"Oh,uh... I've just got this one zit that's been bothering me."
"Uh-huh..."
They eyed him with suspicion as they sat down at their desks, but Masachika pretended not to notice and pulled out his smartphone to text his sister.
> Sister dearest, I'm in trouble
She must have been in the car on her way to school, as the message was immediately marked as read and she quickly sent a reply.
> What is it, my dear brother?
> Don't freak out, but...
> Gulp
The next message he received was a sticker of an anime character trembling with fear, which only heaped on more pressure. Masachika's expression contorted with extreme regret as he typed his reply.
> I...might have a foot fetish
> I beg your pardon?! I thought you were a boobs man!
> I was, dammit! I had no idea I was into feet!
> Hmph... It's about time you recognized how amazing legs are...
>Yeah...
> Legs are mad underrated. Thick thighs save lives, but muscular antelope legs are hard to pass up, too
> You are indeed wise, my dear sister
> By the way, brother dearest...
>Yeah?
> Did you seriously message me just to tell me about your filthy new fetish? WTF
>Sorry
Masachika's face fell. It felt as if his sister had just dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on him. He put away his smartphone and placed his head down on his desk.
"What am I gonna do now?"
Even Masachika realized he had gone too far. He thought he should probably go apologize, but he knew how prideful Alisa was; a reckless apology would make things worse. "Eh. Guess I'll just think about what to do when she gets back."
Alisa wasn't a child, after all, so he figured she'd be back to her normal self once she cooled off for a bit.
That wasn't what happened, though.
"Anyway, that's all for homeroom today. Oh, don't get up and bow.I have to go," hastily mumbled the homeroom teacher before promptly leaving the classroom.
Morning homeroom ended surprisingly early today. There were still five minutes left until first period. Even so, the first-year students in Class B did not stand from their chairs as they began to whisper something to one another. There was only one reason behind the homeroom teacher's early departure and the nervous energy that filled the room. It was because Princess Alya wasn't wearing her usual blank expression but was instead resting her chin on her hand with an elbow on her desk. She was clearly in a foul mood.
"H-hey...What's up with her?"
"I heard something happened between her and Kuze, but that's all I know."
"Makes sense. He's the only reason she'd be in a bad mood. What exactly did he do,though?"
"I heard Princess Alya screaming earlier."
"Seriously? What was she screaming about?"
"Beats me. It was all in Russian."
As speculation of all kinds spread like wildfire, Takeshi stealthily got out of his seat, crouched low, and made his way over to Masachika's side.
"Psst.H-hey."
"What do you want?" Masachika whispered back so that he didn't stand out.
"Two questions. Did you really piss Alya off? And did she really do an enzuigiri on you?"
"What the hell?!"
Alisa instantly shot him a piercing gaze, and he flinched. An enzuigiri was an attack where you jump-kicked the back of your opponent's head. Not even the worst children would try to mimic this wrestling move.
"Alya would never do something so dangerous."
"Y-yeah,I figured." "All she did was somersault-kick me on the chin."
"That's still pretty messed up, dude."
Takeshi laughed bitterly, thinking it was a joke.
It's closer to the truth than you realize, Masachika thought with an ambiguous smirk.
"So? What happened to Princess Alya that made her so upset?"
"Uh..."
"Come on, I know you did something. Just fess up."
"Well... I guess you could say it was my fault?"
Honestly, it was his fault. He did something he shouldn't have. But if he admitted he touched her bare feet and ended up seeing her panties, he would be instantly put on school trial, where they would unanimously vote to execute him.Therefore,Masachika evasively dodged Takeshi's questions while racking his brain for ways to fix things with Alisa.
"Uh...Alya?"
He decided to apologize for starters. Masachika pivoted to his neighbor,Alisa, who was resting her chin on her hand and staring out the window. She turned only her eyes in his direction as she sharply replied:
"What do you want, Kuze?
There were plenty of things he wanted to say about this new Russian title that had been bestowed upon him, but he couldn't say a thing, since he was still pretending he didn't understand the language. Then again, maybe it was for the best that he didn't tell her that wasn't possible because he was a "boobs man."The stock Alisa had in him would plummet, and every girl in class would be rushing to dump their Masachika stock as well.
But the more I think about it, the more I feel like I didn't do anything wrong.
Alisa's cold behavior toward Masachika slowly led him to think this way. It was Alisa herself who'd ordered him to touch her feet, and it was Alisa who'd gotten embarrassed and kicked him. Being shown her underwear was beyond his control, and while he probably shouldn't have told her what color they were as if they were his final words, he had simply been trying to show that he wasn't angry that she had resorted to violence. So Masachika was a little unhappy that he ended up looking like the bad guy. Be that as it may,he understood that men were usually the ones in a vulnerable position in situations like this, so he decided to apologize and keep the other thoughts to himself.
"I'm, uh... I'm sorry...about what happened and all that."
"...Hmm? Don't be. I'm partly to blame. Plus, I'm not mad anymore anyway."
Then why are you in a bad mood? Masachika wondered, perfectly in sync with his classmates, who collectively thought, Yeah, that's a big fat lie. It actually wasn't a lie, though. Alisa was genuinely not angry anymore. What she felt right now was the embarrassment of having her leg touched and underwear exposed. Furthermore, she was embarrassed at herself for asking him to help her put on her socks, even though his reaction was priceless. There were many other small things she was feeling embarrassed about, such as screaming like a child,for example. She just wanted to crawl under a rock, build a little soundproof room, and scream. She was merely putting on a facade to make it look like she was in a bad mood so her true feelings wouldn't escape her heart. Unfortunately,Masachika was far too inexperienced to understand the complex nature of a young lady such as her and was clueless. The bell eventually rang, and their teacher for first period came walking into the room.
"All right, kids. Let's get this class started. Let's see who's on duty today...Ah,Kuj-...Kuze.Go ahead. Get us started."
After checking the name on the blackboard, the math teacher took one glance at Alisa and immediately pointed toward Masachika without missing a beat.
I know exactly how he feels.
Every student in class-except one-shared the sentiment.
"...Everybody, stand at attention. Bow.Good morning."
"""Good morning."""
Naturally, the tense atmosphere in the classroom continued after the awkward morning greeting. As expected, the sandman came to pay Masachika a visit, since he had woken up extra early that day, but not even he was brave enough to nap in an environment like this. Still, that didn't mean he was going to be able to pay attention in class, so he spent the entire time thinking of a way to improve the princess's mood.
"All right, then. I'd like to end class there if there aren't any questions...Kuze, wrap things up."
"Everybody, stand at attention. Bow. Thank you very much."
"""Thank you very much."""
The math teacher left the room without looking in Alisa's direction even once.Masachika exited the room right after, then hurried straight for the vending machine by the emergency exit. After getting what he needed, he rushed back to the classroom and reverently presented it to Alisa.
"Princess, please accept this offering in exchange for your forgiveness for what transpired earlier today."
In his hands was a can of sweet red-bean soup with mochi...which had been number one in the drinks nobody asked for ranking for the past fourteen years at Seiren Academy. It was essentially extremely sweet liquid bean paste that would always leave you ridiculously thirsty.
Red-bean soup?!
Everyone in the classroom stared at Masachika like he had absolutely lost his mind and was trying to start a fight with the princess, but he knew...she drank this bizarre form of liquid diabetes from time to time.
"...Didn't I just tell you I wasn't angry?"
"Heh.I know. I'm simply apologizing out of respect."
"...Fine. I'll take it."
"It is an honor."
After he handed her the can, she pushed the pull tab in and downed it in one go. Everyone in the classroom shuddered.
"Thanks."
"Ah, allow me to dispose of that can for you."
"I can throw away my own garbage."
"I cannot have you trouble yourself with such a task, my princess."
"Can you stop talking like that?"
"A'ight."
Her tone was still prickly, but Masachika could tell she was in a slightly better mood,so he returned to his seat feeling nothing but relief...when he came to a sudden realization.
Oh,crap...I don't have my textbook for the next class.
Usually, he would turn to Alisa for help during a moment like this,but asking her to share her textbook could very likely put her in a bad mood all over again. And if that happened, he wouldn't be able to handle his classmates'disapproving glares.
Great...
Masachika was rifling through his desk and bag when Alisa shot him a suspicious glance. He immediately looked away to avoid her gaze and asked the girl sitting on the other side of him, "Sorry, but do you think I could look at your textbook with you?"
"Huh?Oh...Sure." She must have read the situation, because she smiled and sweetly nodded back at him. Masachika then scooted his desk next to hers while thanking her before letting out a deep sigh of relief.
"
The air suddenly got colder with the sound of that Russian whisper.
The heck was I supposed to do...?
But his lamentations were in vain; the classroom remained tense for the rest of the day.