Volume 1 - CH 1

It was a bad day.

The incident with Shino, one of the most beautiful girls in the school, spread throughout the school in an instant, and she was the center of attention everywhere she went.

“Why am I in this……mess?”

Swearing, he went home and put away the returned clothes. Then, a small, cherry-red note appeared in a crevice of the folded clothes.

一Sandai picked up the note and wondered what it was all about――

“My contact information! I’ll tell you!”

一With such text, the note contained a chat application ID, phone number, and e-mail address.

“What the heck is this ……?”

Sandai let out a sigh, rolled up the note, and tossed it directly into the trash. He thought it was a prank.

It’s hard to believe that one of the most beautiful girls on campus would give out her contact information so easily, and to begin with, to say something like that without even bothering to look people in the eye, there’s definitely something underhanded going on.

Sandai was not sure if it was true or not, but he decided that it must be so.

I’m sure that if I call her anyway, the scary brother will come out.

“I’m not fooled,” he said as he sat down at his desk and began to study.

He had some free time until his hobby of late-night anime started, so he began his routine of studying to pass the time until then.

Incidentally, as a side note, thanks to this routine, I have always been able to keep my grades in first place in school.

“……Well, they gave me this one too, saying something about candy……They have the name of the store on the bag, so I’m sure they’re not trying to pull any pranks on us.”

I opened the bag of sweets and checked the contents and found amaretti inside. I picked one up and popped it in my mouth.

“… It’s delicious.”

There is no sin in sweets. It’s just sweet and tasty.

☆

When Sandai arrived at school the next day, they continued to stare at me, just as they did yesterday.

Apparently, the incident with Shino had become the talk of the school.

“I wonder what he did when he took her to his room.”

“What did he do to her?”

“I didn’t expect such a man to be a foreshadower.…… Huh. Yuizaki was our idol.”

“Did he hypnotize her and brainwash her……?”

Sandai’s frustration grows.

I was not at all used to having my attention drawn to me – and with strange rumors attached to it – so I was vulnerable in these situations.

I could not concentrate in class, the teacher’s words slipped by me from right to left, and the words on the blackboard did not stick in my head.

(If I continue like this, I’m going to have a hard time in school. ……)

I grumble and groan inside my mind. Then, suddenly, I was poked from behind with a mechanical pencil.

“Who……?”

When Sandai turned around, there was Shino, smiling thinly. Come to think of it, the seat behind her was Shino.

(I don’t know why she’s smiling……Come to think of it, it was this Yuizaki that got us into this mess. It’s better not to deal with…….Then it will all stop in time.)

Sandai turned his face forward.

He figured that he would eventually get tired of it, so he could just ignore it and bear it until then.

Once Shino stopped getting involved, the strange rumors would surely disappear.

Until then, he would just have to endure.

☆

At lunchtime, Shino started enjoying conversations with her gal pals. Maybe she has already lost interest in Sandai Fujiwara.

Sandai, feeling relieved, had lunch alone in the school cafeteria.

As he returned to the classroom and touched the door, he suddenly heard Shino and her friends talking inside and stopped.

“Shino, is it true that you went to Fujiwara’s house?”

“What? I’m telling you the truth. I took a shower and borrowed some clothes.”

“…..Is that the kind of relationship you have with him? I don’t think you should go to Fujiwara. He’s a loner. I’m sure Shino can get a better guy. I can introduce you if you want.”

“I don’t need an introduction. Well, Fujiwara certainly doesn’t seem to have any friends, and he doesn’t seem to be very cooperative.”

The other side may be saying whatever they want, thinking he is not there, but even if it is an irresistible force, it makes me feel bad if I hear them.

Naturally, I was also filled with anger – but Shino’s continued words defused that.

“…. But he’s kind.”

“What……?”

“I went to his room because I accidentally put my foot in the gutter. I had a part-time job, and I was thinking I had to do something about it, and Fujiwara said, ‘Come to my place.’ He didn’t seem to have ulterior motives, so I went with him, but my instincts were right and he didn’t do anything strange.”

“……Shino is very sensitive about that kind of thing. Well, I guess she knows all about it because she’s so popular.”

“I don’t know why people think I’m so popular, but I’m really not that popular. It’s not that I’m sensitive or anything, it’s just that I’m actually slightly uncomfortable with guys……”

“Are you sure about that? Maybe you’ve never been with a guy before?”

“Actually, that’s true…….”

“The maiden actually exists. This is precious.”

After hearing this, Sandai turned around without opening the door and looked out the window from the hallway.

――Maybe Yuzaki is not as bad as I thought she was. As I gazed at the sky with this thought in my mind, I saw an endless clear blue sky.