CH 1

Kasuga Hina and Promise and Outdoor School!

Human relationships are like a cage restraining you. The more people have any connection with you, the more books you have to read, and the more space around you narrows. Let me give you an accurate example.

A: You have 24 hours with no plans whatsoever.

B: In the morning, you have made a promise of eating breakfast with your family! At noon, you don’t have anything planned in particular, but you end up being forced to eat lunch with your friends as the atmosphere tells you to. In the evening, you participate in club activities, and after those end, you go eat out with seniors or juniors, unable to reject them. At night, before you sleep with your lover, you spend another hour talking to them in pitch black darkness.

Here’s the question. Who has more freedom? A or B? Naturally, the answer is A. And at the same time, adding to that, it’s not impossible for a loner to thoroughly enjoy their days. Reading a book with a cup of coffee in hand is a blessing only we get to enjoy! Eating potato chips with chopsticks while gaming is the greatest way to pass the time! Watching a movie you rented on TV once your family has gone to bed, it’s the promised and holy 120 minutes!

Oh my? I think A might just be the better choice after all. At the very least, I feel that way. Other people are irritating most of the time. Talking with other people just makes me feel uncomfortable. Having group work in class is aggravating. Even if I have a thick wall around me at all times, even if I can’t fully extract the meaning of my communication with others, even if I’m just lazy, days of people grabbing my shoulder, or slapping me on the back with a friendly tone, make me feel like vomiting.

Anyway, when talking to me I’ve always suffered from genuine, and proven communication disorder…Or rather, I had before. Yeah, I just used past tense. I actually found myself a person who is somewhat of an exception to this system.

“That being said, people don’t change this easily, so…time to go home.”

I’ll just skip club activities today. I’ll go home, read a book, check the internet after eating dinner, take a bath and play games, and then spend a good time on YouTube before heading to sleep.

“My reason for skipping…I guess a stomach ache will do.”

I know I’m being petty here. If I was a normie, I’d just wave my hand while walking at the door, not caring if they figured me out, just sitting at Mac or any other fast food place. However, as a loner…

“Taking the nearest train station would be bad…I don’t have any friends, but I really don’t want to be seen by somebody…”

I’m going solely based on emotions here, and although it makes me feel like a chicken, I am feeling guilty about skipping. This school has three separate school gates, located in the North, East, and West…so maybe I should take the West gate to the nearest train station. As a loner, you should understand my feelings. Even if I’m skipping, the guilt forces me to take a path where nobody will spot me! So, right as I wanted to leave through the school gate…

“Found Shizuki-kun! There~ Ehehe, squeeze~”

“Kasugaaaa…Don’t hug me in public like this…Also, how did you know I was here…?”

“Hm? I wanted to go with you to the club room together, but you for some reason were walking towards the first floor, and not the fifth floor, so I followed you!”

“I see…so you’ve been observing me in the shadows…”

That I did not consider. Normally, nobody would give a loner like me any attention. Hence, I didn’t even consider the fact that Kasuga would watch me the second I leave the classroom…

****

“Hey, Shizuki-kun?”

The club room of the peculiar future course support club is located on the fifth floor of the school building…but when Kasuga called out to me as we walked up the stairs together, I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

“What’s up?”

“Nobody’s around us right now, yeah?”

“Well yeah, the fifth floor basically only has the music room and our club room.”

“Sooooo…it’s just the two of us, yeah?”

“Yup, seems like it.”

“Can I hold your arm?”

“………”

“I guess…not?” She asked with a saddened, worried, and anxious expression.

Not to mention that her eyes got all watery, as she looked up at me.

“S-See, there’s nobody else around us, so we don’t have to hold back…right?”

“Kasuga.”

“Y-Yesh!”

“It’s true that we’ve gotten closer since what happened at Sendai, and even I as a loner can say that.”

“Yup yup! Right right!”

“But, that is that, and this is this. I would stop being a loner if I walked around, crossing arms with a girl.”

“Alright, I don’t care anymore then! I’ll just hug you without asking for your permission! There!”

Idiot, why are you telling me about your plans before executing them? Evading that was easy.

“Heh, don’t underestimate loners. We’re good at avoiding and evading other people.”

“Ehhhh, wait a second, Shizuki-kun~”

She’s quick to recover, alright. Also, she’s clearly planning to hug me up front, right?

“You mean to tell me that you will succeed in catching me, who feels discomfort when other people touch me?”

“Geeezz! I’m not letting you escape!” Kasuga approached me right up to my face.

Dodging her is easy peasy.

“Come on, try to catch me.”

“Waaaait, Shizuki-kuuun! I’ll definitely catch you!”

“Try it if you can. As a loner, I don’t feel like being clingy at school.”

“Waaaait~”

“This is how loners act most of the time, you know? If you plan to become one, you better learn from this.”

“Yup…then, show me the ropes. I’ll continue to run after you, so make sure I don’t catch you, okay?”

And then, roughly ten minutes later…

“………What are you two doing?”

Ah, wah…A certain girl came walking up the stairs with an exhausted expression. She possessed dark-colored hair, a large posture, and an admirable physique.

“Akizuki, huh.”

“Sakuya-chan, hey there. Can’t you tell by looking at us?”

“It looked like an idiotic couple flirting around at school while chasing each other.”

“Not quite. Maybe you should get your eyesight checked out?”

“Eh, I was wrong?”

“Yeah. Since I, a loner, was about to be touched, I started taking evasive movements. I feel like vomiting when people act too close towards me, grabbing my shoulder or tapping me on the back.”

“I see, so since Kasuga-san aims to become a loner, she was observing your evasive movements to learn from it?”

“Eh!? How did you manage to figure that out so easily, Sakuya-chan!?” Kasuga looked like she received quite the shock.

“Most likely because I am somewhat of a loner myself?”

“Ehhhh…”

“Well, even if I figured out what you were doing, why were you doing it about twenty steps away from the club room…”

“Ehehehe~” Kasuga flashed a bright smile in the face of the bewildered Akizuki.

So these two are the top beauties of the school, huh. On one side, there’s Kasuga Hina—Possessing white and smooth skin like a child’s, she’s cheerful, kind, friendly, and the perfect example of a normie. Her bright hair was always silky smooth, and her outer appearance as a whole was about as cute as her personality. She is literally the perfect example of a cute girl.

Then, there’s Akizuki Sakuya—Her skin looks white like you had put makeup on a white lily, and it gave her a somewhat mature and corrupted atmosphere. If Kasuga is the cute type, then she is the beauty type, and a lonesome beauty to boot. The unattainable flower, you could say. Her long, blackish hair looked like flowing water, and without any lewd intention in mind, whether it was the feminine scent coming from her, or her chest and waist, even the line down to her behind, it looked like it was handcrafted.

****

Just as Akizuki stated, since we were merely a few meters away from the club room, there was never any real need to go this far. If we ended up late, Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai would give us an earful, so I guess I should just give up and head over. So…standing in front of the door, I opened it up. Right as the sliding door opened, and hit the wall next to it—It happened!

Gooooo! A loud sound rang out, which had me confused. What was that, an explosion!? There’s smoke inside the room even.

“Shizuki-kun, what was that explosive noise just now!?”

“… Squeeze .”

Both Kasuga and Akizuki just naturally clung to my arms…squeezing her chest onto me…But this isn’t the time to worry about that. Why is there an explosion going off inside the club room—I thought, but that wasn’t the end of it, yet! Following that, a fanfare like I was listening to some opera started playing.

“This must be Aramiya’s doing, right!?”

“Nay, it is not Aramiya Remi!”

That next moment, the windows of the room must have opened, as the smoke was clearing up. However, right when I actually could see ahead of me…

“What is this pyramid of desks…?”

“Welcome, my dear club members! Feast your eyes upon the great me!”

“Huh?” “Ehhh!?” “……”

Who is that bunny girl standing atop the pyramid (of stairs)…She’s not normal…Can I just go home?

“My name is Hirahara Aki! I am the newly appointed health and physical education teacher at this high school, and the vice club advisor of the peculiar future course support club! Hawoo!”

Wah!? She just jumped down from the pyramid…Also, wait, isn’t her landing point overlapping with where I’m standing…? Also, why are both Kasuga and Akizuki letting go of me now? Oh, I missed my chance to evade.

“Impaaaaaaaact!”

“Goha!?”

Ouch! This wench, she just jumped onto me. I reflexively closed my eyes, fell backwards, and slammed my head against the…Wait, huh? It doesn’t hurt?

“Hehe, great follow-up on Remi’s end~!”

“It seems like bringing the mattress from the gymnasium was the correct answer.”

“Gymnasium? Correct answer? Is that something to eat?”

“No! It means gym hall and perfect choice!”

Hmm? This sensation hitting my back, is that the mat from the gym hall? Well, Chisaka-senpai saying [Ehehehe, seems like bringing the mat from the gym hall was the perfect choice after all~] was a big hint. So, they set it up on the ground before I fell down? Wait, I can hear their voices, but my view is dark…and I can’t breathe, like I’m being suffocated with marshmallows…

“Sensei! Stop pressing your chest onto Shizuki-kun!”

“If you wanted to be choked by a chest, I would have done that for you…!”

Huh? What did Kasuga just say?

“Ohh, my bad, my bad! So the rumour about Kujou being your boyfriend is true, Kasuga?”

Finally, a small glimmer of light appeared in my field of view. So, this bunny girl who leaped at me…is a teacher here at this school, wearing a bunny girl costume?

“Nice to meet you, Kujou Shizuki. My name is Hirahara Aki. Until this March, I was a university student, and this spring, I started working here as a teacher, and I was assigned as the vice advisor of this club.”

“H-Huh…Well, nice to meet you too, I’m a second-year student, Kujou Shizuki. By the way…”

“Yes?”

“What kind of childish play is this?”

“Are you talking about me being a bunny girl?”

“Sure, let’s start with that. Because you are wearing that, I don’t even know where to look…”

I mean, I do technically have Kasuga as my girlfriend, but…when I see those fishnet stockings biting into her plump legs, and her slender but still wide hip line emphasized by the tightness of the costume, and even her breasts that put both Akizuki and Aramiya to shame, I’m genuinely at my limit here. By the way, she had dark brown hair tied up into a long side tail.

“I just figured that this would make me stand out.”

“Then, what about the smoke, pyramid, and fanfare?”

“I just figured that this would make me stand out.”

“Kasuga-san, maybe we should take this person to a hospital?”

“You’re Akizuki Sakuya, right? Since I’m responsible for the first-years, it’s hard to remember all the second-year students.”

“Do you really believe that a teacher like you should be doing this at a public school?”

“What’s it matter, I’m not on duty right now.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, to which Hirahara-sensei excessively shrugged her shoulders, like she was an American person, and shook her head.

“Do you not watch the news, Kujou? Recently, a lot of teachers are acting as advisors, but it’s regarded as outside of their duties, so they don’t actually get any payment.”

“So?”

“I came up with this countermeasure! Even if I’m inside the school, as long as I’m off-duty, they can’t say shit about it. If they want something from me, then pay me money!” Hirahara-sensei jumped up, shaking her cow tits.

Hold on, hold on, you’re totally fine doing that, but not with your current clothes, you hear me. Why are you doing that while wearing a bunny girl costume?

“Basically…Shizuki-kun, Sakuya-chan, Sensei is saying that she decides on pay or not if she’s going to act like this, you know? And since she isn’t getting paid and off-duty, she’s wearing these clothes.”

“If you pay her, then she’ll be a proper and docile teacher, and if they don’t, then she’ll just do what she wants. Does she even lose?”

“Also, why did such a crazy person think of becoming a teacher? Aren’t teachers supposed to be professionals at raising children…”

“That’s only because we always have the upper hand against students.”

“Woah…”

It’s been a while since I actually said ‘Woah…’ out loud towards a teacher.

“So, why did both Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai help you? Let alone the mattress, when you’re standing on top of that pyramid, you can’t open the windows to clear the smoke, right? They must have assisted you.”

“Agreed. She said that she would treat us to some juice next time.”

“Not to mention that this sounded pretty fun and exciting~”

“Of course it does! I am the queen reigning over this class…no, over this club room! Treating my subordinates to some juice after a successful mission is a must.”

“Does that not connect to discrimination between students?” Akizuki commented.

“I’ve said this before, but I’m off-duty right now. Not the baldy vice principal, nor any other staff here at the school can complain when I’m treating my students to some juice.” There, Hirahara-sensei cleared her throat. “Anyway, since all of you have gathered here, I think I should move on with my explanation.”

“Explanation?” Aramiya showed a cutesy head tilt.

“First, the reason I never showed myself here at this club…”

““Is because you were off-duty.””

“Shizuki-kun and Sakuya-chan answered at the same time!?”

“You two…you really get me…Well, that’s right about it, but there’s also the part that you basically can’t end up injured, unlike if this was a sports club.”

“That reminds me, you just said that you were the vice club advisor…so where is the actual one?”

“He’s responsible for lifestyle and future course counselling, so he got the position as the advisor pushed onto him as well. However! He has reached his capacity, so he just pushed this position onto me!”

“Oh?” I gave a ‘I don’t really care’ kind of comment.

“…Alright.” Aramiya seemed happy about something.

“Well! I didn’t want to take care of this burden, so I just skipped it until now.”

I see…Well, she sure doesn’t feel like a teacher alright.

“So, as for why I have decided to show up today of all the days…”

“Yes, why is that?”

“Remember the outdoor school that this club registered for?”

“Involuntarily, yes.”

“I told Kasuga the circumstances beforehand, but I came here to call you over for the meeting in regards to the outdoor school.”

****

It seems like that bunny girl Hirahara-sensei is currently changed into her normal clothes inside the clubroom. I was kicked out, naturally, but since I stood right in front of the door, I could hear poisonous voices coming from the inside.

“Hirahara-sensei, you have such big breasts!”

“Not even Remi or Sakupai can win against that!”

“I-I am still developing…”

“Right, right! These babies are H-cups after all! Come on, praise me more!”

Is Chisaka-senpai really still growing…? Anyway, a few minutes later, Hirahara-sensei stepped out of the clubroom. It seems like she’ll be taking us to the audiovisual classroom for this meeting. Near the door were guidebooks for the outdoors school, as well as a small note telling us to take one each, and we entered the room. Akizuki and I sat down on random seats, and…Huh? Wait a second. Where are Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai? Also, Kasuga is—

“Hina~ Been a minute~”

“Were you off flirting around with Kujou-kun again? Youuu~!”

“Eriii, Maiii, don’t ruffle up my hair like that~”

Ehhhh…Why are girls from the Kasuga group in this audiovisual classroom? Ahh, I can’t deal with them. They are noisy, always causing a ruckus, and trying to ask Kasuga about me. But, besides that…

“You’re really head over heels for Kujou, huh. We all ended up here at the audiovisual classroom, but you still walked with him to the cluboom.”

There’s Ooba, as well as his Ooba group, consisting of only boys. I only glanced over at him, but…why does he look like he’s sparkling? His voice was full of energy, and his expressions changed on a constant basis…It’s like he’s not nearly as gloomy as I am. Unlike him, community is a prison, and communication is a punishment for me. He would never say something like that. Why does he not hesitate at all to get along with strangers?

“Kasuga-san…your girlfriend is quite popular, huh.”

The person who said that was not part of either group, and sat a bit further away from me. Naturally, it could only be Akizuki.

“Where’s Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai?”

“Aramiya-san over there is talking in her Aramiya group.”

“So she was also a normie…”

I mean, if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t ask me what a loner is, I guess.

“And Chisaka-san is over there.”

“Hm.”

I looked over to where Akizuki pointed at, and…What the hell is this?

“Yes, this agenda is in regards to the outdoors school. FYI, please look at the evidence. Generally speaking, the outdoors school has been established in comparatively many schools since the Taisho generation, OK?”

“““““Agreed!”””””

Chisaka-senpai seemed to be explaining something, twirling around her hand. Following that, the people after her continued.

“Back at the time, it had been established for young children with fragile conditions. Through that process, even children not corresponding to the needs can participate in the outdoor school.”

“Maybe this education really needs periodic reform.”

“Agreed.”

“At that time, it must have been systemalized, right?”

“Agreed.”

Um, what the hell is that? Is that the self-absorbed squad? Are those the people who participate in volunteer activities, or pick up trash at the culture festival, taking part in any kind of major event? Isn’t that contradicting? Are they okay? Not to mention that everybody was smiling, despite the tense atmosphere…And, once the time reached 4pm—

“Alright, this marks the beginning of the outdoor school briefing! On your seats! Moving on and on is a pain, so take seats up front!”

Since Hirahara-sensei said that, the Kasuga group and Ooba group moved to seats up front, quite far away from me. I mean, even if you give me that ‘Shizuki-kuuuun, come over here~’ gaze, like an abandoned puppy, I’m still not going to act. On a side note, Aramiya sat down with her Aramiya group, and Chisaka-senpai stayed with those weird girls. As for Akizuki and me…

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Is this some practice for once we’ve become university students?”

“………”

The Kasuga group and Ooba group occupied the right back row of the room, the Aramiya-group took the left side, and the self-absorbed group led by Chisaka-senpai sat right in front of the Aramiya group. The other eleven groups present sat in front of the Kasuga and Ooba group, with six of them sitting at the right back to the right middle, and another five groups sat to the left back and the left middle. With these 16 groups, we had roughly 100 people participating in this outdoor school…Eh, seriously?

Is there some special reason why people would willingly participate in this? Maybe they are being threatened? Also, why do all normies gather in the back of the room? Naturally, Akizuki and I stood out. It’s like we are on a solitary island. Judging from what I heard, university students tend to take up these seats a lot. Ahhh…I can’t wait to move up to university…

“Now then, I’d like to begin this outdoor school briefing, but first should be a self-introduction on my end. My name is Hirahara Aki. I graduated from university this March and became a teacher, but my senior pushed the duty of this outdoor school on me. Naturally, the vice principal, the advisor from the mountain climbing club, the advisor of the astronomy club, the head nurse, and the teacher of the student and future guidance counseling will be joining us, but…”

“Eh!? The future guidance counseling will come as well!?”

There, a loud voice spoke up, together with a rattling sound. Everyone’s gazes focused on the source of that voice—which was Aramiya? She stood up from her chair, seeming quite shocked. That’s unexpected, I knew she had a lot of energy inside of her, but she didn’t seem like the type of person to interrupt something like this…Well, she immediately sat down again, I guess.

“ Cough . Anyways, said student and future guidance counseling teacher was all ‘This will be a great experience for you’, and used other random arguments that didn’t make much sense, so I was shoved to take care of this briefing all by myself.”

She operated the laptop in front of her, and—Ohh, it showed an image on the big screen.

“About the goal of this outdoor school, it’s exactly as it says on the second page of the guidebook. Create an environment for communication, and bring forth a spirit of cooperation. And, you understand how precious your friends are. Well, the people who said ‘I’ll go there with my friends’ already have this spirit way before that, but you’ll still learn to treasure them more.”

(So she says, Akizuki.) — I conveyed these words with eye contact.

(So she said, Kujou-kun.) — Akizuki conveyed these words with eye contact.

And then, we both faintly grinned at each other. That’s decided then. No spirit of cooperation will be born from this event, and we most definitely won’t learn to treasure our friends.

“As for the schedule, you’ll understand that with a glance if you check the guidebook, but I’ll go ahead and verbally explain it as well. From the 5th of June, a Saturday, to the 7th, a Monday, we’ll be out at this outdoor school, and we’ll disperse at 2pm in the afternoon. In fact, the 6th is the day when this school was built, but it’ll clash with a Sunday, so we instead moved the holiday to Monday. On the first day, we’ll meet up with the employees of the inn, and then hike up Izumigatake. The boys are free to choose between sleeping in the facility or in a tent, and after we’re down the mountain again, the tent group will set them up. Finally, a bath for everyone.”

If I get to choose between those two, I’d definitely pick the facility. With enough research and time, I’d surely be able to set up a tent, but it’d still be hard for an amateur all on their own. Basically, I would need friends to make it a definite success. So, since I don’t need to make any friends, I won’t rely on them. Hence, I’ll sleep in the facility.

“On the second day, early morning, we’ll do some orientation, and do cooking in the forest. Once noon rolls around, it’s free time. At night, we’ll do a campfire, and the facility group and tent grup will split up to sleep in their respective places. On the final day, we’ll clean up the nearby forest, and move to the buses to move immediately. We’re not forcing you, but maybe prepare your belongings the night before.”

I see, I see. No further questions about that. I guess the choice of sleeping space is where it counts.

“The groups of the outdoor school are exactly as you handed them in.”

I see, so it’s us from the peculiar future course support club moving together. Akizuki seemingly joined after that, but Kasuga simply registered us as a whole in the name of our club, so she should be part of our club.

“Sensei!”

There it is, the normie who asks questions even though the explanation isn’t done yet.

“Yes, Kasuga.”

“Basically, will everybody in the same group sleep together!?”

“Yeah, that’s what will happen.”

“…Waaaah!”

Wah…she’s looking at me with such a bright smile on her face.

“Naturally, boys and girls will be separated.”

“…Ah…ah…” Kasuga’s smile froze up beautifully.

“I’ll just explain it right now. We have several groups that are mixed boys and girls. We set it up so that groups generally sleep in the same place together, but with mixed groups, we split them up, and have them sleep together with their respective peers, boys with boys, and girls with girls, joining other groups.”

“…What?”

A dumbfounded voice escaped my lips…Ah, it’s too late. Why did I never realize? It’s something so obvious, so of course I wouldn’t sleep with Kasuga and the others, but…You’re kidding, right? I’ll get mixed with a random group of boys?

“…Kujou-kun.”

“What’s up?”

“Without Kujou-kun…I’ll be forced to stay with Kasuga-san and the others…?”

Live on strong, Akizuki. I’ll probably go through something similar myself.

****

We still sat in the audiovisual room. I mean, this has been happening since kindergarten, so I’m somewhat used to it. Back then, it was deciding groups. In the lower grade school years, it was a social studies tour. In the middle grade school years, it was a skating classroom. In the higher grade school years, it was a school trip. Of course, the same school trip happened in middle school as well.

“……”

At times like these, loners would watch over the normies deciding on groups, waiting until the very last moment. Through that, I should be able to find more people, more kindred spirits, forming a group with the least amount of effort, far less exhausting. Why? Because neither me or the other person would talk much.

At the same time, grouping up with a normie would be the end of me. I don’t like talking much, I suck at communication, and if things get awkward, I’ll get a stomach cramp. But…there’s a big problem here…!

“Kujou-kun, you must have realized it by now, right?”

“Ugh…”

“Any normal loner would not even come here in the first place.”

“I know that…Basically, I can’t form a group with any like-minded people…!?”

“What, Kujou? You got no friends to form a group with?”

Oh crap, the teacher called out to me because I took my time…My loner senses are tingling, this is bad stuff!

“No…um…just wait a few more minutes…”

“Give me a number.”

“Maybe…17,160 minutes?”

“Huh? Today’s the 26th of May, and it’s almost 4pm, right? So, 17,160 divided by 60 is 286. You basically have 24 hours roughly 11 times, as well as 22 hrs. In other words, 11 days and 22 hours…The outdoor school is held from the 5th of June to the 7th, and the final deadline is 2pm on the 7th…Wait a second! Why do you plan on waiting until the outdoor school is over!?” She said, and let out a sigh. “I don’t plan to rush you, but most people have already joined a group, and have decided whether they want to sleep inside, or in tents.”

“Can’t I just take a singular room for myself then?”

“Like hell you can.”

“Eh? But, being all alone in a room would be the actual best.”

“I understand what you feel right now. However, in order to give you preferential treatment, I’d have to talk with the vice principal, and I really can’t be bothered.”

“Woah…as a loner, I can really sympathize with that…Namely, the part where you don’t want to do extra work for other people.”

“Can’t help it, Sensei will be a nice person, and put you into a group who doesn’t have any people, saying ‘Please take him in~’.”

“Huh?”

“And after that, you have to say ‘Let me join in~’ as well, okay?”

Hey, you moron! Stop that! Don’t pull on my collar like that! Akizuki, don’t just look at me! Help! And Kasuga, don’t grin like that just because I’m walking towards you!

“Ooba.”

“Yes?”

“You were in Kujou’s class, right?”

“Yes!”

“So, as I just said, boys and girls could be in the same groups, except for when it comes to sleeping. You’re not that many people, and you’re not part of the hiking or photography club.”

“Yup!”

“Could you let Kujou in your group?”

“Of course!”

Ehhh…I didn’t even say anything yet…

“Let’s get along, Kujou!”

“Ah…yes…Um…L-Let’s…”

What was that just now, a voice? Sounded like some suspicious old guy. Oh wait, that was my voice.

“Ah, Shizuki-kun is so cute~”

Kasuga, did you want to see me like this, which is why you didn’t save me? Yuck.

****

And then, another ten minutes later—Using the communal underground railroad at Sendai, we moved to the Japanese railroad station of Sendai. Slipping through the ticket gate, Kasuga and I reached the location where we shared our first kiss…twice. We were once again doing a loner road home…….Come on, you know? We were both walking home separately, just coincidentally ending up next to each other. We most definitely aren’t walking home together. Anyway, I should make my way towards the Senzan line—

“This is just me speaking to myself, but since I have to take the Senseki line, even if I walked home with my boyfriend, this is where we would have to break up, huh.”

Ehhhh…Like hell anybody would talk to themselves like that.

“This is just me talking to myself, but if I had my boyfriend next to me, I would probably say ‘Bye bye. I’ll love you as much tomorrow as well~’, huh.”

This girl…She’s clearly taking the backhanded approach to this…! She’s basically using the logic of us coincidentally walking next to each other, which allows her to say anything she wants without counting it as a conversation…!

“Since I’m just mumbling to myself, maybe I should just go all out~ I love my boyfriend! I love him so much! I love him the most in the entire universe~ Ehehe. I want to hurry and marry Shizuki-kun. I want to kiss him, and be even more lovey-dovey. I want babies~ I want to always be together so that we can make more and more babies.”

“W-Well…I guess I have to go this way now…”

“I’m just guessing here, but if Shizuki-kun was here right now, he’d probably blush furiously~ Ahh, he’s so cute.”

“Urk…I’m currently walking home on my own…! Even if I hear Kasuga’s voice, that is nothing but a hallucination…!”

“Now then…Oh, I don’t know who it was, but another boy’s hand hit mine~ For a second, we ended up holding hands, but I have to be careful that I won’t get reported as a molester~”

“~~~! Urk…”

“Anyway, for the time when Shizuki-kun and I could walk home together, I ought to practice while I still can. Shizuki-kun, I like you~ I like you so much~ I love you~ I can’t live without you~ Let’s meet again tomorrow~ Alright, that’s enough practice, I guess I should go home now.”

“O-Oh, it’s already this late! I should stop listening to the wind, and go home!”

So, I split up with Kasuga, and waited at the Senzai line lane.

“Haaa…I’m exhausted…Hm? A LINE? From Kasuga?”

I took out my smartphone, and checked my messages. Opening up LINE, it showed a single new message.

[RemiRemi: Shizupai, where are you right now?]

You’re joking…It’s Aramiya? I mean, it’s not that rare of Aramiya to send me a message. I just couldn’t believe myself that I actually got my hopes up that it would be a message from Kasuga! What do you mean ‘From Kasuga?’, huh! You just split up with her, dang it!

[Shizuki: Sendai.]

[RemiRemi: Remi will treat you to some coffee, so come out again~]

[Shizuki: Don’t treat me like I’m some shut-in.]

[RemiRemi: Then what were you doing last Saturday?]

[Shizuki: Stayed in room and went on 5chan…]

[RemiRemi: Knew it! Let’s meet at the StarBa in ten minutes~]

[Shizuki: Wait! I never agreed!]

………Hey now. She didn’t even read that message? I did ignore some of Kasuga’s messages before, but that’s because Kasuga didn’t have any particular business with me. I however have important business with Aramiya right now…

****

[Shizuki: I’m here. Where are you? I don’t see you.]

[RemiRemi: In the middle of watering the flowers~]

[Shizuki: That’s such an old-fashioned expression! Make sure to not drop your phone, alright?]

[RemiRemi: No no no no, Remi isn’t on the toilet! Idols don’t go to the toilet!]

[Shizuki: I never mentioned anything about a toilet, you know?]

[RemiRemi: Anyway, just take a seat!]

[Shizuki: Anywhere?]

[RemiRemi: The hint is StarBa. Harupai is here as well. Laptop.]

I see, I see. Knowing Aramiya, I figured she’d be more into Mac or that stuff, but with Chisaka-senpai, StarBa makes sense. Now then, looking around the inside of the store…With Aramiya at StarBa, a self-improvement book on the table, an open apple-type laptop, constantly tapping the enter button…there’s Chisaka-senpai!

“Chisaka-senpai…What are you doing on that laptop?”

“Secretary, so you’ve come.” She showed a smile that I could basically hear.

So that I could see the screen of her laptop, I sat down next to her, but…

“What is this?”

“Can’t you tell? After opening my memo pad, I didn’t write anything, and just randomly pushed the enter key.”

“Is that fun?”

“Of course!” She flashed another beaming smile, but what she’s saying is all over the place.

I feel like I’m gonna get a headache. She’s as adorable as an angel, but she sounds like a weirdo. The gap is no joke…

“Ah, Shizupai, so you found Harupai.”

“Did you wash your hands?”

“Like Remi said, an idol doesn’t need to visit the toilet!”

“Huh? It’s common sense to wash your hands before taking in a meal, right? I never once used the word toilet.”

During that bit of banter, Aramiya sat down herself. Specifically, on the opposite side of the table.

“Now then, Shizupai.”

“Hm?”

“What do you think is the reason you are part of the peculiar future course support club?”

“Because you guys railed me.”

“~~~! Secretary! Don’t use that word! It’s indecent!”

“Woah…what are you imagining? Could you maybe move away a bit?”

“There it is! Shizupai’s clean freak attitude!”

Chisaka-senpai seemed to have misunderstood my words, blushing furiously, to which I faintly moved away from her, to which Aramiya threw in a retort…Man, this sure is chaotic.

“Also, that’s way off the mark! The reason you joined the club is because you’re the school’s top loner, and necessary for our club, right!?”

“Agreed. We aren’t trying to tease you or anything, we simply wish to borrow the hand of a shadow character.”

“I’m the support member, huh…” I crossed my arms, and looked up at the ceiling.

Kasuga’s future course is to…well…b-b-become my wife…so…giving her my support directly is the most effective! As for Aramiya, she wants to become a national idol, and Chisaka-senpai wants to bring her Grandpa’s company to a global or international level or whatever. Aramiya needs my help as a loner to figure out what people like me would like the most, and Chisaka-senpai wants my support as a secretary. I mean, she’s been keeping the true identity of the company a secret from Aramiya and Kasuga, saying something like ‘In order to commit to my grand design, a secretary is a must!’, but…Thinking about it for a second, I turned towards Aramiya.

“So, is this related to why you called me over here today?”

“Of course~ Even during the outdoor school, Remi doesn’t want to take a break from her idol activities.”

“Me too! Since I will be joining the outdoor school, I want to at least raise my productivity through certain actions!”

I see, so basically she’s saying [Me too, me too! Um, um, if I have to participate in the outdoor school either way, I want to at least be able to come up with something worthwhile! Aren’t I amazing? Praise me, praise me~] , I guess.

“Not promising to help out for now, I don’t mind hearing you out, but what kind of ideas do you have when it comes to idol activities and raising productivity?”

“I shall bring some new goods that are currently in development, and do some tests with them.”

New goods currently in development? She must be talking about adult goods, right? Well, with Aramiya here, there’s no way for me to confirm that…

“So, what about you, Aramiya?”

I wasn’t particularly curious, but still asked despite that, to which Aramiya puffed out her cow breasts, brimming with confidence.

“Faux loner!”

“……Huh? Faux loner?”

“Yup! Listen, Shizupai!”

“Y-Yeah…?”

“Remi wants you to do the same thing with her that you’re doing with Hinapai!”

“Ehhh…I can’t follow at all…”

“Remi gave it a lot of thought.”

“My ass you did.”

“Remi hasn’t even said anything yet, you know!? Anyway, now that Shizupai has become her advisor…producer…one of those two, she needs you to become original in a way that nobody can copy her!”

“Hey, when did I become your producer?”

“Right now!”

“Right now!?”

“Well, leaving that aside, we’re talking about the faux loner thing. Do you know the term faux lesbian1, Shizupai?”

“Basically, two women, often idols, act like they’re close, erasing all types of masculinity, so that their fans aren’t worried about them having a male significant other, right?”

“Exactly! So, faux loner basically means that an idol acts like a loner to create a sense of sympathy with her otaku fans~ Of course, if the beans are spilled, Shizupai will be punished severely.”

“Don’t say that in a public StaBa. So?”

“So?” Aramiya tilted her head.

“Why would you need my help for that during the outdoor school?”

Hearing my question, Aramiya’s expression grew a bit cloudy, as she lowered her head. It’s rare for her to be out of steam like this, alright. Come on, I’m the one who brought up the question, so you have to answer me…

“Of course, Remi wants to become even more popular than she is right now, but a while ago, the teacher for student and future guidance counseling said something to her…”

I feel like this teacher is popping up a lot today, huh.

“He said that wanting to become an idol is idiotic, and that it’s not easy to get into the industry either.”

“Well, every person has to decide that for themselves, but I can agree that it sounds pretty harsh of an industry.”

“On top of that, he said that Remi should stop dreaming like a child despite being in high school. Said she should properly talk with her homeroom teacher and parents about this.”

“A perfect way of being an enemy of your eye.”

Oh crap, she used the saying ‘treat like an enemy’ but in a literal sense. I’ve never seen that before.

“Well, school isn’t about raising people with distinct traits and quirks, but rather to turn them into functional adults. You’ll get to hear that the second your values deviate a bit from the predetermined rails.”

“Wah…Secretary is twisted…”

“Yeah, even Remi didn’t mean to say that much…”

How cruel, I simply responded to Aramiya’s words.

“Anyway! There’s no reason for Remi to quit becoming an idol!”

“Aramiya-san…”

“Remi has always admired idols! Shining, as they stood up on the stage! She’s been working hard for that since grade school! She’s been an amateur for the past ten years, and although she’s still far from being good…It’s not like she never succeeded at anything! She may not have the money to bring out CDs, but she uploads her songs on YouTube, and since she can’t hire anybody for the production, it’s all herself! It’s fine for people to doubt Remi, but like hell she’d let them deny her hard work! Geez! Hmpf!”

I see, so she was this serious about it. Honestly speaking, I didn’t expect her to take care of her own songs. Does this mean she’s even editing them?

“So, Aramiya-san, how does this connect to your false shadow character?”

“Akisen just said it, right? The teacher responsible for student and future guidance counseling, Miura, is joining the outdoor school.”

Normies are crazy, she’s just calling an actual teacher by his name. I mean, I personally think that all teachers could go to hell, but as I’m a loner with communication disorder, I can’t help but be diligent about that.

“But…Shizupai, Harupai, look at this!”

““?””

She pointed at the campfire part of the guidebook…Wait, what?

“Volunteers can add a program to the campfire, it says.”

“Shizupai.”

“I decline.”

“Remi didn’t even say anything yet!?” Aramiya looked at me in shock and disbelief.

“Ahhh, I see. It all makes sense now. Basically, you want to do the dancing and singing, but you need me as a producer who takes care of the program itself, right?”

“That’s Shizupai for you! Exactly right!”

“Hm? But, Aramiya-san, the false loner and campfire, in what way are they connected? This whole false loner thing probably only works online, whereas the campfire will be observed in real time, like a live concert.”

“Basically, from the first day to the second day’s evening, Remi will be doing her faux loner mission on social networks, showing how hard she is working to get more popular! And then, at the campfire, once they come to the live concert, she’ll give them the final strike!”

“You call it a live concert, but what will you do about the sound and all that?”

“Remi has friends in the light music club, so she’ll have them help out.”

“Ahh. Well, it’ll probably turn more into band activities rather than an idol concert, but it’s better than having no sound, or bad sound, I guess.”

“I see, so Aramiya-san has been doing a lot of thinking, I see!”

“So, what do you think, Shizupai?” Aramiya’s eyes lit up, as she gave me a gaze full of expectation.

But, she was slightly off the mark—

“Sorry, I asked in a weird way.”

“Shizupai?”

“The question of ‘Why are you working this hard at the outdoor school?’ wasn’t directed at the idea of the effort, but rather why you would need my support for that.”

““Huh?””

Both Aramiya and Chisaka-senpai looked at me in confusion.

“Shizupai, you listened to Remi’s explanation just now, right?”

“I sure did.”

“And yet, you still won’t help her?”

“Aramiya, you shouldn’t expect kindness from other people, you know?”

“That’s true, but…”

“First of all, I’m not interested in this future path of yours.”

“Even though Remi told you everything about it?!”

“Normies love talking about themselves, right?”

“So what else?” Aramiya asked, seeming clearly in a bad mood.

“Secondly, if there’s any kind of merit to be had for me, I might be willing to help out even if I’m not interested, but as far as I see things, I just lose my own free time.”

“Hmpf! You decide with a profit-and-loss arithmetic?”

“A loner might be won over based on their emotions and the appeal of being asked for help, but I treasure myself more than other people, and prioritized myself.”

“H-Hmpf! N-Not fair…!” Aramiya seemed to have reached her limit, as she slammed her hands on the desk, getting up.

Oh, is she leaving?—I thought for a second, only for her to push her body over the table, grabbing my necktie…Eh, what? Is she planning on threatening me!?

“Then, Remi will use the ace in a hole that Hinapai taught her!”

“A-Ace in the hole?”

“Hinapai told me. Shizupai is very kind, so if Remi keeps on begging you, you’ll eventually break down.”

“Huh? Keep on begging? …Ah.”

…So she’s talking about my anti-Kasuga manual! Since these guys keep bothering me, I always assume that just giving in and agreeing will save me more trouble in the long run. Damn it…So if not only Kasuga, but these two also keep begging me for something, I have no other choice but to give in! I personally see myself as a very methodical person. I don’t like having too many tasks weighing down on me. To think that I would be forced to give up my time either way…I guess this is just another hurdle I have to overcome?

“…Alright.”

“Really!?”

“That’s my secretary for you!”

“That being said! If I have too many things to take care of, I won’t be able to move freely, so no more than this, okay?”

“Thank youuu! Shizupai, love you~! Wanna fondle Remi’s breasts?”

“Aramiya…you should calm down a bit.”

For now, don’t press your breasts together to push out your cleavage, okay? Not to mention that Chisaka-senpai is glaring at those cow tits.

****

That night, in my own room…I was laying on my bed, when my smartphone vibrated. This time, it has to be Kasuga, right? ……No no no, why am I hoping for Kasuga’s message this badly!? It’s just the most rational and possible assumption on who could be texting me now! Now then, since I made up an excuse like this, it’s time to check the message.

[HINA: Are you awake?]

[Shizuki: Sure am.]

[HINA. I was hoping we could maybe talk a bit on the phone~?]

[Shizuki: Oh?]

[HINA: Of course, I’ve improved a lot, you know?]

[Shizuki: In what way, if I may ask?]

[HINA: I don’t spam people with messages without waiting for them to respond! If I want to talk, I come with an actual topic in hand, and be more mature with it.]

[Shizuki: Correct.]

[HINA: Yay~]

[Shizuki: Well, a loner wouldn’t even use LINE that much, but whatever.]

[HINA: Why!?]

[Shizuki: Any normal loner would only have his family registered as friends…]

[HINA: So basically, since I have you as a friend, I’m basically your family, right!? Ehehe, Shizuki-kun, love you~]

I see, I fully get it. Maybe I should just act like I went to the toilet. My stomach hurts. I bet she wouldn’t call me if I’m in the bathroom.

[HINA: Alright, I’m going to call you in a second, but even if you go to the toilet, or take a bath, you better bring your phone with you, okay? You’re probably just acting like you did, right? Also, if you try to ignore me and sleep, I’ll keep calling you until you can’t ignore me anymore!]

She…perfectly read me!?

[HINA: If your phone is about to run out of battery, you can simply charge it, and if your power runs out, I’m expecting a kiss from you tomorrow~]

Damn that Kasuga…She’s got me figured out…Ah, there’s the call.

‘Ehehe. Good evening, Shizuki-kun.’

“Yeah, evening. So, what’s up.”

‘Sorry, but…I wanted to talk to you so badly, I lost myself.’

“Lost yourself?”

‘Well, I was so desperate to talk to you before heading to sleep, and l lonely as well, so I didn’t exactly have any business.’

“I see, so?”

‘I actually forcefully created a business myself~’

“I-I see…I never knew you could do that…It’s like the scales fell off my eyes…”

‘So, about what I wanted to talk about…’

“Yeah?”

‘At the outdoor school, there’s the campfire, right?’

“Yup.”

‘Do you know the legend of the campfire?’

“No clue.”

‘Um…It’s the same as confessing beneath the cherry blossom tree and your feelings will come true, or that the girl who wins the MissCon will have her confession accepted, these kinds of legends.’

“Ahhh…Oh, you’re cutting out for me. When my phone picks up romcom waves, it just loses connection.”

‘It’s fine, Shizuki-kun! It’s not something you have to worry about!’

“Ah, really?”

‘Yup!’

“Sorry, I was close to forcefully cutting off the call.”

‘It’s fine! Anyway, it’s not what you think, so rest assured.’

“Alright. So, what about that campfire legend?”

‘The boy and girl who will kiss at the campfire are guaranteed to get married in the future!’

“Damn liar! It’s exactly what I was expecting!”

‘It’s a bit of a template, but because of this legend, we always have a lot of participants at this campfire, you know? Even though it’s not even mandatory.’

“It’s just a normie tradition…!”

‘More importantly! You weren’t worried about not becoming closer with me at the campfire!? You weren’t worried about what if we didn’t kiss at the campfire!?’

“No, it’s actually the exact opposite.”

‘Gaaaaaah…’

“So, what about that?”

‘Well, knowing that it was you, I figured that being together for the entire campfire would be too much for you, Shizuki-kun.’

“Great judgement. I don’t want to be part of that flock of normies.”

‘That’s why, I at least wanted us to be loners who just happened to be close to each other at the campfire.’

“I see.”

‘Would that…be too much? No matter what facade, I really want to be together with Shizuki-kun at the campfire…and kiss you…’

Now then, what to do about this…Naturally, I don’t want this. Kissing my lover might be common sense, but why would he have to do that at the campfire? There’s a lot of people around us, and even if we kissed, if we got the timing wrong, everybody would see us. But, Kasuga seems serious. Hmm…

“Alright, let’s do it like this.”

‘?’

“This time, I don’t mind you attempting to kiss me.”

‘Really!? That’s rare to hear from Shizuki-kun! I haven’t even had to make a compromise today, you know!?’

“Yeah, I bet…But, even so, no matter how much you’d try to convince me, I would not agree to it at all. The more you would have to convince me, the more desperate you’d get about the kiss, yeah?”

‘Yup!’

“That would just be a waste of time. If you try to kiss me, I’ll try my best to avoid that. Normally, giving in to you would save me the time, but a kiss is a different matter. I’ll fight against that with all I have.”

‘Understood! Then, I’ll definitely kiss you during the campfire! All so that we will get married!’

“Well, I won’t allow that. A kiss is far too embarrassing to do during such a scene.”

1 It’s not entirely accurate, but it’s pretty much the closest you can find