As I Know Anything About You, I'll Be The One To Your Girlfriend, Aren't I? - Volume 1 Chapter 1.2

Why Is It Bright Red? 2

But even so, her nickname in school wasn’t about her intelligence or her beauty…

“Human-hater. Hey, Miyashiro-kun, I’m called that by everyone, right? I’m rather grateful for it. If they keep their distance, it reduces the noise in my daily life. A good S/N ratio is maintained.”

This is her, Kujo Kurenai.

“If you say so…”

“Yes. Besides, it’s not like I don’t talk at all. Look, I’m talking with you, Miyashiro-kun, right now.”

“It’s been eleven days. If you can talk like this when you want to, you should do it more often.”

“Miyashiro-kun, ‘being capable if I try’ and ‘so exhausting I never want to do it again’ are mutually independent. They can coexist.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“Right?”

Sighing wearily, Kujo-san let out a sigh. Her beauty and proportions added allure to her gestures.

“Ah, that’s right. I wanted to say thank you to you, Miyashiro-kun. It’s been sixty-two days since I last talked with any classmate other than you.”

“That’s almost as long as summer and winter vacations combined.”

“The reason I can go so long without talking to others is all thanks to you, Miyashiro-kun. Everyone in the class communicates with me through you.”

“Since we sit next to each other, and we talk from time to time. Can you pass this on for me?” —I’m frequently asked like that.

Even if I say they could just tell you themselves, everyone awkwardly smiles and says, “No, well, you know, uh… it’s kind of nerve-wracking…”

“Does that mean I’m doing the talking with the classmates that Kujo-san should be doing?”

“I’d like you to think of it as doing me a favor. It’s much easier to communicate with just one specific person, Miyashiro-kun, than dealing with various people each time. It’s extremely efficient. The best strategy for school life.”

Kujo-san paused, turning her face clearly towards me. Her beautiful eyes captured mine.

“Thank you, I’m really grateful.”

“O-oh…”

“I’ve been meaning to say thanks for a while… sorry, it’s just been too much trouble.”

“Ah…”

The mood was completely ruined by the end. I thought so but didn’t say anything.

Whether she sensed my dismay or not, she then said, “Please relax.”

“I’m not shameless enough to settle for just words of thanks. I’ve prepared proper compensation.”

“Compensation?”

“If Miyashiro-kun takes the messages for me and relays them here, how about I pay you 10,000 yen per message?”

“I think that’s a bit much.”

“Ah, do you prefer a subscription model? Very modern. How about 50,000 yen a month?”

“It’s not about the method. The amount just feels too unreal.”

She seemed serious, so I had to firmly refuse.

“Kujo-san, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Is it the exchange of money?”

“It’s the way you’re mention it that makes it feel worse.”

“If money is not acceptable then… no, sorry, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare me the physical compensation.”

“I don’t want anything like that.”

I’m not so noble as to demand physical recompense from a female classmate.

“If you’re talking about thanks… well, you lent me your power bank that time, right? When my phone was about to die. That’s more than enough.”

“That was… no, it’s nothing. But that’s not enough.”

“Plus, Kujo-san, whenever we talk, you always ‘by the way’ give me some insider information. Like sales on things I wanted, or limited tickets for interesting exhibitions. Stuff like that.”

“…”

“I’m really grateful for that, so let’s call it even. I don’t know how you always have information that hits the mark for me──”

“I’m a social misfit who wanders the internet all year round, so I have a lot of information. That’s all there is to it. That’s the kind of social misfit I am.”

“Don’t throw such heavy self-deprecation at me so fast, I can’t catch it all.”

“And I also do stocks, so I get a lot of information from that. Stocks are important.”

“Okay, okay, I get it! My bad, I understand! Kujo-san, you sometimes talk so fast…”

“Talking fast increases the amount of information transmitted per unit of time, making it more efficient.”

Though she spoke with a cool expression, her hands were restlessly moving.

I might have stepped on a landmine I shouldn’t have.

“Anyway, if you want to thank me, that kind of stuff is the most helpful.”

“Is that so. Well, for my peaceful high school life, please continue to support me in the future. By the way, you’re happy with the museum ticket info, right? That interest is typical of an artist.”

“I suppose.”

“Modesty. Maybe I should say, Japan’s number one genius high school artist.”

“Please stop… It was just a fluke last year.”

“Is that so? I don’t understand art, so I wouldn’t know.”

Saying that, Kujo-san picked up her bag and stood up.

“I’ve said what I needed to, and my daily communication energy is depleted, so I’ll be going home.”

“I see. …Goodbye, see you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye. Let’s talk again in about ten days, if necessary.”

“We’re sitting next to each other, we could chat even if it’s not necessary.”

“I’m not that kind of creature. Sorry.”

Kujo-san walked towards the classroom exit with her long legs. As she passed by me, a sweet scent wafted through the air.

Kujo-san, huh.

She feels distant.

Despite only becoming neighbors by chance and conversing more than with other students, our interactions were still limited to about once every ten days. Her way of speaking was blunt, and her expression, cool.

A genius girl who dislikes humans, that’s Kujo Kurenai— or so it should be.

“…Hey, Kujo-san.”

“What?”

At the classroom entrance, Kujo-san stopped and turned around, her gestures lazy, her expression bored.

Now, there were no other students in the classroom. Her attention was undoubtedly focused solely on me.

I concentrated hard and “looked” at her.

From within my field of vision, and emanating from Kujo-san’s body, the color of the haze that appeared was…

“Miyashiro-kun? What’s wrong?”

“…No, it’s nothing. See you tomorrow.”

“…? Okay, see you tomorrow.”

With her soft, long hair swaying, Kujo-san left.

“…Why?”

Shaking my head, I rubbed the area around my eyes.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding before, maybe I saw it wrong… While thinking this, no matter how many times I checked, the result was the same.

The color that appeared from Kujo-san, when she directed her consciousness towards me, was the one I feared the most among the myriad colors of this world.