“Why are you consulting me about this?”
“Embarrassingly, I don’t have any friends of the opposite sex. In fact, I don’t even have anyone I can talk to properly. I wanted advice from a male perspective.”
It’s true that I never see Shiranui talking to guys.
“Are you that troubled by it?”
“I mentioned club activities before, right? The reason I quit was actually also this. A commotion happened, so I had no choice but to leave the club.”
So she quit her club because she was too popular and caused problems there too. I’d like to experience being so popular that it disrupts my life at least once.
Since it was a serious consultation, I tried thinking about it, but unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with any clever ideas.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help. I don’t understand what it’s like to be popular with the same sex, and I don’t think I can give any advice.”
I want to help a fellow fan, but there’s nothing I can do about this.
“No, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for bringing up such a strange consultation.”
Shiranui shrugged her shoulders.
Since relationship talk came up, this is probably the point where I should bring it up. I also made a serious face and looked at Shiranui.
“Can I get into the main topic too?”
“……Main topic?”
“About your relationship with Tsuchiya Misuzu.”
The moment I mentioned that name, Shiranui’s eyes opened wide.
“Why does Kanbara-kun know about my relationship with Misuzu?”
“I heard it from Tsuchiya. That she confessed to you during summer break, and that now your relationship is awkward.”
When I said that, Shiranui became flustered.
“Eh, that Misuzu talked to Kanbara-kun about it? No, more than that, why are you and Misuzu talking about such things in the first place!?”
It’s understandable that she’s confused.
Since entering Himegasaki, Tsuchiya and I haven’t talked at all. She must have thought we had no connection. If I suddenly know even about the confession, it’s no wonder she’s flustered.
“I know it’s surprising, but I want to ask one thing. Do you want to make up with Tsuchiya?”
“Eh, yeah……of course I do.”
I’m glad I could hear that.
“I haven’t had a chance. Since then, it’s been kind of hard to approach her. She seems to feel the same way. I don’t know how to close the distance.”
I’ve only experienced rejection before confessing, but I don’t have the confidence that I could continue the same relationship if I actually confessed and got rejected.
It must be even harder if you were originally best friends.
“So, I’m going to mediate.”
“You will, Kanbara-kun?”
“Actually, that’s why I was trying to make contact with you, Shiranui. Tsuchiya asked me to be a mediator, or rather, to help bridge the gap. I was looking for the right timing to talk to you.”
When I explained the circumstances, Shiranui said “I see” and nodded in understanding.
“……Before that, can I ask about your relationship with Misuzu, Kanbara-kun?”
“We’re friends.”
“Friends!?”
That’s way too surprised.
“I didn’t know Misuzu had any male friends.”
“We went to the same middle school. And my little sister is Tsuchiya’s kouhai (junior). They’re pretty close, actually.”
“Your sister……oh right, that small girl. I think her family name was Kanbara.”
It seems she knew about Ayane’s existence.
I’ll keep quiet about how I liked Tsuchiya in middle school. Saying that would probably make things even more awkward.
“We haven’t talked much since starting high school though.”
“Come to think of it, I think I heard about it from Misuzu once before. About a kind guy from middle school who often listened to her worries. So that was you, Kanbara-kun.”
So she talked about me too.
I feel good that it was praise rather than insults.
“So you’re saying you want to make up too, Shiranui?”
“That’s right. Misuzu is a precious best friend to me.”
“Got it. I’ll talk to Tsuchiya. I’ll set up a place, so you two can talk things through properly. There are probably things you don’t want me to hear anyway.”
“Thank you, I’m counting on you.”
Mission complete.
I accepted this on impulse without staying calm, but at least I managed to accomplish it successfully.
“But Kanbara-kun, you really are kind. You went out of your way to contact me just to help your friends make up. I think it’s wonderful that you care about your friends so much.”
I can’t say it.
That I accepted this job because I lost my composure at that moment, and that this whole situation exists because I’m pursuing the princesses to prevent my secret from being exposed.
While breaking out in a cold sweat, I gave a refreshing smile.
“Y-yeah. Friendship is important!”
I spoke words I didn’t mean in my heart.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Good morning, Tsubasa-senpai.”
“It’s another beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Tsubasa-sama is as wonderful as ever.”
What greeted my eyes when I arrived at school was the usual scene.
Shiranui Tsubasa was walking down the hallway surrounded by many girls. The sight gave the impression of a prince from an anime with his entourage of noble ladies.
As I stared intently, someone approached the group. The noble ladies made way as if on cue.
“Good morning, Tsubasa-chan.”
Tsuchiya Misuzu came up next to the princess-prince while greeting her.
It really looked like a prince and his fiancée princess—it fit so perfectly. The pairing was like a completed painting, so divine it felt almost godly.
“Good morning, Misuzu.”
Several days have passed since then.
Shiranui and Tsuchiya successfully made up, and now they’ve completely returned to being best friends.
I don’t know what they talked about. I just set up the place and left the rest to them. By the next day, they’d returned to how they were before summer break.
“Heh, so they made up.”
A voice came from the seat next to me.
“It seemed like they were fighting until recently. Well, I figured those two would make up soon anyway.”
Kazama gazed down the hallway and muttered.
“Were you worried about them?”
“They’re not strangers to me.”
Come to think of it, Kazama was in the same class as those two when they were first-years. Shiranui wasn’t a princess back then, but I remember people getting excited that beautiful girls were all together in the same class.
Were they friends?
I’d like to ask more about it, but if she realizes I’m interested in the princesses, it’ll be troublesome, so I’ll stop.
“But what I’m curious about is the mob character who ran around for those two.”
“—!”
You were watching?
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“You don’t have to hide it. You didn’t do anything bad, did you?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh really? Even though you had a secret meeting with the princess-prince in an empty classroom after school, you’re going to deny it?”
She knows everything.
Kazama brought her face close to my ear.
“So, what really happened? I don’t really know why they fought, but Kanbara-kun’s involved, right? I’m curious, so tell me—”
That’s when it happened.
Shiranui in the hallway looked this way.
When our eyes met, she smiled for a moment, but then seemed to notice something and suddenly became displeased, turning away.
What was that about?
“……Kanbara-kun, did you maybe do something amazing?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you don’t get it, never mind.”
This time Kazama seemed to be in a bad mood and headed toward her friends.
What’s with her, suddenly making cryptic statements like that?
I found Kazama’s strange behavior puzzling, but since I couldn’t figure it out even if I thought about it, I let it go. It’s probably not related to me anyway.
Time passed, and it was lunch break.
As usual, I was in an empty classroom, tapping on my smartphone to kill time. Just as I was thinking about heading back to the classroom, the door suddenly opened.
“Ah, Yuma-kun! I knew you’d be here.”
Tsuchiya came in.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Yukina-chan told me. That you’re often here, Yuma-kun.”
That chatty fairy.
Tsuchiya entered the classroom and sat in front of me. My gaze almost went to her ample chest, but I worked hard to suppress my desires.
“I still haven’t properly thanked you. These past few days I prioritized filling in the time I was apart from Tsubasa-chan, but I wanted to thank you, Yuma-kun. You really helped me this time. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
Though really, all I did was get excited talking about VTubers with Shiranui. After that, I just set up the place and that was it.
They both wanted to make up anyway. Even if I’d done nothing, they probably would have made up before long.
That’s what I think, but the creature called me is sneaky and cowardly. Since my impression improved, I won’t bother correcting it.
“You know, I realized something after getting close to Tsubasa-chan again.”
“What?”
“I still like Tsubasa-chan. Rather, the time apart accelerated my feelings. So I definitely won’t give up. I’ll definitely make Tsubasa-chan look my way!”
Tsuchiya, who declared this, seemed somehow resolved.
Those passionate eyes made my chest ache.
I understood that the day when those feelings would be directed at me would never come.
The girl I used to like confessed to her same-sex best friend, got rejected, then made up. Watching this up close made my feelings complicated, or rather, completely jumbled. More than just watching, I even helped, so it made me feel even stranger.
The most complicated part is that the current Tsuchiya appeared more attractive than ever before.
“You can’t succeed in romance if your heart breaks after just one rejection, right? There’s already the wall of gender, so I can’t give up at a place like this. I’ll start over from here.”
That figure shone brighter than my past self who gave up on Tsuchiya.
That’s probably why.
“Do your best. I’m rooting for you!”
Those were the words that flew out of my mouth.
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