A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - Chapter 24.2: Shika's True Face

Chapter 24.2: Shika’s True Face

In the classroom she always came across as aloof and like an untouchable flower, and when I met her in my previous life she seemed like a refined young lady detached from the world… but right now, she was full-on otaku mode.

“…Ah, awawa… I…”

Eventually she seemed to realize how much she had been talking about herself, and her face turned bright red like a boiled octopus.

She looked embarrassed about getting so carried away.

“From the way you’re acting, you don’t want people to find out you’re a gamer, so you avoid making friends at school…?”

She looked blank for a second, then nodded quickly up and down. For a moment, a shadow flickered across her face.

Which one was it? Well, probably that.

When the atmosphere was this different from the classroom, this version of her felt like the real one.

If anything, she seemed closer to an ordinary person’s way of thinking.

“I mean, you’ve known who I was since enrollment, right? You could’ve just talked to me.”

“O-of course, Chairman Yashima told me his grandson would be entering as the top student… so I recognized you right away…………but, um, that’s—”

“Ah… no, you don’t have to say it. It’s because of the rumors going around the classroom, right?”

This time she nodded firmly.

Ever since enrollment, rumors doubting my relationship with Sasa had spread like wildfire.

The credibility of stories like her clinging to me only grew because people already saw us as close.

“Actually, I kept it hidden from everyone… but I met Sasa and Ousei last year at this social thing called the October meeting. So we were already acquaintances before school started… that’s why we’re especially close.”

If Grandpa’s connection to her was personal, then naturally Shika wouldn’t know the real reason I was close to Sasa.

That’s why I decided to tell her myself. Since it was already known that I’m part of the Yashima family line, there was no need to hide it anymore.

“S-so that’s how it was. But why keep it hidden—”

“I’m not really the Yashima heir or anything. I’m kind of representing the common people… and it was more convenient for a lot of reasons if I didn’t say anything.”

I decided to be completely honest.

From her reaction, she seemed to know about the October meeting.

I was curious why she hadn’t participated, but that didn’t seem like something to ask right now.

“I see… It all makes sense now. I misunderstood so many things…”

“Misunderstood…?”

“N-no… it’s nothing! It’s not a big deal, so please don’t worry about it!”

Suddenly she started waving her hands around wildly in rejection, acting suspiciously.

Well, if she said it wasn’t a big deal… then it probably wasn’t.

Still, the fact that Shika already knew who I was… it felt like showing Grandpa my worth had actually paid off.

Tomorrow I suddenly had a lot of things I wanted to ask him, but since it seemed he was just keeping his promise with Shika, I decided not to press him too hard.

“By the way… this is kind of late to say, but your vibe is really different from the classroom.”

“…Um, yes. The real me is like this… ehehe.”

“How should I put it… in class you seem really cool, right?”

“C-cool…? Is that what I seem like!? …That was just me copying someone I know to act more confident—”

Her words came out flustered, but her expression looked somehow lonely, as if she was remembering something distant.

Was it… something like the admiration Sanaka Tenon felt toward Juri Omi?

I didn’t know who this “someone she knew” was, but it was definitely an important side of her that I couldn’t overlook.

“You don’t have to put yourself down like that. At least for me, this side of you is way easier to talk to.”

In the classroom she always carried an unapproachable aura, so that made sense.

“…This person might…”

Her voice was so soft it was almost drowned out by the rain… I thought I heard her murmur something.

She seemed to hesitate, struggle with her words, swallow them once… and then finally, on the second try, she gave me her answer.

“…Would you… maybe play against me sometimes?”

“…!! Of course.”

Maybe she was asking for a relationship that would only continue through games from now on.

I wasn’t sure of Shika’s true intentions, but I decided to meet her halfway.

This reunion that only I knew about felt almost like a blessing… right then, the rain finally stopped.

On the way back afterward, since we were both in disguise, we were able to walk together all the way to the school grounds. We only talked about small, casual things, but that alone was one of the modest dreams I could never achieve in my first life.

Today… I might have some good dreams.

—That faint hope was betrayed just a few minutes later.

Right before entering the dorm, someone clearly waiting for me stood there.

Facing Sasa who had been waiting, I realized I had made a huge mistake.

Yes… I had completely forgotten that I promised her I would buy the next volume of the light novel.

“To toy with a maiden’s pure feelings… You have to take responsibility! Uwaaaaan…!”

I caught a glimpse of eye drops in her pocket, so I knew she was faking the crying.

But this time the fault was entirely mine, so I decided to play along with the farce until she was satisfied.

…Getting my cheek slapped with the stack of bills she had on hand as “payment” was an experience I hadn’t had since my first year working in my previous life when my boss did it.