Chapter 7

Tachibana Shouta’s Perspective

To be honest, I was pissed.

After leaving the classroom, I—Tachibana Shouta—walked down the hallway, replaying what had just happened over and over in my mind. Why the hell did she have to talk back to me like that?

“I am here because I want to have lunch with Miyahara-kun,” huh?

Shirasaki Rinka, also known as Princess. As always, she was perfectly refined and composed. But even I could tell there was a clear warning behind her words.

“For your own sake,” she said… Like she was scolding me! As if I was the one in the wrong!

I replayed the cafeteria scene in my head. Miyahara sat at the table, biting into a cheap cafeteria bread roll, while directly across from him sat Princess. The two of them chatted naturally, completely drawing the attention of everyone around them.

Most of the students there had been stunned, and honestly, even I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“What the hell is with that guy…?”

Muttering bitterly, I stopped by the window. Through the glass, I could still see Miyahara and Princess sitting together in the cafeteria.

Miyahara Kazuya—I had always seen him as a gloomy, introverted nobody. The fact that he had dated Misaki was surprising enough, and even when I took her from him, I didn’t feel a shred of guilt.

And yet, that same Miyahara is sitting there, eating with Princess?

“No way… How the hell is a guy like him with Princess…?”

My voice echoed slightly in the hallway. That’s how deeply this burning irritation had settled inside me.

But I already knew what this frustration really was.

I had once confessed to Shirasaki Rinka with everything I had.

It was just a year ago. She was the school’s untouchable idol, admired by everyone. But in a surge of reckless confidence, I told her how I felt. Looking back, it was almost laughable how foolish I had been. The result? Instant rejection.

“I’m sorry. I cannot return your feelings.”

She had spoken with a calm, unwavering expression. And yet, in her eyes, I had seen the faintest trace of kindness. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to hate her. If anything, my admiration for her never faded.

And now, that same Princess—why is she with someone like Miyahara?

And to top it off, she had said, “I am here because I want to have lunch with Miyahara-kun,” with such confidence. As if… she saw him as someone special.

“…What the hell is so great about him?”

I clenched my fists. Miyahara Kazuya—he barely stood out in class and had no real presence. I’d heard rumors that he was good at games or whatever, but was that really enough to catch Princess’s attention?

A strange, restless feeling churned inside my chest.

Was it anger… or jealousy?

Instead of returning to the classroom, I headed to the deserted stairwell landing. Leaning against the wall, I let out a deep sigh.

…Damn it.

Shirasaki Rinka. Maybe I still have feelings for her. But she doesn’t care about me at all. If anything, she’s paying attention to someone like Miyahara…

No matter how much I wanted to erase it from my mind, the image of Rinka and Miyahara eating together was burned into my memory. Her graceful smile, the way she spoke to him so naturally…

Somehow, it was… unbearably frustrating.

Why the hell is it Miyahara…?