The S-Rank Magical Girls from My Favorite Yuri Want Me!?

Noah tried to think of how to correct what he had said, but Luna only lowered her gaze slightly.

"I didn’t come to point that out."

Noah stayed quiet.

Luna squeezed her hands lightly in front of her. It wasn’t a big gesture, but for her it was enough to show tension.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"With me?"

"Yes."

Noah glanced toward the table and saw that Yume was still there, looking at her phone while calmly eating cake.

"Did something happen?"

Luna took a few seconds to answer.

"I wanted to apologize."

Noah hadn’t expected that.

"Apologize for what?"

"For last time, during training."

Noah remembered how Luna had been colder than usual, barely answering, avoiding eye contact, and leaving without saying much.

"You don’t have to apologize for that."

"Yes, I do."

"Luna, you were just more serious. That’s not a crime."

"I was cold to you."

Noah observed her carefully. She still wouldn’t look at him directly.

"I was upset and I didn’t say it, so that wasn’t right."

Noah felt uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. More like he didn’t know how to respond to a Luna who was being so direct and, at the same time, so vulnerable.

"Thanks for saying it, but really, I’m not upset."

Luna raised her eyes a little.

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure."

There was a pause, during which Luna seemed to relax just a bit.

"Good."

Noah waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t continue.

"Was that all?"

"Yes."

"Then let’s go back with Yume."

Luna didn’t move, so Noah looked at her.

"Luna?"

"When you left, I thought you wanted to distance yourself from us."

Noah froze.

’That wasn’t what was supposed to happen.’

"It wasn’t that."

"Then why did you disappear?"

Noah opened his mouth, but no useful answer came out.

He couldn’t tell her he had been trying to leave her alone with Yume so she would fall for her. That would sound weird even in a normal conversation, and this one was no longer normal.

"I just thought you two could talk a little."

"Why?"

"Because you’re teammates and because I’d like you to get along better."

Luna looked at him with a seriousness that was hard to interpret.

"You want me to get along better with Yume?"

"Yes."

"For her?"

Noah hesitated.

"For the... two of you...?"

Luna stayed silent and Noah tried to fix the situation.

"I mean, both of you are important to the team, so if you trust each other more, you’ll also be able to fight better together."

"I understand."

But her tone didn’t sound convinced, and Noah felt like the plan was falling apart.

"Besides, Yume appreciates you more than it seems."

"Did she tell you that?"

"Not in those words, but she worries about you. Like when she insisted you eat something."

"That was because you were there."

"Not necessarily... I think..."

Luna looked away.

"I see."

Noah didn’t know if he had moved forward or backward, but that no longer mattered because Yume suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway.

"What are you doing here?"

Noah tensed up.

’Oh, shit...’

"We were talking."

Yume looked at Luna.

"Luna disappeared and I thought she had gone to the bathroom, but I find you two here together."

Noah clasped his hands.

"Sorry, we got distracted."

Yume narrowed her eyes.

"Talking about what?"

Luna answered before he could.

"I apologized to Noah for my behavior last time."

Yume stayed still.

"Oh."

Her expression changed to one that didn’t look suspicious, but rather somewhat awkward.

"Then it’s fine."

Noah took the opportunity.

"Let’s go back to the table before the tea gets cold."

"The tea was already lukewarm."

Luna said, and Noah looked at her.

"That doesn’t help."

"It’s true."

Yume let out a small laugh and the tension eased a little.

After paying, they left the café and walked through the commercial area, where Noah tried for a second opportunity in front of an accessories store.

"I’m going to buy water, so you two can look around the store in the meantime."

Yume grabbed his arm.

"I’ll go with you."

Noah stopped.

"You don’t have to."

"I want water too."

Luna looked the other way.

"I’ll wait here."

Noah noticed the mistake.

If he went with Yume, Luna would be left alone, but if he stayed with Luna, Yume would get suspicious, and if he tried to escape from both of them, one of them would probably follow him.

’This plan worked a lot better in my head.’

In the end the three of them bought water and sat on a nearby bench.

Yume talked about a store she wanted to visit later while Luna listened in silence, so Noah tried to bring them both into the conversation again.

"Luna, do you like that kind of store?"

"No."

Yume sighed.

"You could say it with less force."

"I don’t dislike them, they just don’t interest me."

"That already sounds better."

"The message is the same."

Noah covered his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh, and Luna looked at him.

"Did I say something funny?"

"I’m not sure."

"Then decide before you laugh."

Yume started laughing and Noah ended up laughing a little too, while Luna watched them in silence.

For a second, Noah thought she might get upset, but she only looked away.

’Is she calm?’

Luna, in reality, was looking at the ground while trying to organize her thoughts.

’Noah laughed.’

That was normal.

’He laughed at something I said.’

That no longer felt normal.

’Is that because he secretly likes me...?’

She was getting sidetracked again.

’I shouldn’t think too much about this!’

She thought that, but kept turning it over in her mind.

The outing continued until the afternoon, during which Noah tried to create two more moments for Yume and Luna to talk alone, but both times the result was different.

The first time, Yume got distracted looking at a display window and Luna took the chance to ask Noah if his leg hurt from all the walking.

The second time, Noah pretended to check out a nearby stall and Luna appeared at his side to tell him the prices there were way too high and he shouldn’t buy anything.

Noah ended the day with an uncomfortable conclusion: every time he tried to disappear, Luna found him.

She didn’t do it desperately or with intense words. She simply appeared at his side and acted like it was the most logical thing in the world.

When they finally said goodbye at the station, Yume approached Noah with a smile.

"I had a lot of fun."

"Me too."

She lowered her voice.

"Next time I want to go out with just you."

Noah coughed.

"We’ll talk about that later."

Yume smiled wider.

"Okay."

Luna observed the scene in silence and then looked at Noah.

"Thanks for organizing the outing."

"It was nothing."

"It wasn’t as useless as I thought."

Noah didn’t know how to respond.

"I’m glad to hear that."

Luna nodded.

"See you tomorrow."

Yume waved goodbye and Luna made a much more discreet gesture before leaving in the other direction.

Noah stood there in the station.

The plan hadn’t gone completely wrong. Yume and Luna had talked a little, hadn’t argued too much, and had even laughed together once.

But something didn’t add up.

’Why did Luna look for me every time I pulled away?’

Noah looked at the group chat on his phone and saw that Yume had just sent a message.

[Today was fun, we should do it again.]

A few seconds later, Luna wrote.

[I agree.]

Noah read both messages several times before replying.

[Yeah, we can do it again.]

He put his phone away.

’I don’t get it.’

He walked toward the station exit with a strange feeling.

He had organized the outing to bring Luna and Yume closer, planning to disappear at the right moments, but at the end of the day, the only thing he was sure of was that Luna didn’t react to his absence the way he expected, and that worried him.

Because if he had learned anything since arriving in this world, it was that when things didn’t go as planned, it usually meant the real problem was just beginning.