CH 16

And then came the day of the school event – mountain climbing. In reality, it is a forest school, but since the school’s event guidelines describe it as a “mountain climbing” event, let’s treat it as such.

Students who usually come to school in uniform change into jerseys today.

It would be a little more positive to say that it was like a field trip, but what awaited us was a grueling mountain climb.

It takes hours to climb that high mountain.

I looked at the mountains in the distance and let out a sigh.

“Hey, Arase! What’s wrong, you don’t look well!”

Then Sosuke comes from behind and lightly taps me on the shoulder.

Unlike me, Sosuke’s tension is the same as usual.

“Well, you know. On the contrary, I ask you, why are you so energetic to climb a mountain?”

“You idiot! Even though it’s a mountain climb, the event is a valuable opportunity for students to interact with other classes! How can we not be excited! And then there’s the cooking of rice, setting up tents, and the test of courage! A glorious youth awaits us! I’m going to exchange contact information with girls from other classes on this climb!”

After all, Sosuke is still Sosuke any day of the week. I don’t think I have the time to enjoy such an event after climbing a mountain.

But no matter what time of day it is, the encounter is always the driving force. I wonder if he ever has a down day. I am genuinely curious.

“I’m jealous of you.”

“Don’t give me compliments like that.”

“……”

“Ah, Ito-kun. Good morning!”

“Ah Good morning, Kurase.”

“huh, Kurase, what about me??”

While I was talking nonsense with Sosuke, Kurase came over from the side. Asagiri was next to her, but she seemed to be in a bad mood.

Kurase and Asagiri were both wearing jerseys and had their hair tied back in one bun.

Their hair was tied back in a ponytail. The nape of the neck, which occasionally appeared and disappeared as it swayed in the wind, was …… quite a sight.

“What?”

“…… no, nothing.”

When I looked at it without thinking, Asagiri glared at me.

“You’ve got a nasty look in your eye.”

“Is that all you can say?”

“It’s reality. You’re just admiring the nape of a girl’s neck. After all, you’re a pervert.”

I was hit in the sore spot, but I think all men are like this.

As proof of this, Sosuke was not just glancing at her, he was staring at her.

Ah, we’ve been busted.

“Go to the pre-departure health committee meeting later.”

I think I remember …… saying something like that was part of the health committee member’s job for the day.

I completely forgot. Damn, I can’t go against it.

“…… okay, I get it. Just go, right?”

I decided to follow Asagiri’s words because it would take too much energy to resist her.

After receiving the binder from Asagiri, I went to the corner of the field where the health committee members were gathered.

The list contained simple physical condition information, and I handed it to the teacher to complete my report.

The teachers in charge of receiving the reports seem to be our homeroom teacher, Kirihara-sensei, and school nurse, Nakamura-sensei.

……They seem to be a very troublesome group of people.

Now I was receiving reports from the other classes.

“Ou”

“Ah”

As I was about to wait for the report, my eyes happened to meet a familiar student.

There was a silver-haired student who was crouched down and looked bored – Fujibayashi.

Fujibayashi looked somewhat displeased.

“What are you doing here?”

“What? I thought you said you weren’t gonna talk to me.”

“I did it.”

“What do you mean!”

She picked up on the slight I had tapped when she had taken me around before.

With the exception of the last time, I would never have spoken to a person who looked like a person I would not have spoken to if it was the first time I met them, but now I had no such aversion to them at all.

Once you talk to them, you get a different impression of them, don’t you think?

“I thought you’d skip such a languid event. I didn’t expect it.”

“I skipped too many classes in my sophomore year, and she was furious with me. She threatened to have me dumped if I didn’t participate in this. Kirihara.”

“I see?”

What came out was the name of our class teacher who

She is not the homeroom teacher of her own class there. Is there something going on with Kirihara-sensei?

“Cause I’ve been on her radar since freshman year as a student advisor.”

A small spill to answer my question.

Was it a student advisor, that teacher? It sure looks like …….

Teachers tend to make students participate in events like this, don’t they?

“So you participated. Thanks for your hard work. I was wondering, are you feeling a little low today?”

It’s a far cry from the last time she asked me if I wanted to do it with her. I was surprised to see her again. Fujibayashi is no longer the cheerful gal she used to be. She is looking very sluggish now, as if she is looking at me as I usually am.

“I’m not going to get excited when I have to climb a mountain.”

“I heard that afterwards, there will be cooking, tenting, and a test of courage. I think there’s some people out there who are looking forward to it in their own way.”

Sosuke is no exception. After all, even if mountain climbing is grueling, many students probably love the event.

“I don’t have time to enjoy that kind of thing after I’m exhausted from climbing mountains. Those who are physically strong or who like that kind of thing can do it on their own.”

“That’s right. I agree.”

I agree with Fujibayashi’s opinion. After climbing a mountain, eating a meal, and setting up a tent, I’ll go to bed as soon as possible.

If you are a student who is physically strong like the athletic team or enjoys the events, that’s fine, but I’m not that kind of a student.

So I don’t have that kind of mental capacity. I’m not that kind of a person.

“Hey, why don’t we just skip this?”

“I’d love to ……, but I don’t want to be on her radar too. I just transferred here.”

“We skipped school together the other day.”

“It just happened.”

“I’m gonna give you a piece of my mind!”

“You’re so loud!”

As she was talking to me, she felt a little back to the way she skipped class before.

And that’s where the other classes seemed to have finished reporting.

“Well, I have to go report”

“So serious”

“Or else I’ll get yelled at later.”

I thought of the demon in the seat next to me and went over to the teacher.

“Next up was …… Oh, that’s my class.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you.”

I greet Kirihara-sensei lightly and hand her the binder.

Kirihara-sensei receives the binder and looks through it from top to bottom.

“Hm. No one seems to be feeling particularly ill.”

“I guess so. Well, I guess I’ll be going…”

“Wait”

I immediately tried to return to the class and was stopped.

“What is it?”

“well, Ito-kun, are you close with her?”

Kirihara-sensei’s gaze was directed toward Fujibayashi, who was sitting lazily over there.

“I don’t mean that we get along …… well, we talk a little bit though…”

“I see. You seem to be getting along well enough. I was going to ask you if you were adjusting well to the new school, but I was relieved to see that you seemed to be adjusting well.”

“I wonder if I’m adjusting ……”

I don’t think so.

The only person I can properly call a friend is Sosuke.

There are no other students with whom I am close. The only other person who cares about me as a new student is Kurase. The only one who cares about me as a new student and talks to me. There are some who look at me with resentment.

“You will be able to get used to it. you’ve made friends with Asagiri, and I didn’t expect you to make friends with the most delinquent girl in school.”

I don’t know why Asagiri’s name in there, but I am also curious about her being a bad girl.

“I don’t mean that we’re friends. And by “delinquent girl,” do you mean Fujibayashi?”

“Yes, that’s right. From a teacher’s point of view, a girl who frequently skips school is a delinquent herself. Besides, there are many bad rumors about her.”

Rumo….. is true that Fujibayashi is avoided by other students. I wonder if that’s because of the rumors I heard from Sosuke before.

And there she is, skipping school, a person who has been noticed by the teachers.

“Anyway, I’m going to ask you for one favor.”

“I have a bad feeling….., so can I refuse?”

“The answer is no. I want you to keep an eye on her so that she doesn’t skive off somewhere and disappear.”

My question was immediately dismissed and I was immediately told what request was being made.

“You mean surveillance? You’re not asking me to sell my friend out right?”

“Oh, you’re her friend?”

“……”

“Well, don’t look so embarrassed. I’m talking about her. Her bad behavior started around the first grade. There was even talk among the teachers about not allowing her to continue her education. If she continues to skip school events, she might really end up staying in school within the first semester. I don’t want that to happen either.”

“But why are you telling me …… that you know I’m a pain in the ass?”

“You seemed to be having a lot of fun with her the other day.”

…… What are you talking about?

The abrupt topic confuses my mind.

“You skipped school as soon as you changed schools and went on a date with her. What a shame.”

………… Seriously? She knows?

“I’m the homeroom teacher and I’m the student advisor, but you’ve got some nerve.”

I’m starting to sweat

“I am also acquainted with your guardian. I have to tell her that you skipped school.”

It was a complete threat. It seems that I had no right of veto from the beginning. This homeroom teacher is tough.

I mean, she knows Ayako san? I’ve never heard of it……

But when I think of Ayako-san, all I can see is a flirtatious figure. Even so, ……

“She looks like that, but she is quite demanding in that aspect. Especially as someone who takes care of a child with special circumstances like yours.”

“…………”

If she says so, I have no choice but to obey her.

Certainly, from Ayako san’s point of view, it would be unbearable if something were to happen to her because I was skipping school in a daze. I don’t want to cause trouble for Ayako san, who is my guardian.

“I understand. What am I supposed to do, just keep an eye on ……?

“That’s easy. She’s a bit of a loner at school, so she’ll be alone all the time. So you can put her in your group, and together you can talk, climb mountains, and make memories of your youth.”

…… watching? You call that watching?

What’s easy?

“I’m in another class.”

“Oh, well, good luck with that.”

This is absurd. I can’t get through to her.

“I’m a student-oriented person. If there was a student who had to spend and digest such a coming-of-age event alone, I wouldn’t be able to leave him or her behind.”

And I’m the one to guess who that is. I’m sure there are others like me.

“Really, why me? ……”

I couldn’t give up and blurted out again. But even that was picked up by Kirihara-sensei.

“That’s because you’re not afraid of her. She looks like she is, but she’s sensitive.”

“…………”

It’s not that I don’t have an idea of what she’s talking about.

“Phew. Well, I won’t ask you to do this for free either.Aside from keeping Ayako in the dark about what happened earlier, I’ll reward you for successfully completing the mission.”

“Reward?”

“Yeah, let’s just say it won’t be something the boys will like.”

…… It’s not like I was expecting it

“Well, you’ll just have to look forward to it.”

After all, I ended up taking it, and I went back to my former classmates’ gathering.

The first time I went back to the place where my former classmates were gathered, Kirihara-sensei and Nakamura-sensei said to me, “I still smell a romantic comedy,” and “I thought so too! I need to watch it!” Was it my imagination? No, I want to believe it was my imagination.