The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Our battle has come to an end.

First off all, Arahira was expelled. It seems that following this incident, his previous victims also started coming forward, and with one crime after another piling up, he ended up being expelled.

I only heard about it from Oda, so I don’t know what happened after that.

Personally, I thought it would be enough if he was suspended and lost his recommendation, so I was just dumbfounded when I heard the unexpected outcome.

Also, as the details of that ‘get-together’ came to light, the soccer club involved had to take responsibility, and they received the punishment of being suspended from activities.

I felt a bit sorry about this, but it seems that Kaita is quite satisfied with the outcome.

Thus, the rumors about us were completely denied, and as we walked around the school, we no longer felt any hostile gazes, nor were we talked about behind our backs.

However——

“Hehe, sorry about that time Seko. You know, my sense of justice just went wild.”

“Hinata-san, I’m sorry. I’ve been saying things I didn’t mean… Everything I said before was just a joke, okay? We never actually thought about such things, not even a little bit.”

“Yosaki-san is wonderful, isn’t she? To believe in her boyfriend and to keep herself strong no matter what… I couldn’t do that.”

Those who were especially aggressive towards us before now approach us with an annoyingly humble and apologetic attitude.

Haru seems to forgive everyone who apologizes because she dislikes feeling awkward.

On the other hand, Misa completely ignores anyone who says something to her during that period.

It’s surprising how their responses are so polar opposites.

Anyway, now that things have settled down, I found myself meeting her in the backyard again.

I present the usual offering to her as she sits next to me on the bench.

“Here, strawberry milk.”

“Wow, thank you so much! Heheh. Senpai, you’ve started giving me strawberry milk unconditionally.”

“It’s not unconditional. Koido helped me out a lot this time, so it’s a thank-you. Thanks for everything you’ve done for us.”

“Ehh? Isn’t this too cheap then?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you a year’s supply.”

“Are you trying to give me diabetes, Senpai? But I’ll take it if you’re giving it!”

“You’ll take it?”

“Of course I will. I’ll accept anything I can get from Senpai.”

She declared as if it were the most natural thing in the world and began drinking her strawberry milk.

Well… The reason I met with her today wasn’t just to express my gratitude.

There were several mysteries left unsolved when I submitted the evidence to Matsui-sensei.

To unravel them, I came to see her, who knows the answers.

“So Senpai. What did you want to talk about? Don’t tell me you’re here to confess to me!?”

“Idiot. That’s not it. I wouldn’t complicate things further.”

“That’s true. I knew that… So then, let’s hear your deduction, Senpai.”

She said that while flashing a grin.

This girl seems to see right through me no matter what.

“It’s not so much a deduction… but first, Koido joined the soccer club as a manager right after Golden Week. Her purpose was to gather evidence of the circumstances under which that get-together event was held and to make Arahira fall for her.”

“…Please continue.”

“That event was planned by the soccer club members under Arahira’s direction. So it’s easy to imagine that she infiltrated the soccer club to secure that evidence. And about Arahira persistently pursuing Koido might be true, but could it be that Koido was actually the one who initiated it?”

When I first met Koido, she had been accused by a classmate of ‘acting all suggestive.’

Probably, she had taken the same approach with Arahira.

“As expected of Senpai. You’re spot on so far.”

“‘So far’ sounds like you’re implying there’s more to come. You sound like you know something… Do you, Koido?”

“Of course I do! It’s about you, Senpai!”

Koido answers with a carefree smile.

I respond with a wry smile and continue to unveil my deduction.

“First off, I’ve discussed the reason why Koido joined the soccer club. Next, about that infamous photo that started the rumors about me and Koido… It was taken by Kaita, right?”

“Did you find out? Did you hear it from Kaita-senpai?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything from him. I thought about what Koido and Kaita were talking about in the pool changing room on the day that photo was taken… Koido asked Kaita for two favors. One was permission for the soccer club to be suspended. That was easy to tell from Kaita’s behavior. The other was to request the shooting of a photo of me and Koido walking home together. Moreover, he specified in detail to take consecutive shots that made us look close and others that clearly showed we weren’t.”

“…Another correct answer! Yes, that’s right. At that time, I asked Kaita Senpai to do those two things for me. It seemed like Kaita Senpai really regretted what happened that day, so he agreed to it right away. By the way, do you also know why I asked Kaita Senpai to take such a picture?”

“The purpose was to increase the hate towards me, right? The more the hate increases, the bigger the backlash will be after the commotion is resolved. The creepiness of my classmates’ attitudes lately is undeniable, but now they won’t be able to complain about our relationship carelessly in the future. In other words, a convenient environment has been created for the three of us.”

“As expected of Senpai, a perfect score! By the way, I did it just before submitting the evidence because it wouldn’t be good if the attacks on you continued for too long. The apology I sent last night was also about this. Oh, and just to add, I myself posted that infamous photo on SNS.”

“I thought so, but weren’t you worried about it being traced back to you as a self-setup from the account?”

“That’s not a problem. That was my secret account.”

“That’s smart.”

“Heheh. You can praise me even more if you want.”

“The deduction continues, so in a sense, Koido’s praise time will continue after this too.”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

She smiles while swinging her legs which are dangling as she sits.

She seems to be in a very good mood.

“Next, let’s see… It’s about that photo of me and Hinata that was said to be evidence of the infamous rumor; it was Koido who took that photo, right? Koido gave the photo to Arahira, and that guy spread it around.”

“I also want to know your deduction about the reason.”

“Even if we could deny the rumors this time, that photo was something we couldn’t make excuses for. However, Yosaki’s recent change of hairstyle became a good excuse… Wanting to give Yosaki a gift, I consulted with Hinata and we went to buy it together. That photo was taken at that time, and the gift was a scrunchie for Yosaki to tie her hair up with. Yosaki came up with that scenario, so we were able to settle the matter.”

“Ohh, Yosaki-senpai actually noticed my intentions, huh?”

“I’ll take that as confirmation. Koido heard about Yosaki’s hairstyle and scrunchie from me, so you chose that photo based on that information, right? Plus, I met Koido on the day that photo was taken. If the photo was taken to frame me, normally you wouldn’t talk to me. But Koido did talk to me that day. It’s like the photographer didn’t mind being discovered, or rather, they wanted to be discovered. I’m thinking maybe Koido wanted to show that there were no hostile intentions towards me.”

As I finished saying that and looked for Koido’s reaction, she had a blissful expression on her face.

“Amazing Senpai! Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely correct! You totally understand me, don’t you!? Just to add, meeting you that day was really just a coincidence! Also, it’s correct I was the one who gave Arahira Senpai those photos of you two, but not as ‘myself’. I created a different account to get in touch with Arahira Senpai. It seemed like after that day, he started to doubt the relationship between you and Hinata Senpai, so I indirectly told him that spreading those rumors could be a way to get back at you guys, leading him to spread the rumor while providing weak evidence that couldn’t be conclusive. I also kept the conversation history as a last resort, but if I submitted this, it would lead to questions about who the provider was, and I would be suspected. By the way, that person never realized it was me, and towards the end, he was getting impatient, saying, ‘Hurry up and give me decisive evidence!’ in a harsh tone. That’s just not on, right?”

Koido ended with such a complaint and let out a dry laugh.

I wonder how many accounts this person has, but that doesn’t really matter right now.

“So the reason you didn’t tell me all this beforehand was to increase the chances of the strategy’s success?”

“Yeah, I don’t think senpai is clever enough to act with a scheme in mind!”

“I can’t deny that.”

“However, I didn’t expect the other two and Senpai to become so vulnerable. For that, I am truly sorry. My apologies.”

“I know you did it for us, so I won’t blame you. There’s no need to apologize.”

I also misjudged the situation when the rumors first started spreading, so it wouldn’t be right to blame her for that.

“…All I’ve figured out is up to this point. I thought I did pretty well with my deduction, and I even got Koido to tell me it was correct, but there’s still an unresolved question that bothers me. Unless it’s resolved, my reasoning falls apart.”

“Huh, what kind of question is that?”

“First of all, why did Koido go to such lengths for me?”

“I’ve told you before, right? I was just returning the favor because you helped me out, Senpai.”

“…The first time I met Koido was during the lunch break on the first day back from Golden Week. And then, the next day, I talked to Koido for the first time about the problems I was facing… But Koido had already joined the soccer club on the first day. Because of this timeline discrepancy, I just can’t explain your motive. Hey, Koido, can you tell me the correct answer?”

When I asked her that, Koido made a troubled face, then with a serious expression, she said,

“…I was doing that in order to repay my debt to you, Senpai. It’s true.”

She didn’t change her statement even when pointed out by me.

But her eyes were appealing to me that her words were the truth.

So, even though I wasn’t convinced, for some reason, I found myself accepting it.

“Sigh. Well, I’ll believe you. Koido wouldn’t lie to me, after all.”

“Yeah!”

Koido’s response was enthusiastic, and at that moment, her expression seemed to shine brighter than ever before.

***

TN: Ran?