Chapter 129In A Detour
[Huh? What are you talking about?]
I knew that.
As Shinomiya-senpai told Big Sis what she expected over the phone, a surprised voice was heard from the other end of the line with quite a loud volume. What do you think, Shinomiya-senpai...? ...Don't think that you can easily defeat Big Sis who is always in a bad mood... ...If you want to defeat her, you have to attack her with meat buns and take pictures with a camera when she gets fat... ...Eh, I subconsciously thought of a way to defeat her physically.
"Kaede, you're too lucky. You can do what you want, and instantly be liked by boys who want to like you, and you even have this boy as your little bro. That's so unfair!"
[It's not that I want to be liked. By the way, what is he there for? Why are you talking like that?]
"Sajou — Wataru will be handed over to the Disciplinary Committee!"
[You, that is indeed the most dangerous thing you've done so far this year.]
I knew that.
What did you mean, "Just do it, little bro"? I think I've heard that phrase somewhere before. Can a little bro not be a little brother? If he was born later, shouldn't he be a little bro automatically? Is that something new you need to learn?
I wonder if you can stop calling me by my name all of a sudden... ...There are a lot of Shinomiya-senpai's fans around me, right? Of course, it's a good idea to stop showing signs of me being a boy all of a sudden. Because I'll feel intimidated.
[Wait, Wataru is part of the Student Council.]
I didn't know that.
[Anyway, calm down. If it's about that boy, I'll lend that boy to you again next time in exchange for meat buns, so why don't you take a rest for today and listen to what Yuyu and Ayano said to you? Or do you think those two are unreliable?"]
"O-Of course not!"
[—In that case, it's time for you to stay calm today. I'll talk to you about this again next time.]
"Ugh... ...O-Of course, never!"
[Shut up.]
Cut— Hey, hey! Don't come out and cut off this call at the last minute! You did take good care of me until the afternoon! And also, don't lend me out on a whim! I mean, it's not like I'm free! The exchange, it's just for Big Sis, isn't it!?
It's a conversation full of tsukkomi, but in terms of caring, it's a field I don't know about, so I don't want to interfere. In my case, it's just a matter of how to get around this without getting provoked.... ...Big Sis also seems to be very familiar with it, it's the girl's field. I mean, bad is bad... ...I think you're the most dangerous person in Japan. Apart from today.
"Sh... ...She told me to shut up..."
"Oh! Oh—Um! I'm sure that was Kaede's form of love for him!? Is that so, Sajou!?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"It's just maybe, isn't it!?"
"Maybe so. It might be like Big Sis' love for me."
Love. (*I won't say it's a love.).
Big Sis did become troublesome towards the end... ...No, in fact, it's Senpai who is troublesome right now. Is having Inatomi-senpai and Mita-senpai by your side at times like this an act of good moral character? Big Sis must be very anxious right now because she's only surrounded by b*stard boys. When this kind of thing happens to Big Sis, I feel that I was raised the wrong way because I think she'd give me at least one hit.
My smartphone vibrated as I thought that I had turned into a talking stone statue.
[Don't go near Rin starting from today!]
[No, you can't tell just by looking at her.]
[Why are all boys like this, though...?]
[Stop saying it now.]
[No matter what you do, get out of there when you see the chance. I don't want you to be in trouble either.]
[I'm sorry about that.]
[Don't forget the meat buns, okay?]
This b*tch always asks for meat buns everywhere. There must be something better, like Yuuki-senpai's lunch box. Have you never eaten those? How can meat buns be better than that? If it's Osaka's specialty meat buns, that's a different story.
"—Rin-san. Shall we go back now?"
"Hmm. Yuyu, come closer."
"Y-Yeah."
"Hah..."
Mita-senpai's sigh was impressive.
If I was asked how it went, that's when I would immediately answer, "No comment". In the end, Shinomiya-senpai became much quieter than when we met at first and was taken away by Inatomi-senpai and Mita-senpai. I can't comment on what I thought when I saw it.
Ashida had found out about my meeting with the Disciplinary Committee family out of nowhere. She told me that I was being unfair when I told her "She's in a bad mood, I don't understand what's going on.", she looked at me blankly. Anyway, girls do have mysterious powers, don't they? I think they will eventually start talking to each other silently through thought waves.
When I glanced at Natsukawa, she turned her face away from me. That was very painful.
♦
"...Ah."
After school. As I took a detour towards the Student Council Office, mainly to avoid running into Shinomiya-senpai, the Disciplinary Committee, I came across a blonde girl I recognized in the hallway near the west wing of the building. She tended to keep her head slightly down and didn't notice that I was walking through the hallway in front of her. I forgot, what was her name, huh...? ...If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like Shinonome-Claumaty. Sort of like Agatha Christie-ish. Isn't it a foreigner's name?
I've always pictured her puffing out her chest and slouching, so I guess that's the side of her when I see her tendency to look down. Don't tell me that she has the same feelings as Shinomiya-senpai...? If that's the case, I'm sure I'll have trouble with girls today. I think it was also in the horoscope on the back of the newspaper this morning. Why did I meet so many different girls in one day?
"Oh, Hirano..."
"..."
"W-Wait, Hirano! Are you ignoring me!?"
"Hmm, eh?"
As I turned my face away and tried not to make eye contact with her, Claumaty suddenly opened her mouth. I thought she was talking to someone, but just as I was trying to walk past her normally, she grabbed my wrist, in a hurry. I couldn't understand why and I made a strange sound.
Um... ...I think she got my name wrong. ...The surname "Hirano" does match my nickname, though. Hirano Wataru — Isn't that a match? I'm not denying it because I feel that the Hirano surname matches perfectly.
"—Hello. It's been a long time. How are you? What's your name again?"
"Wh-What's with that lighthearted tone of voice... ...And isn't that rude!?"
"No, it's been a long time, right?"
"I'm Shinonome-Claudine Marika! I hope this won't happen a second time!"
I was wrong about 70% of the time. I'm glad she was willing to open up... ...If I call her Claumaty again, she might lose her temper. Yeah, she got my name wrong too. In the first place, did I ever say my name to this blonde girl?
"Come to think of it, you're a student from the "East Side", right? If I'm not mistaken, you're in the same class as Natsukawa Aika-san..."
"Huh...? ...That's right, though. ─Wow."
As I nodded, her index finger flew in front of my face. I looked at Claudine Marika and wondered what she meant by that. I feel like a fortune teller... The resentment that I was ranked 11th in the horoscope was boiling over. You... ...You're a fraud!
"Please tell her! Even though I fell behind in the school visit trials, I'm still no match for her!"
"Huh? School visit trials?"
"Why was that girl invited and I wasn't...!? They said that those who are invited are those who have beautiful faces...!"
"...Oh."
I wondered what she was talking about. Was she still upset that she wasn't invited to guide the middle school students during the trial school visit to this high school? They indeed chose the most handsome boys and the most beautiful girls from each class. Hmm, even if you consider that, this character is too tough, right? It seems very condescending. Natsukawa is indeed the right choice. Yeah, she is no match for her. Because she is a Goddess.
"That's just it. I don't think she would let Claudine-san get into trouble, do you? Look, you never know what middle school students might do to you, do you?"
"I-...!? I-Is that so...? Then, can you stop calling me by my middle name just like that!?"
"Oh, um... ...What should I call you then?"
"Shinonome-joshi, of course! Please respect me like that!"
"Okay, then. Shinonome-joshi."
Are girls called "—joshi" (girl) in the west building...? ...That's innovative. I don't know if it's polite or not if you call someone by their gender when it's obvious. Indeed, girls sometimes call boys "-danshi" (boy). She feels respected... ...I don't know.
"So? Why did Hirano come here?"
"Yeah. I'm heading to the Student Council Office because I have business there."
"St-Student Council Office...!?"
"Eh?"
Eh? Her expression suddenly turned gloomy... ...Did I say something wrong? Speaking of the Student Council Office... ...Come to think of it, did they say that Shinonome-joshi is Yuuki-senpai's fiancee? Hey, seriously, the theory about my future big bro-in-law is gone. There's no way to rule out that family situation... ...I envy Yuuki-senpai and their families for having the chance to eat homemade food every day! (Respect)
"I see... ...Then, you must hurry."
"Oh, yeah..."
Contrary to her intense jealousy, Shinonome-joshi left as if she wanted to drive me away. I could feel the feeling of depression coming from her back. Well, she was alone today. I didn't know what was going on in front of the Student Council Room, but there was no one, was there no one around? Something must have happened...
"..."
No, hmm... ...I don't care.
Author's Note: Kinda like "-danshi" (boyish), huh? (Respect).
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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