Finally, the school day began.

Until now, a group centered around Fuyunagi-san would form as soon as she arrived at school, functioning as a community that enlivened the entire classroom.

However, no one approaches her now.

Everyone keeps their distance and whispers to each other in hushed tones.

However, from their distorted expressions, it was obvious what they were talking about.

“Seriously? You can still come here after doing something like that…”

“True! Even if Sado-kun forgave her, I definitely can’t!”

“Totally agree! She’s so full of herself just because she’s pretty!”

“I didn’t like her from the beginning anyway!”

“Seriously, who does she think she is!”

“But are they really dating?”

“It’s laughable how mismatched they are.”

I can hear everything.

It was supposed to be gossip behind our backs, but at this point, it didn’t even qualify as “behind our backs.”

I can hear it very clearly.

But she sat next to me with a bright, happy smile.

“Hehe, if we’d just done this from the beginning, none of this would’ve been a problem, right?”

“Yeah… I’m not so sure about that. I really don’t know…”

She even looked refreshed.

Having discarded pretense and removed her mask of social graces, she truly is invincible.

“Hah… people really are selfish, aren’t they…? They project whatever ideal they want onto me, and the moment I stray even a little from it, they turn on me and start condemning me… it’s honestly… laughable.”

“Fuyunagi-san…”

No one approaches her, as if a large chasm has suddenly appeared.

It’s like an invisible wall has been created around just us.

But then, someone reckless—or maybe brave—approached us.

“Yo! You’re the talk of the town! Good morning, Fuyunagi-san!”

“Ah… good morning… Wait, Kato… you… you’re unbelievable…”

“……? Who are you?”

“Wait!? Seriously?”

“Just kidding, Kato-kun.”

“That’s a relief… For a second there, I thought you were implying I had less presence than plankton or something…”

“Oh? That’s not true at all. When I was forced to entertain my clingy entourage, you were that infuriating guy who always hogged my precious, precious Taku-chan all to yourself. There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize someone like that. Don’t you think?”

“Wow! The Fuyunagi-san I imagined didn’t just crumble—she exploded into dust. But hey! She actually knew my name! Isn’t that amazing?!”

“If you’re talking about what’s amazing here, shouldn’t that be… me? Not you, Kato?”

“True! Landing something like being Fuyunagi-san’s boyfriend—how many gacha rolls would it take to hit that level of insane luck!?”

“Haha…”

“…Seriously… are you an idiot?”

“Huh!? ”

Oh no… did he go too far with that?

Comparing her to a gacha pull is basically treating Fuyunagi-san lightly.

Despite everything, she does have her pride. Hearing something like that would definitely annoy her.

It’d be completely natural for her to get angry, right?

“Taku-chan isn’t some cheap prize you’d get from a gacha. He’s a destiny I reached only after countless miracles!”

“……………Huh?”

Kato and I were talking about how much luck it would take to end up with someone like Fuyunagi-san as your girlfriend.

But from Fuyunagi-san’s perspective, it had somehow flipped around—she was talking as if she had beaten the odds to end up with me, Majima Takuma, as her boyfriend.

“Listen… I used to think that men, without a single exception, were boring creatures. No matter how many there were, in the end they were nothing but shallow creatures. My looks—my face, my chest, my figure… my influence… They were all just things that drew those shallow creatures to me. But he never wanted any of that from me. He treated me like I was a bother. Me. No one had ever treated me that way before. Ufufu… Well? Isn’t it wonderful? He doesn’t seek any value from me at all!! Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you think so? Hey? Hey? It’s incredible, isn’t it!?”

“Uh… o-ohh… Y–yeah… you sure are loved, Majima!!”

“You’re totally creeped out…”

“Why are you speaking in the Kansai dialect…? No, there’s no room for doubt anymore… about you two.”

“Kato…”

Maybe… just maybe, he acted this flashy on purpose so everyone in class would recognize my relationship with Fuyunagi-san.

I might be overthinking it, but… I really owe Kato more than I can say.

And then, while we were chatting and messing around like that, another pair of students came over to talk to us.

“Morning, Fuyunagi-san, Majima, Kato.”

“Mornin’, Shizuku! And to you too, Majima-kun and Kato-kun.”

It was Sado and Sakurada-san, the top couple in the class hierarchy.

“Good morning, Sado and Sakurada-san.”

“H-hello…”

Kato and I returned the greeting.

Kato is a little flustered to be suddenly greeted by a radiant couple.

“…Good morning… Sado-kun, Sakurada-san.”

Fuyunagi-san greets the two of them, but her voice has a slightly lower tone than when she spoke to us.

At first, I thought she was being reserved, but her gaze is sharp. Is she trying to intimidate them?

“I didn’t think you would talk to me. I thought you hated me, or were you planning some kind of revenge?”

“That’s not it at all, Fuyunagi-san… We did have a lot happen between us, but we’d like to move forward as friends again.”

“Yeah, yeah! We talked it over, right? It’s not like I dislike Shizuku or anything, so I really think we can totally be friends again!”

“You’re quite the odd one. I was using your Sado-kun over there, you know? Can you really forgive someone like me?”

“Well, honestly, that part still ticks me off… but even that was his decision, and I want to respect his choices. Besides, I’m super happy right now, so what’s the point of whining about the past, right?”

“I really do admire that boundless positivity of yours, Sakurada-san.”

“Uwaa! That’s scary! I’ve said it many times, but I’m totally devoted to Kengo-kun, so it’s impossible.”

“I respect Sakurada-san’s straightforwardness.”

“I also didn’t expect you to be this venomous, Shizuku. You totally fooled me!”

“That reminds me… are you really not aiming for my Taku-chan? If you lay your hands on him… I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”

“Eeh, scary! I’ve said it many times, but I’m totally devoted to Kengo-kun. There’s literally zero chance of that happening.”

……She’s still going on about it…

Fuyunagi-san’s stubbornness is starting to get even worse.

Well, thanks to those two, maybe the hostility against Fuyunagi-san and me will ease up a little.