The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change - Chapter 128

Airi sent us a rather suspicious message saying, “Tanaka is being hit on,” so we rushed to the scene where it was happening.

“Hey, hey! Which elementary school do you go to?”

“We’re from Higashi Elementary!”

“U-Uh, I’m…”

The ones hitting on Tanaka were…of all people, three little elementary school kids.

…Huh?

“Uh, Airi? It’s true Tanaka seems to be getting hit on, but, um, they’re just elementary school kids, right?”

“Yeah, after Rui-chan went to the restroom, these kids suddenly approached her.”

“I mean, if it’s just elementary schoolers, you really didn’t need to call us over, did you?”

“Well, I tried to stop them! But then they yelled, ‘Go away, fat boobs!’ at me…so I had no choice.”

These bratty kids! Hitting on Tanaka and then calling Airi “fat”? They’ll regret that in a few years.

Airi is seriously stunning—her looks and, well, everything about her could easily be called a one-in-a-hundred-years kind of beauty.

“They’re so childish. How can they not appreciate Airi’s…’assets’?”

“Huh? R-Ryota! You’re praising Airi too much!”

“No, I’m not. Airi has such a great figure, and they said something like that? They seriously have no idea what they’re talking about.”

“R-Ryota, geez!”

“Hey, you two seem a little too flirty.”

“Huh?”

Yuria’s comment made both Airi and me back away from each other a little bit.

“N-No, we’re not flirting! Airi and I are just friends, right, Ryota?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“…Still, something must have happened at that sleepover last night.”

“Nothing happened!”

Yuria looked at me suspiciously.

I told her before we got here that nothing happened!

“Well, if that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

“Yuria, are you in a bad mood or something?”

“No! I just asked because Ryota was acting cocky.”

Yuria was clearly pouting as she spoke.

She’s so easy to read when she’s upset, but I have no idea why she’s mad right now.

“But that’s not the point! We need to help Tanaka! Let’s go, Ryota!”

“Wait, elementary schoolers hitting on someone? Are kids these days that bold? Or am I just out of touch?”

“No, it’s pretty normal for them to be cheeky.”

These kids are way too forward.

It looks like they think Tanaka is just a slightly tall elementary schooler. But even though Tanaka is petite, she doesn’t look like a kid…Maybe it’s because she’s wearing that school swimsuit?

(Well, in the world of elementary schoolers, being fast or tall determines who’s popular.)

By the time they’re in middle or high school, they’ll realize that it’s all about looks and body type. They don’t know that yet.

“Anyway, I’ll go help Tanaka. You two wait here.”

“Sorry for the wait, everyone. Where’s Tanaka?”

Just as I was about to step in, Rui came out of the restroom.

“Oh, Rui. Tanaka’s being hit on over there. By elementary schoolers, of all people.”

“Hmm…elementary schoolers? Then, Ryota, you’re the guy here, so take care of it, okay?”

Rui, seeming completely uninterested, threw the responsibility at me.

What’s with Rui? Couldn’t she at least offer, “Shall I go instead?” or something?

(I’m not good with little kids…)

Still, I stepped forward to help Tanaka.

“Uh, excuse me, can I talk to you for a second?”

When I called out to them, the elementary schoolers all turned to look at me at once.

“What’s up, mister? We’re trying to ‘pick up’ someone here.”

“Don’t bother us. And who are you, anyway?”

These kids…They’re acting way too cocky.

“Uh, well…That girl is, um, with me…”

“Huh?”

When I came to help, Tanaka quickly ran behind me, hiding.

“W-Wait! Mister, what’s your relationship with this girl?!”

“Huh? She’s my paren—”

No, wait. In this situation, wouldn’t it be more effective to just lie and say she’s my girlfriend?

“A-Actually, she’s my girlfriend. So, could you guys stop hitting on her?”

“R-Ryota-kun?! I’m your g-girlfriend?!”

Tanaka’s face turned bright red, and she started trembling.

What? Does she really hate the idea of pretending to be my girlfriend that much, even if it’s a lie?

“Oh, so she has a boyfriend?”

“And mister, aren’t you a high schooler? Doesn’t that make you a loli-con?”

What the…!

These kids…talking like they know everything when they clearly don’t.

“Listen, kids…when you get home, look up ‘gravure idol.’ You don’t know anything about the world.”

“H-Huh? We’re not looking that up! Let’s just go, guys!”

The group of three cheeky kids ran off along the poolside.

They weren’t interested in Airi, mistook Tanaka for an elementary schooler, and even called me a loli-con. Rude brats from start to finish.

Is this really the world we live in now, with kids like that on the rise?

“Ryota-kun, thank you so much.”

Tanaka hugged my back as she thanked me.

I could feel the texture of her school swimsuit pressing against my back, and my lower body reacted without my control.

(T-Tanaka’s…small chest…I can feel it…Damn!)

Getting excited over Tanaka…as her friend, that’s just wrong.

“Hey, Tanaka! L-Let go of me!”

“Oh…s-sorry, Ryota-kun! I didn’t mean to, hehe…”

Tanaka quickly pulled away from my back.

Why is she blushing?

“So, why were you freaking out? They were just elementary schoolers, right?”

“W-Well…as you know, I’ve never had boys show any interest in me before, so I kind of enjoyed the attention.”

A high school sophomore getting flattered by elementary school kids…seriously, Tanaka?

“Tanaka-chan, are you okay?!”

Airi rushed over to Tanaka with a worried look on her face.

“I’m sorry, Airi. I couldn’t protect you.”

“It’s not your fault! I was the one who enjoyed the attention from those elementary school kids too much!”

“Huh?”

All three of the girls froze, shocked.

No, Tanaka, don’t say that! This is exactly why people think you’re hopeless!

“Tanaka-chan…are you serious?”

“T-Tanaka…really?”

“Haha, does that mean Tanaka-san likes younger boys?”

“I-I’m not into younger boys! Sure, I have a few books where younger boys are the ones getting all the attention in harem stories, but…”

She really is into younger boys!

Somebody, please call the police…right now…

“Uh, anyway, now that Tanaka-chan is safe, should we head to the water slide, everyone?”

“Y-Yeah…let’s do that.”

With the awkward tension caused by Tanaka, we headed toward the water slide.