The Red-Haired Beautiful Girl Was Behind Me

I was startled. Terrified out of my mind.

All my cells and nerves had been focused entirely on Kaede, so every other part of me was completely off guard. That’s why I hadn’t noticed the girl approaching from behind.

I turned around slowly, trepidation in every movement.

Ah, this girl…! I had met her once before and chatted a little. She was the one with red hair in a half-up style.

Oh no… this was bad. A guy peeking into the girls’ school’s gymnasium was a total pervert and deviant.

I figured Kaede had told the students I worked here, but that didn’t mean every single one knew.

If this girl didn’t know who I was, I was just some pervert who needed reporting. Even if she did know me, what I had been doing was still perverted.

“Uh, no… it’s not what it looks like…!”

It was exactly what it looked like. Peeking into the gymnasium and getting lost in gazing at Kaede was an undeniable fact. With no way to talk my way out of it, I flailed in panic.

The red-haired girl watched me and giggled softly.

“Hee hee hee, well, I can kind of understand the sentiment.”

“Huh?”

“PE class with all those fresh high school girls—even I, as a fellow girl, get a little tempted to peek. For a guy, it must be even more irresistible.”

“Uh? Oh, yeah, haha…”

Was she actually being understanding about my perverted behavior? This girl seemed like a really nice person.

I got caught, but at least she was sweet and that saved me…

“Sorry, the door was open, so I just… I won’t do any more peeking. Really, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not like a quick look at the class is a big deal, right? I’d never forgive peeking into the girls’ locker room or taking sneaky photos, though.”

“I wouldn’t! I’d never do anything like that!!”

She gave me a slightly cold look, so I waved my hands frantically to deny it.

Being in a girls’ school full of cute girls made it easy to fantasize about the locker rooms and such, but please forgive me for just fantasizing.

“Anyway, putting that aside—you’re the school staff member that Student Council President Nakajo brought along, right? That’s the gist of it?”

“Uh, yeah… pretty much.”

To be precise, I wasn’t anything as grand as school staff; I was just the errand boy. Undoubtedly the lowest rung in this place.

“The whole school is buzzing about Student Council President Nakajo bringing a guy here.”

“Ha, haha…”

“And that’s got me really curious about something.”

“W-What…?”

“Could it be that you’re…

Student Council President Nakajo’s boyfriend?”

“!?!”

B-Boyfriend!?

Me!? Kaede’s boyfriend!? Wait, that’s how people saw it!?

“N-No! That’s not it!”

“It’s not? Then what exactly is your relationship with Student Council President Nakajo?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

“I figured calling a guy to school on purpose meant you two had a pretty deep connection.”

“Urgh…”

…I couldn’t say it. There was no way I could.

No way could I say I was Kaede’s pet!

An adult man being a high school girl’s pet would make anyone think he was a total pervert. And we were living together, too. It absolutely couldn’t get out to the students. If it did, I’d lose my job here.

So what should I say…? I couldn’t afford to mess this up… I groaned in thought.

“…I’m… Kaede’s… f-friend.”

Well, it wasn’t a lie. We used to play together a lot ten years ago.

“Huh, really? Student Council President Nakajo has a male friend… If you’d said boyfriend, I would’ve been floored, but even as a friend, that’s surprising enough.”

“Is it that shocking?”

“I mean, we’ve never heard any rumors about her dating guys.

Student Council President Nakajo is beautiful, brilliant, and the daughter of a company president. She’s the idol of all the girls here. Naturally, guys keep proposing marriage to her nonstop.

But Student Council President Nakajo never entertained any men. No matter how many confessions she got, she turned them down without a hint of hesitation. Pretty much every student here knows that famous story.”

Kaede had kept turning down men’s proposals…

Kaede had liked me all this time, ever since ten years ago. She had been rejecting them… for my sake…?

Oh man, my heart was pounding all weird again. Was this what they meant by a flutter?

“…Um.”

“Hm?”

“You’re in love with Student Council President Nakajo, aren’t you?”

“!?!”

It felt like a direct hit to my heart. I still didn’t know anything about this girl—how could she see right through my feelings!?

“You were peeking at the PE class until just now, but you were staring almost entirely at Student Council President Nakajo.”

…She was spot on. I hadn’t noticed this girl at all, but apparently, to anyone else, it was obvious how entranced I was with Kaede.

“The way you looked at Student Council President Nakajo—your eyes were full of hearts.”

“Huh!? No way…”

“No, they were totally hearts. You were all gooey and smitten.”

Like some manga? Wait, even modern manga doesn’t do the heart-eyes thing much anymore…

…Were my eyes really hearts? Was I that obvious to bystanders…?

…Wait a second. We’d been chatting so casually. The topic was Kaede, so I got caught up in it without thinking.

Who was this girl? What was she all about?

“…Um, by the way, who are… you…?”

To steer away from the embarrassing heart-eyes topic, I forcefully changed the subject.

“Oh, me? I’m Noda Tsubaki from Class 3-H at Hoshimitsuin Academy.”

A third-year. Since Kaede was second-year, that made her Kaede’s senior.

“Noda, huh… I’m Yasumura Ryoma.”

“Yasumura, got it. I’ll remember.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Nah, you’re the only guy working at this school, so I’ll probably never forget.”

“…Seriously, am I the only man here?”

“Yep. You’re the first guy in Hoshimitsuin Academy’s history.

It’s been an all-girls school since it opened—no boys allowed. You got in because Student Council President Nakajo pushed hard for it. A total exception among exceptions.”

Whoa… Kaede really brought me to an unbelievable place. I said I needed work, but there were plenty of other options.

“Hey, isn’t it class time right now? What were you doing here, Noda?”

“Class was a drag, so I faked being sick and ditched.”

Whoa, she seemed like such a good girl, but she was actually kind of a delinquent. I’d heard this was a prestigious ladies’ academy, so I didn’t expect a troublemaker type like her.

“Is ditching class okay?”

“I can ace tests without even attending, no problem.”

Man, that’s a line I’d love to say once. Total elite. I couldn’t relate. Elites were scary.

“Anyway, forget about me. What I’m more interested in is you—the school’s one and only guy.”

“…Huh…”

Noda looked me straight in the eye and smiled with a soft chuckle. My heart skipped a beat again.

“Here, take my card for now.”

“Huh? Oh, thanks…?”

She handed me her business card, and my old office-worker habits kicked in—I took it smoothly.

“Alright, I’ll head back to class. See you.”

“Yeah…”

Noda waved as she walked away. Even her departing figure was that of an unbelievable beauty…

I looked at the card she’d given me.

! Noda Group!?

The Noda Group—that massive corporation on par with the Nakajo Group!?

She really was from an amazing family… I couldn’t stop shivering.

“Ryoma…?”

“—!!!!!!”

I jolted!!!!!!

Kaede’s voice came from behind me.

I whipped around in total panic, and there she was—Kaede, her eyes devoid of light, harboring pure darkness.