The Strongest Loner Redo His Youth With Unmatched Prowess!! ~In the Second Round of School Life, He Made Beautiful Girl Friends!~ - Chapter 9: Long Ago

Yuito escaped from the classroom. 

He headed to an empty classroom in the corner of the school building. 

It was a place used like a storage room, filled with piles of desks and folding chairs. 

It was a bit dusty, but the cramped space was comforting. 

Plus, it had a secret base vibe, making it his favorite spot. 

He had used this place during his previous high school life as well. 

“In the end, I always come back here…”

Yuito borrowed a long table and a folding chair. 

He spread out some bread on it. 

“That seat-stealing woman. What grudge does she have against me――” 

“Wow! I didn’t know there was a place like this!” 

The door swung open with a bang. 

It was Kirika who came in. 

“Huh, uh, huh?” 

“I saw you leaving the classroom in a hurry, Yuito-kun, so I chased after you!”

Why is she chasing after him?

Yuito had a moment of doubt, but it quickly vanished. 

“Excuse me, mind if I sit next to you?” 

“Huh!?” 

Kirika prepared a chair and placed it next to Yuito. 

The space was narrow, so their shoulders naturally brushed against each other. 

(Isn’t this too close!? Is this the distance that outgoing people have!?) 

Yuito panicked. 

On the other hand, Kirika didn’t seem to care at all. 

Moreover, she started spreading out her bento on the long table.

“Uh, Jinguuji-san, are you going to eat here?” 

“Yeah. Is that a problem?” 

“No, it’s not a problem, but…” 

It’s not a problem, but why here? 

It would be more fun to eat with the two guys from yesterday or with Hakari. 

Yuito wondered about it but still reached for the bread. 

Upon seeing this, Kirika was surprised by the bread spread out on the table.

“Did you manage to get the ‘Extreme Cream Coronet Deluxe’? That’s amazing!” 

“Uh, yeah.” 

Pikon! 

Yuito had an epiphany. Was that the plan? 

The bread was in a bag he received at the cafeteria. 

The bag was a cheap, mass-produced plastic one. 

The contents were visible through it. 

Maybe she noticed Yuito had the cream coronet and came to get it. 

Yuito offered the coronet. 

“Um, do you want a cream cornet?”

“Eh, is it okay!?”

She bit. It seemed that the cornet was indeed the goal. 

Well, Yuito didn’t buy it because he wanted to eat it. 

It was for creating a topic in the classroom. 

If she wanted it, she could have it. 

“Then, in exchange, I’ll give you my side dish.” 

Kirika pulled out a pair of chopsticks. 

She grabbed a piece of fried chicken from her colorful bento and offered it to Yuito.

“Here, ahh.” 

“Huh?! Ah, ahh.” 

When Yuito opened his mouth, she tossed in a piece of fried chicken. 

It was very delicious. 

The meat was tender, and with each bite, umami burst forth. 

It was almost regrettable that it wasn’t freshly made. 

At the very least, it wasn’t a frozen food product. 

Even with the remarkable advancements in the frozen food industry, it would be difficult to achieve this level of flavor. 

Could it be handmade by her?

Or maybe it was her mother? 

“It’s very delicious. Did Jinguuji-san make it?” 

“I wish I could say yes… but I’ve never cooked before. It was made by the maid.”

The answer was surprisingly the maid. 

Now that he thinks about it, Kirika’s family is wealthy. 

She is the granddaughter of a renowned explorer. Her grandfather was a legendary explorer. Her parents were also famous people.

The fact that a maid makes her lunch means she probably doesn’t live alone. 

“Is Jinguuji-san’s family home in the Exploration City?” 

Most of the students attending schools in Exploration City live away from their parents. 

This is because schools for explorers are only found in Exploration City. 

However, if the parents are also explorers, that’s a different story. 

Many explorers live in the well-equipped Exploration City.

So, if her parents are explorers, it’s likely she commutes from her family home. 

“…That’s how it is now.” 

Kirika looked dissatisfied. She had a sulky expression, like a pouting child. 

Was it an annoying question? 

Did he step on a landmine? 

Yuito felt anxious. 

“…Yuito-kun, didn’t you have any close friends when you were a child?” 

“Um…?”

The topic suddenly shifted. 

It was a sharp turn with incredible inertia. 

For Yuito, who struggles with social skills, it was a level he couldn’t keep up with. 

However, Kirika didn’t stop. 

She charged ahead, leaving Yuito behind. 

“Maybe you had a childhood friend who was a girl. It might have been just a child’s play, but didn’t you promise to get married and receive your first kiss from her?” 

Kirika said with a bright smile. 

But the intensity was overwhelming.

Beneath the superficial smile, anger seems to be seeping from within. 

(Huh, what? What are we talking about now!? Am I being scolded!?) 

Yuito couldn’t follow the conversation at all. 

It felt like he had been taken to a seminar on a religion he didn’t know. 

All he could think was a question mark. 

After all.

“I-I’m sorry. I can’t remember my childhood memories…”

“…Huh?” 

Yuito had no memories of his childhood. 

To be precise, he couldn’t recall them. 

They only surfaced vaguely, like through a fog. 

“…When I was a child, I was attacked by a monster while traveling with my parents. They died then. I can’t really remember anything before that…”

The doctor said it was probably psychosomatic. 

To alleviate the trauma of losing his parents, he has closed off all his past memories. 

So, when asked about his childhood, he gets troubled. 

“…I see.” 

Kirika looks down. 

That expression is not visible to Yuito. 

“I’m sorry. I asked something strange…”

“N-no, no, please don’t mind it. It’s an old story.”

They spent their lunch break awkwardly in the tense atmosphere.

◇◆◇◆◇

That night, Yuito was watching a certain stream. 

It was a stream by a female VTuber. 

During the stream, a concerning question came up. 

“Um, I’m a high school boy. I often find my seat taken during break time. The other person is a girl, so it’s hard to say anything. What should I do to prevent this from happening?”

Yuito was also curious about this information. 

He really wanted to know. 

“Huh? Can’t you just tell them to move?”

(If I could do that, I wouldn’t be struggling!!) 

He screams in his heart. 

However, he doesn’t have the courage to type a comment to Yuito. 

“Isn’t that girl interested in you?”

…What are they saying? 

Why would she take his seat if she’s interested? 

Yuito doesn’t understand. 

“Maybe she’s sitting in your seat because she wants a reason to talk to you? At least for me, I wouldn’t want to sit in the seat of someone I dislike.”

Yuito’s heart skipped a beat. 

Could it be that Kirika is talking about him…

Just as he was thinking that, a comment from the stream caught his eye

: ※Only for handsome guys.

: Could it be that girl who bullies you…!?

: Stop trying to create misunderstandings, introverts, lol.

: Isn’t this an act of terrorism against introverts?! 

(Oh, that was close… I almost misunderstood…!!) 

And so, the birth of a misunderstood introvert was prevented. 

Although, it’s unclear whether it was a misunderstanding or not.