While Hikaru Naruse and Hayato Kitō were talking in the corner of the pool, quite a few people scattered around the pool were quietly observing them as well.
Arisu Sakayanagi, for one.
On the far side of the pool, a total of five people were currently standing beside the silver-haired girl.
One of them was Masumi Kamuro, who maintained that same cold demeanor as always, her expression aloof, as if she were merely clocking in for work.
There were also two more boys and two more girls: Kenta Yoshida, Takurou Morishige, along with Miki Yamamura and Shiori Tsukachi.
Like Sakayanagi, they were all silently watching the direction where Hikaru Naruse and Hayato Kitō were conversing.
After a while, Sakayanagi suddenly spoke up.
“Yamamura-san.”
The Yamamura Miki she called upon had a head of teal-colored hair and a pair of matching teal eyes.
She wore straight-cut bangs, with the rest of her long hair combed to the right side and tied into a low side-ponytail.
The girl’s features were delicate and gentle, but because she was always looking down, very few people ever got to see her face clearly.
In the original work, Yamamura Miki was a quiet girl with an extremely faint presence.
Though she wasn’t very good at communicating with others, deep down the girl yearned for change—she hoped she could become more confident, and was willing to contribute her share of effort to the class.
“Hm?”
Arisu Sakayanagi didn’t turn around; she merely tilted her head slightly to glance at her.
“What kind of person do you think Naruse-kun is?”
The question came out of nowhere.
Yamamura Miki had absolutely not anticipated that Arisu Sakayanagi would suddenly ask her something like this.
The girl’s lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something, yet she didn’t know what the right answer would be.
“Um…”
Her voice was very small, carrying an obvious trace of hesitation.
“I think Naruse-kun is a very outstanding person.”
She deliberated for a long while before barely managing to squeeze out that single evaluation.
Watching her reaction, the corners of Sakayanagi’s mouth curved up ever so slightly.
Then, in a gentle tone, the silver-haired girl said,
“Yamamura-san, the truth is, you’re a very capable person.”
“It’s just…
that you haven’t gone and unearthed your own abilities.”
The moment those words came out, Yamamura Miki’s expression froze.
She truly was someone who craved recognition—especially when facing someone like Arisu Sakayanagi, a “clever person” everyone acknowledged and a candidate for class leader.
“Sakayanagi-san, what do you mean by that?”
“Because you have your own strengths, Yamamura-san, I was hoping you could do me a favor.”
“…What kind of favor?”
Yamamura Miki’s voice was a little louder than before, but it still carried a hint of nervousness.
Arisu Sakayanagi thought it over for a moment, and a meaningful smile surfaced at the corners of her mouth.
She recalled her last exchange with Hikaru Naruse in the cafeteria.
When she’d asked him where his information came from, a certain someone had actually brushed her off with a line like, “Actually, I’m the protagonist of a light novel.”
That was a score she absolutely had to settle!
“Because Naruse-kun is very outstanding.”
Arisu Sakayanagi’s tone grew a few degrees more serious, as if she were discussing something very important.
“I want to become friends with him.”
She paused briefly, then continued,
“So I’m hoping you can help me with this, Yamamura-san.”
“M-me?”
Yamamura Miki was quite taken aback by what Sakayanagi had proposed.
So this was the kind of person she was, after all?
“I need you to help me gather and investigate some information about Naruse-kun—including his hobbies, interests, relationships, and so on.
I want to understand what kind of person he is.”
“That way I can accurately cater to his tastes, and later on, when I go to consult him about problems, things will go smoothly.”
“Huh?”
After she finished saying this, Yamamura Miki first went blank, and then her whole body was like a temp worker suddenly shoved into the center of the stage—the words “I can’t do this” written all over her.
“That kind of thing…
wouldn’t it be a little inappropriate?”
“Naruse-kun is far too dazzling.
How could I possibly go and…”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but her meaning was already crystal clear.
For a girl whose presence was so faint she was nearly transparent to go investigate an incredibly eye-catching boy—the matter itself was fraught with difficulty and challenge.
Not to mention that Yamamura Miki was, in fact, terribly inept with words, and could easily find herself at a loss for how to respond.
But Arisu Sakayanagi did not give up because of that.
A gentle, encouraging smile surfaced at the corners of her mouth as she softly gazed at the Yamamura Miki before her.
“It’s alright, Yamamura-san.”
Her voice was soft and warm, like a pair of tender hands gently stroking a frightened little animal.
“Don’t you want to change yourself?”
Those words were like a key, precisely inserted into the deepest part of Yamamura Miki’s heart.
Change?
Of course she wanted to change!
From the very first day she entered this school, Yamamura Miki had been longing for change.
She didn’t want to be that ignored, transparent person anymore.
She wanted to become confident, to become the kind of person who contributed to the class and was then praised for it.
But changing was not such a simple matter.
“I’m not telling you to become a stalker or anything—just to go and make friends with Naruse-kun, that’s all.”
Sakayanagi’s tone was patient and coaxing.
“Once the two of you have become friends, won’t you naturally be able to learn about these things?”
“And then, once I’ve obtained this information through you, I’ll be able to understand Naruse-kun better too.”
“Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing that kills two birds with one stone?”
Arisu Sakayanagi’s words did sound quite reasonable at first, but Yamamura Miki was no fool.
If the other party wanted to make friends with Naruse, then why didn’t she just go do it herself?
Why go through all the trouble of having someone else gather information?
“Sakayanagi-san, you…”
“Because right now I’m too embarrassed to face him.
Can you understand that, Yamamura-san?”
Sakayanagi shook her head, forcing a trace of bitterness onto her small face—this was her final trump card.
“To be honest, at first I was quite confident in the plan of gathering information to select the class leader.
But in the end I still lost.
Back then I even asked Naruse-kun for help once.
Do you still remember that, Yamamura-san?”
“I remember.”
Back when they’d gone to the cafeteria to gather information from the upperclassmen, Miki Yamamura had been one of the girls sitting right beside Sakayanagi.
“Even though I’d already asked Naruse-kun for help, I still lost in the end.
So now I feel like I simply don’t have the face to go seek his advice.”
“If I could understand him first, then I’d be able to overcome this psychological hurdle.”
“Yamamura-san, do you understand what I mean?”
“I really can only rely on you.”
Arisu Sakayanagi’s combination punches came one set after another, leaving Yamamura Miki utterly dazed.
In the next moment, Yamamura Miki’s gaze traveled past Arisu Sakayanagi’s shoulder and landed on the boy across the pool who was talking with Hayato Kitō.
Sunlight spilled down from the skylight, plating a faint golden halo over the tips of Naruse’s hair.
Peerlessly handsome, radiant with light.
I…
am supposed to make friends with a person like that?
Me?
“…”
Yamamura Miki drew a deep breath.
Since she yearned to grow, then she couldn’t just keep standing still.
They were classmates anyway, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
She was merely quiet and inept with words—she wasn’t truly socially phobic.
“Then I’ll…
give it a try.”
“Very good.
I believe in you, Yamamura-san.”
Arisu Sakayanagi continued,
“Don’t push yourself too hard.
There’s no need to rush this.”
“I understand.”
Yamamura Miki composed her feelings and accepted this task.
For her, it was a very important trial.
“I look forward to hearing good news from you.”
Arisu Sakayanagi smiled faintly—everything left unsaid, understood all the same.
____
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