Chapter 46

When the lunch break started, Yuki headed towards the cafeteria.

Since she hadn’t prepared lunch today, she was going there to buy some.

However, due to being caught up with a group of students who were victims of the "seat killer" next to her, she arrived at the cafeteria after most of the crowd had dispersed.

It was good to avoid the crowd, but the shelves were mostly empty.

As Yuki stood there, wondering what to do, looking at the row of rice balls, a hand suddenly stretched out from the side and snatched the last tuna mayonnaise rice ball right in front of her eyes.

"Hmm..."

Then, a female student standing beside her gave her a mysterious smug look.

(Oh, there’s some weird person...)

Thinking this, she took a closer look and realized it was Rion.

Deciding to ignore her, Yuki moved her gaze to the shelves with sandwiches and assorted bread.

While thinking that they weren’t very filling for the price, another hand reached out and snatched the last egg sandwich.

"Hmph..."

And then a mysterious smile.

Trying not to look, Yuki bought a bento and left the cafeteria.

It was cheaper and more filling than buying rice balls and sandwiches separately.

After that, she went to the back of the first floor where several vending machines were lined up to buy a drink.

Yuki glanced at the lineup and approached the target vending machine while searching for coins in her wallet.

Suddenly, a shadow cut in front of her, quickly inserted money, and pressed a button.

The plastic bottle fell with a thud, and as the person left, they gave her a quick glance.

"Hmph..."

This was completely mysterious, as the item wasn’t even sold out.

Trying to avoid any trouble with the weird person, Yuki bought a drink and headed back to the classroom.

As she approached the less crowded part of the corridor, a shadow that had passed by her from the side suddenly blocked her path.

"Ah, what a coincidence..."

Rion, holding a plastic bag from the cafeteria, smiled slyly.

Now, she couldn’t just ignore her,

"What’s the point of all this? It’s so roundabout."

"What are you talking about? Is something bothering you?"

Well, it wasn’t really bothering her, but... she thought Rion was just idle.

However, considering that this strange behavior was due to being a victim of the "seat killer," she couldn’t just brush her off.

A little kindness was necessary.

"Ugh, you got it first... I’m so jealous."

"Are you making fun of me?"

What was she supposed to do?

This incomprehensible behavior was more serious than she thought.

Perhaps some immediate first aid was needed.

At that moment, Yuki suddenly remembered the stress-relieving power stone she had in her pocket.

She had brought it from home this morning on a whim and tried to give it to Eri, but Eri had returned it, slightly irritated, saying she didn’t need it.

"Then I’ll give it to Rion."

When Yuki said this, Rion made a strange sound, blowing out of her nose and mouth.

Then, wiping her mouth, she glared at Yuki,

"I don’t remember you calling me that."

"Eri calls you that."

"That’s not a reason at all."

Was "Rion-chan" special?

Thinking that they weren’t strangers and it didn’t matter, Yuki asked,

"Then what should I call you?"

"Ah, I don’t know! Figure it out yourself!"

"I don’t know."

"Are you the type who gives up easily when you don’t understand something in class? ...If you really want to call me something, the normal way is to use the last name plus 'san.' That’s the standard."

"No, that’s a bit..."

"Why not!? What’s wrong with it?"

"Your last name is five characters. Your first name is two. It’s easier to say."

"What are you trying to make easy? Stop talking in broken words. And by the way, my last name is four characters. Are you confusing me with someone else?"

"Have you heard of the mass-produced machine RIO? The one that gets stronger when the protagonist rides it."

"I don’t know. So what?"

Her eyes said she would hit Yuki if she called her that.

Since there was no progress, Yuki decided to put the name on hold and took the stone out of her pocket, holding it in front of Rion.

"Here, I’ll give this to you. It’s a gift."

"Pfft, a gift...?"

"It’s not for good luck."

"Then what is it?"

Yuki held the stone even closer to Rion’s face.

Rion looked at the stone rolling in her palm suspiciously,

"I don’t need it."

"Please, it’s supposed to help with stress."

"But I don’t need it! Are you just going to ask for something later?"

Power stones were clearly unpopular. Maybe girls these days were more practical.

Rion’s guard was even higher now.

(When she’s with Eri, she’s always smiling...)

Thinking about Rion’s smile when she was with Eri, a sudden idea popped into Yuki’s head.

"Ah, right. I have a cute photo of Eri."

"Really?"

It was a photo of Eri’s determined face sent via LINE.

Since Yuki liked it, she had saved it on her phone.

Yuki took out her smartphone, displayed the image, and showed it to Rion.

"Hmm...? A photo, huh..."

Rion was staring at the photo with her eyes, but her words didn’t show much interest.

"Maybe you don’t want it..."

As Yuki was about to put her phone away, Rion suddenly stopped her with an open hand.

"Wait, wait!"

"What?"

"Please... please..."

"Huh? What?"

"Please!"

Rion said this with a strong tone, then took out her wallet and started rummaging through it.

For some reason, she then offered a card.

"I, I don’t have cash right now... but, this..."

Rion’s voice was low, and the card in her hand was a library card.

Yuki didn’t take it but pointed at the card,

"Isn’t that something you got from someone?"

"From my uncle as a promotion gift..."

"That’s a very bad use of it."

"It still has about 700 yen left..."

"Plus, it’s already used."

She was trying too hard.

Yuki wasn’t asking for money, but Rion seemed to think it was necessary.

"It’s fine, I don’t need that."

"Really!? But..."

Then Rion started rummaging through the bag in her hand, and Yuki stopped her with a hand.

"I don’t need rice balls or sandwiches. Can I send it via LINE?"

"LINE...? So, you want to exchange LINE IDs?"

"Of course, if I don’t, I can’t send it."

What a obvious thing to say.

Rion’s eyes started darting around nervously,

"Well, if you don’t want to, it’s fine."

"I, I guess I can... exchange them."

"Then I’ll pass."

Saying this, Rion took out her phone but couldn’t seem to get ready to exchange IDs.

She was excited, and her hands were trembling slightly, making no progress.

"Press that mark there."

"I, I know! I just forgot for a moment..."

Ah, she’s not used to this... Yuki thought with a smile.

But Yuki herself had struggled when exchanging IDs with Eri the other day.

Finally, they managed to exchange IDs,

"Hmph, full name in kanji... so beginner."

"Pfft, RION too."

"What are you laughing at!? It’s not funny! Just give me the photo, that’s the point."

"Well, thinking about it, I should probably get Eri’s permission first. Maybe next time."

"To Eri? No, you can’t do that. You have to be discreet and not let her know."

Ignoring Rion’s rapid, mumbling words, Yuki immediately sent a message to Eri via LINE.

"Can I give Rion the photo from the other day?"

She didn’t expect a quick reply, but it came almost instantly.

"Absolutely not!!! If you give it to her, I’ll kill you! And delete that message right now!"

"It’s absolutely not allowed."

"What... why...?"

It’s just a photo, Yuki thought. Besides, Eri had sent it to her in the first place.

Rion’s mouth was half-open, and she looked like a hollow shell.

Feeling a bit sorry for her, Yuki sent her a picture of Miyarin that Kenta had jokingly forwarded.

"Ah..."

Rion stared at her phone.

But she quickly realized it was different,

"Who is this? It’s not real!"

"You’ll get in trouble for saying that."

"Ugh... So you were planning to make fun of me from the start!"

Rion’s body trembled as she said this to Yuki’s face, then she turned 180 degrees and walked down the corridor, glaring at Yuki one last time.

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