Ever since I’d stumbled onto Ichinose’s secret at the arcade in the neighboring town, we’d somehow ended up in a relationship where we shared our otaku interests. Even after getting back home, I lay on my bed, unable to stop thinking about it.
"I never would've imagined that Yuria Ichinose—the downer gyaru at the top of the social hierarchy—was actually an otaku..."
It had been surprising enough to learn that the busty beauty Airi Miyama was secretly a hard worker, but the fact that the lethargic Ichinose was an otaku was even more of a shock.
On top of that, by learning their secrets, I’d managed to progress to the point of exchanging contact info with two girls who both possessed such incredible bodies.
Only a few days ago, I was just a social outcast reading light novels in the corner of the classroom. Now, I shared secrets with two of the school’s top three beauties—the idols of every guy on campus. Good grief, it really felt like something out of a light novel plot.
(This is all because Miyama and Ichinose finally took notice of me during that seat change.)
Take Miyama, who worked at the Tatsuya in front of the station—if she hadn't noticed me in class, she probably wouldn't have even known a loner like me existed. There was a good chance I could've kept buying my books there as a regular customer without things ever getting weird.
As for Ichinose, if she hadn't seen me reading light novels in the seat right next to her, she wouldn't have acknowledged me either. None of this would have happened... probably. Most likely.
(As I thought, my peaceful high school life is being threatened because of that seat change.)
It only made me resent Rui Kuroki, the girl who had proposed the seat change, all the more.
I couldn't come to terms with how my daily life had been upended, for better or worse, without shifting the blame onto her.
While I was spiraling into those thoughts, a notification popped up on the phone in my pocket.
"New message from ♡Airi Miyama♡"
A LIME from Miyama? I wondered what she wanted.
I opened our chat room.
Miyama: Did you manage to meet Yuria at the arcade? Also, were you able to ask her about what happened this morning?
Right, this whole mess started because I’d consulted Miyama in the first place.
I had an obligation to explain, but... if I just came out and said, "Ichinose is just a massive otaku!" she might actually kill me.
To gloss over the truth, I replied with a lie: "In the end, I couldn't get a word out of her! Sorry!"
(Well, it’s probably better for everyone if this just stays a mystery.)
Miyama: I see. I was curious about what Yuria meant, but I'm sure it was nothing! Let's just forget about it, forget it~
Miyama followed up with her usual bubbly attitude.
It was actually a huge deal, though.
Miyama: Hey, hey, more importantly, Ryouta~ Since I told you about Yuria, as a thank-you, I want to try the new Snow Tops special~? Take me there!
And now she was wheedling for a treat, using any excuse she could find.
I bet she got a taste for being pampered after I bought her that katsu curry.
(She's relying on me way too much just because I'm the only one who knows how hard she works...!)
Despite my internal annoyance, I typed back: "I had some big expenses this week, so how about next week?"
Men are simple creatures; when a cute girl asks for a favor, "no" isn't an option. At least, that's how it works for a virgin like me.
(Wait, if I’m seen at Snoto with Airi Miyama, won't her pack of fans beat me to a pulp...?)
"Hm? Another LIME notification...?"
This time, the message was from Yuria Ichinose.
Ichinose: Thanks for today. I wanted to pay you back for the figure, so do you want to go to a movie or something sometime? My treat.
A movie... she said.
Going to a movie with a girl... To think a life-event like this would occur in the middle of my career as a perennial loner...
Ichinose: If you don't like that, we can do something else. What do you think?
Ichinose followed up almost immediately.
(As if... I’d ever say no!)
I messaged her back, confirming that I’d go.
And just like that, I ended up with a schedule fit for a total player: "The new Frappuccino at Snow Tops with Miyama" and "A movie date with Ichinose."
"My calendar, which only had light novel release dates on it until the other day, is suddenly full of extrovert events..."
Ah, I’m hopeless... Something is seriously wrong with me.
I'm basically destroying my own peaceful, loner high school life!
(Is this what people mean when they talk about a romance brain...?)
I didn't want to admit it, but the sheer sense of "guilt" from being on speaking terms with the two girls at the very top of the social ladder—Yuria Ichinose and Airi Miyama—was intense.
After all, they were the objects of admiration for everyone in school, regardless of gender.
For a total outcast otaku like me to have this kind of relationship with them when we were strangers just two days ago... it was simply surreal.
Was all of this Rui Kuroki’s "fault," or was it "thanks" to her?
My eyes happened to land on the "Recommended" section of LIME.
The app has a feature that shows friends of friends as recommendations, and since I’d exchanged info with Miyama and Ichinose, Rui Kuroki’s account was now sitting right there in the list.
I didn't know the truth—whether that seat change was a calculated setup or a stroke of pure luck.
However, if it was a setup, why would Rui Kuroki place a nobody like me in that center seat...?
(Did Kuroki have some kind of grudge against me...?)
Even though we went to the same middle school, I had never been in the same class as her, nor had we ever spoken.
The Rui Kuroki of middle school was popular enough to have an insane legend about being confessed to by every single boy in her class; she shouldn't have even spared a thought for a speck of dust like me.
"There's no reason for her to resent me... so it must have been a coincidence after all."
Reaching that conclusion, I slowly closed my eyes, which had grown heavy with the fatigue of a very long day.