Is it Tough Being a Friend? v5 Chapter 3 Part 6

At any rate, despite the complications…my mission was over.

“Now then, Hinomori. I’ll see you again at school.”

Once we left the building, we parted with Agito. The heroines were checking out a bookstore, so Ryuuga and I were the only ones returning home.

I asked Mion and Kiki to send Tao home prior. Taotie already withdrew back into my body and was snoring. It seems he’s quite tired.

(Good grief, what a terrible day…)

After leaving the giant crowd in front of the station, Ryuuga and I walked home. She was silent the entire time, perhaps tired as well. She’s been looking down while lacking in energy.

…In the end, I couldn’t tell Agito to “Give up on Ryuuga.”

The truth is that I couldn’t find an opportunity to do it after leaving the cake buffet, but that’s only going to come off as an excuse. I was ready to open my mouth and apologize to Ryuuga.

However, Ryuuga mumbled something before I could speak.

“…Ichirou, you know how we split the bill among everyone back there?”

“Y, yeah.”

“At that time, Tenryouin said something to me. ‘I want you to be my lover,’ were his words.”

So he finally confessed? It seems that he doesn’t want to recognize Ryuuga as a guy.

“Of course, I refused him right then and there. I replied with ‘I’m not going out with a guy.’ I also told him ‘Even if I was interested in the same gender, I would only consider Ichirou.'”

I think it would better if she didn’t say that second part…but I shouldn’t criticize her.

Ryuuga was probably just trying desperately to make him give up on her.

“After that, Tenryouin said ‘Then I’ll settle this with Kobayashi.’ Sorry Ichirou, I got you involved in this mess again.”

“No, that’s fine. That means Agito will be coming to me, not you. That’s works in my favor.”

Prior to now, I was worried that if I tried doing anything, he would tell me “This is a matter between Hinomori and me. Don’t interfere.” With this, I now have a pretext to intervene.

(Actually, if this ends up turning into a confrontation…wouldn’t that make me an important character in Agito’s story?)

Honestly, being a protagonist’s love rival is a heavy task.

Normally, that role would be for a stylish, high-spec ikemen who can compete with the protagonist. Winning against a shabby guy like me would yield no sense of accomplishment.

“Ichirou, you can’t lose, okay? Don’t let Tenryouin win.”

“Yeah. Leave it me.”

I don’t know what kind of competition Agito’s going to do, but I have to win. Ryuuga’s fate depends on it.

Now that Yukimiya’s episode has begun, I can’t let Agito get involved anymore. Anyhow, I need to at least deal with Ryuuga’s situation.

Thereupon, Ryuuga suddenly looked up at me.

“Say, Ichirou. I don’t really want to say this, but…”

“What?”

“When Tenryouin said ‘I want you to be my lover’…I felt my heart beat a bit faster.”

“You what?!”

Upon my immediate shock, Ryuuga hurriedly shook her head and waved her arms.

“I, I don’t mean that in a weird way, okay? I was just shaken since it was the first time someone confessed to me! It would’ve been better if you were the one who said that! It was just female instinct!”

“Don’t use Agito’s words.”

“I’m not going to be disloyal! You’re the only one for me! Even if you’re a boyfriend who abandons his girlfriend after a case of diarrhea!”

It seems she didn’t like the fact that Taotie and I had to switch places.

“Here, we’re going on another date on Sunday, just the two of us. Make sure your stomach’s okay this time!”

“Then can it wait until two months from now? I have zero allowance next month…”

“I can’t wait that long~! Oh, one more thing! You let Shima cling to you in front of your girlfriend, you know? Her chest even touched you!”

“Yeah. She had quite the assets.”

“Why are you so lecherous?! I’m the only one who gets to flirt with you!”

When Ryuuga said that and clung to my arm, I didn’t push her away.

After all the trouble today, I need some aftercare. Thanks to her, I can feel a bit of my energy returning.

“Tenryouin should just go out with Shima. She seems pretty cute and sociable. Isn’t she perfect for him?!”

“No, right now, kuro gyarus don’t really make for heroines…”

“You shouldn’t judge people by appearances. Girls have many sides they keep hidden. Someone who looks like a charming guy may turn out to be a very self-indulgent girl.”

“And she may also turn out to be a girl who mutters ‘Ahn, ahn’ from Hebizuka’s pleasurable massages…”

“I, I don’t say ‘Ahn, ahn’!”

Ryuuga turned bright red and puffed her cheeks. Suddenly, a golden little dragon appeared on her shoulder.

Apparently, it reacts whenever our fabled protagonist gets mad. It let out a golden aura and growled at me.

“Hey, don’t let the’ Yellow Dragon’ out! You’ll look like the Buddha with a halo!”

“I don’t say ‘Ahn, ahn’! Also, his name is Ron!”

I entered a narrow alley to avoid public attention and calm down an irate Ryuuga while Ron gnawed on my head.

(At any rate, the highest priority right now is to tell Yukimiya about Tao. I need Tao to reconcile with Yukimiya first before she can reconcile with Ryuuga and the others.)

Tao gave me Renie’s mobile phone number before. I need to make arrangements with him, even if I have to call him in the night.

Thereupon, I felt a trickle of blood drip down my forehead.

Then, I felt another trickle.

Hey, Ron. Don’t bite me that hard. Let’s not make a graphic scene.

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