A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~

Chapter 42.2: An Unexpected Encounter

So Shika almost opened her mouth to speak… then suddenly came back to her senses.

(But… adding a new rival character this soon is too early.)

Even knowing that Taiki was the one who helped Amane, Shika had no idea why he did it.

From her point of view, she concluded that Taiki had really wanted to help Sasa, and Amane Mishina had just been caught up in it by chance.

There was no way she could know about any connection from a past life.

In the end, she decided to respect Taiki’s wishes.

“Maybe the reason he hasn’t shown himself is because the other person doesn’t want that… right?”

“…That could be true. But… I still want to repay the kindness in any way I can.”

Amane Mishina’s determination seemed firm.

Looking at the straightforward expression on the girl’s face, Shika slightly changed her thinking.

“But if it’s someone I know, I can tell you.”

“Really…!? Please… could you tell me?”

Before she could even wonder why Shika would know the identity of her benefactor—a perfectly obvious question—Amane Mishina bowed her head.

“Just ask Morozumi-san.”

“Huh…?”

“You’re looking for the person who made her apologize, right? Then Morozumi-san has to know.”

“That’s…”

Even the other girls in the faction had noticed that Riko Morozumi had changed.

But no one—not even Amane herself who had received the apology—had directly asked or pried into it.

It had to be something big enough to make the former central figure bow her head… It was obvious that it wasn’t something to touch lightly.

Considering her past relationship with Morozumi, Amane Mishina had no real choice.

Yet Shika presented her with that option.

“…You’re right. I’ll think about it.”

How much time it would take for her to take that step, no one knew.

But her serious eyes made it clear it wouldn’t be too far in the future.

(Hehe… I’m looking forward to seeing if you can step up onto the same stage as me.)

After that, worried about being seen by someone, Amane Mishina quickly left.

Shika finished eating and decided to leave the dorm too.

She took her usual hoodie out of her bag and left the academy grounds.

It was a warm day today.

Shika soon realized she couldn’t go too far, so she thought about stopping by a nearby bookstore to pass the time—but—

“Ahh—the illustration spoiled it! I guess with a series you really need to read the previous parts first… But it can’t be helped, right? I’m dying to know what happens next!”

“Sasa… you’re standing out. Can you keep your voice down a bit?”

Right after entering the bookstore… When she looked toward the loud voice, there were Taiki and Sasa.

Sasa was wearing glasses, giving her a more intellectual look than usual, so it wasn’t immediately obvious. But Taiki only had sunglasses perched on his head—there was no mistaking him.

(Wait, what are the two of them doing… Is this a date!?)

In an instant, Shika hurriedly tried to hide behind a bookshelf.

At the same time… her shoulder bumped into books sticking out from the shelf, and several volumes came tumbling down.

—Thud!

The noise drew eyes from everyone in the store.

Luckily she had been hidden in the shadow, so Taiki and Sasa didn’t notice her, but Shika quickly bowed her head lightly in apology and put the fallen books back.

More important than that right now were those two.

Ever since she learned that Taiki had some kind of secret after school, Shika had asked trustworthy girls in her faction to keep an eye on his movements.

Yet she hadn’t heard anything about the two of them going out today.

(I never imagined they had progressed this far… Sasa-chan really can’t be underestimated.)

The rival was stronger than she had thought… Shika accepted that fact.

In this situation, there was only one thing Shika could do… join their group and bring things back to an equal footing.

But—

(No no… No matter what, interrupting someone else’s date would be so tacky.)

She wasn’t bold enough to push her way in like that.

Besides, as an excellent gamer, Shika knew that acknowledging defeat was what made you stronger.

So she decided that since she hadn’t noticed today’s date at all, she should honestly accept the loss.

In the end, she hid her face behind a magazine that was right there and secretly watched as Taiki and Sasa left the bookstore.

(Maybe today just isn’t my lucky day…?)

The magazine she happened to open had an article about the fast-food place that recently opened.

It was the very shop she had planned to go to this morning… The Lucky Set menu—with random collectible goods—was getting great reviews and trending on SNS.

But it wasn’t just the prizes—the burgers tasted good, and the unusual-colored shakes were apparently popular as food too.

Reading the gourmet reporter’s column made her unbearably hungry.

(Ughhh… I can’t stand it anymore!!)

Shika put the magazine down and headed straight for the fast-food place.

Luckily it was still a little early for lunch, so there weren’t many people and no line to wait in.

She ordered the popular Lucky Set and looked for an empty seat.

“Huh? Shika-san…!? What are you doing here…”

When someone called her from behind, Shika’s shoulders shook as she turned around.

There stood Taiki and Sasa, who had apparently just entered the store.

(This is weird… I should have left the bookstore after them…)

Shika, who had gone straight to the store, had somehow overtaken them without realizing.

More importantly, they had run into each other by chance.