Do You Like Romantic-Comedy Protagonists? - Chapter 2: Do You Like Suijou Shio? 1

Chapter 2: Do You Like Suijou Shio? 1

Having seen Arai head off to club activities with Sakurai, Akaishi finished his class duties after some time and went to the staff room to deliver the day’s summary report to his homeroom teacher.

“Oh, Akaishi. You’re alone?”

“Yes, I am. Is something wrong?”

“…Tch, that Yuki went off chasing Sousuke again, huh?”

“No, they had club activities, and there wasn’t much left to do, so I took care of it.”

The homeroom teacher,  Kanna Miho, was a young and beautiful woman, still in her prime. From her tone, Akaishi realized at that moment that she, too, was unmistakably acquainted with Sakurai.

Kanna furrowed her brow in displeasure, clearly annoyed that Arai hadn’t shown up, and shifted her gaze to Akaishi.

“Hey, Akaishi, could you deliver this to Arai? I thought she’d come by to drop off the report, so I missed giving it to her.”

“Kanna-sensei, how many times have I told you to mind your language…”

Perhaps because Kanna’s way of speaking to Akaishi was overly casual, another teacher who overheard reprimanded her.

“Teehee, sorry~”

Lightly tapping her own head and sticking out her tongue, Kanna handed Akaishi a CD in a case.

“This… is…?”

“Oh, it’s the audio for the broadcasting club’s vocal practice.”

“I see…”

“That’s right… That’s right. I want you to give it to Arai… Please give it to her.”

“Alright, got it.”

Being in the go-home club and having no particular reason to refuse, Akaishi agreed readily.

Taking the CD, Akaishi bowed slightly and turned to leave.

“Then I’m counting on you… Counting on you, Akaishi. Oh, and tell Arai to keep the scandalous relationships in check on school grounds… Tell her, okay~?”

Hearing Kanna’s voice behind him, Akaishi headed back to the classroom for now.

Returning to the classroom, Akaishi grabbed his belongings.

Since he had no other plans, he decided it was more rational and efficient to deliver the CD on his way home, treating it as a small errand.

Although going from the classroom to the broadcasting club’s room was a bit of a hassle, it was a request from a teacher, so Akaishi reluctantly made his way there.

He couldn’t help but think that a teacher using an unrelated student for errands might involve some personal motives, but he consciously focused on heading to the clubroom, brushing aside unnecessary thoughts.

As he approached the broadcasting club’s room, he spotted a female student ahead, seen from behind.

The girl was peeking around a wall, her face partially visible, seemingly unaware of Akaishi’s presence.

Suspicious.

Without thinking, he called out.

“What are you doing…?”

“Eek…!”

The girl jumped, her face turning bright red as she spun around.

“Uh… I-I… Um, you see…”

“…?”

Confirming the girl’s face, Akaishi instantly recognized her as one of Sakurai’s entourage.

Her glossy, flowing long black hair, neatly trimmed bangs above her brows, cheeks always slightly flushed, and a slender, graceful figure—every gesture exuded feminine elegance and charm. It was Suijou Shio, a female student.

She was considered the school’s top beauty, combining femininity and cuteness, and even Akaishi felt a bit intimidated by her presence.

But he was inexplicably curious about what Suijou was peeking at, so he, too, leaned out from the wall.

“Ah… Um… This is… You see…”

Beyond the wall, Sakurai and three other female students were walking down the middle of the hallway.

Akaishi wondered whether to be exasperated that Sakurai hadn’t even reached the broadcasting club’s room by the time he’d finished class duties and was heading home. Sakurai was walking slowly, chatting with Arai and Takanashi on either side and another entourage member diagonally across from him.

Akaishi instantly understood that Suijou had intended to call out to Sakurai upon spotting him but hesitated because he was already talking with three other girls, leading her to peek at him from behind the wall.

“Um… You see… I was just checking if there was anything dangerous lying around… or something.”

Her cheeks flushed even more as Suijou tried to cover up the situation.

Deciding it would be pointless to expose her feelings for Sakurai, Akaishi let out a small sigh.

“I see. Well, you should be careful then.”

“Y-Yeah! Right! Exactly! Oh, and don’t tell anyone about this! It’s… embarrassing! No one wants to be seen looking for dangerous stuff, right? Yeah!”

Perhaps feeling her makeshift excuse had worked, Suijou nodded exaggeratedly in agreement, speaking excitedly.

“Well… anyway, by the way… why are you using polite speech, Akaishi-kun?”

“Oh…”

Completely without any intention of changing the topic, Suijou abruptly asked Akaishi a question.

Part of why Suijou was so charming was her lack of barriers with others.

Suijou didn’t put up walls with people.

This applied to Akaishi as well, and despite this being their first conversation, she knew his name.

“Well… since it’s our first time talking, I thought it might be rude otherwise…”

“No way! You don’t have to be so formal! Just drop the polite speech already!”

“Al… Alright… Got it.”

Suijou spoke rapidly in slightly awkward Japanese, stepping closer to Akaishi.

As the school’s top beauty and a person of impeccable character, highly regarded even by male students, Akaishi’s cheeks reddened slightly, and he took a step back.

At the same time, that murky feeling deepened in Akaishi’s heart once again.

Why would someone like her like Sakurai?

Even now, Sakurai was casually chatting with three girls in the middle of the hallway, showing no trace of sincerity.

One could call it kindness, sure, but not rejecting others wasn’t kindness. Rejecting someone could also be considered kindness, or so Akaishi thought.

What was right and what was wrong—Akaishi didn’t know. But he couldn’t understand why Suijou would be smitten with Sakurai, who didn’t seem to devote his heart to her alone.