Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"..."

Anri Hitomi gripped the chopsticks three times tighter, and a mournful sound emanated from inside the chopsticks.

"But I never got to confess my feelings to her, and we lost contact after that. I don't even remember her name anymore..."

Where is she now?

"do not know."

"Does Kuroba-kun still like the other person?"

"I don't feel anything anymore. I can only say that I used to like him."

"I see..."

"Yes, this is probably the only thing worth mentioning in my life... I really can't remember anything else."

For Akira Kuroba, his student life in his previous life was more than ten years ago, and the memories were too distant for him to keep in many fragments.

Moreover, you can't come up with it just by thinking about it. Usually, you have to see an old friend you haven't seen in a long time and say a few words to them to awaken those memories.

Anri Hitomi nodded, put the last piece of chicken into Kuroba Akira's mouth, threw the broken chopsticks into the bento box, and then began to tidy up.

Kuroba Akira let out a satisfied sigh; he had truly enjoyed the meal.

After tidying up the lunchboxes, Anri Hitomi naturally sat down next to Kuroba Akira and asked with concern.

"Kuroba-kun, does your hand still hurt?"

"I'm telling you, class monitor, you should be concerned about the one who got hit, not me who hit him."

"Forces are reciprocal. Kuroba-kun, your hand also suffered the same impact. You might have twisted your finger."

"My hands aren't that fragile, but I made Sumitomo Ryota's nose bleed profusely."

“Sumitomo-kun has many good friends and doesn’t need my concern. If I show concern, it will not only seem pretentious, but I will also be resented by the girls who like him.”

"Wow...the relationships between girls are really complicated."

"Besides, I'm the only one at school who cares about you, Kuroba-kun, right?"

"And there's also Ms. Kobayakawa."

"Ugh, Kuroba-kun, it's only natural for the teacher to care about you, right? But my concern for you is the concern of a friend."

"Yes..."

"Let me see your hands, I'll massage them for you."

"There's no need to go this far..."

"Kuroba-kun, are you going to refuse your friend's kindness?"

"..."

No, I can't go against her; she could turn evil at any moment.

Kuroba Akira obediently extended his right hand, which finally brought a satisfied smile to Anri Hitomi's face. Then, Anri Hitomi wrapped her hands around Kuroba Akira's right hand, raised it in front of her, and said while exhaling.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~ The pain has flown away~"

"...Class monitor, you just wanted to say that line, didn't you?"

"Hehe, this is my first time doing this for someone. I've wanted to try it for a long time. Kuroba-kun has accepted my first time again."

"So please don't use those ambiguous terms..."

"And I've never licked anyone's wounds before. Would you like me to lick yours now? My tongue is very flexible; I can even tie two knots in a cherry stem."

"There's no bleeding or wound, where do you want to lick?"

"Hmm... palm?"

"..."

It turns out he was teasing her for staring at her palms for so long yesterday.

At this moment, Kuroba Akira also noticed that Anri Hitomi had shown an unusual obsession with the word 'friend' since earlier.

It's as if she's determined to make him admit that he considers Anri Hitomi his best friend, and she's trying very hard to please him for that.

It seems that the experience of losing friends in childhood made the class monitor particularly obsessed with friends.

For a friend she considers a friend, Hitomi Anri would do anything for them.

To give everything without hesitation.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Warmth of the Palm

Akira Kuroba was honored to have gained such an important friend.

But selfless giving only inspires fear.

Only true brothers would be willing to help each other. This kind of unbreakable friendship is rare, but it does exist. It is usually the brotherhood between people of the same sex or the camaraderie of those who have fought side by side.

However, the opposite sex wouldn't go to that extent. While it's not entirely nonexistent, it's so rare as to be negligible.

The so-called "male best friend" is just an ambiguous relationship that blurs gender boundaries. Often, it only takes a tiny opportunity for this relationship to be torn apart, leaving behind a mess.

These are all just self-deception and attempts to cover up the truth.

However, it seems that the class monitor didn't actually want Kuroba Akira to be her male best friend; rather, she genuinely believed that friendship should go to this extent, which is a rather distorted perception.

So this is what 'friends' are like?

Even a girlfriend wouldn't do this much!

I have this feeling that if I ask the class monitor for help, under the guise of friendship, to deal with some of the things I've accumulated, she might actually agree...

Okay, that's wishful thinking. It shouldn't go that far, but licking hands is already going too far.

Kuroba Akira saw that the class monitor had already stuck out her pink little tongue and was lowering her head to touch his palm. If he didn't stop her, she probably would really lick it.

I wonder what Sumitomo Ryota would think if he saw this scene... Kuroba Akira thought with a rather wicked sense of humor.

But as expected, I still couldn't let her lick my hand. On the one hand, I didn't want to remember the feel of the class monitor's tongue, and on the other hand, I was afraid that I would become addicted to this ambiguous behavior of 'asking a friend for help'.

If the class monitor really agrees to everything, I'm afraid I won't be able to help but think of her as Doraemon.

So Kuroba Akira extended his left index finger and touched the class monitor's forehead, stopping her from 'bowing down'.

"That's enough, class monitor, there's no need to prove it like that."

"Uh-huh?"

Anri Hitomi's forehead was pressed against the ground, and the tilt of her head made her make a strange sound, instantly dissipating the ambiguous atmosphere and turning it into something like making a face.

Kuroba Akira spoke with unusual seriousness.

"As long as you are still willing to consider me your friend, I will never betray you, not even for a lifetime."

Only when things have come to this point can she feel at ease; gravity should be responded to with gravity.

Moreover, saying it is one thing, doing it is another.

A man's mouth, a liar.

However, Kuroba Akira didn't intend to deceive the class president; after all, he could live off a woman for as long as he wanted.

Having a friend who can stand up for you and act as a safety net is a last resort.

If the "Murasaki no Miyako's Voice Actor Training Program" fails and she gets kicked out by Granny Kobayashi after graduation, she might still be able to stay at the class president's house as a friend and freeload off him.

"Great! I was thinking that if Kuroba-kun still refused, I'd take a bite."

"So it was going to bite...?"

Although he knew that this bite was not the same as the bite in the picture, Kuroba Akira couldn't help but imagine the bite as separate as before.

I don't know why, but I can naturally associate it with the image of the class monitor being inappropriate. Is it because the class monitor herself is a seemingly knowledgeable but secretly passionate character?

Kuroba Akira decided that once he had money, he would definitely treat the class monitor to a huge popsicle so he could see how she stammered.

"Keep these evil thoughts hidden," Kuroba Akira said, still maintaining a gentlemanly demeanor on the surface.

"Then we can't let you succeed. A little rubbing is enough. You weren't even injured to begin with."

"Then I'll continue to massage you."

After saying that, the class monitor smiled and continued to hold Kuroba Akira's right hand, carefully rubbing the protruding knuckles with the pad of his thumb.

It felt like I was getting a foot bath... except the part being massaged wasn't my feet, but my hands.

Having a beautiful girl wash your feet is equivalent to a special service, much like a bubble bath in a red-light district. Paying more money can unlock additional services, but the class monitor is not a cheap woman that can be bought with money.

Now that this is a good opportunity, Kuroba Akira took the class monitor's left hand and then spoke.

"Squad leader, your hands are so smooth! Did you put on some skincare product?"

"I only applied a little sunscreen. Although August is over, the sun is still very strong during the day."

"I see... Hmm, let's switch to the right hand next."

"Ok."

The class monitor actually obeyed Kuroba Akira's seemingly natural but actually quite inexplicable command, smiling as he placed his right hand in Kuroba Akira's palm, letting him play with it.

If it were Murasaki no Miyako, she would probably have already left them far behind.

It can only be said that compared to Murasaki no Miyako, the class president's level of shame is still too high. It seems that she doesn't even know how to write the word "shame". Has she killed the word "shame" in her mind?

However, Kuroba Akira wasn't trying to take advantage of the situation; he just wanted to use this opportunity to copy the class president's "Academic A" grade.

As expected, this talent is still the most useful under normal circumstances. Although its talent level is not as high as the three S-rank talents of the Purple Palace, its versatility is much stronger. It's like raising normal intelligence by about twenty points.

Seeing that the words on his palm had changed to "Academic A," Kuroba Akira was about to let go of the class president's hand, but the class president continued to hold Kuroba Akira's right hand.

"It feels like teaching a puppy to shake hands... Hey, Kuroba-kun, am I being good?"

"Well, you're so obedient."

"Then I want you to do to me what I did to you at noon."

"Uh……"

Kuroba Akira thought for a moment and realized that the class monitor was probably referring to the time after his impulsive remark, when the class monitor patted his head and said, "Good boy."

Do you want me to pat your head?