The Goddess Needs A Break!

At this point, almost everyone in the school had accepted Takei and Akari's relationship.

Whether it be friends or lovers, they definitely had an unbreakable relationship that could not be intruded on by anyone else.

It was a good thing, since Takei wasn't being stared at with envious expressions as much anymore.

As he sat down for his mathematics class, Takei surveyed the classroom to look for any irregularities today.

Recently, he had gotten used to observing his surroundings a bit more in the case of a surprise attack.

Whether it be from the goddess herself or from one of the many friends he now had, Takei was constantly ambushed by a rotation of different people everyday.

""Boo!""

As he had expected, Takei was ambushed the very moment he let his guard down.

The only surprise was that there wasn't just only one person today.

Turning around in his chair, Takei greeted the two people who thought that they had the jump on him.

"Akari, Rikka. Good morning to the both of you. I hope your day has been going well."

Takei tried his best to maintain his poker face while he interacted with the two.

"Aw, boohoo~ I thought we were going to get him good..."

"Akari, we got unlucky this time. We just need to regroup and try again!"

As the girls consoled each other, Takei turned back and leaned his head on his desk.

Since the teacher wasn't here to start the class yet, the girls could do these shenanigans without any repercussions.

He wondered when Akari and Rikka had become such friends, but such thoughts didn't matter right now.

Once again, Takei had poorly managed his time and spent the whole night awake.

He spent half the night studying, while he played video games and watched anime for the other half.

In conclusion, he had lost track of time and was now feeling the recoil.

The class wasn't due to start until another 10 minutes, so he was compelled to take a small nap.

After surveying the room once more and confirming that the teacher wasn't there, Takei silently laid his head on his desk and peacefully drifted to sleep.

As this whole internal dilemma was happening, Akari and Rikka were observing him with great precision.

"He's just the same, huh?"

Akari gently smiled as she ruffled Takei's jet black hair.

"Yeah... He's always been like this for better or for worse."

On the other hand, Rikka slowly rubbed Takei's back with a passionate smile on her face.

Akari was a bit displeased with Rikka's actions and expression, but she let it slide since Rikka also knew about Takei's good side.

Even though she wanted Takei for herself, Akari still prioritized his feelings above all else.

At the very least, she wanted Takei to be happy. Even if she had to sacrifice her own feelings, Akari wanted Takei to live a peaceful life.

What she didn't know however, was that Takei intended to do the same for her.

"So, how far have you guys gone?"

Rikka decided to break the ice by asking Akari a very suggestive question.

"Fuehh?!"

In response to Rikka's question, the goddess began to have an internal meltdown.

Many different scenarios appeared in her mind as a result. Some of them were very realistic and wholesome, while the rest were R-18 scenes that should never be spoken of.

Amused at Akari's reaction, Rikka's expression turned to that of a sorrowful and melancholic smile that seemed to betray her true feelings on the situation.

"I think it's obvious that he has feelings for you..."

Saying what had to be said, Rikka gave her respective opinion on the situation.

At this point, Akari couldn't deny it either.

It was painstakingly obvious that Takei had feelings for her.

There were just too many moments and interactions that suggested that Takei had feelings that were greater than that of friends for her.

"I know, but..."

Akari had an inkling of a feeling that Takei liked her, but there were too many circumstances at play that prevented her from taking action.

She knew that Takei had somewhat gotten over his fears of betrayal, but it wasn't a completely full recovery yet.

In all honesty, Akari believed that it would never become a full recovery.

Betrayal was a powerful form of hatred that a victim would never heal from.

At the very least, there would still be a scar after the healing happened.

It would stay with the victim for the rest of their lives, fully ingrained into their soul.

That's why Akari was reluctant to push Takei any further than he already was.

Rikka understood that there was something preventing Akari from moving forward, but she noticed that there were many things that were changing.

"He seems to have gotten gentler and less blunt than he was in the past. In addition, the aloofness factor has definitely dropped significantly."

Explaining that Takei's changes were nothing to scoff at, Rikka figuratively pushed Akari forward.

"There are many things changing within him. I suspect that the status quo between you two will be changing soon. When that moment happens, please... grab his hand and don't let go."

Since Rikka had gone to the same middle school as him, she knew what a broken Takei looked like.

Throughout the last year of middle school, she had tried her best to console him when he was at his lowest. However, it wasn't able to get through to him.

The atmosphere of the school was too oppressive, which resulted in him eventually moving away.

That's why Rikka can see a blatant change in him which was a result of the goddess's influence.

Seeing the desperation in Rikka's eyes, Akari finally understood what she meant.

"Thank you, I'll definitely make him happy."

Although there was a slightly sorrowful smile on Rikka's face, she was more happy than anything.

Moving on was a hard thing, but first loves almost never worked out.

Good luck, Akari.

With a resolved smile on her face, Rikka was finally able to let go of her first love.

"Zzz..."

As this serious development was happening, Takei continued to sleep peacefully until the first period bell rang.

---

Akari's Final Affection Meter: 59 -> 65%

Rikka has joined the losing heroine club.

Serious-san: Good work, soldier.