「What do you like to drink, Uehara-san? I’ll buy it.」

We left the classroom and came to a vending machine at the end of the hallway.

「Eh, my bad. I’ll pay it myself.」

「I asked you to come, so I’ll be the one paying.」

Uehara-san closed her mouth and appeared to think for a moment, but then immediately opened her mouth.

「I see, then… it’s milk cocoa.」

I bought a drink and gave it to Uehara-san.

「Thanks for the treat. Toyama seems to be experienced with women. Like you can say, “I’m the one who asked you out,” without shame or embarrassment.」

「I think that’s about normal…」

「I don’t think so. I’ve had a lot of boys who come up to me and get all fidgety and don’t know what they’re talking about.」

「Well, I don’t know how those boys feel.」

「What do you mean?」

「The boys think that Uehara-san is a prize for them, so they get nervous when they saw you」

「Ehh? I’m not an idol, I’m just a normal girl.」

Uehara-san doesn’t seem to realize how attractive she is. For the other boys around, she is unattainable even if they want her to be their girlfriend.

The idiot Kurashima is so overconfident because is so popular that he probably doesn’t have those feelings. He seems to think that all girls are in love in with him.

「Uehara-san may think so herself, but people around says it otherwise.」

「Hmm… that kind of thing?」

Uehara-san does not seem to be quite right.

「Uehara-san is beautiful, adorable, and has an unquestionably good personality. She’s the number one girl in our class that they wanted her to be their girlfriend.」

「Eh? Eh? T-Tōyama, I-I don’t know what to do when you praise me so much…」

Uehara-san is upset by my sudden praise. I think this kind of naivete, not overconfidence, is also a part of her charm.

「T-Tōyama also… umm… wants me… to be his girlfriend, no…? What the…」

Hmm? Did I mislead her in some strange way? Uehara-san’s cheeks turn red and she looks me up and down as she asks me.

「Ah, no, I’m just saying that’s the general consensus, I’m not talking about myself here.」

「I-I see what you mean…」

Uehara-san’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

「I-I was wondering about Uehara-san’s charm.」

「A-Are we still going to talk about this? But I’m so embarrassed…」

It’s been lifted up so much that she is confused. But there is no avoiding this story because it is connected to the current slander.

「The main topic is that, but Uehara-san is already aware of the strange rumors about yourself, aren’t you?」

Since there is no point in fooling around, I start from the core of the story.

「Yeah… I know it because Mika told me last night in a message.」

Did Aizawa-san told her… then it would be safe to assume that she is on Uehara-san’s side.

「If that’s the case, it’s easy to talk about. To put it bluntly. I’m sure this is the work of a girl who resented Uehara-san’s popularity, or a boy who was jealous of my recent friendship with the popular Uehara-san.」

「That’s… I didn’t do anything… why…」

It was cruel, but I thought it would be better to know the facts, so I told the story honestly and without ostentation.

「Then… it’s my fault that I got Toyama into this mess…」

As expected, Uehara-san mistakenly believes that she brought me into this mess.

「That’s wrong! I was targeted because I was called a creepy and unsophisticated. When you were getting along with Kurashima, nothing happened, right?」

「That’s true….」

「People who admit that Kurashima is better than them think it can’t be helped that he is handsome and popular, but when I, who they consider lower than them, get along with Uehara-san, whom they consider a flower of high rank, they become jealous of me and resent me.」

This is exactly what this slander is about. So I brought this on myself

「That’s why I am responsible for this matter. I’m sorry that Uehara-san got involved.」

「No… Toyama didn’t do anything wrong. There is no such thing “high” or “low,” so why? How could this happen?」

Uehara-san, who walked in the sun, may not understand. But I, as a gloomy person, have experienced it firsthand.

「It’s inevitable that this has happened. So let’s think about what we’re going to do about it.」

「That’s right… So what should we do about it? I have no idea what to do.」

「To be honest, I have no idea what to do either. But now everyone in the class seems to be skeptical about the rumors. So we have no choice but to prevent the rumors from spreading any further. Then we’ll figure out a way to clear up the misunderstanding.」

「Yeah, that seems to be the only way. But we weren’t invited to the chat, so we can’t deny or refuse any more lies being spread in the chat.」

Uehara-san has a valid point.

「Aizawa-san trust Uehara-san, right?」

「Yeah, Mika was mad that there was no way that could happen.」

Fortunately, Aizawa-san may be on our side.

「We need Aizawa-san to deny rumors in the chat rooms to the extent that she doesn’t reveal who she is.」

Defending Uehara-san may now make Aizawa-san a target.

「Okay. I’ll ask Mika for that. Anything else?」

「Then I guess we’ll just have to see how they work out and deal with it.」

She is reluctant but has no other recourse. It is not easy to grab them by the tail because they are sneaking around and hiding. It would be much better if they stood in front of me and harassed me.

I requested that Uehara-san behave as she always does. This is because avoiding each other might give the misunderstanding that there is something to be guilty of.

I have no choice but to prepare myself for an endurance battle until a resolution is reached.

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