Chapter 24

The next day, Satoru went to school as usual.

“Hey, back in just one day, huh? Mornin’.”

As he entered the classroom, Seiya immediately greeted him.

“…Mornin’.”

“Whoa, your energy’s so low! You’re grumpy in the mornings a lot, but today you’re on a whole new level.”

Satoru was usually not a morning person, but coming back to school life after such a lazy, indulgent day yesterday only made things feel worse.

“I mean, yeah, it was great sleeping in all day yesterday. But then coming back to this regular routine again… It’s brutal.”

“Isn’t that backwards? Normally after a solid rest, you’d be more energetic than usual.”

For once, Seiya had a solid point. But the reality is, once the body gets used to ease, it resists going back to normal. (TL: tell me about it)

In Satoru’s case, it wasn’t so much physical fatigue as it was his body throwing a tantrum, still clinging to the comfort and relaxation he had experienced with Reika.

While chatting with Seiya, Satoru casually glanced over at Reika’s seat.

She was already there, chatting with her friends like usual.

“Looks like she’s doing fine.”

“Yeah. She only got a little under the weather from sleeping too lightly dressed.”

“Y’know, someone was really worried about you, though.”

“Huh? You don’t mean you?”

“Nope. And hey, speak of the devil—here comes the person who was so worried.”

“G-Good morning! Takashima-kun, you’re feeling better now, huh?”

He didn’t immediately know who would be that concerned about him.

But the moment he saw her face, a sense of “Ah, her” hit him—along with a twinge of guilt… and a dash of “ugh, this might be annoying.”

“Sorry, Amamiya-san. I didn’t reply to your message. I was completely off the grid, just sleeping, so I didn’t touch my phone.”

“No worries! I’m just glad you’re okay now!”

That was a blatant lie. No high school student can be off their phone—never.

Even when someone’s feeling awful, the one thing they can do is mess around on their phone. That’s practically a fact of life.

Satoru had seen Ruri’s message yesterday—around noon, even. She probably risked getting caught and sent it from somewhere hidden in the school.

But replying to it took a certain amount of mental energy, so he had left it be.

Reika being with him was part of the reason too. But even if he had told her, she probably would’ve just said, “Just reply something quick,” without any real interest.

“Come on, at least reply next time! She risked getting caught by a teacher to sneak that message out during break, you know?”

“D-Don’t say that out loud!”

“I mean, just looking at the timestamp gives it away.”

“I’m really sorry for worrying you. I’m totally fine now, so I’ll be back to doing my best.”

With Reika and Seiya, Satoru acted based on his mood at the time.

But with Ruri, he instinctively adjusted his words and manner to be more polite, more composed—almost like he was putting on a different persona.

“Really? Just don’t push yourself, okay?”

She bent down to meet his eye level as he sat, like a gravure idol posing for a photo shoot. Her loosely worn uniform left her chest subtly exposed.

(Or rather… she’s definitely showing it on purpose.)

It wasn’t the first time. And with how naturally she pulled off all these cutesy acts, it was obvious she was doing it intentionally.

She was one of the more popular girls in their grade, known for her looks. When someone like that leans in close and says something “special” like “I was worried about you,” any normal guy would fall for her on the spot.

But Satoru wasn’t “normal.”

He had already been completely and thoroughly dyed by another girl.

To him, Ruri’s calculated behavior and flirtiness—what some might call “trying too hard to be cute”—was just irritating.

Even being shown cleavage had no effect on him. After everything he had done with Reika, it just highlighted how unimpressed he felt.

“I’ll do my best.”

A typical guy would’ve had one of two reactions—either quickly looking away or getting flustered and staring.

Satoru did neither.

His reaction didn’t change one bit from when they were speaking normally, at a regular distance.

“Man, you’re always so stiff around Ruri. You can loosen up, y’know?”

“Yeah! Seriously, relax a little!”

“I’m the constitution that takes time to open up. Please bear with me.”

“What kind of constitution is that? You say the weirdest things!”

“Even when the mood’s light, he’s still just an awkward introvert…”

“Well, yeah. Wouldn’t it weird you out if I suddenly started acting outgoing?”

“…Fair.”

“Ahaha! You’re seriously funny, you know that? No wonder you two get along so well!”

After chatting for a while like that, Seiya suddenly stood up.

“Oops—gotta hit the bathroom before class starts. You two go ahead and keep chatting till I get back.”

“Aye aye. See ya.”

Satoru didn’t actually want to be left alone with Ruri, but of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.

Once Seiya left the classroom, it was just him and Ruri.

“But really, I’m glad you recovered so quickly. Illnesses around this time of year tend to drag on.”

“Yeah. I was way too careless when I went to sleep.”

“It might be hot, but you still gotta keep the blanket on!”

“Easier said than done. I always end up kicking it off.”

Now that Seiya was gone, the conversation returned to safe, neutral talk about health and sleep.

Satoru decided he’d keep it peaceful like this until the bell rang.

At least, that was how it’s supposed to go.

“Oh, by the way—since Hatsune-san’s here today too, she must be feeling better, huh?”

(?!)

Out of nowhere, Ruri brought up Reika.

It caught him so off-guard that he nearly flinched, but he quickly suppressed it.

“Hatsune-san? Oh, right—she was absent the day before yesterday. Guess she’s back too?”

Satoru responded as if he were hearing it for the first time, his tone calm and unaffected.

He had a mysterious knack for playing dumb with a perfectly straight face whenever someone got close to uncovering a secret or lie he didn’t want revealed.

That skill had saved him countless times—mostly from trouble of his own making.

He had developed it over time as a mischievous kid always trying to avoid getting scolded at any cost.

“Yeah, seems like it. Good to know she’s doing well.”

But her tone was completely different now—there was a mismatch between her words and the way she said them.

Reika would also say “I don’t care” sometimes, but with Ruri, it felt like she had added “I don’t want to be friends with her” on top of that.

(Yeah… they’re total opposites.)

Still, Satoru couldn’t figure out why Ruri had suddenly brought Reika up in the middle of a casual chat.

Whatever the reason, he had to be careful not to show any signs of being shaken.

If he slipped up and gave the wrong impression, things could get complicated fast.

From then on, he kept his demeanor cool and casual, carefully responding to whatever topics Ruri threw at him—just enough to keep things smooth.