clearly see-through. The boys of the swim club were all bent forward, awkwardly hiding their front. Weird that they’re more embarrassed than I am.

Since I didn’t have enough regular exercise, I was completely worn out by the time I arrived at my apartment unit.
I dived into my bed face-first.
Tired; I don’t want to move anymore.

But I need to prepare dinner.
Maybe because I went to the pool, I stink. I need to take a bath. I need to change clothes. The laundry is piling up. Leftover plastic bottles are sky-high.

Maman went back to her ancestral house some time ago to take care of ojichan⁴.
「Will you be okay alone?」 she asked, and I replied, 「Woohoo! Freedom!」 which she smacked me for.

Living alone generally isn’t bad, but occasionally it feels too bothersome to do anything.
In those times, the wife would come home.
She’d sound all grumpy about it but still help.
But now the wife is no more. Taken by another man.

Is this possibly… that?
The *’But She was my Secret crush’*⁵ thing?
The *’You only know what you lost when it’s gone’* kinda deal?
So I really am still…

I wonder what Miyu’s doing right now.
Has she already gone home? Or is she, perhaps, in the middle of a date with the boyfriend?

An after-school date… I’ve got no dating experience, so I can’t really imagine what that’d entail. Miyu is a shut-in who hates crowds, so she doesn’t like going out that much.

Come to think of it, I recall some classmates talking about going to the karaoke after school. I see, karaoke.
In other words, karaoke with the boyfriend…

Inside a dim room, sitting next to each other.
Ignoring the songbook, the two start flirting about.

『C’mon, I told you already, not in this place…』

A hand naturally reaches for the girl’s body.

『*Ah*, *ahh*… No, not there…』

After fondling the curves of her chest, fingers slip into her most sensitive part.

『This’ll feel good… bear with it a bit, okay?』

The mic in her hand was exchanged with a hard, mic-like object.

『*Eh*? You want me to lick it? … I don’t know if I can do it well.』

…. *Eh*. No way; absolutely no way.
That’s hot, I mean, makes me feel sick.

Unable to bear it any more, I called Miyu’s phone.
It’s one of the top 3 worst actions any cucked man could take. But I seriously can’t take it any more.

Sitting cross-legged on my bed, I hold the smartphone to my ear.
*The phone you have called is out of reach; please try again*ー**bzzt**
I thought I’d get hit by that NTR Finisher, but Miyu actually took the call; she freaking did it.

「… Hello? Misaki?」

Now that she answered, I’m panicking.
What do I do? I don’t know what kind of face to make in this situation. Well, not like my face matters over a call.

「R-right now, where… a-are you at home?」
「I am, and?」
「A-are you with, you know, your b-boyfridged⁶?」

The boy got fridged instead of being a friend.
My innermost desire couldn’t help but come out.

After I said my question, the world fell silent.
What do I even do if I hear some whispering behind her? After what felt like a long time, Miyu spoke.

「… Not really? Why is that?」
「*A-oh*, okay. I see…」　
「So, what did you call me for?」
「Well, I didn’t really have a particular reason… I was just thinking that it’d be awkward if I got in between you and your boyfridged or so.」

After that, there was no response from Miyu again.
In exchange, I hear a barely audible clattering. Is she doing something while still on call?
Nah, I’m scared. The silence is scary.

「… If we were actually together at home, what would you do?」
「*Eh*?」　
「We’re right here, together at home.」

I heard her voice from both my phone and behind me.
I immediately turned around. Miyu, with her phone next to her ear, was standing right behind me.