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 29: Popularity Ranking

Chapter 29: Popularity Ranking

I made Sasa promise to always contact me before coming to my room from now on, and after sleeping soundly that night, the next day at lunch break arrived.

“Taiki. You’ve gotta lend me your face today, man.”

“I’ve got a ton of things I wanna ask you.”

Aoyagi, Tano, and Yūki surrounded me like they weren’t going to let me escape.

Just because I spent yesterday’s lunch alone, they’d ended up doing the same… but what the heck was this about?

Up until now, they’d never directly asked me about the rumors with Sasa, so I really had no idea what was going on.

Apparently this wasn’t something they could talk about in the classroom, because they led me to a private room in the cafeteria.

Since their attitude didn’t seem hostile at all, I followed along obediently—but…

“…I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

“Don’t say that. You’re a guy too, Kashiwado. There’s gotta be someone you’re curious about, right?”

“I have no idea what Tano is even talking about.”

“Don’t act so guarded. I’ll just ask straight up—who do you think is the most popular girl in our class?”

Tano’s question came right out of the gate… I wasn’t trying to act guarded, but I decided to ignore that for now.

Yeah, this definitely wasn’t something you could discuss in the classroom.

Girls are super sensitive about topics like this, and apparently they hear about it surprisingly often.

With most of the class being girls, talking about it openly would be dangerous.

“…You mean the girl you think is the cutest, right?”

“Exactly. We’re trying to get the overall opinion of all the guys.”

“Overall opinion? There are only six guys in the class, though.”

It’s the kind of dumb thing you’d expect from high school boys, but does a survey with such a tiny sample size even mean anything?

Statistically, it doesn’t hold up at all.

…I should’ve realized the moment Aoyagi looked so excited.

“Aoyagi… I thought you were fine with anyone as long as they’re popular with girls…?”

“Hey! That’s way too rude, man! Even I’m looking for my destined partner, you know.”

This guy actually says surprisingly girly things.

I’d figured his head was only full of losing his virginity and that any girl would do.

“So? You’re trying to make a girls’ popularity ranking… What’s the point?”

“Don’t be so suspicious! It’s just an indicator, okay? An indicator! When someone confesses to you, you’d wanna have some trouble deciding, right?”

Wow… this was some seriously vulgar talk.

Or rather, “have trouble deciding”… meaning he wants to be confessed to by multiple girls and then agonize over who to choose?

It’s not even leaving the realm of fantasy… this guy is such a dreamer.

Well, I’m not so cold that I’d actually say that out loud.

“Please, man! I’m begging you! Your answer is super ultra important!”

Then Tano took Aoyagi’s place, planted both hands on the table, and bowed his head to me.

How serious is this guy…? Could this actually be normal for high school boys!?

Maybe I’d been misunderstanding all along.

“Fine, fine… I’ll vote.”

“Seriously!? That’s my friend!”

…Is friendship really supposed to form over something like this…?

Whatever. To be honest… I was a tiny bit interested.

Something I couldn’t do in my previous high school life… It really feels like youth.

I guess I’m pretty much a typical high school boy too.

“By the way, am I the last one? Did you already get Chidō’s vote?”

“Yeah. He answered right away.”

Chidō is the last guy in our class I still haven’t gotten close to.

The one time I mustered up the courage to talk to him before, he said our vibes didn’t match.

So he’s actually super into this kind of talk… I misjudged you, Chidō.

“So… why is my vote so important?”

When I asked back, Aoyagi let out a groan.

I mean, with this much attention on just me, it’s painfully obvious they’re hiding something.

Then, instead of him, Tano pushed his glasses up with one finger and started explaining.

“Simple. Right now the votes are split two-two-one.”

“So you’re saying my vote will settle it.”

If that’s the case, I wish they’d asked me sooner.

I don’t really want to take on this kind of responsibility, but oh well.

“Just for reference, what’s the current breakdown?”

“Kanaka Sasa has two votes, Kagurazaka Tsukimi has two votes, and Mishina Amane has one.”

Why isn’t Shika’s name there…!?

“Sasa— I mean, I know I’m saying this myself, but the rumors don’t affect her popularity at all?”

“The ones who voted for her were Ousei and Chidō.”

I see. Even Tano found that unexpected.

Ousei’s vote is definitely a family vote. But Chidō…? It’s not like he hates me because I’m close with Sasa, right? I want to believe that’s not it.

“What did Chidō say?”

“He said, ‘She has the refined facial features and elegant manners you’d expect from a girl of good family. Plus she smiles at everyone—she’s gotta be number one in popularity,’ and he said it all in one breath.”

“O-okay.”

That image of Chidō is completely different from what I thought.

The passion is straight-up fanboy level… So that’s the kind of guy he is.

Well, objectively speaking, it makes sense that Sasa is popular.

From the girls’ perspective, her treatment is still up in the air because of the faction stuff, but in terms of family background, she’s one of the top two.

So how did that turn into her kidnapping people in the previous life?

Hmm. Total mystery.

“Kagurazaka Tsukimi got votes from Kotetsu and Seiya.”

Aoyagi and Yūki, huh. That was kind of an unexpected pick for them.

“Kagurazaka is from the general admission track, but that’s fine?”

“Idiot! Thanks to you, we stopped with that kind of prejudice.”

Yūki said it with a shy look.

…I never thought I’d get praised in a way that made me feel this un-happy.

Still, I’d thought I still had some distance with Yūki and Tano compared to Aoyagi, so it doesn’t feel bad.

“Not gonna lie, it feels kinda nice to hear that… So that’s your type?”

“She’s cute but has this gal-like personality… That’s what does it for me, man.”

“…Got it.”

I meet Tsukimi every day after school at the sweets shop, but I’d never looked at her that way.

Now that he mentions it, her popularity makes sense.

“You’re close with both of them, right, Kashiwado? So your vote can really settle this properly.”

“Yeah… By the way, the last vote… Tano, you’re the one who voted for Mishina, right?”

“Good question. Most people might not notice, but she’s a rough diamond. Only someone like me would spot it!”

Looks like Tano has better taste than I thought.

Mishina isn’t the type who stands out, and at first glance people tend to think she’s plain.

While we’re at it, I got curious about how the other girls ranked too.

“Speaking of which, what about Kano? She’s probably the smartest in the class and seems like she’d be popular.”

It might be a little crude to talk about this behind her back, but this kind of typical high school boy conversation made me feel that sweet taste of youth I’d always longed for.

“Nah… Well, her face is cute and all, but… you know, there’s stuff…”

“Childish?”

“Guys want a girl with big bouncy boobs, man.”

…Tano, you’re not saying Mishina is a rough diamond just because she has big boobs, right?

The respect I’d just started feeling for Tano’s judgment was now completely clouded over.

“If Kano ever hears you say that, she’ll kill you. You’d better keep that one buried forever.”

She’s actually pretty sensitive about her small build.

Even someone as calm and composed as the future savior would probably snap if pushed too far.

“So? Have you decided who to vote for?”

“…Before I vote, what about Nanamiya Shika? Sasa already has two votes… Her name should’ve come up at least a little, right?”

“Nanamiya-san? Isn’t she more like an untouchable flower? When it comes to approachability, I think Kanaka-san wins hands down.”

It’s good to hear that guys aren’t swarming around Shika, because that would be inconvenient for me too.

Yeah, that should be a relief… but for some reason my chest feels all murky.

I guess deep down, you really do want the girl you had a crush on to be popular.

“I’ve decided. My vote goes to Nanamiya Shika.”

“No way—! So in the end the votes are still split—!”

They’d clearly been hoping I’d pick Sasa or Tsukimi, but in the end I stuck to my guns.

I don’t want Shika to actually become popular, but I feel proud that I was able to cast my vote.

Well… she’s not even my girlfriend, so what am I getting so serious about?

“Hey, Kashiwado… Mind if I ask why, just for the record?”

“Because if she doesn’t even make the top three, honestly, I’d have to question your taste.”

“…Whoa, that’s brutally harsh.”

Without holding back, I cast my serious, rock-solid vote.

“Taiki, you actually say stuff like that, huh. I thought you were too serious for this kind of thing.”

“I figured you’d pick someone safe to avoid getting dragged into the number-one fight, but you went full serious mode.”

Somehow, after showing off my skills against Aoyagi that one time, I feel like the distance between us has closed… or is it just my imagination?

For a moment, it felt like I’d completely reclaimed the childish honesty I’d long forgotten.

Every once in a while, being straightforward and sticking to what I believe in isn’t so bad.