While I Was Giving Love Advice to My Best Friend, the School's Most Beautiful Girl Somehow Became the Closest Person to Me-Chapter 1Volume 2 . - The Childhood Friend Returns

Chapter 1: The Childhood Friend Returns

“Fuwaahhhhh…”

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

I was utterly exhausted as I left Alisa’s house and started on my way home.

After becoming best friends with Alisa, I began a part-time job as a housekeeper. Lured by the good hourly wage, I went to her house with a light heart, only to be thrown into confusion by the school’s most beautiful girl’s declaration of dependence on me. After that, we watched a movie together, just the two of us, and I think a rather sweet atmosphere had developed. Honestly, it was a lot of fun… and my heart raced a bit. Alisa really looks good in her casual clothes.

I mustn’t get the wrong idea! She only thinks of me as a best friend, and I… what are my feelings, really?

“Well, never mind. I’ll dote on Hiyori and clear this haze of confusion.”

Lost in thought, I arrived home.

I wiped off my sweat, caught my breath, and tried to act as if nothing had happened as I opened the front door. From the living room, I could hear cheerful voices. The shoes in the entranceway belonged to Mom, Dad, and Hiyori. They must have come home early today.

And then I noticed a pair of unfamiliar shoes. They weren’t Reo’s, so who could they be? A guest? I set my school bag on the floor and opened the door to the living room. There were my father and mother and Hiyori… and a girl about my age.

“Welcome back.”

“Nii-Nii, welcome home.”

“I’m home. Um… who is this person?”

Noticing me, the girl stood up from her chair and came over to me. She had long black hair and a cute face. She was as beautiful as Alisa, which made me a bit flustered. But her eyes were soft as she looked at me.

“It’s been a while… Ryouma.”

“Huh? … wh-who might you be?”

“Geez, even though I recognized you right away, Ryouma… but you’ve grown taller and become so handsome, you look like a completely different person.”

“Eh?”

There was something familiar about her voice. I met this girl before a long time ago. Maybe even close to ten years ago.

“My hair has grown… I guess it’s no wonder you didn’t recognize me. We used to play together. Me, you, Ryouma… and Reo.”

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, it all came back to me. Up until I was five years old, there was another childhood friend besides Reo. A girl who was always full of energy and mischievous, and we used to play together, the three of us. Her name was…

“…Tsumugi.”

“Yes, do you remember now? That’s right, I’m Tsumugi!”

Her name was Hiiragi Tsumugi. She used to live in the house across from mine, and she was my childhood friend. We always spent time together with Tsumugi and Reo. But then Tsumugi had to move away due to her family’s circumstances, and we lost touch.

“Why are you here?”

“Hiiragi-san’s parents are going on an overseas business trip and will be away from Japan for a while.”

My mother explained.

“There was a discussion about what to do with Tsumugi-chan, and since our families were close, we decided to take her in.”

“Huh? I hadn’t heard anything about this.”

“Ryouma, we wanted to surprise you. You were especially close to Tsumugi-chan, weren’t you? You must be happy to see how cute she’s become.”

My father said nonchalantly.

“So, does that mean she’s going to live here?”

“Yes. I was surprised. When I arrived, Hiyori-chan greeted me. It’s nice to have such a cute little sister.”

“Hiyori wants to play with Tsumugi-Onee-san!”

Hiyori is only five years old, so naturally, she wouldn’t know her.

More importantly, to think I’ll be living under the same roof as a girl my age…

“I want to talk about the old days with you, Ryouma. We have so many fun memories.”

She pressed me for conversation, and I panicked. I never imagined my childhood friend would turn out to be so cute. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, so it’s not like we can just pick up where we left off.

“C-calm down a bit. I’m still confused. Hiiragi-san, we can talk later.”

At my words, she looked puzzled and tilted her head.

“Ryouma, why are you talking to me like that? You used to talk normally. Call me Tsumugi like you used to.”

“Um… I always address girls in this manner now…”

“Girls? We’re childhood friends, so there’s no need to talk like that. Call me Tsumugi like before. I don’t like it when you’re so formal!”

“Ah…”

She was right. If we were going to live under the same roof, it felt wrong to keep a distance from her. Considering she was a childhood friend, she was almost like a best friend, so it’s fine… I took a deep breath.

“Alright, Tsumugi, it really has been a long time. I’m glad to see you.”

“Yes! That’s more like it… Ryouma.”

I’m glad her smile was just as I remembered from our childhood.

“That’s right. Let’s go see Reo too. It’s been a while since the three of us were together.”

I was about to rush over to Reo’s house next door, but I was stopped by someone pulling on my hand. It was Tsumugi.

“Don’t worry about Reo. We had a falling out last time, and there’s no need to talk about it now. I only want to talk with you, Ryouma. I’ve been clinging to memories of you for ten years.”

“Huh?”

“We can talk about it later. Anyway, we’re going to live together, so let’s settle down first. Now, Hiyori-chan, shall we take a bath together?”

“Bathe!”

With that, Tsumugi took Hiyori and headed towards the bathroom.

“Ryouma, please take care of Tsumugi-chan at school from tomorrow.”

When my mother said that, I had a bad feeling.

“Take care of her at school… no way…”

***

“Hi, I’m Hiiragi Tsumugi, and I’ve transferred to this school as of today. Please take care of me.”