Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093079507847550/episodes/16818093081949910667
I like Karina.
At the same time, I respect her as a person.
I was dazzled by her ability to honestly say what she was thinking and wanting to do and put it into action.
Compared to her, I’ve spent my life running away from things.
I really wanted a friend I could talk with during recess, eat lunch with, and go home with, but I was too scared to do so.
I can’t remember how it happened.
I can’t remember, but it was so commonplace that it somehow seeped into me like a stench that wouldn’t go away even if I washed it off.
And yet, I was spoiled by the kindness of my family.
I took advantage of my childhood friend who took care of me.
I continued to be spoiled by the classrooms that left me alone.
People have to change, but I alone was afraid to change.
Because I didn’t try to change, because I remained the same pathetic person I always was, I was rejected by Chika, whom I had a one-sided love for.
I deserved it, I’m just a stupid, shady guy.
But I was able to set a clear goal to change because she was there…
[Dragonhead-san is an irreplaceable friend and my one and only partner]
I was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Dragonhead-san at the top of the hill.
This is her favorite place.
There are a lot of memories here, and she always comes here when she is happy or sad.
This hill, where you can see the sunset clearly, is a very important place for me too.
[But in reality, I am not like that. Like in the game, I couldn’t see Karina as a proper partner]
I wrote down my true feelings in the chat room.
A partner to Karina is much bigger than I thought.
Now that I finally understand this, I have decided not to lie anymore.
[T-that’s just what I thought on my own ……! Takaaki kun, there’s nothing wrong with you, not at all.
It’s just that I’m …… creepy because I want to have the same kind of relationship with you as in the game.]
Karina humiliated herself by saying so.
I’m sure she really thinks so.
I didn’t like that.
[I’d like to be friends with Karina more than just like in the game if I could. I’d like to call you my partner and get along with you better than anyone else. But I was afraid that if I took advantage of your kindness, I’d get in trouble one day. ……]
I was afraid to hold Karina’s hand, who accepts me like this, so I kept stepping back.
[There’s no way a shady guy like me should be standing next to you, who is popular with everyone at school and has a lot of friends. A being who is not even allowed to talk to me…’]
[Not like that! I like chatting with Takaaki kun the best! Even when I go home and am alone in my room, I look forward to what I’m going to talk about with Takaaki-kun tomorrow,……, and every time I see him at school, I’m happy, you know? you’re not a nuisance at all!]
It’s her way of saying it.
Words that make me think that maybe she likes me.
[I was saved by you many times,…… Takaaki kun! I wasn’t who I used to be.
I wasn’t the kind of person who was swept along by the people around me and could speak my mind. I stayed in my shell and was afraid to go outside. But I met Rein san in the game, and that’s why I am the person I am today you know……?]
In reality, what does Karina look like?
I don’t know what kind of emotions she is typing on the keyboard.
But I can tell that she is sad.
“So, Takaaki kun, don’t call yourself a tiny person!”
Suddenly, I am startled by a familiar voice pouring out of the microphone.
The voice chat that she had been so reluctant to use was now on.
She must have thought that it was something she needed to tell me.
If that’s the case, then so am I.
“Thank you.”
I put on the voice chat and thanked her.
I might have sounded like I was about to cry. But I decided not to run away anymore.
“I also wanted to thank Karina. I’m glad that you became friends with me and talked to me from the first day we met offline. You made me realize that this is what it means to be a friend. I was saved, too.”
I speak my mind honestly.
It’s not fair to make her say only what she wants to say.
“But I’m still sorry. I still don’t think of myself as a decent person. I’m a small person, and I’m still self-deprecating. But I’m not going to stay the same. Now that I have a goal—“
I looked DragonHead straight in the eye and told her.
“My goal is you, Karina …….”
“Eh, m-me?”
Suddenly, Karina sounded as if she didn’t understand what I meant.
“I still don’t think I can stand next to Karina. So, I’m going to try my best to be a man worthy of you one day, until the day comes when I can say that we are more than just partners in a game.”
That’s what I’m really trying to do.
This is the true feeling that I wanted to convey to Karina, even if it meant hurting her.
I have never shared my innermost thoughts with anyone other than my family and Chika, so I was almost dying of embarrassment.
“Uuuu…… gusu ……”
From the microphone, I heard Karina’s crying voice.
No way, I really made her cry, I thought and tried to apologize in a hurry.
“I ……..okay…..takaaki kun …”
“K-Karina?”
“I’ll …… help you, too,…… and I’ll help you a lot,…… until Takaaki kun is satisfied…!”
But she wasn’t angry.
Rather, she seemed to affirm my goal, and I exhale in relief.
I feel guilty, though, because I made her cry, and I don’t feel half as guilty as I should.
I choose the fist-pumping pose from Emotion.
I thrust my fist
“I’ll be counting on you to be there for me. Partner.”
I said in a tone that was typical of my avatar, Rein, whom I was controlling.
In reality, I am not a person who can proudly say that Karina is my partner.
But in the game, Dragonhead and I have a strong bond and are genuine buddies.
“Yeah. ……, go for it, partner.”
Karina struck the same pose and clapped her fists together.
I woke up before the alarm went off and went out for my morning workout.
It was hot and I almost had heat stroke as summer was nearing.
However, I had set a rule that I could not go home until I had completed the target distance for jogging, so I ran like a maniac and made it all the way to the end.
I came home exhausted, showered, and cooked breakfast.
Thanks to my recent improvement in dexterity, I was able to cook an egg without burning it.
“Wow, that’s great, onii chan”
Anna’s praise restored my energy to my exhausted body and mind.
Next time, let’s do our best not to burn the bacon.
After finishing breakfast, each of us started to go to school and I was walking along my usual path.
It’s hot and I’m sweating, but I manage to cool myself down with antiperspirant and a handkerchief.
I don’t want anyone at school to say I stink.
“Good morning.”
“Ah, good morning.”
A girl wearing the same school uniform who was walking at the end of the street turns around and greets me.
It was my childhood friend, Tojo Chika.
After I finish greeting her, Chika walks fast and goes on ahead of me without any issues.
It’s been a month since I asked her for advice, and although I no longer feel awkward with her, we haven’t made up enough to have a casual conversation.
I’m hoping that she’ll treat me the same way she always does, but Chika is so stubborn that the gap between us is not going to be bridged for a while yet.
When I arrived at school, Kumatani-kun, who was in the normies group, waved to me.
I waved in return, but I noticed that his gaze was not on me, but on someone behind me, and I quickly lowered mine.
Sure enough, the same classmate from the group who was walking behind me says, “Good morning,” and passes me to join the group.
Kumatani-kun, perhaps noticing my mistake, was grinning at me with his hand over his mouth.
I put my shoes in the shoe box and change into my jacket.
They have been used for a year and a half, so they are dirty everywhere. I’ll take them home and wash them today.
Subconsciously, I had started to pay more attention to my appearance, and I began to notice the wrinkles and loose threads in my uniform, and when there was a mirror, I began to wonder if I had any habitual hairs.
Recently, I started using wax recommended by Kumatani-kun, so I am even more concerned about my hair these days.
“Good morning, Takaaki kub!”
“Wappp!”
Suddenly, I am pushed back and let out a slurred voice. When I turned around, there was a beautiful silver-haired girl standing there.
The name is Nagase Karina.
Also known as Karina Snowvylvna Lebedev.
Normally she is a salt-of-the-earth, cold-spoken girl, but she is very aggressive and positive towards anything she is interested in, and she is a cute, friendly girl.
“Good morning Karina, don’t attack me from behind. ……”
“This is not an attack, but a special greeting to my partner. By the way, did you see the new information posted by the Arcadia Fantasy official? They are adding another new field! And that character is ……”
“No spoilers.”
“Ouch.”
I poke Karina gently on the forehead because I haven’t seen her yet.
This is something I would never have done before.
The relationship between me and Karina had become less reserved and a little closer than before.
I was a little bit closer to her because I was more willing to step up to her.
The students around us were still looking at me with envy, but I didn’t mind because it was a regular occurrence.
“Ah, so how are you today?”
“…hmm? what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I mean, have you become a man worthy enough to be my partner?”
“Well, maybe not yet. Too early to tell?
“Ehhh, not yet? You’re such a wimp. ……”
We have this exchange every day.
That’s how much Karina can’t wait to get started.
If I could, I’d like to grow up to be a man who wouldn’t be ashamed to stand alongside her.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“I will forgive you if you go to the coffee shop Vidra with me after school.”
“EEhh? there …… again.”
It’s the coffee shop where we had our off-line meeting, not knowing that Dragonhead is really Karina.
It’s a pretty fashionable place, so it would be out of place for me to go there.
“Isn’t that the kind of restaurant that only women and couples go to? What would you do if they mistakenly thought we are student couple on a date?”
“It doesn’t matter. If it is Takaaki kun, I would be more than happy to be mistaken……”
“Eh, you’re happy ……?”
My heart fluttered when I saw Karina blurting out with a blushing face.
“It’s nothing! It’s nothing, so we should go!
come one, promise.”
“You’re so pushy, …….”
It seems I was imagining things, so I change my mind.
She suddenly makes a statement that makes me aware of it, so my mind can’t handle it.
That doesn’t mean I want to quit, though. ……
“…. promise.”
“If you lie, you’ll be sentenced to do laps around the boss at Takaaki-kun’s house, right?”
Saying that, me and Karina put our pinky fingers on top of each other and did finger cutting.
I’m embarrassed to go to the coffee shop, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to break my promise to her.
I can’t bear to love her, and I don’t want to hurt her again with a smile as dazzling as the sun. —-
There was a petite, glasses-wearing female student hiding in the first-year’s shoe box at the elevator entrance, looking at them enviously.
“…. Amemiya-senpai.”
She mumbled in a voice so small that no one could hear her.
–Chapter 1 Complete–
(A/N:
Thank you for reading to the last story of chapter 1
This is the end of the chapter, but the story is still going on.
There are many characters that I have yet to explore, so I plan to continue writing until the graduation chapter.
Amamiya and Karina’s growth is yet to come, so I hope you will warmly watch them through to the end!
The next update is scheduled for the end of this year.
I would like to resume as soon as possible, so please continue to read this novel!!)
(TL/N : Whoaaaah another heroine????)
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