Naoya's Confession (2)

Now that Naoya was here, I felt at ease despite being hated by the rest of the class. Since I normally only talked to him anyways, as long as he acted the same as usual, I could easily pretend that nothing was wrong. However, that was only for my own satisfaction. I knew that Naoya had a much wider social circle compared to me, so I couldn't help worrying about how his other friends would treat him. Of course I appreciated him sticking by me, but exactly because he was my best friend I didn't want him to suffer for my sake. 

Lunch came much quicker with Naoya around, but at lunch time, he was gone. Still, I knew I didn't need to worry about him as he had already informed me of his plans.

[Good day fellow students! I hope you're excited for this confession, because I know I am. We normally focus more on the confessee rather than the confessor, but this time the challenger should be someone familiar to all those who regularly keep up with these events. However, good boys and girls, we know better than to imitate him as not a single one of his attempts has resulted in a steady relationship! The undisputable first place among first years for confessing, and someone charging up the ranks of the overall list despite having only been at this school for less than a month, we have, Naoya Kirio!]

Looking at lucky spot C, which was behind the first years' building, I watched from the window as Naoya raised his hand in response to the cheers that were raised. This was rare for a challenger, especially one that had received zero confessions like himself, but when he confessed, Naoya could always entertain the audience, though according to him he didn't mean to.

Naoya wasn't especially handsome or smart or athletic, but he had a special charisma that could leave a good impression on almost anyone.

Compared to him, the one he was confessing to could be summed by two words. Pretty and stuck-up.

[Now, today's lucky lady is uh, the attractive Ms. Kurena Ria!]

It was obvious to anyone that the announcer struggled to come up with a special introduction for her, but she smirked just because he called her attractive. 'Easy' sounded like a another word to describe her, but I already wasn't liking Naoya's chances. It wasn't that no one had ever accepted Naoya's confession, but like the announcer said, all of his relationships failed, and I doubted that this would be any different.

'I really don't get what he sees in these girls, but it's not like he'll give up if I tell him to.'

It might sound harsh, but I was already certain that this wouldn't work, still, I looked forward to seeing how Naoya would persuade her.

[Okay, since we've gotten the introductions out of the way, let's head straight into the action.]

As usual, Naoya started by clearing his throat.

"Ehem, my fair lady, allow me to first express my gratitude for this valuable opportunity to converse with you in person," said Naoya as he empathised gentlemanly conduct.

From the very beginning I almost died from the cringe, but this time it seemed Naoya's information was spot on as Ms. Ria pushed out her chest with an even prouder smirk on her face.

"You are welcome."

[Ah, a gentlemanly confession is it? Leave it to this sly actor to do something as unorthodox as this.]

Though I always complained about how impulsive Naoya was when it came to finding crushes, he was extremely diligent when it came to confessing. Taking the expression, 'all's fair in love and war' to heart, he always investigated his crush, within legal limits of course, and deduced what method of confessing would give them the best impression of him. Once he had this information he could act out any persona that was necessary.

Back to the confession, Naoya continued.

"Then, I shall address the matter at hand. Though my praise for you could surpass the book of the law in length, I cannot bear to have you waiting on your feet for my mere satisfaction. My lovely muse, whose beauty outshines nature itself, the one whose frown could darken the sky and whose smile could clear any storm, oh, how I long to be by your side to take a closer look at your magnificence. I dare not ask you to be mine, but would you please consider me worthy of your attention?"

'Oh gosh! My stomach! My stomach!'

Neither I nor anyone around me could keep a straight face as we listened to Naoya. This wasn't the first time I witnessed his acting skills in action, so on the inside I had to be impressed by his commitment to the role.

[Wow! To think I would see someone unleash such a pure string of simpitry! It's like I'm looking at the original simp, Adam, himself!]

While barely able to catch my breath due to constant laughter, I had to agree with the announcer as I waited for Ms. Ria's response. Based on the bright smile on her face, I thought this could go well for Naoya, but then I saw a hint of malice in her eyes and I subconsciously tightened my fist.

"Well, with a confession like that, I suppose I can deem you worthy."

"Then-", Naoya interrupted in excitement before his face froze after her next set of words. And so did mine.

"But, I'm afraid that you have some bad company around you. I'm not sure I can trust you as one of my own with him around."

"...My lady, could you be trying to insinuate that I part ways with one of my comrades?"

Even now Naoya's act was strong, but his eyes revealed confusion and bewilderment.

"That's correct. Surely you know which friend I speak of."

[Oh my! What's happening?! Like seriously, what is happening?!]

Naoya knew who she meant, and so did I. It was me.

'When did they set this up?'

My fist was clenched even tighter as I wondered when they made this trap for Naoya. He always made it an open secret whenever he found a crush so it wouldn't be hard to figure out that it was her, but I couldn't deduce when they made this plan.

Was it before the incident, after it, or after they saw how he got along with me? There was a chance that this wasn't my fault, but I definitely wasn't the type of guy to believe such a thing. Without a doubt, this was my fault.

"Heh, that's what bad company does."

"Always brings people down."

"He should have chosen his friends better."

Unable to do anything, I could only endure the sneers around me as my rage threatened to boil over.

'He doesn't deserve this. He doesn't! And yet because of me-'

My breaking point was getting closer and closer, but before it reached its peak, Naoya responded with his usual voice.

"Then I guess I've been rejected."

"Huh?"

[Another surprise! The confession warrior has accepted his loss without a hint of frustration!]

Everyone, including Ms. Ria and myself were shocked by how easily Naoya gave up. I liked this turn of events but I didn't understand why he was able to give up so quickly.

'Is this also an act, or...?'

What was going through Naoya's head at this moment? I didn't know. But unlike me who was able to laugh it off, Ms. Ria was livid. Which made sense, after all, although she was the one who rejected him, since he seemed okay with it it gave the image that he wasn't that interested in her in the first place.

As her expression changed at a rapid pace, Ms. Ria shouted, "What? Are you not even going to consider it? Are you really going to stick with that pathetic guy rather than have the glorious opportunity to be by my side?!"

"That's right," Naoya answered plainly.

"Why?!!!"

"Because he's my best friend."

At this moment, the entire school audience went silent. He said it casually, but in this setting a firm determination could be heard in his words. Afraid that I would start grinning like an idiot, I hurriedly hung my head and covered my mouth. 

'Damn it! This is so embarrassing.'

If Naoya ever saw me like this, he would surely tease me about it for all eternity, but even then I would probably still thank him. He was only one person, and yet clearly hearing his feelings made the large number of enemies I had seem insignificant. 

'Thanks...'

As I quickly crushed the urge to cry, I heard the unstable voice of the announcer who seemed to be closer to crying than I was.

[In my year as an announcer, I have never seen such a pure display of bromance. Whoever this friend is, I hope you're listening because damn, you got a real bro here!]

Hearing how emotional the announcer got allowed me to suppress my own turbid emotions. I chuckled at how moved he was, but I agreed with him. 

'I got myself a real good friend here. Which means I definitely can't just be a burden to him.'