The midsummer morning sun beat down on the school rooftop. Even Tanaka, who usually spent her time alone in the rooftop penthouse until homeroom, was nowhere to be found today.
"It's scorching... Oh, Ryouta, you finally showed up."
"S-sorry to keep you waiting, Yuria."
When I reached the roof, I found Yuria standing alone. She leaned back against the wire mesh fence, her hands resting on her hips.
The sunlight caught her long brown hair, making it appear even brighter than usual.
Being alone on a rooftop with a gyaru was the stuff of heart-pounding, perverted fantasies, but today was different.
"So, what did you want to talk about? Is it about what happened this morning?"
Right—Kuroki had interrogated me right then and there about calling Airi by her first name, but Yuria hadn't pressed the issue much at the time.
"Well, yeah... But first, you and Airi aren't in some weird relationship, are you?"
"O-of course not! A loner otaku like me dating a busty beauty like her is pure fantasy!"
"I think your self-esteem is a bit too low, honestly," she replied.
She was trying to be supportive, but that was only because we were fellow otaku.
"Besides the fact that I'm an otaku, Airi already has a boyfriend. There's no way we'd end up in a relationship like that."
"..."
"Y-Yuria?"
Yuria’s brow furrowed, her expression unusually troubled.
"That’s the thing... I’ve been getting a weird vibe for a while now. Airi is so pure and airheaded... I’ve started wondering if she actually has a boyfriend."
My heart skipped a beat. She was catching on.
After knowing her for a year, the more you learned about Airi Miyama, the more you realized she wasn't the kind of girl who played the field or went looking for boyfriends at other schools.
"Up until now, I thought it would be insensitive to ask if he really existed. I didn't want to mess up our friendship. But lately, Airi has been so clingy with you, Ryouta... It’s making me really doubt whether this boyfriend is even real."
So she'd had her doubts before but kept them to herself. Now that Airi and I were getting closer, that sense of wrongness had intensified. The truth was, she didn't have a boyfriend. Airi was just naturally affectionate—she showered everyone with her charm. It wasn't surprising that it looked suspicious to an outsider.
"What do you think, Ryouta? Or maybe..."
I swallowed hard.
"Do you know something I don't?"
Yuria narrowed her eyes, pinning me with her gaze. A bead of sweat—I couldn't tell if it was from the heat or my nerves—trailed down my cheek and dripped onto the scorching concrete.
This was bad. Really bad.
I’d managed to keep the secret for a month, so I’d let my guard down. I never expected that I would be the one she’d look to for answers. I hadn't prepared for this, so I desperately scrambled for a response.
"H-how would I know? Besides, Airi might act pure and airheaded around us, but who's to say she isn't different when she's with her boyfriend?"
"Different around her boyfriend?"
"Yeah. I think it's a bit hasty to assume she couldn't possibly have one just because of how she acts at school."
I navigated the conversation carefully, making it clear I wasn't privy to her personal life while simultaneously reinforcing the idea that the boyfriend was real. Not bad, if I did say so myself.
If only this could get Yuria to change her mind even a little...
"...I guess. Well, I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I don't really know if people's personalities change like that. But yeah... maybe you're right, Ryouta. Airi is probably just working hard for her boyfriend's sake in her own way."
"Yuria..."
"When I really think about it, I don't think Airi is clever enough to maintain a lie like that. I was probably just overthinking things."
It looked like I’d pulled it off. Though, regarding the fact that people were starting to doubt the existence of her boyfriend, I’d probably need to have a serious talk with Airi later.
"But you know, if that's how it works..."
"Hm?"
"If I ever got a boyfriend, I wonder if I'd become a different version of myself, too."
"...Do you want to change, Yuria?"
"I wonder. But right now..."
Yuria stared intently at me. She reached out and gently poked the tip of my nose with a light-blue manicured finger.
"Since I have an otaku boy named Ryouta who accepts both my gyaru side and my otaku side... I guess I don't really need a boyfriend."
She grinned, her white teeth flashing.
Because I was here, she didn't need a boyfriend...?
If anything, it should have been the opposite. Wasn't it boring having only a loner otaku like me for a male friend? Don't girls usually want to hang out with better-looking guys?
"Besides, if I got a boyfriend, you’d probably feel too guilty to stare at my thighs, wouldn't you? That would just be too sad. So, I’ll hold off on getting a boyfriend until you get bored of looking at them."
"H-hey, if that's the deal, I don't think I'll ever get bored. Are you sure about this?"
"F-forever...? Good grief. You really are a total pervert, Ryouta!"
"Don't say it with a smile. Look at me with more disgust."
And while you're at it, keep the insults coming.
"Well, that part of you is just so..."
"Hm?"
"...Never mind. Shall we head back?"
"Yeah, let's."
Homeroom was about to start, so Yuria and I jogged back toward the classroom. The smile she’d worn when she called me a "total pervert" had been incredibly cute. It was a different kind of thrill compared to the simple joy of being insulted.
"...Hey, Yuria. Could you keep insulting me with a smile from now on?"
"Huh? Gross. Now I'm actually creeped out."
This time, her disgust was genuine. I nodded to myself.
Yeah, that's the stuff.