Chapter 171Discovery
Huh... ...Natsukawa. Oh... ...Natsukawa.
I finally couldn't stop myself from looking back. A guilty girl who once captured my heart and left me in just a few minutes. I'm going bald from pulling my hair back so much. I wanted to chase after her and leave Sasaki alone. Oh, what's wrong, huh? I think there's something strange, my legs are behind me.
I went around the building where the Home Economics Room was and entered the west building. I had hardly ever gone here before, so passing through this building was refreshing. The classrooms visible from the hallway seemed to be quite clean. In particular, I think the window frames and doors seem to be free from damage over time. It's just that, until a few years ago, school funds were invested into this "West Side". The fact that there used to be discrimination in this high school has somehow become more apparent.
I was a student from the "East Side", but I didn't feel any dislike for this kind of favoritism treatment in terms of facilities. There seemed to be so many trustees from the "West Side" who provided financial support for this high school, and I thought that some of them must be sincere kind people. Even rich people wouldn't be willing to provide support if they didn't get anything in return. I heard that the amount of support for this year's Cultural Festival was much less than last year.
If excessive justice has caused us to lose our natural "favoritism treatment", I don't know what else we should do. I haven't heard anything about it specifically, but if it had happened at this high school, I wouldn't blame them.
"Eh, you're Yoshino. You look very miserable."
"..."
"Wait a minute, Yoshino. I wonder if you heard me just now or not!"
"...?"
When I heard a familiar voice and turned my head, I found that there was a striking blonde-haired and elegant-looking female student who looked like a young lady. She was a half-Japanese girl who had returned to her homeland, and she was the fiancée of Yuuki-senpai, our Student Council President. If I'm not mistaken, her name is Shinonome — or something like that. I only remember her family name...
As I looked up at her, my eyes met Miss Shinonome's. Then, I was surprised from what I knew that she was smiling at me.
However, the boy Shinonome-san wanted to meet was named Yoshino. — Not me. I looked at her then I just nodded and said, "Hey. Long time no see. How are you? See you!" to her.
"Wait a minute! What are you trying to do? Are you going to ignore Shinonome-Claudine Marika?"
"O-Oh!"
A blonde young lady suddenly came in front of me while spitting out sharp words. I think I'll feel lucky if she politely tells me her full name. When a blonde and beautiful girl looked at me, even though there was a height difference between us, it was very impressive. A half-Japanese girl scares me... ...Right, I should ask for help from Yoshino-san who she called just now.
...E-Eh?
"Eh... ...Um? Where is Yoshino-san?"
"Yoshino. What the heck are you talking about?"
The young lady looked straight into my eyes and called me Yoshino. Hey, hey, could it be... ...you mistook me for Yoshino? D*mn... ...Too bad, you're the worst person to forget someone's name right away! My name is Sajou—.
"...Huh?"
No, wait a minute, hey! I'm sure that this young lady hates Big Sis, right? Gosh... ...I almost blurted out my name. I'm lucky that I'm currently wearing this dog costume... ...When I'm wearing my school uniform, I usually wear my name tag.
"Hello, yeah, I am Yoshino to you."
"I already know who you are. It looks like the costume you're wearing... ...you have the intelligence of a dog."
"Mngh..."
Th-This girl... ...Let me tell you something. Just so you know, I've been taking lessons seriously lately! Isn't that great? I'm also very good at copying what's on the blackboard into my notebook! As for the contents... ...Well, I just need to catch up.
"Th-Then...? What do you want from this Yoshino?"
"It's nothing, though? I just noticed a dog walking out of the corner of my eye, so I just wanted to talk to him."
"I-I see. Then, see you—"
"Wait a second."
"Eh...?"
I stopped at the mere pressure of her voice. Yoshino, I mean, I was in a hurry...
When I turned around, the young lady was in a bad mood while crossing her arms. I don't know what kind of advantage she had that I was so surprised, but it's in a boy's nature to stop when he's being held back by the opposite sex. I found a part of me that couldn't help but obey her.
"Wh-What is this exactly?"
"Did you know that a stage project is planned for tomorrow?"
"...A stage project?"
On the second day of the Cultural Festival, there was an exclusive event within the school grounds. Students gathered in the gymnasium to enjoy the performance of their project on a special stage. Of course, as someone who was involved in the executive of the Cultural Festival, I already knew about the project. I wasn't a member of any club activity, committee or anything like that, so I just watched.
"Well... ...At the very least, those on the program list for the current students."
"Then you must have also known about the modeling competition event of the Fashion Club."
"Oh, it's basically a fashion show, right? I'm really looking forward to it."
Since high school students are expected to be independent, the school might not interfere too much with how they dress for the event. The skin color component, that's what I'm looking forward to.
"Then, please vote for me if you're willing to."
"Eh, are you going to enter the competition too?"
"With my beauty, there's no reason for me not to enter the competition too, right?"
Eh... ...Is that match-setting. No, it's not match-setting? I'm being asked to choose someone who won't earn me anything. I feel like this sounds much worse than bribery. Well... ...I have no reason to refuse, though.
"Well, Young Lady, wouldn't you win with that blonde half-Japanese face? I don't think you need to ask me to choose you like this to aim for victory."
"Of course. However, the senpai-s already have the votes of their friends and the votes of famous students, so I can't win just by relying on my attractive appearance. I must also surpass them by taking the initiative myself. Then, please stop calling me "Young Lady"!"
"Huh?"
First of all, I think the third-year senpai-s should be able to play a major role in attracting attention at this kind of event. Although the first and second-years girls are participating, it's only natural for the third-year senpai-s to win this competition... ...Is it a good idea for a first-year student to aim for the title?
"So? So, are you going to vote for me?"
"Oh, well... ...Okay, that's okay, though."
Natsukawa or any of my other acquaintances wouldn't be entering this model competition anyway, so I was about to cast my vote for someone really beautiful, so I felt a bit stuck, but it wasn't too bad either. Even if the other person was a famous and arrogant young lady, even if she said, "Vote for me!" to me, I wouldn't be too reluctant to vote for her. Is it okay if we don't think about the details?
"That's it. In that case, that's enough. Please leave."
"Eh...?"
The young lady treated me like a stray dog. I didn't feel angry with her anyway, probably because I already had an image of her as an arrogant young lady. Instead, I felt refreshed, as if I had been exposed to a world with a new order of values. This is... ...the social world!
I guess it's a minefield to show my rebellious spirit here, I thought, so I decided to leave quietly. First of all, I'm in a hurry, you see.
"...Hmm..."
As I was about to leave, I thought to myself, then I looked back after we had distanced ourselves from each other.
The young lady was gloomy while crossing her arms. I remembered that there used to be some group-like people around her, but I realized that she was alone at the moment, even though it was the Cultural Festival. Gosh, is she just alone on days like this? Hmm, if that were the case, she would probably look even more glum.
Little by little my sympathy disappeared as I walked faster and faster.
♦
"—Eh, Sasaki-kun? He just got back early, didn't he?"
"Eh?"
From then on, I ran around the school quickly.
The last stop I made was the school rooftop. This place was overseen by the Student Council, and although it wasn't open, I was able to climb up to the door. I peeked through the door nervously because not only Sasaki but also other couples in a good mood might be lurking there, but I couldn't find any couples. I think I'll sleep well tonight.
I guess this is the limit for me, a student in Sasaki's level five test. I tried to guess where he would go based on his personality and behavior patterns, but I couldn't think of anything else. When I checked my smartphone, there was still no news from Ichinose-san or Sasaki-san. I guess they hadn't found Yuki-chan either. I contacted Ashida throughout the trip, but she didn't seem to read my messages. Perhaps... ...I was blocked by her?
When this kind of thing happened, I decided to stop relying on my intuition and decided to go back to my class to ask around, and then I immediately got an eyewitness report of that boy's sighting from our Class Rep.
"Of course. Sasaki-kun, he's going to be a cosplayer for the riddle competition soon, right? We'll get into trouble if you don't come back soon. Or rather, take off that costume."
"Oh, wait a minute, Iihoshi-san! We're in the corridor! It's in the corridor, you know!"
I managed to stop Iihoshi-san who was about to pull the zipper of my costume from under my costume collar. I was told to quickly change my clothes behind the partition in the classroom. Sasaki seemed to be there too.
"...That's right."
That's right, Sasaki still had a task to complete today. I don't need to look for Sasaki anywhere, he will definitely come back to me if I just go straight back to class. I'm just wasting my energy...
But if he comes back on time, does that mean he doesn't meet up with Yuki-chan? Yes, that's right, her, that Yuki-chan. I'm sure she'll make a scene if her big bro gets caught. Did that b*stard come back from flirting with one of the girls without any incident? Can't I at least slap him on the shoulder?
"Hey, Sasaki —Oh?"
They both looked uncomfortable in their bad rat and cow imitation costumes. Yasuda sat wearing a black T-shirt and simply took off his Y-shirt just like that. Behind him, there was a living creature like Sasaki sitting on a seat with a confused look on his face.
...Eh? Didn't he just go around the Cultural Festival with a girl? Why does he look so depressed? Eh, did he run into Yuki-chan? After that? After that incident? Has he escaped from confinement?
"...Hmm, Sajou. You have returned. Please, take off that costume immediately!"
"O-Okay... ...Hmm?
Eh, wait a minute. Are you going to wear the costume I just put on?
Author's Note:
The one I just took off.
ED: Reeze27
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