Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kat
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 5
Author Note:
When I first started writing this work, I just imagined a few people would enjoy it and I would be happy with that… but thank you everyone.
The next day during lunch break, I ate with Arisu-chan at the cafeteria.
Classes started today. As expected of Class A, everyone was taking the classes seriously. But knowing that we were being watched through cameras only made me too conscious. I couldn’t focus in class.
“Haruto-kun, are you conscious about the cameras that much?”
“Aah. Anybody wouldn’t be able to stay calm if they knew they were being watched.”
“Fufu, I know what you mean.”
I first glanced at the camera during class. Then I wrote in my notebook and glanced at the camera again. It was a repetition of that. Even I thought I behaved suspiciously.
Arisu-chan chuckled as she looked at me.
I knew the points we received would change, but even then, I decided to eat a special set meal. I had to eat delicious stuff while I still could. That was my motto since my previous life.
“It sure looks luxurious.”
“I feel like eating something delicious today. I might have to cook my own meals eventually, but I want the first to be special.”
“I’ve never seen you cook before, though…”
Come to think of it, my cooking experience was limited to my previous life.
Still, it shouldn’t be bad. I was very poor and came from a single-parent family so I couldn’t live properly unless I could cook for myself. Cooking that concealed the low quality of the ingredients was also a skill.
…Even if they were free of charge, I still didn’t feel like eating a vegetarian meal. Therefore, I was thinking of cooking for myself if I ran out of money. Free-of-charge ingredients were available in stores anyway, and while I had no idea if it would ever come to that, it was still an option.
After a while of eating our respective meals, Ayanokouji saw us and came over.
Looking at him, he sure looked like a normal, inconspicuous student. When I recalled his devilish pressure yesterday, my body shivered and sent out danger signals. I would need some time to overcome this.
“Yo, how are you?”
“…Unfortunately, I couldn’t make any friends in class.”
Ayanokouji made a really sad expression.
I also couldn’t blend in with the class, so I understood that feeling.
“Speaking of which, what do you think of my opinion I sent last night?”
Arisu-chan spoke next.
After making a thinking gesture for a moment, Ayanokouji looked around and began to speak in a low voice.
“Aah, I think your opinions are correct. I also investigated on my own after that, but all I found are things that supported the credibility of your opinion.”
“Since it’s you, I think Ayanokouji-kun would have reached the answer early either way.”
“No, all I did was prove them. It’s just finishing the half-completed formula that already had the answer beforehand, so I have no idea if I could do it like you, who came up with the formula from nothing. I really think you’re amazing.”
…So she shared information about the points system with Ayanokouji.
As usual, I couldn’t understand Arisu-chan’s course of action. It was clear that she had no intention to contribute to Class A at all, though.
I ate my special set meal while listening to the two.
It was quite tasty considering how expensive it was, but I wouldn’t want to eat it every day.
A black-haired girl approached us.
After glancing at me and Arisu-chan in front of the table, she spoke to Ayanokouji.
“I can’t believe you actually have friends.”
This girl with a prickly attitude was Horikita Suzune.
As you might know, she was one of the main characters in the original story and could be considered a semi-protagonist.
I was aware of Horikita’s personality during this period, so I didn’t want to get involved with her, considering how troublesome she was, but she approached us for some reason. Perhaps she was looking for Ayanokouji?
Both Ayanokouji and Arisu-chan stopped talking.
It became silent. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
…If we stayed silent, it felt like we were ignoring Horikita, so I felt bad about that.
I reluctantly decided to speak.
“Err, nice to meet you?”
“What? It’s not like I came here to get along with you.”
She responded harshly.
How annoying. I already knew beforehand, but actually talking to her sure felt different. If she showed such an attitude over a simple greeting, nobody would want to get along with her.
I stopped talking and averted my eyes.
Ah, Arisu-chan entered her anger mode. Since I had known her for a long time, I could tell with one look.
Perhaps she was angry that she got interrupted mid-conversation?
Horikita, you stepped on a landmine.
“If you have no intention to get along, then there’s no need for you to come here. I’m talking with Ayanokouji-kun at the moment. Please go away.”
“…Who are you?”
“Before asking who I am, how about introducing yourself first?”
Arisu-chan said that with a thin smile.
“…Haah, forget it.”
“What a coincidence. I also have no intention of continuing this conversation.”
When Arisu-chan became like this, nobody could stop her. The more she talked, the more damage she caused to others.
There was no choice but to apologize, drop the hostility, or cut off the communication.
Horikita seemed to realize that as well, so she turned around and left for the classroom.
Arisu-chan’s first contact with Horikita turned out to be the worst. In contrast to Ayanokouji, who would have gotten along with her pretty well, it would be difficult to repair the relationship now it got to this point. I thought Arisu-chan went a little too far, but since I was also irritated by Horikita’s attitude, I chose to stay silent.
But it was very rare for Arisu-chan to show such clear anger.
Perhaps she found something very unpleasant about Horikita. I didn’t know the details, though.
Anyway, the fact Ayanokouji was a little panicked was also interesting. So you also have such emotions, huh?
“Ayanokouji, you have your share of trouble, huh?”
“Stop that… I never thought I would hate returning to the classroom right on the second day of school.”
Ayanokouji began to eat his meal in exasperation.
Once again, there was a girl approaching us.
To be honest, I would like to be left alone to eat at my own leisure…
“Um~ can I have a minute?”
Kushida Kikyou. Yet another girl from Class D.
What, was today the day of introducing the main characters?
“What is it?”
“Err, I’m just wondering if you three are on good terms with Horikita-san.”
Kushida asked with a quiet voice.
At that moment, I retraced my knowledge of the original story in my head. I shouldn’t speak about it, but I could think about it as I liked.
Kushida hated Horikita, who was aware of her past.
Kushida acted like a good person on the surface, but she was terrible behind the scenes. She should have planned to expel Horikita. Then, seeing we were having a conversation(?) with Horikita earlier, Kushida approached our group.
“I don’t get along with her, but what about Ayanokouji-kun?”
“Don’t pass the topic to me… Considering I could converse with her to some extent, I guess I get along better with Horikita than these two.”
“I-I see…”
Smiling, Arisu-chan declared she didn’t get along with Horikita. This was the pattern when she completely considered the other party as her enemy. A~ah, you’ve done it, Horikita. You will have a hard time from now on, you know?
Kushida went quiet after hearing their answers, then she spoke to Ayanokouji.
“I want to get along with everyone in the class, but it seems Horikita-san doesn’t want to get along with me.”
“Since Horikita always had an attitude like that, I guess that’s natural. I have no idea what she’s thinking, though.”
“I see… But I want Horikita-san to also be included in the class. Thank you for telling me. I guess I have to think more about it.”
U~hn, knowing this gentle character was actually acting was scary. I didn’t want to get caught in the fire, so let’s keep my distance properly.
“Come to think of it, it’s the first time I met the two of you. I am Kushida Kikyou from First year D Class.”
“Thank you for being polite. My name is Sakayanagi Arisu.”
“I’m Takashiro Haruto. Nice to meet you.”
It seemed Kushida heard what Arisu-chan said to Horikita earlier since she introduced herself first.
Arisu-chan also has a milder attitude compared to when she faced Horikita.
“I see that Kushida-san is an active person.”
“That’s right! I want to become everyone’s friend, that’s my goal.”
“I see… I hope it goes well.”
As she said that, Arisu-chan observed Kushida’s eyes.
Don’t tell me, did Arisu-chan already realize Kushida’s true nature?
We talked a little bit about each other’s classes and exchanged contact information by the end of it.
By the time the conversation ended, there was only a short time to finish eating.
I wanted to taste the special set meal properly though…
We were in our room. I was doing the usual routine.
I was obviously curious about what happened during the lunch break.
“What do you think about the two we met earlier?”
“Kushida-san is very interesting. She’s definitely hiding something.”
So Arisu-chan noticed after all.
“What do you mean?”
“She seems to be in a hurry to make friends, but it feels like she’s more obsessed with telling people about it. Considering she even told me, whom she met for the first time today, that was quite something.”
Certainly, I also thought the same.
Be it wanting to be friends with everyone or wanting to know everyone’s contact information, it sounded good to hear. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t a bad goal.
However, it became something different if it was told to someone else. It basically meant “You’re just one of my many friends and not someone special to me.”
“The way she said it, rather than reconfirming her own goal, it was more of expecting others’ response of her ‘showing off her appearance who worked hard to achieve her goal’ or ‘she who managed to clear her goal’.”
That was some amazing observation skills as usual.
After I nodded, Arisu-chan continued.
“However, the desire for approval is something that every human has, regardless of how strong they are. I have no intention of criticizing her for that. Rather, I feel there’s something about her that is somewhat similar to me.”
“Somewhat similar to you?”
“Yes. Regarding that matter, it’s still more of my intuition than confirmed fact. But either way, she will be useful. It’s up for consideration on how to use her, though.”
Judging from Arisu-chan’s atmosphere, she seemed to like Kushida.
Although she wasn’t as obsessed with Kushida as she was with Ayanokouji, there was no doubt that she held some degree of interest in Kushida.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before I saw Kushida’s “hidden face” personally.
I didn’t like that. What should I do if she insulted me to oblivion?
I was relieved to the extent I could casually think about such a thing.
The reason was Kushida would never be able to beat Arisu-chan.
I wasn’t talking about their difference in ability, but their compatibility.
There shouldn’t be any flaw in the mental department if someone wanted to win against Arisu-chan. It was either they had a mentality that could withstand their weakness and flaws being exploited or, in the worst case scenario, had an unreasonable mentality where they could resort to physical violence if necessary.
…The only person who fulfilled those conditions was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Back to the topic.
The student named Kushida not only had a secret of her past deeds, she definitely didn’t have a strong stress tolerance. Since Arisu-chan began to notice that, Kushida wouldn’t win even if the world turned upside down.
That said, it seemed that Arisu-chan had some sort of sympathy toward Kushida, so I doubt Arisu-chan would crush her…
“Okay, it’s done.”
“Yes. Thank you for today as well.”
While I was thinking about it, the daily routine was over.
We bought a nice lotion at the convenience store on the way home, so I tried using it immediately and it turned out to be really nice. Really, it was fun taking care of Arisu-chan.
“But really, Kushida is a sinful woman. With that appearance and her sense of distance, I doubt many boys would refuse her if she says she wants to be their friend.”
“Is that so?”
“Men are like that. Well, I think Arisu-chan is cuter, though.”
“…What are you saying all of a sudden? I’m going to sleep.”
I teased her for a little bit.
She covered herself with a futon to hide, but it was clear she was embarrassed. Even though she was terrifyingly shrewd, Arisu-chan was also this easy to understand.
One last thing.
“By the way, what about Horikita?”
“I hate her. Don’t ask me about it.”
A~ah.
Author Note:
Ayanokouji: “(I never thought she would actually say such a thing to Horikita…)”
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