Vol. 2 Chapter 12 – Jealousy and Level Up (1)

—Friday, the last school day of the week.

I stood frozen before the classroom entrance.

From the other side of the single door separating us, the cheerful voices of classmates chatting before the first period began echoed.

…Why did I even get an image change?

A day late, I was plagued by immense regret.

I did it on impulse… to gain confidence, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a rash decision.

I was still just a gloomy type otaku drifting at the bottom of the caste, present tense.

If someone like that changed their hairstyle at this timing, what would people think?

The most likely conclusion would be that I got cocky because I got a girl.

If they just thought it, that would still be okay.

But if those thoughts took shape as words or actions directed at me, my inferiority complex might swell even further, rather than my confidence.

The more I thought, the more negative thoughts overflowed, one after another.

I felt an urge to tear at the hair I had spent several painstaking minutes styling this morning.

How much easier would it be to just turn back now, go home, and escape into the world of games?

But I couldn’t do that.

There was something I couldn’t obtain unless I crawled up from the very bottom where I currently stood.

Besides, right now, I was just Level 1 with poor equipment.

Even if I suffered a death penalty, I had nothing to lose.

With unshakeable resolve, I reached for the door… and threw it open.

The sight of roughly forty classmates spending their time as they pleased before the morning class was revealed.

The scene I usually passed by without a second thought now appeared before me with the high resolution of 4K max graphics settings.

A few of them glanced towards me as I opened the door and entered.

However, they showed no particular reaction and quickly returned to their conversations.

Maybe… I was just overthinking it…?

A feeling of relief mixed with anticlimax washed over me.

People gossip for seventy-five days… maybe no one cared anymore.

Or so I thought for a fleeting moment—

“Ah, Reiya-kun! Good morning!” (Hikaru)

The instant Hikaru, who was chatting with Hino-san in the front row, noticed my presence, she called out in a voice that carried clearly throughout the classroom.

‘Reiya!?’
‘First name basis!?’
‘Ew… I kinda don’t like that…’
‘And isn’t he trying way too hard?’

Like failing to manage aggro in an instance dungeon, reactions erupted chain-like from all corners of the classroom.

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, that unpleasant atmosphere centered around me once again enveloped the classroom.

She probably didn’t mean any harm, but the sheer height of her extraordinary influence made the muscles in my face twitch involuntarily.

“G-Good morning…” (Reiya)

Telling myself I should have expected this much, I gathered myself and returned Hikaru’s greeting.

“Morning. Did you get a haircut?” (Ayaka)

Hino-san was the first to comment on my change.

“Ah… yeah, it was getting a little long…” (Reiya)
“Hmm…” (Ayaka)

Her gaze, seemingly seeing through everything, remained fixed intently on my head.

‘Tsk tsk… Trying to show off… Hikaru doesn’t care about things like that…’

…It felt like I could hear her inner voice saying that.

Feeling awkward, I shifted my gaze towards Hikaru, only to find her staring intently at my head too.

And for some reason, she looked slightly displeased.

“I-Is something wrong…?” (Reiya)
“Nothing~…” (Hikaru)

Her reply was curt, matching her expression.

Did I screw something up? Worried, I traced the threads of my memory and found one possibility.

Could it be… because I was late replying to her PINE message last night?

It’s true I didn’t notice for about thirty minutes because I was too absorbed in a game…

But that wasn’t my fault; the game was just too interesting.

Hikaru should understand that feeling, I thought, preparing my explanation—

“Aaalright… Bit early, but let’s start homeroom.” (Toida-sensei)

Ahead of the starting bell, Toida-sensei entered the classroom.

“Okay, hurry up and get to your seats…” (Toida-sensei)

Unable to explain myself, I had no choice but to head towards my own seat.

Homeroom ended without incident, and the first period class began immediately.

Even once class started, I obviously couldn’t focus properly.

Listening to the sound of chalk scratching out letters, I vaguely stared at the blackboard—

Suddenly, I noticed movement in the front row seat.

Taking advantage of a moment when the teacher on the podium was writing on the board, Hikaru kept glancing my way.

And she wore the same expression as before, looking somewhat peeved.

Is she seriously angry…?

Was being late with a PINE reply really such a huge landmine…?

An unpleasant sweat trickled down my back.

If she ends up hating me over this, confidence becomes a moot point.

Alright, first thing after class ends, I’ll apologize immediately.

The time until the end of that first period felt several times longer than usual.

The bell rang, and the teacher left the classroom.

I stood up simultaneously, intending to head towards her, but…

She stood up first and, with footwork reminiscent of her time on the court, arrived at my side in an instant.

Perhaps her anger had swelled further during the fifty minutes of class, as she stood beside me imposingly, wearing a disgruntled expression.

“S-Sorry about yesterday. I got a little too into the game and didn’t notice—” (Reiya)
“Your hair… why did you cut it?” (Hikaru)

Cutting off my explanation, she asked me a question instead.

“Eh? Why…? Like I said earlier… because it was getting long…” (Reiya)

I repeated the same reason I gave before class.

“…Really? No other reason?” (Hikaru)

She pressed further, looking even more sullenly displeased.

“O-Of course… There’s no other reason but that…” (Reiya)

I nodded like a clumsy puppet.

I was actually lying, but it was a necessary lie.

There was no way I could tell her directly that it was because I wanted to become a man worthy of her, so I had to stick with this.

However, the words that came out of her mouth next were completely unexpected.

“Could it be, you’re trying to be popular with someone other than me…?” (Hikaru)

Why did she suddenly start saying yandere-like things…?