I Was Reincarnated as a Creepy Fat Guy, Then Trained Myself Without Sleep. And Then, for Some Reason, the Heroines Start Approaching Me - Chapter 79: A Changed Daily Life

Upon reaching home, Shota immediately entered his room and called Gorilla. Gorilla was a friend from the same class with whom he often hung out. Much like Masato from the baseball team, Gorilla didn’t harbor any guilt towards Itsuki and readily sympathized with Shota.

[Shota?]

Calling late at night, Gorilla expressed a bit of surprise. Ignoring this, Shota, adopting a villainous tone, began to speak.

X X X

Monday

Itsuki’s Side

Saturday and Sunday were incredibly intense days. Even Tamaki-san, who finished work, participated midway and consumed a considerable amount of energy.

I believed that happy days awaited me from now on. However, it seemed that reality was not as sweet for me.

Today, I overslept, so I was walking alone to school when my phone rang. In the group chat consisting of me, Manabu, and Keisuke, a message from Keisuke was displayed.

[I’ll be absent from school for a while]

“…”

I briefly considered asking why. However, I refrained from doing so because I already knew the reason for Keisuke’s school absence.

Suppressing my anger, I bit my lip and headed towards the classroom.

As I entered the classroom, everyone, excluding the Hayama group, looked uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact and not speaking. With a difficult expression, they read textbooks or bowed their heads. Suppressing a deep sigh, I moved to my seat.

Of course, Kanna and the usual duo (Mikami and Tatsuzaki) were talking there.

“Good morning.”

As I greeted them as usual, the three of them glared at Hayama before turning their smiles towards me. Other boys and girls started talking, and the classroom quickly filled with noise.

“Kondo-kun… are you okay?”

Mikami, the fujoshi, asked me hesitantly.

…

Here, saying something like, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” would probably ease the situation. However, I clenched my fists and avoided eye contact with Mikami.

Concerned about me, Tatsuzaki spoke forcefully.

“He’s truly scum. If an adult did what he did, they would face criminal charges and go to prison. I tried asking Hayama and his friends in the morning, but they just got defensive. There’s no evidence, but it’s too suspicious.”

“I see.”

“Yeah.”

I took out my phone and opened a social media app. There, I found posts like:

[Manabu Hosokawa, ○○ High School, 2nd Year, Class ○. A small, ugly loser who hangs out with the disgusting fatty.]

[Keisuke Shizukawa, ○○ High School, 2nd Year, Class ○. A creepy, socially awkward, mentally disturbed stain on humanity who can’t talk to people properly.]

[Itsuki Kondo, ○○ High School, 2nd Year, Class ○. Despite being a disgusting fatty, he’s trying to improve his image. A scum who should just die. Die. Why are you alive? Just die. A piece of trash with no worth living.]

These posts included pictures of us from the past, without any mosaic processing, along with insulting comments. Mikami, who frequently uses social media, contacted us on Saturday and was able to find out the identity behind these posts.

There’s someone with a grudge against us, and, as it turns out, it’s Hayama and his friends.

…

He was loudly talking about picking up girls and organizing parties, which is quite annoying.

“Hahaha! That’s why, if I join, it will definitely be exciting!”

“Yeah, yeah! It’ll be interesting if Shota joins! By the way, about Marin-chan…..?”

Hayama and Gorilla were laughing obnoxiously while talking to the gyaru girls. However, there’s something strange about the situation.

Masato, from the baseball team, was there.

His lips were trembling  and sighing deeply while glancing between them and us.

There’s no concrete evidence that Hayama and his friends did it. So, forcefully confronting them might lead to an attack. However, this anger doesn’t seem to be going away.

If someone holds a grudge against me, they should focus their attacks on me alone.

But…

…

“Itsuki…?”

“Kanna…”

As my increasing anger began to worry Kanna, she gently enveloped my hands with hers, trying to calm me down. At the same time, the school bell rang, and a familiar figure entered the room.

“Quiet.”

With that single word, the class fell silent as Okayama sensei, the bald middle-aged teacher with square-framed glasses, adjusted his glasses and addressed us from the front of the classroom.

“Do you know the word ‘concealment’?”

After hearing this question, my classmates returned to their seats, looking puzzled.

“It’s a word that frequently appears in the news recently. It’s a bad thing to deliberately cover up wrongdoing. One of our school teachers, who tried to conceal their failures out of fear of repercussions, recently faced consequences. So, don’t engage in concealment.”

Okayama sensei’s low voice echoed through the classroom. However, for some reason, his stern expression, as if he had tasted the darker aspects of life, didn’t sit well with me.

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I don’t feel like getting along with this teacher. In the midst of the mysterious teacher’s statement, the whole class responded with a confused “yes,” and the homeroom teacher left the classroom after saying only the essential things.

Honestly, I couldn’t focus on the class. The online posts were still there, filled with hearts and replies, mostly negative comments about us. From a legal standpoint, it was clearly problematic.

I tried to calm my anxious feelings, but it was futile. Lunchtime arrived in this state. So, I went to our usual spot and decided to wait for Manabu. After a few minutes, he appeared with a very dark expression.

No wonder.

After what had been written.

He’s still just a high school student. Even though I, who had lived as an adult before reincarnation, was suffering so much from this psychological damage, it must be tough for Manabu and Keisuke.

So, I wanted to offer him words of comfort with a sad expression.

But…

“Itsuki!”

“Hm?”

“Don’t talk to me for a while.”

“Huh?”

“From now on, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“W-What are you… saying?”

His words exceeded my expectations. Moreover, the way he said it was incredibly cold.

“Manabu, are you bothered by the content on SNS? If that’s the case, you can rest assured. I’ll find the culprit and beat them to the brink of death!!”

I clenched my fists and shouted at Manabu.

However, Manabu glared at me and spoke in a colder tone than before.

“Itsuki, violence is not okay.”

“What are you talking about?! They wrote such horrible things!”

“I’ll say it again. Violence is not okay. Also, from now on, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“You…”

He said that and turned on his heel, starting to walk away.

What’s going on?

Why is he changing so suddenly…

Keisuke isn’t coming to school either.

I tried to stop Manabu, somehow managing to open my mouth.

“Hey, Manabu! Is our bond something that can break so easily?!”

“……”

But he didn’t respond and just walked away.

What the hell?

I sat down on a rusted bench, overwhelmed by despair, and looked up.

It’s a perfect day for an outing, and a cool breeze, announcing the arrival of autumn, gently brushed my cheeks as I sighed deeply.

Alone now.

No, I have Kanna and  Tamaki-san.

But the existence of Manabu and Keisuke, valuable friends who couldn’t be replaced, has collapsed so easily.

In the past, despite being bullied by Hayama and others, the three of us supported each other. Emotional support.

If even one of us was missing, the old Itsuki Kondo would undoubtedly have become a truant.

Those two, who had such a significant impact, were not here now.

I’m alone.

The moment I thought that, an unexpected person approached me.

“K-Kondo…”

“Masato?” 

Masato, a member of the baseball team and a friend of Hayama, came up to me.

He had a heartbreaking expression that seemed on the verge of tears.