The Salty Princess Told Me That I Was a ‘Convenient Keep’, so I Tested What Would Happen if I Introduced the Most Beautiful Girl at Another School as My Girlfriend
“It’s not like that. Me and Sakashima-kun are…”
The school building after school was tinted in azure. I was walking down the hallway in a hurry to retrieve my phone, which I had left in my desk, when I suddenly thought I heard a familiar voice.
“…..Maybe Sakaki san?”
Reflexively, I stopped and looked through the window into the classroom. What I saw …… was my girlfriend, Sakaki Saori, and …… another tall man I didn’t recognize. Sakaki and the man are chatting and laughing happily.
“Sakaki san is smiling …….”
I was a little upset when I saw Sakaki-san laughing for the first time.
“So what are you doing at this hour of the day ……?”
Why is Sakaki-san, who refused my invitation to go home with me, alone with a man in the classroom after school?
“Could it be that she’s cheating on me ……?”
The feeling of ‘No way, that can’t be right’ are jostling in my chest.
My girlfriend …… Sakaki Saori is a very popular girl. She has long, slit eyes that give her strength of will and shiny black hair that extends to her waist. She has beautiful skin and good style, and there is a rumor that she has been confessed five times in one day.
Above all, what adds to her popularity is her cold attitude. Her attitude of rejecting any man who approaches her with a single word, “I’m not interested,” has been well received by some boys, and she is now called the “salty princess.”
I, on the other hand, am just a former loner making my high school debut.
I’ve been going out with Sakaki-san for a long time, but I don’t think we’re a good match.
“In the first place, she was always cold to me. ……”
A salty princess will remain salty even after dating. It wasn’t like a romantic comedy where she showed her sweet side only to me.
“But that doesn’t mean she’s cheating on me yet.”
Slowly, I put my ear to the classroom door. The two of them are talking by the window, so I can’t hear them well.
“…. I’m starting to feel a little pathetic.”
I’m going to go out on a limb and step in. Just as I was about to do so, I heard a voice saying,
“That’s not right!
That man…… Sakashima-kun is a convenient keep.”
“……!”
I couldn’t help but take my breath away. …She did call me a convenient keep.
“Ha, haha.”
I can’t help but burst out laughing. What have I been doing all this time? I had dyed my hair a flashy golden color to stand out, tried my best to act cheerful, and thought I had finally found a cute girlfriend.
But she thought I was nothing more than a convenient keep.
“… stupid.”
I get up and open the classroom door.
“……!”
After a startled shake of the body, the two gazes turned to me.
As expected, the person there was my girlfriend, Sakaki-san…and the man I did not recognize. Since he’s wearing the same uniform as me, I’m sure he’s a student at this school, but I don’t recognize his face.
“Well, I’m going now.”
And the man walks past me. He was wearing …… a unique sweet-smelling perfume. I thought about keeping him, but he is not the one I need to talk to right now.
“………..”
I silently see him off and stand in front of Sakaki-san. Sakaki-san had beautiful black hair that reached her waist and looked at me with calm eyes.
“It’s a coincidence that we meet at such a place at such a time. Did you forget something, by any chance?”
“Well, something like that.”
“Sakashima-kun is as out of it as ever.”
“Don’t be so cold. I’m making a lot of effort, too, you know.”
“Efforts, huh? It doesn’t look that way to me. ……”
Sakaki-san’s eyes, staring at me, remained as cold as usual. There is no trace of the smile that appeared for a moment just now.
After all, I’m probably just a “convenient keep” to her. Even though she was seen having a friendly conversation with a man I didn’t know in the classroom after school, she wasn’t upset at all.
I let out a small breath.
“So, what were you doing after rejecting my invitation, Sakaki-san? You looked like you were having a lot of fun. …… Who was that?”
“I think it’s none of your business who that guy is. ……”
“I’m sure we’re in a relationship, right? I think I have the right to at least ask that.”
“…It’s none of your business.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sakaki-san repeats the same words. A pleasant spring breeze blows in through the open window. It’s already been a year since I entered this high school. I’ve only been dating Sakaki-san for three months.
I feel like an idiot for being so excited.
“Then, I’ll change the question. I heard Sakaki-san calling me a convenient keep outside the classroom just now.”
“That’s …….”
Sakaki-san looks away as if to run away. Sakaki san has always been like this a lot. When asked about something inconvenient, she always looks away as if to run away. I’m not good at forcing myself on others, so when I was treated like that, I had no choice but to shut up.
But now, ……
“Don’t run away, just answer me. I…”
“it’s none of your business, Sakashima-kun. We …… don’t interfere deeply with each other. That’s the kind of promise we’re supposed to be making in our relationship, right?”
“That’s ……”
That’s certainly true, and I can’t say anything. Sakaki-san starts walking slowly without looking at me.
“I’m going home now. Sakashima-kun, you should go home before it’s too late, okay?”
“Hey, I’m not done talking yet…”
I reach out my hand to stop her, but my hand stops halfway. If I suddenly touch her, I’m afraid she’ll hate me. …Even in this situation, I felt so pathetic.
“…… really, what the hell am I doing?”
In the empty classroom, I muttered to myself.
I had made friends, had a girlfriend, and thought I was living a smooth high school life. I thought to myself that I had changed. …But in the end, it was all a misunderstanding, and maybe nothing has changed since then.
“Does not interfering deeply mean I’ll let it slide if I find you cheating on me? I don’t …… know, damn it.”
I still don’t know why she is dating me. I’m sure it didn’t have to be me that was next to her, even though there were circumstances.
I’m sure it could have been that guy from earlier, or anyone else.
“Damn ……!”
I swallowed my shaking voice and ran out of the classroom.
I didn’t feel like going home. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I have more friends, but none that I trust enough to show my pathetic appearance to. So, with nowhere to go, I kick the ground and just keep running to get away.
“Haa…… haa……”
I came to a halt on a riverbed far from my home and school. It was completely dark, and the cold night wind made my weakened heart tremble.
“Really, what am I doing?”
Everything is kind of troublesome. Should I just stay there and die? Just as I was thinking about this, that voice rang out.
“───maybe it’s Sakashima Ochiha-kun?”
I looked up at the light voice that sounded like the tinkling of a bell. I saw chestnut-colored hair illuminated by moonlight and golden eyes like jewels. A …… very beautiful girl I didn’t recognize.
“Who……?”
An elegant uniform with a black color scheme that you can occasionally see at the station. I remember hearing some stupid boy in my class say that it was the uniform of some girls’ high school. …But of course, I don’t know anyone at that school. But how does this girl know my name?
The girl looked at me, troubled, and said with a friendly smile.
“Oh? Don’t you remember me? It’s me, me.
Koga Kotone. We used to play together in elementary school, right?”
“…… Eh? Koga Kotone, could it be Kokone !?”
Koga Kotone …… Kokone. It’s a boy friend of mine that I’ve long since grown apart from. We used to play together a lot in the past,……, but is this really that Kokone? Isn’t he a completely different person from before?
“How is it? I’ve become so beautiful, haven’t I?”
I was so confused, but Kokone …… Koga-san laughed at me. This is the beginning of a fun and enjoyable romantic comedy.
-Maiban