Chapter 39: Akabane Subaru’s Rage (1)

Akabane Subaru’s Rage (1)

Lately, Akabane Subaru had been spending his days filled with irritation.

In all of Subaru’s life until now, this was the first time he had ever felt so persistently frustrated.

Things were going so poorly that, before he even realized it, foul words would slip from his mouth on their own.

Subaru had been born with a naturally strong build and a well-proportioned face, and he had always lived a life where people adored him.

Because of that, Subaru had unconsciously understood that he was superior to others in terms of appearance and physical ability.

He was blessed. Even from a young age, Subaru had recognized this and came to think of himself as standing above others.

The duty of someone blessed like himself was to reach out to those who lacked what he had. Subaru had sincerely held such a lofty belief, and when he actually encountered such people, he would willingly lend a helping hand.

The clearest examples that proved this were his childhood friends, Akari and Taichi.

Akari, who had now grown into a beautiful young woman, had become quite popular among the boys.

That said, when she was little, she had been just like Taichi. She was so shy that she was practically withdrawn. When Subaru first met the two of them, both Akari and Taichi were closed off in their own shells.

They looked lonely all by themselves, yet lacked the courage to take a single step forward.

Doing nothing and simply wallowing in their gloom, the two had appeared to Subaru as clearly lacking.

That was why, even as a child, Subaru had felt that he had to help them.

And ever since Subaru extended a helping hand to them, their relationship as childhood friends had continued to this day.

Akari and Taichi both adored Subaru and were always by his side.

Subaru could feel their respect and affection toward him.

And he believed it was only natural for them to feel that way.

After all, without Subaru, the two of them would have remained completely helpless and alone.

For Subaru, it was simply a given that Akari and Taichi would always cling to him.

And aside from them, many other people would also gather around Subaru.

Subaru rarely thought about how well-liked he was, but that was only because he unconsciously assumed that being liked by others was the natural order of things.

He was athletic and had a striking appearance that drew people’s eyes.

He had no particular weaknesses in academics either and never had any major shortcomings.

It was only natural that someone like Subaru, with no notable flaws and who embodied perfection, would be admired. That was the way Subaru had always seen things.

Everyone tried to win Subaru’s favor by saying things that pleased him and by doing things that benefited him.

Thanks to that, Subaru had rarely faced hardship.

Ever since he was little, Subaru had lived every day being admired by others. To him, most other people were those he unconsciously looked down upon.

It wasn’t as though he was blatantly discriminating or mocking anyone.

He had no particular ill intent. It was simply something that had always felt natural since childhood, to the point that even Subaru himself wasn’t fully aware of it.

Because of that, even though so many people adored him, Subaru had never once truly fallen for anyone.

For Subaru, who unconsciously saw the girls who approached him as inferior, they were nothing more than unfortunate souls in need of help when they struggled.

The first girl Subaru ever truly liked was Ueno Yuki.

To Subaru, Yuki had initially left no impression other than being a flashy girl.

She was just one among many, until he noticed that she was the only one who did not mock Taichi, who was mostly ignored or looked down upon by the other girls.

Most people, once they decided someone was beneath them, would avoid getting involved.

In the worst cases, they would go as far as to mock or belittle that person and use them as an outlet for stress. That was Subaru’s impression of how people were.

That was why Subaru believed that only a select few, truly superior individuals could extend a hand to those in need. And he believed he was one of them.

Only those who were truly exceptional could help the weak.

So for Subaru, helping Akari and Taichi was proof of his own worth.

Only someone overwhelmingly superior like himself could do such things. And just as he was about to help the ever-helpless Taichi, who could never speak up for himself, Subaru noticed Yuki.

Among the girls who were surrounding Taichi and making fun of him, Yuki alone did not mock him and even scolded the others.

She did so in such a natural way, taking care to avoid creating friction with the other girls.

Even Taichi might not have realized he had been saved. But Subaru had noticed.

After that, whenever Taichi was being harassed, Subaru would deliberately hold back and watch to see how Yuki would act.

Subaru had seen Taichi in trouble many times, and Yuki always defended him. If it had only been once, it could have been a fluke, but that clearly was not the case.

Watching her noble act of protecting the weak, Subaru immediately became convinced.

Yuki was someone on the same level as him.

First and foremost, having good looks was the obvious starting point for any girl. The boys in class often talked about her, and even Subaru thought her appearance was high-level.

On top of that, Yuki had the composure to extend a hand to others.

Reaching out to someone like Taichi, whom most people wouldn’t even think about, made it clear that Yuki was different from the average person.

She was clearly one of the blessed ones, just like Subaru.

At that moment, Subaru had felt as though he had finally found a true companion.

It might sound arrogant, but deep down, he truly believed he had found a girl worthy of him for the first time.

From then on, Subaru couldn’t get Yuki out of his head.

In class, he found himself following her with his eyes, and when she wasn’t around, he would often daydream about her.

He was so preoccupied with thoughts of Yuki that even Akari and Taichi, who were always by his side, began to worry about him.

To Subaru, she was the first person he ever felt was a true match. With someone that attractive, it would be no surprise if someone else tried to approach her.

But at first, Subaru felt no sense of urgency.

He simply could not imagine someone as exceptional as Yuki ever being truly interested in anyone other than himself.

Just as Subaru had never been attracted to ordinary girls, he was convinced that Yuki would never fall for an ordinary guy.

That was why Subaru decided to proceed carefully in getting closer to Yuki.

Having never experienced any major failures in life, Subaru believed things would go smoothly this time as well.

He planned to use Taichi to gather information without making Yuki suspicious, to get to know her thoroughly, and then carefully close the distance without making a mistake.

In fact, Subaru had even thought that just talking to her himself would be enough to make it all work.

Even if Yuki was an exceptional person, Subaru had no doubt that once he spoke to her, she would become just like all the other girls.

That was why, as long as he handled things carefully, he was certain he could become close with her.

Based on past experience, girls had always come to him without him needing to do anything. If Subaru actively closed the distance himself, any girl would quickly become his.

Subaru firmly believed that even Yuki would eventually come to him on her own.

Even though she was the first person he ever saw as an equal, Subaru may have unconsciously still looked down on her.

However, the reason Subaru was now spending his days filled with frustration was because things had not gone as planned.