Chapter 25: A Typical High School Girl

“You’re surprisingly skilled. To think you could push me, the president of the Shogi Club, this far.”

No, that’s not it. It’s not that I’m strong; it’s that she’s just too weak.

President? Isn’t that just a fancy title? She probably became president by default after all the other members turned into ghost members, or maybe she just self-proclaimed the title.

If all the other members are ghost members, that means she has no one to play against. Honestly, she probably doesn’t even like shogi. She’s just too weak for that to be the case.

“Still, she’s late, isn’t she? Umm…”

“You mean her?”

“Yeah, Toumei-senpai… Oh, come to think of it, her real name…”

“There’s no need for you to know.”

Come on, can someone just tell me already? I can’t even talk to her properly.

Even her parents probably won’t call her by her name ever again, right? At least let me be the one person who does…

“Honestly, I don’t remember either.”

You’re kidding me, right? That’s way too coldhearted.

I mean, sure, she was her bully and all, but isn’t that a bit too much?

Even now, she’s staying late at school just to help us check if Kumanokyo and the others are still around.

“What’s with that face? Are you mad?”

“Huh?”

Wait, was my expression showing that much?

I hadn’t even realized it myself, but I guess my opinion of Toumei-senpai is pretty high. My fists were even clenching unconsciously.

“No, it’s only natural for Kurokawa-senpai to be tough on Toumei-senpai, so…”

“I see…”

She responded disinterestedly and began rearranging the shogi pieces. Wait, we’re still playing? I feel like I’m bullying a beginner at this point, and it’s exhausting.

“Kurokawa-senpai, about our date, where are we…”

“Shut up. I’m thinking about my next move.”

…On the first turn?

This isn’t a roguelike game. There’s no randomness here. Don’t overthink the first move.

“I’ll open the bishop’s path.”

For all that deep thought, it’s such a basic move.

Could it be…?

“Do you have a place in mind, Senpai?”

“Take your time thinking about your next move first.”

Ignoring my question, she returned the turn to me instantly and complained. Seriously? It’s way too early in the game to get stuck thinking.

If I keep asking questions, she’ll probably just snap and tell me to stop interrupting her.

“Advance the rook’s path…? No, maybe a Yagura formation…”

She’s saying shogi terms that sound plausible, but does she even understand them? Something feels off.

It seems like she’s using shogi as a way to focus her brain and distract herself from the whole “date” thing. But why? She doesn’t strike me as the shy type who’d get flustered over something like this, even with no prior experience with guys…

“How about taking some purikura photos—”

“!?!”

Senpai flicked the shogi pieces off the board, cutting me off mid-sentence.

Is it that shocking for a high school girl to take purikura photos?

It’s just that I can’t do it alone as a guy, so I figured this was a good chance…

“How outdated. Yes, outdated. High school students these days don’t take purikura photos anymore. What’s a ‘print club’ anyway? Like that’s actually a club activity or something.”

While muttering nonsense, she hastily reset the pieces on the board.

Yeah, she’s totally rattled.

If I had to guess, her defenses are weak because she’s not used to being approached by guys.

She’s bad at gauging distances, so she tends to come on strong, but when someone makes a move toward her, she panics. That’s probably it.

“Dragging a girl into a cramped booth? You’re a million light-years too early for that.”

Light-years measure distance, not time.

Setting aside that tired joke, how should I play this?

If I let her take the lead, I might find myself in a situation where I’m dragged back to her house before I even realize it. But if I push too hard, who knows what a panicked senpai might do.

“Well, honestly, just hanging out and playing shogi with you, Senpai, is plenty fun for me.”

How’s that? That came out naturally, and it’s pretty smooth, right?

This way, we won’t be in a risky situation, and since it’s at school, nothing crazy can happen.

“…You’re right. That’s probably best. I hate crowds, and I doubt someone like you could escort a lady properly anyway. Plus, having our conversations overheard would be annoying. Hmm, it’s a pain to sit through your completely uninteresting shogi playstyle, but as the honorary president of the Shogi Club, I’ll humor you. You should be honored—go ahead, cry tears of gratitude.”

She speaks so fast.

But I’m glad she agreed.

…Now, if only I could fall for her… How do I do that?

Dragging out a game of shogi I don’t even care about—what’s that going to accomplish?

You don’t see protagonists playing shogi with the heroine in romance manga, do you? Even in shogi manga, when they go on dates with the heroine, it’s to places like the pool or something, right? Not that I’ve ever read a shogi manga.

“Senpai… your fingers are long and beautiful.”

The carefully reset game board collapses once more. Maybe we’d be better off just using an app or something to play.

“…Kogoro-kun.”

While diligently fixing the board, she squeezes out a voice so faint it’s barely audible.

Cute…

“You know, saying stuff like that… nowadays, that’s considered, um… harassment.”

Looks like my guess wasn’t wrong.

This girl has zero defense. It’s like one of those light novel protagonists: “She’s defenseless, but all her other stats are maxed out, so she’s unstoppable!” Yeah, no way that’d sell.

“My first impression of you, Senpai, was that you were cool and mysterious, but…”

“Cool? Me?”

“You’re actually more on the cute side, aren’t you?”

Once again, the board collapses. At this point, maybe it’s fine to leave it like that.

For me, it was just a light jab, but to Senpai, it seemed like a full-on knockout punch, leaving her trembling with embarrassment.

With her fair complexion, the redness of her blush is super obvious. Her bangs cover most of her face, so I can’t see her expression clearly. What kind of face is she making right now? Tempting as it is, brushing her bangs aside would be crossing the line. Better not.

“No one’s ever called me that… not even my parents. Maybe when I was a baby, but that’s about it.”

Wow, that’s harsh.

A daughter’s supposed to be called cute during all those special occasions, right? Like Shichi-Go-San or whatever. My little sister, for example, got showered with endless praise and had tons of photos taken during those times.

“Well then, I’ll take on that role from now on. I’ll keep telling you how your cool demeanor can’t hide your cuteness…”

“I’m going to the restroom.”

Unable to withstand my flattery any longer, she abruptly leaves her seat.

She’s surprisingly easy to fluster. Maybe she’ll even lift the curse if I keep this up.

Ah, just now she bumped into something. Probably Toumei-senpai. When did she get here?

While Kurokawa-senpai was gone, I played Gomoku with Toumei-senpai.

From my perspective, the go stones seemed to float in midair, but to an outsider, I probably looked like I was playing both sides by myself.

“I can see you moving the stones, Senpai, but I can’t see your clothes. Are you… um, naked or something? Ow!?”

Seriously, stop slapping me! For some reason, getting slapped by an invisible person hurts more than a normal slap. Maybe it’s the shock of it?

“I wasn’t trying to harass you. I just wanted to understand the difference between what I can and can’t see…”

For instance, what happens if Toumei-senpai carries a go stone down the hallway? Would it look like a floating stone?

My guess is no. After all, she must’ve already tested that herself. If I were in her position, I’d try it right away. Okay, that’s a lie. My first thought would probably be something pervy.

In any case, since there aren’t any rumors about a poltergeist floating around, I’m confident my theory is correct.

Wait… why didn’t I think of this sooner?

“Senpai, could you write something down? That way, we could communicate properly—”

“Writing letters during a date? Bold of you.”

Kurokawa-senpai returned at the worst possible moment, interrupting me in her usual fashion.

Looks like she regained her composure in the restroom.

“You’re making things difficult for me, you know. I cursed her to remain unrecognizable as punishment for bullying me, and here you are, trying to break that.”

Ah, so that’s how it is.

Even if I hadn’t thought of it, Toumei-senpai would’ve probably used writing to communicate if she could. The fact that she hasn’t means… yeah, it’s exactly as Kurokawa-senpai says.

“So, what’s the condition to lift Toumei-senpai’s curse?”

“Stop thinking about other girls besides me.”

Yikes, now that she’s back in her calm mode, she’s not taking this seriously. Worse yet, she’s starting to get annoyed.

“Don’t get mad. I mean, even your angry face is cute, but still…”

“You’re impossible…”

Alright, looks like this approach still works.

To weaken my curse, I need to raise my affection for Senpai. If I keep drawing out her cute side, I’ll naturally start liking her more.

“So, Kurokawa-senpai, what do you usually do in your free time?”

“I don’t like those kinds of questions, but I’ll answer just this once. I watch TV, read books… just a pretty normal life.”

She once mentioned getting hooked on an old game she found in her closet, so I had a feeling, but… yeah, totally ordinary.

No unique “cursed family” hobbies or anything?

“Sorry for asking something you don’t like.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re desperate to break the curse, Kogoro-kun.”

Crap, she thinks I’m just being calculating. This isn’t good.

“I mean, yeah, I’d like to break the curse, but even without it, I’d still want to spend time with you.”

“…You don’t think it’s a waste of time?”

She doesn’t seem like she’s accusing me. It’s more like she has no confidence in herself.

Did someone say something terrible to her in the past? I mean, she was bullied, after all.

“Not at all. Why would I? I’m enjoying this.”

“Really? Even though I don’t have much to talk about…”

Oh no, I might actually fall for her.

I’m a sucker for this kind of modest, fragile vibe. I can’t stand the “Aren’t I cute?” type of girl, but the “I’m not good enough” kind? Yeah, that’s my weakness.

“Just chatting about random things with you is fun.”

“Really? Even if I talked about, like, the last drama I watched? You wouldn’t get mad?”

“Why would I? Does anyone actually get mad over that?”

“You’re sure? Really sure?”

She’s being strangely persistent.

What happened to her in the past? I can’t stop wondering, but for now, I’ll hold back. I’m sure the chance to ask will come eventually.

“Go ahead.”

“Alright, but if you try to leave halfway, I’ll be upset.”

What followed was three hours of random, uneventful chatter.

All that talk about having nothing to say—what was that about?

The conversation was so devoid of substance that I was tempted to crack a “there’s no content here” joke, but thanks to my sister and mom, I’ve built some tolerance for this kind of thing.

In short, Senpai’s topics are about as typical as any other girl’s.

Seeing this ordinary side of her, I feel like the fear of the unknown has faded a little.

Maybe my affection level has gone up, just as planned.

If only this could bring everyone back to normal…