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
“I’ve been wondering—why did you care so much about Edward, Saito-kun?”
“Hmm… At first, I was worried he might do something weird to Rika or something—”
—A few days later, on the way to school, my childhood friend suddenly asked me.
Why I had gone to such lengths for Edward. It all started when he picked a fight with me, of course. But after I’d given him a taste of his own medicine, he said,
“I started thinking that maybe what he’s really obsessed with is something else.”
He gradually shifted his focus and began prioritizing defeating me above all else.
While I did have some expectations regarding his talent with the sword, personally, I was more concerned about that other aspect—
“Maybe Edward has his own burdens to carry, in his own way. If that’s the case, I figured I couldn’t just abandon him.”
“……Huh?”
—Though, I never thought it would come to this.
Rika listened to my thoughts, looking somewhat puzzled but nodding once. Then, with a hint of joy, she said:
“You really are kind, Saito-kun!”
“Kind…?”
At my childhood friend’s words, I couldn’t help but frown and repeat her question.
Then, nodding repeatedly, she said,
“You are kind! I mean, you were worried about Edward, weren’t you?”
“Worried…? Or… what? Um…?”
She’d really hit a sore spot.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t worried at all. But to call that “kind” felt like a logical leap.
Though, even though it’s about myself, I can’t quite put it into words.
As I stood there, Rika giggled again and said,
“And, more than anything else—”
“Hey, you’re doing it again…!”
She wrapped her arm around me, pressing her body close.
“You were the very first one to worry about me, right? Thanks!”
“W-well, that’s true, but…!”
She peered at me with a flower-like smile and voiced her gratitude.
Since she’d hit the nail on the head, I couldn’t deny it; I just felt my face grow hot and turned away. But we were walking down a school hallway right now, and that—
“Um, Rika-san. About the people watching us…”
I heard the whispers of other students and, feeling flustered, tried to tell her.
But just then.
“Saito-kun, I love you!”
“――――――”
My childhood friend uttered those words as if they were the final blow.
For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped.
My mind froze at her words, and I couldn’t bring myself to think any further. Before I knew it, we had reached our classroom.
Rika finally stepped back, but the warmth from just a moment ago lingered in my mind.
In that dazed state, as we entered the classroom—
“—Ah! Good morning, Saito, and Agatsuma-san!”
“Huh? Oh, good morning… Edward.”
The red-haired boy I’d been talking to earlier stepped away from the other classmates to greet us.
His smile was so genuinely friendly that I couldn’t help but return the greeting. He furrowed his brow slightly, looking a bit displeased, then suddenly slung his arm around my shoulder.
And then he said this.
“I told you to just call me Ed, didn’t I? No formalities!”
“O-oh…”
Come to think of it, he did say something like that after our fight the other day.
I was a bit flustered by how quickly he closed the distance, but I managed to respond. Then,
“Hey, wait a minute. Not just Agatsuma san, but even Edward…?”
“Are you really going to acknowledge a failure like that, even the school’s number two?”
“This is a disgrace to our prestigious family.”
Whether they simply disliked the situation or were just as shaken as I was,
the classmates who had been talking to Ed a moment ago were whispering among themselves. However, such gossip tends to reach your ears surprisingly easily.
Since I could hear it, it stands to reason that the boy in red could hear it too.
“Saito, I’m going to step out for a moment.”
“…Hey, wait a minute!”
Edward ignored my attempt to stop him and headed over to his classmates.
Then, in a voice that echoed throughout the classroom, he declared:
“I’m sorry, but could you please refrain from making disparaging remarks about my rival and best friend, Saito!”
Paying no heed to the commotion around him, he stood there, chest puffed out with confidence.
But no one dared to argue with Edward.
Seeing that scene, I thought,
“I’m in trouble…!?”
I regretted my actions, which had been driven by curiosity.
If this was going to happen, maybe I shouldn’t have cared about him. But I couldn’t lie to myself about my feelings, so I had no choice but to give in.
Thinking about that, I clutched my head again.
“In that case, any further verbal abuse directed at Saito—”
What should I do now?
Wondering that, I stared blankly at the situation. But—.
“Wait a sec!”
“Who—who is it!?”
“T-that voice…!?”
But today, that wasn’t the end of it.
No sooner had the girl’s loud voice echoed through the room than the classroom door burst open. And standing there was—
“Aragaki’s rival is me!”
“—T, Takanashi…”
A former classmate of mine—a girl who, like me, was a falling student.
That was the defiant declaration Takanashi Azusa made in this classroom full of top students…
Maiban