The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change - Chapter 185-186

Chapter 185: Tanaka Is Scandalous

Rui blackmailed me with scandalous photos, so I became Nozomi Himesaki’s dog.

After that, we exchanged Lime contacts, and she told me to respond to her calls anytime.

I felt half excited and half anxious about what orders she might give, so my mind stayed full of those thoughts even after I returned home.

“A junior high beauty’s dog, huh?” I say.

I stare at the photo of me and Rui that Nozomi Himesaki gave me, and I sink into deep thought.

During the inter-high, I told Rui I wanted to become vice president, but I never imagined Nozomi Himesaki saw it as a confession.

“I confessed to Rui… n-no way I could do that,” I say.

Sure, I believe I know Rui better than any other guy.

I know Rui has a perfectionist side, and in the past, I helped her out of a tough spot. She also sent me some risky selfies.

Because of that, I thought becoming vice president would let me help Rui, but I don’t have the kind of feelings Nozomi Himesaki misunderstood.

“Huh? A call?” I say.

My smartphone rings, so I check it, and the call comes from Kanade Tanaka.

I told Kanade about the letter, so she probably wants to talk about that.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hey, Ryota-kun! Are you doing well?” Kanade says.

Kanade sounds creepily cheerful.

Did something good happen? No, she probably just wants to tease me.

“Knowing you, Ryota-kun, you’re probably super depressed because that letter wasn’t a love letter, right? So, how’d it go?” Kanade says.

“Yeah, pretty much. It wasn’t a love letter at all,” I say.

“What? It really wasn’t a love letter? Sorry… I didn’t mean to rub salt in the wound,” Kanade says.

“Shut up! There’s more to this story! Just listen!” I say.

I silence Kanade, who mocks me under the guise of comfort, and I get to the point.

“Actually…” I say.

Then, I tell Kanade that Nozomi Himesaki called me out and blackmailed me with a photo of me and Rui together.

“Wow… I can’t believe Nozomi Himesaki would do that,” Kanade says.

“Right? I was shocked too,” I say.

“So, Ryota-kun, you became Nozomi Himesaki’s dog, huh?” Kanade says.

“Y-yeah. For Rui’s sake, I had no choice,” I say.

“But a dog… does that mean you’ll do naughty stuff? Like, licking and stuff?” Kanade says.

“No, licking is off-limits, apparently,” I say.

“Ugh, you actually asked if licking was okay? You’re so gross, Ryota-kun,” Kanade says.

This jerk brought up licking first but flips the blame on me.

“But, well, if it’s for Kuroki-san’s sake, I guess it’s unavoidable. You showed some guts, Ryota-kun. I respect you a little now,” Kanade says.

“Being respected by you doesn’t make me happy at all,” I say.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Kanade says.

Kanade snaps a bit while speaking.

Being praised by Kanade doesn’t do much for me.

“By the way, what happened with you, Kanade? Didn’t a teacher call you out?” I say.

“Oh, that? Well, let’s just say the world finally started recognizing my greatness,” Kanade says.

“Huh?” I say.

“I can’t say more due to confidentiality, but I’m destined to rule the world, so you better send me offerings now, Ryota-kun,” Kanade says.

I don’t get it, but when Kanade gets cocky or full of herself, she’s usually up to no good, so I decide to ignore her for now.

—

Chapter 186: Will This Chaotic Day Come to an End?

I finished reporting everything to Kanade Tanaka, hung up the call, and stared at the photo used to blackmail me.

“Now… what should I do with this?” I say.

The photo shows Rui and me together.

I retrieved it from Nozomi Himesaki, but I don’t know how I should handle it.

Even though someone used it to blackmail me, it captures us, so throwing it away feels wrong.

Also, if Rui keeps rising, she’ll become super famous. I might brag about this photo someday.

“Alright, since I have it, I’ll put it in a photo frame and display it. Showing something like this once in a while isn’t bad, right?” I say.

With that thought, I grab a photo frame holding a bonus illustration card from my favorite manga, take out the card, and replace it with the photo.

“Wow, it actually looks pretty good like this,” I say.

The photo of Rui and me sits in a blue frame.

I bow my head to ask her something, and Rui accepts with a smile, looking like a bittersweet page of youth.

My room usually reeks of otaku stuff with all the anime merch, but this photo adds a faint scent of youthful spring.

This single photo smells better than any room fragrance.

I want to show off this photo to my introverted college sister… but.

“No, wait. Lately, Kanade, Rui, and others have been barging into my room,” I say.

If Kanade, who knows the situation, finds it, it’s fine, but if Rui sees it, things will get messy.

If she questions who took it, I won’t know how to answer.

“Ugh, no choice. I won’t throw it out, but I’ll hide it,” I say.

I place the illustration card over the photo, put it back in the frame, and hide it.

With Nozomi Himesaki’s blackmail and all, I’ve been too careless lately. This is like a precaution before I trip.

“Phew… I’m tired from overthinking. Time to sleep,” I say.

Thus, my overly chaotic day came to an end.

☆☆

The next day, I became Nozomi Himesaki’s dog officially.

“My life of following Nozomi Himesaki’s orders starts today…” I say.

I feel a bit of excitement mixed with a ton of anxiety, and I head to school.

Nozomi Himesaki said yesterday that she’d give orders mostly through Lime chats.

I have no choice but to wait for them.

“Morning, Ryota!” Airi Miyama says.

“Ryota, good morning,” Yuria Ichinose says.

I look at my phone, waiting for Nozomi Himesaki’s instructions, when Airi and Yuria arrive at school.

“Oh, hey, morning to you both,” I say.

“Hm? Ryota, why are you staring at your phone?” Airi Miyama says.

Oh no, I can’t let them figure out I became a junior’s dog.

I need to act calm.

“I-I’m waiting for my mobile game’s stamina to recover! Two more minutes, and I’ll have enough to play a quest!” I say.

I quickly open the game and show it to them.

“Hm, I don’t get it, but okay,” Airi Miyama says.

I wonder who this ‘YURI4’ person in the friend list is, a level 800 top-tier player.

“Wow, a mobile game? I’d try it if I had time,” Yuria Ichinose says.

“If you had time? What’s that, Airi? Too busy with a boyfriend?” Yuria Ichinose says.

“Boyfriend…? Oh, y-yeah! Airi’s busy with her boyfriend! Haha!” Airi Miyama says.

It’s a miracle they haven’t caught on.

Yuria suspected something before, but she probably won’t dig deeper.

“Seriously, you happy people… Ugh, I want a boyfriend too,” Yuria Ichinose says.

“What? Yuria wanting a boyfriend? You’re more popular than me, Yuria, so you’ll get one in no time!” Airi Miyama says.

“Really?” Yuria Ichinose says.

While talking with Airi, Yuria glances at me sideways.

Why is she looking at me? Does she suspect my secret?

“Hey, Ryota, it looks like you got a Lime notification,” Yuria Ichinose says.

“Huh?” I say.

I got distracted by Yuria, so I didn’t notice the Lime notification until she pointed it out.

Needless to say, the notification came from that Nozomi Himesaki girl.

The chat she sent says only ‘Meet at the rooftop’ with no greeting or anything.

It’s like a message from an angry sports club coach. Where’s the heart emoji she used yesterday?

“From Rui?” Airi Miyama says.

“N-no, it’s not… It’s from Kanade! I’ll step out for a bit,” I say.

“Okay,” Airi Miyama says.

I hurry to the rooftop.