Vol 2 Chapter 33 – Interlude: The Sheltered Son

There are two boys in my class.

One of them—is a boy whose ‘shipment’ is already set.

‘Shipment.’ It’s a metaphor for having a fiancée decided by his mother.

His engagement to someone from a wealthy family has been arranged since he was little.

Therefore, romance was forbidden for him.

Everyone lost interest in that one pretty quickly.

Of course, this is a world of polygamy.

At first, we hoped that just because he had a fiancée, there might still be an opening to squeeze our own romance in—but it was no good.

It seems he doesn’t just have one fiancée, but several.

His time outside of school hours is apparently filled with social obligations, and a luxury car picks him up right away.

That’s a lost cause.

There’s no opening.

Everyone quickly gave up, realizing it was impossible to go after that boy.

So, that leaves the other one.

“My name is Kajiwara Ichirou.”

He was a muscular boy with a great build, about five-eleven.

During his self-introduction, he said something like, Despite my appearance, I’m not particularly dedicated to any sports. I do karate and judo, but just as a hobby. I’m not very athletic, and my hobbies are things like reading.

That’s what he said.

Then, with a slightly awkward smile, he sat down in his chair.

I remember that moment perfectly.

—I fell for him instantly.

I was completely captivated.

But it’s probably hopeless.

A guy like that would be snatched up by some rich family in an instant, his ‘shipment’ already decided.

In the end, we’re all children of artificial insemination.

We have absolutely no connection to things like romance—that was my mistaken assumption.

And it was a huge mistake.

“…”

I fiddle with my smartphone.

My image folder opens right away, and there’s a single picture there.

It was a picture I liked so much I wanted to make it my wallpaper, but the thought of someone calling me out for it was too scary.

That kind of picture.

It’s a cosplay photo of Kajiwara-kun.

I don’t even know what manga or character it’s from, but I found it when it was trending on social media.

His picture, flowing through my feed as a top trend.

His cosplay photo, where he’s smiling so brightly—a world away from the awkward expression I usually see.

It’s a complete mismatch for his appearance and his stated hobbies.

That’s right—he’s a nerd.

I now know that he’s active in a nerd club called the “Modern Culture Research Club.”

“Looks like you got turned down.”

After I was politely rejected when asking him to hang out, the class president called out to me.

Our personalities are different, but we’re both at the top of the school caste.

We talk sometimes.

“Yeah, he turned me down really politely.”

So, it doesn’t mean he hates me.

That’s what I want to think.

I’ve asked him out a few times, and Kajiwara-kun is always polite when he says no.

He’ll bow his head, as if to say it’s the most sincerity he can possibly offer.

He truly turns you down with the utmost courtesy.

The other boys are awful.

They’ll harshly reject you, as if kicking an empty can out of frustration—I already have a fiancée, so I don’t have time to be hanging out with other girls after school.

We’re used to being treated like that, so we just apologize and that’s the end of it.

But it still hurts.

I wanted to fall in love.

It’s not like, you know, I want to get married or anything.

I just want to try dating a boy.

Is it a crime to want only that?

Well, I get that the boys are sick and tired of girls asking them out indiscriminately, I do.

“—It’s no use. Every time he turns me down so politely, I just fall for him more.”

“Well—I get it.”

The class president seemed to understand.

She’s also asked Kajiwara-kun out a few times.

Everything from a simple invitation to hang out like mine, to just speaking to him in her capacity as the class president.

“Everything about him, his whole demeanor, is just so polite. It’s enough to make anyone misunderstand.”

And at times like that, I see him being so incredibly courteous.

Every time I witness it, I even find myself wishing I’d run for class president.

Basically, I just wanted any connection to him I could get.

“I don’t want it to be a misunderstanding, though. I wanna believe I have a chance.”

There’s no chance.

I know that.

He’s kind to all the girls, and not just them; he’s kind to the boys, too.

Kajiwara-kun sits next to the other boy in our class, and when we have to move for different periods, the two of them chat happily.

That boy is cold to all the girls, but he seems to have opened his heart only to Kajiwara-kun, talking to him about all sorts of books.

From what I’ve overheard, they mostly talk about general fiction novels for a male audience, and apparently, they often lend books to each other.

“In the end, it’s probably just that Kajiwara-kun is a nice person, right?”

When I really think about it, we girls are treated even worse than that other boy is.

He really is just kind to everyone.

“There’s no other reason. I guess he was just raised well by his parents. That’s why he’s nice to other people. You know, from talking to him about various things as class president, it doesn’t seem like Kajiwara-kun has a fiancée, or even a girlfriend.”

“Seriously?”

I ask the class president, my eyes dead serious.

The other girls around us were straining to listen, too.

Information about Kajiwara-kun is the most important thing in this class.

“It’s just a guess, mind you. But if his ‘shipment’ was set, his parents probably wouldn’t let him go to a club every day after school. Normally, he’d be spending that time with his fiancée. Especially in high school, when marriage is right around the corner.”

“Most of the rich kids get married right after high school graduation, after all.”

They go to college.

They do, but it’s usually while also starting a family.

Balancing child-rearing and college is tough, but for the wealthy, securing an heir is more important than all that.

They get strong support from their parents, using their money to hire babysitters and what have you.

“So you’re saying there’s an opening?”

“If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be trying so hard to talk to him.”

The class president states it plainly.

She, too, occasionally invites him to go hang out somewhere.

It seems she always gets turned down with the excuse that he has other plans.

“There’s an opening. Even that ‘Sheltered Son’ must have a weakness. But I can’t find it.”

The Sheltered Son.

Kajiwara-kun probably has no idea that’s what we call him.

His politeness in every situation, the way he’s so clearly not used to girls, is what drives us crazy.

Even though I’m what you’d call a “gal,” I don’t play video games.

But even I’ve read manga and watched anime—when I was a kid, of course.

I’ve even exploited an enemy’s weak point in a simple game where the hero defeats the demon king.

In the same way, we were all searching for a method to capture Kajiwara-kun’s heart.

“So, don’t we have to just join that ‘Modern Culture Research Club’?”

I suggest.

To get closer to him, we have to share his hobbies.

Shouldn’t we start by showing that we understand the things he likes?

This gal isn’t in any club.

So, I had that option available to me.

“No good. If it were an official school club, we might have been able to force our way in, but—they shot me down flat. ‘We’re just a small hobby group, so we’re limiting our numbers. We aren’t accepting new members.’ And to think, they were handing out recruitment flyers when they first started.”

“Hmm.”

What a dirty trick!

I want to say that, but I get it.

People who think like me, trying to join a group of people who just love their hobby, all with the aim of getting with Kajiwara-kun.

What a massive pain!

I honestly understood why they’d take defensive measures like that, so I couldn’t even get angry.

Kajiwara-kun would hate it, too.

“I see, I see.”

But if I back down here, I’d be a disgrace to the gal name!

What is a gal?!

A healthy, energetic person who’s up on the trends and has outstanding empathy!

In that case!!