Why did a mob character like me end up being taken a liking to by a genius little girl called Hoshimiya Hime?
To explain why, let's go back in time a little.
It happened yesterday after school.
It was early May, about a month into my second year of high school.
It was the end of Golden Week. Perhaps because I had a rather long holiday, I felt very tired that day.
(Damn... I guess staying up all night playing games was a bad idea after all.)
I got too excited about the fact that it was a holiday. I got so engrossed in the FPS game I'm addicted to that I ended up neglecting my sleep. To be more specific, I stayed up for two nights straight. But I'll leave aside the excuse that I was busy with ranked matches because the season was coming to an end.
Because of that, my body feels incredibly heavy. My head has been fuzzy, and even after class is over, I have a hard time getting up from my seat.
I lay face down on my desk for a while, waiting for my condition to improve. But my condition still didn't improve... Then, I suddenly looked up and saw that most of my classmates had left the classroom.
(I'm the only one... right?)
I couldn't hear anything, so for a moment I thought I was alone.
However, she was sitting right next to me.
(Hoshimiya Hime... is she concentrating on her book?)
A beautiful girl with light, translucent hair. Her crimson eyes were fixed on a thick English book. She seemed to be concentrating hard, and didn't even seem to notice that I was looking at her profile.
As she was my classmate, I knew a lot about her. I also knew that she was eight years old, that she was a genius who had skipped a grade, and that she had a beautiful older sister with big breasts in a different class. And... I also knew that she had no interest in other people and never tried to get involved with anyone.
That doesn't mean I have any feelings for her. I don't want to become friends with her, and conversely, I don't have any feelings for her or anything like that.
To me, she is an unreal existence, like a celebrity I see on TV.
Hoshimiya-san lives in a different world from ordinary people like me.
People like her are the ones who can be classified as "special."
It would be presumptuous to even feel jealousy, let alone admiration or envy.
They have no connection with people like me in the first place.
So I didn't mind, but at the same time, I wanted to go home quietly so as not to disturb his reading... but I still felt unwell due to lack of sleep.
(Come to think of it, I still have some snacks left over from the morning...)
I had no appetite, so I bought some chocolate snacks at a convenience store hoping to at least get some sugar. They were the ones that are often at war between bamboo shoots and mushrooms. I'm definitely a bamboo shoot fan. I thought I could eat these, since they're my favorites... but in the end, I ate a few and almost threw up, so there were still plenty left.
(It's this time of year, so maybe it's melted by now? Hmm, but... I haven't had lunch yet, so I should probably eat something.)
Maybe the reason I've been feeling unwell is because I haven't eaten properly. Thinking that something to eat would help me regain my strength, I took out some snacks from my bag.
(So as not to get in Hoshimiya-san's way...)
I picked up the candy as quietly as possible, careful not to make any noise. I looked inside the bag and sure enough, it had melted a little... I was in an air-conditioned room, but that couldn't be helped. Some chocolate would probably get on my fingers, but it was fine as I could just wash it off later.
So I immediately put one in my mouth.
The crispy texture and the chocolate flavor go well together and are delicious... but I still don't have much of an appetite. If I eat too many I might throw up, so maybe I'll just put a few more in my mouth and see how it goes?
With that thought in mind, I put the second one in my mouth...and then it happened.
(......yeah?)
Suddenly, I felt someone looking at me.
It felt strange to be stared at from next to me, so I looked over and saw Hoshimiya-san staring at me.
"......"
The crimson eyes are looking at me.
...No, that's not true. To be precise, she was staring intently at the sweets I was holding.
(Maybe... you want to eat it?)
Hoshimiya Hime is a quiet girl. She has an air of elegance, and is somehow noble and ladylike... When it comes to sweets, she only seems to eat cakes and high-end Western confectioneries, but perhaps she is also interested in commercially available sweets.
"...Um."
"......"
Now, what should I do?
Feeling awkward, I unconsciously spoke up, but Hoshimiya-san didn't respond.
I just stare at the sweets.
Maybe she doesn't want it? Unable to decide, I tried another one just to see what happened... Hoshimiya-san made a blatantly sad face.
"Ahh"
This time, she stares at my mouth as I chew on the sweets. Perhaps unconsciously, her index finger is touching her lips, not the page of the book. Her expression is clearly one of longing.
Maybe he wants some sweets...right?
"...eat?"
Although I was a little scared.
I pick up a piece of bamboo shoot-shaped chocolate candy and offer it to Hoshimiya-san.
"...!"
Then she nodded her head vigorously, took the sweets from me, and without a moment's hesitation popped them into her mouth.
Then, she chewed it a few times—and at that moment, her expressionless face suddenly crumbled.
"Ah, amy...!"
He is enjoying the taste with a happy look on his face.
Apparently he liked it.
I thought for sure that she was an unworldly girl with no interest in sweets.
In fact, he may actually have some aspects that are appropriate for his age.
Hoshimiya-san, with her happy expression as she ate the sweets, was, how should I put it... very cute...