CH 41

The summer sun had been making its presence felt ever since this morning.

“It’s too hot…”

It’s a bit hard to spend the summer in the city.

Unlike Tsukinose in the countryside, there was asphalt everywhere as far as the eye could see. Instead of trees whose leaves shiver in the wind, there were buildings with outdoor units that sent a lukewarm breeze from the air conditioner. By the way, all the traffic lights are yellow and not changing colors.

On his way to school, Hayato feels depressed because every time he takes a step, sweat gushes out and his uniform sticks to his skin, further raising his discomfort level index.

And above all, there was something that made Hayato feel uncomfortable.

“Hey, Kirishima”

“Good morning, Mori.”

“Yo, transfer student.”

“Good morning, Kirishima-kun.”

“Oh, it’s Kirishima. Wassup.”

“Good morning.”

[TL/N: His classmates greets him with “ohayo’su”, a combination of “good morning” and “what’s up (wassup)”. I don’t know which word would fit.]

The moment Hayato entered the classroom, he was greeted with warm stares and words from Mori and his classmates.

Ever since Haruki showed him a prank of a photo that was taken last week as Hayato took her phone away, everyone seems to think that he had fallen in love at first sight with Nikaido Haruki’s childhood friend.

Thanks to this, their interest in Hayato’s love life, which had caused such a reaction, was curious and they were forced to watch with a smile.

(It’s my sister, though…..)

Incidentally, Haruki, the root of all evil, was making excuses with a shaky voice and swiping her eyes, saying, “People rumors last for 75 days”.

[TL/N: “People rumor only lasts for 75 days” is a popular idiom in Japan. It means that rumors don’t last forever. This is similar to the English idiom “A wonder lasts but 9 days”.] 

With that in mind, Hayato headed for his seat.

“……Good morning, Nikaido.”

“Oh, good morning too, Kirishima-kun.”

His greeting to Haruki had become blunt. Then, with a pouty look, he turns away. Haruki’s face has an apologetic smirk on it.

However, this attitude is also contributing to the misunderstanding of the people around them, but neither Hayato nor Haruki are aware of it.

Seeing Hayato’s behavior, which was filled with embarrassment, a group of people started to move. The girls, who seemed to be in an itch, immediately gathered around Haruki and started whispering and screaming. And occasionally they would glance at Hayato.

They seemed to be a bunch of girls who loved to meddle. From Hayato’s eyes, he could see that Haruki was also desperately trying to resist, but she was no match for the excited girls with sparkling eyes.

Eventually, Haruki turned back to Hayato with a sorry-look on her face and her phone.

“Uh, Kirishima-kun.”

“……What is it?”

“Um, about her, um, would you like to take a look at this?”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Um, please don’t say that… right?”

“…..”

Hayato doesn’t know what Haruki told the girls.

In the first place, Haruki’s childhood friend is Himeko, Hayato’s real sister. And to his honesty, he really doesn’t want to be shown this.

However, if you look at Haruki’s apologetic but troubled face, you can’t ignore the fact that she is mimicking a good girl to some extent.

Hayato let out a big sigh. When he looked into the screen, he didn’t see a picture of Himeko, but rather words that were written on the screen.

‘I’m sorry about that. I’ll be having lunch with the girls today, and I’ll make sure the misunderstanding is cleared up!”

If you look at Haruki, she smiles bitterly and meditates with one eye as if to say, “Leave it to me.”

Apparently, she felt pretty responsible.

Originally, Haruki was afraid of getting into trouble and insisted on being alone during lunch. I can feel her enthusiasm for breaking that rule and trying to settle the situation.

She also apologized to Hayato over and over again at dinner the other night, saying that it was just a prank and she didn’t expect it to turn out this bad.    [ED/N: It’s just a prank bro.]

(……Jeez)

When he thought about it, the corners of Hayato’s eyes naturally fell, and his mouth broke into a smile, as if he had no choice.

“Okay, fine.”

“Yes!”

Haruki must have read Hayato’s mind, because they both looked at each other with relief.

However, despite what was going on in their minds. At the same time, a high-pitched voice was raised, saying, “” Kyaa! “”.

“What ?!”

The girls suddenly grabbed Haruki’s hand and forcefully pulled her somewhere. She fully exudes an aura that cannot be defied.

“Nikaido-san, can we talk?”

“Don’t worry, this will be quick, It’s just for a minute!”

“Ah, it’s so funny… I wonder if there is anything I can help with.”

Hayato watches the scene with dismay, but he also notices that the girls are much more relaxed with Haruki than ever when he first moved to the school.

In addition to being a popular figure, Haruki is also a bit of a step down from the rest of the class. It was only natural that she was also somewhat of a wallflower.

Haruki was like that, but her mood changed a little.

The fact that they are so familiar is proof of that.

(That seems rough. Oh man, I can already see she’ll likely complain to me even at dinner.)

To be honest, Hayato is sometimes bothered by this, but as always, when she comes to Hayato’s house, she treats him the same way that she did in the past, exposing her defenseless appearance.

When he thought about it, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Kirishima, you do really love to stare at her so much huh?”

“Oh, Mori. No, I’m not–“

How the other people who saw the change in Hayato’s expression would take it as another matter.

Mori, who spotted it immediately, squared his shoulders, and the boys, who were grinning as much as the girls around Haruki, surrounded him, determined not to let him escape.

“Well, well, don’t you think both of you are interacting enough?”

“I’m sure Nikaido-san’s childhood friend was a cute girl.”

“Well, what exactly do you find interesting about her?”

“Eh, no, no, I’m ……!”

While Hayato and Haruki are confused, the people around them get excited on their own.

Compared to when he first transferred to the new school, Haruki has changed.

In addition, the environment surrounding Hayato was changing as well.

______________________

Author’s Afterword:

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Proofreader’s Afterword:

The second volume for the Web Novel begins on this Chapter. Volume 2 is entitled as “~You Can’t Have The Same Old Flirting In Front Of Me, Okay? Mou! ~”