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

The interior of the car fell silent. The red light finally changed to green, and Itchan started the car.

With a roar, the car started to move.

For a while, we vaguely stared at the landscape ahead, blurred by the motion of the moving car.

“Meg, what do you think?”

Itchan finally broke the silence.

However, her words were not an answer to my question.

I was slightly annoyed. I was trying to have a serious conversation, but she evaded it. I knew her to be like this, but I couldn’t forgive her.

…Perhaps, in my high school days, I never got so emotional about anything related to Yamamoto.

“What good does it do asking me?”

“…Haha, you’re harsh.”

Itchan cast a shadow over her face.

She was clearly not herself at the moment.

…Could it be?

Even before I asked Itchan the current question, I had a suspicion about why she invited Yamamoto to her wedding.

But if that’s why she invited Yamamoto…

If she just invited Yamamoto to the wedding to show off…

I would probably look down on Itchan.

“…I want him to see me. In my wedding dress.”

“…Itchan, you…”

“It’s because of him… because of him. Thanks to him, I am who I am now.”

I was at a loss for words.

An unexpected answer had left me speechless.

I couldn’t understand what Itchan was saying.

Is the current Itchan here because of Yamamoto?

Her relationship with Yamamoto was only for a short period during high school.

I couldn’t imagine that Yamamoto, with his limited association, could have influenced Itchan so much.

“I have a frivolous character, don’t I? During junior high, I was even worse. I didn’t study seriously, and if I wasn’t in a good mood, I would easily be late.”

The past of Itchan.

That was a story from a time I didn’t know about.

“I was obsessed for the first time. I wanted to beat Yamamoto.”

“…Itchan”

“Being obsessed is such a fun thing. If you work hard, you can achieve so much. …That’s when it started. That’s when I started to take things a bit more seriously.”

The car kept moving forward.

“I began to face things seriously.”

Without stopping, it continued to move forward.

“Probably, if Yamamoto hadn’t changed me, I would have become estranged from Meg and Akari. I always thought having friends was a hassle. But when I became serious and looked at it. Having friends. Trusting others, I realized how wonderful it is.”

Itchan’s face looked a little different from usual.

Not particularly serious.

A cheerful face that suits her.

But it was completely different from her high school days… A mature face.

“Meg.”

“What…?”

“I love you.”

“…I love you too.”

“Stay my friend, always.”

…It seems I was mistaken.

Not just that I couldn’t fully grasp Itchan’s feelings.

Itchan’s relationship with Yamamoto was only brief.

So, I thought there was no way Yamamoto could have changed Itchan.

Yes, that presumption was my mistake.

…What a fool I’ve been.

Even though I was so changed by Yamamoto in just two short months…

I was a real idiot.

“Of course.”

I smiled at Itchan.

Behind that smile, in my heart… I thought.

Yamamoto, you’re truly amazing.

For the first time, I felt a sense of admiration for a boy who had changed us.