Chapter 27 – I’m Not That Easy, After All【End】

I let out a small sigh, alone in the enormous bath.

The fact that Shigure-kun, who I’d always thought was a guy, was actually Shigure-chan…

And the shame of having my naked body seen by that same Shigure-chan, not to mention Chifuyu and Hinami.

Reality is waiting for me when I get out of this bath.

How am I supposed to face the three of them?

For that matter, is Shigure-chan even okay right now?

It feels like Nee-san is doing something terrifying to her, and I can’t relax. I guess since she was the one deceiving us, she might have had it coming, though.

“This club is finished.”

I’m surprised at how calm I am in this situation as I mutter, completely drained.

I thought Shigure-chan was a guy, but it’s not like I was aggressively touching her or saw anything that actually proved she was a girl.

‘We’re getting in the bath together, right? If you’re not going to get undressed, I’ll do it for you.’

I say that with a laugh and pull down what Shigure-chan is wearing on her lower half, underwear and all.

And there…

I’m glad it didn’t turn out like that.

I’m not the type of person to get handsy, even with guys, and I don’t go around making unnecessary physical contact.

Maybe it’s the relief from that, but I’m able to stay strangely calm.

“So Shigure-kun is a girl…”

Realizing that fact, I noticed something else.

—Shigure-chan isn’t Chifuyu’s new boyfriend.

Which means I wasn’t cheated on, and Chifuyu…

“I’m done thinking about it.”

The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt, so I submerged myself in the tub and focused only on blowing bubbles.

　＊＊＊

“I am so, so sorry.”

This was the large bath for the girls.

Four beautiful girls were soaking in the hot water, shoulder to shoulder.

Chifuyu, a petite, small-animal-like beauty, was trying to recall a vivid image of Akira’s naked body from earlier.

Hinami, her ample chest bouncing, also couldn’t get the sight of Akira out of her head.

And Akira’s older sister, Karin, was glaring at Shigure with a terrifying expression. Less than three minutes into their bath, she was already starting her fifth lecture.

“I thought I could trust you with Aki-kun…”

Karin was on the verge of tears.

She was overflowing with frustration that her little brother’s naked body had been exposed to women other than herself.

Just at that moment, Hinami stood up to go wash her body.

Slender, supple limbs, and a chest larger than anyone else’s here. A toned waist, and long, wet hair.

Everything about her was beautiful, enough to captivate even another girl.

That very Hinami looked down at the three beauties soaking in the tub and slowly opened her small mouth.

“I’m in love with Akira-kun.”

“““!?”””

At the sudden confession, the three girls, each holding special feelings for Akira, jumped.

“I knew it! I’ve come to kind of like you, Hinami-chan, but Aki-kun is mine, and I’m never letting you have him!”

Karin stood up, too.

Karin also had an outstanding figure and superior beauty, but she was no match for Hinami, a girl of peerless beauty.

In contrast, Chifuyu, Akira’s ex-girlfriend, let out a small sigh as she looked at Hinami’s beauty.

It happened at the exact same moment Akira let out a sigh in the men’s bath.

She didn’t know what reason Hinami had for falling for Akira. But Chifuyu couldn’t imagine herself winning against the beautiful girl before her.

If Hinami said she loved Akira and confessed to him, would Akira return those feelings?

I’m the one who dumped Akira for my own selfish reasons.

It’s not like I really meant it.

Thinking it would make Akira’s feelings for me stronger and allow us to build a closer relationship, I pushed him away, seeking an even stronger bond.

It didn’t take me long to realize that was a mistake.

When I saw Akira’s back as he walked away without a second glance.

I thought, he doesn’t want me.

When I begged him to get back together in the third conference room and he refused.

I thought, of course it wouldn’t be that convenient, I was being way too selfish.

It’s all my fault.

Akira is a strange guy.

He has so many particular habits, his own unique way of living. He’ll never bend on those, but he would absolutely never force his ways on others.

As I talked to him from the next seat over, I could feel myself naturally being drawn to him.

At the time, I didn’t know if these were romantic feelings, but when our seats were changed.

When the opportunity to talk with Akira disappeared.

—That’s when I realized my feelings for Akira.

As Chifuyu fell completely silent, Shigure gave her a look that was close to loving affection.

As she was frequently consulted by Chifuyu about her relationship with Akira, Shigure had felt her own interest in the person named Akira growing.

It was simple curiosity.

And a trial run for her cross-dressing.

“If you don’t hurry, that sexy girl is going to steal him away, you know? Are you okay with that?”

“Shigure…”

She whispered in Chifuyu’s ear with a mischievous smile.

But behind it was the honest desire for her best friend, Chifuyu, not to have any regrets.

“I…”

　＊＊＊

I got out of the bath a little early and returned to the boys’ room.

Shigure-chan’s luggage was already gone, leaving me alone in a room big enough for four.

It felt a little lonely, but if Shigure-chan is a girl, this is only natural.

If I had remained mistaken, we probably would have slept in the same room without a second thought.

I have mixed feelings about this.

“Akira-kun, do you have a minute?”

“…Hinami?”

Standing in the doorway, which I’d left wide open, was a beautiful girl, fresh from the bath.

A thin, short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

She was dressed defenselessly.

Is it really okay to let a post-bath Hinami into my room? It seems like a situation where Nee-san would come flying in, but there’s no sign of her at all.

“I got out a little earlier than everyone else.”

As if reading my mind, Hinami said that and, without waiting for permission, sat down on the bed.

The bed, used for many years by countless youths on school camping trips, creaked.

Knowing how innocent Hinami is, she’s probably not thinking anything weird, but one day she’ll learn. What she’s doing right now is an extremely dangerous act.

She’s lucky the person here is the harmless Yamabuki Akira.

“What’s up?”

“There’s something I want to tell you, Akira-kun.”

“Huh?”

Could it be—no, no way.

There’s no way.

I’m not so dense as to actually think that. I am definitely not dense.

This is probably the lead-up to a confession.

Reading the room, I sat down next to Hinami.

“I’ve admired you for a long time, Akira-kun.”

What she unexpectedly spun was not quite a love confession, but a disclosure of her feelings.

“Admired me?”

“You have a lot of friends, Akira-kun, you’re friendly and easy to talk to, and you’re so confident. I have this image of people like that doing anything a friend asks or going out on days off, but you were different, Akira-kun.”

“Ah…”

That’s because I want to relax on my days off.

“I’d see you turn down requests from friends, and you were pretty direct about refusing invitations to hang out… but you never lost any friends over it, and they’d just invite you again.”

“…”

“In middle school, I couldn’t hang out because of gymnastics practice, so I always turned down invitations, and I… I never even mentioned my favorite manga in front of my friends. My friends stopped talking to me… and… I was being bullied.”

Hinami’s expression was sadder than I had ever seen it.

Maybe that wasn’t the only reason she was bullied. Maybe there was jealousy over her exceptional looks, too.

“When I got to high school and saw you, Akira-kun, with all your friends, reading Empire during break time, I was so surprised.”

To me, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

But for Hinami, it must have been a huge deal.

To live how you want, without worrying about what others think.

“So I thought that if I also read manga confidently during break time, maybe something would change.”

It’s a rather unique way to try and change yourself, but if this was the only thing Hinami could do, if it was the best she could do…

“I’m in love with you, Akira-kun.”

Hinami leaned her shoulder against mine.

A nice smell of shampoo wafted from her still-damp hair.

This was a confession.

If so, I have to give her an answer. The one thing I can do for a girl who has shown me her affection. That is to give her a reply.

Even if that reply is no.

“Akira-kun… let’s do virginity?”

“Huh?”

Here before me is someone who uses “virginity” as a verb.

“I still don’t really get what ‘virginity’ is, but it’s something dirty, right?”

“Ahhh.”

Hinami really is an airhead.

The tense atmosphere was considerably lightened.

“Akira!”

pitter-patter

Just then, a small animal came running in.

Shattering the sentimental mood, my ex-girlfriend Chifuyu appeared.

It seems she came straight here after getting out of the bath.

Her hair is soaking wet, and her pajamas are on backward.

“I was an idiot! I love you so much, Akira, but I selfishly dumped you, and then tried to get back together, so… I’m an idiot, and so…”

She probably can’t organize her thoughts in her head.

Panicked by how close Hinami and I are, she’s flustered and has lost track of what she wants to say.

“I know it’s too late to be saying this now, but I love you!”

“Chifuyu…”

I’ve been confessed to again.

And next to me, a peerlessly beautiful girl is waiting for an answer to a different confession.

I’ve been given three choices.

Accept Hinami’s confession, accept Chifuyu’s confession, or reject both of their confessions. If I choose one, the other will be hurt. If I choose neither…

“Aki-kun! Don’t you forget about your Onee-chan!”

Just as I was forced to make the ultimate choice, Nee-san appeared with timing as exquisite as the school bell.

Shigure-chan is next to her.

Shigure-chan seems to feel a little guilty and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Nee-san aside, today, I have to choose someone and cast someone else aside. In manga and light novels, this is the scene where the winning and losing heroines are decided.

“I…”

“Umm… what is the meaning of this?”

Breakfast on the second day of the training camp was rice, miso soup, salt-grilled salmon, and a fried egg.

The saltiness is just right, and the rice is freshly cooked and glossy.

It’s times like these I’m glad I was born Japanese.

And—

“What happened last night? Hey, did I miss out on a really interesting scene?”

To my right is Chifuyu.

She’s trying to feed me a piece of salmon with an “aaah.”

On the opposite side, to my left, is Hinami.

She’s trying to feed me miso soup with an “aaah” (?).

Across from me is Nee-san.

She’s trying to forcefully block both of their attempts by stuffing her own face with salmon and miso soup.

Shigure-chan, now just Shigure, was watching my predicament with the smile of a handsome man.

“Akira-kun, could it be that last night was a wild—”

“—It was not. We just had a lot to sort out, that’s all.”

Matsumaru-sensei seems determined to turn this into something dirty. I won’t let her.

“See? You were having a party.”

“No, we were just having a discussion.”

After that, I came to a conclusion.

You can call me a coward. I’ll gladly accept any words you throw at me.

—I guess romance is still too difficult for me.

That was my answer.

It’s only natural to try and minimize the damage when you’re going to hurt someone. But apparently, that had the opposite effect.

‘I don’t really get it yet either. So let’s study it slowly together. Starting with virginity.’

‘Then I’ll just have to make you fall head over heels for me all over again from zero.’

‘Aki-kun, you really do have a sister complex, don’t you? You’re just saying that because you want to marry your Onee-chan.’

In short, it means all the girls around me were completely nuts.

“Akira.”

Chifuyu, beside me, flashed a smirk.

It was devilish and cute.

“Go out with me.”

Haaaah, I let out a sigh.

“I’m not that easy.”

And so I declared to the ex-girlfriend who dumped me and yet won’t stop pestering me.