Volume 1 - CH 1.4

For Aoi, watching Tomoe’s behavior was like watching an inflated balloon that could burst at any moment. Due to this, she felt really uneasy about her situation. That was why as soon as she got home, she immediately texted Tomoe.

[Are you okay?]

After seeing the text that had been sent, a rush of embarrassment came over her. She felt ashamed of her own stupidity. Of course Tomoe wasn’t okay, her question was completely pointless.

She hurriedly tried to delete the message, but before she was able to do so, a reply from Tomoe came.

[I’m good!]

The reply came with a sticker of a cute-looking rabbit.

Seeing that her best friend could still act like this, Aoi felt relieved. But immediately after that, another reply came from Tomoe.

[I’m good, but you know, if only I didn’t fall in love with Nao, maybe I wouldn’t feel like this. Maybe I could help him more willingly.]

Before five seconds had passed, Tomoe deleted it and in its place, there was a new reply that said, [Sorry].

“What should I do? Should I really leave her alone?”

After looking at that short reply, Aoi muttered.

‘What kind of reply should I give to that one word reply? Aoi pondered. But even after the night passed, she still couldn’t find an answer to both questions.

*   *   *

Miyama Aoi wasn’t good at handling love affairs.

It wasn’t like she hated it, but she wasn’t particularly fond of it either.

To her, love was something that she’d read in novels or watch in dramas. Something that she could use as a topic of conversation with others.

Rather than romance, Aoi preferred stories that were related to heroes. If romance stories were something that she read to help her socialize with people, stories about heroes were something that she enjoyed wholeheartedly. She adored heroes so much that she filled her own bookshelves with shounen manga and American comics.

However, not even those heroes that Aoi adored would be able to help Tomoe with her troubles.

Of course, it wasn’t because they were powerless or anything, but her problem was something that was out of their jurisdiction. After all, what Tomoe needed wasn’t a hero of justice, but an expert of love.

Even if Aoi tried to pretend that she was a beautiful girl with hundreds of years of knowledge about love, she still couldn’t think of anything to say to Tomoe. She could probably give her an advice or two, but they wouldn’t help resolve Tomoe’s problem at its roots.

As far as Aoi was concerned, there was only one person that would be able to help Tomoe with her problem.

Aoi was looking at her social media while idling on her bed when she remembered about a certain account with the name of ‘Baku’. Yes, the account that Takayuki used for his love counseling service.

“…Hehe, I see.”

She went through the account’s page and browsed through the interactions between him and his followers.

He wasn’t Kaitou Ranma or anything, but the way he responded was polite, despite being a delinquent. Not only that, he always tried to help his clients patiently until they managed to come to a conclusion. (T/N: Kaitou Ranma was a period drama about a detective that lives in the Meiji Era. I don’t know much about it, so I don’t exactly know what the reference entails, sorry.)

“Love counseling, huh?”

And so, Aoi decided to give it a try. Maybe this account that she found while searching in the dark would be her ray of light.

*   *   *

“Satou? That Satou Takayuki?”

“Yes, that guy with dead eyes.”

Next morning. On the way to school, Aoi planned to stop a student or two to find out more information about Takayuki. Before asking him for his love consultation service, she wanted to find out more about the person himself first.

She was looking for a girl that went to the same middle school as him. It would be more preferable if she were from a different class. Of course, with her identity as the perfect beauty, she had a wide arrange of contacts and she had already befriended the right person.

However, since it would be strange if she were to bring up the topic out of nowhere, Aoi started their conversation with a small talk before approaching the topic.

“Satou, huh? That guy is bad news. The thing about him is he’s the kind of person that attracts all sorts of problems without trying. There were rumors about him having some beef with other delinquents, but since he always got away unscathed, it seems like he’s really tough in fistfights. Back in middle school, he was often spotted together with girls and they all cried in front of him, so I assume that he’s a playboy of some sorts.”

The girl was Aoi’s friend from another class, Takayama. As she was speaking, she fiddled around her silver-rimmed glass to ease her nervousness. For Takayama who didn’t stand out much from the rest of the girls, it was hard not to be nervous around someone like Aoi.

“Rumors, huh? …Takayama-san, have you witnessed those rumors in person?”

“I saw a group of rough-looking adults wearing black suits bowing at him once and I never thought about trying to get myself involved with him ever since.”

“What? That’s quite something, isn’t it?”

“…Ah, right, those guys looked like guards of a selfish young lady or something, you know, the kind that you’d see in dramas.”

“Seriously, what kind of connection does he have? That actually scares me…”

Aoi tried to compare the Takayuki that she knew and the Takayuki that she heard from rumors, but she failed to make any connections between the two. It felt like they were two different people. The Takayuki that she knew was merely an ordinary high school student. Seeing the discrepancies between the rumors and the real person, Aoi tilted her head.

“A-Anyway, Miyama-san! It’s better for you to not involve yourself with that guy! It won’t end well for you!”

“I don’t want to involve myself with him, but he owes me something, so it’s all good. I doubt that he’ll try to hurt me or anything.”

“Eh? He owes you?”

“Yeah. I can ask for a favor from him, that’s why I’m trying to find out what kind of person he actually is. I want to use the favor wisely, after all.”

That was why she decided to investigate him. Though she had no intention to find out about the secret that he tried so desperately to hide. The result of her investigation was quite something, though.

“…Ah, that idiot… What kind of trouble did he get into this time?”

Hearing Aoi’s words, the student in front of her scratched her head before letting out a sigh.

Her face looked stunned as she grumbled, “That guy, seriously…” But it seemed like there was a sense of familiarity toward Takayuki in her tone.

“Miyama-san, let me be honest with you. I hate that guy, I don’t give a d**n about that idiot, but you see…”

Takayama hurled abuses and curses at the boy, but there was something else hidden between those words.

“Even though he’s a jerk and an irredeemable a**hole, you can count on him. Whatever your problem is, he’ll help you earnestly. So, please don’t be too harsh on him.”

Her words were clumsy, but the feelings inside those words were genuine.

Aoi wasn’t skillful enough to confirm what exactly those feelings were, but she was able to tell that Takayama was telling her the truth.

What Aoi managed to notice though, was the worry hidden between the curses and abuses.

“I’ll keep that in mind, but Takayama-san, what kind of relationship do you two—”

“L-Look at the time! I-I have to go now! See you at school, Miyama-san!”

When Aoi tried to ask her for more details, Takayama cut the conversation short and dashed out toward the school’s direction.

“…It seems like I need to find out more about Satou-kun.”

As she watched Takayama’s moving back, Aoi silently resolved herself.

She didn’t know whether he would become a ray of hope for her, but the boy named Satou Takayuki was too much of a mystery to be left alone.

*   *   *

To gather more information about Takayuki, Aoi tried her best to avoid coming into contact with her classmates.

She didn’t want her classmates to know that she was asking people around about him. Before long, not only she managed to dig out information about him from her friends, but also from the friends of her friends.

The result was 30% of them had a favorable impression about him, 50% of them admitted to hating his guts, but they had to acknowledge that he had good parts in him and the rest of them either had no interest in him or just didn’t want anything to do with him.

Apparently Satou Takayuki was more famous than Aoi had expected.

“I didn’t expect this…”

By the time Aoi’s investigation concluded, it was already noon. She managed to come to a conclusion.

Takayuki was a delinquent, but there was something in him that made people attracted to him.

“Is he a demon? A snake? Or probably even a monster?”

And so, Aoi decided to ask for Takayuki’s aid.

The fact that he was more experienced in regards to the matter of love was part of the reason for that, but more than that, Aoi wanted to see what kind of surprise he would show her.

Aoi decided to contact him.

She already managed to get his contacts by using ‘monitoring’ as a pretext, so that first hurdle was gone. Though, back when they exchanged contacts, Aoi remembered that the boy had a sour look.

Then, Aoi quickly operated the message app and sent him a text. All while grumbling that he should be more grateful toward her, after all it was rare for a boy to be able to exchange contacts with a pretty girl like her.

*   *   *

[We have to talk.]

[But, I haven’t done anything yet.]

[No, not about that, the other thing.]

[You’re scaring me. Can you be more clear?]

[What else do you think I’m talking about? It’s about the matter of love consultation.]

[Got it. Is it urgent?]

[Not really, but it’s preferable if it’s resolved quickly.]

[I have an appointment until five today, we’ll talk then.]

[If you don’t mind, you could just tell me the place where you’ll be having an appointment at, so I can get there as soon as possible.]

[Got it. Look for the park fifteen minutes away from school. The one where there’s a fountain in the middle.]

[Ah, okay.]

[Please be there on time– No, it’s okay if you’re late. It’s better if you don’t come at all.]

[Roger.]

*   *   *

Right after she finished exchanging texts with Takayuki, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

“Phew.”

After letting out a sigh, Aoi wrote a schedule in her note so that she wouldn’t forget about it.

[Satou-kun. Appointment. Park. 4.30]

Of course, she scheduled herself to arrive before the appointment.

She kept telling herself that she was doing this to keep an eye on him, but in truth she was just curious what he was up to.

“I’m going to see what you’re up to, Satou-kun~”

Aoi couldn’t help but let out a smile at the thought. It was an inappropriate expression to make in this kind of situation but she couldn’t care less about it.

After all, Miyama Aoi had not lost her adventurous spirit yet. The thought of discovering a hidden side of someone she knew made her heart pound in excitement.

*   *   *

Aoi saw a strange sight at the park.

“No! I want to play with Takayuki-kun more!”

“Taka-nii! Let’s play more!”

“I don’t want to go home!”

There was a humanoid lifeform that was being surrounded by children from every side. It seemed to be struggling to breathe due to a little girl hugging its face firmly.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

The humanoid lifeform, Takayuki, let out a groan in protest before he gently peeled the children off his body one by one.

However, despite his efforts, the children kept clinging on to him, creating an endless loop.

“C’mon! You guys are troubling him! Stop it!”

“It’s time to go home!”

“Seriously. Sorry about this, Takayuki-kun. I keep troubling you to take care of these children…”

However, the loop didn’t end up being an endless one as the mother of the kids forcibly pried her children away from Takayuki.

“Huff… Huff… I-It’s fine, the benefit goes both ways anyway… A-Anyway, see you guys later.”

““Bye!””

Takayuki saw the kids off while panting heavily. He then let out a deep sigh.

“…Didn’t I tell you not to come early?”

Then, he turned his glance to Aoi, who was sitting quietly on a bench while witnessing his pathetic state.

The current time was 4.52pm according to the large clock installed in the park.

“You did. But, consider this from my perspective, Satou-kun. You have a ‘criminal record’ already, so it’s my obligation to monitor you, especially when you were acting suspiciously like that.”

“Ugh…”

As her words hit a sore spot, Takayuki let out a groan.

Since Aoi held his weakness, he couldn’t really go against her words.

“But, I gotta admit that you surprised me. I never expected that you’d be so popular among the children… Sorry that I doubted you. I can bow my head if you want me to.”

“No need to. It isn’t like I’m doing this for free.”

“The children seem to be attached to you, though.”

“They’re children, they could be attached to anyone who is kind enough to them.”

Takayuki brushed the dust off his uniform before sitting down next to Aoi without any hesitation.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Is it okay to talk about it in the open like this?”

“This park is a playground for the grade schoolers, no high schoolers or adults would ever come here to hang out. The kids won’t come here to play after 5pm, so there won’t be anyone to disturb us. We can talk for an hour or so here. Well, of course we can move to a better place if you want to.”

“No, here is fine.”

The reason why she asked that question was to test Takayuki. She was already aware that there were no people around them, but she wanted to make sure that he considered her circumstances.

Of course, Takayuki passed her test with flying colors. She decided that it should be okay to talk to him about Tomoe’s situation.

“Well, this is about my friend who lives in the next town over.”

But, she wouldn’t carelessly give out Tomoe’s name here. After all, she decided to consult Takayuki about her problem without telling Tomoe herself. With this, even if the content of their conversation was somehow leaked, no one would connect it to Tomoe.

“I see, so it’s the matter between Ukai and Mihara. Their problem is trickier than you thought, huh?

“!”

But, Takayuki managed to see through her lies.

“…What are you even talking about?”

“Sorry about this, but I figured it out the moment you contacted me. Well, even if I’m not a certified counselor, I should know this much if I want to call myself one.”

Aoi tried to suppress her reaction by acting as calm as possible, but it seemed like there was no point in doing it.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. Even if I were to do it, everyone knows that it’s a bad idea to get on your bad side, so it’s pointless.”

“…Ugh.”

“C’mon, stop sulking. I can go on with your lies, but I just don’t want to complicate things later in the future, okay? Please, just bear with it.”

Hearing Takayuki said that in an aloof tone made Aoi shut her mouth close. She wasn’t childish enough to keep sulking in this situation, though, so she snapped out of it quickly.

After keeping a mental note on this shortcoming of hers, she proceeded to ask Takayuki a question,

“Speaking of the future, can you give me some sound advice for them, Satou-kun?”

“Before we get to that, let me ask you a question, Miyama. So, what you want to do is to ease Ukai’s broken heart, right? It isn’t for something stupid like wanting to be recognized by everyone for your feat of solving her relationship problem, right?”

“I hate it when my question is answered with another question… But, yes. I’m only doing this for Tomoe. Feat or whatnot, that superficial thing doesn’t matter. I won’t betray my friend’s trust in me for such a trivial matter. I just want to make Tomoe happy, that’s all.”

“Amazing. As expected of our Miss Honor Student.”

“This much is expected. Tomoe is my best friend.”

After hearing Aoi’s answer, Takayuki smirked.

“Your relationship is so beautiful… Ah, this isn’t sarcasm or anything, I’m genuinely praising you. Normally, people only came to me carrying dirty feelings like jealousy or betrayal. I really respect you.”

“…”

But his eyes weren’t smiling.

There was a possibility that he was just messing around with her, but Aoi dismissed it. The initial impression she had of the boy was off by a mile. He always did something beyond her expectations.

“Now that we’ve gone through all that, let’s begin. First thing first, though. There’s no sure-way to solve this problem of yours. The source of the problem is Ukai herself, after all. We can’t really do much until she becomes sick of the situation on her own.”

There was irreverence in his expression as Takayuki said his words.

Naturally, Aoi didn’t take his words well. She tried to suppress her bad mood and ask him another question.

“…Are you telling me to just give up and let her suffer?”

“That’s not what I mean. Here’s the thing, the problem is that this is what Ukai wanted. She was the one who put herself in this kind of situation. But here comes the question. Why did she do that in the first place?”

“Why?…”

“I’m an outsider in this matter, so this is just my speculation, but I think she’s too devoted to Mihara. Her devotion is already on the level of being abnormal. I’m not implying that it isn’t okay to hide her feelings like that, it’s completely fine. Taking a step back and letting her childhood friend chase after his love is also fine. The problem here is that she’s trying to actively help him. She brought this suffering upon herself.”

After hearing Takayuki’s words, Aoi pondered over Tomoe’s past behavior.

Indeed, there was something off about it. Yes, Tomoe was a kind girl who’d always put others before herself, but even for someone like her, this action was abnormal.

“Do you have any idea about this, Miyama? She seems to be thinking that she has to help Mihara no matter the cost. Does she have a life debt to him or something? Or maybe she’s feeling guilty about something? If it’s the latter, then she’ll be treating this suffering as just deserts.”

“…That’s…”

“You seem to know about something, but you don’t know whether it’s okay or not to tell me about it without asking her permission first. Got it, I’ll ask her for permission myself.”

Aoi blinked her eyes and tilted her head at Takayuki, who said everything so casually.

“Don’t you think it’ll be better if I’m the one who asks her for permission?”

“I don’t think it’s right for me to hear it from you. I know you’re involved with the case directly, but it’ll be better for me to hear everything from the person herself.”

“You want to talk with her? …Well, fine, I’ll let her know.”

“Honestly, I prefer face-to-face counseling. Well, if you’re worried that I’ll do something, you can just stay by her side. Well, that should be it for today, we’ll continue this tomorrow.”

“…I thought you said that there’s no sure-way to solve this problem, why do you look so confident?”

Aoi asked while glaring at him.

More than anyone, Aoi understood that she could use her beauty as a means of intimidation. That was why her glare looked both enchanting and intimidating. 

“I mean, it’s true, there’s no cure-all for this situation. What we need to do for Ukai is to make her forget about her feelings completely. To do that, she has to go through this suffering to the point that she’ll regret everything. You, as her best friend, can help her with this, but not me since I’m a stranger to her.”

But Takayuki maintained the same attitude of aloofness and irreverence. He met Aoi’s glare with a fearless smile.

“Well, that’s how it normally goes. But there’s this neat thing that I have, a power that’s similar to magic.”

“…Huh?”

Aoi opened her eyes wide after hearing those words.

No one would blame her if she were to lash out at him in anger. Throwing out a joke-like sentence in the middle of a serious talk was anything but rude.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you believe me or not, everything will end the same way anyway. All you need to understand is that I can solve Ukai’s problem.”

However, it was clear from his tone that he wasn’t joking.

“Wait a minute, are you being serious right now? There’s a magic that you can use to solve her problem?”

To Aoi’s question, Takayuki answered in a dignified manner.

“Yes, I have the power to eat other people’s love.”

He nonchalantly answered her question like that.

“…Could it be?”

Seeing Takayuki’s attitude, Aoi felt irritation and anticipation swirled inside her.

In all her life, there was only one person who could say such an absurd thing with confidence like that. However, that wasn’t enough for Aoi to make a final judgment on the matter.

The fact that he was wearing a similar looking red hairpin with her childhood hero wasn’t enough. The fact that he looked similar to her childhood hero also wasn’t enough.

Unless Aoi could confirm that everything he said was real, she wouldn’t come to any conclusion just yet.