Volume 1 - CH 1.1

1

Thinking that it would be harsh for her to go to her part-time job in a dirty uniform, Sandai lent her his clothes. However, there was a difference in height and in physique of a man and a woman, so of course, the size didn’t fit, and it was very loose-fitting when Shino put them on.

“That felt great~.”

“Glad to hear that. Hear, I’ll give you a paper bag, too.”

“Hmm? Paper bag?”

“The paper bag is pretty big so you can put your uniform there. If you get an express dry cleaning on the way to your part-time, you can pick it up when you head back.”

“What great hospitality~.”

“You think so? Alright, now get out.” Sandai pointed at the entrance.

He’d done all he could do, so now this was all wrapped up—or it was supposed to. For some reason, the beautiful gyaru in front of him looked unamused and didn’t try to get moving.

“Aren’t you kinda cold? Ah, I get it! You must be thinking what to do if your parents see this situation now, don’t you? I mean, I guess you’d be asked what you were doing bringing a girl in. I didn’t see them, but could they be out at work or shopping, and like they’re gonna be home soon?”

Perhaps trying to fool around and tease him, Shino seemed to think that she’d hit the sore spot of a high school male student with her comments about parents… though, that didn’t work against Sandai at all. After all, his parents were overseas for work reasons.

“That teasing won’t work on me,” Sandai shrugged his shoulders and claimed its ineffectiveness. “I live alone after all.”

Shino instantly got sullen and pouted. However, she seemed to have thought of another way to tease a little while later. “…That’s so awesome living alone. But then, you know, could there be naught books all over the place? I mean, no parents’ eyes on you, so you can collect as much as you want.”

Like guys his age, Sandai certainly possessed that kind of thing as well, but he was keeping as much of it as possible as data stored in his PC.

However, it wasn’t like he got zero physical goods hidden either. Sandai’s composed attitude underwent a one-eighty, and he got plainly flustered by Shino’s house searching.

“You idiot! Stop!”

“What’s with the panicking? Don’t tell me…”

“You’ll find tons of mangas, but you won’t find any naughty books no matter how hard you try. You’ll find nothing. Forget about that, just get out already.”

“Aww c’mon, don’t get so uptight like that.”

“What do you mean ‘aww.’ Trying to be cute or something?”

“I can try, you know? Rawr~ rawr~.”

“Shut it! C’mon get moving! Shoo shoo!”

Having kicked Shino outside while pushing the paper bag where her uniform tossed inside to her, Sandai shut the front door quicker than the eye could see and sat down on the spot.

“…Normally you don’t just go fishing through someone’s home. She really is a race living in a different world; both our common senses and values are too different. I totally would never go rummaging through someone’s home. Oh well, from tomorrow we’ll no longer be involved with each other anyway.”

Sandai talked to himself about a kind of societal order or truth.

Even if an irregular event occurs in the world, it will not become the norm and will always try to return to its original form.

It is such a thing.

Though, there are exceptions to everything.

Sandai didn’t notice it—that he himself had become that exception.

2

Next morning, Sandai was taking out his naughty books for trash disposal.

The reason was yesterday’s Shino’s failed attempt at house fishing.

Although Sandai thought that the chance of encountering a similar crisis would be extremely low, he couldn’t completely dismiss the really slim chance that it might happen, and the next thing he knew, he’d been tying up the naughy books.

He’d love to sell it for money if possible, but his status as a high school student stood as a barrier. He would have to show identification to sell them, and his school would definitely be contacted at that time. That would make it a very troublesome thing.

As he watched the garbage pickup place through the window, he saw the garbage truck arriving and two workers tossing the books into the back of the truck.

Although it was certainly Sandai’s own volition to give up the physical goods, it was strangely sad for him to see the naughty books tied up with strings disappearing.

The naughty images and books stored in his PC remained untouched, so it wasn’t even unnecessary to feel forlorn, though…

Well in any case, now Sandai would be back again to lead his ordinary, uneventful, and lonely as ever school life—

—Or supposed to.

Sandai himself was completely not expecting this, and he couldn’t go back to his usual school life. The cause was Shino.

Before the start of the first period, Shino suddenly went to talk to Sandai.

“Here’s the clothes I borrowed when I got to your home and took a shower yesterday. Also my part-time is at a cafe, and I’m giving you some confections made there, too!” Shino said loudly and brazenly, and placed his clothes and what appeared to be thank-you confections on Sandai’s desk.

Setting aside the fact that she had meant to give the clothes, the surroundings were even more shocked at Shino’s words and actions than Sandai, the concerned party.

The relationship with the opposite sex of Shino, a leading beauty, was a topic of intesrest to students regardless of their school year, class, or gender, and Sandai was suddenly the man of hour, as ‘the man brought that Shino to his home and in addition lent her a shower.’

The instantly sparked rumors didn’t stay in the classroom, but quickly spread throughout the school. The loner Sandai couldn’t even get the opportunity to make an explanation.

He would be watched wherever he went, and whispers could endlessly be heard.

“I stand out in a troublesome way… Why… do I have to go through this… Come on, please wake up quickly if it’s a bad dream…”

It was only after school ended, and Sandai rushed home to his apartment and locked the front door that he was finally able to catch a breath.

While frowning at the surging exhaustion, Sandai first went to shove the returned clothes into the closet and put them away.

But then a small cherry-blossom colored memo fluttered down from the gap in the clothes.

‘It’s my contact info! I’m especially giving it to you!’

A message app ID and phone number were written on the memo along with such a text.

“The heck is this… Is this that thing where you call and the scary big brother answers? Or could she be trying to drag me into MLM or something?”

I’m not gonna fall for that kind of trap, Sandai crumpled up the memo, tossed it into the trash can, and headed to his desk sighing. Forgetting all that for now, he started studying to kill time until the start of late-night anime.

There was a way of killing time with manga or light novels, which he would often do as well, but the pace at which Sandai would go consume them was rather fast, and he currently got zero backlog.

That was how Sandai spent his time: studying at that kind of time. Studying was a casual way to kill time for Sandai, which was close to daily routine or habit.

He would have the choice to head to town were he to have a friend, but Sandai was a loner. He got no friends to hang out with.

—Dull youth.

Seen from the outside, no doubt Sandai’s daily life would appear so, and one could say indeed it was. However, in exchange for such bitter loneliness, he’d also gained results in the so-called ‘grades.’ In fact, he constantly ranked first in his school year since enrollment.

“…Come to think of it, I was given confections, huh. The shop’s name is written on the bag, so I guess this really doesn’t seem to be a trap or something.”

He opened the confection bag to check the content, and saw that it contained amarettis. Since there was no weird smell, and didn’t seem like it would be extremely spicy when eaten, Sandai picked one up and threw it into his mouth.

It was delish with just-right sweetness. No matter how much of a gyaru she was, it seemed she really didn’t intend to tease people with food.

“…This is just plain good.”

He was reaching for it while continuing with studying, and the amarettis were all gone before long.

…I just hope I won’t get any weird attention tomorrow, Sandai thought while crawling into the bed, after having finished studying by late at night, and finished watching the anime he’d been waiting for.

…Though, in fact, it wouldn’t go as he wished. Unfortunately, no change the next day—no, if anything, it got worse.

“So I hear Yuizaki-san going to a guy’s home and taking a shower…”

“A woman taking a shower at a man’s home… it’s gotta be screwing, no? Totally screwing, right? I wanna screw Yuizaki, too!”

“Looks like that man called Fujiwara or something is a gloomy loner. What’s Yuizaki even doing with a guy like that? I’m definitely a better man here.”

“Maybe she’s been brainwashed with hypnotism…? That or her weakness. I wonder if I can also get Yuizaki to be mine if I can get hold of her weaknesses.”

The side irresponsibly creating rumors may be having a good time, but the side being rumored about was extremely stressed. Sandai was gradually driven into the corner mentally, the content of the lessons was entering his ear and out the other, and when walking, he was losing his sense of balance, and his steps were becoming wobbly.

Though, he couldn’t shut people’s mouths. He could only endure. Sandai decided to curl up like a turtle in his seat and wait for the time to pass.

But then he got poked in the back with the tip of a mechanical pencil. Sandai looked back wondering what was up, and found a smiling Shino there.

Speaking of which, sitting behind him was this gyaru.

What’s she doing… I see, I get it. If she gets involved with me, I’d be getting even more cornered by the people around. She must want to have fun watching that. That kinda stuff is fun to watch from the sidelines.

Sandai now wanted to make a complaint, but that was precisely the reaction Shino was seeking, so Sandai decided to ignore her, not wanting to worsen the situation.

“Poke poke, poke.”

“…”

“Your response?”

“…”

If he were to give no reaction, Shino would most likely lose interest before long. Gyarus were supposed to have such a personality.

Thus the thing he ought to do was sit quietly and wait for the time to pass. Come to think of it, Sandai thought, the surroundings are also gradually calming down like, ‘Maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding,’ and everything will be settled.

Sandai’s plan was largely fruitful.

Around lunch time, Shino’s poking came to a stop, and she began to indulge in conversations with her own friends.

Although the looks from around were still showing no singing of fading, surely it would be just now. He was feeling somewhat comforted in thinking that it would stop before long.

“…Probably it’s still gonna take time, but it looks like my daily life can somehow return.”

Sandai took lunch alone at the cafeteria, “Phew,” let out a sigh of relief, returned to the classroom, and put his hand on the door—but stopped short when he heard the voices of Shino and her friends talking from inside.

“Say, Shino, is it true you went to Fujiwara’s home?”

“Eh? It’s true, you know? I borrowed a shower and some clothes, too.”

“For real? Is one like that your taste? Fujiwara’s just a loner, though?”

Knowing that he was being bad-mouthed, Sandai’s temple began to pop veins and twitch.

However,

“It’s not about taste or anything… It’s just, that I thought he’s a kind guy, I guess.”

“Kind?”

“You know, the reason I went to Fujiwara’s home was because I screwed up and plunged my foot into the ditch. I also got part-time, so when I was thinking I’ve gotta do something about it, he said, ‘Wanna come to my home?’ I could sense there were no ulterior motives at all, so… so I followed him. And then he didn’t do anything weird as I expected. See? Fujiwara’s kind, right?”

“I feel like it’s simply more of being a wuss than kind, though… but well, I guess you’re also very sensitive to that kinda thing.”

“And you also notice ulterior motives right away, and often reject them rather harshly by their responses and attitudes even before talking to them.”

“Shino… could it be that you’ve never dated a man even once?”

“T-That’s right… ‘cause I’m not good with guys…”

“A maiden does exist in reality. This is so precious.”

Maybe… Yuizaki is not that bad of a girl… I guess, he thought, and his anger subsided right after.

Sandai silently left the door and went to gaze out the window in the corridor.

Clear blue skies stretched out endlessly, and the sound of cicadas and the lingering summer heat around his skin gradually seeped into his body.