Higashi Hazuki Doesn’t Use a Smartphone

[It seems Murata-san made the right decision.]

[As an exchange, I want to see you delete the video you mentioned, and you must also guarantee that you will absolutely not use it to threaten us.]

Murata Daisuke let out a breath, still not releasing his grip on the notebook.

From the looks of it—

Money in one hand, goods in the other.

But—

[The premise is that what Murata-san gives me is correct, and not just some names written randomly.]

[If you don’t believe me, then there’s no reason for us to make this deal.]

Murata Daisuke sneered.

[And I still haven’t seen the video you mentioned.]

That—

I took out my phone and tapped on one of the videos.

To make it clearer, I deliberately played the part where they chased after me and swung the bat at me without mercy.

Murata Daisuke’s expression changed.

He reached out to grab it, but the highly alert me immediately stepped back.

I smoothly stuffed the phone back into my pocket.

[I’m sorry, Murata-san.

I really can’t do that.]

Words that sounded like rejecting a confession caused a few passersby to glance over in curiosity.

[As expected of the person Rin hates the most.

Not only sly like a fox, but also able to bare fangs like a wolf.]

His voice was filled with hatred.

In the end, isn’t it because you people inexplicably wanted to get at me that I was forced to reveal a bit of my own nastiness?

Even so, I was still maintaining the politeness Higashi Hazuki should have.

And compared to me, you people—who stalk Nangō Rin and interfere with her life—are far more disgusting.

But how disgusting they are doesn’t concern me.

What I want right now is simply to deal with you freaks.

[Those videos were taken by Ichijō Riku, weren’t they?]

He suddenly said, regaining his calm.

[Only that guy could do it.

After all, you two look like you have—]

[If you want to do anything to Ichijō-san, I will expose all of you without mercy.]

I said this with a smile.

[Hmph, so there really is a connection.

You bastards.]

Perhaps because I said that immediately, Murata Daisuke became even more convinced.

Well, as long as it doesn’t reach Tsukihi, it’s fine.

In the end, it’s because I’m overly concerned about Ichijō Riku.

After all, he’s my way back—

[What’s written in this notebook—

I guarantee it’s true.

I didn’t lie to you.]

He returned to the previous topic.

And this time, he no longer held it tightly.

[If you find any problems, you can just release the video.]

He really seems confident in himself.

But I’m a suspicious person, you know.

Then I’ll examine it properly.

Rinya Hiyori.

When I opened the notebook, one name immediately caught my eye.

A girl’s name.

If that’s the case, Nangō Rin’s support group includes both boys and girls.

What kind of scene is that, really.

It’s hard to imagine.

Just how great is her charm?

If it weren’t for my help, Ichijō Riku might have been targeted crazily by these people lurking in the shadows right from the start of his “route.”

If that happened, he would definitely have had a miserable time.

And I, who am using him, might even have to face guilt—

If my rotten heart still had that function.

As things are now—

Let me help you properly, Ichijō.

[Tsuki, what are you looking at?]

During breaks, Tenzan Kaoru always comes to talk to me.

Normally, I could just brush it off casually.

But now—

Hanaumae Aiba walked over.

She wasn’t curled up in her seat doing her own thing like before.

Instead, she joined us here, chatting to deepen our bond.

That completely ruined my plan to brush things off casually.

Having one more person around is always uncomfortable.

[Nothing.]

I closed the notebook smoothly and smiled at them.

[You’re always like this, Tsuki.

You look so mysterious.]

[Everyone needs to have their own secrets, right, Kaoru.]

[Ugh.

Because we’re good friends, it makes me a little uncomfortable.

But just now, that boy came to see you again, Tsuki.]

[That boy… I remember his name is Murata Daisuke.]

Hanaumae Aiba said.

[Because he’s on the school baseball team, I know his name.]

[Did he come to confess to you again, Tsuki?]

Being thought of as getting confessed to so many times, I couldn’t even be bothered to explain anymore.

So I just nodded slightly.

[What a shame.

He’s not a good person.]

Tenzan Kaoru sighed.

I couldn’t tell if it was schadenfreude or not.

Anyway—

It’s a really boring topic.

Even though it makes them misunderstand even more that I like Ichijō Riku.

Right now, I want to study Nangō Rin’s support group more.

[That is pretty pitiful.]

Hanaumae Aiba nodded.

Then, as if she’d read my mind, she changed the topic.

[By the way, next class is PE, right?]

[Yeah.

We’ll need to change clothes in a bit.]

[Then… will you bring your phones to class?]

She suddenly became very interested in this question.

[That—

I usually carry mine with me.

What about you, Tsuki?]

A boring question.

But I still had to answer.

[For me, I’ll probably leave it in my locker.]

[Tsuki, aren’t you afraid it’ll get stolen?]

Tenzan Kaoru looked puzzled.

[Someone would steal a phone like mine?]

After all, Higashi Hazuki is poor.

The phone she bought is the kind that no one would bother picking up even if it fell on the road.

Someone might even charge extra for garbage disposal.

It only has the most basic communication functions.

An old-fashioned phone.

It doesn’t match Higashi Hazuki’s outward image at all.

But it’s all I could afford.

In the end, I’m not someone who pursues fashion anyway.

A flip phone like Tsuki’s is something I’ve only seen on people who like nostalgia.

It’s simply because I don’t have money.

Of course, I just smiled and didn’t answer Kaoru.

Flip phones are pretty good, though.

Just open it and use it.

Hanaumae Aiba didn’t seem to find the flip phone strange at all.

In that case, without a lock screen password, isn’t it easy for others to see your privacy?

Privacy—

There’s basically nothing like that on my phone.

If anything, the only thing that needs attention is my chats with Ichijō Riku.

It would be troublesome if others saw those.

So—

For the sake of future plans, even though it feels a bit off—

I can only delete my chat history with him.

Of course, I did this while avoiding their gaze.

Ding-ling-ling.

Class has started.

After changing clothes, I saw Tsukihi and Shimizu Mima sparking again.

It was a hellish sight.

Tsuki, what are you doing now?

Still hung up on the fact that they couldn’t properly compete last time.

Shimizu Mima warmed up while staring intently at Tsukihi.

Her eyes seemed to burn with two blazing flames.

They’ve faded a bit over the past few days.

Tsukihi swung her arm.

Although the bruise was still very visible, it was much better than before.

She should be able to use full strength now.

She showed a confident smile.

Why does it feel like you’ve both forgotten about me?

I pretended to be dissatisfied beside them.

[Eh, Tsuki, when did you get here?]

Tsukihi looked as if she’d just noticed me.

Her expression was puzzled.

Obviously a joke.

And the cheerful Higashi Hazuki wouldn’t ignore it or point it out directly.

I clutched my chest dramatically.

[So you’ve both always treated me like I don’t exist?!

We’ve known each other for so long.

I’ve always thought of you as my best friends.]

As I said that, as if unable to endure my own acting, I laughed.

[Hehe.]

[Haha.]

They laughed too.

The air filled with happiness.

Even though I, laughing along with them, wasn’t truly loved.

[Alright.

For this class, we’ll do physical training.]

Aoiwa-dera sensei blew his whistle and announced the lesson.

At the same time, it shattered Tsukihi’s hopes.

[Ah—]

Tsukihi sighed in disappointment.

Honestly, I felt about the same.

Compared to a short test where you can rest after one run,

Physical training feels like testing my energy reserves for the day.

If I fail to meet the standard, I might even collapse and be sent to the infirmary.

Even though I ate Ichijō Riku’s food properly at noon,

How much I’d burn was still unknown.

There was no avoiding it.

[Continuous running.

Start.]

With Aoiwa Moritsugu’s command, the grueling running began.

It continued until the end of class.

[Kaoru, what do you think?]

Tenzan Kaoru looked stunned.

No amount of acting could help here.

I was too tired to talk.

[Get ready for class, Kaoru.]

There were still two more periods.

After that, we’d go to the clubroom to type again.

In a way, I’m quite busy.

[Mm-hm.]

After noon, the breeze became gentler and more comfortable.

It helped relieve some of the fatigue.

[For each problem, you need to verify it.

The simplest way is to substitute this value.

If you encounter abstract concepts—

For example, when solving for—

You need to integrate everything.

Replace one function with another equivalent or opposite one.

That way, you can strike directly at the essence, simplifying complexity—]

The math teacher explained endlessly.

[Also be careful here.

This is where you get trapped.

If you don’t notice it, you’ll suffer a big loss—]

It was actually somewhat interesting.

At least enough to keep me listening.

[Alright, class dismissed.]

I let out a breath and habitually rummaged through my locker.

But—

This time, I didn’t touch the familiar object.

My phone?

Could it be—

Taken?

We were just talking about it, and then it happened.

A coincidence suspicious enough to raise doubt.

I turned around, but didn’t see a certain person.

[Where’s Aiba?]

[Oh, she left in a hurry.]

Tenzan Kaoru looked confused.

[What’s wrong, Tsuki?]

[Kaoru, did you see my phone?]

[Ah, Tsuki, your phone’s gone?

Was it really stolen?]

[Maybe.]

But something worse than that—

[Ichijō still hasn’t come.

That’s strange.

He’s usually early.]

This is bad.

Very bad.

These people aren’t that easy to deal with.

Maybe I underestimated them.

And now, I’ve dragged Ichijō Riku into this.

[Don’t panic, Higashi-senpai.]

Amano Sora’s arrival made things even stranger.

[I’ve been keeping an eye on those people’s movements.]

He spoke gently to me, ignoring Kudō Yoshiko and the others’ puzzled looks.

[Come with me.]