I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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“Suzuya-kun, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“…Sure. Is it better if there aren’t many people around?”

“Yes. We don’t need to leave the classroom, but let’s go somewhere that isn’t too crowded.”

Her sharp gaze was fixed straight on me. A faint tension, like static electricity, ran through my body little by little. She was one of the girls at the very top of the class hierarchy. One of those so-called “top tier girls.” I didn’t know how long they’d been friends, but she was extremely close with Natsuki-san, and it wasn’t uncommon to see the two of them together in class.

A cool beauty. A cold-hearted thorn princess. Those were the nicknames whispered behind her back, labels that perfectly captured her calm, flat demeanor and somehow made her hard to talk with. Still, the rare smiles she showed were said to rival even Natsuki’s, who was praised as the most beautiful girl in the school…Or so I’d heard.

Given that we’d had absolutely no interaction until now, the fact that she suddenly spoke to me today meant my guess had probably been right.

“What? Were those two close?”

“No… At least I’ve never heard Kaede mention Sorato’s name before…”

“If even you, her childhood friend, don’t know… Then what kind of relationship do they have?”

The two of them exchanged looks with question marks practically floating above their heads, but no matter how you looked at it, there was no obvious connection between us. Meanwhile…

Why was I called out…? Did Natsuki-san contact her about something—?

As I desperately tried to think through the confusion, the girl walking ahead of me suddenly stopped. After an awkward exchange filled with strange tension, like we were cautiously probing each other, I followed behind Mizotani-san while Tenma watched our backs. The place we arrived at was Natsuki’s empty seat.

Her back was straight and dignified, radiating confidence. She was completely opposite to my slouched posture. An unpleasant silence descended between us before…

“So, I’ll get right to the point. You went to Kaon’s house yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. You were the one who asked me to, Kaede-san.”

My mind started racing instantly. 

Don’t say too much. Don’t panic. Calm down…

I repeated that to myself as I carefully chose my words. Besides, I wasn’t lying. All I did yesterday was properly carry out my duty as the day’s on-duty student. There was absolutely nothing shameful about this question, so I answered plainly and without hesitation. I didn’t want to give her any unnecessary advantage.

“Then what did you do when you went to Kaon’s house yesterday?”

“…That’s not something I can say.”

The faint hope that this might be about something else had already collapsed, leaving me standing at the edge of a crumbling cliff. Her eyes were definitely seeing through something. Judging by her aggressive tone, it was probably best to assume she already knew I’d gone inside the house.

What I’d feared most during my time with her yesterday had become reality. As the feeling of being cornered tightened, I suppressed the emotions in my voice and kept up appearances. But despite my desperate resistance, Kaede didn’t soften her tone.

“You can’t say? If you just went to her house, there shouldn’t be anything you can’t say. …Or did you do something more than that?”

Each of her words stabbed into my chest like a blade without temperature, chilling the air around us.

“No. I didn’t do anything in particular. And speaking objectively, since the two of you are close, shouldn’t you ask her directly instead of me?”

“She might have one or two things that are hard to talk about herself. That’s why I’m asking you.”

Even so, I couldn’t back down that easily. To properly respond to the smile she’d shown me—even if only for a moment—I refused to speak. I wasn’t lying. I was simply keeping a secret. But somewhere deep inside me, I felt the seed of anger begin to sprout.

Something about Kaede-san’s words rubbed me the wrong way.

Maybe she didn’t mean it that way. Maybe she was just trying to pressure me. But the way she spoke—implying that smile, and the effort she’d made to push herself, meant nothing—was something I couldn’t ignore. No matter how close they were, insulting someone who had trusted me so sincerely was wrong.

“I didn’t do anything. That’s all I’m going to say. …And I didn’t really want to bring this up, but you were the one who forced the situation on me in the first place, weren’t you? Why are you pressing me so hard? I get that there are things Natsuki-san can’t easily say, but can’t you understand that there are things like that for me too?”

As I spoke with raised intensity, openly showing my anger, Kaede looked taken aback. I had to admit, it was rare for me to get this emotional at school. Her expression barely wavered, but the emotions carried in my words were powerful enough to overwhelm.

After several seconds of silence, Kaede’s eyes—still fixed in surprise—softened. The cold light from before vanished without a trace, replaced by a gentle smile as she cautiously looked at me.

“…It seems I was overthinking things.”

“Huh? What are you—”

“I’m sorry. I never intended to blame you that much.”

The moment I heard her words, the tension in the air melted away. The strength left my shoulders, and I gently leaned my stiff body against the window. Still confused by her sudden change, I allowed myself to relax and take a deep breath. Ignoring my state, Kaede continued speaking calmly. Her relaxed manner was nothing like the cold thorn princess from the rumors. Instead, she felt more like a gentle Snow White.

“I heard about yesterday from Natsuki. Don’t worry. I don’t have any strange misunderstandings or prejudices about you.”

“So… I was being tested?”

“That’s one way to put it. I was shocked, you know. Yesterday, Kaon suddenly messaged me saying, ‘I had Suzuya-kun come over today and help me with all kinds of things!’”

Kaede let out a deep sigh, resting her hand against her cheek. Even someone as close to Natsuki as she was seemed to struggle with that personality, and her expression made that obvious.

“That wording was pretty misleading… But if that’s the case, why the interrogation?”

“Just to be safe. After all, there are plenty of people in this world who are very good at hiding their true nature.”

“…Seriously…”

I crouched down on the spot. Realizing how completely I’d been fooled by her act and how emotional I’d gotten, made me feel unbearably embarrassed.

Her painfully vague message could have easily sparked wild misunderstandings if anyone other than Kaede had read it. That was probably why Kaede’s probing, meant to test me, was unavoidable for the sake of her popular friend.

“… I don’t know, maybe she was just saying that to protect herself?”

Having finally let his guard down, Sorato spoke teasingly this time, trying to hide his embarrassment. Her sharp gaze hadn’t changed, but it was no longer icy. There was a hint of kindness in it now, making her oddly likable.

“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have suggested ‘ask Kaon yourself.’ That sentence itself is basically an answer to my question, don’t you think so?”

“Wow. That sounds like something a really smart person would say.”

“I am actually pretty good academically.”

Kaede answered my test question effortlessly. Annoyed by how quick and sharp her reply was, I narrowed my eyes and made a snide remark—only to be hit with a massive counterattack when she owned it outright.

“And you seem quite aware of your own specs.”

At that, I had no comeback, and the intense back-and-forth between us two ended—unexpectedly—with Kaede’s victory. Once things were mostly sorted out, I steered the conversation back on track.

“So then, Kaede-san. What was the real reason you went through all this just to call me over? …You’re not going to say it was just to test me, right?”

“Oh, right. That’s it. I avoided crowded places because it’d be bad if people overheard, but… Natsuki wants you to come over again.”

When Kaede finally revealed the real reason she’d avoided the crowd…. My response was…

“…Huh?”

It was barely even a word. It was closer to a meaningless sound instead.

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