I was betrayed by my childhood friend whom I believed in.
I just saw with my own eyesā¦ my childhood friend Kanae kissed Yukiya on a deserted stair landingā¦!
On my phone, which Iām clutching right now, I have a picture of the scene that I took on the spur of the moment.
In other words, I was being ācuckoldedā by another childhood friend, Yukiya, who was also my precious childhood friend, Kanae!
If I may point out for the record, Kanae definitely had a crush on me. As proof of this, I had heard rumors that Kanae had a thing for me many times, and we went to and from school together every day, even during lunchtime.
Thatās it? You might be thinking, whatās the point of a girl of your age staying with the same boy all the time? Iām not an insensitive person.
Once youāve taken a liking to someone, if youāve been around them for a long time, itās your responsibility as a childhood friend to keep thinking about them. There was no way I could allow her to change her mind.
But why is Kanae with Yukiya?
As soon as I raised this question, a flash of lightning, as if it were the will of the world, roared in my mind.
āSo, thatās what this is all aboutā¦?ā
A possibility emerged that would explain everything. Itās a possibility that Yukiya is threatening Kanae in some way.
But if so, itās hard to point it out head-on. No matter how sincerely I face it, Yukiya will always deny the truthā¦
If thatās the case, why not force him to admit the truth? As a martial arts master, I can easily overwhelm the physically superior Yukiya.
However, it would be bad if he were to report me to the school or to the police. When people are cornered, they will do even the dirtiest things.
āThatās why I need to be sureā¦ā
First of all, Iād like to confirm the facts and, although I donāt need to ask, Kanaeās feelings.
āHmmā¦ I donāt have this kind of pattern for me, who is a shady manā¦ā
To be honest, itās a pain in the ass, but itās my responsibility as a childhood friend to protect and take care of Kanae, so I have no choice.
Once again, I was aware of my responsibilities, and the anger and distraught I had felt earlier were gone, and my typical calmness returned.
āOkay, so Iām going to probe Yukiya directly, and this time Iām going to give him a thicker nail, but would the same girl fromā¦ be better suited to confirm Kanaeās feelings?ā
If I were to ask Kanae about her feelings, it might give the other girls an unpleasant misunderstanding. Even in the novels I love to read, such trivial things can cause misunderstandings, so Iām going to be very careful.
Besides, itās not my image to ask such a thing.
I know that it is my duty to protect my solitary image in Kanaeās mind. Thatās why I canāt ask Kanae about her feelings.
But then I would need the help of a girl. As you can imagine, I canāt solve this problem by myself.
āDamn itā¦ is there no other wayā¦?ā
After much deliberation, for the first time in my life, I decided to ask for someone elseās help, or rather, my friendās help.
At lunchtime, on the roof of the school building, I summoned our group.
āThatās why we, the people, have to find out where Kanaeās feelings lie!ā
If it were true, I wouldnāt want to go through all this trouble. But I guess itās my responsibility to take care of Kanae, something I canāt escape.
I suggested the possibility that Kanae had been forced to kiss Yukiya.
āChris, Rinka, Azaka-senpaiā¦ cooperate with me!ā
I bent at the waist and bowed deeply to the three of them.
Iāve been keeping others away, but now Iām bowing down for them. Kanae is a real pain in the ass.
āWell, are we going to ask Kanae-senpai how she feels?ā
āā¦I was hoping to hear the answer to yesterdayāsā¦ā
Rinka twisted her head with a slightly dissatisfied look on her face, and Azaka-senpai blurted out.
āOh, um, brotherā¦ arenāt both Rinka and Azaka-senpai concerned about your response to their confession yesterdayā¦?ā
Chris asked me in a reserved tone.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Iām not an insensitive person. And Iām still holding off on my confession from the two of them yesterday. But thatās why I need Kanae. In order for everyone not to get hurt, I need Kanae to take charge of our relationship and maintain the status quo.
If the current relationship continues, no one will be hurt for a long time. Of course, from my point of view, I would be stuck with Kanae in addition to the three of them, but for the sake of everyone, Iām willing to sacrifice my lonely life and accept it.
As I was renewing my determination in the spirit of self-sacrifice, a voice raised a question.
āWell, I think itās natural to assume that theyāre together, or close to it.ā
āBrother, I donāt think Yukiya would do anything terrible to Kanaeā¦ā
I almost sighed when I heard that.
The three of them must have been in a kind world all their lives. Thatās why they donāt know how to be suspicious of others. But as a shady kid in a harsh environment, I understand. Sometimes, you have to doubt even your childhood friends!
-Itās hard to convince them, though. Of course, the world I have lived in is different from theirs. It would be cruel to ask them to understand.
Iāll take a step back here.
āOf course, Iām not totally suspicious, but either way, itās not right to act like that on campus, right? Iām a member of the student council, after all.ā
Then I stared at Azaka-senpai.
āYeah, thatās right! As a member of the student council just like Souta-kun! Itās not like Iām doubting you or anything, but I think itās okay to do some light fact-checking!ā
The student council president, Azaka-senpai, was on our side, and the atmosphere in the room was set in the direction of āWell, if you just want to listen, you can go toā¦ā.
āIāll check on Yukiya.ā
And as I made plans to prepare āsomethingā using the image evidence, I had a strong thought in my mind.