Chapter 3

"Ah, it's already this late... I really appreciate you waking me up. I have this habit of oversleeping at school... because it's so boring, right? There's nothing to do but sleep. But at home, I stay up late, watching TV, anime, the internet, and playing games, enjoying myself."

Shizuki ShimoTsuki, whom I thought was quiet, was surprisingly talkative.

She was telling me all sorts of things without being asked.

"But if I get home late, my parents will worry. I'm already in high school, so I think a curfew at 6 PM is a bit much... I wish they would let me grow up a bit more. Don't you think so?"

"Eh? Ah, yeah... I guess so."

In the classroom after school, a girl with beautiful white hair was smiling at me, making me feel like I was in a dream.

"Oh, by the way, I haven't asked you the reason yet. Why are you so surprised? Did I do something to shock you? If so, I want to apologize, but it's a bit strange to apologize without knowing the reason, isn't it?"

"Well, there's no need to apologize... but, you know, you're usually so quiet, I didn't expect you to talk this much."

I honestly expressed my thoughts.

But she looked puzzled.

"Quiet?"

Her face seemed to be asking, "Why do you think I'm quiet?" So I continued to explain.

"Well, I'm a classmate, so I sometimes notice you... most of the time, you're sleeping, and when you do talk, it's just one word, so I thought you were quiet..."

I guess this girl doesn't know me.

I'm just a background character, always spacing out, so she probably doesn't recognize me. That's why I thought she was confused to be recognized by a stranger, but it seemed too negative.

"I know you're a classmate. You're Kenta Nakayama, number 25, and you don't have many friends and are always spacing out. I know that without being told."

"R-Really?"

I was surprised.

The most surprising thing was that such a cute girl knew about me, a plain guy. But she smiled warmly and playfully poked my stomach.

"Hey, are you making fun of me? Hehe, not really... sorry? I've always wanted to do this. I don't have any friends, so I've always been envious of this kind of playful interaction."

Being poked in the stomach felt a bit ticklish.

More than that, seeing the usually quiet and icy beauty blushing and smiling like a ripe apple made me feel a bit flustered.

Shizuki ShimoTsuki was probably excited.

"It's fun to chat like this. Hehe, today is a wonderful day... I overslept, and Nakayama-kun talked to me. I'm not good at initiating conversations, so I've been waiting for someone to talk to me. Ah, calling you Nakayama-kun feels a bit formal. Can I use a nickname?"

"Eh? Ah, sure. That's fine."

"Um, how about 'Naka-chan'? No, that's no good. It sounds like an idol from a fleet game. You don't look like an idol. Hmm... how about 'Happy Kenta'? Ugh, that sounds like a snack made from cabbage."

I've never seen anyone come up with nicknames so enthusiastically.

And I've never seen anyone talk so much at once.

Also, the way she went off on tangents in various directions seemed quite rare.

"ShimoTsuki... you're not actually quiet, are you?"

I tried to steer the conversation back to the main topic. She knew me, so why did she look puzzled when I called her quiet?

She explained more than I asked for.

"That's right? I'm not quiet... it's just that I don't have many opportunities to talk because I don't have friends. And, well, I might be a bit shy, but I love chatting. Calling me quiet is rude. This this~"

She poked my stomach again. It felt a bit off to call it playful... maybe she really didn't have any friends.

Her talk was too one-sided.

She spoke so quickly about various things that I didn't have a chance to interject.

Then, why... why was she quiet in front of him?

"But you often talk to Ryuzaki. Why haven't you talked to me before? I've seen you, but I've never seen you talking to Ryuzaki."

I forced my question into the conversation. If I didn't, ShimoTsuki's talk would never end.

And it was something I had always wanted to know.

Why did she only become talkative in front of me... she explained the reason.

"Ryuzaki Ryoma..."

The moment she said his name, the color drained from ShimoTsuki's face.

She turned back into the transparent and cold girl I always saw, and with an emotionless voice, she said:

"Keep it a secret... I really don't like that person. He talks to me a lot, and he's been next to me since we were little, which is creepy."

"Wh-What!?"

It seemed the reason was simple.

The popular and harem-prone protagonist, Ryuzaki, who probably had a crush on her, was disliked by ShimoTsuki.

"I try to be cold, but why does he keep following me around... and I don't like people who are unfaithful. I like sincere and straightforward people... simple, quiet, and kind people who listen to me."

She was giving a harsh critique.

So, she doesn't like unfaithful people.

Then it seems Ryuzaki's feelings won't be reciprocated...