CH 1

Kujou Shizuki Can’t Say No

The more freedom you have in life, the better. Thus, I won’t make any friends. I don’t need any friends. Rather than going out, spending time with them, I have it much easier on my own. I won’t be shaken left and right by other people’s conveniences, and I do as I want, whenever I want. For example, let me talk about my summer break calendar.

If your schedule is fully packed with events all across the board, people are quick to say ‘Wah, you’re enjoying yourself!’, but how and in what way does it seem like that? If everybody said they wanted to head to karaoke, assuming I wanted to head to the game center instead, there’s no way that my wish would be considered, right? If A wants to hang out near the train station, and B wants to hang out near their home, then you need to go with a compromise that makes neither of them happy.

If I’m on my own, then I don’t have to adjust to other people, and can gain much more enjoyment from that, skipping out on the meddlesome middle ground. Forcefully making fake friends and trading this vain value against freedom just because you’re too prideful to live with the fact that people might think of you as a pitiable loner is beyond foolish.

Anyway, those were the values in my heart as I enrolled at high school, and after the arrival of my second spring, shortly after the opening ceremony, it was already the later half of April. The sky outside the classroom’s windows was blue with mixed clouds, and the sunshine was a bit too bright for me. Slowly but steadily, I’ve managed to fit in the class—Well, not really. I got used to it, but still didn’t really fit in.

“Man, I want a boyfriend~ Need someone to pay for my food~ Maybe even one who pays for my train fees~”

You want a walking wallet, not a boyfriend. Like that, the homeroom which should be the most boring time of the morning, turned into the most exciting time of the day for those guys, simply because they got to talk and meet new friends. The one who indulged in this was a girl in the corner of the classroom, part of a large group of people, consisting of five boys, and a total of six girls if you included the one from just now. I’m seeing a group of eleven people, all belonging to the normie category of people.

“No no no, you should be able to get a boyfriend right away right, Mai?” Boy A gave a casual smirk.

It seems like in the world of normal people, they refer to a wallet as a ‘boyfriend’.

“You have a boyfriend right, Eri? How’s it going with him lately?” Boy B asked in quite the over-familiar fashion.

“He’s in university, but he keeps treating me like a child…”

Of course he would? We high school students are, according to the law, still children after all.

“Same here! I also want a girlfriend!” Boy C barged into the conversation.

“Ehhh, you just want to do lewd stuff, right?” Another girl besides Mai (?) and Eri (?) said.

Yeah, that Boy C guy sure looks like some horny ape. I mean, he’s been glancing at that one girl’s breasts for a while now, and not with the best intentions…

“That reminds me…” There, a fourth girl turned towards ‘her’, as she continued. “Hina, you got confessed to again?”

“Seriously!? Was it from a new student right after the new school term?”

“Ehhh? Geez, news spread so quickly~” The girl called Hina showed a wry, but still happy smile.

In regards to her, she’s famous on such a level that even I know her full name—Kasuga Hina. Her brightly-colored hair was as silky as a spring breeze, and her smile was as warm and gentle as the early summer sun. Her white and silky skin gave an especially high impression. She’s cheerful, kind, and easy to talk to, a three-point hitter beauty. Let me give you some examples that perfectly illustrate this cheerful, kind, and friendly attitude.

In our first year during summer, she managed to bring a truant classmate back to school, while still respecting their opinion and feelings.

During the fall of that same year, another outsider like me got hurt during PE class, and she offered him her own handkerchief to stop the bleeding without any hesitation.

During the winter of the same year, out of a curious investigation, all students at the school knew Kasuga Hina’s name, and she also could say the names of all the students.

“Honestly, that’s just admirable in my book…”

Anyway, as for how much of a beauty Kasuga is. If you asked 100 people “Is Kasuga Hina cute?”, wanting to get a general option of her cuteness, you would get a solid consensus of more than 100 people agreeing that she indeed is a beauty. Also, I personally differentiate the cuteness of a beauty in two different types.

A cuteness that would make her a popular and well-known idol, and a cute girl that may or may not still be in your reach. Even if you tried to get yourself an idol girlfriend, I think we all know how difficult and practically impossible that would be. Despite that, and despite Kasuga possessing cuteness on such an idol level, she makes you feel that, if you worked really hard, you might just be able to make it as her boyfriend. That’s the kind of beauty she was.

She’s an angel that allows boys to have dreams, but a devil at the same time that could invite grave misunderstandings just because of one weird phrasing from her end. How do I say this…Basically, as a factor of reality, because of Kasuga’s cuteness, many boys have fallen in love with her, and confessed. However, it’s also well-known that she rejects all of them, and gives boys this feeling of satisfaction that they confessed and gave it their all, only losing in the very final of the tournament. Basically, what I’m trying to say is…

“—She’s an existence I won’t ever be in contact with.”

It might be obvious, but I am not participating in this normie gag group. I’m just giving mental comments to these conversations in this boring time before morning homeroom starts. In fact, I am sitting at my own seat right now, away from the wall seat they gathered. From another person’s perspective, this might be a lonely, and depressing way of spending the time in the morning. If anything, I do realize that I am a bit weird myself.

That’s why I want to emphasize one more time. I am used to being alone like this, not that I’m fitting in class. Ahh, so much monologuing in my head, it’s so easy to see that I’m an outsider, huh. At the same time, look at Kasuga over there. There’s 11 normies over at her side. The reason I’ve picked Kasuga to talk about in the group is probably because she’s the exact opposite of me, standing at the other side of the spectrum, acting as the representative of this kind of group.

I walk to school alone, enter the classroom 10 minutes before homeroom starts without even making a sound, and don’t exchange a single word throughout those 10 minutes. At the same time, although I can’t expect it but surely that’s the case, Kasuga exchanges energetic greetings with those six girls, then even meets up with those five boys, and is enjoying herself while talking to them all the final 10 minutes before homeroom begins. Expressions, personality, surroundings, we’re the exact opposite.

Just by comparing yourself to other people, humans can’t find their true selves. That’s why I compare myself with Kasuga, and just feel relief in always acting like a loner, without tasting any sense of inferiority.

****

At lunch break…

Since I enjoy reading as my hobby, I often spend time at the library, and the same was the case even now. Staying in the classroom won’t do me any good, and there’s no friend who would ask me to stay with him either. There’s a term known as school caste. To directly convey the meaning, it’s basically something like a gap happening inside the school?

Of course, the school has students, but instead of separating based upon brute strength or academic ability, it’s more like a charm that creates these differences in ranking and popularity at school. When you’re popular, you stand at the summit, and when nobody gives you any attention, you’re rock bottom. And, all those popular people are cheerful and outgoing. Humans wouldn’t have fun being around introverted and gloomy people, which is why most people that you’d have fun with are all outgoing. Naturally, exceptions exist.

As a conclusion, those people with a cheerful and outgoing character are what you recently start calling normies or simply outgoing people. So, going back to the conversation in the classroom. The reason it’s hard to stay in the classroom without having any friends is possibly because this gap is showing en masse? The normies gather friends around them, and if an outsider like me were to stay in the classroom, nobody would bother to approach them. The number of friends you talk with at lunch break brings forth this gap in ranking.

Well, that being the case, I just obediently move to the library. Although I dislike having somebody else decide my actions for me, I really don’t want to be looked down on and have myself interpreted like that.

“……”

Luckily, I’m much better off on my own, so this is just fine. I just don’t want people to feel bad or ridicule me, so I make my way to the library. Also, I’m not the only student in the library either. On a side note, I was sitting at the table in the very back, in the utmost corner. Naturally, the seats in the library aren’t reserved seats. However, I’ve never seen anybody else sit there, and inside of my head, I figured that there’s probably no problem in indirectly making it my own seat. And, on the seat two away from me—

“Achoo.”

Naturally, I wouldn’t let out such an adorable sneeze. The one who sneezed like that was the person two seats away from mine—Akizuki Sakuya, a student of class 2-4. As you can tell from the name, she’s a bona fide girl. Not to mention quite the beauty. No, let me correct myself, she’s one of the two top beauties of this school. Naturally, Kasuga is the other one, needless to say.

If Kasuga is the cute type, then Akizuki is the beauty type, I guess. She possessed long, black-ish hair that resembled a stream in the river. If she showed an actual smile, she was beautiful as a full moon, but most of the time she had no expression on her face. Her skin was as white as if it was coated in snow, and she was fairly tall despite being a girl. Also, and this doesn’t have any perverted thought behind it at all, but she’s got huge breasts, a slender waist, and a thick behind, which all make her look like an artificially created statue. I heard rumours that she always got a perfect score in every subject back in middle school, and even practiced piano and drawing in grade school, appearing in contests.

On top of that, her family seems to be quite wealthy. Unlike an outsider like me, she’s polite, calm and collected, talented at school, and is probably staying alone out of her own will, instead of me being left alone.

“……” Akizuki quietly flipped over the page.

The appearance of her reading almost felt like she was born into the wrong generation, like she didn’t fit into this time, that’s how beautiful she looked. Of course, we may know of each other, but we don’t dare talk to each other. Imagine if I suddenly said ‘Hey hey, what are you reading?’ or ‘Um, you are always reading here, right?’. Asking that would only make her more conscious of me, and she’d create a protective wall around her.

When I’m reading something, I don’t want to be interrupted. That’s why I don’t do something like that to others either. Not to mention that there’s no need to call out to her either. However…

“Achoo.”

Even though she kept up a calm and collected expression as always, she must have felt embarrassed because of her somewhat adorable sneeze, as she blushed ever so slightly. Well, it still is April, so there’s a chance of pollen flying around inside the school. Can’t be helped…I’ll lend her a tissue before she goes rummaging through her belongings.

“——”

I silently handed her the tissue. Akizuki reluctantly accepted this, not uttering a word. Still, with a few more pages…and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ will be done. Getting another book from Dostojewski is such a chore…

“……Mm.”

“……Ah.”

We exchanged these words to form what couldn’t even be called a conversation. As for what actually happened, Akizuki just quietly offered me her book. Since there was no barcode on the back of the book, no number on the front of the book, I assumed that this was actually Akizuki’s personal book. Still, that’s Akizuki for you, I guess. Of course it was a book from Dostojewski, and it was even one of those I had yet to read. She’s perfectly got my preferences marked down. And, that’s when it happened.

“…Achoo.” Akizuki let out another adorable sneeze.

She must have felt embarrassed and humiliated being seen three times by me, as she glared at me with wet eyes. I bet nobody else knows about this clumsy Akizuki, huh.

“—Mn.” Akizuki tries to give me back the tissue.

“…Mn.” I shook my head.

“—Mm!” She stuffed the tissue into her pocket.

I’m glad my intentions got through to her. With enough practice, even an outsider like me can convey their intentions without relying on words. There, Akizuki stood up. She’s probably planning on throwing away the tissue. Then, I shall—

“—”

I picked up the book Akizuki read half-way, and decided to bring it to the counter. Of course, while bringing the book she lent to me as well. Then, I opened up the drawer belonging to class 2-4 inside the shelf for all classes, and discovered an A4-sized document belonging to Akizuki Sakuya which had her barcode from the library card on it. I wrote the name of the book she’d borrowed on there, copied the barcode at the back of the book as well as Akizuki’s personal code, and finished both the analog and digital process.

“——”

“—Yes.”

There, Akizuki walked towards me, so I gave her the book I borrowed in her name. Together, we left the library, and went up the stairs. Oh yeah, I don’t even remember how long we’ve repeated this kind of process, but I’m sure that this kind of distance won’t ever change between us—That’s what I thought.

****

‘To Kujou Shizuki-kun

I have something important to talk about with you! Could you please come to the D classroom on the 5th floor after classes are over!?

Until you come see me, I’ll wait forever and as long as it takes, okay?

Your Kasuga Hina.’

Huh? Eh? …The heck is this? Since classes ended, I was about to put my pencil case in my bag. Everything was fine until then. However, inside my bag, I spotted a letter with a heart sticker on it, jumping right into my face. That was still barely fine. But, then…when I read the letter at the outer stairs of a building different from the main school building, not to mention while crouching down, this is what I got!?

Hmm…T-This probably isn’t some kind of trap, or a punishment that forces her to confess to me, right? Yeah. After all, Kasuga isn’t the type of girl who would bully others. If anything, she is the kind of girl who would not allow anybody to bully me, even though we barely get in contact with each other…That being said, this my name is written in there, it undoubtedly is addressed to me. But, just what kind of business would Kasuga want with me, of all people?

No, hold on. Maybe this isn’t a confession at all, and there’s a different reason for all of this…?

“She just said she had something important to talk about, but it doesn’t say once that this is about a confession, right. It’s just a misunderstanding on my end. Ahh, so embarrassing.”

There, I heard a girl’s voice from the alumni association hall, specifically from the tennis court, which gave me an odd feeling of discomfort. Isn’t she part of the group Kasuga is always in? But, I can’t see Kasuga, the center of that group, anywhere. Which means that she’s acting separately now…Maybe alone? Waiting for me in the D-classroom on the 5th floor…?

“…Guess I should go, huh?”

I started making my way over there, but I have to say…I don’t usually go to that D-classroom. The first-year classrooms are on the 2nd floor, and our second-year classrooms are on the 3rd floor. Not much connected to me right now, but the third-year classrooms are on the 4th floor. Besides that, the cafeteria, library, and peculiar classrooms are all on the 1st floor.

A few minutes later, I stood in front of the aforementioned classroom, but I could only hear silence from the inside, assuming that it was just Kasuga waiting for me…right?

“Now then…” I took a deep breath, opened the door, and took a step forward—

“Capture hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim!”

“Agreed~!”

I was greeted by a girl with brightly colored hair, and another girl that looked like she would be in the higher years of grade school. The first of them grabbed my arms, forcefully pulling me forward! The second grabbed my legs, lifting them up! In the end, I was swaying in the air like some hammock, and put down on a bed created by desks in the middle of the room. Of course, I dropped my bag on the way there! As if that wasn’t enough, a third girl, Kasuga Hina, sat on top of me!

“Woah!? Huh!? Eh!? Wha!?”

Right now, Kasuga was sitting on my lower abdomen, more accurately pressing her soft behind onto me, her thighs holding my body between her. Well, I have to admit that this might be a dream scenario for every kind of boy, I guess?

However, let me say this! Now that I’m a victim of this very situation, rather than feeling happy, I just feel confused and bewildered. I mean, a girl with a bright hair color is grabbing my arms, another is grabbing my legs, and we’re in quite likely the most convenient spot of the school to commit a crime at, so once I actually managed to seal away the fear, I just wanted to ask if these people are still good in the head.

“Kujou Shizuki-kun.” Kasuga still kept seated on top of me, as she smiled.

This smile only terrified me.

“H-How can I help you…?” I stuttered…

It’s painfully obvious that I’m nervous at dealing with a normie like her. Not to mention that I sounded all polite towards my classmate.

“Shizuki-kun, you’re not part of any club, right?”

“Y-Yes…”

“If you want us to let you go, won’t you consider joining our club?” She showed a cute gesture of tilting her head, but the way she said that made it sound like this classroom was actually used by some club?

This school does have a building directly used for clubs, right? So, why are they using an empty classroom on the highest floor of the school building? No…even if I leave that aside, I don’t plan on entering any clubs. From how I can see it, this isn’t a sports-related club. I really can’t be bothered to show up for morning practice or on holidays, it’s such a chore. So, what to do about this…

“…F-Fine, I guess I can join.”

“Really!?” Kasuga’s eyes opened wide in shock.

“Ah, so…I need to fill out the club registration form, so could you maybe get off?”

Surely, the honest Kasuga would let me off the hook with that. Heh, so easy. If she gets off me, I can pick up my bag near the door, and then say farewell.

“Ah, stop, Hinapai1! There’s no need for you to get off of him, right? Remi can just let go of his right arm, so he can sign it that way.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, right. That’s Remi-chan for you.”

“Of course~”

With that, the girl called Remi allowed me to freely move my right hand, but…Ehhh? Even if I can use my right hand, isn’t this a bit too hard of a game to clear? Not like I can push off Kasuga with just my right hand either.

“Shizuki-kun, can you reach the form like this?”

“Eh, no, um…”

“It was a bit of a forceful invitation, but I’m really happy that you agreed to join.”

When she said that, she truly seemed delighted…I guess I don’t have any other choice in this.

****

After things calmed down, and I got a better look at the classroom around me, I realized that it was about half the size of a normal room. Then again, considering that this was used as a clubroom, it’s almost a bit too big? As for the objects in here, I spotted a desk, several chairs put away in the back corner of the room, a bookshelf, a wall clock, a whiteboard, and a desk with a desktop PC. As a finish, the spring afternoon sun shone inside the room from the window.

So, I just sat on a random chair. By the way, the three girls that were restraining me sat around me, and I still felt immense pressure from them.

“What an achievement from Remi! We succeeded in getting a new club member!”

“Hehehe, what an easy solution! If you rely on me, such an issue is something I deal with before breakfast!”

As the exact opposite of me, who was simply exhausted, the girl called Remi jumped up and down with excitement. She’s fine, really. The problem is the other smaller girl next to her! She’s got her hands up, flapping her legs up and down, speaking with a loli voice that does not belong in this high school! She’s even using random English words amidst her Japanese sentences. Easy is self-explanatory, and solution is the way you attempt to clear a problem, right? Issue is like another word for a problem, but before breakfast…What the hell!?

So, when I put this into words I could understand, it would be something like… [Woho, we cleared that problem pretty easily! If you rely on me, this is like eating rice for breakfast! Ehe~!]. ..!?

“Now then, Hinapai! Please, introduce the new member to our club work.”

“Agreed!”

“You’re right.” Kasuga nodded towards the two, showing a warm smile like a blooming flower. “Welcome, Shizuki-kun, to the peculiar future course support club.” She spoke with a gentle and friendly tone, almost like she really welcomed me in her club.

“It’s the future support club for short, but did you know about us?”

“A-Ah…No, but…I heard of it, but I don’t know the details.”

“As the name suggests, we gather people who have trouble deciding their future after graduation, so that we support each other so that we can all reach our dreams, I guess. We’re not a sports nor culture club, so that’s why we’re in the peculiar category.”

“Wah, I wanna quit…”

“Eh!? W-Why!?”

“I mean…gathering people, supporting each other, those are words that don’t fit my image at all…I hated working in groups ever since kindergarten…I always fail to reach an agreement as well…”

“B-But! In order to leave the club, you need the club president’s and the advisor’s seal of approval, and I won’t accept that you’re leaving the club three minutes after joining!”

“I-Is that so…Then, um…” I turned my gaze towards the other girls, with the girl called Remi being the first one to respond.

“Nice to meet you~ Standing, I’m cute, sitting I’m cute, walking I’m charming~ Remi’s smile is always a full 100% mark, and she’s the most beautiful high school girl in the entire world, called Aramiya Remi~”

“What?”

That introduction makes it seem like she has even less than 1 IQ.

“I-I see…Well, nice to meet you. While standing, I have a bent back, while sitting, I act like I’m asleep, and walking makes me look suspicious. I’m the loner high school student who doesn’t lose when it comes to a first smile, Kujou Shizuki.”

Aramiya had her fluffy and comfy-looking light blonde hair tied up into twintails, and from my judgement, all her nutritions necessary for her brain to work instead made their way to her chest. What I’m saying is that she’s got huge milkers. Since this would leave a bad impression, I swore not to ever say that out loud…Also, she’s smaller than Kasuga in terms of height.

“Remi’s hobby is taking selfies and uploading them on Insta! She even has 5000 subscribers on YouTube! Uploading selfies on Twitter is a daily part of her life! Shizupai, sorry that Remi is so cute, lol~ You can’t fall for her devilish charm while she shows you an angelic smile, okay?”

“Huh? Shizupai, who’s that?”

“You’re Kujou Shizuki-senpai, right? That’s why, Shizupai.”

“…So, what is your plan for the future?”

“An idol for the people of the country!” Aramiya flashed a smile that would most likely make every boy watching fall in love with her.

“Next it’s my turn then. Nice to meet you, I am Chisaka Haruka, in class 3-2.”

“So you were a senior…Same here, pleased to make your acquaintance, I’m Kujou Shizuki from class 2-1.”

As this was our first meeting, I tried to be as respectful as possible. Chisaka-senpai had her ashen-white long hair tied up in twintails, and…although I knew this was rude of me to think, especially towards a senior, both her height and breasts were small. If I had to guess, she might barely be 150cm tall, and her breasts were less than mountains, less than hills, and more like a prairie.

“By the way, did you know, Kujou-san?”

“…A-About what?” I had an awful premonition, as I asked.

“The person who takes the initiative when it comes to leadership in the class is a so-called sunlight character, and the more cases there are, don’t you think that, depending on the synergy, the community can fall into the negative spectrum?”

“W-Well…”

What is with her…Please, just talk in Japanese? I do understand initiative and synergy, but what the hell is a sunlight character?! Is she talking about a popular person2!?

“Are you okay, Shizuki-kun? Did you understand what Chisaka-senpai was trying to say?”

“…If I had to guess, it was probably something along the lines of [Um, um! In the event that there’s a lot of normies in a class, possessing the ability to act and bring quick judgement, they have the power to bring everyone together as friends! Did you know~?] , maybe?”

“I did not sound so lame, for sure!”

Although we were basically sitting next to each other, because of our difference in height, she had to look up at me, even pouting in a cute manner. Ahh, it all makes sense now. Because her gestures and way of talking resembled…or rather, are the exact same of a young and energetic girl, my translation of her sentences made her sound much younger.

“What, you can actually talk normally? Then, continue?”

“I’m saying that, in the midst of these, I am the best influencer, Chisaka Haruka!” She showed a confident grin, unbefitting of her appearance.

“Is that so, influenza, I see. I don’t think you should be coming to school, then.”

“Not influenza, but influencer! It refers to people who have a lot of influence on others. Don’t group it together with making people sick!”

“You say that, but the etymology is about the same, right?”

“Shizupai actually knows his stuff, huh.”

“Also, if you knew the word beginning, then you should have known about the meaning as well, right!?”

“Chisaka-senpai, it’s etymology, not word beginning. Also, you would use origin instead of beginning. You shouldn’t use words that you don’t even fully understand, or you’ll end up dumber, you know?”

“~~~!!”

When I pointed out Chisaka-senpai’s mistakes, she started blushing furiously, looking close to breaking out in tears. Next to her, Aramiya was taking pictures, saying ‘So adorable~!’.

“So, what is your future course you’re aiming for, Chisaka-senpai?”

“Hmpf, I praise you for asking!”

“Ah, that’s the pattern where you go around bragging…I wanna go home…”

“The great me, Chisaka Haruka, is already working at a certain company as a CEO!”

“Huh…So, Chisaka-senpai, what’s the difference between a company president and a CEO?”

“Eh!? Um, ehm…Ehh? A company president and CEO are different…!?”

“And, out of time.”

“~~~! A-Anyway, the company that my Grandpa established wasn’t inherited by Papa, so that it wouldn’t go to ruin, I became the company president!”

“Hinapai, Harupai’s profession changed from CEO to company president…”

“A-Ahaha…”

Wasn’t established also used in Japanese?

“Anyway, I will try to bring my Grandpa’s company to a more global and international level, so I am in affiliation with this club!

Affiliation means that you’re connected with something, right? I guess I should get myself a translation app before meeting her again. You can cry in the face of my kindness, okay.

“So?”

“Hm?”

“What kind of enterprise will the company you’re controlling be part of?”

“Ehhh!? Why are you asking me this question!?”

“I mean, that is probably a question nine out of ten people would ask…”

“Urk…S-Special goods…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“~~! I-It’s a company focussing on goods that will make people happy! Um…Well, they’re goods that positively stimulate your body, with candles, eye masks, stuff like that!”

“Candles? Aroma candles, right? With eye masks, you’re probably talking about those used for a comfortable sleep, yes? But, what are goods that stimulate the body?”

“For ma…wait, no! Massage machines!”

Why is Chisaka-senpai blushing? She should be proud about her company, and she’s not even looking me in the eyes.

“Haruka-senpai actually never told us what kind of company she’s responsible for…So anyway, Shizuki-kun?”

“Y-Yeah.” I stuttered again…

“You joined us as a club member today, but you didn’t really think about your future course, right?”

“I-I guess so. I haven’t even thought about which university to go to yet…”

“Then, why do you think I called you here, Shizuki-kun?”

“…No idea.”

There, Aramiya suddenly…

“Remi wants to become an even bigger idol, so she wants to know about her fans’ mode of life!”

“Huh? W-Where did that come from? Mode of life?”

“Yeah, what those fans like, what they want from Remi, and…”

“P-Probably…what landmines you would want to avoid?”

“Correct. So, Remi is sorry to say it that way, but her main targets, main audience maybe? Either way, Harupai told Remi, and she said that those people are mostly loners and outsiders.”

“It is a bit of a prejudice, but it’s true enough that I can’t disagree.”

“That’s why, after the entrance ceremony, Remi has been looking around the school, and found Shizupai as probably the representative of all loners here, so she wants you to be her advisor~”

“H-Huh…”

“I was the one who committed to this investigation!”

Ah, this one’s pretty easy to translate. She definitely said [Listen to this, listen to this~! I was the one who looked into you, and did the research! I’m amazing, aren’t I~?] .

“Did you have any reason to help her?”

“Indeed. Hearing out Aramiya-san before the investigation, I arrived at a flash idea.”

She changed her way of addressing me already…So basically, she means… [Urk…In order to grant my dream and make it reality, I need a secretary so bad…So, since Remi-chan found a good candidate, I thought of helping her, and wanted to ask Shizuki-kun for help…Is that not good?] . Also, I’m pretty good at translating her words, huh?

“Chisaka-senpai, a flash idea is basically an abrupt idea you came up with, so you’re basically saying the same thing twice.”

“~~~! A-Anyway, in order to reach the grand design I have in mind and commit to it, a strong secretary is a must! So, Aramiya-san seemingly found a solid rookie with you, and I thought that I should lend her my strength and check you out! Kujou-san…No, Secretary, I am assigning you to be my aide!” Chisaka-senpai stretched out her arm to the best of her ability, as she pointed at me.

“S-So, I get that you need a secretary, but why did you take me as a candidate?”

“Of course, a secretary cannot stand out more than me, so I need the best shadow character that I can assign to this role!”

Ahh, so roughly translated… [Hmpf! It’s natural that my secretary can’t stand out more than me, right!? That’s why, the biggest loner at this school is the best candidate, do you finally get it!?] , is what she’s saying. No, wait. Since she said shadow character, she might not be talking about a loner, but just a string-puller? Also, she’s treating me as the biggest loner as well… Surely, they don’t have any bad intentions with that. Maybe they’re trying to praise me?

“O-Oh yeah, rather than why you would need me, I didn’t even hear about your future course right, Kasuga?”

“~~~!”

“Or, is this just that only the two need my help, and you actually…don’t…need anything from…me?”

What’s gotten into Kasuga? She’s blushing furiously, looking awfully restless. Her eyes were brimming with an odd warmth, and she fidgeted as she pushed her fingers together. But, right there…

“Oh, the chime rang.” First, Aramiya casually pointed out, and then Kasuga…

“…Ah, R-Remi-chan, Chisaka-senpai, you can go home already, I’ll do the final lock-up.” Kasuga offered in a somewhat panicky way, to which Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai looked at each other, showing a grin for a second.

What…were they plotting something? I bet it’s something I don’t know about, but that just leaves me only more terrified.

“Really? Then, I shall rely on your kindness, and go home. Farewell.”

“So then, Shizupai, Hinapai, see you tomorrow~”

Well, they’re both students, so they can’t go against the final chime of the day. Though well, that was the first warning bell. Aramiya stepped out of the room on easy steps, and Chisaka-senpai followed him. I stood up from the chair myself, so as long as nothing bad will happen…

“Ah, Shizuki-kun, I…Could you maybe stay for a bit longer?”

****

Yeah, since she actually used my name, there’s no way I can ignore that…As I’m a loner, and at the bottom of the school caste, possessing an evidently lower position than her, there’s no way I can go against that. I mean, I have a severe communication disorder…I can easily play through any game and see the numerical value of the characters, but human relationships are far too much for me and my inexperienced self. That’s a big and detrimental reason for my communication disorder. Well, I am aware that I am the type of loner who doesn’t attempt to fix anything about that.

“So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“…You asked me, right, Shizuki-kun.”

“……”

“About…my future path.” She said, and started blushing even more furiously.

From somewhere, I heard students being excited that school was over for the day. Other voices from outside the building belonged to the baseball club, and I even heard a car driving past the school. And despite that, all of those sounds felt so distant, and unreal. The world was slowly colored in a scorching orange, coloring Kasuga’s face with that, as her lips formed like flower petals opened…

“…My…”

“My?”

“M-My dream…is to become a …w-wife…”

…………

……Huh?

“W-Wife…?”

“~~~!” Kasuga blushed even more aggressively, and showed a faint nod.

S-So cute……No no no, wait! Let’s just accept the fact that she wants to be a wife, which is a bit questionable of a profession, but if she really wishes for that, then what kind of support am I supposed to give her!?

“…L-Listen, I need to confirm this, but since you dragged me here, and had me join your club, you want me to support everyone’s future paths…right?”

“Y-Yeah…” Kasuga’s eyes were filled with an odd heat and passion.

“…So, your wish in the future…is to become a wife, yeah?”

“…Yes.” Kasuga’s body shook ever so slightly.

What is this about? Am I just thinking too deeply into this? If I’m wrong, it would be awfully embarrassing, for sure. This idea of mine, am I not just overly self-conceited? But…

“S-So…what do you plan on making me do…?”

“I-I…!”

There, Kasuga raised her head, stood up from her chair with a lot of momentum, and looked at me with an expression close to breaking out in tears. In a daze, I looked at her quivering and long eyelashes. Her tense breathing immediately reached me, making me feel nervous all the same. And then, she put her right hand in front of her chest.

“–I-I…Kasuga Hina…have always…always liked you, Kujou Shizuki-kun…!!”

…………Eh…I-I was confessed to!? Me!? That Kasuga Hina did!? Kasuga is cute, adorable, kind, good at her studies, excellent at sports, and so on. Such an ideal girl now confessed to me, who is being regarded as the lowest kind of person at school? Not to mention…her expression like a maiden in love, as she looked directly at me…For a solid ten seconds, I was completely silent, just trying to organize my thoughts.

“S-So…”

“Y-Yeah…”

“~~~! So…in order to become Shizuki-kun’s wife, I need your support…I need to know about the stuff you like, and stuff you dislike…So having you join the club was the fastest method, right!?”

“Eh…? Don’t tell me…”

“Shizuki-kun! In order to become your future wife, I want to flirt and be lovey-dovey with you! Please…make me your girlfriend!” She said, and clung to me, who was still sitting on the chair.

Calm down, calm down, calm down! The first problem is that we basically jumped to the goal of life. I basically was proposed to just now. On top of that, it’s Kasuga Hina, so of course I’m more than just shaken. There’s no going around it, this is a confession! So, I should just give her a response.

“………”

As I said before, or declared during my monologue, I don’t think that this is some trap, or punishment game confession. This isn’t any logical proof, just simply my own feelings, but I can see from her gaze that she is serious about this, and Kasuga wouldn’t allow such hurtful pranks that could leave a scar on people. We may not have ever talked, but even I knew this. Kasuga is just that good of a girl.

…However, I still think I should say no. Of course, I don’t have any reason to decline. That being said, I have no particular reason to say OK either. Of course, there’s bound to be people who would urge me to just go out with her either way, especially if I don’t have any reason to say no, but is that really the best choice here? Not to mention that there’s another big reason. If I get myself a girlfriend, I will be restrained on a large scale. I won’t…be able to stay free anymore.

“Kasuga…Um, I’m sorry, but I can’t go out with you.”

“…! So…can I ask why?”

There, Kasuga separated from me. If not, we wouldn’t be able to look each other in the eyes. I mean…I actually have trouble talking with people while looking them in the eyes. Although her expression looked like she’d break out in tears for a moment, Kasuga showed a commendable smile.

“I…don’t really know that much about you, Kasuga. Even a gloomy person and loner like me can’t just keep you to myself because you’re cute, or because I can brag about having you as my girlfriend. Dating you with no feelings involved just doesn’t feel right, so I can’t.”

“S-So then!”

“Hm?”

“Why don’t we just become lovers to try it out, and go on a date! An afterschool date!”

“Huh? A date?”

“Yup!” Kasuga nodded two times, probably to show how important this was.

“With me? You will?”

“I’m bad with all this logical and reason stuff, but if you don’t really know that much about me, then I just have to show you! That’s why…” She said, took a deep breath, and then— “For now…so that we learn more about each other…let’s go on a date, okay?”

1 Hina + Senpai

2 Normie or popular person is written with the kanji for sun and then kya (character)