"Senpai, what did you want to tell me, calling me out so late at night?" Amane removed a sparkling hairpin from her hair, looking playfully at Horikita Manabu.
"Miyako-san, could you please speak in a more normal tone?"
Manabu's expression remained calm as he saw right through her act. After all, he remembered Amane quite clearly from the start of the school year.
He didn't believe she could've changed so much in such a short time.
"Oh, caught already? I thought boys liked it when girls talked like this." Amane wound the hairpin around a soda can still about one-third full.
Then she glanced up at the streetlamp. She walked over to the trash can beneath it and set the can on top.
Manabu adjusted his glasses, as if something had crossed his mind.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile flickered briefly across his face.
"Maybe some boys do, but unfortunately, I'm not the type to get weak in the knees just at the sight of a cute girl." Manabu cast a glance toward the soda can.
"I don't dislike devoted men, though. Anyway, let's cut the small talk and get straight to the point. You didn't call me out here just to chat and freeze, did you, Senpai?" The girlish innocence faded from Amane's gaze.
Her now cold demeanor drew a slight sigh from Manabu.
"The way you are now reminds me a bit of Suzune. No—perhaps you're even more lonely than she is."
His seemingly random remark sounded a bit odd.
But Amane quickly grasped his meaning.
"What are you trying to say, Senpai? Do you really think Suzune is lonely?" Seeing that Amane had picked up the baton smoothly,
A smile of satisfaction finally appeared on Manabu's face.
"Attending classes alone, cooking alone, shopping alone, studying and growing alone—isn't that loneliness?" His tone carried a slight sharpness.
But the smile on his face suggested he didn't truly think that way. Amane shifted slightly, blocking most of Manabu from view.
"Maybe so. But I've seen her smile before. I know she doesn't truly enjoy being alone." Amane gave a slight wink.
Manabu shook his head in resignation.
She really wasn't going to take even a small loss. Since she'd caught the baton he'd passed, it was only fair she'd pass it back now.
"That's because you were there. I've heard about recent events. Rumor has it your relationship has deteriorated sharply. Without Miyako Amane, Horikita Suzune will likely revert to that pitiable state."
A hint of mockery tinged Manabu's voice.
Hidden around the corner, Suzune nearly rushed out then and there to confront him head-on.
To tell him she wasn't the same Horikita Suzune from before.
That even if she was lonely, she could endure it easily.
But the moment she glimpsed Amane beside her, all her courage instantly evaporated.
Say she didn't need her—right in front of Amane?
If she really said that, they probably wouldn't speak again until graduation.
Why?
Why was she afraid, hesitating?
Wasn't she supposed to be the ever-forward Horikita Suzune?
"To her, I'm just someone she can discard anytime."
No!
Suzune clenched her fists.
No.
The one friend she'd made since coming here—how could she ever be someone so easily thrown away?
"It seems you're well aware of your worth to her. In that case, you should've been prepared to be cast aside. That girl will coldly discard anyone."
Manabu's voice rose slightly in intensity.
Coldly…
So that's how her brother saw her?
As that kind of heartless person?
No.
Something must be wrong here!
"I was prepared, yes. I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Suzune probably doesn't even know what heartache feels like, right? But aren't you being a bit dramatic, saying she'd abandon anyone?"
Amane began piling on the theatrics.
The corner of Manabu's mouth twitched slightly.
"Dramatic? She discards anything she sees as dead weight without a second thought. She's a lone wolf, focused only on her own growth. If you're no use to her, she'll cast you aside. This time, it's because you damaged her reputation—that's why things turned out this way. This is clear proof."
Manabu pointed out Suzune's flaws with sharp, severe words.
This harsh?
Are you two really siblings?
Hearing her brother describe her like that, Suzune could no longer hold back; she slumped to the ground.
No.
She hadn't discarded Amane.
She did know what heartache felt like.
Maybe… once upon a time, she really was that kind of person, walking alone.
But now she would never again—Suzune suddenly froze.
She thought she had grown.
She thought she understood the importance of friends.
And then she had cast Amane aside.
Even if it was for Amane's sake, would Amane truly accept that? From her perspective, Horikita Suzune's actions—
Abruptly, she realized: from Amane's point of view, she had ruthlessly cut her off, as if to shake off negative baggage and clear her own name.
How had it come to this?
Her intention was…
She thought she had learned that growing alone was lonely, but now there was no one left willing to stay by her side.
The only one had been pushed away.
How ridiculous.
Horikita Suzune.
What foolish thing have you done? And you still think you can surpass your brother?
Don't dream.
"Someday, she'll meet a true friend."
"Are you referring to yourself, Miyako?"
"No. It won't be me." Amane took a few steps back and leaned against the wall.
Suzune's body instantly stiffened, afraid to move.
Amane was now only thirty centimeters away from her, separated only by the narrow corner.
"Who can say what the future holds? With her personality, she's destined to have no place for things like friends—products of social connection."
Manabu's voice was full of disappointment, as if he didn't believe Suzune could ever make friends.
"Then let's wait and see, Senpai." Amane smiled.
Hearing this closing line, Suzune, afraid that Amane would head back to the dorm and they'd run into each other, unsure how to explain her eavesdropping, quickly pressed close to the wall and hurried toward the dormitory.
Perhaps because she was in too much of a rush, Suzune overlooked one thing:
Both of them stayed right where they were, making no move to leave.
"Exhausting."
Amane walked to the trash can, retrieved her hairpin, and tossed the drink into the bin.
"That's wasteful, you know."
"Senpai, you're wasting my time right now. Using me as a teaching tool for Horikita Suzune? Horikita Manabu… you've got some nerve."
Amane's gaze turned icy.
--+--
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.