Ren was momentarily surprised but quickly uood what was happening.

  "Well… it shouldn't be possible."

  "Exactly."

  Sonoko nodded in satisfa.

  "So, I want to make a bet with you."

  "The bet is whether or not I'll receive a diary."

  "I bet that I will."

  "So, Amamiya, you have to bet that I won't."

  it really work like this?

  Having been forced into choosing "no," Re his odds of winning were incredibly low.

  From what he uood about how the diary system worked, the sed wave of diary recipients would likely e soon after the first.

  And after the heroihe oo receive diaries would probably be key female supp characters.

  Which meant that Sonoko had a very high ce of getting one.

  Choosing "no" noractically throwing himself into a pit.

  But—

  Looking at Sonoko, who was clearly excited about this, he hesitated.

  She was being a little willful, but it wasn't the kind of willfulhat was unpleasant.

  "Alright, so what happens if one of us wins or loses?"

  Sonoko toned down her excitement slightly before statierms.

  "If I win, Amamiya, you have to date me."

  "…Huh?"

  The oute of the bet was directly tied to dating?

  Ren hadn't expected the versation to take this turn.

  "Suzuki, I'm not really good at iing with girls."

  "What does 'good' or 'bad' even mean?"

  That response pletely shut him down.

  "Who in this world is naturally good at iing with girls?"

  "Isn't that something you learn through experience, little by little?"

  She wasn't wrong.

  No one was born knowing how to i with the opposite sex.

  Everyone picked it up gradually.

  "If you're okay with it, we date…"

  "But Suzuki, you do realize that girls are usually at a disadvantage iionships, right?"

  "I don't feel like I'd be at a disadvantage."

  It wasn't that Sonoko was unaware of the risks of dating.

  But that was only true when dating uys.

  "Besides, I really don't think I'd be at a disadvaing you."

  "…That's hard tue with."

  Ren holy didn't know how to refute that.

  Since he wasn't particurly skilled at dealing with girls, he wouldn't be the type to cause them trouble.

  If anything, what Sonoko said robably true—he wouldn't make things difficult for her.

  "How about it? What do you think?"

  She leaned forward, pg both hands oable, her face mere inches from his.

  "It's a fu, isn't it?"

  "If I win, I get both a diary and a boyfriend."

  "And you, Amamiya, would get a cute girlfriend with a great personality."

  "You wouldn't be losing out."

  Her self-promotion was almost shameless.

  Just how much did Sonoko want to date him?

  It was clearly not for any deep, plicated reason—she just liked good-looking guys.

  Looking at her with mild helplessness, he sighed.

  "Suzuki, you don't o sell yourself like that."

  "You're already cute, and your personality and figure aren't bad either."

  "I only hesitated because I'm not great at handliionships."

  "…If you really want to make this bet, I'm fih it."

  After thinking it over, he realized he didn't actually have a reason to refuse.

  This bet was something Sonoko had initiated.

  So, why not go along with it?

  Sonoko's smile widened instantly.

  She had never beeype to worry about whether she was the one doing the chasing.

  If you meet someone you like, you go for it.

  If you hesitate, someone else might swoop in and take them.

  And she khat Amamiya would eventually attract a lot of girls.

  If she didn't seize the opportunity now, would she really just stand by and watch others move in first?

  If she was going to make a move anyway, she might as well do it now.

  "Then it's settled."

  She sat back with a satisfied smile.

  Gng at the time, she realized it was nearly dinner.

  "Amamiya, should we—"

  Before she could finish, she noticed Ren's gaze had shifted elsewhere.

  Following his line of sight, she spotted four elementary school students.

  "Amamiya, do you know them?"

  "Pay attention to the one wearing the backward cap."

  Her eyes focused on the boy, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over her.

  She searched through her memory—

  And finally locked onto one person.

  "…Is that—Kudo?"

  "Correct."

  "It really is him!"

  Upon receiving firmation, Sonoko's eyes widened in shock.

  She hadn't expected to run into Kudo, now in the form of a child, here of all pces.

  Knoock!

  The sound of Ren tapping the table brought her back to reality.

  "Look at what he's holding."

  "And take a look at the three men in bck hiding in the alley over there."

  Following his dires, Sonoko turned her gaze.

  She noticed Kudo holding a piece of paper, studying it with intense focus.

  And then—

  She saw the three suspicious figures lurking in the alley.

  Her eyelid twitched involuntarily.

  "…Why does that guy always run into trouble?"

  She had told Ran to cut ties with Kudo, and now she really felt that was the right choice.

  Wherever Kudo went, trouble followed.

  "This isn't even his fault."

  "But the real problem is how focused he is on his own business while pletely ign the danger right behind him."

  "This is the sed time."

  Sonoko kept watg the three men in the alley.

  She couldn't help but agree.

  Entering trouble wasn't the issue—

  Failing to realize he was in trouble was the real problem.

  At this point, she just felt like grindieeth.

  She wao march over there and smack him.

  Today was her date with Ren, and now they had to deal with Kudo's mess?

  "Let's just go and deal with it quickly."

  "No, we're not getting involved."

  Ren shook his head and pulled out a phone card from his bag.

  "Suzuki, let me tell you something important."

  "When you run into a situation like this, don't get directly involved."

  "As w-abiding citizens, we pay taxes for a reason."

  "The police exist to protect us."

  "So the best thing to dht now—"

  "Is to call the cops."