The Story of Making a Popular Girl Dependent on Me - Chapter 3

I’m one of the relatively early arrivals at school.

The reason is that I want to come earlier than Setsune and be the first to greet her.

My day starts with Setsune and I want it to end with her. So, I come earlier than Setsune and greet her first.

However, today I’m late for school.

Most people are already in the classroom, and of course, Setsune is here too.

After confirming Setsune’s presence, I head to my seat and greet Riho, who is not only my close friend but also sits nearby.

Riho Katsushika. We’ve been friends since middle school and both ended up at this high school in our hometown, just like Setsune and I.

She has dyed blonde hair and multiple piercings in her ears. Our high school is relatively lenient with rules, so dyeing hair and having a few piercings are allowed.

I also have a few piercings myself.

Despite Riho’s appearance, she’s kind and caring at heart, and it’s always enjoyable to talk to her, so I spend the most time with her than anyone except Setsune.

(Those piercings are cool. If Setsune gets dependent, maybe we should get matching ones. Oh, but she decides where to get pierced. In that case, maybe I should give them to her as a gift. I remember piercings can symbolize ‘I’ll always watch over you.’ If we both depend on each other, it could be the best gift ever.)

Thinking such thoughts, I call out to Riho.

“Good morning, Riho.”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s Rokka. It’s rare to see you at this time. Something up?”

“Yeah, a little. There’s something I want to do.”

“Hmm, well, as long as it’s not because you’re feeling unwell.”

Riho casually expresses concern about my health, which reaffirms that she’s a good person, despite her appearance.

Suddenly, I feel a gaze from behind and turn around. Setsune was glancing over at me while chatting with her friends.

I lightly wave and greet her. Setsune notices and starts to wave back, but before confirming her response, I turn back to Riho.

“What, did you two have a fight?”

“Nah, nothing like that. It’s just a little complicated.”

I give Riho this vague answer.

Riho is the only person who knows about Setsune and me. I couldn’t contain my happiness when I told her the day Setsune and I started dating.

After calming down, I initially worried that even Riho might distance herself, but she simply responded with, “Hmm, that’s good then.”

Since then, I’ve been reporting to Riho whenever something happens.

“…Just don’t do anything weird, okay?”

“Weird? Like what?”

“I don’t know about that. Just don’t cause trouble for Setsune.”

“Well, that depends on Setsune, I guess. Hehe.”

“Setsune-san has really gotten involved with quite a character…”

I didn’t catch the last part because I was still thinking about Riho’s attitude earlier, but it was probably something trivial, so I decide to ignore it.

By the way, Riho addresses Setsune with an honorific suffix. Apparently, Setsune helped her out during a committee job crisis before.

Since then, Riho has been calling her with respect.

While pondering about this, the morning chime rings, and the teacher enters the classroom.

As planned, I didn’t greet Setsune this morning, so I think about the impact on her and what I should do for the rest of the day while listening to the teacher.

The morning passes without incident, but I occasionally feel Setsune’s gaze on me, so it seems yesterday and today’s actions are already having an effect.

I receive lessons while feeling Setsune’s gaze and lunch break arrives.

I always buy lunch and eat with Riho. As usual, I invite Riho and leave the classroom.

At that moment, I feel Setsune’s gaze for what feels like the umpteenth time today, so I casually link arms with Riho.

Riho is momentarily surprised and stops moving, but I pull her along and leave the classroom.

With Setsune’s gaze at my back.

“Hey, what’s your deal? Suddenly linking arms like that.”

As we leave the classroom, Riho asks in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Is that so? Once in a while, it’s fine, right?”

“Hey, weren’t you only interested in Setsune-san?”

“That’s right. Apart from Setsune, I’m not interested romantically. But I do think of Riho as my most important friend, so isn’t it nice to do this occasionally?”

“…Sigh. Just try not to involve me too much.”

“Hehe. I’m not sure about that, but for now, let me treat you to a meal.”

Riho made a face as if she was troubled by being dragged into this, but when I said I’d treat her to a meal, she didn’t say anything more, so I guess she’ll cooperate to some extent.

Well, maybe “turning a blind eye” is more accurate than “cooperate.”

Despite everything, Riho, who ends up cooperating in the end, is really a good person in my opinion, and I think she’s a friend I shouldn’t take for granted.

After that, Riho and I bought lunch at the school store and ate in the courtyard. At that moment, I checked my phone because I received a notification and saw a message from Setsune.

The message said, “Today, want to go home together?” I glanced away from my phone screen and smiled at Riho before speaking.

“Riho, want to go home together today?”

“Huh? Rokka, don’t you always go home with Setsune-san? Isn’t it the same today?”

“Well, today I feel like going home with you, Riho. So, shall we go together?”

“…Fine. You treated me to lunch, so I’ll go home with you.”

“Thanks, Riho.”

After making plans to go home with Riho, I promptly replied to Setsune’s message.

“Sorry, Setsune. I promised to go home with Riho today, so I can’t go with you. Also, I have some things to do for a while, so how about we go home together on Friday?”

I sent the message and soon saw that it was read. This time, without hastily closing my phone, I waited to see Setsune’s reply.

Then, a message came back from Setsune.

“If you promised, there’s nothing to be done. Got it, let’s definitely go home together on Friday.”

After confirming Setsune’s reply, and having finished lunch, I told Riho that we should head back to the classroom. I then headed to the classroom alongside Riho while thinking about my future plans.

Reflecting on Setsune’s reply, I think everything is going smoothly so far.

I’m not sure if Setsune is aware of it, but considering how quickly she checks and replies to my messages, and how she insisted on making plans using definite terms, she probably harbors some jealousy or competitive feelings toward Riho.

Up until now, I’ve never turned down Setsune’s invitations, nor have I done things like linking arms with a friend.

Moreover, if she were to see that in front of her eyes, even Setsune would surely feel jealous. It might seem like self-consciousness, but Setsune really loves me. Without a doubt, she treasures me. However, because she has other friends, she doesn’t show it much.

Initially, I had planned to keep some distance for about two weeks. But judging by today’s reaction, I feel that just maintaining this distance won’t yield any further results.

Since Setsune showed jealousy toward Riho, I’ve achieved almost ideal results. If I continue to keep my distance, there’s a risk of a natural drift, misunderstandings leading to fights, or even someone else taking Setsune away.

Therefore, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I’ll keep some distance like today, occasionally interact as before to shake Setsune’s feelings.

Then, on Friday, I’ll move on to the second stage. If we think of it in terms of days, today is Tuesday, so Wednesday and Thursday will be days to keep a little distance like today.

After school on Friday, I’ll kiss Setsune in the second stage, followed by Saturday and Sunday.

During this weekend, I won’t contact Setsune much, giving her time to think alone.

Above is the plan I’m currently considering.