Chapter 129: How a Genius Loves (4)
The next morning, I ate breakfast and headed to school.
Of course, alone—without anyone by my side.
When I arrived at school, the shoe lockers and desk drawers were overflowing with letters as usual.
It would have been strange if I didn’t have any popularity—after all, I was a former famous idol and now being called a super rookie in the baseball world.
Normally, I would have thrown all the letters away, but for some reason, today I felt curious about their contents.
“Should I open one?”
I picked up the most plain-looking letter from the top and opened it.
“Kirishima Sumire?”
The letter was from a girl in the same grade named Kirishima Sumire.
It was filled with words of constant support and wishes for me to always be happy.
More than any selfish motive, it was pure encouragement and heartfelt well-wishes. Reading it, I stood up from my seat.
“Yeah… This time, I should meet someone who genuinely likes me.”
I got up and went looking for Kirishima Sumire, wandering through the third-year classrooms.
It didn’t take long to find her.
The moment I entered the first classroom and asked about Kirishima Sumire, a girl who had been dying to talk to me eagerly guided me to her.
I arrived at the class where Kirishima Sumire was, and the girl pointed her out.
When I looked where she pointed, I couldn’t help but be startled.
“Uh…”
I had definitely seen her somewhere before.
I racked my brain, trying to place her face.
“Fan meeting.”
She was the girl who had attended every single one of my fan meetings during my idol days.
Come to think of it, she had also been there during my baseball games, concerts, and performances.
Back then, though, I had been so obsessed with Arimura Noa that I hadn’t paid attention to any other girl.
I never imagined she was a student at the same school.
I walked straight up to Kirishima Sumire.
“Um… Kirishima?”
“Eek…!”
Kirishima Sumire clearly hadn’t expected me to come find her. Her eyes widened in shock.
“So your name is Kirishima Sumire. You never told me at the fan meetings.”
“Ah… I was too embarrassed…”
Kirishima Sumire’s face turned bright red, as if it might burst.
“I read your letter. It was really nice. If you’re free, want to grab dinner together tonight?”
“Huh? Uh… um…”
Kirishima Sumire seemed to be experiencing a complete cognitive dissonance from the sudden situation.
There probably weren’t many people who could stay calm when their ultimate bias suddenly showed up and asked them out on a date.
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine… Sorry for coming over so suddenly.”
“N-No! It’s not that!”
She hurriedly grabbed my hand as I started to turn away.
“Then let’s meet up a little later. We can have lunch together too.”
“Ah… Okay.”
“And you can drop the formal speech. We’re the same age, after all.”
“Ah… Yeah.”
Kirishima Sumire bowed her head shyly as she answered.
The rumor that I had asked Kirishima Sumire out on a date spread like wildfire, and it didn’t take long to reach Arimura Noa’s ears.
At lunchtime, Arimura Noa walked up to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world and demanded her lunchbox.
“Hey, minion. My lunchbox.”
“Here. Oh, and just so you know, I’m not going to make your lunch anymore from now on.”
“What? Why all of a sudden!”
“Then why should I make yours?”
“Uh…?”
Arimura Noa was momentarily speechless.
The next words that came out of her mouth were, as expected, predictable.
“Y-You… You’re my minion, that’s why!”
“Then starting today, I quit being your minion.”
“Huh?”
My completely changed attitude and unexpected responses left Arimura Noa utterly confused.
“Then I’m off. Oh, you can keep the lunchbox. It’s yours now. I’ve got a lunch appointment.”
I stood up from my seat and headed toward Kirishima Sumire’s classroom.
Leaving behind the dazed Arimura Noa.
When I arrived at Kirishima Sumire’s class, I walked straight up to her.
“Want to have lunch together?”
“Huh?”
As soon as I appeared, the friends around Kirishima Sumire quietly made space for us.
“Yeah, Sumire. Eat with Honda today.”
“You’re so lucky, Sumire.”
Her friends looked at her with envy, but knowing how big of a fan she was of me, they genuinely cheered her on.
“S-Should I…?”
“It might be a little uncomfortable here with everyone staring. Want to go somewhere else?”
“Huh? Okay.”
I figured Kirishima Sumire might feel awkward with all the eyes on us, so I suggested changing locations.
The new spot was a quiet corner on the rooftop.
It was the same place Arimura Noa used to drag me to whenever she wanted to avoid people’s attention.
“This should be fine here.”
“Yeah.”
Kirishima Sumire opened her lunchbox with an excited expression, and I opened mine as well.
“Um… Honda-kun.”
“Yeah?”
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“You can drop the formalities. And just call me Daisuke. That way I can call you Sumire too.”
“Ahh!”
The sudden closeness seemed overwhelming for her. Kirishima Sumire made a few strange noises on her own before finally gathering her courage. She looked straight into my eyes and spoke.
“Um… Daisuke. Why did you come find me? You’ve never hung out with any girl except Arimura Noa-san, right?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, I answered vaguely.
“Well… I just changed my mind a little. From now on, I want to spend time with people who actually like me. And the first person on that list is you, Sumire.”
“I’m… the first…”
Hearing that she was the first seemed to touch her deeply—her eyes welled up with tears.
“W-Wait, why are you crying…?”
“I’m just… happy…”
Seeing her tears, I quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, want to swap some side dishes?”
“Yes!”
The chance to eat side dishes personally made by her favorite idol—such luck was something she’d never get anywhere else.
While we ate, Kirishima Sumire asked the questions she had been curious about.
Why did I retire as an idol?
Why did I give up on being a baseball player?
I couldn’t bring myself to say it was all because I wanted to win over Arimura Noa.
After lunch, as we came down from the rooftop and returned to the classroom, Arimura Noa approached me first.
“Hey, where are you going to university?”
“Me? Tokyo U, Keio, Waseda—law department.”
“What?”
“Why? Didn’t you know I’m good at studying?”
“Uh… no. Okay, got it.”
Still visibly flustered by my answer, Arimura Noa returned to her seat.
From that day on, school life flowed completely differently from before.
I spent much more time with Kirishima Sumire than with Arimura Noa, and the distance between me and Arimura Noa grew wider and wider.
Meanwhile, Arimura Noa felt like her head was about to explode.
The suddenly cold tone.
The sight of him getting close to another girl.
Lately, Arimura Noa had been feeling deeply uncomfortable.
Honda Daisuke, whom she always assumed would stay by her side forever, had changed too much.
‘What the hell is the problem? Did I do something wrong?’
No matter how much she thought about it, Arimura Noa couldn’t figure out the reason.
Even when she asked Honda Daisuke directly, his answers were always vague and noncommittal.
“That jerk! No matter what I ask, he just dodges everything! Argh! Why the hell am I getting so annoyed over my own minion?!”
Arimura Noa pounded her fists into the bed in frustration.
“What are you yelling about?!”
Her loud outbursts finally prompted her mother to open the door and step into the room.
“Do you even know what time it is?”
“Argh! I’m just so pissed off!”
“Ugh… Who on earth raised this child…?”
“Who else? You did, Mom.”
“So what’s got you so worked up?!”
After a moment of hesitation, Arimura Noa spilled everything that had happened recently with Honda Daisuke.
She wondered if her mother might know the answer.
“Isn’t that just jealousy?”
“What? Jealousy? Me?”
“Anyone can see it’s jealousy. And honestly, even though you’re my daughter, Daisuke is way too good for you. He’s handsome, has a great personality, talented, rich… Meanwhile, you—well, aside from your looks, there’s not much else to brag about. You’re not good at studying, your personality…”
Her mother’s brutal truth-bomb left Arimura Noa completely shredded.
“Still, it’s weird. I never thought Daisuke would start distancing himself from you.”
“Exactly! Forget how annoyed I am—why is he suddenly pulling away?!”
“Maybe because you rejected his confession?”
“What? He never confessed to me!”
“Would you accept if he did?”
“No.”
“See? So maybe Daisuke finally gave up. Honestly, why would he keep being so good to you when you’re not even going to date him? There aren’t many girls with a personality as bad as yours.”
Arimura Noa couldn’t immediately respond. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
“B-But… still! As friends…”
“Friends? Friends don’t make lunch for each other, do homework for each other, take the blame for each other. Let’s just drop it. If you’re not going to treat Daisuke properly, then stop paying attention to him. You’re just making him pitiful. This mom is on Daisuke’s side.”
Even her own mother was taking Daisuke’s side—but Arimura Noa didn’t feel particularly wronged.
After all, Daisuke had always taken better care of birthdays and special occasions than her own daughter ever did.
“Stop thinking about how Daisuke changed. Figure out what you really want. Honestly, as a woman and not just your mother—I have to say your behavior has been the absolute worst.”
With one final heavy blow, Arimura Noa’s mother left the room.
After that, Arimura Noa’s mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Honda Daisuke.
The next day at school, she saw Honda Daisuke still wearing that cold expression.
‘Tch, I thought we were going to the same university…’
Realizing she felt disappointed, she jolted upright in shock.
“No! Get a grip. I’m Arimura Noa! Why should I feel disappointed? I’ll walk my own path.”
Even though she told herself that, her eyes kept drifting back to him.
‘By the way, who is this Kirishima Sumire?’
Arimura Noa grew curious about the new girl in Honda Daisuke’s life.
After asking around, she went to Kirishima Sumire’s classroom—and there they were, talking intimately.
Seeing the two of them together, Arimura Noa’s chest tightened painfully.
‘What is this… why does my chest feel so stuffy?’
Unable to understand the suffocating feeling, she returned to her seat.
The image of the two of them smiling at each other kept replaying in her mind.
‘This can’t go on.’
After class ended, Arimura Noa walked up to Honda Daisuke.
“Hey, Daisuke.”
“Yeah?”
When she called out, he looked at her with indifferent eyes.
“Did I do something wrong? If I did, just say it so I can apologize or whatever.”
“There’s nothing. And what about you? Why are you suddenly acting like this? You never cared whether I was around or not. Or… are you upset that I’m hanging out with another girl?”
“Huh?”
“If you need a minion, find someone else. I’ve got plans, so I’m leaving.”
Once again, Arimura Noa was left reeling in shock, floundering in confusion.
**************
TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
**************