Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844261747978/episodes/822139844455880535
Himekami Ryota was a chosen one.
He had been certain of it since childhood. Because—there were the three sisters next door.
Childhood acquaintances, the three sisters were beautiful and clearly ‘special’ to everyone.
The very fact that he was their childhood friend proved Ryota himself was ‘special’. In his young heart, he was convinced of it.
Even in elementary school, the sisters were the center of attention. They were the object of everyone’s admiration.
Naturally, many boys harbored feelings for them… yet none of those feelings ever reached them.
Of course not, he thought. Because he was there.
Some boys deliberately acted mean to try and get their attention.
Stupid, he thought. Poor things, only able to get close to them through such means.
Well, whatever you tried was pointless anyway.
The three sisters had him, their childhood friend. He didn’t need to do foolish things like you lot; he could simply be by their side just because he was their childhood friend. That was his privilege. He pitied them inwardly, thinking they were on a completely different level from the start.
-The three sisters were too exceptional, sometimes causing others to keep their distance.
-I thought they were all such fools. These girls were going to become so much more amazing in the future.
-The fact that I alone understood this, unlike anyone else, was also part of what made me special. Just being with the three sisters, who had become solitary and isolated, made everyone naturally gravitate towards me.
-It was easy. It only deepened my conviction that I truly was special.
He had talent too.
From childhood, he could do most things better than others. He wondered why they couldn’t… and quickly understood.
It was the opposite. Only he… only he and the three sisters were special.
An event in middle school cemented this belief.
“Hey, Himekami. Being with you lowers Minasumi-san and the others’ status.”
After entering middle school, the three sisters grew even more beautiful.
The way people looked at them grew even more intense—and naturally, jealous eyes turned toward me, who was always with the sisters.
Then one day, a popular boy in class confronted me like that.
The pretext was, ‘Having a dull guy like Ryota around isn’t good for the three sisters.’ But… it was painfully obvious he was also in love with them and wanted to eliminate Ryota for that reason.
He challenged Ryota to a bet. The terms: whoever lost in the next semester’s final exams would never be allowed near the three sisters again. He even brought his entourage along to pressure Ryota into accepting, making refusal impossible.
It was a pointless challenge and an unfair demand. There was absolutely no reason to accept… yet Ryota deliberately chose to take it on.
After the class heartthrob, a regular at the top of the grade rankings, left the classroom jubilantly, convinced he had a sure win… Ryota smirked and declared.
“…Well, well. Guess I have no choice. Time to get serious.”
After that. In the promised test, Ryota scored just behind the three sisters, crushing the guys who had been cocky about being able to exclude him.
After the contest was settled, he looked at their faces—filled with surprise, humiliation, and bitter resentment as they stared at him… and Ryota thought, this is it.
This is my position.
The guy beside the three sisters—seemingly unremarkable, but incredible when he gets serious.
That way, he could fully savor the jealous and envious stares from those around him, and occasionally enjoy crushing the fools who mistakenly thought he was weak.
By only going all out when it mattered, he could take it easy otherwise. The contrast with his usual self would draw even more attention than usual.
It was all good.
After establishing that position… Ryota’s life became more glamorous.
His conviction that he was special only deepened.
He stopped caring about what others said.
“Hey, Himekami, don’t get too cocky.”
He dismissed it as the babbling of fools who couldn’t measure up to him.
“Seriously, how the hell did a guy like you end up being Minasumi’s childhood friend?!”
He pitied them, thinking they were just spewing jealous words because they envied the special person he was, the one who could stand beside the beautiful triplets.
“You’ll regret it someday!”
I looked down on him, thinking it was just his wishful thinking.
I was a chosen, special being.
The protagonist who could do anything if he tried, surrounded by three beautiful sisters, always together. That was Himekami Ryota.
Or so I thought.
◆
“…………Huh?”
But then. Noise began to creep into his otherwise perfect life during the latter half of his second year of middle school.
From a certain point, his relationship with Tomoka, the youngest of the sisters, suddenly started to deteriorate.
When he pressed her, suspecting she was hiding something… she confessed she had started streaming. It had recently started gaining traction, so she was increasing her stream frequency.
I immediately demanded her account details and watched her stream archives.
On screen, though her face was hidden, a girl with a distinctive voice—unmistakably Tomoka—was cheerfully and energetically live-commentating a game.
Numerous comments streamed by, enjoying her lively performance.
“…What the hell is this?”
The girl on the screen shone brighter than usual. She was captivating even to Ryota watching, radiating a charm she never showed in person.
For no reason, his heart stirred.
But… he quickly dismissed it as his imagination. He said this:
“Hmmm… Sounds fun. Maybe I’ll give it a shot too.”
Yeah, that’s the spirit, he agreed with his own thought.
He’d start streaming too. He’d heard rumors it wasn’t an easy world to succeed in… but well, he’d be fine.
He was special. A person who could do anything if he put his mind to it.
Since he was going to do it anyway, he’d start in secret from Tomoka at first.
Then, once I’m as famous as Tomoka, I’ll announce it and surprise her. From there, we’ll collaborate and show off to all those people who could only watch before. That sounds fun too.
Dreaming of that future, I used my spare pocket money to buy the bare minimum of equipment.
I created an account, and with enthusiasm, I started my live stream…
Not a single person came.
Not a single comment was left.
“What the—”
Unable to believe the sight before him, he reloaded the page over and over, but the result remained unchanged.
“This can’t be,” he thought, playing back the archive himself… Only the voice of a man could be heard, mumbling something flatly and monotonously, occasionally perking up as if remembering something. An utterly boring screen played on endlessly.
“!!”
Overwhelmed by intense shame, I immediately deleted the archive.
In a fit of panic, I deleted the entire account, burrowing under the covers while telling myself this wasn’t me, it must be some mistake, desperately searching for words to justify myself.
(Th-that’s right, it was just a fluke. I just happened to not be cut out for this. Yeah, I’m not perfect either. It’s just that Tomoka is an incredible genius. Only someone like Tomoka, who can pull it off so effortlessly and succeed like that, is special. Yeah, that’s it—!)
The conclusion that emerged was the realization: ‘It’s not that I’m inferior. Tomoka is just an incredible genius.’
To deny that would be to admit he was a nobody. That’s precisely why that logic solidified firmly within him…
“That Tomoka… she really didn’t need to get that angry.”
That’s exactly why.
‘Tomoka ‘s got it made, right? She’s got her livestreams. She’s talented, so she just has to put in a little effort and she’s an instant success. She doesn’t know hardship, everything just goes smoothly for her. I’m jealous.’
Ryota never regretted saying these words to Tomoka after school.
Because, in his mind, it was an undeniable truth.
(Tomoka just doesn’t get it, you know? How people who struggle feel. I think it’s the duty of someone with talent to at least listen to that level of complaining.)
Thinking that… well, but then he reconsidered that it might be too much to expect that much from sensitive Tomoka.
(Tomoka always tries to seem cheerful, but I’m the only one who knows she has her weak moments too…)
Feeling that sense of superiority, he spoke again.
“…Well, I guess I should apologize. Tomoka’s probably feeling down right now, and as her childhood friend, I should look out for her.”
It’s a hassle, but I’ll send it, I thought, opening the message app and typing, ‘I went too far, sorry.’
Soon after, Tomoka replied, ‘Sorry I got heated too.’
Satisfied that this resolved things and that he’d done enough to look out for her, Ryota turned his thoughts to the next thing.
“…………Hiyui, was it?”
That was the name of the streamer Tomoka had mentioned this morning.
Apparently, someone the same age as them who could stream, draw, sing, and compose music—an unbelievable talent.
(……Hah, no way. There’s no such guy.)
Thinking she was probably exaggerating, he searched the name and opened the page.
──Watching the stream, he was stunned by the smooth, witty delivery.
──Seeing the illustrations, he was instantly drawn in by the captivating composition and art style.
──Listening to a song apparently written and sung by him, he regretted ever hearing it.
(Th-there’s no way that’s possible!!)
He blurted it out in his mind.
(There’s no way someone like this exists! One of these things must be a lie! If they’re not showing their face, it means they have something they don’t want people to know! Or maybe they’re just a jerk in real life, that’s definitely it!!)
There’s no way a guy better than me exists, and he’s the same age too. That’s impossible.
Therefore, I just kept repeating those words in my head, not really saying them to anyone.
(Even if it’s true, it’s all half-assed, nothing special at all! Besides, if I found something I could get serious about, I could do this much too—!)
…Tormented by such feelings he couldn’t possibly admit.
The message in response to his earlier apology felt too cold, too detached compared to how furious she’d been back then.
He still hadn’t realized what he was doing. That his daily life had already begun to crumble, and that Yui’s involvement with Tomoka would only accelerate its collapse…
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