Chapter 30 – I’m Going All Out Starting Today♡

For the time being, Shinta had put the confessions from the three girls—Ichizu, Miina, and Kaoru—on hold. However, starting the very next day, his daily life drastically transformed.

This change became glaringly obvious the moment he started his morning commute. Heading toward school on his usual route, Shinta felt extremely self-conscious because Ichizu was walking right alongside him in a completely different manner than before.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t the first time he had commuted alongside her. The problem was that she was walking with her arm linked tightly through his, completely ignoring the stares of the other students heading to school.

“Hey, Ichizu, aren’t you clinging a bit too closely?”

“Heh heh, I told you yesterday, didn’t I? Starting today, I intend to act without hiding my feelings anymore, so prepare yourself♡”

Saying that, far from pulling away, she snuggled in closer and pressed herself tightly against him.

He certainly remembered her declaring that yesterday, and judging from their carnivore-like expressions at the time, he had predicted they would act boldly. However, his miscalculation was that they wouldn’t pick their time or place at all. Walking like this, he would stand out whether he wanted to or not.

Naturally, many other students besides Shinta and Ichizu took the same route to school at this hour. Commuting proudly with his arm linked by a beautiful girl as lovely as an idol easily caught the attention of the surrounding male students, and Shinta could clearly hear the reactions they stirred up.

“Hey, what the hell is that?”

“Ugh, why is a delinquent like him so popular with such a cutie?”

“So annoying… stop showing off.”

As they approached the school gates, the number of students they passed naturally increased. Shinta could feel the guys flaring up with jealousy while spitting curses, and he could easily spot the girls looking their way and whispering amongst themselves.

(Damn it, the guys are blatantly glaring at me. Honestly speaking, it’s annoying…)

To be frank, the envious glares from guys he had never even spoken to were nothing but a nuisance. Yet, Shinta didn’t forcefully peel Ichizu off of him. He had actually tried it once earlier along the route, but her reaction at that time had been a bit too much to handle.

When he had unlinked their arms, Ichizu had completely melted down.

“Why… why are you shaking me off, Shinta-kun? Do you hate linking arms with me that much? Could it be you’re trying to distance yourself because I’m dirty and gross? I… I made sure to take a shower this morning before leaving the house, so I’m not dirty. Or is it that it’d be a problem if other people saw you with me? Are you thinking it’d be a nuisance if rumors spread about us getting along so intimately? Would you not have rejected me if I were Miina-san or Nakamura-senpai? I hate this… I finally managed to convey my true feelings to you, Shinta-kun, so being treated like this is so sad and painful. So please don’t hate me don’t hate me don’t hate me don’t hate me…”

All he had done was ask her to give him a little space, and that paranoid spiral was the result.

Shown a reaction of that level, Shinta simply couldn’t bring himself to forcibly peel her off again. In the end, he was the one who folded. Adopting a “whatever happens, happens” mentality, he decided to turn a blind eye to her linking their arms during the commute. While it earned him the envy of the other boys, the widely known rumor that Shinta was the “Legendary Ex-Yankee” acted as a silver lining, ensuring no punks came to mess with him directly.

“Mornin’, Shinta and Ichizu!”

Hearing a cheerful greeting from behind, he turned around to see Miina waving her hand and walking toward them. Faster than Shinta could return the greeting, she closed the distance and fluidly linked her arm around his free one.

“Hey Miina, you…”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t be such a stiff~. It’s not fair for Ichizu to be the only one linking arms and getting all lovey-dovey♪”

Beaming with a smile, Miina gave Shinta’s arm a squeeze and hugged it close to her chest. As her well-developed breasts pressed tightly against him, Shinta panicked from embarrassment.

“H-Hey, you’re clinging a bit too…”

“Eh, is that no good? Why? Hey, why?? Are you saying it’s fine for Ichizu, but you don’t want to be touched by me? If that’s the case, tell me what’s wrong with me. I’ll fix it right here, right now, immediately. Hey, hey, hey?”

Miina’s innocent smile vanished, instantly replaced by a face as emotionless as a Noh mask.

Faced with a terror that couldn’t be described in words—an oppressive aura just like Ichizu’s earlier meltdown that made the surrounding jealous glares seem like nothing—Shinta immediately gave up.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Jeez, what’s with that? You’re such a shy guy, Shinta♡”

“Ah, flirting with just the two of you is prohibited!”

Miina’s mood recovered in an instant as she increased the density of their physical contact. Refusing to lose, Ichizu hugged his other side even tighter. In proportion to that, the surrounding boys glared as if they were about to cry tears of blood.

(Ahh, what the hell is my school life going to turn into from here on out…)

From the perspective of the surrounding guys, this was likely an unimaginably joyous situation. But Shinta himself, his eyes completely dead, couldn’t help but feel intense anxiety toward his impending future.