Minato’s Evaluation

After the summer vacation, the long opening ceremony and homeroom were finally over.

There were no classes today, school was over in the morning and Minato could go home at noon.

It wasn't that his rhythm of life was out of order, but he was thankful that he didn't have to take classes right after the summer vacation.

And there was one more thing that he appreciated about being able to go home at noon.

I expected it, but there's a lot of stares… It's exhausting.

After the first day of school, the only outings he had with Airi had been the shopping trip and the summer festival, but it was possible that they had been seen at one of these events. (T/N: The school day in chapter 52.)

Or maybe it wasn't widespread at the time, but it became known that he had gone to the pool with her.

Although he didn't know the detailed emotion of their gaze, it was probably jealousy, envy, or covetousness.

The only thing that helped was that his classmates didn't show him such ill feelings.

To be honest, he thought he would be questioned by many people, and the occasional classmate he talked to envied him, but never said anything like, "Why you?"

He was relieved, but it was still painful, and as he prepared to leave, Kazuma and Takumi approached him.

"Hey Minato, let's hang out for a while."

"Can I come too? I want to hear what Minato has to say."

He wanted to take his time, but with the two of them being the talkers in the class, it shouldn't be that tiring.

Besides, he told Airi that he would do his best. In order to be with her and not be judged, he couldn't continue to not talk to others like he had been doing in the past.

So it was fine to play, but the question came to mind, would both of them be okay with their schedules?

"Kazuma, are you sure you don't want to go home with Momose?"

"She said she can't make it today, she's mostly with Ninomiya-san. …It seemed like a pretty big deal when I asked her on the message app."

Kazuma said with a slightly drawn out smile.

The reason for this is perhaps not important, but the people around Minato, who was unassuming and inconspicuous, were trying to observe him.

Airi had never had a boyfriend in her life, but she was with Minato during the summer vacation. It seemed that she was having a hard time being talked to by various people because of her popularity.

He had promised her that when they suffered, they would suffer together, but he guessed he would have to comfort her today.

Although he was happy to be in contact with Airi, he couldn't show such emotions in front of them, so he smiled back at Kazuma's words.

"Well, that's to be expected… I'll call Momose later to say thanks."

"Shiori's with Ninomiya-san because she likes her, so there's no need for you to worry so much, Minato."

"Alright. Are you okay, Takumi? It's the first time we're hanging out together outside the school."

He and Takumi talked at school, but never went out to play.

Minato had always felt that they were just classmates who stayed close to each other and talked about random nonsense, but what kind of wind was blowing?

When he looked at Takumi quizzically, Takumi gave him a good-natured smile.

"I'd like to ask you something. Something invaluable."

"Ah, you mean you want to confirm the rumors as soon as possible?"

"That's part of it, but I also genuinely want to hang out with Minato. Minato usually goes home right after school, so it's perfect timing."

Minato thought he was just trying to get accurate information from the parties involved, but apparently not.

And from what Takumi had said, it sounded like he had wanted to hang out with Minato after school for a long time now.

"I'm surprised, it's not that interesting to hang out with me."

"I don't think being a friend is just about being interesting and laughing all the time. I'd still like to be friends with Minato."

Takumi tilted his head as if to say, "Did I say anything strange?"

Minato didn't have anything interesting to say. Momose and Kazuma had known him for a long time and didn't mind, but the others wouldn't find it interesting to be with him.

He and Airi didn't laugh a lot when they lived together, but she said she was fine with that.

Minato and Takumi had talked a little over the past five months and even called each other by name, but that was it.

So, he couldn't see Takumi's intention to 'get along' with him.

He opened his mouth carefully, not wanting to offend him.

"I know this is a bad thing to say, but what's in it for you?"

"…I think Minato's problem is that his self-assessment is out of sync with what others think of him. I think we need to talk this through."

Takumi chuckled at Minato's words. He didn't think his self-assessment was that wrong, but was he really that far off?

When he looked at Kazuma in confusion, Kazuma also nodded his head in dismay.

"So, let's have a friendly chat between the three of us boys. Come on, let's go."

He hurriedly followed Kazuma as he forcefully took command and left the classroom.

Whatever it was, Minato was determined that this would be the first step to being recognized by the people around him.

The three of them went to a national chain family restaurant. Although they had said they were going to play, it seemed that today they were just going to talk.

They ordered the drink bar and something light for the three of them to enjoy, and after each of them had taken a seat, Takumi opened his mouth.

"First of all, what others think of Minato. How does Minato feel he's perceived?"

"I'm a bland, plain guy. It's blatantly obvious alongside the two of you."

In the first place, Minato's appearance was too different from the people around him.

In the case of girls, Momose was the cute type, and Airi was, of course, the beautiful type and of a much higher level.

For boys, there was the undisputedly handsome Kazuma. Takumi was not as handsome as him, but he was still well-dressed and seemed kind.

The fact that there were so many good looking people around Minato made him think that he might have done something terrible in his previous life.

He started thinking of unnecessary thoughts and returned to his mind. Minato glared at Takumi lightly, but he smiled back, well aware of the difference between their appearances.

"Well, it looks like it. But I don't think it's too obvious. But you're still surprisingly highly regarded, you know?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"You're a lot like me, if I do say so myself. As I mentioned a little bit before, when you talk to someone, you're very responsive, and not unfriendly or reluctant. You also teach people to study when asked, so as far as I know, Minato's reputation is that of a quiet but good guy."

"…That's unexpected."

Minato's eyes widened at his completely unexpected assessment. Takumi saw this and smiled in amusement.

"That's because Minato didn't want to get deeply involved. By the way, I haven't heard many bad things about your looks either. Also, didn't you find it strange that everyone didn't question you today?"

"I thought about that. To be honest, I was even a little disappointed that almost no one was being negative about it."

"The fact that Minato originally knew Ninomiya-san is a big part of it, but many people thought that Minato would be a good match. Still, it's only natural for them to be jealous."

"I suppose jealousy is, well, inevitable… Could it be that's why no one complained when I went out with Ninomiya?"

The first time he went out with Kazuma, Momose and Airi, Minato was looked at with some jealousy, but when he said that he met Airi through Kazuma, nobody complained.

At the time, he thought that he had been evaluated as a man who simply benefited from Momose and Kazuma, but maybe not.

"That's right. There are people that Minato and I spoke to in class together during our first year, and those people have a high opinion of you. Now you understand what others think of you, right?"

"…For the most part. I'm just relieved that I'm not going to be a needle in a haystack."

It was surprising that Minato was so highly regarded, but it appeared to be going in the right direction.

He had quite a bit of trouble figuring out how to stay with Airi and not be criticized, but maybe the future was brighter than he thought.

As Minato's heart lightened at Takumi's words, his previously beaming face clouded over.

"…But that is limited to those who have had some involvement with Minato. This contradicts what I said earlier, but people who don't know Minato well, including our old classmates, will probably judge him and say things like, 'Why is that dull guy hanging out with Ninomiya-san?' …In fact, there were people who got cranky when they heard rumors about Minato."

"I know, I'm ready for that. Besides, I don't expect all our classmates to approve of me."

As Takumi said, that was probably how people who didn't know Minato well would evaluate him.

There are people who don't talk to each other, even if they are classmates. Minato's personality was especially so.

He had expected a harsh evaluation from such people, so he was just glad that he was not questioned today.

As long as Airi needed Minato and affirmed Minato's existence, there was no way Minato would break, no matter who might criticize him.

"I have to admit, that reaction is surprising. You seemed pretty anxious on the first day of school, so what kind of mindset are you in?"

"…It's a secret."

On the first day of school, he was afraid of getting Airi in trouble, but now she had said it was okay.

However, even though they talked a bit, he couldn't go into details with Takumi.

Minato thought so and tried to deceive him, but his expression changed to one of enjoyment.

"Heh~… Hey, Kazuma, could this be that?"

"Yeah, that's right. Easy to tell, right?"

"Oi, Kazuma! You're betraying me!?"

Minato's efforts were in vain, and Kazuma easily revealed Minato's feelings to Takumi.

Although it was fine that Airi, the person he had feelings for, had already known about it, it would be unbearable if it was spread around.

When he glared at him with all his might, Kazuma lowered his eyebrows apologetically.

"I'm sorry to give it away, Minato. But it's okay if it's this guy, you know that, don't you?"

"Well, I do somewhat trust him…"

If Takumi were a soft-spoken person, he would not be able to make many friends.

Knowing this, he had decided that it would be somewhat acceptable. But he didn't know what would happen in reality.

Fearfully, he looked at Takumi's face and saw a soft smile on his face.

"I'm sorry for being so insensitive. I'm not going to tell anyone, so don't worry about it."

"Please."

"But Minato and Ninomiya-san are… No matter how close you are to Ninomiya-san, the hurdle is high, isn't it? From what I've heard, the only information I have is that Ninomiya-san went out with you, and you protected her from Amamiya and the others, but I wonder if Ninomiya-san, who is very cautious, would let her guard down…"

Apparently the pool thing had not been passed off as a rumor. He was glad that they didn't find out, because if that were known, it would have been more than just glances today.

And since Airi was well-known for her attitude toward boys, it seemed uncertain whether even Minato, who was closest to her, would be able to go out with her. Takumi frowned slightly.

"A guard, huh…? Eh, that last tofu is for you, Mina–"

"Oi, Kazuma, shut up for a minute."

"Eh!? What, what? I want to hear."

When Kazuma, with a dumbfounded look on his face, seemed about to say something even more unnecessary, Minato interrupted and stopped him, and Takumi looked at Minato with a twinkle in his eye.

He wouldn't let him say anything more, and he didn't want Takumi to know, no matter how tight-lipped he was.

"It's a secret. I won't tell you anything."

"It can't be helped if you say so. I'm looking forward to the future."

Takumi seemed to have firmly grasped Minato's reluctance of him stepping in, and he easily backed off.

All that remained was to sanction the outspoken childhood friend.

"Kazuma, this is your punishment for saying something unnecessary. Give me your glass."

"…No way."

"Now, what should I mix–"

"Ah, great! I'll help too!"

"Oi, stop it!"

Ignoring Kazuma's words, he and Takumi mixed the drinks at the drink bar into a mess.

Kazuma was reluctant at first, but he seemed to be aware that he had said something unnecessary, and he drank it down thoroughly.

"Oohh…"

With a downed Kazuma behind him, Minato thought it was not a bad idea to have fun with just the guys like this.