Still, I followed Sato
during the break time at the end of fifth period and stepped into the
second-year students' classroom, where the atmosphere was somewhat buoyant.
There are many and many
eyes glancing at me. Naturally, this makes me a little nervous.
However, Sato did not
seem to mind the glances and stepped into the classroom and shouted without
hesitation.
「Chii~su!
Shiratori-senpai? Takasago-senpai!」
Apparently, she called
out to the two people sitting in the front row and the one behind her.
The one in front row
was lying on her desk and did not look up, and the one behind her was squinting
her eyes grimly.
**a
（Ugh... her eyes look so
bad...）
I can't comment on
others, but it can't be helped because her eyes are so bad.
I wonder how Sato can
talk to such a scary looking senpai.
After all, that
Senpai's atmosphere was such that she might have killed two or three people.
Still, Sato walked up
to the senpai who had a bad look in her eyes and talked to her without any sign
of fear at all.
「Senpai, I see you guys
are sitting close to each other」
「Hmm? Yeah, Takasago and
I are automatically assigned to the same set during seat changes. I am treated
like her guardian」
The one sleeping in the
front seat seems to be Takasago-senpai.
（Takasago... Takasago...
it sounds familiar...）
I remember that the
boys in my class were making a fuss about Takasago-senpai, saying it's so cute
and adorable.
One of them tried to
confess his feelings for her, but the conversation didn't go anywhere...
「So? Who's that girl in
the back... with the bad eyes?」
（Hey, I don't want to be
told by you!?）
The senpai who was
called Shiratori asked me in a casual manner, and Sato glanced at me.
「Umm, this girl... Manko
is playing herself...」
At this moment, all the
boys around us looked shocked and turned their gazes toward me.
「Please don't tell me
about your habits all of a sudden...」
Sato was perplexed, but
really? She had said, "I'm playing myself", which should have said,
"I'm in the same middle school with her". This is the worst
introduction.
Of course, I rushes to
interject.
「I'm Mangi, a first-year
student. Sato and I went to the same middle school...」
Immediately, a somewhat
relieved atmosphere began to prevail around us.
Really, it was a
shameful situation.
However, as if she did
not notice such a situation, Sato continued the conversation.
「So, this guy, she seems
to be interested in Kijima-senpai, a senpai in the third year, aren't you guys
good friends? You guys seemed to get along well with each other at the
hamburger restaurant and so on...」
「I'm not close. But that
girl over there is the one who is close to him」
Shiratori-senpai points
at Takasago-senpai with her chin.
「Hey, Takasago... Aren't
you good friends with Kan... Kijima-senpai?」
As Shiratori-senpai
says this, Takasago-senpai starts to move. She does not raise herself up, but
turns her head toward us with her cheek resting on the desk.
Indeed, Takasago-senpai
has a very pretty face, as the boys in the class are making a fuss over her.
She turned her sleepy
eyes toward me.
「...He raised me」
「Yes, it is like that」
Shiratori-senpai
giggles and shrugs her shoulders.
Sato tilted her head
this time.
「Umm? Didn't you say
that you have a relationship between a keeper and a rare animal?」
「...I was raised」
（What kind of
relationship? I have no idea...）
I'm at a loss for words
when Shiratori-senpai asked me a question.
「So, what do you want
with that man?」
「Uh... umm... I've been
admiring him for a little while now, and I was wondering if we could get to
know each other...」
Shiratori-senpai's eyes
narrow slightly.
「Know each other,
huh...? That's why you're relying on Sato, who you're not even close to. There
must be a more serious reason」
I can't help but twitch
my cheeks at the condescending tone of her voice.
「And she would never
introduce someone she knows well as Manko. Is that mean you only have such a connection with her?
I mean, if you have a spare time during lunch break, why would you go out of
your way to visit a new acquaintance during the break time at the end of 5th
period, relying on such a thin connection? That is something a person in dire
straits would do」
Huh? it's not like she
sees right through me, but she really sees right through me.
「You seem interested in
boxing, so if you want to attack Kijima-senpai, I won't stop you, but I
honestly don't recommend you to do so」
This made my eyes
widen.
**b
「W-Wait a minute, how do
you know I do boxing?」
「Hmm? you are hooked on
such a boring thing. Ever since you came here, you've touched the top of your
nose with your left thumbnail several times. Not all boxers have that habit,
but few non-boxers have it. I've heard people say that they do it so that they
don't forget to guard themselves during a fight」
「Eh... W-well, it
depends on the gym... but my father runs a gym...」
I involuntarily looked
at Sato as if seeking for help.
But she gave me a smug
look for some reason.
（Why are you so proud of
yourself!?）
「So, are you going to
attack him?」
「No, I'm not going to
attack him. I said I'd like to get to know him better!」
I yelled at Sato, and
Shiratori-senpai opened her mouth again.
「I don't see that you
are aggressive in love. Rather, I would say that you are rather modest. Your
choice of the word "I'd like to get to know him better" is just
wrong. I can't imagine a situation where such a person would try to contact a
man in a desperate situation. Can you tell me why?」
「...」
This is something that
I must keep quiet about because the devil.
However, to my horror,
there is no clear indication of what to say and how much to say.
"Sasaki-san"
says that it's possible to physically prevent us from "saying
anything", but it would be joke if I accidentally slip up and it's game
over.
Really, it would be
beyond bad taste.
And now, I thought I
could use her as a messenger, but this Shiratori is too sharp. Maybe I should
not get involved any further.
「...So, you can't
introduce him, then, it's fine」
When I tried to end the
conversation, Shiratori-senpai blurted out
「Devil――」
A chill runs down my
spine and I involuntarily open my eyes.
「――You have teeth like that, don't you?」
Just a snide comment?
No, no. Clearly, she was watching my reaction. Since these two are close to
Saint Fumio Kijima, they might be his friends, too.
（Does it mean that they
are being cautious of me?）
When I was puzzled and
did not know what to do, Shiratori-senpai asked Sato.
「Is she a member of the
basketball club?」
「That's right」
Then, Shiratori-senpai
made a face as if she was stunned for some reason.
「Haa~... I see. Then,
come back and visit me after school. First of all, I'll make you become a girl
that Kijima-senpai is a little bit interested in」
* *
*
At midnight, Eri came
to pick me up and brought me to the same room as yesterday.
The number of chairs is
the same as yesterday. However, the seat where the short-cut sister (onee-san) was once sitting is empty.
The seat is empty, but
Inui in a maid's uniform is standing behind it as before.
For some reason, she
has dyed her hair pink, which I didn't notice last time because I didn't have
enough time to notice.
By the way, Eri is
standing behind me, Kishijo behind Sakon, and Saito behind Kayama.
Although I followed
Shiratori-senpai's instruction after school, I didn't have any contact with
Kijima-senpai, and the day ended as it was.
（What was that? Even
though I skipped club activities. Isn't it the worst...? It's confirmed that I
will be penalized...）
I peeked at Sakon's
face and saw the same expression as usual. Her calm and composed mood annoys me
a little.
While I was thinking
about that, suddenly I heard a white noise on the monitor near the wall.
As usual, a pack of
sasami is shown on the monitor, but the sticker on it says "For
Sale".
**c
『...Hi, this is Sasaki』
The voice coming from
the speaker also sounded somewhat depressed.
（Well, it's kind of
sad...）
『Everyone... thank you
very much for your hard work. I'm sorry that a leftover like me is facilitating
the event in such a high-handed manner』
（Why are you being so
humble!?）
『Also, please don't take
items from the back shelf just because they have a long expiration date』
（Please be serious!!）
Cough! Saito cleared her throat behind Kayama, and Sasaki-san let out a sigh
then opened its mouth (?).
『I am not qualified to
lecture you all in such a high-handed manner, so I'd like to get on with it.
After one day today, I would like to measure the degree of intimacy between the
saint Fumio Kijima and each of you. I will display your own graphs in front of
you, so please take a look at them first』
Then, a pie chart
appears in front of me, painted in red and blue. Blue is probably the density
of intimacy.
（Twenty percent? ...I
don't understand. I think it could be zero, since I haven't made contact with
him yet...）
I glance next to me and
see Sakon looking somewhat dissatisfied.
Perhaps there is a
graph displayed in front of her, but I couldn't see it.
『Then, I will announce
today's tentative rankings』
The rankings are
displayed on the monitor.
『First place, Mangi.
Second place, Kayama. Third place, Sakon』
「No way...」
Sakon muttered in a
daze.
I don't know what's
going on, but it seems that I escaped the penalty.
Really, I don't know
what happened at all.
NEW SERIES!!!
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