A story that will make you think “Huh? There’s no next chapter?” after every installment.
I, Kyoutarou Hikagami, have two childhood friends.
Otoe Yatsuko, whose parents are extremely wealthy.
Takehiro Furuya, whose father practices karate.
Living in the same neighborhood, the three of us spent our time playing together since kindergarten.
Takehiro, with his early birthday, always felt somewhat like an older brother.
Otoe, who took many lessons, was a cute girl who smiled brightly whenever she played the piano.
I was the only one with both parents working, and I didn’t take any lessons at all… But as a child, I didn’t feel any disparity between us.
I began to feel it around middle school.
Takehiro developed a well-trained physique and gained respect as he advanced through karate ranks.
Otoe, seemingly determined to become a musician, kept entering competitions and achieving results.
I had nothing. Nothing at all. Yet, they both continued to treat me the same way.
I was happy about that, and I took advantage of it. With two guys and one girl, I knew something was bound to go wrong someday.
Even so, without looking to the future, I stayed by their side.
We all enrolled together at the same local public high school.
And then… our gears began to warp more and more.
![[TS] The Abandoned Warrior Is Picked up by the Demon King](https://i0.wp.com/requiemtls.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TS-The-Abandoned-Warrior-Is-Picked-up-by-the-Demon-King.jpg?resize=151,215 "[TS] The Abandoned Warrior Is Picked up by the Demon King")
It’s one of those stories that would be insufferable if it was longer. It’s short enough, and fast paced enough, that it progresses to a conclusion before you can get fed up about it. I would rate it a 7/10 on a good day.
Everyone gets a happy ending. I think Chihana’s end is too convenient considering everything but whatever.
The author fumbled Chihana pretty hard anyways. I’d say her transformation into a mentally ill internet hater was completely a bad way to go about it. Considering she’s supposed to be a contrast to Kyotarou as an “ordinary/mediocre person”, the author could just as easily had her crumble due to workplace stress and harassment at her shitty part-timer jobs, used her parents disowning her, and tied it up with her lingering regrets and feelings before having her attempt Nice Boat! at the wedding.
Instead she just comes off as irredeemably pathetic as is. She lied, caused drama, started dating, got exposed for her lie, got dumped, regrets, spends the next six years as a terminally online anti of Tomoe while hoping between part-time shifts, starts fucking a lot of fellow internet Tomoe-haters, and has a murder melty at the wedding.