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 31-32

Chapter 31

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“Alright then, should we start by taking a vote on what everyone wants to ride?”

“I’m in favor!”

“No objections here.”

“I’m fine with that too~!”

Kohaku suggested that they first gather votes from everyone in order to narrow down what they would ride on the day itself. All of the girls agreed as well, and in no time at all, the atmosphere in the group relaxed.

That was probably helped by the fact that many of them were already acquainted with one another, but it also worked in their favor that Tenma, Kohaku, and the girls were all outgoing and proactive about talking to people they were meeting for the first time.

“But even if we’re going to take a vote, don’t we need to know what kinds of rides there are first?”

“True, that’s a good point. Then someone should check the website—”

“Roller coasters, teacups… Looks like they’ve got most of the standard attractions. Here.”

“Ooh? As expected of you, Sorato, you work fast.”

Before Kohaku could even ask someone to look it up, Sorato had already started researching. He turned his tablet so everyone could see the official website he’d pulled up. Displayed in large fonts were the quintessential amusement park rides. Roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round—pretty much all the classics were covered.

“I wanna ride the teacups!”

“Sounds good. I like that spinning-around feeling too.”

“I wanna ride the roller coaster~”

“I’m in favor of the roller coaster as well.”

“Those two are must-haves, right!? Everyone’s okay with the roller coaster, yeah—”

“…-ters.”

“Hm? Sorato, did you say something?”

“I seriously can’t handle roller coasters…”

“That’s surprising. You seem like the type who’d be totally fine riding stuff like that, Sorato.”

“What kind of preconceived notion do you even have about me, Tenma… I’ve hated them since I was little. That floating-in-your-stomach feeling, or whatever… I mean, it’s not like I absolutely can’t ride them, though.”

“Then ride it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Although he hadn’t said it out loud so as not to dampen everyone’s excitement, Sorato had always been terrible with scream-inducing rides ever since he was a child. The despair he felt while climbing up, the full-body floating sensation during the drop… He had hated every part of it from a young age.

“Suzuya-kun, just because Kohaku-kun says so doesn’t mean you have to force yourself, okay?”

“Thanks, Hiiragi-san. But I’m fine. Like I said earlier, it’s not that I can’t ride them, and it’s been that way ever since I was little. Might as well give it a try.”

“Is that so? If Suzuya-kun says that himself, then I guess it’s fine. Still, Kohaku-kun, you shouldn’t push Suzuya-kun too hard, you know?”

“You sound like a mom.”

Saki’s concern seemed genuine. Perhaps she was worried that Sorato might be pushing himself too hard. But from Sorato’s perspective, it was simply that the roller coaster he’d ridden as a child had stayed frightening in his memory ever since. He figured that riding it together with everyone now would be a good chance to wipe that memory away.

When Sorato made it clear that he wasn’t forcing himself, Saki let out a small sigh of relief and began bantering with Kohaku like a parent and child.

“Okay then, okay then! Suzuya-kun, what do you want to ride?”

“Hm? Me?”

Casting a sidelong glance at those two, Natsuki finally reached out to Sorato. This time, though, since they were in the same group, there was none of the awkwardness they’d had during P.E. Asked directly by Natsuki, Sorato thought about what ride he actually wanted to go on. When it came to amusement parks, he usually rode whatever suited his younger sister Kanau when they went as a family, so nothing in particular came to mind as something he personally wanted.

“If I had to pick… Maybe the Ferris wheel? I like spending time relaxing while looking at the view from up high.”

“Ooh~! That sounds kind of romantic, actually. Then I vote for the Ferris wheel too!”

He chose the Ferris wheel, recalling most vividly the scenery he’d seen looking down from it in the past. Natsuki agreed with his choice, and at last, everyone’s desired rides were on the table.

“Alright then, for now let’s go with ‘roller coaster,’ ‘teacups,’ and ‘Ferris wheel,’ okay~?”

“““““Yes~!”””””

And with that, the six-member group’s list of rides they wanted to go on was decided.

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Chapter 32

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“Tana-sen~ we’ve pretty much decided on the rides~”

After they had decided where they would go, and there was finally nothing left to do, Kohaku went to report their progress to Tanaka-sensei.

“Don’t call me ‘Tana-sen.’ …Well, putting that aside, your group, Natani’s group, even has girls in it! And yet you decided really fast~!”

“Sensei, you’re really emphasizing the ‘girls’ part there.”

Sorato immediately fired back at Tanaka-sensei, who was blatantly stressing the word “girls.” Tanaka-sensei then put on a slightly mocking expression and started rattling on.

“Suzuya, you just don’t get it~. Sensei here likes sweaty, manly friendships between guys too, but what I love the most is sweet mixed-gender groups like yours!”

“Tana-sen… That’s kinda gross…”

“Tanaka-sensei’s turning into an otaku…!”

“I think I can’t deal with this~”

“Sensei, I’ve lost a bit of respect for you too.”

“Looking at girls like that isn’t really appropriate in this day and age.”

“Why not!? Aren’t you guys happy too!? A field trip with girls and all… I’ve only ever seen that in anime!?”

Tanaka boldly exposed his own tendencies, only to be thoroughly shot down by the entire group—including the girls.

“And on top of that! Our position as teachers is extremely stifling—!”

“So this is what they mean when they say otaku are a pain when you make enemies of them… His face is kind of scary.”

“I don’t want a Tana-sen who pulls creepy moves on students… His face is scary too.”

“So he’s just jealous that there’s a group with girls in it. Being a teacher must be rough, huh… Especially with a scary face like that…”

“I wonder if Sensei has his own frustrations too.”

“Hey, Suzuya! Don’t look at your teacher like that!”

Even when subjected to mildly contemptuous stares, Tanaka-sensei showed no sign of backing down. The three boys could only shake their heads in exasperation. Judging by his words, he sounded like a troublesome old man, but his expression was clearly dyed with a different shade of jealousy. Apparently, he had some unusually strong feelings about mixed-gender groups.

“Haa… Anyway, since you’ve decided, wait a bit for the other groups. Here, take a pamphlet, and enjoy that sweet mixed-gender atmosphere while you’re at it~”

Seemingly having calmed down at last, Tanaka picked up one of the pamphlets stacked on the teacher’s desk and flicked it toward Kohaku. Catching the fluttering pamphlet with ease, Kohaku quickly returned to Sorato and the others’ seats. He then spread the pamphlet out on the desk so everyone could see it.

“Hm~ This is the map. What’s the most efficient way to go around, I wonder?”

“Whoa~! It’s bigger than I thought. This is going to be my first time at that park, so I don’t really know.”

“Huh? You’ve never been here before, Kaon-chan? Then I’ll show you around!”

“Saki, I don’t really know either, so I’d like you to explain it to me too.”

“Ugh!? The girls are this close to me…!”

With the seating arranged so the boys and girls sat facing each other in a straight line, the three girls leaned forward to peer down at the pamphlet spread across Kohaku’s desk. Faced with their approaching beauty, Kohaku—who normally wasn’t fazed by girls—was unusually flushed red. Kaon was probably the main reason for that. Since he had known Saki for years, her presence didn’t seem to shake him at all, but once Kaede and Kaon joined in, it was apparently more than he could handle.

“Ah~ There it is. Kohaku short-circuited for once.”

“Well, with so many pretty girls around him, even Kohaku couldn’t take it.”

The girls chatting cheerfully right in front of them showed no sign of noticing Kohaku’s condition. They were simply having fun, eyes sparkling as they discussed their ideal plans for the day while looking at the map.

“S-So anyway… Let’s decide roughly how we’re going to go around that day… It’ll probably be better time-wise.”

“We arrive around 10, right? …Then wouldn’t the optimal move be to get there and immediately dash around?”

“Huh? Aren’t you two going to buy headbands or something? You need merch, don’t you?”

“Hah!? If you say stuff like that, we won’t be able to ride anything—”

“Me too, me too~! When it’s an amusement park, you start with the goods, right~! Suzuya-kun, great thinking~!”

“I’d like to try wearing that kind of thing too.”

“Right!? When it’s an amusement park, you start with the goods, don’t you~?!”

“That was a pretty quick change of heart.”

Although Kohaku immediately pushed back against Sorato’s suggestion, he flipped sides just as quickly when the girls voiced their agreement.

“Eh! Suzuya-kun, you’ve got high ‘girl power,’ huh!? I was thinking of getting some too~!”

“Ahaha… Thanks, I guess. I’ve been told I’m kind of girly ever since I was little.”

“That’s not true at all! I like the high-girl-power type like Sorato-kun more than guys like Kohaku-kun~”

“Huh!? What did you say, Saki, you little—!!”

“I’m not a ‘little,’ I’m a cute lady~!”

“Idiot! What part of you is cute!?”

“What did you say~!? You just said something you shouldn’t have~!?”

As expected of two people who had been close friends for years, it only took a trivial spark for them to start a verbal brawl, trading insults back and forth. Watching the two of them fall instantly into their own little world, Sorato broke into a panicked expression and whispered-shouted into Tenma’s ear.

“Hey, hey, hey!? Did you hear that, Tenma!? She totally called me by my first name just now! And she did it super naturally!?”

“Yeah, yeah. I heard her just fine, Sorato. That’s just how Saki-san is, so it can’t be helped. The hurdle might be a bit high, though.”

“Way too high a hurdle for an introvert like me, for sure…”

He had managed to hide it at the time, but once Saki found a common point between them, she rapidly closed the emotional distance, and Sorato was being thoroughly swept along by her pace.  Though inwardly flustered, the fact that he managed not to let it show and maintained a calm facade could be called a wise decision for an introvert like him.

Gon!

“—Ggh!? ”

In that instant, along with the sound of something hitting the desk, a sharp shock and pain shot through Sorato’s shin.

“Whoa, that startled me. What’s wrong, Sorato?”

“No-…Nothing…!”

“It really doesn’t look like nothing…”

While hiding the truth behind the pathetic sound that had slipped out, Sorato hastily brushed Tenma off and turned his attention to the source of the throbbing pain.

“(Why did you kick me!?)“

“(I dunno~.)“

The source of the pain shooting through his shin was the silver-haired girl sitting directly across from him, Kaon Natsuki. She puffed out her cheeks petulantly and crossed her arms, clearly displaying her irritation. For some reason, she had lightly kicked Sorato’s shin. It wasn’t hard enough to leave a mark, but it definitely hurt. The pain had already faded, but her anger left him with nothing but questions. Then, a certain phrase popped into his head.

“I suppose you could say… Pouting(拗ねた=suneta) Natsuki-san kicking my shin(脛(すね)=sune)…(whisper)”

Gon!!

“Gah!? You could hear that!?”

He’d delivered that bone-chillingly lame joke in an extremely quiet voice, but somehow Kaon alone had heard it perfectly and another kick came flying into his shin.

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