I Got Dumped by My Childhood Friend Fiancée Who I Didn’t Even Like, I Thought I Could Finally Have a Peaceful School Life… But Then I Got Targeted by SS-Class Beautiful Young Ladies - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: [Maiden Hearts] Maybe Our Senpai Has a Bit of an Exhibitionist Side

She was probably just teasing me, but I’m pretty sure this girl was dead serious about undoing those buttons. No, actually… it’s exactly because she’s teasing that she can’t stop herself. That’s just how this senpai is.

In the end, I caved first. If the driver later reported that I was the one stripping Minase-ojo-sama’s clothes off, that’d be way beyond “trouble”—it’d be a total disaster.

“W-Wait! Hold on! I admit it! I admit it, okay!! Sorry!!”

“Ohhh? So you really were staring at my boobs…?”

“Not staring, more like… they just happened to be in my field of vision…”

Her lips curled up even more as she shot me that mean, teasing look.

I gave up and just shrugged my shoulders in surrender. Then she paused for a second—only to put strength back into the fingers that had stopped moving.

“Ahaha! Yoichi really is a normal boy after all, huh~ Honest little Yoichi-kun deserves a reward, so let me show you—”

Using “reward” as her excuse, Minase-senpai had already undone the second button about halfway.

I cut her off immediately, desperately throwing my gaze out the window so I wouldn’t see anything.

“—No!! You seriously don’t have to show me!! Please stop right now!!”

Wait, what? Is she actually about to flash her bra to a guy she basically has zero real-life connection with…? Does senpai have some kind of exhibitionist kink…?

Maybe my frantic pleading finally got through—behind me, the rustling sounds stopped dead.

Thinking it was probably safe now, I cautiously turned back toward her… and there she was—cheeks puffed out like a sulky kid, looking a little hurt and pouty.

“That’s so mean, Yoichi! You can’t just tell a girl who’s trying to show you her boobs ‘please stop’! Even I get hurt when you say that, y’know!?”

Tiny droplets were clinging to the corners of her eyes as she sat up straight and said that.

When you run into someone with way too much power who also happens to be an exhibitionist, obviously the smart move is to dodge politely and avoid trouble…

“…Uh, that’s the part that hurts you?”

“Yeah, that part!”

Instant answer. And weirdly forceful too.

“Normally… y’know… there’s other reactions, right!? Like getting all flustered, or your eyes getting glued to her chest or something… But you just go ‘please stop’…”

“I feel like literally anyone would say the exact same thing…”

“No they wouldn’t! It’s only you!! Even though you’re a teenage boy!”

She threw out that questionable insult and then huffily turned her face away.

Do other guys my age seriously go straight for the boobs in a situation like this…?

Right then, I suddenly remembered what Ryuki once said to me.

“You’re having some seriously childish romance, huh.” And on top of that, he also casually mentioned he slept with Akari the very day they started dating. Is that just normal high-school-guy values?

If that’s really the case… that’s kinda inconvenient. People who can’t go along with the norm inevitably stand out. Guess I should add this to my list of things to investigate.

While I was quietly thinking about all that, senpai’s pouty face suddenly changed. Now she was peeking at me with anxious eyes, like she was really worried.

“…U-Um, Yoichi?”

“…Y-Yeah?”

“S-Sorry… I went too far… didn’t I…?”

“…Huh? No, not really…”

I genuinely meant it, but it didn’t seem to get through to her.

She slumped like a scolded kitten, looking totally down.

This person is honestly impossible to figure out. One second she’s super loud and hyper, then suddenly she’s all quiet and apologizing.

Still… I really wish she wouldn’t get this meek. It throws me off big time.

To break the sudden heavy silence that had settled over us, I forcefully changed the subject.

“By the way, senpai, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what? As long as it’s something I can answer.”

“Then… two questions, please. First one: what exactly is the Polishing Research Society? Second one: why did all those conglomerate heiresses force me to join that club…?”

For just a second, she blinked at me with a blank, confused look.

But she quickly switched back to that slightly mischievous smile from earlier.

“…Yoichi, even at a time like this, you really bring it right back to the main topic, huh.”

“Well, you’re the one who keeps derailing things—whether we’re gaming or right now.”

“Uwah!! That’s harsh!!”

Even while saying that, she looked kinda relieved. She leaned back against the comfy seat and relaxed her shoulders.

“Hmm~ okay, I’ll answer one at a time then.”

She stuck her index finger up with a little pop and kept talking in that light tone.

“First, about the Polishing Research Society. Charlotte-chan started it, and since me and Azucchi were already close with her, we got pulled in and that’s how it became what it is now.”

“Charlotte-chan… you mean Tachibana-san?”

“Yup, exactly. If I had to explain the club super simply… it’s a place to polish your talents, I guess?”

“…Hmm.”

I’d kinda expected something like that from the name, but hearing such a serious-sounding word still surprised me a little.

Still, that explanation was way too vague—I couldn’t really picture it.

“Um… what do you actually do there?”

“There’s studying, sports, those obvious kinds of things… but also stuff like games and playing around. Basically, we compete with each other to level up the real, core strengths each of us has~”

“Weapons… you mean?”

“Yup. When we go out into society… or even just inside our own bloodlines, isn’t it better to have as many weapons as possible?”

Her tone was light, but those words carried some serious weight.

From the outside, the Polishing Research Society probably just looks like a bunch of bored rich girls messing around. But in reality, the “play” isn’t really play. Every single activity connects straight to their future selves. Weirdly, that made a lot of sense to me.

Trying to lighten the slightly heavier mood, senpai gave a soft smile.

“…Well, I tried saying something serious there, but honestly? We’re all just super competitive and have huge pride! When three people like us go head-to-head in the same thing, we can’t help but get better whether we like it or not!”

“…I see. Yeah, that actually makes logical sense as a way to polish skills.”

“Right, right! That’s exactly it~!”

But while listening to her, I suddenly felt a clear sense of something off. Not exactly discomfort… more like one of my guesses just clicked into place.

A little while back, senpai suddenly begged me to teach her a certain game.

That part wasn’t weird by itself, but the genre of that game was something she would absolutely never play normally.

She’s always been ridiculously slow at improving in games, but for that one title she actually put in a ton of solo practice time. Her passion kinda rubbed off on me, so I gave her serious coaching too.

As a result, she improved at an unbelievably fast pace compared to usual—but—

“Senpai. You just said the club does games too, right?”

“Yup!”

“That game we played back then… can I ask what the title was?”

The moment I said it, her shoulders twitched hard.

Then she awkwardly looked away, gave a stiff, awkward smile and mumbled,

“Um… well… that kinda… directly connects to your second question… like… how do I put this…”

Looks like my guess was spot on. Ugh. Should I just… seriously stop gaming with this person…?

Still wearing that weak expression, she squeezed her eyes shut tight and pressed her palms together.

Then she blurted out in one big rush,

“I’m really really sorry!! The reason Charlotte-chan and the others got interested in you… is probably all my fault!!”