Chapter 7

Waking up in the morning, I confirm that my stepsister Azusa is not beside me. This has become my daily routine. Until junior high school, she often sneaked into my futon while I was sleeping, but it feels like it’s been a long time since I last felt her warmth.

"…Staying over again today, huh?"

I hadn’t even checked the next room, so she’s probably staying at Ryuuzaki’s house. Come to think of it, the Shimozuki family lives near the Ryuuzaki family, right? Maybe when I dropped off Shimozuki yesterday, I passed by their place.

Well, what’s the point of that, anyway.

"……"

I silently prepare for the morning. I haven’t been eating breakfast lately because it’s too much trouble to prepare it myself. At times like these, I really appreciate my parents. They’re on a business trip overseas, but I haven’t seen them in a while and I miss them.

Maybe I’m just hungry for human warmth.

Until recently, I had friends who were nice to me. My stepsister Azusa, my childhood friend Yuzuki, and my best friend Kirari… I thought our relationships were good, but apparently, it was just me.

When they started to like someone, my life changed drastically.

It’s the age where they fall in love with love. It’s not surprising that they get so absorbed, but the fact that their love interest is Ryuuzaki Ryuuma, who has a harem protagonist vibe, is a bit unsettling.

Well, this isn’t even jealousy… it’s just a grudge.

It’s more like the sad resentment of a background character who can’t even feel jealous.

"Ha… going to school, I guess."

There’s no point in just spacing out alone.

I leave the house a bit early and head to school by bus.

But today, my luck was bad.

Just as I arrived at school, I encountered Ryuuzaki and his harem members being all lovey-dovey.

It was on the way from the school gate to the school building.

Even though they knew others were watching, they didn’t care and continued to be affectionate.

I wish they could consider how I feel being shown this.

"Got Ryuuma-nii’s right hand~"

"Ah, that’s not fair! Then I’ll take the left hand!"

"Um? Where should I go? Oh, I’ll take the back!"

"Hey, that’s heavy! I can’t walk!!"

…Just watching made my brain feel like it was melting.

I wanted to be treated like that too, but that dream is unattainable. Reflecting on it, they weren’t very proactive with me. I guess they were just hanging out out of habit, and I never became anything special to them.

If I kept watching, my brain would turn to mush, so I walked past them quickly.

Even when I got quite close, none of them noticed me… which was very lonely.

I guess I’ve become a background character to them.

Just one of the crowd, part of the background, and a presence that doesn’t matter whether I’m there or not.

Realizing this, a sense of emptiness welled up inside me.

I’m just a piece of trash that can’t create anything… I was starting to feel negative, right at that moment.

I arrived at the classroom and sat down.

As if waiting for this moment, a female student walked over to me.

"……! !"

Her transparent silver hair flowed. The particles that danced in its wake created a gentle line, making her look so beautiful that it almost felt like an illusion.

"O, oh… oh!"

However, her behavior seemed a bit suspicious.

Yesterday, she was so talkative, but today, her tongue doesn’t seem to be working well.

"O, ohayo… What’s wrong?"

With a cute, light step, Shimozuki approached me. She looked around and then leaned close to my ear.

Her beautiful face up close made me want to back away. Since I was sitting in a chair, I could only lean back a little, but Shimozuki seemed to not care and got even closer.

Then, she whispered in a small voice.

"I, I can’t talk well when others are watching… I, I’m not shy, it’s just that I have a strong sense of caution. My past life must have been a territorial animal, I’m sure of it!"

Her moist breath tickled my ear. It was ticklish, and her statement was so amusing that I couldn’t help but laugh.

"I see. So Shimozuki is shy around people."

I see. That’s why she can’t speak loudly and seems so nervous.

Well, she would never admit it. She must really not want to be seen as shy, because she shook her head vigorously.

"N, no, that’s not true!"

But her words didn’t come out clearly, so she wasn’t very convincing.

It seems that talkative Shimozuki is actually very shy around people.