Chapter 3 | What Kind of Relationship Is This?

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“A-Anyway! Let’s go inside first. The girls seem to be arriving in a few minutes.”

“O-Okay.”

These two were supposed to participate in the mixer in a cheerful mood.

But because of my appearance—or rather, because I was cheated on—the atmosphere became heavy.

“Sorry, you two…”

“It’s not like Shinse did anything wrong! Right, Aoi?”

“Yeah.”

Certainly, tracing back to the cause, it may not be my fault.

But I can’t say that it wasn’t my responsibility either.

In other words, if the cause of the cheating was me, then I would be at fault as a result.

Still, I feel unconvinced.

As Satō said, no matter what the reason, it’s not right to betray someone.

Ria and I were dating, so if she had any complaints about me, I wish she would have told me.

Did Ria seek something in that man that she couldn’t get from me, something she couldn’t tell me? Was there something that I couldn’t provide, something that that man had?

Thinking that made me feel like I couldn’t handle this…

Even so, I shouldn’t stay in a dark mood forever.

Even if it’s just to make up the numbers, I’m about to participate in a mixer.

No, maybe I’m not just there to make up the numbers anymore, since I don’t have a girlfriend anymore.

As Shō said, a new love might begin.

It might not be a bad idea to look for a new encounter from today.

If I get a new girlfriend, maybe it will heal this wounded heart and make me feel fulfilled.

As long as that girlfriend doesn’t betray me again—

While I was brooding in the karaoke box, the girls arrived.

“Sorry for the wait~”

“Sorry, did we keep you waiting?”

The two girls who poked their heads in were some of the most popular girls in the school.

I was genuinely impressed at how they managed to gather such cute girls… and then, I gasped when I saw the face of the last girl who came in.

“…”

Expressionless and silent, and unlike the other girls who were in casual clothes, the one who appeared in her uniform was Reina Futaba, renowned as the most beautiful girl in Soei High School.

Her eyes were sharp and slanted, with clear, blue eyes.

Her glossy black hair flowed elegantly down to her waist.

Her full breasts pushed against her white blouse.

She was tall and slender, and her legs, which extended from her blue-based plaid miniskirt, were covered in black tights and more alluring than bare skin.

From her dignified face, I could feel an adult sex appeal that didn’t seem like that of a high school student.

If Ria hadn’t been by my side when we passed each other in the hallway, she was beautiful enough for me to follow her with my eyes.

…That’s right, the phrase “if Ria hadn’t been by my side” meant that I had a guilty feeling towards her, and now that I had broken up with Ria, I could enjoy Futaba’s looks without caring.

Now that I don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t have to restrain myself from things I had been consciously restraining myself from.

If that’s the case, then I should have properly looked at Sora’s panties.

“We weren’t waiting at all! Here, sit down, sit down.”

Satō was forcing himself to be cheerful, as if he were trying to act bright.

Satō is a good guy. Of course, so is Shō.

That makes me feel all the more sorry.

I can tell how much effort it took to invite this group to this mixer.

The other girls besides Futaba are also popular, and they wouldn’t agree to come to a mixer if I was the one who invited them.

The mixer was supposed to be a cheerful gathering, but because of me, the male side was now in an awkward atmosphere.

Even though it was Shō who invited me, I had inadvertently stepped on Satō ‘s landmine.

Someday, I have to apologize to the two of them with all my heart.

Even so, this group of girls for this mixer, I’ve known of them before, but they were all unattainable beauties that I’ve never talked to before.

The mixer started with introductions while we ordered drinks.

First, the girls.

“I’m Megumi Tanaka from Class 1! My hobby is gaming!”

They introduced themselves and their hobbies in turn, and the guys reacted and broadened the topic.

Even though I say “the guys,” it was just the two of them besides me who were used to mixers that were reacting, and I was unresponsive.

I’m not a social butterfly like Shō and the others.

The soccer club is a group of social butterflies, so I just settle into the group. I don’t have the skills to say anything witty or funny.

“…”

“…”

I made eye contact with Futaba, who was also unresponsive, but I awkwardly looked away.

Also, Futaba doesn’t seem too enthusiastic.

Following Tanaka, the introduction of a girl named Suzuki ended, and finally it was Futaba’s turn.

“I’m Reina Futaba from Class 1. My hobby is observing people.”

“O-Observing people, huh~. I-I see~…”

Shō, who seemed used to mixers, reacted as if he was troubled.

Indeed, it was a hard hobby to respond to.

First of all, there’s no way to broaden the topic.

For example, if Tanaka’s hobby was gaming, you could ask what games she’s been playing recently, or what genre of games she likes.

But if your hobby is observing people, how do you broaden the topic?

I have no idea.

If Satō had said his hobby was observing people, I would have definitely told him to read the room.

“I observe people too! Mostly girls, though!”

Satō, that’s a bit too obvious with your desires, and it’s creepy.

“What do you think?”

“…Eh?”

I was bewildered by Futaba suddenly asking me a question.

I couldn’t say what I thought straight out.

I couldn’t possibly tell Reina Futaba, the talented woman who boasts the best grades in the year, to “read the room.”

I have to get through this somehow…

“It’s a hobby that suits the smart Futaba-san.”

“…Oh, thank you.”

I didn’t expect her to thank me.

Next, it started with Shō from the male group, and I was last.

“Um, I’m Shinse Asahioka from Class 2. My hobby is—”

“Ehh! You’re that Asahioka-kun!?”

“…Eh?”

As soon as Tanaka heard my name, she became interested.

“You’re that Asahioka-kun who rescued a little girl who was drowning in the river last summer and it became news, right?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that too! I think you were praised a lot by the principal at the school opening ceremony in the second semester!”

Tanaka and Suzuki were excitedly getting involved.

Oh, that story… I listened with a sinking feeling.

That topic was not a very pleasant one for me.

“That topic is a bit…”

Shō, who knows the details, tries to interrupt, but the two excited girls can’t stop.

“Hey, hey, tell us about when you saved the girl.”

“I wanna hear, I wanna hear!”

“No, I don’t really want to talk about it…”

“Why? Saving a girl is so cool!”

I really didn’t want to talk about it.

It’s not that I have a problem with telling people my heroic stories.

“Sorry, I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Ehh!? At this timing!?”

I left the karaoke box as if I were running away.

⭐︎

“Haa…”

I was alone near the bathroom, hanging my head.

Is today just a day when I have to experience unpleasant things?

Of course, it’s not the fault of those girls who don’t know the details of what happened last summer.

It’s impossible for them to sense something without knowing the other person’s situation.

The same can be said about Ria.

If I had known what triggered the change in Ria’s feelings, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

If I had known the circumstances, I might have been able to keep her heart connected to me before she cheated.

I should have paid more attention to the other person…

“—What are you doing, standing here like this?”

I slowly raised my head, which had been bowed, when I was spoken to.

Reina Futaba was standing in front of me.

“…I was thinking about life.”

“Is that something you should be doing in the middle of a mixer?”

“Humans are thinking creatures. So, do you have some business with me?”

I’m sure she wants to know why I left my seat in the middle of my self-introduction.

Why I left as if running away without talking about saving the elementary school girl.

Unlike those two, Futaba didn’t look interested, but opened her mouth with her usual expressionless face.

“I came to question you because I was curious why you lied.”

“…Lied?”

I tilted my head, not seeing where this was going.

“Just now, when you heard about my hobby, you lied, didn’t you?”

A lie, so that’s what she’s talking about…

I thought I had managed to cover it up well, but it seems that she saw right through me.

It’s just what you’d expect from someone whose hobby is observing people.

“Answer me honestly. What did you think when you heard about my hobby?”

“…I thought you should read the room.”

Like a child being scolded for hiding something, I answered honestly.

I answered honestly because she told me to answer honestly, but I’m sure Futaba wouldn’t feel good about it.

“…Fufu.”

See, she’s started laughing mischievously.

“I was wrong. But if I had said what I honestly thought, the atmosphere would have turned bad, so I couldn’t help it.”

I restrained myself from saying that I read the room, unlike Futaba.

“I’m not angry or anything. I said my hobby is observing people on purpose.”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I thought that she corrected herself because she knew that her hobby would confuse others, but seeing her composed face, it seems that what she said was true.

“I didn’t originally intend to participate in the mixer. I was dragged here by those two against my will, and I was annoyed. So, in order to make the atmosphere of the place awkward, I told a harmless lie.”

“…I see.”

I understood why Futaba had been participating with a bored and expressionless face the whole time.

She just came here against her will.

Also, it seemed out of character for Futaba to participate in a mixer, and so I was strangely convinced. The Reina Futaba I had in my mind was someone who wasn’t interested in romantic relationships.

The reason why I think that is because I’ve heard a lot of stories about guys who have confessed to Futaba Reina and been rejected since first year.

By the way, Satō is one of those male students who was rejected by Futaba.

It’s not particularly uncommon to hear stories of male students being rejected by Reina Futaba at our school, so I didn’t think much of it…

I’ve also never heard of Futaba having someone she was interested in, or rather, if she had such a person, they would surely be dating. Futaba is a beautiful girl whom everyone envies.

That led to the speculation that Futaba herself wasn’t interested in romance, and in fact, people around her have been saying that as fact.

I thought that she had a change of heart and that’s why she was participating in the mixer, but that wasn’t the case.

The reason why she’s not in casual clothes but in her uniform is probably because she didn’t want to come.

“You should have refused.”

“…Between you and me, it was Tanaka-san who proposed this mixer.”

“Eh, really?”

I thought that it was one of those two who had gathered this group as a result of their efforts.

“You, who suddenly joined to make up the numbers, probably don’t know this.”

Futaba smiled slightly.

“She likes Takanashi-kun… was it? Tanaka-san likes him.”

“Eh, really!?”

Does Shō realize that Tanaka has feelings for him?

“But he seems to like me.”

“…Huh?”

“Knowing that, Tanaka-san used me as a prop to set up this mixer.”

A love triangle, I didn’t want to know that.

On top of that, Satō, who was previously rejected by Futaba, is also there.

If Satō still has feelings for Futaba…

“By the way, Suzuki-san seems to like Satō -kun.”

…If possible, I only wanted to hear the sweet stories…

This time, I was just there to make up the numbers, but I speculated that the reason why the guy who was originally supposed to come didn’t show up was because of these twisted relationships.

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