When I Told the Most Beautiful Girl in the School That My Confession Had Failed, She Suddenly Started Coming at Me With Unbearably Heavy Feelings

Chapter 28: Exams and Love Talk

“By the way, the final exams are coming up soon, right?”

Gentle light enveloped the academy during lunchtime. The topic shifted to the final exams.

Every year, the final exams arrived just before the sports festival. Because of this timing, students who focused too much on the sports festival ended up with failing grades, which once led to considerations of rescheduling the events.

I was not particularly good at studying, but I was not bad at it either. If I had to describe it, I was somewhere in the lower middle range.

“This time of year is always so busy that everyone gets flustered… Ah.”

“Well, it overlaps with the sports festival. And this year, it seems especially intense… Here.”

“Mm… Fwah fweh n fweh.”

“Um, Kisaragi? How long am I supposed to keep feeding you?”

“Until I’m satisfied.”

Where had the dignified Kisaragi of usual gone? Kisaragi waited for me to feed her with her mouth open.

I carried some stir-fried burdock root to Kisaragi’s small mouth using the chopsticks in my right hand.

The vibrant tongue visible inside her glossy lips was somehow sensual. I decided to stop any strange imaginings. If I got in the mood in this deserted empty classroom, she might just push me down.

“Well, but this year, we have to study properly. If we get a failing grade, we’ll have to forfeit the tournament and do remedial classes.”

“Huh?”

“Hinate-kun doesn’t need to worry, right? You’re decent at studying.”

“Yeah, I’m not worried about myself. I’m…”

Kisaragi tilted her head slightly at my meaningful tone.

Yes. My team had two utter idiots. If those two were out, it would not just be a major drop in our strength; we might not even be able to participate. This was a problem.

“Kisaragi?”

“What?”

“Today, go home ahead of me.”

“Cheating?”

“No. I just have something to do.”

▼▽

Time passed, and it was after school. The volleyball team for the sports festival, including me, went to a family restaurant together.

The purpose was to prepare for the final exams. We needed to take measures to ensure that the two idiots, Kira and Sendou, did not fail.

“Boo, why is the answer different… Basketball went so well, but this doesn’t!!!”

“Kira-kun, that’s where you use this formula…”

“Agh! If I could read feelings from letters, I wouldn’t be struggling!”

(That’s a fair point…)

Toru Amasaki and Homare Ryuusaki led the exam preparations. However, it did not seem to be getting through to the two idiots at all.

It was not that their instruction was hard to understand. It was just that the two of them had low comprehension for studying and little motivation.

“Damn… Renji, help me out.”

“Even if you tell me, I’m at a loss…”

“Then help me, Shou-chan…”

“You’ve been studying non-stop for quite a while now. Maybe it’s okay to take a short break?”

“Oh! Yeah, that’s right! We should take a break soon!”

“Alright, let’s order something extra!”

(They get energetic the moment they know it’s a break…)

We decided to take a break on Shou Nekomiya’s suggestion.

During the break, we munched on sweets and fries while chatting away.

Even though we were in the same class, this was the first time the six of us talked like this. We discovered things we did not know about each other, and surprisingly common topics, which made the conversation lively.

And then the topic shifted to something typical for adolescent boys.

“Hey, do any of you have someone you like?”

“That’s the kind of thing you talk about on the school trip night…”

“Come on, come on. I don’t hear Amasaki talk about flirty stuff much, right?”

“I’m living a life free from that sort of thing…”

Toru Amasaki gave a wry smile, but I knew. His romance had ended in secret heartbreak.

“Ryuusaki, you get a lot of popularity from girls, right? Don’t you get confessions?”

“It happens from time to time.”

“Whoa! As expected, Homare is popular.”

Homare Ryuusaki’s cool features, contrasted by his surprisingly natural personality, drew a lot of attention. He was popular with girls and received confessions often, but apparently, he had no girlfriend.

“Ryuusaki-kun, aren’t you interested in having a girlfriend?”

“My lover is the triple jump. If I have time to fuss over a girl, I’ll soar through the air.”

“Ooh… A hardcore track and field idiot!”

“I don’t want to hear that from Takaya.”

“Shou-chan, don’t you want a girlfriend?”

Rintarou Kira, friendly to everyone, cut right in without hesitation. It was both his good point and his bad point.

Shou Nekomiya fiddled with his phone and made a thoughtful gesture for a moment. Then he answered without any reluctance.

“I do.”

“Huh!? Shou-chan has a girlfriend!? What’s she like!?”

“Someone who’s not honest but properly cares about her friends, I guess.”

“You’re so far ahead… Damn, if only Takaya and I weren’t idiots…!”

Rintarou Kira and Takaya Sendou had good looks, but because of their intelligence, girls did not see them as romantic prospects much.

Sadly, they were even said to be “best viewed from afar.” If someone made a ranking of those without girlfriends, they would undoubtedly take the top two spots.

“You guys have the faces for it, at least…”

“More like, the one I’m most curious about is you, Renji! What’s the deal with Kisaragi-san!?”

“What do you mean? It’s just normal…”

“What’s normal about normal! Are a guy and girl who flirt in the classroom, eat lunch together during break, and go home together to the station just normal? Don’t mess with me, you blockhead!”

Indeed, now that I thought about it, my relationship with Kisaragi was abnormal.

We had not properly confessed to each other, nor been confessed to. I could feel Kisaragi’s boundless affection, but had I given anything back?

Once, I had settled for comparing myself to her and accepting it, but now I wondered if I even deserved to stand beside her.

Since the day I lost Mom, I had not moved forward, while Kisaragi advanced steadily. Did I have the right to stand next to Kisaragi?

Suddenly assailed by anxiety, I shook my head vigorously to shut out the thoughts.

“Kisaragi-san has really changed her vibe lately, right? She used to seem unapproachable, but now her atmosphere is softer or something.”

“I get it, I get it. She totally has that vibe of a girl in love.”

Shou Nekomiya murmured, and Toru Amasaki nodded with a smile. That profile looked somehow lonely. Sorry, Amasaki. Your letter is probably ashes scattered in the Kisaragi family garden by now.

“Nice… I want a girlfriend too…”

“Kirarin is an idiot, so it’s impossible.”

“That’s cold, Ryuusaki! There has to be a wonderful person out there who’d like even someone like me…”

“But she’s not in this academy.”

“Don’t even say that as a joke…”

“Kira-kun, do you have someone you’re interested in?”

“Hmm, let’s see… Ah, Nakiri from class 4!”

“Nakiri, you mean Nao-chan? Yeah, she’s slender and attractive.”

Nakiri Nao. The slender figure and fragile aura made her the idol of class 4. She was a girl with beauty so great that she was called one of the four great beauties of Amanogawa Academy alongside Kisaragi.

Incidentally, until recently, the beauties of Amanogawa Academy had been three at the top, but Amane’s evaluation from the boys had skyrocketed lately, making it four.

In my memory, that elegant smile stuck with me. She laughed at surprisingly silly things…

“Nakiri is out of Kirarin’s league.”

“I know that, but… You just want to protect her, right!”

“I wouldn’t be happy even if you protected me…”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion! Hey, what do you think, Renji… Renji?”

“Hm? What?”

“About Nakiri-san! If only there was some common hobby or something.”

“That girl really likes manga.”

“For real!? Alright, then right now…”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough. Let’s get back to studying soon.”

“Aw… Just a little longer.”

“No.”