The Day After I Told My Shut-In Genius Childhood Friend, Who’s Highly Dependent on Me, “I Got Confessed To,” She Showed Me a Hypnosis App - Chapter 8

At this high school, the rules say that every student has to join a club.

That rule applies even to student council members like me.

I knocked on the slightly old door at the quiet end of the second building.

“Excuse me for coming in.”

There were long tables and folding chairs lined up inside, and shelves packed with all kinds of books.

At the back, a beautiful woman looked up from the paperback she was flipping through.

“Hey. You came, Honami-kun.”

“So you’re here too ―Kirisaka-senpai.”

Kirisaka Shino-senpai is a member of this literature club.

Her short black hair framed her sharp, slanted eyes, and she had a perfectly shaped, actress-like face. She had a cool, calm air that made her popular with both boys and girls.

And that’s not all.

“During test periods, the student council doesn’t meet, so if you want to see me, this is the only place, right?”

“Ahaha… thank you for always looking out for me… President.”

Kirisaka-senpai is also the student council president.

That means she’s my boss both in the club and in the student council.

When I first joined, I went to the literature club on a whim. I was really surprised to see the beautiful woman I had seen at student council meetings there.

“You don’t have to be so formal calling me President. You can just call me Shino.”

“I-I can’t really call you by your name.”

“You could even call me big sister.”

“W-wait… Senpai!”

“Ehehe. I’m sorry. I’m just kidding.”

She’s always a little too close, whether she realizes it or not.

It’s already embarrassing enough that such a popular and beautiful senpai talks to me so casually. Calling her big sister would be impossible. Even as a joke, if other girls found out, I’d be in big trouble.

(If the fan club found out… I could be hung out in the hallway for all to see.)

By the way… Kirisaka-senpai even has a fan club.

When I joined the literature club, a fan warned me.

“While President Kirisaka is in the literature club, don’t interfere. Joining just because you’re curious about her is forbidden.”

“But we know you didn’t have any ulterior motives, so you’re fine.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re letting you off completely, don’t even think about doing anything weird…”

I thought he was a quiet classmate, but he turned out to be an extreme fan.

The world is scary.

The literature club doesn’t have many members, and one of the few others is behind senpai.

“By the way, you can probably only see his legs, but the one sleeping back there is Akimoto.”

“…I figured.”

Akimoto Kyouya, another senpai in the literature club, is one of the few members here. He always looks sleep-deprived, and I can’t help worrying about him.

There’s an old sofa in the back, and that’s usually where he naps. I hardly ever see him reading, so it’s safe to say he treats it like a nap room.

Then Kirisaka-senpai closed her book.

“By the way, Honami-kun…”

“Yes?”

“Did something happen?”

I was surprised she noticed before I said anything.

That’s right. I came here still feeling hurt after Momose-san called me an idiot. I was hoping I could talk to senpai about it.

“H-How did you know?”

“It shows on your face. Honami-kun’s always show your feelings right away.”

“Really…?”

She said it teasingly, which made me feel even more embarrassed.

But keeping it to myself isn’t good either. There’s no one better I could talk to.

Feeling embarrassed, I finally spoke.

“It’s actually like this…”

◇

I didn’t mention the confession, just summarized what happened earlier, and asked for advice.

After listening, Kirisaka-senpai pursed her lips.

“Hmm… So Honami-kun has a close girl friend.”

“That’s what you focus on?”

It was rare to see her pout like that.

Did she look sulky… or was I just imagining it?

“No, I just thought of it for a second.”

“I see?”

“I’m not thinking something like Honami-kun has another girl next to him… Or you seem really close to her… or anything like that.”

“I-I see…”

Her words were hard to read. Was she serious, or teasing me?

She chuckled softly upon seeing me freeze.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to see your troubled face, so I’m satisfied.”

“Haah…”

“But anyway… You were talking normally, and then suddenly she called you an idiot. You upset the other person, but you don’t know why.”

“That’s right.”

It was still fresh in my memory, Momose-san yelling “idiot” at me on the rooftop.

I felt hurt, but it didn’t make sense to have a fight end like this. Also, she’s one of the few people I can talk to about Prikle at school. I wanted to make up for it if I could.

“My advice is a bit rough, but even if you don’t know the reason, apologizing first might help.”

“Even without knowing why?”

“Sometimes, even if you ask why someone’s mad, they can’t explain it right away. It’s better to apologize first, calm down, and then talk it through. After that, you can slowly find out the reason.”

“I see…”

I nodded and thought about past reconciliations.

The only person I’d fought with before was Mio. In her case, I usually just waited for the storm to pass.

With Mio, sometimes I’d notice my phone wallpaper had been changed to an embarrassing picture of me, or all my computer searches would be printed out and stuck on my desk, or in just a few minutes of leaving my room, she’d set up an auto-lock on the door that only opened with a special seal she prepared.

In any case, I definitely ended up apologizing to Mio over and over.

“Apologizing is important.”

“That’s right. It’s always important to apologize first. And if the reason turns out to be unreasonable… I’ll make sure to comfort you specially.”

“Kirisaka-senpai…!”

I felt the heaviness in my stomach lighten a little.

After all, it’s good to have a reliable senpai.

Just then, Akimoto-senpai, who had been sleeping in the back of the room, started stirring.

“Mm… what time is it now…”

“You’re awake, Akimoto-senpai.”

He scratched his messy bedhead, put on his glasses, and glanced at the clock.

“…Did I sleep for about three hours?”

“Senpai, haven’t you been sleeping since class started?”

“Class is important, but sleep is important too. Well then, I’ll be heading out.”

Ignoring the exasperated looks from me and Kirisaka-senpai, Akimoto-senpai left the room in his usual calm and confident way.

“…Seriously. He never changes.”

“That’s true.”

We both laughed. Even so, Akimoto-senpai is a kind senpai, and I owe him a lot. Like Kirisaka-senpai, I respect him.

The literature club is a good place. I only joined because I had few other options, but now I’m glad I ended up here.

As I thought that, I watched the door after Akimoto-senpai left, and it quietly clicked shut.

Now, it was just Kirisaka-senpai and me in the room.

(…Huh?)

At that moment, a little myon, myon, myon popped into my head.

Ah.

We’re alone…

If we’re alone, I have to do it.

“Senpai.”

“Hm?”

“―Excuse me.”

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, like I always do when she sits on the sofa.

“Huh? H-Honami…kun?”

Kirisaka-senpai let out a cute voice I’d never heard before.