I just hope to live a leisurely life in the world of anime.

They even gave this plan a grand and sophisticated name: "Operation Smile".

The definition of a friend is like the distant horizon I just gazed at, where the blue sea and sky blend seamlessly, and there's nothing to distinguish it from the rest. The definition of a friend is the same.

I don't know what it means to be a friend.

But only someone who lets their guard down can smile like that. Having developed this kind of relationship, calling them friends wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Actually, I think this is quite difficult. I've known Horikita for almost a month, and we've spent a lot of time together as deskmates, but the only expression I've seen besides her cold demeanor is the one time she looked at those twin girls in the store with envy.

It seems they envy the relationship between them.

Ok……

Although I know that the two twin girls are also Teacher Anshu's wives... I just can't stand thinking about this again...

But it was precisely because of this that Horikita, who never smiled, made me deeply suspicious of this plan.

Even so, I still want to do my best to help Kushida.

Because I strongly agree with a statement made by Kushida.

"Isn't every encounter between people a matter of chance? And this chance encounter can lead people to become friends, close friends... and even develop into lovers or family members in the end, which is not impossible!"

Oh, I see. Come to think of it, that makes sense.

My meeting with Horikita was purely accidental. We happened to meet on the bus and our seats happened to be next to each other. If it weren't for this coincidence, or if either of us were missing, we might not have even had the chance to talk to each other.

Of course, it's certain that my conversation with Kushida was probably just a coincidence!

In other words, I might eventually develop a romantic relationship with Kushida.

I was a little lost in thought for a moment, but luckily I noticed that Kushida winked at me and then pulled two other girls out the door first.

Meanwhile, Horikita, who was the target, had already packed her schoolbag. Was she planning to quietly go home alone as usual?

Seeing this, I quickly struck up a conversation with her: "Hey, Horikita, are you free later?"

Oh no! Was it too casual to just say "hello" like that? Are we going to fail before we even start?

I think what I just said was a bit impolite. I should have addressed him as "Horikita-kun" or asked "Excuse me, could I?" to continue the conversation.

I felt she might just turn around and leave, which made me feel annoyed and I cursed myself inwardly.

Fortunately, I didn't make any promises too confidently when I initially agreed to Kushida's request. If I fail, it's not a big deal. I can just send her a text message and go home to sleep.

Given Kushida's gentle nature, she should be able to understand me, or rather, understand Horikita.

That's right, I've already swapped numbers with Kushida, so I was able to text her to let her know. She was the one who asked me to swap first because she was worried about something going wrong.

This is the first time I've ever gotten a girl's phone number.

Okay, Horikita, just say you're busy or turn around and leave! That would be great!

"I don't have time to waste. I need to go back to my dorm to prepare for my studies." She patted her backpack and said expressionlessly, then looked up at me.

This surprised me a little because she answered a lot, but the result was still good. I could just shrug at this point and end the conversation.

Before I could do anything, Horikita continued speaking.

"But you've actually come to me for help for the first time ever. If it's something specific, I don't mind telling you."

"Uh……"

"What's wrong? Is nothing the matter? Are you just making fun of me?"

My surprised expression made her raise an eyebrow.

Although I didn't think my complexion had changed at all.

"No, it's just that you might come with me somewhere."

Actually, I could have said something like, "It's nothing, I was just teasing you," or "Actually, it's nothing, you can go now," to complete Kushida's request in an unconventional way so I could go home and sleep. Because if I had actually brought Horikita to the coffee shop, the following events would have given me a stomachache for a long time.

Furthermore, if Horikita finds out that I deliberately tricked her into going to the coffee shop so that she could meet Kushida, then our relationship might plummet to rock bottom.

As an escapist, not being able to fulfill Kushida's request is the best outcome for me.

But since Horikita asked, I have no choice but to answer.

The relationship is complicated.

If Horikita becomes good friends with Kushida in the future, and she inadvertently reveals what happened today to Kushida, it might make my relationship with Kushida awkward and create distance between us.

Kushida is the most popular girl in the class, and if she complains about me to other classmates at an inappropriate time, I will be labeled as "unreliable".

The word spreads from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, which will greatly hinder my academic career.

That's right, and that's exactly why I want to "do my best" to fulfill Kushida's request, not for any other random reasons.

After observing her for several weeks, I'm well aware that Kushida has considerable influence. This girl is amazing!

"Oh, what's your purpose?"

She didn't ask where we were going first, but asked about my purpose, which means she hasn't agreed yet.

I sighed inwardly, briefly analyzed the pros and cons, and decided to tell the whole story.

I usually like having everything under control, as this allows me to avoid any unfavorable policies in advance. However, Horikita's casual interest and a few extra words caught me off guard.

###Chapter 351 The Opportunity###

"...The two students who were originally sitting in our seats, and the two who just left the next table, are all from our class. They said they left get out of class with us. We were definitely a little late when we came to the coffee shop, but only a few minutes later than them. Since they had only just arrived, why did they leave so quickly?"

In other words, even if something suddenly happened to the four of them, why did two of them leave with Kushida-san? Why did we leave as soon as we arrived?

Things took this turn after Kushida suddenly sat down between us and awkwardly interrupted our conversation.

Suzune Holmes stood up and gently tapped the table, stating her analysis. She stared coldly at me, ignoring Kushida beside her. I think she was waiting for my explanation.

I paused for a moment, observing Kushida's helplessness. It seemed I should admit my mistake.

As expected, Kushida's plan was flawed...

Two people helped her grab a seat, and two others pretended to chat with her. When we arrived, the four of them pretended to have something to do and all left. Then Kushida "happened" to see us and came over to catch up.

But because there were too many people, they ended up being exposed...

"Sorry, I made some preparations beforehand."

"I think so too." Her voice was the same as usual, without any fluctuation.

This relieved me; at least she was still willing to talk to me. Perhaps this time my taking the initiative wasn't so unacceptable to her.

Having received a reply, Horikita seemed about to leave, but Kushida stood up at that moment.

"Horikita-kun, please be my friend!"

Her voice was a bit loud, which made Horikita freeze. Her gaze, which was originally able to meet hers, shifted slightly, which I could see clearly from the side.

"I hope you can ignore me; I won't cause any trouble for the class."

Horikita's tone wavered slightly, becoming a little lower, which made me realize that Horikita wasn't as heartless as I thought.

If someone so humbly asks to become my friend, I would never refuse, given our equal standing.

"But don't you feel lonely always being alone like this?"

Although her tone was inconsistent, the refusal in her words was obvious. Kushida was somewhat unwilling and tried again.

"I never feel lonely. It's a waste of time. Everything you said makes me feel very unhappy."

Do you really think this is a good idea?

She pretended to be impatient and said something a bit too harsh, so I quickly interjected to smooth things over and prevent Kushida from being embarrassed.

At the same time, I don't understand why Horikita would refuse to make friends, since there's no real harm in making friends.

Or perhaps it was simply because of Kushida-kun, since Horikita wasn't that resistant to chatting with me.

"If you refuse to make friends with anyone, it means that you will be alone for the next three years of your school life."

I refused to finish what I hadn't said, even though I knew it wouldn't change Horikita's mind, because she had already walked around the table to my side, and behind me was the restaurant door.

"This has been going on for nine years now, and even longer if you include kindergarten. Ayanokouji-san, please don't try to trick me into coming with you for such trivial reasons in the future."

She coldly uttered those words, then turned and strode away, completely unconcerned that the commotion had attracted the attention of many people.

Teacher Anshu and others were also among that group of people.

I didn't expect that the coffee shop Kushida chose would happen to be the same one as Anshu's.

However, it is only natural that Kushida-san had a good relationship with Anshu-sensei and others from the beginning, which seems to have started after the bus incident.

The coffee shop is called Parette. The pancake I ordered was good; it was sweet but not cloying, and the price was reasonable.

Although I don't know the specific concept of price, for example, is a cup of instant noodles 50 yen expensive or cheap...

Sudo... never mind, let's not talk about him...

This guy is the first person to have managed to get the better of me, so I'm a little concerned about him.

To be honest, Horikita is actually a nice person, if only she weren't so aloof.

For example, the reason I lied to her was that because most of the people here are girls, I was too scared to come alone, and I asked her to come with me to give me courage. She believed me and agreed.

She's a bit naive, and her kindness borders on the extreme, because she didn't give up her seat to that elderly person on the bus—and I did too, of course—but at least she's nice to people she knows. Probably.

If she found out that someone who claims to be an acquaintance of Horikita, she'd definitely roll her eyes at him...

And she just said not to invite her along for such trivial reasons, which means other reasons are fine, and there will be other opportunities later.

Thinking back to when she first entered the store, Horikita seemed quite interested; it was probably her first time visiting such a place.

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this, Ayanokouji-san..."

After Horikita left, Kushida lowered her head and apologized to me. Her expression was gloomy, and she looked unexpectedly disappointed. I thought I should say it was okay and offer her some words of comfort.

In fact, I said that too, but it didn't work very well. Kushida just gave a forced smile.

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Ayanokouji-san. Let's treat you to dinner today, let's go to Anshu-sensei's place!"

After Kushida apologized again, he shook his head, seemingly trying to cheer himself up, and then extended an invitation to me.

I initially wanted to refuse, because I felt that Kushida was just being polite, but then we got to the topic of Professor Anshu…

"There's no need for a dinner party, but wouldn't it seem awkward if I went to Teacher Anshu's place with her?"