Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 86
Lunch break the next day.
After having lunch with Arisu-chan in the classroom, I was just spacing out and doing nothing in particular.
The first thing that came to mind was Horikita. She was an aloof lone wolf … or at least she was, but where did she go wrong? Or was she doomed from the start? I didn’t know.
But well, I didn’t really care. Thinking about things that I couldn’t understand was just a waste of energy.
“U-Um……”
At that moment, I heard a woman’s voice. I looked up and saw a quiet-looking girl staring at me.
I had to think for a moment about who she was. When I finally remembered, I called out her name.
“Yamamura-san…… was it? Sorry if I’m wrong.”
“Y-Yes. My name is Yamamura……”
Although she had a faint presence, I remembered that we were in the same class. I had the image of her as a quiet kid that hardly asserted herself even in such a rowdy class.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just earlier, this……”
Saying that, Yamamura-san handed me a ballpoint pen. It was mine. I must have dropped it when I moved during the classroom change in the morning. She didn’t turn a blind eye and returned it to me out of pure goodwill.
“Thank you for your trouble. You are so kind.”
“Y-Yes……”
She covered her face with her hands, perhaps out of embarrassment. How to say it, she was a timid girl. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by getting too close, so I didn’t drag on the conversation.
After Yamamura-san returned to her seat, Arisu-chan, who was sitting next to me, poked me with her finger.
“Are you interested in her?”
“Uh~n. Not in particular. I just thought that she’s a rare type in this school. It’s not like there aren’t others like her, though, like Sakura-san in Kiyotaka’s class, for example.”
I realized that even though there were a lot of students who were relatively strong-willed, there were also students like her.
“She is very competent in the intelligence aspect. She always scores highly in written exams.”
“Heh~ I never noticed that.”
“If we pull her to our side, she might be of some use…… no, maybe not.”
Arisu-chan denied the words she had started to say and gave a wry smile.
I understood what she meant. To be precise, there was no opportunity to make use of her.
I had never known how high Yamamura-san’s specs were, but if she was intelligent enough that Arisu-chan acknowledged it, she would undoubtedly have been a valuable asset in the class competitions.
……However, the Class A of this year’s grade had already been confirmed. Even if someone were to notice how useful Yamamura-san was, there would be no opportunity for her to shine.
Considering her personality, it was hard to imagine her taking the initiative to try and change anything. There was a good chance that she would finish out her three years as an unassuming honor student without causing any trouble.
Of course, even if we hadn’t done anything, there was no guarantee that she would have ended up acting as someone’s advisor. In fact, there was a chance that she would have been happier in her current life, and we hadn’t done anything wrong. All of this was just hypothetical cases of what ifs……
It was a lunch break when I felt an indescribable sense of guilt.
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“Okay, I sent it~”
After school, I called Honami to our room and explained the situation involving Horikita. I was a little worried that she might have changed her mind, but she agreed to it more readily than I had expected.
“……Amazing. Thank you, Honami-chan.”
“If you want to say thanks, say it to master instead~”
Although Kikyou-chan was grateful, she seemed a little creeped out.
Of course she was. If one had normal sensibilities, there was no way they would listen to a request like “I might help a student I’m not even close to, so give me some money for that.” This was something that was only possible because of Honami’s personality and her dependence on me. Even though I thought it was the worst thing to do, please spare me for this once.
That said, I felt bad about it, so I asked if there was anything I could do to show my gratitude and ……
[“I want just the two of us to go on a date the next day off~……”]
Such was what she said. I didn’t think my day off was worth 20 million yen, but it seemed Honami didn’t think so. Her request was easier than I thought, so I agreed on the spot.
However, when Arisu-chan heard this story, she had a very bitter expression on her face. Although she understood that it would only be for a single day, she didn’t seem happy about it.
Of course, since I was in a relationship with Arisu-chan, I know that going on a date with Honami wasn’t a good idea. However, I personally wouldn’t be satisfied unless I paid some compensation, considering how much money she forked out, and because of the justification to help Kikyou-chan, I got the point across.
“It’s a bit surprising that Kikyou-chan wants to help Horikita-san, I think?”
“U~hn, I haven’t decided to do it yet. It doesn’t change the fact that I hate her, and I also have the feeling that I don’t want to waste a lot of points on something like that. To be honest, I want some time to think about it.”
Yes, that was what was important.
Kikyou-chan was an important “family” member, and I wanted to do everything I could to help her. I want her to feel at home in a stress-free environment, especially at the school.
“It’s all up to you, Kikyou-chan. Think over it carefully before you make a decision.”
“……Thank you, both of you. I’ll make sure to give an answer I am convinced of.”
It was fine if Kikyou-chan wanted to abandon Horikita in order to stick to her initial resolution when she first enrolled. On other hand, if expelling Horikita would leave her uneasy, saving her was also an option. Also, if she was fed up with not only Horikita but also the other students in the class, using the money to transfer to Honami’s class was also fine.
Just like that, with 20 million points, Kikyou-chan was given many options.
I look forward as I wait to see which path Kikyou-chan will ultimately choose. And no matter what she chose, I intend to support her decision.
Having accomplished the main purpose, we moved on to chatting.
The hottest topic today was Ibuki’s decision to transfer to Class A. With Ryuuen encouraging it, it was just matter of time before it happened, but the news that the invincible Class A had added a second “reinforcement” following Hiyori had a huge impact on the school.
“How was Ibuki-chan in class?”
“She’s a bit gruff, but she is a good person. She just has a prickly demeanor, but she’s really kind at heart.”
“I guess that’s fine then~”
Honami had her arms crossed and was thinking about something.
Ryuuen’s plan to transfer all students of his class to Class A. The more the Class A students established their base, the more certain the return would be if they were successful. However, in a situation where there was no prospect of income from Class Points, how would he earn points worth hundreds of millions? I have no idea how he will overcome this difficult problem.
……But there was still a better chance of getting into Class A if he took the normal approach. Ryuuen might be taking his final gamble now.
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It happened after Honami had left and the three of us were having dinner.
My terminal suddenly rang. I checked the screen and saw a message from Kiyotaka.
[“Sorry for contacting you all of sudden. Can you come to school right now?”]
“What’s wrong?”
[“I’ll explain the situation later. I’m on my way there now too.”]
“So it’s an emergency. Got it.”
After I finished eating, I took the dishes to the sink and rinsed them quickly.
Arisu-chan tilted her head.
“Aah, Kiyotaka called me out for a bit.”
“……Something fishy is going on.”
“I think so too. But I must go there as his friend.”
“I understand. Please be careful out there.”
I quickly finished getting ready and asked Kikyou-chan to take care of the housework and Arisu-chan’s bath.
“Have a nice trip. Leave things here to me.”
“Sorry, and thank you.”
“Don’t apologize. We are…… ‘family,’ right?”
Seeing her bright smile warmed my heart.
……Seriously, I couldn’t thank this girl enough.
I put on my coat and went out into the cold night.
On my way to school, I got a call from Kiyotaka.
[“I’ve arrived. Where are you now, Haruto?”]
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Should I rush there?”
[“No, it’s okay. There’s still plenty of time.”]
“Roger.”
Kiyotaka spoke in a very calm tone. As he spoke, a woman’s voice was heard on the other end of the line. Although I couldn’t hear what she was saying, the voice was almost certainly Kei-chan’s.
Somehow, I was able to predict the events that were about to occur.
[“Do you have experience in martial arts?”]
“Not at all.”
I almost burst out laughing at the sudden question.
Unfortunately, it looks like I was going to be forced into a battle. Even though I didn’t want to get hurt that much, I was fired up to not let myself be beaten one-sidedly.
[“……It seems you understand the general idea. It’s about the thing we’ve talked last time.”]
“So it finally happens.”
[“Aah. Today, Kei was called by Ryuuen.”]
I didn’t think Ryuuen would be that stupid, though,
While feeling disappointed, I increased my walking speed.
“What’s his threat?”
[“‘I know about your past, and I’m going to spread it all over the school.’ Something like that.”]
Even if it was actually carried out, I felt like the current Kei-chan would be able to endure it.
That said, ignoring him would only make him use another way to call Kei-chan…… and it would likely be in a more radical way. Kiyotaka had probably decided that it was best to end things here.
“Okay. I just need to go to the front of the school building, right?”
[“That’s fine, but it would be troublesome if someone found us gathering. It seems the lock on the emergency exit at the left side of the school building has been broken. Just come in through there.”]
“Roger.”
I hung up the phone and took a breath.
I feel the excitement of not knowing what would happen and the fear of getting beaten up.
Aah, wasn’t this fun? As expected, friends were a good thing to have.
About five minutes later, we arrived at the school building.
The current time was 7:40 P.M. So did that mean the time specified by Ryuuen was 8:00 P.M.?
Walking through the darkness, I headed to the left of the grounds in search of the emergency exit that Kiyotaka had mentioned.
……Found it. I shone the light on my terminal.
There was a possibility that I might suddenly get attacked here, so just to be on the safe side, I entered the school building while remaining cautious of my surroundings.
The sound of footsteps echoes. I walked down the hallway, slightly regretting that I should have worn sneakers.
“……You’re here.”
I heard Kiyotaka’s voice. I turned towards the direction of the sound and was greeted by the bright light of a flashlight.
“There’s no way I would ignore my best friend’s request.”
“That helps. At the moment, the only people I can truly trust are Haruto and Arisu.”
Considering what was likely to happen next, bringing Arisu-chan along wasn’t an option.
Of course Kiyotaka knew that, which was why he only contacted me.
“……Thanks, Haruto.”
Next to him was Kei-chan.
Her body was shaking. I guess she was scared after all.
“There’s no need to worry. The man beside Kei-chan is the strongest man in the world.”
“You really raised the hurdle high.”
“Kukuh, I was only half-joking.”
In the end, as long as Kiyotaka was there, everything would work out. The reason I was able to act so relaxed was largely due to the sense of security I felt having this man on my side. He was literally the hero. This was what a protagonist should be like.
“That’s enough talking. Let’s go.”
“Okay. Where to?”
“……To the place you know well. It’s the rooftop that Ichinose tried to jump off last year.”
Kei-chan was taken aback for a moment by Kiyotaka’s shocking remark. However, she didn’t raise her voice and remained calm, which was probably the result of Kiyotaka’s education.
Seriously, she had really grown up. It made me feel emotional when I thought back to when I first met her.
“Don’t stare at me like that. Is there something on my face?”
“Not really. I just thought about how much you’ve changed.”
Her silly face hadn’t changed at all, which made it funny.
We ended the conversation and walked with Kiyotaka leading the way.
Well then, god knows what happens next……
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