Chapter 10 | The Trouble With Being a Popular Guy

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“Waaaaah, listen to me, Yuzu~!”

During lunch break, I was invited by Ryo to have lunch together, so I was eating with him for the first time in a while.

Even though he was my best friend and childhood friend, Ryo was popular with both boys and girls, so we didn’t usually have lunch together.

That’s why I ended up eating alone a lot. Ryo was concerned about me, but I didn’t really mind.

Since I was the one who drew the line, I was happy when I could eat with Ryo.

However, this time, Ryo had something to discuss that only I could help him with, and he had turned down other invitations.

These things happened about once a month, and every time, I would listen to his troubles.

His problem seemed quite serious, and he was crying with tears in his eyes.

However, he looked nothing like a high school boy, and he was doing things that didn’t suit him at all, so I burst out laughing, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

Ryo glared at me with teary eyes, but even that looked like a sulking bird, and I struggled to hold back my laughter.

“Don’t laugh…”

“Sorry, sorry. So, what’s the problem?”

“…A girl confessed to me again. I turned her down, though.”

It seemed like it was something involving a girl again.

Ryo had been very popular with girls of all ages since middle school, and his looks often got him into trouble.

It wasn’t limited to just school; he had been approached by adults, stalked, and these were all traumatic experiences for him.

Because of that, he had become almost distrustful of women.

He acted cheerful and smiled to the girls, but it seemed like he was afraid to even talk to them.

I had once told him that he should make it public and get it checked out at a hospital or somewhere.

Then, he said that he knew they didn’t have any bad intentions, and he didn’t want to make them worry.

I thought, “How much of a good person can you be?” but that personality was probably why Ryo was so popular.

“It’s the girls’ feelings to confess, so they should do what they want, but it’s causing fights…”

“Ah, I see.”

In other words, it was a problem related to love.

When it comes to love, even the closest of friends can end up fighting.

The girl who confessed and another girl who liked Ryo had an argument, which escalated into a fight.

I didn’t know the details, but either she was scolded for being rejected, or the confession was a sneaky move.

Even if it wasn’t exactly that, it could be categorized into those two patterns. I understood it well.

“They even started arguing in front of me… Am I an unnecessary existence?”

A dark aura was surrounding Ryo.

He looked like a former protagonist who had fallen into darkness.

Ryo didn’t like fighting, and he treated everyone equally. He was a person who wanted everyone to get along.

That was probably why he was hurt even more.

“For now, let’s go to the game center today, okay? It might help you feel better.”

I gave him the words that had cheered him up before.

I felt bad about not being able to play with Karin, but my friend was also important.

“Yuzu… I’m so glad I met you.”

“Hey, idiot! Stop it! You’re too much!”

Ryo was trying to hug me without caring about the people around us.

I stopped him with both of my hands.

As we were in a standoff for a while, I felt a warm gaze, along with an elegant laughter.

“Fufu, you two are really close.”

“Oh it’s Amase, we’re not really close, he’s just forcing himself on me.”

I felt a bit embarrassed from her elegant laughter, but rather than being confused, Kotomi’s gaze was closer to envy.

That made my embarrassment disappear.

“Would you mind if I ate with you as well?”

Kotomi said that. It was fine with me, but it was a problem for Ryo.

When I looked to the side, I saw him with a pale face and a forced smile.

He couldn’t hide his fear of girls because of the recent trouble.

I was about to try and refuse with some reason, but before I could, Ryo agreed.

“Yuzu, are you close with Amase-san?”

“Hmm, we have contact, and we’ve become a little closer because of it.”

“Yes, Hanazawa-san has helped me.”

“Hmm, I didn’t know Yuzu had friends…”

“More like… acquaintances? Anyway, I’m grateful to Amase.”

Kotomi paused for a moment. Then she made a forced smile.

I didn’t notice the change, but I felt a mysterious heaviness in the air.

When I looked to the side, Ryo’s hand was shaking a little, and when I looked in front of me, I could instantly tell that Kotomi was giving a forced smile.

“Acquaintances… I, I see. I’m also grateful to Hanazawa-san.”

I felt like I was about to be crushed by the heavy atmosphere that had suddenly appeared.

Then, the glares gradually started to pierce me.

It was only natural, since the prince and the angel were sitting together.

“Wow, the angel is shining even from afar.”

“Like a knight in shining armor… What a sight for sore eyes…”

“That combo looks absolutely perfect. I haven’t seen them talk much, but this is precious.”

Some people were looking with curiosity, while others were looking with awe.

All kinds of gazes were suddenly directed at us.

However, they weren’t all warm.

“Who’s that kid?”

“It’s unfair that he’s surrounded by the angel and the prince.”

“He’s obviously out of place, and he’s just getting in the way.”

“Apparently, he’s the prince’s childhood friend. It’s absurd that someone like him gets to talk to the angel. He’s just a fox borrowing the tiger’s power?”

I was receiving quite cold glares.

It was seen as bad that a plain, gloomy person was stuck between the two of them.

It didn’t hurt me that much, but it was a fact that I was uncomfortable because of the gazes and the atmosphere.

Ryo might collapse if he talked to Kotomi for too long.

Kotomi was still eating, but I decided to clean up with Ryo first.

“Well, see ya. Thanks for the meal.”

I said that and got up from the seat, taking a somewhat stiff Ryo with me.

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