CH 278

The first time I met Ryuzaki.

He seemed to be in the process of getting lost, so we decided to search for the gymnasium together.

“Hey, isn’t it hard to find the way to this school? I thought I could get there on foot, but it’s not easy at all.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

When we first met, I was able to interact with Ryuzaki without much awareness at the time.

At that time, I had not yet seen Ryuzaki’s abnormality, so I only recognized him as a classmate I met by chance.

“You’re in class 2, aren’t you? I’m in the same class as you, too, so we’ll be working together.”

It turned out we were in the same class when he introduced himself just now.

The one who was happier than anyone else about that was Azusa.

“Yeah. Nice to meet you!”

“Oh, nice to meet you… Azusa, right?”

“…O-of course!! I would be very happy if you call me that… Ehehehe.”

He was indeed a womanizer, calling her by her first name from the very beginning.

Nevertheless, at that time I had no desire for exclusivity, so I didn’t think anything of it at all when Ryuzaki and Azusa were being very friendly with each other.

Or maybe I was just acting complacent because I thought that no matter what happened, the relationship between Azusa and me would remain unchanged.

Anyway, at that time I was listening to their conversation without any sense of crisis.

I was walking leisurely from behind them, following them as they walked side by side.

“Is Azusa really my classmate? You look too small for that.”

“No, that’s not true. Azusa is also a fine high school student!”

“Haha. Don’t be so angry, I’m just saying you’re tiny and cute.”

“Ha-nya!? I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I’m cute… Such a thing, eh …?”

Ryuzaki was trying to capture Azusa, showing his skills as a protagonist in unknowingly making the other person fall in love with him.

And Azusa was also trying to be taken advantage of… Anyway, she was crazy about Ryuzaki to an unusual degree.

“You know, Azusa is like my little sister. Good, good.”

While walking, Ryuzaki patted Azusa’s head.

At that moment, Azusa’s face turned bright red and she was so happy that she almost cried.

“… You think I’m like your little sister?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to believe we’ve never met before. Maybe in my previous life I was Azusa’s brother.”

It was a joking remark, but Azusa took it seriously.

No, … she saw in Ryuzaki the image of her own brother who had passed away.

That is why she asked Ryuzaki to do something like this.

“Well, can I call you … ‘Ryoma Onii-chan’ then? Somehow, Azusa also … doesn’t feel like it’s the first time we’ve met.”

Of course, there was no way that Ryuzaki would refuse a cute girl’s request.

“Oh, okay? From now on, I’ll be Azusa’s older brother.”

Smiling briskly, he accepted Azusa’s proposal.

At this moment, Ryoma Onii-chan was born.

“… Finally, you’ve come back.”

“Huh? Did you say something? I couldn’t hear you because your voice was so quiet.”

“No, it’s nothing. Ryoma Onii-chan, you have to pet me a lot from now on! You know that?”

“Yeah, I can afford that.”

–And so, Azusa fell in love with him.

Seeing the two of them walking side by side in a friendly manner, I finally felt a sense of discomfort at this time.

(Huh? Azusa’s Onii-chan is… it’s me, isn’t it? Yeah, that’s right… I have to be happy that she’s got a close friend.)

I was still under the impression that it wasn’t a big deal.

I didn’t know it was already too late, and I still thought I was the protagonist…