CH 7

Chapter-7

Childhood Friends and Another Challenge (2)

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There was a lot of tension in the air, and the only thing I could do was watch and see what happens... This makes the situation extremely awkward.

It was just Kotoba and Ichijo glaring at each other. In other words, I'm completely out of the loop. Not wanting to be left like an ornament, I was torn between whether or not I should intervene. However, my thoughts were cut off by a voice so cold that you can't help but shiver from Kotoba.

"Do people look like trash to you? Oh, what an idiot you are. I can't believe you're the new student representative or anything like that. Could it be that you bribed someone?"

I wonder if this is payback for earlier. Kotoba, with the utmost effort, used her signature tongue to bite her. But it did not seem to have any effect on Ichijo.

"Oh no, I got in on merit. You're jealous, aren't you? Hmm, that must be an ugly feeling."

With an inappropriate smile, she said as she looked down at Kotoba. As a result of that smile, Kotoba's eyes become even sharper. A further tension ran through the air...

I look up to the sky. The two of them are getting more and more heated, and this standoff shows no signs of ending. I wonder how long this futile struggle will continue.

I glanced at my watch and realized. If this argument continued, I would definitely be late. It would give the people around me a very bad impression from the first day.

It's not good to be an ornament any more. Thinking that, I stepped in between the two of them.

"Kotoba, calm down."

I appeased Kotoba, who was so agitated that she looked like she was about to bite me. Then, with a look of frustration on her face, Kotoba said,

"Muu~ Tsuzuku-kun, I am calm, but I can't say the same about that person."

She looked away with a sulky tone in her voice. She was correct, if you ask me. It would be unreasonable for me to warn only one of them and not blame the other.

In order to get Kotoba to change her mood, I spoke to Ichijo. However, she kept smiling.

"Ah, Ichijou-san. You, too, need to stop provoking Kotoba."

Ichijo widen her eyes a little, probably surprised that I was defending Kotoba. But she quickly put her expression back together again.

"Oh, Sasaki-san. Are you defending that poor kid who has lower grades than me?"

With that, she looked at Kotoba with a sneer on her face. Kotoha twisted her face in frustration and looked down.

I was a little annoyed to hear that. No, to be more precise, I was quite irritated.

I would never judge Kotoba's merits based on her grades alone, so why would I judge her as "inferior" based only on the limited information of her grades? I couldn't understand it at all.

"Why does it matter if her grades are good or bad?"

I become a little upset and ask Ichijo Asuka. But she only smiles and doesn't reply. I take that as a sign of her silence and continue to talk.

"A person's merit is not determined by their performance alone. If you're going to evaluate someone, you should at least take into account other factors, and above all, I hate people who evaluate people based on their abilities."

I stated my opinion once and for all. She frowned for a moment, but...

She immediately smiled, not knowing what she was thinking. Then, unexpectedly, she removed her gaze from us. What is it this time, I thought, bracing myself a little.

"I'd better get to school or I'll be late. I'll leave you to it, Sasaki-san, let's meet again."

That was all she said, and she headed off to school. As I was taken aback by the stormy new student representative, I heard Kotoba's groaning voice. Is something wrong? I cast my gaze at her.

"Tsuzuku-kun... I will never give to anyone!"

Kotoba was whispering something to herself. I guess she doesn't  realize it, but I can hear her. Yeah, I knew you liked me, didn't I?

The sight of her cute little figure makes me want to be a little mean to her. I'm sure anyone who's ever been in this situation, male or female, would feel the same way.

"Kotoba, don't worry. I'll never disappear from your side."

I dropped a comment that would probably have the destructive power of a bomb for Kotoba. When she heard it, she stiffened for a while, and then, "Whoa! Wait! None of that earlier! None! I didn't say anything! Okay?" She started to come at me in a frenzy.

"Yeah, I didn't hear anything. Well, at least I didn't say that I would never want to give you━"

"Hey! I told you to pretend you didn't hear that!"

At any rate, I succeeded in putting Kotoba in a good mood, and we were able to get out of trouble for a while, but we hadn't even reached the high school yet. I didn't think I would be able to spend the next eight hours peacefully without anything happening to me.

Suddenly, a crow's cry rang out. It sounded as if it was predicting the hardship we were about to experience, or even mocking us. Was it too much to think so?