Chapter 24The President of the Disciplinary Committee's Approaching
When school was over, I suddenly wanted to find 'New Land Development' (*light novel). After all, I haven't read the latest work because I can't think of anything but Natsukawa for a long time...
Well, let's go home and read the new series while eating the meat buns that Big Sis bought me... Yeah, indulging is indeed 'God' (*the best).
"H-Hey..."
"Hmm? ...What?"
As I was about to go home, I thought, 'There's no way... ...Natsukawa would intercept me going home?', so I looked back.
Yeah, she doesn't call my name very often so when I heard her voice, I thought she wanted to call out to me.
'Oh, d*mn it! I misunderstood her!', as I was thinking that, I saw Natsukawa looking this way.
It seems that the one she was really trying to intercept was me.
I'm glad that I didn't make any embarrassing mistakes...
"Um, Natsukawa? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"N-No, I'm not in a hurry, you know!"
"I see..."
Natsukawa prevented me who was trying to go home quickly and approached me.
I guess the distance between the both of us is long, but... ...am I wrong? Is she just increasing the distance between us? If that's the case, isn't it too soon?
Did she miss me that much? If that's the case, I'm sorry for what I just said, so please don't get angry, okay.
"Y-You... ...are you really not coming?"
"Coming...? Hmm? What the heck are you talking about—?"
"Oh, so your class is also over?"
"Eh...!?"
A quiet voice suddenly echoed. But, even though it was quiet, it wasn't a boy's voice, it was a girl's voice with dignity. That's why it was much easier to hear than other people's voices.
"Kya-, Rin-sama...!?"
Ashida yelled at the impromptu appearance of the important person.
The President of the Disciplinary Committee, Shinomiya Rin-senpai, looked at my face right after she entered my classroom. Her gaze focused on me, and as our eyes met, she smiled... ...Eh, she smiled?! Please stop, I almost thought that you were Big Sis for a moment there...
But seriously, what really happened? At the end of class, two beautiful girls came up to me... ...Maybe, I'm actually the main character of a light novel, huh?!!!
(TL Note: Yes, you are, Bro! Though the one that audience read right now is the Web Novel.)
...Wh-Which one should I choose, huh!??? Hey, Ashida, what do you think?
(TL Note: Ashida is not considered a girl?)
"...I don't know what this is about, but I know that you're thinking about something stupid."
"Can't you stop analyzing me so calmly?"
This d*mn girl...! It's not good to look into the heart of a boy who wants to enjoy his youth, you know!!! Yeah, of course, I'm just thinking about stupid things, so please, can you stop making that face?!
"Hello, everyone. I know that your tiring days are over, but can I borrow Sajou for a while?"
"O-O-O-Of course! You can boil him, or roast him, or even post his photos on social media!"
"Hey, hey, Ashida!!!"
That third one sounds even more cruel than the previous two, doesn't it? Posting my photos on social media? You see, I've never once posted my picture on Instagram. What? What about Twitter*? What are you going to do if no one retweets?! Gosh, what a bad girl! By the way, I should do my hair first before doing that...!
(TL Note: Now the current name is X.)
I tried not to make eye contact with Shinomiya-senpai, and once again turned to Natsukawa, whom I had talked to earlier.
"Oh, sorry, Natsukawa. Just now, what happened?"
"N-No, there's nothing, though! It's nothing, so just go!"
"Huh? Okay, I see!"
"You guys have a strange relationship, huh...?"
'That's right, isn't it?', I said and turned to Shinomiya-senpai, but she looked back with a troubled face.
Today, I was indeed in a good mood, so please forgive me if I got too excited... ...Yeah, please forgive me if I was rude...
By the way, can I — Can I go home since I don't want to leave? Suddenly, I just have a bad feeling that this is going to be something troublesome.
First of all, why are you looking for me, Shinomiya-senpai? The Inatomi-senpai case should be over, right? I guess I have no more business with you...
"Let's change places."
"...?"
"..."
When I was taken out of the classroom, Natsukawa and Ashida looked at my back with sad faces (*Delusion).
♦
"─So, are we going this way again?"
"Yeah, this way."
The counseling room. It was a place that was like a prison cell where students who disrupted the school ethos were lectured and scolded. It was also a place that was open to students who had a certain authority.
"However, I don't like being seen by other students and teachers when I leave this room..."
"Huh? 'Chirping' from around? Don't worry about that too much."
"'Chirping'...?"
Her word choice is too cool... ...I think it would be hard for her to find a boy cooler than her.
However, I'm surprised that she doesn't have a close relationship with the teachers... ...I guess as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, she might be more pro-school.
"Then, what do you want from me?"
"First of all, let me say thank you. Thanks to your advice, I was able to handle Yuyu better. I realized that it's not about getting close to me as much as possible."
"I see. I don't know if it will work because it's just a subjective word, but I'm glad that it can encourage her well."
"Yeah, really, thank you. You have the ability to encourage others."
"No, that's not it."
I was judged highly.
I didn't give her good advice... ...So, I never thought that my words could help either.
I wonder if something happened to Inatomi-senpai again... ...Yeah, she is indeed a weak-willed person, so....
But, I don't want to see a cute girl like her depressed... ...should I give her sweets? Japanese sweets? Yeah, it might be Japanese sweets...
"─That's why, I can't understand you anymore."
"...Sorry?"
Like her name*, with dignified eyes she approached me while looking into my eyes. Unconsciously with this sudden development, I moved my angle of view, up and down... ...I had no other choice but to do that.
(TL Note: Shinomiya in Japanese means dignified.)
Wait, my back just hit the wall... ...isn't this room too small? I guessed it might as well be a prison cell.
"I mean, put it this way. Yuyu, she's... she's depressed because she can't make you understand her."
"Eh...!? What are you talking about? It's about 'eliminating weakness towards boys', right? I think that's a good goal..."
"I thought so too, but that's not the focus of the story."
"No, wait..."
Shinomiya-senpai approached me as if looking behind my eyes again. Her face is getting closer to the point that all I can do to avoid her is to move my eyes, up and down.
What's with the atmosphere, for some reason, the atmosphere I'm feeling right now is like waiting for an injection at the hospital... ...Isn't it over already?
"Hmm... ...Sajou."
"Wh-What is it?"
"I'm interested in knowing your true intentions."
"But, I never lied to you..."
"I didn't realize it because I was too focused on Yuyu's problem at the time, but now I realize that your eyes are different from the ones I saw when you gave me advice."
"...Different?"
...What? Why do you care so much about my eyes? No matter how you look at it, it's just normal eyes. For my peaceful school life, I'm just trying to keep the corners of my eyes straight. Why should I be chased and blamed for that?
...Wait, you mean, back then, I didn't read the atmosphere? But, normally, you'd be happy if you got something like that in return, right? That's how I always run away from troublesome things. That said, my environment, it's a bit noisy these days.
Perhaps because she kept pressing me, I became a bit emotional and really wanted to spill my feelings.
"─Inatomi-senpai is just scared out of common sense, so she's just stunned by my words."
"...Don't you think Yuyu has a past that caused her to be like that?"
"I think so, but if she combines that with trying to eliminate her weakness for boys, she won't be able to progress."
"...Keep going."
Yeah, that was my plan...
But, every time, I said something about Inatomi-senpai, Shinomiya-senpai's eyebrows hurt, as if there were thorns in my words...
But still, I looked like she wouldn't say anything about my words.
"I don't feel like Inatomi-senpai apologizing to me is just for me. 'Because I'm disgusted with myself, who shows my weakness even to the kindness of others.'. I'm sure that's what she was thinking at the time, that's why she wanted to settle things by apologizing to me."
"Do you feel dissatisfied?"
"It's not like that. I really applaud her actions from the bottom of my heart. The problem was after that. Inatomi-senpai said that she wanted to make an effort to eliminate her weakness, using that incident as a stepping stone... ...seeing the way she said it."
"..."
I could see that Shinomiya-senpai's demeanor was becoming irritated. The President of the Disciplinary Committee stared at me, but I continued to speak even with a shrunken attitude. Yeah, it could be said that I was badmouthing her best friend. But, perhaps because I was in the middle of my explanation, I didn't care about the way Shinomiya-senpai was looking at me.
"─But if that's the case, Inatomi-senpai shouldn't have to invite Shinomiya-senpai."
"...!"
Inatomi-senpai's weakness for boys. By running away from me, she had taken a step away from her goal, and by apologizing to me, she had returned to her original position. However, carrying an ally called Shinomiya-senpai, the balance between her fear of boys and her courage to move forward could not be achieved. So, instead of moving forward toward her goal, she was still half a step away from her original position.
"At that time, I thought, 'What does this girl really want, huh?' That's it."
"...I see."
In theory, I guess what I thought was true. However, that changed when I put a normal person in her shoes.
...Or maybe I was wrong. After all, high school students are not always able to think deeply, and act accordingly. However, perhaps because she was a member of the Disciplinary Committee that other students held in high esteem, I placed higher standards than usual. That's why I felt disappointed by what she had done.
"You are very rude."
"It's not like that. I respect Inatomi-senpai as a mascot, though."
"I agree, though. I almost always see her like that."
Wait a minute? Aren't you worse than me? At least, because you have a slightly longer history with her than I do. I guess it's okay to treat her as a member of the Disciplinary Committee... ...She's your best friend, right? That's right, isn't it?
"But yeah, though... ...maybe for me, I'm okay with her being like a cute kouhai, but for you, you expect her to be reliable as a senpai..."
"I guess, maybe so. If she was in the same class as me or below me, I probably wouldn't care about such details."
"I see..."
After I expressed my opinion, Shinomiya-senpai laughed with her eyebrows drawn together as if she was in trouble.
It's true, Inatomi-senpai is cute, although not as much as Natsukawa.
Perhaps, because of the words of her kouhai (*me) from her kouhai (*Inatomi-senpai), she opened her eyes.
"Inatomi-senpai is very important to you, isn't she?"
"That's true, but she's not the only one. For example, you. Sajou, you are a kouhai that I am marking right now."
"Huh? Am I being marked by the President of the Disciplinary Committee?"
It was true, Inatomi-senpai was cute, though not as much as Natsukawa.
"Hey, can't you say that in a nicer way?"
But that's not normal, right? I mean, new students whose faces and names are memorized by both Student Council and Disciplinary Committee? It's not normal, okay? Someone, please help me!
In the end, Shinomiya-senpai didn't scold me for my bad behavior. However, when I left the counseling room and looked back at her, I could see her figure slowly locking this room with a serious expression.
I-I've already decided... ...I'll pretend I didn't see it.
Author's Note: Escape or care?
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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