Chapter 28

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

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After parting with Shizuno and leaving the school, I stopped to do a bit of shopping before heading home.

I bought new notebooks, stationery, and reference books—things I used to pick up little by little, but this time I made sure to properly stock up.

Money was a bit tight, but if I wanted to keep this motivation going, I couldn't afford to hold back.

When I got home, I went straight to my room.

I put my bag down and was about to plug my phone into the charger when—

something strange caught my eye.

“Whoa… what is this…”

There were over thirty messages on Lean.

My phone, which was usually dead silent, was now flooded with notifications.

Hesitantly, I opened it…

Every single message was from Maaya.

“Good evening♪ What are you doing now?”

“Eh? Are you busy?”

“Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“Reita-kun?”

At first glance, it looked like she was just worried about not getting a reply—but the messages were sent every five minutes.

It's one thing if I hadn't replied for half a day, but five minutes? That's way too impatient.

And there were still more messages below.

“Are you ignoring me…?”

“Hey, you're actually reading them from the notification screen, right?”

“At least mark them as read”

“Don't be mean”

And now she was starting to spiral. Of course, all still sent at five-minute intervals.

Did she not have the concept of waiting…?

“I see. So that's how you're gonna be”

“Fine, if that's how it is”

After that, for some reason, she attached a selfie.

Maaya, in her uniform, sitting on her bed in a girl-like pose, her cheeks slightly flushed.

It wasn't revealing or anything—but somehow, it felt strangely intimate.

“Hehe, I sent a really good picture. If you want to see it, you'll have to mark it as read♡”

“Come on, hurry hurry”

“Grrr, even this doesn't work?”

“Wait… I'm starting to feel embarrassed…”

“Can I not delete this!?”

“Don't save it, okay?”

“Well… if Reita-kun really insists, you can use it”

“Ah, by use, I mean as your wallpaper! Not in a weird way!”

“I'm going to eat dinner!”

That's where the messages stopped.

…What on earth was she doing by herself?

Is this some kind of new joke?

Knowing her, she was probably being completely serious.

Lately, I'd started to feel a bit intimidated by Maaya.

Maybe it was the rebound from being distant for four years, but there was something like obsession in how she treated me.

Well, she was kind of like this even as a kid, so maybe she hadn't really changed…

Still, giving her my contact info might have been a mistake.

“I just got home”

Figuring that ignoring her any longer might make her spiral again, I sent a reply right away.

Ten seconds later, she responded.

“Welcome back. What were you doing?”

“I talked to Shizuno for a bit, then went shopping”

“I see. Sorry… I kind of misunderstood things on my own”

“No, it's my fault for not checking my phone”

I usually don't get many Lean messages, so I'm not in the habit of checking notifications right away.

If this keeps happening, I might end up worrying her for no reason, so I should be more careful.

“Anyway, how was Shizuno doing?”

“She didn't seem like she wanted anyone to pry, so for now I decided to just watch over her”

There wasn't really anything more we could do about Shizuno's situation.

At best, all we could do was treat her normally.

“I see. Okay, I'll leave it to your judgment, Reita-kun”

I also added that we shouldn't do anything that might get in her way.

“By the way, Reita-kun… you didn't save that picture from earlier, right…?”

And just like that, the topic shifted to her selfie.

Of course, I'm not the kind of creep who saves selfies from female friends.

Especially not an embarrassed shot of my childhood friend—what would I even do with that?

But this time, I deliberately decided to mess with her.

“I saved it”

“You did!?”

“I'll be using it tonight”

“Using it!? You mean…!?”

“If you've learned your lesson, try to control those impulsive actions. See you tomorrow.”

I sent that message and turned off my phone.

—Of course, I was joking. There's no way I'd actually use it.

She probably thought I was a creep, but hopefully this would make her reflect a bit.

It's only because it was me that this turned out okay—stuff like this can easily get spread online these days.

No matter how much you trust someone, there's always a risk.

Especially since Maaya is cute—it wouldn't be strange for her to attract some weird stalker or something.

…Anyway.

For some reason, I was filled with motivation, so I figured I might as well study.

And without taking a break, I immediately sat down at my desk.

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Meanwhile, Maaya—

“Reita-kun is going to use my selfie…!? —Uuugh!! If I do the same thing tonight, then technically…!!”

She hadn't reflected on anything at all.