The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Secretly Approaching Me - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

After my deduction reveal part was over, we spent some time chatting and laughing.

Koido has been in a great mood for a while now, occasionally humming a tune or something.

“Well then. Maybe it’s about time to head back.”

“Whaaat, you’re leaving already?”

“Koido, you have classes too, right? A student’s main duty is to study.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a senpai who was skipping class just the other day… So, is it really over?”

“…You really see right through me huh?”

“Only when it comes to you, senpai!”

“Am I that easy to read?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. Not really sure.”

Receiving such a noncommittal answer, I let out a wry laugh and scratched my head, saying, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Somehow, I found myself looking up at the sky.

It wasn’t a clear day… The sky was covered with black clouds, looking quite gloomy.

It might be almost time for the rainy season to start.

“You want me to say it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Senpai is such a scumbag, isn’t he?”

“…Thank you.”

“It’s the first time I’ve been thanked for spewing insults. Could it be that you’re a M, senpai?”

“Maybe I am.”

“Boo! Senpai the scumbag! Scumbag senpai!”

“Ughh… it’s frustrating… but I can’t deny it.”

“Pathetic! Pathetic Senpai!”

“Isn’t that wrong?”

“Trash-Tier Mental Senpai!”

“It wasn’t wrong. Hello, I’m the so-called Trash-Tier Mental Senpai, Seko Rento. Let’s lower the vibes with self-deprecation today as well.”

“Whoa, I said too much—Senpai usually jokes around, but I know when it’s time to get serious, you do. So please cheer up.”

After playing along with the usual farce, I stand up from the bench.

Then Koido also stood up and hugged me.

“…Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Ah. Do you know Koido? The secret to solidifying unity isn’t about tying things up like a band, but rather, creating a common enemy.”

“There’s no need for you to take on that role, senpai.”

“Sorry. Even though Koido prepared the environment for us, we couldn’t make use of it.”

“That’s not a problem at all. I got to take a two-shot to Senpai!”

“Haha, what’s that… But it’s rare for Koido to do something like this.”

“I’m supporting you… So that Senpai doesn’t fall apart.”

“…I see. Thanks.”

“It’s not like I did anything worth thanking me for. Besides, Senpai won’t be left all alone, so don’t worry.”

“Is it because Koido is with me?”

“Hmm, well, something like that.”

“I see.”

I’m always causing trouble for someone.

That probably won’t change in the future either.

That’s why I’ve made a decision. To free them from this chain of events.

***

After school.

Today, I’m heading home with Misa and Haru again.

Ever since that rumor was completely debunked, not a single person has been giving us grief for being together.

So I’m happy to be able to walk home with them without any worries.

But it’s about time to say goodbye to these moments.

Now that the danger from Arahira is gone, I’ve stopped escorting Haru to her house.

The transportation costs are nothing to sneeze at, after all.

We come to a stop at the usual intersection, and I say to the two of them.

“See you later.”

As I bid farewell to the two of them and turned my feet towards home,

“Rento-kun”

“Ren”

I was called back by both of them.

“What?”

“We have something to talk about.”

“Let’s go to that park over there.”

I nodded in agreement and obediently followed the two of them to the park.

Standing face to face with the two of them, we began to talk while enveloped in a tense atmosphere.

“Rento-kun. I hate to be persistent, but what kind of person is Koido-san to you?”

“Koido? Koido is… well, it’s hard to put into words, but I guess a reliable junior?”

“A junior, I see. So you’re saying there are no particular feelings involved.”

“No-no. I’m content with the way things are with Koido right now, and I think it will stay that way.”

“…Then it’s just us. No problem, right? Misa.”

“That’s right.”

As I was puzzling over what they meant, the two of them hugged me from both sides.

In my growing confusion, I felt a soft yet moist sensation on both cheeks.

They kissed me at the same time.

“W-what? Misa? Haru? What’s going on?”

“Fufu. You look so cute when you’re confused, Rento-kun.”

“You got kisses from two girls; you should be happier about it!”

The two of them giggled as they watched my reaction.

I began to wonder if I was the one who was acting strange.

“We’ve talked it over, you know. At this rate, Rento-kun… you might leave us… and we can’t allow that. You belong to me. It’s impossible for you to go off somewhere without my permission.”

“Ren, you can’t just go away. I already belong to you, Ren. If you’re going somewhere, you have to take me with you.”

“This incident made us realize. There are many ways in which we fall short.”

“So you see, we had an idea. Misa and I thought, why not complement each other? So, Ren…”

“With the two of us——”

“——Let’s date.”

Suddenly, I was presented with the most unthinkable option, and my mind came to a halt.

I looked into their eyes, but as expected, there was no light in them, they were somewhat empty and serious.

——Before I knew it, I found myself nodding in agreement to their proposal.

***

When I got home, I locked myself in my room and immediately called Koido.

And so, I briefly reported the incident that had just occurred.

“Well, things turned out like this, but Koido, did you see this coming? You didn’t stop me earlier because you were confident it would end in an attempt, right?”

『I thought those two would somehow prevent ‘senpai’ from leaving, but I never imagined it would come to this! What does it mean to be dating both of them at the same time!? And the fact that both of them proposed this idea… eh, why!?』

Koido looked quite bewildered, and I could tell that she had not anticipated this development at all.

“I’m the one who wants to know. What’s with this situation? Am I a harem protagonist or something?”

『 Senpai, realistically, that’s impossible in this country. Besides, ‘he who chases two rabbits catches neither.’ 』

“No, the thing is, I’ve literally caught both of them.”

『Well, that might be the case for you, Senpai… But seriously, Senpai is too easily swayed… Well, that’s why you ended up in that situation in the first place.』

“Ugh…”

『Why are you making a ‘ugh’ sound after being out-argued! …Sigh. What are you going to do now?』

“Hmm. Well, things will work out somehow.”

『That’s pretty vague.』

“Can’t help it. I have to keep that kind of mentality, or I’ll go crazy. I’m confused about the situation I’m in right now too.”

『That’s true… Well, please rely on me again if anything comes up. I’ll listen to anything, even if it’s just complaints.』

“Ah… right. Yeah, I might not have complaints, but I might consult you. I look forward to working with you in the future, Master.”

『Hmm. Keep striving hard… But why did you give such an answer? That answer makes you seem like a loser…』

“Loser? Isn’t it rather a situation where everyone wins?”

『Ah, don’t mind it. It’s just me talking to myself… But I have no intention of taking back what I said earlier.』

Koido said that with a strong tone at the end.

After ending the call with Koido, I tossed my smartphone aside and burrowed into my bed.

Somehow, I just want to stop thinking for now.

——Whatever will be, will be.

Author’s Note:

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you for reading 「The Cheeky Junior Who Manages My Mental Health.」

Just kidding.

Thank you for reading 「The Best Friend of the Person I Like is Managing My S*xual Desires」 (Season 2)

I truly appreciate all the comments and reviews.

I think this part of the work generally falls into the category of ‘acceptance.’

In Season 2, a new junior named Koido Mai made her appearance. And she was really dominating, didn’t she?

The behind-the-scenes type of girls are strong.

I thought the detective part (laughs) and various other elements might have been a bit confusing, so once again, I’m leaving a timeline here for clarity.

※ Let’s consider one week as Monday to Sunday.

The day before Golden Week starts

○ The get-together was held. Rento is hospitalized

During Golden Week

○ Misa and Haru have a discussion

○ Rento wakes up. Discharged but takes weekdays off during Golden Week.

After Golden Week (First Week)

〜Monday〜

○ Rento returns to school after a long absence

○ Rento meets Koido

○ Rento and Misa get soaked in oxytocin. (TN: Kiss.)

○ Rento gives Haru a hairpin

○ Koido joins the soccer club

〜Tuesday〜

○ Rento vents his troubles to Koido. From then on, they talk during lunch.

Post-Golden Week (Second Week)

〜Monday〜

○ It’s decided that Rento will go to the Hinata’s house on Saturday

〜Tuesday〜

○ Rento finds out that both of them have been getting confessed to a lot recently

〜Saturday〜

○ Rento runs into Koido by chance outside

○ Rento wisits the Hinata Family

〜Sunday〜

○ Rento has date in Yokohama with Haru

○ Rento runs into Koido by chance outdoors

○ Koido takes a Photo of Rento and Haru

After Golden Week (3rd Week)

〜Monday〜

○ Rento is ‘dating’ Misa

〜Tuesday〜

○ Rento receives a love advice request from Moriya. The person he has feelings for is Koido

○ Haru develops trauma from a confession. From now on, Rento will the confessions on her behalf

〜Saturday〜

○ Rento goes out with Misa and Saki

○ Rento encounters Koido by chance outside

○ Misa purchases a scrunchie selected by Rento.

〜Sunday〜

○ Rento, visits the Yosaki family

After Golden Week (4th week)

〜Monday〜

○ Rumors spread that Rento is having an affair with Haru

○ Discussion with Misa, Haru, and Matsui-sensei

○ Discussion with Koido

○ Haru becomes unstable

○ Misa and Rento have s*x.

〜Tuesday〜

○ Evidence of the rumors about Rento and Haru surfaces

○ Haru and Rento have s*x.

○ Rento and Koido report to each other after school that they have finished collecting evidence

○ Koido has Kaita take photos. And then spreads them.

○ Koido completely rejects Arahira

〜Wednesday〜

○ Submits evidence to Matsui-sensei

〜Friday〜

○ Rento decided to date both Misa and Haru

I’ll organize Koido activities as well.

○ Joining the soccer club and gathering information from the club members.

○ Act in a way so that Arahira likes her, dodge his approaches while keeping him on his toes, and completely reject him the day before she submits the evidence to Matsui-sensei (She sent a message rejecting Arahira’s feelings when Rento was next to her in the changing room of the pool after school), to draw out Arahira’s true nature

○ Impersonate someone else and lead Arahira to spread rumors.

○ Take photos of Rento and Haru looking close like they’re on a date, which can be explained later. Provide the photos to Arahira as a different person.

○ She had Kaeda take pictures that made it look like Rento and her were close and then posted them on a secret social media account and spread them within the high school community. Of course she also took pictures that would later prove their innocence.

○ All of this was done to expose Arahira’s misdeeds (the get-together incident) and to have the school deal with him. Her motive was for Rento’s sake.

○ Rento’s mental care

In Chapter 53, there’s a scene where Koido, who was supposed to have kept the fact that Misa and Haru were receiving a lot of confessions hidden from Rento so as not to worry him, suddenly opens up about it.

As some sharp-eyed commenters pointed out, this is because Kaita and the others were talking about it during soccer club activities the day before, and Koido decided to come clean after judging that Kaita would probably have talked about it by then.

It’s not like I realized the inconsistency afterward, okay?

Well, the theme for Season 2 is (though it’s an afterthought) 【Punishment.】

Despite having publicly confessed to Misa for over half a year, Rento ended up having a s*xual relationship with Haru.

Because of this, an incident like the one we’ve seen occurred, and he found himself in agony.

Headaches also tormented him as he agonized over how to handle his relationships with both of them going forward.

These are Rento’s punishments.

Out of jealousy towards Haru, Misa lied about having started dating Rento.

This lie triggered the incident (because if Rento and Misa weren’t dating, it couldn’t be condemned as cheating).

Moreover, while it’s not to say she is entirely at fault, by continuously rejecting Rento’s confessions, despite not disliking them, she missed her timing and ended up suffering herself.

These are Misa’s punishments.

Haru, of course, is guilty simply for having built a secret relationship with Rento, and because of that, she got caught up in the incident.

There’s another punishment for her, but since she hasn’t realized it yet, I’ll omit it.

Arahira and the other soccer club members were properly punished as well.

Yes. There’s nothing particularly to talk about regarding them.

Even the classmates received a sort of punishment, didn’t they?

The atmosphere in the class when the three of them were present must have been dead.

That was the gist of Season 2, but in the end, Rento, Misa, and Haru ended up dating each other.

Could this also be a testament to Misa and Haru’s strong friendship?

Or perhaps, as Rento mentioned something about the secret to solidifying unity——maybe a true common enemy has appeared for them?

In any case, it seems like a happy, fluffy, lovey-dovey chapter for the three of them is about to begin.

By the way, I don’t think there will be another lengthy mystery part (laughs) like this one.

It turned out this way because I was tidying up the loose ends.

I also feel like I may have prioritized the story’s progression too much.

That’s something to reflect on.

I didn’t include much of the two’s psychological descriptions either. But I do love the scene where Misa reveals her feelings.

It makes me smile.

That’s all.

The third season starts from the next Chapter.