Chapter 8

After school, once homeroom ended, I headed down to the shoe lockers.

Even after lunch break, the tense atmosphere didn’t fade. Throughout the lessons, I could feel sharp gazes directed at me.

Today was more exhausting than usual… I just want to get home quickly and take a nap.

With that thought in mind, I quickened my pace toward the school entrance.

“Miyahara-kun!”

A clear, beautiful voice rang out from behind me.

When I turned around, Rinka was rushing toward me.

“…Shirasaki-san? What’s up?”

“Let’s walk home together.”

“Huh?”

The students around us all turned their eyes toward me at once.

Well, of course they did. If the school’s number-one princess and a plain, introverted guy like me were to go home together, their reaction was inevitable.

I wasn’t expecting it either, so I really wish they wouldn’t stare at me like that.

“Didn’t I say I’d be coming over to make dinner at your place today? Did you already forget?”

Now that she mentioned it, she did say something like that.

Speaking in a low voice so no one else could hear, Rinka—now in her Lily mode—reminded me. Letting out an “Ah,” I finally recalled.

“Sorry, I forgot…”

“Seriously… Let’s hurry up and go home.”

With a sulky expression, Rinka switched back to her Princess mode and started walking.

Even when she’s pouting in princess mode, she’s still ridiculously cute…

After leaving the school, silence lingered between us. Then, recalling what had happened during lunch, I spoke up.

“…Um, about lunch break… Thanks.”

“Eh?”

Rinka looked a little surprised but quickly brushed it off with a simple, “Don’t worry about it.”

“…But still, standing up to Tachibana like that… That was pretty amazing.”

Even among our classmates, hardly anyone dares to talk back to Tachibana.

Everyone’s too scared of him to say anything.

Hearing my words, Rinka’s expression darkened slightly, and in a calm voice, she declared—

“I hate Tachibana-kun.”

“Wait, seriously?”

Her statement was so blunt that I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks.

“His attitude and the way he talks are just irritating. I bet he actually thinks the whole world revolves around him. Oh, and I just can’t stand his face.”

…Wow. She’s really letting it all out, huh?

The last part was definitely personal bias, but for some reason, I found myself agreeing.

“…That’s kind of unexpected.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. I always thought you were kind to everyone… Like, you weren’t the type to hate anyone.”

The Rinka I knew had always been the perfect princess, treating everyone with kindness and fairness.

So I had just assumed she wasn’t the kind of person to dislike anyone.

“I’m just a normal girl, you know? Of course, I have people I don’t like. You, of all people, should know my real personality by now, Kazuya-kun.”

She had a point. The whole “princess image” was just something others had projected onto her.

The real Rinka was just a regular girl—one who got way too into games and acted like a total fool. It made perfect sense.

…Still, she had a surprisingly sharp tongue.

“That’s true. Or rather, if people at school knew what their princess was really like, they’d be shocked.”

I joked, and Rinka turned back toward me with a teasing, almost bewitching smile.

“It’s fine. The real me is for your eyes only, Kazuya-kun!”

Her words sent a jolt through my chest.

That was seriously foul play…

As we continued walking, Rinka suddenly stopped in front of a supermarket.

“I need to buy ingredients for dinner. Do you mind if we stop here for a bit?”

“Ah, yeah! Of course. I’ll help.”

And with that, we stepped into the supermarket.

The place was bustling with families and students, filled with the usual after-school atmosphere. But even in such an ordinary setting, the fact that I was here with Shirasaki Rinka made it feel anything but normal.

“Let’s see… This… and also this…”

With practiced ease, she placed ingredients into the basket atop the cart—vegetables, meat, seasonings. There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in her movements.

She was like a seasoned housewife.

“By the way, does your house have any seasonings, Kazuya-kun?”

“Huh? Nope.”

A guy who doesn’t cook obviously wouldn’t have any seasonings at home.

When I answered so matter-of-factly, Rinka gave me an exasperated look.

“…Seriously? You don’t have a single one?”

Feeling genuinely guilty, I bowed my head in apology.

Rinka let out a deep sigh.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to buy seasonings too… I’ll cover the ingredients, but you’re paying for the seasonings, okay?”

“Got it…”

Following Rinka’s lead, I obediently headed to the seasoning aisle.

“Uh… Soy sauce, mirin… Are these the right ones?”

“Yeah, those will do.”

I picked out what seemed good enough and placed them into my shopping basket.

…I never realized seasonings came in so many varieties.

“Now we just need salt and sugar…”

Just as I reached out for an item on the shelf—

“…Eh? Kazuya?”

A chillingly familiar voice echoed in my ears.

Hesitantly, I turned toward the source of the voice.

“…Misaki?”

Standing there was my ex-girlfriend, Misaki.