The Guy Who Messed Up Is Gradually Doing His Best

“Good morning, Taketo-kun.”

“Oh, good morning, Niiyama-sensei.”

The first school day of the new year. The new semester starts today, but this morning, Niiyama-sensei was standing at the main gate again.

Right now, it’s okay because Mil-san is with me, but everything ends with just the words “it’s okay” no matter what I say.

So, conversely, I think this time walking with the busy teacher to the classroom is the only time we can have a leisurely conversation, and I make it a point to consult with the teacher and get advice from their perspective.

“? Taketo-kun, that’s…”

Niiyama-sensei probably asked about the ring on Mil-san’s left ring finger and the three bracelets that have increased on my left wrist (all three are thin types, so they don’t take up much space).

Women’s decisiveness is amazing, isn’t it? Surprisingly, right after that, Nene-san and Mil-san rushed to buy rings and bracelets as symbols of our marriage.

I felt like it could wait until after signing the formal document, but when they said with a remorseful face that they had admired me, I couldn’t refuse. I fell for it right away.

At first glance, they look like similar bracelets, but the one from Nene-san has the Matsuyama family crest on it, while the one from Mil-san has the name “Mil” engraved on it instead of a family crest.

The reason is that Mil-san has no parents and does not know the family crest. It might be possible to find out if I investigate, but she has no attachment to the family name and no business she wants to pass on.

Thus, it is possible to create a family crest on her own if she wants to (legally, she is free to do so), but it was said that it is not necessary.

“Ah, this is…”

I briefly talked about what happened at the matchmaking party.

“I happened to run into Nene-san at the venue, and oh, Nene-san is the person who lends us the studio and has been quite helpful in the music scene, and Mil-san is my guardian. Realizing the importance of those close women (Mil-san and Nene-san), and as you can see, it was a good experience.”

There, I cast my gaze down to the bracelet on my left arm, around my wrist.

“I see what you mean.”

“Yes.”

“I also watched Taketo-kun’s stream at the venue, and the makeup was amazing… Then, does Taketo-kun not care about a woman’s face or style, but rather feel attracted to women you are close to? Like women you get along with or have known for a long time?”

As usual, Niiyama-sensei turned her face towards Mil-san, who was disguised as a chubby person. To be honest, Mil-san’s disguise was quite plain.

When I’m disguised as a chubby person, my body gets wider, but my presence becomes faint, so sometimes I get lost.

It’s probably because I’m talking to the teacher now, but maybe not.

Sensei, you’re really fixated on the matchmaking party, aren’t you…

“Yes, that might be true. I think there were many wonderful women at the matchmaking party. But… I didn’t want to get engaged. So, I just exchanged contact information.”

It’s something I shouldn’t really compare, but… no matter what… still, everyone made an effort to talk to me…

It’s just that once they realized I was Gouda Taketo, I greeted them at MAIN, and nothing more than that.

Last night, there was a MAIN message saying “Thank you for today,” and this morning, just a “Good morning.”

Since they seem to like games and play the same ones, I at least want to become friends with them… but who knows what will happen.

“By the way, Niiyama-sensei, didn’t you also attend the matchmaking party? I hope you met someone nice…”

“Unfortunately…”

After saying that, the teacher spread her arms wide to show. It seems she wanted to because she wasn’t wearing an engagement ring.

“But, there are more women at matchmaking parties who don’t find success. I don’t mind.”

“I see, but that’s too bad.”

“Yeah, but I felt like there were fewer men shouting at women compared to last year.”

“This is a good trend,” the teacher nodded.

“That’s great to hear.”

As a man, it’s embarrassing, but I genuinely feel happy to know that there has been some improvement.

“That’s true. If it were always like this, the conversion rate might go up like this time. But I might not be able to…”

The teacher glanced at me once and then turned her gaze back to the front.

“What’s wrong?”

The teacher’s voice was a bit quiet, so I couldn’t hear it.

“No. It’s nothing… It’s fine, I noticed it too. More importantly, it’s noisy, isn’t it?”

I wanted to ask the teacher what she noticed, but unfortunately, time ran out, and I just arrived at the classroom.

“? That’s right.”

As the teacher said, the lively voices from our class can be heard all the way down the hallway. This is noisy.

“Yes. Be quiet! Come on, everyone, take your seats.”

The teacher clapped her hands together and headed towards the teacher’s desk. Everyone quickly returns to their seats, but it seems that the ones at the center of it all are Saori, Nanako, Tsukune, and Sachiko. This is unusual.

Oh?

There are also some familiar faces I haven’t seen in a while. It seems that the students who were suspended have also returned to the class. So maybe that’s why it was even noisier (the class size went from about 20 to around 30). Their hair color was all uniformly black, which felt somehow refreshing.

It seems like they’re still in the New Year’s mood. But starting today… it’s the new semester. They should change their mood.

The teacher momentarily stumbled over her words in the middle of her speech, glanced at me briefly, but without saying anything in particular, continued to convey today’s schedule.

Hmm?

*****

The morning homeroom ends, and we take a short break.

It’s always the case that everyone gathers around me. There are various things I want to talk about with everyone, like the merchandise and the new song, but since the opening ceremony is in the gym, let’s do it later. I guess I should move now.

“”Gouda-san!””

Gouda-san? I’m the one who’s almost always called by my name (Taketo). I wondered who it could be and turned around, and it was Oshii-san and Yokoshimana-san.

Oshii-san and Yokoshimana-san, of course, had black hair. They immediately bowed their heads towards me, but wait, wait, I think a 90-degree bow is going too far. Is this normal? They seem to be doing well, but I’m really surprised at how polite their speech has become.

Kaori’s company is amazing. Are you working hard because you want to join Kaori’s company? I see. I think having goals is important, so it’s a good thing. I’ll support you too.

When I said that, the two of them looked very happy.

“?”

When the two stepped away from me, the other suspended students also started bowing one after another. Everyone gave a perfect 90-degree bow. As expected, Kaori’s company seems amazing.

After greeting me, I started talking normally with everyone around, so I was a bit relieved. Even though I came back, if I couldn’t fit in with the class, I would feel sorry for myself too…

“You see…”

And then, I found out the reason why the classroom was so noisy. Akinai-san told me.

The message I replied to in the letter of intent.

“Thank you. I’m also happy to be engaged with everyone. Let’s continue to get along and have fun this year too.”

Saori, Nanako, Tsukune, and Sachiko were showing everyone the message and the engagement rings they were wearing on their right ring fingers.

Girls who love talking about love stories. So, they were making even more noise than usual.

Even when I sat down and the teacher was talking, if our eyes met, she would give me a small wave. Even so…

After the teacher finished speaking, when I invited them to move to the gym, they all lined up behind me.

Huh? What do they mean…?

And then, for some reason, they both grab the back of my jacket.

If I ask, she says she’s too embarrassed to look me in the face. Even though she was waving at me just a moment ago, now that we’re standing side by side, it’s too close to see your face properly. It seems like she’s too embarrassed to handle it. Well, it seems like Nanako is the only one who is dating all three of them. She’s giving a thumbs up.

The three of them are blushing bright red, so they must be really embarrassed, but I have no idea what to do in this situation either.

“Ahaha… Today, Taketo-kun looks more mature than before, or rather, you have this charm… That’s why. Hey, everyone.”

Akinai-san laughed and said that. Everyone is nodding, but wait, isn’t it because Mil-san and Kaori put in extra effort to set it up for the new semester? The teacher was also glancing at me a lot.

Mil-san turned her face away smoothly, and Nanako had a satisfied expression on her face.