Friday.

The test that started on Wednesday had ended without a hitch, and we were finally free from the spell of studying for the test.

Since then, Saegusa-sensei has been holding study sessions, and Takayuki, myself, and Shimizu-san all felt that we had a solid performance on this test.

The more study sessions we had, the more we realized how good Saegusa-san was at studying.

Takayuki couldn’t help but admire her academic ability, saying, “Saegusa-san, you are too smart for our school” but Saegusa-san just let it slide with an embarrassed laugh.

Well, it’s up to the student to decide which high school he or she wants to attend, so if he or she is not at the level of our high school, I was just grateful to have met him or her in this way.

At any rate, the test was over today, and we were finally free from the tension of the test.

After the test, we decided to have a party at a hamburger store in front of the station to celebrate the end of the test.

We were just eating hamburgers and chatting about the test, but Saegusa-san still stood out and drew a lot of attention from the people around her.

However, this was not limited to Saegusa-san, Takayuki and Shimizu-san were no exceptions.

Seeing Shimizu-san, still smiling and eating her burger with a small mouth, reminded me of an incident.

After we became friends and started to get together, people who went to the same junior high school as Shimizu-san asked me, “How did you guys become friends with that princess?!” I was surprised.

When I asked them what they mean, they said that Shimizu-san was famous as the most beautiful girl in the school due to her good looks, but she was still called “the lone princess” because she kept rejecting everyone’s confession.

I smiled and let it go at the time, thinking, “What kind of novel is that?” But my classmates from junior high school, without exception, were very surprised to see Shimizu-san, who had never even let anyone of the same sex in, now hanging out with us and laughing normally.

“Saku-chan, you have sauce on your cheek.”

“Eh? That’s embarrassing.”

Saegusa-san, who was very happy to have eaten a hamburger today, happily wiped off the sauce on the cheek of Shimizu-san, who was sitting next to her.

After all this time, Shimizu-san’s name is Sakura Sakurako, and Saegusa-san calls Shimizu “Saku-chan”.

I could feel that Shimizu-san must have been able to trust Saegusa-san because she was so open and friendly with her.

After talking for a while, we decided it was time to go home, so we left the restaurant and called it a day.

“Hey, Ichijo-kun!”

As I was walking home, I suddenly heard a voice behind me, and I turned around in surprise.

–there was Shimizu-san, who had been with me earlier.

She must have been following me for a while, after she pretended to have split up.

“Eh? Shimizu-san? What’s wrong?”

What the hell is going on? I thought to myself as I spoke to Shimizu-san.

“No, there is something I want to discuss with you ....”

Shimizu-san, though she had called out to me, was not very crisp.

When I approached Shimizu-san, she pointed to a nearby coffee shop and said, “Can we talk for a while there?”

So I went to a nearby coffee shop with Shimizu-san.

When we entered the coffee shop, I sat down facing Shimizu-san.

When we sat down, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous because of Shimizu-san’s good looks.

I accepted the offer lightly, but when I looked at her again, I realized that she, like Saegusa-san, did not have the kind of looks that I could casually sit with.

She is a petite woman with clear white skin and a beautiful face with a cat-like charm, a beauty worthy of being called one of the two most beautiful women of the school year.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

I couldn’t stand the tension anymore, so I started the conversation.

“Well, there’s something I’d like to ask Ichijo-kun about .....”

Shimizu, who was probably nervous, spoke in a slurred manner.

What exactly does she want to ask?

“Well, it’s about .... Yamamoto-kun. ....”

“Hmm? Takayuki?”

I was a little surprised to hear the name of my best friend suddenly come out of Shimizu-san’s mouth.

It seems that Shimizu-san’s consultation is about Takayuki.

“Yes, yes. Yamamoto-kun, did he.. did he have a girlfriend or anything till this point?

“Takayuki has a girlfriend.... Oh, does he have one?”

I was already at this point.

At this point, I had already guessed why Shimizu-san was asking me for advice.

And once I knew that, it was no big deal. I was able to talk to her in the same way I had always talked to her.

However, Shimizu-san seemed blatantly shocked when she heard my reply.

“Well, could it be that .... are they still dating? ....”

I’m sorry to say that Shimizu-san seemed to be afraid to ask this question, but her appearance was very cute, like a small animal.

“No, he doesn’t have one now. I mean, he had a girlfriend, but only for a little while in elementary school.”

Yes, Takayuki had a girlfriend when he was in elementary school, and only for a short time.

After he went to junior high school, Takayuki devoted himself to club activities and fun, and although he was popular, for some reason he never tried to get a girlfriend.

I thought it wouldn’t hurt to talk to Shimizu-san about something like this, so I told her about my memories of Takayuki before middle school.

Shimizu-san listened to my story with an interested smile on her face.

It was not that she found my story interesting, but rather that she was happy to be able to hear the story of Takayuki before we met.

But I have to admit, I was very, very jealous of Takayuki, how lucky he is to be loved by such a beautiful girl that everyone envies.

“So, Shimizu-san, do you want me to do something for you?”

“What? Cooperation? No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

When I asked Shimizu-san that, she looked embarrassed and waved her hands in the air, denying that she meant anything by it.

“I’ve never felt like this before, so I don’t know what to do with myself. ....”

Shimizu-san, who was blushing and muttering, was very cute, just like a maiden in love.

“I’m not going to force myself into anything, so I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing. In return, you can count on me if you need anything at all.”

I decided to support Shimizu as she tried her best to face her first love.

And even more so because the person she was talking to was his own dearest friend.

–Cupid Takuya! On the move!

To be honest, Shimizu-san was really cute as she smiled and nodded her head happily while her face turned red at my words.

–Clash!!

Then I heard a sound like a spoon falling from a nearby seat.

When I turned around at the sound, I saw Saegusa-san in a seat some distance away.

She seemed to be in a hurry to hide herself, but honestly, it was obvious.

“What? Shi-chan?”

When I called out to her, Saegusa-san, who had been spotted, laughed deceptively, and Shimizu-san in front of me said, “What, Shion-chan?” And for some reason, she was a little confused

When Saegusa-san was spotted by us, she was smiling, but her face was very pale.