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
“Ah, I’m tired.”
I muttered quietly and collapsed into bed in my room. The familiar feel of my bed. But for some reason, I don’t feel comfortable in it right now, and I roll over for no reason at all.
After Koga confessed to me, I was going to say something, but Mimiko came into the room and interrupted me, so that I couldn’t think about it.
So then Koga-san said she would make breakfast, but I said I didn’t know what to say when their parents came home, so I got dressed quickly and left.
…… or, to be honest, I ran away.
“Please go out with me, huh?”
I somehow knew that Koga-san liked me. But I couldn’t tell if it was friend-like or lover-like. …No, maybe I was just trying not to notice.
By chance, I met my childhood friend again. She was one of the few people I could reveal my true feelings to. I didn’t want to ruin my relationship with her, so I was deliberately putting off those feelings.
“I wonder if I did something bad to Koga-san. ……”
I still haven’t responded to Koga-san’s kindness. I didn’t know how to respond. …No, I guess the truth of what I’m thinking right now is, without any lie, “I don’t know.”
Because I don’t know, I don’t know what to do. I like Koga-san. I like her, but if she asks me, “So, will we go out?” I can’t just nod and say “yes.” I don’t want to give her an answer half-heartedly and end up hurting her later.
“Ah, damn.”
When I close my eyes, I still remember the soft touch of Sakaki-san’s lips. …And Koga-san’s warm body temperature yesterday. In the end, I hardly slept at all last night. Koga-san must have been exhausted from crying, because she fell asleep clinging to me, and I ended up spending the whole night in a state of anguish until the early hours of the morning.
So, to be honest, I couldn’t think straight due to lack of sleep.
“Ah, going to school is such a pain in the ass.”
I don’t have parents who would be mad at me if I skipped school. I’m doing well in my studies, and I don’t think my teachers remember me badly ……. So no one would blame me if I took a temporary sick day.
“But I can’t just skip school. …… Haa. Really, both Koga-san and Sakaki-san are so abrupt,…….”
But maybe that’s what it means to fall in love with someone. When I confessed to Sakaki-san before, it was sudden. …Well, it made sense to me, but I’m sure it must have seemed sudden to Sakaki-san.
“But I still don’t get it.”
I don’t mind going out with Koga-san and I don’t mind going out with Sakaki-san. I’ve had a lot of things happen with both Sakaki-san and Koga-san, but I think I’ve sorted out my feelings in the past. However, the moment I sorted things out, both of them seemed to make a mess, so it was a bit of a hassle for me…
“Oh, that’s right. In the end, you forgot to invite Koga-san. ……”
Amaneko gave me tickets to an amusement park as a thank you for teaching her soccer. I had put them in my bag intending to invite Koga-san later, but I had completely forgotten about them.
“Well, maybe some other time. I’m …… sleepy. It’s still past seven o’clock ……. I’ll sleep for 30 minutes. ……”
I’m sure that even if I think about it here, I won’t get an answer. I couldn’t resist the oncoming sleepiness, so I just kept my eyes closed.
“So this is what it looks like …….”
When I woke up, the sky was tinged with madder red, and although I had decided to sleep for only 30 minutes, I must have slept for about 10 hours. It’s no longer a matter of oversleeping or something like that. School had already ended.
“…. a phone call.”
Then, unusually, the phone at home rang. Could it be from school? Thinking this, I quickly picked up the receiver without even checking the number.
“Yes, this is Sakashima.”
When I said this, what I heard from the other end of the line was a cold, piercing voice.
“Ochiha? It’s me.”
“…..!”
I froze at the sound of that voice. There was no way I could have misheard it. The owner of that cold voice is ……
“Ochiha, I have a few words for you.”
It was the voice of my father, Sakashima Kouyou.
◇
Sakaki Saori was troubled.
“……haa.”
Ochiha missed school today. It seems that none of his close friends have heard from him, and even when she sends him a message, it doesn’t get read.
Although there were a few worried voices to be heard, it was eventually decided that he had probably stayed out all night with someone again and overslept, and Mori and the others were considerate enough to inform homeroom teacher that he had contacted them to say that he had been feeling unwell.
“……….”
A small blank space, empty in the seat next to her. He was always supposed to be there. She has been thinking about him a lot lately, no matter what she’s doing. Even when in class, she find herself looking in his direction.
He takes the class with a serious face, sometimes sleepily absentmindedly stretching his legs, or spinning a pen with a bored look on his face. Seeing him like that makes her feel fluffy and her heart throb with excitement.
At night, she often has trouble falling asleep because she can’t stop thinking about him. Even now, when in class, he’s all she can think about. At …… same time, she remembered her sarcastic attitude in the past, and her heart ached inexplicably.
Even if he were to end up dating someone else, she had no right to blame him. She knew that, but her heart ached and she still couldn’t concentrate on class.
“Haaa. …….”
For the first time today, a sigh overflows. Ochiha didn’t come to school that day after all.
“Perhaps he caught a cold?”
She was worried. But that doesn’t mean that she should go all the way home …… to check up on him. …… but it might be okay to at least send a message.
“……….”
But Saori’s fingers were still unable to move her smartphone. She had no idea what message to send.
“….Let’s go home.”
In the end, Saori couldn’t think of a text and went on her way home. Normally Saori would not make a detour, but today she was not in the mood to go home.
She might go to a café for the first time in a while and have a cup of coffee or something.
That might make her feel a little better. She had just bought a novel the other day that had been on her mind.
“It’s nice……”
Saori, with a little bit of excitement in her heart, headed for the cafe in front of the station.
“Ara. Are you by any chance Saori san ……?”
“You are …….”
The person who passed her there was Miwa Amaneko, the older sister of Miwa Kozaburo. She picked up her skirt with a graceful gesture and bowed toward Miyabi.
“Hello, Saori san. What a coincidence to meet you here.”
“Hello, ……. Amaneko-san.”
Saori was not very fond of Amaneko. Although they had known each other for a long time, she could not get along with her. So Saori took a step back as if to run away.
Amaneko did not seem the least bit bothered by Saori’s attitude and smiled, her glossy blond hair fluttering.
“Perhaps you were planning to go to that café as well, Saori san?”
“No, I’m……”
“I know, I know. Apparently a new product has come out. Is it called Frappuccino? I usually only drink tea, so I don’t know much about that sort of thing.”
“…… Really? Actually, I don’t know much about it either. ……”
“Well, this is a good opportunity. I’ve been wondering about what my classmates have been talking about. Come on, let’s go.”
“Wait, I…”
Amaneko takes Saori by the hand and takes her to a cafe. She has always been forceful, and that’s something Saori has never liked about her.
“Fufu, I’m looking forward to it.”
However, when she sees Amaneko laughing innocently, she feels relieved.
“… can’t help it.”
Saori muttered quietly and decided to go along with Amaneko.
-Maiban