Chapter 930 - 930: The Girls' Love Talk

Kotomi Izumi wasn't dense.

At least... most of the time, she wasn't.

Sometimes, it was only to avoid a romantic battlefield that she had no choice but to transform into a master of playing dumb and act like a complete blockhead.

Kotomi Izumi had actually noticed long ago that Ruriya Hojo harbored feelings toward her that bordered on romantic admiration. She had already sensed it before the cultural festival even began.

However, when faced with this proud little beauty, Kotomi Izumi had never known how she should deal with her, or rather, how she should respond.

Ruriya Hojo was very beautiful. Half of her pride came from her appearance, while the other half came from her personality.

Her cheerful personality had made Kotomi Izumi, who had once been a socially anxious girl, realize from their very first meeting that the girl named Ruriya Hojo in front of her was a genuine social butterfly.

How was she supposed to get along with a social butterfly? Kotomi Izumi wasn't quite sure.

Even though other people might consider her one too, in reality, compared to being socially successful, Kotomi Izumi still preferred being a slightly lonely, socially anxious, useless shut-in.

How should she respond to Ruriya Hojo's admiration?

Kotomi Izumi had no idea either.

So for now, all she could do was pretend she hadn't noticed.

As for why she hadn't simply rejected her outright, that was naturally because Ruriya Hojo had never directly said anything like, "Kotomi, I like you."

What if Kotomi had misunderstood what Ruriya Hojo meant? Wouldn't rejecting her outright make Kotomi seem incredibly narcissistic? And awkward?

Though Kotomi also knew that she was already pretty narcissistic to begin with...

In any case, every time she faced Ruriya Hojo, Kotomi Izumi felt a strange sort of nervousness, the kind that came from not knowing how to respond to her enthusiasm.

"Doesn't that mean you and the others were staying at the same inn as a murderer those few days?"

"Pretty much. Or rather, while the murder was actually happening, we were resting in our guest room." Kotomi Izumi made a rather chilling joke.

Naturally, the effect was excellent. The moment the words left her mouth, Ruriya Hojo and the others couldn't help shivering.

"I was kind of jealous that you got to go to Kyoto again, Kotomi, but after hearing that, I'm suddenly not jealous anymore..." Hibiki Naegi said with a helpless smile.

"Kotomi, you're really brave. If it were me, after finding out, I'd definitely have a psychological shadow over staying at inns for a long time. I saw on the news that in this murder case, a woman killed her husband and daughter, then hanged herself in the end. That's really hateful. If she wanted to die, then fine, but what right did she have to take her husband and daughter's lives too?"

Emi Tsujimoto said angrily.

"Exactly. A woman like that is really hard to understand. No wonder my dad has told me since I was little that when I grow up and date someone, I should absolutely never date a person with a mental illness or psychological disorder. It's not like I'm some savior of the world. Isn't it better to just have a normal relationship?"

Ruka Ishikawa gave her own opinion, then added:

"But some people with mental illness or psychological problems hide it really well. They might seem completely normal at first, then maybe after marriage their true nature gets exposed. Men and women are pretty much the same in that regard. Sigh... It's gotten me a little confused about dating too. I keep thinking that when I find a partner in the future, it'd be better to choose someone I know inside and out."

"Do you actually have a childhood friend?" Ruriya Hojo asked half-jokingly after hearing Ruka Ishikawa say that.

"Unfortunately, I don't~ But I still want to have a lover I grew up with."

Whether they're a man or a woman... Ruka Ishikawa thought silently, giving Ruriya Hojo a meaningful look.

But when she noticed the way Ruriya Hojo looked at Kotomi, another stab of pain shot through Ruka Ishikawa's heart.

Am I really going to lose to Kotomi?

She had obviously been the first one to become friends with Ruriya. So why had Ruriya fallen for Kotomi?!

Ruka Ishikawa knew the answer in her heart. A girl as beautiful as Kotomi would make people want to tolerate even a lot of flaws. And besides, Kotomi didn't even have many flaws. She was an exceptionally outstanding girl, so it was no wonder that so many boys and girls liked her.

But so what if she knew the answer? The unwillingness in her heart still made Ruka Ishikawa ask herself again and again, and silently ask Ruriya Hojo too: I was clearly the one who appeared by Ruriya's side first. So why did Ruriya fall for Kotomi?!

However, the meaningful look in Ruka Ishikawa's eyes went completely unnoticed by Ruriya Hojo.

In Ruriya Hojo's heart, Ruka Ishikawa was simply a good friend she had grown up with. Aside from friendship, there were no other special feelings at all.

Or rather, before meeting Kotomi Izumi, Ruriya Hojo had never even imagined that she could actually fall in love with a girl!

"Then I hope you meet a handsome childhood friend as soon as possible~" Ruriya Hojo said with a grin.

You're my childhood friend, and you're the one I like!

Ruka Ishikawa screamed the words in her heart, but she didn't have the courage to say them to Ruriya Hojo right now. All she could do was forcibly suppress her emotions, pull up a smile that wasn't particularly convincing, and say to Ruriya Hojo:

"Idiot. I'm not the heroine of a romance novel. How could a childhood friend who likes me suddenly fall from the sky?"

"Then I hope you meet a good man soon. When you get married, remember to invite me to be your bridesmaid~" Ruriya Hojo said with a grin.

I want you to be my bride, not my bridesmaid... Ruka Ishikawa thought bitterly as she watched Ruriya Hojo cling to Kotomi's side.

She opened her mouth, wanting to speak, only to realize that she couldn't get the words out at all.

"Marriage, huh... Haha. Speaking of which, I've already thought about it. If I can meet a good man during my three years of high school, then when I'm in my third year, I won't take the university entrance exams. I'll just get married directly, work while taking care of the family, and then once I have children, I'll become a full-time housewife."

Seeing that Ruka Ishikawa hadn't said anything for a while, Emi Tsujimoto took the initiative to speak.

"That doesn't sound bad either. I have a distant cousin who was lucky enough to find a boyfriend in high school who treated her extremely well. Then she accidentally got pregnant in her second year. Because of that, both families met at the school.

"They originally came ready to argue, but once they met, they realized the other family was pretty decent. After sitting down and talking for a few hours, they settled the marriage. Neither of them was very good at studying, so they got married right after graduating from high school. The witness at the wedding was even her boyfriend's homeroom teacher."

Since Ruka Ishikawa hadn't spoken for a while, Ruriya Hojo assumed she was thinking about something and continued chatting cheerfully with Kotomi and Emi Tsujimoto.

Hearing Ruriya Hojo say that, Kotomi Izumi remembered it too:

"I remember you showed us a photo of a little boy before. That's your distant cousin's son, right? Chubby and pretty cute."

"That's right. He's a very cute little handsome guy, all sturdy and lively." Ruriya Hojo said with a smile.

Although they had only just entered their first year of high school, for most Japanese girls, this really was already around the time when they started thinking about dating, and even marriage.

That was because in their third year, a considerable number of students would choose employment instead of taking university entrance exams and continuing on to college.

Should they enter society earlier and start working to earn money, or continue on to university and improve their academic qualifications?

That was something every Japanese high school student would think about during their second and third years.

To put it more directly, the first year was the first year of high school, but it was also the last truly carefree stage for high school students.

University students weren't the only ones who thought about the present and the future. High school students did too.

Or rather, they started thinking about it in high school. Once they got into university, they could breathe a little easier because they could remain inside the ivory tower for a few more years.

It was like a person hiding inside a new fortress called university before the fortress called high school collapsed, allowing them to avoid thinking about reality and society too early and remain a student for a few more years.

School was like a fortress that temporarily sheltered people from the pressures of real life.

There were even many people who studied hard precisely because continuing to be a student meant they could delay entering society by a few years. Motivated by that idea, they got into university, then graduate school, then even doctoral programs.

They kept taking examinations upward, moving from one school to another, or rather, from one fortress-like shelter to the next. All just so they could postpone facing the pressure of reality for a few more years.

But even if they made it all the way to a doctoral program, eventually they would still have to face graduation, and they would still have to face finding a job.

In this era, university students were no longer anything rare, yet the pressure of getting into university grew heavier year after year.

Students poured out their final reserves of strength to cross the narrow bridge of the university entrance exams and become university students, then didn't dare relax as they continued on to graduate school and doctoral programs.

Yet after graduation, they might discover that the jobs they found paid less than the jobs held by classmates who had started working immediately after high school.

Kotomi Izumi, Ruriya Hojo, and Emi Tsujimoto chatted for a long time. Once girls started talking about romance, it was difficult for them to stop anytime soon.

Although Mashiro Shiina didn't join the conversation, because Ruriya Hojo had been sitting beside Kotomi the entire time, Mashiro Shiina had become extremely wary of her and had already begun treating Ruriya Hojo as a romantic rival.

So Mashiro also stayed seated beside Kotomi, leaning against her shoulder. On the one hand, she was declaring her claim over Kotomi. On the other, she was guarding Kotomi so Ruriya Hojo wouldn't do anything inappropriate to her.

Unfortunately, Mashiro Shiina thought she was making a show of force. Little did she know that, in Ruriya Hojo's eyes, Mashiro Shiina was more like Kotomi Izumi's younger sister. So when Mashiro leaned against Kotomi's shoulder, Ruriya merely saw it as a little sister clinging affectionately to her older sister.

Ruka Ishikawa remained seated at her desk the entire time as though thinking about something. Seeing that, Kotomi and the other two didn't disturb her.

Hibiki Naegi chatted with them briefly, then picked up her brush and focused intently on painting. She was always the earliest person to arrive at the art classroom.

But today, when she arrived at the art classroom, she discovered that she wasn't the first one there. Eiren Kanagawa had already arrived at some point and was quietly sitting in Hibiki Naegi's seat, staring at the canvas in front of her.

When Hibiki Naegi arrived, Eiren Kanagawa didn't stand up. She merely waved her over and had Hibiki stand beside her, then pointed with her finger at several places on the painting without saying anything.

After staring for a while at the places Eiren Kanagawa had indicated, Hibiki Naegi suddenly realized that those sections hadn't been completed very well. If she took something like that into an art entrance exam, she would definitely lose points.

After thanking Eiren Kanagawa, Eiren continued explaining several things Hibiki needed to pay attention to during art entrance exams, as well as a few useful tricks.

And so, Hibiki Naegi was currently busy turning the new knowledge she had learned into practice, drilling it over and over again.

I have to work even harder. Only then can I make up for the gap caused by talent. Only then can I score highly on the art entrance exam, get into a prestigious university, find a good job, and give Seiko the best possible future and life... I have to work even harder... I can pay any price, but I absolutely can't let Seiko suffer because of me in the future... Hibiki Naegi thought, slightly gritting her teeth as she gripped her brush tightly, not daring to relax even for a moment.

The hour of club activities quickly came to an end.

For the entire hour, Kotomi Izumi had been chatting about romance with Ruriya Hojo, Emi Tsujimoto, and the others.

As a little scumbag who already had two girlfriends, Kotomi Izumi could practically be called extremely experienced when it came to romance. If she genuinely wanted to talk about it, whatever she said would undoubtedly deliver a dimension-crushing shock to every girl present.

However, because Mashiro Shiina was still sitting beside her, Kotomi Izumi hesitated for a moment before deciding not to start boasting about romance.

She was afraid that after listening, Mashiro Shiina would stare directly at her and ask:

"Kotomi, you still haven't responded to my feelings, so why do you know so much about dating?"

If Mashiro really asked her that, Kotomi Izumi wouldn't know how to explain her way out of it.

So earlier, Kotomi mostly just agreed with what the others said and rarely took the initiative to lead the conversation.

Because Mashiro Shiina was going home with her cousin Chihiro Sengoku after school, Kotomi Izumi escorted Mashiro to the entrance of the faculty office where Chihiro Sengoku was, then said goodbye to her.

While walking toward the first-floor entrance of the school building, Kotomi Izumi suddenly shuddered.

She had abruptly remembered something extremely important that she had forgotten!

And that was—to go to Class 1-A and find Arisu Sakayanagi so she could express her gratitude!

After all, Arisu gave me so many Gundams. I absolutely have to thank her and figure out how to return the favor. But what kind of gifts does Arisu like?

Kotomi Izumi wondered inwardly.

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