Vol. 1 Chapter 7 – Leftover Companions

Two days had passed since that day, and the most depressing Monday in the world had arrived.

Ah, I wanna go home and play games already…

That marked the twentieth time today I’d thought that from my seat in the last row by the window.

It had just turned twelve o’clock, right in the middle of fourth-period math.

At the front of the class, the elderly teacher was spouting incomprehensible words about imaginary and complex numbers.

Just thinking that this torture-like time would continue for over three more hours was exhausting.

As if escaping reality, I surveyed the classroom from the back row.

Classroom attitude is generally proportional to distance from the blackboard, huh… As I let my gaze wander with such thoughts, the back of Asahi-san, sitting in the front row, caught my eye.

She was diligently copying the board notes into her notebook with a seriousness matching her focus during games.

Her position, her enthusiasm—everything was the opposite of mine.

Two days had passed since then, and now it even felt like her playing games in my room might have been a dream.

Unable to concentrate on class even more than usual, fourth period finally ended.

Simultaneously with the start of lunch break, the classroom, quiet during class, instantly burst into liveliness.

“Ayaka~! Let’s eat lunch~!” (Hikaru)
“Okay… but I didn’t bring a bento today, I’m getting cafeteria food.” (Ayaka)
“Then let’s eat together in the cafeteria! Oh, wasn’t today’s daily special fried shrimp! Let’s trade side dishes!” (Hikaru)
“Why are you assuming I’m ordering the daily special…?” (Ayaka)

Before the bell had even stopped ringing, Asahi-san was the first to invite the class representative, Hino Ayaka, to lunch.

The two were apparently best friends since elementary school, a daily sight during lunch break.

Other A-List girls joined them, forming a group like a princess and her royal guard.

Naturally, I wasn’t invited to join them.

The mixed-gender group led by the A-List boys, the close-knit groups connected by club activities…

As if the school hierarchy itself dictated the order of actions, the classmates split off one after another.

Once everyone’s movements had generally settled, my turn to act finally came.

Taking the plastic bag I’d bought on the way to school out of my bag, I quietly left the classroom.

I passed through the connecting corridor, moving from the main school building to the separate building next door.

Then I climbed the stairs, walked down the third-floor hallway, and entered Multipurpose Room B…

“Yo…” (Reiya)

I greeted the occupants who had arrived before me amidst the haphazardly arranged seats in the seldom-used room.

“Yo.” (Hayato)
“Hey.” (Yuuma)

The two, eating their bentos while holding their smartphones, returned similarly bland greetings.

Kazama Hayato and Kaneda Yuuma.

They were among my few friends since first year… which sounds nice, but in reality, we were leftover Gloomy Type companions who couldn’t fit into other groups.

The very fact that we ate lunch here, out of sight, should tell you our standing.

I also sat down in a random seat, took the sandwich I’d bought out of the bag, and started eating.

Although we ate together like this vaguely every day, conversation didn’t always flow.

From a distance, all three of us might be lumped together as Gloomy Types, but up close, we were completely distinct individuals.

Next to Hayato, who was watching videos on his phone, Yuuma rode the emotional rollercoaster of a gacha game.

Across from them, I casually took out my handheld gaming PC, the ‘Streamdeck’.

Alright, what should I play today?

Fifty minutes until the nightmare of classes resumed.

Just as I was about to indulge in the sole blissful moment of my gloomy school life—

“Aren’t you like, the only high school student in the entire country who brings something like that to school?” (Hayato)

—Hayato interjected with a cool tone.

“Don’t call it ‘something like that’. Besides, there are probably four or five others besides me… maybe.” (Reiya)
“Even if there are, it’s only four or five…” (Hayato)
“Anyway, today’s game is… ‘Poglin’!” (Reiya)

Holding the game machine, about as heavy as a full bento box, with one hand, I showed it to the two of them.

Poglin is a game that feels like an StS-like roguelike crossed with pachinko.

A single playthrough is short, making it a perfect title to play during the limited time of lunch break.

“Never heard of it~…” (Hayato)
“Are there any cute girls in it?” (Yuuma)

As usual, cold, uninterested responses came back from the two.

“Jeez, you guys always say that… Look at this! A goblin with exquisitely beady eyes rolls balls to defeat enemies pachinko-style!? Isn’t that irresistible!?” (Reiya)
“Nah, not really. It’s easier and better to just watch someone else stream it than play it myself.” (Hayato)
“I don’t really feel motivated unless there are cute girls.” (Yuuma)

What wonderfully supportive friends they were.

And so continued the intense time, each of us doing our own thing, occasionally exchanging just a few words with these companions.

When about ten minutes of lunch break remained, just as I was thinking about heading back to the classroom—

“Ah~… I want a girlfriend too~…” (Hayato)

Hayato, slumped over his desk, said this in a voice more anguished than usual.

“What’s up all of a sudden? Did the spring weather get to you?” (Reiya)
“Yesterday, I saw Komiya from our class walking arm-in-arm with Fujimoto-san from Class A…” (Hayato)
“Fujimoto-san… from the track club?” (Yuuma)

It was a name I didn’t know, but Yuuma apparently did, looking up from his smartphone with interest.

“Yeah, that Fujimoto-san, famous for her beautiful legs in long-distance running.” (Hayato)
“How do you know info about girls from other classes?” (Reiya)
“I’ve checked out all the cute girls in our grade.” (Hayato)

That’s pretty creepy… I kept that thought to myself.

“The two of them were walking together, looking super close… Like, this is youth, you know…” (Hayato)
“Komiya-kun is cool too, so they probably look good together.” (Yuuma)
“While those two are enjoying their youth to the fullest… I’m holding convenience store fried chicken in one hand, and scrolling through short videos on my phone with the other…” (Hayato)
“Using your phone while walking is genuinely dangerous, you should stop.” (Reiya)

My calm interjection was ignored, and his lamentation continued.

“It was just so miserable, so sad… Why couldn’t I spend my youth like that, instead of eating lunch in a stuffy room like this with two other guys…” (Hayato)
“But isn’t this fun in its own way? We can relax without worrying about appearances, I quite like it.” (Yuuma)
“Shut up!! There’s no way I’m letting my entire three years of high school memories just be ‘chatted idly with guys in the multipurpose room’!!” (Hayato)
“So? What’s your point, ultimately? Class is gonna start soon if we don’t head back.” (Reiya)

Hayato slammed both hands on the desk and stood up with theatrical flair.

“I’m getting a girlfriend before summer vacation!!” (Hayato)

And thus, a goal far too high for us was loudly proclaimed.

“I see, good luck. I’ll be cheering for you.” (Reiya)

Casually tuning out Representative Kazama’s policy speech, I started cleaning up my lunch trash.

“You couldn’t interact with any girls at all during first year, so it’s impossible now, right?” (Yuuma)

Yuuma, smiling cheerfully, accurately twisted the knife deep into the vital spot.

Compared to this, my insincere encouragement was kinder.

“Sh-Shut up! What about you guys, saying things like that! Don’t you want girlfriends!? You do, right!?” (Hayato)
“Hmm… If you ask if I want one or not, I guess I do, but I don’t think I need to be that desperate~. I’m satisfied with my oshi-katsu right now. Here, look, look.” (Yuuma)

Saying that, he proudly showed off the max limit broken SSR character displayed on his smartphone screen.

Apparently, tens or even hundreds of thousands of yen were spent on this one character.

“My bad for asking you. What about you, Reiya? Don’t you want a girlfriend?” (Hayato)
“Ditto. Not enough to be that desperate.” (Reiya)
“Tch… Is that so. Well, you’ve got that beautiful, busty cousin, after all~. You spend time alone with her after school every day, right? Guess you wouldn’t be interested in just any girl out there.” (Hayato)
“Don’t say things that sound bad… I’m just helping out at the restaurant…” (Reiya)

Almost every day after school on weekdays, I help out at the Western-style restaurant run by my cousin.

They begged me to let them visit, so I made the mistake of inviting these two just once before.

Ever since, they’ve frequently brought it up in conversation like this, making me regret taking them.

“Well, joking aside… Don’t you ever think about wanting to play games side-by-side with a cute girlfriend?” (Hayato)
“Side-by-side, huh…” (Reiya)
“Yeah! Swooping in to save her when she’s in a pinch, and she’s like, ‘Kyaa, amazing! Hold me!’ or something!” (Hayato)
“Hah… You really don’t get it at all.” (Reiya)

I held my head in exasperation at Hayato, who was emphasizing his point with a little act.

“Get what?” (Hayato)
“Listen up, okay? For me, gaming is the liberation of the oppressed soul… Meaning, when I play games, I need to be undisturbed, free… and, how should I put it, saved. No matter how unpopular a gloomy otaku I am, approaching a work with such ulterior motives laid bare is disrespectful—” (Reiya)

…Saturday, four days after I gave that pretentious speech.

“Papa! Hammer the nail, the nail!!” (Hikaru)
“R-Roger!” (Reiya)

I was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Asahi-san, controller in hand.

Her calling me ‘Papa’ wasn’t part of some special kind of play.

This entire situation stemmed from a single phrase she uttered last Saturday.

‘Since we’re at it, don’t you want to play some games we can play together next time?’

Receiving those words, I searched for a game we could play together.

A work that was fun, exciting, and could satisfy my pride as a gamer.

After racking my brain and body, I remembered the existence of a certain game.

‘It Needs Two’

It was a two-player-only action-adventure game that had even won prestigious game awards.

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• Streamdeck: Valve’s Steam Deck handheld gaming PC.
• Poglin: A reference to the game Peglin.
• StS-like Roguelike: Referring to roguelike deck-builder games inspired by Slay the Spire.
• Pachinko: Japanese mechanical game, often involving dropping balls through pins.
• Oshi Katsu: Activities supporting one’s favorite character/idol.
• Max Limit Break / Fully Uncapped: a gacha game term for maximizing a character/item, usually by obtaining multiple copies.
• SSR: Super Super Rare, a common high rarity tier in gacha games.
• Papa: Used in the context of the game It Takes Two, where the players control parents.
• Nail: Refers to a specific mechanic/level in It Takes Two. I don’t know which one is correct.
• It Needs Two: Reference to the game It Takes Two.