After Distancing Myself From the Childhood Friend Couple Who Looked Down on Me, I Started Interacting With a Small Animal-Like Beautiful Girl - Chapter 0

<Yukito has left the group.>

Now that I’ve left, that message is probably showing up in the group chat.

After staring at the spot where the group chat was for a few seconds, I closed the messaging app.

“…This is fine. Already.”

I muttered to myself as if trying to convince myself.

What do my two childhood friends, who are also the core of the group, think about me leaving the group chat without any warning?

…It’s something so obvious. The other members are the same way.

“I should just sleep…”

I turn off the lights in the room and cover myself with the futon.

I won’t be bothered by the continuous pinging notification sounds of messages at night.

I thought I heard a “meow,” and then something jumped onto the bed.

I can tell even in the dark. It’s my pet cat, Maru.

I always leave the door slightly open so that Maru, who often comes to my room, can come in easily.

“Come here.”

I lift the blanket slightly to indicate that it’s okay to come in.

Maru moved its short legs and got into the futon, sitting next to me.

When I stroke the fluffy fur, a wave of relief washes over me.

I must have been tense without even realizing it.

I gently pulled Maru’s body closer and closed my eyes as if to embrace it.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

I only recently decided to leave the group chat, or rather, the group itself.

I now think that I should have done this sooner.

“There’s nothing going on in the town, and even if you go somewhere else, you won’t be able to make it work.”

Daiki laughs as he heartily pats my shoulder.

“Why can’t you say something thoughtful? Even though we’ve known each other for so long, you don’t understand anything about me.”

Serika lets out an exaggerated sigh while casting a look of disbelief in this direction.

We were closer than anyone else and spent more time together than anyone else.

When did being with them start to feel suffocating?

The number of times my chest aches over trivial exchanges is increasing.

From the outside, it might seem like a trivial change, but to me, it was painful.

It was about a month after starting high school that I reached my limit with all the accumulated stress.

“Hey, honestly, it doesn’t make a difference whether you’re here or not.”

“Right? In our group, you’re the least noticeable, right?”

“Is it just because we’re childhood friends?”

“It’s almost entirely thanks to us!”

Walking hand in hand right in front of me, Daiki and Serika look at me and laugh.

The figure of my kind childhood friend who once took my hand and brought me into the circle is nowhere to be found.

Thus, I finally made up my mind to part ways with the two of them.