A certain day off…

“Hey, Tetsuko-chan! Kasuga-chan! We haven’t been found out, right?”

“Yeah, I think we’re fine…”

“But… why is it that the ones doing the tailing end up getting nervous?”

“I totally get that feeling~!”

I… Mitsui Ayumi, along with my classmates and friends Kurihara Kasuga-chan and Konishi Tetsuko-chan, were tailing a certain person.

That person’s name is… Amasawa Ichika-chan. The first girl I became friends with at this school.

At first, it was just because she happened to sit next to me… I only talked to her thinking it’d be nice if we got along a bit.

But guess what!?

Her true identity turned out to be… top-tier academically and physically outstanding! On top of that, she completely saw through the full structure of the S System on the very first day of school and apparently obtained 20 million points at the fastest speed in history… in short, she’s incredible!

Even Ishigami Kyō-kun, the leader of our first-year Class A, seems to trust her as a main force in the class!

So why are we tailing Ichika-chan?

To explain that, we have to go back three days…

* * *

"Hey… Ayumi-chan, Kasuga-chan, Tetsuko-chan? There’s something I want to ask you…"

"Huh? It’s rare for Ichika-chan to ask us for advice! What’s wrong?"

That day… Ichika-chan came to us with a certain concern.

"Um… when going on a date, what kind of clothes should I wear?"

"""A date!?"""

"H-hey… you’re being too loud!"

After asking for more details… it turns out Ichika-chan had a date with a certain senpai in three days and wanted our advice to make it a success.

"I-Ichika-chan! Does that mean you’re dating that senpai!?"

"No no~! He’s just a senpai I’ve known since middle school! Besides… I’m not that popular!"

Huh? Ichika-chan not popular? No way!

Well… she probably genuinely doesn’t realize it herself.

You’re tied for first place with Nanase Tsubasa-chan from Class 1-D in the ‘Girls Guys Want as Their Girlfriend Ranking’ made by the boys, you know?

Just in Class 1-A alone, at least 10 boys I know are interested in you.

And if you include boys from other classes… that number easily exceeds 30…

"Ichika-chan, you’re being way too modest~! You’re cute! Of course you’re popular!"

"No way~! I think the three of you are more popular than me! In class, aside from Ishigami-kun and Takahashi-kun, no boys ever talk to me. If anything, I just feel like I’m being stared at in a creepy way…"

"Well, that’s…"

From her expression, it was clear that she genuinely believed that… not that she was trying to be sarcastic.

No no! The reason boys don’t talk to you is because you’ve become someone they feel they can’t casually approach… like an untouchable flower, not because they dislike you!

As for the creepy stares… yeah, I totally agree with Ichika-chan there. But… I can’t fully blame the boys either.

Because even I, during swimming class while changing… when I saw Ichika-chan’s body… even as a girl, I was completely captivated… so I can’t really talk!

‘…Could it be that Ichika-chan is actually pretty clueless when it comes to romance?’

If that’s the case… then as her friends, we have to support her with everything we’ve got!

"Ichika-chan! Let’s go to a clothing store right now! We’ll pick out something that suits you!"

"Then I shall tell you the recommended date spots within the school grounds!"

"Then I’ll~ teach you the words and actions that make a guy’s heart skip a beat!"

Kasuga-chan’s advice might be questionable… but it’s better than nothing!

"Ayumi-chan! Kasuga-chan! Tetsuko-chan! Thank you for doing this for me! Ichika-chan really has great friends!"

"Yeah! I’m really glad the first person I became friends with was you, Ichika-chan!"

"Me too! Thanks for becoming friends with us!"

"Same here! When one of us is in trouble, we help each other!"

And so… the three of us vowed to make Ichika-chan’s date a success no matter what!

* * *

“Her date partner is late…”

“Seriously! Making a girl wait! Isn’t that embarrassing!?”

“Perhaps… Ichika-chan was just so excited that she arrived earlier than the meeting time…”

““No way.””

Kasuga-chan and I immediately shot that down.

“If it were her boyfriend, maybe… but it’s just a senpai from middle school, right?”

“I agree! Is he really someone worth waiting that long for?”

“Is that so…”

While we were speculating…

“Ah! Could that be him?”

“Huh? Where?”

“Look! That male senpai!”

We spotted a male senpai walking toward Ichika-chan.

Ichika-chan also looked happy when she saw him… so it must be him!

“I see… his face is fairly good. I can see why girls might like him.”

“Hmm, but… he looks expressionless. Hard to tell what he’s thinking.”

As Tetsuko-chan and Kasuga-chan gave their impressions…

‘Ichika-chan, do your best! Me too… and Kasuga-chan and Tetsuko-chan are cheering for you!’

I simply sent my first friend my encouragement from the bottom of my heart…

No no! That was basically all Ayumi-chan’s monologue!

The actual tailing starts next side story lol