Chapter 72: A Chat with Kato-san
It was another new day, but for Aragaki Takiya, there was nothing worth describing—it was just the same repetitive routine of waking up and making breakfast. He was actually the type of person who could endure loneliness; doing these things repeatedly didn't make him feel bored. However, it wasn't until he arrived at school that he heard a piece of news that broke the monotony.
"Hmm... apparently some brave soul went to confess to Shiina Mahiru, only to be rejected with a smile. Then, because of that smile she gave while rejecting him, he misunderstood and thought he just wasn't trying hard enough, eventually shouting that he wouldn't give up or something like that."
"I really didn't expect a light novel plot to actually happen in reality."
Aragaki Takiya muttered to himself. Although his voice wasn't loud, every single word reached the ears of the short-haired girl in the front row.
"Is Aragaki-kun very interested in these things?"
A soft voice came from ahead. Aragaki Takiya guessed it was Kato Megumi almost instantly without any hesitation. In fact, this was a question with only one possible answer: the voice came from in front of him, and combined with that gentle tone, it was undoubtedly Kato Megumi.
"How should I put it... I'm not particularly interested, but it is fresh news in the school after all. It's not bad to learn about it occasionally."
Looking at Kato Megumi, who showed a hint of curiosity, Aragaki Takiya explained patiently. After all, his social circle was extremely narrow—even smaller than Aki Tomoya's—so most of the time he had to rely on outside news to wash away the blandness of life.
"I thought you liked Classmate Shiina too, Aragaki-kun. They say there are several pursuers of hers in our class as well."
Kato Megumi spoke softly, but Aragaki Takiya couldn't read any useful information from her eyes. He originally thought Kato Megumi would have some sort of emotional reaction to this, like envy or curiosity, but unfortunately, her expression was very calm, as if she were just relating an ordinary matter.
"Liking her or whatever is definitely impossible. After all, we've never spent any time together, and I don't even know her personality. It couldn't possibly be love at first sight."
Aragaki Takiya explained this verbally, but in his heart, he couldn't help but think of what happened yesterday. Logically speaking, that could be considered the start of him slowly getting to know her.
"What about you, Kato? Is no one pursuing you? You're clearly very pretty."
"Eh, me?"
Hearing Aragaki Takiya mention her, even though it was just a simple compliment, Kato Megumi felt her heart skip a beat.
"I don't get that kind of treatment at all. Because my presence is so low, there are hardly even a few people I can talk to. Confessions and things like that basically don't happen."
The short-haired girl spoke, her gaze involuntarily turning toward the boy before her.
"You don't really need to worry about having a low presence, Kato..."
Speaking of this topic, Aragaki Takiya seemed to perk up. He sat up straight and let out a soft breath.
"Actually, whether your presence is low or whether you're eye-catching doesn't matter. The most important thing is to make yourself happy. That's the rule that matters most, right?"
Looking at the girl in front of him, Aragaki Takiya said what he had always wanted to say.
"But, even though that's true, being ignored by people is sometimes quite distressing."
Listening to Aragaki Takiya's words, Kato Megumi felt there was some truth to them, but she had already grown somewhat tired of that feeling of being ignored. Occasionally, she also wanted to be watched, just like... Eriri.
"That is indeed a difficult problem..."
Looking at the girl, Aragaki Takiya could actually understand that feeling of being ignored. However, he didn't have a good solution for it. After all, he was part of that same demographic; it's just that for Kato Megumi it was a natural talent, whereas for him it was a habit developed over time.
"But the situation now should be much better than before, right? After all, you've joined a club, Kato, and as for friends... I should count as one, right?"
"Ah, that's true when you put it that way, but..."
Looking at the smile on Aragaki Takiya's face, Kato Megumi didn't say the second half of her sentence.
In fact, she knew that Aragaki Takiya cared a lot about Eriri. To be honest, when she first discovered this, Kato Megumi was quite supportive of him. After all, he had helped her, and now that he had someone he wanted to pursue, how could she not support him?
But later, through her interactions with Aragaki Takiya and Eriri, Kato Megumi began to hesitate. This was because Eriri didn't have Aragaki Takiya in her eyes; or rather, Eriri's attention was completely drawn away by Aragaki Moeha.
Having reached this point, Kato Megumi didn't really have anything she wanted to say. She didn't want to remind Aragaki Takiya just because of her discovery, as that would be impolite. But later... through their daily interactions, she gradually came to understand the boy's personality and his little habits. Moreover... Kato Megumi thought back to that umbrella at home; as his friend, she had unintentionally received a lot of special treatment.
Kato Megumi wasn't sure when Aragaki Takiya had developed feelings for Eriri, but she knew that on that day, Aragaki Takiya had given the umbrella to her. That was enough.
"Well, since Eriri doesn't like Aragaki, then leave him to me..."
"Kato, Kato..."
The girl in deep thought suddenly heard calls in her ear. When she snapped back to her senses, she saw the boy's hand waving in front of her.
"Hmm?"
"Class is about to start, and the teacher is already here."
The boy reminded her in a low voice.
Hearing Aragaki Takiya's reminder, Kato Megumi gradually pulled her thoughts back. However, even as she listened seriously to the teacher's lecture, her mind couldn't help but drift far away... Ring ring ring~
"Alright, that's all for today. Everyone can take a break now..."
At noon, the moment the bell rang, the teacher on the podium also seemed liberated. He announced the end of class without hesitation, then picked up his textbook and walked out of the classroom.
"As expected, teachers who don't drag out the class are highly praised by students."
Silently giving the teacher a good review in his heart, Aragaki Takiya stood up. Hmm... today he didn't plan to go buy bread; he planned to go to the school cafeteria.
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