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 76

Chapter 76

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Lunch break.

As usual, the three—Sorato, Tenma, and Kohaku—pushed together nearby desks and ate their lunches.

“………”

“………”

“——————?”

However, an unmistakably unusual atmosphere hung over them. No conversation filled the air. It felt as if they were strangers meeting for the first time. Even so, as Tenma and Kohaku brought their boxed lunches to their mouths, they kept sneaking sideways glances at the person sitting beside them. There sat Sorato, his eyes unfocused, staring constantly at empty space. At last reaching the limit of his patience, Kohaku cautiously yet forcefully tried to throw Sorato a topic.

“…Hey, Sorato? You haven’t eaten any of your lunch at all.”

“Ooh? Yeah.”

“Sorato, your lunch looks good today. Mind if I have some?”

“Ooh? Yeah.”

“Sorato, what’s the fifth period again?”

“Ooh? Yeah.”

““……….””

As if he had left his soul somewhere else, Sorato remained pale and distant, returning nothing but hollow replies to every question. The drastic change from how he’d been that morning left Tenma and Kohaku able to do nothing but exchange looks. After they had fled the classroom, overwhelmed by the pressure Kaon gave off, and returned when the homeroom chime rang, Sorato had already been like this. During class he’d copied down the handouts and the board properly, but beyond that, he’d been completely spaced out the whole time.

“So… what do you think Natsuki-san did to him?”

“No idea but after that, even when girls come up to him, he doesn’t panic like before. Did he seriously get subjected to some kind of human modification…?”

“K-kiss…”

““—What?””

“I got kissed. On the cheek. She went ‘chu,’ stretching up really hard. Our faces were super close. She was cute.”

At that moment, Sorato finally opened his stiff mouth. He was acting like a robot on the verge of breaking. It was as if he’d at last recognized their voices.

“He finally talks, and then says something insane in a way that sounds like an elementary school book report.”

“…I see. Given that he has zero experience with girls, and the other person is Natsuki-san who’s known as the ‘most beautiful girl in the school,’even a cheek kiss would do that to him.”

After suddenly confessing such a shocking fact, Sorato began listing his impressions in detail. Kohaku carefully reacted to each point with a quip, while Tenma calmly began analyzing the situation. As they pieced together what must have happened after they ran away that morning, both nodded deeply in understanding.

“It’s still there… on my cheek…! Warm… soft… her sweet breath was right there!”

“Stop reporting it like it’s a food review. None of this is getting through to me.”

“So basically, you couldn’t forget that sensation during class, and even now you’re totally spaced out.”

In the end, it seemed Sorato’s mind had been endlessly replaying what happened that morning, leaving no room for anything else. Even after finishing fourth period, the scene remained vividly clear in his memory.

“Well, you look happy, so good for you. This morning was unavoidable, but it’s about time you realized you’re that girl’s boyfriend now.”

“No… Kohaku. I think maybe—”

“Hm?”

As Kohaku, a former rival, tried to give Sorato some earnest advice, Tenma tapped Kohaku’s shoulder to stop him. That was when they finally noticed that Sorato’s gaze had shifted toward the back of the classroom without them realizing it. Following his lead, the two turned around, and there they saw a scene that made them want to mutter, “Ah…”

“Natsuki-san, right? Wanna hang out with me sometime? We’re going to the shopping mall soon. Oh, of course there’ll be other girls too!”

“Oh boy…”

“…Sorato, I totally get how you feel, but unclench your fist…”

From the looks of it, an upperclassman had deliberately come down to the second-year floor to casually hit on Kaon. They were in different grades and had almost no connection. There was no way she’d give him a good response.

Can’t he even understand something that simple…!? And if he’s an exam student, shouldn’t he be studying instead of hanging out at the mall!?

In the end, he couldn’t keep the promise he’d made her, and he hurled curses in his heart at the third-year who was hitting on her.

“I appreciate the invitation, but I don’t really have much interaction with seniors, so I’ll pass.”

Despite Kaon’s obvious discomfort, the flashy third-year showed no sign of noticing. Just as the classroom atmosphere began shifting from lunchtime chaos into a cloud of tension…

“Huh? Are we standing out or something? lol If so, sorry. Hey, come over here a bit?”

“Um, ahaha… please stop…?”

“—Ah.”

“This is bad.”

Growing impatient when Kaon still didn’t agree, the third-year deliberately said something to stir up the room and grabbed her wrist. It was rough and careless, like he was handling an object.

Snap…

Even then, Kaon tried to keep up her usual bright demeanor, making an effort not to worsen the classroom atmosphere. Seeing this, Kohaku and Tenma slowly turned toward Sorato, immediately breaking into a panic. The normally gentle and rarely showing negative emotions Sorato was clearly furious. His fingers trembled in short bursts, his eyes darted side to side. Despite the words he used to try to stay calm, her frightened state was painfully obvious. Yet no one helped her. No one noticed.

Except for the one person who truly understood her feelings.

Before the two could say anything to stop him, Sorato silently stood up and swayed his way toward the upperclassmen.

“Um—excuse me. Do you have a moment?”

“Hm~? What is it? If it’s not urgent, we’re kind of busy right now, so can you come back later~?”

“Where did all that pressure from earlier go…?”

“In the end, he is still being humble, huh…?”

The eyes that moments ago looked ready to cause trouble were gone. Returning to his usual Sorato-like demeanor, he smiled and addressed the third-years. But perhaps seeing him as a nuisance, they brushed him off surprisingly easily, their voices dropping several tones. The classroom began to take on an atmosphere as if Sorato were something untouchable. Just as his two friends were about to step in…

“—Then it is urgent. …Enough. Just listen to me.”

Sorato’s low voice rang out, cold tension snapping into place.

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