Osananajimi ga Zettai ni Makenai Love Comedy Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part 3

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A trip begins with preparation

Part 3

“So today’s meeting went as planned. I thought I’d say my thanks, at least.”

Those were the first words of a call Tetsuhiko received while he was having dinner at a burger joint.

Tetsuhiko knew the aversion Shirokusa felt towards him was something on the level of hate. For her to thank him for what he had done in spite of that made Tetsuhiko feel the thoroughness of her upbringing, and a wry smile overcame him.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not looking for appreciation. More importantly, I can look forward to something interesting happening, can’t I?”

Tetsuhiko had not been asked to assist beyond getting the proposal for the Okinawa trip approved.

“I could offer you a little more support, you know?” Tetsuhiko had said, but perhaps because he wasn’t trusted, “That won’t be needed. It’s fine, I have plans of my own,” Shirokusa had replied.

“Of course. As long as you don’t interfere.”

“Well, with the proposal to film a promotional video involving the three female members passing, I’ve already achieved my objective this time around. If I’m told to stay out of this, I don’t really have the urge to make a move since I’ve won, but……”

Tetsuhiko acknowledged the superiority of Shirokusa’s planning ability. Her strategy for the earlier commercial contest had been exceptional; the scripts for the commercial and music video could by no means have been written by the other members.

Her proposal for the Okinawa trip was also good. Using Rena the day the commercial contest ended to investigate Kuroha’s schedule showed her refined planning ability deserved close attention. As a result through her blitzkrieg tactics she had managed to outmaneuver even Kuroha.

However– measured next to the latter’s indomitable powers of execution, in some respects Shirokusa’s made Tetsuhiko uneasy.

“What about just telling me about the extent of your objectives for this trip, at least? How does that sound?”

“…………”

Perhaps wary, Shirokusa didn’t reply immediately.

Her answer must have had a purpose in rousing her as well, though, for she then declared strongly: “My greatest objective remains one thing. ‘To make Suu-chan confess to me’ – that is all.”

“Come on now, that’s gonna be pretty hard, isn’t it?”

At the very least, Tetsuhiko viewed Sueharu’s feelings as still being skewed towards Kuroha at present.

Shirokusa and Kuroha had flipped positions at the Confession Festival. Kuroha rejecting Sueharu after he had confessed to her had caused a state of chaos, but by no means could Tetsuhiko entertain the thought that Shirokusa had retaken the lead during the commercial contest.

“Ooh……”

“Ooh?” Tetsuhiko asked in return, only to be met with a louder than expected reply.

“Ooh, shut up, won’t you?! I’m Suu-chan’s first love, got it?! First love only happens once in a lifetime! It’s special! That’s why this isn’t going to be difficult at all!”

As he distanced his ear away from his phone, Tetsuhiko thought that, well, she had a point.

Indeed he couldn’t ignore the fact that Shirokusa had been Sueharu’s first love. It was clear that Sueharu had seen her as a potential love interest. Now that the relationship between Sueharu and Kuroha had been plunged into even greater turmoil, Tetsuhiko couldn’t feel a large discrepancy in the amount of affection the former felt towards either girl. If Shirokusa did well, surely being confessed to wouldn’t be an impossibility either.

Doing well, however, in this case meant doing better than Kuroha. That was an extremely high bar to clear.

“The plan I created with your assistance to make Suu-chan fall for me on this trip in the one day that thieving cat won’t be around is already in place. All you have to do is to watch my counterattack. Understand?”

Ah, if this trip were to be given a subtitle, would it be “Shirokusa Strikes Back”, perhaps?

By creating a day when Kuroha wouldn’t be around, Shirokusa had seized the initiative.

So, would she able to break through then, or–

“Got it, Princess. –Show me what you’ve got.”

Well, it would be interesting whichever way it played out, though.

The corners of Tetsuhiko’s lips rose.

This time he’d look on comfortably from a distance. He’d be able to take Rena on a trip after all, and no matter how things played out it didn’t look like he’d lose.

It was also worth seeing how Maria would act. Beyond that, Tetsuhiko also wanted to ascertain what sort of kids Shida-chan’s little sisters were. He’d heard as much that all of them were cute, but their abilities, personalities and relationships with Sueharu – those too he wanted to get a proper grasp of.

If he allowed imprudent people into the Ultramarine Alliance, there was a possibility that the Alliance itself might come apart.

Conflict in relationships was the biggest cause for group collapse. It was thus important to be careful about admitting members, and also why Tetsuhiko had prepared a veto. With regards to the former, the position of Shida-chan’s sisters made it pretty easy to usher them in.

At present, the biggest ticking time bomb within the Ultramarine Alliance was the question of if Sueharu would or wouldn’t find a girlfriend. If he did, the bomb would be capable of blowing up the Ultramarine Alliance. There was a chance that Maria-chan would just about stay, but where either Shida-chan or Kachi were not chosen, quitting the Ultramarine Alliance would most certainly be the first thing they did.

Which made the most ideal situation – the current equilibrium. If Tetsuhiko wanted to continue wielding the force known as the Ultramarine Alliance, surely he’d have to intervene when necessary.

Thus he thought he would lend his strength to Kachi this time around. Shida-chan owed him too for the support he had provided her before. But well, whatever. Affairs of the heart were affairs of uncertainty. Since there was a possibility that intervening poorly could come back to bite him, as much as possible it was wiser for him not to make a move. Besides, he wasn’t so good-natured as to offer help when it wasn’t needed from him anyway.

So, how would it all turn out? Now wasn’t this worth looking forward to?

Tetsuhiko hung up on the call, shoved the last remaining fry into his mouth, then grabbed his tray and stood.