The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change

Chapter 113: The Stocking Incident

“Don’t you know? It’s a basic trick for catching beetles.”

“B-basic trick? Even if you say that…”

A city boy like me (self-proclaimed) has never gone bug catching before.

“Isn’t it enough to just go into the forest to catch some beetles? Surely, they’re buzzing around out there right now, right?”

“Too naive, Ryota! If it were that easy to catch beetles and stag beetles, no one would struggle!”

“R-really?”

I don’t quite understand, but I always thought if you went to a forest in the countryside, trees would be swarming with bugs. I assumed it would be easy to catch them and head home right away…Is it really that tough?

“Beetles are most active from midnight to early morning. You have to lure them out by spreading bait.”

“I see.”

“That’s why we need to start preparing now!”

“Wait, already?!”

“Of course! Come on, to the kitchen!”

When it comes to things Airi likes, she sure gets passionate.

Following Airi into the kitchen, I find BB (the former big-breasted grandma) holding bananas and shochu in both hands.

“Here, Airi. I got these ready for you. They’ve gone bad, but you can still use them.”

“Thanks, Grandma!”

Airi takes them from BB and places them by the sink.

“What’s that for?”

“This is the ‘bait’ to attract the beetles.”

“Bait? We’re using this?”

“Mixing shochu and bananas makes a scent that attracts beetles!”

“Hmm…”

I guess mixing bananas and shochu would create a strong smell. Maybe it mimics the scent of sap that beetles like?

“So, we mix them and spread them on the trees?”

“Yeah, we’ll spread some on the trees, but I also brought this!”

Airi pulls something out of her pocket that looks like rubber.

“Ta-da! Stockings!”

Like some kind of robotic cat, Airi pulls them out, stretching them in front of me.

The stockings in Airi’s hand are a skin color that stirs something in a man’s heart just from looking at the texture.

(S-stockings?!)

“We’re going to put the bait in these stockings and wrap them around the trees overnight! By morning, there’ll be tons of beetles.”

“T-this is…”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Ryota?”

“Using such precious items as women’s stockings to attract beetles?! You’ll attract perverts more than beetles!”

My eyes widened as I protested to Airi.

“Huh? Ryota, what are you even talking about?”

“Allowing beetles to legally gather around women’s stockings? That’s too much favoritism!”

“Ryota, calm down!”

“I can’t calm down! Listen, I’m going to confiscate this right now—”

“That’s brand new from the 100-yen shop!”

…B-brand new?

So, Airi hasn’t used them…?

“Phew. Alright, let’s get the bait into these.”

“Ugh! What was all that about?!”

I quickly cool down and urge Airi to put the bait into the stockings.

(They’re brand-new stockings…just regular stockings…)

“You really are a pervert, Ryota.”

Airi looks at me with half-lidded eyes, clearly exasperated.

“I-I won’t deny it…But all guys are perverts.”

“Really?”

“Of course. But girls aren’t any different. When you girls see a handsome guy, don’t you instantly think, ‘Hold me!’? It’s the same thing.”

I throw out something that sounds plausible but is really just a wild guess. It’s completely biased.

“Hmm. Airi doesn’t have those feelings. I’m not interested in handsome guys anyway.”

“N-not interested? No way that’s true.”

“It is! I prefer boys who have a kind personality and heart over a handsome face!”

Kind personality and heart, huh…

That sounds just like Airi. Maybe it’s because she herself has that kind of character.

“So, have you found this ideal prince with a kind heart and personality yet?”

I ask a bit teasingly.

Knowing Airi, who’s quite childish, there’s no way she’s found someone like that yet—

“I-I have…Although it was more of a princess than a prince.”

“Huh? A princess? Don’t tell me you’re into girls, Airi? That’s fine too, but…”

“Haa…No! You’re such an idiot, Ryota!”

W-what does “idiot” mean in this context? Anyway, it seems Airi isn’t into girls. So, who exactly is this “princess”…?

“You really are just an idiot who’s only good at studying!”

“Why are you suddenly insulting me?”

“…Hmph.”

“What’s with that attitude? Are you mad?”

“Yes, I’m really mad.”

“People who are angry don’t usually say they’re angry, you know.”

“I’m really mad! Fine, if it’s come to this, I’m going to stuff your underwear with bait and hang it on a tree too!”

“Huh? What are you saying—wait, hey!”

As soon as Airi blurts out this nonsense, she reaches for my pants, trying to pull them down.

“Take them off!”

“Hey! Stop saying dumb stuff!”

“Oh my. You two sure are getting along well in the middle of the day.”

“BB! I mean, Airi’s grandma! This is a misunderstanding!!”

I’m doing everything I can to protect my lower half.

—

Chapter 114: Airi’s Feelings. Ryota’s Thoughts

BB, Airi’s grandma, had prepared a mix of bananas and shochu beforehand. I started stuffing this mixture into a stocking to prepare.

Since it was fermented, the mixture gave off a unique smell. If I didn’t pinch my nose, I felt like I’d get drunk from the odor.

“This…just simply smells awful.”

It smelled like the socks my older sister used to throw off at the entrance when she was still in high school.

“Beetles, you know, react to this smell and come over, so hang in there, Ryota.”

“Th-That might be true, but…”

While holding my nose, I finally finished stuffing the honey into the stocking.

“Still, Airi, you’re pretty used to this, aren’t you? Do you catch bugs often?”

“Hmm. Not so much recently, but when I was a kid, there wasn’t much else to play with, so I used to do it all the time. Plus, Airi loves beetles!”

Airi made beetle horns with her fingers and poked my shoulder playfully.

(She’s so cute…If beetles were this cute, I’d want as many as I could get…)

“What about you, Ryota? You’re a boy, so you must like beetles, right?”

“Don’t assume that. I’m actually not a fan of bugs.”

“What? Really? But you’re here with me today!”

“Well, that’s because it’s a promise, so I have no choice, or rather…”

It was a promise made before the test results that I’d have to do whatever the three of them wanted during summer break.

“But, but! If you really hated it, you would’ve said no like Yuria and the others, right? So, why did you come with me?”

“Why, you ask…Well, that’s because Airi…”

“Because Airi?”

“I mean, Airi really wanted to go bug hunting, right? If the other two wouldn’t come, and if I refused too, you’d have to go alone. That would be too sad for Airi, or something like that…”

Pressed persistently by Airi, I confessed my true feelings.

“So, Ryota came because you didn’t want to leave Airi alone?”

“Eh? W-Well…”

Airi, with wide eyes, asked me, and I nodded, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“…I see.”

Airi smiled softly while picking up the stocking filled with honey.

“Ryota really is kind. You’re the first boy who’s ever cared this much about me.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah! That’s one of the cool things about you, Ryota.”

Airi flashed a bright smile, showing her white teeth. Aside from holding a stinky stocking, her smile was just too perfect.

“Okay! We’ve stuffed the stocking with honey, taken the honey to paint on the trees, so we’re all set, right?”

Then, Airi untied her twin braids with a slightly shy expression.