Chapter 167

There was a café near the school that students often visited after school. Inside, students were having quiet conversations, and among them, Seol Hee-na approached me with something she wanted to tell me.

“Because the summer vacation is approaching, isn’t it?” Seol Hee-na’s request turned out to be about the upcoming summer vacation.

“So you want me to invite you during the summer vacation?”

“More specifically, I’m planning to invite several others, including you…”

In other words, she wanted to invite Kim Ha-neul, but being alone with her might be awkward for both sides, and if she confessed too soon, he might figure out her intentions, so she wanted me to act as a buffer.

While it might feel strange being alone with the person you like, her request wasn’t completely unreasonable. And given that this situation also involved Kim Ha-neul, it wasn’t something I wasn’t interested in.

Additionally, asking me to set aside some time during the vacation wasn’t an overly difficult request, especially since she’d also mentioned providing food and accommodation as part of the deal.

“But, since we’re not particularly close, won’t Kim Ha-neul think it’s strange if I join?”

Upon hearing this, the woman in front of me made a shocked expression, but I stuck by what I said.

If she felt my presence would make Kim Ha-neul suspicious and guard against this gathering, her half-baked plan would collapse. I thought it would probably be better if I didn’t go, but she obviously had her reasons for inviting me.

“Actually, to avoid misunderstanding, I also plan to invite a few of Erica’s acquaintances as well!”

“Why specifically Erica’s acquaintances?”

When calling Kim Ha-neul, it would certainly be possible to invite a few extra people to keep the true purpose hidden, but why bother specifically with people I know?

While I was thinking about this, a few people sat at the table in front of me. While their faces were hidden behind a partition, I recognized the names floating above their heads—they were all familiar to me.

…Did Seol Hee-na intentionally invite them?

Before I could wonder whether she realized I suspected her, the poised beauty beside me pulled out a sketchbook from her bag.

A tool that reminded me of a junior who likes to communicate through a sketchbook when not speaking.

Seol Hee-na turned to a page in the sketchbook and showed it to me. On the page, caricatures of people were drawn along with their names.

“Hehe, I knew you’d say that. So I separately discussed and categorized the groupings…”

Though I wasn’t particularly curious, I stopped questioning and focused on the sketchbook when I realized that Seol Hee-na’s summer vacation event was likely connected to the character-related scenario she had in mind.

Notably, my name wasn’t written anywhere among the groups in the sketchbook, possibly because I hadn’t yet officially committed to joining.

When I checked how these groups were categorized, a detailed explanation followed.

“First, I excludedERICA’s name and mine. And—”

“…Are you assuming I’ll be participating?”

Contrary to my earlier hypothesis that she hadn’t included me because I hadn’t confirmed my participation, Seol Hee-na clearly assumed my participation was a given.

Was this why she seemed shocked earlier when I reacted almost like a refusal?

She either believed I wouldn’t reject the request or trusted that the people at the table behind me would persuade me. Ignoring my questioning gaze, she continued explaining.

“Group A aims for a casual gathering with close friends, so we included Kim Da-seul, who is close to Kim Ha-neul, and you, me, with the consideration that Erica might invite Yoo In-na and the Student Council President.”

“Group B includes individuals with some specific stories or fame and spans different grades. Which one do you think would be better?”

If Group A was geared towards casual fun among friends, then Group B seemed focused on inviting all the well-known figures from school.

Since I’d never encountered a hero in this world who was short on funds, I refrained from asking if Seol Hee-na could afford to invite everyone.

“Given Kim Ha-neul’s personality, Group B might be the better choice.”

The best course of action would be to consult directly with the individuals in the table behind me who were eavesdropping, but since I wasn’t sure whether Seol Hee-na was pretending ignorance or truly didn’t know who they were, I provided my opinion as if I were the protagonist searching for the true heroine.

“…Is that what you think, too?”

“Yes, it is. But I assume you have another reason for asking me specifically?”

That’s why the system had not presented any selection options when I was faced with this choice. While the system is lately minimizing messages to avoid discomfort for others, even important decisions should appear as per the genre of romantic visual novels—unless the decision has already been predetermined for both parties.

“Yes, to create Group B, I’ll need to do some legwork, so there’s a chance some people won’t be invited…”

Even hearing that much, I understood what she was about to ask. And she had realized I caught on to her plan, which was why she stopped speaking.

Since there were spectators in front of me, I wasn’t about to continue questioning, so I decided to ask her directly first.

“Why me?”

“…Because I don’t have any friends.”

Oh…

The hardest thing to deal with in this world is self-deprecating humor. Thinking she was the Art Club President, I assumed she had an extensive network, but apparently not.

[Art Club President Han Ye-seul’s Request: In this world, there are people who are rich, beautiful, and kind-hearted, yet lack social skills. She’s one of them. To compensate for her lack of social skills, she wants to rely on you to bring together certain key figures that she cannot personally approach, to participate in the summer training camp. The school influence held by each individual invited will increase Han Ye-seul’s favorability.]

Favorability increase for the other party? Even with my understanding of the system, it was a new term to me.

Even if someone has been claimed by Kim Ha-neul, the value of a heroine who can still assist me hasn’t diminished. Should a final battle occur in this world, they could still prove useful. They could share valuable information about Kim Ha-neul’s side from time to time.

Of course, the heroines would prioritize Kim Ha-neul over me, but for someone in my isolated position, even someone ranked lower in priority who was willing to help would be invaluable.

Even if fully fulfilling her request wouldn’t bring her favorability to 100, at least it would establish a far more reliable relationship than, say, with In-na.

After understanding the significance of her request, the names written in the sketchbook suddenly seemed more important.

They included not only grades and classes, but also names from higher or lower grades that I might struggle reaching, along with easier-to-invite people like the Student Council President or Yoo In-na.

“…I’ll do what I can, but doesn’t involving different grades make it more difficult? Even inviting one person from another grade might seem awkward.”

“I’ll do my best to treat everyone well who comes.”

With her fists clenched to her face, I had nothing left to say. Given my lack of experience organizing parties or training camps, I couldn’t offer much advice anyway.

‘She’ll manage somehow.’

That was the extent of my thoughts. Regardless of my brilliance in other areas, the people here could only do so much to help Seol Hee-na.

“Anyway, can you finally tell me why they’re here?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Why did you invite the people behind us?”

She looked confused, and I awkwardly ventured to ask.

Thinking about it, it seemed more appropriate for a romantic visual novel that there could be a more innocent reason, rather than her deliberately arranging a test for me.

…I just haven’t thought of it that way.

“Ahaha…this is just a coincidence!”

As we stood up and turned around, Kim Ha-neul, the apparent leader of the group, awkwardly waved at us with a strained smile.