A few days passed and I was called to that staircase by Sakino san.

Speaking of what we talked about, it was, of course, about Ichikawa san.

These days, Ichikawa san seems to be avoiding even Sakino san. More to the point, the same
Jinguji and other members of his group seemed somewhat indifferent, and I was unable to talk to them about Ichikawa san.

So I contacted Aki and asked her to come.
I expected a network of information by the prince of the school, who boasts overwhelming support from the girls.

“So why is Mitsushima san here?”
“I’ve been called out by Youta. What does this mean?”

…..I did it
I did bring up the subject of Sakino san, but I didn’t tell Aki that I was also working with Sakino san.

The reverse is also true. After getting my ass whipped by Sakino san, I did not mention that I asked Aki for help.

When the two met in the classroom, I thought it was somewhat disconcerting.

No, no, no, it’s all in my mind.
They weren’t that close ……I think.

“Komiya kun, explain.”
“Youta?”

Huh? The pressure is …….

The two girls came packing toward me with sharp eyes.
Is it my imagination that I am under the illusion that I am being stuffed for cheating when I have done nothing particularly wrong?

Yeah, it’s still my imagination, it’s still my imagination.
Is it wrong to ask for help from others ……?

“You see. I was depressed because Ichikawa san dumped me, and Sakino san woke me up. Then I talked to Aki about it. ……”
“Heee”
“Hmph”

What? What’s with that reaction!
I said something bad!

“(I thought I was the only one…….)”
“(You don’t understand…… woman’s mind at all, do you?)”

They both mumbled something in a small voice, but I couldn’t hear them.

Awkward. Why is that?

However, things will not progress if I remain silent under the pressure of this atmosphere forever.
I’ll apologize later if I stepped on any land mines. If that will help.

“In the meantime, though, can Aki let me know what you find out?”
“….Haa. It’s fine though”

The way she sayst is like small bones get stuck in your throat. ……

“I know who’s harassing Ichikawa san.
“Eh?! Really!?”
“Wa– Youta!?”

Hearing this fact, I was so excited that I grabbed both of Aki’s shoulders.
Aki’s cheeks turn red and her face turns away.

“Ah………”

And I too noticed such a reaction from Aki and froze in place.

This response.
I know how Aki feels before this. I haven’t been able to tell her directly, but if I’m not being egotistical, I would know that Aki towards me…….

“Ehem. Do you two realize what you’re getting together for right now?”
“….Y-yeah..”
“I know you do. ……!”

Sakino san’s coughing, cold stare, and low tone of voice brought me and Aki back to ourself.
I took my hand off Aki’s shoulder, too, and we took some distance, and Aki had a strange tone.

“So, getting back to the point, the guy harassing Aoi is …….”

“Oh, yeah. Furukawa Minami. That girl seems to be the main culprit.”
“…… That girl!”

Aki mentioned the name of a girl in the same class.
The moment she heard the name, Sakino-san looked as if she were biting a bitter bug.

I’m not particularly close with the girl either, but she’s definitely not my type if I were to judge by looks alone.

She looks like a gal with a tough personality. In a different sense from Ichikawa san, Aki, and the others, she is a person who is positioned in the upper caste of the girls’ group.

Recently, I see her especially with Jinguji and his friends.

At any rate, I decided to ask Sakino san, who seemed to know something about Furukawa san, what kind of person she was.

“Is Sakino-san good friends withb Furukawa san?”
“No, I’m not! She’s such a b***h!”

She got angry. I don’t think they’ re close based on the way she reacted earlier. Yeah, it’s my fault. It’s my fault.

“…..Sorry”
“Ah, no…I’m sorry too. ……”
“Did something happen with Furukawa san?”
“Haa, She was in the same class as Aoi and me in the first grade. In fact, Aoi and her were in the same class in the first grade. Since then, Jinguji kun has been hanging out with us a lot and often got involved with us.
“….I see”
“Yeah. But after a while, Jinguji kun seemed to have said something. She didn’t get involved with me much anymore. ……”

So what’s this all about, and why are you getting involved again?

“This girl named Furukawa went to the same junior high school as Jinguji-kun. She has been in love with him since then and thinks she is the right person to be next to him. And now she is attacking Ichikawa-san again. That’s what I’ve heard from the other girls.”
“……so that’s what is all about.”

Aki answered my question.
According to Aki, Furukawa has a moderately troublesome personality.

women’s jealousy is scary, but …… that’s not a good reason to harass

“By the way, has anything been done to you, Sakino san?”
“No, She has not.”

Hearing that was a bit of a relief.
…… But then why only for Ichikawa san?

“You’re just concerned that Aoi is the only one being targeted, right?”
“Ah”

Sakino san said it as if she could read my mind.
I wonder if I looked that obvious.

“Aoi is a very good friend of mine and I am very happy to see her. Aoi denies it, but Jinguji-kun doesn’t seem to be too upset about it.”

I thought we were a good match too until the other day, Sakino san muttered, barely audible.

“What are you going to do about this Furukawa girl? I can tell her myself.”
“No, I’ll tell her that. I don’t want Aki to get the brunt of it.”
“O-okay…? I-If Youta says so, I’ll go along with it.”
“…….?”
“……..”

Aki turned her face away for some reason. Then, for some reason, Sakino san gave her the jitters again.

“But even if Komiya kun said it, I don’t think that Furukawa would take him seriously.”
“That’s for sure.”

If she would stop doing that, she wouldn’t be sneaking around and harassing her. My influence on my classmates is almost nonexistent.
I don’t care if it’s Jinguji, there’s no way she’d listen to me.

It would be foolish to question them without any evidence, although I would like her to stop harassing Ichikawa san as soon as possible.

It would be a waste of time if it intensified the harassment or made her more wary of us so that we would not find her.

“Hmm….”

I’m trying to think of a better way to do it.

‘Well, why don’t you get Jinguji kun to ask her to do it? He told someone to stop the other day, didn’t he? If it’s in Ichikawa san’s favor, I think it’s a good idea.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the quickest way to do it too.”

Indeed, Aki is right, that may be the easiest way. It’s not that it didn’t occur to me, either. However, I also felt uncomfortable taking advantage of Jinguji’s affection for Ichikawa-san.

…… Well, maybe it’s not for me to say now.

If that will save Ichikawa-san, I will accept any amount of abuse later.

“Well, I’ll talk to Jinguji myself.”
“…….Yeah”

However, Sakino san, who nodded her head, looked somewhat dismayed.

“What’s wrong?”

Oh, you mean you can’t rely on it from me after all?

“No, it’s just something that’s been bugging me.”

I guess not. Good. No, not good.

“Jinguji kun, lately he has been distant to Aoi.”

That being said, it is certainly true that the all-around good-looking Jinguji would have noticed Ichikawa-san’s abnormality immediately.

“I hope my fears are just unfounded.”

Sakino-san says something meaningful. But now I have to rely on him.
Jinguji is a man who is good to everyone. There was no way he would refuse.

So I decided to call Jinguji, explain Ichikawa san’s current situation, and ask him for a favor.

─ ─ But.

“Nope”

The words that came back were so cold.

 

(TL/N : OMG, the drama is still going on….I’m tired…

BTW, with this, we have caught up with the series, so the next chapter I’m afraid…will have to wait..The writer has a random update rate but he/she always updates with a minimum of 1 Chapter per month….

The drama may still go on but….see you on the next one!)