Yanami Anna, once the class beauty, had her title stolen by a transfer student, who also stole her childhood friend, leaving her a loser in love.
According to Nukumizu, he was pestered by Yanami Anna, who rambled for an hour, and in the end, when he passed that shop, she borrowed 3,600 yen from him.
And after listening to her complain once because of a quest, he started to feel like she was latching onto him.
If it weren't for the quest, Kaiser really had no intention of getting too involved with her, just to avoid any unexpected trouble.
But then, text appeared before his eyes.
[Quest Start]
[Please make Yanami Anna realize that her previous relationship is over, and that no one will wait for her]
[Quest Reward: 10,000 Yen]
Kaiser sighed softly. He tilted his head, rested an elbow on the railing, and looked at the blue-haired girl as she poked at her bento with her chopsticks, muttering under her breath.
If there wasn't a quest, he really wouldn't want to deal with her.
But this was 10,000 yen, another step closer to the 100,000 yen he needed for a guitar.
He ate his bento. The octopus-shaped sausage casing was crisp, and it was a bit salty, which went well with the rice. The fried chicken skin wasn't crispy anymore, but it was seasoned well, and the texture was neither too soft nor too hard.
The entire box of side dishes was meat, and he shoveled it all into his mouth with the rice, polishing it off completely. In just a few minutes, only an empty box remained.
His gaze occasionally flickered over to Yanami Anna. She kept complaining, but it didn't slow down her eating at all; she was eating almost as fast as he was.
After about ten minutes, they were both finished.
He took the initiative. "How are you feeling? Have you accepted reality yet?"
"What reality?" She turned her head away.
"After running from reality, you have to face it properly." Kaiser moved down a few steps and sat beside her.
"Well, didn't you just run away from someone giving you a love letter?" Yanami Anna stared at his pocket. "I'm curious, too. What do those letters even say?"
"Has no one given you a love letter?" he asked.
"Huh? Well..."
Yanami Anna looked a little guilty. She averted her gaze, her eyes darting around as she started searching for an excuse.
"Look, he and I were always so close, everyone must have thought we were a couple!
So of course no one would give me a love letter."
Her voice rose again, as if to say, "How dare you baselessly slander my good name!"
Then, her energy suddenly deflated. Her shoulders slumped, and her gaze fell to the tips of her leather shoes.
"I thought he and I would make it to the end."
"It's too late for that now." Kaiser spread his hands. "It's better to face reality and look for your next relationship."
"...."
She stared blankly at her shoes, her thoughts adrift. She was probably reminiscing about their shared memories, thinking back on the ten years since kindergarten.
*Is that so? It's really too late.*
Her blue hair fell into her field of vision, obstructing her view. Without turning her head, she couldn't see the pink-haired boy beside her in her peripheral vision.
"Chihaya, has anyone ever told you that you have a sharp tongue?"
"I don't think that's any of your business, but no, no one has." Kaiser thought back to last night when Anon had called him mean-spirited. That definitely didn't count.
"You'll never find a girlfriend like that." Yanami Anna pushed herself up with one hand on the stairs, stood, and walked down a few steps.
Kaiser nodded. "That's great, then. Thanks for the blessing."
"Huh?" She froze.
"I never planned on getting a girlfriend in the first place. Anyone who writes me a love letter is destined for a fruitless romance."
Kaiser felt the envelope in his pocket. The slightly smooth material suggested the paper had been waxed.
He caught up to Yanami Anna. "I'll write her a reply. I'll need you to give it back to her."
"Eh? You have to write back?" Her tone was questioning; it seemed she really didn't know much about love letters.
"Of course. I don't plan on being in a relationship, and I think having someone else deliver a love letter is a bit cowardly, shows a lack of seriousness.
But, it's still someone's feelings. They might have agonized over it, writing those words to me in a state of torment. Of course I have to treat it with respect and reply."
He'd read the love letters he received yesterday during class as if they were light novels. The writing was a bit lacking, the prose was average, and the feelings they were meant to convey naturally failed to come across.
That's just how words are. Sometimes, hundreds of eloquent words can't compare to the blush on a girl's face as she confesses in person, or to her simply saying, "The moon is beautiful."
He planned to write the replies in the afternoon, after reading this new letter.
His pace was a few steps faster than hers, so he didn't immediately notice she hadn't kept up. It wasn't until he rounded a corner that he realized he had reached the landing alone; Yanami Anna was still halfway down the stairs.
The girl had slowed to a stop, one hand clutching the railing. The wind stirred her skirt and blue hair.
A tear trickled from the corner of her eye. The wind blew gently as she touched her cheek with her fingers.
"How strange."
"I was supposed to have been dumped, right?"
"It's been three days, but after those two became a couple, their attitude toward me hasn't changed at all. It's like they're making me feel like everything is still the same as before."
"Because... because..."
"Sousuke... he never really rejected me, did he? He never gave me a proper answer."
"I know."
"...."
"I was dumped."
As she said those words, the panel only Kaiser could see lit up.
[Quest Success]
[Quest Completion Count +1]
[Quest Reward: 10,000 Yen Has Been Delivered]
Separated by a few steps, the boy and girl looked at each other. People's feelings can never truly be shared.
Her expression was numb. It was something she should have understood long ago, but she had been unwilling to wake up, lost in her own fantasy.
Getting your heart broken must be painful, huh?
Tears from the corners of her eyes streamed down her cheeks, along her chin, and dripped to the ground. Plip, plop.
Kaiser had increased his quest count by one and received 10,000 yen. Deep down, he felt only joy, and a sense of relief for his decision not to pursue romance.
As long as he didn't form relationships with the opposite sex, his emotions wouldn't fluctuate because of them, and he wouldn't fall in love with them.
He could manage his emotions perfectly, focusing his energy on the things and hobbies he loved.
Out of a sense of camaraderie as classmates, he reined in his emotions, kept his expression neutral, and lifted his head slightly to meet her gaze.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She waved a hand. "I think I'll head back to the classroom in a bit. You can go on ahead."
"Alright. Let me know if you need anything," Kaiser said, just to be polite.
"Really?" Yanami Anna looked up, the tips of her hair flicking upward, slinging tears from her eyes.
"I want to eat something else, but I'm out of money. Can you lend me some more?"
"....."
Kaiser covered his face. "No way. Pay me back what you already owe me first."
"Stingy. You're the one who said to let you know if I need anything," Yanami Anna sniffled, falling into step behind him.
His tone was a bit exasperated. "I meant I could sit with you for a while, until you've calmed down."
"Are you worried about me?" She caught up, her body language becoming lighter. She even took an extra step to get ahead of him and leaned forward slightly.
"I guess." Kaiser shrugged, holding his bento box. "I was afraid you'd jump off the roof. Then the only people on the security footage of the fire escape would be you and me, and I'd probably be treated as the prime suspect."
______
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