My Mental Choices Are Completely Interfering with My School Romantic Comedy - Volume 1 Chapter 3.5:

Volume 1 Chapter 3.5:

“Ugh… damn it.”

What awaited me after being dragged away was a storm of insults and a torrent of violence.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to Yawakaze-san!?”

“A lowly member of the ‘Reject Five’ like you trying to talk to Konagi-chan? You’re a hundred years too early!”

“Speaking such blasphemous words to our dear Yawakaze-taso, that’s a crime worthy of a thousand deaths, nari!”

“Huh? Hey, this guy’s got a pretty nice-shaped ass, doesn’t he?”

… I really, really want to believe I misheard that last one.

No, but seriously, what the hell is up with that iron-clad defense? Apparently, they take turns watching over Yawakaze during every break period (?), but at this point, it’s basically stalking.

I somehow dragged my battered body back to the classroom.

“Ohoho, you got yourself properly wrecked again, huh?”

Waiting at my seat with a smug grin was Yuuouji.

“Amacchi, want me to help?”

“Hah?”

“With Konagi-tan’s panties thing. I’ll lend a hand.”

What the hell is this girl even saying?

“Why?”

“‘Cause it’s fun.”

She answered instantly.

“Fun…? Are you serious?”

“Huh? What’s so weird about that? There’s no point in doing something boring, right?”

At Yuuouji’s completely straight-faced response, I found myself at a loss for words.

Doing things because they’re fun. Not doing things because they’re boring. That’s the logic of a child, plain and simple.

As people grow up, they take on all sorts of obligations and constraints that limit their actions.

It’s not even close to what working adults deal with, but even as high schoolers, we carry a decent amount of baggage. There’s no way someone can live by such simple principles alone… No, actually, thinking back on Yuuouji’s past actions, maybe that logic does apply to her. And that’s terrifying.

“No, no, even so, this is still messed up. I mean, I’m literally trying to see your friend’s panties here.”

“Amacchi, you’re so unnatural, you know?”

“Hah?”

What came out of Yuuouji’s mouth wasn’t a direct answer.

“You always say and do weird things, right? But it all feels kinda fake, you know?”

I reflexively tensed up.

“It doesn’t seem like an act, and it’s not like you have a split personality or anything. But… it’s like you’re being forced to do something while mixing in your own will? It’s hard to explain, but basically, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

She grinned mischievously.

I swallowed hard.

She probably didn’t know about the existence of the Absolute Choices, but she had somehow cut right to the heart of the matter.

“Anyway, Amacchi, since you’re fun to watch, you’re officially my observation subject now!”

Suddenly, she leaned in close—so close our foreheads were practically touching.

“H-Hey!”

I quickly recoiled.

Even if Yuuouji acted like a child, she was still, without a doubt, an ultra-high school-level beauty.

There was no way I could remain unfazed as a normal, healthy teenage boy when her face was this close to mine.

“Hm?”

Meanwhile, Yuuouji looked completely unaffected. This girl… is she really sixteen?

Her height put her on the smaller side, yet she had an unnecessarily large chest and a waistline peeking out from a blouse far too short… Her body had developed excessively, yet her mind hadn’t caught up at all.

“You know, you should have a little more shame— No, never mind.”

“Hm?”

There was no way words alone could make her understand such emotions. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she still took baths with her dad.

“Fufu, no matter how much you resist, Amacchi, you won’t escape my observations.”

Yuuouji completely misunderstood why I pulled away. The way she carried herself—though different in gender and nature—reminded me of those dense protagonists from harem manga and anime.

Those guys remain utterly oblivious even when girls are clearly throwing themselves at them, and it’s so frustrating it makes you want to punch them.

…Wait, I got sidetracked. That was just my own bitterness speaking. Putting that aside, I now realized that being selectively dense about certain things does happen in reality.

Right after showing that sharp intuition about Absolute Choice, this stark contrast made it stand out even more.

“Well, over the past month, I’ve learned quite a lot about you, Amacchi. And just now… I can tell that your real goal wasn’t perverted at all.”

Out of nowhere, Yuuouji brought the conversation back to an earlier point. Her tone was strangely confident.

“I mean, not that I want to doubt myself, but you actually believed that ridiculous story?”

“Why not? If you’re close to someone, you can tell by their eyes and expressions whether they’re telling the truth or not, right?”

She said it so casually, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And coming from her, it somehow didn’t sound like a lie.

“Well, setting that aside, Konagi-tan has absolutely no immunity to guys. If she doesn’t at least flash her panties at someone now, she’s bound to have a much rougher time later.”

…Leaving the whole panties thing aside, I had to admit—I kind of agreed.

At Seikou, there weren’t really any problem students. Plus, she had the Royal Guard, the ultimate shield, so for now, it wasn’t an issue. But if Yawakaze ever moved to Tokyo alone for college, I could totally see her getting snatched up by some sleazy guy and ending up in all sorts of compromising situations.

If I were one of those guys, I definitely wouldn’t let an opportunity like that slip by. Well, if I were that kind of guy, that is.

…Wait a second. Yuuouji actually notices things like this when it’s about someone else?

Thinking back, even when the three of us—me, Yukihira, and Yuuouji—hung out, she seemed to fully grasp Yukihira’s brutal dirty jokes. So it’s not that she lacks knowledge; she just doesn’t associate any of it with herself.

“Ahh, this is getting interesting!”

Completely ignoring my thoughts, Yuuouji beamed with the excitement of a child.

“Ah…”

Seeing her like that, I suddenly realized what had been nagging at me earlier—

The déjà vu I felt when I was with Yawakaze

The one standing right in front of me—this was just like Yuuouji.

No, it wasn’t that Yuuouji and Yawakaze were similar. In fact, they were practically opposites. Their actions, their appearances—on the surface, they had nothing in common. But deep down, at a fundamental level, there was something about them that felt oddly alike.

Both Yuuouji and Yawakaze seemed to express their emotions directly, without filtering or diluting them in any way.

If I had to put it into words, the closest term would probably be “pure.”

This kind of fundamental nature in people sometimes slips through in subtle moments—in their expressions, in their movements. That was why, despite being so different on the surface, they left me with a strangely similar impression.

That said, even if they shared the same core, the direction it took was completely opposite.

Yawakaze’s purity was the righteous kind—the kind that leaned toward innocence and sincerity.

“Fufufu… Just you wait, Konagi-tan. I’ll make sure your panties are put on full display!”

Meanwhile, Yuuouji, with that mischievous grin as she gleefully plotted to expose her best friend’s underwear to a guy—

The words that popped into my head were “tainted purity.”