CH 4

Aramiya Remi and Chisaka Haruka Want To Try Hard.

On an average Tuesday, the 27th of April to be exact, I just finished my loner lunch, and came to the library room as usual. It’s basically like a daily schedule of mine to come here during lunch break, but…if I stayed in the classroom, Kasuga would bombard me nine out of ten times. Without her, it really is relaxing.

“……”

So, the person sitting two seats apart from me, busy reading a novel as usual, was Akizuki. The beauty she possessed while simply reading a book was astonishing, just as I remembered her. Honestly speaking, she gives off an atmosphere that makes her hard to approach. Granted, I wouldn’t dare to approach her either, so it doesn’t matter. Oh yeah, just a simple thought. If Kasuga and Akizuki ran into each other, I wonder how the conversation would evolve. I’d love to see that. Well, no way that would actually ever happen.

“—Ah.”

“—Hm.” Akizuki showed me her smartphone lock screen.

“—Mn.”

“—Okay.” She put her smartphone into her pocket again.

I’m shocked, she knew I wanted to know the time.

“—Mm.”

“—Okay.”

As thanks for showing me the time, I took out a mint-flavored gum from my pocket, and gave it to Akizuki. She probably didn’t want to eat it here, as she stuffed it into her own pocket.

“—Mn.”

“—Oh.”

She probably meant to pay me back, as she rolled a piece of candy towards me. To think that honor student secretly brought candy to school. Also, melon soda taste? I gratefully accepted it, but that taste surprised me…It is delicious though.

“——”

“—Ah.”

Akizuki offered her hand towards me, leaving me confused. When I put the plastic wrapper on her hand, she took it with her to the trash bin, so I guess I was correct. Now then, I should…

“——”

Today, Akizuki took care of my own trash, so I instead decided to bring the book she was reading to the counter today. Then, I opened up the drawer of class 2-4 in the shelf of all classes, took out the A4 sheet for Akizuki Sakuya, with her barcode. I put the title of the book she’d be borrowing on there, as well as the barcode and Akizuki Sakuya’s personal card. Alright, analog and digital process done, which means that this mission is complete.

It’s the exact same as last week. I guess this kind of exchange has become part of my daily life, never changing. I guess it’s been a year since we started this. Of course, there are times when Akizuki takes care of borrowing the book I wanted to read. I just happened to be the one doing it today and last week.

“——”

“—Yes.”

Akizuki walked towards me, to which I offered her the book I just borrowed for her. Together, we left the library room, and walked up the stairs—

“No no no no! What the hell was that just now, Shizuki-kun!? Sakuya-chan!?”

—Right as we split up to go our separate ways and go to our classrooms, Kasuga Hina broke between the two of us.

“Eh? What are you talking about?”

“I was looking for Shizuki-kun so that we could eat lunch together.”

“I forgot to say that last Friday, but one more step in the wrong direction, and you’d be a stalker, right!?”

“So then, I saw you and Sakuya-chan together.”

“Don’t just ignore my comment…”

“As there was a possibility of a cheating incident, I carefully followed you two.”

“Really now.”

“Let me give you my conclusion.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why is there a much better atmosphere going on between you two, compared to me, despite not saying a single word!?”

“Can you not scream like that? You already draw way too much attention.”

Also, the most popular normie and cute girl in school, Kasuga Hina, was currently together with the school’s most chill and cool beauty, Akizuki Sakuya, and a random male student A. Explain this situation. You can’t, which is why everyone was looking at us while passing.

“Also, you two knew each other, Shizuki-kun, Sakuya-chan?”

“Let me ask you first, you and Akizuki were acquainted?”

And of course, right as I asked that…

“I want to ask that as well. Why is a loner like Kujou-kun familiar with Kasuga-san? Ah, you don’t need to answer me. Knowing how kind Kasuga-san is, she probably talked to Kujou-kun in your classroom.” She spoke with a voice as clear as a bell.

It’s the kind of voice that would be wonderfully accompanied by a violin or a piano. And on top of that, that Akizuki Sakuya is talking with me and Kasuga.

“Um…Shizuki-kun. I’ve known Sakuya-chan since kindergarten, and we’ve been together all through grade and middle school. Also, our mothers are really good friends, so I guess you could say we’re childhood friends.”

“I see.”

“So, now that I answered your question, it’s time to give me an answer, Shizuki-kun. You two knew each other? Since when? Where? How did you get so close!?”

She sounded awfully pushy. It’s almost like she’s seeing Akizuki as a threat. Why is she so aggressive about this? I thought they were childhood friends…

“Shizuki-kun and I have started to spend the lunch break together. I think it happened around last year.”

“Eh!? Right after we enrolled here!?”

“Yes, that should be correct. Immediately after enrolling here, for an entire year, we spent the past year, the entire past year, our lunch breaks together like this.”

“…That being said, over this past year, we never talked at all despite knowing each other.”

“…Hm?”

“Indeed. I personally find dealing with other people troublesome, and by borrowing the books we were reading for the other person, we came to a mutual understanding, I’d say.”

“No no no no, this is messed up!”

“You understand what she’s talking about, Akizuki?”

“Not a clue, no.”

“Talk! Speak! Build a conversation! Were you two never awkward over this past year!?”

“If you forcefully tried to start a conversation, the risks of making things awkward are much bigger.”

“Yes. Kasuga-san, when it comes to people like me or Shizuki-kun, you probably have a negative impression because we never talk, but if it’s just quiet around us, nothing is awkward.”

“Also, if you suddenly went ‘Hey, what are you reading?’, or ‘You’re always reading stuff here, right?’, it would just make the other person cautious, and build up a wall around them which then makes things awkward.”

I feel like I was thinking something similar last week, but that I guess is just a never-changing thought process of mine.

“Right, I wouldn’t call people annoying who ask things about me, but I would at least be bewildered.”

“Ehhhh…you’re not happy that people are interested in you…?”

“Not at all, not a single millimeter, without any glimmer.”

“Sakuya-chan…you really never change…” Kasuga was shaking in shock.

That’s Akizuki for you. Answering that question would be a waste of time, so she responded immediately with no hesitation. I can’t help but think of her as cool now.

“By the way, Kujou-kun, Kasuga-san.”

“Hm?” “What’s up?”

“There’s something I’m curious about, and would like to ask.”

“Sure.” “Yeah, what is it?”

There, Akizuki gently tilted her head, and showed a truly baffled expression.

“What exactly was Kasuga-san talking about with ‘possible cheating incident’.”

…Ah, crap. I never talked about Kasuga regarding our relationship. Should we reveal it, should we keep it a secret? All that stuff. Because Kasuga used the word cheating, normally you would assume that Kasuga and I are in the kind of relationship where you could use that vocabulary. Naturally, Akizuki would catch on to that.

“The thing is, Shizuki-kun and I are dating~”

“Wah, hey, don’t cling to my arm!”

Not to mention during lunch break! In the hallways at school! This openly! In broad daylight! It’s over…what misfortune…The people around us must have heard that.

“Hey, did you hear that!?”

“Why is that guy dating Kasuga-san!?”

“Who is he even!? I’m so jealous…!”

“So Kasuga-san finally decided to date someone!?”

They’re all just saying whatever the hell they want…Guess it’s not going to take long until rumours will be going around. However, what bothers me the most is Akizuki…

“Akizuki?”

“~~~!”

Eh? Why is she shaking like that? She looks like a cat who had its owner stolen from her.

“Kujou-kun…!”

“Wah, Akizuki!? Your chest is…!?”

“Sakuya-chan!? Why are you clinging to my Shizuki-kun!?”

She suddenly clung to my arm!? On my left arm, I had Kasuga, and on my right arm was Akizuki! Both of their chests are…!

“Wh…What’s the problem?”

“There’s only problems here, okay?”

“Sakuya-chan, get away from my Shizuki-kun already!”

“I-If you get away first, I wouldn’t mind moving away myself.”

“That’s not the problem here! I have a reason that allows me to cling to Shizuki-kun, but you don’t, right!?”

Eh, really? I always had the image that Akizuki had more of a brain than Kasuga, and yet Kasuga just brought valid logic into this mess. I mean, I may be saying that, but because of this entire situation, my image of the cool beauty Akizuki suddenly changed into a female student that I thought I knew but actually didn’t.

“Ah, um…well, since Shizuki-kun and I are library buddies, it’s not weird for me to hug his arm like this.”

“It totally is weird.”

“Hmpf, you really never change, Sakuya-chan! You still don’t know how to properly measure the distance between you and others, right? They praise you as the calm and secluded beauty, making up convenient nonsense, but the truth is that you’re just clumsy!” Kasuga continued fiercely, however…

“………”

Oh Akizuki, I won’t be protecting you from Kasuga, okay? So no matter how fiercely you cling to me, I can’t do anything…Also, she can see this, so you’re only pouring more oil into the fire.

“S-So, can I ask for the details about what led to your relationship?” Akizuki’s voice was oddly shaking, making me worried if she was actually okay.

I mean…Kasuga should be able to answer that question much better than I ever could.

“If I tell you, will you let go of Shizuki-kun?”

“Depends.”

“Huh…Sakuya-chan, do you know of the peculiar future course support club?”

“Y-Yes, it’s the club you’re a member of, right?”

“I actually had Shizuki-kun join that club, and check it out.”

“That’s unexpected. Judging from Kujou-kun’s usual attitude, he didn’t feel like the kind of person to join a club.”

“That almost sounds like you’re constantly watching me.”

“~~~! Just your imagination. I was merely guessing.”

“So anyway, the club activities are about supporting each other for the peculiar future course they chose!”

“I didn’t know about that, but it was easy to guess from the name.”

“So then, my dream for the future is to become Shizuki-kun’s wife, so we started being boyfriend and girlfriend to try out everything.”

“Huh? Kujou-kun’s wife?”

“Yup. I figured that, in order to become Shizuki-kun’s wife, I needed his help, you know~”

There, Akizuki looked over at my face. Don’t give me that gaze, I’m still not sure what to make out of this entire situation, so the best I can do is nod and hope it’s over soon.

“S-So that’s…what’s going on.” Akizuki muttered, somewhat dejected, somewhat bored.

Also, Kasuga told you everything, why aren’t you letting go of me already? As Kasuga said, and I thought last week—Akizuki really is clumsy. If so, then she probably really can’t figure out a proper distance between the two of us, and she actually holds absolutely no romantic feelings for me, surely. She simply didn’t want her library buddy to be stolen. And with that being cleared up—

“Ah, the chime rang.”

****

That day, after classes had ended, at the shopping district in front of Sendai Station, just like you’d visit another school’s soccer club for a practice match…just like you’d move to the nearby gym hall for your track-and-field practice…exactly like the photography club leaving the school grounds to search for movies…the peculiar future course support club came to a lingerie shop, but don’t ask me why!

“S-So much…underwear…~~~!”

Damn it, what the hell is this…As part of the club activities, we left the school, and Aramiya just said ‘Our destination will stay a secret until we get there~’, but to think she’d take me here of all places. Although it was pretty forceful, now that I actually joined the club, I should at least take part in the club activities. Man, give me back my good will, seriously. If I knew that we’d be going here, I would have run away mid-way.

“Of course, this is a lingerie shop after all~”

Chisaka-senpai…That is most definitely not what I was trying to say…! Why the hell would we come here as part of our club activities!? And I’m a man, which is an even bigger problem! Is this some kind of new torture!? I know that I can’t walk around staring, but I can’t hold back forever! This is bad…my head feels hot, and I’m sweating buckets…I can’t have Kasuga, Aramiya, and Chisaka-senpai find out…!

“So, let Remi sum up the details of today’s club activities!” Aramiya said, sounding like she’s in a good mood. “Basically, we’re splitting up the club activities on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Today, it’s Remi’s turn, and Remi wants to buy underwear she can use for selfies! For that, she needs Shizupai’s advice, as the representative of all loners, in order to find underwear that pierces the hearts of all the loners! When in loner land, do as the loners do after all!”

“So, although it’s Remi-chan’s turn today, I wanted to hear about your ideal underwear so that I can make your heart race when you look at me. For that, I need your feedback for the underwear I’m about to try on.”

I really wish they wouldn’t talk to me while I’m still trying to calm myself down. Take a deep breath, and then…Alright.

“Is love all you can think about? It’s like poison to me.”

“So cruel!”

“I mean, as a boy, I may be a tad bit happy, but wanting to show off your underwear to a boy to get him excited makes you sound like an outgoing, party girl of a university with her 5th boyfriend.”

“No way~!”

“You can be quite peculiar about this stuff, huh, Shizupai.”

“Ah, agreed.”

“So, Aramiya, you want to buy underwear that leaves the loners unable to look away from you, right?”

“Wah, Shizupai, that’s one nasty way of phrasing it…At least call it underwear that will pierce the hearts of Remi’s fans.”

“Also, you talked about taking selfies with that underwear, but do you actually upload those selfies online? Not even hiding your face?”

“Of course!”

“What a challenger you are.”

“Come on, Shizupai, you won’t get anything from praising Remi.”

“No, I’m calling you an idiot, basically.”

“Waeh!?”

“Well, it’s your personal freedom, so I’m not stopping you.”

“By the way, do you also want Shizuki-kun to choose your underwear for you, Chisaka-senpai?”

“……” Chisaka-senpai answered with silence.

“No no no, even if she did, what reason would she have?”

“Ah, that does make sense.”

“Unlike Harupai and Remi, she doesn’t have anybody to show it off to after all.”

Kasuga showed consent, and Aramiya joined in while giggling. Like this, they both decided that Chisaka-senpai wouldn’t join in on this nonsense, but right then…

“No, I have my own reasons, so I will have my secretary evaluate my choices in underwear.”

“Huh!? With reasons, you mean that you have your own circumstances!?”

“It is about the company I am the CEO of.”

“Hinapai, Harupai went back to calling herself a CEO again…”

“Hmmm, I thought she looked into it before…”

“So, what reasons are there, related to your company?”

“~~~! Do you want to be sued for sexual harassment!?”

“Why!? Wasn’t the company you’re responsible for manufacturing aroma goods or eye masks, any kind of goods that would make people happy!?”

“!? A-Agreed! That’s exactly it!”

No no no, what the hell was that…You forgot what your own company was doing…If I were to compare it with an example at school, it’s like she had forgotten the contents of the class she was in right now. She’s definitely hiding something from me. Don’t think you can keep it hidden from me! For that, I need more information…

“So, Kasuga wants…and it makes my back itch to say that…underwear that would make me happy, Aramiya wants underwear that would make the hearts of loners race, but what direction of advice would you prefer, Chisaka-senpai?”

“I want underwear that would make any loner want to immediately assault me.”

“…Eh?”

“…Ehhhh!?”

“No way…”

In the order of me, Kasuga, and Aramiya, we all showed our respective reactions. Yet, the person in question…

“Now, secretary! Please, use your interests as a loner…No, even your personal interests are fine, just tell me your impressions about my underwear!”

****

“Can I really not go home without doing this?”

“That’s it, Shizupai.”

“Agreed.”

“Sorry about this, Shizuki-kun, but it’s part of the club.”

“So I’ll just end up late if I don’t man up, huh…”

Can’t help it then, I have to get things done early. Now that I’m part of the club, I have to go along with the club activities. For example, I can’t just say I’m not feeling like playing baseball while being part of the baseball club. That won’t work, and it’s the same. A few minutes after that, the three girls—

“How is this, Shizuki-kun? My friends who have boyfriends told me that boys would like this.”

“Tada~! Not only Remi’s face, but also her body is a full 100 points! Fans of idols are weak against this mature underwear, right?”

“Hehe! I may be losing in terms of bust and hips against Kasuga-san and Aramiya-san, but my skin is more beautiful, so that’s my victory!”

“~~~!”

In order to give them impressions, they would need to put on new underwear. I was plenty aware of that, but still…What the hell is this! Kasuga’s underwear is mostly see-through! Aramiya’s underwear wasn’t see-through, but it was pretty much just string panties and a string bra. Adding to that, Chisaka-senpai wore a baby doll! Not to mention…all of it was black!

This is bad…this is seriously bad…My heart is beating so loudly! Getting to see a classmate, a junior, and senior of mine wearing only underwear, not to mention all three of them at the same time, I bet I’m the only guy in the entire school who ever got to experience something like this!

“U-Um, you three…aren’t you embarrassed…?”

“Ahaha…I’m a bit embarrassed, but the happiness of having the person I like be conscious of me is much bigger.”

“Remi is totally fine! Rather, she wants to be seen!”

“~~~! Of course I’m embarrassed, I’m just trying to put up with it!”

“Aramiya is the only person who gets off to this…”

Right as I muttered that comment, it happened.

“““…Ah.”””

“Eh!? Wah, hold on!”

Aramiya’s breasts fell out of her string bra. Damn it…I can feel something warm gathering at the top of my nose! I can’t suffer from a nosebleed here! Inside a lingerie shop! Not to mention while looking at my junior’s breasts! Also, pink! Hard! Not gonna say what it was!

“…Shizupai, did you see that?”

“Nope. You crouched down before I could.”

“Then…okay, we’re safe.”

Sorry, that was a lie. But, I didn’t want her to be dejected. I mean, the reason this happened is because she said she’s ‘totally fine’, so she technically doesn’t have any right to crouch down, glaring at me like that.

“Cough.” I cleared my throat, trying to reset the mood. “To be honest…”

“““To be honest?””” The three girls’ voices overlapped.

“I don’t think a loner would be happy about this kind of underwear, you know?”

“Eh, Shizuki-kun, you don’t like this type of underwear!?”

“Shizupai! What do you mean!?”

“Doubt! We clearly chose something that will make the other person excited!”

“I mean, how do I say this…The underwear you three are wearing right now is something that shows how you’re used to men, and gives you a playful atmosphere. If I wanted to be insulting, I’d call it bitchy.”

“So my secretary really dislikes that sort of thing.”

“Ehhhh~ Remi thought she definitely looked great in that!”

“You do. Especially like a photo, a PV, or maybe some rather deviant anime illustration. That kind of model. But…”

“But what, Shizuki-kun?”

“But, that would only make it popular if it’s online, but…how do I say it, seeing it here in reality…is weighty. And very raw. Rather than being erotic, it just feels dirty and heavy.”

“Not light, but heavy…”

“I don’t know about you, Kasuga, but wouldn’t this kind of image be bad for you, Aramiya?”

“Right. It’s not just Remi-chan, but I don’t want to be thought of as an easy woman by Shizuki-kun.”

“Y-Yeah…B-But! Remi technically is an idol! This time, she was seen directly by Shizupai, but next time, people will see Remi over photos or Twitter, so black should be fine, right?”

“You don’t understand the demand, Aramiya.”

“D-Demand?”

“What people from you isn’t looking hot and erotic, they want you to be cute. If men want lewd stuff, they would watch idols online, or some AVs.”

“Ahhh, Remi never thought about that.”

“Not to mention that you’re a high school girl. Your fans, the middle-aged men, would rather take a childish pink or blue than a mature black underwear.”

“Okay…Wait! Why did you decide that all of Remi’s fans are old people!?”

“Well, that was just my personal impression, so take it more as a reference than anything.”

“So, rather than us choosing the underwear, and having the secretary comment on it, the method of the secretary choosing the underwear and making us wear it would be much more efficient, right?”

That being the case—

“Since you three don’t understand a loner’s heart at all, I’ll be teaching you the ways.”

“Okay…!” “Gotcha!” “Please do!”

“Chisaka-senpai said that I should be the one choosing, but I can’t ask about your sizes, so maybe choose the underwear according to my explanation.”

“Eh? I don’t mind Shizuki-kun knowing, you know? By the way, these are D-cups.”

“Remi has it on her Twitter bio, you know? F-cups.”

“Why are you just declaring it yourselves after I said I didn’t want to know…”

“So, secretary, what kind of underwear would be best accepted by loners?”

“Oh, Chisaka-senpai, that statement just now, you probably wanted to sound confident at that, but it didn’t sound that way at all, you know?”

“~~~! Don’t poke fun at me! Also, why are you treating only me so differently compared to the other two! It feels like you’re taking me for a child.”

“Most definitely not.”

I mean, she just looks like a grade school child. Even without taking her outer appearance into consideration, the way she immediately gets angry, tries to act more mature, and the way she looks up at me…She should be a Senpai, and yet…

“So, Shizupai, what underwear is accepted by loners?”

“Well, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of that just now. It should be something that shows you’re not used to being seen by men, and very innocent. I don’t want to throw around prejudices, but an idol’s fans seem like the people who don’t have much experience with women.”

“Shizupai, you sound like a virgin.”

“So you have lots of experience, Aramiya?”

“Waeh!? O-O-Of course! Remi has experience with hundreds of people!”

“Alright, I’ll be sending you some of those videos anonymously on your Twitter account.”

“Waaaah, don’t! Remi is still a virgin herself! Urk…she really wanted to keep that fact a secret…”

If anything, being a virgin in high school gives you a lot of points as an idol, I feel like. Just spread that on Twitter.

“So, to continue…Besides that, anything flirtatious, anything that makes it seem like you’re used to men, sinful, whatever you wanna call it, is not good.”

“What do you mean?” Kasuga tilted her head.

“It’s not easy to explain, but you know what I mean with flirtatious. Virgin-killer clothes, panties with lots of frills and the kind of bras that have holes in the shape of cats in them.”

“Ahhhh, really. Shizupai, I get what you’re trying to say.”

“Really now?”

I mean, if the person herself says so…

“So…then…Well, I’d be happy if you could get underwear fitting the image, something like that.” I said, and pointed towards a set of underwear that was snow white, frills, and a ribbon, basically emphasizing innocence.

I mean, there’s no way I could grab that, okay…Pointing at it is the best I could do…As a result of that…after a few minutes passed…

“Shizuki-kun, how about this?”

“Tada~! Shizupai, how’s this? Good, right?”

“This is quite good in order to keep the flirtatious levels at a low, I’d say.”

“~~~!”

Just as before, but for a different reason, I was utterly at a loss for words. Kasuga wore a pastel pink set of underwear with frills attached to it, and even a ribbon, but what made it stand out was that the frills were embroidered in the underwear to the smallest detail…! Aramiya went with a white base, together with black marbles added to the set, and although it’s a bit against the rules, she even had a garter belt to finish it off…! As for Chisaka-senpai, it fit her loli figure just perfectly…What do you call it? That’s right! She’s wearing that Cinderella bust blue bra…!

Seriously, they’re out to kill me. Honestly speaking, I was entranced. All three of them were unbelievably cute. The pastel pink looked wonderful on Kasuga. Idol fans would always love to see their idols in an innocent white, but Aramiya really nailed it. Chisaka-senpai looked perfect because of her small stature.

“Now, i-isn’t this enough, you three? I think you all look great…”

I mean, that’s not that big of a praise now that I think about it. They didn’t figure out that I was disturbed, right?

“Ahh, Shizupai is flustered~”

“I’m not, stop grinning.”

“Hehe, Shizuki-kun, you really can’t be honest, huh? But, that just means it looks good enough on us to make you feel embarrassed, right? Yay~”

Like this, the peculiar future course support club’s activities at the lingerie shop ended in a success.

****

That night, a LINE message from Aramiya came in.

[RemiRemi: Shizupai, are you awake~?]

[Shizuki: I just slipped into bed. Good night.]

I wasn’t lying. I was just laying in my bed, doing stuff on my phone.

[RemiRemi: Okay, night~]

[Shizuki: That was pretty easy.]

[RemiRemi: Okay, three seconds passed, so good morning~]

Are you serious!? Like hell I’d accept this nonsense…!

[Shizuki: Alright, I’ll count this as my loss.]

[RemiRemi: You could have just responded earnestly from the very beginning~]

[Shizuki: Before that, how did you get my LINE ID?]

[RemiRemi: Hinapai told Remi~]

That damn Kasuga…Leaking personal information without consent…! Can’t help it, I can’t turn back time.

[Shizuki: So, what do you want?]

[RemiRemi: When Remi uploaded a picture in the underwear you chose, she got 5000 favs!]

[Shizuki: And how much is that in comparison?]

[RemiRemi: It’s amazing! That’s the photo that got the most favs!]

[Shizuki: Can underwear really change that much?]

[RemiRemi: In the impressions, it says ‘You’ve always been wearing black, but now you went with an innocent white, huh!’, you know. They think that white is better than black. Seems like your sense is spot-on!]

[Shizuki: Fans of idols probably prefer white after all…It might be a bit of a prejudice, but…you’re a high school idol, so I figured that innocence sold better than maturity…]

[RemiRemi: That’s Shizupai for you! Remi will leave every loner stuff to you!]

I was praised…by a girl younger than me…Well, it depends on every single person and their view individually. Even if [Kujou Shizuki is a loner] is a fact, I think of it as something positive, as it allows me to live freely. However, Kasuga for example doesn’t see it as something positive, but simply cute. Aramiya in her case sees it as me being reliable. Just as Protagoras said: Humans are the measure of all things.

[Shizuki: I’m glad I could help you.]

[RemiRemi: Yup! Ah, Shizupai, you wanted to sleep, right? Sorry to keep you up like this. Good night~]

[Shizuki: Yeah, night.]

She did read the message, but didn’t respond. Also, I keep talking with more and more girls via LINE before heading to sleep, huh.

****

The 28th of April was a Wednesday—Finally, classes were over! I used the underground train from school to reach the closest area of Chisaka-senpai’s company, so I came to Sendai station. Yay! I can be alone with a girl who is the president of a company! …Yeah, it’s not working. Even if I tell myself that, this entire situation is just messed up.

Well, luckily Chisaka-senpai’s company was close to Sendai, so if I used Kitayama station, I could easily make it home, but since I was told that it would take several minutes to reach her company from the station, I really couldn’t bring up any motivation. The only reason I’m even somewhat inclined on going there is because it’s not nearly as annoying as the whole lingerie shop thing with Aramiya. At the very least, that’s what Chisaka-senpai told me. I mean, it still is a chore, but it’s also part of my club activities…Could you call this me being too diligent? Or maybe the way I slack off is messed up.

“—Chisaka-senpai.”

“Yesh!”

“You’ve been blushing this entire time, and shivering at the same time. Are you feeling off by any chance?”

“T-Totally fine! It’s just simply…Um…well…”

“?”

“This is the first time that I am inviting a man into the company, so I’m a bit nervous!” Chisaka-senpai exclaimed, blushing furiously as red as an apple.

“Then why did you call me over!?”

“I told you that this was part of our club activities, right!” Chisaka-senpai proclaimed, as we walked down the evening street, colored in a strong orange.

“So, why didn’t you call over Kasuga and Aramiya as well? It was your turn, right…The more people the better, is what I thought…”

“…You will understand once we make it to the company.”

“And where is that company?”

“Ah, right here.”

Since Chisaka-senpai stopped in her tracks, I followed suit, but…as expected, it said ‘Chisaka Night’ on the billboard at the entrance.

“By the way, my secretary.”

“Huh?”

“There’s something I’d like to confirm. You are my secretary, right?”

“You just decided to call me like that, but since I’m supposed to be the support member of the club, I guess you’re not wrong.”

“…Understood. It might be a bit narrow, but come on in.”

“Don’t mind me.”

We walked inside, up to the third floor, which is fine and all, but what exactly am I supposed to do here?

“Where are the other employees?”

“The company president’s office is on this floor, but the information desk, the pressroom and all other necessary rooms are underground.”

“Ahh, glad to hear that.”

If an employee saw us like this, they might think something like ‘Who is that young man with the president?’. Also, what the hell even is a pressroom? Like a conference room? I heard that all those self-confident and self-absorbed people love their brainstorming, but why is there a reason to turn everything into English.

“As you are my secretary, I have a to-do list for you here.”

“There it is. The self-absorbed type and their to-do lists.”

Using to-do instead of just any normal unnamed list is probably just another attempt at making themselves sound more important.

“This is my working office, the office of the company president.”

“Sorry for the intrusion.”

It looks like an authentication office, actually. I mean, it’s an awful prejudice that I really need to fix, but I expected something small, shabby, filled with documents everywhere, but…it actually looks quite normal. How do I say this, it looks like the office of a politician you’d see in TV dramas. At the same time, there’s a large sofa that looks like it would be used by some police official in another drama.

The desk had a formidable size that would allow three Chisaka-senpai’s to have more than enough room on it, with a chair added to it that even surpassed Senpai in size, together with a bookshelf at the wall. The sofa offered for visitors was even more fluffy and comfortable than my own bed, the desk in front of it was made out of glass, yet no fingerprints on it. The only thing really sticking out as surreal were the vibrators and onaholes on the shelf.

“For now, have a seat on the sofa. I’ll bring some coffee.”

“Ah, could I ask for black coffee then?”

It seems like she has a fridge below the desk, as she rummaged around there. It’s like a small fridge out of a hotel.

“Sorry for the wait, here is your coffee.”

“Thank you very much.”

Chisaka-senpai put down a cup in front of me, and sat down across the table. Since we’re junior and senior at school and in our club, she really doesn’t need to treat this like some business meeting. Then again, saying that out loud would just be rude, so I stayed quiet.

“Chisaka-senpai, aren’t you going to drink any coffee?”

“I-I-I will! Black is just perfect for me!”

“Then, hand me that sugar and milk you’re hiding beneath the table, okay?”

“…Fine by me!” Chisaka-senpai said, and actually handed me the sugar and milk

I know I was the one who started this, but now I’m a bit worried.

“ Gulp … gulp …Mngh, so bitter…”

What…is this creature. So adorable. Can’t help it, I’ll give her the sugar and milk back. I felt guilty, like I was bullying a small child.

“So, could we get into the main topic now?”

“Agreed. Precisely, I would like you to help me with the development of a new item.”

To translate that, she basically said [Um, um, listen! The thing is, I want Shizuki-kun to help me create a new product! Help me, please? Come on, pretty please~] , right.

“Before that.”

“Yes?”

“…Why do you have vibrators and onaholes in your office?”

“…So you’ve realized.”

“Of course I would!?”

“Grrr…So then, secretary.” Chisaka-senpai stood up, approached the shelf, and grabbed several of the…adult toys, returning to me.

…Hold on, don’t bring that too close to me! I mean, yesterday, Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai called me pure and innocent, but if you bring something like that close to me, even I would…Blegh. Also, having a small girl like Chisaka-senpai, who looks middle school level at best, carrying stuff like vibrators or onaholes, the impact is just…ugh!

“W-What is that?”

“When you joined our club, I vaguely explained what exactly my company specializes in, right?”

“Huh? I mean, you said that you’re making stuff that makes people happy……Ah.”

Eh, hold on. A company that makes people happy…

“Chisaka-senpai, your company specializes in manufacturing adult goods!?”

“Don’t scream that out loud! I am embarrassed about it!”

“That’s why neither Kasuga or Aramiya knew…and also why you didn’t call them here today, right!?”

“Of course!” Chisaka-senpai blushed furiously, puffing out her cheeks as she glared up at me.

Well, even if you somehow managed to accept the fact that a high school girl is responsible for a company that creates adult goods…

“You want me to help make adult goods?”

“A-Agreed.”

Seriously…Why me of all people…I’m the biggest loner at school, so that’s why Chisaka-senpai chose me, right? If so, I should have asked about the reasons why…Specifically, Aramiya should have the answer.

“Our company’s development method of new items basically revolves around somebody proposing a scheme, we sign it with the majority rule, or keep it pending, which then reaches me, the company president, for a final check.”

Please, that’s way too much English for me…With scheme, does she mean like a plan, majority rule is probably just a majority vote? So, pending is like keeping it on hold. So what she’s saying is something along the lines of [The method as to how we manufacture our goods basically works on the idea that someone brings in a plan and idea, and we decide with a majority vote if we go with it or keep it on hold, and I have to do the final check, so that we can finally develop it! Ehe~!] .

“But, that just means that, as the company president, I don’t get to do any developing, right? I can propose and check it myself, as much as I want, but there’s a restriction induced by a rule.”

“That’s what it means to be a company president, right?”

“It’s different at my company. To give you a brief conclusion, even the company president can propose the development of an item, and even participate in the majority rule.”

“Oho?”

“However…”

“Is there a problem?”

“Urk…Whenever I propose something, they never skip the majority rule…”

“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“…I want you to help me think of new adult goods.”

****

“Eh? What was that? I’m sorry…I couldn’t hear that.”

“Huh!? You’re telling me to say that once more!?”

“Yes, please.”

“~~~! I want you to…help me think of…new adult goods!”

“Eh? What was that? I still couldn’t hear you.”

“Doubt! That has to be a lie, right!? You most definitely heard me, yeah!?”

“I mean, I did hear you, I just doubted my ears.”

Chisaka-senpai and I were discussing back and forth. I guess I was screaming too loud after all, I should reflect on that. Chisaka-senpai seemed to feel the same way, as she cleared her throat, and continued.

“Secretary, cool down.”

“Yet again with your self-absorbed personality? Let’s calm down, let’s relax, let’s cool down? Really?”

Ignoring my complaint, Chisaka-senpai offered me the files she had kept next to her on the sofa so far…What am I looking at here? Ah, the goods that Chisaka-senpai came up with.

“So, do you have any ideas like the shadow character you are?”

“I just looked through the goods you suggested so far…”

“Yes.”

“Thinking about it rationally, shouldn’t you just be asking your employees for advice?”

“No!”

Woah, that surprised me. Why’d she scream like that?

“I can’t show such a pathetic side of me to my employees…It might be logical, but I need to preserve my pride as the company president. And, so that Grandpa can smoothly assign me to this company, I need to be a reliable company president…”

Ehhhh…her family and circumstances are way too complicated…When I joined the club, she mentioned something about her father not taking over the company, right…

“So, the reason you always talk weirdly…”

“Grandpa still thinks of me as a child, so when I use this kind of tone and vocabulary, he says ‘My grand-daughter is always working so hard for my sake’, and is happy.”

“Is that so…”

Chisaka-senpai really is a good girl after all…She’s talking in such a weird way simply to make her grandfather happy.

“By the way, the underwear I had you choose at the lingerie shop is related to this.”

“By the way, in what way?”

“If I wear such underwear that is accepted with a wide male audience, I might be able to grasp a feeling for it…”

“Yeah…no. I think you should calm down a bit, you know?”

“…Agreed.”

I guess Chisaka-senpai gets a bit too invested at times, huh…Either she hates losing, or she wants to be able to do everything herself a bit too much. Can’t help it.

“Chisaka-senpai, can I ask something?”

“Hm? Go ahead.”

“You want ideas of a loner from me, right?”

“Indeed.”

“So, loners have an established reputation of not reading the mood.”

“Don’t you mean that they simply can’t?”

“Then I’ll just say what I want without being able to read the mood…” I pushed the files of the adult goods ideas by Chisaka-senpai onto her. “Why would you need self-absorbed and self-conscious attributes from adult goods!?”

“What…did you say!?”

“There’s nothing like that when it comes to adult goods! What do you mean by global onahole!? Also, the hell is some pink rotor that was developed with cost-performance in mind!”

“That’s the reason why!?”

“Of course! This is just my opinion as an amateur, but the simpler the goods are, the better!”

****

“Huh…To think the vector you would expect from an item and my own vector are the complete opposite…”

“………”

“But, I’m glad I found out what the reason was.”

“Is that so. Also, I remembered the way, so you didn’t have to send me off.”

“That won’t do. It’s my duty to send my secretary off.”

I guess this is what you call twilight. The sky was half navy blue, half deep red, as Chisaka-senpai and I walked towards Sendai station next to each other, but there was still quite some time until the arrival of the train I was supposed to take…In response to that, Chisaka-senpai—

“Could I have some of your time so that I could talk a bit about myself?”

“Where did that come from?”

“Just a bit until your train arrives.”

“……”

“I wanted my secretary to know about this.” Chisaka-senpai turned towards me, and started talking about herself.

“I told you on the first day we met, right? My Papa can’t inherit Grandpa’s company.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“The reason for this is, as you might imagine, all for the sake of our appearance in the eyes of the world.”

They say that there’s no social standing when it comes to the industry, but if the company president of an adult goods company is a man, he surely wouldn’t get the best kind of attention, especially from women. And, there’s also the possibility of Chisaka-senpai’s father being simply embarrassed about being the president of such a company.

“So right now, Papa and Grandpa are in a fight.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“I told you on the day you became my secretary.”

“About what?”

“—In order to reach the grand design I have in mind and commit to it, a strong secretary is a must! …Remember?”

“So your grand design is…”

“The hope that my Papa and Grandpa will make up.”

“……”

“I don’t think that a family should fight! So, the best scenario would be for them to get along again, right? If they can’t make up by themselves, I have to be the trigger. With that determination, I decided to become the company president.”

“………”

“Grandpa has become quite old, so I have to protect the company until Papa comes back.”

That’s unexpected. Chisaka-senpai may be regarded as a beauty, and the reason I thought of her as cute was because of her small stature, and her childish personality, and yet…Her smile just now was so mature.

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you tell me about this?”

“I’ve always wanted a secretary.”

“……”

“I can’t show my employees any kind of weakness, and telling friends about my company is a bit.”

“Makes sense.”

“The reason why I made the school’s number one shadow character my secretary is for the reason I previously explained, but there actually is another one.”

“…?”

“Apologies if I strike a nerve with this, but I think of a shadow character as someone weak.”

“I won’t deny that. We don’t have any place we belong to after all.”

“So, if you are weak, then I figured you wouldn’t laugh at me, or make fun of me in the times I was suffering, and on the ground.”

“Is that so?”

“Agreed! I truly feel like making Kujou-san my secretary was the right choice! I haven’t shown any weakness yet, but with today’s brainstorming, I understood that you wouldn’t laugh at me for being a company president. If anything, you were earnestly listening to me.”

I guess she opened up a bit at least? Feeling a bit emotional…

“Ah, your train has arrived. Well then.”

“………”

I walked on ahead, about to board the train, but…

“Secretary?”

“……”

What should I do about this? The train isn’t going to wait forever. But…not like I won’t ever get home.

“…Secretary?”

“I don’t like these kinds of crowds, so I’ll just take the next train.”

“I-Is that so! Ehehe, t-then, have a seat on this bench, I’ll tell you more about my grand design! First, I will try to get into a national school, and then aim for a university overseas! Also, some volunteer work won’t hurt! Picking up trash, fund-raising, anything like that. Through that I will become the leader of the volunteer work, and then the leader of the seminar…”

She seemed to be enjoying herself, as she kept talking on and on. Although it was all over the place, when asked if she thought about her future or not, she was definitely thinking about it. It was a bit…dazzling.