Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 1Volume .2 - Chikage Usami is an Honor Student…?

Chikage Usami is an Honor Student...?  2

(Usami-san, huh...)

Picking at the breading of his karaage in the school cafeteria, Sakuto was thinking back to what had happened just before.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Even though it was an accident, he had ended up embracing her.

Did she find it unpleasant?

Being held like that by a guy who wasn’t her boyfriend or even a close friend──

“That was probably about Usami-san, right?”

Suddenly, Sakuto was startled by a girl’s voice from behind him.

“The person who got first place in last year’s national standardized test for third-year junior high school students entered our school, right?”

“Well, she was the top-ranked entrant, and she also got first place in this term’s test… It must be Usami-san, I guess?”

The conversation wasn’t about the incident that had just occurred.

Sakuto quietly sighed and listened in a bit more to the conversation behind him.

“An average of 97 points, isn’t that crazy? And she’s an external student?”

“I heard she came from a regular public junior high.”

“Really…!?”

There were four girls sitting at the table behind him.

From their conversation, they seemed to be first-year internal students────

Arisuyama Academy is an integrated school from kindergarten to high school, with most students advancing in an escalator system.

These students are referred to as internal students, and the opposite are external students──like Usami and Sakuto, who joined at high school after passing the entrance exams.

Approximately eighty percent of the students are internal, with external students making up about twenty percent.

There’s an invisible barrier between internal and external students.

Even looking around this spacious cafeteria, anyone could see groups that appeared to be internal students and others that seemed to be external students, each sitting separately.

Internal students have their pride, and external students have their own sense of dignity.

These conflicting sentiments create a subtle barrier within the school.

In such a situation, Chikage Usami’s presence was particularly conspicuous.

A top-ranked external student——first in the grade.

What this implies is that the external students who suddenly appeared, like Usami, were actually more capable than the internal students who had been rigorously trained in their academic abilities up to this point.

The fact that the top of about two hundred and forty new freshmen students is an external student is not particularly favorable.

Moreover, with her beautiful appearance, it wouldn’t be surprising if rumors started just from her talking with a male student in the hallway.

Even now, the internal students are gossiping about Usami.

As expected, it doesn’t seem like they are impressed——rather the opposite.

“Is she a genius? Must be nice to have such a good brain…”

“Isn’t IQ mostly inherited from parents? I think about fifty percent is genetic, right?”

“Plus, she’s super cute and has a great style…”

“Isn’t it unfair to be both smart and cute?”

Sakuto thought they were a bit off the mark.

Regardless of her natural appearance, Usami’s intelligence is the result of her own efforts.

Sakuto, having attended the same cram school, knew this.

In the third year of junior high, she was always desperately studying at the cram school.

She took her lessons more seriously than anyone, asked the teachers questions more eagerly, and was utterly devoted to her studies.

He wondered why she was so obsessive in her study.

Although others looked on with a bit of distance, Usami was always working hard.

Her efforts paid off, she achieved the top entrance exam score, and she has continued to rank first in her grade.

She truly embodies the saying, ‘Persistence pays off.’

That’s why Sakuto had a good impression of Usami.

He wanted to become friends with her and learn from her.

Whether it was her audacity or strength——he wondered where that mentality came from.

But after the recent incident, things had become more complicated.

If her personality had been terrible, he might have given up easily, but she is personable, has expressive reactions, and can be charmingly cute.

She’s a wonderful person with no apparent flaws. That’s why he wanted to get to know her better.

Suddenly, her words from earlier echoed in Sakuto’s mind──

『…Why didn’t you take it seriously?』

Her words were straightforward.

It sounded like she was expressing disappointment to someone she regarded as a rival, wishing for him to try his hardest.

On the contrary, he wondered if he could become friends with her if he did give it his all.

Such a naive thought crossed his mind.

But there was a reason he couldn’t give it his all.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Those who have been hammered down and had their spirits broken know what it feels like──

“But, about that girl… she seems like she might have a hidden side, right?”

“Yeah, I get that!”

“Actually, there’s this interesting rumor about her──”

Hearing the whispering and laughing voices, Sakuto quietly sighed.

(After all, it’s the same everywhere…)

While sipping his cold hojicha tea, Sakuto decided to ignore the and move past it.

(But why did Usami-san approach me?)

They had only attended the same cram school and were both external students.

‘Was it a sense of rivalry?’

While pondering this, Sakuto bit into his karaage.

The savory smell and the juicy flavor of the meat spread in his mouth. Then──

“Um, excuse me…!”

He almost choked on his karaage.

Turning to the side, he saw Usami standing there with a bright red face.

Sakuto hurriedly washed down the karaage with his tea.

“…U-Usami-san!?”

“Um, I forgot to tell you something!”

Looking around in agitation, the girls who were gossiping behind him had fallen silent.

They must have been surprised by the sudden situation.

“Forgot to tell me…?”

‘Was it a continuation of the conversation about his true abilities?’, he thought.

Sakuto braced himself a little.

“Earlier, thank you very much!”

“Yes…? For what…?”

“So, earlier, when I was about to fall, and you caug──”

“O-oh! That thing!? No problem at all! Don’t worry about it!”

Sakuto quickly interrupted Usami’s words.

If words like ‘caught me’ slipped from her mouth, it might start many rumors.

What a dangerous person.

“…Did you come here just to say thanks for that?”

“Yes! Well then, I’ll be going now──”

With that, Usami hurriedly left the cafeteria.

As Sakuto watched her retreating figure, he heard whispering voices behind him again.

Feeling almost refreshed by not caring about the rumors, he said aloud on purpose,

“Usami-san is really a kind person. She’s serious and hardworking, I want to learn from her…”

Somehow, he felt confident knowing her true character.

At the same time, hope sprouted within him that he might become friends with her in the future.