"Still, you really are a pitiful soul," I said, crossing my arms. "There are so few girls in the Faculty of Engineering that you’d think there would be enough camaraderie for them to let you into their group."
"Yamamoto-kun, do you have any idea how they assign student IDs in our department?"
"Not a clue."
I couldn't care less, honestly.
"They go in alphabetical order."
"I see."
"Every other girl in the department had IDs close to each other..."
Takeshita—or whatever her name was—shook with indignation.
"By the time orientation started, the cliques were already set!"
"……"
"There was nothing I could do! Absolutely nothing!!!"
As if demanding to know if I understood her pain, Takeshita glared at me for some reason.
The way she looked at me made it seem like I was the one who had driven her classmates away. Of course, I had done no such thing.
Still, I did find her situation somewhat tragic.
University lasts four years—longer than the three years of middle or high school. Beyond that lies the grind of adult life. This is the final chapter of being a student. The last chance in one's life to play to one's heart's content.
Naturally, anyone would dream of making plenty of friends and having the time of their lives when they first enroll.
……And yet.
"Waaaaah! What did I even do to deserve this?"
This girl certainly had some intense mood swings.
"Is it my fault? Is it really my fault...?"
God, what a pain...
"Say something!"
"God, what a pain..."
Crap. I said that out loud.
"Excuse me?!"
"I just said what I was thinking. From my perspective, you're just pestering me. It’s only natural for me to feel that way, right?"
"S-Still, you shouldn't say something like that to a girl!"
Her face turned bright red as she snapped at me.
"Hmph. If you keep this up, Yamamoto-kun, you’re going to be the 'Solitary Hard Worker (lol)' for the rest of your life."
"Pot calling the kettle black. You’re just as alone as I am."
"Guh."
That was clearly a critical hit.
You’d think she could have predicted that kind of counterattack with even a little bit of thought. She was a careless woman.
"Anyway, there's no point in us digging into each other's wounds like this. Let's get to the point."
"……Fine."
"So... your request was for me to tutor you, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
"But I refused. And I haven't changed my mind."
"Why...? That's so cruel..."
Facing Takeshita, who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any second, my conscience stung a little.
But it couldn't be helped.
After all, I had made a promise to Kasahara. And breaking a promise to her... well, the fallout seemed far more terrifying than breaking one with Hayashi.
"I'm sorry. It's just the way it is."
"……Ugh."
"However, I'm not so morally bankrupt that I'll leave a suffering person completely to their own devices. I have an alternative suggestion."
"An alternative?"
"Yeah. This is a university, isn't it? If you put in a little effort, it should be easy enough to make friends."
Takeshita's face practically screamed: Are you, a loner, really the one to tell me that? What an expressive face.
"So, how about you try throwing yourself into club activities or a circle?"
"……"
"If you join a circle or a club, you'll meet people in your own year. If you work at it, you can even build connections with upperclassmen. Having seniors to look out for you is always a plus. If they're in the same major, they might even give you their old exams."
"……I was in one."
"Hm?"
"I was in the Motorcycle Research Circle."
"……Motorcycles, huh?"
That was a pretty hardcore hobby for a girl.
……Wait.
"Was" in?
"I quit."
"Why?"
"Things happened."
"What kind of 'things'?"
"Well, you know... various things."
"I can't tell what that means."
"……I became the princess."
"Huh?"
"I became the Otaku Circle Princess!!!" Takeshita shouted.
I had heard that term before. An "Otaku Circle Princess."
It was a phenomenon that occurred when a single girl joined a circle or club with a massive male-to-female ratio. Surrounded by guys who didn't get out much, the girl would be placed on a pedestal. Apparently, some of them were treated like literal idols.
"What's so bad about that? In an environment full of guys, they'd treat you with nothing but courtesy, right? Sounds like a win to me."
"It was nothing but a nightmare!"
"……Why?"
"Everyone treated me like a princess. But there were two guys who were especially obsessed with me. Before I knew it, I was trapped in this mess of a love triangle."
"……That's..."
"Do you have any idea what that's like, Yamamoto-kun?! I joined because I wanted to work on bikes, and I ended up thrown into the middle of a drama! Do you know how painful it is to be aggressively pursued by two people you aren't even interested in?!"
"Whoa..."
……I didn't understand.
But when I tried to imagine myself in her shoes, a pained sound escaped my throat.
……Yeah, that would be rough.
"I'm sorry," I said, offering a sincere apology.
"It's fine. It's fine. I'm just that kind of person. Honestly, being alone is probably easier. Ah, I just want to fade into the wind."
Takeshita began to sulk.
Between having her precious handkerchief blown away by the wind, getting caught up in a miserable "Circle Princess" situation, and being completely shot down by me...
I couldn't help it. I was starting to see her as a truly pitiful human being.
I might have actually felt more sympathy for her in this moment than I did when I first took Hayashi into my home.