Since Miyu confessed about having a boyfriend, I’ve been in a daze.
I was able to force a smile back then and pretend that everything was fine.

But it affected me more than I thought it would.
I know this day would come sooner or later. But this is all too sudden. Like, she didn’t even discuss it with me beforehand.

I’m so distraught that I’m starting to distrust Miyu more than being upset at whoever that potential man is.
Maybe I have the talent for NTR¹. Being NTRed, that is.

After that, Miyu started obviously avoiding me. Or, frankly, I was avoiding her.
I usually head straight to her seat at lunchtime. But today, I didn’t.
She didn’t come to me either. Glancing at her, she’s eating with other people. Damn it.

It isn’t like I have no friends outside of Miyu, but I don’t have any friends that I can eat lunch with in this class.
Hm? What do I mean by that, you ask?

How do I say it? I generally talk to anyone initiating a conversation, and I do initiate when the need arises, but I feel like people keep a bit of distance from me.
After all, I’m a super beauty, you know? Well, I don’t know if that’s the actual reason, but I do feel a wall between me and others.

Think about it from a third-person perspective.
There are two pretty girls who are super close and always together. Most people wouldn’t think of squeezing themselves between the two.
The only one who’d dare do that in this class is the unsinkable S.S. OblivRion.

However, in that case, I have no choice but to eat alone.
Silently scanning the surroundings, there isn’t any other girl eating by herself.

Eh, no way, what do I do?
Was I perhaps a complete loner if it weren’t for Miyu?

*A girl shunned by her group can join a different group.*
Suddenly, this thought came to mind.

It’s not the best idea, but I can go to Rion… No, that’s risky. *Why? What’s the matter? Did something happen between you and Miyumiyu?* She’s going to hit me with her tactlessness non-stop.

What do I do? At this rate, maybe I should try making friends with the introvert guy next to me?
I’m pretty sure I’d get along with him better than any random girl. And if I weren’t in my current appearance, I’d probably feel kinship with him.

… No, pause.
I mean, in the first place, I’m a man.
Being snubbed and the girl group dynamic don’t matter to me.

See the guy next to me; he’s a loner by default. He’s alone staring at his smartphone with a gross smirk, but isn’t that kinda cool? In the *’IDGAF what anyone thinks’* kind of way.

Good heavens, why do the girlies love to flock together?
Ah, fine, I’ll quietly eat by my lonesome. Loner lunch, bring it on.

I take out an onigiri wrapped in aluminium foil. Miyu made it from yesterday’s leftover rice.
Miyu…

No, no, no. Stop that line of thought.
It’s not like we were *that* close to begin with. In the first place, I can make this by myself, you know?

I heartily peel off the foil and wildly sink my teeth in.
Chomp. Munch, munch.

… What do I do? I can’t taste a thing. The rice is drier than usual.
Conversations in the classroom that I never pay attention to when I’m with Miyu reach my ears.

「*Kyahaha*! Is that for real?」
「For real, for real! Like, seriously!」

Wait, are they maybe laughing at me?　

*Oh? Where’s her usual lunch partner, the one she always eats with? Did they fight? Oh, maybe she got taken by someone else? Like in an NTR way?*
Saying things like that?

I curl up, feeling myself smaller and smaller.
As I curled into myself like a pill bug, someone suddenly tapped my shoulder.

It caused me to jump.
I felt my heart stop for a second, but then I was immediately elated.

It’s Miyutan; it has to be Miyu.
She couldn’t sit and watch lonely old me by myself. What a tsundere.

I energetically raise my head.
Our gaze met. She had hair on one side tied like a side pony.

A girl that’s not her. Who?
Perhaps surprised by my sudden movement, she shrank back a bit. Then, she spoke.

「H-heya.」

She said with her hand shaped like a pistol.
Weird greeting. Her face is kinda stiff, too. Her hair under the sunlight is shiny as hell. By my standards, she looks like a delinquent.

「You know, you stand out a lot.」

Apparently she’s speaking to me.
You look pretty flashy yourself.
A bit revealing around the chest, sleeves rolled up, short skirt, brow-dyed hair.

Ah, crap.
I’ve seen this in a yankee manga² before. The, *’You’ve been getting too cocky’,* thing. The *’shakedown behind the gym warehouse or the rooftop’* kinda thing.

「*Uhhh*… rooftop?」
「Eating alone today? That’s unusual?」
「*Haa*…」

So she didn’t come to shake me down.
Then what the hell, why bother me?

「So～… About the girl you’re a～lways with, did you two fight?」
「So what? None of your business, isn’t it?」

She hit the nail on the head, making my blood boil.
It wasn’t something as small as a fight; it was NTR.

「… What do you want?」

I asked with a low voice.
At this point, violence is a viable answer.
Right now, I’m as edgy as a protagonist in a yankee manga. I’m a sharpened knife.

「*Ah*, *uhh*…」

As my gaze met hers, the gyaru-ish³ girl’s eyes were swimming.
Miyu told me that I have a pretty strong glare. Most people would avert their eyes if I stared at them.
With her head downcast, she answered.

「Y-you know, Mechako sure is interesting, isn’t it…」
「Oh that.」

I was waiting for her response, but then she brought up the manga that got confiscated in class.
I was feeling down, which is why I chose a gag manga to read. But now I’ve learned that it’s best not to read gag manga during class.

「You see, I really like manga, too.」

This woman is surprisingly well-read.
Without me noticing, we’ve been having a blast talking about manga.

「*E～h*, it’s so nice having someone to talk with.」

Her name is Kyouno Ruka, and she’s actually a classmate of mine.
Contrary to her looks, she’s extremely knowledgeable in manga. Apparently, her older sister draws manga, both doujin⁴ and stuff for major publishers, and she got influenced by her.

「I’ve been wanting to talk to you for some time, but the girl next to you a～lways has a scary face, you know? So I thought maybe I shouldn’t, and all that.」

The girl with a scary face apparently refers to Miyu. Seriously?
She has a scary, or rather an unreadable, face by default, but I don’t think she’s really that intimidating.

「That’s not the case at all. I welcome anyone who wants to chat. Hit me up anytime.」
「Oh, for real? You know, I don’t have any friends in this class. So at lunch I a～lways go to the other classroom, but I feel a bit bad intruding all the time.」
「No friends in this class? That’s not true. After all, aren’t *we* already *friends*?」

I intentionally emphasized some of my words.
I just feel like the bit will land better that way.

How would you react to someone who you only spoke to for 10 minutes suddenly calling you a friend?
If it were me, I’d be like, *’Hmm, isn’t that too fast?’*
That’s what I expected, but Ruka had a beaming smile.

「Really? Yay!」

*Gah*, so bright.
Completely different from a certain someone with a dark smile.

「You know, we got a lot of manga at my place, so wanna come over sometime?」
「Sure, let’s, let’s.」

Super beauty Misaki*-chan* is too easy. She might even follow a suspicious old man dangling a candy in front of her; worrying, if I say so myself.

After that, I had lunch with Ruka, successfully avoiding the Loner lunch route.
Now if this elicits a, 「*Kii!* A woman other than me!」 response from Miyu, there’d still be hope… Nah, not happening.