The Former Swordmaster Who Pretends to Be the Worst, and the School’s Top-Ranked Chairman’s Daughter Who’s Way Too Sweet in Public, It’s a Real Problem
“Saito… okay, aahhnn!”
“Ah… aahhnn.”
—Right now, I was eating a parfait at a coffee shop, just the two of us with Rika.
How did it come to this? To put it simply, at the bowling alley, Rika defeated Edward, who had been bound by magic. Riding that momentum, we moved on to the batting cage, then competed for the highest score at karaoke, and so on.
In the end, it was my childhood friend who won every single one.
“Since I came in first, I’m going to have Saito-kun all to myself for the rest of the day!”
And so, as her prize for winning, she requested a date with me.
It was supposed to be a contest to see who understood me best. But before I knew it, we’d just gone out and had a blast, and I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I was being treated like a possession.
That said, watching Rika laugh so innocently, I figured, “Well, I guess it’s fine.”
“So, is it good?”
“It’s good, but… can’t we just eat normally…?”
But there was one major problem.
Rika and I were sitting at a prominent table in the café, each eating a parfait. She claimed this was a privilege she earned by winning, but as for me—
“Huh? Why?”
“N-no, it’s just… everyone’s staring at us.”
—Mainly, the envious glances from the male customers were painful.
I’ll say it again and again: my childhood friend, Agatsuma Rika, is a stunning beauty. As a result, just like when we were walking through the streets of Tokyo earlier, she inevitably draws people’s attention. And the fact that the guy in question was just an ordinary guy you’d find anywhere only made things worse.
But she took a breath, then peered up at my face and smiled.
“Hey. Could it be, Saito-kun—”
It was rare to see her looking so mischievous, almost like a little devil.
“—Are you blushing? That’s cute.”
“W-w-what…!? What are you talking about…!!”
Caught off guard by that unexpected remark, my voice trembled involuntarily.
As my heart pounded like a drum, my cheeks gradually grew hot. If I looked in a mirror right now, I’m sure I’d see myself looking like a boiled octopus.
But there was no way I could show such a pathetic face to my childhood friend.
“A-ahem…!!”
I quickly looked away and cleared my throat dramatically.
And then,
“O-oh, come to think of it—”
“…Hm?”
An eye for an eye, as they say.
I decided to strike back at Rika, who was teasing me.
I picked up my spoon and scooped some cream from the parfait in front of me. My childhood friend looked completely bewildered, still unaware of what was about to happen.
Well then, I had to strike first.
Turning to her as she tilted her head, I gave her my biggest smile and said,
“I haven’t done this to you yet, have I…?”
“Eeh…!?”
This time, Rika’s face turned bright red and she shrunk back.
Her gaze wandered aimlessly through the air, unsure where to look. Facing my childhood friend like that, I pressed on, determined not to let her escape.
“Open your mouth. Come on, Aahn?”
“Ah… aah…”
She opened her small, trembling mouth awkwardly and took the cream into her mouth.
She was boiling so much steam was rising from her head. My revenge was complete.
Thinking that, I set down the spoon and—
“—Ah, Rika. Don’t move for a second, okay?”
“Huh…?”
Realizing something, I reached out toward her mouth.
I wiped away the remaining cream from the corner of her mouth,
“There, all done.”
“…………”
Before I knew it, I reflexively licked it off with my own tongue.
—The very next moment.
Rika’s movements froze solid.
For a few seconds, it was as if time had stopped.
“……Huh?”
She let out a small gasp.
And then—
“Fuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?”
—Completely flustered, she let out a shriek.
It wasn’t just a few people; every single customer in the café turned to look at us. Surprised by that, I said,
“Huh, what was that…!?”
At that very moment, I noticed something was wrong.
And immediately, I—
“Rika, watch out!?”
“……Huh?”
—I threw myself over my childhood friend, taking a protective stance.
The sound that rang out right after that was,
“Kyaaaaaa!!”
A single gunshot that shattered the stagnant atmosphere.
The female customer’s scream echoed through the air, and the peaceful space was instantly enveloped in tension.
◆
“Well… I lost, and spectacularly at that.”
—Meanwhile, Edward and Azusa.
Defeated in their match, the two were walking home, looking dejected. It seemed they were heading roughly in the same direction, so they were walking together out of necessity.
Amidst this, the red-haired boy spoke lightly to the girl beside him.
“…Why do you look so carefree even though you lost?”
“Huh…?”
But what came back was an unexpectedly subdued voice.
Surprised by this, Edward looked at Azusa. Then,
“Y-you don’t have to cry like that…!?”
“I’m not crying! I’m definitely not crying!!”
“But you are crying, aren’t you!?”
There she was, a girl shedding big, fat tears.
The boy was taken aback for just a moment, but he immediately pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. And just as he was about to hand it to her—
“I don’t need that!!”
“Ah…”
—Azusa roughly brushed his hand away.
To Edward, who was completely taken aback, she shouted, pressing her point home.
“You lost your place too, didn’t you!? Why are you so carefree?!!”
Her voice was so shrill it seemed it would split the air, causing people nearby to turn around, wondering what was going on.
At first glance, it might have looked like a lovers’ quarrel or something similar. But,
“What’s wrong with you… all of a sudden?”
Edward sensed that something extraordinary had changed.
But he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. And then,
“Forget it, I’m just—!!”
“Huh…?”
Before he could recover from his shock, Azusa had already run off.
Leaving behind just one phrase, audible only to him.
“What do you mean… ‘lost place’…?”
The red-haired boy left behind could only stare at the path bathed in the setting sun where the girl had vanished.
◆
“Everyone here, put your hands up!”
After the gunshot rang out, several men entered the coffee shop.
They were all wearing balaclavas and clutching pistols tightly in their hands. They scanned the room as if to keep everyone in check, and one of them shouted:
“There must be a woman named ‘Agatsuma Rika’ in here!”
The moment I heard that, I clicked my tongue softly.
So this was the source of the uneasy feeling I’d had before we went bowling.
—An incident that erupted as if heralding a sudden turn of events.
I hugged my childhood friend, who was trembling with fear inside my chest, and let out a deep breath.
Maiban