This person seems to be... Yamamura Miki from our class. Hmm... a very inconspicuous presence. If she weren't cute, Shikime Natsu probably would have overlooked her completely.
This girl's presence was just far too faint.
But she really was cute. The girl had straight bangs, and her long, slate-blue hair was tied into a side ponytail, revealing a fair, delicate neck. Her deep cyan eyes were always downcast, as if trying her best to hide her own existence.
[Ding~]
[CG9: Vending Machine (Yamamura Miki)]
[The gazes of others have never lingered on me]
[Congratulations, Host. You've obtained the Skill Card: Presence Erasure (You can erase your sense of presence at any time, and others will subconsciously ignore your existence.)]
Oh! Another top-tier skill. He hadn't expected Yamamura Miki to be so amazing, giving him such a powerful skill on their first meeting.
With a skill like this, paired with his Master Thief ability, he was practically invincible.
He could even become an expert stalker, silent and traceless...
Ahem...
Shikime Natsu wouldn't do something so degrading.
"Why are you eating here all by yourself?"
Seeing the girl eating alone between two vending machines, Shikime Natsu approached her.
After all, the text under the CG seemed quite tragic, so Shikime Natsu thought it might be better to pay her some attention.
Of course, this was also because Yamamura Miki was a beautiful girl who could trigger a CG, so Shikime Natsu had to give her plenty of attention.
"This is...."
Totsuka Yahiko couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Yamamura Miki. He seemed to have absolutely no memory of the girl before him.
But... judging by Shikime Natsu's reaction, he seemed somewhat familiar with her, or at least recognized her.
"This is Yamamura Miki from our class."
Shikime Natsu slowly explained.
"Huh? A classmate?"
Totsuka Yahiko was completely shocked. Then why didn't he have any impression of her at all?
Even though he had only seen his classmates for a brief moment, he at least had a slight impression of everyone. But regarding Yamamura Miki, he couldn't remember her no matter how hard he tried.
He could even say that when they had just passed by, he hadn't even noticed someone was here.
"Yes, that's right."
Shikime Natsu nodded, then shifted his gaze to Yamamura Miki.
"Yamamura, do you like eating here alone?"
Hearing the sudden question, Yamamura Miki's small hands, holding a piece of bread, fidgeted nervously.
"N-No."
Perhaps because this was the first time in a long while that someone had paid attention to her, Yamamura Miki was momentarily flustered.
"Then how about you try joining Masumi? Her temper is a bit bad, but she's a good person. Or, if you don't mind, you could join us."
Shikime Natsu continued to extend the invitation to Yamamura Miki.
"No, it's okay, I'd just be a bother... and I'm not good at talking...."
Yamamura Miki's face was full of distress. She subconsciously blurted out a refusal, even giving a series of reasons. She was quite dissatisfied with herself for this.
"It's fine. Not everyone is good at talking from the start. What's important is the process. Just listening from the side is fine too."
Shikime Natsu invited her again. He could see that the girl before him had a strong inferiority complex. Hmm... another problem child, but not a big issue.
Most importantly, Shikime Natsu could see the 'falseness' in Yamamura Miki's refusal. This girl still wanted to eat with them.
She was just afraid of being a bother. Hmm... that was a little cute, too.
"Shikime-san is right."
"Why don't you try accepting our leader's invitation?"
Seeing that Shikime Natsu still wanted to invite Yamamura Miki, Totsuka Yahiko and Hashimoto Masayoshi couldn't help but chime in to help, and Katsuragi Kouhei, who was standing to the side, also seemed to be in agreement.
"This..."
Yamamura Miki looked up, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Shikime Natsu.
This kindness... she felt she couldn't refuse it.
"Then... please excuse me."
Even though she wasn't a girl... that girl, Kamuro Masumi, was on such good terms with Shikime Natsu that she called him by his first name on the first day of school. So... it should be okay for her too, right?
The five of them arrived at the cafeteria. There weren't many people there at this time. Some people were lining up for the free wild vegetable set meal, probably upperclassmen. It was just a shame... that they couldn't buy information from them.
"Sorry, Shikime-san, I failed to complete the mission!"
Totsuka Yahiko's gaze also fell on those people.
"No, it has nothing to do with you. Let's get food. That spot over there is just right."
Shikime Natsu pointed to a spot not far away where two long tables were pushed together, forming... what could be considered a table for eight.
"Okay, let's meet back here after we get our food."
The cafeteria had a wide variety of dishes, cheap and expensive, all available. Everyone had different tastes, so naturally, they couldn't all stay together.
Soon, the group dispersed.
"Are you just going to eat bread here?"
Shikime Natsu looked at Yamamura Miki, who was already sitting there, her two delicate hands holding a plastic-wrapped piece of bread, her eyes darting around nervously.
"I'll save a spot for you all here..."
Yamamura Miki's voice was very soft and anxious. This was the first time she was eating with classmates, and she had no idea what she should be doing.
"You don't need to do that. Look, there are still so many seats. Let's go get food together. My treat. Consider it a token of our new friendship."
Hearing Yamamura Miki's words, Shikime Natsu couldn't help but smile. This girl was like a blank slate.
"N-No, that's not necessary. It would be an expense for you. I'm fine with bread."
Yamamura Miki quickly shook her little head, her tone becoming a bit rushed.
"But if you eat bread, you'll probably finish quickly. Then you'll have to sit and wait for us to finish our meal."
Shikime Natsu said.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. I treated Masumi to a meal yesterday too. It was after eating together that our relationship improved. Don't you want to be friends with me, Yamamura-san?"
"N-No, that's not it.... I... I want to be friends with you, Shikime-san!"
She said it from the heart.
Shikime Natsu nodded with great satisfaction. As expected, as long as he was a little more assertive with his words, she would obediently agree.
"That's good. Let's go. Don't worry, it's not an expense. Using my money to make friends is well worth it."
Shikime Natsu shook his phone. Wasn't the reason he worked so hard to earn points so he could collect CGs more freely?
CGs were far more valuable than points.
___
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