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

Chapter 202: Tanaka Is a Show-Off Super Pervert

I arrived at the classroom, set my bag on the desk, and headed straight to the rooftop.

The mornings were still deserted as always… otherwise, Tanaka wouldn’t come either.

With that in mind, I climbed the ladder leading to the tower.

And then…

“Oh ho, isn’t that Ryota-kun? It’s been a while since you came up here in the morning.”

Tanaka greeted me with a smug grin, her face full of self-satisfaction.

“I’m not here to listen to your ‘oh ho’ moans today. More importantly, why the hell did you run for office, Tanaka?”

“Hehe, so you finally figured it out?”

“Figured it out? It’s plastered all over the school bulletin board! Sigh… seriously, what the fuck are you doing? Rui’s your opponent—there’s no way you’d stand a chance no matter how you slice it.”

“Sure, I might be at a slight disadvantage, but I’ve got my own reasons for this!”

“Reasons?”

When I pressed her, Tanaka cleared her throat with a “ahem” and continued.

“The reason I ran in the first place is that the teachers officially recommended me. Me, with my second-place ranking in the grade!”

“Huh… really.”

I instantly clocked her swollen ego from that, but she probably got egged on by the teachers in all sorts of ways to throw her hat in the ring.

No doubt, once it became clear Rui was running, some teachers must have disliked the idea of the popular girl dominating with no real competition.

They probably scouted for an opponent to Rui and ended up picking second-place Tanaka… talk about drawing the short straw, just like the idiom says. I almost felt sorry for her.

“My name recognition might not stack up to Kuroki’s, but I’ll fight my own way!”

“That’s way too much like what an underdog team says before facing a powerhouse. And name recognition? It’s not even in the same league.”

I held back from saying no one knows her, since that might shatter her spirit, but honestly, no one does.

“Besides, I’ve already decided who my endorser will be.”

“Oh, really? Well, even if it’s you, if the endorser has some decent name recognition, then maybe you’d have a shot—”

“It’s you, Ryota-kun.”

“…Huh? What the hell did you just say?”

“I mean, you’re my endorser, Ryota-kun. It’s decided.”

Me… Tanaka’s endorser?

“Oiii! What the fuck, deciding this on your own!”

“I can’t help it! You’re the only friend I have! It’d be so sad without an endorser!”

Tanaka was playing the victim, but if anyone’s the victim here, it’s me.

“Plus, I’m the shadow. But the stronger the light, the deeper the shadow gets… so, Ryota-kun, let’s take the top spot at Natsuhama together.”

“Tanaka…”

She was spouting shit like she was the phantom sixth member or something, but come on, you and me? We’re just shadow and shadow.

“Well, since you’re in this mess, as your best friend, maybe I should throw you a lifeline… you really are pathetic this time around.”

“Whew, I’m glad you’re so understanding, Ryota-kun.”

“I’m seriously gonna punch you.”

I unclenched my fist even as I seethed.

“For starters, I’ll endorse you, but I promised Rui I’d help with her campaign.”

In exchange for Rui doing that “amazing thing” for me, I promised to help with her election activities.

It’s not like I was dying for the amazing thing, but a guy’s gotta keep his word.

“Ah, that’s totally fine. I wasn’t planning on campaigning anyway.”

“Huh? You’re not?”

“Nope, no campaigning for me.”

A doctor who seemed a bit unmotivated appeared.

—

Chapter 203: Yuria’s Sense of Smell Was Spot-On

The announcement of the candidates had increased talk about the student council president election even more within the high school.

Since everyone had assumed Rui Kuroki was the sole frontrunner, interest in the other candidates besides Rui was rising.

I had been invited to the school cafeteria at lunchtime by Airi and Yuria, but since the conversation around us focused solely on that topic, I felt uneasy as her endorser.

“I never expected Tanaka to run. I knew she had a surprisingly proactive side, but going up against Rui like that? She’s got guts.”

“But Tanaka-chan is second in our grade academically, right? That’s sure to get her some points!”

Even Airi, that bundle of positive energy, could only praise her smarts, which summed up Tanaka perfectly.

“So, which one are you rooting for, Ryota? Rui or Tanaka?”

“O-Of course! I’m supporting Rui, but I ended up becoming Tanaka’s endorser too.”

“What! Ryota, you became Tanaka-chan’s endorser?”

“Surprised, huh? She told me this morning. Well, being an endorser just means I have to give the final endorsement speech, so I’ll still help with Rui’s campaign.”

“But if you’re helping Rui and then give an endorsement speech for Tanaka, won’t that hurt your image? Are you okay?”

Yuria was my biggest ally, always worrying about me even in times like this… sigh, I wanted to hug those thick thighs of hers right now.

As I thought that, Yuria shot me a cold glare. Whoops, bad, bad.

“Well, my image was already bad to begin with, so it’ll be fine. People already call me the scumbag who seduces three beautiful girls.”

“Oh… but ‘seducing scumbag’ has a nice ring to it!”

“No, the ring? Do you even get what it means, Airi?”

Airi was so airheaded that even Yuria had to chime in with a retort.

“But Airi and I haven’t had anything weird done to us by Ryota, right? So why do people say that?”

“It’s just jealousy. Airi and Yuria are exceptionally cute and popular at school, so it pisses them off that a guy like me is hanging around.”

“E-Ehehe, exceptionally cute… I see! But! I want to stay best friends with Ryota forever!”

“W-Wait, m-me too! Yeah!”

The two across from me leaned over the table as they said it.

“Y-You two, I don’t get it, but calm down. We were supposed to discuss Rui’s campaign, right? Forget about my image.”

They snapped back to reality and regained their composure.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve canceled all my dates this weekend and next, so I’m good!”

“Dates are something you cancel?”

“They are! Anyway, Rui-chan’s campaign starts after school today! We have to do our best!”

Her fame was already at a level where campaigning seemed unnecessary, but it was still important to show enthusiasm for the student council president role.

“The issue is that after school, Rui has track practice, so she can’t promote herself personally.”

Rui had track club after school.

No matter how great a national champion Blackwood Rui was, she wouldn’t show up late to club just for election activities—even if others allowed it, she wouldn’t do it herself.

“When I talked to Rui about the campaign the other day, she said she wants to focus on track as club captain after school. She’ll make up for it in the mornings instead.”

“Yeah, that makes sense… but Rui-chan’s popularity is already huge, so it’ll be fine, right?”

I wanted to say it would be fine, but that was probably Rui’s one real concern.

High school election campaigns were on a tiny field compared to politicians’, limited not just in space but in time too, so opportunities to dominate crowded spots were rare.

But if Rui skipped campaigning after school, her opponent Himesaki waving at the entrance alone would be a huge boost, and who knows… maybe even more.

“Well, we’ll just do what we can. Even just Airi and Yuria calling for votes will have an impact.”

“Hmm? Sure for us, but… maybe we’ll have Ryota pitch in too~”

“P-Pitch in? Uh, what do you mean?”

“Heh, that’s a surprise for after school.”

I-I had a bad feeling about this…

“Ah, Ryota, you have a notification on your phone.”

“O-Oh.”

Airi pointed it out, so I checked the notification screen.

A message on Line? From who?

[Himesaki: Please come to the rooftop.]

H-Himesaki…! Come to think of it, we hadn’t talked about the election yet.

This commanding tone was almost nostalgic…