Chapter 4

After seeing Nanami off, Akito and Emily entered the school building. Nagatsuki Academy’s campus had three floors: first-years on the ground floor, second-years on the second, and third-years on the top. 

Their class was 2-B.

With a creak, Akito slid open the door, and as they stepped into the room, the reactions from their classmates fell into two predictable categories: “Here they come, the lovebirds,” and “thank you for the eye candy, as always.”

The former reaction mainly came from the boys, who envied Akito for being able to openly flirt with the beautiful Emily, someone whose looks alone made her a standout anywhere. The latter, typically from the girls, showed their appreciation for the couple’s affection, often fueling their own fantasies about wanting a similar relationship.

“…Looks like we’re seated next to each other. Lucky us.”

“Ja. I’m happy to be close to you, Akito.”

“Is that so? Well, if it makes you happy, then I’m glad, too.”

If one were to interpret their thoughts, Emily’s feelings would be a simple “I’m so happy to be near my boyfriend,” while Akito’s would be more along the lines of “I’m glad it makes her happy.”

“Yo, Akito. Let’s have another good year.”

“Oh, Kenji. Yeah, looking forward to it.”

“Kenji?”

As Akito and Emily took their seats, they were greeted by Kenji Amakawa. With his light brown hair and friendly, good-looking appearance, he had the vibe of a refreshing “ikemen” type. He’d been on the soccer team since middle school and was skilled enough to represent the prefecture in competitions.

In addition to being a strong athlete, Kenji was also academically gifted, making him quite popular among the girls. Each year, his Valentine’s chocolate count easily reached double digits.

Last year, Kenji and Akito had become good friends. Their bond started when Kenji, frequently seeing Akito’s almost couple-like interactions with Emily, began coming to him for relationship advice. The first time Kenji approached Akito, it was to ask, “How do I get the girl I like to notice me?”—impressed by Akito’s apparent success with Emily. Though Akito didn’t think his experience was all that relevant, he couldn’t ignore Kenji’s passion and agreed to help him with all he could.

Thanks to Akito’s support, Kenji eventually succeeded in dating the girl he liked and, ever since, had been grateful and friendly with him.

“This is Kenji Amakawa. A friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you, Tatekawa-san.”

“Ja. Nice to meet you. If you’re Akito’s Freund [friend], then you’re my Freund too.”

“…Fro?”

Kenji tilted his head, not quite understanding the sudden German word.

“It means ‘friend’ in German,” Akito clarified.

“Oh, gotcha… Uh, could you give me the katakana pronunciation?”

“It’s furointo, furointo.” (フロイント)

“Got it… Alright then, as a furointo, nice to meet you.”

“Ja.”

Once introductions were over, Akito and Emily took their seats. Kenji, seated in front of Akito, simply spun around to face him.

“So, what did you do over spring break?”

“Nothing much, really. Just relaxed at home, or went out with Emily here and there…” 

Since it was right after spring break, it was only natural for everyone to talk about how they spent their time. Nearby, some girls who had been in Emily’s class last year came over to chat with her as well.

“Emily-chan, I did some research over spring break on how to attract guys. Wanna hear about it?”

“Ich möchte hören! [I want to hear!]”

“Oof, German… but I think that’s a yes in ‘wanna-hear mode’! Alright then, let me enlighten you!”

The topic of conversation was, in a way, slightly alarming.