“That girl is a first-year just like me, but she’s already a princess. How can I accept that when I exist? And on top of that, she doesn’t even seem happy about becoming a princess—it’s like it’s obvious to her. Seriously, I’d love for a creep like bro to make her understand.”
“Who’s a creep?”
“Anyway, go ahead and capture that woman.”
“You say capture like it’s easy, but I don’t have any contact with—”
“Just figure it out yourself and take action.”
Ayane pulled out her smartphone from her pocket and stood up.
“I’ve got something to do, so we’re done here. Well, do your best.”
The foolish younger sister, who had no shame, left the room.
Left behind, I exhaled a breath mixed with anger, exasperation, and fatigue. The next target is a superstar who’s appeared at school.
The hellish regular report ended, and Monday began.
My mood was at an all-time low from the morning. It was impossible to concentrate in class, and by lunchtime, I had become a hollow shell.
Even when lunchtime came, my mood remained deflated, and I didn’t have the energy to head to an empty classroom like usual. I devoured my bread roll at my seat and slumped over my desk.
“You seem out of it this morning. Are you feeling sick?”
A concerned voice came from the seat next to me.
Kazama should have been eating her lunch with her friends until just a moment ago, but it seems she came back at some point.
“My health is fine.”
“Just your mood is low, then?”
There’s no way it could be high.
Ayane had given me instructions as if targeting the princess in question, who’s an underclassman. She’s someone I had given up on targeting from the start because there’s too little connection between us.
Even if there was contact, targeting her would be quite problematic for various reasons. There’s no way my mood would go up after being told to target her.
I did think about a few methods of contact.
I gave up on all of them as impractical.
On the other hand, I can’t capture the princesses I’ve already made contact with either. There’s no opportunity to develop the relationship further, and having no experience, I can’t figure out how to do it at all.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
I can’t tell her about conquering princesses. If this got out, I’d be facing a future of criticism and backlash.
I’m glad I didn’t get mad at Kazama. Princess conquest is kind of similar.
As I was thinking about this—
“Is it related to that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The rumor that you made Shiranui-san and Tsuchiya-san make up.”
“Who told you that?”
“A friend told me. Apparently, it’s been spreading.”
I wondered why it was spreading, and the answer came to me immediately after.
The one who spread the rumor was Ayane. It seems she really did tell everyone. She found out about this yesterday, so she’s been spreading rumors since this morning. What a busy girl.
“I was impressed. Kanbara-kun, you’re a good person, aren’t you?”
Kazama said it in an exaggerated way, and secretly stepped on my foot so no one would see.
“Ouch!”
“So, who’s your target?”
The atmosphere around Kazama, who moved her face closer, had changed.
“It’s not like I just helped them out, right? The rumor doesn’t have those details, but I’m wondering why Kanbara-kun would make those two make up in the first place.”
“…”
“Could it be that you’re targeting one of them or something?”
She’s sharp.
Perhaps interpreting my silence as confirmation, Kazama let out a big sigh.
“That’s way too reckless. There’s no way a mob character like Kanbara-kun could capture a princess, so you should back off. Especially Shiranui Tsubasa—that’s absolutely impossible, so you should drop it right away.”
“I’m not really—”
I tried to object, but the hallway started to buzz.
The source of the commotion was approaching.
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“I happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d stop and say hello, Kanbara-kun.”
It was Shiranui Tsubasa who had appeared.
“O, oh.”
I raised my hand to greet her.
Immediately after, the commotion grew louder. I was curious why just raising my hand caused such a stir, but the reason soon became clear.
“That princess prince spoke to a guy on her own.”
“No way…”
“Isn’t this an incident?”
People couldn’t believe that Shiranui had approached a man on her own.
Kazama couldn’t believe it either. She forgot to play her role and had a face of disbelief.
But it was impressive how quickly she returned to her usual expression.
“I’m surprised. This is the first time I’ve seen Shiranui-san talk to a male student.”
Kazama, who had spoken, caught Shiranui’s attention.
“Long time no see. Yukina.”
“Long time no see, Shiranui-san. Have you been well?”
“I’m always well. I’m relieved to see you’re doing the same as always.”
The two exchanged greetings with smiles.
“But I’m really surprised. You only talk to girls, after all.”
“I basically don’t hit it off with guys, but it turns out I get along well with Kanbara-kun.”
The two were former classmates.
I don’t know their relationship very well, but since they’re talking normally like this, they must be close friends. I hadn’t seen them conversing before though.
“So Yukina gets along well with Kanbara-kun too.”
“We’re just desk mates. It’s hard to get along if the atmosphere is hostile, you know?”
“Haha, that’s definitely true.”
Shiranui laughs happily.
The vibe is nice. It feels like friends reuniting after a long time.
“By the way, what’s your relationship with Kanbara-kun?”
“We’re friends.”
At that moment, the air became tense.
…Or so it felt.
Kazama’s expression stiffened. At almost the same time, several female students in the classroom clearly started glaring at me with suspicious faces.
“Fr, friends, huh?”
“Kanbara-kun is a very good person. The other day, I relied on him quite a bit. That’s how we became close.”
“It’s about what happened with Tsuchiya-san, right? The rumor spread about it.”
“Whoever spread it, that’s the truth. Kanbara-kun really helped me out. As my benefactor, I want to continue building a good relationship with him.”
Shiranui smiled sweetly at me.
She looked handsome and beautiful—it was a wonderful smile that made me nod repeatedly. On my end, I want to build a good relationship with her too.
Kazama looked back and forth between my face and Shiranui’s face, then muttered in barely audible voice, “Hmm.”
“But it’s kind of unexpected.”
“Unexpected how?”
“For a high school student to not be able to make up on their own—Shiranui-san has a surprisingly cute side, doesn’t she? I’m totally shocked.”
Kazama put her hand to her mouth and laughed.
I realized something. That comment had a barb of malice hidden in it. The tone of her voice was exactly like Ayane when she’s playing innocent while throwing sarcasm at me.
“…”
“…”
Shiranui must have noticed too. The atmosphere had changed. It felt tense somehow, like an uncomfortable awkwardness had set in.
Huh? When did things get so hostile?
The smiles on both their faces remained, which made it even more unsettling and eerie, stoking a sense of dread.
What do I do with this atmosphere?
As I was gripped by anxiety, the classroom buzzed again. At some point, a familiar face had entered the classroom and was approaching us.
“You guys look like you’re having fun. Would it be okay if I joined the conversation?”
It was Tsuchiya Misuzu who had appeared.
“Of course it’s fine! Please do join us!”
I agreed without hesitation.
A savior goddess had appeared. With her, this weird atmosphere would surely be smoothed over.
That’s what I was hoping for, but when Tsuchiya looked at my face, she broke into a wicked smile.
“I was watching from the hallway, but Yuma-kun and Yukina-chan seem pretty close.”
What’s going on all of a sudden?
Confused, she continued further.
“When I wanted to know where Yuma-kun was before, Yukina-chan told me, and whenever I pass by this classroom, they’re always chatting happily together. Could it be that you two are dating?”
“Huh—”
“Oh, so you’re not dating yet? Sorry for saying something unnecessary. But I think you two look really well-suited for each other. Someone cute and kind like Yukina-chan, together with someone thoughtful and kind like Yuma-kun, would make the perfect couple that everyone would envy.”
She dropped a terrifying bomb with a gentle smile.
The goddess started to look like a demon god.
The demon god’s bomb that was suddenly dropped.
Not just me, but Shiranui and Kazama as well had their eyes wide open. None of us understood what her comment meant.
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