(TL Note: Mass Release Over, How was it?)
...
It's over.
Sensing new mories of a bright and lively golden-haired girl and a serious, cool-toned black-haired girl appearing in her mind,
Hitori Gotoh clutched her head in both hands,
Her pale, gloomy face partially buried, frozen in shock.
She couldn't clearly see everything that happened in these mories.
But she could feel it—
These two were deeply connected to Minami.
Because she had experienced this before,
She knew exactly what this ant.
T-That ans... t-those two... are my r-rivals in love...?!
Hitori didn't want to use the word "rival."
After all, her combat power was practically zero—
She was probably nothing more than a small stepping stone in their eyes.
But right now—
She had no choice but to say it.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!
Just imagining Minami being that close with other girls...
Doing t-those kinds of things...
Just that one thought alone was enough to make her expression completely crumble.
B-But...
Competing with other girls... That's terrifying... I don't want to do that...
She recalled the bright and cheerful energy of the golden-haired girl.
Then, she thought of the cool, untouchable presence of the black-haired girl.
Then...
She looked at herself.
And for the first ti, she truly felt just how weak and powerless she was.
I want to give up...
I really, really want to give up.
She had told herself this a million tis before.
But—
Whenever she thought of Minami,
How he always encouraged her, believed in her,
Both in the mories and in reality...
Even soone as timid and self-doubting as she was—
Sohow found herself feeling stronger.
I don't want to give up on Minami.
I really, really don't want to.
Even if it ant doing sothing as terrifying as competing with others,
Even if she wasn't good at it,
Even if she wasn't sure she could do it,
She would never, ever give up on Minami.
So—
"I have to do my best! I can—"
"Gotoh-san?!"
"Eh? Ah... oh?"
Being suddenly called out,
Hitori snapped out of her thoughts like soone waking up from a trance.
Her wide, dazed eyes stared at the girl leaning into her space—Kita Ikuyo.
At this mont,
Kita's bright erald-green eyes were practically glowing with excitent as she eagerly stared at Hitori.
Just that little smirk on her lips—
Already radiated so much warmth and charm,
That Hitori felt like she was lting under Kita's overwhelming sunshine aura.
"D-Do you need sothing, Kita-chan?"
She quickly turned her gaze away,
Too nervous to et Kita's eyes directly.
Just a mont ago, she had been so determined.
But now, she was already shrinking into herself again, speaking in a small voice.
"Gotoh-san, honestly..."
Kita sighed, shaking her head with an exasperated smile.
Then, she gently reached out and playfully poked Hitori's cheek with her slender fingers.
Hitori Gotoh—
A girl who played the guitar so beautifully,
Yet sohow, still remained so impossibly shy and insecure.
Seriously, why is she like this?
Kita had no idea.
But—
Being the only one who knew Gotoh-san's secrets...
It kind of felt nice.
Like a little secret shared just between the two of them.
Kita liked that feeling.
With that thought,
She flashed Hitori a friendly, easy-going smile and brought up the real reason she called her over:
"It's about the thing I ntioned earlier—"
"Do you think Minami-senpai will be first place again in this test?"
Yes.
Yesterday, Shuka High's monthly test had finally ended.
And today—
Besides discussing the school festival during horoom,
They were also going to announce the results of the test.
Shuka High only publicly displayed the top three scores of each year.
The rest of the students would get their results privately from their horoom teacher.
"Ah... M-Minami... er, I an, Senpai...?"
Hitori froze for a second.
She realized—
She had almost called him 'Minami' way too casually.
Gotoh Hitori hesitated for a mont after correcting herself:
"I think... Minami-senpai will probably still be first in the entire grade."
"Ehh—? Gotoh-san, you're that confident in Minami-senpai?"
Kita Ikuyo propped her chin on her hands, grinning as she gazed at Gotoh Hitori with curiosity.
"Th-This... um..."
Gotoh Hitori stamred, fidgeting nervously, unsure how to respond to this topic.
"I an... It's great that Minami-senpai is always first, but doesn't it feel like..."
Kita tapped her chin thoughtfully before continuing:
"Every now and then, shouldn't soone surpass him?"
She thought for a mont, then, unable to find the perfect words to express her thoughts, she smiled and gestured with her hands:
"Like, if there's no pressure, no rivals, and he just easily takes first place because he's a genius... doesn't that get boring?"
"That's not true at all, Kita-chan!"
"Eh?!"
Kita was shocked, her mouth slightly open, as she watched Gotoh Hitori suddenly stand up and speak in an unusually loud voice.
This was the first ti she had ever seen Gotoh Hitori speak so forcefully.
Normally, even when Gotoh joined their conversations, her voice was so quiet that it was barely audible.
Even just greeting her in passing would sotis make her react like a startled hamster, looking like she was frightened for her life.
But now—
Here she was, raising her voice, speaking with conviction.
Even though Kita had known her for two or three months and had been learning guitar from her,
This was the first ti she had seen Gotoh Hitori like this.
Luckily, after she spoke, Gotoh seed to notice the surprised atmosphere around her.
Her pale, gloomy face instantly turned bright red in front of everyone.
Then—plop—she sat back down abruptly and, in a much quieter, timid voice, continued:
"Minami-senpai... that person... he doesn't just get first place because of talent.
There's also an incredible amount of effort behind it—effort that most people wouldn't be able to endure."
Yes.
Gotoh Hitori knew this.
Behind Minami's incredible talent,
There was also an unimaginable amount of effort and sweat.
She knew from her mories.
Minami studied every night as a habit.
And just like everyone else,
He did both revision and preparation—
But his planning was more thorough, his efforts far greater.
He was always working hard, never slacking off.
That's why—
When Gotoh Hitori heard Kita say those words just now,
She had instinctively stood up to refute them.
Because it felt like—
That statent completely disregarded Minami's hard work,
As if his efforts were being taken for granted.
"Ah... I see now."
As a bright and socially skilled person with many friends, Kita was quick to pick up on things.
She imdiately understood what Gotoh was trying to express.
"You're right. What I said earlier was a bit thoughtless."
Kita pressed her palms together, looking a little apologetic:
"Sorry, Gotoh-san.
It was wrong of to judge soone just by their success without considering the effort behind it."
"Ah... um... n-no, it's fine."
Seeing Kita apologize so seriously,
Gotoh Hitori, who had just spoken so firmly,
Suddenly felt at a loss for words.
Seeing Gotoh struggle to figure out how to respond,
Kita simply smiled warmly.
Instead of dwelling on the awkward mont,
She cleared her throat and swiftly brought the topic back on track:
"So, Gotoh-san, you believe Minami-senpai will be first again, right?"
"Ah... y-yes."
"Then, let tell you who I'm betting on!"
Kita took out her phone, swiped the screen, and held it up to Gotoh Hitori.
"Tada! Last ti's second place—Shinjou-senpai!
Even though she had quite a gap with Minami-senpai before, this ti, she might actually close the distance!"
"Shinjou... senpai?"
Since Gotoh Hitori never really paid attention to anyone's grades except Minami's,
She leaned in slightly, curiously peeking at the screen.
In her heart, she silently repeated the na.
Then, she gently shook her head and said in a weak but almost stubborn voice,
"Shinjou-senpai... there's no way she can beat Minami-senpai..."
"Huh...? Bocchi-san, why do you say that?"
Kita Ikuyo didn't quite understand Gotoh Hitori's reasoning.
"I heard that Shinjou-senpai was especially well-prepared this ti, so maybe she really has a chance to surpass Minami-senpai."
"It's just impossible, that's all."
Gotoh Hitori shrank her head slightly but still kept it lowered, stubbornly muttering.
"Why?"
Kita Ikuyo tilted her head in confusion.
"Be...because... it's Minami-senpai. Him taking first place... is just normal."
Gotoh Hitori answered with an absurdly unconvincing, yet firm tone.
"..." Kita Ikuyo.
Kita Ikuyo fell silent.
She squinted her eyes and stared at Gotoh Hitori.
Her gaze made Gotoh Hitori feel increasingly uneasy.
After quite a while—
Kita Ikuyo glanced around at the crowd, making sure they hadn't drawn anyone else's attention.
Then, lowering her voice slightly in disbelief, she asked,
"Bocchi-san, don't tell ... you like Minami-senpai?"
Yes.
Although it seed unbelievable to her,
Recalling how Gotoh Hitori had imdiately refuted her earlier,
And now hearing her say, "Because it's Minami-senpai, so taking first place is normal,"
which was clearly a statent based purely on personal bias—
Kita Ikuyo could only arrive at one conclusion:
Gotoh Hitori liked Minami.
And the mont Gotoh Hitori heard those words—
Her gloomy yet delicate face instantly trembled, and she stamred incoherently.
Her hands flailed wildly in front of her chest as she spoke:
"L-like Minami-senpai?! Who—who even is that?! I-I don't know anyone like that!"
"..." Kita Ikuyo.
Too obvious.
Way too obvious, Bocchi-san.
This was the textbook reaction of soone who had been completely exposed.
Watching Gotoh Hitori flustered beyond belief—
For so reason, Kita Ikuyo suddenly felt a huge weight lift from her chest.
How should she put it...
She had always been watching over Gotoh Hitori.
She knew just how hard the other girl had worked, practicing guitar, seeking recognition,
and trying to overco her social anxiety.
But despite all her efforts, she rarely saw aningful progress.
As soone who had been by Gotoh Hitori's side during practice, Kita Ikuyo felt nothing but heartache for her.
In her heart, she had long considered Gotoh Hitori one of her closest friends.
Having soone she liked...
For Gotoh Hitori, this was undoubtedly a big step forward, wasn't it?
For her dearest friend to have made such significant progress—
She could only feel relieved and at peace.
How wonderful.
Hitori-chan.
All your hard work hasn't been in vain.
Seeing Gotoh Hitori's gloomy face turn red, Kita Ikuyo smiled.
And under Kita Ikuyo's gaze, which felt like that of an elder watching a child grow up—
Gotoh Hitori gradually gave up resisting, letting her hands fall weakly to her sides.
"So, Bocchi-san really does like Minami-senpai?"
"...Mm."
If Gotoh Hitori had to describe her current emotions—
There were only two:
Extrely embarrassed... and wanting to die.
Her secret crush had been discovered by a friend.
This was just too—
"Aww... this is so touching." Upon hearing such a youthful topic, Kita Ikuyo's eyes imdiately lit up like they were glowing.
"Bocchi-san, what do you like about Minami-senpai?"
"Eh? Ehh—?!"
The sudden shift in topic by social butterfly Kita Ikuyo left Gotoh Hitori struggling to keep up.
"It really is about looks, right? I an, you have to admit, Minami-senpai is really handso. He has this delicate yet refreshingly bright and clean aura."
"Eh?"
"And then there's his presence, right? How should I put it? He seems more mature and composed compared to most high school boys. That's definitely a plus, don't you think?"
"...Uhh..."
Gotoh Hitori tried her best to respond.
But faced with Kita Ikuyo's endless chatter, she couldn't get a single word out.
Finally, Kita Ikuyo seed to realize this as well.
She handed the conversation back to Gotoh Hitori: "Anyway, Bocchi-san, what do you like about him?"
"I... I don't know, I never really thought about it that much."
Recalling Kita Ikuyo's thorough analysis just now, Gotoh Hitori lowered her head, her face flushing red as she answered shyly.
"Huh...? What's the big deal! Just say it! Just say it! Why do you like Minami-senpai?"
Kita Ikuyo grinned at Gotoh Hitori.
"Uhh..."
With her face still red, Gotoh Hitori, feeling utterly embarrassed, finally voiced her true feelings.
"There's no particular reason... Just thinking about him makes happy."
No flowery words, no elaborate emotional analysis.
Just plain, almost overly simple words.
Her answer was so straightforward that even the previously excited and enthusiastic Kita Ikuyo fell into silence.
She didn't ntion Minami's outstanding appearance.
She didn't bring up his vast knowledge or promising future.
Gotoh Hitori's reason for liking him was simply that thinking of him made her happy.
That was all.
And that was enough.
At that mont—
Kita Ikuyo smiled.
Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed at her friend with an indescribably gentle expression.
Maybe love really could be just that simple.
...
For Advanced Chapters, Tier 1-2: 16
and Tier 3: 50 Chaps ahead on /Loverice929
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