Spending A Lovey-Dovey College Life With A Spoiled Childhood Friend - Chapter 17

The evening after we all went out for all-you-can-eat dinner. I was alone in my room, pondering.

“Are you guys dating?”

An innocent question. I’ve been putting off answering Miyu’s question.

(I have to answer her back soon.)

To be honest, I love Miyu. Not only is she pretty as a woman, but she also has a playful side like she showed in the lecture, a hard-working side like she showed while we were jogging, and a side that wants to get spoiled when she is in front of me.

But why can’t I take the first step now? As I was thinking about this, I received an incoming call on my phone. There was also a blocked call.

“Yes, hello?”

“Aah, Ryuji? It’s… been a while.”

“This voice… Seiji?”

The owner of the voice was Yamazaki Seiji. He “was” the man who had been our friend, and the one who had caused Miyu’s trauma. His voice naturally became stern to me.

“Aah, well… is Miyu-chan doing well?”

“Says the person who made her stop doing well.”

I heard that his voice sounded a little weak.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened that day. I know It’s a too late for that, but I won’t expect you to forgive me.”

“…What do you mean?”

Is it because he changed his mind and wanted to apologize now?

“I didn’t mean what I said that time… but I can’t say that. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize enough.”

“….”

“I want to confess. I know it’s sudden, but can you hear me out?”

“If only talking.”

I remembered the incident that led me to break off relations with this man.

––

It was the time when Miyu and I had just entered high school. We didn’t know a lot of people around us, wnd for a while after we entered the school, we often stuck together and did things together.

“It’s finally going to be released today! I’m really looking forward to it.”

“That’s right~ Let’s go buy it together after school okay?”

We were talking about a new open-world RPG that was about to be released today. It has countless quests, battles, fishing, farming, and marriage elements… that’s why we had been talking about it a lot before it was released.

“Oh, are you guys talking about the latest work in the Factory Series? I’m a fan of that series too.” [TLN: I think they are talking about the game called Rune Factory.]

It was Seiji who spoke to me when the two of us were excitedly talking about the game.

We nodded our heads in surprise as a strange boy suddenly spoke to us in a friendly manner. After that…

“Oh man~ looks like you can talk. This is the first time we’ve had this much fun talking about the Factory Series.”

“That’s right. Ryu-kun isn’t very good at it.”

“Miyu, don’t say that.”

“That’s good to hear. It’s the first time I’ve had a good time talking about it.”

“Ah, oh yeah, I didn’t get your name, did I? Sorry.”

“I’m Seiji Yamazaki. Nice to meet you.”

That was our first encounter with this guy. As his name implies, he was soft and gentle, but he could also talk about deep things, and we hit it off right away.

Sometimes the three of us would play games together through the night, and sometimes the two of us would crash at his house and stay the night. Of course, we also played with other people, but we mostly hung out with Seiji.

One day, in the winter of my second year of high school. When I arrived at school, I found Seiji with a face that was blatantly devoid of life, and for some reason, Miyu also looked uncomfortable. I tried to ask him what was wrong, but he just said he was a little sick. But I had had enough and half-heartedly brought Seiji to an empty classroom. Unaware of Miyu, who was secretly following us.

“So, what the hell happened to you? You can at least talk to me about it.”

I was worried about this guy, who wasn’t his usual cheerful self.

“…I got rejected.”

Seiji blurted out.

“I-I see. That’s tough, and I don’t know if I can do anything about it right away, but…”

“Do you think it’s someone else’s problem!?”

He spoke in a horrifying voice.

“N-No it’s not like that.”

The sudden change in his mood confused me.

“No, it’s not like that? You look like you’re talking about someone else!”

“No, it’s really not… ”

“Do you mind if I said that it was Miyu who turned me down!?”

Seiji’s words were shocking. There’s no way that it was her. But that would explain Miyu’s behavior.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Do I look like I’m joking!?”

“Of course not, sorry…”

I wondered if I was relieved that she had rejected his confession, or if I was shocked that it was Miyu who had turned down my best friend.

“It wasn’t the right topic to touch. I’m sorry…”

“How did you end up with this guy…?”

His voice was muffled and inaudible.

“I don’t think you’re going to get back on your feet any time soon, but…”

“I’m sure you’ll be glad that I got dumped, that b*tch.” [EDN: F*ck off jerk, I don’t need you here.]

“W-whoa, calm down.”

“She’s always acting like she’s interested in me. She pretended to be trying to impress me. She came to stay with me and said she was my friend. You know what…”

What came out of Seiji’s mouth was a storm of abusive words towards Miyu. But, there is a limit to how much he can say.

“That’s enough. I’m not sure if you’re really trying to make me feel better or if you’re really trying to get me to stay.”

“…Ah, s-sorry.”

*Thump*. Suddenly, I noticed a noise, and I saw Miyu was there. This is bad! She must’ve heard what he said. I’ve got to go after her! I hurriedly caught up with Miyu, leaving behind Seiji who was mumbling something.

After that, Miyu had it hard. She overreacted to the slightest thing, even to the boys who had been friendly to her. She rejected a confession from a guy who had a crush on her, and felt bad about herself. And because of that, the girls who were close to her began to avoid her as well.

——

“It’s been a hell of a ride since then.”

“I’m really sorry. So…”

“It’s okay. I’m listening.”

“You know at the time, It was a spur of the moment thing. I know that I can’t get it back…”

“Is that all you got to say?”

“No, There’s one more thing. The reason why Miyu rejected my confession.”

“What Is it?”

“She turned me down because she likes you.”

“…!”

[TLN: WHAT?!! Miyu Likes Ryuji?!!! *acts like surprised*]

I was shocked by what he said. I wondered if that was part of the reason why Miyu seemed strangely uncomfortable.

“Of course, so what? It was just a case of you stealing Miyu from me, who I thought was my friend.”

“I see.”

That doesn’t mean I can’t sympathize with him, but I think I understood a little bit of his frustration and mannerism at that time.

“I know we’ll never ever get back together. But I need you to tell her one thing.”

“I’ll tell her anything.”

“I know I said some horrible things to you, and also about Miyu, but I wanted you and her to know that I meant what I said that I liked her.”

“I understand.”

“That’s all I wanted to say. Bye.”

*Tsu–Tsu–*. I heard that the other side had cut off the call.

I know there’s nothing I can do about it now, but he had a lot on his mind, too.

(I’ll have to tell Miyu about this, and I have to give my reply.)

I promised that to myself.

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TLN: Aight next chapter will be the last chapter of volume 2. Imma leave you guys hanging for a while and post the last chapter this weekend or next week because I will busy of some IRL stuffs (mainly college stuffs). Thanks again for reading my translation~

Also thanks AJ1703 for editing my series~

EDN: Oh man, he’s shocked even though Miyu already wanted to pounce him on the bed. I already know that Miyu would be the top here and Ryuji as bottom kekw. Still, I guess it makes sense why they had that little trauma now. If you think it’s trivial, no one can blame you, but since those are the people who experienced it first-hand, moreover, not all people think the same, so please be respectful of their feelings. That’s all I could say from this chapter.