The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change - Chapter 156

“This is my room. It’s a little messy, but sit wherever you like.”

“O-oh! Thanks for having me!”

“What’s with that awkward junior club member vibe?”

I stepped into Yuria’s room as she motioned me to enter.

It was my first time entering a girl’s room, and imagining what it would be like was hard. But stepping inside, I felt as if I’d been transported to another world—an entirely separate dimension.

The room was spacious and had an elegant depth, with walls painted soft pink and white. Fancy furniture and cute stuffed animals were arranged neatly all over, while red-and-white curtains adorned the windows. Beneath the desk with her PC lay a leopard-patterned rug in pink and yellow.

In one corner, there was an expensive-looking white dresser. Along the wall stood a large built-in bookshelf filled with nearly a hundred fashion magazines, arranged in chronological order.

Yuria had mentioned it was “messy,” but the room was spotless. The floor was so clean that a robot vacuum could roam freely without hitting any clutter.

“Y-Yuria’s room… It’s so clean! And it smells so good too… sniff sniff“

“Whoa, stop! Taking deep breaths right after entering a girl’s room is seriously creepy! Though, I guess I’m relieved you didn’t say it smelled bad.”

“Why would I ever think you smell bad? I could live off the scent of Yuria alone—it’s like having rice for ten bowls!”

“Ugh, gross! Cut it out already!”

Though she complained, Yuria blushed faintly.

Yuria was probably the only one who could laugh off my cringy comments. Being able to speak my mind so freely was something I truly cherished about our relationship.

“Huh? By the way, I don’t see any anime merch for that Chikyun show or anything. Did you hide it all?”

“Of course I did. Rui and Airi visit often, so there’s no way I’d leave it out here.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“My otaku stuff is in the hobby room next door. There are tons of games there too. We can check it out later, but before that…”

Yuria fidgeted, averting her gaze.

“I… I kind of want you to see this me first.”

“This you? What do you mean?”

“Here! Look at this—my middle school yearbook!”

Yuria abruptly pulled out her yearbook from the bookshelf and shoved it into my hands.

Ah, so she wanted to show me her old photos.

Seriously, only someone who knows they’re cute would willingly share something like this. My middle school yearbook? Just thinking about it makes me want to burn the whole thing. (And Tanaka was the same—your typical bespectacled introverted girl back then.)

“Wow, so this was Yuria in middle school. Still rocking those amazing thighs, huh?”

“Why are you looking there?! Seriously, stop staring at weird places!”

“Sure, your thighs are incredible, but honestly, Yuria, you’re just insanely cute, aren’t you?”

“…!”

“I mean, it’s crystal clear from the class photos. You’re taller than the guys, have a killer figure, and an adorable face. Honestly, it’s unfair to the other girls in your class.”

“…W-well, duh. I worked hard for this, you know!”

Though she pretended to be annoyed, the slight curl of her lips betrayed her mood.

I wasn’t trying to flatter her; I was just being honest. But it seemed Yuria was pleased with the compliments.

That’s good—when she’s in a good mood, she sometimes lets me touch her thighs.

“By the way, I bet you were super popular in middle school, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. There was a time when I’d get confessions from guys almost every week.”

“E-every week!? Seriously?”

“But, even if I had a boyfriend, I couldn’t imagine him understanding this other side of me. Plus, after some fights with friends, I became scared to talk about my otaku hobbies. Remember when we first met at the arcade? I was pretty hostile, wasn’t I?”

Now that she mentioned it, she did seem on edge back then.

Even though she’s completely relaxed around me now, Yuria had glared at me so fiercely back then that her beautiful face twisted with hostility.

“Being like this is probably a pain, huh?”

“…Yuria.”

For someone as stunning as Yuria, blending into an otaku group was nearly impossible. But she wanted to embrace both her gal and otaku sides, leading to complex social struggles. I’d heard her talk about this before.

Nowadays, society is more accepting of outgoing people liking anime, but that mostly applies to mainstream shows. Yuria, on the other hand, fell head over heels for the late-night R17.9999 anime Chikyun.

“Besides, I don’t need a boyfriend or whatever. I’ve got Ryota.”

“M-me?”

“Yeah. You’re my understanding friend, and I’m yours. So why would I need some ‘understanding boyfriend’?”

“I… guess that makes sense?”

When Yuria casually said, “Obviously,” I just nodded along.

So because I understand both sides of her, she doesn’t need a boyfriend?

“That’s how it works, huh? Honestly, I thought you’d want a boyfriend because you’ve got such a strong libido.”

“Huh?! I mean, yeah, I have… but it’s not that strong!”

“Really? But you let me touch your thighs and stuff.”

“That’s because you wouldn’t shut up about thighs! It’s not like I wanted you to touch them or anything!”

“True, I look at your thighs a lot, but it’s not like I’m always asking to touch them.”

“Ugh, that’s such a sneaky excuse! Obviously, you’re staring because you want to touch them!”

Wrong. Gazing at Yuria’s thighs isn’t about “wanting to touch” them. It’s about wanting to knead them—completely different.

“Anyway, chatting like this in Yuria’s room has really put me at ease. I think I feel the most comfortable when I’m talking with you.”

“R-really? Even more than with Tanaka?”

“Why are you bringing up Tanaka now?!”

The thought of Tanaka suddenly popped into my head, ruining the vibe entirely. I was in Yuria’s room, enjoying the moment, and now all I could think of was Tanaka slurping noodles.

“Well, you and Tanaka have known each other the longest, so it’s natural to compare, right?”

“Sure, I’ve known her since middle school, but we weren’t childhood friends or anything.”

“Speaking of childhood… Oh! I wanted to show you something!”

Yuria returned to her bookshelf and handed me a book she’d pulled from the lower shelf.

“This is the treasure I mentioned before…”

It was… a volume of Lucky & H!