Living with the Arrogant Queen from High School is Surprisingly Not Uncomfortable

“Aren’t there a lot of people around you who are rushing to settle down?”

Hayashi Megumi, who had broken up with Ishida, had even lived with him as a lover.

We had just graduated high school and were only eighteen, nineteen years old, yet reaching the point of cohabitation and marriage was an impression hard not to voice.

Well, there is some difference in the marriage age between men and women, but theirs still seemed to belong to the early category.

“Ah, I’m surprised too…”

Hayashi seemed a bit bewildered by my words.

She herself probably recognizes that an engagement at eighteen, nineteen years old is early.

“I can’t believe it was Ichchan who…”

Moreover, it was Ishida who had decided to marry so early, a person who was known to be serious even within the school during student days. The surprise must be exceptional.

For me as well, having had some connection with Ishida during high school, the surprise is immense.

“So, what did your parents say?”

“Eh? …Ah. Apparently, an invitation from Ichchan arrived at my parents’ house.”

“For what?”

“For the wedding.”

I see.

I could roughly understand the contents of the phone call from Hayashi’s mother.

“You should go.”

“……Hmm.”

The answer from Hayashi, whom I thought would agree instantly, was less favorable than I expected.

With a troubled expression and crossed arms, Hayashi looked a bit comical. Such an unfitting appearance.

“Eh, aren’t you going?”

“……Hmm.”

Come to think of it, when she went to meet a high school classmate the other day, her attitude was very reluctant, contrary to her actions. From the sidelines, it seemed like the people who used to gather around her during high school were all bent on leveraging her influence.

Maybe from Hayashi’s point of view, Ishida might also appear to be of that kind.

No, probably not.

After all, she just said that Ishida is as kind as Kasahara. She can’t lie. Therefore, those words mean that she highly values Ishida.

“You should celebrate your important friend’s new journey.”

“That’s true, but…”

Apparently, she does intend to congratulate Ishida.

So what exactly…?

“I don’t have a dress for the party, and the celebration money is a considerable expense… My wallet situation is…”

Come to think of it, she is quite poor due to various reasons.

“In that case, I’ll lend you some money.”

“That’s fine. I can borrow from my parents.”

“Ah, okay.”

“…Also, the biggest reason I don’t want to go is because I have to meet other high school acquaintances besides Ichchan.”

“Ah, I see.”

That makes sense.

As I thought earlier, the majority of those who were around her in high school were just people who wanted to leverage her influence.

Meeting such people again and updating them about her current situation is something Hayashi probably wouldn’t like.

“…You should ask Kasahara for support.”

“I see. I wonder if an invitation has arrived for Akari as well?”

“It must have. You three were almost always together during your senior year, weren’t you?”

Hayashi squinted her eyes at me.

“What?”

“You’ve been watching closely. Because you had a girlfriend.”

I looked away.

There’s no reason for her to snap at me.

I was thinking such things inside.

“I’ll try calling Akari for a bit.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

Just the other day, I felt like Hayashi was avoiding Kasahara unilaterally, but recently it seems like that situation has softened.

I think that’s a very good thing. After all, I hope they can help each other and continue living.　Hayashi held her smartphone to her ear.

“Hey, Akari? Yeah. Actually, you might already know this, but it turns out Ichchan got married.”

I shifted my attention back to the TV.

A faint sound leaked from Hayashi’s smartphone next to her ear. It was Kasahara’s surprised voice.

“Right? I was really shocked. Yeah… Yeah… I wonder when they filed the marriage registration. My parents didn’t mention that. I should ask them next time… What’s that? You’ve also recently found someone? …Oh, never mind about me.”

Hayashi was stirring up and getting stirred up by Kasahara.

“Stop it. Really, stop it. I hate you, Akari… No, just kidding, don’t cry!”

“What are you two doing?”

I couldn’t help but interject.

When I looked back, Hayashi was sticking her tongue out at me.

“Sorry, my roommate here is bullying me. Says I can only use the phone for one hour a day. Even though he won’t stop cleaning no matter how much I restrict his cleaning time. It’s terrible. I should go report another case of domestic violence to the police. I’m really considering it.”

When did she start relying on national power like that?

I’ve never reprimanded her for long phone calls, and I’ve even been limiting my cleaning time to one hour a day recently… Well, there may be some additional time, though.

“So, Akari, didn’t you get an invitation from Ichchan? Let’s go together.”

Finally, she got to the point.

Freed from the unbearable atmosphere, I felt relieved.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Please ask your parents. I’ll wait, talk to you later.”

Finally, Hayashi ended her phone call with Kasahara.

Women are really troublesome when they gang up.

She often complains that I didn’t have any friends in high school, but on reflection, one of the main reasons is that she, the gang leader, hated me.

Those who followed her usually had a low opinion of me.

With that in mind, Kasahara and Ishida were unusual… They kept a certain distance from me even though they were close to her.

Hayashi’s smartphone rang.

“Akari? How did it go? Oh, really? And? …I see. You were invited too.”

It seemed that Kasahara also received an invitation to the wedding… Now Hayashi can celebrate her best friend’s new life in person without any worries.

“…What?”

Just as I thought that, Hayashi let out a cold voice.

What happened?

I looked back and saw Hayashi glaring at me. Scary.

“…Okay, I got it. I’ll interrogate him.”

…Oh no.

This is a definite mess-up on my part.

From Hayashi’s cold voice and demeanor, I realized.

But I don’t remember doing anything that would warrant an interrogation.

Hayashi ended the phone call, got off the bed, and moved right next to me.

“What is it?”

“…Akari said that her parents aren’t at home, so she called Ichchan directly.”

“Oh?”

“And he invited her, said he had sent the invitation and she should come.”

“That’s good. Now you have Kasahara’s support. You should be fine.”

Hayashi didn’t reply.

“Then, while you’re away at the wedding, I’ll just live as usual. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“…Ichchan told Akari something.”

“…What?”

“He said to bring you to the wedding, too.”

I was taken aback.

…Why?

Is this some kind of snub?

Like when he was in the graduation album production committee, is this a snub against me?

“Because he didn’t know your home address, I gave him ours. I think the invitation should arrive the day after tomorrow, through Akari.”

“…What?”

“Did you really have nothing going on with Ichchan?”

Hayashi’s gaze was unusually sharp.