After I Confessed to My Childhood Friend and Got Rejected, I Threw a Game Offline Meetup to Cheer Myself Up, Only to Find Out My Long-Time Gaming Buddy Was Actually the Quiet, Silver-Haired Swedish Beauty Who's the Cutest Girl in School - Chapter 13: A Desperate Pinch

Chapter 13: A Desperate Pinch

“Huh? Got something for me?”

Takasaki glared suspiciously at Amamiya, who had greeted her.

It was common sense to return a greeting. Even if the other person was not a friend.

But Amamiya flinched because Takasaki would never show such leniency as to “return a greeting” to a classmate at the absolute bottom of the hierarchy.

(Th-This is b-bad…)

He glanced at Karina, who was listening to music by the window, and somehow suppressed his agitation.

If he made the two of them argue like last time, he would cause trouble for Karina again.

(…I will solve this on my own.)

Interview, interview, interview.

With his head far from calm at all, he desperately recalled Kumagai’s words.

“D-Do you have any h-hobbies, Takasaki…?”

(What am I even asking!? Like an interviewer!?)

At the abrupt question, Takasaki opened her mouth while keeping her displeased face.

“Even if I do, why do I have to tell you? And did we even have any connection like that? You are being super familiar, it is hilarious.”

Takasaki smirked mockingly.

Amamiya instinctively realized this was a bad pattern.

It was that gaze from before, the one that looked down on him and aimed to crush him thoroughly.

If this continued, it could lead to the worst possible outcome.

“N-No, actually, I have been interested in you, Takasaki…”

(Second time, what am I saying!?)

While his face twisted into a creepy strained smile, he cursed himself in his mind.

He had never given Takasaki a thought, and he did not want to get involved with her until graduation.

But he was the one who had raised the difficulty. He had to take responsibility and clear it.

“Grosssss!? Hey, listen up everyone! This guy just confessed to me! It is so funny!”

Takasaki deliberately announced it loudly to the group of extroverts gathered in front of the blackboard.

Karina, with her headphones on, had not noticed.

“Huh? What? What?”

“Looks fun, let me join.”

“That is hilarious.”

Three people approached.

It was the girls’ group that always surrounded Takasaki.

Because of the statement “I am interested” that was not his true feelings, the situation kept worsening.

It was truly a case of being surrounded on all sides.

“Oh, you have been chatting happily with Karina lately… Takakura, was it?”

Even though she had a gal-like vibe, she got the name wrong.

It was probably because he was used to being called Takaaki by Karina.

“Earlier, this guy did that creepy ‘G-G-G-Good m-morning’ greeting to me~.”

“He is totally stuttering~.”

Cahaha, laughter erupted from the Takasaki group.

Since it really was like that, Amamiya felt embarrassed and looked down.

“By the way, you like me? What do you like? My face?”

Takasaki, who had been suspicious just moments ago, was now bursting into laughter as if it were a lie.

She had probably certified Amamiya as a toy punching bag.

What did this woman think people were.

“But hey, it is pretty impressive, right~.”

One girl said it in a voice that seemed gentler compared to the other three.

She was Hoshino Shizuka, a blond girl who looked like she had high aspirations, just like Takasaki and the others.

“Huh? Where?”

“Because Rinka has such an unapproachable vibe, right?”

“Huh? Do not mess with me, I am normally nice~.”

Amamiya doubted his ears.

(Did Takasaki just get teased by Hoshino…?)

According to Kumagai, someone with high pride like Takasaki extremely hated being teased or denied.

That was why she always created an atmosphere where she could tease those around her.

But he had also said that long-time friends were an exception.

In other words, the fact that Hoshino, whom he thought was just a follower, could tease the “queen of the classroom” Takasaki might be because the two had an equal relationship.

“It takes real guts to confess to a Rinka like that, does it not? Come on, Rinka! Say yes to Amamiya’s brave action!”

“Hey, Shizuka! Do not decide on your own~!”

Laughter rose again within the Takasaki group, and Amamiya laughed along, reading the air.

It was not funny at all, but if he did not laugh, he might be seen as someone who could not read the room, so he somehow went along with it.

“Oh, then, I guess I got rejected… is that okay?”

“Unfortunately, it seems Rinka is too much for Amamiya’s pure heart to handle~.”

When Hoshino played along jokingly,

“Yeah, yeah, dealing with a virgin is tiring and bothersome. I might consider it if you get a bit better? Creepy otaku~.”

Takasaki was mocking him, but her hostility was thinner than when he had greeted her.

Amamiya bowed his head repeatedly and finally got released after being teased endlessly by Takasaki and the others.

As expected, it was too high a level for him alone.

Without Hoshino’s one line, it might have turned out even worse.

He had chosen the wrong person to talk to and said the wrong words, and Amamiya sank into depression thinking he was hopeless after all.

But he recalled Kumagai telling him “hold back on low self-esteem thoughts” and decided to interpret this positively instead.

Takasaki manipulated the air to become the center of the conversation.

The Takasaki group was formed because her followers agreed with her.

But Hoshino was equal to Takasaki, and she gladly accepted teasing from such an opponent.

He had charged into a minefield, but he got a good harvest.

However, it did not end peacefully, and he faced the next problem right away.

Karina was sulking.

She seemed to have noticed the commotion and was giving Amamiya jealous glances as he got involved with Takasaki and the others.

“G-Good morning. Karina.”

Karina crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks, staring intently at Amamiya in the seat in front of her.

It might have been bad that he had been laughing happily with the person she had fought with.

“Prioritizing Rinka-chan over me, your partner.”

She muttered in her familiar dry voice.

She had entered salt-response Karina mode.

“She is cute, huh~ being the queen and all~. But she made fun of Takaaki the other day, right~? Now, who was it that protected him~?”

Amamiya noticed Karina smirking as if expecting something and responded in kind.

“Yeah. Lately, I have been interested in Takasaki. When I thought about it, she seems kinda nice~.”

“That is no good! Absolutely no good! No good at all!”

Karina hurriedly stood up from her seat and pointed her finger at him.

What was meant as a joke had been taken seriously, and the momentum of “no good” was intense.

“Takaaki is my partner alone, so I will not forgive you for being swayed by another girl!”

Amamiya was surprised by the unexpected possessiveness and cautiously replied “yes.”

Hearing that, Karina sighed in relief, stroking her chest, and sat back down in her chair.

“But still, I cannot trust you~.”

“Huh… why?”

“Do you remember yesterday’s promise~? I will not let you say you forgot?”

“Um, the visit to the game research club, right?”

“Correct, as expected of my partner.”

Karina happily stroked Amamiya’s head.

Even though they were not dating, their couple-like closeness drew killing intent from the classmates.

“Then, let us go on the visit today. If you break the promise, it is a thousand needles~.”

She was the type who―――

Kept throwing out suggestive words and actions, so he could not help but become conscious of it.

Was Karina’s “partner” a friend, or a lover?

Even though they had gotten close in a short time, this felt like too much of a leap, and Amamiya’s shoulders drooped.

(Me and Karina as lovers… impossible, huh…)

When he gave a wry smile, Karina, seeing it, smiled happily.

“You really are cute, Takaaki.”

“Huh, c-cute!?”

“Yeah. Especially when you smile~.”

It was suggestive wording again.

She might intend to tease, but being praised for the strained smile that would make others feel gross left Amamiya at a loss for reaction, so he turned his face away.

Even though a witty reply like “You are the cute one, Karina” came to mind, he could not say it out loud.

———

Class ended, and it was afternoon club activities time.

He was walking to the unpopular old school building for the visit to the game research club with Karina.

He wondered why the clubroom was in such a distant place, but he would learn the reason later.

“Hey, stop.”

Ahead in the hallway stood a tall boy with a scary face.

He was probably a third-year.

He had such presence that he could be mistaken for a teacher.

“Ah, that person…”

Karina seemed to recognize him and hid behind Amamiya’s back.

(Huh? Huh!? Whaaaat!?)

Amamiya froze, not understanding the reason, as the third-year approached quietly.

It was a desperate pinch.