Watching Amane rub her eyes for what felt like the longest time, the strange feeling Horikita had just experienced faded considerably.
Still, she hadn't said those things on a mere whim.
She genuinely wanted to understand Amane.
She simply couldn't believe that someone like Amane—skilled in archery, a great swimmer, and clearly excellent in her studies—could possibly be just an ordinary person.
"Where were we again?" Amane asked.
Horikita, unusually for her, felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. "It's not like we have a game save file to load. Hmph, it's your fault for suddenly ruining the mood." She crossed her arms, making it clear she had no intention of continuing.
"Eh? You can't blame me for that, my eyes were really bothering me," Amane said, staring at Horikita with a pitiful, pleading look.
"Missed chance is a missed chance. We'll just have to wait for the next one," Horikita declared, standing up and picking up her latte. She was obviously getting ready to leave.
Seeing this, Amane could only grab her own glass of milk. She took two big gulps, then followed after Horikita, a sulky pout on her face.
Suddenly, Horikita, who was walking ahead, stopped.
"What's wrong? Forget something?" Amane asked.
"Don't expect this to happen again."
"Huh?"
Seeing Horikita's hand extended towards her, Amane hesitated for a second before quickly grasping it.
"Hehe, I knew Suzune was the best!"
"I just find you, a person who clings this much, incredibly annoying."
"Suzune, your words are sharp but your heart is soft… what do they call that again… ah, right, a tsundere! Oww, ouch, ouch!"
Horikita had flicked her finger hard against Amane's forehead.
"I am not a tsundere."
"Mhm, mhm, yes, yes, whatever you say, Lady Suzune," Amane replied, one hand rubbing her forehead, her tone utterly dismissive.
Watching this, a vein on Horikita's forehead began to throb. It seemed she had been neglecting her 'care' for Amane.
She needed to deepen this 'care.'
Yes, for the next karate chop, she'd just increase the intensity a bit. It wasn't a problem; Amane was already used to this level of pain anyway.
Horikita nodded in satisfaction, quite pleased with her own line of thinking.
The poor soul whose hand she was holding remained completely unaware of the impending sanctions she was about to face.
Late at night.
Amane lay in her own dorm room bed, a rare occurrence these days.
Now that she thought about it, since coming here, the number of times she'd slept in her own room could be counted on one hand.
'Young maiden,' a voice in her head teased, 'you can be more confident than that. Just remove the "could be."'
'One hand is enough to count them.'
She'd only slept in her own bed twice since moving into this dorm. If it weren't for occasionally coming back to change clothes or stock food, Amane might have forgotten she even had her own room.
And the reason she was back here tonight?
Of course, it was because she missed her own little bed. So she came back to sleep for the night.
Yeah, right!!!
The truth was, she'd pestered Horikita to tell her a bedtime story. Horikita, driven to irritation, had finally kicked her out. Left with no other choice, the pitiful Amane had to spend the night in her own dorm.
With no one to talk to, Amane felt bored. She idly opened her chat app. Looking at the hundred or so messages she'd sent Horikita—all marked 'Read' but with no replies—Amane felt a pang of loneliness and hugged the bear-shaped pillow she'd bought.
Yes.
A bear pillow.
To be more specific…
A brown bear pillow.
When Amane went to buy it, the shop assistant had been utterly dumbfounded. Apparently, this pillow was a total shelf-warmer. It had been in the store longer than the current manager had held their position.
It was cute, in a chibi style, but what girl actually likes bears?
In the end, Amane bought it.
Horikita had teased her about it more than once, saying Amane's taste in aesthetics seemed to exist in a strange limbo between trendy and utterly mundane.
Just as Amane started getting lost in her random thoughts and let out a silly giggle, her phone chimed with a new message notification.
"Did Suzune reply to me?" Amane's face lit up with joy as she unlocked her phone.
It turned out to be a message from Kushida.
The smile on Amane's face instantly froze solid.
Still, her relationship with Kushida was fairly good. If Kushida was messaging her this late, maybe she was in some kind of trouble.
"Amane-san, are you asleep?"
Seeing the message, Amane quickly typed back with her small hands.
"Haven't slept yet. What's up, Kikyo-chan? Need something so late?"
The moment Amane sent her message, it was immediately marked as 'Read.' It seemed Kushida was also staring at her screen, waiting for a reply.
Soon, the 'typing...' indicator appeared above Kushida's chat box.
But Amane waited for over ten minutes.
Not a single message came from Kushida's side.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Amane's forehead. "Just how many words is she writing?!"
Kushida's chat box kept intermittently showing the 'typing...' indicator.
Finally, after another five minutes or so, a message from Kushida finally arrived.
"I'm really sorry to disturb your rest so late, Amane-san. There is indeed something I'd like to ask for your help with. I'm hoping I can count on your assistance."
Count on her help?
Amane mentally ran through her list of skills. Given Kushida's own capabilities, the only area where she might need Amane's help was probably something physical, right? But for that kind of thing, Kushida only needed to post in the class group chat, and a bunch of boys would immediately jump to answer her call.
"Kikyo-chan, you're being too polite. What exactly do you need my help with?"
Kushida hesitated for a moment, then finally told Amane the plan she'd been mulling over for a long time.
"I want to become friends with Horikita-san. But normally, Horikita-san only seems close to you. So, I was hoping you could help me… assist me in becoming friends with Horikita-san."
Amane was taken aback.
Become friends with Horikita?
That was no ordinary challenge.
Even with Amane's cooperation, Horikita's personality, while it had improved a lot, was still… Horikita. Her better attitude was mostly reserved for Amane. If it were anyone else, she'd probably revert to that cold, aloof beauty persona.
"I see… Well, I'm willing to help, but what exactly do you need me to do?"
The only thing Amane could think of was that she'd be responsible for luring Horikita out. But if Horikita found out she and Kushida were in cahoots… wouldn't she end up having to sleep in her own room permanently?
"My plan is for tomorrow afternoon after school. Amane-san, you would bring Horikita-san to the Palette. I'll show up then, acting like it's a coincidence we met. Then we can sit together, and I'll have a chance to talk to Horikita-san directly. Maybe I can persuade her."
Kushida's plan was certainly easy to understand.
Utterly straightforward and simple.
Getting Horikita to go to the cafe wasn't particularly difficult for Amane. Whether Kushida could actually persuade Horikita afterward had nothing to do with her. But Amane was worried that if Horikita found out later, she'd face severe sanctions.
Maybe it was better to just refuse outright?
"I actually went to the Palette with Suzune just today, and we had drinks… So, doing it again tomorrow might be a bit hard to arrange. If Suzune finds it strange, she'll probably refuse."
Amane's words were essentially a polite refusal.
"Please, Amane-san, just give it a try! If it works, I'll treat you to the new Mille-feuille Parfait, how about that?"
Gasp.
Kushida was really playing the generous card.
A single Mille-feuille Parfait cost at least over two thousand points. Amane had wanted to try it but found it too expensive. And now, here it was, being offered to her on a silver platter.
But Kushida was underestimating her friendship with Horikita.
"Suzune is my best friend… I'd feel bad hiding things from her."
Seeing Amane's message, Kushida chuckled. She knew Amane had already agreed. She was just haggling over the price now.
"Then what would it take for you to agree, Amane-san?"
"I want TWO Mille-feuille Parfaits!!!"
"Deal."
Best friend? One parfait isn't enough for that.
Just as Amane was gleefully anticipating tomorrow's parfait, a sudden knock came at her door.
"Amane, are you asleep?"
That sounded like Horikita's voice…
Had they been found out already??!!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.