The heavy doors of the Verité courtroom swallowed the last person whole. All eighty seats in the gallery were already filled. More than that—people were even standing in the aisles. Naruhodou Ryuuichi stood before the defense bench in the hushed silence, a carrying case in his hand. Inside, a thick stack of papers. (*I really came, huh.*) His heart pounded loudly. A clammy sweat seeped into his palms. "[cold]This court will now convene the final hearing regarding the rights to confess to Mitsurugi Reiji." *Bang.* The Verité gavel struck. Judge Houzuki Saya's eyes behind her silver-rimmed glasses gazed down upon the courtroom. The first to take the stand was Sudou Kyousuke. His permed, reddish-brown hair swayed restlessly. He pushed up his usual thick round glasses with a quick motion and raised the screen of his homemade tablet, the "Sudou Net." "[excited]Final data! I've analyzed in detail Mitsurugi-kun's response patterns to the twenty-three previous applicants!" Complex graphs danced across the screen. "[excited]Length of gaze, conversational pauses, the most minute shifts in expression—everything! The results show that Mitsurugi-kun directs his gaze longest at individuals who demonstrate logical empathy rather than emotional approaches. An average of 2.7 seconds. That's roughly 1.6 times longer than other subjects. And the person who most closely matches this vast dataset—" Sudou jabbed a finger at his own chest. "[excited]—is me! The data proves it!" "[angry]Hold on just a minute!" Yatabuki shot to her feet. Her soft, cinnamon-brown hair fluffed up with her anger. "[angry]You can't measure someone's heart by how long they look at you! And anyway, there's gotta be a margin of error in that stuff, right?!" Sudou grinned, as if he'd been waiting for exactly that rebuttal. "[serious]Yatabuki-san, an excellent question. The margin of error is within 2.3 seconds. Statistically significant." "[surprised]T-two point three seconds...!" "[laughing]Pfft." A small ripple of laughter escaped the gallery. Yatabuki's mouth opened and closed soundlessly before she let out a huge sigh. "[sad]Honestly... if you could measure love in seconds, I'd have already..." She murmured quietly and took her seat. The next to rise was Houzuki Yomi. Her black hair, tinged with indigo, swayed gently. She spoke not a single word, simply offering a new game record to the judge. Her deep crimson eyes, as always, revealed nothing. "The evidence is accepted." Houzuki examined the game record. "...A record of the match played between Mitsurugi Reiji and Houzuki Yomi this past weekend. In this game, Mitsurugi employed an unorthodox strategy, sacrificing his queen unusually early. In the margin of the record, in Mitsurugi's own handwriting, are these words: 'The finest game, with the finest opponent.'" A stir rippled through the courtroom. Houzuki said nothing. She merely glanced briefly in Naruhodou's direction. That expressionless face felt heavier than any words. (*Ah, there it is again.*) Something deep in Naruhodou's chest tightened painfully. Yatabuki's thirteen years, Houzuki's game record, Sudou's data. All things I don't have. But—no. That's not it. "[cold]Now, the final speaker—Naruhodou Ryuuichi." Every gaze in the courtroom converged on Naruhodou. Naruhodou reached into his carrying case. The thick stack of papers. Notes he'd rewritten all through the previous night. Trying to compete with Yatabuki's photo album, he'd poured out every memory of Mitsurugi-kun he could possibly recall, scribbling furiously. But—this isn't it. Naruhodou placed the stack on the defense bench. And then— *Grgrgrgrgrgr.* He flipped the switch on the shredder installed beside the bench. First page. *"Mitsurugi-kun is cool, but he smiled for me at Soraniwa."* *Grgrgrgrgr.* Second page. *"He taught me chess. Took my hand and showed me how the pieces move."* *Grgrgrgrgr.* Third page. *"He told me about the dreams from his past life. Shared his secret with me."* *Grgrgrgrgr.* One page after another. The stack of evidence vanished into thin strips of paper. "[surprised]Huh...? Wha...?!" "[scared]W-what are you...!" Yatabuki half-rose, then stopped mid-motion. For the first time, Houzuki's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly. "[surprised]Wait, no, hold on...?" Sudou nearly dropped his tablet and scrambled to catch it. His real voice slipped out. All eighty people in the gallery were completely frozen. Everyone stared at Naruhodou with the face of someone witnessing the unbelievable. "[cold]...Speaker. What are you doing?" Only Houzuki's voice rang out, calm and clear. Naruhodou pushed the very last page into the shredder. *Grgrgrgrgr.* Silence. "[whispers]I threw it all away." Naruhodou lifted his head, facing forward. "[whispers]I don't have Yatabuki-san's thirteen years, or Houzuki-san's game record, or Sudou-kun's data. So—I stopped trying to force myself to gather evidence." A murmur rippled through the gallery. Slowly, Naruhodou turned to face Mitsurugi. The boy with silver-gray hair sat in the witness stand. His cool, narrow eyes watched Naruhodou intently. "[whispers]Mitsurugi-kun." His voice trembled. "[whispers]I've been lying this whole time. I kept making excuses, saying we were just friends... but that's not true." His throat tightened, closing up. "[crying]That first day after I transferred, on the hill, when I fell and you pulled me up by the hand—my chest... it just clenched tight. And after that, when we talked on the rooftop, when I watched your profile in the chess club—every single time, it's always been—" Tears splattered onto the defense bench, one after another. "[crying]The back of the partner I dreamed of in my past life—it was always you, Mitsurugi-kun. From the very beginning, it was all you. I—I love you, Mitsurugi-kun." The courtroom fell into a silence so complete it was as if water had been poured over it. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard. And then. Slowly, Mitsurugi rose from the witness stand. "[surprised]Mitsurugi-kun...?" "[cold]The witness will remain seated." "[gentle]...Please. Just let me say one thing." Mitsurugi's voice carried a slightly different tone from its usual cool resonance. He walked slowly, stopping before Naruhodou. "[gentle]I've been having the same dream, all this time." Naruhodou's eyes flew wide open. "[gentle]The sight of a courtroom. Someone's voice. A promise exchanged with a person I'd only met once. I never knew who it was. But—" Mitsurugi looked straight into Naruhodou's eyes. "[gentle]The moment you fell on that hill on your first day, and I took your hand—I remembered." Yatabuki pressed both hands over her mouth. Houzuki silently lowered her crimson eyes. "[sad]...This isn't in the data." Sudou murmured quietly. "[gentle]The one I was waiting for... was you." Mitsurugi's voice resonated softly through the courtroom. Naruhodou could no longer hold back his tears. "[crying]Uu... ugh..." The courtroom erupted in commotion. *Bang! Bang!* "[serious]Order!" The Verité gavel struck twice. Houzuki turned to face the five jurors. The jurors exchanged glances and nodded to one another. "[serious]The vote of the five jurors is—five to zero. The verdict will now be delivered." *Bang.* "[serious]The one who has won the heart of Mitsurugi Reiji is Naruhodou Ryuuichi. The right to confess is hereby granted to Naruhodou Ryuuichi." A moment of silence. And then— """"WAAAAAAAAAH!!!""" The courtroom erupted in cheers. Applause, whistles, shouts. The voices of eighty people resounded as if about to burst through the ceiling of the Verité courtroom. Naruhodou nearly collapsed in front of the defense bench. The strength drained from his knees. And then. Mitsurugi stood quietly before him. "[gentle]You finally said it." His face remained cool, but his voice alone held a hint of sweetness. "[crying]...I'm sorry it took so long." When Naruhodou spoke through his tear-streaked face— Mitsurugi smiled, just barely. It was the same smile he had shown only to Naruhodou at Soraniwa. "[surprised]Wait, that just now... a smile?!" "[excited]A photo! Did anyone get a photo?!" "[surprised]I wasn't fast enough...!" The courtroom buzzed with excitement again. Mitsurugi gave a small *hmph* at the commotion and turned his back. "[sad]...Micchan." In the gallery, Yatabuki murmured quietly. Her round brown eyes glistened, brimming with tears. But on her lips was a complicated smile, somewhere between crying and laughing. Houzuki said nothing, simply applauding in silence. "[sad]...We lost the information war, didn't we." Sudou removed his glasses and gently wiped them. Out in the hallway, smartphones across the entire school had already begun buzzing in unison. The notification tone sounded from Naruhodou's pocket, too. He pulled it out— *"Notice from the Student Council: Naruhodou Ryuuichi-dono. Three petitions for a Couple Certification Trial have been filed regarding you and Mitsurugi Reiji-dono. This number is currently increasing. Scheduling notices will follow from tomorrow onward."* "[surprised]Wha... WHAAAAAA?!" Naruhodou's scream echoed through the courtroom, wrapped in the celebratory uproar. But—right now, that was fine. Because my words reached him. Naruhodou gazed at Mitsurugi's back through his tear-messed face. Mitsurugi-kun. I love you. Those words he'd finally managed to say spread a gentle, lingering warmth deep in his chest.