My New Life is not what i expected

Can friendships be useful?

When one knows how to handle their cards, complicated things become much easier.

Whether it's steering a conversation in one's favor or planning the perfect moment to exploit someone's weakness.

Perhaps I'm despicable for doing that?

Well, it's not like I'm a morally upright person. I'm just a selfish individual who enjoys having things to feel satisfied and happy.

That's why, upon realizing that if my actions with them continued to escalate, things would become difficult and there would come a point where decisions would need to be made. And let's be honest, if I can do something to avoid that situation, I will.

When I learned about Nakamura's entire situation, as well as her desire to win, and considering she's someone who succumbs to pressure, it occurred to me that she was the perfect choice.

I won't boast about being an expert manipulator or a master in those areas. In those realms, I'm just an ordinary person who knows how to reason, and that's precisely why with just reasoning, one can deduce or plan certain things. Reasoning varies from person to person, from arriving at the simplest answer to the most complicated one.

In my case, I decided to take both—a complicated answer that would eventually become an easy one. It's a win-win situation.

Perhaps using Nakamura to satisfy my hormonal impulses and engage with a woman is not the most appropriate or ethical thing to do, but that's something each individual decides for themselves.

So, at this moment, I'm waiting for Nakamura at the gates of Sobu High.

We couldn't establish certain things that day due to the presence of the nurse, so I decided to take charge on Monday, and here I am.

You might wonder why I didn't do it during class hours. Well, being the target of everyone's hatred doesn't make things easy. Of course, I simply ignored their looks of disgust, as well as their insults whispered about me.

Why don't I do anything to put an end to that kind of harassment? It's simple. As long as things remain that way, Nakamura and I will only be strangers, classmates, nothing more.

It might be interpreted as paranoia, but when Yumiko used to come around frequently, rumors started to surface, and since Yumiko was involved in this case, there was no problem.

But what if rumors started circulating that I was "dating" Nakamura?

Well, that would mean having Yumiko glued to my back. I know her well enough to deduce that at some point, she would confront Nakamura to ask if it's true. The rest is easy to figure out.

I'm selfish. If I have the option to have it all, I'll choose that.

After spending time with Yumiko and the others, their company became comforting, something that simply cannot be compared to the company of a stranger.

And as our relationship deepened, it became obvious that things could get complicated.

I won't lie, it's mostly my fault. Not putting a stop to this and letting it run its course was my responsibility.

Perhaps a part of me doubted it at first, but don't expect me to accept that I suddenly fell in love with a girl like Yumiko. Anyone would have doubts initially.

The most obvious answer would be to date her. Who in their right mind would hesitate about that?

Unfortunately, I can't include myself among those people.

You can call it different things—cowardice, stupidity, or immaturity.

But if someone were in my position, with all this gnawing at them from within, the answer would be the same as the one I chose.