The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School - V2 Chapter 01: That’s Why I’ll Decide for Myself

Volume 02: You Finally Looked My Way

Chapter 01: That’s Why I’ll Decide for Myself

“It’s almost summer break, Saito!”

Even though it was still early morning, the heat was already enough to make anyone break a sweat just by being outside. Most people looked pretty drained…

But not Rei—she was full of energy as she called out to me.

“You really that excited for summer break, Rei?”

She leaned in toward me with a loud huff, practically in my face.

Whoa, too close.

“Of course I am! I get to hang out with you every single day, Saito!”

“Oh, I see… wait, every day?”

What are we, elementary schoolers making summer vacation promises?

“Yup! First, we’ll play games at my place—it’s been a while, right? And since it’s summer break, it’s totally fine if you stay over for a few days too. Then on one of those hot, sweaty nights with the air conditioner broken, the two of us will… ow!”

“Don’t start spouting virgin fantasies like it’s some kind of summer romance script, Wimpy Prince.”

With a loud smack, Rinna chopped Rei right on the head, looking like she was trying to cut through the summer heat with her bare hands.

Honestly, I was grateful for the quick rescue.

Rei’s whole summer plan was packed with more red flags than a minefield.

And yeah, the usual dirty jokes were still going strong.

“Ow, that hurt, Rinna-chan! What, are you jealous and trying to get in my way?”

“Hah!? What would I even be jealous of?!”

Even after getting karate-chopped, Rei wore this weird smug grin as she poked at Rinna.

And of course, Rinna took the bait head-on, ready to fire back with everything she had.

Here we go again…

“Fufufu. Sure, Rinna-chan has the ‘same school, same class, seat right next to Saito’ advantage now… but once summer break starts, that edge completely disappears, doesn’t it?”

“…So what?”

Rinna shot back with a sharp glare, clearly annoyed by Rei’s cheerful grin.

“You’ve been totally spoiled by that dream seat next to Saito all year, but when summer break hits, you’ll hesitate to invite him out, and boom—your vacation’s already doomed to be boring and gray.”

“…Wha!?”

For once, Rinna actually looked shaken.

Her cheeks flushed bright red.

Well, to be fair, the weather report did say this would be the hottest morning of the year… so maybe it was just the heat.

“But I can invite Saito out without a second thought. I can hang out with him every single day!”

“Yeah, um, Rei? I can’t actually hang out every day.”

Truth be told, I was hoping to break my personal record on the bench press this summer.

To do that, I need to hit the gym six days a week.

“I-I could totally invite him too! We’re friends, so hanging out together is like… n-no big deal!”

“Oooh, really now? You sure about that? I mean, Rinna-chan, you’re a proper rich girl, right? Bet you’re super busy with all your fancy lessons.”

“Um, I don’t think I can hang out every day. I was thinking of getting a summer job, actually.”

“I don’t care about lessons or whatever—I’ll just skip them. Wimpy Prince over here goes to Eio Girls’ High, right? That school’s famous for brutal summer classes. Saito’s going to be busy hanging out with me, so you can just glue yourself to a desk all summer.”

“Ugh… fine! Not like I can keep being a prince if I’m too scared to skip a few classes…”

Yeah, no—Rei, you really shouldn’t skip those makeup lessons.

Also, are they both just straight-up ignoring me now?

From there, their “discussion” spiraled into a full-on war over who gets to schedule my summer.

Apparently, my opinion wasn’t needed.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Tch… That Wimpy Prince… She was moping just a little while ago, and now she’s back, ten times more annoying.”

The moment we got to class and she sat down, Rinna let out a grumble with her chin propped in one hand.

“Even so, deep down, you’re happy Rei’s back to her usual self, right?”

“Well, yeah… I mean, it’s better than watching her sulk around. Still… ever since that whole runaway mess, she’s kinda different now…”

Rinna rested her cheek on her hand, eyes drifting toward the chalkboard at the front of the room.

Her mind clearly elsewhere, deep in thought.

“Really? Feels to me like she just went back to being her usual bossy, high-energy prince.”

“I dunno… It’s more like whatever was stuck inside her finally melted away. Like she’s more honest now. Straighter, if that makes sense.”

“More honest, huh… Yeah. I guess you’ve got a point.”

That day, when I found Rei—

When she opened up to me about what she’d been carrying all this time…

If I was able to ease even a little of that weight from her heart,

Then I’m glad I was there.

“So? What kind of magic did the real prince—Saito—use on the runaway Wimpy Prince, hmm?”

Rinna asked with a teasing lilt, but her eyes had this sharp, probing glint, like she was digging for something deeper.

“Sorry, Rinna. Not even you get to know that.”

What Rei shared with me was personal—deeply personal.

It wasn’t something I could casually share with anyone else, no matter how close they were.

“Hmm… So it’s your little secret, just between the two of you?”

She gave me a squinty-eyed glare, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“You can glare all you want. I’m not telling.”

“Aww, come on… I mean, I was super helpful during that whole runaway fiasco, you know? I even had my maid Iou dig up where the Wimpy Prince ran off to.”

“Oh, right. That really did help. Tell Kusajishi-san I appreciate it.”

“Exactly! All the credit goes to Iou, the one who tracked her down like a pro. Not me—the one who gave the order. Why would I get any thanks?”

“Wait, that’s not what I—”

“No, no. I totally get it. I’m just the conveniently rich, softhearted girl in your life. Asking for recognition would be waaay out of line, huh?”

And just like that, Rinna was in full sulk mode.

…Also, side note: people usually don’t call themselves softhearted out loud.

“What is it that you really want…?”

Whenever Rinna started poking at someone’s guilt like this, it usually meant she was gearing up to ask for something.

“It’s nothing major. Just a little promise I’d like you to keep.”

“A promise…?”

“The one where I stay over at your place.”

“O-Oh… that promise!”

Right—back when I carried Rinna princess-style through school and she got a fever from the whole ordeal, I went to visit her.

She found out that I’d stayed over at Rei’s house playing games all night and suddenly got hit with a weird burst of rivalry.

And that’s when she declared she’d have a sleepover at my place too.

“Yep. A sleepover at your place. Summer break’s the perfect time for it.”

“There is nothing perfect about this! No way that’s actually happening!”

“Oh really? But isn’t ‘staying over at a friend’s house during summer break’ like a classic childhood experience? I’ve always wanted to try it.”

“I mean, sure—but we’re talking boy and girl here. That’s kind of a big deal, right? Your parents would totally freak out!”

“…Parents, huh.”

Up until now, she’d been teasing me with that usual smug smile…

But suddenly, Rinna went quiet.

Just for a moment, her brows furrowed ever so slightly.

Wait—

Does she not like talking about her parents?

Now that I think about it, she’s never mentioned her family.

Even though she talks about her maid, Kusajishi-san, all the time…

“Ah, I mean… we are in high school now. So maybe parents don’t matter that much anymore…”

I didn’t want anyone bringing up my parents either.

Or digging into that part of my life.

So honestly, it wasn’t fair for me to bring up Rinna’s family like that.

Which is why I backed off.

“You’re right. That’s why I’ll decide for myself. I’m staying over at Saito’s house. And you can make your own decisions too, right? You are in high school.”

She wasn’t about to let that opening slide.

Rinna took my weak reply, wrapped it in TNT, and lobbed it right back at me.

Game over.

No contest.

“F-Fine… You win.”

“Great! Then I’ve gotta pack my sleepover stuff. I’ll go shopping with Iou and grab everything I need~♪”

Wait, people actually go shopping with a maid just to prep for a sleepover?

As I watched Rinna skip off excitedly, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit worried about how my summer break was going to turn out.

-:+【Afterword】:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-+:-+:-+:-+:-+

Volume 2 has officially begun!

Thank you so much for all the kind messages when Volume 01 ended, and for the celebration comments after the book deal was announced.

And special thanks to @a1275 and 0221 for the generous gifts to celebrate the book release.

I hope you enjoy Volume 02 just as much! Please keep supporting the story!