Stubborn to the end

Matsuura Yuki’s confidence in saying this came from Yurina’s fawning attitude towards them. Iwajo Kaori thought about it and also felt that she could continue to do whatever she wanted to Yurina, so she agreed.

On the other side, Ochi Mana noticed that Takashiro Rie had also returned to the classroom, but she did not go to talk to her.

“You two had another fight, didn’t you?” Kanzaki Takuya said.

Everyone else had gone to help Yurina as agreed, so only they were left. Thus, he dared to say these things so openly.

“Yes,” Yurina said, a little dejected.

“Is it necessary?”

Kanzaki Takuya probably guessed what she was trying to do.

“Friends are hard to come by, I must cherish them,” Yurina said, her spirits lifting.

As if she had suddenly found a purpose in life… even if the purpose wasn’t directly related to her.

Staring at Yurina’s face for a while, Kanzaki Takuya smiled softly.

“Then, please don’t forget, we are also your friends now.”

“Mm, thank you.”

Yurina smiled gratefully, but that was all. Judging by her expression, she didn’t understand what Kanzaki Takuya was trying to convey.

Or perhaps, she simply didn’t consider that possibility, because she had never had it.

‘How heartbreaking…’ Kanzaki Takuya subconsciously reached out to pat her head, but she was startled and jumped back. Only then did she realize her current identity and quickly apologized, looking as if she was afraid of hurting her boyfriend’s self-esteem.

At first, watching her was interesting and amusing, but the more he understood her, the more Kanzaki Takuya began to feel guilty.

He didn’t want to deceive her anymore.

He wanted to tell her that he had no relationship with “Shizuki Yurina.”

But now was not the time to speak… Thinking this, Kanzaki Takuya sent messages to the trio and Mizushima.

The second period ended uneventfully. The girls went to the changing room to change clothes together, and the boys, having changed in the classroom, left one after another.

“…”

Glancing at the empty classroom, Kanzaki Takuya gently closed the door.

Soon, his phone received a message.

[Kanzaki-kun, Shizuki-san is really cute.]

It was from Watanabe Akino, clearly something indescribable had happened in the girls’ changing room.

[Don’t get too carried away. She doesn’t like that.]

The Watanabe family was a subordinate family of the Kanzaki family, so Kanzaki Takuya and Watanabe Akino had known each other for a long time, but they only really became close after high school.

Thus, he quickly discovered that Watanabe Akino was a young lady who could only be admired from afar. It was worth mentioning that her perversion was bidirectional and not limited to herself; one reason she fangirled Kanzaki Takuya was that he provided her with material for unrestrained fantasizing.

[I see, I’m sorry.]

Of course, Watanabe Akino was still very rational and had boundaries. After all, her education was different from most people. She would occasionally show a dazed expression from being cooped up, indulging in endless fantasies—a standard repressed pervert.

Indeed, when he saw Yurina on the playground, her face was still flushed, but besides shyness, there was also some guilt… He saw this expression often, but Kanzaki Takuya had never been able to figure out why.

As it was the first P.E. class of the school year, the content was relatively relaxed, with the latter half entirely dedicated to physical fitness tests. Surprisingly, Yurina’s physical fitness was first among the girls.

“Shizuki-san, is your physical condition that good?” Yamamoto Marina’s eyes widened. P.E. class was held with Class 2-D, which included athletic girls who had competed in national tournaments.

“I work part-time…” Mana suddenly realized she had overdone it again, but she couldn’t help it. Her current level was only slightly better than an average boy, not even half of her previous level.

“Working part-time can improve physical fitness?” Yamamoto Marina turned to look at her friend who was lagging behind.

“I almost believed it,” Shimoya Himeko said, panting.

“Himeko’s jobs aren’t very strenuous, so it’s normal,” Watanabe Akino said.

“Ahhh, I actually lost to Kanzaki!” Mizushima Seiki hammered the ground nearby.

“Needless to say, Kanzaki-kun is ten thousand times stronger than you,” Yamamoto Marina scoffed.

“Damn it, if it’s an endurance contest, I definitely won’t lose!” Mizushima Seiki was very unconvinced. He prided himself on being the Beckham of the football club, running a lot and handsome… Well, handsome was the main point.

“Go away, go away. People from sports clubs shouldn’t even compare long-distance running with others,” Yamamoto Marina said grumpily.

Although Kanzaki Takuya often supported various sports clubs, he was ultimately a member of the Going-Home Club and had no extraordinary endurance… Well, that was just for ordinary people.

In fact, Kanzaki Takuya’s spiritual power had already improved his body before it was absorbed by his ability, so even without training, he was comparable to an average athlete.

Of course, he couldn’t compare to those who truly put in hard work and effort, but Mizushima Seiki’s efforts were only at the club activity level, and his talent was average, so he naturally couldn’t surpass him.

Kanzaki Takuya didn’t intend to show off, but he also didn’t feel like this was cheating. Taking advantage of the two arguing, he walked over to Yurina.

“I was the last one to leave the classroom.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me for that.”

As Kanzaki Takuya said, when they returned to the classroom after class, Mana’s desk looked as if it had been swept by a tornado, with things scattered all over the place in disarray.

“That’s awful!” Yamamoto Marina exclaimed angrily. Even with Kanzaki Takuya’s advance notice, she couldn’t hold back.

“Could everyone help me tidy up?”

Mana was afraid they would immediately run off to settle scores, so she quickly said.

“It’s no trouble at all.” Mizushima Seiki, being someone who liked to solve immediate problems first, immediately bent down to help clean up.

With him taking the lead, the other three couldn’t immediately erupt.

“Thank you…”

Mana quickly thanked them, while subtly glancing out of the corner of her eye, sure enough, she saw Takashiro Rie secretly watching from a distance.

As Mana wanted to downplay the incident, the small commotion quickly subsided. However, the fact that she had been pranked was still spread on SNS by interested parties.

People discussed it animatedly, some sympathizing with her, others gloating… Matsuura Yuki and Iwajo Kaori were naturally the most active among them. They didn’t even bother with anonymity, openly enumerating Yurina’s alleged crimes as acquaintances to prove she deserved it.

Mana didn’t care about this; instead, she sent a message to Takashiro Rie.

[Rie-chan, my things were messed up.]

After waiting for a while, the previous silence was broken.

[Serves you right.]

Mana’s face lit up, and she quickly sent the follow-up message she had already prepared.

[I guess Yuki and Kaori did it… What should I do?]

Takashiro Rie didn’t respond. She couldn’t possibly admit to her friends’ actions. As for scolding Mana, she had done that many times before.

But this was exactly the situation Mana wanted. Next was—

“Let’s all have lunch together today,” Kanzaki Takuya suggested to his friends.

“Alright!” Mizushima and Yamamoto immediately replied, both enjoying lively gatherings.

Mana gave Kanzaki Takuya a grateful look, then moved tables with the others, sitting in the center of the classroom and beginning their “pleasant” lunch party.

“Shizuki-san, here, I made this myself. You haven’t tried it yet, have you?” Shimoya Himeko silently put a dish on Mana’s plate. Among the trio, she was relatively quieter but a very thoughtful person, helping Mana bridge the gap in joining the group.

“I have some too, Shizuki-san, why don’t you try it?” Yamamoto Marina quickly put her food into Mana’s bowl as well, one after another… Her appetite was quite a bit larger than average, so she gave generously.

“I recommend this one more.” Watanabe Akino took a piece of high-grade beef from her luxurious-looking bento.

Mana gradually realized that they seemed to be trying to comfort her for being bullied in this way. The problem was how to maintain her figure; she had already figured that out. With so much food, the calories were definitely excessive…

“Then I’ll eat Yurina’s share,” Kanzaki Takuya did the opposite, taking food from Mana’s bowl. But when he tried to take a second helping, he was stopped by the bento’s owner.

“It’s okay,” Mana smiled.

She had been without friends for too long… This was everyone’s kindness; how could she hesitate and overthink?

“Kanzaki-kun, how could you do such a thing?” Yamamoto Marina said angrily, though the content of her anger was a bit off-topic. “If you want to eat, let your girlfriend feed you!”

“That’s right, Kanzaki-kun, how could you ruin such a romantic scene?” Watanabe Akino also feigned anger, echoing her.

‘What were these people talking about?’

Mana was a little speechless, but the girl group was getting excited, continuing to egg her on, trying to make her succumb.

“I see, so Kanzaki and Shizuki, is the reason your athletic abilities are so good because you eat a lot?” Mizushima Seiki suddenly realized. “Then I can’t lose either!”

Saying this, he took a piece of meat from Yamamoto Marina, making her chase him and hit him for a good while.

“You bastard… if you’re a man, don’t hide!”

“Tsk, I just ate a piece of your meat, do you need to be like this? Besides, if Kanzaki can do it, why can’t I?”

“They’re a couple!”

“Childhood friends are pretty much the same… I’m almost done eating, don’t waste your energy.”

Seeing that she couldn’t do anything to the rogue, Yamamoto Marina reluctantly stomped her foot and walked back with puffed cheeks.

“He was just teasing you,” Kanzaki Takuya said.

“That’s the most irritating part!” Yamamoto Marina said discontentedly, while turning to glare at Mizushima Seiki, who was about to return.

However, after this farce, the girl group began to realize something.

“Shizuki-san, could I also try some of your bento?” Watanabe Akino asked with an expectant tone.

“Of course.”

“Isn’t this too much? Can Shizuki-san eat all of this?” Shimoya Himeko thought for a moment, then suddenly understood her friend’s true intention.

“Ah!” Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Marina immediately cast aside her anger towards a certain person, clasped her hands together, and bowed her head to Mana, admitting her mistake, “I’m sorry, Shizuki-san, I didn’t consider that. Don’t force yourself to eat my share!”

“No, I’ll eat it all. Don’t let my appearance fool you, I actually eat a lot.” Mana didn’t follow this rhythm. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Everyone, hurry and eat, but I must state beforehand, I will not feed Kanzaki-kun in front of you.”

Mana knew very well that these words implied “couple feeding should be done in private,” but she said it intentionally to steer the conversation towards a more interesting direction.

‘No reward without merit.’ She asked herself if she had done anything to deserve such care from others, yet everyone was so enthusiastically considerate of her. She really had no way to repay them, so she could only try her best to make everyone relax and not be constrained by her presence… Of course, just thinking about this development made her feel both ashamed, embarrassed, and thoroughly disgusted.

But others clearly didn’t think so—

“Shizuki… no, Yurina, you’re such a good kid. It’s really great that Kanzaki-kun’s girlfriend is you!”

Even without Kanzaki Takuya’s observational skills, Yamamoto Marina saw through Mana’s thoughts and pounced on her, hugging her, her face moved as if her daughter had married into a good family. “By the way, is it okay if I call you Yurina?”

“It’s okay, we’re friends.” Mana couldn’t help but feel a little shy. This was the first time she had been called by such an intimate name… Even though she was just an impostor, and it wasn’t her real name, she shamelessly felt joy.

“That’s unfair, I want to too!” Shimoya Himeko said anxiously. “Of course, Yurina, you should also call me by my name.”

“How wonderful…”

Watanabe Akino didn’t know what she was thinking, gazing at the three girls with an obsessed look. Yamamoto Marina, who knew her well, quickly pulled her over too.

“Stop your fantasies, you’re part of this too.”

“Eh, eh, eh?” Having her delusion forcibly broken, Watanabe Akino made a long face. However, upon realizing Mana wasn’t good at handling such situations, she immediately became playful, calling out to Mana in various tones and nicknames…

Considering the limited lunch break, they didn’t endlessly mess around, but with the earlier interlude as a diversion, the atmosphere became much livelier, and the food tasted better.

Witnessing this scene, Mana smiled slightly.

‘Everyone is truly very good people.’

‘With such companions in school life, Yurina will surely be very happy when she returns.’

Of course, it was also possible that Yurina originally had all of this, and she was merely overstepping, and an inferior version at that.

The most obvious example was—

“I’m sorry, but I won’t give up…”

Mana whispered softly, gazing at Takashiro Rie’s empty seat.