CH 2.2

Although it was just an act, she must have been quite embarrassed in many ways.

I was glad to see that she was embarrassed, so I called out to her back.

“……. I digress, but I understand the situation. The two of us are both ” temporary special students ” and our scoring efficiency is twice as high.  Then, ……”

“Yes, that’s right. In other words…….”

Haruka turned around and smiled belligerently.

We both uttered the phrase at the same time.

“”All-out war ……!!””

Sparks fly between me and Haruka.

There are other rivals, but the most promising candidate for the “special students” are still the temporary special students. That means one of us, the one that makes the other more nervous, is more likely to take first place in “Love Studies”.

…… I can’t lose.

I have to beat the person in front of me in order to date the girl of my dreams!

“For now, let’s do the recent ‘assignment’, shall we?”

Haruka said as if to redeem herself, as she was burning with enthusiasm for the competition.

“Oh. Well, let’s see. By assignment, you mean…”

“So …… that. Hands ……”

“………………”

I returned to myself in an instant.

I was in a state of tension that I didn’t understand, but when I thought about it calmly, I realized that the “girl of my dreams” and the head of the class were the same person, and that I was about to touch hands with that girl.

Just the thought of it made me start to sweat.

I hurriedly wiped the sweat from my hands on my pants. Haruka saw it and accused me …….

“Hmmm ……? Are you nervous?”

“What……!? Is that possible….!?”

“Don’t be shy, don’t be shy. I take care of my skin every day, I would do the same thing for something like this. I think you should be nervous about a girl’s soft skin.”

Saying this, Haruka took out a wet tissue and began to carefully clean her hands. Her hands seem to be shaking slightly, though she does not seem to be aware of it.

As I turned my eyes towards the jitters ……, she put away the evidence with a composed expression on her face.

“……. This is….. It’s a countermeasure against infectious diseases.”

“I see. In other words, you were not wiping the sweat from your hands.”

“Of course not. Girls don’t sweat with their hands.”

“I see. Well, let’s shake hands. Your hand feels a little moist.”

“────!? Wait a minute! I have to go to the bathroom…!!”

“Forget it.”

I tried my best to keep a calm demeanor and held Haruka’s hand in a blunt manner.

If it wasn’t like this, I wouldn’t be able to hold the hand of the girl I like.

I thought that if I dared to touch her roughly, I wouldn’t get nervous ……, but…

“………………”

It was impossible.

The fact that I am holding the hand of the girl I like releases drugs directly into my brain as sensory information, not verbal information. I’m sure that I’m secreting a lot of happy hormones or some such substance right now, and I’m in a state of being sober and cool. Is this paradise?

It’s frustrating, but if I continue this “assignment” with Haruka, I’m sure that more points will go to her side….. and as I looked vaguely at Haruka with that thought in mind, she was flustered as well.

“………… It feels ………… good……”

“……….. Eh?”

“It’s firm…….”

Stop saying things that have hidden meanings!

I thought she was feeling as happy as I was, but she was acting like this!

I can understand “it feels good”, but “It’s firm”?

That’s not a fair comment!

I’m feeling “soft” and “nice”!

Somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking that, but the “acting” of the girl I liked was very destructive. My head overheated and I almost collapsed from heat stroke even though we were in a classroom.

Am I going to die like this ……? I thought vaguely, and was about to give up ……, when a “Beep!” sounded from my left hand and Haruka’s left hand.

That brought us back to our senses, and we both let go of our hands at the same time.

“Well, I guess we’ve accomplished our task now!”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought! That’s great! I guess I won’t be expelled from the school now!”

We were laughing dryly …….

If someone mentioned my earlier reaction, I could easily be “exposed for liking her”.

I tried hard not to let that happen and put a cold, dry smile on my face.

Haruka checked her “Student ID card” and muttered, “… Ah. The score has been updated.” So I checked my own “Student ID card”.

Apparently, the electronic beeps that have been sounding since a few minutes ago are for when scores are acquired.

“How many points did Aoyama get?”

“Oh, I’ve got …”

My words stopped there.

It was like having icicles poked into my spine.

(In this situation, if I’m not careful, my liking of her will be revealed ……!)

A momentary thought. My brain, which had recovered from the heat stroke, was spinning at full speed.

In fact, I got 20 points.

Haruka is a “special student,” so she gets twice as many points.

In other words, Haruka received 10 points for being moved by this task – touching hands with me. This is considered to be an extremely normal number. This is because it makes logical sense with the score from yesterday’s “exchange of contact information”.

At that time, I had the contact information of four different people of the opposite gender.

As a result, I received 15 points.

Although Mishimoto-sensei was counted in the number of people that completed the assignment, it is questionable whether she was included in the calculation of the score for the “Love Studies” course. Therefore, let us assume that Haruka, Akiba Hachiya, and Reika Fuyusakaa were counted in the score calculation. Since the number of points obtained is 15, the average score per person is 5. In other words, they must have been excited for five points.

Since the average score for “exchanging contact information” is about five points, it makes sense that the average score for “touching hands” this time was 10 points.

…But what about me?

To be honest, I was more nervous than I was yesterday.

As a result, let’s assume, for example, that Haruka’s score is 40 points. Since I got 20 points, that means I was double as nervous and excited as Haruka was.

This is ridiculous.

Even if you say “I was nervous” or “It’s my first time to hold hands with a girl, so ……”, the numbers don’t add up. If she asks “…… Do you like me by any chance?” It’s game over.

It only took me a second to think about it.

You did a good job, me.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

I pretended to cough to buy more time. I don’t know how many points Haruka got, but it would be bad to fall far short of that number.

It would be a good idea to report a larger score, and after hearing the number of points Haruka got, to say that I had misread the score and declare it again.

Therefore, my answer is…

“…… Sorry, I coughed. I got 40 points on my end.”

“Yonjyu──!?”

Haruka choked up in surprise.

Alright. With that reaction, it looks like the score that went in Haruka’s way was less than 40 points. The worst was averted.

“How many points did Haruka get?”

“……………………. I got 35 points.”

Oh! I was just in time!

The actual score that I got was 20 points, so I was 1.75 times more nervous than Haruka……. This is the difference between ‘just the opposite gender’ and ‘someone I like’.

If I had been honest in my declaration, I would have been asked, “Do you like me?”. I’d better not say that this was a mistake…….

It’s truly a matter of life and death.

As I was relieved that I had just barely managed to avoid being “exposed”. I felt a jolt in my lower abdomen. I was shocked.

“Seen-pai ♡ Good morning ♡”

I look down, and sure enough, the prankster junior student is clinging to me.

“Haya ……. I told you to stop tackling me instead of greeting me.”

“You don’t like it~? It’s just skinship with a cute junior~.”

“If that’s the case, take your hand off my pants zipper.”

“Oh, did you find out?”

While sticking out her tongue, she taps her head in a “Tehepero ♡” gesture.

It’s a little bit mocking …….

But the fact that such a gesture is so charming is what makes her vicious.

“But it’s OK for today! I’ve got that assignment! And ……. I didn’t complete the assignment.”

“Why wouldn’t you touch me over my clothes? And the assignment is supposed to be ‘body parts of the opposite gender.”

“I see. Then, Senpai, shall we touch each other?”

“…… Why do you choose to say it in such a suggestive way?”

“You must be so happy ♡”

“I’m telling you, I’ve already accomplished my task. Haruka helped me with it.”

“What!! Why!? You have me, and you’re messing around with other women! You treat me like a convenient woman whom you only deal with when you’re bored!”

“Please stop misleading people! I will get a lot of attention from the class again!”

“I’ve received your desires many times in the past! What if you and me and Haruka were to do it together!?”

“You say that like it’s a joke! Desire only means that you’re willing to do things for me at our part-time job! What else could it mean!?”

I shout loudly, meaning to clear up the misunderstanding.

Haruka, caught up in the confusion, is flailing around with a red face, muttering, “…..Together…..”. If Haruka hates me for this, I’m seriously not going to forgive you!

“…… So, I guess that means you’ll be doing assignments with me too, right?”

With a grin and a mischievous smile on her face, Haya threatens in a whisper.

Damn! If I refuse, she looks like she’s going to make even more trouble! I’ll give in to such threats – I’ll do it, so please forgive me already. I beg you.

I gulped and nodded my head, then sat down and relaxed in my seat.

I don’t care anymore …….

I’m burned out,…… and I’m completely blank…….

“Oh ……, you’re so unhappy today, Senpai, you’re so wonderful …… ♡ honey ♡”

Another person’s misfortune tastes like honey, they say.

“I’ve overdone it a little bit, so I’m going to serve you. Here you go, honey ♡.”

Saying that, Haya held my face with both hands and pulled me toward her.

More precisely, to her ample chest.

“Wha?!? 〜〜〜Huh!! 〜〜〜- huh!?”

“Ah ♡ Don’t move around too much ♡”

Damn you!!!! You’re pulling me even harder!!

My shouts like disappeared into Haya’s resilient chest.

…… I was shallow.

I should have paid more attention to what Haya was saying and doing.

Haya was usually dressed carelessly in her school uniform, but today it was even worse, and the buttons on her chest were opened to a very uncomfortable position.

As a result, my face was pressed directly against Haya’s chest to the point that I was buried in her cleavage. I am a guy, even if I am …… such a guy. If she sinks my face into her chest, I’ll be happy. But that is only if there is no one around.

It would be torture to be exposed in the middle of a classroom like this.

And now, it is right in front of Haruka’s eyes. I wanted to kill myself.

“Oh ……. I did it. The assignment has been completed.”

“Bwah! Haya! If you want to complete the assignment, just holding my hand should have been enough!”

“What are you talking about? If you’re aiming to be a special student, isn’t it a standard practice to give your senpai a strong stimulus to aim for a high score?”

“Nonsense. ……! Are you aiming to be a “special student” too!?”

“Of course! Looks like fun, doesn’t it? Sen-pai♡”

Haya sends me a meaningful stream of information.

Combined with the earlier act, it attracted a lot of hate from some of the guys in the class.

……I see, I understand.

She has not the slightest affection for me, but she wants to be a “special student” so that she can watch me be unhappy.