I’m a Loner, Gloomy Guy Who Accidentally Witnessed the Moment the Top Girl in the Class Got Dumped. I Didn’t Know What to Say to Comfort Her, So I Just Gave Her a Cola and Somehow We Started Having Lunch Together~ - 21-22

Chapter 21: The Four of Us Play a Game

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The four of us went down to the living room. We sat side by side on the sofa in front of the TV and started a racing game. The rules were simple: a four-player versus match. Only the players participated, and whoever finished in first place was the winner.

“I absolutely won’t lose!”

“Neither will I!”

The two girls gripping their controllers were practically blazing with competitive spirit. They were fired up to an abnormal degree. Their enthusiasm was a little scary at this point.

I glanced sideways at the two girls burning with fighting spirit, feeling intimidated. Then Mai, sitting next to me, poked my shoulder with her finger. Just when I thought she had leaned closer, she whispered softly into my ear.

“So, Onii-chan, which one is your real favorite—Noa-san or Hina-oneechan? If you tell me, Mai will help make sure that person wins.”

“…What are you even talking about?”

“Oh, I see. You’re two-timing, onii-chan. That means they’re both your real favorites, right? That’s how two-timing works, after all.”

“I told you, I’m not two-timing anyone.”

Once again, Mai teased me. Was she holding a grudge over being used earlier to change the mood? While that was going on, the game started. Amamiya-san and Hina were still bickering as usual, but maybe because they were playing the game at the same time, their momentum was weaker than before.

Good, good. This is going well! Now then…

“Listen, Mai. Don’t let either of them get first place. In every race, you or I take first.”

I whispered the top-secret mission to Mai so the other two wouldn’t notice. If either of those two got first place, the winner would start asserting dominance and they’d be fighting all over again. I really didn’t want that. So that meant either Mai or I had to keep winning. For the sake of peace, we had to keep winning.

And so, a battle we absolutely could not lose began.

When the sky started to grow dark, it got late, and the flow naturally shifted toward calling it a day. My strategy worked perfectly. In every race, either Mai or I took first place, successfully avoiding a situation where Amamiya-san and Hina would start a dominance battle. I worked pretty hard, you know. Yes, I really did.

“Wow, Murase-kun and Mai-chan, you’re both really good. I didn’t win even once. …But Yuuki-san, you’re actually bad at games, huh? I thought you were good at everything, but I found an unexpected weakness of yours.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I was way better than you!”

In the end, the two of them started bickering anyway. What was all my effort even for…? All that hard work fizzled away like bubbles. I felt inexplicably sad.

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“Onii-chan, thank you so much for today!”

After Amamiya-san and Hina went home, Mai spoke to me with a bright smile.

“I got to play with a cheerful Hina-oneechan for the first time in a while! It felt kind of nostalgic!”

“Where was she cheerful? She was just pissed off the whole time.”

Hina had been constantly snapping at Amamiya-san and shouting back and forth. She had an angry expression the entire time and didn’t look like she was having fun at all. What on earth was Mai even looking at? That was some serious tunnel vision or maybe biased filter.

“That’s not true. I’m sure she was happy to play with you again after so long, onii-chan. She’s just too embarrassed to be honest. Onee-chan is shy, after all.”

That was a misunderstanding. Hina hated me. There was no way she could have fun playing with someone she hated. No matter how you thought about it, that made no sense. But I didn’t say that out loud.

Right now, Mai was smiling unbelievably happily. Saying what I really thought here would just shatter that smile. Anyone who would do that wasn’t fit to be an older brother. So this was fine.

“Let’s all play together again sometime, the four of us!”

“……”

No, seriously, please spare me.

Listening to those two argue all day had completely worn me out. Even though it was supposed to be a day off, I didn’t get any rest at all. Once was more than enough. I really hoped there wouldn’t be a second time.

But with Mai’s eyes sparkling brightly, there was no way I could say that.

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Chapter 22: Gyaru Yankee 

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During recess, Kenzaki came over to me as I sat blankly at my desk. He looked visibly buoyant, like something good had happened.

“Listen to this, Murase! I’m going to go on a date with the senpai I had told you about!”

“Oh, nice! That’s great! Congratulations!”

Kenzaki was a good guy. If things were going well with the person he liked, I was genuinely happy for him and offered my heartfelt congratulations.

“This is all thanks to you!”

“…I tell you every time, but that’s because you worked hard yourself, right?”

Whenever things went well with his senpai, Kenzaki always said it was thanks to me. I corrected him every time, but he never listened.

Why won’t people ever listen to what I say…?

As I gave my usual wry smile, a piercing gaze shot toward me.

Ugh… Again?

Lately, incidents of sharp stares being directed at me had been happening frequently. The culprit was always the same person, and I already knew who it was. She was the girl sitting at the top of the class caste, Karin Takashiro-san.

She had golden hair that reached down her back and green eyes. Her well-shaped face was done up with perfect makeup. Her overall appearance was flashy, giving off a gyaru-like impression. However, her manner of speaking was intimidating, like a delinquent’s. Just making eye contact with her made it feel like she might beat you up.

Because of that, I had found her scary and hard to deal with from the very start. Being glared at like this was nothing short of terrifying. But why had she singled me out? I had never even spoken to Takashiro-san even once before now. We were completely unrelated. I had no idea what her reason was.

Even so, I didn’t have the courage to ask her directly.

『Huh!? Don’t you dare talk to me, you damn gloomy nerd! Want me to encase you in concrete and dump you in the ocean!?』

That kind of line, followed by me getting beaten to a pulp, vividly came to mind. In that case, there was only one thing I could do. Pretend not to notice and wait it out until the situation resolved itself. That was all. I fervently wished for the current situation to end as soon as possible.

After school.

After changing into my outdoor shoes at the entrance, I tried to head outside. But before I could, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind.

Who is it!?

Startled, I turned around and my face stiffened badly. It was the worst possible person I could have imagined. Yes, it was Takashiro-san. She had deep wrinkles carved between her brows, radiating intense hostility.

“Yo, Murase. You got some time right now?”

“…………I don’t.”

I had absolutely no plans after this. But spending time with Takashiro-san was the last thing I wanted. Absolutely not.

“What, I won’t take much of your time. It’ll be over in a jiffy.”

The furrow between Takashiro-san’s brows deepened even more. In sync with that, the angle of her eyes sharply lifted.

I can tell, those are the eyes of a killer. 

If I refused, I’d definitely get encased in concrete and dumped into the sea. By tomorrow, I’d probably be fish food.

“…I-I understand. I’ll go with you.”

I can’t die yet! I absolutely cannot die until I see the movie ‘That Time I Reincarnated as the Weakest Mage’!

I hated this with every fiber of my being, but there were still things I had to survive to do. And for that, I had no choice but to go along with Takashiro-san.

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