Volume 4 - CH 2

The following Wednesday after I met up with Oguri-chan in that family restaurant, I heard a certain rumor.

‘Kamijou Touka came to school wearing a jersey.’

Our school regulations state that we are to wear our designated uniforms unless we’re participating in club activities or PE classes. There are times when a ruffian of a student decides to attend the class after PE wearing their jersey, but they’ll end up scolded and sent out to change nine out of ten cases. Keeping all of that in consideration, there’s no way that the chief, of all people, would come to school wearing a jersey.

I couldn’t believe it. That being said, there had to be something about it if a rumor like this came into existence. There’s the saying that there can’t be smoke without a fire, which is why that whole thing probably happened because of some unfortunate incident, nothing more. I just hope she didn’t get wrapped up in something dangerous…I was a tad bit worried, and when I walked down the hallway to change classrooms for the third period, I actually saw the chief wearing a jersey.

“Huuuh?!”

It was true?! No, she might just have PE after this. However, no other students around her were wearing their jerseys. Well, she may have gotten some exercise in, heading over to the courtyard or gym hall. I decided to at least call out to her, but she just got up the stairs when I sped up. And even as I went up after her, she had already vanished from my sight. She’s…going to be okay, right?

*

“Hey, Nao. I feel like something happened to the chief, do you know anything?”

Lunch break arrived, and I made my way to Nao’s seat to ask her in regards to that.

“No idea. Wouldn’t tell you if I did.” She had her arms crossed, glaring at me like a warrior about to head into battle.

At that moment, Onikichi came back from buying something at the school store, munching on some sausage bread. It seems like he stopped saving money unnecessarily.

“Touka came to school wearing a jersey, right?”

“Exactly. That rumor is going around, but I find it hard to believe, knowing her.”

“But I just saw her, here we!”

“Seriously…”

Since Onikichi saw her at a different time than me, then that means she’s actually wearing her jersey all day.

“Maybe it wasn’t on purpose, but she just messed up?” Nao raised one eyebrow as she looked at me.

“Messed up? There’s no way she’d mistake her uniform with her jersey.”

“What do you understand about the chief, Shitty Nanaya?”

She’s just insulting me now?! Not to mention attaching names!

“You’re rather aggressive today, Nao.”

“What’s wrong with calling some shitty guy shitty, sire.”

“You turned into a ninja?!”

Seriously, what’s wrong with my childhood friend?

“What’s up with Nao, Onikichi?”

“W-Well, erm…”

Onikichi seemed bound for words, rarely enough.

“You guys aren’t hiding anything from me, are you?”

“That’s my line, Poopy Nanaya!”

“Well, at least you sound a bit cuter now!”

“I bet you’ve got a lot on your mind, Nanacchi. I totally get it 100% max, here we!” Onikichi tapped his hand on my shoulder and showed me a thumbs up.

Err…I feel like we’re talking past each other, and in the creepy kind of talking. However, I don’t have the time to question them either. We’ve been 15 minutes into the lunch break, and I have yet to eat my beloved udon at the cafeteria. It’s the most enjoyable time for me even after traveling back in time.

“Welp, you keep doing…whatever you’re doing, I’m heading to the cafeteria.”

I left behind Nao with her sour expression and Onikichi who tried to cheer her up, stepping out of the classroom. Arriving in the cafeteria, I bought my favorite sanuki udon and searched for an open seat, when I picked up a sweet fragrance. No doubt about it, that’s the chief’s scent.

Let me explain. Because of my overabundant amount of love for Kamijou Touka, and through working for her for several years, I’ve obtained the ability to distinctively separate her scent from other smells around me. And this ability has a range of around a five-meter radius. I turned around, and there she was. Sasuga, me.

As I suspected, she wore her jersey, with four bowls of ramen in front of her, observing her surroundings. Maybe she’s also looking for a seat. How adorable. And those four bowls of ramen must be heavy. Her arms were shaking with the plate in hand…Wait, four bowls?! Did she start a mukbang career?!

She eventually found an open seat, sitting down with her back muscles straight, and she grabbed the seven spices mix. She opened up the lid, and…PLOP! She poured all of it on her food?! Even if she’s insensitive to spicy food, that’s definitely too much. She’s now doing spicy challenges? She’s totally a Youtuber now. But, maybe she’s actually fine with that…

“Spicy.”

So it is?! She’s tearing up!

“It hurts.”

I can’t watch this any longer! She’s slurping in her ramen while crying! And the entire cafeteria is getting noisy. As I watched this unfold in confusion, some other second-year girls approached her and comforted her with worried voices.

“Kamijou-san, are you okay?”

“Spicy.”

“Can you even eat the rest of your ramen?”

“Can’t.”

“It’s okay. I’ll call a boy over, so would you like some of my ramen?”

“Yes.”

Excuse me, but why does she talk and act like a child in kindergarten who is comforted by their caretaker?! And if you can’t eat it, then why did you order ramen in the first place?! Not to mention that she made it spicy herself from the first bowl! The girl with the chief called an upperclassman over, who began slurping down the ramen. Some other boys reached for the ramen the chief had started eating, but the other girls stopped them.

This scenery in itself had my brain bugging out, but I couldn’t let my udon get ruined so I munched it up as quickly as possible, reaching for some nearby chopsticks.

“Seriously, what’s all that about?” I muttered to myself.

“It’s crazy, right? Lol.”

I thought I picked up a distinct perfume close to me when I saw Biwako-senpai sitting down next to me, with some curry in her hands.

“Hello, Biwako-senpai.”

“Sup, sup, sup! She’s been like this all week, y’know. Her IQ’s took a dip for sure.”

“Is that so? So what happened? Do you know what’s gotten into her, Biwako-senpai?”

“Nope, no clue.”

“I see…I feel like Nao and Onikichi might know, so do you really have no idea?”

“Not at all. I wonder what’s happened to Touka.”

I was a bit dubious of Biwako-senpai, but the way she made it sound, it seemed like she wasn’t involved. And if she doesn’t know, then that only brings about more questions. Nao and Onikichi clearly knew but didn’t want to tell me, either.

“Well, she’s pretty cute, so what’s the big problem?”

“Nonchalant as always. I half agree to that.”

“Only half? Damn you, Nananosuke!”

“Unlike you, I’ve got the common sense with me, after all.”

“But you half agreed, so that’s clearly not true, lmao.”

“I’m aware of that, at least.”

“Nananosuke, don’t they say that common sense is a collection of prejudices you acquire until reaching adult age?”

“You’re throwing a logical argument at me out of the blue?!”

“Well, Biwa’s in the middle of acquiring this collection right now. But she’s focusing on herself, rather than prejudices.”

“And now you sound like a philosopher!”

To think the existence overthrowing my common sense and world values would turn out to be a random gal.

“Well, Touka’s always way too stiff, so letting loose like this wouldn’t hurt too much, right? Just watch over her, and it’ll be fine.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Thus, we two decided to conveniently look away from the problem and focus on our delicious food instead.

*

Roughly a week has passed since then. The rumors about Kamijou Touka being infinitely more clumsy quickly spread through the school, creating various tales about her. One of these is the “Kamijou Touka Bawling Her Eyes Out At The Vending Machine” incident. Every student knew about the mystery zone of our school’s vending machines. The sample pictures on the buttons usually ended up messy because they were pressed so quickly, but one of them had a question mark on it. You regularly spot that in town, too. It’s cheaper than the rest, but you don’t know what kind of juice you’ll get.

The mystery zone at our school’s vending machines works similarly, but instead of saving 200 yen and getting random juice, you get something completely different. It’s a guaranteed liquid of unknown origin. Naturally, it tastes gross. It’s usually used for any sort of punishment for a bet, rumored to be gentian tea or sea buckthorn juice, but since your average high school student would have no chance to actually try that, it still remains a mystery liquid.

However, there’s another rumor going around that, if you manage to get really lucky, you could pull a mixed juice that’s super delicious. According to my sources, the chances for that to happen are 1/1000, though. And the one who happened to score that mixed juice is none other than Kamijou Touka. On top of that, she only tried the mystery zone three times, and she scored the mixed juice all three times. I personally saw that as utter nonsense, agreeing that the vending machine is set up with an AI that only gives out the big win to beauties like her.

Honestly speaking, I was confident in my hypothesis, but this legend now came crumbling down during the aforementioned incident. That day, the chief apparently stood in front of the vending machine in the corner of the front entrance, pressing the button for the mystery zone. She opened up the can, taking a few good sips down her throat, and apparently realized that she hadn’t hit the mixed juice, which is why she crouched down and started crying. And it was the childish type of bawling her eyes out.

“I wanna drink mixed juiceeeee!”

That’s what she screamed, allegedly. I understand how she must feel after getting the bad drink from the mystery zone after having had the mixed juice all up to this point, realizing that this was how the system worked. I mean, when pulling the golden item three times with a 1 to 1000 chance, I guess she’d be expecting to be lucky a 4th time, and she felt betrayed that her wish wasn’t granted.

Of course, it only took ten minutes for this clumsy legend to be born. Since she wouldn’t stop crying no matter what, other students gathered around her like back in the cafeteria, giving her their mixed juices if they had one. According to an upperclassman who had been present at the scene…

“Even her crying face was as beautiful as ever.”

…or so he said. Shut up, all right? Y’all are just spoiling the chief too much.

The next was aptly titled “Hair’s Breadth Cut” incident. This I heard from Biwako-senpai herself. She said that we should continue to watch over the clumsy chief because of how adorable she is, but after hearing the news about the previous incident, she became gradually more worried and decided to closely follow the chief. And that’s when it happened. The chief suddenly took out a pair of scissors from her desk.

“Gotta cut my hair.”

Biwako-senpai apparently stopped the chief’s hand right as she went for her hair. What an insane reaction timing she got. The following seemed to have been their conversation.

“Wh-What are you doing, Touka?”

“I gotta cut my hair.”

“Why?”

“Because I need a bob cut.”

“But you’ve got such long and beautiful hair, it’d be a waste.”

“I was told to cut it.”

“What? Somebody said that to you?”

“Yep.”

“Who?”

“Um…Don’t remember.”

That’s when Biwako-senpai observed her surroundings, calling everyone over to convince the chief.

“You shouldn’t cut your hair, Kamijou-san.”

“Right now looks a lot better on you.”

“Yep, I agree!”

“This fits you much better!”

Anyway, they said whatever they could think of to convince the chief, who apparently gave up on getting a haircut. The legend was created by me after Biwako-senpai told me about this with an exhausted expression. What would have happened if Biwako-senpai hadn’t been there?

The third happening was titled the “Million Boyfriend Madonna” incident. Even a week after our initial discovery, Kamijou Touka was still behaving weirdly. Stories spread through the school like wildfires, with many male students having their own weird fantasies.

“If it’s right now, she might just say okay to my confession, right?”

This deduction made the rounds, and as it turns out, the chief said yes to all of the confessions given to her. Well, her “Yes” was actually…

“Kamijou-san, please go out with me!”

“Why?”

“Why…because I want to?”

“And what will happen then?”

“Erm…I’ll be happy?”

“You will?”

“Yes…”

“Okay, then.”

“Seriously?! Hell yeah!”

That’s how it went. Once the first person succeeded, all the other boys came to the yard, saying “Go out with me instead!”, which caused a hellish circle. In the end, although they all knew that she already agreed with countless other boys, and now they all call themselves Kamijou Touka’s boyfriend respectively. They wanted to write this fact into history, which caused another futile battle. I was filled with anger, annoyance, disappointment, and everything, but the one who could forgive that even less was the boyfriend-less gal who always sat next to the chief. She completely gave them a run for the money. Of course, the boys are at fault, too. But the chief was the same, being as airheaded as you could be, but it was just as shocking to me, and painful.

Painful because her going to school wearing a jersey and eating four bowls of ramen was actually adorable (although she stopped heading to school while wearing a jersey). At this rate, things might just escalate. Ever since the cultural festival, I haven’t even gotten a proper conversation with the chief, but with how awkward things were right now, I doubt that’d work out. Either way, I have to ask her directly, that’s what I decided.

During the first half of December, I walked down the waxed floor after classes had ended, coming to the stairs that would lead up to the second floor. I couldn’t help but reminisce back to June. It was right after I traveled back to this time when I made my first contact with her during this time period.

A lot of things have happened since then, and the distance between me and the chief has shrunk quite a lot. Lots of trouble mixed in there, but I think we made it past that. Believe in yourself, Nanaya. Unlike half a year ago, I went up the stairs with confidence. What happened with her, and why she didn’t come up to the rooftop during the cultural festival, it’s time to find out. Standing in front of the classroom of 2-3, I took a deep breath. In order to shake off my tension, I swung the door open in a grand fashion.

“Is Kamijou-senpai present?”

All the students preparing to head home turned towards me. Part of that was Kamijou Touka, too. Our eyes met, and…SWOOSH!

“Ah, don’t run!”

The second she presumably saw my face, she immediately grabbed her school bag and ran for the opposite door in a mad dash. I moved my gaze towards the hallway, chasing after her.

“Chief! Why are you running away from me?!”

Maybe my voice had reached her or not, but she didn’t bother turning around, just running down the hallway. Also, holy smokes she’s fast! She cut the corner perfectly, disappearing towards the stairs. Following that, I reached the stairs myself, just barely spotting her back as she disappeared towards the first floor.

“Seriously! What’s going on?!”

I jumped down to the first floor and kicked off the ground, spotting the chief running to the right. I followed and turned right. I saw her running at full speed in the distance. Even as I tried to speed up, the distance between us didn’t shrink in the slightest. I’m going to run out of steam first, at this rate. Seriously, why is she running like her life depended on it? Maybe I’m the reason she’s gone crazy? If that’s the case, then it has to be connected to what happened during the cultural festival. However, I don’t have the time or stamina to worry about that. Thinking comes later.

The chief ran down the hallway, through the passing hallway, which would lead to the gym hall. In other words, it’ll be a dead end. The chief rushed out of the school building, and even her way of running was like a painting being drawn. However, what stopped her in her way was the heavy iron door of the gym hall. I arrived at the passing hallway, observing the chief’s next action, who pushed the iron door open without hesitation.

Hold on, is she serious about this? The inside must be full of people currently indulging in club activities. I could hear the cheers of the volleyball team and the sound of balls slapping on the ground. Am I supposed to follow after her? That’s hella embarrassing, though. Two students enter an atmosphere where they don’t belong. Just doesn’t sound right to me. But as I was hesitating, the chief rushed inside the gym hall without hesitation.

All right, I’m an adult, so I won’t hesitate about this. Feeling embarrassed comes second, I have to catch the chief first. I rushed down the passing hallway and arrived at the entrance of the gym hall. However, since the opening between the door was too small for me to fit, I had to pull it open a bit further, which cost me some time.

Once inside, I was immediately greeted with the scent of cold spray. Since I had been in the volleyball club in middle school, this smell and atmosphere were pretty nostalgic to me. In the back of the gym hall, I spotted a girl from the volleyball club doing a spike above the greenish net.

I observed my surroundings, looking for wherever the chief might be hiding. A few seconds later, I spotted her running past a net that split the hall. That cost me another few seconds. The other students caught on to the chief’s arrival, showing bewildered reactions. Of course, this attention was also directed at me soon after. I apologetically bowed my head and ran along the wall. Yep, this still is hella embarrassing. Once I made it past the net in the middle of the hall, I had once again lost sight of the chief.

She didn’t seem to be hiding somewhere near the stage either. Maybe she went up to the audience stands? I looked up, but all I could see were curtains and no people around. Just where did she run off to? It’d be bad if she hid somewhere in the storage rooms. That thought crossed my mind when I glanced at the girls’ volleyball court.

“What is that girl doing?!”

The chief wore her school uniform still, as she had her student bag on her shoulder, lining up with the other girls who were waiting to do their spike practice. Understandably so, they were all bewildered and confused. The girl setting the ball apparently didn’t even realize, continuously providing passes.

“I don’t get it. What the hell is happening.”

This sight was too much for my poor brain to handle, which had me freeze up. In the meantime, the chief’s turn arrived, with the setter providing a clean toss. I mean, she’s clearly half-blind, should she really be the one doing the setting and all? The ball flew into the air, with the chief starting to run towards it. She doesn’t have any experience, right? Her form is beautiful, and she jumped up a good amount of space into the air.

WHAM! A loud smacking sound ran through the air, as the chief’s palm connected with the ball for a sharp spike, sending it right towards me…Wait, towards me?

“Waaah?!”

The gall spun in the air as it sped up towards me. God damn it, she’s not just content with avoiding me, she’s out to knock me out for good! However, as I just stated, I did play volleyball back in middle school, not to mention as the libero. Her form may have been beautiful, but it was still the spike of an amateur, so digging it up is easy peasy!

“Oraaaah!”

BAM! The ball hit my forearms, sending the spike right back at the chief. The ball I successfully received drew a beautiful arc in the air, landing inside the basket filled with the other balls.

““Oooooooh!””

The other club members watching this unfold raised voices of admiration. I bashfully scratched my head. I guess I still got it in me, huh? Maybe I should’ve joined the club in high school, too. As for the chief, she chose to use this opening to move back to the entrance.

“Ah, crap!”

I turned around and chased after her. Also…Gaaaah, my arms huuurt! Shiiiiiit! My bones are screaming in agony! It’s been a while since I last played volleyball, so maybe that’s the reason…or maybe the chief is just way too strong. That clearly wasn’t the spike of a beginner. I really should be careful not to make her my enemy! I teared up and headed for the front entrance, when I saw the chief dashing down the passing hallway, back inside the school building. When I stepped outside the gym hall, I turned around once to show an apologetic bow to the other students.

“Sorry for causing so much trouble!”

And with that, I chased after the girl once more. I have to say, this is my first time experiencing such a chase scene, especially since it’s my own superior. And because I took that receive earlier, she got some more distance from me. In the end, she had disappeared inside the school building before I could catch up, disappearing from my sight. Maybe I should just give up for today…

No, it’s too early to throw in the towel. I’ve still got my special skill at hand. Namely, my talent of picking up her flowery scent drifting from her hair! This scent lingered in the hallway, and I just needed to follow that.

SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIIIFF

“Above, huh?”

I stopped in front of the stairs, muttering like some private detective. Going down, going up, she really doesn’t know where she wants to go, that indecisive girl.

“Just you wait, Chief. I’ll definitely catch you with my pristine nose!”

Together with burning passion, I raced up the stairs. I made it up to the second floor.

SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIIIFF

“Even higher up.”

Now I have reached the third floor.

SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIIIFF

“Another one? Phew.”

SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF

SNIFF SNIIIFF

“This is it.”

Making it to the third floor, I looked around. Nobody to see, but the floral scent definitely became stronger. I’m getting close. However, using this ability takes a huge toll on my body. Come on, me…We’re in the final stretch!

“Wah! Kamijou-san, what happened?!”

Deep down the hallway, I heard a female voice coming from the student council office. I see, that’s where she ran off to. I made my way over to the office. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, I knocked four times.

“Y-Yes?”

The same female voice answered me.

“Excuse me.”

I pulled the door open, entering the room. Looking around, I spotted four long tables with several pipe chairs, creating a rectangular shape. Sitting there were the four members of the student council, including the girl who had won against Nao in the student council president election. That’s probably who the voice belonged to. There’s also the vice president, the secretary, and the treasurer. The first one to speak up was the student council president.

“U-Um, how can I help you?”

She was quite the cute girl, I think a second-year senior of mine. Her promises during her speech were simple, but that’s what gave her a boost in popularity, showing off that even an average person could do great work as an allrounder. I think she’s a good fit for the student council. Unlike Nao, who’d probably cause a revolution the second she got elected, I can put my faith in her. Being able to trust someone is important, even if I feel bad for Nao. And this trustworthy student council now looked at me as I asked her.

“Did Kamijou Touka-san come in here?”

“Err, I don’t know?”

She lied immediately! Never mind, I can’t trust her in the slightest! And she lucks at lying, too!

“No, I would bet good money you know. She’s still here, right?”

“N-No, of course not.”

…

She’s one of the worst liars I’ve ever seen. To think they would cover for the dangerous individual I’m tracking down… Well, I’m the only one who regards her as dangerous. Maybe she was just influenced by all those beauties in her class. That her kindness worked against her. However, I have justice on my side, and I don’t care if my justice is rotten! I’m thinking about myself!

“I heard a voice just now who called Kamijou-senpai’s name. That was yours, right, President.”

“I’m not the president!”

And now she’s denying her own position just to lie! Her eyes are whirling around like the slot machines at a casino! Seriously, how can you even hope to play off such a lie?

“You’re wasting your time lying to me like that.”

“It’s the truth, though? I’m not the student council president.”

“That’s not the lie I was talking about!”

Our banter continued for a moment when another council member stood up and blocked off my path deeper inside the room. It was a girl with glasses and a sharp gaze.

“Judging from the color of your slippers, you’re a first-year, right? Should you really be talking to the student council president with such a tone?”

“See, she called you the president, too! I heard that!”

“That’s right, that girl is the student council president,” said the girl with glasses.

“Okay, I mean, I’m glad you finally accepted it…” I sighed.

“But it’s true that Kamijou Touka isn’t here.” She said as her glasses lit up.

“That’s impossible. We’re in the corner of the fourth floor, with one entrance to this room. I definitely heard the voice from this room, and she didn’t leave.”

“Even if you say that, it’s a fact that she isn’t here. As the treasurer of the student council, second-year student Kiryuusaka Sakurako, I can verify that!”

“You actually sound like the student council president!”

“But she’s the one, not me.”

“I-I’m not, though~?”

“This is some fine mess!”

But now that I think about it, I’ve seen this treasurer somewhere before…What strong deja-vu is this…Like I’m reliving memories. Ah, wait a second…Kiryuusaka’s such a weird name.

“The class rep!”

“Class rep? I’m the treasurer, and she’s the student council president.”

“Enough about that, already! Kiryuusaka-san, do you have a little sister?”

“Yes, one foolish little sister. In class 1-7.”

“I knew it!”

She’s the older sister of our class’ monster class rep. Her greed for money must run in the family, huh? Damn it, I’ve run into a strong opponent…

“Anyway, this is enough. Average students are not permitted to enter the student council office, so leave this instant.”

“Did we have such a harsh rule at this school?! This isn’t some anime!”

“Silence! Off you go!”

She’s pretty stubborn. Why would she be so desperate to cover for the chief…Ah.

“Money, huh.”

Kiryuusaka-san’s ears twitched.

“…What?”

“I bet she’s paying you money to hide her here, right?!”

“You bastard…Could you be any more rude to an upperclassman?!”

“You brought it up!”

She’s just like the class rep!

“I only act according to the money I am paid!”

“You’re not even arguing against it?!”

“Now, leave! Kamijou Touka is hiding in this room!”

This means that she’s definitely here, somewhere, but if I don’t pay enough money, she won’t tell me the details. If I don’t cough up enough money, I’m gonna get kicked out.

“How much?”

“You still plan on staying here? Get out already.”

“A thousand yen.”

“I have no time playing along with futile attempts like that.”

“Two thousand yen.”

“We’re busy, you know?”

“…Five thousand yen.”

“For crying out loud, why would an average student bother us.”

“…Ten thousand yen.”

“Phew, we’re so busy.”

“Thirty thousand yen!”

“What’s wrong, First-year? Do you need advice on something? I don’t mind hearing you out, so take a seat. I’ll brew you some tea, too.”

Kiryuusaka-san pulled the chair out in front of me, took out a cup of tea, and placed it in front of me. All this running around had my throat dry, so I gratefully gulped up the tea offered and spoke to Kiryuusaka-san.

“I want you to hand over Kamijou Touka-san.”

“She’s hiding inside that locker.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll pay you at a later date.”

“Roger.”

Now I lost a greater half of the new year’s money I saved up over the past few years, but I would’ve used that for a wristwatch, but I lost that soon either way, so no problem. I’m using it now while I can. I moved towards the locker Kiryuusaka-san pointed at. It was a small locker that could allow a single person to sit inside. When I slid the door open…

“……”

I was greeted by the chief, hugging her knees.

“You traitor…”

She buried her face in her knees as he looked at me with tears in her eyes, her faint voice reverberating through the student council office.

*

We moved to the empty classroom of class 1-7. The chief and I sat across from each other at a table, located in the back of the room. Since I feared she might run away again, I sat with my back to the hallway. I had my face directed at the blackboard, asking her.

“Why did you run away?”

“I wasn’t.” The chief had her head buried in her arms, giving me a blunt answer.

“No, you most definitely were running away.”

“That was just exercise.”

Well, running, doing spike training, and going up the stairs could qualify as exercise.

“What’s gotten into you lately? Something’s been off about you.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re not the same as usual.”

“I’m the chief.”

“You are. So what happened to the chief? Is it related to the cultural festival?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.”

Yeah, she’s completely blocking off.

“Chief, if I did something to you, then I’ll apologize. So please get a grip.”

“Shut up! I hate you!”

She hates me?! No way…When did I do such a thing that would make her hate me?

“Ch-Chief…”

“I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!”

Now she said it four times! If she tells me just one more time, I might not be able to handle it…

“I’m sorry, Chief. I’m so sorry. So please don’t say that…”

“I. Hate. You! You big dummyyyyy!!”

She stood up, passed by me, and left the classroom. I didn’t react at all when she ran away, just looking up at the ceiling with my mouth open. I couldn’t chase after her. All of her saying she hates me hurt me way too much.

*

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”

On my way to the school gate, I repeated these words like a chant. I heard the cheers and screams from the students of the baseball club reaching me. I hate you. She told me six times. Six…whole…times…666…the devil’s number! Maybe she’s possessed by the devil? Or…is a devil just cursing me? Maybe some secret organization has caught on to my existence and my time travel, and is doing everything in their power to make sure I don’t enjoy this second chance I was given, thus using black magic or the power of the devil…And the leader of that organization must’ve sealed a contract with the devil, telling him to torment me.

Isn’t that right, Devil? You’re close by and watching me suffer, aren’t you? I bet you know exactly what I’m thinking right now. You hear me?! Are you still out to torture me? Go ahead and try, you bastard.

“You devil! I won’t lose! Just come at me!”

WHACK! A dull pain ran through the back of my head. I thought so! You’re watching me!

“Damn you, devil…”

“Who’s a devil?”

I held my head to subdue the pain when I heard a voice from behind me. I figured I had been struck by the devil’s hand, so I turned around to confront the culprit.

“Ah, Biwako-senpai.”

“Don’t gimme that. Who are you calling the devil? Have you gone crazy as well, alongside Touka?”

It appears as if the devil’s right hand, this blonde gal, swung her school bag at my head. She just smacked me? Isn’t that a bit cruel?

“Are you on your way home as well?”

“Yep.”

“What about your motorbike?”

“Been acting up since yesterday, so Biwa walked to school. It’s an old gal, y’know? Might have to work part-time to buy a new one.”

“Maybe you were also cursed by the devil?”

“What’s with you and devils all of a sudden? You’re scarin’ Biwa.”

“Scared, huh?”

“Of you! Anyway, what’s that gloomy face of yours about? You’re not gonna collapse on Biwa, right?”

“Biwako-senpai…It’s about the chief, she said she hates me!”

“Welp.”

“Don’t ‘Welp’ me! Don’t you care at all?!”

“You’re just a big ol’ stupid because you actually listen to what Touka says despite the state she’s in. Get a grip, already.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to insult me as well! I mean, I get where you’re coming from, but I still can’t handle her telling it to my face…”

“Yeah, yeah, aren’t you a poor guy? There’s no way Touka would hate you~” Biwako-senpai aggressively ruffled my hair.

Stop! She’d never be this rough with me! She’d gently pat me on the head.

“Urk…Chief…”

“Holy, you’re crying? Gross.”

“I knew it, you were the devil!”

“Talking about Touka, I’m heading somewhere right now.”

“Somewhere?”

“That’s right.” Biwako-senpai’s hair drills swayed as she crossed her arms.

“Go where?”

“To Biwa’s helper.”

“Helper…?”

“Biwa’s really thinkin’ that Touka’s gone off the bad end. She tried to cut her hair at school, after all.”

“And I am terribly thankful to you for having saved the chief’s beautiful hair.”

“Right? But there isn’t much that we two can do. You start crying the second she talks badly about you. Not reliable at all.”

“I have no excuses.”

I’ve always been an unreliable clumsy employee. Forgive me, please.

“That’s why Biwa thought of asking help from someone who can actually be useful.”

“Was there anybody like that?”

“Seriously…use your brain. There’s only one person.”

Someone we could ask for help regarding the chief…?

“Ah…!”

“That’s right. If friends aren’t good enough, we’ll call for help from her family!”

“I understand! Let me follow you!”

There’s one person who can help us! It’s love mentalist Yuito-sensei!

*

Having left the school, we made our way to a certain location. Biwako-senpai said she made a previous appointment, but I hope that’s true…

“Biwako-senpai, is this the place?”

We reached a certain four-floor building. The first floor was covered with windows, looking like a stylish office. I saw several people standing in front of the entrance. They looked a bit older than my current body, carrying large bags. Particular characteristics were flashy hair colors, such as yellow, orange, gray, or even green. Looking at this palette of colors in front of me, I felt severely out of place.

“Yep, this is it,” Biwako-senpai spoke with absolute confidence.

However, I couldn’t shake off my uncertainty.

“Um…this is a school, no?”

“Yep?”

A school makes sense. Yuito-san is still a student. However, the university he’s attending…feels a bit off.

“A specialist school…?”

“Yep, a cosmetics school. Basically, a school for aspiring beauticians.”

Just as she said, the large sign on the front of the building said ‘Yamabuse Beautician School.’ That would explain this ensemble of people. But, what does Yuito-san have to do with this place? Is his girlfriend a student here, then? And he agreed to meet us here to save him the trouble? Sounds plausible.

“So this is where we’ll meet Yuito-san, yes?”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“Why’d you bring up Yuito-kun?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

What? What’s going on? Did I say something weird?

“Yuito-kun ain’t comin’, y’know?”

“He isn’t?!”

“What, did you think Biwa was talking about Yuito-kun?”

“I couldn’t come up with any other possibility, so yes. Was I wrong?!”

“Hilarious. There’s no way asking a guy for help would resolve a girl’s problem.”

“Ugh…I can’t argue back at all!”

No, hold on. But then who are we going to ask?

“Ah, there she is!”

As I was baffled, Biwako-senpai waved her hand towards the entrance of the school. The automatic door opened, as I heard the sturdy sound of heels stepping on the floor. The group of colorful students split like the red sea, as an individual wearing a suit arrived. The tight suit could barely fit the woman’s well-endowed chest and great figure. Her dark brown hair looked as if it was sparkling, styled up to reveal her forehead.

Her overwhelming aura immediately made my jaw drop, and there was only one way to describe her—She is the perfect image of a mature woman. And that woman walked towards us.

“Sorry for the wait, Sakonji-san.”

“Sup, sup, Ayaka-chan! Countin’ on you today!”

Is she even acting this way towards a grown adult? Phew. Also, just who is this?!

“My, might you be Shimono-chan?”

“Yes! Wait, you know me?!”

The woman smiled in a gentle way. Ahh, my heart is going to explode.

“Of course. I often hear about you from my daughter.”

“Daughter…?”

“Nice to meet you, I am Touka’s mother, Kamijou Ayaka. Nice to meet you, Shimono Nanaya-chan.”

Sh-She’s…the chief’s mother?!