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
“Haa… Did I really get away…?”
I sprinted through the school grounds at full speed, arriving at the courtyard, deserted at this hour.
Sitting down on the wooden bench placed there, I slumped my shoulders and hung my head. Since entering school, I’d managed to avoid involvement by keeping a low profile, but I never imagined I’d be hugged like that in such a place.
Talented and beautiful. A universally acknowledged peerless beauty, a high-ranking flower who stood tall and never fawned over anyone. To be openly doted on by the school’s top-ranked student, the chairman’s daughter.
Such a situation was bound to draw all the attention around us.
“I absolutely hate that…!”
I didn’t want that. I didn’t seek it.
Rika was far beyond someone like me, drifting near the bottom of the class, someone she should be involved with. First and foremost, for me—who just wanted to live ‘undisturbed and peacefully’ in this academy—that childhood friend was the complete opposite of what I wanted.
Of course, I didn’t dislike her.
I didn’t dislike her, but I wanted her to stop here.
“Honestly, outside the academy might be one thing—”
“Huh!? So when I get home from school, I can be clingy!?”
“…………I never said that.”
When I blurted that out, my childhood friend—who’d apparently been completely blocking her presence—peeked her face out from behind me. Probably some magic trick of hers, but thanks to that, we were alone for a moment.
Otherwise, there’s no way Rika wouldn’t draw attention to herself inside the academy.
I sighed once before saying to my childhood friend.
“Look, Rika. I told you not to hug me in front of other students, right?”
“Ehh… But I wanted you to be the first one to praise me, Saito-kun!”
“Even so, is that really the way to do it…?”
She didn’t seem the least bit remorseful, instead puffing out her cheeks and pouting her lips.
She was acting like a spoiled child. It was hard to imagine this behavior from her usual self at school, but to me, her longtime friend, it was a familiar sight.
But right now, none of that mattered.
So I told Rika my thoughts again.
“Listen, I don’t want to stand out.”
“I’ve told you before, Saito-kun. …If you really tried, you’d definitely be top of the class.”
Then, my childhood friend answered like that and hugged me from behind.
Honestly, it was too much trouble to argue, so I decided to let it slide.
“Listen… just so you know, I don’t have any magical talent, okay? You know that well enough, since we measured our latent magical power together during the entrance exams.”
“Yeah. But I’m the only one who knows.”
“We’re not on the same page here…”
I said this, exasperated, to Rika who suddenly peeked her face out from the right side.
My childhood friend seemed determined to overestimate me. Realizing it was pointless to deny it now, I sighed heavily once more.
Then, I noticed a timid-looking female student standing to my left.
She seemed to be a freshman like us, but…
“Looks like she’s lost, huh?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
It seemed she’d wandered into the courtyard, regardless of the time of day.
Realizing this, we naturally moved apart.
“Go on, go help her, Rika.”
“Got it, I’ll go!”
Then, I suggested to my childhood friend.
She nodded brightly in response and headed toward the nervous-looking girl. The aura surrounding Rika now was nothing like the clingy one from just moments ago.
She had reverted to her usual poised, cool-headed impression of a model student around everyone except me.
“What’s the matter? …Lost your way?”
“Ah, ahhhhh, Agatsuma san!?”
The girl addressed by that overwhelming aura of strength shrank back, visibly intimidated. Yet, her eyes betrayed an undeniable admiration.
After confirming the two of them, I slowly stood up.
Turning my back on them, I started walking in the opposite direction.
“…Honestly, Rika is amazing, isn’t she?”
Just a little.
I murmured, almost as if boasting about my brilliant, popular childhood friend.
◆
――After parting with Saito, Rika walked with the girls.
“T-Thank you so much! Agatsuma san!!”
“Not at all. We’re classmates at the same academy, so helping each other is only natural.”
The girl laughed at that, and Rika smiled modestly.
But the classmate shook her head vigorously, speaking passionately.
“No, it’s not natural at all! Agatsuma san is admired by every student!!”
There was no lie in those words.
Her straight, black eyes held no hesitation whatsoever. But,
“Admired, huh…”
Rika pondered those words for just a moment.
Then, she murmured.
“But the truly amazing one is Saito-kun, isn’t he…?”
What came to mind were memories from childhood.
The attempted kidnapping incident, known only to Saito and her, that revealed his extraordinary nature.
The structure of the world, rewritten by magic.
And that—young Saito had cut through it without hesitation.
Maiban