The Story Of How I, A Gloomy Guy, Ended Up Surrounded By the Top-Tier Beautiful Girls In Class After A Seat Change - Chapter 43

“Reversing the roles of Snow White to be a guy… That’s a great idea!”

“I agree!”

“Sounds interesting!”

The unanimous support from the class turned Kuroki’s idea of a ‘Gender-swapped Snow White’ into reality.

Next up was deciding the cast.

To choose the roles of Snow White (male) and the Prince (female), the boys and girls gathered separately to discuss.

The girls, who would decide the Prince’s role, gathered near the hallway, while the boys, who would decide the role of Snow White, gathered near the windows.

(Gender-swapped roles… It might be okay for the girls, but for the boys, it’s just embarrassing.)

Even so, since they had agreed to Kuroki’s idea, one of the class clowns would surely volunteer to play Snow White… or so they thought.

“Even if it’s Kuroki’s idea, it’s tough for the boys, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. After all, one of us has to play Snow White.”

“Cross-dressing is just too much.”

Negative opinions immediately spread among the boys. It seemed that the boys, especially the outgoing ones, were skeptical of Kuroki’s proposal. They probably couldn’t voice their complaints due to peer pressure.

(The unanimous support backfired. Well, the boys want to look good in front of Kuroki…)

However, Rui Kuroki was a strategist who could manipulate even the boys’ hidden motives to push her opinions through.

(Whatever Kuroki is planning is beyond me, but it’s too late to oppose it now… We were tricked.)

“The one who suggested this play is Kuroki, but isn’t it unlikely that Kuroki herself will play the lead role of the Prince?”

When Hino said this, the outgoing boys tilted their heads in confusion.

(Kuroki not playing the lead role? I thought Kuroki would naturally take the lead role…)

“Because Kuroki has the Inter-High coming up. She’s aiming for her fifth consecutive national championship since middle school. She doesn’t have time to play the lead in a cultural festival play, right?”

That made sense. Rui Kuroki was incredibly busy, and it was hard to imagine she had the luxury to play the lead in a play.

(So, Kuroki suggested this because she knew she wouldn’t be involved? Is that what Hino means?)

Hino’s words seemed to imply that. But would Kuroki really use her influence like that?

“If Kuroki isn’t playing the lead, then it might be Miyama, who has a boyfriend, or Ichinose, who is rumored to have a boyfriend from another school.”

An outgoing boy murmured with a bitter expression. Miyama had publicly declared she had a boyfriend (a lie for her part-time job), and it seemed Yuria was also believed to have a boyfriend.

(Well, Yuria is indifferent to other boys, and with a face as cute as hers, it’s natural to think she has a boyfriend from another school or an older guy.)

“I’m going to pass.”

“Me too.”

“If Kuroki were the lead, I’d volunteer to cross-dress.”

“If Airi-tan were the Prince, I’d be happy to do it, but if not, it would be a betrayal to Airi-tan…”

The outgoing boys and problematic otakus declined one after another, and the boys in the class shook their heads in unison.

No one suggested a fair lottery, showing just how much they didn’t want to do it.

I understand how they feel. If Kuroki doesn’t play the lead as Hino predicted, then the boys who like Kuroki see no point, and for those who like Miyama or Yuria, there’s no guarantee they’d be the Prince, making it a high-risk, high-reward situation.

If no one volunteers, it’s dangerous for me too.

Given the situation, the inevitable target is…

“Hey, how about Izumiya as Snow White?”

The neutral, introverted otaku: me.

“Izumiya has the best grades among the boys in the class, so he should be good at memorizing lines!”

“Yeah, he’s smart! Come on, Izumiya, do it for us!”

Come on. Grades don’t matter here…!

I want to object desperately, and of course, I don’t want to play Snow White.

But if a loner otaku like me were to take a defiant stance… there’s no need to explain what would happen.

“So, Izumiya-kun, what do you think?”

Hino asked me. When even the leader of the boys in the class, Hino, says something, it’s even harder to refuse.

(Hino, you bastard… always pretending to be a good guy, but in the end, you’re just like this.)

“I, I…”

Wait, wait! Snow White, seriously? Playing the lead in a play is way too much for me! I have to refuse! Don’t get swept away!

In my mind, I imagined myself flatly refusing Hino, but…

“Sure, if I have to.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll do it! I’ll be Snow White!”

“OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

In the end, I succumbed to the pressure around me.

(You idiot… just say no!)

“You’re the best, Izumiya!”

“Way to go, 1-A’s genius otaku!”

Cheers and applause erupted from the boys around me. The worst kind of celebration. I’ve never been so unhappy about something.

And so, I ended up playing the role of Snow White. After that, the girls also decided on their lead (the Prince), so the boys and girls announced the leads together.

Yuria and Hino stood in front of the blackboard.

“Um, the male Snow White will be… Izumiya-kun!”

All the eyes in the class turned to me.

Ah, someone just kill me now.

“Ryota, that’s amazing! Congrats, congrats! Being the lead is so cool!”

The idiot with the huge chest sitting in front of me was laughing, oblivious to how I felt.

Wait? Does that mean Miyama isn’t the lead?

So, that means…

“The female Prince will be… me—”

As expected, Yuria? As she stood in front of the blackboard, Yuria looked at me and—

“—and Rui. It’s a double cast.”

“WHAAAT?!”

The boys in the class were left speechless.

“No way…”

Of course, I was too.