Episode 8 – New developments

The next morning.

When I went to school alone, just like yesterday, my classmates gave me surprised looks.

However, today, Hideki and Sena didn’t make a big fuss. They just exchanged a light “good morning” greeting.

When I sat down at my usual seat, my neighbor, Renka, who was studying, said,

“Hey, Akito…”

“Ah. Good morning, Renka.”

“Ah…uh, yeah. Good morning…”

Renka looked away from me awkwardly. Then she returned her gaze to her textbook and notebook.

It’s a dull time, I think. But for Renka’s sake, this is probably for the best. She probably doesn’t want to talk to me, whom she hates, first thing in the morning.

◇◇◇

After class, it was lunchtime.

From today on, there will be no more homemade lunches from Renka. …To be honest, it was pretty sad, but I had to endure it.

Anyway, I had to find somewhere to eat lunch first. Come to think of it, the school store apparently had some really delicious curry bread. I decided to buy some while I was there.

“Ah…Akito. Um, your lunch…”

As soon as I stood up, Renka spoke to me.

Renka’s upward gaze was fixed on me. Damn, she’s too cute…

I’ll say it again, Renka is an incredibly beautiful girl. If I keep staring into her beautiful golden eyes, I might end up liking her even more. So I deliberately looked away from Koi and said,

“Don’t worry, it’s okay. Like I said yesterday, I’ll prepare my own lunch from today on.”

“Uh, yeah. But…make sure you eat properly, okay? If you just eat instant noodles all the time, I’ll get mad !” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to eat vegetables too.” 

I said, taking my wallet and calling out to Hideki.  

“Hideki. I’ll stop by the school canteen, so go ahead without me today.” 

“Huh? Alright, got it.”

Alright, wait for me, delicious curry bread.  

Let’s see which one is better, the curry from my memories or this one.  

◇◇◇  

—The curry bread was sold out.  

I had no choice but to buy a tuna and lettuce sandwich, and I slowly made my way to the terrace seats in the cafeteria.  

…I never thought that only the first ten people could buy it in a day. This is impossible to get without a lot of determination.

“Haa. I was really looking forward to curry bread…”

With such defeatist thoughts in mind, I arrived in front of the cafeteria,

“—Hey, isn’t that Ayatacchi?”

A female student’s voice came from behind me.

Wait…Ayatacchi? Is that some kind of new Tamagotchi? Well, I’ll just ignore it for now.

“Hey, Ayatacchi? Can you hear me? Hello !”

…Damn it. As I suspected, Ayatacchi was referring to me.

I turned around, and there she was—a beautiful girl with wavy blonde hair tied in a side ponytail, looking like a typical gal.

“Oh, our eyes met. Sup, Ayatacchi.”

“Um…Suzukita san, is it?”

“Oh ! You remembered my name ! That’s great ! Plus 10 points !”

While declaring something I didn’t understand, the blonde girl—Suzukita Miyuki—made a sideways peace sign with her eyes.  

She is, after all, a student in the same second-year B class as me.  

However…what could a cheerful gal like her possibly want with a shy, ordinary student like me?

“…Suzukita san. I’m sorry, but can you let me go for today.”

“Huh? Ayatacchi, why did you take out a thousand-yen bill? Did I lend you money?”  

“I spent too much on mobile games this month and don’t have any money left. Please forgive me.”  

“Are you thinking I’m trying to extort money from you !?” 

…Wait, maybe I was wrong?

I glanced at Suzukita san’s expression.

She was giggling softly.

“Fufufu. You’re so cute, Ayatacchi. I always thought it was funny watching you and Renren do your husband-and-wife comedy routine.”

“Renren? …Oh, you mean Renka.”

“Yeah, Renren. And you’re Ayatacchi.”

I don’t get it. Gals are scary.

“So, Ayata-chan. Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a long time !”

“Me? Ah…Suzukita san, are you after Hideki?”

Hideki is popular. Abnormally so.

There are quite a few girls who try to get information about Hideki from me, his childhood friend. So I thought Suzukita san might be one of them too—  

“No, that’s not it. I just wanted to talk to Ayatacchi, that’s why I called out to you.” 

Suzukita san smiled brightly,  

“Hey, Ayata-chan. You always play Anfil in the classroom after school, right?” 

“…Huh?”

Anfil. Its official name is Angel Field—the hottest open-world exploration smartphone game in Japan right now.  

And I, too, am one of those captivated by Anfil’s charm. …..Because of that, I’ve ended up staying up late and spending money on it, and I often get scolded by Renka.  

“Actually, you know. I’m also a huge fan of Anfil~!”

Saying that, Suzukita san showed me her smartphone screen.  

There, without a doubt, was data from Anfil played up to the rank limit—and I immediately understood that she was truly a fan of Anfil.  

“So, I wanna talk about Anfil with Ayatacchi ! It’s fine, right?”

Well, I never thought…she actually existed.  

The legendary otaku-friendly gal.  

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