My Popular-as-Hell Best Friend Is Annoying, So I Want to Get Him a Girlfriend and Shut Him Up - Chapter 41 & 42 & 43

Chapter 41: Preparations

Ten minutes late to sixth period, I step into the classroom and immediately catch the teacher’s glare from the podium.

“Late again just three days after the last time? You’ve got some guts, Hirose. Anything to say for yourself?”

“Nothing in particular. My apologies.”

“Huh? Nothing in particular, yet you’re sorry… Wait, what?”

“Can I return to my seat?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. If you’re reflecting, I suppose it’s fine…”

“Thank you.”

I give a slight bow to the flustered teacher and head to my desk. Classmates’ stares follow me, but I don’t have the luxury of caring about that.

“New strategy, huh? Apologizing quickly and showing remorse to shut it down, unlike your usual antics. That’s your 14th win, right?”

Despite being in class, Uryu speaks in a hushed tone. He plays the model student but never lets his guard down. Perfect timing—I have something to discuss with him.

“Uryu, I’ve got a favor to ask.”

His lips curl into a slight smirk.

“Whoa, asking for a favor when you still owe me one? You okay with owing me twice?”

“Fine by me, as long as you pull your weight.”

My quick agreement catches him off guard, his eyes blinking rapidly.

“…Something up?”

His expression turns serious as he questions me.

Tch, is it that rare for me to agree so easily?

“Something’s up, sure, but I’m not planning to drag you into anything complicated.”

“Got it.”

“Not urgent, so let’s talk next week.”

“Roger that.”

He gives a short nod, flashing a grin while making a circle with his thumb and index finger.

“If it’s not complicated, I’ll do this one for free. Be grateful, yeah?”

“Shut up, don’t act like you’re doing me a favor.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

No clue what’s gotten into him, but it seems Uryu’s willing to work like a packhorse without reward. If that’s the case, I’ll gladly make use of him—though, admittedly, I feel a tiny bit bad. Only because he offered, of course.

With our chat done, I mentally outline my next steps.

I was too heated to get proper details from Rando-dono, but Ai-chan’s account and the tea ceremony room situation give me a 90% clear picture.

During lunch break, Rando-dono likely entered a toilet stall, and someone dumped water on her from above. As a sports club member, she had spare clothes, but what if she didn’t? What was the culprit’s plan then? No point dwelling on it.

The culprit is probably Natori Mayoi or one of her lackeys, but there’s no solid evidence. Rando-dono likely didn’t see the attacker’s face, and confronting them now would just lead to denials. That’s a problem for me—I won’t act without concrete proof or an admission. I’m not here to play nice with half-hearted apologies.

That’s why I’m giving it one week. One week to get something incriminating from Natori Mayoi.

Honestly, there’s no guarantee this’ll work. If Natori Mayoi’s satisfied and never brings it up again, I’m screwed. I won’t be able to act.

But I can’t afford to take longer. The more time passes, the longer Rando-dono lives in fear, suffering from the harm done to her. That’s unacceptable. I want her to approach Uryu with confidence as soon as possible. Any obstacle to my underclassman’s love life? I’ll crush it myself, and I’ll do it fast.

The method for getting a confession is set. It’s a tactic even adults use—just execute it carefully and precisely. The issue is where to set the trap.

That’s my after-school task: gathering intel on Natori Mayoi and her posse’s movement patterns around school. Obviously, I can’t be blatant. Asking where they hang out would be too sudden and suspicious. I’ll use excuses like “found a lost item” or “looking for them about club matters” to subtly probe their routines during lunch, after school, or between classes. If I can narrow down their habits even slightly, I’ll execute the plan tomorrow, hitting every opportunity. It’s Saturday, a rest day, but the school’s open for clubs. A student like me wandering around won’t raise eyebrows—fewer people might even make it easier.

Alright, plan’s set. Time to act after school. If I can pull this off today, I’ll have the whole next week to work with. I will make this happen.

Then it’s a race against time—a fight to settle this within a week.

※

In the end, I got the weapon I needed in less than a week. They were so foolish, it made my worries seem laughable. Their foolishness left their defenses wide open.

Good. My plan wasn’t wasted. Now, there’s only one thing left to do.

※

Bring down the hammer of justice on those idiots who mock and hurt others.

Chapter 42: Execution

Yourei High School has two main buildings: the new wing, where we carry out our daily school life, and the old wing, which is barely used anymore. Back when the student population was smaller, the old wing sufficed, but as numbers grew, they built the larger new wing, leaving the old one mostly abandoned. Some cultural clubs and hobby groups use the first and second floors, but the third and fourth are practically deserted. If someone wanted, it’d be easy for a guy and girl to climb the “adult stairs” in there, unnoticed.

Pushing aside such improper fantasies, I climb the old wing’s staircase. It’s after school, club activity time, yet no voices echo through the halls. If it were winter, the sun would’ve set, casting an eerie atmosphere.

Carrying slightly more luggage than usual, I stop in front of a fourth-floor classroom. A paper reading “Paranormal Research Club” is taped to the sliding door’s frame, obscuring the view inside. Well, I’m the one who put it there.

Now, is my target here? If not, today’s prep is all for nothing. Not that I’m too worried—Uryu already confirmed they’d be here.

I knock politely before opening the door and stepping inside.

The room’s about the same size as our classroom, but it’s nearly empty, with just two long desks and chairs sitting alone in the center.

※

My target—Natori Mayoi—stands against a large pillar between two windows.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

Normally, her flippant response would spark my anger, but this time, I let it slide.

After all, Natori Mayoi is here because Uryu called her.

“Sorry, I asked Uryu to get you here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t get it.”

“It means I’ve got business with you.”

“I’m leaving. I’ve got no business with you.”

“Sorry, but I can’t let you go.”

I step in front of Natori Mayoi as she moves toward the door, exasperated.

“Listen. If you’re innocent, I’ll let you go right away.”

“…Ugh, annoying.”

Sighing heavily, she leans back against the pillar, seemingly willing to hear me out.

“What? Hurry up and get this over with.”

She crosses her arms, clearly irritated. Fair enough—coming all this way expecting Uryu and finding me instead would piss anyone off.

But don’t worry, that frustration won’t last long.

※

“I’ll cut to the chase. Are you the one who dumped water on Rando Sora?”

At my words, Natori Mayoi doesn’t so much as flinch. As expected from the queen of poker faces—this isn’t enough to shake her.

“…Ha, that shrimp. Too weak to handle it herself, so she snitched, huh?”

A few seconds later, she mutters something under her breath, chuckling as if mocking someone.

“And she runs to you? How pathetic can her social circle be?”

“Answer the question. Are you the culprit?”

“Huh? I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about. Is she saying it was me?”

Natori Mayoi’s response is exactly what I expected—perfect. This makes things much easier for me.

“So, you’re saying you didn’t dump water on Rando Sora?”

“That’s what I said. Got any proof?”

She sounds awfully confident, throwing the question back at me with a taunting tone.

Oh, you’re that sure? Guess I’ll have to show you some interesting evidence.

“Mind listening, then? Tell me if this qualifies as proof.”

“What?”

Ignoring her confused grunt, I pull something from my bag and show it to her.

“What’s that? Just a pen.”

What I’m holding looks like a ballpoint pen. But of course, I wouldn’t bring an ordinary pen here. Since she’s still clueless, I explain.

“Sorry to disappoint, but this isn’t a pen. It’s a voice recorder.”

“Voice recorder?”

“What, you don’t know? It’s a must-have for working adults.”

With that preface, I continue.

“As the name suggests, press this button, and it records nearby sounds or conversations. It’s great for preventing ‘he said, she said’ disputes in contracts or exposing a boss pulling power harassment. Though, any company letting a harassing boss run free probably doesn’t have a future.”

“Why do you know so much about corporate stuff?”

“Why don’t you? Contracts aside, power harassment was a big deal a while back. You know, the ‘This bald guy!’ case?”

“Oh, that one. Where being bald was a major crime, right?”

Completely off, and now she’s picking fights left and right. I’d love to correct her, but that’s off-topic, so I steer back to the oblivious Natori Mayoi.

“With this, you can easily record conversations. By the way, I’ve placed three of these around the school, plus box-type recorders, making six total spots.”

“Six… in the school? Why do you have so many?”

“Technically nine, counting spares for dead batteries. Back in middle school, I wanted to practice English conversation, so I recorded myself. Got into collecting different types as a hobby. Also, I ‘borrowed’ some from my mom without asking. But that’s beside the point.”

“…!”

“Get it now, Natori Mayoi? Understand what this means?”

For the first time, a flicker of panic crosses her face.

To drive the point home, I play one recorder’s audio.

※

“You hear? I just heard that underclassman gave up on chasing Aoyagi!”

“No way! The water trick actually worked?”

“I mean, getting doused and shutting up like that? Hilarious!”

“Seriously, her mental’s way too weak!”

“Hahaha!!”

Natori Mayoi’s face stiffens as she hears the recording. Even the poker face queen can’t hide when faced with ironclad evidence like this.

“That’s your voice, right?”

Feeling the upper hand, I slowly corner her.

You might wonder how I got such a pinpoint conversation. Truth is, I set Natori Mayoi up.

When passing her in the hall with Uryu, I deliberately spoke loud enough for her to overhear.

“That underclassman who’s been all over you lately—she stopped coming to our classroom, right?”

“Yeah, she’s barely talked to me at practice either.”

“What, she gave up on you?”

“Maybe.”

I had Uryu play along, hoping it’d spark talk among her posse. Didn’t expect it to work this perfectly. Gotta thank Uryu for helping out twice, even if he didn’t fully get why.

“So, any excuses? I’ve got another recording if you need it.”

Holding one of the nine recorders, I press Natori Mayoi.

Sifting through countless conversations for her voice was torture. Ninety percent was irrelevant, including stuff I’d rather not have heard. I haven’t been this sleep-deprived since making “Love-Struck Shuri-chan.”

Hoping she’ll confess quickly, I watch as Natori Mayoi lets out a twisted laugh and mutters a single word.

※

“…So?”

That’s as good as a confession. Natori Mayoi just admitted she did it.

But her tone makes it clear she’s not remotely sorry.

“So what? She pissed me off, so I did it. That’s normal, right? Don’t you ever get annoyed and wanna take it out on something? It’s the same thing. Nothing weird about it. Don’t you get that?”

A flood of shallow words defending herself. Justifying her actions with nonsense, whining like a kid when called out. It makes me sick to my core.

“Someone like me doesn’t deserve to stand beside Aoyagi-senpai!”

Making my underclassman say that, and calling it normal? Nothing weird? What kind of nerve lets you laugh while saying that? Bluff or not, this level of defiance leaves no room for sympathy.

If that’s your true stance, I’ll fight you on your own turf, nice and clear.

“Got it.”

I nod calmly, keeping my voice steady despite the rage.

“I understand your thinking. Rando Sora was a convenient outlet for your irritation, so you went for it. That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Just confirming. Nothing wrong with that, right? Everyone’s got frustrations. Like you said, I get irritated too. The issue is whether you take it out on others or keep it in—and whether that creates more resentment.”

“What are you even—”

“You chose the former. You dragged others into your selfish desires. Sure, you might feel great, but the people you hurt? They’re gonna resent you. Natori Mayoi, you catching my drift?”

I flash her the same twisted smile she loves to use.

※

“You’re ready to face the consequences from those people, right?”

A faint trace of fear leaks from Natori Mayoi’s expression.

Chapter 43: Retribution

My roundabout way of speaking was just right for stoking Natori Mayoi’s fear.

I press on.

“As someone close to Rando Sora, I’m furious that she was hurt. I’m utterly pissed at you for casually obstructing her love life. I won’t be satisfied until I exact some kind of revenge.”

“R-revenge…?”

“Nothing major. Just spreading what you’ve done in a particularly nasty way.”

With that, I pull out the laptop I brought alongside the voice recorder.

I boot it up and show Natori Mayoi a specific SNS page—her own user profile.

“Not exactly smart, is it? Posting all this personal info without a private lock. It was easy to find, and your entire routine is laid bare.”

“…So what?”

“Just a heads-up. I only need to copy a few of your selfies from this. The fact that your house is along the Keio Line was a nice bonus.”

“So what?! What’s your point?!”

Natori Mayoi raises her voice, as if trying to drown out her fear. It’s easy to notice the tremble in her tone.

What’s my point? If she still doesn’t get it, I’ll spell it out. I switch the screen to the signup page of a certain dating site.

※

“I’m thinking of scattering your personal info all over this.”

“?!”

Natori Mayoi’s face pales, no attempt to hide it.

“Name, address, photos, school—leak all that, and you’ll be the talk of the internet in no time.”

“Wait a sec! How do you know my address?! I didn’t post that on SNS!”

“Obviously. If you did, even I’d be creeped out.”

“Then how do you know where I live?!”

“Asked a teacher, duh.”

“What?!”

“Well, they wouldn’t just tell me outright, so I had to get creative.”

I got Natori Mayoi’s address from last year’s homeroom teacher, Hasegawa-sensei, who’d done her home visit.

But I didn’t ask directly. In this age of strict privacy, even a friend of Natori Mayoi wouldn’t easily get her address, especially from a teacher, no matter how careless Hasegawa-sensei might be.

So I corrected her address instead. If asking “Where’s her address?” gets no answer, I say something specific like, “Her address is in Shinjuku.” Assuming I already know it but got it wrong, the teacher corrects me out of goodwill. I only knew her nearest station was on the Keio Line, so I fed Hasegawa-sensei guesses: station name, which exit, how far from the station, what’s the nearest convenience store. Then I scouted her house myself to find the Natori nameplate. Not too tough.

“Now, what happens if I leak your info here?”

I add a taunting lilt to my voice, egging on the frozen Natori Mayoi.

“Guys might start staking out your station. With that blonde hair, you’d stand out. You’d be the center of attention in no time. Might not make it home safely, huh?”

Natori Mayoi’s body trembles visibly. She avoids my gaze, staring straight at the floor, perhaps imagining the nightmare of her info being exposed.

※

“…Go ahead.”

Yet, Natori Mayoi doesn’t break.

“Do it! It won’t change anything! People aren’t that free—they’ll assume it’s fake and ignore it! Trying to scare me with this? You’re a hundred years too early!”

Like a naive princess escaping reality, she yells, daring me to act. The internet isn’t that forgiving, but she’s desperate not to show weakness.

I’m slightly impressed by her facade of defiance. Suppressing fear, refusing to show vulnerability—it’s not easy. Frustratingly, my first plan fell just short of breaking her.

Leaking her info now would only harm her later, not make her submit here. Unlike Rando-dono, she’s not directly attacked, so she’s holding on by a thread. My mistake was underestimating Natori Mayoi.

※

Fine then—she’ll learn the terror of a direct attack.

“I get your point. Leaking your info changes nothing. You can’t imagine the consequences, so you can play tough. If you don’t understand what’s coming, of course you’re not scared.”

I set the laptop on the desk, eyeing Natori Mayoi up and down before speaking.

※

“Then I’ll teach you exactly what’s coming.”

I step toward her, slowly, deliberately.

“W-what?! What are you doing?!”

“What? How long are you gonna dodge reality? Why do you think I picked this place? A classroom where no one comes—there’s only one thing a guy and girl do here, right?”

“?!”

Natori Mayoi’s face twists in deeper despair. She’s caught on to what I’m implying, but it’s too late.

“You don’t get what’s scary, do you? Gotta teach you for your own good.”

“Are you insane?! This is a joke, right?!”

“Who prepares this much for a joke? Face reality, you idiot.”

She tries to back away, but she’s already against the pillar—no escape.

I close in on her tearful face, declaring in the lowest voice I can muster.

※

“I’m saying I’ll violate you right here.”

“Eek…!”

Unable to withstand my pressure, Natori Mayoi slides down the pillar, collapsing in place, unable to look away from me.

I slam my hand against the pillar, intimidating her further.

“Naturally, I’m not at fault. You’re ready to face consequences, right?”

“…No…”

“If I do this, I’ll get arrested, but I’ll be satisfied. I’ll have dealt you a decisive blow.”

“Stop…”

“What happened to all that bravado? Stop mumbling and choose! Get violated by me now, or get toyed with by creeps later! Come on! Pick one!”

I pound the pillar repeatedly, raising my voice—something I rarely do—pushing Natori Mayoi to the brink.

A terrifying choice with no escape. Either option is hell for her. Forcing her to choose is downright cruel. But she won’t learn unless I drive her this far.

Feel the fear. Despair. Understand how terrifying it is to harm someone.

Realize what you’ve done. You can’t just hurt people and walk away. There’s something you have to do.

I glare down at Natori Mayoi, waiting. Waiting for her to face the danger, to answer under this pressure.

Seconds later, sobbing uncontrollably, Natori Mayoi bares her raw, unfiltered truth.

※

“…I’m sorry… I won’t do it again…! Never again, I swear… Please forgive me…!”

At last, I’ve drawn a genuine apology from the depths of Natori Mayoi’s heart.