Chapter 83: ,isn’t it uncomfortable to eat alone?

The winter break had ended.

If you thought about it, two weeks was long for some, short for others, but to me, it felt annoyingly short.

And now, I was doomed to be locked in this prison called school until late March.

I wondered, was there any way I could skip grades and graduate early?

As I opened the classroom door with that thought in mind, I was greeted by an empty room.

How strange.

In my previous life, I’d wished countless times to return to my student days. But now that I was here, all I could think

about was how much I wanted to graduate as quickly as possible.

“Hmm…”

Normally, I would have plopped my head onto the desk without hesitation and pretended to sleep. But right now, I couldn’t do that.

It wasn’t because I was lost in some sentimental reflection or anything like that.

It was just that the desk was so cold that resting my forehead on it would make me feel even colder.

…Speaking of which, I wondered how my classmates viewed me now.

During the Christmas party, I found out my classmates thought of me as a tragic girl keeping her distance from

others due to past trauma. But that misunderstanding had been cleared up, and Miyauchi had promised to explain it

to the others too.

Yet over the winter break, I didn’t see any conversations about it in our class group chat.

Did Miyauchi forget?

Or maybe she had already explained everything at the Christmas party itself.

Well, it didn’t really matter if everyone knew I wasn’t a tragic girl with a heartbreaking past. It wouldn’t change the

fact that I didn’t have friends at school.

Some might say this was a chance to bond with my classmates.

But honestly, that kind of suggestion only came from clueless people who didn’t understand school life.

Let me spell it out for you.

At school, social dynamics are established within three days of a new term. Unless you’re a transfer student or some

special case, it’s almost impossible to break into already-formed groups.

So, like the past year, I’d spend the remaining two years navigating school life alone.

Wow, doesn’t that sound fun?

…But do I really need friends?

It’s not like I dislike Koga or Akabane. But do I really need to make an effort to fit in with others?

Sure, I regret not trusting people until the very end of my last life, but I’ve gotten used to this solitary life now.

So, there’s no need to force myself to belong.

Still…

A part of me yearned for human warmth.

A part of me wanted to join in if my classmates suggested something fun.

There was also a part of me that wanted to become friends with those who treated me kindly.

And honestly, if someone called me their friend first, I knew I’d feel happy.

…So, what is it that I really want?

“Kaya—no!”

“Eek!”

Lost in my thoughts, I jumped when someone called my name from behind.

“Ah, Ta-Tateyama?”

It wasn’t Miyauchi this time—it was Tateyama, our class’s ultimate social butterfly.

“Uh, y-you’re here early…”

I had rarely seen Tateyama arrive this early, except during the cultural festival.

“Ah, yeah. I knew you’d be here at this time, and there’s something I wanted to tell you before the others came.”

“Something you wanted to tell me?”

“Yeah.”

With that, Tateyama suddenly clasped her hands together loudly, as if she were praying.

“Kaya—no! I’m so, so sorry…!”

She lowered her head deeply, bowing in an exaggerated apology that you’d only see in anime when the protagonist

was apologizing.

I’d never seen anyone apologize like this in real life before.

Then again, maybe I just didn’t know because I had no one around me. Could this be the standard way to apologize?

But why did Tateyama suddenly apologize to me?

“…I heard everything from Miyauchi. She said you’re really shy, Kayano.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Then, when we met in Akihabara… I thought I might have made things difficult by following you around… I’m sorry…”

Ah, that happened too.

I remember it was quite an awkward situation. But I don’t think an apology like this is necessary…

“I made up an image of you, Kayano, and even spread a nickname like ‘Ice Princess’… I’m really sorry…”

“T-Tateyama, I… I…”

Huh?

“Ice Princess”? What’s that supposed to mean?

Did I have that nickname?

“Uh, what does that mean…?”

“Don’t worry, Kayano. It’s just something Tateyama calls you alone…”

“…Miyauchi.”

Miyauchi walked into the classroom, answering my question. She was covering her face with her left hand, seemingly

embarrassed.

“By the way, what if someone overheard you talking so loudly, Tateyama? We’re lucky no one was passing by…”

“But you told me almost no one comes at this hour, Miyauchi. Isn’t it fine?”

“Huh? Still, you never know…”

The two of them began chatting naturally.

“…Uh, excuse me for a second, I’ll… I’ll go out for a bit…”

I escaped to the (former) science room, my sanctuary.

Lunch break.

For most high school students, lunchtime is both a break after hard study and a time to socialize with friends.

For me, though, lunchtime was simply the time to eat lunch.

Before I got a good sense of the class dynamics during summer break, I used to go out to the school yard and eat

alone. After understanding the atmosphere a bit, I started eating alone in the classroom.

Afterward, I’d just sit quietly, daydreaming, or take a short nap. That’s my routine.

But today, there was a crack in that routine.

“First, I made sure to tell everyone in the class. It was all our misunderstanding until now…”

“R-Really?”

Why is she telling me this now?

I already understood the situation from the conversation I overheard this morning, so I didn’t need to hear it again.

Listening to Miyauchi’s continued explanation, I couldn’t really enjoy my lunch anymore.

But I knew this was coming from her goodwill, so I couldn’t exactly refuse to listen.

The only relief was that my classmates were still keeping their distance from me as usual.

Of course, I could feel a few glances, but at least no one was openly staring at me.

“Ah, I hope I’m not making you feel uncomfortable right now…”

“No, it’s… it’s okay…”

Of course, that was a lie.

I was holding back the nausea.

But I couldn’t tell her to back off because I felt uncomfortable. If I said that, I’d become someone who couldn’t even

stay in class anymore.

“I’m glad…”

But I wasn’t glad at all…

“Sometimes, doesn’t it happen? When the way you perceive someone is a little different from theirs…”

“That happens.”

“The perception can differ, but I hate when people judge right and wrong based on that.”

“Remember when I told you about the Christmas party?”

“The one where you just sat quietly without singing?”

…Why do they remember all that?

But the grown-up me doesn’t react to those things anymore.

I know that if I do, they’ll just tease me more.

“I talked to a classmate there, and, well, it seems there was a huge misunderstanding…”

“Did you fight?”

“Ah, it’s not about who was right or wrong. It’s just a misunderstanding… I met that person again today, and we

talked… And I realized… eating quietly alone seems to be the best, right? Eating while talking… It’s impossible…”

I usually eat without talking at home, but when I eat with other people, I just can’t keep up with their pace of

thinking.

Eating alone is actually embarrassing, haha.

Your way of thinking is totally anti-social.

“Huh? I have friends, okay? I’m totally social! I just want to eat alone when I’m eating. Honestly, wanting to eat with

others just because you’re embarrassed to eat alone is way more anti-social, don’t you think? Isn’t it you guys who

don’t have friends…?”

Is Mei-chan not going to break down this time?

Mei-chan is in the middle of a growth phase.

“Hehe… well, anyway, I was just thinking that today… and as I announced before, today’s game is SkyTravel…”

She’s finally doing it.

She said she wanted to try it last time.

Mei-chan, who only played crappy games, is playing something different?

“TLQ is… a god-tier game, okay…”

SkyTravel.

A third-person action RPG where you search for traces of the gods in a world where the gods have disappeared.

Released last November, the game’s charm lies in exploring the vast world and finding the ending.

The biggest feature is that there’s no specific order to reach the ending.

After the tutorial, you can play however you like, as it’s all about your own way.

Anyway, I bought ST (SkyTravel) right after it was released, but I haven’t played it even once until now.

I’ve only watched a few highlight videos of it.

I didn’t mind playing it alone, but since I was going to play, I wanted to stream it.

But right after its release, my company didn’t allow me to stream it, and it’s only after two months that I’ve finally

gotten permission.

It’s always so annoying having to get permission from the company just to play a game.

You can’t play the games you want right away, and it often feels like you end up playing them after the hype has passed.

Games like TLQ, where the company gives streaming permission, are rare.

Looking at that, TLQ really is a god-tier game.

“Well, shall we start…?”

With that, I pressed the ‘Game Start’ button, and with grand background music, the screen went black.

Then, when the screen lit up again:

[Hades’ Remnants – Cerberus]

[HP: 13451]

The monster with a long HP bar and my character were facing each other.

[Choose your weapon.]

The system command appeared.

There was no hesitation.

Since I decided what weapon I was going to use when I bought ST, I knew exactly what to choose.

No matter what anyone says, the weapon that suits the tough, manly side of me… was the ‘Katana.’

“Hehehe…”

This is a disaster.

Definitely saw something weird.

It’s clear that you knew what weapon you were choosing.