CH 59

Whimsical Kindness

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–I hope it’s not too much trouble.

Tsugumi thought about this as he walked down the long hallway. The other classes had already started HR, and he shrugged it off. Basically, the class that Tsugumi belonged to only had HR when there was something to communicate, but since the homeroom teacher, Suzune, didn’t make it to HR, they might not get any notice this time.

…It was easier for Tsugumi because they didn’t have to make a fuss, but they would find out later anyway, so it was just procrastination in the end.

Tsugumi didn’t really care that much about being ridiculed, but he didn’t want to be asked to dig up roots about Chidori. The government’s conditions were good, but Tsugumi was still not convinced that Chidori would be able to work as a Magical Girl.

Logically, he knew that it couldn’t be helped, but at the moment, he felt a surge of frustration and fear. Because of this unstable state, the easygoing questions from his classmates could be a minefield for the current Tsugumi.

-But I can’t cause a problem at this timing.

Tsugumi’s action would be directly connected to Chidori’s reputation. Even if it was somewhat uncomfortable, he had to put up with it now.

Despite feeling that it was a hassle, Tsugumi was prepared and walked into the classroom.

“…Good morning.”

Tsugumi called out and went to his seat with a nonchalant look.

“Good morning. You’re late today.”

“Hey, Nanase. I heard the next subject is self-study.”

When his classmates saw Tsugumi, they said things like that. –Yes, as if it were business as usual.

Could it be that Tsugumi was overthinking and that his classmates were unaware of anything about the accident? He thought like that, but then he felt something strange. As if they were forcing the subject away. –It was the sign.

“Hmm? What’s this…?”

On Tsugumi’s desk, there was a small box. A blue wrapping paper and a beautiful golden ribbon. It looked like a present, but today wasn’t his birthday or anything. What on earth could it be?

“Why don’t you open it?”

Fuyuno, who was sitting next to him, said so while lying down on her desk with a lazy look.

“Ah, is this addressed for me?”

“It’s on Tsugumin’s desk, so of course it is. Are you an idiot?”

Come on, hurry up. She told him to hurry up and unwrap the gold ribbon, Tsugumi wondered if it was really safe. He peeled off the blue wrapping paper and pulled out a small box inside. –It was something familiar to him.

“This is the box from the optician’s shop I went to with Senpai the other day.”

When he said that, he noticed a message card underneath the box. The card read:

To Tsugumi-kun

I’m sorry to hear about the accident at Amusement Park. It seemed you were injured, but I’m really glad you and your sister are okay, I really wanted to go to the hospital to visit, but I can’t go against the government’s decision. For some reason, I have to leave early today, so I can’t see you in person, but I’d like to talk with you about a lot of things, so I hope you’ll set some time aside for me sometime soon.

P.S. I don’t think you can use the sunglasses you bought before, so I’m going to give you a pair of sunglasses of my second choice design that you can use on a daily basis. It’s my way of saying thank you.

From your dependable senior, Megumi Mebuki.

When he opened the box, he found a pair of blue-rimmed glasses with pale blue lenses. They might be more like computer glasses than sunglasses.

Smiling, he picked them up and put them on his face.

“How do I look?”

“Hm- it’s okay. Isn’t it better than the last black-rimmed one?”

Tsugumi smiled with satisfaction at Fuyuno’s answer, took off his glasses, and carefully put them away in a box. Since it was a good opportunity, he would use it from now on.

But what does the word “thank you” at the end of the message mean? He was curious, but he would have to ask her directly to find out.

–I am really indebted to Senpai. With the hospital, the glasses, and the current situation.

“Hey, Fuyuno.”

“What?”

“No one has said anything to me, is it because Senpai came to class this morning and said something?”

It was easy to figure out. Except for Kisara and Yukitaka, there was no one in this class who had this much influence – besides Mebuki.

Mebuki, who was the first to know what was going on, probably came to Tsugumi’s classroom ahead of the others and admonished his classmate. Perhaps she had anticipated that Tsugumi’s mind would be in turmoil because of Chidori.

At the Tsugumi’s words, Fuyuno narrowed her eyes and the corner of her mouth lifted up into a small smile.

“The rule is not to ask anything about such things, right? Why don’t you just go on with your life, as usual, Tsugumin? The noisy ones already shut up.”

With that said, Fuyuno pointed to a seat in the front of the room.

“…Whoa.”

Around that seat was an odd group of people. Usually noisy classmates – mainly Akiyama and others – were wearing masks with a large X on them. It looked like some kind of punishment game.

When they heard Tsugumi’s voice, they tried to tell something by making some kind of formation-like gesture in a circular motion. But he had no idea what it meant.

–It seemed fun so he’d just leave it alone.

Tsugumi lightly waved his hand and ignored Akiyama and the others, then turned to Fuyuno and opened his mouth. He thought he heard a silent plea from that side, but it was probably just his imagination.

“Thank you. I thought it would be hard if there are a lot of questions, so that helps.”

“You’re welcome. For your gratitude, you can just be my model for the painting, okay?”

“Haha, absolutely not.”

He laughed off what Fuyuno said and opened his mouth to regain his composure.

“By the way, Is Yukitaka not here? I don’t see him around.”

“Ah, that. He fled out the window the moment Mebuki-senpai entered the classroom.”

“…This is the third floor.”

“Then he’s dead, isn’t he?”

Tsugumi stood up silently and hurriedly peeked out the window. Nothing had fallen on the ground directly below.

Holding his pounding heart, Tsugumi let out a loud sigh. …He probably just got carried away by Fuyuno’s words. It didn’t seem possible, but the scary thing about Yukitaka was that he could do it.

Tsugumi returned to his seat discouraged and said to Fuyuno in frustration.

“Hey, don’t give me a heart attack. You seem impatient.”

“Because I don’t care about him.”

“You…”

Fuyuno frowned and spat that out. …That guy, Yukitaka was really hated.

As for Tsugumi, it hurt his heart that his friend was despised by people close to him, but he couldn’t say it too loudly, because there were some things about Yukitaka that he couldn’t defend either.

–But even then, that reaction is too much.

This was especially true in this class. Since the class was originally made up of people with strong personalities, no one was willing to give an inch. This might be a particularly bad match for Yukitaka, who had a tendency to try to manipulate those around him with his hands.

Unfortunately, there was no class change in this Class F. There were times when the number of students increased, but basically, the number of students did not decrease. It was a little depressing to think that he’d be stuck with these blockheads in the next school year, but he supposed it was to be expected. Tsugumi was also stubborn, as usual.

That didn’t mean that the people in this class were at fault. They were kind enough to accept Mebuki’s words and care for the heartbroken Tsugumi.

It was undeniable that there were some troublesome parts, but except for Yukitaka, the class was reasonably comfortable for Tsugumi.

“I’m sure Yukitaka will be fine. He’ll be in touch soon. …Oh, did it just arrive?”

He took out his cell phone, which was vibrating, and looked at the screen. The short message that arrived was also sent by Yukitaka.

“It feels unpleasant so I leave early. …Is your attendance number okay?”

Tsugumi dropped his shoulders and let out a sigh. It seemed Yukitaka still had a hard time with Mebuki. It was like an amulet to ward off evil.

“Hmm, an attachment?”

Upon closer inspection, he saw that there was some kind of file attached to the message. He touched the screen and opened the file. There was an image of some kind of map in it.

“Where is this? Could it be a park near my house?”

While rotating the screen around, he thought of the location shown on the map. The address and street number on the map indicated a park within a few minutes’ walk of Tsugumi’s house. And at the bottom of the map, there was a small note that said, “Today at 23:00 at this place.”

…Perhaps it meant to come to the park at this time? Tsugumi held his head, not even hiding his annoyed look.

There were occasional unreasonable calls from Yukitaka, but there was a half-chance that they would be dismissed. Even Tsugumi wanted to avoid wasting time when so much trouble was happening.

“…What should I do.”

To tell the truth, he didn’t really want to go, but it would be a hassle to complain about it later.

–well, I guess I’ll just have to decide what to answer before I leave. Since it was Yukitaka, he might change his plans before then.

Tsugumi yawned a little as he thought so optimistically.