Arc 1 – Episode 14: “The Academy’s Princess Finds Her First Friend”

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My name is Kakyoin Aria.

I was born into a wealthy family, the child of a Japanese father and a European mother, which made my upbringing quite unique. Thanks to that, I've been blessed with both good looks and a privileged environment.

But perhaps because of that, I never had any real friends I could open up to.

It's not that I didn't interact with kids my age. It's just that most people who approached me were either drawn to my appearance or were hoping to benefit from my family's wealth.

Not everyone was like that, but sometimes, people kept their distance, afraid of getting too close.

In the end, I learned how to handle these situations, dealing with people even if they had ulterior motives.

But it felt like I would never have a friend I could call an equal. Still, I figured it was greedy to want friends on top of all the privileges I already had, so I gave up on the idea.

However, when I started high school, things began to change.

I enrolled in Yusho Private High School, a school my grandfather built just for me after I was born.

Because of that, I could have entered without taking an entrance exam. But I didn't want people to think I was just riding on my grandfather's coattails, so I studied hard and earned the top spot in the class.

But there was someone else who tied with me for first place.

Her name was Yorifuji Ichigo-san.

She had braided hair and round glasses, and although she had a plain appearance, she looked like someone who was good at studying.

The principal called the two of us in and asked how we wanted to handle the freshman representative speech. We could either give the speech together, or one of us could step down and let the other handle it alone.

“Ah, I'd rather not be in the spotlight, so I'll step down,” Yorifuji-san said before we even had a chance to discuss it.

And just like that, it was decided that I would give the speech.

At the time, I took her words at face value without thinking too much about it.

“Hey, isn't she the granddaughter of the chairman?”

“Wow, really? So she's only up there giving the speech because of her connections?”

When I stood at the podium to give my speech, I noticed some people looking at me with disdain, assuming I was only there because of my grandfather.

I was disheartened, realizing that no matter how hard I studied, my efforts would never be recognized. I felt ashamed, thinking I had unconsciously intimidated Yorifuji-san and taken away her chance to shine.

Yorifuji-san was in the same class as me during our first year of high school.

However, she quickly became isolated, perhaps because she wasn't very sociable.

I wanted to help her, but I was worried that if I approached her, it would only make things worse by drawing more unwanted attention to her. So, I chose to watch over her from afar.

Many of my classmates, attracted by my appearance or my status, spoke to me, and I interacted with them as needed.

While they weren't the kind of friends I wanted, they were pleasant enough company as long as I kept things superficial.

Another classmate who stood out was Kuzuha Kyoichi-san.

He was undoubtedly one of the best-looking people in the entire school, not just our class. But he was always surrounded by girls, grinning and flirting, and I'd heard plenty of rumors about his romantic exploits.

He seemed like the kind of guy who used his good looks to play with women as he pleased, swapping them out whenever he wanted.

To be honest, Kuzuha-san was the kind of person I wanted nothing to do with.

Luckily, he was too preoccupied with the girls around him to pay me any attention, so I hoped we could maintain this distance.

Unless, of course, he caused a scandal and brought shame to my grandfather's school.

About a month into high school, I found a note on my desk:

“I have something I'd like to discuss with you. If possible, could you meet me in the empty classroom on the floor below ours after school? —Yorifuji Ichigo-san”

I had always wanted to help Yorifuji-san, so I went to the empty classroom without hesitation.

“Thank you for coming, Kakyoin-san. And I'm sorry about forcing the speech on you during the entrance ceremony.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing for making you feel uncomfortable and taking away your chance to shine because of my status as the chairman's granddaughter.”

Yorifuji-san apologized right away for pushing the speech on me, but I was the one who felt guilty. In the end, we agreed to consider it even.

I found it refreshing that she didn't hesitate to rely on me, unlike most people who either distanced themselves or tried to ingratiate themselves because of my family.

It probably helped that we had tied for first place in the entrance exams, which gave us a sense of camaraderie.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Kuzuha Kyoichi-san from our class. I've known him since elementary school, and I've liked him since middle school.”

To my surprise, Yorifuji-san wanted to ask me about dating Kuzuha-san of all people.

I immediately advised against it, based on all the rumors I'd heard, but Yorifuji-san pushed back.

“Yes, he's popular, but he's not the kind of guy who plays around with girls. When he had a girlfriend, he was completely faithful to her. And even now, though he's single, I've heard he hasn't done anything beyond kissing with the girls who approach him. He's actually a really sincere person.”

Because they had been in the same schools for years, she seemed to have a more favorable view of him.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that she was being deceived by his outward charm.

“Please wait a moment, Yorifuji-san. I don't doubt your words, but I'm worried you might be mistaken. Let me investigate Kuzuha-san's character for a bit.”

“…Alright, I understand. Sorry for making such a strange request…”

After asking Yorifuji-san to wait, I immediately took action.

I sought out people who had attended middle school with both Yorifuji-san and Kuzuha-san and asked about his behavior.

“Kuzuha? Yeah, he did hang out with a lot of girls.”

“But was he like that when he had a girlfriend?”

“Now that you mention it… no, he wasn't.”

I couldn't believe it, so I decided to get to the bottom of it myself by enlisting Kuzuha-san to help the student council under some pretext.

I had become a member of the student council right after enrolling because of my connection to my grandfather, and Kuzuha-san had been nominated as a class representative by the girls in our class, so I used that as an excuse.

I thought that if he tried to hit on me while we worked together, I could report his true nature to Yorifuji-san and convince her.

“This doesn't really seem like a class rep's job…”

To my surprise, Kuzuha-san, though he complained, took the task seriously and didn't make any advances toward me.

I then asked his three closest female friends if any of them were dating him.

“Are any of you going out with Kuzuha-san?”

“Not me, but maybe one of you?”

“Not me either. I actually feel like he keeps his distance, which is a bit disappointing.”

“Same here. He's cool and kind, and he's helped me out, but we've never crossed that line.”

None of the three girls were romantically involved with him.

This doesn't make sense… I thought.

That's when it hit me. I had been judging him based on shallow assumptions, just like the people who approached me for my status.

I suddenly felt ashamed of myself.

“I'm sorry, Yorifuji-san. I was wrong. He really is as sincere as you said.”

When I apologized, Yorifuji-san forgave me without hesitation.

From that point on, I tried to help Yorifuji-san get closer to Kuzuha-san. I used the pretext of student council work to talk with him and subtly asked about his favorite foods, hobbies, and his type in women.

Kuzuha-san's favorite food is fried chicken, his hobby is watching dramas and online videos, and he likes women who are devoted to him.

When I relayed this to Yorifuji-san, she was overjoyed and immediately began practicing how to make delicious fried chicken and catching up on the latest dramas.

Out of curiosity, I also started watching some of the trending dramas, and it gave me more to talk about with my classmates and with Yorifuji-san.

Eventually, Yorifuji-san felt confident enough to introduce herself to Kuzuha-san.

After that, I often went out with Yorifuji-san and Kuzuha-san together.

At first, I intended to act as a buffer for the two of them, but they were both considerate of me, so it was surprisingly comfortable.

“Hey, don't you think this would look good on Kuzuha-san?”

“I don't know… Why don't you just try it on him?”

During one of our outings to a store, Yorifuji-san playfully shoved an accessory at Kuzuha-san, and I joined in on the joke.

“Come on, this looks like bug antennae! At least give me some animal ears or something!”

Kuzuha-san grimaced as he pushed the antennae away.

If it had been anyone else, they would've smiled politely, afraid of offending me.

It was at that moment that I realized this was what true friendship felt like.

Being with the two of them made my previously dull life sparkle with new light.

I hoped that the three of us could stay like this forever.