Classes ended, and I desired new pioneering grounds—some light novel to read, basically. Since my head was full with Natsukawa for the past few years, I had a lot of new releases to catch up on. I’ll buy some, and enjoy the steamed buns Big Sis bought for me while reading them. Self-indulgence is God.
“H-Hey…”
“…Oh, yeah what’s up?”
Right as I wanted to make my way home, Natsukawa forcefully made me stop, to which I turned towards her. Wait, she didn’t even say my name, so maybe she didn’t even talk to me…Luckily, she was actually looking at me, so I was saved an embarrassing mistake and moment.
“Um, Natsukawa? What’s wrong? Why’re you panicking?”
“I-I’m not panicking or anything!”
“Ohhhokay…”
I mean, she came all the way over here to stop me from going home the second I got up from my chair. Not to mention that our seats are pretty far away. Was that some kind of quick-step? Did she want to talk to me that badly? Oh come on, I’m just joking.
“S-Say…are you really not coming…?”
“Coming…? What are you—”
“Would you look at that, your final roll call ended already.”
“Huh…?”
My words were interrupted by a deep, wide-ranging voice. Of course, I was talking about a deep level of a girl, like a dignified one, you know? That’s why I could immediately figure out who I was dealing with.
“Kya, Rin-sama…!?”
Not to mention that Ashida raised a happy shriek. As it turns out, Shinomiya Rin-senpai was peeking inside the classroom. Right as our gazes overlapped, she broke out in a smile—Wait, smile!? Did I switch bodies with Big Sis? Two beauties come to me after classes with some business with me!? Did I suddenly turn into the protagonist? W-Which one should I choose, Ashida!?
“…I don’t know the details, but I can tell you’re thinking something stupid.”
“Can you not calmly analyze my thought process?”
You damn data specs-type girl…! Don’t just crush a boy’s heart who just thought he got a bit of luck in life!
“Hey there. I know that it must have been a rough day, but can I borrow Sajou for a bit longer?”
“P-P-P-Please go ahead! Boil him, burn him, expose him on social networks, do however you please!”
“Ashidaaaa!”
The third one sounded much more cruel than the first two! Don’t try to get more fame on Insta by making me suffer! Eh? The tweeting one? What are you going to do if I suddenly went viral! I need to change my hair soon…!
I was playing around, trying my best to not look Shinomiya-senpai in the eyes, and turned towards Natsukawa.
“Sorry about that. What were you saying, Natsukawa?”
“N-Nothing at all! Just go already!”
“Your wish is my command!”
“…What kind of relationship do you two even have…”
When I looked at Shinomiya-senpai with a ‘Right?’ gaze, she just showed a troubled expression. I’m sorry, I was feeling a bit comfortable today because of everything that happened…Please, just let me play a bit long—actually, can I just go straight home instead? This sounds mighty terrifying.
What kind of business would Shinomiya-senpai have with me anyway? That case with Inatomi-senpai is already over, so what else would she…
“Let’s change the location.”
“…?”
“……”
As I was pulled out of the classroom, I could feel the saddened and lonely gazes of Natsukaw and Ashida hitting my back (*Imagination).
*
“—Here, huh.”
“Here, yes.”
The student guidance counselling room, yet again. This normally is a location where people breaking public morals get brought to in order to receive a round of lecturing or even a punishment. It is equally a room used by people who achieved a higher position in one of the committees.
“I’m slowly getting tired of being stared at by students and teachers alike.”
“Heh, no need to worry about the chirping from your surroundings.”
“Chirping.”
That definitely isn’t the word I would expect, but by lord is it cool. How can she be a cooler man than me, a man himself. Also, I’m surprised that she isn’t clinging to the teachers in this case. I figured that someone from the public morals committee would definitely be on the school’s side.
“So, what did you want?”
“First, let me thank you. Because of your advice, Yuyu has been making rapid progress. I learned that you can’t solve everything just by snuggling up to her.”
“Is that so. I didn’t know if my subjective words would have any kind of value, but I’m glad I could be of help.”
“Yeah, you were of great help. You have the strength to support other people, I can tell you.”
“No, it’s really not that big of a deal.”
That is quite the high evaluation to get for something like this. I don’t think I did anything deserving of that…You never know what helps other people, I guess. Still, maybe something else might have happened to Inatomi-senpai. From the looks of it, she seems fairly weak towards any kind of trouble, so I don’t want her to get hurt in any way. Makes me want to give her something sweet to eat. Like Japanese sweets. That’d be the best.
“—That’s why I got even more confused about you.”
“………Excuse me?”
Just as her name suggested1, she gave me a very dignified and closely-inspecting look. Because of this unexpected development, I could only avert my gaze. Ah, my back hit the wall. Isn’t this wall too narrow? Is this some confinement cell?
“You see, Yuyu was pretty dejected about failing to make you understand where she was coming from.”
“Ehh? Um…what are you talking about? Wasn’t her goal to ‘Fix her misconception towards men’? I think that’s wonderful.”
“I agree. However, that’s not the point here.”
“No, but…”
Shinomiya-senpai approached me even further, deeply gazing into my eyes. Pushed against the wall, I couldn’t even avert my gaze from her. What is this? This feels like the few moments right before I get vaccinated at the doctor. Are we still not done yet, Mom?
“Hmm…Sajou.”
“W-What might be the problem?”
“I’m quite interested in your real feelings.”
“No, I wasn’t lying or anything…”
“Back then, I didn’t catch on the problem between you and Yuyu. However, now I can tell. Now, your eyes look different compared to the time you gave me advice.”
“…That’s.”
…What? Why is everybody so obsessed with my eyes? They’re perfectly normal eyes. Since I’m perfectly average, they shouldn’t cause much offence. Why do they all keep hammering me about it? Are you saying that I can’t read the mood? I easily accept what other people are saying, so I want others to listen to me. Yet, why is everyone so noisy as of late.
Maybe because I had already been on edge, I grew a bit more emotional, and revealed what I truly felt.
“—I was annoyed at Inatomi-senpai’s irrational reason to be scared.”
“…Don’t you think that maybe she experienced something in the past that made her feel this way?”
“Oh I’m sure. However, if she keeps sweeping away her problem of dealing with men because of this as an excuse, then she won’t be able to move forward.”
“…Continue.”
No matter what, I can’t but sound condescending towards Inatomi-senpai. Every time I do that, Shinomiya-senpai’s shoulders twitch, but she doesn’t seem to have any intention of interrupting me.
“I don’t think that Inatomi-senpai really apologized for my sake. If anything, it felt calculated. ‘I would have started to hate myself if I ignored someone else’s kindness because of my negative disposition’ seemed to be her intention, if you ask me.”
“Are you angry because of that?”
“Not at all. If anything, I admire her from the bottom of my heart. The problem is what came after. Inatomi-senpai used this incident as a stepping stone, and spoke with a nuance as if she was currently working hard to solve her problem.”
“………”
I know that what I’m saying sounded cold-hearted. Currently, the president of the public morals committee was looking down at me, while I was practically complaining about her good friend. I don’t know why, but even her sharp gaze that I felt in the beginning started to not bother me anymore.
“—However, if that really was the case, Inatomi-senpai shouldn’t have brought Shinomiya-senpai with her.”
“…!”
Inatomi-senpai is bad at dealing with men. Despite trying to fix that, she took a step backwards, and ran away from me, only to return to zero again by apologizing. However, by bringing Shinomiya-senpai with her as an ally, the initial fear and later resulting courage didn’t match up. Instead of taking a step forward, she went even further backwards.
“I was just thinking ‘The hell is she talking about’, that’s all.”
“…I see.”
Thinking purely with logic, I’m certain that my argument here is correct. However, with a normal ruler, that might change. In the end, I’m the one who’s wrong. Nobody would think too deeply about their own actions or words, at least not in high school. In the end, I just evaluated my Senpai too highly, and was disappointed, that’s all.
“You’re quite severe, aren’t you.”
“Not really. I only have respect for Inatomi-senpai as the mascot she is.”
“Agreed. If anything, that’s about all I can see her as.”
Excuse me? I know I might sound harsh here, but should you really be saying that? Weren’t you friends? Colleagues?
“But, I see…To me, she is nothing like a cute junior at best, but for you, she plays the role of an important and reliable senior…”
“Yes, that might be the case. Though, fellow classmates of mine might not be thinking the same thing.”
“I see…” Shinomiya-senpai narrowed her eyebrows in a troubled fashion.
Inatomi-senpai has this blinding cuteness to her. Not as much as Natsukawa though.
“Senpai, you really treasure Inatomi-senpai a lot.”
“Of course, but it’s not just her. Sajou, you are another junior I set my eyes on.”
“Ehhh? The public morals committee president has a problem with me?”
“Hey now, that kind of phrasing sure hurts, okay.”
That’s definitely not normal, is it? I’m a first-year brat, known in both the student council and public morals committee. This isn’t normal, so somebody save me.
However, Shinomiya-senpai didn’t have anything more to say, and before she could come up with something, I quickly left the student guidance counselling room. Turning around one last time, I saw Senpai deeply in thought about something. I however decided to ignore that.
*
Even if I was called over by Big Sis, who would purposefully make their way to the student council office? Rationally thinking, only people who have business there, or friends close to the student council members…No, there’s one more person. A stalker.
“…That woman…!”
There she was, that suspicious girl taking peeks inside the student council office. She’s here again today…Even muttering the same words again. Should you really be stalking around like this despite looking like a gal? Anyway, time to get out my phone.
‘Do you want me to stay away from the student council office that badly!? I didn’t know you kept a bodyguard! I’m leaving!’
I said.
‘~~~♪’
“Ah.”
“This close to—Eh?”
I forgot that I didn’t have my phone on silent. As a result of that, my phone let out a loud sound, which got the attention from the girl in front of the student council office. Eh? She looked like a gal, but now that I got a better look at her, she seems actually pretty prim and proper…If anything, high-grade. Then again, the second she had her butt turned towards me, she’s a pervert.
“……”
“……”
She stared at me in disbelief. I’m the one who’s supposed to be shocked here.
‘Huh? That’s ten more pages’, or so Big Sis said in her message.
So what, am I supposed to just shove her away? What should I do about this…!
“…W-What do you want?”
No, nothing rea—Wait a damn second!? That tone of speaking…isn’t that pretty rare? Looking at her, she doesn’t seem to be Japanese…A half maybe? Ohohohohoho2!
“Nothing at all, my dear lady.”
“Ara, is that so. I-I just happened to pass here, that’s all.”
My tone of voice happened to end up a bit creepy out of shock, but luckily that young lady didn’t realize that. Following that, she walked past me with some crazy elegant and almost sophisticated laugh, and disappeared. After waiting for her to be gone entirely, I entered the student council room. Normally I would have sent her another message, but knowing that Big Sis of mine, I figured she’d make me do even more work that way.
*
“So, what’s the problem with that blonde-haired girl?”
“Huh? She your type or something?”
Asked by Big Sis, I now realized that I never gave it much thought…Mm, I guess that her face wasn’t half bad. Judging from her way of speaking, she seemed to be doing well in the money category as well…In the end, it’s just my personal impression, but with blonde hair standing out that much, she’s probably my number one type of girl I’d rather not get too close to.
“Keep, please.”
“Look at the mirror.”
“Wahahaha, how sharp!”
Seems like Todoroki-senpai enjoyed that exchange. Maybe I’m not fit to be an office worker. Also, look at that guy’s desk, barely any files left. Maybe he was speedster Mc. Speedy.
“Sorry about Marika, Wataru.”
“Ah, yes, what?”
Yuuki-senpai suddenly joined in on the conversation. He must have heard us, and first named the girl, only to then even call me by my given name. It felt so normal that it took me by surprise. Aren’t they friendly. Hanawa-senpai seemed to have enjoyed that exchange, as he delivered an explanation.
“She is Hayato’s fianceé.”
“Hey, Renji.”
“Huh…………What?”
Huuuuuh!? Fianceé!? That kind of system still exists in this world!? And if so, is Yuuki-senpai rich as well!? You wouldn’t get a fianceé any other way, right? Out of shock, I glanced over at Big Sis, who was resting her head on her hand, grumbling as she worked on her papers. Doesn’t seem like she’s much interested if you ask me.
But, now everything makes sense. Since she’s Yuuki-senpai’s fianceé, she is practically his girlfriend, clearly not satisfied with how things are right now. That’s why she’s resenting Big Sis like that. Still, what kind of academy drama rival character is this? Also, is it really fine for me to joke about this? Someone suffering real harm wouldn’t be funny at all.
“Properly keep the reins on her, will you.”
“Y-Yeah…I’ll bear it in mind.”
I wonder how Yuuki-senpai himself feels about this whole fiancé relationship. No, not like I really care. No matter what his personal feelings may be, a single relationship or not won’t change society. Even if their families may be a bit wealthy to still use the fiancé system, they wouldn’t have that much influence. This isn’t some academy TV drama. Just don’t let this influence our family, Yuuki-senpai. I’m trusting you.
“Hah, I can kick her out no problem.”
Big Sis must have felt what I was thinking, as she captivatingly crossed her legs, turning her face towards us, which was brimming with confidence. Damage? Yeah, what’s that? Is there even an existence in this world that can damage this gorilla? I feel like I was just wasting my energy here. Her surroundings might seem like a fully-fledged academy drama, but the protagonist in question isn’t about that. She’s more of the battle-type high school girl, huh…
“Big Sis, I’m done.”
“…Quite fast.”
“Take care of some more then.”
Right as I was preparing to head back to the classroom, more documents were slammed down on my desk. Big Sis…You drowned out all that praise coming from Yuuki-senpai, you know that? Aren’t you treating me a bit too differently despite us being blood-related?
“…Hey.”
“……”
“You. Yes, you.”
“Ah, me?”
Since she suddenly spoke up, I didn’t think she was actually talking to me. I mean, ‘you’ doesn’t necessarily mean she’s referring to me…Well, I’m probably the only person she refers to as such in this group.
“What happened with that girl? That Natsukawa-san.”
“Ohh? ‘That girl’ before? Your younger bro’s girlfriend?”
“Huh, that’s unexpected.”
Now hold on a damn second. We’re talking about that right here? Is this some kind of public execution? And, Big Sis definitely knows, which is why she’s asking that. She must be curious if there was some kind of development. That damn female gorilla…! And don’t glare at me like that!
“I am her devoted male servant.”
“Huh, so you’re together every day.”
“I mean…from afar.”
“You ******* bastard.”
“Wanna fight?”
Even if you’re my older sister, I won’t let this stand. Despite that, I can only see myself losing a hundred times more than I could dish out. Since I don’t want any of the people present getting the wrong idea about my relationship with Natsukawa, I carefully explained everything.
“You saw her face and appearance, right? She’s wasted on me.” I quoted as an example.
There’s probably no better argument than this. Looks! Efforts! Personality! I cannot compare in anything!
“Huh? You won’t know until you try, right?”
“I’ve tried it for the past two years.”
“That girl…is the one you were trying to woo over before, right?”
“I wasn’t really.”
“You totally were.”
I totally—was, yeah. Thanks to that, I can now live a reserved life. Because of me being aware about my own specs and abilities, things have gotten along fairly smoothly…Not counting this ridiculous situation right now! There’s the saying of ‘dominating your husband’, but I don’t think she’ll stop dominating me even after getting married. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she would use me as a chair next. And yet, the big brother inside my head would be very happy about that, I wonder why.
“—And so, after being rejected you lost all your energy.”
“Huh…?”
It felt like someone stabbed me in the chest. Because of this unfair and unreasonable attack, I felt the blood rush to my head. Subconsciously, I raised my chin, and glared at Big Sis………No, calm down. It’s the truth that I was spending my days chasing after Natsukawa. No need to get angry at that now.
“…Right, I got rejected tens of times.”
“Tens…You confessed to her so many times?”
“Yeah, I’m being totally serious, no jokes. It’s crazy right? Not even knowing where I was at.”
See! Now you should understand how serious I was! I’m not the kind of man who would break down after a single time! Though that was mainly because I wasn’t aware of my own specs…
“—Even though you and Mom always told me about it…”
“…!!”
Disgusting, unpopular, idiot, moron. Kicks and punches from Big Sis, an iron fist right into my gut. Wait a second, why does Big Sis have such a wide arsenal of techniques? What is she, some all-round fighter. What’s next, a sword? Dear lord help me.
“I-Isn’t this enough? Lunch break is about to end, so I’m going back. I’m sure you Senpais must have it rough, but I have great respect for you.”
“Y-Yes…Right back at you, Wataru-kun.”
W-Wha, Kai-senpai, can you not start tearing up like that? Being treated like some unfortunate child will just make me, an average guy, sad as well! Just forget about villager A and keep chasing after Big Sis!
With both looks and personality, they’re handsome. Appearance is the utmost outer layer of your inner face, as I often say. Interacting with them, that became even more apparent. Because of that, when I walked outside in the hallway, and inspected my face in the glass windows, it made me want to spit at the reflection. Not like I was gonna do that.
1 Her name literally means dignified
2 You get what character trait he’s playing at, right
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