Chapter 40

During lunch break, Yuki called me out to our usual spot in the corner of the courtyard.  

Ever since she thoroughly baited me here last time, our relationship had gone back to normal—or rather, remained as chaotic as ever.  

“Here, enjoy~”  

“…Why is there eel in this?”  

“Because you like it, right?”  

At this point, I didn’t see the need to treat her so coldly anymore. I’d gotten used to listening to her complaints, and apparently, it helped her let off steam.  

In return, she brought me lunch, and if she just kept her mouth shut, she made for decent eye candy.  

As I picked at the meal she had prepared, I glanced up at the overcast sky.  

“Might rain soon.”  

“It’ll be fine; it’s supposed to rain in the evening. Oh, want me to bring an umbrella just in case?”  

“Is that really necessary?”  

Even if we ate outside, there were other options.  

The courtyard tables were a bit too much, but there was no real reason to be sneaking around like this.  

Still, Yuki seemed to really like this spot. I didn’t get it.  

As usual, I finished eating before she did.  

Left with nothing to do, I asked her something on a whim.  

“Hey, you heard of Princess Royale?”  [HimeRoi]

“What’s that? Never heard of it.”  

Her face showed genuine confusion.  

I relayed the story Sumahiko had fed me this morning. Even after I finished, Yuki’s expression didn’t change.  

She must’ve had the same impression as me.  

“If that’s real, isn’t it bad? What does Miki think about it?”  

“Who knows? I haven’t asked.”  

“What? You haven’t?”  

“What? Is that a problem?”  

“I thought for sure you would’ve grilled her about it by now.”  

Unfortunately, I wasn’t that hot-headed of a person.  

Especially today—just sitting in class and listening to the teacher felt exhausting. I had zero energy to spare worrying about others.  

Besides, when I thought about it, it really didn’t matter.  

No one was going to die. No one was going to disappear and be forgotten.  

She was surrounded by people interested in her and fawning over her.  

Even if she had a weak will, some guy with strong survival instincts would eventually swoop in, things would happen, and before she knew it, she’d probably be living a decently happy life. That wasn’t a bad outcome.  

“If Miki comes to me for advice, I’ll listen. But it’d be weird for me to ask first, wouldn’t it?”  

“Hmm… I see. Well, I guess it’s her own fault. She keeps putting-on a good face in front of everyone.”  

“Or maybe she actually likes watching that kind of thing?”  

“Eh, I doubt it. Miki’s not even into sports. I’ll just tell her, ‘Quit being a princess and come hang with us instead.’”  

If she were in Yuki’s position, she’d basically be invincible. That’d be reassuring.  

But that was Miki’s problem. Not mine.  

And frankly, I just didn’t have the energy to deal with any more of this nonsense.  

“Oh? Look at that, someone’s already here.”  

Just as our conversation reached a lull, a voice called out from behind us.  

I turned around and met eyes with a male student approaching us. It looked like he had a girl with him too—she peeked out from behind him, eyeing us curiously.  

“Ugh, what the hell, there’s something weird here.”  

The guy grimaced.  

I had seen him somewhere before—then I remembered. He was the two-block haircut guy who had kicked Kaneko in the hallway that one time.  

“Huh…?”  

But his gaze didn’t settle on me. It was fixed on Yuki instead.  

I thought he might start with the classic, “Why is the princess here…?” but the moment Yuki glared back at him without backing down, he seemed to realize it was a case of mistaken identity.  

“…Ohh, it’s the fake one. Hey, don’t you remember rejecting me? Back in our first year?”  

He pointed at his face with a smug grin.  

Yuki spared him a brief, disinterested glance and muttered—  

“Oh, maybe.”  

Her tone was utterly indifferent.  

For a split second, two-block’s face twitched, but he quickly forced it back into a confident smirk. Then, he casually wrapped his arm around the girl beside him.  

“Well, good thing you said no. Thanks to that, I’m with her now.”  

“Is that so? Good for you.”  

Yuki responded flatly, sounding like she couldn’t care less.  

But that attitude must’ve pissed him off.  

He spread his arms out exaggeratedly, feigning exasperation.  

“Man, you’re still as much of a total bitch as ever. Seriously, I wanna go back in time and punch myself for confessing to you. Hey, dude, you really should ditch this chick. You saw what just happened, right? Who acts like that toward someone they rejected?”  

He tried to rope me into the conversation, looking for support.  

Apparently, the “correct” response to rejection, according to him, was to flaunt how happy you were with someone else.  

“Oi, are you even listening? Hey.”  

“Toshi-kun, come on, stop it. You’re scaring him.”  

The blonde girl tugged at Toshi-kun’s arm.  

To each their own, I suppose.  

No judgment, but she was definitely not my type.  

“Man, girls should be cute and sweet. She’s way better at it too.”  

“stop, don’t say thaaat!”  

The girl laughed, slapping him on the back repeatedly. They seemed to be having fun.  

After fooling around for a bit, Toshi-kun turned his gaze back to us, still seated.  

“So, you’re not moving? You’re a first-year, right? Show some respect to your seniors and make room. …Hey, why are you just sitting there silently? Say something.”  

Say something, huh?  

Telling him his girl looked like Ultraman Dada would just make him mad.  

I shot a glance at Yuki.  

She was keeping a composed expression, but I could tell inside, she was fuming.  

“What, are you two talking through telepathy or something? Alien to alien? Gross. Here, let me translate—‘Wh-what do I do? I think I’m gonna pee myself…’”  

A high-pitched laugh rang out from the girl.  

To find that funny, she had to be either really kind-hearted or really dumb.  

“Why are you even with a chick like her? You seriously have no eye for guys~.”  

“Jeez, stop, you’re being mean~.”  

“Forget it, let’s go. This is a waste of time.”  

Giving me one last condescending look, two-block scumbag made a big show of touching his girlfriend as they walked away. Their voices gradually faded into the distance.  

As soon as they were gone, Yuki’s lips scrunched into a pout, and she started stomping her feet against the ground.  

“Uggghhh, so annoying! What the hell is his problem? And that girl was so ugly! I’m way cuter, absolutely.”  

She had no qualms about speaking her mind.  

You had to admire that kind of attitude, even if it was a little… ruthless.  

She got called a b*tch, but could I really deny it? Not really.  

“Hey, Knight-kun, didn’t that piss you off?”  

“Not really.”  

Some random guy saying random nonsense.  

That’s all anything today had been.  

Everything was just… meaningless.  

“…Knight-kun, you feeling okay?”  

I turned to find Yuki peering at me with concern.  

That was its own kind of pain to deal with.  

Casually, I replied—  

“Yeah? I’m always like this.”  

“Did something happen?”  

“Nah. Nothing.”  

There was nothing going on that Yuki needed to worry about.  

What would’ve been the right response?  

Should I have just punched him?  

No, probably not.  

“Wait… are you still hung up about last week? About what happened at my place? Um, sorry about that… Miki said the same, but we were kinda… in a weird mood then. It was like, we got carried away and…”  

“Nah, not at all. Thinking back on it gets me going, so actually, thanks.”  

“Hah? You’re such a pervert.”  

If the Hime’s entourage overheard that, they’d cry tears of blood.  

Right now, too—a girl who looked just like the school’s most popular idol was sitting within arm’s reach.  

I pointed at the hem of Yuki’s skirt.  

Her outfit had been riding up for a while now.  

“Are you wearing black spats under that? Or is it just your underwear?”  

“Hm? Well, now… which do you think~?”  

“I saw earlier. White.”  

“No way! You perv! You pervert!”  

“You say that now? After everything you already showed me?”  

“This is different! And I told you, we weren’t in our right minds back then!”  

She clamped down on her skirt with both hands, her face flushed red. Cute.  

There was no comparison to that other girl.  

If anything, I wanted to parade her around and brag.  

So really, I had no reason to be feeling down.  

If anything, I was actually kind of lucky.  

There was no reason to be annoyed. None at all.