Hey, Best Friend. How About A Kiss Today Too? - Chapter 40: "Enough already!?"

“Enough already!?”

“I want to be strangled.”

As her long bangs sway, revealing glimpses of her eyes, the feelings hidden in her chest echo in the small club room.

“Ah, um, no, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

With a start, Kusakabe nervously looks around at us, the members of the ‘Selfhood Research Club,’ and then bows deeply.

“I-I’m truly, truly sorry for making everyone use their precious day off for something like this…”

Perhaps feeling uneasy about the lack of response, Kusakabe continues to apologize one after another.

Her bowed head doesn’t lift, continuing to gaze at the scarred floor.

“…I see, I see! Then let’s start the ‘Being Yourself Research’! Right, guys?!”

“Eh? Ehh? Kito-san…?”

With a gentle pat, Yuzuru, the smallest president in this club room, taps Kusakabe’s head.

“Wow! That’s the spirit, Yuzuru-chan! I’ll stick with you for life!”

“Um, excuse me… Hasegawa-kun?”

Naturally, Hasegawa responds in kind.

Unable to keep up with the momentum of the main engines of the ‘Selfhood Research Club,’ Kusakabe starts to feel confused.

“Well, well, let’s just sit down for now. I haven’t talked to Hina-chin much, so I’m looking forward to it!”

“Ah, Yakumo…san?”

Hurry placing Kusakabe in a seat beside her, Sagiri swiftly moves to sit across from him.

Thinking it would come to this, I also said a word to her.

“Kusakabe, you have nothing to worry about. The ‘Being Yourself Research’ is a place to be honest with yourself.”

“Comrade…”

“Comrade!?”

I wanted to say something nice, but I got called with a weird title.

Why am I not just Akahori-kun…

“Alrighty then! Let’s start with introducing ourselves in the ‘Being Yourself Research’ way! I’m counting on you, Comrade Range!”

“Hey, wait…”

“I’m counting on you, Comrade Akahori!”

“Even you, Hasegawa…”

“By the way, what’s with this ‘comrade’ thing?”

“Cough!”

Yuzuru and Hasegawa get carried away, while Sagiri makes the only calm retort.

Explaining it now would only make things more complicated, so let’s start by introducing Kusakabe, who’s curled up in his seat like a borrowed cat, as he’s likely known to the same class.

“Well, as we’re in the same class, you probably already know, but we’re a society that researches being ourselves. Like Kusakabe mentioned, we also have our own gaps and worries in mind and body, and we intend to talk about those. There are no secrets in ‘Being Yourself Research,’ after all.”

Even though I said that, I was full of hidden secrets.

“Y-Yes, Comrades…!”

“Could you please stop using that ‘comrade’ thing?”

However, as her eyes hidden behind her long bangs seemed to sparkle, I decided to proceed with the introduction without breaking the flow of the conversation.

“First, our Selfhood Research Club president, Yuzuru. As the one who founded this club, she’s the most complex when it comes to struggling with her authenticity… facing it. She hasn’t caught up with the size of her dreams and heart. To put it simply, she’s concerned about being cute due to her small stature.”

“I see…!”

“Nice to meet you again, Hina-chan! Ranger, we’ll talk later!”

While I sensed some threatening words, let’s move on.

“Next is the vice president, Hasegawa. You might not be interested in a guy’s name, but this guy, despite his strong physique and stern appearance, has a manly name, ‘Gou.’ However, his personality is quite easygoing and carefree, yet he has the unfortunate attribute of being a womanizer who remains unappreciated.”

“T-Thank you…!”

“Kusakabe-chan, don’t worry about my size! Akahori, remember that later!”

The threat from the big guy was genuinely scary, so let’s move on to the next.

“And you all know the school’s most beautiful girl, Sagiri. With long, white hair like snow, fair skin, eyes of fleeting and delicate colors, long eyelashes, well-defined eyebrows, a high nose, and lips that suggest the arrival of spring with their pale pink color, she has the face of a goddess. Despite her mysterious and beautiful appearance, she has a personality that loves to joke around and is friendly, bringing a bright and enjoyable atmosphere when you’re with her. However, beneath that exterior, she occasionally shows a pure innocence, like the freshness of new greenery transitioning from spring to summer. Her voice, clear like melted snowwater, is filled with warmth. In my opinion, calling her the most beautiful girl in the school is trivial; she’s arguably the most beautiful in Japan, or even the world—”

“Enough already!?”

“—Owah!?”

Even though the introduction isn’t finished, Sagiri herself rushed in and stopped it abruptly. Perhaps embarrassed to be talked about, her face turned red as she approached, breathing heavily through her shoulders.

“W-We shouldn’t hide ourselves in the Selfhood Research Club, right!?”

“T-That’s not what I meant!!”

Unusually, Sagiri was out of breath. Since arguing here would lead us nowhere, I turned my gaze to the club president, Yuzuru.

“Wa… waah… wahya…!”

“N-No, Yuzuru-chan! Cover her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth! She might get burned by the unconscious, indiscriminate womanizer beam!”

It was a borderline criminal scene where the big hands of a large man covered the eyes of a small, red-faced girl. Despite my advantageous position in terms of status and situation, I couldn’t help but feel like I was the one on unfamiliar ground.

“Oh, you two are still…!”

Only Kusakabe, sitting in her chair, looked up at me with a gaze that resembled envy.

—We just introduced ourselves.

What is this atmosphere?