While I Was Giving Love Advice to My Best Friend, the School's Most Beautiful Girl Somehow Became the Closest Person to Me-Chapter 1Volume .2 - The Most Popular Girl at School Has Her Eye On Me

The Most Popular Girl at School Has Her Eye On Me

Saved by the bell signaling the start of class, I go about my usual school life. But when school ends, it doesn’t mean I get to enjoy my free time alone at home.

That’s because I hear a rattling noise from the window of the room next door and footsteps crossing the roof soon after.

You might think it’s a burglar, but that’s impossible. This is a routine occurrence, and shortly my room’s window swings open.

“I’m coming in.”

The one who appears is Hirasawa Reo, my classmate and childhood friend.

Reo visits my room every day with the same casualness as when he comes to my desk during breaks.

We live next to each other, and our families have been close for as long as I can remember, so we usually go back and forth between our rooms via the roof and windows.

“Hey, Ryouma.”

“If you’re looking for the manga, it’s on the bookshelf.”

“More importantly… sniff, sniff. This… smell, is it curry? Feed me!”

“Didn’t you have dinner already?”

“Ryouma’s curry is dessert! It’s a separate stomach, a separate stomach.”

As adolescents and being part of a sports club, our appetites seem to have no limits. And I, who list cooking as one of my hobbies, often end up making dinner in place of my working parents.

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Among the dishes, the curry rice is Reo’s favorite. There’s nothing special about the way I make it. Even the roux is store-bought.

Somehow, Reo just loves the mild curry I prepare.

“You’ve got some for me too, right?”

“Well, it’s the usual.”

“Phew. As expected of Ryouma! I’ll read manga while I wait.”

Reo pulled out the book he wanted from the shelf and sprawled on my bed.

There’s a fifty-fifty chance he’ll get engrossed in the manga or fall asleep.

With Reo’s reading in the background, I head down to the kitchen and quickly reheat the large pot of curry and start serving rice into a bowl I had prepared for Reo when the door near the kitchen opens.

“Nii-Nii.” (Nii as in onii chan.)

There stood an angel. Rubbing her eyes and yawning with her little mouth was my blood-related sister.

She trotted over to me.

“What’s wrong, Hiyori?”

“Um, I smelled Nii-Nii’s curry and woke up.”

“Oh, did I wake you up? Sorry.”

I had put five-year-old Hiyori to bed around eight o’clock, but… it seems she woke up.

Yeah, my younger sister, who is much younger than me, is undeniably super cute.

Her giggling is irresistibly adorable.

“Is Reo here?”

“Yeah, as usual.”

Hiyori climbs the stairs and barges into my room.

“Reoー”

“Oh, it’s Hiyori.”

Hiyori immediately hugs Reo head-on as soon as she enters the room.

She’s quite fond of Reo, treating him like an older brother next door.

“When will Reo marry Hii?”

“Maybe I’ll ask you if I can’t get married later.”

“Okay!”

“No, that’s not okay.”

I interrupt the conversation at the words I can’t ignore.

“When Hiyori turns twenty, won’t you be thirty, Reo? I won’t approve of my sister taking care of such an old man.”

“Ryouma, you’re seriously a demon when it comes to Hiyori. Such a siscon…”

My sister deserves to be happy. Even though I know Reo is a good guy, I can’t ignore the barrier of their age difference.

“Hiyori, go back to your room. Dad and Mom will be home soon.”

After sending Hiyori back to her room, I handed the curry I brought over to Reo.

“Wow, this smells great,”

“I made sure to put cheese in it too.”

“Classic! If Ryouma were a girl, I’d definitely make you my girlfriend.”

Honestly, I think I might be taking care of him too much.

If either Reo or I were a girl, maybe something would have sparked between us. But unfortunately, our relationship is nothing more than that of male friends.

I honestly think that’s fine. Reo, who’s at the top of the class caste and the most popular guy in school, calls me his best friend, and that already makes me happy. I’m sure we’ll continue to spend time like this with Reo.

That’s what I thought. That’s what I had convinced myself of.

It was when Reo had eaten about half of my curry.

“Hey, Ryouma.”

“Want seconds? But you’ve still got plenty left.”

“I’ve got something I want to talk to you about, Ryouma.”

Our conversations as childhood friends are mostly jokes and play.

The talks we have are never serious, so I figured this time it would be about not doing tomorrow’s homework or forgetting some important handouts at school.

“You see, I think I’ve found someone I like.”

“Huh, really? Reo, since elementary school, you’ve been super popular with the girls and received a lot of confessions, but you always said you didn’t really get love and turned them all down. For someone like you to have someone you like… Wait, your expression… seriously?”

“…Yeah.”

“…What!?”

I must be one of the few people in the world who could be so surprised.

That’s how uninterested Reo has been in romance.

Throughout elementary and junior high school, he showed no interest despite receiving affection from many girls, and in high school, he continued to reject confessions, citing his dedication to basketball.

Some even mistakenly thought he liked me more than any girl because Reo was so oblivious to love.

“I just can’t get her out of my head.”

“Is that so? Wow… I’m shocked.”

“I… I don’t know what to do.”

It feels like any girl would be lucky to be confessed to by a guy like Reo. The only difficult ones would be girls on the same level as Reo.

Seemingly overwhelmed with emotions, Reo placed his half-finished bowl of curry on the floor.

I never thought the big eater Reo would leave curry unfinished.

That’s how much he must like this girl.

“So, who do you like? Since you’re telling me, you’ll let me know, right?”

“Yeah, I can only talk about this with you, Ryouma.”

The handsome and capable Reo relies on me. It’s the usual, but I feel happy and want to help him.

I listen carefully, ready to hear him out.

“I talked to her today and my heart skipped a beat. I think I really like her.”

“You talked to her today? Does that mean she’s part of that group of girls?”

Reo nodded. Seriously… That means it could be either Matoba-san or Miyoshi-san, the gal girls who have a crush on Reo.

If Reo likes either of them, it would be mutual love.

“Could it be Matoba-san or Miyoshi-san?”

“Why them? I’m not interested in them at all.”

So it’s not them. And it seems Reo is oblivious to the fact that those two are interested in him.

Lucky guy, having his pick of the lot. Those two are quite attractive too.

That leaves Asahina-san, the most popular girl in school.

“She might be tough even for you, Reo.”

“Yeah. She has such a cute smile, and I’m sure she’s got a great personality.”

I thought it was rather presumptuous, but I guess Reo’s crush wasn’t Asahina-san.

Well, Asahina-san is really cute, but is she nice?

She seems quite harsh to guys, and honestly, I’m not too fond of her.

I hesitantly asked Reo.

“Your crush is Asahina-san, right?”

“Huh?”

The voice that came back from Reo was clearly one of irritation.

“Wrong. Asahina must have a terrible personality, and I think I’m totally incompatible with her.”

He expressed his disgust openly. Well, honestly… I never had the image of Reo and Asahina-san getting along.

Huh…? So, who is the girl that Reo likes?

I have no idea.

“Come on… you know, that girl.”

Impatient with my cluelessness, Reo reluctantly continued, blushing slightly.

“The girl who’s always with Asahina.”

That’s when I remembered.

There were four girls in the group, with the leader-like Asahina-san, the flashy Matoba-san and Miyoshi-san with their gal-like mannerisms and looks. And the remaining one.

The quiet girl who’s always smiling shyly behind Asahina-san.

She doesn’t make much of an impression, but I remember her. That girl is!

“Otsuki-san?!”

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