Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 01: Tanaka-san Is the Cutest!

Chapter 01: Tanaka-san Is the Cutest!

“Move.”

“S-Sorry! And… uh, thank you—buhi!”

“Gross.”

“Fuyusara-san’s in top form as always. That cold, disdainful glare? Absolute perfection.”

“Right? It’s seriously a blessing.”

“Reno-oneesama is as cool as ever~”

“Cool? I dunno… I feel like Haruno-san gives off more of that tough older-sister vibe, y’know? She’s way more boss.”

“No way! It’s gotta be Student Council President Akizuki—she’s got that calm, regal presence!”

“Damn it… Natsuse-chan’s more of the cute type, so I can’t even jump into this whole ‘Coolest of the Four Seasons Princesses’ debate!”

“Dufufu, no worries! When it comes to cute, Rino-tan is hands-down the undisputed champ!”

Just like any other day, I walked into class and, sure enough, it was already buzzing with yet another round of Shikihime—the “Four Seasons Princesses”—talk.

Seriously, if they can get that hyped over a bunch of girls just for their looks and personalities, then why isn’t anyone talking about the actual cutest girl in the world—Tanaka-san!?

Sigh. By the way, “Shikihime” is what everyone calls the main heroines.

Each of their last names has a kanji that represents one of the four seasons, so someone slapped the title on them—and it stuck.

Everyone at school acts like it’s some kind of miraculous coincidence.

But me?

I know the truth.

It’s not a coincidence.

It’s the author (a.k.a. God) stacking the deck for peak romcom drama.

I mean, seriously. It’s textbook.

So whenever I hear people chatting about the main cast, all I can do is nod like,

“Yep. Just following the script.”

And pretend to play along.

Honestly, if I tried joining in, I’d probably just turn into a “yes-man robot” anyway.

So instead, I went with Plan B: fake-sleep until homeroom.

About three minutes into my tactical nap, the chair beside me scraped across the floor.

I cracked one eye open to check—

And there she was.

The angel herself.

Tanaka-san, mid-bite into a sweet roll, looking right at me.

“Fuwaa! Guh’ mornin’ No’kayama-kun. I bro’t breafas’.”

“Morning.”

Tanaka-san, cheerfully greeting me with her mouth full of bread.

And just like that, my day was saved.

(So cute! Way too cute!! The fact that she still tries to greet someone like me so earnestly, even though she knows it’s a bit rude to talk with her mouth full—but still gives in to her love of food? That’s just perfection! And she’s not popular? Are you kidding me right now?! That makes no sense!!

I couldn’t take it.

The sheer cuteness hit me like a truck, and I buried my face straight into my bag.

From above, I heard a confused, “Huh? Ehhhhh!?”

But I ignored it.

No way I was letting Tanaka-san see my face right now.

It was burning red—full-on overheating.

I felt bad for ignoring her, but I needed to hide until my cheeks cooled down or I’d die of embarrassment.

“Good morning, Tanaka-san.”

“Wait… weren’t you sleeping, Nakayama-kun?”

Thirty seconds later, once the heat finally left my face and I could speak like a functioning human again, I greeted her back.

Tanaka-san blinked at me, looking confused.

Which only made her even cuter.

Well, to be fair, from her point of view, I probably looked like I’d been totally asleep.

No wonder she was confused.

“Yup, I was sleeping. Just woke up a second ago. Didn’t mention it before, but I’m actually a super short sleeper.”

“Fufu, that’s definitely a lie. You’re always so funny, Nakayama-kun.”

Of course, there was no way I could just admit I was genuinely flustered.

So I played it off like it was all just a joke.

Tanaka-san, being her usual pure and innocent self, totally fell for it.

She smiled smugly, as if to say, “I saw right through you.”

That smile?

Yeah, it had the same destructive power as before—maybe even more.

I nearly got knocked out all over again.

But this time, I was mentally prepared, so I barely managed to stay on my feet.

“Well, thanks for that.”

Still, I knew I couldn’t take another hit.

So I gave her a purposely blunt reply and turned my gaze toward the window, trying to act cool.

I figured I’d stare off into the distance for a while and let my emotional damage slowly heal.

But then, in the reflection of the window, I noticed Tanaka-san fidgeting.

She was moving reeeally slowly, like she was trembling a bit, trying to pull another piece of bread out of her bag.

A second later—plop.

I turned toward the sound and saw it.

The bread she was trying to grab had fallen to the floor.

“Ow ow ow…”

“Here you go.”

There was no way I could just sit there and not help her.

So I swooped in, picked it up before she could, and handed it to her.

Tanaka-san looked up and smiled.

“Thank you, Nakayama-kun.”

“It’s nothing, really. But more importantly… are you okay? You look like you’ve got some serious muscle soreness going on.”

And then she smiled again.

Too radiant. Too pure.
For a second, I almost flatlined.

I quickly looked away before I actually did, and used the moment to ask what I’d been wondering.

“Ahaha… I’m embarrassed to admit it, but you’re exactly right. We had marching practice after school yesterday, and when we were moving the instruments outside, I tried to act dependable in front of the juniors and carried something heavier than usual… which, yeah, definitely backfired.”

Tanaka-san’s calm smile turned into a shy blush as she admitted the truth behind her sore muscles.

“So cu—”

I accidentally started picturing it.

Tanaka-san, acting all cool and composed in front of her juniors while secretly struggling with a heavy instrument.

Just the thought made my heart do flips.

My brain short-circuited from how cute it was, and a word almost slipped out loud—

but I managed to slap a hand over my mouth just in time.

“Geez! You don’t have to laugh at me that much!”

She must’ve misunderstood.

Seeing me trembling with my hand over my mouth, she probably thought I was trying to hold in laughter.

Tanaka-san puffed her cheeks and turned away, sulking a little.

But even that was adorable.

Way more charming than any of the so-called main heroines.

Once again, I was reminded of a simple truth—

The cutest girl in this entire school isn’t one of the main heroines.

It’s Tanaka-san.