"This woman sure has a sharp tongue."
"Ah..." Ayanokoji said nothing.
He hadn't wanted to come in the first place, and now he'd been mocked again.
At this rate, he might actually develop some kind of fetish.
"Forget it. We've got plenty of time. We can take things slow and build a good relationship," Eito said with a smile.
"You're really optimistic..."
"Have you finished picking out your things? Want to check out another store?"
"I still need to get some daily necessities. Wait here." Ayanokoji headed toward the counter displaying free items.
"Sure."
Eito looked again in the direction Suzune had gone.
He'd actually thought of dozens of ways to make Suzune submit just then. But since they were in a public place, and Ayanokoji was there too, he hadn't argued back.
More importantly, he'd unexpectedly found Suzune rather cute when she was like that, so he'd let her do as she pleased.
Sometimes, being disliked wasn't such a bad thing. It meant he no longer had to worry about maintaining relationships.
Even if he did something that made the other person hate him more, it would only be one more point of hatred.
Yamauchi's Confession Plan
A certain Advanced Nurturing High School in Tokyo.
In a shadowy corner.
"What? Yamauchi, you're going to confess to Kushida?" Kanji Ike asked in surprise.
"Yeah, so hurry up and give me some ideas. How do you confess to a girl again?"
"...Uh, I don't know either, but you probably won't succeed." Kanji Ike waved a hand.
"Why not?"
"Because—Kushida likes me, so you don't stand a chance."
"Huh? Is your brain broken?" Yamauchi said, dumbfounded. "Who'd like an ugly guy like you?"
"Hey, we're about equally ugly. What are you even talking about?"
"Ike, do you think I became friends with you for any reason other than your ugly face?"
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing."
"You bastard!"
"Come on, let's fight. We're settling this today!"
"Bring it on. I won't call myself Grandpa Yamauchi if I don't beat you into an ugly mess."
"...Going for the face? How cowardly! Take this—"
"Ugh... You bastard, you went for my weak spot!"
Ten minutes later.
The two of them lay sprawled on the ground, their faces bruised and swollen.
Kanji Ike said weakly:
"Yamauchi... what are we even doing?"
"Fighting." Yamauchi glared at him, then lay back down. "Only the winner gets to confess to Kikyo."
"Then you won. Go on. Just don't cry when she turns you down."
"What do you take me for?" Yamauchi said irritably. "I... I'm only interested in Kikyo's body. It's not like I really like her. Honestly."
"You're a real piece of work..."
"As if you're any better... You've got no right to talk."
Kanji Ike fell silent.
There were things he knew, but saying them out loud was another matter.
Like his claim that Kikyo liked him. He'd only said it to satisfy his own vanity.
He knew there were plenty of guys more popular than him. Hirata Yosuke, the class's golden boy, for instance. Even if Kikyo liked Hirata, she'd never like him.
He still clung to a sliver of hope inside, like a gambler, imagining that Kikyo might truly fall for him. But more than anything, he felt helpless in the face of reality.
Reality.
A terrifying thing.
No one could decide what they looked like, how intelligent they were, or what kind of family they were born into.
Everything in this world seemed predetermined, as if the ending had been set from the moment of birth. Geniuses got whatever they wanted without breaking a sweat.
No matter how hard fools tried, they could never catch up.
He knew he was a fool.
But if even he denied himself...
Then he'd have nothing left.
"Yamauchi, you won. Go confess to her."
"I already won, didn't I?" Yamauchi pursed his lips. "So, what should I do?"
"You're sure you want to ask me?"
"...Uh."
Only then did Yamauchi remember the problem: he'd asked the wrong person.
Had that fight been for nothing, then?
What a drag.
In the end, Yamauchi decided to ask Eito for advice. After all, Eito was the one who'd told him to confess, so he had to see it through.
He searched nearly half the school before finally finding Eito beneath a sun umbrella in front of the bubble tea shop.
Eito was alone. A cup of lemon tea sat on the table in front of him. He rested his chin on one hand and held the rim of the cup with the other.
Every now and then, he took a sip through the straw. His eyes seemed unfocused, as if he were lost in thought. His face looked relaxed, yet carried a hint of melancholy.
His handsome face seemed to add to his charm. Combined with the quiet surroundings, it created a peculiar little space within half a meter of him, almost like another world, at odds with everything around it.
The strange atmosphere made passersby glance his way from time to time.
Yamauchi shattered the mood without a second thought and sat down across from Eito.
"Hey, what are you pretending to be? Some old man on vacation?"
"Huh?"
Eito snapped out of it and looked at him in confusion.
He didn't say anything, but Yamauchi could read the plain message in his eyes.
What the hell are you talking about?
"Forget it. I've got something important to ask you. Tell me honestly: how are you supposed to confess to someone? I hate to admit it, but you should know, right?"
"Oh, it's simple." Eito lazily slumped over the table and held up an index finger. "'So-and-so, I like you. Would you go out with me?' 'Sorry, I already like someone else.' 'I'm sorry for bothering you.' That's pretty much how it goes."
"Stop messing around. I'm asking how I should confess to Kikyo. Can you take this seriously?"
Eito still didn't sit up. He kept giving him pointers.
"That's easy too... 'Kikyo, will you marry me?' 'Honestly, Yamauchi, I want to be friends with everyone. I can't marry you, meow...' 'Waaah, I don't want to live anymore! My Kikyo, my Kikyo! Waaah, waaah—'"
"Enough!" Yamauchi jumped to his feet, his face red with anger. "You really are messing with me! And Kikyo doesn't meow! You're not even talking about Kikyo."
"How do you know, meow? Maybe that's how she talks when she's flirting with her boyfriend in private, meow."
"What? She has a boyfriend?"
"..."
"Come on, tell me! Does she have a boyfriend or not?"
"Maybe... probably... possibly. Look how cute she is. How could she not have a boyfriend?"
"What!" Yamauchi shouted. "You mean she's not a virgin?"
"...So that's what you're focused on."
Yamauchi grabbed Eito by the collar, worked up. "No way, you're lying. Kikyo's so cute—how could she be a bitch?"
Eito didn't feel like commenting on Yamauchi's definition of "bitch." He sighed, knocked Yamauchi's hand away, and stood up to leave.
"If you want to know whether she's a virgin, go ask her yourself."
"Oh, right. But if I ask her that, will Kikyo get mad? Will she say... 'Dear Yamauchi, you really think I might not be a virgin? Honestly, I'm saving my first time just for you. Ah~ don't touch me there. I'll show you when we get back to my room. Ah, no~ Don't lift my clothes here. Someone might see us. Honestly...' Hey, where'd he go?"
Yamauchi looked up. Eito, who'd been there just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
A short distance away, a few girls were covering their mouths and giggling.
"Hmph, useless."
Yamauchi glared at the two girls, cursed Eito's entire family in his mind, then sulked off.
Friends Are Delicious
The school had three student dormitories, one for each grade. The boys lived on the lower floors and the girls on the upper floors.
Eito lived on the fourth floor of the first-year dormitory, in the third room.
Each student had a private room with a bathroom and bedroom, measuring around a dozen square meters.
It wasn't particularly spacious, but it was rare to find a school with single rooms, even at university, let alone high school.
After returning from outside, he started setting up his room.
First, he put away his bedding and furniture. Then came the most important part.
He took several miniature cameras he'd bought earlier from his pocket, inserted SD cards, and hid them in inconspicuous spots, making sure they covered the entire room. The cameras could also record sound.
He wasn't doing this because he had some unusual hobby, like wanting to become a porn director. He was just preparing for the worst.
What if someone sneaked into his room to do something bad?
Like Ayanokoji.
He could never let his guard down around Ayanokoji. He'd come from the White Room, and although Ayanokoji treated him like a friend on the surface, Eito had no idea what he really thought of him—whether he saw him as a tool or something else.
So he had to prepare for the worst. Even if Ayanokoji decided to sell him out someday, Eito would be ready to respond.
Fortunately, he was a transmigrator and knew plenty of things other people didn't.
Some people worshipped strength too much, not realizing that information was every bit as powerful.
Information was a kind of strength, too—and the most crucial kind.
After putting everything away, he glanced out the window at the sunset and realized dusk had fallen.
He spread his arms and let himself flop onto the freshly made bed. Every muscle and bone in his body relaxed, and all the fatigue he'd built up over the day seemed to dissolve into thin air.
"That feels great."
Everything else seemed unimportant. All he wanted was a good night's sleep.
And before long, he drifted into a deep, hazy slumber.
Before you continue