My Mental Choices Are Completely Interfering with My School Romantic Comedy - Volume 3 Chapter 6: Epilogue 

Volume 3 Chapter 6: Epilogue 

Epilogue

The next day, Monday.

“My tummy’s full, and I’m so happy~”

Having demolished an unbelievable amount of breakfast as usual, Chocolat was in high spirits as we opened the classroom door.

“Yo.”

I exchanged greetings with my friends as always.

As I approached my desk, I caught sight of Yuuouji in the seat behind me. She was resting her cheek on her hand, wearing an unusually melancholic expression.

“Y-Yo.”

Yuuouji’s tearful smile from yesterday flashed in my mind, and I greeted her, feeling a bit flustered.

“Oh, Amacchi, morning…”

Not only her expression but her voice lacked its usual energy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Haha, n-nothing…”

No matter how you looked at it, it was definitely something.

“That’s not like you, Yuuouji. If something’s bothering you, just tell me.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right… Okay, I’ll say it, but…”

Her words were hesitant. Was it really that hard to say?

“Um… It never bothered me before, but ever since I got home yesterday, it’s been bugging me… For some reason, calling you ‘Amacchi’ doesn’t feel right anymore.”

The conversation suddenly veered off in a completely unexpected direction.

“Haha… Weird, right? I’ve always called you that, and it never felt off before…”

True, while she was in her toddler mode yesterday, she kept calling me “Kanade, Kanade.” Maybe that’s influencing her?

Yuuouji hesitated for a while, as if struggling to say something, before finally speaking with resolve.

“Hey… Is it okay if I start calling you… Kanadecchi from now on?”

“Huh? Uh, sure… That’s fine with me.”

It’s not like it’s a big deal. Yuuouji usually calls people by their first names with suffixes like “-cchi” or “-tan” anyway, so applying that to me isn’t weird at all.

“Kanadecchi… Kanadecchi. Yeah, this feels way better.”

I thought that settled it, but Yuuouji was still fidgeting slightly.

“What’s up? Something else on your mind?”

“Well… It feels weird if I’m the only one using first names, so… you can call me by my first name too.”

“Huh? Uh, I dunno…”

Yesterday, it was just the two of us, so I didn’t mind, but saying it here feels kinda embarrassing…

“…Is that a no?”

“Ugh…”

She looked at me with those clear, pleading eyes.

“…Ouka.”

The moment I muttered it, Yuuouji’s face lit up.

“Yep, nice to meet ya, Kanadecchi!”

Her innocent, childlike smile was back. Yup, this kind of expression definitely suits Yuuouji—no, Ouka—way better.

Suddenly, a chair clattered loudly.

“…Yukihira?”

Yukihira was walking toward us from her seat.

“W-What’s up?”

She seemed to be radiating an intense negative aura, and I couldn’t help but shrink back.

“I didn’t hear anything… I definitely didn’t hear anything, but what were you and Yuuouji-san just talking about?”

“Uh, just about calling each other by our first names…”

Overwhelmed by her strange intensity, I answered honestly.

“I already knew that.”

That’s not what you said a second ago…

“So… Amakusa-kun, are you planning to keep calling Yuuouji-san by her first name from now on?”

Ugh… Having someone else point it out makes it kinda embarrassing…

“Well… yeah.”

“You’re human scum.”

“Why⁉”

“To put it in perspective, you’re at the level where you should just get castrated.”

“What the heck did I even do?!”

“I mean… Chocolat, Yuragi, Ouka… They’re all first names, so why… why am I the only one still ‘Yukihira’?”

“Huh? What’d you say?”

Here we go again—Yukihira’s infamous muttering that no one can hear.

“Sorry, can you say that again, Yukihira?”

Yukihira’s temple twitched. What, is she mad? I don’t think I said anything particularly weird…

“Did I say something bad, Yukihira?”

Her temple pulsed again.

“…No, nothing in particular. It’s just that every time you call me, it makes my skin crawl.”

“You’re completely rejecting me?!”

Yukihira’s behavior is always a mess, but today’s especially incomprehensible.

“To be honest, being called by you is the height of discomfort, but… maybe if you used a slightly different way of addressing me, I’d be less angry.”

A different way… So she doesn’t like being called “Yukihira”?

“Oh, I get it.”

I clapped my hands together.

“Yukihira-san.”

“…”

“Some people don’t like being called by their last name without honorifics, right? My bad, my bad. But if it bothered you, you should’ve said so sooner. Oh, maybe I should stop saying ‘you’ too?”

The angry aura around Yukihira vanished… but she didn’t look any happier. Her face was like a Noh mask.

“Huh? Did I get it wrong, Yukihira-san?”

“…I can only assume your brain is rotting.”

That was a harsh way to put it.

“…From now on, I’m going to call you something different than usual, so you should do the same for me.”

Why make it so complicated? If she has a specific preference, she should just say it outright.

“Alright, here goes. Ka… Ka…”

“Ka?”

“Um, Ka… Ka… Ka…”

“Ka?”

“…Kama-kun.”

“Why do I sound like a drag queen⁉”

Yukihira looked down, as if regretting something.

But what’s going on here? It’s like a riddle. She calls me “Kama-kun,” and I’m supposed to call her the same way. Oh… maybe…

A realization hit me.

“…Nabehira?”

In that instant, Yukihira’s face went completely blank, like I’d never seen before.

Wait, I thought it was like “okama” and “onabe,” that kind of thing… Was I wrong?

“…Forget it.”

“Huh, forget it…?”

“…Just keep calling me Yukihira like always…”

Radiating an intense, menacing aura, Yukihira stormed back to her seat.

“H-Hey…”

I stood there flustered, unsure of what to say, when someone tapped my shoulder.

“…Amakusa-kun.”

Turning around, I saw it was the class representative (a glasses-wearing beauty).

“Oh, Class Rep, what’s up?”

“Well, sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I was nearby and overheard your conversation.”

“I-I see… So, what do you think made Yukihira so mad?”

The Class Rep sighed for some reason before speaking.

“Can I say just one thing?”

“Sure.”

“Amakusa-kun, I think you’d be better off dead.”

“Why⁉”

W-What’s going on…? For the ever-kind Class Rep to say something like that…

“Uh… Did I really do something that bad?”

Instead of answering, the Class Rep muttered softly.

“Poor Yukihira-san…”

…I couldn’t exactly say I’m the pitiful one here—not in this atmosphere.

“C-Class Rep, what was I supposed to do then?”

“Well… I don’t think I can say it out loud.”

She glanced toward Yukihira, who was back at her seat.

At that moment, Chocolat trotted over to Yukihira with a tap tap tap.

“Furano-san, do you maybe want Kanade-san to call you by your first name?”

“⁉”

Yukihira’s face turned to one of utter shock.

“And before that, Ouka-san and Kanade-san were talking about calling each other by their first names, right?”

“W-Wait, Chocolat-chan…”

The Class Rep hurried over to stop her, but Chocolat kept going.

“Being the only one left out feels bad—huh?”

Before she could finish, Yukihira, who had stood up, grabbed Chocolat’s head firmly.

“Ow… It hurts…”

“…Chocolat-san, if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll never give you snacks again.”

“S-Such cruel torture…!”

Chocolat trembled with an expression like the world was ending.

“…”

Releasing the now-quiet Chocolat, Yukihira shot me a silent glare before sitting back down.

“Ugh, I hate meddling like this… but since Chocolat-chan said it, I guess it’s fine.”

The Class Rep muttered under her breath and tugged at my sleeve.

“Amakusa-kun, call Yukihira-san by her first name.”

“Huh? But…”

“If you don’t, this situation won’t calm down.”

But she denied it so strongly—wouldn’t doing that just make things worse?

“Amakusa-kun, just trust me for now.”

I didn’t understand, but if the Class Rep was this insistent, I had no choice.

I walked to Yukihira’s seat and spoke up.

“Hey…”

“What?”

Ugh… That’s one icy stare. Better skip the preamble.

“Furano.”

“⁉”

Yukihira’s eyes went wide, blinking rapidly. No matter how you look at it, that’s not a positive reaction.

“S-See, you don’t like it, right? Sorry… I won’t say it again.”

“N-No, it’s not that I don’t like it…! B-But I wasn’t mentally prepared at all… If you called me by my name every time, I’d die of embarrassment…”

She was muttering something, but as usual, her voice was too soft to make out.

Yukihira stayed silent for a while, then spoke as if she’d made up her mind.

“…It’s fine.”

“Huh?”

Her voice was louder than before but still not quite clear. She seemed to realize this, took a breath, and spoke again.

“I said… you can call me by my first name.”

The pause was so long that it took me a moment to process, but she said “first name,” right?

“Got it… Then, Furano.”

“⁉”

W-Why that reaction again?

“N-No way… I’m still not ready…”

…And her voice is inaudible again. Honestly, I’m completely lost.

“Uh… So it’s okay to call you Furano, right? Yo, answer me, Furano. Hello, Furano—GUAH!”

In that instant, Yukihira’s hand chop exploded across my throat.

“Geh, cough, cough… W-What was that for?!”

“…”

Ignoring my question, Yukihira stood there silently.

“…I’m going home.”

“Huh? Going home? H-Hey, wait!”

Ignoring my attempts to stop her, Yukihira grabbed her things and left the classroom.

“C-Class Rep, did I mess up again?”

I looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Haha… No, I don’t think you did anything wrong this time… Yukihira-san’s just really complicated.”

The Class Rep gave a wry smile, scratching her cheek with her index finger.

“That aside… Amakusa-kun, you’re not doing it on purpose, right? You genuinely haven’t noticed?”

“Noticed what?”

“Poor Yukihira-san…”

The Class Rep’s words seemed to loop back around.

I was utterly clueless—

“Sorry to interrupt!”

A vaguely familiar voice suddenly rang out.

Reflexively, I turned toward it and saw a female student opening the classroom’s front door and stepping inside.

“H-Hey, isn’t that…?” “Crap, the dangerous one’s here!” “Senpai said, ‘If you’ve got a crush, stay far away from her!’” “Ugh, I’m in trouble!” “Phew, I’m safe…”

That’s right—every student at this school knows her name. She’s infamous.

One of the “Rejected Five,” third-year student Hisoka Himeru, slammed both hands on the teacher’s desk with dramatic flair.

“Well, well, Class 2-1, sorry for stealing your precious morning time!”

Speaking in an exaggerated, theatrical tone, she scanned the classroom.

Her wavy long hair, droopy eyes peeking through her bangs, and a uniform so sloppily worn it was practically indecent—exuding maximum exposure. Sensuality radiated from every inch of her.

“Oh.”

Himeru-senpai’s gaze locked onto mine, and she stopped moving.

Then, she stepped down from the desk and sauntered right up to me.

“Excuse me for a sec.”

Before I could react, she started patting my body all over.

“W-Wait… What are you doing⁉”

I’d heard plenty of unsavory rumors about her, but—

“Whoa… H-Hey, where are you touching?!”

Himeru-senpai paused her hands at my protests and leaned in close to my ear.

“Heh heh heh, you’ve got a nice body, don’t you—Kanade Amakusa-kun?”

“Ugh…”

The sweet whisper of my name sent a jolt down my spine.

“Wow, what an adorable reaction. How about it? If you’re up for it, I could make you feel even better—”

CLATTER! CRASH!

Two loud noises cut off Himeru-senpai’s words.

I looked over to see Ouka standing up with a fierce expression and the window being flung open. Standing in the hallway outside was—

“Yukihira?”

What? I thought she stormed off in a huff?

Setting that question aside, Yukihira was glaring at Himeru-senpai with intense hostility, and, unusually, Ouka was puffing out her cheeks, giving a slight glare too. What’s gotten into them?

Himeru-senpai, completely unfazed by their stares, spoke in a tone dripping with affection, as if addressing a lover.

“Oh, what marvelous reactions! Ouka Yuuouji-kun, on the verge of blooming, and Furano Yukihira-kun… And let’s not forget Chocolat-kun, still a budding flower—”

After a dramatic pause, the woman known as the “Love Crusher,” Hisoka Himeru, flashed a seductive smile.

“If you’re all going to dawdle, I’ll just take them for myself.”

[① To Be Continued / ② To Be Continued…]