The Charm of the Popular Beautiful Succubus in Class Doesn't Work on Me ~ For Some Reason, This Beauty Keeps Trying to Hold My Hand ~ - 24

Chapter 24: You Receive a Zero for Not Being Able to Put That Into Action

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“Ugh… I feel awful.”

I sniffled, trying to deal with the endless stream of snot coming from my nose and the throbbing pain in my throat with a few weak coughs. Chills kept running down my spine and my head felt foggy.

Yeah. I’m definitely catching a cold. 

“Oi, oi, oi, oi, are you okay? Your face is pale as a ghost.”

Kokubun, who happened to be walking to school with me this morning, peered into my face with a worried look on his face. I never thought I’d see the day where this guy would be worried about me.

“You don’t need to worry about me that much. What? Are you trying to make it rain again today or something with how weird you’re acting?”

“You idiot. I’m worried about myself. I don’t want to catch your cold.”

“Ah, now that’s the Kokubun I know.”

I said while laughing bitterly

“Anyway, joking aside, shouldn’t you just skip school today?”

“I’ve come this far, so I’m going. I just need to get through the day since tomorrow is a day off anyway.”

“You don’t want Sarashina to worry about you, so that’s why you’re forcing yourself to attend school? How very British gentleman of you.:

Kokubun grinned while giving me a knowing look, as if he could see right through me. 

“It’s not like that.”

I said, brushing off his teasing, but… Well, he wasn’t wrong. After getting soaked in the rain yesterday, there was no way I could skip school today. Sarashina wasn’t the cause of my cold, but knowing her, she’d probably feel responsible for it. 

Nonetheless, this guy… You really can’t hide anything from him, huh?

“Why didn’t you just share an umbrella and walk home together? Was there really any need to go back alone only to catch a cold in the end?”

Kokubun tilted his head, glancing at me with a mix of curiosity and exasperation.

“Now, now, you’re being too logical. I had my reasons, okay?”

“What kind of reasons?”

“Well, you know… Because of the rain some things got a little see-through and I might’ve seen some stuff I shouldn’t have.”

“Ah, I get it now. You were trying to keep her from noticing what happened to you down there, huh?”

“You idiot. That’s not what I meant. It was just too awkward, okay? I didn’t know where to look and besides, in a certain light novel I read, the guy is supposed to casually hand over his jacket and leave in those kinds of situations. That’s what a guy should do.”

“Your idea of ‘love’ is really straight out of a light novel, huh?”

“It’s not love.”

I ended up snapping a bit at Kokubun’s teasing. Meanwhile, he just sighed heavily at my reaction.

“What do you mean that isn’t love? What else could it be?”

“No, I mean, I was just talking about what happened yesterday. That’s all.”

At that, Kokubun sighed dramatically before he said. 

“You’re really an idiot. Do you remember what you said to Sarashina?”

“…What I said to her?”

“You know, you said, ‘The feeling of love is born from thinking about the other person over and over again,’ or something like that. The kind of stuff a certain musician would say.”

Ah… The thing I had said to Sarashina when I first walked home together with her. If I wasn’t wrong, I ended up projecting my past onto herself when I said that.

“Wait, how come you’re able to remember every single word I said?”

I gave Kokubun a sharp glare.

“Uuh~ So cold~”

Kokubun feigned innocence before he continued on. 

“But well, I think your way of thinking actually makes sense to a degree. If I had to give it a score, it’d probably be around an ’80.’ But…”

Kokubun then stared directly into my eyes.

“Michihito, you receive a zero for not being able to put that into action.”

“…A zero?!”

I snapped back, but Kokubun quickly said again. 

“Now! Question time! Have you seriously thought about your feelings for Sarashina?”

“Ugh…”

“I see. Then, have you ever thought about how Sarashina feels about you?”

“Ugh…”

“Why didn’t you think about it?”

Kokubun was relentless with his questions. His serious gaze bore into me, not letting me escape. 

“You know… Because Sarashina is the ‘class idol,’ and I’m just a ‘loner yankee.’ There’s no way love could blossom between us.”

“I see. So you’re saying since there’s absolutely zero chance of a romantic relationship between you two, there’s no need to think about it?”

“…”

“Come on, let’s be real. There’s no way you two don’t feel anything special about each other after hanging out that much. From what I’ve heard, you and Sarashina have already crossed whatever ‘trauma’ you used to talk about, right?”

“…”

“Also, I know it’s not my place to say it, but from what I’ve heard, I think Sarashina already ‘likes’ you.”

“…No, no. You’re definitely jumping to the wrong conclusion about that. She clearly told me ‘I don’t like you’ the other day.”

“You can’t take everything at face value alone. You need to think if she was being honest with herself or not and… Maybe Sarashina hasn’t realized her own feelings either. Maybe she doesn’t know that she ‘likes’ you herself.”

Sarashina… Likes me? Come to think of it, I never really considered that possibility. I’ve always subconsciously drawn a line between us, thinking it’s absolutely impossible for ‘love’ to blossom between us. I mean, of course I still think it’s impossible. In fact, it’s more possible for her to go “Huh? There’s no way I’d like someone like you,” or… “You’re so delusional, thinking I’d like you just because you were a little nice to me.” Yeah. That kind of scenario seems more probable for someone like me. I can actually imagine Sarashina saying those lines to me right now. And yet…

I had been lecturing Sarashina about ‘love,’ acting like I knew everything, but in the end… I couldn’t put all those flashy words I had said into practice. The feeling of ‘liking’ someone was the result of thinking about them a lot, so….

“How’s that? Did I manage to push you in the right direction for a bit?”

With his hands behind his head, Kokubu said so while staring at me. 

“Thanks, Kokubun. You’re really an amazing guy after all.”

“Well, if you ever need advice, just let me know. I may act all flashy like this, but I’m still ‘Kokubun-san, the guy who knows everything,’ you know?”

Kokubun said while laughing heartily. Then, taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat before changing his topic. 

“Alright. I’ve given you advice as your  ‘friend,’ but from here on out, I’m offering you something as ‘informant.'”

“Oh! What’s the scoop today? Is it a gravure photo shoot? Some celebrity gossip?”

“You idiot. It’s about Sarashina.”

Kokubun paused for a moment before he continued on in a more serious tone.

“Actually, after hearing about what Akanashi had said to you, I got a bit curious and looked into Sarashina during her middle school days and then… I found something interesting.”

“Interesting?”

I gulped audibly at that. While watching my expressions intently, Kokubun started speaking. 

“Apparently, Sarashina was called a ‘succubus’ behind her back in middle school.”

“Succubus…?”

“What? You don’t know what a succubus is even though you’re an otaku? Succubus, also known as ‘incubus’ or ‘nightmare demon,’ is a demon that uses its beautiful appearance to charm men and drain their vitality.”

“Succubus, huh… I don’t really get it, but that sounds like an insult, right? How’s that supposed to be ‘interesting’?”

I glared at Kokubun, a little irritated. In response, Kokubun put his hands together, making a calming gesture to ease the situation. 

“Anyway, she started being called a ‘succubus’ at some point in middle school. Well, Sarashina was super popular with the boys, just like she is now. I guess she must’ve pissed off some girls because of that, but… There’s more to this story.”

Kokubun raised his index finger and started speaking in a slightly hushed tone. 

“Not long after people started calling Sarashina ‘succubus’, she transferred to a different middle school.”

Sarashina transferred school? I didn’t know about that. I had always assumed she stayed for three whole years in the same middle school as Akanashi since they went to the same middle school. But… She transferred school not long after they called her a ‘succubus’… Could it be… She was bullied by the other girls or something?

“What was the reason for her transfer…?”

I asked out of pure curiosity and Kokubun showed a slightly troubled expression in response to my question.

“Hmm… Well, this is super premium information, so… If you want to hear it, I will accept three days’ worth of lunch as the payment.”

With that one line, I hesitated. No, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to give up three days’ worth of lunch. It was… Hearing about Sarashina’s past might finally make me understand what had happened between her and Akanashi… Truth to be told, I had been curious about that for a while. Under normal circumstances, I would be jumping at the opportunity to get this precious information without any hesitation, but… 

“No, I think I will pass.”

I slowly shook my head.

“I don’t feel right having this kind of conversation behind her back. The information is way too sensitive and I don’t think she would be happy if I knew about it from someone else. If I really want to know the truth, I will just ask her directly. Sorry about that, Kokubun.”

I apologized in the end and Kokubun nodded slowly at that, as if he already knew my answer.

“I figured you’d say that and you don’t need to apologize, it’s not your fault. I was just investigating out of curiosity.” 

He said while placing a hand on my shoulder. 

“Well, like I said earlier, if you want advice from a ‘friend’ rather than an ‘information broker,’ I’m always here. We’re in this together, after all.”

Kokubun grinned widely. I genuinely thought of Kokubun as a good guy. Even now, he was still considerate of me, making sure I wouldn’t feel guilty by deliberately saying the important bits were ‘super premium information’ just to keep me from feeling bad…

“That’s right!”

But suddenly, Kokubun stopped dead in his tracks and raised his voice as if he just remembered something.

“What’s up? Did you forget something?”

“No… It’s about that ‘we’re in this together’ thing. Actually, there’s something only you can help me with. Could you listen to me seriously for a moment?”

At that, Kokubun suddenly looked really serious. Sensing this intense mood coming from him, I hesitated a bit but nodded to him in the end.

“Yeah, I will listen to anything you want to say to me. After all, we’re in this together. We will help each other out when we’re in trouble.”

“Thanks. You’re right. A friend is really important after all. Alright. I won’t hold back then.”

“………”

“………”

“………”

“Tell me the color of Sarashina’s bra!”

After that, no one knew which part of the country Kokubun flew off to after being punched by me.

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