Episode three focuses on the third losing heroine, Komari Chika, who loves the lit club president Shintarou even though he and Koto are childhood friends and virtually married (though they themselves aren’t aware). Kazuhiko encounters Chika at the water fountains and they get into a spirited debate about the best water in the school, but when Shintarou shows up Chika’s demeanor completely changes.
Koto has summoned everyone to the club room to announce that as members of the lit club they have to actually write literature, at least in an online form if not a printed one. Koto is being pressured by the student council, represented by the unblinking, downright zombie-like Shikiya Yumeko. Koto has planned a weekend training camp for the club.
Kazuhiko encounters Chika by chance once again at the bookstore, as they’re both looking for literary inspiration. Chika is also nervous about the upcoming camp, especially since two pretty girls in Lemon and Anna will be joining them (Anna joins the club to avoid a weekend “making up” barbecue her and Sousuke’s parents arranged; I too would want no part of that!)
The day arrives, and Shintarou thanks Kazuhiko for recruiting not one but two beauties, then educates him on the vital difference between school-issued swimsuits and those chosen by the girls themselves. While Koto eschews a bikini, her black one-piece is still a stunner. Kazuhiko is shocked by how glamorous Anna looks, while Lemon shows off her tan lines. Chika sticks with her school suit and sits under the umbrella for much of their beach time.
When Kazuhiko is asked to accompany Lemon to get lunch for everyone, he asks her if she’s okay, and if he made things worse for her the other day at the restaurant. Lemon is still getting over losing Mitsuki to another girl, and never being seen by him as a girl, but is happy when Kazuhiko tells her they should simply have fun today. She grabs his hand for a surprise run in the sand, but his sandal gets caught and he ends up in a hilarious position that has her howling—which is to say, he successfully cheered her up.
Through his interactions with the loser heroines, Kazuhiko demonstrates that he is there for them, both in their darkest hours and when the clouds have parted. He may not be 100% certain if they’re friends or not, but c’mon … they’re totally all friends now. He’s helped Anna and Lemon get their minds of what cannot be and looking ahead to what can.
Anna asking Kazuhiko how much a piece of perfectly-cooked beef she feeds to him counts towards her debt isn’t meant to be serious, but just messing around. Because he’s not just her debtor anymore, he’s her friend.
As for Chika, she watches Shintarou and Koto having fun together like two peas in a pod, and lights a firework of her own only to watch it fizzle out. When the wick re-catches and threatens to blow up in her face, Kazuhiko notices, but is far too distant to do anything. It’s Shintarou who grabs Chika and tosses the hot firework with his bare hand before it can hurt her.
What he does he probably would have done for any of the girls there, childhood friend or not. But the fact he does it for Chika in that moment unlocks something in her. She tells him she likes him right then and there. She’s always liked him, and wants to go out with him. But judging from his reaction (and, incidentally, the title of this show), he’s going to turn her down, thus making her the third losing heroine.
It will hurt like hell, like it did and still does for Anna and Lemon. But the pain will fade in time, and like spots of sun peeking through trees, glimmers of hope and even happiness will replace the gloom. Kazuhiko, who is pretty good at this despite his previous lack of friends, will surely support her along the way.
