When I reunited with my arrogant childhood friend, she had become a talented and beautiful girl – Even though she has probably forgotten about me and I don’t want to be toyed with, for some reason she keeps getting involved with me!?

Chapter 8 - Friends Who Get Along



At the cafeteria, we bought Nakano’s bread, and the three of us were having lunch on the rooftop.

By the way, there was no one else on the rooftop, and it was usually locked and inaccessible.

The key to the rooftop was borrowed by Akane from a teacher, a privilege she had as a member of the student council.

Well, that just goes to show how much trust Akane has earned from the teachers.

“Whoa… My whole body is cracking… I might have slept too much…”

“Well, that’s what happens when you sleep all the way through class.”

Akane said this while looking at Nakano, who was lazily eating her bread.

“Can you handle tests like this?”

Aobirin School is a prestigious school with a deviation value of over 70. Therefore, the tests should have been of a high level.

“This girl is really smart, so it’s not a problem. Somehow, she always ends up in the top 5 in the grade for test results.”

“Doya!”

Seriously? Even though she’s just sleeping…

As the three of us chatted for a while, Akane’s phone vibrated.

“Ah, sorry. I have some student council business to attend to, so I’ll be stepping out for a bit. Itsuki, make sure you take Futaba back to the classroom, okay?”

“Eh? Um…”

“Give me the key later.”

Akane unilaterally handed me the key to the rooftop and quickly headed to the student council room.

“…”

“…”

Yeah, this is awkward.

We both fall silent.

Up until now, Akane had skillfully kept the conversation going.

Wow, I can hear the chirping of birds that I couldn’t hear just a moment ago.

When I glanced at Futaba sitting next to me, she had just finished eating the bread she bought from the cafeteria.

Sigh… I guess I have no choice. I, as a man, should throw the ball of conversation her way.

“Hey.”

“Yes!?”

As I was about to strike up a conversation, Nakano spoke to me instead.

“W-What?”

I was caught off guard by this unexpected development.

“You’re Akane’s childhood friend, right?”

“…Yeah, I am.”

“Huh? What’s with that pause? And why do you look like you just bit into something bitter?”

“…No.”

“So, what was Akane like when she was little?”

“Whatever she was told not to do, she’d do! Wherever she was told not to go, she’d go! Unbridled and headstrong! Self-important!! I was always being dragged around by her…”

“Sounds like… you had a hard time…”

Those words struck a chord, and I felt like I was about to cry.

“Hmm…”

Nakano stared at my face, deep in thought.

“Have Sato and I… met somewhere before?”

“…No, I think this is our first meeting.”

“I feel like… it’s kind of nostalgic?”

…………..

“Oh, by the way! How did you transfer to this high school? The deviation value and competition rate are really high, so it shouldn’t be easy to transfer here unless there’s a special reason.”

“Eh? Connections.”

“No, that’s hilarious.”

“No, seriously. Itsuki Sato is just an alias. My true identity is the next head of one of the three ruling families in this country.”

“Wh-What!?”

“I came to this high school to learn and build connections, so I can become a man worthy of ruling this country. Eventually, I will steer this nation!”

“Ohh! Itsuki Sato-sama! That’s amazing! Clap clap~”

“…You’re surprisingly into it.”

I said while looking at Futaba, who clapped her hands in a deadpan manner.

Her eyes seemed to be having fun as she looked at me, who was striking a triumphant pose towards the empty sky like an idiot.

“Well, I don’t dislike having silly conversations like this.”

“Hmm…”

Ah… the conversation ended.

“…”

“…”

And once again, silence returns.

The quietness made me wonder what the excitement from earlier was all about.

Oh, I can hear the birds chirping again~

…As a man, I should throw the ball of conversation again.

I’ll try throwing out a light-hearted question!

“Um… what are your hobbies?”

“Seriously? Is this a matchmaking event?”

Nakano retorted sharply.

Somehow… I feel like I want to die.

“Well, never mind. Let’s see… watching movies, maybe? Anime and manga… watching stuff on subscription services… and playing games, I guess?”

She thought seriously while answering, even after making a sharp retort.

“Oh, really? Our hobbies are exactly the same! By the way, what’s a recent movie you’ve seen?”

“It’s a pretty obscure one, so I don’t think you’d know it, but the live-action Angelman.”

“That movie was so bad!”

That movie was really… one of the top 5 worst movies I’ve seen in my life…!!

“Well, yeah… They completely ignored the original work, the acting was terrible, and the production was cheap… But the last.”

“But that final scene was actually good.”

Although it wasn’t in the original work, it had a different, yet convincing interpretation that I quite liked.

But the rest of the work was too terrible for it to be appreciated much.

“That’s right! That last scene was a satisfying interpretation for us who know the original work! But since the overall movie was so bad, nobody appreciates that part! It’s kind of sad…!”

Nakano’s face lit up.

Maybe it’s because she found someone with the same hobbies or someone who shared the same opinion… or perhaps both.

I felt like the distance between Nakano and me had shortened.

“What do you know, Sato~! You get it! Oh! I just remembered-”

In an instant, she seemed to realize something, and her expression changed as if she had given up on something.

“Ah… never mind. I should get going.”

Nakano got up with a slightly sad face.

“It’s better for you not to get involved with me. You saw it, right? If you’re with me, who’s treated like a pariah not just in our class but throughout the school, you’ll lose your place, too.”

Before I could respond, Nakano left the rooftop.


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