I suddenly realized that school was already over.
As I walked home alone, my mind was filled with thoughts of those girls.
(Azusa and her friends are probably on a date with Ryuzaki right now. ...)
It's not just my stepsister Azusa. My childhood friend, Yuzuki, and my best friend, Kirari, all went shopping with Ryuzaki. In addition, they were going to try on swimsuits. ... The thought of Ryuzaki seeing the three of them in their swimsuits was enough to damage my brain.
Well, I'm not in a position to be jealous anymore.
This is probably the resentment of an ugly mob character. I really can't get over the fact that Ryuzaki is able to do things that I couldn't do. I guess that's what they call a 'harem protagonist'.
"I'm home!"
When I came home, I was alone, of course.
My parents are away on vacation, so I'm living with my stepsister, Azusa. Until a while ago, I was always with Azusa. I'm sure we loved each other as a single family, but after meeting ... Ryuzaki, Azusa became obsessed with him and began to despise me.
You can't blame her for that.
It's not unreasonable for high school students in their adolescence to become obsessed with someone they love.
It's my fault.
If I couldn't keep Azusa's heart intact, I shouldn't be so rude as to wish for something else.
Now that I'm free, what should I do?
I had a math assignment to complete, so I headed to my room to get it done.
... I used to study together with my best friend Kirari.
The night before the exam, we were both on the verge of passing, so we stayed up all night studying hard. I'll never forget the feeling of our hands high-fiving after passing the exam.
Well, I don't think I'll ever be able to interact with her again.
"... Oh, I forgot my textbook."
I wondered if it was because I was thinking about something negative.
The bad things come in waves, and to my surprise, my math textbook was not in my bag. I was in trouble. ... The printouts for the assignment were quite difficult, so I couldn't do it without the textbook.
In a situation like this, it would usually be easier to borrow it from my neighbor Yuzuki or my stepsister Azusa, but we haven't been talking much lately, so it was awkward.
It couldn't be helped. It's a bit far, but I'll go to the school to pick it up.
That's what I thought and went outside. I walked to the nearest bus stop and was about to take the bus, when I realized that I had left my wallet at home.
(Forget it. Let's just walk. ...)
I was already tired. I know it would be faster to go home to get my wallet, but I was in the mood to walk, so I decided to walk.
My school, Hakuun Daini High School, is about an hour's walk away. I could have walked there, but by the time I got there, it would be already past 5pm.
(It'll be past 6:00 p.m. when I get home. ...)
What should I eat this evening?
In the past, my childhood friend Yuzuki would come over to my house to make dinner, but that hasn't been the case lately. My stepsister, Azusa, seems to be staying at Ryuzaki's house and treating him to dinner, and I'm eating alone more often than not.
I've been eating alone more and more. Well, I guess I should just eat something. At worst, I wouldn't die even if I didn't eat.
With that in mind, I headed for the classroom. Most of the students were already gone. The only ones who were left were those who were doing club activities.
(I wonder if Azusa and the others are having fun right now. ...)
While thinking about this, I opened the door to the classroom.
I thought there would be no one there, but there was a girl inside ....
(Eh? Shimotsuki …?)
The seat right behind Ryoma Ryuzaki.
There, a white-haired girl was lying face down, breathing in her sleep.
"Nnya... fumuu."
Shiho Shimotsuki is asleep, breathing a cute tune.
I wondered if she was sleeping soundly. She was talking faintly in her sleep.
(What should I do, ...? Should I wake her up?)
For the time being, I will take out the math textbook from my seat.
I was hoping that Shimotsuki would sense my presence and wake up, but she was fast asleep.
I wondered if I should just pretend I hadn't seen anything and go home. From the way Shimotsuki has reacted so far, it seems that she does not like to be woken up. Even when it was her childhood friend Ryuzaki, her reaction to being woken up was not good.
Well, I don't really know what she is thinking because she is always expressionless.
(Well, it doesn't matter if people hate me. I'm a mob character anyway.)
Rather than being hated, I felt guilty about leaving her like this and going home.
If Shimotsuki continues to doze off, and returns home late, and is attacked by a suspicious person,..., I feel unnecessary worry.
This is how cute this Shiho Shimotsuki girl looks.
She has such good looks that even Ryuzaki, who is not in need of a woman, can't help but admire her.
Probably, it would be better to go home while there is still daylight as much as possible.
That's what I thought, so I decided to wake up Shimotsuki, ready to be hated.
"Hey. School is over."
I tried to be low-key at first.
However, Shimotsuki remains asleep.
"Muhehe …"
I wonder if she' s having a very happy dream. She has a lazy smile on her face. I was a little nervous to see her smile, which I don't usually see.
(Damn, I feel kind of bad for looking at her. ...)
I wasn't trying to look at her, but I felt guilty for seeing her sleeping face. I reached out my hand to wake her up quickly, but then I remembered what happened earlier and stopped.
(Come to think of it, Shimotsuki wasn't very good at being touched, was she? ...)
When Ryuzaki tried to pat her head, she didn't like it and brushed his hand away.
I think she's not very good at being touched. Even her childhood friend Ryuzaki was rejected by her, so she must be really bad at it.
Thinking this, I decided to shake the desk lightly.
As I shook it, I called out to her.
"Hey. If you don't get up soon, the sun will set."
This time, I tried to shout a little harder. That was all I could do, and it seemed that I had finally succeeded in reaching Shimotsuki's consciousness.
"... Huh?"
At the same time as her distracted voice leaked out, she slowly looked up.
She was about to drool, but then she must have remembered that she was at school.
"What?"
She hurriedly covered her mouth and looked at me.
Her face was a little ... red, unlike her usual expressionless face.
"Did you ... see that?"
"I'll lend you my ... handkerchief."
I offered her a handkerchief from my pocket, which she hurriedly took and wiped her mouth.
"Oh, thank you ... I showed you something embarrassing."
She looked away, perhaps embarrassed.
As I watched her, I was taken aback.
(This is the first time I've seen Shimotsuki speak more than a few words. ...!)
Apparently, something was wrong with her ..., or rather, she seemed different from usual.
In the past, she was unresponsive and uncommunicative in front of Ryuzaki, but now she seems a little different.
"I'm sorry I woke you up so suddenly. But it's after school. ..."
"What…? ... I'm sorry for having you wake me up."
Shimotsuki bows her head obediently.
The gesture was so unexpected that I was stunned once again.
I didn't expect to be thanked.
"'...? What's up with you? You look surprised."
No, because ... I always thought of you as a quiet girl, but it turns out you're not.
"You have a funny face. You look like my dad, who laughs when he's fed steak in bed. Mom loves him so much that she makes him too much food in the morning, doesn't she? Can't you just put yourself in my place and let me get along with you? ..."
Shiho Shimotsuki is much more talkative than I expected.
That's what was so strange–