Prologue

THE UNRELATED US

The day began and ended as usual, without incident.

At least it was supposed to be one of those days.

“Hey, do you want to go to karaoke? It’s been a while since we’ve sung.”

“Eh? It’s still Monday, though?”

“Come on! I’ll show you my beautiful voice to blow away your Monday blues!”

A group of young people, who seemed to be at the top of the school caste, were talking to a man and a woman who were close friends.

As I was getting ready to leave, I listened to their voices.

“Hey, come on, you guys. It’s been a while since I’ve heard any anime songs.”

That was how they approached the otaku group in class in that manner…even calling out to the guys who looked like me, but actually not.

The boys who approached were acting kind of overblown and accepting of their invitation.

Fortunately, there was no such thing as bullying in our class.

At least, I don’t know of any.

There were different groups of people in the class who were close to one another. Although there were inevitably people who held a relatively strong position within the group, each group got along rather well.

The only exception would be me.

I don’t belong to any particular group, and I rarely speak to my classmates. I don’t have any special friends either.

Even now, everyone seems to be oblivious to me as they go on about their karaoke plans.

“Hey, Nanami. You guys are coming too, right? I can’t get excited if you three don’t come.”

In the midst of all this, one of the boys made up his mind to call out to the three of them.

He stood out from the rest of the class.

His voice was a little slurred, indicating that he was a little nervous.

“Oh, we’re not going this time. Nanami and I have some business to attend to. Have fun with everyone else.”

The boy’s question was a dull one, despite his determination. The black-haired girl looks back at him only once, and with a flutter of her hand, immediately declines.

“What the hell…..karaoke with everyone is more fun……”

“If you’re that persistent…..”

The black-haired girl gave the boy a powerful smile, forcing the boy who approached her to back away.

“O-Okay. I guess the three of you aren’t joining us this time, understood…”

She nodded her head in satisfaction as the boy withdrew his words.

The girl called Nanami looked somewhat relieved behind her, or was that just my imagination?

All three of the girls looked like they were used to being with boys, and they had the revealing body of a gal.

Yeah, I’m sure it’s just my imagination.

Eh…wait…her name it’s…..Nanami right?

I don’t remember where exactly, but I felt like I had heard that name before.

Well, it’s none of my business, I thought as I left the classroom.

I could hear them talking about where the best karaoke place was in the classroom, but my mind was fixated on the game I was going to play when I got home.

There was only one difference between having friends in class and having friends outside of class.

I could play games online with my online friends.

That’s what I prioritize.

That’s was simply it.

That’s why my classmates who were going to karaoke and the gals who said they had something to do soon faded from my mind.

I knew that they and I had nothing to do with each other and would never have anything to do with each other—especially those three eye-catching gals, who probably weren’t even interested in me.

Until this day, that’s what I thought.

I never imagined that these girls, who I thought were irrelevant, would be …… No, it was her.

I had no idea that I would become so deeply involved with her and that so many things would change.

Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, I still couldn’t know at this point.