A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [10]

After hanging up the call, Makoto Rōma stood quietly on the rooftop for a short while.

Though he wanted nothing more than a carefree, leisurely life, whenever he thought of certain people behind him, he felt an irresistible urge to take action.

If he knew that members of the research institute were risking their lives against dangerous anomalies, yet he was comfortably idling away his time at school, he’d probably feel pretty damn guilty.

What am I even thinking about? It’s not like I’m some hero.

Slapping his cheeks lightly, Rōma shoved his phone back into his pocket and left the rooftop.

Initially, he thought he'd skip the next class, but in the end, he returned obediently.

At the stairway entrance, he ran into a girl wearing a white hairband who was just about to head upstairs.

From his angle, Rōma could clearly see the surprise on her face.

Does he also have a key to the rooftop?

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt somewhat displeased—not particularly at Rōma himself, but because it felt as if someone had discovered her private sanctuary.

The rooftop was normally locked, and she'd only managed to get the key through sheer coincidence. Usually, whenever she needed inspiration or just wanted to avoid the classroom atmosphere, she'd head up to the rooftop.

Wide open sky, cool breeze…

The tranquility up there always boosted her creativity.

“Hello.”

With a brief nod, Rōma casually stepped past Kasumigaoka without stopping.

As he'd said before, these girls—no matter how popular they’d once been as anime characters—were nothing special to him.

“Hello.”

Realizing that Rōma had no intention of striking up a conversation, Kasumigaoka simply nodded politely in return.

She wasn't the type to randomly fling sharp words at others.

That kind of person wasn’t cute, just obnoxious.

They passed each other quietly, no further interaction occurring between them.

Yet, in Kasumigaoka’s mind, a new idea had just sparked to life.

The male and female protagonists encounter each other in the stairwell leading to the rooftop.

As they pass by each other, the heroine suddenly slips, almost tumbling down the stairs—but the hero quickly reaches out and catches her.

Due to their positions, the atmosphere between them instantly becomes ambiguous…

In just those two seconds, Kasumigaoka had already plotted out her writing content for the night. Feeling immensely satisfied, she quickly took out her phone and noted the scenario.

Having an amazing idea during the day, only to forget everything by evening and end up writing something mediocre, was something she’d experienced too many times already.

As she typed, Kasumigaoka subtly glanced back at the departing Rōma, noticing that he truly wasn’t paying her any attention and was simply walking away.

What a weird guy.

Kasumigaoka pursed her lips slightly. As one of Sobu High’s well-known beauties, she’d gotten used to being observed by others.

She shook her head vigorously, laughing self-deprecatingly.

She always said she disliked being stared at—but when someone genuinely ignored her, it felt oddly uncomfortable.

Casually shutting the rooftop door behind her, Kasumigaoka quickly pushed these thoughts from her mind.

Although boys who reacted indifferently to her presence were rare, they certainly weren’t unheard of. She wasn’t so starved for attention that she’d grow curious about a boy just because of something trivial like this.

In the end, she didn't consider herself an extraordinary beauty—just someone who had a slight edge in appearance.

At least, that was true at school.

Outside school, however, she was a prodigious novelist published by Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko—a genius teenage author. Sure, there was some promotional exaggeration involved, but she truly believed she had real talent.

...

Returning to the classroom, Rōma immediately dropped himself into his chair.

Sobu High, while lacking any especially remarkable qualities, was still considered first-class in every aspect—including its facilities.

“Everything okay?”

Sakamoto turned his head slightly, asking Rōma casually.

Based on Rōma’s reaction, he already had a vague idea of what happened.

“It’s nothing.” Rōma shook his head, obviously unwilling to elaborate.

Quickly brushing off the topic, he shifted the conversation elsewhere. Sakamoto also didn’t press further and simply went along with the flow of Rōma’s new topic.

If Rōma didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t ask.

From behind them, Kouno Sakura quietly observed, thinking to herself:

Makoto Rōma and Sakamoto-san really get along well, huh.

Speaking of which… what’s Sakamoto-san’s first name again?

She suddenly realized that no one in class had ever called him by his given name. Everyone just called him Sakamoto.

Even Rōma called him that.

Logically speaking, wouldn’t Rōma know his full name?

It can’t be something like "Sakamoto Sakamoto," right?

An absurd idea suddenly flashed into Sakura’s mind.

No, no, no!

Vigorously shaking her head, Sakura desperately tried to banish that ridiculous thought.

After all, it would be as traumatizing as finding out your favorite idol’s real name was "John Doe" or something equally absurd.

Though Sakura wasn’t exactly a fangirl of Sakamoto, his handsome, cool image had already been deeply engraved in everyone’s minds.

Yet, the harder she tried to forget it, the more persistently the name "Sakamoto Sakamoto" stuck in her head.

Imagine this:

If someone told you the two dots on Chibi Maruko-chan’s face weren’t her eyes but actually her nostrils, you’d never see it the same way again.

“Pfft!”

Now, every time Sakura glanced at Sakamoto, she’d recall that absurd name.

Eventually, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What’s up with her?”

“No idea.”

Quietly observing Sakura, Rōma and Sakamoto whispered to each other.

They had already noticed Sakura’s odd behavior earlier—glancing repeatedly at Sakamoto, shaking her head occasionally.

Someone unaware might even assume she had some complaint about Sakamoto.

“Oh, right. Earlier on the rooftop, I saw a girl heading up there.”

Their idle chat eventually led Rōma to casually mention his earlier encounter with Kasumigaoka Utaha.

She’d gone up there at this time… was she planning to skip class?

Initially, Rōma was just making a throwaway joke, but Sakamoto unexpectedly confirmed it.

“Yeah, Kasumigaoka-san might indeed be planning to do that.”

“Huh?”

Rōma slowly formed a puzzled expression as Sakamoto explained briefly:

In short, due to her excellent grades, Kasumigaoka Utaha occasionally had permission from teachers to skip classes for inspiration or rest.

“I see…”

Scratching his head, Rōma considered his own options.

Two paths now lay clearly in front of him:

One, imitate Kasumigaoka by studying diligently, getting top grades, and thus earning the teachers’ approval.

Two, directly contact the supervisor at Chaldea’s local Chiba branch and become an honorable “special privilege” student.

After considering for a grand total of less than a second, Rōma decisively chose…

…To proudly become a “special privilege” student.

After all, he’d initially relied on his connections to seamlessly resume schooling in the first place—doing it one more time wouldn’t hurt.

If he went the first route, he'd have to wait until after the final exams. Hiratsuka Shizuka definitely wouldn’t tolerate a student casually skipping classes.

Unless, of course, there was a special circumstance—and a direct order from someone above her would definitely count as one.

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This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!