I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine

Chapter 11: One-on-One Conversation

“Um, is it okay for me to be here…?”

I stumbled, my speech becoming awkward.

“Yeah. At Aoba-san’s suggestion, the freshmen are supposed to have one-on-one conversation time~”

Well, I did say I’m not good with large groups!

But does that mean being suddenly paired one-on-one with an unfamiliar girl (especially one with blonde hair, piercings, and a bold fashion sense) is supposed to be easier? That’s quite a challenge, isn’t it!

In my mind, I couldn’t help but remark on Aoba, who was chatting happily with another girl.

Then, I managed to muster a smile somehow.

“Are you nervous? Since we’re both freshmen, we can skip the formal language if you want.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll do that then…”

“No, that’s too stiff!”

This won’t do. I have to do something before the atmosphere becomes unbearable.

“Um, where are you from again?”

That was the best I could come up with.

By the way, the inspiration came from an internet article I found before the entrance ceremony titled “Become Popular with These 8 Conversation Topics When You’re Stuck Meeting Someone New!”

Though its reliability was quite low…

“I’m from Nagoya! Even though I say that it’s from the countryside, so it’s like living near a forest.”

“…Oh, mine’s the same. My house is built in a place where we had to clear out the mountains.”

“Do giant boars come out often?”

“Yeah, quite frequently.”

Surprisingly, this seemed to click well.

Showing her a photo of the “Beware of Bears!” a sign posted near my house led the conversation in various directions.

“Oh, it’s about time to switch partners.”

Until Aoba called out like this, the conversation didn’t seem to falter.

Come to think of it, this is what conversation is like.

You just have to not overthink it. If you go with the flow and speak up, conversation happens.

From then on, I felt like I could manage conversations somewhat decently.

“So, what’s your relationship with Aoba-san? Are you dating? If so, isn’t that risky? Tell me how you caught her~”

Even if other freshmen have strange misunderstandings like this,

“Hey hey, does it look like that?”

“Well, sorry, but I can’t tell.”

“That’s right. We’re just stuck with each other.”

I succeeded in exchanging such light-hearted banter.

“The first-years seem to be doing interesting things. Can we join?”

Even when the seniors joined us, nothing changed.

Somehow, I felt like I could actually converse with them.

I should be grateful to the article “Become Popular with These 8 Conversation Topics When You’re Stuck Meeting Someone New!” and to Aoba for arranging this.

And so, the pairs circulated.

Finally, it was my turn to be with Aoba.

“Hey, you’re talking just fine. Feeling confident?”

“…It’s not confidence. I was surprised when I came back and suddenly this weird plan started.”

“Haha, sorry about that. But from what I’ve seen, you were pretty good. Your joke delivery was about 75 points.”

“…So, I’m a comedian now? Well, thanks anyway.”

“No problem~. But well, you seemed to talk more than I expected. Especially with the girls.”

“It wasn’t that much. It just happened to go well. Because we’re from the same rural area…”

Why am I making excuses?

“Hmm. It would’ve been more fun if you were a bit more awkward. Being able to talk normally with someone other than me is boring…”

As she said this towards the end, her tone dropped.

I wondered what was wrong, but soon, her dazzling smile returned.