I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Rattle… Rattle…

When I opened the classroom door, countless gazes converged on me at a single point. But it only lasted for the blink of an eye. By the time my vision cleared from the darkness behind my eyelids, those many eyes had already returned to their own business.

Among them, I noticed one group of about five people who kept staring at me, and…

“Morning.”

“Oh, Sorato, is your little sister okay?”

“Good morning, Sorato. What happened to your sister?”

“Actually, she suddenly got sick yesterday.”

That was a lie. She was full of nothing but healthy energy, running around in an undershirt and shorts.

“I’m totally fine, you know!?”

While apologizing in my head to little Kanau, who was yelling that at me, I explained yesterday’s whole incident with Kohaku.

“Well, it is the change of seasons.”

“Oh, speaking of which, Sorato, you said yesterday that today Natsuki-san was really coming—”

Rattle…Rattle…

Kohaku brought up Natsuki’s name, as if remembering something in connection with the topic of “Suzuya’s little sister.” Almost at the exact same time, the sound of the classroom’s front door opening rang out. Naturally, everyone’s attention focused the same way it had when Sorato entered.

But the decisive difference from when he arrived was that this time, the classmates’ gazes didn’t immediately drift away. They were transfixed, staring at a single point in fascination. From the wide-open door, the still slightly chilly spring air swept over them.

“Ah—”

And when the person slowly stepping through the doorway came into view, one of the girls in the class let out a breathy voice. Silver hair gleaming in the rising morning sun, pale aqua-blue eyes like today’s clear sky. An overwhelmingly outstanding figure, especially among high schoolers. 

“Kaon!”

“Good morning, everyone~!”

The school’s pride, the most beautiful girl in the school, Kaon Natsuki. She had finally returned to school. The classmates who had been chatting in their own groups just moments ago instantly broke apart and rushed toward her.

“Good morning, Natsuki-san!! Are you feeling okay!?”

“Kaon! Is your fever finally down!?”

“You didn’t even read my messages, so I was really worried?!”

“If anything happens, tell me, okay!? I’ll support you however I can..!!”

“Huh!? Hey, that’s unfair! Don’t cut in line like that!?”

In an instant, the area near the classroom entrance was packed with classmates surrounding Natsuki, erupting into an overwhelming frenzy. Anyone who saw this as a chance to talk to her—regardless of gender—jumped in, and some students from other classes even slipped into the chaos. The scene was total pandemonium.

“Man~ She’s as popular as ever! Guess that’s what you’d expect from someone called the most beautiful girl in the school!!”

“That’s part of it, sure, but the new school year just started. Everyone probably wants to get close to Natsuki-san as soon as possible.”

“…Oh? Sorato, you’re unusually joining in on Kohaku’s ‘gushing about Natsuki-san’ talk. Usually you’d say ‘I’m not interested’ and ignore it.”

“What do you take me for…? Given the scale of the pandemonium, it’s harder to ignore it.”

“True enough. I’m really feeling just how many enemies I’ve got again…!”

“Why is this guy burning with a fighting spirit so hard??”

Watching the waves of people swirling around her, Kohaku’s eyes were blazing with fire. Wondering what he was so fired up about, I asked Tenma—who’d known the situation longer than I had—for the details.

“Apparently, he’s fired up because he wants to make his dream come true… Which is claiming her as his alone from among all these fans.”

“Isn’t that one wrong step away from being a stalker?”

“Well, he’ll probably be fine. Kohaku’s an idiot, but he’s not stupid. He can tell where the line is.”

“Even Kohaku knows that much, huh.”

““Hahahahaha.””

“Hey, can I seriously punch each of you once?”

Even though Kohaku was a certified idiot—always flirting with failing grades and repeating a year—his friends knew he wasn’t deranged when it came to ethics. Laughing together, they lightly dissed his academic stupidity. The idiot himself, who’d heard it all right in front of him, clenched his fists with veins popping, but he didn’t swing them at the two of us. Relieved, the two of them took a breath and offered him encouraging words.

“…Well, do your best and get Natsuki-san.”

“This isn’t flattery, but with Kohaku’s personality, there’s basically no chance she’ll hate you. I think you should just go for it without worrying.”

“Yeah. Leave it to me! In fact,  I’m going right now!!”

Encouraged by his two friends, Kohaku finally seemed to make up his mind and jogged straight into the crowd he’d been glaring at with burning resolve just moments ago.

“…That guy’s simple.”

“Yeah. That’s probably why Kohaku is Kohaku…”

Being able to get that fired up over even the most standard encouragement might actually be a kind of romantic talent unique to Kohaku.

Huh?

At that moment, Sorato noticed something. As he watched Kohaku struggling to push through the waves of people to get closer to her… For just a brief instant, he thought he saw Natsuki’s pale aqua-blue eyes peeking through the crowd, looking straight at him. Their gazes met, as if she were trying to tell him something.

But by the time he realized it, she had already been swallowed by the crowd again and disappeared from view. From where Sorato was sitting, there was no way to confirm what it meant.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Sorato?”

“Hm? No, it’s nothing.”

Seeing Sorato space out, Tenma leaned in slightly and asked him with a puzzled look. But Sorato quickly regained his composure, shook his head back and forth, and told himself.

That must be just my imagination… Yeah. It must be just a misunderstanding on my part.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー