Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139838626691253/episodes/822139838627361972
Recently, Nanase started dressing more stylishly.
She ditched her glasses for contacts and changed her bob haircut to something more modern.
Just that alone seems to have softened the somewhat dark and gloomy impression Nanase used to give off.
The current Nanase feels like your average, trendy high school girl.
Actually, she might be one of the cuter ones.
In fact, since Nanase changed her image, she’s been getting attention from the boys.
The number of boys glancing at Nanase when she’s with me has clearly increased.
Nanase herself doesn’t seem to notice much, but the boys in class have definitely started seeing her as a member of the opposite sex.
This is a very good trend.
For Nanase, and for me.
The problem for Nanase is her extremely low self-esteem.
Because of this, if she doesn’t feel needed by someone, she could easily choose to end her own life at any moment.
But what if more boys started liking Nanase?
Maybe one of them would talk to her and they’d become friends.
If Nanase realized boys were paying attention to her, her self-esteem would likely rise.
Girls naturally gravitate toward popular girls.
That way, Nanase might gain more female friends too.
If that happens, Nanase and I won’t need to keep pretending to be lovers anymore.
Nanase would become someone both boys and girls fawn over, and her self-esteem should improve.
She wouldn’t need to depend on me anymore, and eventually, Nanase would drift away from me.
If someone who likes Nanase showed up, I might even help set them up.
Keeping Nanase deceived forever wasn’t something I wanted either, so it was good news for me too that Nanase learned to change her image and bring out her own charm.
“Well then, Kurose-kun. Homeroom’s about to start, so I’ll head back to my seat.”
“Yeah.”
Nanase waved and returned to her seat.
Several boys who’d been watching us the whole time we were apart followed Nanase with their eyes as she walked back.
“Nanase’s gotten seriously cute lately, huh?”
After Nanase returned to her seat, Aiba turned to me and said that.
“Before, even though her face was cute, she was too plain and it kind of canceled it out. But cutting her bangs and taking off her glasses really changed her image, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Seems like her popularity’s been rising too? If she keeps getting cuter like this, she might become a beauty on par with Shiraishi Mio in this class.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, why are you acting like it’s none of your business? She’s your girlfriend, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah… What? You’re not happy your girlfriend is getting cuter?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, you’re probably worried, aren’t you? Worried Nanase is getting too cute and someone will steal her away? Huh? That’s it, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I get it, right? As her boyfriend, you’re worried, aren’t you? Before, you were the only one who knew how cute she was, but now everyone knows Nanase is adorable. She’s only going to get more popular from here, so rivals will show up eventually. You’re worried some other guy will steal your girlfriend now that she’s gotten cute, aren’t you? That’s it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Honestly, I hope that happens.
Nanase should be with someone who likes her for who she is, not just me.
“If you slack off, you might seriously lose Nanase, Ren.”
“Yeah.”
“Do your best. Maybe you should work on improving yourself a bit too?”
“Yeah.”
I gave a half-hearted reply to Aiba, who was grinning smugly, presuming my feelings.
“Kurose-kun~, um… about after school today…”
First period ended, and break time began.
As usual, Nanase tried to come over to me.
But today, things unfolded a little differently.
“Ah, Nanase-san!”
“Wait, wait a sec!”
Two girls stood up and spoke to Nanase.
“Huh…? Huh…?”
While Nanase looked confused, the girls chatted with her in a friendly way.
“Nanase-san, you’ve gotten so much cuter lately!”
“Like, you seem brighter somehow! Did you switch to contacts? I think the way you look now is really great!”
“Huh…? Huh…?”
“Hey hey, where do you get your hair cut?”
“What shampoo do you use?”
“So, my skin’s been really rough lately. Your skin is so nice, Nanase! How do you moisturize?”
“Tell us everything, Nanase!”
“Um… well…”
Nanase glanced briefly in my direction.
I nodded at her.
Perhaps giving up on coming over, Nanase answered their rapid-fire questions.
Yeah, this is a very good trend.
I knew it would happen sooner or later.
Girls naturally gather around other girls who are cuter.
With word spreading about how much better she looks after her makeover, Nanase will naturally get talked to more by other girls and her social circle will grow.
She needs female friends to boost her self-esteem.
As Nanase’s self-esteem grows, I should gradually fade out.
“Oh, looks like Hoshikawa san’s here again today!”
As I watched Nanase talking with the two girls, a cheerful shout erupted near the classroom entrance.
“It’s Hoshikawa san!”
“Wow, Hoshikawa san!”
“She’s here again!? So cute today too!”
It was Hoshikawa Rino, who’d started coming to our class often lately.
Girls immediately swarmed around her, their shrieks filling the air.
Seeing this, Aiba let out a sigh.
“She’s seriously cute, huh. Our class’s Shiraishi-san is cute too, but Hoshikawa is in a league of her own. Idols really are different. She’s got that aura, you know? That aura.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s been coming to our class a lot lately though… I wonder why? Is there someone she’s interested in or something?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Anyway, getting to see an active popular idol this close up? We’re seriously lucky, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, we are.”
“Damn, I’m so glad she didn’t retire… Still, that stalker guy who attacked Hoshikawa? I can’t forgive him.”
“Yeah.”
“If I’d been there, I would’ve beaten the crap out of that guy. Then I could’ve gotten close to Hoshikawa… and maybe even gone on a date… heh heh heh.”
“Yeah.”
I gave some half-hearted nods to Aiba, who had started spouting his wild fantasies.
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