The Opposite of "Love" is not "Hate" but "Indifference"

"You can't help but be desperate for Shiho, but don't be too shabby, okay? This is the only time I'll overlook your cheating."

He must have finished what he wanted to say.

It seems that Ryuzaki is finally ready to let me go.

"Shiho and I have known each other since childhood, so we were supposed to be next to each other again this time.... I'm going to pretend that this time I've been beaten. You're pretty good at this."

How can someone say that from that viewpoint of the top?

...... No, it's not unnatural because he's actually the top.

He's the protagonist, and I'm a mob character, so the hierarchy of our positions is clear.

The reason why I get annoyed every time is simply because I hate Ryuzaki.

I still hate Ryuzaki.

I have the same feelings for Ryuzaki as Shimotsuki.

"Oh, oh. Thank you for letting me off the hook this time. It's not very promising, but I'm not giving up."

However, if I were to argue or retort, the conversation with Ryuzaki would continue.

So I gave him a bland reply and broke off the conversation.

Thanks to this, Ryuzaki seemed to be satisfied.

"Let's go back to the classroom."

After saying that, he turned his back on me and walked into the classroom.

He headed towards the center of the room where he had taken his new seat. The protagonist's opportunism is very frightening because the sub-heroines are surrounding him tightly.

The sub-heroines seem to be relieved to be near Ryuzaki safely.

Even now, I'm even more jealous of him than usual when he comes back. Of course, Azusa, Yuzuki and Kirari were among them.

I'm sure that if I hadn't cheated, Shimotsuki would have been among them. I'm glad that didn't happen......, but yes, her seat was in the corner.

(Maybe she heard us talking.......?)

Shimotsuki has a keen sense of hearing.

It is very likely that she heard our conversation because she is sensitive to sound.

(Not good. ...... I let my guard down.)

What if she heard our conversation?

I have no idea what kind of feelings Shimotsuki will have. Will she be dismayed, angry, sad, or happy? ...... Hopefully, not too negative.

With this in mind, I returned to the classroom.

The first thing I did was to check on Shimotsuki. She was in her seat, holding both ears.

"...... What are you doing?"

"............ Ugh."

I couldn't help but call out to her. But Shimotsuki didn't seem to hear anything, she didn't even notice me.

I had no choice but to wave my hand in front of her to make my presence known.

Instantly, she looked at me and her expression brightened.

"Nakayama-kun. You're late. I was waiting for you ....... Here, let's do the diary."

The fact that she doesn't talk much and her voice is very low is probably due to the fact that her classmates are around her.

As usual, she's shy. Her voice is so low that I can only hear her if I'm sitting next to her.

"Okay, but ...... Shimotsuki, did you by any chance hear our conversation earlier?"

She wanted to do an exchange diary, but I'm sorry, but it'll have to wait.

What I was curious about was whether or not she had heard the conversation between me and Ryuzaki.

When I asked her about it, Shimotsuki made a blatantly disgusted face.

"I know that Nakayama-kun was chatting with that person just now. But I don't want to hear just the sound of that man, so I basically cover my ears when I hear his voice. So I didn't hear the conversation."

"If you weren't listening ......, that's okay."

Anyway, she seems to be uncomfortable with Ryuzaki.

Speaking of which, she covered her ears earlier and ...... probably isn't even lying to me. In front of me, Shimotsuki's emotions show on her face and are easy to understand. I can even tell if she's lying or not.

"But that's not the point. Let's keep a diary. Here, I've been working hard on my writing. Read it, read it."

Shimotsuki pushed the diary to me.

Hmm, what can I say, ...... too much, I felt like she was not interested in Ryuzaki.

"Don't you care about what Ryuzaki is talking about?"

I don't like Ryuzaki either, but it's because I don't like him that I'm curious about what he's up to. If Shimotsuki disliked him as well, she could have overheard the conversation.

I was curious, so I asked her frankly.

Then she said with a puzzled look on her face.

"It doesn't bother me at all. I don't know why you're asking me that. ...... I don't really care what he says."

She looked deeply uninterested.

She looked at me as if she was in a physics class, and finally realized something.

Shimotsuki and I don't hate Ryuzaki in the same way.

In fact, I'm the only one who hates Ryuzaki.

Shimotsuki is completely "indifferent" to that guy.

In a way, that's even crueler than the feeling of dislike.

There is a saying that the opposite of love is indifference.

Besides, a romantic comedy that starts with a big dislike is a standard story. If Shimotsuki had disliked Ryuzaki, there might have been such a development.

However, Shimotsuki is not interested in Ryuzaki. Probably, she neither likes nor dislikes him, but just concentrates her feelings of "dislike".

If Ryuzaki knew that, what would he think?

Wouldn't he break down and give up? ...... No, well, that's not likely.

Because that guy is the protagonist.

He is the one who will never give up until he is tied to the main heroine.