We're Friends, Right? - 6

Now I've gotten used to life in Trinity to some extent.

Well... honestly, there wasn't much to get used to.

Because no one talks to me.

 

 

It would be more accurate to say that I got used to the life of a loner rather than getting used to life in Trinity.

 

 

But I think this is better than the alternative.

The Trinity characters I've seen. Koharu, Hanako, and others were all different, but this was definitely a school for high-class ladies.

Listening to the girls talk, it's like listening to a noblewoman's battle of wits that you would see in a medieval romance fantasy.

I don't have the confidence to speak like that.

 

 

The only manners I know are the Confucianism manners that I was instilled with since I was a child in my country, the land of the courteous people in the East.

I was never taught, nor would I ever be taught, such lady-like manners.

I've heard it a lot, so I can imitate it to some extent, and it seems like my body remembers some automatic lady-like manners, but rather than going in there and talking and consuming my mental energy, I think it's better to live like a loner and only talk to Hifumi.

 

 

Ah.

That's right.

These days, I don't just talk to Hifumi.

I made one more friend.

 

 

"Kanshi-san. Are you alone again today? What were you doing alone? Jerking off to your lonely life?"

 

 

It's Hanako-san, who I somehow became close with after the lewd joke incident.

She makes a lewd joke to me every single day.

 

 

"Hanako-san. Please."

 

 

"It's okay! We're 'friends', right? Stop jerking off by yourself, and from now on, I'll..."

 

 

"Hanako-san. Isn't it about time for you to attend the Justice Task Force?"

 

 

"My club isn't the Justice Task Force, though?"

 

 

"Hanako-san is a regular guest of the Justice Task Force. If you skip today, the committee members will be sad."

 

 

Honestly, I'm not the type to react strongly to dirty jokes.

Because I was originally a man. It lessened around high school, but from middle school to my first year of high school, my friends would make dirty jokes every time they opened their mouths, so I'm used to it. No, rather, I want to laugh along with them.

In fact, I laughed at Hanako's sudden dirty jokes in the Blue Archive story.

 

 

I think they really nailed her character.

But. If I accept those dirty jokes in a school full of girls, my image will be ruined even more.

I'm already disliked, so if I get framed as a pervert, it would be better for my life to cut off my angel wings, get a pair of horns, and infiltrate Gehenna.

 

 

Hoping that one day I could laugh and talk with Hanako, I went home with Hifumi.

Hanako, who was following us in a swimsuit, was caught by Koharu.

 

 

"You seem to be having a hard time these days..."

 

 

"No, I'm not having a hard time. I'm fine."

 

 

It seems like she thinks I'm having a hard time because I've been suffering from Hanako's teasing lately.

Honestly, it was very hard to hold back my laughter.

 

 

"I...I'll help you if you're okay with it! If I talk to Nagisa-sama, Hanako-san's bullying..."

 

 

"No, it's really okay. And Hanako isn't bullying me on purpose."

 

 

Oh, she's already trying to taste the power.

No way! Hifumi has to remain pure.

I believe that Hifumi is not the mastermind!

 

 

"Rather, I enjoy it when Hanako talks to me like that."

 

"Huh?"

 

 

"I keep rejecting her, but honestly, I'm enjoying it too."

 

 

I think I can tell Hifumi.

Her character description says that she's a character who listens to any story with a kind heart.

And after living here, I realized that Kanshi and Hifumi are very close.

 

 

"Um...uh...so..."

 

 

"Isn't it like a comedy routine? I think she knows that I'm deliberately rejecting her too."

 

 

"Is that so..."

 

 

"Yeah. Because we're friends."

 

 

Although I rejected her as a joke, the relationship between Hanako and me would generally be called friendship.

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so.

And Hanako's light atmosphere relieves the still heavy atmosphere of Trinity for me, so it's comfortable.

It's a different kind of comfort than Hifumi.

 

 

Hifumi is like a totem that heals just by looking at her.

Hanako is like a backscratcher that comes to relieve my stress whenever I'm uncomfortable.

That's how it feels.

 

 

"Friends, huh..."

 

 

"Right? Someone you can joke around with and rely on when you need them. That's what she is."

 

 

"Are we friends too?"

 

 

"Uh, uh...yes...?"

 

 

I should have just said yes normally, but I was overwhelmed by Hifumi's atmosphere and unconsciously spoke formally.

What, that's scary.

A nonsensical rumor that was floating around in the community in my previous life comes to mind.

 

 

"Then, can you do me a favor?"

 

 

"Wh-What is it?"

 

 

I have a feeling that Hifumi is about to say something dangerous.

For example, 'I'm going to summon Perorodzilla, so you get in the cockpit and pilot it!' something like that...

 

 

"Let's go to the Black Market together tomorrow!"

 

 

"Huh...huh?"

 

 

"There's a limited edition Peroro-sama goodie that I want... but it's currently out of stock, so I can't get it! But I heard that it's being traded secretly in the Black Market, so I'm going to go look for it!"

 

 

As soon as I heard that, a related story came to mind.

The boss of the swimsuit mask gang. Faust!

Robbery?

 

 

I was relieved that it wasn't anything dangerous.

Although, secretly going to the Black Market is a dangerous statement in itself.

I'm just glad it wasn't a dangerous statement like 'I'm going to eliminate half of humanity' or 'Kanshi's only friend is me'.

I don't know about the first one, but there's no way Hifumi would say the second one. Yeah.

 

 

I wanted to go with her, but...

I don't think I should get involved here.

The bank robbery story seems like a gag story, but it comes back as a big foreshadowing later.

 

 

If I go with her and Hifumi and the Abydos students don't meet, that would be a story collapse. A catastrophe.

If it was a normal story collapse, I wouldn't care and I would have run out saying, 'I don't know. I'll leave it to my future self!' But if I break this, it won't end with a story collapse that I can handle.

 

 

"Can't we go together...?"

 

 

"Well... Hifumi, who is favored by the Tea Party, might be able to, but as an ordinary student, it's hard for me to just skip school..."

 

 

"I don't know about favored, but... I'll talk to her!"

 

 

The fact that she can make it happen means that Nagisa likes you a lot.

But I feel bad because of Hifumi's sparkling eyes that want me to go with her.

 

 

"Haa... Okay. We're friends, after all... A friend follows their friend when they go down a bad path!"

 

 

Th-This isn't right...

The friend I know is someone who guides their friend back to the right path when they go down a bad path...

And I was the former Sensei of Schale... Is this okay?

 

 

If I were Sensei...

Hmm... If I were Sensei...!

 

 

Seeing Sensei's actions in the relationship stories, I gave up neatly because it seemed like he wasn't much different from me.

I don't know, as long as Hifumi and Abydos meet, it'll be fine.

Besides, I'm also acquainted with Abydos! Wouldn't the story flow more smoothly if we met?

 

 

With that happy delusion, I returned home.

When I got home, I turned on a game called Tales Saga Chronicle.

I can't resist a time attack.

I will proudly take the number one spot in the Tales Saga Chronicle time attack ranking on the internet.

 

 

A crappy game has its own charm.

 

 

**********

 

 

5 AM.

Hifumi and I met early so that others wouldn't find out.

 

 

"But is there a reason why I'm coming with you?"

 

 

"Because the Black Market is a dangerous place. I thought it would be safer if there were two of us."

 

 

"I see."

 

 

"Ah, if we can get two limited edition Peroro-sama goodies, I'll give you one as thanks for coming with me!"

 

 

"No, I really don't need it."

 

 

"Hiii..."

 

 

That weird hippopotamus or bird.

Probably a hippopotamus since my favorite, Azusa, said it was a hippopotamus.

Anyway, that cross-eyed hippopotamus is not my type, so I don't really need it.

 

 

But it's not polite to just reject someone's goodwill without a reason.

Since I was instilled with the manners of the land of the courteous people in the East since I was a child, I explained the reason why I don't need a reward with a plausible reason.

 

 

"I'm not doing this for a reward. I just want Hifumi to be safe, and that's enough for me."

 

 

"Is Kanshi really an angel...?"

 

 

"Aren't all Trinity students angels?"

 

 

What is she talking about again.

And if we're talking about personalities, I'm the devil.

If Hifumi wasn't my friend and a game character I liked, I wouldn't be so kind to her if she was a complete stranger.

If I met a delinquent (mook), I would have no problem shooting them between the eyes and teabagging them from above.

 

 

"Besides, I'm not that strong, so I might not be able to protect Hifumi properly."

 

 

"If Kanshi is weak, Trinity would have already destroyed Gehenna a long time ago."

 

 

"What?"

 

 

"Nothing. I'm sorry for dragging you into this! I feel bad not giving you anything in return."

 

 

"Ah, alright. Then I don't need the hard-to-get limited edition goodie, so just pick out one of the Momofriends that Hifumi recommends and give it to me later. Okay?"

 

 

"Ah, yes. I feel relieved because that makes me feel better too."

 

 

Then Hifumi sighs and strokes her chest.

She's really cute.

I doubt if such a creature can actually exist...

Who designed this character! I commend you.

Yeah. There's no way such a cute girl is the mastermind.

 

 

The Hifumi mastermind theory that was going around in the old community must have come out without even talking to Hifumi.

Just talking to her, you can feel that she's a very kind girl.

I don't know if a kind girl would skip school with her friend, but it's not a big deal.

Let's just ignore it.

 

 

After safely crossing the Trinity autonomous region's wall, we headed to the Black Market.