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 35-36

Chapter 35

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Ding dong ding dong~

“Alright~ Since your group plans are more or less decided, you’re free to disband for today. You can head home, head home~”

The chime echoed through the classroom. Around the room, destinations were decided here and there, and more groups—like Kohaku’s—had finished what they needed to do and started chatting idly.

After saying only that, their homeroom teacher Tanaka once again hurried out of the classroom as usual. After briefly scanning the entire class, Kohaku spoke up to everyone who had fully settled into their group and was chatting away.

“So? Wanna head out now?”

“I’ve got club activities anyway, so I’m planning to stay today.” 

“I’ve got work for the newspaper club too, so I’m staying~” 

Following Tenma, Saki added, energetically shooting her arm straight up as she replied. However, Kohaku muttered a cold snort under his breath at her.

“You don’t really do that much work, do you…”

“What did you say?! The newspaper club has work too! We update the paper posted in the back of the classroom every month, you know!?”

“Huh, really? I never noticed at all!”

“…Me neither. I’m just finding out now.”

“You guys are the worst!”

Everyone’s merciless attacks following Kohaku struck Saki one after another like critical hits. Saki was apparently a member of the newspaper club, but she rarely showed up for club activities and instead spent her time fooling around with friends.

That said, since the newspaper club consisted of only Saki and a single underclassman boy, the amount of activity depended entirely on the discretion of Saki—the only second-year and the club president.

“Well then… Sorry to kill the mood, but I’m gonna head out first….”

“Huh? The person who looks like they’d have the least plans is going home?”

“That’s rude. I’ve got plans too.”

“The usual lottery hopping? Are you doing that again?”

“No, I’ve already got a lead on that, so it’s something else today.”

At Sorato’s calm reply, the two tilted their heads with a “Hmm.” When Sorato—who usually seemed the most willing to hang around—tried to leave early, there had to be a decent reason. They tried probing further, but for some reason, Sorato was a bit hard to crack today. Since it wasn’t related to his otaku activities either, they couldn’t even guess what his errand might be.

Then, an unexpected person muttered quietly.

“Suzuya-kun… Do you have a girlfriend?”

“““““Huh?”””””

“Well, um… You looked like you were in a real hurry, so I thought maybe you were keeping your girlfriend waiting.”

“(Is that true, Sorato!?)“

“(Are you serious!?)“

“(Sorato-kun’s not as innocent as he looks, huh~)“

“(Eh…? Suzuya-kun…?)“

Everyone’s gaze snapped toward Sorato at once in response to Kaede’s words. Some looked excited, some strangely composed, and some stared with eyes devoid of light, the epitome of eyes of despair. Cutting through the sudden tension in the air, Sorato…

“No, it’s just a haircut appointment…”

He slipped out of it with perfect composure.

“…Huh? Sorato, you’re cutting your hair? After growing it out that much?”

“Yeah. It keeps getting in my eyes and it’s annoying. I figured it doesn’t really give off a clean impression either.”

“What? Isn’t that, like, your whole identity?”

“I don’t want that kind of identity. I just left it alone because it was a hassle to cut, that’s all.”

Even under the follow-up questions from Kohaku and Tenma, Sorato answered calmly without the slightest hint of agitation, tilting his head in puzzlement. And then…

“And… I guess there was a bit of a trigger, too.”

“!…Hmph.”

He shot a quick glance, just subtle enough not to be noticed by everyone, toward the silver-haired girl. She gave a faint smile, then turned away with a cute little sound. At that moment, Saki suddenly spoke up as if she’d just realized something.

“Oh! Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever really seen Suzuya-kun’s face clearly!”

“No, even if you look at me with sparkling eyes like that, whether my hair’s up or down doesn’t make that huge of a difference.”

“Well, maybe…. But when you actually see it, it really does feel pretty different.”

“Okay, okay. Anyway, my schedule’s really packed, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Aaah!? Hey, let me see your face before you cut it!”

“Calm down, Saki. Besides, if he’s cutting his hair, you’ll be able to see his face as much as you want afterward, won’t you?”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s true!”

While that rather foolish exchange played out beside her, Kaon wore a slightly dissatisfied expression.

(So he’s really going to cut it…)

What came back to her was the memory of their exchange in her room just the other day. Kaon had been satisfied just getting to see his bare face, something she rarely did, but even that privilege was about to come to an end.

Thinking about that refreshing young man’s smile being turned toward other people somehow made her chest stir uneasily. Without understanding the meaning of that feeling, Kaon quietly held onto the emotion moving within her heart.

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Chapter 36

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“What would you like us to do today?”

“Ah, umm.. My hair has grown too long, so I want it cut enough that it won’t get in the way.”

“Understood. Please wait just a moment, then.”

Surrounded by the dry scent of shampoo and a hair dryer, Sorato sat down in a black leather chair as a male staff member draped a cutting cape over him and spoke. Sorato was currently at a privately owned barbershop he had reserved. The exterior was stylish with a modern design, and even looking around, there were only a few staff members in the shop.

Despite feeling a little intimidated by the staff member’s impressive communication skills, Sorato somehow managed to squeeze out his words. The staff member responded with a smile and jogged off toward somewhere inside the shop.

“…Haa, I’m tired…”

From the moment he sat down, his whole body was overtaken by a strange sense of weakness, refusing to muster any strength. The cause was obvious, it was because of a certain girl.

Kaon Natsuki. For some reason, she had grown oddly attached to Sorato after a certain incident, even though she was the so-called “most beautiful girl in the school.” For Sorato, who was already not used to dealing with girls, going into the home of a classmate said to possess the greatest beauty in the school and spending such an intense amount of time together would naturally be mentally exhausting.

And on top of that, even though she’d fully recovered, she kept clinging to me for some reason… That was definitely on purpose…

When he looked back on the day, all that came to mind were her vulgar grin and her puffed-up cheeks as she glared in mock anger. During P.E., she had deliberately come straight to him asking to be taught how to throw, and during group discussions, she had used Kaede-san as a go-between to communicate with him.

He did think that since she understood his position, maybe that was why she had gone out of her way to involve even Kaede-san to exchange contact information, but if that were the case, it didn’t explain why she had deliberately talked to him directly during P.E.

It felt as though even his inner turmoil was already under her control, and her characteristically unreadable thoughts left his mind in constant disarray.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much (?).”

As he sat there looking down, lost in thought, the returning staff member spoke to him, and Sorato reflexively offered a strangely timed thank-you. The man smoothly pulled out scissors and a spray bottle from his pocket, and with a soft shh-shh sound, a cool mist sprinkled down onto Sorato’s head. The next moment, the scissors began cutting through his hair in pleasant chunks. The hair sliding down the cape almost comically testified to just how much there was.

“Are you a student, by any chance?”

“Huh? Well, yeah. I’m a high school student.”

“Which high school?”

“Kaisei Academy. It’s pretty close to here.”

“Oh, Kaisei? No way! I went there too.”

“Really? Then maybe there are some teachers you know?”

“Hm, a strict-looking teacher… Wadachi-sensei, maybe?”

“Ah, the student guidance. Yeah, he’s there.”

“Still disliked as ever?”

“Definitely. Like, seriously hated.”

“Haha, figures. He was really disliked back in our day too. Looking back now, though, he was a good teacher.”

Finding out they were from the same school, Sorato and the male staff member enthusiastically talked about their alma mater. Even as they chatted, Sorato was impressed by how smoothly and skillfully the haircut progressed. His overly long bangs had already been cut away decisively, leaving his vision clear and unobstructed.

The long hair at the nape of his neck was trimmed as well, and a cool, refreshing breeze ran along his skin. Even Sorato, who considered himself socially awkward, was helped along by the staff member’s deft conversational flow, which made things go surprisingly smoothly. What would normally have been a long and boring haircut turned into something slightly enjoyable thanks to the pleasant staff member.

~・~・~・~・~・~・~・~

“Alright. Please take a look.”

“—It’s perfect. Thank you very much.”

Reflected in the mirrors was Sorato’s appearance, so different that even he was surprised. His excessively long bangs and nape were neatly cleaned up, and his once-hidden eyes were now clearly visible.

“Man, you’re super handsome, aren’t you? Why’d you keep your hair long all this time?”

“Honestly, I’m surprised myself. I guess it’s because the person cutting my hair was really skilled.”

“Wow, thank you very much.”

“I’ll be counting on you next time too.”

“You can let it grow out a lot again before coming back.”

Though less than an hour had passed, starting with hometown talk, the two had naturally warmed up enough to chat casually about everyday things. Not only were the staff member’s communication skills excellent, but his barbering skills were solid as well. The shop’s relaxed atmosphere made it easy to settle in, even for Sorato, who wasn’t used to places like this.

When it’s time to cut my hair again, I’ll come here. He keeps talking to me, and he’s interesting, too.

After paying with smartphone electronic payment, both his mind and body felt far lighter than when he had first stepped inside. He bowed once more to the staff member, who walked him out of the shop.

“Thank you very much.”

“No problem! Now that you’ve cut your hair, you’re gonna be crazy popular, man.”

“Haha, that’s quite a joke. Well then.”

“Yes. Thank you very much for your patronage!”

A natural smile spilled onto his face as he headed home with a light step.

“……My hair really was long…”

After all, the amount of Sorato’s hair had apparently been abnormal, even from this male staff member’s perspective.

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