Butsuriteki ni Koritsu shiteiru Ore no Koukou Seikatsu Volume 1 Chapter 2

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2. Two Isolated People Formed an Alliance, But Two Isolated People Cooperating Doesn’t Really Change Much

We’ll cooperate in friend-making endeavors–– that’s what Takawashi said yesterday.

However, she didn’t give me any concrete instructions on what to do. I thought about asking her on LINE, but I don’t know if I’m close enough to do that with a girl. Also, I don’t have her LINE info.

I could try asking her during lunch tomorrow, I thought, and after more deliberation, I decided against it.

To recap what that deliberation included:

• Takawashi was exerting an aura that made it hard to talk to her. I don’t think there’s any good time to talk to her, actually.
• To start talking to her after yesterday would be just a bit too friendly.
• If an obvious loner like me starts talking to Takawashi, it would stand out too much.
• Furthermore, they’ll start thinking I’m some weirdo who thinks he’s got a shot with Takawashi.
• I’ve got no ideas on how to help Takawashi out of loserhood. And it’s painful to try to think of any.

Because of the aforementioned reasons, I wasn’t able to talk to Takawashi. I’m not a coward. This is just a logical decision. I’m not a coward.

Since Takawashi didn’t come talk to me, on the surface, my status of “Doesn’t have any people he can confidently call friends” hasn’t changed. Not that I would count Takawashi as a friend.

Not that this matters, but where is the border of friends and acquaintances supposed to be located? In situations where you usually say “I heard a friend of mine say…”, even if I had friends, I would say “an acquaintance of mine” instead, just in case. The UN needs to create guidelines for defining friendship.

I wonder what she’s doing? Being such a mysterious person (though I have a good understanding of one part of her emotions), I can’t get a read on her.

As I grapple with anticipation and anxiety–– mostly anxiety–– I spend my time listening to first period Ancient History.

I don’t mean to brag, but (when someone says this, a brag usually comes next) my grades are pretty good. Not on Takawashi’s level, but fairly high.

Because I’ve got no friends to chit-chat with during breaks, I spend my time reading textbooks and problem sets. Compared to people with lots of friends, I’ve got an extra hour to study.

In “English Vocabulary Made Easy”, I can read almost all of the words in question, and the sample sentences as well. It’s something I’m good enough to boast about–– if boasting about it weren’t so embarrassing.

It’s a place of study! Why can’t I even boast about being good at studying!? Even athletes brag about how good their abilities are! You’d never see a sports magazine talk about how good an athlete’s social skills are!

While I’m getting pissed off on the inside, on the outside I peacefully manage to reach the first break. Since I have no one to talk to, I prepare my handout for the upcoming world history class. Memorization subjects are a loner’s specialty.

A small distance away, some guys gather around to talk about a game.

“I managed to add the Wind Elemental in Salt Lake to my team.” “For real? I’ve only got the Wind one.” “I wanna try boosting it with items soon. I need like 15 more Moon Droplets.”

Ahh, it’s that Elemental-something-something-Story social game.

I did try getting into it, but I had to stop for one reason.

It really emphasized “being more fun with lots of friends”. Are you kidding me!? Let me play alone in peace! Aren’t games supposed to let you have fun by yourself!?

In an anime I watched, the partner in crime to the main character appeared 5 minutes in and I had to stop watching. How am I supposed to relate to something like that?! That’s the type of thing I can’t tolerate!

I stare silently at the World History handout. While you were having fun on your break, I studied about Innocentius III. I already know his date of birth and death! We’ll see who’s laughing when the tests come around. Entrance exams are where loners can claim victory over normies! That’s why I’ll endure these miserable breaks as many times as–– yeah, no, I still want friends! I just want someone to talk to!

––ahem. A very intentional cough makes me lift my head up.

Takawashi is standing in front of me holding a book.

“Can I call you Tustudius? I think it’s cool. It makes you sound like a Roman.”

“You’re obviously just calling me too studious! Also, don’t get too close to me. You’ll get tired out from my Drain.”

Takawashi is surprisingly close to me. Probably around 120cm. This is a new record among girls who know what my ability is. Usually they kinda run away when they see me in the halls. It’s not gonna make you fall over in an instant, you know.

It might be because she’s so used to intimidating people. Approaching people is a good way to do that. Girls that Takawashi talks to usually look miserable.

It’s close to impossible to win against Takawashi. Unless it’s a contest of how many friends you have (or how good of a person you are).

At least from my perspective, Takawashi always acts like she’s trying to fight an enemy, not make friends. We’ve got to fix that. It’s not going to be useful in most situations.

By the way, Takawashi needs to keep eye contact for 3 seconds to activate her ability.

There really isn’t a way to avoid eye contact your entire life, unless you’re blindfolded.

In order to keep her privacy safe, she has to avoid staring for too long.

Especially in a classroom, where activating it would reveal it to so many people.

I have to avoid that in order to adhere to our alliance.

“Rejoice. I’ve discovered a way for you to get friends, Gure-kun.”

With her free hand, Takawashi makes a peace sign for an instant, then stops.

To think that there would be someone who would do that much for me…!

“First, I tried looking up “Making Friends” “Hagure Narihira” on my phone. It didn’t return any useful information.”

“What a crude way to do it! And I would be scared if it did return anything!”

“That’s right. That’s why I borrowed this from the library.”

Takawashi places the book on my desk.

It’s titled Making Friends, Guaranteed.

“I’m impressed you had the courage to borrow this.”

“I used my older sister’s card.”

Okay, so she’s the type of person who’d sacrifice a family member to keep her own reputation up. Noted.

“The 5th chapter, There’s People Even YOU Can Befriend is very helpful.”

I’d hate to have other people hear this conversation. Fortunately, everyone else is psychologically and physically avoiding us. And being more than 1 meter apart doesn’t make it look like a friendly conversation. It makes passing objects hard though.

“In other words, you just have to find a person who can make friends with anyone.”

After saying that, Takawashi takes out a copy of the class register and thrusts it onto me. Even though I know what she’s really like, Takawashi still intimidates me. Ice Princess really isn’t an exaggeration. One part of the register is highlighted in yellow.

It says Nojima Daisuke.

“You have a point here…”

This guy has the special ability to create treats.

To be specific, he can make treats that can fit on top of his palm. He can’t create cakes.

When you meet him, the sight of him handing out a treat to you leaves a lasting first impression. And he’s quite sociable too. Both guys and girls feel natural talking to him.

If you want, you can walk up to him and ask, “Can you make me a snack? One of those corn-flavored ones, please,” and he’ll do it for you.

I see. It gives me a motive to talk to him, and it’s a cheap snack, so it’s not hard to ask for.

I don’t have a face that would scare people off when talking to them. A casual, friendly talk should be achievable. It’s worth a try.

“Now stop sitting there and go. Those without power have no choice but to toil.”

“I find it hard to agree with your philosophy, but I get that I have to do this.”

I stand up from my chair. If I don’t move away from Takawashi soon, it’ll be all kinds of trouble. If I end up feeling guilty towards her, I’ll feel like I lost something.

Okay. Stay calm. Stay calm. Just say you’re a bit hungry and you want a cookie. Then when you eat it, say something like “This is really good!. It tastes like ******!”, compare it to a popular brand. And once you get into the topic of sweets, he’ll probably become engaged in the conversation.

“Ah- Nojima-kun, good work today,” I say as I weave my way through the other classmates and stand a slight distance away.

“Good work, Narihira-kun~.”

Nojima-kun drawls the end of his sentence a bit. Both his voice and his face are a bit androgynous.

“I’m a bit hungry…. Could you make me a cookie?”

Perfect so far. I stop one meter in front of him. Nojima-kun doesn’t seem to be outwardly repulsed. This probably seems to be an acceptable distance to him.

“Sure, no problem–– O Treatfathers, grant thy sugar upon this starving lamb!”

Nojima-kun’s special ability needs words to activate. There’s all kinds of activation conditions for special abilities.

A cookie drops onto the desk.

Okay. Now I just have to eat it and say it’s delicious. Then we can start talking about sweets.

I put the cookie in my mouth. First thing I say should be “Delicious!”.

“Blegh! Gross! This is the worst thing I’ve eaten all year!”

I’m on the verge of vomiting. It tastes like concrete battered by 30 years of storms.

Don’t tell me, he made it taste terrible on purpose? Am I being bullied!?

“Eh? That’s not possible. There’s no way one of the sweets I made would–– blegh! It tastes like ground up concrete! If you can even say it has taste!”

This reaction tells me it probably wasn’t on purpose…

There’s one possibility I can think of.

“Sorry. I’m going to the washroom for a bit. Can you make another one while I’m gone? If my theory is correct, the next one should come out normal.”

“O-okay…”

After I returned from the washroom (as a loner often does during his break), the cookie I munched on was as sweet as expected.

Seems like my power had an effect on the cookie making.

Seeing how it struck a serious blow to his pride, I decide to abandon this plan.

Right then, I feel an air of malice being directed at me.

I turn around to see what it could be, and find Takawashi standing there.

She follows me back to my chair, intending to hold an evaluation meeting.

“So, what was that supposed to be? I thought you were standing one meter away.”

She’s sharp.

“The one-meter standard is just a standard. It doesn’t necessarily mean there are no effects. Most likely, it had an effect on the cookie-making process.”

“That makes sense. When the treats are being made, some different form of energy is probably being used. In that case, it wasn’t limited to the normal one-meter range for humans, and ended up affecting just the taste.”

Just as I thought, Takawashi’s comprehension skills are a cut above the rest.

But besides that… a power that drains taste? Why does this power only cause suffering…?

“In other words, if you and The Guy Who Is Liked By Everyone And Loved by No One, Just Like Junk Food–– I mean Nojima-kun–– try to group up, it won’t work out. It’s all negatives for him.”

She just called Nojima-kun a horrible nickname!

Our first candidate was a bust.

“For artisans, it takes 3 years before you’re allowed to use some tools, and it takes 20 years before you’re considered a master. The same might be true of making friends.”

“After 3 years, high school’s already done!“

Takawashi and I talk 1.5 meters away from each other.

The floor is marked with tape so it’s easy to tell.

This might infringe on my human rights, but I wouldn’t want to harm a classmate’s health. If that happened, I would be so guilty that I couldn’t be their friend anymore. So the tape stays there.

Isshinden-san, who sits in front of me, is talking with someone elsewhere. It’s probably hard to come back because Takawashi is standing there.

“Nah, you’re probably the main reason why…“, I mutter to myself. “Oh yeah, why don’t we discuss our strategy over LINE instead?”

If we just keep doing this through conversation, it’ll all be leaked to Isshinden-san. And revealing all your secrets to someone who doesn’t want to hear them sounds like some form of harassment.

For a short while, Takawashi gives no reply.

She stares at the window like somebody just pointed out an unusual bird.

Breaks in the conversation make me anxious. I know it’s wrong, but I have the urge to look into her eyes and read her thoughts.

Maybe she thinks I’m getting carried away? Is a loner wanting to use LINE as preposterous as a gorilla trying to use a microwave?

I can’t look her in the eyes. It’ll reveal her ability to the whole class. If I broke my alliance on the first day, I’d be lower than scum.

Whether to hide or reveal her ability, it’s within her right to privacy. (Though to confirm that you’re an ability user, the school has knowledge of all student’s abilities.)

There might be people with dirty or perverted powers. Just like how you wouldn’t want a random stranger to know the intricate details of your hobbies, they do their best to hide what a loner’s special ability is. Takawashi’s life is proof of that.

Of course, there’s a lot of people who are just fine letting their ability be known to everyone. There’s some that even consider it a part of their personality. And of course, there are those like me where it needs to be disclosed for public safety.

If you think I’m gross, then just say it! At least I’ll know your answer. Being ignored is painful!

I don’t know what else to do, so I decide to try to brush it off by making an embarrassed laugh and––

“Alright.”

––Takawashi says as she stares off in a random direction. I think her voice rose in pitch there.

She turns her palm toward me slightly and waves it.

I guess that’s a sign for “OK”.

I couldn’t make any friends, but I managed to exchange LINE contacts.

★

4th Period is a class about special abilities and how to use them. A very fitting class for this school.

To put it simply––

• Abilities that can control fire work in campgrounds, since they can be used to start campfires.
• Abilities that use water work in fire fighting. They can’t put out large fires, but they can be used to prevent small fires from becoming bigger. They’ve been doing work throughout history.

––are the silly things that they teach you.

It’s actually pretty hard to make use of your ability in your job search. 90% of ability users find a job unrelated to their power.

If a fire ability user was strong enough to burn buildings to ash, they’d probably get a direct invitation to the military. 90% of ability users are a lot more boring than that though. Most of them have no clue how their power could even be useful.

My drain is the shining example of useless abilities. There’s pretty much no workplace that would benefit from weakening people.

If some of you think that there’s criminal organizations who would want it, think to yourself–– do you want to work in a criminal organization?

“So what other ways are there to use water? Let me ask… the water user Tatsutagawa-san.”

Our special ability class teacher Onji-sensei calls for the Student Council Vice President.

On the seat to my right, a girl with short, bob cut hair stands up.

It’s the Student Council Vice President that I’ve been schoolmates with since grade school, Tatsutagawa Elias.

Her name sounds weird no matter how many times you hear it. It turns out her parents couldn’t decide whether to name her Eri or Asuka, so they just combined them. Please don’t name your kids the way banks name themselves after mergers.

For guys, what they usually end up staring at isn’t her face, but her chest. Also, just because the teacher called someone at the back, it doesn’t mean that you need to turn and look at them. It’s so obvious.

She emanates an aura of pretentiousness that’s befitting of being Vice President.

She was President in middle school, and it seems like she enjoyed the feeling of lording over others.

“To be frank with you, Sensei, water-related abilities have no place fighting fires. That’s because they’re a lot more useful for treating dehydration, or being used for scientific applications. Hmph!”

This girl actually just said “Hmph!” out loud. Someone who can act that smug in broad daylight is pretty rare. On top of that, Elias deliberately turns left to glance at me.

“Being as valuable as they are, it’s obvious that all water users should be graded a solid Contribution Level 5!”

Elias adds that in before sitting down. She just had to shit on me there, huh!?

For some reason, Elias has seen me as an enemy ever since we finished grade school. I really can’t deal with her.

Though she does have a reason to act so haughty. Having a Contribution Level of 5 means you’re basically guaranteed a job. Having this much of a difference due to your ability just proves how unfair life is.

I’m not really clear on how her ability uses water, but there’s a lot of abilities that are pretty hard to demonstrate. That’s probably the case for her ability.

While I was being one-sidedly attacked by Elias, these messages appeared on my LINE.

[Gure-kun, it’s your turn next]

[Find a friend for me]

[Are you leaving me on read right now?]

[Hey, say something]

[Hellooooo]

[Just because you’re a bug, it doesn’t mean you should bug me by ignoring me]

I wonder when we decided that I was a bug.

[Skulking Rat Bastard III ft. Petty Officer Fish Face]

She not only revived the nicknames from yesterday, but they started collabing too!?

I don’t have the leeway to chat with her during a lesson. Elias might just be watching.

I manage to type out [I’ll deal with it after school].

Though I guess this means that I have to think up an idea before the school day is over…. What to do…

Ideas aren’t something you search for. They’re something you create.

…I just thought of a really cool saying, but I still don’t have any ideas. That really didn’t solve anything. Better put more effort into ideas instead of poems.

★

After school, I brought Takawashi to an empty classroom on the highest floor of the building. The chairs and desks are pushed off to the corners, leaving the front half cleared out.

It’s a chore to move to and from the top floor, so none of the clubs use it.

“Is this where my friend candidate is going to show up? I’ll only accept the ones that meet my criteria.”

Does this girl want to make a friend, or does she want to have a subordinate?

“You were really planning to hold an interview, huh? Well, too bad though.”

I placed two chairs facing each other, one meter apart.

As I look at Takawashi, she instantly turns away. Just like a cat when you’re trying to take a picture.

I know that it’s because of her ability, but from an outside perspective, it really is the strangest thing.

“If you’re planning on becoming friendly with someone by playing musical chairs, I don’t think that’ll work.”

Takawashi raises her hands in the air and strikes an exasperated pose.

“Who would even think of doing that!? We’re here to have you simulate speaking with friends.”

I explain my plan to her.

“Takawashi, the reason you have no friends is probably because you’re bad at conversations. Your standards are too high. Almost all friendships start from conversations. So if you get better at that, you should naturally be able to make friends. And here, you don’t need to worry about your ability.”

“So Gure-kun’s my friend in this scenario. I’d be more motivated if it was someone I’d actually want to be friends with, though.”

“Can you not trample on peoples’ kindness from the get-go!?”

“Besides, how can a loner like you instruct me in a practice conversation? You think someone who failed high school math could tutor a college student?”

She points a finger at me. Please don’t point fingers at your speaking partner.

“That’s a fine point you make, Ms. Honor Student, but you’re a bit off.”

I try making a smug face and wagging my right pointer in a “tsk tsk tsk” motion. That was kinda embarrassing. Never doing that again.

“As a loner in the backmost seat of the class, I’m the most well versed in human observation. Even non-loners do unfunny and cringey things sometimes. I’ve collected lots of information regarding that!”

“No matter how many times you watch baseball on TV, it won’t make you a pro player.”

“Making accurate analogies against your instructor is now forbidden!“

Goddammit! I want to quit before I even start!

I sit down on my chair.

Takawashi takes her seat, too. She crosses her arms.

“Who the heck crosses their arms when talking to a friend!? Can you please pick a more neutral pose!?”

“I’m sorry. It’s a habit of mine to not look down on my opponent and exude an air of strength. To underestimate is to lose.”

This girl really believes that there are winners and losers in a conversation.

“Let’s start over and begin the simulation. Think of me as your friend, pick a topic, and try to start a conversation.”

She puts her finger on her cheek while staring at the ceiling. Takawashi thinks.

This gesture done by a pretty girl would normally mean she’s purposefully trying to look cute, but in Takawashi’s case, it’s a natural motion for her to avoid eye contact.

If she didn’t have an ability which reveals her thoughts, she probably would have had an upstanding personality. Just like me, it’s her ability that’s to blame. We’ve done nothing bad. Well, Takawashi’s done some bad things…

“If you died and were reborn as a bug, what would you pick?”

“…I just want to remind you, we’re not simulating an attempt to drive off an annoying guy.”

“Oh my. I was speaking to you as a friend, though.”

That’s her without malice? Well, no use complaining. I’ll try to save this conversation.

“Then, I guess a grasshopper…. Seems like it would be fun to jump really far.”

“Yeah, that suits you. I hope you fly away as far as you can.”

I don’t really feel like I’m being complimented here. And hearing that from a straight face doesn’t feel good. I know it’s hard, but I wish she’d learn to smile. Though if she said that with a smile, it’d probably be worse.

“Okay, so what bug would you like to be reborn as, Takawashi?”

“Huh? Why would I ever want to be reborn as a bug?”

Her face right now makes it seem like what she just said was common sense.

“That’s a problem, right there!”

I rise out of my seat without thinking. Just to stand up of course. Because of my ability, I can’t move closer.

“If you keep treating people with contempt and trying to make fools of them, you’ll never ever make any friends! You have to treat people as equals if you want to make any progress!”

“Gure-kun, do you really consider yourself my equal? Even among warriors, there’s a difference between a Daimyō and a Rōnin.”

“That’s why I said you need to pretend I’m your friend! Forget that I’m Hagure Narihira for one second!”

“Okay, Grasshopper-kun.”

“That’s not your cue to launch another insult!“

This fucking girl! She’s a goddamn genius at making fun of people! Well, I can’t deny she’s a genius when it comes to school, too.

I don’t know if I can keep up an alliance when I’m being bullied with a straight face. Maybe I should let her know that I want to terminate it?

As I think that, the conversation halts.

“……”

“……”

This is awkward.

Both sides thinking of what to say… how to approach the other… I kind of get it. I wonder what normies do when this happens.

I heard a DJ on the radio some time ago say–– “If the conversation stops and you still feel comfortable, then that’s a true friend right there.”. If that’s true, then we aren’t close friends. Well it would be presumptuous to be close friends with someone you met a few days ago.

I want to punch myself for acting a bit haughty earlier. I don’t know how to resolve this awkward situation.

But Takawashi is trying to find a way to get the conversation going again. She’s staring right at my face.

And that’s why eye contact was maintained for several seconds.

Suddenly, the LED message board appeared.

(This is awkward…)

Yeah, me too. I guess those normies laughing and talking for hours at a coffee shop are actually masters of their craft.

(Wait, is Gure-kun actually angry at me? But I’m not used to apologizing, I don’t know what to do. Maybe I teased him too much…)

So all the things she said earlier were supposed to be jokes.

Even though her expression hasn’t changed since she entered the room, there was some change in emotion.

I see. Loners who can’t communicate well can also cause misunderstandings with other loners.

I’ve learned a lesson. The person in question is starting from zero. They might have gaps in their common sense. I’ve got to face this like a teacher would––

(I bet if I shed a tear right now, it would look like the blame’s on Gure-kun. Too bad I can’t cry on command.)

Yep, this girl does have personality issues…

(Ah, but that would be like framing Gure-kun. That’s not very nice.)

Wait, she does have a human heart.

(But if this goes on, I think it’s Gure-kun’s responsibility to fix it, so it’s fine. In this scenario, the one who fumbles first, loses.)

There’s no one else here, why are you strategizing so much!?

“Excuse me, but could you please stop making eye contact with me? If you keep this up, I’ll change your nickname from Gure-kun to The Big Man of the Small Fry World, Hagure Narihira.”

How is that a nickname when it contains my full name? Takawashi’s tone is really aggressive, though.

(When I make eye contact, I don’t know what the other is thinking, and things become even more awkward, so I can’t keep calm. I don’t know what the correct answer is. I really don’t understand why communication isn’t part of the curriculum. Also, I want to look away now…. But if I look away, it feels like I’ve lost to this guy…?)

How are her thoughts about me always so rude…?

But I get that looking in my direction is causing her fatigue. It’s probably too much to ask her to get used to eye contact right now.

Aside from that, her thoughts line up pretty well with something I’m worried about.

“Sorry. I’ll look away. It just happened by accident, I’ll be more careful…”

I need to start over properly here.

“Well let’s move on to something else. Try talking about your interests with a friend. Like for example, music. In case I someday make a friend, I’ve dabbled in most of the common interests and music genres that high schoolers enjoy. Oh, and talk about something appropriate. Don’t diss people.”

“I see. In case an asteroid someday crashes into earth, it’s a good thing you’ve practiced living in a bunker.”

I literally just told you not to diss people.

“Why of course I can talk about my interests. I’ve got quite a few of them, you know?”

Well Takawashi seems into it. I’m happy to cooperate.

“Gure-kun, would you like to talk to me about the music I usually listen to?”

“Of course. You can talk about whatever.”

At that moment, an avalanche of specialized terminology flooded the LED message board.

It seems they’re bands from a genre called shoegaze, but I don’t know any of the band names…

“So these guys are the coolest of the Canadian bands, but they’re so poor that they can’t even afford to rent a studio, and after crowdfunding for the studio fees, they finally managed to release a new album. They’ve probably only sold like 2000 copies worldwide, though. But two thousand is not that bad. There’s bands that only sold 500 copies at retail––”

Takawashi’s spiel goes on and on and on. And even though her expression isn’t changing, her eyes look so full of life. She looks like a parrot freed from its cage and soaring the skies for the first time. That parrot would probably be confused after that, though.

She shifts away from shoegaze and starts talking about techno. And I don’t know any of these artists’ names.

This is bad.

She’s definitely the type to delve obsessively to find new music.

She’s different from hipsters who go out of their way to listen to old bands. Those people tend to fixate on specific bands and artists, so you’d probably be able to follow the conversation. This girl is a pure-blooded enthusiast, and I can’t keep up with her!

“I don’t really like music that emphasizes the vocals. Foreign music tends to have pretty good instrumentals, but Japanese music is just all vocals. Don’t you think that limits your musical diversity?”

“Yeah, that makes sense…”

Ah, jeez, if she disapproves of vocals, then talking about music is gonna go nowhere.

I feel bad since she’s so enthusiastic right now, but I’m gonna have to switch the topic. We’ve completely missed the goal of this exercise.

“Umm, Takawashi, why don’t we talk about sports? What kind of sports do you like?”

This time, the message board is filled with an immense amount of kanji.

And the font is different, too.

It’s kinda like the font they use in Rakugo.

“Well, I’ve got a slight interest in Sumo.”

Ah, that kanji is all Sumo Wrestler names…

Also, a lot of yokozuna and ōzeki I don’t know are listed there.

It’s no wonder, they’re wrestlers from the 70’s and 80’s.

Yep, I see Takawashi’s problem now.

She researches her hobbies so extremely that it’s like she’s competing with herself!

And since she’s so intelligent, it makes it that much harder for others to stay on her level!

I don’t think anyone can chime in when you’re talking about the ’92 Nagoya finals. You weren’t even born yet. You’re not even trying to make it relatable.

This is way harder than I thought it’d be. Let’s stop the conversation for a second.

I have to tell her honestly that it’ll be hard to make friends with the way her conversations go.

But at that moment, it hit me by surprise.

That Takawashi who always had a pout on her face now had a genuine smile there.

That light in her eyes from earlier had now spread to the rest of her countenance.

I’m sure being able to talk about her interests at length has let her be able to soften her demeanor. It’s the natural expression of a beautiful girl, and a smile, to boot! What an immense amount of impact it has. With this, I feel like I can take whatever life throws at me.

“What’s wrong? Did I bore you to sleep?”

In a moment, that gentle face morphs into a stare of distrust.

I felt my heart stop for a second. I thought she’d found out I was captivated by her smile.

“No, it’s nothing…. Well it was boring, but I’m still awake.”

“Boring!? Isn’t this the part where we both get really into the conversation?”

Takawashi slams her hands on the chair several times in protest.

“That’s impossible! Almost no one can reach the high standards of your interests!”

“That’s no problem. If they’re not interested, I’ll thoroughly teach them all the joys of my hobbies.”

Not good. At this rate, no matter what girl she tries to win over, it’ll only end in failure.

“You know… you have to try to match the pace of the other person…. If they’re not as knowledgeable or passionate as you, you have to try to lower yourself to their level.”

“Why do I have to lower myself to match them? If you like something, you’ve got to aim for greater heights. If you can’t do that much, you’ll never grow as a person.”

And there it is! The stereotypical arrogant loner!

The stereotypical arrogant loner (1) wants people who are “inferior” to fix their situation through hard work, and (2) thinks that friendship has value because it’s a relationship that’s meant to improve each other.

I’ve observed and collected data on a variety of loners, so I’m sure this is correct.

They put in more effort than any other type of loner, so a lot of them end up being productive members of society. Once they’re out there, they can easily find others with the same worldview.

That’s why it’s so hard to fix.

“Yes, what you’re saying is a sound argument, but…”

“Well if it’s a sound argument, what’s the problem? No matter what genre it is, If someone talks passionately about something, you should give it a listen.”

I’m trying to tell you why you’re wrong…

First of all, she doesn’t even know the normal definition of a friend.

Friendship tends to be built on sharing interests, but––

It’s gotta be a bit more fluffy than that! A safe, inoffensive topic is the buffer that keeps a conversation enjoyable!

But no matter how I frame it, she just instantly goes “Ridiculous!”. Takawashi is too inflexible.

It’s because she has no friends that she reveres friendship way too much. If a friend can’t contemplate the meaning of friendship with her, she probably wouldn’t even consider that a friendship…

I scratch my head with my left hand, and tell her the simulation is over.

“To sum it up, there’s way too many issues. Your condition is worse than I thought.”

“You just suck at teaching.”

Yeah, those people exist, huh?. The kind whose first instinct is to blame others…

Takawashi sulks a bit. Are you a little kid?

“And besides, you don’t want to let others find out your ability, right? Making friends without making eye contact is hard even for normal people.”

Up until now, Takawashi’s been deftly avoiding keeping eye contact. Conversations may require only speech, but she’d give the impression that she’s not comfortable with them.

“But that’s just because I don’t want my thoughts to leak out before I really get to know someone. I just know something horrible will be written there. At that point, the friendship is as good as done.”

I don’t think most people’s personalities are as warped as Takawashi’s, but I get what she’s saying.

If she ends up thinking “(I’m gonna be friends with this girl. She seems pretty submissive, so it should be fine.)”, it’ll just make people suspicious.

Fiction always lauds friendships that can talk in full honesty, but it’s a long road before you get to that point. You don’t just meet someone with their affection maxed out instantly.

“But… I feel like I’ve grown from this.”

“By what measure!? That’s insanely optimistic!”

…maybe I should have praised her for not being pessimistic instead.

“What exactly do you feel you’ve improved on? I don’t know what it could be, so I’m curious.”

“Uuuuummm…. Well, you know, that sort of…”

Takawashi taps at her left hand with her pointer finger. I think she’s using the rhythm to try to get her thoughts in order.

Seems like she can’t find the right words. Her gaze flits around on the ceiling.

“Don’t make eye contact, okay?”

“If I manage to make eye contact now, that would mean I’m stapled to the ceiling.”

Waiting for your partner to finish talking is an important part of communication, so I wait.

I don’t see a lot of sternness on Takawashi’s face right now.

“It might be the first time in my life I’ve had this much of a back-and-forth with a guy…”

So that’s what it is.

Though it felt less like a back-and-forth, and more like a one-sided assault.

If she tried this hard to hide her ability from other girls, then no doubt she wouldn’t have had a chance to talk to a guy.

Her prickly aura as the Ice Princess is already enough to keep guys away.

Only the ones who are out to meet girls would even go up to talk to her.

“So I think you did a good job, all things considered.”

She’s not smiling, but I think I can take that as a compliment, right? Right?

“Thanks.”

I guess she can thank people properly. Though it looks like she’s saying thanks to the ceiling.

“Okay. Next you should be searching for a girl that matches my interests.”

“I think we’ll try a wait and see approach for now!”

I think it’ll be quite a while before Takawashi makes a friend.

“Well then. I guess it’s my turn to find a friend candidate for Gure-kun.”

I see. So we’ll be taking turns doing this.

“Feel free to raise your expectations.”

Takawashi smiles a wicked grin.

Why do those expressions have the most variations for her?

★

While I shudder to think of what Takawashi is cooking up, it stays peaceful for quite some time.

I just get sent [still thinking] on LINE every morning and evening.

Since I don’t have anything to tell her, I just respond with [got it].

Having a train of [still thinking] [got it] [still thinking] [got it] [still thinking] [got it] lined up, it feels like we’re pounding away at mochi here. Definitely not the LINE conversation of two friends.

The same [still thinking] comes on Thursday night as well. A friend might start up a conversation like “so what did you eat today?”, but that’s not happening here.

“I guess this Loner & Loner team can’t break through this situation…. No, it’s too soon to get cold feet…”

[Come to the simulation room tomorrow. We need to discuss.]

It seems a strange nickname was decided for the 5th floor room. Well, Takawashi’s still trying to think of something.

“Yep, can’t be getting cold feet here.”

At the very least, seeing Takawashi putting in the work puts my mind at ease.

“You know, I don’t think this Loner & Loner pair can break through this situation.”

As I enter the empty classroom, that instantly comes out of Takawashi’s mouth.

“I thought the same thing yesterday…”

“I can’t believe you had the audacity to go back in time and rip off my idea.”

“Why do I always have to be the bad guy here…?”

Takawashi has her arms crossed and has an irritated, sort of low-energy look on her face. Well, she usually has that face on the whole day, so energy has nothing to do with it.

“But you know, I’d like to get something done as soon as possible. It’s the middle of May right now.”

“What do you mean?”

Is June a bad season for making friends? Is there some sort of friendship drought?

“If we head into summer break without any friends, it’ll be all but locked in past the second term. We’ll be loners for the rest of second year.”

“Y-You’re right…!!!”

What an astute analysis from our year’s top scorer.

Confronted with this bleak future, I squat down and hold my head in my hands.

“…oh man, that’s happened to me over and over since middle school, and now another one is about to be added to my history!”

Once summer comes around, you stop seeing the faces of your classmates that you see everyday.

At that point, the once-fluid factors of your personal relationships start to solidify, and that carries on into the 2nd and 3rd terms.

There’s definitely the phenomenon of changing your image over summer break and making a 2nd term debut, but that’s only for people who have the drive and skill to make a debut. And that’s focused on changing your appearance. Changing my appearance won’t change a thing about my ability.

“Once the finals in July are over, class days will start to decrease. That means our time limit is two months.”

“What do I do…? What am I supposed to do…?”

I let my guard down because there was still time before the tests, but now it feels like they’re only three days away.

“That’s why I’ve been thinking. It’s a bit of a hasty plan, but at this point, we have to take some risks. Running away now means we lose.”

While her face stays cool as usual, Takawashi’s words feel white-hot.

“You’re right. If we put in effort, we can make friends! We can do something about the disadvantages of our abilities!”

“Gure-kun, are you ready to firmly grasp friendship in your hands, no matter the risk?”

“Umm… you’re gonna have me do something really crazy, aren’t you?”

This girl used her sister’s library card just to avoid having her borrowing history stained. If she’d do that to her own family, she’d probably use me as a human sacrifice if she had to.

“Worry not. I’ll be acting alongside you on this plan. Strictly speaking, I’m not letting you act alone this time.”

I’m still unclear, but I think I’m being roped up into something ridiculous here.

“The plan starts after school today. There isn’t more than a 1% chance of victory. But I’ll bet that 1% on you.”

I wish you didn’t force me to do something with a 99% failure chance.

My prediction hit the mark.

Takawashi brought me to a certain establishment near the train station.

Karaoke Mansion – Train Station Branch, the sign says. The mascot character seems to be a frog happily holding a microphone. I don’t think this guy can sing anything other than frogsong.

“Several second years, including some classmates, are currently singing there. We’ll be joining them.”

“Wait, Takawashi.”

Even without a mirror, I know my face is deathly pale.

“That’s way too reckless! I’m gonna die! I don’t wanna die!”

It’s a mixed gender after school karaoke session! The only people who do that are the ones at the top of the school social ladder! And isn’t it way too dangerous to put me in a karaoke booth!?

I wanted to grab Takawashi’s arm. I wanted to drag her away from the karaoke. But I couldn’t manage to do that. Because I’m not allowed to do that. Even if it’s not skin-to-skin contact, being at point blank does a lot of damage.

As I tried to figure out a way to stop Takawashi, she instead approached me, and grabbed my arm. Her feet and her head are facing the entrance.

“Let’s get on with it. If we’re gonna die, we might as well die fighting.”

“Let go! You’ll be drained! And we’re really going into this expecting to die!?”

But I couldn’t stop Takawashi.

For her to grab me, she must be considerably determined.

After 30 seconds, strong signs of fatigue will appear. A minute, and you’ll feel too sick to move. It takes 3 minutes of contact to be a risk on your life, but 2 minutes is enough to make you lose consciousness and let go. It’s similar to a fairly strong toxin. I’m not trying to grieve, I’m just stating the sad truth.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll go, so let go of me. You’ll pass out before we reach the karaoke booth.”

As we reach the elevator, our faces are those of people about to go to battle. It doesn’t feel like we’re here to enjoy singing.

“I’ll take the stairs.”

“I can handle a short elevator ride. We’re getting in together.”

It seems she already looked up the room number. It’s a mystery how this friendless girl managed to get this information, but I guess a genius has her ways.

It feels like we’re the Shinsengumi about to raid Ikedaya.

Crashing a group at an after school karaoke is tantamount to a suicide attack.

I’m enveloped in a strange nervousness inside the elevator. With my body completely glued to this corner, I sure feel like a Skulking Rat Bastard. At least I can find comfort in the fact that there’s no one else here.

Not even a top secret military strategy meeting could be this tense. The floor display creeps higher and higher.

“Hey… do you think we’ve got any chance of success…?”

“Gure-kun, how do you think Oda Nobunaga took down Imagawa Yoshimoto, against forces several times his own?”

“Uh, is this a history quiz…?”

“The answer is–– he struck at the heart of their forces. If we want to make friends, we have to approach people who are the least likely to become our friends. If we can make these normies into our friends, then the rest of the 7 billion humans should pose no problem.”

I see. So that’s how it is.

“So it is just a suicide attack!”

“You need to learn to give it up, Gure-kun. Didn’t you just say so? “If we’re gonna die we might as well die fighting.”.”

“YOU said that! Why are you making it sound like it was my line!?”

What do I do? I try my best to think as this elevator gets closer and closer to its destination. Should I grab Takawashi’s hand and make her pass out for a while? Maybe if she’s given time to calm down, she’ll realize this spur-of-the-moment decision was a bad idea.

But can a loner even grab a girl’s hand?

No, he can’t!

Okay, something other than her hand–– that’s even worse!

And so, I can’t stop Takawashi. That being said, I’m not enough of a scumbag to run away and leave her here by herself. I’m worried about her, so I have to accompany her!

The world might seem like it’s filled with limitless possibilities, but that’s a lie. There’s a lot more situations that are like an RPG giving you just a Yes or No option. I can’t break free of this scripted sequence!

“And, Gure-kun, I, I’ll be fighting too…”

Takawashi says that, her head hung low and her fists clenched. It’s not like Takawashi’s having an easy time with this either.

The creaky elevator sounds out in a robotic voice.

“You have arrived at the 8th floor.”

For a second there, I thought I heard “You are to die on the 8th floor.”. So we’re finally here…

“It’s alright, the number 8––”

“––is a sign of prosperity, right?”

“Well, there’s also the idiom “blocked on all eight sides”.”

“Why’d you have to go and jinx it!?“

We walk down the hallway to the karaoke room. I’m just expecting all these rooms to be filled with poison gas, killing me when I open them.

“Excuse me, do you have room for two more?”

Takawashi opens the door in one swift motion.

Without a moment’s delay, three girls send a glare that says “Eugh–… it’s the Ice Princess“.

We’re completely uninvited guests. Takawashi Enju, the girl with both the highest grades and the sharpest tongue, is someone they absolutely don’t want to deal with.

In the spacious party room, there’s three guys on the left facing three girls on the right. In terms of spaciousness, it should be fine if we can get people to move closer to the corners. But then it’d be like asking them to cram themselves in closer. I can’t do that!

Why does this feel so much like a mixer? This seems too improper. Aren’t mixers supposed to be for people 18 and older?

But it’s strange. If I’m to believe we’re uninvited guests, then Takawashi wouldn’t have been able to enter in the first place. But the three girls’ reactions were very unnatural. Maybe they didn’t approve of Takawashi coming?

“Ah, sorry. Takawashi-san overheard and asked about the karaoke…. We didn’t know there was someone else coming, though… ahh, it’s the Drain guy…”

The guy with the dyed hair apologetically tries to explain. I’m a bit hurt by the fact that they look so disappointed.

So that’s it. Takawashi’s seat is in the middle of the class. She eavesdropped on the conversation and asked to join. The guy probably thought he got lucky to have more girls around.

It’s hard to show off something like grades, but Takawashi’s beauty is something that’s obvious to everyone. Even normie guys who are used to being around girls would find it hard to turn down a request from the Ice Princess.

I sit across Takawashi, close to the door. The right half of my body is off the sofa.

“What songs do you sing, Takawashi-san?” “What do you want for drinks? I’ll contact the front desk.”

The guys immediately chat up Takawashi.

So this is the power of normies!

These guys aren’t showing any signs of weighing their options, they’re just going straight for Takawashi. All the other girls look taken aback by their sudden change in attitude.

But the guys are just staying true to their instincts.

If I want to make friends, I probably have to be this reckless too.

But I don’t have that power. My sociable behavior stat is close to zero.

And this place is way too cramped.

“Huh, I… feel a little sick right now…”

––one of the girls says.

“Ah, it’s probably because Narihira-kun is here. He drains the energy of anyone close to him.”

A girl from our class gives that answer. She’s just stating the truth, but it hurts.

“Oh, it’s that one meter guy. Mosquitoes that land on him die, right?”

––another girl says, her face showing displeasure. That’s an exaggeration! Stop making stuff up about me and turning me into an urban legend!

Putting me in a closed space like a karaoke room is probably a small act of terror.

“I-I think that distance should be safe enough. But just in case, I’ll move further to the back…”

I move along the U-shaped sofa. I see the others making awkward smiles. It really shows on their faces. Okay, this should be the safest position. All the students in front of me are each trying to carry out their plans. Takawashi being aloof. The guys going after Takawashi. The other girls… just hating Takawashi.

I feel like a god observing humans from an outside perspective. Probably a god of misfortune, though.

The guys try to bring up all kinds of conversations with Takawashi.

Her responses are in the realm of “Sorry, I don’t get it.” and “Not really interested.”. Just entirely apathetic.

That’s to be expected. If you wanted to make a friend, you wouldn’t start with the opposite sex. Takawashi is no exception. The guys are just like cleric characters trying to spam instakill spells on the final boss.

And even when someone’s singing, the guys are undeterred, still trying to chat up Takawashi. I’m pretty sure we’ve lost sight of the goal of karaoke here. This is an insult to the artists.

But there’s a bright side to this.

These normies are just using the mindset of “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”.

Even someone unpopular has a chance of going out with someone if they just try to pick up 20 different people.

At the very least, it’s better than an all-or-nothing gamble on one person.

Because these guys pull out all the stops when talking to girls, they’ve managed to get girlfriends and female friends!

I may normally see normies as my enemy, but right now, I have to give them my respect! I don’t have anywhere near this much charisma. If I tried this, people would just avoid me. If that were me, one word of rejection would have my heart in tatters! In order to improve my human relationships, do I need to learn to suppress my emotions…?

Takawashi seems exhausted too. She’s picked up and put down her glass of juice several times.

I can relate. That’s what I do to buy time when I don’t know how to continue the conversation. I’m not talking because I’m drinking juice, that’s what I’m telling them.

This moment is definitely an ordeal for Takawashi.

On the other side, you’ve got the three other girls, chatting about something and laughing.

There’s a wall built up between them and the Takawashi side, and they have no plans of tearing it down. Forget friend candidates, they’re just enemies now.

I’m the only one left out.

I’m painfully aware of the sounds of the girls and the guys chatting. Especially the sounds of laughter.

We barged our way in here, but I just got ignored, as usual.

“Ah, I knew this would happen.”

While a recent hit song about the sadness of youth plays, I murmur alone to myself.

Of course, no one can hear it. That’s why I say it, because I know no one will hear.

“Even being in the same place as them won’t change anything.”

I’m someone completely off the social ladder.

The people on the top rung know that, and they treat me like I’m not here.

They’re not doing anything wrong. That’s the correct course of action.

Besides, is there anybody who would go out of their way to try to befriend somebody who doesn’t have friends? If you do, that person will see you as someone to cling onto.

It really is depressing.

If the roles were reversed, I’d do the same thing.

It’s different from a physical act of kindness, like lending train fare to a person who lost their wallet. Physical acts of pity are easy to do.

Making friends with a friendless person is out of the scope of normal goodwill.

As each person finishes their song, all the others go “That was great!” or “You’re so good at singing!”.

While that happens, I just sit here quietly.

I’m not really friends with them, so speaking up would be rude. Also, I’m too far away to talk normally.

It might look weird if I enjoy this as an outsider, so I put a bored look on my face. But to be bored here would also be a bother. If I had some sort of phasing ability, I’d like to hide inside the wall right now.

Ahhh, this situation is the worst. Having fun here would seem gross, and being unhappy would be annoying. I call this the “Loner Hyper-Awkwardness Phenomenon”.

At this point, I might as well just quit––

“Gure-kun, you’re up next.”

Takawashi says that as she hands me the mic.

By that action alone, I feel like I’ve been saved. That’s just how much I was cut off from the rest of the room.

“I’ll give you one piece of advice. If you try to pick a joke song to try to be funny, all you’ll get is the cold shoulder from everyone.”

“I know…. I’ve personally learned that in middle school…”

If you’re with friends, they’d say “The heck is that song, man!?” and have a good laugh about it. With strangers, they won’t laugh, or even talk about it. I’d rather they just kill me!

Don’t worry, Takawashi. I ain’t going down without a fight, either.

I know the popular songs. I chose a band that high schoolers like to sing. I’ll be cool enough to overwrite the entire mood here!

I grip the mic with everything that I have.

I’d say I’m pretty good at singing. My pitch control should be perfect.

However–– no one’s looking at me.

The three girls are using the song selector, looking at the drink menu, and playing with their smartphones.

Takawashi is asked by a guy about her LINE or something. During the interlude, I hear the following exchange.

“Oh, my phone’s an older model… it can only register three people…”

“Then just delete one of the other guys.” “Wha-! Princess, your jokes Princess-level, too!”

“You guys… seem like the type to be the first victim of a serial killer in a horror movie…”

“Don’t worry! I did Judo in middle school!” “You know, I’ve actually met a Kuchisake Onna.”

Takawashi isn’t expressionless now. Her face clearly says “annoying”. Under normal circumstances, she never makes that sour of a face. Being hit by several waves of damage is taking its toll on her.

“Fine, I can trade contacts with you… but I’m just gonna leave you on read, though…”

“That’s fine! C’mon, send me your contacts!” “Me too!”

I move my eyes back to the TV screen and stop observing the rest of the room.

How well I sing doesn’t really matter at all.

If I were in a band manga, my song would be the one to inspire the protagonists to start a band when they hear it–– but no one’s listening.

Just a song from a popular artist, and my wasted effort. It’s all because I’m isolated. A song sung by an isolated person has no value.

Two of the girls already went to the restroom. The perfect time to do so is when someone you don’t care about is singing.

I’ve failed this mission.

Because of my ability… because I’m a loner… I’m not even seen as a person.

This has to count as some kind of discrimination. There’s a clear handicap here, if it’s not discrimination, does that mean it can get even worse? Am I supposed to take responsibility for this? Isn’t this insane? Is life just insane?

Once my portion ends, I stop the song and turn off the mic.

“Sorry…. I’ve got someplace to be, so I’ll be going on ahead…”

I take some money from my wallet and place it on the table. Nobody even notices that.

At least let me fight on equal terms. Maybe if it was in sports, I could make a mark. Dumbass. Even if a loner wins a trophy, that won’t get him any friends.

In novels and anime, a school for ability users would have tournaments and ranked matches and fights in a stadium. But reality doesn’t have that. Most ability users have powers that make them only slightly different from a normal person. And even a fighting ability user can be beaten with a handgun.

“Ah… I feel really sick now… this sucks…”

The one girl left in the room saying that was the last straw for me. Maybe she was less than a meter away.

I take my bag and stand up. I force my way through the small gap between the table and the seat.

“Thanks everyone.”

“Hold on! Gure-kun, wait!”

Takawashi chases after me. Of course, we can’t just talk at the very front of the room. People might spread rumors that there’s drama between us. We move to the front of the elevator.

“That environment is too harsh on me.”

Ignoring the fact that I’m a loner, I’m just a danger there.

“After seeing how they acted, I realize that to normies, I don’t even cross their mind. There’s no value in interacting with me. And besides, physically interacting with me is trouble.”

In the end, a loner doesn’t have any real worth. I’ve come to realize that once again.

Takawashi doesn’t say anything right now. She’s probably sick of me. But she doesn’t look like she wants to toss me aside. Maybe she feels some responsibility for the plan she cooked up.

With shaking fists, Takawashi lightly slams the wall.

Bap, it weakly sounds out. Just like how an Ice Princess would.

And with cloudy eyes, Takawashi stares at mine.

(It was hard on me, too. I couldn’t even find an opportunity to talk to a girl.)

Her true feelings show themselves on the LED message board.

(The whole time, I hated myself more and more. It felt even worse than being trapped in my cage of loneliness. I ended up cursing the fact that there were other people in the room. I always keep seeing the bad in others, and I can never find the intention to become their friend. That’s why… that’s why…)

To have these feelings put into words and linger in your memory is too much. That’s why she can only say it using her ability.

(…when Gure-kun left, I was relieved. I thought this was my chance to get out, too. I couldn’t be of any help to you at all. I’m so sorry.)

Not a word escapes my mouth. I simply keep nodding at her.

Even in this situation, I’m relieved. Takawashi felt the same way.

Takawashi lets out a deep sigh. It seems letting all her thoughts out lifted a weight off her shoulders.

“I guess shock therapy isn’t the way to do it. Two Oda Nobunagas were defeated by Imagawa Yoshimoto.”

After casually revising history, Takawashi puts her hand on her lips and gets lost in thought.

Then, one meter away from me, she raises a peace sign.

“What? What does that mean? Even though we lost, you’re making a victory sign?”

“That’s not it, moron.”

(That’s not it, moron.)

Even her inner thoughts are calling me a moron.

“We’re moving to phase two.”

“Phase two…?”

When Takawashi says it, that simple phrase has a strange persuasiveness to it.

“Up until now, we’ve tried our best to make connections with people who aren’t loners. Our battle at the karaoke today was the epitome of that. Right, Gure-kun?”

“Yeah, I get that much.”

“However, in our high school, there are people whose abilities shackle them down. By my research, I’ve found about 23 potential loners. If you include people who have trouble with interpersonal relationships, the number goes even higher.”

That’s a lot more than I expected.

“That’s gotta be an exaggeration”

“Yeah, it’s very exaggerated.”

“Then what was the point of that!?”

You’re really gonna play that up just to lie to me? We’re supposed to be allies, you know!?

“The number’s a little blown up, but there are still loners in our high school. And problems with relationships are universal. You could even say that all literature is related to interpersonal strife. All literature is written by loners, anyway.

“Okay, that’s an exaggeration.”

Apologize sincerely to all the writers of the world.

“Considering the size of the demographics, you’d think almost all novels would be about normies living their best life. But those novels are few and far between. Instead, novels about interpersonal relationships are rising in number.”

“If I were forced to read a novel that only contained normies partying and having fun…. That’s a new kind of torture…. Anyway, trying to analyze this is just painful.”

“What I’m trying to say is that there has to be some loners left in our school.”

(And stop remarking at everything I say. So annoying.)

Even her inner thoughts are insulting me…

“If we target these people who have problems with relationships, making friends should be easier. Yes, if we can’t get a normie on our side, this time we’ll go after miserable loners just like us!”

While I wish she’d do something about her condescending attitude, especially in the way she says “miserable loners just like us”, this is the most promising plan so far.

People who’ve endured the same things are more likely to sympathize with each other.

“Got it. We’ll go with that.”

As soon as Takawashi nods back, she staggers a bit and leans on the wall. Then, I hear tired breathing from her. It’s the exhaustion flooding back after the adrenaline fades away.

“I didn’t notice how close I got…. Sorry…”

I only noticed just now that I had approached her subconsciously. And how many years have I had this ability!?

“No, it’s probably… just stress. From breathing the same air as normies.”

Takawashi’s face relaxes, as if some dark shadow had been driven out of her.

And there’s something I realized just now. Takawashi didn’t compromise one bit. We ended up being driven back, but she entered that karaoke room with full determination.

I’ve got to do something for her, too.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here. There’s nothing left to do.”

I push the elevator button and step away.

The elevator arrives soon after. Like it’s telling us to leave immediately.

As we enter, Takawashi looks in my direction.

“Are you not getting on, Gure-kun?”

“If I get on the elevator, it’ll just exhaust you more.”

Just before the door shuts, Takawashi says this.

“Your singing was great.”

I race down the spiral stairs to get outside.

A long, winding path, just like my life has been and will be.

We meet up in front of the karaoke building.

“My house is to the south. And you, Takawashi?”

“Ah, so it’s the opposite. I guess this is where we say goodbye.”

Our area, Hachiouji, is very different south and north of the station. The bus routes are quite different, too. I guess Takawashi’s a northerner, huh?

Right before I turn around, I remember something I want to ask her.

“By the way Takawashi, what’s your ability’s Contribution Level?”

“It’s an easy Level 1. It obviously serves no purpose. You could’ve figured it out without asking.”

Reluctantly saying this, Takawashi’s expression becomes even more sour than usual.

“But at least that’s better. Mine’s Level 0.”

“Huuuuh!? I’ve never even heard of a Level 0 student existing!”

Her voice is in disarray. I guess it’s a first for her, too.

“If you think about it, doesn’t that mean it’s like the strongest ability owned by a battle protagonist?”

“Just to remind you, battles don’t exist in real life.”

I let out a self-deprecating smile. I’ve gotten really good at this expression.

In normal daily life, Drain only serves to inflict pain on others. There’s no benefits. Zero. It doesn’t drain the Level of others and become Level infinity.

“That’s why you shouldn’t be discouraged that your Contribution Level is low. There’s people out there lower than you.”

“You know, I’ve never once thought I was lower than you, Gure-kun.”

“I expected that, but your words still hurt!”

Can you at least act all mushy towards me once per day? It’s gonna be really tough otherwise.

Well, time to leave.

“See you later, Takawashi.”

Takawashi lazily waves her right hand at me.

“Thank you, Gure-kun.”

It’s a “Thank you” instead of a Goodbye.

“Thanks as well.”

“You went through hell because of me, and you say Thank you? What a masochist.”

She giggles and flashes a mean-spirited smile, and quickly turns the other way.

She may have been making fun of me, but a beautiful girl’s precious smile is something I’m glad to see.