Extra 2: The Dangers of Treasure Hunting

"Ahem! Let’s start the strategy meeting!"

"Oooh~!"

"...Haaah."

Hmm, two very different reactions. But hey, overall not bad! (Ignoring one of them.)

"Anyway, calm down, former high school boy."

"Depending on your reason, I might have to file a formal protest."

"Seriously?"

"This treasure hunt you’re all so eager about, to a guy, it’s pretty much the same as having the depths of his soul dug through. Depending on how it goes, it can lead to a fistfight—and losing a friend you’ll never speak to again isn’t out of the question."

"Wait, seriously...? Is that from personal experience?"

"No comment."

Eien-chan stared off into the distance. That look suits her too—wait, no, focus.

"Well, well, there’s actually a good reason for all this."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Glad you asked!"

I grabbed the glasses from Manami, who was hugging a stuffed shark next to me (she let out a super cute little "kyaan!" noise), put them on at a speed that practically made a shwip sound, and struck a pose like a slightly risqué female teacher....Of course, to actually make this kind of pose alluring, you’d need a tall figure and some big melons (metaphorically speaking). I don’t have either at the moment.

"So, the thing is, in gal games, if you visit the protagonist’s house and clear the mini-game called 'Treasure Hunt,' you get new information about the heroine you’re currently interested in."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously seriously. Like, if it’s Shidare Sakurako, you find out she’s a shy, headphone-wearing, busty girl. Or if it’s Gokou Karuta, you find out she’s a clumsy student council president, stuff like that."

"Which means, if it turns out to be a straightforward, boyish type, it’d be Yui-chan; if it’s a mysterious childhood friend type, that’d be Towa-chan; and if it’s a shy glasses girl type, that’d be me!"

"Hooon... Wait, can I point something out?"

""What is it?""

"This gal game timeline you’re talking about—it's set in middle school, right? But right now, there aren’t even any books of that type yet, are there?"

""...Totally didn’t think of that.""

"Ehh..."

Yeah, technically we haven’t even entered the original story’s timeline yet. Whoopsie.

"Well, it still sounds fun, so let’s do it."

"You demon! You devil! May you be cursed for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years!"

"Could you not casually badmouth heroines that haven’t even appeared yet?"

"Well, that person would probably just laugh it off anyway... and honestly, in a way, she’s scarier than any demon."

While imagining the face of a heroine we hadn't even met yet, I tried to bring the conversation back on track.

"Alright, search team is Towa-chan and Manami! I’ll be the distraction!"

"Ah, so I’m forced to join, huh..."

"Of course you are! We’re counting on you, former high school boy!"

"Alright then! Good luck! Over!"

"May fortune favor you! Out!"

BAM! I pushed the door open with the kind of force that almost knocked it off its hinges and took off down the hallway, making just enough noise not to be a nuisance.

"............Haaah. Guess we’ll start by searching between the bed."

Well, I dashed out without thinking, but―――

"Hm? What's wrong, Yui?"

"Uh, I was just wondering if Yuuki-kun was ready yet."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I just finished getting ready. I’m coming now."

This is bad—really bad.I spent way too much time explaining and convincing.

Right now, over in Yuuki-kun’s room, they’re in the middle of, ahem, treasure hunting (putting it nicely).

I have to distract him somehow!

"U-uhm! I kinda hurt myself a little. Where do you keep the band-aids?"

"You got hurt...? Wait, didn’t you come here to call me—""Thought I’d grab a band-aid while I was at it! You know, two birds, one stone!"

"...Is that so?"

That might've been a little too obvious!Yuuki-kun shot me a suspicious look, but for now, as long as he went to get the band-aid, it was fine.

"Geez, fine..."

He muttered and grabbed a band-aid from a nearby shelf.Wait, hold up. That’s not how this was supposed to go.In my plan, it was supposed to take longer because he’d need to go fetch the first-aid kit!

Apparently, in the Yuino household, the mom handles most of the cooking, but she’s kind of a klutz, so they keep band-aids right within reach in the kitchen.Honestly, that's a pretty good idea.Maybe I should do that at my house—no, focus!

"Alright, where’s the injury? I’ll stick it on for you."

Ah.Ahhh.This just got even worse.

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Side Story: How Everyone Peels a Mandarin Orange

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Towa: She’s mastered all sorts of peeling styles, from cute to funny, just to entertain Yuuki. She always removes the white strings because they bother her.

Yuuki: Either Towa peels it for him, or he clumsily tries to copy her. He’s not very good at it. Towa usually picks off the white strings for him, but Yuuki himself doesn’t really mind them. However, he does mind how his nails turn yellow after peeling.

Yui: As long as it's peeled, who cares? She’s weirdly good at making little trash bins out of flyers to collect the peels.

Manami: Somehow, she always ends up picking the sour ones. Every once in a while she finds a sweet one, but when she does, Yui usually snatches it from her.

Madoka: She’s good at peeling, but always gets distracted and forgets about the peeled orange. It dries out and hardens, and then she ends up crying over it.