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In the raws, Aoi-chan actually mysteriously transforms into Wakaba-chan for a few lines. The author probably got confused because both names are vaguely vegetable related.

Aoi-chan messaged me today.

When I first emailed her a few days ago she replied that she didn’t know what Naru-kun’s name was, but would look into it.

According to the message just now, the result of her investigation was that there was indeed somebody like that in 3rd Year.

Thank you for going out of your way to find out for me, Aoi-chan!

A third year student. Thanks to my efforts in leering I had managed to see his name and school, but I didn’t manage his cla.s.s or grade. Now I had moved forward a step, uhuhu.

In that same email though, was the line,

‘Actually, the truth is I have something I’d like your advice on, Reika-chan.’

Advice? Mine? For Aoi-chan?

Given how much more reliable Aoi-chan was compared to me it wasn’t often that she asked me for help. As her friend I had to give my best this time!

Since we were going to be talking anyway, I thought it might be a good idea to just meet up. The two of us immediately checked our schedules and promised to meet up on a day when we had nothing after school.

When my car arrived at the café I got off and began walking the short distance to the entrance.

The further we got into winter, the colder the air got. It wasn’t too bad for me since I was driven everywhere, but for people like Wakaba-chan who commuted by train it must have been terrible.

In my past life I went to school with two pairs of stockings and hand warmers stuck to my back. Wearing a second pair of stockings made the st.i.tching stand out in a strange wood pattern, but wearing a skirt was just so cold in the middle of winter so I had no choice but to bear it.

Winters sure were rough back then… I wonder what Wakaba-chan was going to do once the snow began to fall this year. It wasn’t like she could wear gum boots after all…

Before long I made it to the café. Looking inside, I realised that Aoi-chan was already here.

“Aoi-chan, sorry I’m late!”

“Reika-chan!”

She looked up from her phone and greeted me with a smile. Aahh, I was being healed already…

I ordered an apple cinnamon tea for myself.

“So what’s wrong, Aoi-chan? You wanted my help with something?”

“Well, you see, there’s actually this 2nd year boy who goes to Suiran…” she explained before giving me his name.

“Reika-chan, do you know him?”

“Sorry, but I’m not that familiar with boys’ names. Maybe if we were in the same cla.s.s, but…”

Hmmm… It didn’t sound familiar at all. I guess we’d never been in the same cla.s.s before.

“What about him though?”

“Well, the truth is… He’s just been a little persistent…”

“Eh?”

According to Aoi-chan, this Suiran boy was attending the same cram school as her. Since the summer cram course they had together, he had continually asked her out. Even after she refused him, he stubbornly kept trying to get close to her…

“Something like that really happened…?”

“Mhm. I told him that he was bothering me but then he even ambushed me on my way home…”

“Ambushed!? How scary.”

“Yeah…”

But I suppose you could say that he was just driven by his feelings of love… I couldn’t criticise him too much since I had asked Aoi-chan to look up Naru-kun’s personal information for me. You could even say that he was more respectable than I was since he wasn’t sneaking about.

“So you aren’t interested in dating this boy at all?”

“Well, I can’t say that I am. To begin with, I’m already seeing someone.”

“Eh!?!”

Aoi-chan just casually mentioned something huge!

“Aoi-chan, you had a boyfriend!?”

“Mhm.”

“Ehh!?”

My ears hadn’t failed me! She had a boyfriend! I haven’t heard about this at all, Aoi-chan!

“Since when!?”

“Eh? Since a bit before the summer break, I guess.”

“Ehh!?”

But we met up during the summer break! How come she wouldn’t tell me something so important!? I’m in shock, Aoi-chan! Shock!

“I had no idea…”

“Aah~ Well, I didn’t think it was something to go out of my way to bring up I guess? And you’ve never really seemed one for romance, Reika-chan.”

But I am! Actually, my half of my mind is filled up with nothing but topics of romance! It’s so bad that I became a mini-stalker just because I spotted some guy in the library! Not that I won’t still be village chief by this Christmas!

“Well!? What’s your boyfriend like?”

“Hm, he’s in the Tennis Club with me. When we entered 2nd Year we started walking home together. In the end he confessed to me, and we ended up dating.”

“I see.”

Dates in uniform, like I used to dream about in my old life. Not only was she studying hard at a national high school, and having fun playing sports in her Tennis Club, Aoi-chan even had a boyfriend. She really seemed to be living a fulfilling high school life, didn’t she.

With the exception of Minami-kun, every member of the Handicrafts Club was female. The only boys I was close with were part of a maidens society. Far from having a boyfriend, I hadn’t even been confessed to, so instead of a spring, each day was like frosty winter.

“Reika-chan, for some reason your face has kind of turned into a noh mask…”

“You’re imagining things, Aoi-chan.”

Right. I had to be happy for my friends. Be more large-hearted, Reika!

“So anyhow, basically that boy is bothering you, right?”

“Yeah. Even after I told him that I had a boyfriend he wouldn’t give up…”

“Hmmm.”

Then why couldn’t she just get her boyfriend to protect her. No, no, stop sulking, Reika! Aoi-chan is an important friend!

“Got it. I’ll do something about him.”

“Eh-, really!? But are you going to be okay, Reika-chan?”

Aoi-chan might not have known the kind of position I held in Suiran, but I was obviously going to be fine.

Still, it wouldn’t be very prudent if I didn’t investigate him first. I didn’t want to hurt this boy’s pure heart.

Or so I had been thinking, but the guy making pa.s.ses at Aoi-chan had turned out to be one boys leading the attacks on Wakaba-chan.

It wasn’t only girls bullying her. Some of the boys were hara.s.sing her because they were jealous of her scores.

The verdict was pretty much out, right?

I was considering meeting the problem boy after school when it suddenly got noisy outside the window.

“Reika-sama, Kaburagi-sama arrived at school with Takamichi-san!” one of my group members rushed into the cla.s.sroom to report.

“Oh my. Again? As I recall, last time they met by chance outside. Is there really any need to cause such a fuss?”

“It’s different this time! Takamichi-san was riding in his car!”

“Ehh!?”

Even I was shocked. Why was she coming to school in his car!?

“What do you think this means!?”

“I am not sure…”

Even Kaburagi wouldn’t have gone to her house to pick her up, right? Then again, this was Kaburagi we were talking about…

Everybody was watching the hallway as Kaburagi came in chatting happily with a troubled-looking Wakaba-chan.

If gazes were lasers then Wakaba-chan would be completely burnt right now.

“Masaya.”

Enjou had arrived at school first and was coming out now.

“Oh! Morning, Shuusuke! You’re already here, huh.”

“Morning, Masaya. Good morning to you too, Takamichi-san.”

“Good morning.”

“So why might you two be together today?”

Enjou had asked the question that everyone here wanted to know.

“Ah, well I saw Takamichi walking outside by chance, and since it was raining pretty hard I had her get onboard.”

“Oh, I see.”

Judging from Wakaba-chan’s uncomfortable laughter, I was pretty sure he had forced her in.

Tsuruhana-san’s group was standing in the hallway with the eyes of hitmen──

Kaburagi, you one-track-minded idiot!!

The squad of hitmen made their move at lunchtime.