Episode 22 – Cheeky Junior

The next morning, when I was no longer lazy to go to school, I walked through the school gate and saw a student doing the greeting exercise.

The main group was made up of members of the public morals committee, and there were also a few people who appeared to be members of the student council. It seems that the school’s public morals promotion project has begun in earnest.

Ironically, however, less than two-thirds of the students were seriously returning greetings. I’m sure they’re not interested.

“Good morning !”

“…….Good morning.”

I looked down as far as I could and returned the greeting in a voice just barely audible. I know because I’m a member of the public morals committee, I heard that they are measuring the number of people who returned greetings during this greeting campaign. And they are going to use it for future data or something.

(For God’s sake, please let there be a little more of them.)

If they conclude that not enough students do the greetings, then members in other roles could be forced to participate in this exercise all morning. It would be torture for me to leave the house as early as my step sister for this nonsense. I’m the kind of person who wakes up early and spends my mornings slowly. That’s why I’ve never overslept…….haha.

So I walked past, pretending to be unaware, and headed to my classroom. My activity time is after school. I belong to a really troublesome committee.

When I entered the classroom, I saw Yukihana who had already arrived at school. It seems that she’s having a hard time over there as well. She was sitting in her seat, sighing and listening to music, then she spoke to me,

“……Is the contract still alive?”

“Are you giving up already?”

“……That girl is even trying to get me to do things I don’t want.”

Yukihana complains with a sharp tone as usual. It seems that Kisaragi has been making strange requests to Yukihana outside of school duties.

[Could you help me make a problem for the upcoming regular test? I think we can raise the average score in this class if we share it with everyone !]

The prediction of the test questions for the upcoming test hasn’t even been announced yet. And I think there were more than ten subjects…….

“So, did you make it?”

“……Are you stupid?”

Apparently, she couldn’t do it. That’s right, even I can’t predict the questions well enough if I don’t know the prediction. ……Oh, so that’s what it’s all about.

“You want me to make the predictions for you?

“……It was stated that you would support me to the best of your ability.”

“Yeah, that’s what it said.”

If I follow that contract, then surely I’m supposed to do that work on Yukihana’s behalf. But of course the answer is no.

“Well, I can’t.”

“……The reason?”

“I can’t make what I can make if I don’t know the prediction.”

“…..Sigh.”

If I respond to these kinds of invitations with a good argument, the other person is surprisingly receptive.

When I answered that I couldn’t do it, Yukihana visibly became depressed. However, judging from the fact that she didn’t turn down Kisaragi’s proposal, it seems that this girl is not prepared to face Kisaragi. I hope she can control Kisaragi as soon as possible. That way I can intervene.

“…..I’m tired.”

Yukihana read her textbook while saying that. Above all, it seems to be difficult. To tell you the truth, it’s not impossible to make prediction questions. But it’s not that I can’t make them, it’s that I’m afraid of taking a risky bet or being noticed by the teacher in charge of the course.

I might be able to do it if I try hard enough, but I’ve decided to keep my mouth shut because I know that if I say so, she’ll really make me do it.

“Besides, I’m going to be busy with committee meetings from now on……”

Just as I was thinking of making more excuses, Kisaragi and Shichinomiya sensei entered the classroom. Before I knew it, it was time for homeroom.

For the time being, I quickly put my belongings in order and started thinking about after school while looking at Shichinomiya sensei who’s talking sleepily.

※

Well, it was after school. But we didn’t have to do any activities right away; we were supposed to leave some time after homeroom. So I watched Yukihana and Kisaragi leave the classroom and spent some time relaxing.

(Ah, I feel like the room has been purified just by the absence of those two in the classroom.)

I wonder if it’s because I’ve been too deeply involved with those two recently that I feel that way. But it was necessary, so I had no choice at the time. I wonder if I should reduce my involvement with them from now on.

(Well, it’s about time to go…)

I was looking at my phone and in no time at all an hour had passed. Modern devices are amazing. Time flies by so fast.

I lifted my heavy shoulders and went out into the hallway. I put all of my belongings in a locker in one of the classrooms and immediately began to look around the school. I started with the freshman area.

（Ah, I can’t wait to get home.)

It’s already getting late in the evening, and the glaring red sunlight is depressing for me. I used to run around outside even in such strong sunlight.

“Ya…ha….”

(……Oh?)

I think I heard some girl’s voice. It also sounded like it was pretty hectic…..

(……Well, let’s just take a look.)

I approached the direction where the voice came from as I walked quietly. As I moved in that direction, the voice I had just heard became clearer and clearer.

“Like I said, I’m not interested in that kind of thing, so go to someone else !”

“Well, don’t say that. You’re off today, aren’t you?”

“That’s right, I’ve been waiting for you !”

“……Sigh, looks troublesome.”

The two boys are making a pass at one of the female students. Obviously bad guys. I haven’t seen those guys last year, so they’re probably new first-year students.  And the one being courted by those two is……

(Nanase……Natsume)

The girl with blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes in the evening sun is definitely Nanase Natsume. Apparently, she was ambushed by two male students. From the direction of the ambush, she was probably just returning from the staff room.

I’d heard that public morals were in disarray, especially among first-year students, but I didn’t expect it to be this blatant. No wonder my step sister had such a troubled look on her face. Perhaps there were many students like them this year.

（Should I overlook it?)

I don’t want to get involved in any trouble. However, the words that Shinkai said yesterday flashed through my mind.

[If there’s a problem in the school, report it to the teacher immediately. If it’s urgent, you may intervene directly. After that, please be sure to report it to the committee or the student council.]

(……)

Would it be more of a problem if I ignored the situation here and walked away? If this is discovered later, it could become a big problem. If that really happens, the one who will be held accountable will be me, the one who was supposed to patrol around the school……

I see. That’s a situation that must be avoided at all costs.

“Sigh…..”

I put my hands in my pockets without trying to hide my unwillingness. I simulated a lot of problems that could arise from my intervention, but they all seem to be so troublesome that I’m at a loss. For now, let’s just get this over with quickly.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve used this.

I took an object out of my pocket and held it in my hand. Then I vigorously uncorked it and threw it at the feet of the boys. Okay, I haven’t thrown a projectile in a while, but my control skills seem to be working well.

Clang-clang.

After a short pause, a dry sound echoed through the quiet hallway.

“Ah?”

“Oi, what’s this?”

The boys probably didn’t know what it was because it came out of nowhere. What caught their eyes was a round white plastic object. At first glance, it looked unfamiliar, but this was something that every elementary school student had been given by their parents. In other words

beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep ！！！！！！！！！

It’s the first and biggest security toy a child will ever have: a personal alarm. The base and speaker have been modified a little to make the sound louder, and the timing of the sound is slightly delayed in consideration of throwing the alarm. Although I didn’t use it this time, the flash function can be activated by pressing the button while holding it in the hand to blind the user. In addition, the device is equipped with GPS and can be tracked with a smartphone.

It wasn’t a direct attack, but it was effective against those people.

“Hey, hey, what’s this?”

“Tsk, where the hell are you……hey, let’s run anyway !”

The two boys were startled by the sudden rumbling in the hallway and left the scene. The only thing left behind was the personal alarm I’d modified and Nanase Natsume, who was staring at it in disbelief. Well, I can’t just leave like this, can I?

I walked slowly toward Nanase Natsume.

“Are you okay?”

“Eh, ah, yes. I’m fine…..”

After confirming that she’s safe, I pick up the personal alarm and put the plug back to stop the sound. It should have been a little louder. It seems that the base has deteriorated because it has not been used for a long time. I’ll have to refill it when I get back home.

While I was thinking about that, Nanase looked at me closely. It seemed that the tension had finally been lifted.

“Well, thank you for your help. Umm, you’re a senior, right?”

“……I guess so.”

“Fufu, you’re a strange person, Senpai?”

I was evaluated as a strange person even though I helped her. I’ve been getting a lot of bad things done for my favors lately. I’m not sure what she meant by “strange person”. As I sigh and turn to go back the way I came, Nanase stopped me.

“Oh, wait, I’m sorry, I need a minute !”

“……What?”

For some reason, she went around me. Nanase desperately began to explain why that happen.

“Men change their eyes when they look at me…um, you see, Senpai don’t look at me that way, right?”

“…..Aren’t you too self-conscious?”

“Hey, isn’t it terrible !? At least it’s been like that until now !”

Nanase rushed to explain. I don’t feel a gap because her personality and tone were far from what I expected. I thought she was a little more cool and timid. Or rather, even though she has blond hair and blue eyes, what’s with her attitude? There are so many things that don’t suit her.

“Hey, normally you’re supposed to get a thanks from someone you’ve just helped, but Senpai didn’t look like that and just tried to go home. That’s why I told you that you’re a strange person.”

“……Ah.”

I see what you mean.  

It’s true that I’m not interested in the opposite sex, nor do I want to get involved. For Nanase, people like me are rare.

Even so, this girl…

“But you know, Senpai is gloomy and timid, but you saved me. I admired your courage !”

“Don’t you often get told by people that you’re cocky or talk too much?”

“Senpai, what do you think I am !?”

Why am I getting scolded? I mean, I didn’t expect her to change her expression so much. This woman has a lot of emotions. She’s so opposite to Yukihana that I wish Yukihana would learn from her.

“Um, thank you anyway ! I’ll pay you back for this some other time !”

“You can forget about it if you want.”

“I’ll never forget this !”

Nanase ran away from me with a smile on her face. It seemed that I had gotten involved with a troublesome girl on a different level from Kisaragi. The best solution for a girl like that is to keep your distance from hrt and not think about using hrt.

“Hehe, there’s a hero after all !”

（What?)

I thought I heard her muttering something while running, but her voice was too quiet for me to hear. Well, I decided it was none of my business.

(But still…..)

I was convinced by seeing her up close, but her athletic ability is far superior to that of the average high school girl. I feel that she has the physical ability to overpower the boy I from earlier in an instant.

（Why didn’t she try to shake them off?)

She has the power to overwhelm those boys, and she didn’t look scared or intimidated by them. And yet, she didn’t show that power.

（I don’t understand. If you have the power to do something, why don’t you use it?)

Are you resistant to violence? Afraid that because you’re a model, your body will get hurt?

The possibilities are endless. But nothing is born from asking questions for which I don’t know the answers. For now, let’s just go……

[ [……] ]

A male student stares at the end of the hallway. The two bad-looking guys who were hitting on Nanase earlier were looking at me the whole time.

(……What are they going to do, I wonder)

I pretended not to notice them and slowly turned back to my classroom.