I became the boyfriend of the school's madonna, who had turned down numerous confessions, but somehow, without realizing it, I wasn't just playing a role anymore - Chapter 15

Episode 15: The Two Sparking

“””―Ah…”””

As I was returning to class, we ran into Suzumine-san in the hallway.

Normally, we wouldn’t exchange a word and just pass by, but now Misaki is with me.

They’re close friends, so they might exchange words here.

“Shall I go back first?”

I asked, trying to be considerate.

There might be something the girls want to talk about alone.

“Umm, it’s okay. We just happened to meet.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If I have something to talk about, I’ll go to Misaki’s house and talk about it. We live next door.”

It seems my concern was unnecessary.

Well then, let’s go back to the classroom—but before that, there’s something I need to do.

“Come to think of it, my apologies. You walk to school together with Misaki every morning, right?”

“Yes, that’s the case?”

Bringing up the morning, Suzumine-san looked at me displeased.

It doesn’t seem like she dislikes the topic; rather, it appears she doesn’t want to talk to me.

“I can’t take the train until I drop off my little sister at the nursery in the morning. So, I asked Misaki to get off at that station. Sorry for causing trouble; I heard you two usually go together.”

This way, from Suzumine-sans’s perspective, it would seem like Misaki wasn’t lying.

Well, I don’t know if she’ll believe it or not.

“It’s not like we promised to go together, so don’t worry about it. It just naturally happened.”

Misaki said the same thing.

If both of them think that way, then there’s no problem.

It’s good that they can understand each other.

“By the way, could you stop talking to me at school? I don’t want to talk to boys.”

“……”

Retracting what I said earlier.

She’s cold after all.

As cold as absolute zero.

Why do I have to endure this frosty treatment?

“He―hey, isn’t Raito-kun pitiful…!”

Apparently unable to bear it, Misaki hurriedly jumped into the conversation.

And the onlookers, sensing the tense atmosphere, gathered around, saying, “What’s going on?”.

Looks like it’s going to be troublesome…

“Misaki knows too, right? That I dislike guys.”

“But Raito-kun is…”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if he’s Misaki’s boyfriend, I can’t treat him specially…”

What is this?

Her emphasis on “treating specially” was peculiar, wasn’t it?

Perhaps there’s a reason for her different attitude at school and at home.

If that’s the case, she probably isn’t angry with me for forgetting something.

Alright, one troublesome issue has been resolved.

However, the spark in front of me has not disappeared.

“Even if it’s Hyouka-chan… if you say something terrible to Raito-kun, I’ll be mad, okay?”

“Heh…?”

For some reason, the two of them were exchanging sparks while I was ignored.

Strange, aren’t they supposed to be good friends?

“Wait, wait. Why are you guys trying to argue?”

If these two start quarreling because of me, my bad reputation will only increase.

Rumors like Misaki manipulating Suzumine-san, who used to be friends, or Suzumine-san finally getting angry about my messed-up situation, will definitely spread. Already being scrutinized by others, it would only get worse.

“We’re not arguing…”

“Yeah, we’re just talking normally.”

The two of them, whether they knew how I felt or not, chose to blurt it out in this situation.

It was disturbing no matter how you look at it…

“Misaki, let’s not involve others in issues between you and me. It won’t do any good for Misaki.”

In this situation, Misaki might impulsively confront anyone who speaks ill of me. If she starts that, it’ll never end. Naturally, the evaluation of the aggressive Misaki will drop, creating a vicious cycle. We shouldn’t let unnecessary conflicts happen.

“But…even though they don’t know anything, I don’t like it when people say bad things about you, Raito-kun…”

However, Misaki didn’t nod. It seems she has no intention of making promises with me.

“Defending your boyfriend shouldn’t be a problem, right? If you can’t even do that, isn’t it disqualifying as a girlfriend?”

Surprisingly, it was Suzumine-san who supported Misaki.

I understand what she’s trying to say, and she’s right, but why?

It doesn’t make sense.

I was on the side trying to stop the fight between these two, right?

Somehow, it seems like I’ve become the antagonist against the two.

Of course, Suzumine-san didn’t mean that, and she probably just respected Misaki’s opinion.

“However, it’s not good to fight, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. So, to avoid complaints from others, why don’t you handle it, Shirai-kun?”

Suzumine-san narrowed her eyes, smirking a bit maliciously.

Considering that the situation originated from my actions, I understand what she’s trying to say, but…

“Do you, Suzumine-san, follow when others tell you to be kind to guys?”

“It’s impossible.”

“It’s the same. I don’t intend to change either.”

She probably knew I would reply like that.

Even so, maybe she said it as a suggestion for me to consider.

“Raito-kun’s good points are something I understand properly… You don’t have to force yourself.”

Misaki sided with me this time, perhaps thinking that my actions have a deeper meaning. I’m grateful for her to show understanding in that way, but… I believe that pushing away others halfway is the most troublesome, so I don’t have any particularly significant reasons for doing so. I should probably talk to her about that at some point.

“Alright, alright, don’t get too lovey-dovey in front of me.”

“Huh!? I-It’s not like that…!”

Suzumine-san, with an exasperated expression, shook her head from side to side. Misaki blushed and started to panic.

Teasing her, huh…

“It definitely looked like you were being lovey-dovey.”

“That’s not true!”

“You’re spoiling your boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“That’s unrelated!”

Well, the heavy atmosphere completely disappeared, and it seems like a peculiar space created by the girls is in the air.

It feels like I’m just getting in the way, so I’ll leave the two close friends to it.

Thinking that, I returned to the classroom alone.

Later on, I did get complaints from sulking Misaki, though.