The points I scored in jet skiing have reset to zero, but honestly, I didn’t care too much about that.

First off, I felt good that Makoto was out. It made my mood even better that Chiyo, a kid from the Pater Faction, managed to snag a medal after all.

Not to mention, it just had to be Haruna who took home the gold medal, so I couldn’t really be resentful about it…

Well, what can you do? I just had to accept my defeat.

It felt like I should start thinking about the strategies for surviving once I get dragged to Gehenna. Sure, I could place my hopes on the team event, but for some reason, I felt like all the malice in this world was eagerly wishing for my defeat…

After the medal ceremony, I headed to the athletes’ waiting area. The first thing I did was comfort Hasumi, who was disheartened but still wanted to aim for the next opportunity.

“It’s simply that my skills were lacking. That’s all there is to it. Even if I got great results in training a hundred times, if I can’t prove it in the real thing, I can’t call it my skill. Besides, there’s no way I could beat those two in a 1500m race, so if I get another chance next time, I’ll sharpen my skills even more and challenge again.”

“Aha, it’s okay. I heard you’re planning to participate in beach volleyball tomorrow. Hasumi-chan, can I believe in you? You won’t let me down this time, right? Right? If you can’t bring back at least one medal from there, then forget about the dessert cafe—”

“…Mika-san, I promise I won’t disappoint you again. Absolutely.”

Hmm, definitely a solid motivation. So I guess I can look forward to tomorrow’s tournament now?

Next, I comforted our Pater’s shining star, Chiyo, who seemed really heartbroken. I thought there was no talent in our Pater, but this girl was a comforting reminder that at least one existed.

“M-Mika-san. I… sob. I wanted to win a gold medal and hang it around your neck…”

“Uh? Wait a minute, Chiyo-chan. Wait… No, it’s really okay, so please don’t cry…! What do you mean, you wanted to hang a medal around my neck…?”

“Well, compared to all the medals that those Arius guys won for you, we in Pater haven’t won a single one yet… That’s why I wanted our first medal to be a gold one to hang around your neck…”

Could it be that I’ve been misunderstanding the kids in Pater all this time?

Maybe the reason Pater turned its back on Mika was that Mika, their idol, betrayed their expectations first…?

Of course, that’s utter nonsense.

It’s clear that unlike the extreme hardliners in Pater, Chiyo is relatively moderate. Well, since Pater is a place where people live, I’m sure there are more good kids if you look harder.

“Listen, Chiyo-chan. I think results are important, but the feelings behind them are equally important. In that sense, your feelings have already been communicated enough… Right, isn’t that good enough?”

“Mika-niin… If it’s okay with you, please accept this medal…!”

As I watched Chiyo take off the bronze medal around her neck and offer it to me, I felt a peculiar sensation. I have no memory of doing anything worthy of such respect from this girl, so even if the original Mika were here, I’m sure Chiyo would still want to hang the medal around her neck.

So, wouldn’t it be right to accept this medal for whatever remains of the original Mika? That’s the thought that crossed my mind.

After taking off my straw hat to make it easier for Chiyo to hang the medal, I slightly bowed my head. Honestly, even though this girl is cutely acting like this, she’s actually taller than me, so I probably didn’t need to bow.

Admiring the bronze medal around my neck, I let my ponytail down. Hmm, I should get a frame to put this in and store it properly.

“Thank you, Chiyo-chan… I’ll treasure this.”

“Y-yes…!”

As I lightly hugged Chiyo, she looked like she might faint. Really, how much does she like Mika? The charm of Princess Mika, loved by everyone, truly knows no bounds.

After unexpectedly receiving the bronze medal from Chiyo, I wanted to comfort Hiyori, who had missed a chance to boost her self-esteem…

Wait a minute, why have I been acting like I’m the kids’ mental support? I really don’t understand why I’ve been doing this.

“Uuuuu… Mika-chan… I-I also wanted to win a gold medal… sniff…!!!”

“Um, Hiyori-chan. My shoulders are getting damp… Can’t you stop crying for a bit…?”

“sniff…!”

The conversation almost repeated what I’d just had with Chiyo. It seems like seeing the bronze medal around my neck led to her wanting to hang the silver medal she earned around my neck too.

However, it’s clear that Hiyori wanted to give the medal to me specifically, which is slightly different from Chiyo’s situation. So I mostly tried to refuse. It would be awkward to refuse that which I accepted for Mika, but for myself, there wouldn’t be much burden in saying no.

“…sniff—”

Now, Hiyori was about to threaten me with tears, trying to burst into tears right away, so I covered her mouth with my hand. Okay, I’ll accept it, but really just this once.

“Hiyori-chan, this is a secret from the other kids in Squad, okay? If you try to hang all sorts of medals on me, it would be awkward for me too. I wouldn’t want to just accept the medals you earned. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…Eheh. So this will be our little secret then.”

“Yep, our little secret… Or maybe not. Ahaha, I don’t even know anymore ☆.”

Honestly, how could the Squad kids not come to watch Hiyori compete? As I glanced at the ones observing us from a distance, I got the strong feeling that later on, Saori or Azusa would come to me with the medals they earned.

Hmm, I’ll have to refuse those no matter what. They’re not going to cry and threaten me like Hiyori does, so it shouldn’t be too hard to refuse.

Just when I thought the fiasco with the bronze and silver medals was over and that I could avoid being a medal holder, Haruna popped up with her tail happily waving, and took off the gold medal around her neck to offer it to me.

“Hehe. Now that you’re going to wear a medal, wouldn’t it look better if you collected all of them?”

“No…? Haruna-chan, no matter how I see it, that would just look embarrassing. How about we skip making me a medal rack?”

“Hmm. I think you won’t know until you try wearing it first. So could you take off that hat for a moment? I want to hang it myself.”

“But that’s a reward for your hard work, right? Are you sure it’s okay to give it to me? The other two had their reasons to give theirs to me, but—”

As I continued speaking, Haruna interrupted me.

Mouth to mouth.

It was a brief and light kiss, but when Haruna pulled away first, Nagisa, who had been talking with Noah nearby, hurriedly pulled out a pistol.

“…Kurodate, no matter what, this isn’t right, is it? The situation has changed from then to now. Doing that to someone who’s taken, that’s just wrong…!”

“Hehe… Wouldn’t it be best to lower that gun? I don’t think Mika-san would appreciate us fighting like this.”

“Seriously, why do you keep eyeing my person…?”

“First, let me say what I want to say. You can interrogate me afterward. Right now, there’s something I need to tell Mika-san.”

Nagisa glared at Haruna with a look full of dissatisfaction, then approached me, hugging me from behind and burying her head in my shoulder.

This was clearly a possessive gesture saying I was hers, so back off.

“I’ll take that as implicit consent?”

“…Do as you please. It doesn’t seem like you care about what I say anyway, so what’s with this implicit consent nonsense.”

“Really, don’t set me off like that. Regardless of everything, it’s obvious that Mika-san cherishes you the most. I’m a little jealous of that, you know.”

“Not the ‘most precious’, but the one person I should cherish.”

“Well, I feel like I understand a bit why Mika-san likes you so much… Anyway. What I want to say is this, Mika-san. To be honest, I’m not particularly interested in fighting with a gun. The reason I sharpened my skills and entered this competition was entirely for you, did you know?”

Wait, shouldn’t winning a gold medal contradict that?

When I shot a look at Haruna, she smiled wryly and shook her head.

“Well, I meant beyond victory or defeat. When you protected me from being sniped in Millennium and put your faith in me… I realized my own shortcomings. I know how strong you are, Mika-san, because I’ve seen it firsthand. But you can never know how things will turn out. If another situation arises where you have to trust me again… Yes, I wanted to be of help then.”

Haruna, after taking off my straw hat, placed it into my hand while locking eyes with Nagisa, who still didn’t seem willing to let go of me.

After what felt like a long, uncomfortable silence, Nagisa sighed and stepped back.

“Kurodate-san, could you give me just one slap?”

“I’ll politely decline.”

“…You really don’t like me.”

“Oh? It seems a bit uncharacteristic of you to speak informally, Kirihouji-san…”

“I want to do it to you… No, I want to.”

“Pfft. I don’t think it suits you to act all tough. It’s like trying to wear clothes that don’t fit, you know?”

Somehow, Nagisa and Haruna were still bickering, and it seemed like Nagisa was still pushing Haruna away.

But for some reason, I had a hunch that if it were Haruna, she might break through that wall soon. After all, Nagisa seemed to be more lenient with her than before. Still, it didn’t feel like they had gotten close like with Hina.

“This is my heart, Mika-san. I truly hope you’ll like it.”

With those words, Haruna hung the gold medal around my neck with a mischievous smile. The wagging tail behind her seemed to reflect her mood.

“By the way, Haruna-chan. The reason you tried so hard to win that gold medal was because you had some deal with Hina-chan, right?”

“…Hehe.”

Anyway, how did I end up becoming a medal rack? Wearing three medals around my neck in a swimsuit look is truly a questionable fashion choice…