A Life Far From Being Fulfilled

Arisu Sakayanagi was dumbfounded.

The guy outside was an idiot, but you, a Class A student, are a hopeless romantic too?

How did you even get into Class A?

I'll ask later.

Returning to the Class 1-B classroom, it seemed everyone had just finished their self-introductions.

"Miyano Makoto, where did you just go?"

Ryuji Kanzaki asked.

This strange remark was naturally intended for the others, letting everyone in the class know that this weird guy was named Miyano Makoto.

"I went to see my childhood friend."

Miyano Makoto was a pure-love warrior; if a beautiful girl chased him, that didn't count.

"..."

"?"

"?"

"What did you say?"

"You actually have a childhood friend relationship?!"

The students in the class erupted; they never expected to see a setup that usually only appeared in manga and novels in real life.

"Yeah, and she's a suuuper beautiful girl, too~"

Miyano Makoto stated the facts calmly.

"I don't believe you!"

Chihiro Shiranami didn't buy Miyano Makoto's words, and she frowned slightly.

"Calling someone a 'super beautiful girl' directly—did you grow up playing galgames? Would someone like that really like a person like you?"

"..."

The crowd in Class B fell silent. That's right, while it was true that Miyano Makoto was handsome, his way of speaking was clearly problematic!

"I think this is just a way to liven up the atmosphere, right?"

Sou Shibata stepped forward to help Miyano Makoto out.

"...Unfortunately, I'm stating a fact. As for the reason why I said it like that, it's because I wanted to."

"Forget it, forget it. There will be plenty of opportunities to judge whether what Miyano-kun said is true or false later. For now, let's get ready to head to the gymnasium for the entrance ceremony!"

Ryuji Kanzaki smoothed things over; he couldn't quite get a read on Miyano Makoto either.

He had truly never seen anything like this before...

The girls in the class quickly put the matter behind them, but the boys were still gossiping about it.

"Hey! Was what you just said for real or not?"

On the way to the gymnasium, Ryota Beppu couldn't help but lean in toward Miyano Makoto; he was genuinely curious.

Tetsuya Hamaguchi, walking beside them, pricked up his ears as well.

"What do you mean real or not? I've been telling the truth the whole time."

Miyano Makoto felt wronged. What normal guy in this world would think Ichinose Honami wasn't a super beautiful girl?

If she wasn't, he'd go hang himself tomorrow... No, wait, if something was wrong with others, what did that have to do with him?

If that were actually the case, he'd have to thank this world.

"Wow, I'm so jealous of you, man. You can feel the sweetness of love right after school starts!"

Ryota Beppu sighed; he was green with envy.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and your girlfriend!"

"Who said she and I are in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?"

Miyano Makoto found it strange. He had never said she was his girlfriend; he had always used the term "childhood friend" rather than "girlfriend."

"?"

"Now I'm starting to doubt the truth of what you're saying again."

"Me too. There's also a possibility that he's impotent."

Hearing this, Tetsuya Hamaguchi couldn't help but chime in. Was this something a normal man would do?

"No! Because if I were to confess, just think about it, that kind of thing would be too awkward... A childhood friend suddenly becoming a lover or something..."

Miyano Makoto explained. He wouldn't allow others to say such things about him!

He was a good man, after all!

"Don't bother explaining. I won't believe you unless you show me some proof."

Beppu Ryota waved his hand, having already lost interest in the matter. He suspected the guy had simply played too many galgames and developed a delusion.

And a "super beautiful girl," at that? What was he, an idol trainee who'd been practicing for two and a half years?

Just as chickens and basketballs had absolutely nothing to do with each other, super beautiful girls had nothing to do with idol trainees.

"Are you that desperate to date?"

Miyano Makoto felt he should put some effort into managing his interpersonal relationships, so he took the initiative to ask.

"Any normal adolescent boy would be!"

Beppu Ryota rolled his eyes, wondering why Miyano Makoto would ask such a low-level question.

"Speaking of romance, aren't manga series always centered around a male high school student as the protagonist?"

Kanzaki Ryuji had wandered over at some point. He'd initially thought his desk mate was in some kind of trouble, but it turned out they were still on the same dating topic.

"Yeah, I wish that kind of stuff would happen to me!"

Beppu Ryota let out a wail; he wished he could transmigrate into a manga right now and take the protagonist's place.

"As long as you keep saying things like that, it'll never happen."

Miyano Makoto retorted. He knew all about daydreaming from his past life, but thankfully, he was the protagonist of this novel now.

"Fair point. I'll give it my all!"

Beppu Ryota suddenly perked up, feeding himself some chicken soup for the soul.

"Alright, we've reached the gymnasium. Keep it quiet and don't make a scene in there, you hear me?"

Kanzaki Ryuji felt it was necessary to leave them with that warning, lest these two stir up some kind of trouble later.

"Got it!"

Miyano Makoto shouted, startling Beppu Ryota and causing the people around them to cast their gazes in their direction.

"Hey, what are you doing..."

"Why are you yelling so loud? It's a good thing we haven't entered the gymnasium yet..."

Kanzaki Ryuji sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling that the days ahead were likely going to be difficult.

"It's fine, I'm not afraid of losing face."

Miyano Makoto said quite proudly.

"But I am. Could you please keep it down later?"

Kanzaki Ryuji pleaded with Miyano Makoto.

Miyano Makoto nodded and made a zipping motion across his lips with his hand.

Seeing this, Kanzaki Ryuji finally relaxed and led the three of them into the gymnasium.

The entrance ceremony at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School was no different from any other school.

The administrators gave long-winded speeches on stage while the students swayed drowsily below.

It was a scene of harmonious and natural boredom.

Once it was all over, the first-year students were dismissed.

Miyano Makoto first went to the first floor of the dormitory to pick up his room key card, then took a brief stroll around the campus before heading to the cafeteria to wait for Ichinose Honami, as the time was just about right.

He was ready to be a kept man.

"Have you been waiting long?"

The vibrant, youthful beauty walked up to Miyano Makoto's side and naturally linked her arm with his left one.

"I just got here myself."

Miyano Makoto looked at Ichinose Honami and gave the standard response he had in mind, though this time, it was actually true.

"I see! Then let's go get some food together!"

Ichinose Honami pulled Miyano Makoto toward the serving counter without a second thought.

"Actually, there's something I'd like to ask of you..."

Miyano Makoto began, his pace slow, as he still felt somewhat awkward about it.