The tram swayed, and between starting and stopping, some people got off and more people got on, making the carriage more crowded.
"Yoshikawa is a little twisted."
"Really? This is just a common concern between friends."
Yoshikawa Anko leaned behind Soya, relying on his body to maintain her stability.
"Or do you think Souya thinks I'm not your friend?"
"No, I didn't mean that."
"Then if you are excluded by close friends, Souya will also care about what they talk about in private, right?"
"If it's privacy, I'll understand."
"Is it privacy?"
"...Let's call it that."
"But, I think Soya and Akane are just hiding it from me."
Only then did Soya realize that Yoshikawa's senses were surprisingly sharp, "If it were in front of Suzu, you would have no reservations."
"No, there is no such thing."
"Is it because Ling only listens but doesn't speak? I can do it too."
"I believe in Yoshikawa."
"so……"
"There is no such thing. If there is something that cannot be told to Yoshikawa, it will only be kept private."
"..."
The female classmate behind him grabbed his uniform and remained silent for five or six stops.
It wasn't until the tram stopped again and she was accidentally hit by someone squeezing into the carriage that she let out a low cry of pain.
Zonggu heard it, "Are you okay?"
"It doesn't matter..."
Yoshikawa glanced to the side. The backpack of her co-passenger was filled to the brim, and what caused her unbearable pain was the bulge in it that looked like a book corner.
Pack too much and the backpack becomes deformed.
"I might be a little twisted."
"……What?"
"It feels like Akane has become farther and farther away from me since Soya appeared."
"I'm quite scared when you suddenly say that."
Yoshikawa chuckled.
"Isn't it? When Soya showed up for the first time, he pretended to be Akane's boyfriend, and even I believed him. She obviously had no contact with boys in the three years of elementary school and middle school."
"I only found out about her plan after meeting Kirino and Yoshikawa."
"What's the plan?"
"..."
Zong Gu suddenly felt a little unconfident, but he still said the possibility that first came to his mind.
"Showing off in front of people of the same sex...especially Yoshikawa?"
"Exhibition? Zonggu feels really good about himself, even though his height and appearance are indeed very good... Oops, your ears are red."
"..."
"It's even redder."
"...Stop talking, stop talking."
Yoshikawa laughed a few more times, then stopped and began to explain to him.
"When it comes to showing off in front of girls, Zongya is actually half right.
Graduation was approaching at that time, and the boys in the class also became eager to make a move.
Among them, those boys who have thoughts about Akane also want to convey their feelings to her before they are separated.
But it's still hard to muster the courage.
So, those boys asked girls who were close to Akane to test her thoughts in advance... They were so stupid that they had no new ideas at all."
"..."
She noticed Souya's confusion for a moment.
"Soya."
"What?"
"If the girl Souya likes suddenly says to you: 'I like Mr. A, but I don't have the courage to confess, please help me test his feelings'... What would Souya think?"
"fraud."
Yoshikawa was stunned, "Huh?"
"Nothing...I understand what you mean."
"Yeah."
"Those girls will hate Kirino for this, right?"
"All in all, a lot of things happened in the middle, and Zonggu showed up at the right time.
After rumors spread that Akane had a tall and handsome boyfriend outside of school, the trouble quickly disappeared."
"Turns out I did something good without knowing it."
Soya laughed twice, and suddenly remembered the obsession of the girl behind him with Kirino Akane.
"'Natural'..."
Yoshikawa Anko leaned on his back and understood the underlying meaning of his words without any hindrance.
“What does Soya think is ‘natural’?”
It was not an easy question to answer, and she gave her own answer before he could find the words.
"I think 'natural' means extreme concentration. For Akane, the point of concentration is to eliminate the unpleasantness in front of you.
No matter what the process is, her ultimate goal is to eliminate the unpleasantness and return herself to a peaceful state."
Zong Gu thought for a while, "I think this is a common pursuit of most people."
Yoshikawa: "Let me give you another example. If Soya was walking by Lake Biwa and suddenly saw someone falling into the water, would he feel unhappy?"
Sotani: "If happiness refers to the calm state when walking, then encountering this situation can be said to be unpleasant."
Yoshikawa: "In order to eliminate the unpleasantness, Soya will save people."
Zonggu nodded.
"But Akane might pick up the pebbles and let the person simply sink to the bottom of the lake to eliminate the unpleasantness at hand."
"..."
"You may also turn around and leave and go to other places where no one has fallen into the water."
"..."
"Of course, saving people is also one of the possibilities. However, Akane's choices are usually different from ordinary people."
Yoshikawa slowly exhaled, "This is also what fascinates me the most."
"...Yoshikawa."
"What?"
"You are indeed twisted."
She laughed.
It’s hard to tell how much of her description of Akane Kirino’s “focus” on eliminating unpleasantness is just self-righteousness on her part;
But Soya couldn't completely deny it, because Kirino Akane would occasionally make unexpected choices.
"I'm afraid that I will become a dispensable part of the process of eliminating 'unhappiness'."
Yoshikawa whispered, "If Akane makes new friends in Class B and doesn't like her always running to Class A, Akane will just break up with Soya, Suzu and I from Class A. That would be ridiculous."
Soya shook his head, "If it's really what Yoshikawa said, then the decision on this kind of thing must be entirely based on Kirino's thoughts."
"So I want to be Akane's best friend and make that woman from Class B the abandoned one!"
"...Who is in Class B?"
"have no idea!"
Imaginary enemy...
"Yoshikawa."
"What?"
"Do you remember what you said to me during spring break?"
"Spring break...any other tips?"
"One day, you arrived first and Kirino hadn't arrived yet."
"Ah, I have some impression, it seems it was only that one time...what did I say?"
"Think harder."
"Hmm...I thought about it, could it be 'Sotani-san, do you want to hear the true relationship between me and Akane?'"
"I don't want to hear it."
"..."
Amidst the crowd, the train finally arrived at Yamashina Station, where we were transferring.
The door opened, and the passengers in the carriage began to flow again, and this time Sotani was one of them.
He squeezed in front, and Yoshikawa Anko followed closely, pushing his back with both hands.
"No, Soya-san."
"I regret it."
"After hearing so many of my secrets, you still want to escape now. Do you think it's realistic?"
"..."
After finally squeezing out of the carriage, Zonggu looked back.
Yoshikawa Anko's hands had moved to his shoulders, and while squeezing them hard, she smiled at him.
"Absolutely no."
Kirino Akane, who pulled Asagiri Suzu out of the car door on the other side, looked away before the two of them started looking for her traces.
...
Hurrying slowly, the four of them finally arrived at Danhai University just a few minutes before being late.
The classroom is almost full.
After Soya sat down, Fushimi Keisuke at the front table turned around as expected.
"Why are you late at the same time? Do you live with the two most beautiful girls in Class A, Souya——"
Climbing the hundreds of steps up the mountain and upstairs without stopping, Zonggu was panting and still hadn't recovered.
"No...I'm not late..."
"Is this the point?"
He waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want to talk for the time being.
With the bell ringing, Shibasaki Makoto walked into the classroom and announced the start of the morning class meeting.
"As the deputy teacher of Class A, I'd better ask for leave today... Okay, let's roll your name first."