I Just Want A Single Ending!

"I lost."

Ikuyo Kita had expected this outcome.

After all, she didn't stand much of a chance against Saku Kamigawa in something like this.

So, she'd already braced herself for the "punishment."

"Saku-senpai, what kind of request do you want to make?"

"Well… I haven't decided yet."

Saku scratched his head, giving it some thought.

It was hard to come up with a good idea in such a short amount of time.

"Take your time thinking!" Even though she was the loser, Ikuyo cheered him on in his brainstorming.

"Actually, would you mind if I saved this request for later?" Saku suddenly had a new idea.

Ikuyo blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, since I can't think of anything right now, I'd like to keep this 'request' for later, and use it when I come up with a good idea."

In Saku's view, saving this for the future would be the most efficient choice.

Today, they were pretending to be a couple, so if he wanted to ask her personal questions, he could use the "dating" excuse without needing to use his request.

Plus, nothing good came to mind at the moment.

Better to hold onto it and save it for later.

"Wait, you're allowed to do that?" Ikuyo hesitated.

"When we made the rules, we didn't say it had to be used immediately, did we?"

Saku pointed out the loophole in the rules.

"Alright, Saku-senpai, you can save it for later."

Ikuyo accepted his reasoning without much fuss.

The conditions for the request were that it couldn't be too extreme, and she, as the loser, would get to decide what "too extreme" meant. So there was no need to worry about him springing anything bizarre on her later.

Besides, given his personality and character, she doubted he'd ask for anything outrageous anyway.

"No problem."

For Saku, this felt like a huge win: he'd earned extra points and scored a future request to deepen their "relationship."

It was a perfect outcome.

"You're welcome." Ikuyo didn't mind, but then asked curiously, "By the way, Saku-senpai, with how well you shoot, have you ever played basketball? Or been in a sports club?"

"I haven't played basketball seriously before, just here and there in PE with friends. And I never joined any sports club—I've always been in the 'going-home' club," Saku answered honestly.

"Really?" Ikuyo nodded, then followed up with, "So why didn't you want to join any clubs, Saku-senpai?"

"I just didn't find any club that interested me, and being in a club seemed kind of pointless."

Typically, someone like him would be the type to join a popular sports club, like baseball or soccer, and become one of the "stars" on campus.

But to him, joining a club would only take time away from his true passion—mastering galgames.

Doing anything else just seemed like a waste.

He'd much rather spend that time leveling up his skills.

"Then, what kind of club would you like, Saku-senpai? Or if you could start a club, what kind would it be?"

"I wouldn't want to join any club, let alone start one."

Saku shut down the idea completely.

Joining or starting a club just didn't align with his goals. It brought him no benefits whatsoever.

Of course, if one of his "target characters" needed or wanted help with a club, he'd be more than happy to step in.

"That's pretty laid-back of you."

Hearing his answer, Ikuyo thought back to the truth-or-dare game during their study session, when Saku had said:

"I like happiness, freedom, and peace."

Based on today's interactions, she realized Saku's preferences were rather vague.

Remembering that his parents had already passed away, she asked cautiously, "Saku-senpai, is there really nothing you're passionate about? Or anything that brings you joy?"

"There are things that make me happy, but let me keep those to myself."

The things that brought him the most joy were his system rewards and the satisfying prospect of his single ending.

Of course, he couldn't let Ikuyo, a "target character," know that.

And yes, there were other things he liked and enjoyed—but those were private too.

"Really?"

Ikuyo seemed genuinely surprised.

"What's with that look? Do I seem that strange to you? Like I wouldn't have anything that makes me happy?"

Saku pointed to his face, exasperated.

"I'm a regular person, you know. I have ups and downs, I laugh and cry. Do you need me to demonstrate?"

"Sorry, I must have overthought things."

Ikuyo had worried he might have some kind of psychological issue, but now it seemed like her worries were unnecessary.

After all, if he did have some kind of problem, he wouldn't be joking around with her like this.

Having no obvious preferences wasn't that unusual, either.

Plenty of people would give vague answers like "I like staying home" if asked the same question.

It didn't mean there was anything wrong with them.

"I'm glad you have things you enjoy, Saku-senpai," Ikuyo said, smiling with relief.

Saku couldn't help but laugh. "Hearing you say that makes me start doubting myself."

"Anyway, let's get back to playing!"

With that, Ikuyo changed the topic, scanning for another two-player game.

"Want to make another bet like before?" Saku suggested.

"No way! I know I can't beat you, Saku-senpai, so you're not getting a chance to push me around again!"

Having learned her lesson from earlier, Ikuyo wisely chose to avoid any more bets.

"Fair enough."

Saku didn't mind; he already had one request in the bank, so he didn't need more.

"Oh, and if we play games together, it'll be hard for me to take pictures," Ikuyo realized. "How about we each take turns playing different games?"

"Let's stick with two-player games," Saku suggested. "It's more fun that way. Besides, today we're supposed to be a 'couple,' remember?"

"You're right."

Hearing him say that, Ikuyo gave up on the idea of taking more photos.

---

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