What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love?

Chapter 27 : I’m Special, Everyone Else Is A Failure

From as far back as I can remember… No, ever since I was born, I’ve always been popular.

If I put in even a little effort, I could do anything. People always praised me, calling me amazing.

But at some point, I started thinking — if I’m amazing, then what does that make everyone else?

People around me have always admired me.

Of course, they did — I worked hard for it after all. The results I achieved were a direct outcome of my effort, so it was only natural to be praised.

But over time, I started to lose the ability to find value in that praise.

It wasn’t that I found my everyday life boring. I liked being admired, and I wanted to be someone others aspired to be.

But did people really aspire to be like me? That part, I couldn’t understand.

Because no one ever actually tried to become like me.

I’m not a genius. I’m just someone who works hard. Naturally, if others put in the same effort, they could become like me.

I wanted someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with me — someone I could call a ‘friend,’ but truly, a ‘rival.’

And yet, no one even tried to put in the effort. No one even attempted to become great.

In the end, they weren’t really admiring me.

They were just intoxicated by the feeling of admiring someone.

Is a life like that even fun? I couldn’t understand it.

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Especially the guys who clung to me — they were an eyesore.

I never once considered those who only talked big but never put in the effort as my friends.

Later, I found out that those guys had only stuck around me because of Suisei and Chiya.

“Checkmate! The king has fallen!”

“It’s an overthrow! A revolution!”

“Which means, Akito, from now on, you’re our slave!”

“You bastards…! Quit screwing aro—Gah!”

The day they admitted it to my face, I fought them.

Five or so guys who had only approached me because of girls — I fought them and lost.

But what I couldn’t forgive was them calling me a ‘slave.’

That word was unacceptable.

So, despite being beaten to a pulp, despite coughing up blood, I stood back up.

“Hey let’s stop here…! He’s coughing up blood!”

“He’s a monster! Run!”

I had always wondered — why is it that in that game if the richest player loses, they drop to the lowest rank?

Why should the position I worked so hard for be threatened by a bunch of slackers who only gained power through numbers?

I couldn’t accept the idea that ‘all prosperity must decline.’

But I was wrong about one thing.

It’s true — I can’t take on multiple opponents alone.

Then, I just have to make sure I’m not alone.

After all, a king has his subordinates.

I no longer needed ‘friends’ who could match me.

All I needed were pawns who would obey my every command.

That’s when I called out to Riku.

“I’m Akito. Your name’s Riku, right? It’s more fun to be with others than to be alone.”

I had known Riku since we started elementary school.

His bangs were long enough to cover his eyes, and his plain clothes actually made him stand out.

I forcibly brought Riku into my group, and at first, Suisei and Chiya found him eerie.

But when Riku was able to tell apart Suisei and Chiya, who looked nearly identical, the two of them quickly warmed up to him.

Even I had never been able to tell them apart.

Seeing Riku do something I couldn’t, I felt a small spark of expectation.

Maybe — just maybe — he could become the rival I had always dreamed of.

Looks didn’t matter. If he put in the effort, he might grow into someone who could stand alongside me.

But I changed my mind halfway through.

Riku did put in the effort I was expecting. He followed every order I gave him.

But he simply couldn’t do it — no matter how hard he tried, he never became amazing.

Suisei and Chiya praised him, but I couldn’t see it that way.

I must have been wrong from the start.

I thought anyone could become great if they worked hard.

But I was mistaken…

Even if they put in the same effort as me, no one else could become great.

Everyone except me was defective.

I was special from the very beginning. It was such a simple conclusion.

After that realization, I began to distance myself from most of the people who approached me, looking down on them.

The decisive moment was when Riku was betrayed by his so-called friends.

He had asked me to meet them, so I reluctantly showed up late.

But when I arrived, I found Riku wearing a devastated expression.

They had taken his valuables and betrayed him.

I was disgusted.

How pathetic — someone who follows me should never be this weak.

That moment, I recalled all the people who had approached me just for Suisei and Chiya.

Even if I weren’t special, people would still be calculating and selfish, betraying others the moment it suited them.

There was no such thing as true friendship.

A king is always alone.

But Riku was harmless to me. And he was useful enough.

More importantly, his very existence emphasized how special I was.

As I grew older, I became popular with many girls, and many guys grew jealous of me.

But Riku would always call out those jealous boys.

He probably started thinking his position as my childhood friend was special.

Someone this useful doesn’t come around often.

That’s why Riku has to move exactly as I want him to.

After all, I’m allowing him to call himself my childhood friend.

Today, for the first time, I found Riku to be an obstacle.

This was supposed to be an interaction to help me get closer to Miumi, yet he was utterly useless.

No — he was worse than useless.

When he ended up paired with Miumi, I was seething inside.

I barely managed to suppress my frustration thanks to the fact that the girl Amagishi brought alongside her, Kozuka Niko, was at least somewhat attractive.

I even tried flirting with her as practice for my date with Miumi. She fell for it easily.

As expected, I am special.

The reason I never had a girlfriend until now was because being the idol of the girls gave me a unique kind of power.

But I no longer need that power.

If I can have her, I’ll do whatever it takes.

Miumi Aihara — she is my destined match.

On the way back from the gathering, the three girls from Higashikiba were naturally around me.

The loudest one, Kokaze, looked exhausted for once.

Amagishi and Riku were nowhere in sight, making this the perfect chance.

“Hey, Miumi, how was today?”

“Of course! I had a lot of fun!”

“Really?”

“I hope we can have more chances like this in the future.”

The way she clasped her hands together in that gesture, as if expressing how much fun she had, made me happy as well. Among all the girls I’ve met, Miumi’s charm is… she fits the word ‘graceful’ perfectly. Speaking of graceful—

“Oh yeah, Nishikiba is an all-girls school, so you don’t really get to hang out with guys much, huh?”

“That’s right! I went to all-girls schools for both elementary and middle school, so this was a great experience for me.”

“Huh… I see.”

That was an even more intriguing answer than I had expected, making me realize once again how special Miumi was. The number of all-girls elementary and middle schools in this area is limited.

And all of them are prestigious institutions commonly referred to as “elite girls’ academies,” meaning Miumi might be just as much of an ojou-sama as Chiya.

Because Chiya had always had conflicts with her mother about this since we were kids, I knew more about these schools than I really needed to.

“Then, maybe the fact that we’ve met three times now means we were brought together by fate.”

“……”

For a brief moment, Miumi looked sad, but she quickly regained her usual expression. Just as I was wondering why, I realized I had misspoken.

“Oh—wait, my mistake… This is actually only our second time meeting, isn’t it? But for some reason, I feel like we’ve met somewhere before—”

“I see.”

“I wonder why… Maybe that’s fate too. Haha.”

“……”

“Oh, right. I already exchanged contact info with Niko-san, but I’d like to exchange it with you too, Miumi.”

We had just reached the roundabout, and if she were heading toward Nishikiba Girls’ Academy, this would be the point where we’d part ways. That’s when I realized I hadn’t gotten her contact info yet.

Even though we had become fairly friendly today, thanks to Amagishi’s interference, the distance between us was still greater than I had hoped.

I wanted to meet her one-on-one next time, and having her contact information wouldn’t hurt.

“Yeah. Ah, sorry, my curfew is coming up, so I don’t really have the time.”

“Huh… seriously?”

“I have to hurry home! I’ll get your contact info from Niko-chan. Today was really fun. Thank you!”

The moment Miumi opened her phone, she suddenly took off running.

It felt almost as if she was running away from me, and I instinctively wanted to chase after her.

But I knew I couldn’t do that here.

Suisei, Chiya, and Kokaze, who had stayed out of our conversation until now, were waving at Miumi.

“See you later, Miumi-chan!”

“…Goodbye.”

At some point, the three of them had gotten fairly close to Miumi without me even realizing it.

For some reason… that irritated me.

It felt like Miumi saw me as just an ordinary friend, and that didn’t sit well with me.

Still, as long as I could contact her later, there was no need to rush.

I quietly raised my hand in a wave.

She turned back for just a moment and gave a small wave in return.

My heart skipped a beat.

She really was like an angel.

“Well, should we head home now?”

“Wait! Hey, since we’re already out, why don’t the four of us go somewhere? Like a little after-party!”

“No way, Kokaze-chan… Akito must be tired too—”

“Boo, boo! Then you don’t have to come, Suisei-chan~”

With that, Kokaze hooked her arm around my right arm.

She was as loud as ever, but at least she was cute.

Meanwhile, Suisei looked worried, which was honestly kind of amusing to watch.

I would never want to date someone as exhausting as Kokaze, but the fact that she had a crush on me was valuable when it came to school social dynamics.

—Click!

At that moment, I thought I heard the sound of a camera shutter from somewhere.

Because Kokaze was clinging to my arm, I couldn’t move freely, and I felt like I had just missed something.

Maybe I was imagining things…?

“Well… maybe, but…”

“You agree too, don’t you, Akito-nii? …Huh, Akito-nii?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. An after-party wouldn’t be a bad idea… But if Suisei is too tired, maybe we should call it off.”

Neither Suisei nor Kokaze seemed to notice anything unusual, so maybe it really was just my imagination.

But Chiya… she was staring off into the distance, and that bothered me.

Normally, she would get jealous and tell Kokaze off, but today, she wasn’t saying anything.

Something about her felt off.

“Chiya, is something wrong?”

“No… I think I just zoned out from exhaustion.”

“You sure you’re okay…?”

“Sorry, Kokaze, but I think I’ll pass on the after-party.”

“Well, if all four of us aren’t going, then I’m out too.”

“Ehh~”

“Honestly, I think I’m more tired than I realized too. Let’s just call it a night.”

“Fine. If Akito-nii says so~”

Even Kokaze, who usually wouldn’t back down, gave in without much protest.

She must have been tired as well.

And since I was starting to hear nonexistent camera shutters, I was clearly exhausted too.

I had made at least some progress with Miumi today, so I should be able to sleep well tonight.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

Translator’s Notes : Well, well, well… didn’t expect him to turn out like this. What a bastard.

With this chapter, it seems like the story will start picking up the pace and we will see many more revelations. Let’s see how things turn out to be and hope Riku would have a change in his personality.

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TL : zenon_xt