《Four Color Goddesses》 Volume 1 - CH 1 Posted on February 20, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Life sucks, but it doesn¡¯t have to. In fact, it¡¯s a giant pile of s**t. This is how I honestly felt about life when I was in middle school. I know, you¡¯re probably wondering what I¡¯m talking about when I¡¯m just a middle schooler, but I can¡¯t help it because that¡¯s how I actually felt. There once was a boy named Shota Mukawa. He was a boy that could be found anywhere in the country, making silly noises with his friends, occasionally taking classes seriously, and falling in love with pretty girls. He had an ordinary face, neither handsome nor ugly. His height was slightly shorter than average. He was not very good at studying, but was reasonably good at sports. He is a member of the tennis club, and plays with his friends on weekends. He was a young boy with no personality and no color except for the fact that he was from a family with a single mother and struggled with finances. But one day, Shota Mukawa ¡ª¨C the old me ¨C broke down. It was broken by the hands of demonic girls. The end of the betrayal broke my heart to the core, and finally I couldn¡¯t leave my room. My elementary school days were happy. My junior high school years were hell. The difference between the two was so great because I had enjoyed my elementary school years so much that I thought my toys would break more dramatically if I dropped them from a high place. The boy who used to look forward to going to school became a great recluse. My mother couldn¡¯t bear to see me like this, so she left me with my grandparents in the countryside. This was a turning point in my life. I was healed by the warmth of my grandparents and the kind people of the countryside, and gradually regained a sense of humanity. Living in a small house in the countryside, just a few minutes¡¯ walk from the next house, felt like heaven to me at that time, when I was so worried about people¡¯s eyes on me. Slowly but surely, the wounds in my heart began to heal. As my scars healed, I started working out to get rid of the trauma of the past. I started running and strength training as part of my daily routine. At first, I was plagued by muscle pain, but the daily routine helped. I studied hard to train my brain as well. The environment allowed me to concentrate, so I went to my desk every day and moved my hands and head. Thanks to this, my stupid intelligence became above average. As I got fitter and smarter, I started to put more effort into my appearance and learned to dress up. I studied magazines and on the Internet, and I felt that I had become a man that people would not laugh at. I moved to a new school during the last spring break of junior high school and spent more than two years there. My height had increased by more than ten centimeters. I became healthier thanks to my daily exercise. I switched from glasses to contacts and cut off my long and annoying hair, which made me look like a different person in the mirror. I gradually regained my cheerfulness, and I was able to cope with middle school life at my new school without any problems, and by the time I entered high school, I had almost overcome my trauma. The high school I went to was also a peaceful place. I worked hard at improving myself and socializing with the people around me. The demons had left me a little uncomfortable with girls, but not to the extent that it interfered with my life. Then one day, my mother told me about her remarriage. I returned to my birthplace after a long absence and met my new father. The man she remarried to also had a stepdaughter, a girl who was a year younger than me. When my step-sister became a high school student, they decided to register her. I met my new stepfather in person, and he was a mild-mannered man who treated me kindly. My stepsister was a bit girly, but she was cute. I had no reason to hesitate at the sight of my mother¡¯s happy face after all the trouble I had caused her, and I encouraged her to remarry. My surname was changed from ¡°Mukawa¡± to ¡°Nijitani¡±. I felt as if I, who had been colorless and without personality, had become rainbow-colored, and it made me squirm. Since she had remarried, I was asked to come and live with her family in my hometown where I used to live. I didn¡¯t really want to go back, but I had no choice but to accept my mother¡¯s invitation. The new school I was going to was Tenkain Gakuen, a famous school in my neighborhood. It was located near my new home, and my stepsister also went there. It was a strong recommendation from my mother. I agreed without giving it much thought because I had no problem with it academically. Life with my new family was not bad. The warmth of spending time with my family was comforting, and I felt a little less anxious about my new life. Life is a giant pile of s**t. Maybe that¡¯s true, maybe I¡¯m just pessimistic. It can be surprisingly interesting. As a sophomore in high school, I had come to think that way. ¡°There will be a new student in this class today.¡± Mizushima-sensei, the homeroom teacher, announced. After being introduced, I entered the classroom and stood in front of the blackboard to show my face to my new classmates. I was worried that all the attention would bring back the trauma of my past, but I didn¡¯t shake. ¡°My name is Shota Nijitani. I moved here from a house in the countryside. I¡¯ve been swallowed up by the atmosphere of an urban school. Please be kind to me.¡± I introduced myself in a somewhat self-deprecating manner and bowed my head. The response was not so bad. A few chuckles echoed here and there. I could feel the eyes on me as if I was being valued, but I didn¡¯t feel bad. It was a good start. This is the second time I¡¯ve moved to a new school in my life, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve moved to a city. In addition, the season is late April, which is a halfway point in the year. The friendly atmosphere made my anxiety disappear. I was given the best position, the last row by the window. I walked with a gut-punch in my heart. I was relieved to have passed through the first obstacle. ¡°Nice to meet you, Nijitani-kun.¡± A girl greeted me on the way. Without even looking at her face, I reflexively replied, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I thought I had heard her voice somewhere after I had passed by, but I didn¡¯t care much as I was sure I would find out in the course of my life. The girl sitting next to me had long bangs that covered her face. ¡± How are you? Nice to meet you¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too, ¡­¡­.¡± Apparently, she didn¡¯t like to talk much. That¡¯s a good thing. The first time I greeted her, she was very excited, but I¡¯m still not very good with girls. Girls who are quiet like this are easier to deal with. As I took my seat, the teacher opened her mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s begin the morning homeroom.¡± Mizushima-sensei began to talk about the matters to be discussed. Having successfully completed the most difficult part of the homeroom, the greeting for the new school, I felt more relaxed. I looked around the classroom again. Many of the students were serious as if they were in a preparatory school. The hair color was mostly black. I looked at the seat where someone called out to me. ¡°¡­¡­¡± The wind blowing in through the window shook the girl¡¯s red hair. The bright red hair reminded me of a painful memory from my past. This is where I had to deny my thoughts of a few days ago. Life is a giant pile of s**t. Maybe that¡¯s true, maybe I¡¯m just pessimistic. It can be surprisingly interesting. It¡¯s a shallow way of thinking. I was made to understand. I¡¯ve been made to understand that life is an inexplicable lump of s**t. Volume 1 - CH 2 Posted on February 20, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Perhaps I didn¡¯t pray enough. That must be it. Recently, I had lost my faith as I had nightmares about past traumas. I looked again at the girl sitting there. Her red hair was swaying in the wind. At that moment, the red-haired woman turned around. I hurriedly turned my gaze toward the window and pretended to look out. There was no mistaking the face I saw for a moment. ¡­¡­ Why is she here? The answer is obvious, even if without daring to ask. It¡¯s because she¡¯s a student here. She was always a smart girl, and it was no surprise that she went to Tenkain Gakuen. It¡¯s not that I hadn¡¯t considered the possibility, but I never thought we¡¯d be in the same class. One of the demons that had once ruined me. I knew that she would make me the target of her attacks again. Now that I¡¯m in high school, the harassment might be even stronger. If that¡¯s the case, this is seriously bad. There¡¯s a possibility that I won¡¯t be able to get away with something like that. As I was about to be crushed by anxiety and despair, my vision was blocked by countless students. Before I knew it, the morning homeroom was over. ¡°You said it was in the countryside, but do you see any wild boars on the roads?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a wild boar. I¡¯ve seen Tanuki a few times.¡± ¡°Is there anywhere to play?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mainly a complex. It was a forty-minute bike ride from my house.¡± ¡°Is it true you have to wait hours for a train?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I never take the train in the first place. I only travel by bike and in my parents¡¯ car.¡± I answered the questions with a smile, an event unique to transfer students. Perhaps my self-deprecating introduction had helped, but my classmates seemed to be interested in the countryside. It seems that I¡¯ll be able to get a good position as a country character. I smiled inwardly at this calculated turn of events. When I moved over there, I was asked a lot of questions just because I was a new student from the city. All I had to do was name a place that was often introduced on TV, and I was a celebrity. This time it was the opposite. The demon is sitting in her seat having a conversation with a girl who seems to be her friend. I don¡¯t know why she hasn¡¯t approached me, but it¡¯s convenient. I smiled at my classmates as they approached me. The day was full of questions. Every time we had a break, my classmates would gather around and ask me all kinds of questions. At first, it was all about the countryside, but as time went by, I heard questions like, ¡°Do you have a girlfriend?¡± and ¡°What is your favorite type?¡± After a while, I was asked many questions peculiar to adolescents. ¡°I don¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡± ¡°My favorite type is someone who is kind, and someone who won¡¯t betray me.¡± In the meantime, lunchtime had arrived. My classmates began to eat in their seats, probably bored by the time lunchtime came. I took out the lunch box I had brought with me. ¡°You¡¯re very popular, Nijitani-kun. The man sitting in front of me turned around. I don¡¯t know if I should describe his face as neutral or feminine. At a glance, he looked like a girl. The guy¡¯s face was familiar to me. It was a classmate from the junior high school I went to when I was living here. However, even though we were classmates, our relationship was not that deep. We were never even in the same class. We only saw each other a few times in school. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Um, Nijitani-kun?¡± ¡°Eh¡­¡­ Oh, yeah.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, I haven¡¯t introduced myself. Greetings, I¡¯m Mahiro Nazuka. Pleased to meet you.¡± Greetings? He doesn¡¯t even know who I am? It¡¯s possible that he simply forgot about me because we didn¡¯t have a very deep relationship, but my notoriety was well known in middle school. Even if I¡¯m in a different class, my name and face must be well known. A few seconds later, I get my answer. I have been forgotten. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve changed a lot since then. I was surprised at how much my appearance had changed. I used to wear glasses, but now I wear contacts. In addition, I¡¯ve grown more than ten centimeters taller. Even my hairstyle is different from before. Whereas I used to wear my hair long and shaggy, I now wear it short and fresh. The way I compare myself in front of the mirror, I am a completely different person than I used to be. I believe that I have changed. On top of that, my last name has also changed. The name Shota is not uncommon, and with the change in both face and surname, it is only natural that I would not notice. In addition, I¡¯ve never been in the same class with this guy. So, what should I do? ¡± Greetings. Nice to meet you, Natsuka.¡± ¡°You can call me Mahiro.¡± ¡°All right. Then call me Shota too.¡± ¡°Okay. I wanted to talk to Shota too, but there were so many people. If you don¡¯t have an appointment, would you like to have lunch with me?¡± This is very convenient. From the first day at my new school, I met a guy I thought I could get along with. He was from Eastern Junior High School. If we get to know each other well, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll have some information about the past. Maybe he¡¯d have some information about what happened after I transferred to the new school. He might even have some information about demons. ¡°Thanks for inviting me, man. It¡¯s nice to know I won¡¯t be eating alone from day one.¡± I replied with a smile. We finished our meal and had a nice conversation. As high school students do, we talked about music, videos, and celebrities, with or without substance. Mahiro and I seemed to have the same interests and hobbies. ¡°So, Shota, do you change schools often?¡± ¡°No, this is my first time. I was really nervous.¡± I lied smoothly. ¡°Is that so? I thought you were used to it since you didn¡¯t seem to be nervous.¡± ¡°I was nervous. I just didn¡¯t show it.¡± ¡± I knew it. Changing schools is nerve-wracking, isn¡¯t it?¡± I remembered. Speaking of which, Mahiro was once a transfer student. ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­, have you ever transferred schools before?¡± ¡°I moved here when I was in the first year of junior high school.¡± ¡°Oh, so you were also a transfer student?¡± I know, but I pretend not to know. When I was in junior high school, there was a rumor that a boy with a pretty face had transferred to our school. The girl who used to be my childhood friend was excited about it, so it remains in my memory. New students will know what I¡¯m talking about, but the way they look at you when you enter the classroom is just awful. ¡°I know, I know. Before entering the classroom, you desperately hope to be in the right class.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I thought about on the way here too.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s the same for everyone.¡± We laughed together. ¡°But you¡¯re lucky, Shota. This class is a big hit. The homeroom teacher, Mizushima-sensei, is kind and above all, there is a goddess.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Goddess?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, you must not know that since you¡¯re a transfer student. There¡¯s a tradition at Tenkain Gakuen called the Tenka Contest, and it¡¯s the highlight of the school festival.¡± Mahiro explained. In the fall of every year, Tenkain Gakuen has a cultural festival, and the main event is a contest called the ¡°Tenka Contest¡±. Originally, it was a beauty contest, but it was canceled about ten years ago due to criticism that it disrespected women. However, some idiot who couldn¡¯t give up on the contest argued that it wouldn¡¯t be discriminatory if men were included in the contest, and now it seems that a popularity contest between boys and girls is held. ¡°So now they have a popularity contest between boys and girls, and the chosen boys are called ¡°gods¡± and the girls are called ¡°goddesses. I¡¯ll explain why they¡¯re called gods.¡± The origin of the name ¡°God¡± is said to have been decided by the mysterious theory that ¡°since it¡¯s Tenkain Gakuen, the flower blooming in the sky must be the Goddess.¡± The male gods, who were added later, have no particular origin. ¡°In other words, there are winners of the Tenkain contest in this class.¡± ¡°Not all of them, though.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± If it¡¯s a contest, it would be strange to have more than one winner. ¡°Last year was the first time in history that there was a tie for first place. It¡¯s amazing that a first-year student won, but the odds were miraculous that the four of goddess won side by side.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real miracle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. There was a lot of debate about the results, but in the end it was decided that everyone won. They said it didn¡¯t matter because it was a tie.¡± It was a reasonable conclusion. I don¡¯t think it would be a problem if thwy won at the same time. I understand what happened. There was a beauty contest and they won at the same time. This class is one of them. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a winning class. ¡± But four at the same time? That¡¯s a lot of people to call.¡± When we were talking about the cuteness of the goddesses, I couldn¡¯t figure out who he was referring to, which seemed to be troublesome. When I asked a simple question, Mahiro looked proud. ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯ve got a good point there, and you¡¯ve handled it well. That¡¯s why we call the four goddesses the [Four Colored Goddesses].¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Why?¡± ¡°Because their last names happen to have colors in them.¡± I had a bad feeling about this. It¡¯s impossible, I thought, but I couldn¡¯t stop the chills. It was those demons that came to mind when I was told that everyone¡¯s last name had a color in it. The ones who destroyed me once also happened to have a color in their name, and I called them the ¡°Four Color Demons.¡± Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no such coincidence in the world. ¡°¡­¡­ You said there¡¯s a goddess in this class.¡± ¡°The Red goddess is here.¡± My gaze went to a certain girl. This is the only place where there was a gorgeous atmosphere. A beautiful girl is standing there, surrounded by many girls, and the boys are looking at her with envy and fondness. ¡°May I ask which one, by the way?¡± ¡°The one with the red hair over there.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°As you can see, she¡¯s an ultra-orthodox beauty. They call her the idol of the school, she¡¯s kind to everyone and she¡¯s a goddess.¡± I was not mistaken. She¡¯s the one person I can¡¯t forget even if I wanted to. ¡­¡­ But hold on a second. That red demon has not made contact with me. At first I wondered why, but now I know why. It¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t know who I am. I look different, my name is different, and my voice has changed. In other words, she doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m Shota Mukawa. Yes, I¡¯m Shota Nijitani now, not Shota Mukawa. ¡°There are other goddesses, right, tell me about the four colored goddesses.¡± ¡°Are you interested?¡± ¡°As a man, you want to know about them.¡± ¡°I know what you mean. The names of the goddesses are¡ª¡° And when I heard their names, I trembled. The red goddess, Yuuhi Akazawa. [TL: Aka = red] The blue goddess, Umi Aoyama. [TL: Ao= Blue] The black goddess, Tsukiyo Kuromine, [TL: Kuro= Black] The white goddess, Mayuki Shirase. [TL: Shiro= white] The pride of Tenkain Gakuen, the Goddess of Four Colors, are the worst woman who ever destroyed me, the 4 Colored Devil. The life in hell comes to my mind. ¡°Shota?¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. There¡¯s definitely some color in there. Hahaha.¡± Relax, they don¡¯t know I¡¯m here. But if they find out, it¡¯s over. If they find out, they¡¯ll mess me up like they did that time. This is how it started. A high school life where my true identity must never be revealed. Volume 1 - CH 3 Posted on February 22, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The first day of my new school was coming to an end. As expected of an advanced school, the classes were very challenging, but I had been studying hard, so it was no problem. As long as I took my classes seriously, I wouldn¡¯t have any trouble getting good grades. I packed up my things and recalled the events of today. Let¡¯s start with the good points. Making friends with Mahiro on the first day was an unexpected blessing. I had a conversation with him and we seemed to get along well. Even without the information from the junior high school, we seem to have a good chemistry. I will continue to get along well with him. The atmosphere of the class was also good. It was only the first day, but the students were basically serious and respectful. As a school for higher education, there seemed to be few delinquents. The atmosphere was cheerful and there was no bullying. I had the impression that many of the teachers were good at their jobs. The homeroom teacher, Mizushima-sensei, is beautiful and seems to be a nice person, and there are no other teachers that I have a bad impression of so far. Next, the bad points. There is only one bad point. Yes, the demons known as goddesses. I didn¡¯t expect all the demons to have gone to school here. I was completely unprepared for the fact that even the girl who went to an all-girls middle and high school had come here. But I¡¯m not that pessimistic about it. It¡¯s because my true identity has not been exposed. My appearance and surname have changed, so it would be difficult to identify me as the old Shota Mukawa. Mahiro, who I had met many times at the same junior high school, didn¡¯t notice me, and if I continue to act like a hick, he won¡¯t recognize me. In fact, there was no contact from the Red Devil. If she didn¡¯t notice, there was little chance that the others would notice. All I had to do was stay away from her. It¡¯s a simple mission. I heard that those demons are praised as goddesses. In other words, they¡¯re popular. It¡¯s unlikely that a popular girl would go out of her way to contact a man. ¡°Shota, can I have a word with you before you go?¡± Mahiro called out to me. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m in the middle of your lunch break, but I thought I¡¯d tell you about God. I thought it would be good for you to know since you are in this school.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I want to know. Please.¡± If you bring up the subject of these monsters, I have no choice but to listen. ¡°First of all, don¡¯t make an enemy of God. That¡¯s a must.¡± ¡°Can I ask why exactly not to make an enemy of God?¡± ¡°Because they have a strong influence. First of all, the contest is not just a beauty contest. The position of god is held by a person who is favored by the students, and it requires not only good looks, but also academic ability and good behavior.¡± So they evaluate more than just appearance. In a way, it¡¯s like being student body president. ¡°Although, all of them are very nice looking.¡± Well, there¡¯s a difference between what people really think and what they really say. ¡°What¡¯s the other reason?¡± ¡°The teachers trust us, I guess. People who are elected by God are supported by many students. That means the teachers can¡¯t treat them like dirt. If they had a problem with God, they would lose the support of their students. So, don¡¯t make enemies with God. If you fight with them, the whole school will become your enemy.¡± It was an unpleasant piece of information, but he was probably right. Even for teachers, any trouble these days is a social problem, and they don¡¯t want to clash with a male god or goddess. It¡¯s hard for a teacher to touch them. ¡°¡­¡­ Are you saying that the school recognize the gods?¡± ¡°It was originally just a beauty contest, but after the revision, the school officially recognized it. The gods have a role to play during school events. They give out awards and greet people at events. I think they appear as guests at every event.¡± So it¡¯s not like they¡¯re just for decoration. It¡¯s true that having a handsome man or a beautiful woman present an award to the students will inspire them, so in that sense, it¡¯s probably an appropriate use. ¡°So, I¡¯ll tell you about the current goddesses. It¡¯s the first time in history that there are multiple goddesses, but each of them has their own factions that can be troublesome, so you might want to pay attention to that as well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Faction huh.¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m overreacting, but I think it¡¯s just more of a fan base. The fans don¡¯t get along well with others, so be careful what you say.¡± ¡°By the way, do you know Akazawa¡¯s fan base?¡± ¡°She has a wide range. She¡¯s the school¡¯s idol.¡± It seems that Yuuhi Akazawa, the red goddess, has a wide range of supporters. ¡°She is popular among all the students rather than a specific group. She is an overwhelmingly beautiful girl with an unrivaled legitimate beauty, an idol-like face and a personality that treats everyone equally. She¡¯s smart, athletic, good at talking, and has many friends. She¡¯s an idol on the high street. I heard that she was even scouted by an agency.¡± She¡¯s always been in that line. Even in junior high school, she was popular as an idol and wore a smile on her face. It was no surprise that she had been scouted by an agency. She looks like that. No one would question her if she said she was actually a member of an idol group. I can understand why she is the center of the group. ¡°She was cute since junior high school, but now she¡¯s become the flower of the high mountains.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Did Mahiro went to the same middle school?¡± ¡°Yes. In fact, three out of four of the goddesses came from the same junior high school. It¡¯s a miracle, now that I think about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great coincidence. Haha.¡± Of course I knew that, but I pretended to be surprised. ¡°Akazawa-san has always been very popular.¡± ¡°Heh. So she must¡¯ve had a boyfriend then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª-¡° It was then. Suddenly, I felt the presence of someone. ¡°Can I talk to you for a minute?¡± I looked up at the familiar voice and saw Akazawa standing there. ¡­¡­ You¡¯ve gotten prettier. She had always been cute, but she had become much more mature in the time I hadn¡¯t seen her. She has a neat face, long eyelashes, and a clear nose. And yet, there was still a hint of youth in her, giving the impression of a legitimate beautiful girl. My eyes were drawn to her red hair. I wondered if it had grown a little since then. Her beautiful hair, which seemed to reach almost to her back, swayed in the breeze coming in through the window, leaving a lingering impression in the air. My heart skipped a beat at the chance encounter at close range. ¡°Nice to meet you. I haven¡¯t greeted you before, have I? I¡¯m Yuuhi Akazawa, a member of the class committee.¡± Nice to meet you, huh? Apparently, even from this distance, she hasn¡¯t noticed my true identity. ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Nijitani.¡± ¡°Fufufu, I know your name. Shota Nijitani-kun.¡± Akazawa chuckles. The gesture is very cute, but I think it¡¯s because of what happened in the past. ¡°So, Nijitani, do you have a minute now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m free, but why?¡± ¡°The teacher asked me to show you around the school. I was wondering if you¡¯d like to join me now.¡± She said something about a class committee. I don¡¯t want her to show me around at all, but if I refuse her, I¡¯ll look weird. If I look around the classroom, the boys are looking at me enviously. The girls seemed to be paying attention to me as well. Fortunately, no one noticed my true identity, but there was a high risk of being exposed if I dared to approach. However, it would be more difficult for me to refuse her. It would be foolish to carelessly make enemies from the very first day at the new school. I¡¯ve been told not to make enemies with the goddesses. ¡°Thank you for going to the trouble. I¡¯ll ask for your help then.¡± ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go.¡± I said goodbye to Mahiro and left the classroom. Akazawa led me around the school. I was very excited. The Tenkain Gakuen is a school with a long history. The old school building was rebuilt a few years ago. Just the fact that it was a brand new building was enough to get me excited. I was surprised to see that the school had a cafeteria, unlike the high schools over there. ¡°Fufu, you¡¯re funny, Nijitani-kun.¡± ¡°That came out of nowhere?¡± ¡°Your eyes are sparkling. You look like a child.¡± I¡¯m sorry for being a kid. ¡°¡­¡­ Because I¡¯m new to this school.¡± ¡°Oh, I know what you mean. I felt the same way last year.¡± ¡°You did?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just like each other, aren¡¯t we?¡± Akazawa smiled shyly. The idol smile would have been enough to win over any naive boy, but there was me who was disgusted by the smile. She is still the same old girl huh. By sympathizing with the other person, she can make him feel closer to her and close the distance between them to gain favorability. This is a trick that she used a long time ago. With this technique, I was torn apart in the palm of her hand. I was taken around the city while having a casual conversation. After visiting a few facilities. ¡°¡ªYes, we¡¯re here. This is the library.¡± The last place I was taken to was the library. There was a good selection of books in the library. The school has an uptight impression, but there were light novels in one corner. I wondered if there was someone who liked them. We seem to be on the same page. ¡°I guess that¡¯s all I have to show you¡± ¡°Thank you for guiding¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll leave you alone then.¡± After the tour, Akazawa walked toward the exit. It was a dangerous event, but somehow I managed to get through it without being discovered. I didn¡¯t want to make contact with her, but this was acceptable. ¡°Right, Nijitani-kun, you moved here from the countryside, right?¡± Akazawa suddenly turned around. ¡°Y-yeah. I¡¯m a respectable country boy.¡± ¡°With all due respect, but did you ever change schools before you came here, Nijitani-kun?¡± ¡°No ¡­¡­. This is the first time in my life I¡¯ve changed schools.¡± ¡°Can I ask you why you moved to this school?¡± ¡°My parents transferred me, because of my father¡¯s job. I could have stayed there with my friends, but I¡¯m not good at housework, so I came with them.¡± It¡¯s all a lie, by the way. I had already decided on this setting. I¡¯ve given this answer many times today alone. It¡¯s a way to avoid being recognized as the old me. I hadn¡¯t calculated that there would be demons here, but I also didn¡¯t want the people from my middle school to know that I existed. For some reason, Akazawa was disappointed when she heard the answer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking you such a strange question.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s the fate of transfer students.¡± ¡°Thank you. Ah, if you have any problems, please feel free to consult me.¡± The problem I wanted to discuss was right in front of me, but there was no way I could say that. ¡°Okay. Keep up the good work.¡± I waved Akazawa off, and when she was completely out of sight, I let out a big breath. It was a close call. My heart skipped a beat, wondering when I would be found out, but I managed to get through it. If Akazawa didn¡¯t notice it, it would be fine with other demons. Because she was also my childhood friend who I had been playing with since kindergarten. It¡¯s also my first childhood love that I have nothing but bitter memories of. Volume 1 - CH 4 Posted on February 23, 2022by Soafp Translator : Soafp A few days have passed since I moved to a new school. Daily life was stable. Family relations were good. Studying was fine. Relationships at school were smooth. In order not to create an image of myself as I was in junior high school, I forced myself to act a little more cheerful, and it seems to have worked. I haven¡¯t had any contact with Yuuhi Akazawa since then. She used to be very interested in transfer students and handsome guys, but it seems that she didn¡¯t like me after I changed my look. I¡¯m very happy about that. It¡¯s not a secret that I felt a mysterious sense of defeat, as if I was being told that I wasn¡¯t good-looking enough, even though I should be celebrating. I¡¯m in a different class than the other demons. I never leave the classroom during recess, so I haven¡¯t encountered any so far. It¡¯s going well. ¡°Good morning.¡± I arrived at school that day and called out to my classmates. Perhaps it was because I was trying to give the impression that I was a cheerful country character, but when I greeted them, the people at the top of the class caste would cheerfully reply. My relationships with both boys and girls are good, and I think I¡¯m giving off a cheerful impression. When I arrived at school and took my seat, I called out to the girl sitting next to me. ¡°Good morning.¡± The girl in the seat next to me was reading as usual, her face hidden by her long bangs. ¡°¡­¡­ Good morning.¡± The greeting was curt, but she returned it. I¡¯ve heard that a lot of students from the eastern middle school that I attended have gone on to study at Tenkain Gakuen. The girl sitting next to me is one of them. Her name is Hazuki Nekoda. [TL: Neko = cat] As her name suggests, she has a cat-like face. Her eyes are slightly twinkly, her nose is well defined, her chin is thin, and she has a sharp outline. When she smiles, her characteristic double-teeth appear and accelerate her cat-like impression. I didn¡¯t notice it at first. That¡¯s how different she was from before. In junior high school, Nekoda had always been cheerful and energetic, and had been the center of the class. But now, she didn¡¯t talk to anyone. She listens to her classes in silence and reads during her breaks. Her hair is longer than it was back then, and she hides her face with her bangs. After school, she would go home immediately, a typical gloomy person. On top of that, the atmosphere of the class gave the impression that Nekoda was being avoided. She was the only alien in a good class. I finished my classes and had my lunch break. As usual, I bought a loaf of bread from the store and sat down with Mahiro. I glanced at the person next to me. Nekoda had just taken out her lunch. ¡°Nekoda¡¯s lunch box. It always looks good.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­ Thank you.¡± ¡°Is it possible that you make your own?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Yeah, I like to cook.¡± ¡°Heh, you must be a good cook. I envy you because my mother doesn¡¯t like to cook.¡± When I praised her, Nekoda raised her head slightly and smiled. The tension was low, but it was the same face I had seen in the past. There she was, smiling next to Akazawa. But the smile disappeared in a few seconds as if she noticed something. As I was wondering, Mahiro tapped me on the shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t talk to her.¡± Mahiro looked around the classroom. ¡°Look over there.¡± ¡± What do you mea¡ª-¡° Akazawa, who was eating with her friends in her seat, looked at me. It¡¯s not just that she was looking at me. There was no idle expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s like she¡¯s staring at me¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about them, but I think they¡¯re fighting.¡± ¡°Akazawa and Nekoda?¡± ¡°Yes. In fact, Nekoda-san was in the same junior high school as me and Akazawa-san.¡± Of course I know that, but I pretend to be surprised. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, they used to hang out together in middle school.¡± ¡°Is that why they¡¯re fighting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my guess.¡± Yuuhi Akazawa and Hazuki Nekoda were definitely friends. They were in the same class in the second year of junior high school and always seemed to enjoy talking. They seemed to be more like best friends than friends. That¡¯s why I was also surprised. That day, Nekoda told me about the rumor. Her words triggered me to understand the situation I was in. It was definitely thanks to her that I realized the fact that I had been framed by Akazawa and made to be the most hated person in the school. I feel indebted to Nekoda. I had hoped to repay the favor someday. In fact, before I could do so, I was crushed and transferred to another school. ¡°What was the reason for the fight?¡± ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°How long have they been fighting?¡± ¡°We were in different classes in middle school, and last year we were in different classes, so that part¡¯s unclear too.¡± Not even sure how long they¡¯ve been fighting. ¡°I was surprised when we were in the same class. Akazawa-san gave off the vibe that she hated Nekoda-san. Nobody can talk to her because they don¡¯t want the goddess to hate them.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Did Nekoda do something to her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that either. But I¡¯ve heard rumors that Nekoda-san has done something bad.¡± It makes me feel bad. They were close to each other to begin with, but now Akazawa has isolated her. The way she did it is similar to that time. If I am not careful, before I know it, she will manipulate me behind the scenes, spread rumors, and make me look bad. It was frustrating. I couldn¡¯t leave Nekoda, who was in the same situation as I was in the past, alone. If I abandoned her here, I would be just as much of a scum as those demons, and that made me sick. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get along with Nekoda.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°I feel sorry for her. Isolated from the rest of the world because of a simple fight, and we don¡¯t even know why.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ That may be true but¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I won¡¯t get any stares.¡± I can¡¯t leave my benefactor alone. The action has begun. From that day on, I started to care about Nekoda. It wasn¡¯t excessive attention. I greeted her in the morning and occasionally made small talk with her. When I left school, I would say, ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± We were classmates, and we were sitting next to each other, so we didn¡¯t deviate from our relationship. The response was not good. She had been the cheerful mood maker of the class, but now it was rare for her to even open her mouth. The only response she gave was raw. ¡°Oh, the novel you¡¯re reading is the one that¡¯s going to be made into an anime, isn¡¯t it?¡± That day, Nekoda was reading a novel as usual. I caught a glimpse of the illustrations in the book and understood the content. It was a popular novel that I also love to read. ¡°¡­You know about it?¡± ¡°I love it. It¡¯s really interesting.¡± ¡°I thought Nijitani didn¡¯t read this kind of stuff.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°You¡¯re always so cheerful, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be the type to read novels.¡± ¡°I do read them. They are my favorite.¡± I got into light novels when I was in junior high school. I was looked down upon at school, and the only thing I could do was read novels. But I wasn¡¯t mature enough to enjoy pure literature, and as a result, I was completely addicted to light novels. I was surprised to find out that Nekoda had become a fan of novels, but I was somewhat pleased. ¡°What other kind of books do you read? ¡± I enjoyed the last anime about building robots in a different world.¡± ¡°I watched it too!¡± ¡°It¡¯s interesting, isn¡¯t it? The main character is really good-looking.¡± Nekoda¡¯s voice had just gained momentum. ¡°Hey, if you like light novels, will you have a chat with me?¡± Suddenly, a voice interrupted. The owner of the voice was Akazawa. As soon as I saw Akazawa, the cat looked down at the book in her hand as if she was embarrassed. ¡°Uhm¡­..Akazawa¡± ¡°I like them too. Light novels.¡± I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re getting involved in our conversation. It¡¯s a lie that you like light novels in the first place. I¡¯ll never forget the time in junior high when you made fun of me for reading novels, saying I looked like an otaku. Calm down, me. Don¡¯t get upset. She doesn¡¯t know who I am. If I get too upset, there¡¯s a higher risk of my true identity being exposed. I took a deep breath in my mind and let out my bad feelings. As for Shota Nijitani, he and Akazawa are not in any sort of trouble. He¡¯s just a classmate. If that¡¯s the case, I know what to do here. ¡°Does Akazawa also like novels?¡± ¡°Yes. Love them.¡± ¡°What kind of books do you like?¡± ¡°Uhm you kow, the older works¡ª-¡° When I asked the question, thinking it was a lie anyway, Akazawa listed the titles in a few words. She likes the old classics rather than the new ones. The list included many of the ones I used to read when in the past. Surprisingly, our interests were compatible. But that doesn¡¯t give me a good impression. In fact, it makes me feel disgusted. Because, you know. In junior high school, this same person used to make fun of me for reading novels. Seriously, she¡¯s like the devil. ¡°I guess that¡¯s the kind of stuff I like.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ All those masterpieces.¡± ¡°Right?¡¡That is why I wanted to talk about light novels.¡± I glanced at Nekoda. She was reading a book as if she had given up. I¡¯m sure she can hear me, but she¡¯s not responding. ¡°There is no problem with talking. Let¡¯s talk about it, including Nekoda, who loves romance novels.¡± ¡°U-uhm¡ª-¡° Nekoda was blatantly flustered. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡± Uhm, you know¡­¡± ¡°Are you in a fight with Nekoda?¡± When I asked her directly, Akazawa¡¯s expression became cloudy. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, all of a sudden?¡± ¡°To tell you the truth, I heard from Mahiro. Mahiro told me that you used to be good friends.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ That¡¯s right. We¡¯re having a fight.¡± Akazawa stared at Mahiro unamused. Mahiro glared at me impatiently, but I felt awkward so I turned away. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to sacrifice yourself. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can you tell me why?¡± ¡°What¡¯s bothering you?¡± ¡°If the girl sitting next to me looked gloomy, it would bother me.¡± Give a valid reason why you don¡¯t want the girl next to me to be depressed. After a moment of hesitation, Akazawa opened her mouth as if she had given up. ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s because Hazuki-chan hurt someone I care about.¡± Volume 1 - CH 5 Posted on February 24, 2022by Soafp Translator : Soafp She had hurt someone important huh. Those words echoed in my head. Akazawa went back to her seat without saying another word. There is no way of knowing who the important person is, but there was a reason for the two of them to fall out. Nekoda herself had heard those words, but did not refute it. It was probably true. I might be a little sorry for making her look bad because of what happened in the past. Well, I don¡¯t feel sorry. I was surprised that she had the sense to get angry when someone she cared about was hurt. Even though she gleefully hurt me, she still gets angry when someone she cares about gets hurt, she is still a selfish person. Let¡¯s put that aside and see what I can do from here. I really don¡¯t want to have anything to do with Akazawa. I honestly don¡¯t care about her friendship, and I don¡¯t feel good about making up with her and making more friends. I¡¯ve lost almost all of my original friends. I don¡¯t even want to help her. But I do owe Nekoda. It was only because of Nekoda that I was able to avoid falling into her trap. If I had stayed in touch with her as a childhood friend, I would have been framed as a criminal by now. It was thanks to Nekoda that I was able to avoid the worst case scenario. I was able to get out of it without getting into the worst kind of quagmire. I had to repay the debt. It was after school and my classmates were getting up to go home for club activities. Nekoda, who was sitting next to me, was also about to leave, so I called out to her. ¡°Hey, do you want to make up with Akazawa?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± The problem is Nekoda¡¯s will. If you want to reconcile, I¡¯ll help you. However, I have no intention of doing any unnecessary meddling. I still can¡¯t forgive that girl, and I don¡¯t want to help her or anything. ¡°¡­..I want¡± ¡°Then you should make up.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do it. Yuuhi is very angry.¡± ¡°No, it looks like she wants to make up with you too.¡± We¡¯ve been together for a long time, so I know. She definitely wants to make up with her. The reason she doesn¡¯t come forward is that she feels she can¡¯t back out now. She doesn¡¯t want to apologize, but she wants to go back to the way things were. ¡°How do you know?¡± Because we grew up together. I can¡¯ t say that. ¡°Can I just say it¡¯s something?¡± ¡°What¡¯s it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you why, because I¡¯ve seen a lot of fights. If she really hated you, she wouldn¡¯t have reacted like that. She would have either ignored you or eliminated you without a trace. Besides, she called Nekoda ¡°Hazuki-chan¡±. She wouldn¡¯t have called you that in such a friendly manner if she didn¡¯t like you.¡± I made a statement that sounded like it, but it was appropriate. ¡°¡­Is that so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what she said to you when we talked about the novel. I suggested that we talk about it with Nekoda, and she didn¡¯t say no.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t say she didn¡¯t want to, but¡­¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s your answer.¡± I mean, she definitely did. She was glancing at Nekoda. She must have wanted Nekoda to call out to her, so she called out to me at that moment. It¡¯s the same thing that happened when I had a fight with her a long time ago. During a fight, she has a habit of glancing at the other person. Giving off an aura of ¡°I want to make things right with you,¡± she waits for the other person to break down and apologize. Despite her appearance, she has a stubborn streak that keeps her from giving in. It¡¯s the same this time. I was curious and kept my eyes on Akazawa, and she kept glancing at her during class. It¡¯s not that she was staring at Nekoda, but rather that she was trying to casually join in when Nekoda was talking to someone else. She¡¯s trying to get Nekoda to apologize for the way things are going and get things back on track. ¡°Can we really make up?¡± ¡°Absolutely, you can.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡° ¡°Are you sure you want to stay like this forever?¡± Nekoda shook her head. ¡°After all, you want to make up.¡± ¡°I want to. It was my fault.¡± ¡°Then leave it to me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ All right. Please.¡± ¡°In return, make sure you apologize.¡± Confirming that Nekoda nodded, I started to act. In the sparse classroom, Akazawa was getting ready to leave. When I approached Akazawa, she took a somewhat defensive stance. ¡°I want to talk to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Akazawa looked up. She saw Nekoda fidgeting in her seat and sensed something. Even so, her expression was that of an idol with a smile. ¡°Nijitani-kun, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You seem to want to make up with Nekoda, so I came to help you out.¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t really care¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± This person will be stubborn and say ¡°I don¡¯t want to¡±. ¡°¡­¡­I might want to.¡± This answer was unexpected. I was expecting her to be stubborn. She seems to have grown up more than she used to. ¡°No ¡®might¡¯. Akazawa definitely wants to make up with her.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because you were always looking at her. When I transferred to this school, you were also looking at her. I thought you were looking at me, the new student, at first, but you were actually looking at Nekoda next to me.¡± Akazawa¡¯s face contorted for a moment when I pointed it out. Apparently she hadn¡¯t noticed her own habit. It seems to me that no one else knows about it, except me. I wonder if someone has ever paid attention to it. ¡°You also want to make up for it, right? Nekoda said she was sorry.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Is it fine as it is?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I played my trump card on Akazawa, who was not quite at her wits¡¯ end. ¡°The person you¡¯re talking about, does he want this to happen?¡± ¡°THAT PERSON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!¡° The color of Akazawa¡¯s face changed at that comment. Is the person you care about so much that you get angry and bare your emotions? In fact, I know who the other person is. There are only a few people that this demon could get so emotional with. ¡°¡­..It¡¯s non of your business. Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you left me and Hazuki-chan alone when we fight?¡± ¡°Well, I guess so.¡± ¡°Then why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s none of my business. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯ re fighting, and I don¡¯t know what happened in the past. However, both of you seem to want to make up, so I¡¯m just acting on my own. I have nothing to do with your situation.¡± Akazawa opened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°As I said before, it¡¯s annoying to have a gloomy face in the seat next to me. It¡¯s a matter of my tension. Having a pungent person next to me is not good for my mood. I just transferred to a new school and now I¡¯m caught in a bad mood. Wouldn¡¯t that suck?¡± Akazawa fell silent at my quibbling and forceful argument. I beckoned Nekoda over to me, making sure she was silent and regretting her words. ¡°So that¡¯s it. If you¡¯re willing to reconcile, accept her apology.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Hazuki-chan will apologize, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why.¡± Nekoda responds to my beckoning and emerges from behind me. ¡°Um, Yuuhi¡­¡­.I¡¯m sorry¡± Nekoda bowed her head frankly. ¡°It was my fault for what happened. I didn¡¯t mean for it to happen.¡± ¡°No, ¡­¡­ it was my fault originally.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°No it is not. Sorry ¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry, I just wanted to put the blame on you, Hazuki-chan. I was the one who was really at fault. I knew that, though.¡± Akazawa grasped Nekoda¡¯s hand. ¡°¡­¡­ Let¡¯s make up, Hazuki-chan.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Of course I am¡± I heard that much and turned on my heel. The rest is entirely up to her. I heard them talking about this and that behind my back, but it doesn¡¯t matter to me. I returned to my seat, grabbed my bag and left the classroom. I saw Akazawa and Nekoda smiling at each other as they had done in the past. The smiles of my former childhood friends gave me mixed feelings. TL: Next chapter is about his past with Akazawa. (Hinagi is that you) Volume 1 - CH 6 Posted on February 25, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [Past] My first love was when I was in elementary school. It was with my childhood friend, Yuuhi Akazawa. I have no memory of how we met. We were neighbors, and our parents were friends, a common relationship. We were born in the same hospital and went to the same kindergarten as a matter of course. There was no clear reason for me to fall in love with her. Her face, which I had always seen, began to flicker around the house, and gradually I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head. At first it was just an uncomfortable feeling, but later I realized that it was a romantic feeling. By the time I was in the upper grades of elementary school, I was fully aware of being in love. Everything about her seemed so cute. I was smitten by the way she followed me around. I fell in love with the way her expression would change when she was looking at a manga. The way she scolded me by imitating my mother¡¯s tone of voice made me fall in love with her. When I was struggling with my homework, she looked at me like a teacher and explained it to me, which made me fall in love. ¡°Thank you for teaching me how to study, Yuuhi.¡± ¡°Ehehe, you¡¯re welcome, Sho-chan.¡± Her shy face was really cute and that made me squeal. What I liked the most was when she smiled. Her smile made me feel as if a huge sunflower had bloomed, and it warmed my heart. She never showed that face to anyone but me. That¡¯s because she had a big problem. She was born with red hair. She suffered from a complex. Children are cruel and tend to focus on things that are different from themselves. No matter if there is malice in it or not. ¡°Why is your hair red?¡± ¡°Is it dyed?¡± ¡°Are you a delinquent, Yuuhi-chan?¡± It was a curious question, but since Akazawa was shy by nature, she had a habit of squirming and turning her head when asked questions without malicious intent. The troubled girl swept her gaze around, and when she spotted me, she approached me. She tugs at my sleeve and gives me a pleading look. ¡°You got it wrong, Yuuhi hair is natural!¡± I always explain to them when she ask me to help. I¡¯ve known her since she was a little girl, so they¡¯re convinced that I¡¯m telling the truth. ¡°Thank you, Sho-chan.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Relax, it¡¯s not Yuuhi¡¯s fault. Be proud about it¡± ¡°Y-yes¡± ¡°You¡¯re cute, so you should always smile like an idol. If you do that, everyone will become your friend.¡± At the time, she was the most important person to me and I wanted to protect her more than anything. It made me feel good to know that I was protecting her. It made me happy to be appreciated, so I began to take care of her. My friends called me a meddler, but I would always try to take care of Akazawa so that she would not be teased about the color of her hair. I think we had mutual feelings. At the time, I wasn¡¯t sensitive to such things, but when I cooled down, I realized that she was all over me. I was not sure if she was in love with me or if it was the kind of affection she would have for her brother or sister. Through me, Akazawa also made more friends. By playing with my friends, Akazawa¡¯s shy personality gradually changed, and before I knew it, she had become the center of the class. I thought that this relationship would continue forever. However, that relationship was soon to fall apart. When I entered junior high school, I entered puberty. People started to talk about love here and there, and if someone got even a little too close to a boy or girl, it would quickly become a rumor. In junior high school, another childhood friend and great friend of mine, Renji Inuyama, appeared on the scene. Renji was very popular. He had a good figure and a sharp mind. In addition to his good looks, he was very athletic, so there was no reason for him not to be popular. A versatile prince should be popular. He was truly the protagonist of this world, the brilliant sun shining brilliantly. I, on the other hand, was ordinary. It¡¯s not that I despise him. If I were to despise him, I would have to lower my reputation even further. Yes, I was undeniably an ordinary man. I studied in the lower half of the class. I was good at sports, so I was about above average. I don¡¯t know about myself, but I¡¯d like to think I had a mediocre face. In junior high school, we often went out in groups. I was in a position of influence in the class because I was with my best friend, Renji. I guess you could call us a high caste group. Through Renji¡¯s connections, I was able to belong to one of those groups. I was just an extra. It was inevitable that girls would gather around Renji, who was perfect in every way. It was also natural that Yuuhi Akazawa, who had been harboring a faint crush on me, shifted her interest from me to Renji. ¡°Is there someone Renji-kun like?¡± ¡°Who knows, I never saw him with someone¡± ¡°What¡¯s Renji¡¯s favorite food?¡± ¡°He prefers fish to meat.¡± ¡°Does Renji-kun have a girlfriend?¡± ¡°No.¡± All I ever hear is about Renji. Akazawa was chasing after Renji, her eyes glittering. There was no reflection of me in her vision. When I was just a junior high school student, I was still in love with Akazawa, and I felt a stab of inferiority in my heart. But the dark feelings never exploded. If he had been a jerk, I would have been frustrated, but Renji is a really nice guy. He is smart and athletic, but most of all he has a good personality. In junior high school, he served as a member of the class council, and when he found discord in the class, he tried to mediate between the two. He also actively reached out to those who were isolated in class. He is handsome, an honor student, a man of culture, and a perfect person. It¡¯s a bit flimsy to put it all into words, but it¡¯s true. His brilliance seemed to grow with each passing month. When I entered the second year of junior high school, there was a change. Akazawa began to visibly humiliate me. She also compared me to Renji. ¡°Compared to Renji-kun, Shota-kun is useless, you know. You¡¯re not smart enough to compare, you¡¯re a good athlete, but you will probably lose, and your face is a total disappointment.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Right¡± I had no intention of competing. It¡¯s not because I can¡¯t win. It was because my interest in Akazawa was fading. When I responded appropriately like that, she used every means to humiliate me. ¡°There¡¯s a new student in the next class. Unlike Shota-kun, he has a pretty face.¡± ¡°That senior is handsome and nice, right? Unlike Shota-kun.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m going to have a boyfriend, he should be smart. Shota-kun is an idiot, though.¡± Anyway, all she cared about was whatever she could abuse me. She loathed me so much that I wanted to know why she loath me. I don¡¯t know when she changed the way she calls me. Still, I couldn¡¯t open the distance because our parents were close friends. I loved my mother. I didn¡¯t want to make my mother sad. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t leave her side even though I was compared to and humiliated by her. ¡­¡­ Now I can see that the choice was a big mistake. In the second year of junior high school, I still went to school with Akazawa as before. My feelings had completely changed. My love for Akazawa has faded, and my first love, a childhood friend, has become a person I don¡¯t like, someone who makes me feel inferior. ¡°I had fun at karaoke last night. Renji-kun is super good at it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ As expected.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so different, Mukawa-kun.¡± Of course, I was not invited to the party. To be precise, Renji approached me. However, I was absorbed in a game I¡¯ve been playing lately, and I had a prior engagement there, so I declined. But I would have turned him down even if I didn¡¯t have to. ¡°Final exams are coming up soon.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­ It¡¯s summer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m planning to go to the beach with my friends. Of course, Renji-kun will be with us. There are many other good-looking guys there.¡± Akazawa and I belonged to different groups. In the first place, the chances of us talking at school had decreased dramatically since we entered junior high school, and in the second year of junior high school, she started to avoid me. The other day, Akazawa finally called me by my last name instead of my first name. So I decided to call her by her last name, Akazawa, instead of Yuuhi as well. I felt like she wanted me to keep my distance from her, so I complied. I don¡¯t know why she was in a bad mood, but she was. ¡°Well, it¡¯s none of your business, Mukawa, and I won¡¯t even invite you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­, Right¡± ¡°Huh, did I hurt your feelings?¡± ¡± I suppose¡­.¡± ¡°If you want me to ask you out, why don¡¯t you ask me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Don¡¯t really care¡± It was painful to go to school with Akazawa. But I still went to school with her because my mother would get mad at me. As a childhood friend, I was told to protect her if anything happened. Akazawa¡¯s parents also said hello to me. Apparently, they think we¡¯re still close childhood friends. It¡¯s really annoying and I wish they wouldn¡¯t do that, but if I dare deny it, there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll start trying to make up for it, so I just smiled fondly at them. At school, I loved to read novels. Light novels are great. They are easy to read like manga, but they can kill more time than manga. In addition, they are novels, so no one would be offended if I read them at school. ¡°Uwa, light novels. Mukawa-kun, are you an otaku, by chance?¡± ¡± ¡­¡­ Is that bad?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s bad. Some people might just think it¡¯s weird.¡± The giggling Akazawa was clearly mocking me. The only time she ever talked to me at school was when she was making fun of me. It made me feel bad, but I was still able to live a normal life at that time. The big turning point came one day when summer was approaching. While I was reading as usual, someone came up to me. ¡°Do you know the rumor, Mukawa?¡± It was Hazuki Nekoda . Nekoda and I were in the same class, but we were not acquainted. ¡°What rumor?¡± ¡°Rumor of a stalker.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a disturbing rumor.¡± ¡°Eh ¨C It¡¯s about Mukawa. There¡¯s a rumor that Mukawa is stalking Yuuhi. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡± The words were unexpected. I had a feeling that my classmates had been avoiding me lately, but I had never imagined that such a rumor was circulating. ¡°Everyone is saying that Mukawa is following Yuuhi around.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I was curious, so I asked Yuuhi about it. She said it was true.¡± I hadn¡¯t heard that before. I¡¯m sure she knows what¡¯s going on. The only reason I¡¯m with her is because both of our parents have told me to. It¡¯s more like I¡¯m the one being followed. She would come up to me and abuse me, and when I tried to go to school by myself, she would come alongside me, making fun of me. Rumors had spread quite a bit. If I paid attention to the whispering voices, I could hear them talking about how I was chasing Akazawa around every day. ¡°He talk to her sometimes at school, but Akazawa-san looks uncomfortable, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°It seems like he was waiting for Yuuhi to finish her club activities to go home with her before.¡± ¡°Uwa, he¡¯s really a criminal.¡± ¡°Apparently he knows where she lives, so he waits outside at night and peeks in from his room.¡± ¡°I heard his phone is full of Secret pictures.¡± ¡°I heard that too.¡± That¡¯s a false accusation. I was waiting for the end of club activities. The reason I waited for her to finish her club activities was because she asked me to. And since we¡¯ve known each other since childhood, it was only natural that I know where she lives. The only reason I waited outside at night was to get a share of the overcooked food from Akazawa¡¯s parents in front of her house. Secret pictures on my phone? Impossible, because I don¡¯t have a smartphone. How could these information be circulating? It¡¯s because Akazawa herself is the one who is leaking them. Only she would know about the fact that I was waiting outside at night. When our eyes met, Akazawa smiled. It was as if she was saying, ¡°You finally noticed?¡± I could feel the malice in her gaze. I finally realized it. I was being set up. ¡°Stalking is a crime, so you shouldn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I could only give a small nod to Nekoda¡¯s advice. Since then, I kept my distance from Akazawa. However, she was the top of the caste. The influence was tremendous, and before I knew it, I was being looked down upon by people outside of my class. The boys who were probably aiming for Akazawa picked a fight with me, and the girls talked about me behind my back. I was completely isolated. Later, with Renji¡¯s help, I was able to keep my heart together, but it was destroyed by the pursuit from other demons. I haven¡¯t spoken to Akazawa since that day. This was my first love. Volume 1 - CH 7 Posted on February 28, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°Let¡¯s go to that cafe next time!¡± ¡°I hear it¡¯s got a good reputation.¡± ¡°The parfait is super delicious. Yuuhi will definitely get addicted to it, right?¡± ¡°Uuu, I¡¯m going to get fat.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll make up for it with your energy.¡± A few days have passed since then. Akazawa and Nekoda made up for the time they had spent together and got to know each other better. Nekoda became more cheerful. Rather, she had returned to her old self. She talked openly with everyone and had a dazzling smile on her face. When she returned to her original personality, her popularity exploded at once. In the past few days, she was actively talking to her classmates and quickly became a part of the top caste group. When she cut her hair and wore a smile, she caught the gaze of all the guys. She was originally known as a beautiful girl even in junior high school. Her friendly smile and cheerful personality had charmed many people. It was no surprise that she was even prettier than she was then. It must have been a bolt from the blue for her classmates. The red goddess and the gloomy cat, both of whom had been giving off a bad vibe, were hanging out together. In addition, they¡¯ve elevated their relationship from friends to best friends. It seems that they go out somewhere every day after school. If you want to go back to being best friends, why don¡¯t you just make up with her? She¡¯s got a stubborn personality. But there was no way I could say that, so I complained in my mind. ¡°Good morning. Nijitani-kun.¡± I was about to take my seat when Akazawa approached me. ¡°Good morning.¡± The problem is that Akazawa and I have become a little closer. Even so, we only greeted each other and made small talk. ¡°I¡¯m really thankful.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me again and again. It was just meddling.¡± ¡°Yes, but still, thank you.¡± It had been a long time since she had smiled at me with all her might. The relationship must have passed, but the smile was so dazzling and nostalgic that I couldn¡¯t look her in the eye. ¡°¡­¡­, Nijitani-kun, you look a bit like that person.¡± I wonder if that person is the important person she was talking about. It was probably my good friend, Renji Inuyama. He was definitely a meddlesome guy. He¡¯s the kind of guy who reaches out to those who are isolated, as a matter of course. This confirmed who the important person was. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d be wondering what Nekoda did to Renji, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m asking that now. That¡¯s all Akazawa said and went back to the group. I would have preferred to stay out of it, but I guess I had no choice this time. Let¡¯s think positively. I¡¯ve become friends with the most popular person in school. Now I¡¯m less likely to be isolated in high school. If I don¡¯t get too close, I won¡¯t be preyed upon. Besides. I was able to pay back my debt to Nekoda. It¡¯s been over two years, though. The result was not bad at all. By the way, I¡¯m not interested in or even thinking about revenge for the past. I¡¯m not even thinking about getting revenge on those demons, not one bit. There¡¯s more than one of them, and they¡¯re popular in school. If I took revenge, their supporters would retaliate. My stepsister also goes to this school. I don¡¯t want my stepsister to be maligned because of my personal grudge. Just before the class started, Nekoda came running back. ¡°Good morning, Nijitani-kun!¡± She had a bursting smile. I raised my hand to the original Nekoda, whose double teeth flickered. ¡°Ou, good morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going on another date with Yuuhi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you two made up.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll pay you back for this!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It was my own doing.¡± ¡°I knew you would say that. So I¡¯ll take the liberty of thanking you and returning the favor.¡± It¡¯s good to hear her appreciation. Now I¡¯ve repaid the debt, I won¡¯t be accused of dishonesty. It was a blunder to have contact with Akazawa, but this was not a bad ending. ¡°Well, Shota is amazing. I can¡¯t believe you were able to get those two to make up.¡± Mahiro said as he watched the two of them chatting amicably. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. They just made up on their own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very cool line to say.¡± ¡°Oh, you think that was a cool line?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Thanks to Shota¡¯s cool line, I was glared at, though. He must be really upset that I told Akazawa about the fight. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding, just kidding. But I¡¯m grateful to Shota. The better the mood of the class, the better it is for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I really didn¡¯t do anything, though.¡± I just confirmed the intentions of both parties. The rest of the time, they made up on their own. Nekoda apologized, and Akazawa just accepted it. There was no room for others to intervene. That reminds me, when they made up, they were talking about something. I didn¡¯t hear the part that sounded important. I don¡¯t even know how they got into the fight in the first place. It would be foolish to ask that question. ¡°I¡¯m praising you for forcing your way into their conversation.¡± ¡°Do you mind?¡± I don¡¯t usually do that kind of meddling. I was just returning the favor. ¡°By the way, what was the cause of the fight between the two?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Until now. Someone talked to me after Nekoda-san and Akazawa-san.¡± So now that they¡¯re reconciled, they can talk. ¡°You want to know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who intervened.¡± ¡°The fight between the two of them, or rather, Nekoda-san¡¯s behavior, was in junior high school. It seems that she said something terrible to Akazawa-san¡¯s loved one, and that was the cause of the fight. At that time, Akazawa-san didn¡¯t know that fact. She only found out about it after a while.¡± Is it because of swearing or rude words? I wondered if she had spoken out against Renji. I don¡¯t know much about the relationship between Nekoda and Renji, so I can¡¯t say for sure. ¡± ¡­¡­But I don¡¯t get it. How did she find out about it later?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that much about it either. Well, there was a lot of commotion at the time. Akazawa-san also tended to take a lot of time off when she was in the third year of junior high school, so there might have been a lot of things going on behind the scenes.¡± Did she tend to take time off? Akazawa was physically strong. She rarely got sick. ¡°Was it a cold or some kind of illness?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was in a different class.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Right. So, what¡¯s all the other thingsabout?¡± I don¡¯t know about disturbances. There were no window breaking incidents or bullying incidents at Eastern Junior High School. I dare say I was the only one who was bullied. ¡°Strange rumors, people falling down the stairs and being rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, broken bones during club activities, fistfights between girls, unexpected makeovers, people withdrawing from school, people who have just graduated getting in trouble with the police, that kind of thing.¡± That¡¯s scary. I know the first two things about myself. But I don¡¯t know anything about the second half of the story. I didn¡¯t know that such an uproar occurred after I moved to a new school. ¡°It must have been a pretty rough school.¡± ¡°It might look that way.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Maybe the goddess had something to do with the roughness?¡± ¡°You guessed that right. There¡¯s a lot of Goddess stuff in that story.¡± As soon as I disappeared, it was like they were torturing me to relieve their stress. I¡¯m so shocked, still shocked I¡¯ll definitely try to stay away from them in the future. I¡¯ve come into contact with Akazawa, but the other demons are in a different class, so as long as I stay away from them, I should be fine. I¡¯m sure that my safety is secured now. ¡­¡­ However, the world often does not work out like the way you want. You wonder why? Because life is a giant pile of s**t. Volume 1 - CH 8 Posted on March 1, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The season has arrived in May. About two weeks have passed since I changed schools. The only thing that happened during that time was Golden Week. During the Golden Week, I spent most of the time lounging around at home. Partly because I¡¯m a reluctant traveler, but also because I was told that I needed to spend time with my family, so I spent the time getting to know them better. After the golden vacations dawned, the days passed peacefully. As a transfer student, I was immediately noticed, and for some reason I was considered a hero for repairing the relationship between Akazawa and Nekoda. Thanks to that, I was able to blend in with the class. Since then, the atmosphere in the classroom has been good. I almost forgot the reality that these demons existed in the same school. Akazawa seemed to be hiding her true colors and was in an idle mood. There is no movement behind the scenes at the moment, and it seems that Akazawa has washed her hands of the harassment she inflicted on Mukawa-kun in the past. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing more I can say to her. On that day¡ª- I was talking with Mahiro as usual. It wasn¡¯t about my future goals or anything lofty like that, it was about the latest idols and manga, in short, just small talk. ¡°Do you play games, Shota?¡± ¡± Once in a while, I suppose. Not that much now.¡± ¡°Neither do I, but I¡¯ve recently started playing GPEX.¡± GPEX is a FPS that has been very popular for a few years now. It is so-called ¡°Battle royal¡± type, and you fight to be the last pair. It¡¯s a title I have a bit of a history with. I haven¡¯t played it since I moved to the countryside, but I used to play it every day after school. The game can be enjoyed on a variety of hardware, but at the time I was playing it on a computer my uncle gave me. ¡°I used to play it too.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I was in junior high school, though, and I only played for about six months.¡± Right after the launch of the game, I started playing it. It was the first FPS I had ever touched in my life, so I was terrible at first. But after playing every day for six months, I was able to fight a little. ¡°Can you teach me sometime?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not good enough to teach you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re better than me, a beginner.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re about the same. My skills are probably not as good as they used to be, and I¡¯m not very good at teaching. There¡¯s a lot of dead skill.¡± At that time, I was into GPEX, but I wasn¡¯t very good at it. I didn¡¯t have a punchline that said I was actually a professional gamer. I was able to win a few times on a whim, but only when I was on a roll. Now, I have two years of gap in my skill. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good enough to teach others. Besides, when I hear the word ¡°GPEX,¡± I can¡¯t help but think of something certain. The reason why I started this game, and the reason why I was able to continue playing it, was because of the existence of the Blue Devil. And it was because of that demon that I decided to never play this game again. ¡°But why all the sudden?¡± ¡°It all began with a streamer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. That¡¯s how I got my start.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really strange.¡± Although my favorite streamer had already retired. It was with a sense of nostalgia that Mahiro and I began to talk about GPEX. I heard that weapons and maps have changed between now and then, and many characters have been added. I hadn¡¯t been following the information, so it felt fresh. Back then, another title was popular and GPEX didn¡¯t attract that much attention at first. Gradually, it attracted professionals and streamers became popular. It was common knowledge at the time, but Mahiro, who didn¡¯t know about it, was surprised. I, on the other hand, was surprised by the new information. ¡°That weapon got nerfed?¡± ¡°A while ago. It had a huge impact.¡± ¡°Really? It used to be my must-have gun when I picked it up.¡± ¡°Now I only carry it when I¡¯m playing for fun. A pro used to play with that weapon and was in despair.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Sounds like another tough job.¡± ¡°A Vtuber with a lady¡¯s character still does that crazy stuff sometimes.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like something a lady would do.¡± When we were talking about GPEX. ¡°Hey, do you guys play GPEX too?¡± I looked up and saw her presence in my field of vision. As soon as I did, an unpleasant sweat flowed down my back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for entering the conversation without permission. I¡¯m in the next class, my name is Umi Aoyama.¡± The girl who is called the blue goddess. I¡¯ll never forget her face. There was no way I was going to forget her face. She was my ex-best friend, the girl who betrayed me and then pushed me down the stairs and hurt me severely. Aoyama, who had entered the conversation, seemed eager to talk and sat down on Nekoda¡¯s seat. The others in the class were flustered by the sudden arrival of the blue goddess. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. You¡¯re Natsuka-kun from the same junior high school, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± Mahiro and Aoyama were in the same junior high school. From the looks of it, it looks like they¡¯ve never been in the same class before. ¡­¡­Mahiro is strangely nervous. We hadn¡¯t been getting to know each other that long yet, but I had a vague idea of his personality. I thought he was the type of person who wouldn¡¯t get nervous with anyone. In fact, he interacted with Akazawa, the other goddess, no differently than the rest of us. ¡°I believe you¡¯re the transfer student¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Nijitani.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. You must be Shota Nijitani. Nice to meet you.¡± The first time I saw Aoyama in two years, she had become surprisingly feminine. At that time, she was not only active but also a masculine woman. I thought she was becoming more feminine in middle school, but now she is a normal girl. In addition, she is a beautiful girl. A girl with a dazzling ponytail, which could be called her trademark. Her body, which has been toned from playing sports since she was a child, gives her a very refreshing impression. She is just as popular as Akazawa. ¡°So you were talking about GPEX, right?¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡± ¡°I love GPEX too. Would you like to play it with me sometime?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­.¡± Mahiro looks at me, flustered. ¡°It¡¯s really fun to play with a voicechat. If you don¡¯t want to talk to me, you don¡¯t have to join the voicechat. I¡¯ll tell you what to do. But personally, I think it¡¯s fun to play while talking about this and that. Playing with others is more fun, you know. So, what do you think?¡± Aoyama approached Mahiro, who for some reason was in a panic. ¡°Whenever you can. Don¡¯t wanna?¡± ¡°U-uhm you see¡± Hey Mahiro, don¡¯t give me that look. I¡¯ve been talking about GPEX, but I haven¡¯t said I¡¯m coming back. Besides, playing with Aoyama again would be hell for me. I have no intention of playing with this girl. ¡°I¡¯m actually a beginner. I¡¯ve just started.¡± ¡°Oh, a beginner. Then I¡¯ll give you a taste of your first win.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Let¡¯s add Shota, who has experience, to the trio.¡± ¡°Really!?¡¡Then it¡¯s decided.¡± Hey, wait a minute. I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d do it. ¡°Thanks. It¡¯s been a long time since I played with people from school, so I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡± The decision was made before I had a chance to express my dissatisfaction. I stared at Mahiro, but he wasn¡¯t looking at me. He only smiled awkwardly with his face dyed red. ¡°Now then, about the date and time¡­¡± It was then. Akazawa approached me. Wait, wait a minute. Please don¡¯t let the blue and red demons attack in coordination here. As I watched Akazawa approaching, Aoyama seemed to notice and turned her gaze to Akazawa. And then she clicked her tongue with a simple ¡°Tsk.¡± Aoyama left with a smile and took off at a run. Did she click her tongue? Aoyama left, though I was not sure. I thought Akazawa was approaching us, but she reversed her course and went back. It was an incomprehensible behavior, but it was a relief. ¡°Looks like a storm to me.¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°By the way, Mahiro, about that time you took the liberty of including me in your group¡­¡± Mahiro chuckled as he turned his gaze to me. ¡°Didn¡¯t Shota also tell Akazawa-san about the fight they had?¡± I forgot. There was the incident when I was talking to Akazawa and he stared at me because I said I heard about the fight from Mahiro. ¡°¡­¡­We¡¯re even right?¡± ¡°Roger. But I¡¯m sorry for deciding on my own. It was an opportunity I couldn¡¯t resist.¡± You¡¯re excited about playing a game with a goddess. After living here for two weeks, I understood the value of a goddess. When she walked, she attracted the gaze of men and women alike making people call out to her from everywhere. There was always a crowd of people around the goddess. It helped that I knew exactly where they were. ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you know much about the Blue Goddess, Shota?¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°I can explain it to you if you want.¡± Mahiro opened his mouth, unable to contain his excitement. ¡°Aoyama-san¡¯s following consists mainly of people who belong to athletic clubs and those who love games. She has a dazzling smile, is friendly to everyone, and has an innocent personality. She is a good communicator and has many friends of both genders. She¡¯s in the homecoming club¡ª-¡° At that moment, I halted his speech and said, ¡°Hold on a second.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Is the Blue Goddess a homecoming club member?¡± ¡°Yes, she is. Surprising isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Eh, no, I mean, she looks kind of spirited. I thought she was a member of the sports club. I totally thought she was an athlete.¡± She used to be on the track team. She even won an award at a tournament for it, and had a bright future ahead of her. I thought she would continue in high school. Rather, I thought that since she could not enter this school with her academic ability, she had entered as a special student for track and field. ¡°The only reason she¡¯s supported by the athletic department is because she occasionally helps out with club activities.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t join the sports club herself?¡± ¡°No. ¡­¡­ Aoyama-san got injured.¡± ¡°Injured?¡± ¡°I think I mentioned it before, but she¡¯s the one who broke her arm during club activities.¡± So the person who caused me to get hurt badly got hurt. It is said that if you curse someone, you will end up with two holes. I wanted to say ¡°Suck it up,¡± but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do so. There were two reasons. The first was that Aoyama seemed to be having a great time. I hadn¡¯t had a direct conversation with her until today, but goddesses are very popular and I could always tell where they were. I had seen Aoyama a few times, and she always looked happy. There was no fake smile. She didn¡¯t look like a pessimistic person. And one more reason. I simply loved the way she ran. Volume 1 - CH 9 Posted on March 3, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The night of the day I promised to do GPEX with Aoyama. Usually, I play games or study. Sometimes I even lie down and read. Normally, I should be studying for my midterm exam, but I didn¡¯t feel like it today. The girl is still playing GPEX, I see. I was surprised to discover that Aoyama was still playing GPEX. I thought she quit the game when she lost her relationship with me. Well, that¡¯s not the point. While we were apart, I didn¡¯t feel the urge to play it, but once I got into it, I was struck by a mysterious syndrome that made me want to play it again. This was especially true for FPS games, and the conversation made me want to play them again. Unable to resist, I booted up my computer and started GPEX. The update took an inordinately long time, so I decided to gather information from the videos in the meantime. I had been away from the game completely for a while, so apparently there were new characters, guns, and so on. When I opened the video site, I remembered the distributor that Mahiro had recommended to me. ¡°It was [Ami Aomi], right?¡± The person he recommended was a high school girl who was streaming GPEX. The name ¡°high school girl¡± is a self-proclaimed name, and whether it is true or not is unknown. It¡¯s not clear if she¡¯s telling the truth or not, as some of the distributors gather viewers by name or age. The reason why Mahiro started GPEX is because of her. He just happened to see her and fell in love with her game and delivery. He liked her voice and personality, and she was a good player, so he became a fan. There was a live steam going on, so I took a peek. [¡°Hoyaa, I¡¯ll be playing GPEX again today.¡±] She didn¡¯t show her face. She¡¯s not a Vtuber, but a person who simply broadcasts with her voice. [¡°All right, best regards to all my teammates. ¡°] [¡°I think my aim is better today.¡±] [¡°Uwaa, we¡¯re gonna be surrounded if we don¡¯t get out of here.¡±] [¡°Hold on while I revive you.¡±] Her skills were superb. I wasn¡¯t expecting to be as good as I was told she was, but she was much better than she used to be. Her movements were smooth. The number of viewers was around 2,000. Every time she gets close to winning, the number of people she¡¯s interacting with goes up, and at the moment it reaches 3,000. Despite the fact that she doesn¡¯t show her face, isn¡¯t a Vtuber, and isn¡¯t a professional gamer, she is very popular. The secret to her popularity is her way of talking. [¡°Are you in a bad mood?¡¡Actually, one of my friends got a boyfriend. She broke her promise to me.¡±] [¡°I¡¯ve been into cooking lately, and my dad was moved to tears when he ate my cooking.¡±] [¡°I feel sleepy in class. The teacher¡¯s voice is like a sutra.¡±] (TL: Sacred scriptures that contain the teachings of the Buddha are known as sutras.) [¡°I know, I know. I remember when I was in elementary school. The boys who came to school in their swimsuits and forgot their pants because of the swimming pool. Actually, I¡¯ve done that too. I was so nervous.¡±] Most of the chit-chat was about what happened at school. It was mostly about friends and classes. From the content of their conversations, it seemed that she wasn¡¯t lying about being a high school girl. The secret to its popularity is its realism, and many of the comments are from male viewers. I tilt my head. Her voice sounded familiar to me. She reminds me of that girl, especially when she says ¡°I¡± (Boku) in first person. No, no, that¡¯s impossible, right? How could such a miracle be possible? I don¡¯t think she was the type of person who would have been able to distribute anything, and I don¡¯t think she had the knowledge to do so. Suddenly, I looked at the account name. In GPEX, the account name is displayed in the lower left corner. The account name was written as [UMINEKO1223]. ¡°¡­¡­ Seriously?¡± This was the account of Umi Aoyama. As for the origin of the account, ¡°UMI¡± is simply the name of Umi Aoyama. The following ¡°NEKO¡± means cat person, and the last ¡°1223¡± is because she was born on December 23. How do I know this? Because it¡¯s an account that I once created together with her. I was confused. I was surprised that she had become a streamer, and I was also surprised that she was still using that account. Just as I was surprised, the GPEX update was over. I was slightly touched to be connected to the game for the first time in a long time. The account I was originally using was called [syoutainu1119]. I created this account using the exact same system as Aoyama¡¯s: name, pet, and birthday. The fact that the name is in lowercase is of no particular significance. I logged in and checked my friends. There was [UMINEKO1223]. She was online. I thought for sure she would have deleted me. That was when it happened. [¡°Eh, is this real?¡±] Aomi¡¯s voice rang out in the background. ¨CWhoa, what¡¯s going on all of a sudden? ¨CIs there a problem? ¨CPossibility of pro-Hula. The comment section panicked. [¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­sorry for the sudden noise.¡±] Thank God. I was in a hurry to see if she noticed that I logged in at the right time, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. There¡¯ s no doubt about it. The other party is a popular streamer. There must be an infinite number of friends. The only reason I still was her friend was because she forgot to delete me. [¡°Hey, can I send message to my friends in game?¡±] ¨CNo, you can¡¯t. ¨CIf you want to be friends, why don¡¯t you invite him? ¨COh, I feel someone coming. [¡°Invite a friend. Got it.¡±] Immediately after, an invitation was sent to the game screen. The other party is [UMINEKO1223]. [¡°Maybe he¡¯ll come. Or rather, I want him to come. I want him to come so badly that I sent an invite to my friend. I want to meet him so badly. I mean, I haven¡¯t seen him log in in a while. I¡¯m glad he¡¯s okay.¡±] ¡°¡­¡­¡± What the hell is she doing? It¡¯s not possible for her to contact me, considering her past behavior. When I ignored the invitations, I kept getting invitations over and over again. It was like she was harassing me. This is not good. I quit the game first. [¡°Oh, ¡­¡­ I see.¡±] I heard a sullen voice from the stream. The sad voice made me feel bad and I closed the stream. Umi Aoyama¡¯s behavior was a mystery to me. What was she thinking when she sent me the invitation to play the game? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s no other reason for us to play the game together. But it¡¯s too late for that. It¡¯s been two years since I last played the game. I spent some time in a hazy state. Before I knew it, it was midnight. I tried to study to shake off the distractions, but I couldn¡¯t concentrate. I couldn¡¯t seem to sleep, so I started up my computer again. I opened Discordo. Discordo is a software that runs on your phone or computer. You can make video calls, voice calls, and chat. I used to play GPEX with this software while talking to Aoyama. It¡¯s been about two years since I logged in. When I logged in, there was a friend section, and I found Umi Aoyama. She hadn¡¯t been deleted her either. As expected, it was late at night, so she was offline. We always kept in touch via chat before starting a call. We usually greeted each other in chat, chatted and complained, and then played the game. ¨CI¡¯m hurt. I¡¯m such an idiot, aren¡¯t I? ¨CI passed the entrance exam to Tenkain. I studied really hard. ¨CI graduated from junior high school. How about you? ¨CWhen I entered high school, I realized what they were doing. I feel awful. What is this? There were one-sided posts from Aoyama in the chat section. When I went back and looked at the logs, there were posts every day. There was no reply from me. No wonder. I hadn¡¯t logged in since the second year of junior high school, so there was no way I could reply. Could I be mistaken for someone else? I thought about that for a moment, but changed my mind when I saw the latest chat section. ¨CYou¡¯re logged in to GPEX, right? If you¡¯re looking at Discordo, please contact me. ¨CI¡¯ll be waiting forever. ¨CPlease. Please respond. This was the latest chat I had a few hours ago. She knows I¡¯ve just logged into GPEX. That¡¯s why this chat is directed at me. Eh. This is scary. Our relationship should have ended a long time ago. You betrayed me and put me in the hospital. There¡¯s nothing to talk about now that you¡¯ve contacted me. I¡¯m going back through the logs. ¨CI¡¯ll meet you at the usual time. ¨CAll right, we¡¯re gonna win again today. ¨CThat was a close one. I¡¯ll get my revenge tomorrow. ¨CClub activities got me in a funk. Let¡¯s head to the battlefield to relieve the stress. ¨CI¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t be with you for a while. This is the last log I¡¯ve logged in. I replied, ¡°Got it,¡± and then I didn¡¯t log in for two years. From here on, the chat section was blank for a while. Then, about half a year later, it was the day. The date was right after I changed schools. ¡ª¡ªI¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. ¡°¡­¡­ Hiiee.¡± There was a line of apologies. It wasn¡¯t just once. Every day, there were words of apology written. I couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback by the words that seemed to fill the entire page. How did this happen? At the end of the second year of junior high school, I was often absent and withdrawn. When I went to school, I went to the nurse¡¯s office, so I didn¡¯t get any information. What happened to my sudden transformation? There were no more toys to torment me, so there was no stress relief. So she tried to get me to come back, or something. It might be too paranoid, but if I get carried away and reply, there might be a terrible reprisal later on. ¡°¡­¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t see that.¡± I can¡¯ t know what I don¡¯ t know even if I think about it. If I get involved, I¡¯ll probably end up in trouble. I was about to close Discordo. ¡°Tsu, logging in this late at night is bad for your beauty and health. You idiot!¡± I hurriedly logged out. I wonder. Maybe she saw me because of the timing. If so, that¡¯s not good. I didn¡¯t have the courage to check again, so I went back to bed in a haze. The mystery only deepened. ¡­¡­ Needless to say, I didn¡¯t sleep at all that day. Volume 1 - CH 10 Posted on March 4, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°So, Nijitani, let¡¯s play GPEX as a trio!¡± The day the midterm test was over. I ran into Aoyama in the hallway, and when she saw my face, she asked me to join her. I won¡¯t go into why she called me in a friendly way. ¡°Actually, I have a feeling that someone I know might be coming back. I have to brush up my skills for that. He¡¯s going to be so bad at it, I¡¯m going to have to carry him.¡± Speaking for myself, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that insensitive. The acquaintance who might be coming back is me, right? I have no intention of going back, but somehow there seems to be a feeling in Aoyama that I might. At this rate, Aoyama might have seen me online at a dicordo. ¡°Oh, Nijitani-kun, you¨C¡° Gee, Akazawa is getting closer too. Although I¡¯ ve been talking to Akazawa frequently lately, this is the first time I¡¯ve been approached by her in the hallway. Of all people, she didn¡¯t have to come to me in the middle of a conversation with Aoyama. ¡°O-ou ¡­¡­ Akazawa?¡± I replied, but for some reason Akazawa was not looking at me. Akazawa¡¯s eyes were on Aoyama. Aoyama, on the other hand, was also looking at Akazawa, not at me. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Eh, what is this feeling? Each side¡¯s gaze was completely fixed on the other. The atmosphere was grim. The air around them gradually became tense. It was clear. Akazawa seriously dislikes Aoyama. The atmosphere was different from when she was struggling with Nekoda. Aoyama also does not hide her disgust. It is nothing compared to when she is frustrated after losing a game. ¡°You know, I¡¯m the one talking to Nijitani.¡± Behind the words that flew out of Aoyama¡¯s mouth were the words, ¡°You are in my way.¡± The message is clear. ¡°Haa?¡¡you¡¯re talking to Nijitani-kun?¡± Behind the words that came out of Akazawa¡¯s mouth were the words, ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you. Don¡¯t interrupt me without permission.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one talking to him first, so I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d refrain from doing so.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s Nijitani¡¯s choice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any common sense?¡± ¡°Huh, are we introducing ourselves?¡± Glances are exchanged between the bees. ¡°¡­¡­ tsk.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Chi.¡± And then they clicked their tongues at each other. No, it¡¯s too much of a bad feeling. Even if you¡¯re a goddess, you¡¯re going to ruin your image if you click your tongues in the hallway without hesitation. I don¡¯t feel like a heavenly flower at all. I mean, did these guys not get along with each other? I didn¡¯t know them in middle school. I never saw them talking, and they must not have experienced being in the same class until at least the eighth grade. Have they become less friendly since then? In terms of type, Akazawa is a neat and tidy idol type. Aoyama is an active athletic girl and gamer. I don¡¯t know the relationship between the girls, but I thought they were close since both are beautiful girls and seem to be the same goddess. And by the way, they also have the same extremely bad personality. Are not all of the top caste people friends? After a while of glaring at each other, Akazawa turned to me. ¡°I just wanted to talk to him about the test, see you in class, Nijitani-kun.¡± Finally, she called out to me. Apparently, she had nothing special to say. ¡°¡­¡­ Sorry for the bad atmosphere¡­¡­, Nijitani.¡± When Akazawa disappeared, Aoyama mouthed an apology. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I appreciate if you say so.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± I was about to leave, but Aoyama grabbed my hand. ¡°So let¡¯s play GPEX as a trio. With Natsuka in the mix.¡± This is not good, this is not good. I have to refuse. But how should I refuse? If I say no, she will ask me why. I must avoid being conspicuous. ¨CPicon, then I had a flash of inspiration. ¡°It would be bad if you played with me or Mahiro.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Look, Aoyama is a goddess. That¡¯s why I think it¡¯s bad for Aoyama to play nice with men.¡± Just reason with the goddess. I glanced around and saw students walking around. They probably heard our conversation. Given the goddess¡¯s brand, playing with men is a risky business. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m friendly to everyone¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had played GPEX with boys a few times before.¡± This girl has always played well with guys. She is easy to get along with, which is probably the secret to her popularity. Girls who are easy to get along with tend to be liked by boys. So, I can¡¯t use that as a reason. Is there any other way? ¡­..Nope. Now all I have to do is hope that the guy, Mahiro, rejects it. ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go ask Mahiro.¡± The next night. I was in my room, equipped with a headset. Mahiro, who had been my confidant, immediately responded. He smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯d love to play¡±. So we decided to play GPEX as a trio. Yesterday was a busy day. I came home and immediately got another account, which is not a prohibited act in GPEX. I also got a new Discordo account. I connected the voice chat. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± They were already waiting for me; I launched GPEX and accepted the invitation. [¡°Hey, Nijitani, aren¡¯t you an experienced person?¡¡The level is low.¡±] ¡°I just changed my account. My old account was locked up.¡± [¡°What, like black history?¡±] ¡°Sort of.¡± [¡°Hahaha, I know what you mean. When I look through my old games, the names of my party members are my friends¡¯ names. It¡¯s painful when I think about it now.¡±] Especially since you were so prone to it. Whenever a male character joined your group, you named him after me. But I remember that I used to let them die in battle. Mahiro laughed at the memory, too. [¡°Well, are you ready?¡±] ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± [¡°I¡¯m ready too.¡±] And so it began. To tell the truth, I was quite excited to play for the first time in a while. I got an account last night and played right away. It was a lot of fun. I found myself searching for videos and looking forward to playing it today from noon. [¡°Then, after I get down here, I¡¯m going to start shrinking and moving around.¡±] ¡°Ou.¡± [¡°Copy that.¡±] My skill level was way down. My movements faltered in places, my spotting ability dropped, and my aim was shaky. Mahiro was similar. His movements were dazed, and he was the first to be hit in a gunfight. As expected, Aoyama was very good. She was brilliant in both standing and shooting, and fought a good fight even with us as a hindrance. [¡°¡­¡­ Kuu, the first round is in 5th place. Okay, let¡¯s move on.¡±] ¡°Yes!¡± [¡°Revenge.¡±] An hour passes, then two. I gradually regain my intuition. As we chatted, I gradually felt our relationship and collaboration growing stronger. [¡°Ou, you¡¯re getting your intuition back.¡±] [¡°Sort of.¡±] ¡°How¡¯s it going with Natsuka?¡± [¡°It¡¯s almost like a sightseeing trip.¡±] As the cooperation strengthened, the rankings went up with a bump. Although it was not a ranked game, the tension grew as the game reached the end of the day. My hands were sweating as the words ¡°champion¡± flickered across my mind. There were only two teams left. They were facing each other across the building. The other team had the advantage in shrinking the field. If they continued to stand at each other¡¯s throats, they would surely lose. [¡°Now what do we do?¡±] ¡°What are we going to do? Of course I¡¯m going to rush it!¡± [¡°Hey, Nijitani!?¡±] Ignoring Aoyama who was restraining me, I moved forward with a short-range weapon. However, it seemed that my actions had been read, and the enemy was waiting for me in ambush. I was easily beaten back in vain. ¡°Sorry!¡± [¡°No, nice bait!¡±]. The enemy was concentrating on me, who had rushed head-on, and Aoyama and Mahiro, who had circled around the enemy, pinched them. Mahiro¡¯s attack didn¡¯t hit at all, but Aoyama finished them off. [¡°All right, Champion!¡±] ¡°Nice!¡± ¡°[Yay, my first win!¡±] We won our very first match. It was very satisfying. A sense of fulfillment enveloped my body. Time was good, so we called it a day. Immediately after we finished the game, Mahiro was called by his parents and left. I tried to leave right away, too, but¡­ [¡°Can I talk to you for a minute?¡±] ¡°¡­¡­Nothing wrong with that.¡± [¡°Nijitani is pretty good at it. Despite the gap.¡±] ¡°Aoyama is better than me, you know.¡± [¡°I¡¯ve been doing this for a long time.¡±] ¡°How long have you been doing this, by the way?¡± [¡°I think I started in earnest when I was in the third grade of junior high school. I got injured and couldn¡¯t participate in club activities, so I focused all my energy on studying and playing games.¡±] Oh, I heard you broke a bone or something. I thought I could mention it, but it didn¡¯t seem to make any sense, so I refrained. ¡°You must be good.¡± [¡°¡­¡­ You know what, let¡¯s play together again sometime.¡±] ¡°Why me? There are better people out there.¡± [¡°The others just did it once and decided they¡¯d had enough. But Nijitani¡¯s fighting style was similar to someone I know, so it suited me fine.¡±] My heart leaps with a thump. ¡°R-really?¡± [¡°You were just like him, especially in the last play. The way you were calm until the middle of the game, but at the end of the game, when things got heated up, I thought you were really him. The part where you get beaten back was just like him. I laughed because I missed it so much.¡±] Failure. I knew I had habits in my play. She had pointed out my fighting style before. Back then, Aoyama agreed with my assault and followed me from behind. And we would always end up getting hit back, which was our standard pattern. ¡°Coincidences do happen, don¡¯t they?¡± [¡°You even shared the same favorite weapon.¡±] ¡°¡­ There are quite a few people who like that weapon.¡± [¡°Well, yes. But the way you talked was similar, too.¡±] ¡°A-and our voice?¡± [¡°Well, your voice is definitely different. He had a higher pitch.¡±] I pushed on. I was the type of person who was slow to change my voice, and the change began at the end of eighth grade. The pitch of my voice was completely different from when I was playing with Aoyama. [¡°But I feel like it¡¯s fate that you share the same fighting style and favorite weapons. Hey, can we play together once in a while?¡±] To be honest, from the middle of the game, I was having so much fun that I forgot about past events and the fact that I was playing a game with Aoyama. I just genuinely enjoyed the game. ¡°¡­¡­ If you¡¯re okay with trio, I don¡¯t mind. The rest is up to Mahiro.¡± With past events on my mind, I replied and cut the conversation short. Volume 1 - CH 11 Posted on March 7, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp I met Umi Aoyama when I was in elementary school. At first I thought she was a guy. Aoyama, who wore short sleeves and short pants and had short hair, was playing dodgeball with the boys on the playground. A friend of mine invited Aoyama to join us in dodgeball, and that was the beginning of our friendship. We hit it off right away because we both liked to play outside. After a few times of playing with many people, we naturally became good friends. She was always asking me, ¡°What are you going to do tomorrow?¡± with a friendly smile. Tag, hide-and-seek, dodgeball, softball, we played every day. In the upper grades of elementary school, Aoyama¡¯s chest began to grow a little. That¡¯s when I finally realized. ¡°Umi is a girl?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re so late. I¡¯ve always been a girl¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°The only one who didn¡¯t know was Shota.¡± It was shocking, but it did not change the relationship. It did not matter whether Aoyama was a woman or a man. It was not because I was not playing around with gender. However, when I entered junior high school, I became aware of her as a woman. Aoyama had been growing her hair long since her senior year of elementary school. By the time she entered junior high school, her hair was pulled into a trademark ponytail, and she wore a school uniform. The first time I saw her in a skirt made a strong impression on me. But our relationship remained the same. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we?¡± One day shortly after entering junior high school, Aoyama asked me in a fearful tone. ¡°What¡¯s wrong all of a sudden?¡±¡± ¡°A girl in my class said that friendship is not possible between men and women.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯re friends.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course¡± Aoyama smiled broadly at my answer. ¡°No, no, we¡¯re not friends anymore. Shota.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We¡¯re best friends!¡± The only person I could call a best friend was my childhood friend Renji Inuyama. So I was happy to hear Aoyama say so. That is how we became best friends. As I entered junior high school, my opportunities to play outside were drastically reduced. The biggest reason was that I began to worry about the eyes of those around me. It was conspicuous that boys and girls were mixing and mingling, and girls other than Aoyama had graduated from playing tag and hide-and-seek. We got into games. We began to enjoy sports games, racing games, and fighting games. Finally, we ended up with FPS. ¡°I heard GPEX is a fun one.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a FPS. A game played on a computer. As I recall, Shota had a computer, right? It¡¯s basically free, and if you¡¯re interested, check out some videos.¡± Our family was poor, but my uncle gave me a computer. It was left in a corner of the room with no place to work. I was interested in it when I saw a streamer recommended it. I immediately installed GPEX, connected voice chat and went out to the battlefield with Aoyama. As a matter of course, I lost a lot. Even so, Aoyama and I became addicted to GPEX. We went out to the battlefield and got beat up, then rushed out to the battlefield determined to get revenge, only to get beat up again. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get a shot off at all.¡± ¡°Me, too.¡± ¡°I propose the theory that is because of lagg.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then my internet must be a piece of s**t.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all the fault of the line that we can¡¯t win.¡± ¡°So what do we do now ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll just have to get revenge.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡± Every day I connected the voice chat and played wacky. I didn¡¯t win at all. There was no way the novice duo could beat their fierce opponents. Also, since it was the first time for both of us to play a game on a computer, we were not even familiar with the controls. We lost many times. Every time we lost, we complained to each other. [¡°I¡¯m going to go with the theory that the weapons we picked up were bad.¡±] ¡°I agree.¡± [¡°I went a little easy on them today.¡±] ¡°I was actually playing one-handed .¡± ¡°Did you see the God play now?¡¡Yes, I am the best.¡± ¡°Yo, God¡¯s child.¡± Every time I beat an enemy, I got carried away, and when I lost, I complained and grumbled. One day, after many such days. ¡°Woohoo, we won for the first time!¡± [¡°We did it, Shota!¡±] ¡°Woohoo, our first win!¡± [¡°We did it, Shota!¡±] ¡°Well done shooting that last one.¡± [¡°Right?¡¡Because I have a good aim¡±]. ¡°Well, you missed a lot in the fight before that.¡± [¡°That¡¯s because my connection is garbage.¡±] ¡°No, you¡¯re in perfect connection.¡± [¡°Then why is Shota¡¯s aim so crappy?¡±] That¡¯s because of my¡­¡­ shitty connection¡± We were laughing and playing like this. Looking back on it now, it was fun. The sense of fulfillment I got from playing silly games with Aoyama was amazing. We were like best friends, and we were on the same wavelength. Needless to say, my grades at the time were garbage. I was near the bottom of my class because I was always playing around. Aoyama had the same level of academic ability as me and was incredibly stupid. It was around the time that my childhood friend Akazawa began to repeatedly make hurtful comments about me, but I was still able to have a relaxed mind thanks to Aoyama. Since we were both idiots, we would plan study sessions, etc., and it was not uncommon for us to get so absorbed in playing games that we ended up not studying. I thought this friendship would last. I entered eighth grade. More and more students began to devote themselves to their studies and club activities. I was also active in the tennis club and was a regular member. Aoyama was called the ace of the track and field club. She won awards at competitions and people around her had high expectations for her. As expected, she was no longer able to play GPEX every day. Still, we continued our relationship. The turning point came one day as summer approached. Aoyama began to ignore me. ¡°Good morning.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Originally, I tried to stay away from her at school. It was because it would cause strange rumors if men and women were close to each other. Even so, I would at least say hello to her when we passed each other on campus. Aoyama began to ignore even that greeting. ¡°Hey, what do you want to do today?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to play GPEX?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Umi?¡± At first I thought it might be a fluke, but no matter how much I spoke to her, she never responded. When I tried to walk next to her, she would speed up and go away. It was a mystery to me why the sudden change in his attitude. The answer came a few days later. Shota Mukawa is a stalker of Yuuhi Akazawa. It was because of that rumor. My classmate Nekoda informed me of my situation and I finally realized that I had been isolated at school. After the rumors broke, I felt out of place, and the people I had considered my friends were all leaving me. The people I had no relationship with began to look at me with a white eye. One day when I had a day off from club activities, I opened a Discordo. I was incredibly relieved when I got a chat from Aoyama. [¡°¡®I¡¯m sorry. There were rumors at school.¡±] ¡°No problem. It¡¯s not your fault, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± [¡°Yes. So the ¡­¡­ rumor is false, right?¡±] [¡°Of course it¡¯s not true.¡±] [¡°Right. I know that. Because Shota doesn¡¯t have a smartphone.¡±] ¡°I guess so. Just don¡¯t talk about it at school until the rumors die down.¡± I was even grateful for Aoyama¡¯s behavior after learning about the rumors. If Aoyama was seen getting along with me, even Aoyama would be persecuted. I didn¡¯t want to involve her, my best friend. I was grateful to Aoyama for keeping her away from me. There was a possibility that Shota Mukawa would start a rumor that he was stalking another woman. So I was grateful that she kept his distance from me. We talked and had GPEX as usual. Those days often continued. But one day. ¨CI can¡¯t play with you for a while. Suddenly, I received a chat from Aoyama. To which I replied, ¡°Got it¡±. After that, I stopped logging into GPEX and Discordo. A few days later, I passed by her class and heard the conversation. ¡°That stalker guy is dangerous, you know. You should watch out for him. Umi¡¯s cute, so stay away from him for a while.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll try to stay away from him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. Aren¡¯t you from the same elementary school?¡± ¡°More or less¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t he dangerous back then?¡± ¡°Yes. I had a feeling he was dangerous, for a while.¡± I heard them talking like that. This is how the relationship between me and Ami Aoyama ended. I don¡¯t know how much ¡°a while¡± was mentioned in the chat, but somehow I knew that I would never play or talk with her again for the rest of my life. The seasons passed, and it was autumn. In addition to the stalker, there was another rumor circulating at school. Because of these two rumors, I was no longer a hater, but a criminal. I was isolated in class and harassed numerous times. There were thumbtacks in my shoes, graffiti on my desk, and even flowers on my desk on the worst occasions. But I was never directly beaten. But then the incident occurred. On November 19, my birthday, which I will never forget. I was walking up the stairs to go to a mobile classroom. As I was walking with my head down, I felt the presence of someone at the top of the stairs. Immediately after. ¨CBoom. My body floated in the air. ¡°Tsu!¡± Someone pushed me. When I realized this, I felt a dull pain in my body. I felt a tingling pain in my back and a jolt that shook my head. I rolled down the stairs and fell on the landing. My consciousness faded. As my consciousness faded, my eyes caught sight of him. I saw Umi Aoyama standing at the top of the stairs. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± I woke up on a hospital bed. It seems I hit my head hard and suffered a concussion. My mother burst into tears when she saw me awake. I felt guilty for causing her worry. She, Umi Aoyama, did not come to apologize or visit me. The next day, I started going to school at the infirmary. Volume 1 - CH 12 Posted on March 8, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp A few days after playing GPEX with Aoyama. I remembered the events of that day for the first time in a while. Immediately after the incident, I felt resentment, anger, and fear toward Aoyama. But time is a panacea, it seems. I won¡¯t say that my resentment has disappeared over the past two years, but I no longer feel anger or the urge to commit murder when I come in contact with Aoyama. Besides, she and I seem to be on the same wavelength. It was fun to play games with her. The only thing that puzzles me is that apology chat on discordo. I don¡¯t understand why she apologized to me after I changed school. ¡­¡­Well, it is useless to think about it. I¡¯ve been playing GEPX at home a lot since then. Basically solo, but sometimes I fight in a duo with Mahiro. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve played and my passion has returned. ¡°Well, it was very close yesterday.¡± ¡°We almost won the championship. Mahiro¡¯s getting pretty good.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m growing up a little myself.¡± Mahiro¡¯s skill has definitely improved. He has always had good instincts, and if he continues at this rate, he will definitely become better than me. After talking for a while about last night¡¯s fierce battle. ¡°¡­¡­Remember when I told you that I had a favorite streamer?¡± ¡°After all that forceful argument.¡± ¡°This is a secret, but that person is actually Aoyama-san.¡± I knew it, though. Just the way you talk about it. ¡°I noticed it on the way too. That [Aomi] is Aoyama. I was surprised when I saw the account. Did you know from the beginning?¡± ¡°Yes. She¡¯s a streamer because she¡¯s well known as a member of the Blue faction.¡± ¡°Heeh¡­¡­ the blue faction?¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t explain the factions. Each goddess has her own faction. Factions are created by fans of each goddess. They exchange information.¡± In short, it¡¯s a fan club. ¡°¡­..I¡¯m grateful to Shota.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with you all of a sudden?¡± ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Shota that Aoyama-san and I were able to play GPEX.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I don¡¯t recall doing anything special. Aoyama just talked to me on her own. I would have never wanted to get close to her, but she approached me on her own. But even thinking back on it now, it was very forceful. We were just talking in the classroom, and suddenly she started talking to us. If we were in the same class, it would have been fine, but she came to us from another class. She had always been pushy, but never this pushy. ¡°I told you about last year¡¯s Contest, remember?¡± ¡°Goddess tied for first place, right?¡± ¡°The goddesses are looking to become the sole goddesses next time around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s usually what you¡¯d expect ¡­¡­So that¡¯s how it is.¡± I finally understood. Akazawa and Aoyama will be on the lookout for me. From their point of view, they want my vote as a transfer student. They may be trying to improve their image by showing that they are nice to transfer students. The current sophomores and juniors have probably already decided to some extent where they will vote. They have lived with the goddess for the last year, so they should know her personality. There may be some guesswork, but not that many. So the focus here will be on the first-year students and me, the transfer student. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be faster to talk to the first-year students than to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been doing it for a long time. To begin with, quite a few of this year¡¯s first-year students know about [the four colored goddess] even before they enter the school. Tenkain¡¯s ¡°god system¡± is well-known around here. I think all the students in the neighboring junior high schools know about it.¡± I didn¡¯t know that when I was in middle school. No, come to think of it, maybe some of the guys around me were talking about the Goddess. I guess I just didn¡¯t know because I hadn¡¯t talked to anyone since the middle of my sophomore year. The freshmen already know who they are going to vote for to a certain extent. ¡°I think they actually did a survey of the freshmen in secret.¡± ¡°That¡¯s new.¡± ¡°They went there before Shota transferred to this school. I found out who they would vote for at this stage, and it looks like it was nicely dispersed. Well, that survey was only for the current goddesses, so it¡¯s just for reference.¡± ¡°¡­¡­So there could be a new goddess from first year till third year?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible. Especially since there seem to be so many pretty and talented first-years.¡± Is it because of a sense of crisis that these demons greedily want my vote? If that¡¯s the case, Aoyama¡¯s forceful invitation is understandable. I don¡¯t want to get close to her, so it¡¯s a big nuisance for me. ¡°So I feel bad for taking advantage of Shota.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not taking advantage of me. She just interrupted the conversation on her own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡± ¡°So, Mahiro is in the Blue faction?¡± ¡°¡­¡­. Always have been.¡± ¡°Let me ask you why you are pushing for blue when there is a red goddess in our class.¡± There is a red goddess in this class. I assume that most of my classmates are in favor of Akazawa, but I was curious as to why they are in favor of Aoyama in such a situation. To the question, Mahiro looks at the classroom and then brings his face close to mine. ¡°Aoyama-san used to be on the track team before she got injured.¡± ¡°Heh, just as I imagined.¡± ¡°I found the sight of her running very attractive. I guess you could say I¡¯ve been somewhat attracted to her since then. It¡¯s hard to say, but I think it was a kind of admiration. When I saw her, I instantly fell in love with her.¡± I understand the feeling. The way that girl ran was beautiful. I couldn¡¯t help but admire it. What I especially liked was her smile, which was filled with a sense of fulfillment after she finished running. If it weren¡¯t for her shitty personality, I would be cheering for Mahiro¡¯s love, but knowing her true nature, it is difficult to decide whether I should stop him. ¡°You¡¯re not going to confess?¡± ¡°Heh?¡¡No, ¡­¡­ I¡¯m not good enough for her.¡± ¡°You mean you¡¯re too low-class?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. If it¡¯s me and Aoyama-san it¡¯s¨C¡° Mahiro stared at the classroom door and stopped speaking. It was Aoyama. She came into the classroom waving her hand at us, and after taking one look at Akazawa, who was chatting with a group of students, she came toward us. ¡°Good morning. Nijitani, Nazuka.¡± ¡°Good morning, Aoyama-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Osuuu.¡± As I returned the greeting, Aoyama showed me the screen of her smartphone. On the screen was information about a new weapon being implemented in GPEX. It looks like some summary site or strategy site. ¡°It seems to be some kind of summary site or strategy site. So we¡¯ll do it again with the trio after the update. I¡¯m free this Saturday and Sunday.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d rather not¨C¡° ¡°Nijitani said you¡¯d play with me once in a while, right?¡± I forgot. I was just having fun playing GPEX at the time and made a random promise. As usual, I am an opportunistic idiot who never thinks about the future. ¡°I can¡¯t answer your question until I check my agenda¡­¡­. If I can¡¯t, then you and Mahiro can duo.¡± ¡°No duo. We have prior agreements.¡± A prior agreements huh. I didn¡¯t ask further. ¡°I mean, from now on, let¡¯s form a trio team and have fun. I think we can have a lot of fun if we work together. I¡¯d like to participate in competitions. What do you think?¡± I glance at Mahiro. He was fidgeting. It was like he wanted to take me up on the offer, but he couldn¡¯t nod his head without my approval. I want to reject the offer. I want to break the promise I¡¯d made the other day when I got carried away or something. But I also want to bring my friend closer to my guess. I am indebted to Mahiro. At first I thought it would be good if I could get some information out of him from junior high school, but now he is an important friend. Besides. Playing GPEX with Aoyama was nostalgic and ¡­¡­ wasn¡¯t so bad when I thought back on it again. ¡°I¡¯m all for it, but what about you, Shota?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I had no choice. Mahiro is my friend. I had no choice but to fulfill my friend¡¯s desire to be friends with Aoyama. I made excuses to myself. ¡°¡­.. I said it would depend on Mahiro¡¯s reply. But I can¡¯t do it every day.¡± ¡°Yay, thanks!¡± Aoyama¡¯s bouncy smile was as full and content as the post-run smile she once fawned over¨Ca smile that was so much more than a smile after a run. It was as if she was a real goddess. Volume 1 - CH 13 Posted on March 9, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp It is early June. I spent the first days shivering in the same high school as the abominable devils, but now I am at peace. Unlike my original plan, I got involved with red and blue, but both were unavoidable. I¡¯ll just say it can¡¯t be helped. I have a good relationship with Yuuhi Akazawa, who is a classmate of mine. We say hello to each other and occasionally chat, but the relationship is not to the point of playing with each other. Ami Aoyama is an occasional GPEX partner. At school, she is in different classes, so we don¡¯t have much contact, and we just say hello to each other when we pass each other. What I fear is that she will find out that I am Shota Mukawa. Compared to that, a little proximity is acceptable. Unlike in the past, I felt that they were not so prickly. I don¡¯t want to say they were goddesses or anything, but they did have an air of seduction about them. Akazawa acts like an idol to everyone and makes the students smile. Aoyama is always energetic and gives energy to the students. Her appearance was worthy of being revered as a goddess. Maybe they washed their hands after reflecting on their lives. I wonder how those two would act if they knew I was Shota Mukawa. ¡­¡­ Let¡¯s stop talking about hypotheticals. I am Shota Nijitani now. I don¡¯t forget the memories and feelings of that time, but I am already a different person. I still have no contact with the rest of the demons. This is good news. Both of them are in different classes, and I have no contact with them because I¡¯m not involved in club activities. I will not be involved with them in the future. Now that day. I was riding my bike to my part-time job. My father works at a good job and gives me an allowance every month, but it¡¯s not good to be too dependent on him. I started looking for a part-time job in earnest after my mid-term exams were over, and today I finally got a job at a bookstore located far away from my house. The day of my first day of work arrived. The person who showed up as an instructor was. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a transfer student Nijitani-san, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was the black goddess ¨C Tsukiyo Kuromine. Seriously. The reason I chose a place far from home was to be prepared for any contingency. If it was near my house, there was a possibility that the [four-colored demon] would find me. I didn¡¯t want my classmates from junior high school to find me either. If someone who knew me in junior high school was working at the place where I was working, they might inadvertently leak the information and find out it was me. That¡¯s why I chose a bookstore¡­¡­. far from home I froze at the unexpected. I would have lamented my bad luck if black had just appeared here. What was unexpected was her appearance. It was very different from the school. Way too different. Her name is Tsukiyo Kuromine. In the past, she was a plain, dark-rooted woman with glasses and pigtails. Serious was a good word to describe her, but she didn¡¯t like to talk and had no energy, leaving me with the impression that she was a gloomy woman. The fact that she was always reading accelerated this impression. However, the Kuromine I saw at Tenkain Gakuen was a completely different person. She was the type of girl you might call a ¡°savage¡± type of girl. Her hands were in her pockets, and she was standing with an air of dignity. She was a tall, black-haired beauty with an outstanding style, dressed down in her uniform, wearing light makeup, and exuding a cool atmosphere. That was the Black Goddess. When I saw her, someone was confessing his love to her. [¡°I like you. Please go out with me.¡±] [¡°¡­¡­ Haa?¡¡I hate you.¡±] [¡­] [¡°Look in the mirror and come back later.¡±] She was licking a candy bar and cutting the boys off in short bursts. I thought she was a different person. Even now, I still think so. But then again, judging by how much she has changed, it¡¯s not so different. And now, here I am. Kuromine, standing in front of me, was wearing glasses. No makeup. Her glossy black hair is in pigtails. This plain girl was unmistakably the Kuromine of my junior high school days. Now that she called me a transfer student, I was finally convinced that this was the black devil who had put me through hell back in junior high school. ¡­¡­ Calm down and be cool. There is no contact at school. And the only person Kuromine will know is Shota Nijitani from high school. The response to take at this stage, when he hasn¡¯t been introduced to her. ¡°Huh, do you know me?¡± ¡°Eh¨C¡° ¡°We¡¯ve never met before.¡± Decide to pretend ignorance. There is no connection between us. It would be strange if I knew her name and face. I have to act as a high school boy who just transferred to a new school and started working part-time because he has settled down in his life. ¡°Eh, that ¡­¡­ we actually go to the same high school.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ve been busy since I transferred, and I had a midterm, I don¡¯t even remember the names of everyone else in my class yet.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­¡­ Oh, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Let¡¯s go by the body of not knowing if she is a senior or a junior, or even a classmate. For this reason, I use honorifics and play the role of a serious person. ¡°I am Kuromine. Nijitani-san and I are schoolmates.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know we were in the same school. Well then, I look forward to working with you today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you. I will teach you as much as I can.¡± The first day of my part-time job was over. Kuromine didn¡¯t find out who I was to the end. At first she was awkward, but from the middle of the day, she treated me like a new part-timer and a senior employee. At this rate, I would be fine in the future as long as I don¡¯t do anything too bad. I think my transformation may be even greater than Kuromine. Kuromine¡¯s teaching style was very attentive. Thanks to her, I was able to learn the job quickly. ¡°Thanks for your hard work, Nijitani-san.¡± ¡°Good work.¡± ¡°How was your first day?¡± ¡°I¡¯m grateful to you, Kuromine. Thank you.¡± ¡°No, no, Nijutani-san has a good memory¡± Then Kuromine smiled, and her face was the same as when we used to talk in junior high school. That¡¯s the same girl at school, right? I know this in my head, but I can¡¯t seem to match it. Personally, I know this Kuromine better than the other one, but I felt very uncomfortable because I had seen how she was living at the school. The manner in which she speaks is completely different. I racked my brain for a bit and quickly stopped. Now we are just part-time friends. At first I thought about quitting my part-time job right away, but that would cause trouble at the store. Since there was no sign that my true identity would be discovered, I decided to keep going. ¡°See you later, then.¡± ¡°Uhm, Nijitani-san!¡± I was just about to pedal out on my bike when he called out to me. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°At school, ¡­¡­ uhm¡­¡± I could tell by her faltering voice. ¡°I¡¯m not going to talk to you at school, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re in different classes, so we won¡¯t have a chance to meet each other. I don¡¯t know what class Kuromine is in, and I won¡¯t be going to see you, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. I wouldn¡¯t want anyone to bother me where I work part-time.¡± Bother? I wonder whom. ¡°¡­¡­ Speaking of which, do you take the train home?¡± ¡°Some days I ride my bike, but today I¡¯m being picked up.¡± Just then, a car stopped across the street. Next, Kuromine¡¯s phone trembled. ¡°It¡¯s my father. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± Kuromine walked briskly out and got into the car where her father was waiting. He was a man with an austere face. He had a fearless look on his face, like a man with a lot of experience. Was that her father? I was not that interested in him, so I started pedaling the bike. ¡­¡­ But I didn¡¯t expect me to have a part-time job with her when I¡¯ve been avoiding her at school so well. I went home, lamenting once again that life sucks. Volume 1 - CH 14 Posted on March 11, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The day the rainy season was widely announced. Rumors were flying around Tenkain Gakuen. ¡°Did you hear about it, Shota?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a rumor about the Black Goddess. I know it.¡± The rumor that was circulating was about the Black Goddess. The content of the rumors was that she was ¡°dating a sugar da**y¡± and ¡°paid dating¡± and other such juicy stuff. This is not mere speculation. Apparently, a student had witnessed her walking arm in arm with an adult man on the street. They seemed to be getting along so well that rumors were flying around. ¡°Is it true?¡± ¡°Who knows¡± That girl used to hate men. At least she said she wasn¡¯t good with men herself. She also told me about the episodes when she became bitter about men. But that is just my subjective opinion. It is possible that she was actually a woman who loved men and was completely absorbed in her sexual desires, even though she said she hated men on the surface. Or she may have changed her mind after I moved to another school. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t make a decision. The girl I see at the school has changed too much from the past, both inside and outside. ¡°I don¡¯t know because I haven¡¯t had any involvement with the Black Goddess.¡± ¡°Right. She is in a different class.¡± ¡°I think Mahiro knows better. You and that girl went to the same junior high school.¡± ¡°Huh, did I mention that Kuromine-san and I went to the same school?¡± Blunder. I didn¡¯t hear directly that they were in the same middle school. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­¡­ You said before that three out of four were in the same junior high school. The rest is just a hunch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Yes, actually, Kuromine-san was in the same junior high school as me. All except the White Goddess were at the same junior high school.¡± ¡°Except White. Got it. So, if you¡¯re from the same middle school, you can tell, right?¡± Mahiro makes a difficult face. ¡°The old Kuromine-san and the current Kuromine-san are too different.¡± ¡°Different?¡± ¡°She¡¯s changed inside and out, or rather, she¡¯s become a completely different person. If Shota saw her old self, you would be surprised for sure.¡± Was that the perception even from Mahiro, who came from the same junior high school? That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know even more. The Kuromine I came in contact with at my part-time job was that girl from junior high school. She is a serious and simple girl. The Kuromine I happened to see on my way to school this morning was a different person from the one I met at my part-time job. ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re that guy, huh? Copy that.¡± Mahiro opened his mouth, looking as if he had been waiting and was good at what he was doing. ¡°Kuromine-san¡¯s support base is quite skewed. There are those who take pleasure in being treated with salt, and those who like girls who are savvy. Then there are the delinquent types. Then there are those who like her because she¡¯s tall and stylish.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± I tried to be convinced, but there are some things that don¡¯t add up. They are called the ¡± 4-color goddesses,¡± but I didn¡¯t think she was on par with the other goddesses in terms of votes. The Kuromine I see in the school is more of a sardonic type than a savvy or cool type. I have no complaints about her looks. Her well-developed face is more mature than that of her peers, and combined with her height, she is more of a beauty than a pretty girl. The way she walks around with her hands in her pockets, dressed down in her uniform, gives the impression of a solitary loner, which I find attractive. She is definitely a beautiful girl, but it is doubtful if she is the type of girl that men like. Besides¨C ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s a man-hater.¡± After living here for a while, information will come in. Kuromine is a salty person when it comes to men. When confessed to, she dismisses them out of hand, and when approached, she responds with a sour look on her face. She shows no mercy at all toward men. It is said that she sometimes clicks her tongue when spoken to. I know she is smart, but I don¡¯t think her personality will win her any support. ¡°Her biggest followers are girls.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ girls?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the type of person who is well-liked by the same gender. She¡¯s not shy, she doesn¡¯t hide what she wants to say, and she wears stylish makeup. In addition, she has leadership skills, so people can always count on her. I think the girls look up to her. She is a bit of a mean to the guys, but to the girls, she is kind and friendly. I¡¯ve heard that she¡¯s even been confessed to by a girl a few times.¡± I was mistaken. So not only men but also women can vote in the Tenkain Contest. It makes sense if she is getting a lot of female votes instead of male votes. At school, Kuromine is cold toward boys, but not so much toward girls. There is always a circle of cronies. In terms of female support alone, she is probably far ahead of Akazawa and Aoyama. This may be the reason why Kuromine said that she doesn¡¯t want her part-time job to be known. ¡°So she a man-hater and a very supportive female type?¡± ¡°It just goes to show what happens when rumors get out.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­Any word on the veracity of the rumors?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s hard to tell.¡± ¡°You think there¡¯s a chance it¡¯s true?¡± Mahiro thought for a moment. ¡°I think it was the spring of my third year of junior high school. Kuromine-san suddenly changed her look. Originally, she was so plain that she didn¡¯t impress anyone. Not only did she change her appearance, she also changed her personality. It was as if she had been quiet until then, but she became aggressive, and in no time at all, she became a popular person at school. From that time on, whenever a boy made a pass at her, she would be in a foul mood and abuse him. It was that kind of attitude that made girls fall in love with her. She was positioned as a kind of female leader.¡± Cold towards men and a womanizer? The more I ask, the more hazy my picture of the person becomes. Was the dramatic change in her appearance due to family circumstances or because she had a man on the side? ¡°Any idea what the circumstances have been?¡± ¡°There is a circumstances?¡± ¡°There is!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t have any proof, and it¡¯s not something I can say out loud.¡± Mahiro looks around the classroom. Akazawa and Nekoda are chatting happily in the front. When Mahiro checked them out, he pulled a face. ¡°I have two things in mind.¡± ¡°Two?¡± ¡°One was a rumor that spread when I was in the second grade. A certain boy almost attacked her or something like that. The other was a rumor about a violent incident in the spring of my third year. It is said that she got into a fight with a friend and beat her up, forcing her to withdraw from school. Right after that, she got a makeover.¡± I froze at the content. I knew the first half of the story. It was the very incident in which I was betrayed by her. But I don¡¯t remember the second half. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true. Both the rumored partners have transferred schools.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± They even had a violent incident? Has she really turned into a demon? ¡°Hey, but isn¡¯t Kuromine kind to women?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t know what to believe. It could have been a lie told by an anti-socialist.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ She is such a mystery.¡± The more I ask, the less sense it makes. The truth of the rumor was never revealed. That night, after my part-time job was over, I was pedaling my bike. Kuromine, my part-time worker, did not seem to be concerned about the rumors. As usual, she served customers as usual, was a kind senior part-time worker, and was a serious clerk as usual. Today she left an hour earlier than I did. Isn¡¯t she aware of the rumors? If she was popular with the girls, she would have known about it, but I didn¡¯t ask her about it. I¡¯m supposed to be the one who doesn¡¯t know who Kuromine is, so it¡¯s strange to ask. ¡°I should stop¡­¡­.¡± On the way home, I had an uncontrollable craving for ice cream. Dinner would be ready when I got home, but I couldn¡¯t resist and stopped at a convenience store. I bought some snacks and other things. As I left the store. ¡°¡­..¡± Kuromine was walking with her father. They were arm in arm, getting along well. She was dressed in school clothes, probably having gone home after her part-time job and put on makeup. I don¡¯t know what they were talking about, but Kuromine had a big smile on her face. She had a shopping bag in her hand. The two of them disappeared into town. Father and daughter on a friendly date? I heard they are quite close, as he once came to pick her up after her part-time job. I can¡¯t wait to get to know my own father, too. We can have a reasonable conversation, but we are not close enough to go out together. I would love to go shopping with him. ¨CHowever, I don¡¯t envy that devil. A heartless woman who betrays her fellow wounded friends is not at all envious of me when she¡¯s friendly with her father. I straddle my bicycle and pedal toward home. While I was pedaling, I remembered the rumors that were spreading in the school. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Huh? Could this possibly be the truth of the rumor? TL: I usually don¡¯t advertise my things but I have updated my patreon page. By being a supporter + you can read all my draft works. That means everything that I have translated so far and it will be updated regularly. It¡¯s not a paywall and I refuse to do that. Volume 1 - CH 15 Posted on March 12, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°Did you hear the rumors?¡± ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a no-brainer.¡± Rumors of Kuromine had spread throughout the school. Since one of the goddesses was involved, it was a great way for the students to pass the time. Secret whisperings were heard here and there. I don¡¯t feel good. I used to be in this situation every day. But the malice was several times greater than it was back then. When I look at this situation objectively and not as a target of rumors, I feel really bad. I felt very uncomfortable with the people spreading rumors and talking behind my back. ¡°I heard she was walking with a grown man yesterday.¡± ¡°There are people who filmed it. Images are flowing in.¡± ¡°Let me see, let me see. Heeh, he seems like a good-looking guy.¡± ¡°Uwa, you might be disillusioned.¡± I was conflicted as I listened to those voices. I have enough material to dispel these rumors. That man rumored to be her father. Not her sugar da**y, but his real father. Why doesn¡¯t Kuromine deny the rumor? If the rumor has spread this far, Kuromine must understand that the rumor is spreading. Telling everyone that he¡¯s her father would solve everything. ¡°Good morning, Nijitani.¡± While I was moping, Akazawa called out to me. ¡°Ou, goodmorning¡± ¡°¡­¡­The air in the classroom is bad.¡± Akazawa looks around the class. Akazawa looks around the class, apparently not liking the atmosphere. I can¡¯t believe this is coming from the same person who used to actively create this atmosphere. ¡°I heard that Akazawa and Kuromine are in the same junior high school. Do you get along with her?¡± ¡°No. I hate her¡± You don¡¯t like it. You don¡¯t get along with Aoyama either, and as the idol of the school, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. ¡°Then what do you think about those rumors?¡± ¡°The rumors are probably false. She has a bad personality, but she¡¯s not the type to do that kind of thing. Maybe that adult man is her brother or father.¡± You guessed right. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she deny it?¡±¡± ¡°Who knows, we know only this much. The only thing I¡¯m sure of is that she has a bad character. So you¡¯d better stay away from her and not worry about it. Nijitani-kun, you seem to like meddling, so I wanted to give you some advice.¡± You both have bad personalities. I replied with a smile and an appropriate ¡°Thanks for the advice.¡± Satisfied with the reply, Akazawa started a conversation with the group to which she belonged. Indeed, Akazawa was right. It is better not to get involved in these things. It would be wise to ignore it and get on with life. There is nothing to be gained by helping her. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but she doesn¡¯t want to dispel the rumors. It¡¯s okay to leave it at that. Okay, let¡¯s leave it. ¡°¡­¡­¡± But it¡¯s not good to let malicious rumors go unchecked, is it? If I leave that one unattended, the rumor will have a tail and a spine. Before she knows it, she will be falsely accused. I have experienced it firsthand. But, it¡¯s not like she denies it. I don¡¯t care, I don¡¯t care. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± So don¡¯t worry about it. It was that my laxity that got me into that mess. I regretted it so much because of my sense of justice, but making a move like that here is just too much of an unlearning experience. I told you myself that I wouldn¡¯t get involved. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± Apparently I¡¯m a real douchebag. I know, it her sugar da**y It¡¯s kind of ruining her image.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s flirting with an old man.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really demoralizing, right?¡± Approach a group of girls. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to barge in here without permission, but that rumor is false. The man rumored is Kuromine¡¯s father. Not some a sugar da**y, but her real father. So the rumor is that it¡¯s just a father-daughter date.¡± I interrupted the conversation with my intention. ¡°Nijitani-kun?¡± ¡°Eh, really?¡± The girls raised their voices in question at my sudden intrusion. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s the guy in this picture?¡± One of the girls points her phone at me. It was her father. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it. I just happened to be hanging around there too. Then I heard a conversation. She said it was her own father. They were shopping together.¡± I won¡¯t say that I knew her father¡¯s face because we worked at the same part-time job. The color of the girls¡¯ faces changed drastically when they heard my words. ¡°I knew Kuromine-san didn¡¯t do those things!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. I was thinking differently too.¡± ¡°And I believed it was absolutely not true.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s nice to have a date with your father right. He¡¯s so handsome.¡± What the hell. They are cash guys huh? [TL: An expression used when they easily changes words and deeds according to one¡¯s own interests and convenience.] ¡­¡­ This is that, it was just a lot of noise. I wasn¡¯t helping Kuromine in any way. As I was about to leave, I locked eyes with Akazawa. I ran to my seat and plopped down on my desk. The information spread quickly. By the way, I did nothing. I just passed it on to the first few female students. The girls¡¯ information network was more than I had imagined. After school, the whole school knew about it. After the rumor spread, one of the girls asked Kuromine directly. As a result, it turned out to be her father. Once it was confirmed that he was the father, the commotion died down. On the contrary, the impression of Kuromine¡¯s stock rose when her father turned out to be a handsome man, and when word got out that she and her father were getting along well and buying a present for her mother, the impression improved. ¡°Really, Nijitani-kun, you¡¯re such a meddler.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Akazawa uttered with a cold stare. I tried to argue with her, but this time she started smiling. ¡°Fufu, I don¡¯t dislike that part of you, though,¡± ¡°Who¡¯s eyes are on me? Besides, it¡¯s not like I like meddling.¡± ¡°You know, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s in your best interest, and that¡¯s the height of meddling.¡± Meddling character or not. This will eliminate the noise. I just didn¡¯t want to be bothered by that girl¡¯s noise. Just as I was about to bury my face in my desk, the sound of powerful footsteps approached me. ¡°Hey, is it true that Nijitani spread a good rumor about black fellow?¡± When Aoyama entered the classroom, she came toward me in a straight line. She did not even look at Akazawa who was standing next to me. ¡°¡­¡­Who told you that?¡± ¡°There are rumors. It¡¯s said it was Nijitani who helped black fellow.¡± Those cash cow guys went out of their way to spread my name. I¡¯m glad they gave credit to me, but they are so disciplined in a weird way. If even Aoyama knows about it, does that mean Kuromine knows about it too? It¡¯s going to be troublesome. ¡°Fuun, so it is true. I see¡± ¡°Why are you angry? What¡¯s the connection between you and Kuromine?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say. I just don¡¯t like her. I just thought if the rumors were true, she¡¯d go down on her own.¡± Again. I thought Red and Blue just didn¡¯t get along, but it seems like Red, Blue, and Black all don¡¯t get along. You¡¯re goddesses, but you don¡¯t get along too well. ¡­¡­You know, I¡¯m the one talking to Nijiya-kun. Can you not interrupt me without permission?¡± Akazawa grabs Aoyama¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Haa?¡¡I¡¯m free to talk to whoever I want.¡± With a snap, Aoyama removed her hand. ¡± Didn¡¯t you ever get mad at me for interrupting earlier?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember that long ago. Red is too nervous.¡± ¡°Heh, you have absolutely no memory, Blue is a monkey.¡± I leave the classroom with my bag in hand, trying to escape from the two sparking bees. ¡­¡­Let¡¯s go home. I left the classroom and changed my shoes at the entrance to the elevator. I saw a group of people near the school gate. In the center of the group is Kuromine. She is surrounded by girls and has a kind face. Men from other schools approached from outside the school gate. The men were chased away by Kuromine¡¯s cronies and disappeared somewhere. Is that the Black Faction? It¡¯s like the SS. Surrounded by the SS, it seems that rumors are not enough to make me feel depressed. It was probably my imagination that I saw my stepsister¡¯s figure among the SS. Let¡¯s pretend I didn¡¯t see her. As I was about to leave the school gate, my eyes met Kuromine¡¯s. Slowly approaching me. And as she passed by me. ¡°¡­¡­.Thank you¡± She muttered to me. Volume 1 - CH 16 Posted on March 14, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp TL: I made an annoucement if you want to read it: Link I met her in the summer of my second year of junior high school. I was attending Tobu Junior High School, where students from several elementary schools in the neighborhood gathered. Kuromine and I were originally from different elementary schools. We were in different classes and clubs and had no contact with each other. At that time, I was mentally weak. Because of the stalker accusation, I was treated like a tumor by everyone around me. My relationship with Aoyama had broken up, and I had kept my distance from Renji. There was no fun in my daily life anymore. I had no place in the classroom, so I started heading elsewhere after finishing school lunch. The place I used most was the library. Although the library was rarely used, there was always someone there before me. It was Tsukiya Kuromine, a plain girl who always read books with her head down. There was no conversation between us. We were aware of each other¡¯s existence, but it was not like we were talking to each other. I spent my days in the library just reading my favorite novels. One day, Kuromine approached me. ¡°¡­¡­Are you all right?¡± My first contact was from that side. I had a dead fish eyes, my mentality broken by the stabbing feeling of inferiority and the malicious rumors circulating in my chest. I heard that Kuromine had not been able to bear to see me drooping down without energy, so he spoke to me. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just going through some things.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Kuromine cut off her words and shifted her gaze to the novel. ¡°¡­¡­ Come to think of it, I see you here all the time.¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°Do you like books?¡± ¡°More or less.¡± We found ourselves conversing with each other. The conversation was not so much clerical as it was obligatory, just a greeting. However, as we spent more time together each day, our conversations gradually grew in content. Apparently, Kuromine was not comfortable in class and was living a life where she did not talk to anyone. I felt a sense of closeness with Kuromine because she was living a similar life to me at that time. One day, our conversation rapidly deepened our relationship. ¡°Hello, Mukawa-kun.¡± ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°Are you reading Lanugo today, too?¡± ¡°Eh, uhm, yes,¡± ¡°Can I ask what kind of book that ¡­¡­ is if you don¡¯t mind?¡± Kuromine sat down next to me. I had never seen Kuromine this aggressive, and I felt uncomfortable. ¡°Please stop. I don¡¯t like to talk to women too much.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ about the rumors?¡± ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°Yes, actually, I wanted to have a little chat with you about that.¡± Apparently, she had heard the rumors and dared to talk to me. It is not known at school that me and Akazawa are childhood friends. It is said that Renji is the only childhood friend of Akazawa¡¯s, but Kuromine, who has no friends, has heard the rumor in bits and pieces. Therefore, she recognized me as ¡°a person who confessed his love to his childhood friend, lost his heart, and then couldn¡¯t give up and was acting like a stalker. I didn¡¯t dare correct her, because it was like I actually had my heart broken. ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­. I also lost my heart to a childhood friend.¡± ¡°Kuromine too?¡± ¡°Yes. He didn¡¯t look at me at all.¡± Kuromine had a childhood friend who was her first love. That love was an unrequited love. The other person already had a girlfriend, and she lost her first love without a second thought. Yes, I had the same wound of having my first childhood friend break my heart. And to make matters worse, although we had both been heartbroken, we had nothing in common in that we had not even confessed our feelings. We were both miserable losers who couldn¡¯t even put up a fight. ¡°¡­¡­, you¡¯re one of us.¡± ¡°¡­¡­, I¡¯m one of you heh.¡± After that, there was a strange feeling of being on the same page. We enjoyed talking in the library during lunch break, healing each other¡¯s wounds. Kuromine was quite friendly when I talked to her. At first I had an image of her as shy and reserved, but she was surprisingly chatty. It took me a while to get to know her, but once we got to know each other, I realized that she was the type of person I could talk to in a normal way. ¡°The truth is, he has a pretty intense personality, you know?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that from the outside.¡± ¡°In my family, we call him ¡®Tsukiyo, the shy one. By the way, I have a habit of throwing things when I get really angry. I once threw a box of tissues at my mother in a fight with her. She hit me with a ladle in return.¡± ¡°You say that like you¡¯re bragging, but it¡¯s a painful episode.¡± We made small talk, but most of the content was about our mutual childhood friends. ¡°He was always so cute, He was an angel.¡± ¡°He was always handsome. He was a prince.¡± ¡°He used to be so nice to me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still kind to me.¡± It is only black history now that we had a mysterious first love bragging match about how much she liked him. Even I didn¡¯t know what I was feeling at the time. I guess I couldn¡¯t forget my first love, even though I thought I already had no interest in Akazawa. Maybe I wanted to boast that I was childhood friends with the school idol. ¡°Eh, your childhood friend, Mukawa-kun, that Akazawa-san?¡± ¡°I guess so¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± That was all it took to get the message across. Akazawa was famous. She was well known as the school¡¯s idol. Her partner was Renji Inuyama, a perfectly handsome man who was also known as the prince of the school. No matter how hard I tried, there was no way I could win. ¡°What about Kuromine?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in high school.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­ He is years older than you?¡± ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s my older brother who lives nearby, and he¡¯s been playing with me since I was a kid. He¡¯s kind and very cool.¡± The person Kuromine had feelings for was a high school student living in the neighborhood at the time, three years older than both of us. ¡°He has a girlfriend.¡± ¡°You mentioned he had a girlfriend once.¡± ¡°Yes. My sister¡± ¡°¡­¡­ that¡¯s a tough one.¡± It was someone I couldn¡¯t even tell to plunder. The childhood friend she loves as an older brother and Kuromine¡¯s older sister were also childhood friends as a matter of course, and it seems that they were each other¡¯s first love and tied the knot when they were in junior high school. They were first in love and got together when they were in junior high school. ¡°It was painful to see them kissing right in front of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Muuu, that¡¯s kind of a throwback.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to tell them. There¡¯s nothing wrong with Kuromine¡¯s sister and your brother dating, and they both like each other.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.Right. I have no choice but to congratulate them.¡± Kuromine was secretly damaged while congratulating them. If Akazawa and Renji had been dating, I would have been heartbroken too while congratulating them. ¡°It¡¯s hard on both of us.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± We have the same scars. We both had first loves that never came true. We are not childhood friends, not best friends. In other words, we were friends and comrades-in-arms. On top of that, we were both bozos with no friends. In the end, we were nothing more than friends. ¡­¡­ As fall approached, there were changes in the quiet library. A senior male student began to approach the usually empty library. He was a handsome guy, a former member of the soccer team with a good name. I was not interested in him, so I continued to read as usual. He didn¡¯t make a fuss or try to pick a fight with me. He was there for one thing. He was after Kuromine. I felt uneasy. After getting to know Kuromine, she told me why he always spent time in the library. The girl had some traumas in her past. ¡°Do you know that senior student?¡± ¡°Not at all. He started talking to me recently. The way he looks at me is a little weird.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re in trouble, should I warn him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks for worrying about me.¡± Kuromine acted stoutly like that, but her face was clearly clouded when that man spoke to her. I was lost at that time. Although that man was aiming at Kuromine, he was not coming at her by force. He just came to the library and talked to Kuromine. He knew when to back off. He left without disturbing the users. Was this a groundless fear? One day, when I was thinking this, my fears were realized. A few days later at lunchtime. I went to the library as usual and found Kuromine entangled with that man. The library was empty except for the two of them. He probably took advantage of the fact that no one was in the library. ¡°If you¡¯re free after school, do you want to hang out?¡± ¡°¡­..I don¡¯t want to play¡± ¡°I¡¯m retired from club activities and have some time on my hands. Let¡¯s go somewhere.¡± ¡°Get away from me!¡± Although plain, Kuromine¡¯s face was well-defined. And she was well developed. I could see the man¡¯s eyes were on her chest. I was the only one who knew her weakness. Kuromine had been growing fast since elementary school, and she had been traumatized by a drunken relative who touched her breasts when he was drinking. Since then, she has had a hard time with men. Even if that wasn¡¯t the case, that girl, who had been bullied in the past, was not good at building relationships. When I entered the library, my eyes met Kuromine¡¯s. I was about to go in to help when I received an SOS from a fellow student. ¡°Hey alright¡ª-¡° ¡°Please stop!¡± The moment the man forcefully grabbed her arm, Kuromine went wild, blue in the face. ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Kya!¡± With the impact of the rampage, the man hit his back against a bookshelf. As a reaction to her shaking him off, Kuromine tumbled to the ground. Immediately afterward, several books flew out from the impacted bookshelf. ¡°¡ª-Watch out!¡± It was quick. I jumped to protect Kuromine from the rain of books pouring down on her. Kuromine fell on her back and I covered her up. Several books hit my back and head, causing pain. ¡°Are you all right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I called out to Kuromine, but she did not respond. Apparently, she had hit her head when she rolled on the ground and fainted. I thought about taking her to the infirmary. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Hearing the sound of falling books and loud voices, several students and teachers gathered around. They were all bewildered by the scattered books and the situation at the scene. One female student, who was among those who rushed to the scene, opened her mouth. ¡°Wait, that stalker is attacking Tsukiyo-chan!¡± My mind went blank. I think I was shocked to learn in a big way what people thought of me. I don¡¯t really remember what happened after ¡­¡­. The next day, I went to school and what awaited me was a cold stare and a call from a teacher. I had been accused of attempted rape. It seems that the woman at that time mentioned that the culprit who pushed Kuromine down was Shota Mukawa. Of course, I made desperate excuses to prove my innocence. However, the testimony of a female student who witnessed the scene was strong. The man who was trying to mess with Kuromine vowed with the female student¡¯s story, perhaps to protect his own skin. The opinion of a popular, good-looking man put me in an increasingly unfavorable position. The rumors that had originally been spreading quickly turned me into a criminal. The important thing was that Kuromine was shocked and absent for a while. Since there was no evidence of this incident and it was an attempt, it was treated as an accident. The school probably didn¡¯t want to make an issue of it. The only person who believed in my innocence was my best friend Renji. But I didn¡¯t want to involve him, so I suggested that we keep our distance and I was left alone. It was the worst possible turn of events, but I had room in my heart somewhere. If Kuromine would testify, there would be no problem. That girl would understand. If she explained the situation, the rumor would disappear. But a few days later. When Kuromine came to school, she didn¡¯t say anything. As if the matter was already over, she did not dispel the atmosphere that I was the bad guy. In addition, the woman who treated me like a criminal had become her friend before I knew it. Her attitude was the decisive factor. A new rumor started to circulate that Shota Mukawa was a scumbag who stalked and even tried to attack a quiet female student. After that, it was already hell. What awaited me, mentally wrecked as I was, was an attack from Aoyama. I hit my head and was sent to the hospital. I couldn¡¯t go to school anymore because I had serious mental and physical scars. After the incident in which I fell down the stairs, I did not tell the school that I had been pushed down. I was not protecting Aoyama. It was because I thought that no matter what I told anyone about the incident with Kuromine, they would not believe me. I have no proof of this incident either. ¡­¡­I started going to school in the infirmary. I don¡¯t know what happened after that. The man who was trying to make a pass at Kuromine was not punished in any way, but I saw him enjoying himself. And I also saw the woman who spread the rumor smiling with Kuromine. Volume 1 - CH 17 Posted on March 15, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Only after that fiasco was over I started working part-time at the same time as Kuromine. During the job, Kuromine was as serious a waiter as ever. I was also doing the work I had just learned without worrying about what I had done at school. I was just a few minutes away from finishing my work. ¡°I need to talk to you ¡­¡­. Please spare me some time.¡± She approached me. So I waited in the back of the store. As I waited, I was reminded of past events. It was terrible after that rumor. I was completely treated like a criminal and had to spend hellish days. The feeling of being cut from behind by my fellow workers is still a traumatic experience for me. While I was immersed in a sad mood, Kuromine came out after finishing his preparations. ¡°¡­.Thank you, Nijitani-kun.¡± The first words of thanks came out of her mouth. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You already know what I¡¯m talking about. It¡¯s about me.¡± ¡°I knew Kuromine was the Black Goddess after all.¡± Kuromine pretended to be lost for a moment, then nodded her head. ¡°Everything¡¯s totally different from school, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°By the way, the way I look now is the real me. My personality at school is an act.¡± She said that at school she acts like a loner. The question is, why did she tell me about it? If she feels indebted to me for dispelling the rumors, give me a break. I¡¯m not interested in getting along with you now. ¡°But lately I¡¯m starting to think things are a little different. Maybe I¡¯m just being myself over there. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m acting anymore.¡± Oi oi, she started talking even though I didn¡¯t ask her. But if I don¡¯t respond, the conversation won¡¯t go anywhere. ¡°Uhm¡­.what do you mean¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like I don¡¯t even know who I am anymore. The real me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like a chuunibyou. This is ridiculous. Both are Kuromine.¡± I cannot make a wrong choice here. This girl knows about the matter that I dispelled that rumor. If I was too nice to her, it could deepen the relationship. I should push her away. ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s inside or outside. You¡¯re both Kuromine, no? The serious and sober figure you show at your part-time job, and the flamboyant and savvy figure you show at school, they¡¯re both you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ does that mean you accept the both of me?¡± Eh? No, no, not that. Don¡¯t interpret it in a convenient way. ¡°Speaking of which, why did you help me?¡± ¡°That was, uh¡ª-¡° ¡°I heard that Nijitani-kun helped spread that story. But we didn¡¯t know each other except at our part-time jobs. I don¡¯t think you knew I was the Black Goddess.¡± ¡°¡­¡­It just didn¡¯t feel right.¡± Kuromine¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°I don¡¯t like gossip and rumors. I saw Kuromine walking happily with your father before. When I know it was your father¡¯s face because he came here to pick you up. So I just told the girls in the area. I was pissed off that they were talking nonsense.¡± That¡¯s all. I never wanted to help you. It was for my own good. ¡°I can understand why you don¡¯t like backbiting. I don¡¯t like it either.¡± Who are you to talk like that? I¡¯m the one who was the victim of the worst rumors spread by you. Well, you didn¡¯t actually spread it. ¡°¡­¡­I have a question for you, too.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you deny it? You could have said it was your father.¡± I didn¡¯t understand the point of prolonging a problem that could have ended with just one comment. There would have been no gain from a few days of wasted ill will. In the end, the good impression was accelerated because she was good friends with her father, but I don¡¯t think she was aiming for that. ¡°¡­. Would you listen to me tell you an old story?¡± What should I do, I don¡¯t want to hear it at all. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to react or anything when I hear about this girl¡¯s past now. I mean, I know most of it. I know that she was heartbroken by her childhood friend¡¯s brother, that she was unable to fall in love because of the trauma, that she was bullied and isolated in elementary school, that she developed a phobia of men after a relative touched her chest¡­ I know that she has a lot of secrets about her past, but I don¡¯t know how to respond to them. Perhaps the old stories being told here are traumas from elementary school. Someone who couldn¡¯t confront rumors head-on or appeal to their weakness because of the trauma of those days, anyway. ¡°There was a rumor. One of the students couldn¡¯t come to school because of the rumor.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ O-oh.¡± That¡¯s me, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I will just ask, the rumors were false right?¡± ¡°It was a mistake. The person was not at fault at all. He didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but the worst people around him made him look bad. It was irreversible.¡± It¡¯s a story I was once told. Kuromine was betrayed by someone she thought was a friend and subsequently bullied. The shock caused Kuromine to withdraw from school when she was in the sixth grade. It was this one incident that made her personality withdrawn. I sympathize with her on this. ¡°I really was an idiot. The old me.¡± ¨CEh? ¡°I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t realize it was such a big deal. By the time I realized it, it was all behind me. I was too stupid, and the people I admired let me down.¡± Kuromine had a sad look on her face. Could this be a story not from elementary school, but from after I moved to a new school? In addition, from what I¡¯ve heard, it seems that this girl did something to someone. Maybe she did to others what she had done to me in the past. No learning ability at all, huh? Well, I don¡¯t have the ability to learn either when I¡¯m involved with this girl. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you did, but if you regret what you did, why don¡¯t you apologize?¡± When I said this, Kuromine looked at me seriously. It was as if she was trying to appeal to me about something, but I couldn¡¯t read her intention at all. ¡°Impossible. I couldn¡¯t. He is no longer with me.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you reach him?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ That person is nowhere to be found.¡± I thought for a moment that maybe it was me when I heard the story, but no. Because if it was me, they would know that I¡¯m at my new school. It¡¯s strange that he¡¯s nowhere to be found. The vibe I got from her was that he was already dead. It seems that after I left, that middle school went through a rough patch, so maybe there was some sort of incidental thing that occurred. If so, that¡¯s too scary. Kuromine was completely dejected, as if she was enduring a lot. It was painful to watch. ¡°Is it atonement for not dispelling the rumors?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I must atone for my sin.¡± What kind of thought process is that? You¡¯re not going to get the dead guy back if you take that punishment. You were supposed to be smart, but you are surprisingly stupid. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it¡¯s not good to keep on enduring. The more you endure the pain, the more the damage accumulates, and the worst that can happen is that you go under.¡± It¡¯s something I¡¯ve developed in the past. If I was in the same situation as in the past I would be proactive. I bet I would have denied it out loud and gone to beat the crap out of the bum and that woman. It doesn¡¯t make sense to think about it now, though. That was a long time ago. ¡°¡­¡­Nijitani-kun, you are so sweet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stating my general opinion.¡± ¡°Ah, and thanks for the rumors. I thought I could stand it, but I guess I was damaged. Sometimes I even say strange things like, I don¡¯t know who I really am. I also made a lot of mistakes during my part-time job.¡± Although she appeared unconcerned, this girl was damaged, too. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Everyone gets upset. Next time it happens to you, you¡¯d better speak up. And don¡¯t try to redeem yourself in a weird way, it won¡¯t get through to them. You should stop it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yeah, if Nijitani-kun says so, I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯re done talking. I¡¯ve received your thanks. Well, I¡¯d better be on my way.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I was about to step over to the bike when I was stopped. ¡°Uhm, can I talk to you at school, too?¡¡I know I asked you not to talk to me myself before, and I know it¡¯s selfish of me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I thought you said you didn¡¯t talk to guys.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just scared. I haven¡¯t always been good with men.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯ll be okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine with Nijitani-kun.¡± What the hell. How did I become so likable? ¡°Could I ask you to help me overcome my male phobia?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± This girl¡¯s cronies include my stepsister. If I give a poor response here, it could be the worst thing that could happen. Considering her past behavior, there is a possibility that my stepsister will be exposed to malicious intent. ¡°If it¡¯s just small talk¡± ¡°Really?!¡¡Thanks!¡± I look at Kuromine, who is smiling, and start pedaling my bike. On the way home, I suddenly have a question. ¡­¡­ Huh, didn¡¯t she say something about not being cured of her man-phobia? If that¡¯s the case, then why was she so normal from the first meeting with me? I think she looked rather happy. The question remained in my mind, but I headed home without paying any more attention to it. Volume 1 - CH 18 Posted on March 16, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The rumor about Black goddess disappeared. All the noise around me disappeared, and I was at peace again ¡ª¨Cis what I would like to say. Because after that rumor disappeared, another rumor started to circulate in the school. Nijitani and Kuromine are dating. What a joke. Seriously, please knock it off. This rumor started when Kuromine, who hates men, greeted me by saying, ¡°¡­¡­ Osu, Nijitani-kun¡±. Thanks to that, I suffered from the murderous stares of many men and women. The stares from female students were particularly fierce. ¡°What is the meaning of this, Nijitani?¡± ¡°Do you want to change schools again, junior?¡± ¡°What are you doing to Tsukiyo-sama? Don¡¯t come near Tsukiyo-sama. Leave Tsukiyo-sama alone.¡± ¡°May I experiment to see how many sticks of chalk you can fit in your a**hole, Senpai?¡± I also received many loving words such as. I shuddered at the thought that I was being ungrateful, but this rumor was put to rest by Kuromine with a return of favor. When she explained that my stepsister was a big fan of Kuromine and stood in a kind of SS-like relationship with her, and that she greeted me because of that, the majority of the students accepted it. Coincidentally, among the girls who are Kuromine¡¯s cronies, I am the only one who has a sibling, and there is no way to verify this. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the only one who is a special exception and I¡¯m no longer a rumor when I speak to her. ¡­¡­I mean, she knows that we are siblings, huh? The surname Nijitani is uncommon, so there was a chance she would find out. But there is no need to worry. Immediately after I transferred here, I had talked to my stepsister in advance and promised not to tell her that we were step-siblings. If they find out that we are step-siblings, they will suspect that we are related to each other. Even if we had no intention of doing so, the relationship between step-siblings is a standard setting in romantic comedies. I guess my stepsister wants a boyfriend, so she took me up on the offer. It was difficult to set up the relationship because she had moved to a new school, but she forced the issue because her father and mother lived apart from each other. No one would go into such depth about the family situation. So the rumors were dispelled, but there were a few who were not convinced. They came all the way to ask me to confirm the truth. This is something I should reflect on. In Akazawa¡¯s case, it was inevitable to return the favor to Nekoda. In the case of Aoyama, I helped out in friendship with Mahiro because he was my friend. In both cases, there were unavoidable reasons. However, as for Kuromine, I need to reflect on this matter intensely. I was too naive to think that the rumored figure overlapped with my old self and I felt sorry for her. It¡¯s no wonder I was ridiculed as a meddler. I will forcefully convince myself that it was for my stepsister¡¯s sake. I have made a blunder, but this is the end of my involvement with the demons. As for the white devil, I won¡¯t get involved with her in any shape or form. She¡¯s had the least amount of time with me. We went to different elementary and junior high schools. She belongs to the most distant class in the school. I don¡¯t think I will get involved with her in the future. I walked home with these thoughts in my mind. After passing through a residential area, I walked a little further and found my new home. It is a short walk to the school. It was about time I go inside the house. ¡°¡ª¡ªPlease wait a moment.¡± The voice came from a brand new apartment across the street from my house. A petite female student in a Tenkain Gakuen uniform was standing in front of the entrance. ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was too soon to raise the flag. That girl was the one who completely destroyed my already broken heart. She is also the person who initiated a relationship with me for the first time in my life. Shirase Mayuki, the White Goddess, is the first girlfriend I¡¯ve had in my life. ¡°Excuse me for interrupting. My name is Mayuki Shirase. I have something to say to you for which I called on you.¡± I breathed a sigh of relief at the way I was treated at our first meeting. I was less anxious because there was the least chance of my true identity being revealed. Our time together was short, and the time we spent talking was short. First of all, I doubted that my true identity would be revealed, but I was bracing myself for the possibility that it might be. ¡°As a matter of fact¡­¡­Uwa!¡± As Shirase approached, she fell over on nothing. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I see. A trap.¡± Shirase states with a calm face. ¡°No, the problem is your ability.¡± ¡°You make it sound as if I can¡¯t exercise.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. I am an expert at falling over random places. I have a high tolerance for falls thanks to that.¡± For some reason, Shirase, full of confidence, stood up, slapping the dirt on her clothes. A smile and a sense of nostalgia leaked out of me at the sight of her unchanged appearance. ¡°You laughed, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not laughing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lie. You did laugh.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ either way. So, what do you want to talk to me about?¡± ¡°Yes. I heard a rumor that you are dating Kuromine-san.¡± So that¡¯s the situation. For the most part, as a goddess, she wants my vote. I guess she came to check if I¡¯m likely to vote for her rival, Kuromine. ¡°That was a misunderstanding. My stepsister is a big fan of Kuromine, and she¡¯s her follower. Apparently, Kuromine is also fond of her. She¡¯s just saying hello to me because of that. The man-hating Kuromine did that, and that¡¯s why I stood out and became the subject of rumors.¡± When I explained, Shirase showed her satisfaction. ¡°I see. Then I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°What do you mean you¡¯re glad?¡± ¡°Yes. I am relieved that you were not deceived by the black devil.¡± The devil? Maybe that¡¯s it, or maybe this girl doesn¡¯t get along with other goddesses? As expected, the goddesses don¡¯t get along too well with each other. ¡°It was the transfer student Nijitani-san, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ou, I¡¯m just a country bumpkin.¡± ¡°From what I have gathered, you also have connections with the Red Devil and the Blue Devil?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ It just happened¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t want to get along?¡±¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t think we know each other.¡± There is no way. ¡°They are attractive people only in appearance, but why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to explain why. And by the way, rest assured that I have no intention of getting along with Shirase either.¡± ¡°Ara, you don¡¯t like me.¡± I got involved with those guys by accident, but I don¡¯t want to get involved with Shirase as well. If this was in school, my mind would be on the surroundings, but unfortunately, there is no one around here. I should be assertive. ¡°I don¡¯t like to stand out. Even a little talk with Kuromine would cause such a commotion. If we were to get to know each other, there would be too much jealousy from those around us.¡± In fact, Shirase approached me to confirm the fact of the rumor. ¡°I see, it sure is troublesome to have rumors start just by talking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why. When I get involved with popular people, I attract attention, for better or worse.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I understand you a little better now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand. See you later.¡± I start walking toward home. I was able to take a firm stand. Yes, this is what I should have done. It was a quirk of my mind that I had bonded with pity or friendship. ¡°By the way, I have a problem.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Walking toward home. For some reason, Shirase is right behind me, perfectly marking me. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a meddler, please help?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± I arrived at the front of the house. For some reason, Shirase is right behind me. ¡°From what I¡¯ve gathered, you seem to be the type who likes to meddle.¡± ¡°False information. I¡¯m¨C¡° ¡°Thank you for accepting my offer.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything!¡± When I stretched my voice, I received looks from the wives in the neighborhood. It was bad enough to get in trouble in front of my house. I don¡¯t want to be the subject of rumors in the neighborhood. ¡°¡­.And what¡¯s your problem?¡± ¡°I am being stalked at the moment. I would like you to pretend to be my boyfriend for a while. If you solve the problem, I promise not to get involved with you in the future.¡± She came up with horrible conditions. There was no benefit to me. Only disadvantages. ¡°Wait a minute, a stalker?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m being followed by a tall man.¡± ¡°Are you all right?¡¡Any real damage or anything?¡± ¡°For now, he¡¯s just following me around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pain in the a**. If he follows you, the police can¡­..Why are you smiling?¡± Shirase was smiling while I was thinking seriously. ¡°You are as good a person as they say. I was surprised that you were so accommodating when you said you didn¡¯t want to get involved.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I ask you once again. Please lend me a hand.¡± Shirase bowed her head and I gave a wry smile. Volume 1 - CH 19 Posted on March 18, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The atmosphere at the school was getting twitchy as the final examinations were approaching. I was perplexed by the damned conditions imposed on me by a lousy woman. I was studying, but I couldn¡¯t concentrate on anything. I decided to hold off on the offer Shirase had made to me. I had other things to do first. ¡°It seems you finally want to know more about the last goddess.¡± Mahiro has a big smile on his face. ¡°Why do you look so happy?¡± ¡°As for me, I¡¯m curious to see who my friend Shota is going for.¡± There is no way I¡¯m going to pick anyone. However, they are high school students representing puberty here. They all like to talk about topics like their favorite partner or their favorite idol. In Tenkain, it is the [four-color goddess]. ¡°Who is your current favorite at the moment?¡± ¡°None in particular.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pushing for something other than a goddess? ¡°I don¡¯t usually pick anyone.¡± ¡°So who are you going to vote for in the Tenka contest?¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t voting for anybody.¡± As long as I don¡¯t participate in the contest. ¡± You can¡¯t do that. Voting is for everybody. It¡¯s sort of a student duty.¡± ¡®¡­¡­ such a disgusting obligation¡± ¡°It¡¯s a festival of sorts. Plus, they¡¯ll know who you¡¯re voting for.¡± ¡°That sucks.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll tell you the details when the Tenkain Contest gets closer. So, who are you going to put in now?¡± I have no intention of placing in the current group of goddesses. Then, the options are narrowing. I don¡¯t interact much with other classes of people. The only people I interact with are the demons, or goddesses, for that matter. Classmates are appropriate, as I have no intention of joining them. The most likely candidate would be Nekoda, who sits next to me. Nekoda also seems to be quite popular. Since they made up, she has regained her former radiance and has become a popular person in the class. Nevertheless, since she and Akazawa are best friends, I have a feeling that the vote will be split. However, there is also the problem of putting it in Nekoda¡¯s hands. She meddled to make up with him, but I feel that if I vote for her, it¡¯s almost like confessing that I like her. It would also be troublesome to have people think that I have ulterior motives. ¡°¡­¡­I guess at this stage it would be my stepsister.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, you said she was in the first grade.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°I have a younger sister too, but we don¡¯t get along. I see Shota is close with her, huh.¡± ¡°For now¡± Although we are not close friends, hell, we are not particularly close. The truth is that I am not sure how to treat her. She likes me, too, but maybe it¡¯s because we¡¯re at an early stage in our lives, or maybe she¡¯s just a little reserved. If I talk about my sister for too long, they might find out that we are stepsiblings, so I cut the conversation short. ¡°I¡¯ll talk about it another time. What do you know about the White Goddess?¡± ¡°White Goddess, wasn¡¯t it? As I told you before, she was the only one in a different middle school.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ so you don¡¯t know much about it?¡± ¡°Shirase-san and I were in the same class last year, so I guess I know her pretty well.¡± Well, that¡¯s promising. ¡°The characteristics of Shirase-san are by far her outstanding appearance and family background. She is petite, has a childlike face, and yet is a young lady. She is not athletic, but her academic ability is top class along with Kuromine-san.¡± The characteristics of Shirase Mayuki are easy to understand. It is in her overwhelmingly conspicuous appearance. She is extremely cute. By cute, I mean more like a mascot than a beautiful girl. Shirase is in the low 140-centimeter range and has the face of a child who looks like an elementary school student. If she were to carry a school bag on her back, the school would probably still be in active service. And she is a young lady. She is the daughter of a company president whose father runs a company. ¡°She¡¯s a young lady, huh?¡± I pretend not to know each time. ¡°Yes. Her father is the president.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.If it¡¯s a young lady, she must be from Himemiya Jogakuin.¡± Of course, I know that girl was a student at Himemiya Jogakuin. Himemiya Jogakuin is an all-girls junior and senior high school not far from here. ¡°Oh, terrific. You hit the jackpot. She went to Himemiya Jogakuin, but she went all the way over here to go to school. I don¡¯t know why, though.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°How did Shota know about Himemiya Jogakuin?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Oh, s**t. I did it again. ¡°T-Truth be told, my stepsister came over here from Himemiya Jogakuin too.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I said something random. Sorry. ¡°Continuing with Shirase-san, Lolita-kei ojousama (young lady) is unique. She¡¯s also a bit of a clunker. She¡¯s popular with the boys because she makes them want to protect her, and she¡¯s also looked upon as a mascot by the girls.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡± But I think she¡¯s going to be strong this year.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She has a handsome younger brother. That seems to be a high point.¡± A handsome younger brother? ¡°Right. It seems that some girls are befriending Shirase in order to get close to him. That¡¯s why the number of votes is expected to be higher this year than last year.¡± Oi oi, if you have a younger brother, why don¡¯t you ask him to play the role of your boyfriend? Why did you go to the trouble of asking me? I thought about it for a while, but could not come up with an answer. ¡°Are you willing to take it on?¡± After school, I was caught by Shirase again near my apartment. ¡°Before I go any further, I want to ask you two questions.¡± ¡°What could it be?¡± ¡°Do you live here?¡± ¡°Yes, I started living alone. Just the other day.¡± I see why we had never encountered each other before. So it was just a coincidence that we happened to live close to each other. However, it is unexpected for a young lady to be living alone in an apartment. ¡°So, one more question. You talk about pretending to be your boyfriend, but you don¡¯t have a boyfriend, right?¡± I was in a relationship with this girl once. I was discarded in that relationship. It wasn¡¯t just a heartbreak. Within a week of becoming her boyfriend, she brought her real boyfriend to my doorstep. ¡°Please use common sense. If I had a boyfriend, I wouldn¡¯t have asked you.¡± So you broke up with that guy. ¡°¡­¡­ Okay, I get it. I¡¯ll take you on if you keep your terms.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. You have my word.¡± After much thought, no answer was forthcoming. Then it would be more beneficial to accept the reward Shirase offered of staying away from me in the future. It would be troublesome to make enemies by rejecting their demands. She¡¯s the kind of woman who threatens you with worthless conditions. Besides, it would be disgusting if an incident occurred. You never know what a stalker will do. ¡°What exactly are you going to do?¡± ¡± Have a date with me next Saturday.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I did say that I would pretend to be her boyfriend, but as I said, I couldn¡¯t answer immediately. ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡°you can¡¯t¡± me, how do you know your stalker is going to see that? I don¡¯t mind, but wouldn¡¯t it be most effective to repeat the act of talking like this a few times while leaving school?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll let my brother know.¡± What? ¡°You will tell your brother¡­¡­. Oh, I see. Does that mean your brother will help us get rid of the stalker, too? There is a possibility that the other party will come at us by force, so the more people we have, the better. ¡°No, my brother is the stalker.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I couldn¡¯t follow the understanding. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the confusion. I had a fight with my father and ran away from home. My brother is working for my father to bring me back home.¡± ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re just running away from home?¡± ¡°In other words, yes.¡± I lost it worrying. My strength drains from my body. ¡°What¡¯s with your face?¡± ¡°Because everything was rapidly getting ridiculous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a big problem for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Why did you run away from home?¡± ¡°I was about to be married off to a stranger, so I got into a fight and ran away from home.¡± In other words, they are going to make her marry a man she doesn¡¯t know, so she explains to her brother that she has a fixed partner, me. That¡¯s how they usually find out. ¡°My brother is very simple. If I tell him that I have a boyfriend and show him that I am dating you, he will be convinced. That should get through to my father.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s that simple, you¡¯ll be able to round them up and pull them through to join us.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No, this is the best way.¡± I don¡¯t see where. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll pass. If it¡¯s a family problem, you can work it out over there.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t. I¡¯ve already got your word.¡± Looks like a trick. It would be a bad idea to be so stingy here. If it was recorded or something, I¡¯d be out. If they call me a liar, it will affect my life from now on. I lost because she got my word. ¡°¡­¡­Roger¡± ¡°Then give me your contact information. Because it¡¯s impossible for me to pretend to be your girlfriend and not have your contact information.¡± Shirase takes out her phone, but I didn¡¯t take mine out. Or rather, I can¡¯t take it out. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I don¡¯t have a phone.¡± I don¡¯t have a phone. My parents have asked me to have one, but I refused because I didn¡¯t think I needed one, especially if I had a computer. Even at school, people were surprised when I told them I didn¡¯t have a smart phone. I was the only one in my class who didn¡¯t have one, and they made a fuss about it, saying I couldn¡¯t join my class group. As for the reason, I played the country bumpkin [¡°I didn¡¯t need one in the countryside.¡±] [¡°The countryside is the best.¡±] [¡°The countryside is supreme.¡±] When I explained it to them, they accepted my explanation in a fluffy way. In my defense, everyone at my high school before I transferred had smartphones. I didn¡¯t have one because we were poor and I didn¡¯t want to bother my mother. The reason I don¡¯t have one now is a remnant of that. ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± I see? ¡°Then we¡¯ll meet in front of the station at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.¡± ¡°I understand. After that, you¡¯ll have to keep your word.¡± ¡°Of course. If you solve the problem, I promise to stay away from Nijitani-san in the future.¡± I got her word. Volume 1 - CH 20 Posted on March 19, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Saturday arrived. What is so sad that I have a date with my ex-girlfriend? In the first place, I never dated that girl during the short time we were dating. So, in front of the station. When I arrived before the meeting time, Shirase was already there. It was fresh to see her in plain clothes for the first time. Shirase stood out from the crowd. People who passed by her stared at her and were surprised at her cuteness. She looked very neat in a one-piece dress. She was approached several times, but Shirase didn¡¯t pay attention to them. ¡°You are late¡± ¡°I¡¯m right on time, no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a basic rule of thumb on a date to arrive well in advance.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s all right. So, first of all, what do you think of my clothes. Or rather, compliment me.¡± ¡°It looks good on you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Thank you very much¡± Shirase¡¯s cheeks flushed red. She is still cute on the outside. That much is for sure. ¡°Nijitani-san is looking good too.¡± ¡°Thanks for that one.¡± ¡°Now then, what do we do now?¡± Shirase asked. ¡°Do I get to decide?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the type of person who leaves dating to men.¡± I thought that since she asked me out, she should decide what to do, but I accepted the invitation because I didn¡¯t want to follow her plan. ¡°Then, a movie.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too safe¡± ¡°Shut up. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s safe.¡± Shirase looks disappointed. I was a little annoyed, but I am not the one who gets angry at this level. ¡°Have you contacted your brother ¡­¡­?¡± ¡°No problem. He¡¯s probably following me.¡± ¡°All right then.¡± We headed for the movie theater with little conversation. On the way, Shirase almost fell down in the middle of nowhere, but she was mumbling and complaining about the ground. ¡°Now, what shall we watch?¡± I look at the posters in front of the cinema showing movies. Many of them are romance movies. There is also an animated movie, which is very popular these days. Personally, I would like to recommend anime. ¡°As I said, it¡¯s an act. It is impossible to watch a romantic movie together and expect to get intoxicated by the atmosphere and have a chance.¡± Shirase looks at the poster of a man and a woman hugging each other and gives me the jitters. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have no intention of doing that.¡± ¡°I wonder. There are very few men who would not fall for my charms.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it yourself. Besides, I think you¡¯d be better suited to this one.¡± It¡¯s a horror movie about a child¡¯s evil spirit going on a rampage. In this exciting film, a child who has met a tragic end becomes an evil spirit and attacks happy-looking children one after another. This title has been shown for a long period of time and has taken the world by storm with its brutal content. It is also highly acclaimed by the public. ¡°¡­..What do you mean¡± ¡°It¡¯s similar, isn¡¯t it? This evil spirit.¡± I pointed to the poster. The girl who seemed to be a child actress had a face similar to that of Shirase. She was probably about the same height as Shirase. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re saying I¡¯m an evil spirit?¡± ¡°To me at least.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Pssst!¡± Silently, she stepped on my foot. ¡°It¡¯s decided. I¡¯m definitely going to watch this.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. Here, it¡¯s decided.¡± She had actually made up her mind when we were talking about heading to the movie theater. Why? This is because this girl is not good at horror stories. I remember she was not good at ghosts and hauntings. ¡°What, are you scared?¡± ¡°Y-You think I¡¯m going to be intimidated by a horror movie of this caliber?¡± ¡°Your voice is shaking. Totally, you¡¯re just as much a child on the inside as you are on the outs¨C ouch!¡± She stepped on my foot again. The attack with all her weight on me hurt more than I had imagined. ¡°Funn, all right. Let¡¯s enjoy this movie. I can handle it, but I wonder if you can stand it. I¡¯ll enjoy watching you get all scared and teary-eyed.¡± Me and Shirase were to watch the movie together. ¡°¨CHave you stopped shaking?¡± When I mouthed the words in dismay, Shirase smiled awkwardly. ¡°W-what are you talking about?¡¡I am not shaking.¡± We left the movie theater and headed for a cafe. It was a little far away from the school so that people wouldn¡¯t notice us. This girl was screaming a lot more than I had expected. Several times she almost fainted, and during the screening she hugged my arm multiple times while I was sitting next to her, and every time she would get angry and glare at me. Unreasonable. Shirase reaches for the parfait she ordered. After taking a bite, her complexion suddenly changed. She seemed to like the parfait so much that she started to eat it without saying a word. I sipped my coffee as I watched. Suddenly, Shirase started laughing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, I just thought Nijitani-san was a funny guy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so abrupt and rude.¡± ¡°Because, you know, it¡¯s true.¡¡For someone who said that he didn¡¯t want to be friends with me, Nijitani-san¡¯s behavior seemed as if you were enjoying the date. You were laughing just now. Your words and actions don¡¯t seem to mesh with each other.¡± My heart races with surprise. We watch a movie together and have tea at a cafe. From the outside, we are a perfect couple. And I was laughing? That¡¯s impossible. No matter how much time is a panacea, I haven¡¯t forgotten what happened. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand your own heart.¡± ¡°tsu¡± ¡°Well, boys can be abusive to girls they like, calling them ugly and so on. I have also had an experience in the past where a boy who teased me by calling me ¡®short¡¯ confessed his feelings to me. So I can understand. You really wanted to get close to me, didn¡¯t you? You have a cute side, don¡¯t you, Nijitani-san?¡± What is the devil saying? I¡¯m¨C ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m having any fun at all.¡± ¡°Really?¡¡I thought I was¡ª¡° Shirase¡¯s phone vibrated. Her expression changed to one of relief when she checked the contents. ¡°¡­¡­ Speaking of which, what happened to your brother¡¯s end?¡± A big exhale and a change of subject. ¡°It¡¯s perfect. I just received a call. It seems he believed me. He saw me going in and out of the movie theater, and he was convinced.¡± ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s that simple. Then the plan worked.¡± ¡°For the time being, yes.¡± For the time being? That¡¯s an ominous word. ¡°It should buy me some time. Good for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Why are you looking at me? This is the end of my part.¡± ¡°No, my father is not the kind of person who would give up after something like this. The agreement I made with Nijitani-san was ¡®until the problem is solved¡¯. The fundamental problem to be solved is to settle the relationship with my father. My father will not give up just because he backed out once.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± What¡¯s that? You¡¯re acting like a fraud again. Perhaps Shirase¡¯s mental state, worn out by the horror movie, had recovered, and her expression was relaxed, a complete change from the horror-stricken expression she had earlier. ¡°Please continue to pretend to be my lover.¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± ¡°Are you going to break the contract?¡± ¡°You obviously deceived me. It¡¯s invalid.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see. I¡¯m sorry, but it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m sorry to hear that, but I don¡¯t have a choice. I understand.¡± She gave up easily for a proposal. ¡°But the promise to stay away from you in the future is meaningless, you know?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Seriously?¡± ¡°Do not worry. I do not intend to embarrass you as Black. But now that we are involved in this way, we cannot be strangers, can we? I don¡¯t want my brother to suspect that we aren¡¯t involved in a relationship anymore. How about we just be friends from now on?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I will try not to be too friendly. I¡¯m sure you have similar relationship with the other devils, right? Is there any reason why I should be excluded?¡± It can¡¯t be helped. I nodded and Shirase muttered a small ¡°¡­¡­ okay.¡± I¡¯m friends with my ex-girlfriend. But this girl is so pushy. She should learn how to make friends from someone. That way is definitely not the way to go. ¡°Now, once again, my friend, Nijitani-san.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I apologize for getting involved by forceful means, but my feud with my father is real.¡± ¡°¡­ You were about to get married.¡± ¡°That is only the cause of my running away from home. My relationship with my father had been cold even before that. Specifically, since I was in middle school.¡± So you were cold. I didn¡¯t have any pretense of that back then. I hear that puberty for girls is intense. I¡¯ve heard that they don¡¯t want to share hot water with their fathers, or that they try to separate their laundry. I heard that some families get into fights because of that. ¡°What caused the cold feet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the engagement fiasco there, too. It was a big deal at the time, but it drifted away.¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯d expect from the president¡¯s daughter. I can¡¯t imagine getting engaged in junior high school or anything like that to me. I was dating this girl in the winter of my eighth grade year. Maybe there was some trouble back then. ¡°That¡¯s when the fight broke out. I was going to go to the high school of Himemiya Jogakuin, but I defied my father and enrolled in Tenkain Academy. I didn¡¯t like the idea of being at that man¡¯s beck and call.¡± ¡°So the fights escalated and you finally left home to live on your own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± In terms of the situation, it was a clash between the daughter¡¯s selfishness and her father¡¯s arrogance. ¡°By the way, my mother is on my side. She prepared the necessary documents for me to start living on my own.¡± ¡°And then your brother came to take you back.¡± ¡°I am sorry for causing such a commotion because of the mess among my people.¡± Shirase bowed deeply. I have a general grasp of the situation. So she found me there, who happened to be causing a ruckus with Kuromine, and approached me, thinking that she could take the transfer student vote away from Kuromine if she had the chance. ¡°¡­¡­ how are you going to solve the underlying problem?¡± ¡°So let¡¯s have a strategy meeting now. My friend Nijitani-san.¡± And so the strategy meeting began. I don¡¯t remember much of the meeting. But what Shirase said to me, [You don¡¯t seem to understand your own heart.] remained in my mind. Volume 1 - CH 21 Posted on March 21, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp TL: 1 more week for submitting your logo. It was the winter of my second year of junior high school when I met Mayuki Shirase. There was no place for me at school. The students despised me as a stalker and a criminal who attacked a quiet girl. Teachers treated me as a troublemaker who had fallen down the stairs, badly injured himself, and had to be taken to the hospital, bringing the school¡¯s reputation into disrepute. The only ally I had was my best friend, Renji. But if I continued to live like this, I might drag my best friend down with me. So, instead of going to class, I repeatedly went to school in the infirmary. In the infirmary, I studied lightly, ate school lunch with the infirmary teacher, had interviews, and left the school. I didn¡¯t want to see anyone, so I staggered my dismissal times. Life was boring. I had done nothing wrong. I did not do anything wrong. But no one believed me. I knew that no matter what I did, no one would believe me. At that time, I had given up on everything. I met Shirase on a bench in a park far from my house. It was by chance that I came to this park. I didn¡¯t want to stay at home. My mother was at work, and it was depressing to spend time alone in the park. But if I went to a nearby place, the school kids would find me. That¡¯s why I came here. As I was sitting on the bench, I heard footsteps approaching. Despite the fact that there were other benches available, she sat down next to me. Without looking at me, she opened his mouth. ¡°¡ª¡ªI am a runaway delinquent.¡± For some reason, she was proud of it. I thought she looked like an elementary school student, but when I looked next to me, I saw that she was wearing the uniform of Himemiya Jogakuin, a well-known school for young ladies. ¡°Please say something. I¡¯m a bad girl. That¡¯s why I¡¯m picking up boys from other schools.¡± When I ignored her, she looked into my face. ¡°Ara, you look so gloomy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.I¡¯m having a bit of a bad day. Leave me alone.¡± I had no intention of having a conversation with anyone. But that girl wouldn¡¯t leave me alone. ¡°I see. It seems that you are as much in the dark as I am. Let¡¯s have a little chat, then, as we are both gloomy people.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I thought I told you to leave me alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the more forceful you are in picking up boys, the more successful you are.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a myth.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be a myth. Because you fell for it.¡± Shirase laughs softly. Thus began our relationship. Contrary to her mature appearance, she was forceful. In her own words, I was picked up. That day we chatted on a bench for a while. I was just listening to Shirase¡¯s story. Although she said she was in pain of darkness, our conversation was just small talk. There was no substance to the conversation, which consisted of junior-high-school study topics and everyday life. ¡°Just having someone to chat with makes me feel better.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± ¡°See you tomorrow.¡± As I left, Shirase returned, saying the obvious. The next day, I came to the park. Shirase came at about the same time and sat down next to me without saying anything. Then we started chatting. I just listened to what she had to say. Those days went on. It was a strange relationship. I waited for Shirase at the park every day. I didn¡¯t make any promises. Still, Shirase came every day. ¡°Parfait is the best. It is the food of God.¡± ¡°I hate ghosts. Horror is an evil thing.¡± ¡°I would love to fall in love someday, like in a romance movie.¡± It was unimportant information, but it was pleasant to hear. I had always liked to talk to someone, but I hadn¡¯t talked to anyone recently. Just talking to someone, even if it was about something unimportant, made me feel better. In addition to that, the clunker factor was also healing. ¡°I lost my phone!¡± ¡°¡­¡­. It¡¯s in your hands.¡± ¡°I fell again. There are traps all over the park. I advise you to be careful.¡± ¡°There are no traps.¡± She seemed firm, but had surprisingly many gaps, and I couldn¡¯t leave her alone. Shirase¡¯s arrival times varied. Sometimes she came after school, and sometimes she came at a time when she was supposed to be in class. On holidays, she was there from the morning. We never told each other what was going on. In fact, we didn¡¯t even know each other¡¯s names. Girls my age who didn¡¯t know me. I had no place at school or at home, but I felt comfortable next to her. The fact that she talked to me aggressively, that she was slightly clumsy, that she talked to me forcefully but didn¡¯t pry into my affairs, all of these things made me feel comfortable. I was caught up in her pace, and gradually I was able to talk to her too. ¡°Did you watch that drama?¡± ¡°Yes, it was very interesting.¡± ¡°The script is good.¡± ¡°The script is certainly fascinating, but it¡¯s interesting because the main character and other characters are likeable. It¡¯s still very shallow.¡± The secret relationship lasted for some time. During that time, there was a lot of activity. Renji and Akazawa came to my house. I am not sure why Akazawa even came to my house, but it was probably because my parents told her to. I used the answering machine and did not meet anyone. Once, a girl I did not know came to my house. As I recall, she was a student in the same track team as Aoyama and a good friend of mine. Of course, I did not meet her. At home, I kept smiling at my mother, who worried about me. She knows that I went to the nurse¡¯s office, but I tried to smile at her and told her that I was fine. This life definitely wore away at my spirit. The day came, February 14. The day of Valentine¡¯s Day, as it is commonly called. ¡°¡ª-I am interested in love.¡± Shirase said abruptly. ¡°Are you not interested?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± Akazawa¡¯s face flickered in my mind. After my first love was over, I wasn¡¯t much for that. I was not popular at school. I was in no mood to fall in love with anyone. ¡°Well, here, I have something for you.¡± Chocolates came out of her bag. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why, let¡¯s be lovers¡± ¡°Eh¨C¡° I was extremely flustered by those words that were so easily uttered. ¡°Do you dislike me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate you.¡± ¡°Then do you like it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.Who knows. I don¡¯t even know your name.¡± ¡°That is certainly true.¡± Shirase thought for a moment. ¡°Then let¡¯s start getting closer.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ You don¡¯t like me either, the way you talk about me.¡± ¡°Yes, to be honest, I am not sure if I like you. But I am interested in love. So, let¡¯s go out to try it out. I hear that some relationships start this way.¡± I was interested in love, too. And I didn¡¯t dislike Shirase. Thus, we became lovers. ¡°I¡¯m Mayuki Shirase, a sophomore at Himemiya Girls¡¯ Academy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Shota Mukawa, a second-year student at Eastern Junior High School.¡± Little did I know that it was the last trap leading to hell. For the first time in my life, I had a girlfriend. From that day on I became a little brighter. It was strange to me, but my mood was uplifted. Talking with Shirase made me feel strange. The content of our conversation was not so different from before, but just talking in a normal way warmed my heart because of our relationship as lovers. Just being close to her made me nervous, and sometimes I felt relieved. After becoming lovers, Shirase began to complain to me. ¡°My father is always pushy.¡± ¡°The people at school treat me too much like a child.¡± ¡°The clothes my mother buys me are all childish.¡± It was cute to see her mouth bulging as she complained. The one who picked on her that day was dissatisfied with her house and school and wanted to be a delinquent. She happened to come to this park and approached me, who was around the same age as her. ¡°Uhm, Shota-san.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No, I just read your name. Perhaps I¡¯m a little jubilant because this is the first time I¡¯ve ever had a boyfriend.¡± Then Shirase sat down next to me. With a feverish look on her face, she moved closer to me. At first, there were no romantic feelings. But my heart gradually changed. After a few days, I began to develop feelings of love. The reason I suddenly fell in love with her was probably due to the circumstances in which I was placed. At school, I would lightly chat with the health teacher, and at home, I would talk with my mother in an absentminded manner. My spirit was worn out by this life. Shirase, who was of the same generation as me and did not look at me with a jaundiced eye, was invaluable in that situation. She had become my spiritual anchor. ¡°The people at the school are a real pain in the a*s. They don¡¯t believe me when I tell them I have a boyfriend. I¡¯ll bring proof next time.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to brag.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. It is a matter of my dignity.¡± ¡°¡­¡­, your behavior is childish enough.¡± ¡°Shut up¡± ¡°Psst.¡± She stepped on my foot and I fainted in agony. But the pain was not agony, it was somewhat pleasurable. After only a few days together, I was almost convinced. I knew that I could make things right with Shirase. I became positive and was thinking about my vision for the future. I would go to a remote high school where the guys at school did not go to, and I would go to Himemiya Jogakuin to meet her. I started to put more effort into my studies. A week had passed since we became lovers from a state of no romantic feelings. I was almost dependent on that girl. My mind was so occupied with her that I thought about asking my parents to buy a smart phone to keep in touch with Shirase. I wanted to talk more and be closer to her. So I went out to the park that day too. ¡°¡­¡­¡± That day, Shirase did not come. I waited until the night, but she did not come. We did not exchange contact information with each other. In the first place, I didn¡¯t have a cell phone or a smart phone. Furthermore, the next day, Shirase came to me as I was waiting on the usual bench. I was worried about an accident or injury, but my fears were allayed. But something was different from usual. There was a man I didn¡¯t know standing next to her. They approached me with arms crossed in friendship and smiles on their faces. I froze, not understanding the situation. The man next to her was tall and good-looking, and he was a moon to me, a man with dark glasses at the time. ¡°This man is my lover.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly, my mind goes blank. We are supposed to be lovers. We became lovers just last week. Shirase explains to my puzzled mind. ¡°Actually, this is my real boyfriend.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I went out with Shota-san only for fun and it was kind of a light joke. I¡¯m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. It was just a whim. Think of it as a dream and forget about it. Now, I¡¯m going on a date, so please excuse me.¡± It was a breakup without any warning. It was so abrupt that I suspected many possibilities, but Shirase was smiling all the way through. There was no pretense of being threatened or deceived by a handsome man. I could tell from her expression that she wasn¡¯t taking it hard. ¡°Shall we go?¡± With a big smile on her face, which she had never shown me before, she grabbed the handsome man¡¯s arm and walked away in a friendly manner. All I could do was stare at her back as she walked away. Volume 1 - CH 22 Posted on March 22, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp On my way home from school, I remembered something that happened just a long time ago. Poor Mukawa-kun, his heart crushed by the tome, had become a recluse. After that, I told my mother everything that had happened to me. Mother was so sorry that she didn¡¯t recognize it, and she cried for a while. Soon after that, I moved to the countryside, but the wounds I had received from the demons gnawed deep into my heart. I am amazed that I have recovered so well. I don¡¯t know what happened at the Eastern Junior High School after that. My mother must have been busy, and she must have been very concerned about me. She did not dare to give any information. However, she did give Renji a letter that I had left for him. ¡­¡­¡­¡­.As I¡¯m thinking, I wonder where Renji went to school? I haven¡¯t kept in touch with my best friend Renji since I changed schools. My mother has moved out since then, so we probably have no connection. In the first place, Renji is a childhood friend, but it¡¯s not like our parents are friends. As I passed by the apartment, Shirase approached me. ¡°Thank you very much for your help this time.¡± Shirase¡¯s face did not float. Just because she had convinced her brother did not mean that the problem was solved. Even after talking with her at the caf¨¦ for a while, no solution came to mind. ¡°Is your father still not changing his mind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he will. My father is not one to give up at this level.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± I guess I¡¯m stuck being her friend for a while. ¡°What are you going to do if he doesn¡¯t give up?¡± ¡°I intend to leave my father eventually. Fortunately, I have a place to earn money, so I¡¯m going to focus on that and cut ties with my parents.¡± It¡¯s not for me to say anything about the conflict with her parents. ¡°I apologize for the trouble I have caused you, Nijitani-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± To be honest, there are still many things about Shirase that I don¡¯t understand. There is no doubt that this girl is a devil, but there are a lot of things that are not clear to me. I fell in love with her once, but that incident didn¡¯t last that long, as I am easily heated up and cooled down. Since our original relationship was not so strong, I did not recall much about it after I moved to a new school. Two years ago, the damage was enormous due to a combination of various circumstances. Looking back on it now with a cool head, I was far inferior as a man back then compared to that handsome guy. If you compare a dark-rooted man with a good-looking man, you would normally go out with the good-looking man. If I had to choose between an ugly girl and a beautiful girl, I would have chosen the latter. Two years later, I heard about her family situation. At that time, Shirase said she was in the dark. She may have had her own worries. The only thing that worries me is that handsome guy. On that day, Shirase brought her real boyfriend. Who was that guy? Apparently there was a fianc¨¦e fiasco in junior high school and she drifted away. She seemed to be on good terms with that handsome guy. If that handsome guy was her fianc¨¦, she would not have broken up with him. As I was thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯m going to have a final discussion with my brother now. Thank you for this time.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, ou¡± A discussion? Isn¡¯t it funny that you said he was stalking you? If that was the case, I don¡¯t feel like we should have discussed it from the beginning, or you could have just introduced me to him without going on a date. ¡°Right. From my brother¡¯s point of view, we are lovers, and if you want, let me introduce you to him. That way there is zero chance that my brother will suspect Nijitani-san.¡± ¡°No, Let¡¯s stop.¡± Shirase, bluntly shunned. ¡°¡­¡­ I see. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± With that, I head toward the apartment building. On the way, a tall man comes out. He is chatting happily with Shirase. I glanced at him as I walked home. Unlike Shirase, her younger brother is tall. Rumor has it that he is quite handsome. Let¡¯s see what he looks like. ¡­¡­What? I opened my eyes in astonishment when I saw his face. Shirase¡¯s brother was the tall, handsome man she had introduced to me that day as her true lover. What is the meaning of this? In the first place, Shirase would have called her brother a stalker, saying that he was a pawn of his father. Despite this, Shirase and her younger brother seemed to be on good terms with each other. The space created by the handsome man and the beautiful girl seemed as if they were a couple. Is this that thing? Could it be forbidden love? The fog in my head began to clear. It was as if I had just fit the pieces to a puzzle. Shirase is dating her own brother. That¡¯s also why she doesn¡¯t want to get engaged. They¡¯ve been flirting for two years, and the whole reason she was seeing me was to make her brother jealous. But then she cut me out of her life because she was safely dating her brother. ¡­¡­ I see, it makes sense. I wonder if that¡¯s the reason why she was having trouble with her dad. Her father was a normal person who did not tolerate forbidden love, and her mother was on the side of her children who were trying to keep their forbidden love alive. That area led to a fight. In short, her father was actually a decent person and the others were a bit of a jerk. Then, when Shirase became a high school student, she was asked to get engaged again. Her father was thinking of his daughter¡¯s happiness and brought up the idea of an engagement. However, Shirase could not tolerate it and ran away from home after a fight. ¨CThis is the story of how Shirase and I met. Shirase is having an affair with her younger brother behind the scenes, but she can¡¯t let the people at the school know about it. So, as a cover, she turned to me, who happens to be a transfer student. This was done under the guise of verifying the truth of the rumors about me and Kuromine. Shota Nijitani, who has no idea what¡¯s going on, was making friends with Shirase and act like we¡¯re together. But behind his back, she is dating her younger brother. In other words, the truth is that she used me to deceive her father¡¯s eyes. But the only miscalculation was that she forgot that she had used me as Shota Mukawa in the past, and that I am too intelligent ¡ª This would explain everything from the past to the present. Huh, am I a genius? It¡¯s more like too much planning. But that girl had some clunkers, and this could be it. I trudged home with my head in a mess. I fell down in the middle of nowhere, not because of my ability, but simply because I was upset. The winner is clear. Volume 1 - CH 23 Posted on March 24, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp It was the end of June, a few days before the final exam. I was supposed to be busy studying for a test, but I was encountering a shuraba. Encountering is not the right word, is it? To be more precise, I was standing in the middle of the ¡°Shuraba.¡± [TL: scene of carnage] ¡°I¡¯m the one who will give the closing speech.¡± It was the red goddess, Yuuhi Akazawa, who started it out that way. The woman who was my first love from childhood was standing up with her bright red hair swinging. Normally, she looks like an idol, but now her expression is stern. ¡°It¡¯s my role.¡± It was the blue goddess, Umi Aoyama, who replied. The girl who had been my best friend stood up, her ponytail swinging. Her cheerful mood had faded away, and her face was serious. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m the right person for the job¡± Quietly standing up was the black goddess, Tsukiyo Kuromine. The girl who had been a fellow wounded companion for me, glared sharply at the goddesses around her as she shoved her hands into her pockets. ¡°I should be the one to do it.¡± The one who stood up with dignity was the white goddess, Mayuki Shirase. The girl who is my ex-girlfriend was trying to match the height of the surrounding goddesses by standing taller. Even though she was trying her best to grow taller, she was still a little under the height of the other goddesses. The voices of the [four color goddesses], the pride of Tenkain Gakuen, echoed through the conference room. ¡­¡­Why am I witnessing this kind of scene? To explain how this situation came to be, I need to rewind time a bit. On the day before the final exam, Tenkain Gakuen was in a study mood. It was the same for me. I reduced my part-time job just before the test and focused on studying after school. The first semester, with its many twists and turns, is about to come to an end. I was proud to say that I had been reborn, but there was a visitor who disturbed my mind. But, well, I¡¯ll keep this in the back of my mind. For now, I want to focus all my attention on the final exam. It was time to leave school, and I was walking home. ¡°Ara, Nijitani-san!¡± I ran into Shirase. Shirase was as small as ever, and her hairstyle today was a twin-tail. It matched her appearance and her young face, but it gave a slightly mocking impression. I had never seen Shirase before since the incident. Nothing had been heard from her about her brother¡¯s case. There is no way I can ask her now. I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t concerned, but the important thing now is the test. ¡°Are you on your way home?¡± ¡°As you can see.¡± ¡°I see. By the way, you are apparently free right now, aren¡¯t you, Nijitani-san?¡± How rude. I have to go home and study now. That¡¯s right, I play a few games as a distraction, but basically I¡¯m busy. ¡°Actually, I have a meeting with gods.¡± ¡°God meeting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a regular meeting. It¡¯s a meeting where the god and goddesses get together. It is held once a month and has the purpose of coordinating events. However, it is now becoming a meeting exclusively for the goddesses.¡± ¡°I see. So, the goddesses get together and have a friendly meeting.¡± I¡¯ll answer as I see fit. ¡°I would never get along with those people!¡± It was a land mine. Come to think of it, the goddesses didn¡¯t get along. I don¡¯t know why, but it¡¯s troublesome. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. So, you¡¯re going to the meeting, right? You¡¯d better get going.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Nijitani-san, please join the Goddess meeting.¡± ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°The decision needs to be made today. This is something that has been on the agenda for a long time, but there is no sign of a conclusion. It would be great if Nijitani-san, who is acquainted with all the goddesses, could make the decision.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too much trouble, so I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Then, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°I said I ain¡¯t going!¡± When I raise my voice, I am pierced by ambient stares from all around me. I had forgotten the power of the goddess in the academy. Standing there talking to the crowd quickly became a crowd pleaser. It was clear that if I refused, things would turn out badly. Resistance was impossible. ¡°¡­..Alright. I¡¯m going.¡± Shirase took me to the conference room. In the conference room, there was a U-shaped desk and other goddesses were already seated. The relationship between the goddesses was clear in the fact that they were sitting far apart from each other. They stared at Shirase as she entered the room, and then were surprised to see me coming in from behind. ¡°Nijitani-kun?¡± ¡°Eh, Nijitani!? ¡°¡­¡­ Osu.¡± The red, blue, and black goddesses each react to me. Shirase smiles at the goddesses as if to say, ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°I have brought a friend of mine.¡± That was the moment she said that. The air in the conference room tingled. Akazawa¡¯s eyes, in particular, looked as if she could kill a person. Without knowing why, I was made to sit down. For some reason, I was placed in the center of the U-shaped desk. Shirase sat down and the meeting began. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get started, shall we? The agenda is the speech for the closing ceremony of the first semester, which has been on hold for a long time.¡± And back to the beginning¨C It seems that the agenda that is being tossed around is the address to be given to students at the end of the first semester. It is God¡¯s work, and these girls were adamant that they were the ones to give the closing address. The issue itself is said to have been raised some time ago, but no one would budge, and in the end it has been delayed until today. ¡°Our discussions are forever at a standstill.¡± Shirase exhaled when she saw that no one was giving in. ¡°So let¡¯s let Nijitani-san decide.¡± It was an unexpected suggestion. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Nijitani-san is acquainted with all of you.¡± ¡°Is that why you brought Nijitani-kun?¡± Shirase nodded at Akazawa¡¯s question. ¡°Even if we discuss it, we¡¯ll just get into trouble like we always do. The greeting is something that has to be decided this time, and if it is decided by rock-paper-scissors-scissors, it is likely to be a problem later on. I think it would be more appropriate to have Nijitani-kun, who is acquainted with us and is a transfer student whose vote is not yet known, decide.¡± That¡¯s not appropriate at all. I mean, that¡¯s why she called me here. Shove it up this young lady¡¯s a**. Don¡¯t let an outsider decide for you. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. For white atleast.¡± ¡°I agree. For White atleast¡± ¡°¡­¡­.Fine by me. Drop dead White¡± For some reason, the goddesses look at me with confidence. What am I going to do about this? Do they look like they deserve to be chosen? If I choose one of them, I¡¯m going to be in a lot of pain later on. Where is the way out? I run my brain as fast as I can, and the most recent thing that comes to mind is this. ¡°A test.¡± Yes, the final exam. ¡°How about having the person with the highest grade on the final test greet the students? The top scorers should have their test results posted.¡± At Tenkain, only the top 30 students in the test are posted. ¡°The main thing for students is to study. It should be fair to compete on the basis of test results. This way, it¡¯s clear that it¡¯s black and white, and there won¡¯t be any complaints. It seems that everyone wants to do it, so how about the one with the top score will do the greeting?¡± What was the reaction of the goddesses to the proposal? ¡°I see. Well, that certainly makes it clear who wins and who loses.¡± ¡°I agree. ¡­¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a constructive suggestion. It¡¯s very much like our school.¡± Thus the curtain rose on the fierce battle between the goddesses. It all worked out somehow. When I was about to leave, having done my part. ¡°¡­¡­ wait a minute!¡± As if Aoyama had noticed something. ¡°I remember the male god told me to talk to him when the discussion was finalized. I remember he said he wanted to say hello.¡± The moment the word ¡°male god¡± was mentioned, they felt nervous. The complexion of the goddesses clearly clouded over. ¡­¡­? Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t met a male god. God¡¯s presence was thin during the first semester. I moved in late April, and there were no such events during the first semester. It is in the first semester that God is not very active in greeting people at ceremonies or giving awards at events. ¡°If so, let him join us. He¡¯ll probably be on board. The student who was at the top of his class is going to deliver the speech.¡± Shirase mumbled with a bitter look on her face. Thus, the final exam showdown was set to take place. The next day, the male god officially decided to participate in the test showdown, making it a school-wide event. Volume 1 - CH 24 Posted on March 25, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Word of the test showdown by the gods spread quickly. The topic affected not only those in question, but also many students. ¡°It¡¯s Akazawa-san, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re perfect in both studies and athletics.¡± ¡°Umi-chan¡¯s not half bad either. Every time she takes a test, her ranking goes up.¡± ¡°It must be Tsukiyo-sama. She was second last year at the end of the school year.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s Mayuki. Last midterm, she came in second in her class.¡± People from different factions are arguing all over the place. Thanks to this, the students¡¯ awareness of the test has grown stronger. There was less chatter during recess, and all the students were staring intently at their desks. I was not interested in the divine confrontation, but I was studying hard. When everyone else in the class was studying, I felt a sense of duty to do the same, and my concentration was up. I think I can expect to get a good score in this class. ¡°¨CAs expected of you, Shota. I didn¡¯t expect you to make it a competition.¡± Mahiro speaks to me with the same face as usual. ¡°That was the best thing to do in that situation.¡± ¡°Only Shota can say that. I know the goddesses don¡¯t get along very well with each other, so no one has ever done anything to fire up the competition.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Is it bad?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a problem. Look, it seems to have motivated everyone.¡± I am relieved to hear that. Despite some acrimony, the test competition event seems to be stimulating for the students. However, it¡¯s an overreaction to a mere greeting at the end-of-term ceremony. It should be the principal, not the student, who should be giving the address. Having the students greet others is a dereliction of duty. ¡°The goddesses are very motivated because it¡¯s their chance to get some publicity.¡± ¡°They are really want to be like that. A goddess.¡± ¡°Having the title of god is very important in this school. It has a great deal to do with higher education and employment.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just about looks. It¡¯s also about earning the trust of the students. Besides, you¡¯ve heard that winning, say, a college beauty pageant, for example, is good for getting a job, right?¡± Some professions may require good looks. In fact, I hear that Miss Contest winners are active as female announcers. ¡°It¡¯s quite famous, Tenkain¡¯s god system.¡± ¡°I understand that, but there¡¯s no need to bicker so much. The air was terrible when I was forced to attend the meeting. If I had made a mistake, it could have turned into an incident.¡± As far as I can tell from the explanation, there is no merit to fighting. They have been elected as goddesses, albeit by a tie vote, and there is no point in winning it again this year. Winning the goddess title at least once would be advantageous for higher education and employment. It may be an honor to win consecutively, but I don¡¯t feel that there is any particular benefit. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for the privilege.¡± ¡°¡­¡­. I¡¯ve never heard of Privilege and all that.¡± ¡°When a God has been chosen, there are privileges that come with it. You get all-you-can-eat in the cafeteria, you get a room reserved for God, and so on. The current gods don¡¯t make much use of it.¡± All-you-can-eat and even a room dedicated to God? I¡¯m honestly jealous. I wonder if I¡¯ll have a chance to be a male god too, by some mistake. ¡­¡­ Well, I don¡¯t think so. There is no way I¡¯m going to get a chance to be a male god. [TL: Something tells me this is going to happen] ¡± The rest, I think, is pride. Right after the Tenkain Contest last year, the goddesses suddenly became very motivated. Before last year¡¯s contest, they weren¡¯t really interested in each other, but then all of a sudden, they got all intense.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ So that¡¯s how they got on so badly?¡± ¡°I think it started after the contest.¡± Just after last year¡¯s contest? I was not here then, so I can¡¯t even imagine what happened. ¡°That being said, I¡¯m curious too. Maybe something happened at the God Conference. If so, it might have something to do with male god.¡± ¡°Speaking of male god, I heard that he suddenly entered the game too.¡± There is no information about the male god who seems to have participated in this competition. I have no interest in the man to begin with, but he must be confident in his academic ability since he is participating in this competition. ¡°He is a perfect superhuman handsome man. Are you interested?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in bastards, but is God a handsome man and a beautiful girl.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that there have actually been many cases in the past where a male god and a female goddess have become a couple. The meetings are basically just the two of them, so they can get close.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very common.¡± When the male god¡¯s talk came to a close, the topic drifted in the direction of testing. I talked about the scope of the test and the trends of the questions. Then, when lunch break was about to end. ¡°Shota, would you like to study with me after school?¡± Perhaps caught up in the study fever, Mahiro suggested it. ¡°A study group, huh? Sounds like a good way to make progress.¡± ¡°I also want to show Aoyama-san how good I am. I¡¯m going to aim for a high ranking this time. As a member of the Blue faction, I want to avoid disappointing results.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Then, after school¡ª-¡° That¡¯s when it happened. I heard a voice from next door that sounded like an abandoned cat. I turned my head to see Nekoda, who was slumped over her desk like a zombie, with tears in her eyes. As I stared at her, she turned her head around and met my eyes. ¡°¡­Nekoda?¡± ¡°Please, let me join you!¡± Teary-eyed Nekoda grabbed me and Mahiro by the arm and bowed deeply. Thus, the three of us decided to have a study session. The study session was to take place at a nearby family restaurant. We could have dinner and drinks. It was not too expensive, so it was an easy choice. A few dozen minutes into the study session. ¡°¡­¡­, are you dumb?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me dumb!¡± Nekoda¡¯s academic performance was more serious than I had expected. Not only was there a problem, but at this rate she would have to deal with a red mark. It was so bad that I wanted to ask why it was so bad. Apparently, she made up with Akazawa, which was a turning point for her, and she is always playing around after school. It must be a reaction to being suppressed until now. She went to karaoke clubs, arcade games, and shopping as if she was releasing her anger at not being able to play with her friends. Thanks to this, her grades plummeted. Last year it was a little lower than average, but now it is near the bottom of the class. Apparently, she also got the lowest score ever on the mid-term exam. ¡°Didn¡¯t Akazawa-san teach you?¡± ¡°Yuuhi is really into it this time.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± No time to teach the slow learner, either. On the contrary, I¡¯m curious as to why she¡¯s so obsessed with winning. There¡¯s no point in complaining. While cooperating to teach Nekoda, Mahiro and I studied on our own. Two hours passed. Nekoda complained that she had reached her limit, so we decided to take a break and have a meal. We each ordered and started eating. Nekoda had a big appetite and ate more than me and Mahiro. ¡°¡­¡­ Speaking of which, Nijitani, have you bought a smart phone yet?¡± She asked me such a question over a glass of juice after lunch. ¡°I wanted to ask you too. I can¡¯t wait to exchange contact information with you.¡± I recall the uproar when I once told him I didn¡¯t have a smartphone. I thought I had lost it with my hillbilly pushiness, but it seems that it is indeed impossible for high school students today to be without smartphones. ¡°What level of countryside were you in where you were, if you don¡¯t need a smart phone? I heard that even in the countryside, smartphones are now required.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d call it that. It¡¯s too far away to give you a tour.¡± ¡°Then show me your graduation album. Oh, that¡¯s right. Let¡¯s show each other our graduation albums.¡± Showing each other graduation albums? I was a little shaken by the offer. I simply want to see it. I heard that the school has gone to pieces since I transferred there. I¡¯m curious to see how things have changed. ¡°I¡¯m sure Nijitani is curious too. Yuuhi¡¯s junior high school days.¡± It certainly bothers me a bit. I¡¯m also curious about the other two goddesses besides Akazawa. I especially want to see how Kuromine has changed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s show each other after the final exam.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s show each other at the launch!¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m feeling super motivated. Let¡¯s do our best!¡± Nekoda, excited, turns to her notebook. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, thank you, Natsuka and Nijitani. You really don¡¯t have to go out of your way to help people like me.¡± Me and Mahiro look at each other and laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Teaching Nekoda is a good review for me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m glad we had a good time learning together.¡± After lunch, we started studying again. The study session, held in a cheerful atmosphere, was moderately focused and very satisfying. Volume 1 - CH 25 Posted on March 28, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The final exam was over. I was doing very well. There are many reasons for this. My stepsister was studying hard when I got home, so she also got motivated. The fact that the goddesses were also quiet during the test period was also significant mentally. Akazawa was concentrating on her studies without talking to anyone. During breaks and lunch breaks, she studied seriously. I had always known Akazawa to be a serious person, but her enthusiasm for the test this time was tremendous. I got the impression that she was very determined. Aoyama had sealed off her beloved GPEX and was also taking a break from streaming. I had a chance to pass by a neighboring class, and saw that the tomboyish girl who was always moving around was solving problems without moving from her desk. It seems she has grown up. Kuromine has reduced her part-time work. She was mumbling English words as she walked, just like in those days when she was a diligent student. As expected, she seems to have distanced herself from her cronies. She was originally a high achiever, so what would be the result? Shirase looked the same as usual. I ran into Shirase once on my way home, but we parted after just a quick hello. I know from the gossip that comes in here and there that she is a smart girl. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the results. Even after the test was over, the atmosphere was still somewhat tense. So, the promised party was to be held after the results were in. The day the test results were posted. The school was filled with a strange atmosphere. At Tenkain Academy, the names of the top 30 students in each grade are posted on a bulletin board, and many students had gathered in front of the board where the second-year students¡¯ results were posted. I was curious about the results because of the competition I had sparked. And I was also curious about my own result because I had a good feeling about it. Maybe there will be a name. By the way, I didn¡¯t come to see the midterm test because I wasn¡¯t concentrating and didn¡¯t have a good response. In fact, I didn¡¯t place high. There were many students crowded in front of the bulletin board. It must have gathered more than usual to witness the result of the competition. ¡°¡­¡­Fuu, it¡¯s finally time.¡± Mahiro, who is standing next to me, also looks a little nervous. ¡°Why are you so nervous?¡± ¡°How could I not be. The result of this case could disturb the balance of the goddess.¡± ¡°I hate to break it to you, Mahiro, but Aoyama is definitely last among those gods.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to deny it, but she probably is.¡± The teacher arrives and the test results are posted. I followed the results from the bottom with my eyes. I look up, anxious to see where their names will appear. No. 27, Shota Nijitani I looked at it three times. It was worth the effort. I never thought I would make it to the top. Unable to contain my joy, I raised my eyes even higher. 14th place: Mahiro Nazuka. There was Mahiro¡¯s name. This made sense. Mahiro was in the top rank on the mid-term test, and it is no wonder he is ranked higher than me. It seems that the study session had paid off, since he ranked higher than me on the midterm. ¡°As expected of you, Mahiro.¡± ¡°Shota is also placed high. Congratulations.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m really excited to see it like this!¡± ¡°Me too. I¡¯m up quite a bit from last time.¡± In a good mood, we followed the standings further. The scores showed that the contest was quite competitive. According to Mahiro, the scores were much higher than last time. 9th Umi Aoyama 8th Yuzuki Iino 7th Yuuhi Akazawa Aoyama and Akazawa came out. ¡°Aoyama-san is in the top 10. Great, that¡¯s a first!¡± Mahiro is as pleased as if it were his own. ¡°Heh, is that so?¡± ¡°She has been on the top of the list in the past, but I¡¯ve never seen it this high. I¡¯m glad to see she did so well.¡± From whose point of view? I resisted the urge to click my tongue. The effort must have been worth it. I didn¡¯t think that Aoyama, who was as stupid as I was back then, had improved her grades so much. She must have put in a lot of effort. ¡°Akazawa-san is also amazing.¡± Yes.¡± Akazawa has always been serious, but her grades must not have been this high. I can see that she has put a lot of effort into this test. I am disappointed that I lost, but I will honestly commend the two of them for scoring higher than me. But the game was now between Kuromine and Shirase. I looked up nervously. 3rd place, Mayuki Shirase 2nd place, Tsukiyo Kuromine The goddess duel went to Kuromine. With this, the closing address¨C Just as I thought that, the girls around me cheered. Are they happy because Kuromine won? No, they are not. The girls¡¯ gazes turned even higher. ¡°Well, I guess the result went as expected. It seems that no one can beat him. It¡¯s like the winner of the championship has been decided¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± The name of that person who reigned at the top of the list. No. 1, Renji Inuyama. I blink a few times. ¡°As expected of Inuyama, the male god, comes out on top.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ male god?¡± ¡°That right. Last year, he was voted the most popular guy in the school with a whopping number of votes in his first year. He topped all the tests last year as well, so it¡¯s no surprise that he¡¯s doing well this time around. From the scores, it looks like he¡¯s really getting into the swing of things. I have to say, he¡¯s really outdone himself.¡± Mahiro nodded his head in agreement. How had I not noticed this before? There was a possibility that Renji was attending Tenkain, right? How come I didn¡¯t notice it until now? The result was satisfactory. It is rather natural if Renji is present. He has always been a genius. I¡¯m relieved to see that he hasn¡¯t changed even as a high school student. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hey, Shota?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Well, you were kind of smiling¡± It seemed to be on my face. ¡°Did something good happen?¡± ¡°Well,, the male god won, you know. That must be exciting.¡± ¡°Why would Shota be so excited?¡± Making it out that he is best friends could reveal my past. I can¡¯t mention my relationship with Renji. ¡°T-that ¡­¡­ male god is the top of the list, isn¡¯t that somehow pleasing?¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man, too. It¡¯s normal to want a male god, who represents men, to take the top spot. I see, but now it¡¯s decided that the male god will deliver the closing speech. It¡¯s a fair result, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped. No, the goddesses lost to the male god. Yeah, yeah. The strongest is definitely the male god.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ there¡¯s something wrong with the tension¡­¡­.¡± The tension would be crazy, too. It shouldn¡¯t depress me to find out that my best friend goes to the same high school as me. On top of that, he seems to be even more radiant than he was back then. At that moment, I saw my former best friend, Aoyama, out of the corner of my eye. When our eyes met, Aoyama looked a little sad and staggered off. ¡­¡­ Is it because she is the lowest rank among the goddesses? Not to console her, but I think that¡¯s a good enough ranking to be proud of. ¡°Well, from Shota¡¯s point of view, who proposed the match, I guess this result is pleasing. Inuyama won, so it won¡¯t be a battle of the goddesses.¡± He gave me a reason that sounded like that on my own, so I decided to go along for the ride. ¡°Y-yeah. If one of the goddesses had won here, there was a possibility that each faction would have complained about my proposal. If the male god had won, all would have been well. The male god who did that is literally a god.¡± ¡°I see. So you knew from the beginning what Inuyama-kun was capable of.¡± I smiled and affirmed it. I didn¡¯t know Renji was at Tenkain, but I knew he was capable, so I wasn¡¯t lying. The people around me seemed satisfied with the outcome of the match. The guys from the Goddess faction looked a little sad, but the girls were excited to counteract that. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, do you know the male god well, ¡­¡­, Mahiro?¡± ¡°¡±Inuyama, he went to the same junior high school as me.¡± ¡°Hoo, so the school where Mahiro went to school had a high concentration of gods and goddesses?¡± ¡°Yes. He has always been very popular.¡± Satisfied with his words, I returned to the classroom. My results were good, and most importantly, I couldn¡¯t stop burning all day long when I found out that Renji attended Tenkain. Volume 1 - CH 26 Posted on March 29, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°Well then, thanks for all your hard work on the final exam!¡± Nekoda raises a glass of juice. Mahiro and I follow her action. Our voices overlap in a toast. Now, I, Mahiro, and Nekoda are at a karaoke bar. It was the launch of the final exam. The test results were posted on the wall, and the heavy atmosphere that had been hanging in the air had disappeared, so it was decided to hold the party. ¡°Well, it¡¯s finally over.¡± Phew, exhaled Nekoda. Even after the test was over, the air in the school was heavy until the results came out. I know how you feel. After Nekoda, Mahiro and I also let out some of our frustrations. I felt a sense of relief. Nekoda avoided a red mark. She was overjoyed. When the test was returned, she gave me and Mahiro a carefree smile and thanked us profusely. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Nijitani and Nazuka that I am able to successfully finish the course. Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I got into the top ranks thanks to the study group.¡± ¡°Yes, we improved our grades, too. I¡¯m glad it seems to have worked for all of us.¡± We chatted for a while, reflecting on the content of the test. I heard that overall scores were up on this test, due in part to the influence of the competition. In addition, the effect seemed to be felt not only in the second grade but in all grades. For some reason, the teachers thanked me for instigating this contest. I couldn¡¯t help but smile when my homeroom teacher, Mizushima-sensei, patted me on the shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up. We talked about such things for a while. ¡°¡ªThank you for waiting. Sorry I¡¯m late!¡± Suddenly the door opened and Akazawa entered. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Yuuhi!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late, I¡¯ve been in the middle of some stuff.¡± After saying this, Akazawa sat down next to me. The sweet scent of her red hair tickled my nose. ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­ Akazawa?¡¯ ¡°Why are you here, Akazawa-san?¡± Me and Mahiro questioned at the same time. That¡¯s right. Originally, the three of us were going to launch together. We were not told that other people would join us. Then Nekoda apologized. ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you. I invited her. Yuuhi was studying hard, and I thought we should all get together and have a good time. It would be lonely at the party with just the three of us.¡± There was no way I could answer ¡®no¡¯ under the circumstances. It would be against the rules to tell her after she had entered the room. I had no choice but to agree with her while smiling and laughing. ¡°Thanks. I wanted to come to karaoke with Nijitani.¡± ¡°With me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so excited today. I¡¯m going to sing a lot.¡± Did she have an image of me being a good singer? I had been to karaoke at my previous high school, but it was never a topic of conversation. I was neither good nor bad. ¡­.I never thought I¡¯d see the day that I¡¯d come to karaoke with Akazawa. ¡°Good job on the test. Although you didn¡¯t win, Yuuhi. You were so close.¡± ¡°I guess so. But I thought it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Has it been decided that the closing address will be given by Renji?¡± ¡°It was decided a little while ago. He is willing to do it.¡± It seems that the contest was won by Renji, the male god, and it was officially decided that the closing ceremony speech would be given by Renji. Now that the results have been announced, no one can complain. I had no contact with Renji. To be honest, it was hard to make up my mind, but I decided to hide my true identity. I have to, because I have no reason to contact him. I left Renji with only a letter. In the state of mind I was in at the time, that was my only choice, but from his point of view, it would have been an act of betrayal. Even though I had kept my distance from him because of the rumors, I was transferred to a different school suddenly. If I were in the opposite situation, I would have wanted to complain to him. The four of us chatted for a while. Akazawa had put a lot of effort into the test this time, and said that she had studied hard even at home. It was quite refreshing to see Akazawa complaining that she really wanted to win. ¡°Okay, then, let me see Nijitani¡¯s graduation album.¡± ¡°What, Nijitani-kun¡¯s graduation album?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re having a graduate exchange today.¡± I quietly take out my graduation album. Nekoda¡¯s eyes sparkle as she turns the pages. The number of students at my new junior high school is much smaller than at Eastern Junior High School. A slight view of the landscape on the school¡¯s introduction page shows that there are no buildings around. The rural school seemed surprised, and Nekoda¡¯s mumbled voice echoed, ¡°It¡¯s really rural.¡± ¡°Hey, hey ¡­¡­ can I have a look too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Akazawa, too, is curious and peeks at the graduation album. The two of them were looking at the portraits and talking about how handsome and beautiful the girls were. And then they came to the page with my picture. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Nijitani. You haven¡¯t changed much.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ yeah.¡± By the time I graduated from junior high school, I had outgrown my past looks. It doesn¡¯t matter that they see me. ¡°Hey, why did you erase your name?¡± Nekoda asked. My name appears below my graduation photo, but I have erased my own name with a pen. Why? That¡¯s because it says Shota Mukawa. As soon as we decided to show each other our graduation photo, I painted it in with a black pen. ¡°It was a youthful indiscretion.¡± ¡°Oh, black history?¡± ¡°It was sharp as a tack. It¡¯s meant to be a kind of a smear job on the past.¡± ¡°Nothing seems out of place.¡± Neither Nekoda nor Akazawa seemed to notice and continued on with the page. Thank God. ¡°Nijitani isn¡¯t in the picture much, huh?¡± I was thrilled by the simple question. There was no way I could have been in the picture. I was a guy who wasn¡¯t there until halfway through middle school. ¡°¡­¡­ Actually, I¡¯m not very good at having my picture taken. See, I¡¯m a shy boy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but isn¡¯t it a shame for a guy who¡¯s so handsome?¡± ¡°I appreciate the compliment, even if it is flattering.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not flattered you. Nijitani is a pretty good guy. Right, Yuuhi?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s good-looking, too.¡± You never showed any interest in me when I transferred to a new school, but now I am reborn. ¡°Speaking of which, did you have a girlfriend over there?¡± As soon as Nekoda asked the question, there was a loud thump and a loud noise on the table. It seems Akazawa hit her foot on the table. Surprisingly, she is a clumsy girl. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m afraid I wasn¡¯t very popular with the girls.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised. Nijitani seems to be popular.¡± Seriously? ¡°You think so too, huh?¡± ¡°I think Shota is popular too. You¡¯re fresh, easygoing, and kind.¡± ¡°Right. Nijitani was really cool when he saved our friendship. I thought he was a saint for helping a complete stranger like that.¡± I will not correct her on that. But it is true that I was not popular. Right after I transferred to the new school, I was mentally rattled by the trauma of that time. When I was about to graduate, I was still trembling when I talked to girls, although I had mended my appearance. ¡°Oh, yes. Nijitani, take a look at this.¡± The graduation album from Nekoda of Eastern Junior High School is placed on the table. Opening the page, I found a nostalgic school building and familiar faces. She flips through the pages, but Shota Mukawa is not there. I was the only one who was not in the picture among the familiar people and buildings. I felt a little pain in my chest at the discomfort. The fact that I was not in the place I used to take for granted made me feel empty. I have no good memories of junior high school, but it seems that I am still lonely. As the pages were being rolled up, a particular boy caught my eye. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Renji Inuyama. My best friend and childhood friend. Come to think of it, I never found out what Nekoda said to Renji. Since then, we never talked about it. I was curious about the relationship between Nekoda and Renji. ¡°Hey, Nekoda.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You like Renji Inuyama?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ heh?¡± A large number of heart marks were drawn on Renji¡¯s face in her graduation photo. When I pointed this out, Nekoda looked at the graduation album in surprise, and as if remembering something, her face turned bright red and she stormed out. ¡°Unyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± Did this girl like Renji? ¡°No, you got it wrong!¡± ¡°As I recall, he was a male god. He¡¯s handsome and you can¡¯t help falling in love with him.¡± ¡°Uugh¡­¡­. I was so careless with I forgot to take if away.¡± He is handsome, good-looking, studious, athletic, and kind. He is the hero of this world. How could she not fall in love with him? Huh, is Nekoda in love with Renji? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m starting to wonder what the trouble was with Akazawa. I heard she said hurtful words, but what did she say to Renji, whom she is in love with? Maybe they were in a relationship once and an affair happened or something like that? Did they get into a fight because of romantic entanglements? Or maybe a love triangle got complicated? I am inclined to ask her, but with Akazawa there, I¡¯d rather not. It would be too stupid to make things worse after having made up with him at the last moment. ¡°Oh, this is the old Kuromine-san.¡± Mahiro, who has been looking at the graduation album for some time, points to a person in the overall picture. It was the sober girl who had once brought me down, cheering me on at the gymnastics festival. I feel nostalgic at the sight of her, but I make a face of deliberate surprise. ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s a totally different impression.¡± ¡°Right?¡¡That is definitely a man!¡± Akazawa interrupted with a bite. ¡°Don¡¯t assume anything.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely a man. I know it. The cause of a woman¡¯s change is definitely a man!¡± She assured me. I was strangely persuaded, although I was not sure where the evidence came from. ¡°But when rumors about her started circulating, you denied it, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different from this. That girl is a man. So, Nijitani, you¡¯d better stay away from him. See, there was a strange rumor before. If you get close to him, some scary guy might come out.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­¡­ I¡¯ll be careful.¡± There¡¯s no need to be stubborn, I¡¯ll fold. By the way, Akazawa hasn¡¯t changed much. It¡¯s like a legitimate beautiful girl evolved into a legitimate beautiful woman as it is. There was also Aoyama in the class beside her. She too hasn¡¯t changed much. ¡°¡­¡­I had a great time in middle school.¡± I heard a mumbled voice from next to me. From this girl¡¯s point of view, that¡¯s probably true. She had Renji, whom she was in love with, and Shota Mukawa, whom she used as a sandbag to relieve stress, so it must have been fun. It must have been very cramped after she entered high school because she couldn¡¯t relieve her stress anymore. I pretended not to notice and rolled up the page. ¡°Tsu¡± Then my hand stops. It was a picture from eighth grade. It was a group photo from the school festival. It was of me as I used to be. A dark guy wearing glasses and hiding his face with his hair was standing like a ghost in the corner of the photo. I was a creepy guy. Rumors were already spreading and I was completely isolated at that time. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I silently tried to go to the next page. But Akazawa stopped my hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Akazawa¡¯s eyes were on the picture in which I was reflected. Is she looking at me? ¡­¡­, I thought, but I was mistaken. There is a ghost named me at the edge of the photo. In the center of the photo was Renji. Next to him is Akazawa. They looked like the hero and heroine. It seemed that she was looking at Renji. After that, I finished looking at the graduation album without seeing anything in particular. I think again. The old me is nowhere to be found. The person I was before, the person with no personality and no color, is completely gone. ¡°¡­I¡¯ve decided¡± As I was lost in sentimentality, Akazawa stood up with a determined look on her face. Decided? ¡°I¡¯ll sing.¡± You¡¯re talking about the song you¡¯re going to sing? It seems like the song was put on before I knew it and the music starts playing. After that, the graduation viewing party was over and everyone enjoyed karaoke. Akazawa, Nekoda, and Mahiro were all pretty good, and I was the only decent one. But for some reason, Akazawa was really excited to hear me sing. Volume 1 - CH 27 Posted on March 31, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°The first semester comes to an end with the start of school today. Although there have been many problems in recent years, we were able to celebrate the end of the school term without incident. Now, tomorrow we will enter the summer vacation¡ª¡° A powerful voice echoes. Seeing my best friend for the first time in a long time, I could see that he was as handsome as ever, the hero of this world. He has grown taller since then. Facial features were as good-looking as ever, and there was a strong light in his eyes. Standing on the stage, he looked magnificent. He is no longer a hero, but more like the sun. He is a light that shines through the darkness of this world and purifies it. Chosen as a male god? That¡¯s right. That¡¯s Renji. He is the hero of this world. There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t be chosen in a popularity contest. The person who didn¡¯t vote for him is on the level of reprimanding him for what he is doing. It is only natural that he should win by a landslide. See, look at Nekoda¡¯s face standing there. That expression is like looking at the prince of her dreams. The other female students were also entranced. There¡¯s no reason not to fall in love with him. ¡­¡­Huh, wait a minute. Here I cooled down and came up with an answer to a point that had been bothering me for some time. The issue of the goddess¡¯s discord. Renji, whom I haven¡¯t seen in a long time, shines far more strongly than before. And Renji is a male goddess and will surely be inaugurated as a male goddess again this year. Mahiro explained to me that the reason there is so much talk about the goddesses at the school is because the results for the male god are already known for this year. If that is the case, the mystery of why those goddesses are strangely squabbling with each other will be solved at once. If the current goddessess becomes the sole goddess, she will be able to make out with Renji, a confirmed male god, in a room reserved for gods next year. For those goddesses who want to be heroines, not harem, the other goddesses will be in the way. Is that why? I finally realized why these girls are so obsessed with goddesses. No doubt, their goal is to make out with Renji. It makes sense that the reason they don¡¯t get along is because they are love rivals. They must be competing for the rightful wife. It¡¯s a genius guess on my part. But, according to my theory, isn¡¯t Shirase dating her younger brother? I don¡¯t know ¡­¡­. I have no idea what¡¯s going on around here, so I¡¯ll just say she likes Renji and all will be well. As proof of this, those girls were glued to Renji¡ª ¡°¡­¡­¡± None of the goddesses sitting in the special seats in the corner of the gym looked at Renji. On the contrary, they looked bored. Akazawa was smiling an idol-like smile at the students. Aoyama was smiling affectionately, probably thinking about the game. Kuromine was unsympathetic and expressionless with her hands in her pockets. When it came to Shirase, she was meditating. Probably sleeping. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I see, they are all tsundere. The truth is that they are glued to Renji, but if they knew that, they would lose support from the boys. That¡¯s why on the surface they are pretending to be uninterested. I dare to say it. That¡¯s the part where you should be staring at them with your heart in your eyes. You girls can¡¯t get Renji off because you can¡¯t do such a basic thing. You don¡¯t understand at all. You may be held in high esteem in this school, but the world is a big place. There are plenty of girls of your quality. Well, there weren¡¯t any at the other school. After all, the goddesses did not look at Renji until after the closing ceremony. Normally, they would have paid attention to the stage during the greeting, but it appeared as if they dared not to look. It was clear that they were still conscious of him. I don¡¯t know if it was romantic feelings or not. I was concerned about them, but I concentrated on the stage from the middle of the speech. And so the closing ceremony was over and the semester came to a close. Looking back, many things happened. Contact with demons called goddesses. My encounter with Mahiro. I returned the favor to Nekoda. In the end, I found out that Renji was also a student here. At first there was a lot of bewilderment, but all¡¯s well that ends well. After all, no one found out who I was, and I wasn¡¯t the target of any bullying. There was a period of mental instability along the way. Living in a new environment. Living with a new family. Contact with people who had traumatized me in the past. I almost lost myself in the situation, but I got through it. I was able to hide my true identity, which was my goal, and my life at the school is stable. I am not isolated in class. I guess that¡¯s a good enough score. To be honest, at first I thought I would be exposed immediately. However, my true identity has not been exposed. I have reason to believe that. If my true identity had been discovered by one of them, they would have taken action. For example, they would threaten me because of the past. I was treated like I was on the verge of becoming a criminal, and it¡¯s highly likely that they would threaten me with something like, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be like that in high school, you¡¯re going to have to pay up.¡± Or maybe they would apologize. If they had a conscience, they might apologize for their past. But there is no such thing. No action means they don¡¯t know. Homeroom was over and it was time to leave for school. ¡°Finally, it¡¯s over.¡± Mahiro approached and spoke to me like that. ¡°The first semester went by so fast, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I guess so. Let¡¯s set a date for tomorrow night when we can play games again.¡± Mahiro and I have plans to hang out during the summer vacation as well; we are scheduled to compete in a GPEX event and have promised to go to a summer festival. ¡°Roger¡± ¡°You¡¯re buying a phone during summer vacation, right? Do it as soon as possible.¡± I was completely integrated into the class, but the pressure to buy a phone was getting stronger by the day. As expected, I am at my limit and intend to purchase one. It was also becoming a hassle to start up my computer when I made plans to play or something. My parents said they wanted me to be able to use it in case something happened to me. I guess it¡¯s time to pay the piper. Let¡¯s become electronic slaves. [TL: Reverse Yuki?] ¡°I¡¯ll call you when I buy it.¡± I said, ¡°Bye,¡± and parted ways with Mahiro. As I was leaving the classroom, I heard a voice from Akazawa. ¡°Nijitani-kun, don¡¯t forget your promise to go to the summer festival. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Then , see you later.¡± Akazawa said so and left. It is the middle of the summer vacation, and the class has promised to go to a neighborhood summer festival. It is an event attended by a good number of classmates. Since Nekoda and Mahiro are also participating, I decided to attend. When I was in the same class as Akazawa, I was overcome with a sense of despair, but now I feel that we are just classmates that I have a little bit of a hard time with. Perhaps the trauma has faded little by little. Walking down the hallway, I ran into Aoyama. Aoyama, who was chatting amiably with a girl who seemed to be her friend, approached me when she saw me. For some reason, she had an unhappy expression on her face. ¡°¡­¡­Nijitani¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m looking forward to the competition!¡± With that, Aoyama left. Aoyama and I played a game together after the test was over. At that time, she invited me to participate in a GPEX tournament, or rather, an event, with her during the summer vacation. Mahiro was very motivated, so we decided to participate. I thought I saw an unflattering expression on her face, but it seemed to be my imagination, and Aoyama turned a pleasant smile on her face and called out to her here and there. When Aoyama suddenly spoke to me that day, my heart almost stopped, but now we occasionally play games together. I still have a little bit of a bad feeling about her, but that¡¯s all. I changed my shoes and approached the main gate. Kuromine and her cronies were hanging out near the main gate. Apparently, they were taking a commemorative photo. As I was slightly taken aback by my stepsister in the crowd, Kuromine noticed me and approached me. ¡°¡­¡­ Have a nice summer vacation.¡± With a thin smile on her mouth, Kuromine walked briskly away. I would see Kuromine at my part-time job. We haven¡¯t talked much at school since the rumors of our relationship began, but we make small talk frequently during our part-time job. She always speaks in honorifics at work, so it was very strange to hear her speak to me at the school. Recently, I felt that she looked somewhat thoughtful. I feel more and more uncomfortable with Kuromine now. I left the school and walked on my way home. On the way home, I passed by an apartment building and saw Shirase standing there. When she saw my face, she approached me. ¡°Good day to you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ hi.¡± ¡°We are neighbors, and we may have a chance to see each other during the summer vacation. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡± Shirase leaves after bowing to me. Although we have no plans to see each other during the summer vacation, we may have a chance to meet by chance since we are neighbors. Shirase and I sometimes talk when we run into each other because we walk home together. In a sense, Shirase is also the person I care about the most, since her younger brother thinks she is my girlfriend. Perhaps because the period of torment was so short, my feelings toward Shirase are not as intense. I still have the impression that she is a pushy girl. I arrived in front of my house. I know it is useless to think about it here, but honestly speaking, I still have many concerns. The fact that the goddesses don¡¯t get along with each other terribly well, their strange attitude toward Renji, Nekoda¡¯s past misconduct, Aoyama¡¯s broken bones and debut as a distributor, Kuromine¡¯s makeover and rumors of violence in the past, Shirase¡¯s family environment¡­ ¡°Well, I¡¯m not involved, so what¡¯s the point of me thinking about it?¡± Emptying my mind, I open the front door of the Nijitani house. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ At this time I still didn¡¯t know. The incomprehensible onslaught of the goddesses that would begin this summer and the enraged developments that would follow. TL: Next 8 chapters are the goddessess PoV Volume 2 - CH 1 Posted on April 15, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp As I approached the summer break of my sophomore year of high school, I came to a conclusion. Life may suck. But even if life sucks, there is a heaven. Heaven for students is summer vacation. It would be difficult to find a student who does not get excited when he or she hears the word ¡°summer vacation. That¡¯s how grateful students are for summer vacation. Of course, I am the type of person who gets excited. In particular, this year¡¯s summer vacation is very different from last year¡¯s, and that makes me feel more and more in heaven. First, the temperature in the room. The air-conditioned rooms makes me forget the fact that it is in the middle of summer. In the countryside where I was until last year, it was quite cool even with the windows fully open, but the coolness was totally different. Where I used to live, we were poor, so we had to save on air conditioning. This is the first time in my life that my room is comfortable in midsummer. Next is the hand. Currently, I¡¯m into app games. ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s god.¡± I bought a smartphone on the first day of summer vacation, and I was hooked on app games. I was especially crazy about musical games in which two-dimensional beautiful girl idols would sing and dance for me. I had secretly wanted to try them ever since I saw the commercials. I¡¯ve never told anyone this, but I¡¯ve always liked idols. I like singing and dancing. But what I like most about idols is the way they wear cute outfits and smile. They always heal me. When I was withdrawn, I was healed by idol videos. Perhaps it was my desire that led me to tell the girl I had known since childhood to become an idol. But I was not even aware that I was an idol lover when I was in elementary school. The last reason for the increased sense of heaven is the rate of family outings. In the countryside, my grandparents were always at home. That is why I had to be reserved in many ways. But here, it is quite common that there is no one at home. So I don¡¯t have to worry about watching my favorite movies at high volume or playing app games. ¡­¡­ me lying in an air-conditioned room playing app games, huh? I was poking fun at my friend at school over there who emphatically told me that it¡¯s the best thing ever, but apparently I was wrong. This life is great. Bliss is no exaggeration. Why can¡¯t I just use my computer? No, no, don¡¯t. I cannot lie down on a computer. Lying down in the middle of the room is the only way to feel a sense of superiority. So, I was living a self-indulgent life from the beginning of the summer vacation. A few days passed after the summer vacation. So far, I have not had any contact with schoolmates. In fact, the only place I went out other than my part-time job was a convenience store, so I haven¡¯t been in contact with anyone, let alone at school. At my part-time job, I have not met Kuromine because we seem to be on different hours and different dates. Although I admit to being self-indulgent, I don¡¯t just lie around and play with apps. In between playing games, I¡¯m also doing my homework for the summer vacation. Originally, I am the type of person who puts all my energy into the second half of August, but this year I have a lot of things to do, so I thought I¡¯d finish it first. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, the semester¡¯s over.¡± In the air-conditioned room, I suddenly thought. After all this time, I am still happy and surprised that I have made it through the summer vacation like this. Immediately after I transferred to a new school, I felt hopeless. I was shaking with fear and trembling when I found out that my high school was full of those terrible demons. I moaned in bed on the first night when I found out that I was in the same class as Akazawa. I remember the days when I was scared that I would be found out at any moment. But how could they not notice me? Several times I wondered if they had found out, but since there was no action from the other side, I guess it was all right. That¡¯s how much I have changed from the past. I have been reborn. I could really feel it. But they had changed, too. From what I saw, they were not doing anything wrong, and the way they were spending their time at the school was that of a healthy student. It is hard to deny that they are goddesses, especially when combined with their appearance. The Red Goddess is the idol of the school. She is kind to everyone and popular among both men and women. The blue goddess is the energetic spirit of the school. She is a popular person who enjoys talking with everyone. The Black Goddess is a solitary being. She is the envy of all women. The White Goddess is a mass of moe attributes. She is popular as a mascot. If they stay quiet, all the best. Let¡¯s graduate to consuming uneventful and peaceful time. ¡­¡­looking at those girls now, was it me who caused it? It was a whole shady look. I had a dark personality. Maybe that¡¯s what made me a target of bullying. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as I wasn¡¯t found out in the first semester, it is unlikely that I will be found out in the future. In the first place, I have a feeling that they have erased my existence from their minds. More than two years have passed since then. There¡¯s no need to worry about it anymore. It would be dangerous to do anything unnecessary. It would be safer for me to live my life as a mere student without thinking about anything. It¡¯s summer vacation. Let¡¯s stop worrying about it. Let¡¯s talk about my plans for the summer vacation. This summer vacation is busy but not busy. I have three events planned. The first is the GPEX event Umi Aoyama has invited me to attend at the beginning of August. To be precise, it is a tournament for streamers. In order to participate in this event, Aoyama came out to me and Mahiro that she is [Aomi], a streamer. I knew this, so I was not surprised. The next event was during the Bon festival in mid-August. I am going to stay at my grandparents¡¯ house. I am personally very much looking forward to it. Finally, there is the summer festival in late August. I will be going with some of my classmates. Yuuhi Akazawa will be there, but she is someone I have had a lot of contact with in the classroom. There should be no problem. These are my plans for the summer. In other words, I can live this happy life during the month of July. I lay in bed, eating ice cream and staring at the screen of my smartphone. I am moved by the sight of idols singing and dancing. I am happy. I want to melt away like this. While I was making a full expression on my face, I noticed footsteps approaching. Footsteps disappear in front of the door, and then I hear a knock at the door. ¡°Yes¡± When I answered, the door opened. Entering through the door was my stepsister ¨C Kanon Nijitani. results Volume 2 - CH 2 Posted on April 18, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°Oh, welcome.¡± I lie down and raise my hand to welcome the visitor. I see a girl in my vision, a gal-like girl in rough clothes. She is the stepdaughter of my mother¡¯s second marriage and my current father. From my point of view, she is my stepsister, Kanon Nijitani. The key point here is that she is ¡°gal-like.¡± There may be various opinions about the definition of ¡°gyaru¡±. For me, ¡°gyaru¡± is a term that applies to a woman who has the three essential elements of ¡°heavy makeup, bright hair color, and flashy clothes.¡± In that sense, I cannot say that Kanon is a gyaru. Certainly, her hair color is brown and she wears light makeup. But that is all. She doesn¡¯t dress down, takes her classes seriously, and can use honorifics. She doesn¡¯t even have her ears pierced. That¡¯s why she is not a gyaru. Well, maybe I simply don¡¯t want to admit it because I don¡¯t like gyaru. We have only been siblings for about three months, so I don¡¯t know much about her, but I have seen pictures of her in middle school before. Back then, Kanon was simple. She was somehow in a humble state, like the Kuromine of the past. It wasn¡¯t such a tremendous change, though. In a crude way, it was her high school debut. ¡°¡­¡­ Onii-chan, you look like a neet.¡± That was the first thing my stepsister said to me as soon as she entered the room. It is true that the image of me lying in bed, absorbed in a smartphone application, is probably far removed from that of a healthy student. So I don¡¯t deny it. ¡°I guess so¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®I guess so¡¯ me. You¡¯re sloppy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s summer vacation.¡± Kanon sighed in disappointment. ¡°So, need something from me?¡± ¡°Aah right, I¡¯m going shopping now. So, if you¡¯re free, I was wondering if Onii-chan would like to come with me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­, I¡¯m busy at so I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look busy at all.¡± It is lamentable that she does not understand. I must now get serious and watch my idols dance. After that, I have to launch another app and get a login bonus. Of course I¡¯m busy. And I have to do my homework. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go shopping with Mother?¡± ¡°She has a date with dad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad things are going so well with them.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that they are still newlyweds. That¡¯s why I, Kanon, want to rely on Onii-chan. I want to buy a lot of things after my main shopping, and I also want you to carry my luggage.¡± Kanon clasped her hands together and¨C ¡°P-l-e-a-s-e¡± A sweet voice came out. I have to say no up front. I am incredibly soft on Kanon. I am aware that I have lived my life to the point where I may have had some woman trouble. That is why I was so scared when I first met Kanon, but she was kind to me from the first time I met her. At the time, she looked like she was on the verge of becoming a gal, but she took care of me when I was nervous. I was grateful for her kindness, and I secretly resolved to fulfill my role as an Onii-chan. However, I didn¡¯t know how to treat her at first, and we became strangely distant from each other. I couldn¡¯t help it. It¡¯s normal when you are asked to live together with a girl of a similar generation. Kanon seemed to be the same way at first, and we felt awkward with each other. Especially when we had near misses in the bathroom or in the bathtub, there was an awkward atmosphere. However, as we lived together, we came into contact with each other more and more. Especially around the time Kuromine and I began to have contact, we began to talk inside the house. It is still fresh in my memory that when rumors of a relationship between me and Kuromine broke out, I was interrogated in this room for the first time. That was when things started to get closer between Kanon and me. ¡°¡­¡­ all right, I¡¯ll help you out. I¡¯m not busy anyway.¡± ¡°I knew you were free.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I lied. I just got a little carried away with the app game. I don¡¯t have much to do during the whole month of July.¡± ¡°I know how you feel. Kanon was the same way when I got my phone.¡± Kanon replied smilingly. ¡°Pleased to have you with me today, Onii-chan¡± ¡°Yes. So what are you buying?¡± Kanon made a slight pretense of thinking about my question. ¡°It¡¯s a swimming suit.¡± She said with a shy smile. I came to a shopping mall in my neighborhood. Since I came back here, I had refrained from going out due to the trauma in the past. So it had been several years since I had been here. As usual, the place was crowded with many people. I was surprised again at how many people there are in the city. ¡°I¡¯m going to the swimming pool with my classmates. But Kanon only has a modest bathing suit, so I was thinking of buying a new one.¡± According to her, she is going to the pool with her friends. So, buying a swimsuit. I guess the reason she called me is that she wants me to check if the swimsuit is not crazy from a guy¡¯s point of view or not. In addition, she also wants me to carry her luggage. I was relieved to hear that she was going with classmates. Kanon seems to be doing well in high school. I was worried that she didn¡¯t have any friends since I saw her sometimes when she was chasing Kuromine, but she seems to have no problem with that. ¡®Doesn¡¯t Onii-chan go to the pool?¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t go. I haven¡¯t been invited.¡± ¡°Uwa, what a lonely high school life.¡± ¡°Noisy.¡± After that, we headed for our destination while talking nonsense. Kanon showed interest in the various stores along the way. It was heartwarming to see her eyes light up at the cute knick-knacks, cosmetic tools, stuffed animals, etc. ¡°¡­.Haa, I want to go to the swimming pool with Tsukiyo onee-sama, someday.¡± Suddenly, I heard such a murmur. By ¡°Tsukiyo onee-sama¡± she means Kuromine. Kanon is a crony of Kuromine¡¯s. She belongs to a fan club called the Faction, and it seems that she is especially favored among the many Black Faction members. She is often seen working with Kuromine. Because of this, the people around me think that I am the only boy who has a proper conversation with Kuromine. In reality, we are just part-timers. I have not told Kanon about Kuromine¡¯s presence at my part-time job. I know that if I told her, it would cause trouble. ¡°This is so abrupt.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to go to the pool with Tsukiyo onee-sama?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Not really.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just stubborn. You really want to go.¡± I¡¯m not pushy, and I don¡¯t actually want to go. ¡°¡­¡­, I mean, when did Kanon get acquainted with Kuromine?¡± I was curious. I haven¡¯t heard what middle school Kanon is from, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not Eastern Middle School. Even if it was Tenkain Academy where she met Kuromine, she was already a crony when I transferred to the school. My transfer was in late April. It was only a few weeks after I entered the school. It was too early for me. ¡°I met her only after I entered Tenkain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a loaded statement.¡± ¡°Kanon didn¡¯t know about Onee-sama until I was in junior high school.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ the way you put it, were you in the same middle school?¡± I just pretend not to know. Kanon knows that I used to live here, but I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t know where I went to middle school. Probably, Kanon must think that I am a person with complicated circumstances. I have been living away from my parents since junior high school. In that sense, Kanon is a kind and intelligent girl. She doesn¡¯t try to pry into my past and treats me as a normal older brother. Perhaps Kanon, who also had a single parent, may have had many problems. My current father is kind, but he is a busy man with a lot of work. ¡°No, different junior high school.¡± ¡°But you know her.¡± ¡°She was very famous in the junior high school where Kanon was. She was beautiful and sharp, and I heard rumors that she kicked the sh*t out of boys who came near her. I happened to see her once when she was in the third grade of junior high school, and she was so dashing and lovely. You have always had a longtime admiration for her. Looking at Kuromine¡¯s behavior on campus, it¡¯s clear that she is indeed beautiful and cool, and it¡¯s not hard to understand why she admires her. But personally, I find it quite complicated. Knowing the true nature of goddesses, I don¡¯t want them to get too close to me. I can say this because I have experienced it in the past. However, it would be counterproductive to separate Kanon from her when she adore Kuromine. Kanon would hate me, and Kurobine would be suspicious of me. ¡°¡­How is you relationship with the other goddesses?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Do you talk to them?¡± ¡°Well, actually¨C¡° That¡¯s when it happened. ¡°Ah, Tsukiyo onee-sama!¡± Suddenly, Kanon shouted out loud. Recognizing Kuromine standing right in front of her, I felt my own throat gurgling. Volume 2 - CH 3 Posted on April 19, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Tsukiyo Kuromine approaches. She is one of the ¡°four colour goddesses¡± of Tenkain Academy, and is known as the Black Goddess. She is overwhelmingly popular among the girls at the school because of her cool and straightforward appearance. Her true identity is that of a shy, reserved girl. She seems to be troubled by her front and back personalities. Currently, she wears her hair down, glasses off, and makeup in school style. She was dressed in a simple, unadorned shirt and pants, but when worn by the tall and stylish Kuromine, it looked like a fine fashion statement. ¡°What a coincidence, Onee-sama!¡± A squealing Kanon jumped on the approaching Kuromine. Kanon is not a tall person, but when she is with Kuramine, they look like an adult and a child, partly because of the difference in tension. Kuromine seemed to love Kanon a lot and was smiling kindly at her. After lightly patting her head with a pompon, he gently stroked it. They looked like a mother and daughter. My heart was calmed by the sight of the two of them. Kuromine turned to me. ¡°¡­¡­Osu¡± ¡°Ou.¡± Kuromine in this style makes me less nervous. Maybe it¡¯s because her appearance is too different from the past. Maybe my brain is judging her as a different person. ¡°Shopping?¡± ¡°Hanging out. Are you siblings shopping together?¡± ¡°Kind of.¡± In Kuromine¡¯s hand is a familiar bag. Apparently, she had come to buy some clothes. ¡°Onee-sama, you were shopping today, right?¡± ¡°I found some clothes I wanted.¡± ¡°If that was the case, I wish you had invited Kanon to join you.¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m the type of person who likes to shop alone.¡± It was a coincidental encounter, but I was glad Kanon was there. Kuromine and Kanon chatted for a while. I sat down on a bench nearby and watched the two of them being friendly with each other. They had exchanged contact information and had been in touch with each other frequently, but this was the first time they had met since the summer vacation began. Kanon was talking about the events of the first few days of summer vacation with a happy look on her face. It¡¯s going to be a long story. I reached for the phone in my pocket to get the login bonus for the app I couldn¡¯t activate earlier. It was just then. ¡°¡ª¨CAra, what a coincidence.¡± When I turned around to look at the familiar voice, I saw Mayuki Shirase standing behind me. Shirase¡¯s appearance made me freeze. She is one of the [Four Colour Goddesses], the pride of Tenkain Academy, and is known as the White Goddess. She is the daughter of the president, and is characterized by her petite and mocking appearance. She is popular with many boys because she seems to be firm but has a screwed-up personality. It was a surprise. Kanon noticed Shirase¡¯s presence when she was bewildered by her unexpected appearance. After saying goodbye to Kuromine, she approached us. ¡°Shirase-senpai, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Good day to you, Kanon-san¡± Shirase smiled awkwardly. ¡°Senpai is still insanely cute as ever.¡± ¡°Thank you ¡­¡­ Kanon-san, you look so much prettier now than you did in middle school. I could have looked at you wrong.¡± ¡°Hehehe, it¡¯s my high school debut.¡± Do these two know each other? I tapped Kanon on the shoulder and moved closer to her ear. ¡°¡­¡­ You know the white goddess?¡± ¡°Huh, didn¡¯t I tell Onii-chan? Kanon is from Himemiya Jogakuin, the same school as Shirase-senpai, and I was in club activities with senpai. I even visited their house once.¡± I had never heard of it. Did she know more about Shirase than I did? Was that good news or bad news? It was definitely sad news. ¡°Or rather, were you acquainted with Shirase-senpai, Onii-chan?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ well, more or less¡± I don¡¯t know how to answer that. My relationship with that girl, though, is that we¡¯re supposed to be friends. At least that¡¯s what that girl said. Her younger brother thinks she¡¯s my girlfriend, but that¡¯s none of my business. I was thinking about it when I heard the conversation. ¡°Ara, isn¡¯t that Kuromine-san?¡± ¡®¡­¡­ Chi.¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re as unsociable as ever.¡± ¡°Shut up. Don¡¯t talk to me like that.¡± They are not getting along as well as ever. Kuromine¡¯s attitude had changed from before, and she was completely quarrelsome. However, Shirase didn¡¯t seem to be interested in Kuromine. She just chuckled and didn¡¯t care about Kuromine. ¡°By the way, Kanon-san, are you shopping with your brother?¡± ¡°Yes. To buy a swimsuit.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Swimsuit?¡± Shirase glanced at me. Then she looked at Kanon and then at Kuromine. She froze for a few seconds and then looked as if she had a flash of inspiration. ¡°If you like, we can go to the pool later with this group.¡± An outrageous proposal popped up. ¡°Haa?¡± £¨Haa?) The words from Kuromine¡¯s mouth and the voice in my mind overlapped. ¡°You came here to buy a swimsuit, didn¡¯t you? It must be some kind of fate that we met here. I think that Kuromine and Kanon are good friends, and I and Nijitani are friends, too. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing strange about going out to play together.¡± Wait, this is bad. That¡¯s too sudden. I don¡¯t think my mentality can handle a swimming pool with this group of people. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going. ¡°I¨C¡° ¡°Waa, that¡¯s nice. If we go in July, then Kanon and Onii-chan will definitely be there!¡± Oi, stepsister. I pull Kanon by the arm and move into the shadows. ¡°Don¡¯t decide on your own.¡± ¡°Eh, but Onii-chan, you said you didn¡¯t have any plans, right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¨C¡° ¡°Onii-chan you don¡¯t have a girlfriend, so this is your chance.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I mean, you were friends with Shirase-senpai. That¡¯s a super chance. She¡¯s a goddess, and it¡¯s not every day you get to go to the pool with her. No need to worry about it, right?¡± She tilts her head slightly with an innocent look on her face. Yes, that¡¯s right. Kanon¡¯s opinion is a very common one. My stepsister does not know about my past. So there is no way she can understand my feelings of not wanting to be close to these two people. I don¡¯t intend to talk about my past. Originally I had no intention to, but now that Kanon has become good friends with Kuromine, I can¡¯t say anything about it anymore. I can¡¯t imagine how Kanon would go berserk if she knew the dusky black nature of the goddess. ¨CGoddesses and swimming pools. I wonder if there are any boys at Tenkain Academy who would refuse this event. I¡¯m sure many girls would like to go too. Kanon knows I don¡¯t have a girlfriend. So this is also a sign of concern for her brother. In other words, it is kindness. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard to deal with. I can¡¯t be angry at her good intentions. And on top of that, I told her with my own mouth that I¡¯m free during the month of July. ¡­¡­.I have to do something about it ¡°Ah, I see. You mean it¡¯s tough for you because you¡¯re the only male. ¡°Eh, uhm, that¡¯s right¡± Nice assist. Umu, of course that¡¯s not it. If I think about it calmly, three women and one man is not a good balance. I¡¯m not saying that Kuromine will join, but if she does, it will definitely be unbalanced. ¡°You¡¯re right. Look, three women for one man is a bit awkward, isn¡¯t it? And besides, if the school found out about it, it would cause a lot of trouble. They¡¯re going to want to kill me like I¡¯m building a harem.¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the girls can¡ª-¡° Just as I was about to say, ¡°Go,¡± Kanon spotted something and ran out. I, Shirase and Kuromine stared in that direction. Kanon seemed to be talking to someone. Then, after exchanging a few words, she pulled a man in front of us. The tall, handsome man looked familiar. I thought I heard a ¡°Gee,¡± next to me, but it was probably just my imagination. ¡°I got a guy who looked bored. Yakumo-kun Shirase from the same class. He¡¯s the younger brother of Shirase senpai. He¡¯s not a stranger, and I¡¯m sure Shirase-kun would be okay with him coming too.¡± Ahem,¡± Kanon says, puffing out her chest. Yakumo-kun is puzzled by the suddenness of the situation, and Kanon continues. ¡°Shirase, this is Kanon¡¯s Onii-chan.¡± She introduced me. I was the one who was confused by the sudden introduction rather than Yakumo-kun. Even just being in contact with two goddesses at the same time was confusing my mind, and then a new bomb was dropped on me. The relationship between him and me is hard to describe. When I was dating Shirase in junior high school, he appeared as her true love. Later, he turned out to be Shirase¡¯s younger brother. But now he seems to think that Shirase and I are in a relationship. It is a very complicated relationship to put it into words. ¡°N-Nice to meet you.¡± A handsome man bows his head in front of me. It¡¯s not actually nice to meet you. No, I know this guy very well, even though it¡¯s a first time for us to exchange words. ¡°¡­.I¡¯m Shota Nijitani, sophomore.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Yakumo Shirase, freshman.¡± ¡°It seems Kanon has been in your care¡± ¡°No, I am always being helped by Nijitani-san. But I didn¡¯t know Nijitani-san had an older brother.¡± ¡­¡­ eh? Isn¡¯t this strange? He probably thinks me and Shirase are lovers. Shouldn¡¯t she have talked about that when I dated Shirase before? Nijitani is an unusual last name, so normally he would know. But I read the air. I felt it was better to act like I knew nothing here. At least that way, I felt, it wouldn¡¯t cause any unnecessary trouble. ¡°I guess so. Kanon and I went to different junior high schools.¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s what happens when you go to different middle schools. I was in a different junior high school from my sister, too, but after I entered Tenkain, it was very difficult for her to know that I was her brother. ¡°Hahaha. I see. I see.¡± What kind of face am I supposed to make at a time like this? All I could do was smile wryly. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Kuromine, who had been watching the situation quietly, let out a big breath. ¡°Oh, uhm, ¡­¡­ Onee-sama, you are going too, right?¡± Right, there is still hope. When it comes down to it, all I ask is Kuromine. If she says she won¡¯t go, Kanon¡¯s tension will drop, and I can talk her into not going. Kuromine has a complex. She has always said that her breasts were a problem for her, and in junior high school she complained that she hated participating in swimming classes. So there¡¯s a good chance she¡¯ll say no. My eyes meet Kuromine¡¯s, who is looking puzzled. Kuromine then looked at Kanon and then glared at Shirase. ¡°¡­¡­ I understand. I¡¯ll go.¡± Seriously. Just say no. ¡°Yay, pool with Tsukiyo Onee-sama!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Kuromine¡¯s tension was not the same as prior to going to the pool, although she said she would go, but it was not very exciting. She was as desperate as I was, or maybe even more so. I don¡¯t know, was she harassing me? The goddesses don¡¯t get along with each other for some reason, and Shirase knew this was going to happen, so she invited her? If so, she¡¯s too much of a bad character. White is just a name, oi. ¡­¡­Shirase? Can you explain to me why you are looking so hopeless when you are the one who invited me to come join ? Come to think of it, you haven¡¯t spoken at all since a while ago. In contrast to my sister, Yakumo-kun looked happy. That¡¯s right, you are excited, aren¡¯t you? It is so if it is a normal feeling. I don¡¯t know what his relationship is with his sister, Shirase, but at the very least, he should be excited to be able to go to the pool with the goddess, Kuromine. That¡¯s normal. ¡°Thanks for inviting me. I¡¯m looking forward to going to the pool with Nijitani-san and the other senpai¡¯s. ¡°Right. Kanon is looking forward to going to the pool with Onee-sama¡± Yakumo-kun and Kanon were smiling. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Me, Kuromine and Shirase each looked like we were dying. In a chaotic situation where three out of the five had faces stained with despair, the decision was finalized to go to the pool. Volume 2 - CH 4 Posted on April 21, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp One day in July, I was visiting a certain leisure facility. This is because I was going to a swimming pool with the goddess, which is an event that any student of Tenkain Academy would surely be excited about. However, even though I am a student of Tenkain Academy, my tension has been low since this morning. I even received a scolding from Kanon for sighing repeatedly. A few days after the encounter at the shopping mall. When they talked about going to the pool and checked the schedule, it seemed that everyone was free and we decided to go in July. And on the day of the event. Unfortunately, everyone was going to be there. I tried to think of a way to make myself absent, but in the end I could not come up with a good answer. Despite my reluctance, Kanon had been excited since last night. Seeing her like that, I couldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t want to go. Our group stood out quite a bit on the move. There was the black and white goddess, and then there was the famous good-looking Yakumo-kun Shirase. Kanon is also in the cute category, without any prejudice. Of course we stood out. There was no way we wouldn¡¯t stand out. I was surrounded by people who looked at me and said, ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t he out of place?¡± It was a little bit painful. Today is a weekday, even though it is summer vacation, and there are relatively few people. Even so, the place was full of people looking to cool off and meet new people. It reminded me of how great the city is. ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s a beautiful day, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Right.¡± Yakumo-kun and I finished getting dressed ahead of the others and waited for the girls to come out. ¡°You can trust me today. I will protect Nijitani-san!¡± ¡°O-ou¡± As an older brother, these are reassuring words, but there is no point to protect her. I think you should protect your own sister at all costs rather than Kanon. Both in terms of popularity and stature. This man Yakumo was incredibly high-spec. He seemed to work out and had a stout body. His face is well-defined and elegant. According to Kanon, he is a central figure in the class and has leadership skills. Somehow, he reminded me of my best friend. But Kanon had a slightly different impression of Yakumo-kun. [¡°Let¡¯s see¡­. He¡¯s good-looking, but he is suspicious?] She said. I don¡¯t think so. There was nothing suspicious about Yakumo-kun¡¯s behavior. Unlike me, he didn¡¯t give the beautiful women who passed by a lecherous glance. Rather, the beautiful women were glancing at Yakumo-kun from a while ago, and their eyes were shining. Incidentally, I have been keeping my eyes on a group of what looked like college girls since a while ago. This is already a man¡¯s nature, so I guess it can¡¯t be helped, yeah. I never thought there would be a day when I would come to the pool with him, though ¡­¡­. I used to have mixed feelings about Yakumo-kun. The day will come when we will be standing next to each other like this, life is really unknowable. ¡± Uhm¡­¡­¡­ Nijitani-senpai. What was the Nijitani-san like in the past?¡± Suddenly, he spoke to me. ¡°In the past?¡± ¡°Yes, we share a lot in common.¡± I¡¯ve decided that Kanon and I are not step-siblings, but real siblings. The reason for this is that I don¡¯t want people to think that we are separable because we are step-siblings. Therefore, Yakumo-kun thinks that I know Kanon from the past. This question is very natural. ¡°You can call me by my name. If you use my last name, it will be too much like Kanon¡¯s.¡± ¡°I understand. Shota-senpai.¡± ¡°So, about Kanon huh¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­¡­ What kind of girl was she?¡± How shall I answer? There is no information that I know. Kanon said she had been to Shirase¡¯s house once, and she might have known Yakumo-kun as well. He may know more about the past than I do. However, I can¡¯t let him find out that we are step-siblings. ¡°¡­¡­ Plain, I guess?¡± ¡°Plain?¡± She¡¯s a pretty plain person. Well, she was cocky at home, but outside, she was not good at chatting with people. Once you get to know her, she¡¯ll become more aggressive, but it sometimes takes a while before you get to know her. I speak knowingly. I thought of Kuromine in my head. I took the liberty of saying so because I thought they were similar types. I was not wrong. In fact, at home, Kanon is often playing with her phone or reading shoujo manga. She also likes to read novels. She is definitely an indoor person. ¡°And she¡¯s a good cook.¡± ¡°S-She can cook huh¡± ¡°O-ou ¡­¡­, it¡¯s pretty good.¡± Together with my mother, she often cooks. Her cooking skills are quite good. As someone who can¡¯t cook, I admire her cooking skills regardless of how good she is at it. Yakumo-kun¡¯s eyes were sparkling. ¡°How nice. I will also¡ª-¡° And then, just as he was about to say. ¡°Thank you for waiting!¡± A tap on the shoulder. When I turned around, there stood Kanon. Kanon was wearing a light blue bikini that she had bought at the mall the other day. It was a simple swimsuit, but it suited her well. The material was good, even though she was my stepsister. It gave her a healthy impression. It was very good. ¡°¡­¡­ Does it look good on me?¡± ¡°It looks good on you.¡± Kanon smiles with satisfaction when I say so. She said it was the first time in her life that she was wearing a bikini, but she looked good enough. If we were not siblings, I would have gazed at her. ¡°Huh, where are the other two?¡± ¡°I got out first. It¡¯s too hard with those two.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Really?¡± ¡°Kanon would be in a fog if she appeared with the goddess. Besides, I wanted to see Onee-sama in her swimsuit in a properly finished state.¡± That¡¯s a weird obsession. Then Kanon turns her gaze next to me. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what you think, Shirase. How do you like Kanon in swimsuit?¡± Yakumo-kun froze when asked. What¡¯s wrong? ¡°U-uhm ¡­¡­ it¡¯s wonderful. It¡¯s truly form of art¡± Hm? ¡°Art?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was such a thing as a goddess in real life.¡± ¡°The goddess is Shirase¡¯s sister, no?¡± ¡°No, what I¡¯m trying to say is that it¡¯s a figurative expression¨C¡° The calm impression he had given earlier was gone, and he was clearly tempestuous. His face was bright red and he was trying his best to somehow express his beauty with his body language. ¡­¡­ this guy, maybe he likes Kanon? I¡¯m not particularly sharp when it comes to matters of love, but I¡¯m not dense either. Yakumo-kun¡¯s attitude is clearly strange. Rather, I think this is a completely affectionate type of reaction. No, but it¡¯s too obvious. [¡°Let¡¯s see. He¡¯s good-looking, but he is suspicious?] I¡¯m convinced. As I was slightly taken back by Yakumo-kun, who was so easy to understand, I noticed a change in the air around him. The depressingly bustling noise stopped and immediately afterward there was a buzz. ¡°Uwa, she is so cute!¡± ¡°She looks like a doll¡± Such voices shook my eardrums. It was Mayuki Shirase who walked through the hustle and bustle. A petite girl who had caught the attention of everyone around her approached us. She was wearing a white bandeau bikini. With plenty of frills, it looked more like a bikini type maid¡¯s uniform than a swimsuit. It might be described as a Lolita-style bikini. Her hair was in twin-tails. She was expressing mock cuteness with her whole body. Shirase approached Yakumo-kun as she was. ¡°What do you think, Yakumo?¡± ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s good. Very sisterly.¡± It was a curt response. However, it would be a normal response for a real sister and brother. For some reason, Shirase¡¯s tension was blatantly lowered. ¡°¡­¡­Nijitani-san, what do you think of my swimsuit?¡± ¡°Ah, ou. I think you look good.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± After inorganic thanks, Shirase let out a dark breath and turned her head down. What is this girl? Come to think of it, she had a desperate look on her face when she invited me to the pool. She was excited until she changed her clothes, and then suddenly she had this look on her face. As I tilted my head slightly, the pool, which had been getting calmer, became noisy again. The buzz was far louder than when Shirase appeared earlier. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I had expected this. Along with numerous stares, Kuromine walked in. Let¡¯s dare to use the exaggerated expression ¡°descended¡± here. Kuromine was wearing a plain black bikini. The bikini was very destructive when worn by Kuramine, who has an outstanding style. The contrast between her long shiny black hair, white unblemished skin, and black bikini was even beautiful. ¡­¡­ I never expected that plain girl to become like this. The most important thing to remember is that she can¡¯t go wrong with a good bikini. She has a slim waist, long legs, soft hip line, and ample bosom. She has a body that should be showing and a body that should be retracted. All eyes around the pool were glued to the black goddess who had landed in the pool. It was as if a supermodel had appeared. I was reminded of this once again. The pride of our school, the ¡°Four colour goddess¡± is not for show. Well, the one I was most excited about was¡ª- ¡°It¡¯s wonderful!¡¡Now that is art!¡± It was Kanon. Kanon twisted the word ¡°art¡± around when she was praised, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the right word to use when praising Kuromine. ¡°D-don¡¯t worry. Nijitani-san isn¡¯t losing either!¡± For some reason, Yakumo-kun praises Kanon at this timing. ¡°There is no way Kanon can beat Onee-sama. Or rather, she doesn¡¯t want to win.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Listen. Onee-sama is the supreme one. If you want to praise Kanon, you must first praise Onee-sama¡± ¡°I-I see. Kuromine-senpai is truly a wonderful goddess¨C¡° Just as Yakumo-kun started to praise Kuromine, I heard a ¡°tsk¡± a click of the tongue. I let it slide because I thought it was my imagination. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± My eyes met Kuromine¡¯s. Immediately, she made a gesture as if she was hiding her breasts. Oi, that makes me look like a pervert. Somehow I felt like I was being treated like a pervert, so I turned my gaze away. The college girls I had just seen were talking happily. The gorgeous atmosphere soothed my heart. But the next moment. Kuromine covered my vision. Then she came close to my ear. ¡°¡­¡­ Uhm, what do you think?¡± Don¡¯t suddenly talk to me in a plain girl style. ¡°I¡¯m wearing a bikini for the first time in my life. I¡¯m a little embarrassed.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take it too hard ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look good on me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ it looks good on you.¡± I was frustrated, but I didn¡¯t want to lie. She hurriedly removed her hands and left the scene. After that, Kuromine was praised in every possible way by Kanon while she was being sticky with her. The scene of Yakumo-kun praising Kanon was like a contrived scene unfolding in front of my eyes. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Huh, come to think of it, where¡¯s Shirase? Shirase, who was out of sight, was a wallflower. She stared at the three of them, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. From the look of Yakumo-kun, I guess my prediction was wrong. Shirase is not in love with her younger brother. I don¡¯t think that there has been any such thing in the past. It would be difficult to continue a sister-brother relationship if there had been some kind of relationship in the past. ¡­¡­I guess she used her younger brother to just break up with me at that time. That¡¯s enough about that. The problem is her attitude now. What is she planning? Volume 2 - CH 5 Posted on April 22, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°¡­¡­I knew this was the one.¡± I was sitting down in the hole of the floatation ring I rented at the center and am rocked by the waves. I have always loved this feeling of being somewhat suspended. Drifting along, I feel as if I were a jellyfish. It is not that I dislike water slides. I also like playing with a ball. However, I would like to personally suggest that the most enjoyable way to spend time in the pool is to float around on a float like this. The sun shining, the water temperature just right, and the moderate bouncing, neither too big nor too small, seem to purify my mind. At the moment, I¡¯m alone. I am not being bullied. Those four headed for the waterslide. Kanon ran out in high spirits, and the other three followed her. I was worried about their balance, but since Yakumo-kun was following them, it would not be a problem. It might look like a harem of good-looking woman around him. It is unlikely that any man would pick up a girl while Yakumo-kun is nearby. What surprised me was Kuromine and Shirase. I didn¡¯t think they would be hanging out together. It¡¯s no secret that they don¡¯t get along, so I thought they would be going their separate ways, but they walked side by side. I hope they are not fighting over there. What bothered me more than that was Shirase¡¯s behavior. She invited us to the pool on her own initiative, but her tension was low and she was acting strangely today, too. There are many things about Shirase that I don¡¯t understand. She acts and talks out of the blue, and I have no idea what she¡¯s thinking. As I was pacing and racking my brain, the shaking suddenly stopped. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± My float was being held by someone¡¯s hand. The unscrupulous person who had grabbed it was Shirase. Before I knew it, Shirase was behind me, reaching out from inside the pool and firmly holding my float. ¡°May I have a word with you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Uhm, I thought you were headed for the waterslide.¡± ¡°I slipped out.¡± ¡°Did you slip out all the way to talk to me?¡± Shirase nodded stiffly. I have something important to discuss with you, Nijitani-san.¡± What shall I do? I had a very bad feeling. We got out of the pool and moved to a less crowded place. Shirase attracted a lot of stares while we were moving. She is a goddess of the pool. Seeing her like this, Shirase also showed a good amount of skin. She seems to be the type of person who wears thin clothes. She has a young face and petite physique, but her bosom has a sense of presence. The imbalance of her body gives off an immoral atmosphere. ¡°¡­.And what do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°As you¡¯ve probably already noticed, it¡¯s about Yakumo.¡± As I thought. I can imagine the story. The fact that he had no idea that Kanon had an older brother existed, about me as a person. In other words, Shirase had lied to me on our first semester date. It is not impossible that Yakumo-kun lied to me, but he has a liking for Kanon no matter how I look at it. He would not want to make a bad impression on me, her brother. To begin with, he doesn¡¯t seem to be good at lying. ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t talked to Yakumo-kun about it.¡± ¡± ¡­¡­ Yes. What I told you at the time was half a lie.¡± ¡°Half?¡± ¡°The conflict with my parents is true. The fact is that I left home because of a fight with my father is true. It is also true that Yakumo is trying to bring me back home. But I have not told Yakumo about us.¡± So that¡¯s half of it. ¡°Why did you date me?¡± ¡°Because Kuromine-san was interested in you. I heard rumors about your relationship with her and was curious to see what the only boy at the school I could talk to would be like.¡± So you wanted to see who the man-hating goddess was interested in. It¡¯s the same goddess, and I guess she was also interested in me. The logic made sense to me. I was convinced, but then came the problem. I don¡¯t understand why she would say she was my friend and get actively involved with me. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest and confess. The reason I kept Nijitani-san around was for insurance.¡± ¡°Insurance?¡± ¡°I thought I would ask you to pretend to be my lover in case of emergency. It is also true that my father has been talking to me about my engagement, and if he used forceful means, I was going to introduce Nijitani-san to him as I had already made up my mind about.¡± So you started saying we were friends or something. ¡°Why me?¡± Use your own fans. It¡¯s like there¡¯s a faction or something. It could have been a student from another school. Shirase stiffened at my question. ¡°T-There are several reasons. You¡¯re a student at Tenkain Academy and have a promising future, you have a good-natured personality and were likely to cooperate with me, your looks were above a certain level, and you made a good impression on me when we actually went out on a date.¡± It¡¯s like being praised or disgraced. I mean, if that¡¯s the right condition, there are likely other people. There seemed to be other reasons as well, but Shirase said nothing. Is this the truth about junior high school too? In hindsight, it was an abrupt confession at the time. I can see that now, but there was no atmosphere of us being lovers. Shirase had told me that there had been an arranged marriage or engagement in junior high school, and she had tried to dismiss it by saying she was dating me at the time. But before that, the conversation fell through, and she dumped me because I was no longer useful. That¡¯s very likely. In short, I was chosen to play the role of a fake lover to avoid an arranged matchmaking from her father, then and now. What a coincidence! ¡°Yakumo-kun hasn¡¯t been informed of anything, has he?¡± ¡°Yes¡± At this rate, Yakumo probably didn¡¯t know either when he was in junior high school. He just got caught up in the crossfire. ¡­¡­ This girl¡¯s got a bad personality afterall. In short, she kept it just to take advantage of me. And she did it twice, once in middle school and once in high school. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± This one certainly has a bad character. But this girl also had a family situation. In that sense, she might be better than the other devils. At least, unlike them, she didn¡¯t target me. I just happened to be there and became the victim. It was just bad luck. I was more relieved to know the truth than angry. ¡°I understand your anger, Nijitani-san. Therefore, I will cooperate with you to make up for my sins.¡± ¡°¡­..hmm?¡¡Cooperate?¡± Shirase cleared her throat. ¡°While we¡¯re on the subject, don¡¯t you think Kuromine-san has great style?¡± ¡°Eh,¡­¡­ W-well, I guess.¡± What¡¯s up with you all of a sudden? No need to say anything about Kuromine¡¯s style now. ¡°I admire Kuromine because I¡¯m underdeveloped. She is tall, with slender arms and legs and a sexy bosom. When I come to the pool like this, I can see the difference even if I don¡¯t like it.¡± I know exactly how you feel. I used to have a short height complex too. As I grew up, I grew a little, but I was still a little below average. I can fully understand the feeling of envy. This is something you can¡¯t get afterwards. That¡¯s why it seems even more valuable. ¡°Isn¡¯t that wonderful goddess a good match for Nijitani-san?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ What do you mean with match?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is, Kuromine is a perfect partner for you.¡± Shirase came face to face with me with an implied smile. ¡°Would you be interested in dating Kuromine-san?¡± It was a sudden whisper. I blinked several times, not understanding what it meant. ¡°She has special feelings for you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke about it.¡± ¡°I am not joking. You are the only boy she can talk properly to.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡° ¡°Did you see her and Yakumo having a pleasant conversation? I haven¡¯t seen it. Kuromine is treating Yakumo-kun¡¯s existence as absent from her sight, or rather, she is treating it as something that is completely absent. Well, Yakumo-kun is also preoccupied with Kanon, so he doesn¡¯t really look at Kuromine. She hates men. Even good looking guys are no exception. The reason she is able to talk to me normally is because we work at the same part-time job, and I¡¯ve been able to dispel the bad rumors. At the school, it is said that it is because of Kanon¡¯s existence. ¡°Kanon-san¡¯s presence has nothing to do with it. Kuromine-san definitely has a special place in her heart for Nijitani-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Allow me to assist you in atoning for my sins.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.I told you I¡¯m not interested in her.¡± ¡°I have said it before. You are confused. In fact, I think your troubles may have something to do with the Goddess.¡± She¡¯s right. They¡¯re the only thing that¡¯s been bothering me since I¡¯ve been back here. ¡­¡­ No, that¡¯s not it. I mean them, all the goddesses, including myself. If anything, that¡¯s been my problem since before I transferred. But wait a minute. ¡°There were rumors before. Didn¡¯t you say back then that you were glad I wasn¡¯t dating Kuromine?¡± ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°You called her the devil.¡± ¡°Yes. But I changed my mind.¡± Out of the blue? ¡°I found Kuromine to be a wonderful woman after spending some time with her today. She has a model-like style, an actress-like face, and plenty of adult charm. Yes, she can be rough around the edges, but that can be seen as her charm. I know many men like wild women.¡± That¡¯s a sudden and glowing compliment. It¡¯s suspicious. This girl is really suspicious. I felt an eerie pressure from the smiling Shirase. I don¡¯t know how she feels, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any such feelings for her. I can¡¯t even imagine being in love with her. The moment I opened my mouth to say no. ¡°¡ª-Persistent. Get lost.¡± I heard an irritated Kuromine¡¯s voice. Volume 2 - CH 6 Posted on April 25, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Kuromine was being picked up by two men. Kanon and Yakumo-kun were not nearby. I don¡¯t know if they were going their separate ways or if she was caught on her way to the restroom. ¡°Don¡¯t you need help?¡± ¡°Do I look like I need it?¡± This would be a situation where I should have helped her, but Kuromine¡¯s expression and mood were not what I would have wished for. She looked at the men who picked on her as if they were looking at trash. ¡°¨CLook in the mirror and try again!¡± A blade of too harsh a word was fired at the pick-up men. I could hear their voices even though they were quite far away. It seems that Kuromine is also quite angry. How could words like that possibly have any effect? The men who pick up on women are known to be persistent, I was thinking that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll come back!¡± The two men who had been cut off so easily left with happy looks on their faces for some reason. Apparently, it was the type of pick-up they had been trying to get. Consider it a bad time to give up. Personally, I¡¯d like to buy into that challenging spirit, but the reason they were smiling at the end wasn¡¯t because they were happy to be cursed out with harsh words, was it? After a while, another man spoke to Kuromine. ¡­.Did I say they are persistent? No matter how many times she repelled them, one pick-up guy after another kept coming up to her. That¡¯s why she was angry. While I was thinking about what Kuromine was going through, I heard a voice from the other side of the room. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± ¡°Hey, hey, let¡¯s go somewhere and have fun.¡± Yakumo-kun was being picked on. He was also alone. The people picking on him were a group of college girls I had glanced at a few times. I had never seen a reverse pick-up before. I was shaken to think that it could actually happen. Incidentally, I had no such enviable experience. Yakumo-kun¡¯s expression was nothing like that. He didn¡¯t seem to be interested at all. I looked at him. ¡°What do you want with my boyfriend?¡± Shirase, who had been gone for some time, quickly intervened. The women who had been trying to reverse the situation realized that they were with a beautiful girl, and disappeared somewhere. It seems that even the most brilliant college girls will admit defeat in the face of an overwhelming presence like Shirase. In times like this, Shirase would take advantage of the couple. ¡°Thanks for the help, sis.¡± ¡°Yes, you can count on me by all means.¡± Later, Shirase returned with Yakumo-kun. ¡°Huh, where¡¯s Kanon?¡± ¡°She is waiting over there with Kuromine-senpai. She asked me to get some drinks.¡± Yakumo-kun has a drink in his hand. When I looked toward Kuromine, she had just fought off a few pickups, and then Kanon approached her on a short run. Apparently, she had gone to the restroom. My stepsister is a free spirit. ¡°They¡¯re¨C¡° ¡°Wait.¡± As Yakumo-kun was about to walk away, Shirase restrained him. ¡°This is where you come in, Nijitani-san. If it¡¯s me, I¡¯ll get caught in the middle, and Yakumo may get picked up on the way.¡± ¡­¡­ This girl is trying to get me and Kuromine together. As expected, there is no backhandedness in a row. However, Yakumo-kun believed the shady argument. ¡°Huh, you¡¯re absolutely right, sis.¡± It seems that story is really half-true. He was quite a simple man. ¡°Nijitani-san, this is your chance to show her your good side, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shirase handed me the drinks that Yakumo-kun had purchased. ¡°We¡¯ll head to the staff just in case.¡± ¡°Got it. Shota-senpai, please take care of it.¡± With that, they started walking. Shirase almost fell when she took her first step, but somehow managed to avoid falling with the support of Yakumo-kun. ¡°¡­¡­¡± With drinks in both hands, I started walking away. As I approached the two girls, I gradually heard pick-up men¡¯s voices. Looking closer, I saw that the men were moderately good looking. They had brown hair and tanned skin, and I could tell they were used to playing around. They were probably a little older than me. ¡°I heard you earlier. How about us?¡± ¡°We¡¯re good-looking, aren¡¯t we?¡± The flirt boys are making a mysterious appeal. Both gazes were on Kuromine. I was somewhat disgusted by their attitude of treating Kanon as an afterthought. Kuromine had a blatantly disgusted look on her face. It¡¯s an expression that says she doesn¡¯t care about them. Kanon, who was standing next to her, ignored the men and looked at Kuromine¡¯s expression and seemed to be getting excited. One of the men tried to extend his hand toward Kuramine. ¡± Oi, will you hold on a second¡± I interrupted with a drink in both hands. In the process, I also brush the man¡¯s hands away. ¡°Here, have that drink you asked for.¡± I hand them to a bewildered Kuromine and Kanon. While Kuromine froze, not understanding the situation, Kanon smiled, thanked me and began to drink on the spot. I turn my attention to the pick-up men. ¡°What do you want with these girls?¡± The men stared at me. Their expressions were not very subtle. I wondered what they thought of me. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Are you friends with these girls?¡± Friends? Don¡¯t be silly. Kanon is my stepsister, and Kuromine is nothing but a acquaintance. We used to share the same wounds, and now we are part-timers. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m being honest when I say so. [Don¡¯t bother me just because we¡¯re part-timers.] And it is obvious that the men will press Kuromine more and more. I was lost, and Shirase¡¯s words from earlier came to mind. It takes courage and determination to speak up, but if I hesitate here, it will be difficult to get rid of them. ¡°That is my stepsister, ¡­¡­.¡± I point to Kanon. ¡°And she is my girlfriend.¡± Taking Kuromine¡¯s hand. The men were surprised. Kuromine and Kanon were even more surprised. Kanon in particular looked at me like, ¡°Is this guy for real?¡± Unbelievable. ¡°You¡¯re her boyfriend? ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like so¡± I know. I¡¯d rather not have a woman like this in my life. However, the player in front of me is not a good match for Kuromine either. I¡¯d rather see if a guy who looks good with Kuromine is available. I don¡¯t want to get into trouble. I wanted to settle the matter peacefully. I¡¯m not sure if he understood my intentions, but Kuromine¡¯s face was slightly upturned as she wrapped her arms around me. ¡°Too bad, my boyfriend is better than you guys.¡± She smiled when she said that. ¡°That¡¯s why, go away.¡± Because of the close contact, her breasts hit my arm. I was thrilled to feel the touch, but I acted stout-heartedly. The guys saw me and looked at each other and started to walk away. It seems they gave up. That was surprisingly easy. I thought so, and then the men approached Shirase. Naturally, Yakumo-kun, who was nearby, fought them off. Still not ready to give up, the men approached the group of college girls. They¡¯re a stubborn bunch, huh? It¡¯s funny that I admire guys who pick up women, but I was dazzled by their confidence even when they were rejected by women. Keep up the good work. Maybe your efforts will eventually bear fruit and you will find a goddess worthy of you. After the pick-up ruckus was over, we met up and played a little ball before resting on a bench. I heard that quite a bit of time had passed before I realized it. I was just floating around except at the end, but the other four seemed to have enjoyed the pool in their own way. As expected, there were no more pick-ups when we were all together, but we had become a conspicuous group, so we attracted a lot of attention from the people around us. ¡°I was picked on. It¡¯s the first time in my life, Onii-chan.¡± Kanon¡¯s tension was high, as if she didn¡¯t care about such stares. ¡°¡­¡­ You look happy.¡± ¡°I guess so. No, the world has noticed how cute Kanon is.¡± That pick-up was aimed at Kuromine for all intents and purposes, but let¡¯s not get too wild. ¡°W-Well, you can¡¯t help it, Nijitani-san is a lovely lady.¡± ¡°Is Shirase-kun the type of person who has noticed the good qualities of Kanon?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­..uhm¡­.that¡± ¡°Mou, you had to give me a quick compliment there.¡± Good luck, Yakumo-kun. But that¡¯s the thing, I had the impression that flirting was something to be scared of, but I hear it depends on the person. Kuromine was as cool as ever with a drink in one hand. For this girl who hates men, the constant picking up boys must have been a pain, but I wonder if she has gotten over it since then. She didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by them when we were playing with the ball. ¡°¡ª-Let¡¯s all go out to dinner afterwards,¡± Kanon suggests. It is true that quite a bit of time has passed, and considering the time it takes to get there, it would be better to leave soon. All agreed and the pool was closed. Most of us ended up just floating around, but we still had a good time. As I was walking to the changing rooms, Kuromine came up next to me. ¡°¡­¡­ Uhm, thanks for earlier.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Kuromine glanced around. The three of them were walking ahead of us. When she saw that, she put her mouth close to my ear. ¡°I was really scared. I was so happy when you said you were my boyfriend.¡± When she whispered that in my ear, my heart jumped with a thump. [Would you be interested in dating Kuromine-san?] Shirase¡¯s words ruminate in my head. ¡°Phew.¡± I shook my head as if to brush the thoughts away and made a short run for the locker room. ¡­¡­ Whispering in my ear, that¡¯s foul. I don¡¯t care if you were a plain girl back then, you¡¯re a goddess now. Think about that for a minute. You dumb*ss Blurting it out in my mind. I hate to admit it, but I was thrilled. Volume 2 - CH 7 Posted on April 26, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp After leaving the leisure facility, we headed for karaoke. Personally, I would have preferred a family restaurant because I had heard we were going to have dinner, but the majority voted against it. Three of them agreed, except for me and Kuromine. Kuromine was going home to begin with. But Kanon stopped her. She must really love Kanon, because she followed us even though she said it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°This is the first karaoke ¡­¡­ Kanon has ever done in her life.¡± ¡°Ara, it¡¯s my first time doing karaoke, too.¡± ¡°Actually, for me too.¡± Kanon, who was making her high school debut, said it was the first karaoke in her life, and Shirase, who was a young lady, said it was also the first time in her life. Furthermore, Yakumo-kun also had his first karaoke experience in his life. Apparently, in his case, he had been soaked in studies since the middle of junior high school that he had no time to play. It was refreshing and interesting to see the three of them so nervous. They were looking around the room for a while. I know how they felt because I had done something similar. When the excitement had cooled down, we took our seats. ¡°You had a lot of fun today, didn¡¯t you, Onee-sama?¡± ¡°Kanon is just too excited.¡± ¡°Even Onee-sama had fun on the waterslide many times.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± This time around, the relationship between Kuromine and Kanon seems to have deepened. They seemed to be having a lot of fun playing ball afterwards. It is good that Kanon seems to be having a good time. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve made a scene, right?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t like you, sis¡± ¡°Yakumo seemed to be having a lot of fun, too.¡± ¡°It was fun. I¡¯ve been studying hard since I entered the school.¡± It seems that this sister and brother also had a good time. I enjoyed it a lot, too. It was a nice change of pace from all the smartphone apps and studying I¡¯ve been doing lately. In that respect, I¡¯m grateful to them for inviting me. We each ordered a meal. I wasn¡¯t expecting a meal at a karaoke bar, but to be honest, I was licking my chops. It was on the same level as a regular family restaurant meal. When the tension was raised by the delicious meal, it became a flow of singing in turn. Kanon said it was her first karaoke in her life, but she sang an idol song. It was also my favorite song, so Yakumo-kun and I clapped our hands together. Yakumo-kun chose a male idol song. He was very good at it. Combined with his looks, he looked like a real idol. Next, Shirase sang an anime song. It was a famous radio song. I was a little bit surprised by the song choice, which was obviously aimed at the audience. I said I was a little taken back, but the song I sang was also an anime song. However, it was a song from an anime based on my favorite Light novel. It was not a moe song, but a hot song with a burning sensation in mind. I¡¯m not a very good singer, so the reaction was not that great. ¡°¡­¡­ hey.¡± In the midst of the excitement, Kuromine called out to me. I was strangely nervous because of what had just happened, but her eyes were glued to the touch panel. ¡°How do you operate this thing?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Is this your first time too?¡± Kuromine did not answer. Knowing the past, I can say that it is not surprising that Kuromine is new to this, but it would be surprising for the three people who do not know her past. That¡¯s why she whispered the question. With the other people watching, she seems to be going through with her school style here. I was impressed and dismayed at the same time that this girl was leading a difficult double life. I will teach her how to operate it. Surprisingly, she chose a popular song. At first her voice trembled with nervousness, but as she got used to the song, her voice came out. She has quite a beautiful voice. Or rather, she is just plain good. This made Kanon very excited. We then chatted over food and sang a few songs at each person¡¯s favorite time. Karaoke was a big hit. Especially Kanon and Yakumo-kun were amazing. They were singing all the time without showing any sign of letting go of the microphone. I was in the restroom. Apparently, I drank too much. While washing my hands, I was thinking about the day¡¯s events. It was a spur of the moment gathering, but it seemed to go off without a hitch. Despite everything that had happened, I had been reborn, and it turned out that I could handle the pool event with them with ease. I was doing my best. When I came back, Shirase was standing in front of the room. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go in¡­¡­?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you, Nijitani-san.¡± Shirase smiles wryly. ¡°It seems to be going well.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t play dumb with me. It¡¯s your relationship with Kuromine-san. It seems you¡¯ve grown quite close to each other. I could tell from what I saw.¡± ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t¡ª¡° ¡°Please leave the support to me.¡± She is not listening. For all the talk of atonement, she doesn¡¯t seem to have any sense of guilt at all. ¡°But if the other goddesses are better, I¡¯ll cooperate with you too. It¡¯s my way of atoning for my sins.¡± Is it limited to goddesses only? For her, it¡¯s not an act of redemption, it¡¯s an act of guilt. After saying this, Shirase went back into the room. When Shirase returned to the room, Kuromine came out from inside in exchange. Kuromine put her back against the door so that it could not be opened from the inside, and looked around to make sure no one was there. ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­ good work¡± It was a plain greeting. Her weak voice from her flashy appearance was a gap. ¡°G-good work¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Don¡¯t you have something to do? ¡°¡­¡­ Did you get a phone?¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°Kanon-chan told me. She says you¡¯ve been living a self-indulgent life lately because you¡¯ve been using apps all the time.¡± Self-indulgent is unnecessary part. However, it would be out of line to blame Kanon here. I didn¡¯t stop her from talking about it. Kuromine would have found out sooner or later. She took out her smartphone from her pocket. ¡°If you want, can you give me your contact information?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Look, we work at the same part-time job, so it would be useful to know, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± It would be worse to refuse here. Right now, Kuromine and I are healthy part-timers and this is how we hang out. If I refuse, she might get the idea that I have something to say. ¡°I don¡¯t mind ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡± I exchanged contact information with Kuromine. I wondered if that was what she wanted. Kuromine bowed flatly and went back into the room. After a few moments, I returned to the room as well. ¡°Onee-sama, are you all right?¡¡Your face is red.¡± ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a little hot.¡± ¡°Eeh, I think it¡¯s too cold since the air conditioner is on full blast.¡± ¡°Noisy. It¡¯s hot as hell in here.¡± Shirase laughed eerily at the sight of the two of them. Incidentally, Yakumo-kun was glancing at Kanon while drinking his juice. Thus ended the only and biggest event of July. Volume 2 - CH 8 Posted on April 28, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [¡°Finally, the day after tomorrow right? Is everything alright?¡±] Aoyama¡¯s voice coming from the voice chat was somewhat tense. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m feeling good and have no plans.¡± [¡°I¡¯m also fine¡±] The season was August. There is a GPEX tournament in early August, and I am supposed to participate in it as a trio with a Blue Goddess, Umi Aoyama, and my classmate, Mahiro Nazuka. The tournament is a loose event of sorts. It is a tournament for streamers, and is more like a festival for the enjoyable crowd than for the hardcore. Aoyama is a popular streamer who streams under the name ¡°Aomi,¡± and was approached by the organizer. The organizer asked her to join the event. Although the name of the event is a streamer convention, it is said that not everyone has to be a streamer. The organizer said that it would be no problem if those who were invited to participate in the tournament would be able to stream their games on the day of the tournament, so I and Masahiro, who usually play as a trio, were able to participate. This somewhat random nature of the event made it a loose event. Actually, I was looking forward to it. I had always watched competitions and events on video and streaming, but when the time came for me to participate, I was both nervous and elated. I wanted to win anyway. At first, only the enjoyable players were supposed to participate, but when I heard that two professionals were going to participate, I was fired up. I really wanted to feel their power in the flesh. So, after returning from the pool, I spent my time immersed in GPEX. Recently, I have been playing GPEX on my computer and at the same time running around the app game on autopilot. ¡°After all this time, are you okay?¡± [About what?] ¡°We¡¯re men, remember? It¡¯s better to work with women for this kind of thing. Look, our voices will be in the streaming.¡± As a viewer, I sometimes don¡¯t like it when a girl is streaming and suddenly a guy¡¯s voice takes over. [No problem. I¡¯ve already said so on the streaming. I said I invited someone I know.] ¡°¡­¡­ is that right?¡± [I used to play with guys in the viewer-participation model in the first place].¡± I didn¡¯t know. Then it doesn¡¯t sound like a problem. That day, two days before the tournament, we were practicing during the day. Recently, I¡¯ve been getting back into the swing of things. I¡¯m not very good at it, but I¡¯m getting over being a liability. [I¡¯m looking forward to it.] The same is true for Mahiro, who cannot contain his enjoyment. Mahiro was showing surprisingly rapid growth. Apparently, this guy had been free since the summer vacation, and he had been working on his own training every day. Thanks to his efforts, he is now better than me. Practice began in the afternoon and continued until nearly evening. The average ranking also went up, and by the end of practice we had won the championship twice. These days, it is not unusual for us to win. I guess the team power is improving along with the individual abilities. [¡­¡­Uhm, do you want to have a strategy meeting now?] Just before the last match was about to end, Aoyama made a start. ¡°A strategy meeting?¡± [Yes, we¡¯ll all have dinner together. There are strong teams participating in the main event, and just playing normally won¡¯t get us to the top. So I thought it would be better to come up with a strategy to win.] It seems that Aoyama is always at her best. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just talk about it over Discordo?¡± [We¡¯re also aiming to strengthen our unity by having dinner together. If it¡¯s just our voices, it¡¯s not very pleasant, and besides, if it¡¯s online, there¡¯s the possibility of eavesdropping.] ¡°¡­..Indeed, but not about eavesdropping¡± Do I want to go out to dinner with this girl? If this was just an invitation to dinner, I would have declined, but when she said it was a strategy meeting, my mind reeled. I¡¯m honestly looking forward to the convention. If participating in this strategy meeting would bring me closer to victory, it would not be a bad thing. If I¡¯m going to participate, I want to leave my mark, and since I have an opponent, it¡¯s only fair that I give it my all. [I like it. A strategy meeting sounds authentic and fun.] ¡°¡­.. I see. Guess I¡¯ll come too.¡± A few minutes later. I changed from glasses to contacts, got on my bicycle, and headed for a family restaurant. The family restaurant where we were meeting was the same place we had used for our previous study session. It was close to my house, but we have never been to a family restaurant because we are not in the habit of going to family restaurants at home. I hadn¡¯t been here since the study meeting. ¡°Osu!¡± ¡°Long time no see.¡± I join Mahiro, who was already waiting for me. He still has a neutral face. His skin was white, as if he hadn¡¯t left the house at all. He¡¯s been playing video games for a long time. We wait for Aoyama while conversing about the events of the summer vacation. ¡°¡ª-Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± A few minutes later, Aoyama arrived. Her trademark ponytail was tied on the side instead of in the back today. It is commonly called a side pony. She was dressed in a summery, casual outfit. Her beautiful legs peeking out from her shorts were dazzling. She really is pretty when she looks like this. ¡­¡­ only in appearance. Mahiro, next to me, had his heart set on Aoyama, who was dressed in plain clothes. He said he was in love with Aoyama, and I guess it was a blessing in disguise. After a quick greeting, I quickly entered the restaurant. ¡°Welcome¡ª¨CEh, Nijitani. And Aoyama and Nazuka?¡± The waitress¡¯s face was familiar. ¡°Nekoda?¡± ¡°Nekoda-san?¡± Me and Mahiro are surprised at the same time. The clerk was our classmate, Hazuki Nekoda. ¡°What are you doing here?¡¡Did you come here to chill out by any chance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. Nekoda that outfit¡ª¨C.¡± ¡°I work part-time at this place. I started just before summer vacation. I¡¯ve been playing so much that I¡¯m running out of money.¡± During the first semester, Nekoda was playing around after making up with Akazawa. I guess she needed to get a part-time job. That makes sense. When Nekoda and Aoyama¡¯s eyes met, they bailed each other out. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll show you the way then.¡± I was shown to my seat. I guess it was impossible to talk to someone while she was working. After just a few words of greeting, Nekoda went back to her work. ¡°I was surprised.¡± ¡°Right. I didn¡¯t think Nekoda was working part-time here.¡± Aoyama, sitting in front of us, looked thoughtful. ¡°¡­¡­ that¡¯s Nekoda-san, right?¡± Aoyama is also an Eastern Junior High School student, so both Mahiro and Nekoda are from the same school. ¡°Come to think of it, are you close with Nekoda-san, Aoyama-san?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve never been in the same class. That is why we have hardly ever talked.¡± I think back to the past, but I certainly don¡¯t remember them talking. ¡°Well, we¡¯re having a strategy meeting now.¡± After we each placed our orders, we began our strategy meeting. ¡°Let¡¯s start with a review. The rules of the tournament are that there will be a total of five matches. The final ranking is determined by the points you have. Points are awarded based on rank and kills per match. So the most important point is to survive to the end while defeating your opponent.¡± Surviving to the end and getting kills would be ideal, but it would be difficult. I checked out the participants and they are all at a high level. There are a few general participants like us, so I don¡¯t know exactly, but if we played normally, our team strength would be at best 50-50, or losing a little. It is extremely difficult to win a large number of points. ¡°What about the pros?¡± Two professionals are participating in this year¡¯s tournament. ¡°I heard that the pros will be on a separate team, so I don¡¯t think we need to take it that seriously. If we shoot at each other head-on, it¡¯s impossible, but if we fish, we can make it work.¡± The two professionals will not be on the same team but on different teams. This was done to strike a balance. The strategy meeting was more solid than I had expected. We then discussed where we were going down, what we were going to do, and what our tactics were going to be. I was getting caught up in the meeting. ¡°Hooi, here¡¯s the hamburger with cheese you ordered.¡± My order was brought in. Nekoda placed it on the table smiling. After that, Nekoda continued to bring the food quickly and efficiently. Although she said she had only been working part-time for a short time, she seemed to have a good sense of how to get things done. Nekoda was very skilled. ¡°Thanks a lot.¡± ¡°I hope you enjoy the food. Then, please take your time.¡± I was soothed by Nekoda¡¯s smiling face until the end. There was not the slightest hint of the gloomy expression she had on her face after I transferred to this school. ¡± Then let¡¯s go with that. Tomorrow is our last practice¨C¡° Aoyama was just about to finish. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Umi-chan.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. Huh, Nazuka, is here too.¡± I turned toward the voice and saw a pair of girls standing there. The familiar faces were the girls who once belonged to the track and field club with Aoyama at Eastern Junior High School Volume 2 - CH 9 Posted on April 29, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp I turned away at the sight of the girls, who looked familiar. This was the first time I had come into contact with middle school classmates who did not attend Tenkain. Since there had been no sign of detection up to now, I was high on the idea that it would be all right. The appearance of a familiar face made me feel as if I had been doused with cold water. I reflected on this point, but I have no regrets. Because I was now incredibly excited about GPEX. Because I would be able to compete with professionals and popular distributors, of course I would be looking forward to it. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Umi.¡± One of the girls spoke to Aoyama. I remembered the girl well. She was the girl who often worked with Aoyama. ¡°¡­¡­ yeah. It¡¯s been a while.¡± Aoyama looks a bit depressed. I turned my head to the fullest as I watched Aoyama. For now, just think about getting through this. The only thing to do is to treat them as if you were meeting them for the first time. I¡¯ve seen their faces before, but I don¡¯t really know their names, so it¡¯s no different from meeting them for the first time. ¡°You¡¯re looking well too, Nazuka-kun.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m still the same.¡± ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­,who is that person?¡± The girl looks at me. ¡°His name is Nijitani. He¡¯s a friend of mine from school.¡± For some reason, Aoyama introduces me. Or rather, don¡¯t make me your friend without my permission. But if I deny it here, she will ask me why we are having dinner together. I can¡¯t give off a shadowy impression so that they won¡¯t realize I¡¯m that Mukawa-kun. I try to smile as freshly as possible. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Nijitani. I¡¯m a sophomore at Tenkain, the same as Aoyama and Mahiro. Nice to meet you.¡± I raise one hand. ¡°I¡¯m Suzuki. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Oh, refreshing. I¡¯m Sato. Nice to meet you.¡± There is no sign of being discovered. I felt ridiculously nervous. Immediately after exchanging greetings, I was out of the girls¡¯ line of sight. ¡°¡­¡­ Umi, I guess you don¡¯t do track and field anymore.¡± ¡°I told you before. I¡¯m not doing it anymore.¡± ¡°Are you still dragging that thing out?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± What is that air. Aoyama quit track and field simply because she was injured, right? Aoyama seems to be healed now, but I guess she stopped doing track and field because she was feeling down or something. She told me herself while doing GPEX before. ¡°Uhm, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt you. Can I borrow Umi for a minute?¡± Suzuki-san asked to borrow Aoyama. When Mahiro and I agreed, the two of them invited Aoyama to sit with them. Their seats were right behind me. We had already finished our meal and most of the strategy meeting was over, so there was no problem. I heard a gorgeous voice from behind me. Apparently, they hadn¡¯t seen each other in a while and were talking about their life at school. ¡­¡­ Is it my imagination? I thought the atmosphere was strange earlier, but apparently my fears were unfounded. ¡°They were in the same junior high school. Aoyama-san and the girls were on the track team together.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Mahiro explains. After graduation, the girls entered another high school, where they continued to run track. And since Aoyama quit the club, the relationship had become estranged. It doesn¡¯t matter what I hear. It has nothing to do with me. I have never even talked to them. I didn¡¯t pay any attention to it and reconfirmed how I would move in the tournament. A little time passed, and there were few words between us. ¡°¡ª¨CAbout Mukawa-kun.¡± My heart jumped. I had not heard the conversation, so I was terribly surprised when my name was suddenly mentioned. I did not look back, but listened carefully to the conversation behind me. ¡°T-the story is¡ª¨C¡° ¡°Have you seen him since then?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ not yet.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Suzuki-san seems to know about both of us. I wondered why, as my mind flashed back to the memory of that day, and I remembered that she was the girl who had asked me when I was out of school. I didn¡¯t meet her then, so I didn¡¯t know her purpose. Oi oi, come on, don¡¯t talk bad about me here. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I can¡¯t stand it when people say bad things about me right before a competition. It could completely ruin our cooperation. ¡°¡­¡­ Shota, you look pale, are you okay?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Mahiro peeked at me with concern. ¡°I¡¯m totally fine. I think I ate a little too much.¡± ¡°You looked like you had a great meal.¡± ¡°It was excellent. Right, let¡¯s order some dessert.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ aren¡¯t you full?¡± ¡°Dessert is not a part of your stomach.¡± ¡°You sound like a girl. But I wanted a parfait too.¡± After ordering dessert, the waiting time again focuses my attention on the conversation behind me. Before I knew it, the conversation had skipped a bit. It seems that not only Suzuki-san but also Sato-san knows about the relationship with me. The conversation turned to what kind of life I was leading now that I had moved to a new school. ¡°You always say that, Umi-chan. You always said Mukawa is a good guy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s such a good guy, he¡¯s doing well over there. Made a lot of friends, had a girlfriend, and so on. I don¡¯t think you need to worry about it too much. It was a long time ago. He might have forgotten about you.¡± That¡¯s easy for you to say. Sato-san, of course, does not know the whole situation. To begin with, Aoyama does not know either. Aoyama doesn¡¯t know about the relationship between me and the Four Colored Goddesses. Only my mother and my best friend, Renji Inuyama, know about what was done to me in the past. However, Sato-san¡¯s words are half correct. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have a girlfriend, but I¡¯m doing fine. I¡¯ve made a lot of friends. ¡°Besides, you apologized to him, didn¡¯t you, Umi?¡± ¡°¡­¡­. I typed a message. Perhaps he¡¯s seen it.¡± ¡°If it were me, I¡¯d have apologized.¡± Here¡¯s the point I mustn¡¯t forget. Aoyama is apologizing for what she did to me. Aoyama was the only one who was willing to apologize to me, albeit over the chat. Apologizing for her own bad behavior, she said a series of words of apology. I still didn¡¯t trust Aoyama at that time, but at least I understood that she is not a bad girl now. We played a lot of games over the course of the semester and I understand that. ¡°It wasn¡¯t your fault when you ignored him in the first place, Umi. At that time, the atmosphere was completely Mukawa¡¯s fault, and if you had helped him out badly, even Umi would have become a bad girl. Ignoring him was the right thing to do. And Mukawa agreed with that, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ yeah.¡± That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t want to talk at school. ¡°The last time you pushed him down was simply because you were feeling ill and just happened to be in contact with Mukawa when he was on the verge of losing consciousness. And Umi-chan didn¡¯t even realize that you pushed Mukawa down.¡± Eh, ill? I didn¡¯t know. Wasn¡¯t that to attack me? ¡°He¡¯s a good guy. He didn¡¯t want to turn me into a criminal. After what I did to him. I¡¯m really the worst¡± Hm? I¡¯m not protecting you. I just kept quiet because no one would believe me anyway. Aoyama took it that way, huh? But I didn¡¯t know about Aoyama¡¯s situation until I came here. ¡°It¡¯s all right. If Mukawa is really a good guy, he¡¯ll forgive you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡± For your information, by being a good woman, my boyfriend cheated on me, but I forgave him. Then he said to me, ¡®You are really a good woman,¡¯ and half cried and hugged me. Men are such easy creatures.¡± I think that¡¯s a mistake for a woman of convenience. ¡­¡­ but I see what you mean. I¡¯ve learned the truth. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to reveal my true identity, but I guess the reflection is true around the fact that you¡¯re talking about this when you don¡¯t realize my true identity is Shota Mukawa. ¡°You know, the worst person in that matter is the one who spread the rumor about Shota Mukawa.¡± Suzuki concurred with Sato¡¯s statement. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s true that Umi was stupid for coming to school in such a physical condition, but the person who spread those rumors is the worst of all.¡± I agree. The source of all this was that former childhood friend of mine who tried to bring me down. If only she hadn¡¯t accused me of stalking her, problems could have been avoided. ¡°I wonder who started that rumor?¡± ¡°Who knows. Yuuhi-chan was the one who cleared up the misunderstanding, and I don¡¯t know if that is true. But if someone didn¡¯t say anything, it wouldn¡¯t become a rumor, would it?¡± I think that¡¯s a mistake for a woman of convenience. That¡¯s when it happened. A spoon rolled on the ground. ¡­¡­ Nekoda? It was Nekoda who dropped it. It seems she dropped the parfait while trying to bring it to us. A clumsy fellow. ¡°Look, you dropped it.¡± I picked up the dropped spoon and handed it to Nekoda. ¡°Oh, thanks. I¡¯ll get you a new one right away.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I wonder if Nekoda was listening to what they were saying. I guess she was heartbroken by her own best friend¡¯s past deeds after hearing what they just said. ¡°Hey, is that Nekoda-san now?¡± ¡°Right, it looks like she is working part-time here.¡± With the arrival of Nekoda, the topic of Mukawa-kun disappeared completely. Aoyama returned a short time later. We greeted Suzuki-san and Sato-san, left the restaurant, and then split up. I felt a little better now that I know the truth. It¡¯s too late to change the past, but at least I feel somewhat better knowing that she didn¡¯t push me down because she hated me. ¡­¡­ The contrary, Aoyama¡¯s expression was cloudy until the end. Volume 2 - CH 10 Posted on May 2, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°If you¡¯re not feeling well, don¡¯t push yourself.¡± The day of the competition arrived. Aoyama was in the worst shape. Yesterday, she had made a series of trivial mistakes in practice the day before the event. Her aim was shaky, and she seemed lost in action. It is not like Aoyama to carelessly step out in front of the enemy and get caught in a hornet¡¯s nest. It is normally my role to lose after rash actions. On the contrary, I was in great shape. My instincts were spot on and my aim was sharp. Aoyama, the ace of the tournament, was not doing well, but I, who was in great form, led the way, and my performance yesterday was not bad either. On the day of the competition, we had a little practice right before the competition, but even there, Aoyama¡¯s condition did not return. Aoyama¡¯s condition did not return to normal. [¡°I¡¯m fine. I was just a little sick. I¡¯ve eaten a meal, so I¡¯m full of energy. I think I can beat a pro right now.¡±] ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± Even through the voice chat, I could tell she was in a blank state of energy. I didn¡¯t pursue it any further. The reason for Aoyama¡¯s sluggishness was probably the incident at the family restaurant the other day. Clearly, the tension had dropped since that night. Aoyama had been talking to me half-heartedly since yesterday¡¯s practice, and she had just logged in later than the time we were supposed to meet. It is typical for her to always be highly motivated and always gathers earlier than the meeting time. [¡°You don¡¯t have to strain yourself.¡±] [¡°Thanks, Nazuka. But I¡¯m totally fine, so don¡¯t worry. Okay, then, I¡¯ll start the stream, so please get ready.] Aoyama started the delivery. That¡¯s where she¡¯s supposed to introduce us to the viewers. Although she had told the viewers in advance, this was the first time we were introduced as members. The plan was to practice the day before the event, but Aoyama wasn¡¯t feeling well, so it was decided to do it on the day of the event. Aoyama put on the mask of streamer [Aomi]. When she entered the streaming state, her voice became a little higher. I was thinking that she sounded like my mother when she answers the phone, and after the opening greetings, it was her turn to introduce us. [So, let me introduce the members of this year¡¯s tournament. I chose these members with an emphasis on cooperation, so their skill level may not be that great. Therefore, don¡¯t expect too much from them.] She prefaced her speech with this. As one would expect from someone who has been distributing for so long, she was calm and collected. The somewhat anxious look she had earlier was gone. [¡°First of all, N-kun, who looks like a girl,¡± ] [Nice to meet you.] [¡°And then there¡¯s S-kun, who has a reputation for going in on his own and smashing things.¡±] ¡°Noisy ¡­¡­ Hello and nice to meet you¡± N-kun is N for Nazuka and S-kun is S for Shota. My last name, Nijitani, would also be a N, so here we are. Aoyama is called Aomi. All of this is to prevent identity theft. It is possible that some of the viewers are students at Tenkain, but not all of them are, so this is a natural countermeasure. ¨COh, hello, good to meet you. ¨CGood luck, N-kun. ¨CHere¡¯s hoping for a crushing defeat for S-kun. The comment section is not so wild because I announced it earlier. I was relieved to see the welcoming mood. [I¡¯d like to say that my goal is to win, but I think it¡¯s a little tough. What is your goal?] [I¡¯d like to be better than the other half.] [You are too passive, you know. What about you, S-kun?] ¡°Realistically, I¡¯d like to finish higher than fifth.¡± [That¡¯s the part where you say, ¡®We¡¯re going to win. Both goals set way too low.] Then I waited while I told the viewers about the strategy I had thought of. I was chatting and peeking at the organizer¡¯s feed. There, the participating teams were being introduced. I saw a few well-known people here and there, and my excitement rose even higher. As announced, the two professionals would be participating as separate teams. The Vtubers were an all-female team, which I sometimes watch, and they are very good at what they do. [Now, the last team to be highlighted is this one. This team was led by Aomi, a first-time participant in the competition. She has been famous for not participating in competitions or collaborating with others, although she has participated in viewer participation.] Our team seems to be getting a lot of attention there. Well, not so much us, but Aomi. And then it was time to start. The first match began. There are five matches in total. I had decided to take my time and get used to it, as I was sure I would be nervous in the beginning. The plan was to focus on survival while avoiding the enemy as much as possible. I was still nervous at my first tournament. I felt strange even though I was used to the map. Picking up weapons was awkward. [There are no enemies.] ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone over here, either.¡± We proceeded while searching for the enemy. It is a tournament, so it seems that all the participants are moving cautiously. The number of remaining teams is not decreasing at all. After spending a peaceful time for a while, we encountered an enemy team on the way to the area. [T-There are enemies!] ¡°Okay, let¡¯s fight.¡± We were able to take the lead because we noticed this one first. This was the first battle with an overwhelming advantage. We launched a preemptive attack. Although the battle was in our favor, Aoyama¡¯s movement was poor. It was a great opportunity, but since she started moving late, she had to fight in a position where only one person was vulnerable. Normally, Aoyama would have had the strength to fight back from that position, but she did not. Aoyama was easily defeated. [¡­¡­ Sorry please take care of the rest.] We annihilated the opposing team, but Aoyama fell. Then me and Mahiro started our journey together. We were not strong enough to enter the center, so we stood around passively. However, a battle was inevitable. We fought in a situation where we were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. We were able to defeat one of them. ¡°Sorry, please survive.¡± I fell, too, in a vain struggle. After that, Mahiro was the last man standing, but he struggled to survive. He was on the run and did not look good, but he remained in fifth place. He also killed a few enemies, so he had some kill points. After the first round, we were in fourth place, which was a fair start. ¨Ca good start. ¨CNice job, N-kun. ¨CGood luck next time, Aomi. The commentators, who were five minutes behind due to the delay in the broadcast, also praised the team¡¯s good performance. There were no highlights in the second round. As I was moping around in a hard to move area at the end of the game, I ran into a group of Vtubers and lost. Again, Aoyama¡¯s moves were far from what they should have been. This was the reason why it took so long to move to the area in the first place. After regaining momentum, the third round began. Right from the start, we clashed with the enemy team. The opponent was not very strong, but Mahiro fell here. After that, it was just me and Aoyama. [¡­¡­] ¡°¡­¡­¡± We exhibited miraculous luck. The circle loved us and we were able to stay near the center of the area until the end of the game without having to move much. At the last minute, we were out of the area. There were three teams left, including us. [What are we going to do?] ¡°¡­¡­ of course I¡¯m going to rush in.¡± [I knew you would say that!] As usual, I jump out of my skin. I charge towards the party that was camped in the strongest position in the area. Just in time, another team also made a suicide attack from the other side. However, the other team was led by a professional. After lightly repulsing my assault, Aoyama, who had been closing in from the opposite side, also returned fire. Another team that made a suicide attack was also handled with frightening reaction speed. Thus ended the third round. At the end of the first half, we were in eighth place. Volume 2 - CH 11 Posted on May 3, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp After the first half of the tournament, the competition went on a brief break. With that, the streaming stopped. We were not in good shape. If we only look at the ranking, it is not so bad, but we know we are not getting through it. [¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t concentrate.¡±] She knew the cause of the problem better than anyone else. Aoyama ¡ª no, Aomi was in too bad a shape. The problem was not so much the play but the lack of command. Normally, she takes the initiative and pulls it together. She usually takes the lead, decides where to go, and has the leadership skills to give precise instructions. But that is not there now. ¡°Is there a reason for your poor performance?¡± Mahiro asked. That¡¯s right, if I were Mahiro, I would be concerned about it. He had been working so hard for the tournament, and now suddenly this. Mahiro was looking forward to the tournament as much or more than I was. He must be dissatisfied with the current situation. I¡¯m impressed that he hasn¡¯t said anything or expressed his dissatisfaction. After a long period of silence in response to the question. [I had a little trouble in the past. I met a familiar face at a family restaurant. I thought about it a lot. I wondered if it was okay for me to keep playing the game.] ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was somehow awkward. It was me, by all accounts, but my mind was focused on the tournament. To be honest, I¡¯d rather tell them to focus on the game than on anything else. But I wonder if I should be allowed to say that. Aoyama probably doesn¡¯t know who I am, but it¡¯s a topic I don¡¯t feel comfortable mentioning. [I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but you should focus on this for now.] [¡­¡­ I know that, though.] [I don¡¯t know the person, so I can¡¯t say anything appropriate, but still, it would be disrespectful to the other participants and organizers if we don¡¯t focus on this side now. It may be a tournament for fun, but there are people who are serious about playing.] Good point. I¡¯d prefer it that way too. [¡­¡­ What do you think, Nijitani?] ¡°I think Mahiro¡¯s right. We should put everything else in the back of our minds and enjoy this tournament for now.¡± ¡°I see. ¡­¡­You¡¯re right¡± After talking about these things, the break time came to an end. She started the stream again. We fought a disappointing first half, but words of support for us flowed through the comments section. They were words from people whose faces I couldn¡¯t see, but they were very encouraging. ¨CCome on, let¡¯s get back on track from here. ¨CI¡¯m looking forward to the battle. ¨CTurn the tables and become legends. [Thanks for your support, everyone. We¡¯ll turn things around from here!] The fourth round began. Things were going well. We encountered the enemy team early on, but we were able to catch them by surprise because they were in the middle of a battle. Thanks to this, we were able to enrich ourselves with loot. With the loot in place, we were steadily moving up in the rankings. We wanted to kill more enemies in terms of points, but we didn¡¯t feel like we could win if we got into a battle in our current state. However, just as we were approaching the end of the battle, we came into contact with a strong opponent. ¡°Run!¡± [Aomi, you take care of the rest.] Me and Mahiro fell. When you are defeated, GPEX switches to the viewpoint of the surviving members of the same team. The screen showed Aomi, who was now solo. Aomi hid behind a rock. Soloing is a disadvantageous battle in terms of numbers, so the basic rule is to avoid fighting as much as possible. ¡°Are you going?¡± [Well, I¡¯ll take care of it. I¡¯ll do my best to improve our ranking as much as possible.] ¡°Your ambition is low. Let¡¯s go for the win.¡± [¡­¡­] At this rate, it¡¯s no good. If we want to win the overall championship in terms of points, we need to win this match. Still, it¡¯s a thin string. [Let¡¯s keep calm, shall we?] [¡­¡­ yeah] I want to win. I don¡¯t want all the practice I¡¯ve done so far to go to waste. I¡¯m sure Mahiro, who is cheering for her, wants to win, too. The video stream was delayed, so it was taken five minutes before the game, but the comments section was filled with words of support. On the screen, Aomi is moving at the edge of the area. Watching the enemy team engaged in a battle in front of her, she was still and breathless. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m going to the restroom.¡± [Eh, at this point in time?] ¡°My apologies. Aomi, please survive.¡± Ignoring the startled Mahiro¡¯s voice, I hang up the voice chat. I didn¡¯t go to the bathroom, but switched my discordo account. Then I log in with the account I used to use. As usual, the comments directed at Shota Mukawa were still written. ¨CIt¡¯s almost summer vacation. Are you having fun over there? ¨CIt¡¯s been hot this summer, too. I feel like I¡¯m going to melt. The night before last when we went to that family restaurant, it said. ¨CI¡¯m having a hard time today, and I¡¯m having a mental breakdown. I wonder how Shota is doing there. I wonder if you are doing well. I¡¯m feeling self-loathing because I had an incident that reminded me of that day. I wonder if it¡¯s okay for someone like me to keep playing the game. I¡¯m losing the energy to do my best. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve responded to this account. The reason it took me so long to type just one word was probably because there was something inside me that I couldn¡¯t digest. Still, I typed and sent it. [¨CGood luck.] I sent it nervously. I immediately switched accounts. Was it because I was embarrassed or because I was nervous? I had a sudden urge to pee, so I headed for the restroom. I grabbed a drink from the fridge and came back. ¡°I¡¯m back now.¡± [Welcome back. Wait, Aomi-san is awesome.] At the screen, the Warriors had begun. [Hey, N-kun. Welcome back.] ¡°O-ou I¡¯m back¡± Aomi was in a totally different tension than before. Her voice was brighter and she was moving dynamically on the screen. Then I heard the story and it seemed that the professionals had crushed each other and even the Vtuber group had fallen in the middle. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± [I¡¯m coming back to my senses. Sorry for worrying about me.] ¡°¡­.Then, it¡¯s all good¡± Aomi suddenly sounded happy, apparently. She then suddenly began to move better, destroying the enemy team in front of her and continuing to the present. Finally, it was the end of the game. The other team was missing one player and there were two players left. Although Aomi was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, she overwhelmed them with her sharp moves. Apparently, the last remaining team was not so good. [All right, first things first!] Our team won the fourth round. ¡°Nice. Now we still have the overall championship.¡± [Nice. Big points.] The momentum carried over into the final round. Entering the final round, Aomi was completely normal. No, it was more than usual. [S-kun, you are in charge of searching that way, and N-kun, you are in charge of searching this way.] [There¡¯s fighting to the north, let¡¯s go there] [Fight back. We¡¯re in the better position.] [It seems safer to go to the center of the area.] Under precise instructions, we survived until the last minute again. However, Mahiro fell and we were the only two left. There was only one enemy team left. I checked the log and found that they were also missing a man. There was no advantage or disadvantage in numbers. [It¡¯s a tie-breaker.] ¡°We¡¯re going to win.¡± [Of course. So, what are you going to do at the end?] You know the answer, but you bothered to ask. ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to rush in!¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± I rush in as a matter of course. Normally, Aoyama comes around from the opposite side, but this time, she is right behind me and sticks to me. The sight of Aoyama was just like when we were in junior high school, and it made my heart flutter a little. And then¡­ [Hahahahahaha, the pro are too strong] ¡°It¡¯s a man-powered cheat.¡± The pros fought back without a second thought. We all laughed at how strong they were. We came back in the last two rounds and our team finished in third place overall. The organizers thanked us for giving them a boost at the end. ¨CThanks for all your hard work. You were great at the end. ¨CIt was close. ¨CAgree. I don¡¯t mind reckless suicide attacks. After receiving warm comments from the viewers, this is how my first competition ended. Volume 2 - CH 12 Posted on May 5, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp That day, a few days after the tournament, I was at a family restaurant. Tension was low. I felt a slight desire to kill Aoyama, who was smiling in front of me, and Mahiro, who was smiling right beside me. ¡°Calm down, you¡¯ve got to get yourself in a better mood.¡± ¡°¡­.You set me up¡± ¡°But Shota is pretty simple. You are not so much a good person as a gullible one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so noisy.¡± I was called by Mahiro. He called me on my phone for a consultation. When I finally arrived at the family restaurant, Aoyama was there too. The fact that he had something to discuss with me was a complete lie. Apparently, Mahiro and Aoyama were planning a party to celebrate the conclusion of the recent tournament, and in order to invite me, he asked me to consult with me. I¡¯m not the type of person to be fooled, but when a friend says, ¡°I need to talk to you about something,¡± I usually think it¡¯s something pretty serious. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Shota hasn¡¯t even been connected to the discordo since that day.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I apologize for lying to you, but isn¡¯t it terrible that I haven¡¯t heard anything from my comrades-in-arms?¡± I guess he has a point there. I¡¯ve been somewhat out of it since that tournament. I haven¡¯t played GPEX since then. I don¡¯t mean to sound like a burnout, but I felt like I didn¡¯t need to touch it for a while. That¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t connected to the discordo either. ¡°Now now, let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡± Aoyama interrupts forcefully. ¡°Well, now the players are all here. Thank you again for your hard work.¡± ¡°Thanks for all your hard work.¡± ¡°Good job, ¡­¡­.¡± We toast with drinks. I join in the toast, since I¡¯ve come all this way. ¡°The competition was a lot of fun, wasn¡¯t it!¡± Mahiro nodded at Aoyama¡¯s words. ¡°It¡¯s no exaggeration to say that we made it all happen,¡± ¡°I know, right? I was so proud of myself for pushing so hard.¡± ¡°The last game had my hands sweating.¡±¡± ¡°There seemed to be a lot of people who felt the same way. Since then, more and more people have been coming to the site to watch the video. It kept my motivation high.¡± She says that her success in the recent tournament has increased her viewership. When I glanced at it last night, I saw that both ties and registrations had increased. It seems to have had quite an effect. In the comments, many viewers said that my play style, which has a habit of suicide attacks, was interesting. In particular, the last suicide attack was a new experience for viewers, as it was not Aoyama¡¯s usual style of play. ¡°Eh, Aoyama-san, are you going to collaborate with someone next time?¡± I was thinking of trying ¡­¡­ since someone invited me.¡± ¡°Is everything okay?¡¡I heard you don¡¯t do collaborations or anything like that.¡± Aoyama also mentioned that she had received invitations to collaborate with people she had fought in competitions with. The streamer [Aomi] has never collaborated with other streamers before. What kind of winds are blowing? ¡°I¡¯ve grown up. I¡¯m not a closed party like I used to be, but I¡¯m going to be more popular from now on. You know, networking is important.¡± ¡°By the way, who is your collaborator?¡± ¡°She¡¯s from that Vtuber group. We¡¯re going to the battlefield next time as a trio.¡± It seems that a friendship has developed between rivals who have been competing against each other in competitions. I asked her about it, and she told me that they were already communicating via discordo. They are close in age and hit it off. We talked for a while, reflecting on the match. I was brought here by trickery, so I was not excited at first, but as we talked, the excitement and emotion of that time came back to me. Indeed, the tension of the last match was great. I remember that I was still very excited after the tournament, and my eyes were strangely clear that night. ¡°If there is a next time, I want to win the overall championship this time, you know?¡± ¡°Yeah. We need to improve our skills too. Right, Shota?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ if there¡¯s a next time.¡± The talk of the tournament is over, and we move on to chatting over dinner. The topic of conversation turned to summer vacation, as is typical for students. I had already finished my homework, but the two of them apparently hadn¡¯t gotten around to it yet. It seemed that both of them had been playing games all day until the convention. ¡°Speaking of which, what are your plans for the rest of the summer?¡± Aoyama asks. ¡°I don¡¯t think my side will change. I do my homework, play games, and then sleep. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing up until now, and I don¡¯t think it will change until the summer vacation is over.¡± ¡°Nazuka must be living a lonely, non-real life.¡± ¡°What about you, ¡­¡­ Aoyama-san?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll do my homework, stream, and sleep the rest of the night.¡± Aren¡¯t you the same? ¡°I forgot. There was a summer festival.¡± Mahiro mumbled as if remembering. ¡°Is the summer festival that fireworks show?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m supposed to go with some people from our class.¡± ¡°Heh,¡­¡­the people in your class?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like getting together with quite a few people.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ does that mean, Akazawa is going too?¡± ¡°She is going. Or rather, she and Nekoda-san planned it.¡± Immediately, Aoyama¡¯s expression clouded. Aoyama and Akazawa are apparently not getting along very well. Aoyama had been in a pretty good mood since the tournament, but to think that she was in this kind of mood just because her name was mentioned. After looking down as if thinking, she turned her head toward me. ¡°You¡¯re not going, are you Nijitani?¡± ¡°Shota¡¯s going too.¡± ¡°Eh ¡­¡­ Really?¡± What¡¯s with that surprised look on your face? Even I am cooperative. I don¡¯t have the mentality to refuse an invitation from a few of my classmates in the classroom. I don¡¯t know if they have plans near the summer festival before the summer break starts, and in that situation, I would have no choice but to answer that I would participate in the festival. ¡°There is such a thing as socializing.¡± ¡°¡­.I see. It¡¯s important to keep up with friends and classmates, right?¡± That¡¯s right. If anyone can refuse to go there, I¡¯d love to see it. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going, Aoyama-san?¡± ¡°I was invited, but there were too many people, so I decided to pass. Many people in my class weren¡¯t interested, and I had to stream. Besides, many of my viewers don¡¯t like summer festivals.¡± It¡¯s not easy being a popular streamer. ¡°But if you two are going, I want to be there too. When¡¯s the date?¡± Aoyama then looked up the date, but decided against it because it seemed that the collaboration was on that day. The topic of conversation changed two or three times. We talked about such things as the discovery of a passionate love affair between an actor and a news report of an idol having an affair. Time passed and we were about to split up. ¡°Hey, Nijitani bought a smartphone, right?¡± ¡°O-ou¡± ¡°Can you give me your contact information, too?¡± I had secretly told Mahiro when Aoyama was not around, so Aoyama did not know I had purchased a smartphone. Apparently, she found out when he called me up earlier. There was no reason for me to refuse. In fact, if I refused under the circumstances, the atmosphere would be too bad. Incidentally, Mahiro, who is standing next to me, has already exchanged contact information with Aoyama. So I exchanged contact information with Aoyama. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°¡­¡­It¡¯s basically discordo¡± ¡°I know. Then, let¡¯s play games together again. I¡¯m always logging in during summer vacation, so if you feel like playing, just give me a call.¡± Then we split up. I left the store and got on my bike. Just before I left, I remembered something. ¡­¡­ come to think of it, wasn¡¯t Nekoda in that restaurant? I peeked inside the restaurant while straddling my bicycle and saw that Nekoda was working properly. However,her expression was clearly not cheerful and very clouded. Volume 2 - CH 13 Posted on May 6, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The summer vacation, which had been filled with various events, was coming to an end. Starting with an unexpected pool, the GPEX competition turned out to be more exciting than expected. And the distance between me and the goddess, which for some reason had shortened. For me, who had done nothing but study and training during the summer vacation last year, those two events were a big burden. I didn¡¯t know it myself, but my mother asked me, ¡°Are you okay?¡± She was worried about me. Apparently, fatigue was showing on my face. It was not only the event, but also the change of environment. An air-conditioned room, a crowded city, living with a new family, the school with the Goddesses. The fatigue was the result of a combination of factors. For these reasons, I moved up my plans to visit my grandparents in the countryside, where I was supposed to stay for two nights and three days during the Obon vacation. I was healed by the nature and the unchanged grandparents that I could not see in the city. Nothing had changed over there. Well, there is no way that things can change in just three or four months. During the Obon vacations, my parents came to greet me with Kanon. Although Kanon was a bit nervous because she was their stepdaughter, my grandparents loved her as if she were their own grandchild. In just a short time, they became completely comfortable with Kanon, and she stayed overnight with them. She wanted to see the school I went to, so I showed her around the countryside. The time I spent with Kanon was very comfortable. Perhaps somewhere in my heart, I was longing for something like spending time with my family. I was healed both mentally and physically, and I was full of motivation. After returning to the city, I worked energetically. First, I increased the number of days I worked part-time. I resumed running and muscle training, which had been my daily routine while I was back in the country. It had been a long time since I had moved my body with all my might, and apparently the feeling was still there. I felt restless unless I was moving. ¡°You seem to be in good shape.¡± Kuromine told me that. Kuromine seemed to be in good spirits as well. During the summer vacation, she spent her days studying while working part-time and leaked that Kanon was persistently asking her out. Next, I put a lot of effort into games. I played GPEX, which I had not logged on to since the Goodnight Party. Before I knew it, my motivation had been restored. The moment I connected to the discordo, Aoyama and Mahiro, who were chatting with each other, noticed me and called out to me to go to the battlefield. [Hey, aren¡¯t you getting better even though you haven¡¯t been playing?] [I thought so too. What happened?] I was in surprisingly good shape. After playing for a while, we chatted about nothing else. Aoyama was approached from many places after the tournament and invited to participate in the tournament again. Finally, like a student, she mustn¡¯t forget her studies. My homework was finished before the Bon Festival, but I will not neglect my studies for the future. With a reference book in hand, I solved the problems. This was also going well. I guess spending time over there must have been a refreshing change of pace. The refreshing effect cannot be underestimated. I haven¡¯t decided what I am going to do with my life yet, but I am planning to go to college here. After that, I haven¡¯t decided yet. However, I would like to eventually live in the countryside. I thought again after returning there, but it seems that living in the countryside is more suitable for me. In this way, I spent a full day in the middle of the summer vacation. There were no incidents. There were no errands that seemed like errands. Then, the months passed and it was the end of August. The day of the summer festival, the biggest and last event of the summer vacation, arrived. The morning of the summer festival. It was the worst awakening of the day. It had been a long time since I had a dream about the old days, and the tension was low. I didn¡¯t need to see it at a pinpoint timing. I got dressed in a bad mood and had a late breakfast. The meeting place with my classmates is in front of the station. We meet in the evening and all go together as it were. ¡°¡­.You don¡¯t look so good?¡± Kanon looks at me uneasily. Spending the Obon vacation together has brought Kanon and I closer together. We are now friends enough to casually go back and forth to each other¡¯s rooms and play games in my room after returning here. ¡°I had a bad dream.¡± ¡°Dream¡­.You¡¯re not a kid anymore¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m pathetic.¡± ¡°Get excited. It¡¯s a summer festival after all.¡± That¡¯s right. It would be a shame not to enjoy the summer festival. Kanon¡¯s tension has been high for a few days now. She was going to the summer festival with her classmates, and she couldn¡¯t contain her excitement. She was complaining that she had invited Kuromine to go with her, but she had refused. ¡°But I really envy Onii-chan¡¯s life you know¡± ¡°Envy?¡± ¡°Because today you are going with Akazawa-senpai. Just going to the pool with Tsukiyo Onee-sama and Shirase-senpai is enough to make the people at the school curse you with jealousy, and then there¡¯s the Red Goddess. Now if only you had something to do with the Blue Goddess, you would have your goddess collection completed.¡± I¡¯m already acquainted with that girl because I attended the convention with her. I responded with an affectionate smile to Kanon, who expressed a fair opinion as a student of Tenkain. Objectively speaking, she is probably right. After transferring to a new school, she must think I¡¯m a very lucky person to have met all these goddesses one after the other. After finishing the meal, I slowly began to get ready. The summer festival that I will be attending is a nationally known festival that attracts a large number of people. The highlight of the festival is the fireworks display. The spectacle of large flowers blooming in the night sky is a sight to behold. This is not the first time for me to participate in this festival. I have been to this festival many times when I was a child. When I was a child, the beauty of the fireworks used to make my eyes sparkle. I have many memories of summer festivals. In those days, my childhood friends were always next to me. My mother was busy with work, so I was always taken care of by her parents. It is a nostalgic memory now. I have never been to the school since I became a junior high school student. Needless to say, the reason was because of that woman. I was made an outcast because of Akazawa¡¯s manipulations, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that she had bet her life on making a fool out of me. Rather, the summer festival in the first year of junior high school was the beginning of all this. When she bragged about how much fun she had at the summer festival as soon as the summer vacation was over and the second semester started, I suffered a severe mental breakdown. At that time, I was preparing to go to the summer festival, but I was not invited. Among the group I was always with, I was the only one who was not invited. She was very prepared. She told the group that she had invited me but I had turned her down, and no one thought it suspicious. This morning¡¯s dream was exactly what happened. As I was getting ready, remembering the bitter memory, before I knew it, it was time to leave. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go ahead fist¡± I call out to Kanon. In the room, Kanon was wearing a yukata. It was a cool yukata with hydrangea on a light blue background. She had ordered it on the Internet the other day. The yukata looked good on Kanon, and I was with her when she picked it out. By the way, I am not wearing a yukata, but my everyday clothes. I used to get excited in yukata. Akazawa¡¯s mother was addicted to making me wear a yukata, and she used me as a dress-up doll. ¡°Do you like this yukata?¡± ¡°It looks good on you.¡± ¡°Ehehe thanks, Onii-chan¡± It looks really good on her. As a brother, I am worried about her being picked on. ¡°If you see me over there, don¡¯t ignore me, okay? I want to introduce you to my friends.¡± ¡°I know. Be careful, Kanon.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± I left the house. It¡¯s a little earlier than the meeting time. Kanon¡¯s friends are gathering at my house, so I don¡¯t want to get caught in the middle. I walk slowly to the station. When I arrive at the station, there is already someone waiting for me there. The girl with red hair, who stood out more than anyone else, noticed my presence. ¡°Aah, Nijitani-kun!¡± My face tightens at the sight of Yuuhi Akazawa waving to me with a smile. Volume 2 - CH 14 Posted on May 9, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp I approach Akazawa, who is waving her hand. Akazawa was wearing a yukata. It was a yukata with morning glories on a white background. The wisteria-colored morning glories give the yukata a neat and clean impression, while at the same time giving it a mature look. The belt is red like the color of her hair. It is brighter red than her hair, and is coordinated in a glamorous yet neat manner. Her hairstyle is side-up. The beautiful nape of the neck can be glimpsed. She was so cute that I was at a loss for words to describe how she managed to be glamorous, neat, and attractive at the same time, a feat that even the gods would not be afraid of. I could see that people passing by were also looking at her. I have mixed feelings about seeing my childhood friend in a yukata, who has grown up a lot since I remember her. ¡°You are early. Perhaps you couldn¡¯t wait to see me either, Nijitani?¡± ¡°¡­¡­I guess so¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually in the same boat. I was so looking forward to the festival that I came too early.¡± This girl has always loved festivals. I remember well the way she used to eat cotton candy and takoyaki (octopus dumplings) with relish. Not only did she like to eat, but she also liked to play. I remember her trying her hand at target shooting, die-cutting, and yo-yo fishing many times. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to the festival.¡± ¡°O-ou¡± I answered and stood next to Akazawa. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Awkward. I don¡¯t know what to do. It¡¯s not calculated. I thought I¡¯d come early and play shag until we all gathered, but I didn¡¯t expect this girl to be earlier than me. Akazawa just stood next to me and didn¡¯t talk to me. What should I do? It would be different, or perhaps too unnatural, to leave at this point. I am just a classmate now. It would be strange if I didn¡¯t behave in a normal way toward a female classmate. If this is the case, the right choice is to have a conversation. I look for something that could be a clue to a conversation. ¡°¡­¡­ looks good on you. That yukata.¡± I came to the conclusion that I would compliment her on her yukata. Kanon was also smiling when she was complimented on her yukata. I don¡¯t know about female psychology, but this should be the safest choice. ¡°Really?!¡± A slight compliment was met with an over-the-top reaction. Apparently, I was right. ¡°It looks pretty good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad. I hadn¡¯t worn a yukata in a long time, so I was a little nervous.¡± ¡°Well, not since last summer.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t wear it last year.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you attend the festival?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ No.¡± Did things not go well with his classmates? Speaking of last summer, Akazawa is not yet a goddess. Maybe she wasn¡¯t as popular as she is now. Or maybe she had other plans. I have no way of knowing. ¡°Nijitani, you¡¯re not wearing a yukata, huh?¡± ¡°You could say that. Do I look strange?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s strange, but it¡¯s a little disappointing. You look like you¡¯d look good in a yukata.¡± I don¡¯t think there is such a thing as looking good in a yukata or not looking good in a yukata. A message arrived on Akazawa¡¯s phone as she mumbled her disappointment. Akazawa gave a dubious look, then began to exchange with someone. I took my gaze away from Akazawa and looked at the station. There seemed to be quite a lot of people going to the festival, and there were a few people dressed in yukata here and there. It must be the effect of the yukata that there seemed to be about 30% more beautiful women than usual. I have seen the station filled with the atmosphere of a festival in the past, but now that I am an adult, I have a different impression of it. Suddenly, I hear a sigh from beside me. It seems that the exchange with someone I had been communicating with had come to an end. I pretend not to notice and continue to look at the front. ¡°Your hair has grown long.¡± Suddenly, Akazawa said so. I hadn¡¯t cut my hair for a while, so it had indeed grown quite long. I should cut it by the end of the summer vacation. I huffed. The longer my hair grows, the more it may overlap with my past self. Fortunately, Akazawa didn¡¯t seem to notice, but it was a close call. ¡°I¡¯ll cut it off before the new semester.¡± ¡°Yeah, you should definitely cut it. I think you look better with short hair.¡± You always hated guys with long hair? I had never heard of such a thing, but either way, it was still a cut. I would have to follow her advice. ¡°Hey, how did you spend your summer vacation?¡± ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary.¡± ¡°Have you gone out anywhere?¡± A swimming pool comes to mind. ¡°Nothing special. I just went out to the countryside.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t go to the pool or anything?¡± ¡°¡­..I didn¡¯t go¡± ¡°Heh I see. An acquaintance of mine said she saw someone who looked like Nijitani-kun at the pool, but she must have mistaken him for someone else.¡± Don¡¯t tell me you knew someone who was there? My heart palpitates. Calm down. She didn¡¯t see me. If I show my face here, she¡¯ll know I¡¯m lying. ¡°It¡¯s all in your mind. I¡¯ve been cooped up at home. I don¡¯t even like swimming pools. I¡¯m sure this acquaintance was mistaken.¡± Akazawa seemed convinced. I think she was looking at me a little sternly, but I must have been mistaken. After that, Akazawa played with her phone for a bit. ¡°I¡¯m going to change the subject, but didn¡¯t you take part in a gaming convention?¡± ¡°¡­.I haven¡¯t¡± ¡°I see. Someone I know said someone who sounded like Nijitani-kun was at the tournament, but I must have been imagining things.¡± Where did she get that information from? I thought, but it seems that the viewers of Aomi, the streamer, are also in Tenkain Academy. Maybe there was a guy who realized who I was just by hearing my voice and pretended to be a detective. Don¡¯t worry, this is not confirmed information either. ¡°It¡¯s all in your mind. I didn¡¯t attend any competitions or anything.¡± ¡°But, Nazuka-kun said he participated in it with Nijitani-kun.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± That¡¯s the source of the information, huh? ¡°Oh, I forgot. I participated in a tournament. I didn¡¯t win anything, so it slipped my mind. Aaah, that was a tournament. ¡°¡­¡­ were you only with Nazuka-kun?¡± ¡°O-ou. I was a duo with him. We got to a good position, but in the end we didn¡¯t win. I¡¯m sorry you have to hear that, hahahaha. Forceful deception. Even Mahiro would not reveal that Aoyama is a streamer. He would not divulge personal information. And there was no way he would leak Aoyama¡¯s information, her personal information, without permission. It seemed that my hunch was correct, and Akazawa did not pursue the matter. Akazawa seemed to be trying to say something, but it must have been an illusion created by my inner frustration and nervousness. Wait a minute¡­¡­¡­ Why did I lie? It wouldn¡¯t have mattered if I had told her. Even if I had met with another goddess, it would have been none of Akazawa¡¯s business. After that, we chatted lightly without pursuing the matter. It seems that Akazawa¡¯s summer vacation was not that fulfilling. Other than studying at home, she did not do anything in particular. Like Aoyama, who spent every day playing games and streaming TV, it seems that goddesses have a lot more time on their hands than one might expect. While we were talking about nothing of substance, our classmates came over to us. We met up with our classmates without incident and headed for the venue, although I could have sworn I heard a tongue clicking sound coming from next to me. The venue was already crowded. At a quick glance, there were about half a dozen people dressed in yukata. Surprisingly few people wore yukata in a group, and we stood out quite a bit. As for today¡¯s attire, all the women were in yukata. The other two boys were in yukata except for me and Mahiro. It seems that the girls had talked in advance about wearing yukata. There were eight of us gathered today. There were four men and four women. If it was true, there were supposed to be ten people, five men and five women, but two of them cancelled at the last minute. They had apparently started dating after the summer vacation, and they jokingly said that they wanted to participate in the summer festival alone. I really hope they will have a bad time. ¡°There are a lot of people here, as I thought. Mahiro chuckles. ¡°Right¡± ¡°If you leave, the girls might be swarmed with pick-ups and it might get depressing.¡± ¡°It would be wise to stick together.¡± We all agreed with my suggestion and decided to move as a group. We walked across the stalls, buying and eating. As one would expect from a large group, no insolent men approached us. Instead, they looked at us from all over the place. Akazawa, who was attracting the most attention, looked happy and excited. Earning stuffed toys at the target practice, fishing with yo-yo, buying takoyaki (octopus dumplings) and feeding them to each other. The same goes for the other classmates. They are usually serious in the classroom, but they seemed to be excited by the festival and were making a lot of noise. What a bunch of kids! As for me¡­ ¡°You¡¯re getting too excited.¡± It had been a long time since I had been to a festival, and I was enjoying it to the fullest. It was also a bad thing that I had some spare time after working part-time. I was carrying a cotton candy in my right hand and a candy apple in my left. My classmates made fun of me for being a child. It can¡¯t be helped. I never went to this festival when I was in junior high school. Besides, I used to be poor, so even when I came to festivals, I often just watched. It would be natural for me to do this when I could afford it. Since my classmates were with me, I didn¡¯t mind Akazawa¡¯s presence and enjoyed the summer festival. It had been a few years since I had been in such a large group and it was a lot of fun. There was just one problem. Basically, the only memories I have of the festival are from my childhood, but every time I bought something, Akazawa¡¯s face from long ago would pop into my head. [Sho-chan, this is delicious.] [Sho-chan, let¡¯s play target practice.] [Sho-chan, the fireworks are starting.] Every time the image of innocence flickered in my mind, my heart would flutter. As if to escape from the memories of the past, I bought a mask of a strange character sold at a food stall. The price was surprisingly high, which scared me. It was right after that. After a roar, a flower of light bloomed in the night sky. The fireworks started. The eyes of the people around me turned to the sky at once. The continuous fireworks monopolized the view of many of the people there. I was also impressed by the beauty of the fireworks with my mouth half open, when I suddenly caught a glimpse of a person out of the corner of my eye. Nekoda was sitting on a fence, far from the crowd of people. She was not looking at the fireworks from overhead. Come to think of it, Nekoda was much less energetic today. Normally she would be walking at the front of the line, but today she was only following at the tail end. I remember. When I saw her at the family restaurant, she looked the same as she does now. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Nijitani¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t been well for a long time. Are you sick?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sick, mind you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you about it if you want.¡± I sat down next to Nekoda, and after she looked a little lost. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll ask for your advice.¡± Volume 2 - CH 15 Posted on May 10, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°Do you remember the last time I had a dispute with Yuuhi?¡± How could I forget? That incident was a big one for me. Although I got involved with Akazawa, thanks to that incident, I was able to smoothly integrate into the class after transferring to the new school. It is no exaggeration to say that it is thanks to Nekoda that I am now able to live a cheerful life. Since then, Nekoda, who sits next to me, has been supporting me in various ways. Right after I transferred to the new school, when I was still unfamiliar with the school, she told me where to go to the transfer class and told me about the school¡¯s events. I¡¯m now thinking about the seat change that will take place in the second semester, and I¡¯m feeling a little anxious. ¡°Of course I remember that.¡± ¡°The cause of that was in junior high school, but I just remembered what happened then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡° I remember that she said she had hurt someone important to Akazawa. It seems that Nekoda¡¯s discussion was about the topic at that time, so it is necessary to clarify who she was talking about. ¡°You¡¯re talking about hurting Akazawa¡¯s loved one, right?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not that I did something terrible, it¡¯s more like how I said it to person Yuuhi cares about. Anyway, there is no doubt that I was stupid.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ By the way, who is this important person?¡± ¡°The childhood friend of Yuuhi.¡± When I heard that, I was convinced. Her childhood friend is Renji Inuyama, who is also my best friend and a childhood friend of mine. I could call myself Akazawa¡¯s childhood friend, but she never told anyone about it in junior high school. So Nekoda must not have known that I was Akazawa¡¯s childhood friend. In the first place, Nekoda never did anything to me. Rather than hurting her, she saved me. In terms of childhood friends, Akazawa¡¯s sister would also be a childhood friend, but given Nekoda¡¯s tone I doubt it is Akazawa¡¯s sister. Therefore, by process of elimination, I confirmed that it was Renji. Now I don¡¯t have to worry about any misunderstandings. ¡°¡­¡­ You mean the discussion reminded you of your past of hurting that childhood friend?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But, you were forgiven by Akazawa for that matter, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been forgiven by Yuuhi, but I still haven¡¯t apologized to that person yet. I haven¡¯t apologized yet to his family, but I wondered if it was okay to live happily every day like this. When I think about it, I don¡¯t enjoy what I do.¡± In short, Nekoda wondered if it was okay for her to have a good time without apologizing to the man himself. What a earnest girl. As I learned from the doodles on her graduation album, Nekoda is in love with Renji. I guess she¡¯s emotionally messed up because of what she did to the person she¡¯s in love with. I don¡¯t know what Nekoda did, but I don¡¯t think it was violence or a crime. The person herself even stated, ¡®It¡¯s not that I did something terrible, it¡¯s more like how I said it.¡¯. It was more like she spoke out of anger or something along those lines. I want to reassure her. She is not a narrow-minded person who hates a person just because of that. I know that better than anyone. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look so gloomy. I¡¯m sure¨C¡° I was about to say. ¡°Ah, Nijitani-kun!¡± Akazawa, with a smile on her face, comes running toward me. ¡°I¡¯d be worried if you left on your own, you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was just talking.¡± Akazawa noticed Nekoda sitting next to me. ¡°¡­¡­ Huh, Hazuki-chan is here too¡­¡± For a moment, Akazawa looked disappointed, but after a short pause to think, she sat down next to me for some reason. I don¡¯t want to give away the details of our discussion without permission, so I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut. I didn¡¯t want to be accused of being the kind of guy who leaks information. Nekoda opened her mouth, as if she had guessed what I was up to. ¡°I asked Nijitani for advice.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°About that time. About that person in junior high school.¡± ¡°¡ª¨CHeh.¡± Akazawa¡¯s festive expression suddenly lost its color. ¡°I remember it now. I think in all likelihood, I was the one who was most at fault. Yuuhi has forgiven me, but I wondered if it was okay to continue to live happily.¡± ¡°¡­¡­So, did you talk to Nijitani about it?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯d talk to me about it.¡± ¡°Did you tell him about the past?¡¡How much did you tell him?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t told him anything yet. He asked me who Yuuhi¡¯s special someone was, and I told him it was Yuuhi¡¯s childhood friend.¡± ¡°Did you give him a name or anything?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t. But it¡¯s Mu¡ª-¡° ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell him!¡± Nekoda was about to say something, when Akazawa put her on the spot with a look of bitterness. What¡¯s wrong? It was a radical reaction. It¡¯s about Renji anyway, ¡­¡­, I see. Akazawa doesn¡¯t want me to know that he and Renji are childhood friends. Childhood friends of different genders have a high possibility of developing into a love affair, and on top of that, they are now a god and a goddess. From her point of view, I am a transfer student from the second year who doesn¡¯t know anything about the situation. If she gives me any more information, she¡¯ll never get any votes from me in this year¡¯s contest in the second semester, so she¡¯s desperate. It¡¯s hilarious. It¡¯s ironic that she¡¯s trying to hide the fact that we¡¯ve known each other since childhood, but I actually know everything. Well, let¡¯s give her a little credit for her desperate efforts to hide her relationship with Renji. Let¡¯s put Akazawa aside for now. ¡°If you feel so bad, why don¡¯t you apologize to him?¡± ¡°¡­.I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t see him anymore¡± Can¡¯t see him, so it¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s true, it¡¯s impossible right now. It¡¯s summer vacation. So it will be after the second semester. Or maybe after she is ready. She said it happened when she was in middle school. The more time passes, the harder it is to apologize for these things. It must have been complicated until now. I smiled at Nekoda, who was dismayed. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about it too much.¡± ¡°Nijitani?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the details of the situation, so I don¡¯t want to sound unduly harsh, but I¡¯m sure that person will forgive you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°He would definitely forgive you. If Nekoda looked gloomy, he might be a serious guy who would be concerned that Nekoda has lost energy because of him. That must be the case. So all Nekoda has to do is smile.¡± That¡¯s the type of girl she is. She¡¯s the kind of saintly girl who would suffer too if the other person was suffering because of her ¡°But¨C¡° ¡°If he doesn¡¯t forgive me, I¡¯ll apologize with him. I¡¯ll testify that Nekoda was very sorry and bow down to him.¡± When I said this, Akazawa, who was standing next to me, shouted ¡°Eeh¡± and her mouth was agape as if she was puzzled. Why are you making such a face? Are you upset? I mean, you forgave Nekoda, didn¡¯t you? Or are you saying it would be bad if I brought her and Renji together? Or did I say something funny? ¡°Why is ¡­¡­ Nijitani being so nice to me?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal to save your friend¡¯s life in a pinch?¡± ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s not normal. Nijitani is really a nice guy to be able to do that normally. If you¡¯re this nice to me, I might fall in love with you. Sh*t. Is this what Akazawa was upset about? Surely apologizing together is a bit much. I guess I was being super lenient with Nekoda because I knew she saved my life. Besides. I was just trying to be nice to a heartbroken girl in a perfect situation with fireworks going off, it would be like hitting on her. ¡°Hazuki-chan, aren¡¯t you devoted to Renji-kun?!¡± Akazawa interrupted, looking pissed. You like Renji too, what are you doing? No, this is it. If I compare Renji and myself, Renji is by far the superior. But despite that, she¡¯s trying to stop her friend from dominating the lower-ranked one. Damn it, don¡¯t do that in front of me, no matter how true it is. It¡¯s irritating. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to cheat on him. You should definitely stick to Renji-kun. Men don¡¯t like girls who think with that kind of fluffy mindset. Don¡¯t you think so too, Nijitani?¡± It pains me to agree with her, but she is right. I don¡¯t want to be dishonest and touch a girl who is in love with Renji. I am not the hero of this world. Unlike me, I am a supporting character. So there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to hit on a nice girl like Nekoda here. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s preferable to be single-minded. The other guy is a male god and has a lot of rivals, so you¡¯d better get your head in the game and concentrate on being a male god.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Y-yeah. I was just joking. I¡¯m sorry.¡± A joke? That¡¯s damaging to me, though. In contrast, Nekoda¡¯s expression brightened. Shortly after, she saw the fireworks that lit up the night sky and responded, ¡°Beautiful,¡± as if she had finally realized how beautiful fireworks are. ¡°Thanks for listening to me. It cheered me up.¡± ¡°Are you okay now?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m going to go with the energetic character, just as Nijitani said. I¡¯ve decided to apologize to him when I meet him someday.¡± ¡°Ou, don¡¯t worry about it. If there is a problem, I¡¯m always here for you.¡± The usual smile returned to Nekoda¡¯s face. ¡°All right, then, we must enjoy today¡¯s festival to the fullest. I¡¯m going to meet up with everyone and visit the food stalls. I haven¡¯t had any fun yet!¡± She ran off. What a noisy girl. As I stood up to join the others, I noticed that my clothes were being pulled on. I turn around and see Akazawa with a clouded look on her face. ¡°I have something to discuss with you too.¡± What should I do, I don¡¯t want to get on board. Volume 2 - CH 16 Posted on May 12, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Consultation? I look for a reason to say no, but unfortunately it doesn¡¯t come to me so easily. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to join the others?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already contacted them.¡± Akazawa showed me her phone. I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s not that easy to come up with a reason for refusing. It¡¯s strange that I refused Akazawa¡¯s request for consultation even though Nekoda asked for my advice. I¡¯m a classmate, but if I refused Akazawa, I¡¯d be the bad guy. If this story gets out, I will be beaten up by her fans. If that happens, my peaceful school life may be disturbed. She wants to talk to me for a minute ¡°If you¡¯ve contacted them, that¡¯s all fine. So, what do you want to talk about?¡± Let¡¯s get this over with. I¡¯ll get right to the point. ¡°¡­.¡± For some reason, Akazawa did not speak. In the silence, fireworks were shot off in succession. I was fascinated by the powerful spectacle. A boy and a girl who were watching the fireworks were giggling in front of me. The two children ran to their parents holding hands. I saw myself and Akazawa in the past overlap with the friendly children. ¡°¡­.The fireworks are beautiful, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yes, they are.¡± The first time in years that I¡¯ve watched fireworks alongside this girl. However, I was more concerned about the kids than the fireworks. I hope they will always be close to each other. I don¡¯t know if they are siblings or friends. ¡°Fireworks are fine, but what did you want to talk to me about?¡± ¡°U-uhm¡­..¡± ¡°Is it something you don¡¯t want to talk about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d appreciate it if we could get going as soon as possible. I¡¯m still hungry.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Silence returns. A possibility comes to mind. ¡°You don¡¯t actually want to talk about it?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not true. There¡¯s no way I told a random lie just because I wanted to be alone with Nijitani-kun, okay?¡± Akazawa, whose voice was suspiciously hoarse, coughed one time. ¡°That ¡­¡­ consultation is about my younger sister.¡± ¡°Sister?¡± ¡°Yes. I have a sister. I know that. How could I forget? She is also a childhood friend. She was estranged from me before Akazawa. There were several reasons for the estrangement, but the situation with Akazawa was different. I didn¡¯t have a fight with her, nor did I dislike her. So I was curious. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your sister?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fighting.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ fighting.¡± ¡°I want to make up with her, but I thought I¡¯d get a good advice from Nijitani-kun.¡± It¡¯s a more sane advice than I had imagined. But you never know with the passage of time, do you? The Akazawa sisters used to be good friends and did everything together. However, it has been quite a few months since I stopped seeing her sister. The younger sister has probably changed, and the older sister has a bad character. Of course we would fight. I mean, they are sisters, so fights are a common occurrence. But that¡¯s not the point. ¡°Why are you asking me for advice?¡± ¡°You know, you broke the ice with Hazuki before. Besides, Nijitani has a younger sister, so I thought you might be able to give me some advice.¡± I see. I¡¯m sure she thinks Kanon and I are real siblings, so she wants to ask me how to reconcile with her sister. It¡¯s a reasonable question, I guess. This is not good. I¡¯ve never had a fight with Kanon before. I don¡¯t know how to talk to her about making up with her. I was an only child until a few months ago, so this is a heavy burden for me to bear. ¡°¡­..What is the reason for the fight? ¡° ¡± I was stupid.¡± Did this girl even do something stupid to her own sister? Come on, it¡¯s too much of a bummer that she did something to not only me, her childhood friend, but to her own sister as well. ¡°¡­¡­ Well, sisters can be a lot of things. I know it¡¯s difficult because it¡¯s a sister thing, but if Akazawa thinks it¡¯s wrong, why don¡¯t you just apologize?¡± ¡°If that would end it, it would be over already.¡± It seems that the problem has deep roots. I have no experience with siblings fighting, so I can¡¯t say anything more than that. If I say something bad, I might get blamed for it. ¡°Nijitani-kun¡¯s younger sister is Kanon Nijitani-kun, a first-year student, right? ¡°Did you know that?¡± ¡°Eh, uhm ¡­¡­ I found out by chance. I happened to have a chance to ask her name. I remembered it because the surname Nijitani is rare. I thought it was probably Nijitani¡¯s sister. She¡¯s also famous for being a black chaser. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised since it¡¯s an uncommon last name. And when Kuromine and I got into a rumor, people around us thought that Kanon¡¯s presence had brought us closer together. That¡¯s how Kanon¡¯s name spread. ¡°Are you on good terms with Nijitani?¡± ¡°In its own way.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it like at home?¡¡Do you play together often?¡± ¡°Sometimes we study, sometimes we play games.¡± ¡°¡­..playing games together?¡± ¡°She comes over to my room a lot.¡± At that time, fireworks were shot off in succession again. The beauty of the fireworks caught my gaze again. Mixed in with the loud noise, I heard a voice from next to me. ¡°Not fair not fair, what¡¯s that, I¡¯m super jealous. ¡­¡­ I didn¡¯t hear anything about playing games together in the room. I¡¯m super jealous.¡± Jealous? That¡¯s what this is. I guess she¡¯s jealous that I¡¯m good friends with my sister. For Akazawa, who is in the middle of a fight, episodes of friendship are a source of irritation. I¡¯ve heard good things about this. ¡­¡­ Let¡¯s try to irritate her a little more. I would have looked bad. ¡°Come to think of it, she was reading a comic book in my room this morning. Lying on my bed.¡± ¡°Lying on your bed?!¡± Akazawa, who had uttered a loud voice, stood up. ¡°Ou, she was lounging around like she was having a good time. On the way there, she took away the snacks I was eating, she¡¯s a really bad person, you know.¡± Akazawa¡¯s expression turned anguished as I further aggravated her. ¡°You know,¡­¡­ it¡¯s great that you and your siblings are close, but you¡¯re high school students. I think you should stop that kind of thing. They might get a weird misunderstanding.¡±¡± ¡°Misunderstanding?¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯re brother and sister, you¡¯re still a boy and a girl.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say weird things. There is nothing wrong with it. We are brother and sister.¡± It¡¯s just a setup. ¡°But that¡¯s not good for a high school student. Kanon might be looking at you that way. She might unexpectedly be a bad sister who loves her brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so bad if she loves her brother¨C¡° As I was talking about these things, I heard a gorgeous talking voice. A group of people in yukata were walking nearby. My eyes met with a familiar face in the group. It was Kanon. She was approaching me. Several men and women appear from behind her. At that moment, I did not miss the slightly stern look on Akazawa¡¯s face as she sat down next to me. ¡°Osu, Onii-chan¡± ¡°Ou, I never thought I¡¯d see you again.¡± Kanon turned around. ¡°This is Kanon¡¯s Onii-chan, everyone.¡± She introduced me to the people who had come with her. There are a few faces here and there that I have seen at the school. Kanon said she was going with her classmates, so she must be a first-year student at Tenkain. Each of them greeted me with a ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Long time no see, Shota-senpai.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Yakumo-kun, isn¡¯t it?¡± The one who greeted me briskly was Yakumo Shirase. Yakumo-kun, dressed in a yukata, was as handsome as ever. With him nearby, I guess I won¡¯t have to worry about her being picked on. Kanon would be left in his hands. After greeting me, Kanon saw who was standing next to me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Akazawa-senpai after all!¡± She flushed and approached Akazawa. Kanon¡¯s classmates, reacting to her voice, also approached Akazawa. ¡°Uwaa, she¡¯s so beautiful!¡± ¡°Her hair is so beautiful, she looks like a real goddess.¡± ¡°She is a red goddess.¡± ¡°Maybe they look alike in this way.¡± As a result, the face of Akazawa has lost its ruggedness and a friendly smile is pasted on the face of the idol. ¡°I¡¯m Yuuhi Akazawa, a sophomore. Nice to meet you.¡± Then she waved his hand. I could see that the juniors were getting excited. The idol of the school is alive and well. The juniors then shook hands with Akazawa one by one. Some of the boys were moved to tears. It was like an idol handshake session. ¡°Hey, hey, Onii-chan¡± Kanon, who had finished shaking Akazawa¡¯s hand, came up to me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Why were you alone with Akazawa-senpai?¡± ¡°I was just taking a break because I was tired. The other guys are nearby too.¡± ¡°What¡­¡­ I actually thought you were on a date.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, no. Like you, I¡¯m here with my classmates.¡± ¡°But the current situation is a great opportunity. Good luck, Onii-chan. I saw you from a distance, but you looked pretty good together. I thought they were a couple.¡± Give me a break. The idiot Kanon is again approaching Akazawa to talk about something. I can see Akazawa¡¯s expression change little by little. She didn¡¯t say anything strange, did she? The conversation seems to be over. ¡°Kanon and her friends are going to go now. See you later, Onii-chan.¡± Kanon and the others were leaving. The afterglow of the conversation seemed to have not cooled down yet, and the junior guy was still talking about Akazawa. I¡¯m tempted to tell the excited guy what she¡¯s really like. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my sister made so much noise.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s totally fine. I¡¯ll take back what I said before. Kanon-chan is a good girl.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Why all of the sudden? Akazawa¡¯s expression was somewhat satisfied. What in the world is going on? ¡°We should go back.¡± ¡°Huh, are you sure you don¡¯t want to talk about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine now. I¡¯ll talk it over with my sister.¡± ¡°I see. I hope it goes well.¡± ¡°Thanks. Let¡¯s go.¡± Although I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s fine when the consultation is over. After that, I met up with my classmates and we talked about our impressions of the fireworks. After eating yakisoba, we were satisfied and decided to go home. Aside from the consultation from Akazawa, I was glad to have participated in this event as it brought me closer to my classmates. Nekoda also felt refreshed. The summer festival was over, and I took the train back home. Volume 2 - CH 17 Posted on May 13, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp TL: I¡¯m going to take a break because of school. I will be back on June 1. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°See you at school.¡± The train arrived at the station, and we were split up. I started walking home. My body was on fire, probably due to the festive atmosphere. The night breeze felt good. It was good that I could deepen my friendship with my classmates whom I hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. I was glad to see that everyone seemed to be in good health. I hope everyone will continue to get along with each other from the second semester onward. I was feeling very good after the summer festival event. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± For some reason, Akazawa is walking next to me. I don¡¯t know why this is happening. I got off the train as usual, we split up as usual, and I was walking home as usual when before I knew it, she was next to me. It was a bit of a horror story to find her next to me without even a hint of her presence. If we were on the same way home, Akazawa¡¯s house is not this way. Not to say it was the opposite direction, but at least it was not this way. It¡¯s hard to say I know where she lives, so I¡¯ll just keep my mouth shut. ¡°¡­¡­ Is Akazawa¡¯s house this way?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d better go home right away. If it¡¯s too late, your family will be worried. Look, it¡¯s already dark.¡± ¡°I called before I got on the train to tell them I might be late, so I¡¯m fine.¡± That was the exchange at the station before I left. The girl was very careful to let them know that she was going to be late. ¡°Unless the house isn¡¯t this way, then what the hell is going on?¡± ¡°Kanon-chan invited me, so I thought I¡¯d check it out.¡± ¡°Invited? Check out?¡± ¡°Kanon-chan invited me to play with her just now. She said we should hang out next week. She asked me to come over to her house, so I thought maybe I¡¯d check it out.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± What the hell? I didn¡¯t hear anything from Kanon. I thought she was sneaking around earlier, but I didn¡¯t realize she was planning something like this. If Kanon is inviting her, I can¡¯t refuse her. ¡°Huh, haven¡¯t you heard?¡± ¡°¡­¡­, I¡¯ve not heard it.¡± ¡°She said that Nijitani¡¯s parents are out of town, so you don¡¯t have to worry about them.¡± My parents, who have been busy since their remarriage, are finally going on their honeymoon. The timing is more than four months after their remarriage, but they are going to leave because they can get some time off from work. They invited me and Kanon to join them on their honeymoon, but we refused, saying that we couldn¡¯t interfere with their honeymoon. ¡°Are you done with your homework?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already finished it.¡± Next week is the last week of summer vacation. I have already done my homework, and I have nothing to do. It is possible that Kanon has already told her that she has nothing to do. Lying at this point would not be a good idea. What, if she comes to my house, it doesn¡¯t matter as long as she is out. ¡°Don¡¯t go out. I promised to make dinner.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t trust your skills with that face, do you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ve been helping out at home for a long time, even though I look like this. I¡¯ve been seriously studying cooking since I entered high school.¡± I¡¯m not asking you anything. While swearing in my heart. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. I¡¯m a lucky guy, apparently.¡± I smile affectionately. But, Kanon, you should have told me that first. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to at least talk to your brother about it. I was thinking that, when I received a message on my phone. ¨CGood news to Onii-chan who doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend. I invited Akazawa-senpai to our house next week. It was a no-brainer, but I didn¡¯t expect her to say yes and I freaked out. Please get ready to entertain the goddess, Onii-chan. In addition, Akazawa-senpai is going to cook dinner for us. She agreed so easily to come, and maybe she has a thing for her brother. ¡°¡­¡­¡± She did it! I was naive to think that the summer festival would be the last event of the summer. A new event has been added. ¡°Is that Nijitani¡¯s phone?¡± Akazawa¡¯s gaze turns to my phone. I hadn¡¯t told her that I had bought a smartphone. ¡°You bought it?¡± ¡°O-ou¡± Akazawa stares at the phone. I¡¯m not so stupid that I don¡¯t notice the meaning of that look, but I dare to pretend that I don¡¯t notice it. I was about to put the phone in my pocket. ¡°I see you bought ¡­¡­ your phone.¡± ¡°A while ago.¡± ¡°How¡¯s it feel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice. It¡¯s fun to play with the apps.¡± ¡°I see. I don¡¯t play games very often, so I don¡¯t know, but if it¡¯s a game that Nijitani-kun plays, I¡¯ll put it in and see what happens.¡± I was about to put my phone in my pocket when the conversation stopped. ¡°Who are you in touch with?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­..My family¡± ¡°It¡¯s convenient to keep in touch with family, isn¡¯t it? But if you¡¯re a student, isn¡¯t it also important to keep in touch with your friends and classmates?¡± This is a trend that requires asking for contact information. It¡¯s a natural process for classmates to exchange contact information with each other, and if I am this blunt and don¡¯t ask, she¡¯ll think I¡¯m rejecting her. ¡°Would you like to exchange contact information?¡± ¡°Eh, are you sure?¡± It¡¯s so obvious. I couldn¡¯t not ask her if she was so eager to hear it. ¡°We¡¯re classmates.¡± ¡°Yeah. Then let¡¯s trade.¡± She looked so happy. ¡­¡­It was unthinkable in the old days. In Mukawa-kun¡¯s era, it would have been unthinkable to exchange contact information with this girl. This girl is so innocently happy because she doesn¡¯t know who I am. While walking around chatting like this, we arrived at the house. ¡°So this is your house, Nijitani-kun huh¡± ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary, right?¡± Akazawa stared at the house. ¡°Now I know the location. Thanks for showing me around on such short notice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going home.¡± Akazawa started to walk away and disappeared into the darkness. I was so excited when she disappeared completely that I found myself chasing after her back. ¡°¡ª¨Cwait¡± ¡°Nijitani-kun?¡± I stand next to Akazawa. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you home.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not safe to go out at night. If something were to happen, it would be hard to run in a yukata.¡± Let¡¯s use common sense. The most common man would have sent her on her way. The yukata makes her look more sexy, so some guys might go for it. As a result, we didn¡¯t see anyone. Then, I reached the front of the nostalgic house. The house had lights on, so there must be a family there. I stopped a little before the house because I didn¡¯t know what face to make. ¡°Thanks for walking me back¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. See you later.¡± I was about to walk away, but Akazawa called out, ¡°Wait.¡± When I turned around, I saw that Akazawa, who was in a hurry. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­.It¡¯s¡± ¡°If it¡¯s nothing, I will be on my way¡± ¡°T-that thing is cute right!¡± Akazawa pointed to the mask of a strange character on my head. It would have been sent to the storeroom when I got home. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you if you want it.¡± ¡°I can have it?¡± ¡°Because it would have been trash anyway even if I brought it home.¡± I handed Akazawa a mask I bought on the spur of the moment and didn¡¯t really understand. The fact that she was holding the mask with great care was a little eerie, but she seemed to be pleased with it, so it was fine. How can you be happy with just a mask, or are you just a child? ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you next week!¡± ¡°Understood, bye.¡± ¡°Oh, and you should cut your hair.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have it cut by next week. See you.¡± I started walking home again. And so the summer festival event was over this time. I feel all sorts of mixed feelings about the new event next week, but I¡¯ll just leave it to Kanon to deal with it. At this point, I don¡¯t think I have to worry about being found out. ¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­ But I have no idea what¡¯s about to happen. That a shocking event will occur before that so that I can no longer think about the event with Akazawa. Volume 2 - CH 18 Posted on May 26, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp TL: I want to give a quick update. So basically I got f*cked over by my mentor which might cost my graduation. I might need more time to settle things. Anyways enjoy this chapter. It was a day at the end of summer vacation. On that day, the day before Yuuhi Akazawa¡¯s visit, it was still extremely hot as usual. It is no exaggeration to say that it was hell outside the room. ¡°Then, Kanon will be going out.¡± After lunch, I was lying in the center of the room, working on a shadow game event, when such a voice came to my ears. Kanon, who was going to prepare herself for hell, was all dressed up. She was wearing a lot of make-up and slightly more revealing clothes than usual. Her skin looked more tanned than it had at the beginning of the summer vacation. I was glad to see that she was healthy. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to have dinner?¡± ¡°Yup. I¡¯ll try not to stay too late, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°All right. Take care of yourself.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± I heard yesterday that Kanon was going out. Apparently, she was going out with her friends. I told her to be cautious of the heat because friendship is important, even though it is hard work in this temperature. The reason why I went out of my way to refuse to go out with her is because there is no one at home. This morning, my parents left for their honeymoon. They won¡¯t be back for a few days. Therefore, since there was no one at home, I turned up the volume of the game to the max. I was incredibly motivated by the swimsuit costumes in the idol game, and I enjoyed the idols¡¯ songs and dances. I grabbed some ice cream that I had prepared in advance, and for the umpteenth time during this summer vacation, I entered into a happy time. I was in a heavenly mood. ¡°¡­¡­¡± The intercom rang. I thought for a moment, then turned down the volume of the game and hid my breath. There is no way I would ever leave my air-conditioned room. It would be suicidal to go out in this extreme heat. Some people may criticize me for not staying at home, but it is not my fault. It¡¯s the city¡¯s summer heat that¡¯s to blame. They are probably solicitors or salespeople. If I leave them alone, they will go home. So, I didn¡¯t use the intercom. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Contrary to my expectation, the visitor did not give up. Over and over again, they kept hitting the intercom. This made me feel uneasy. It was certainly possible that the visitor was a solicitor or a salesman, but perhaps it was an urgent matter. If it was an urgent matter, it would be a bad idea. With neither my parents nor Kanon around, I had to take care of the problems in this house. I got up my heavy body, left the room, and looked at the intercom. The person standing there was neither a suspiciously dressed woman nor a man in a suit, but a familiar face. ¡°¡­¡­Shirase?¡± Mayuki Shirase was standing there. A question mark appeared in my head. I was not surprised that she knew my house since we live close to each other. The question is why this girl, who has never come to my house before, suddenly standing in front of my door. I could have ignored her, but I know she lives alone. Maybe there was some kind of incident. So I went to the front door. When I opened the door, I found Shirase lying face down. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked her first, and she jumped into my chest with her head down. ¡°Whoa!¡± Surprised by the suddenness of the situation, I immediately looked around. My mind was made up by the thought that my neighbors might have seen me. I was careful not to touch Shirase, who was hugging me, and slowly closed the front door. Then Shirase buried her face in my chest for a while. I stood still, not knowing what was going on. I guess a good looking guy would have hugged her shoulder or embraced her, but unfortunately, I do not have such skills. A few minutes passed. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s the end¡± She mumbled. ¡°The end of what?¡± ¡°My Yakumo was kidnapped by Kanon-san!¡± ¡°Kidnapped!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all over. That date is the reason why Yakumo is going up the ladder to adulthood. The reason for this was because of my carelessness. It seems that I let him go to a summer festival and that this led to the rapid development of their friendship. It was a blunder, and I am ashamed of myself.¡± My head was bombarded with a wave of information. Wait, let me get this straight. My Yakumo? Kidnapped by Kanon? Taking the stairs to adulthood on a date? I carefully sorted out these words one by one in my head. My Yakumo should mean her own younger brother. The next point is that he was kidnapped by Kanon. Unfortunately, the slender Kanon is not strong enough to kidnap Yakumo-kun. In other words, this could be taken as Kanon¡¯s invitation to Yakumo-kun. Or, conversely, Yakumo-kun asked Kanon out, but to Shirase, it looked as if her younger brother had asked Kanon out, so she is just saying so. As for the term ¡± climbing the ladder of adulthood on a date,¡± in other words, that¡¯s what it means. So that means Kanon went out with Yakumo-kun. She said she was going out with a friend, but I don¡¯t know who it was. It could be Yakumo-kun. Come to think of it, they were together at the summer festival, and Kanon was dressed up today. I had not considered the possibility of a date, but at the age of high school students, it would not be surprising if Kanon and Yakumo-kun had a relationship. Did Yakumo-kun show his manliness at the summer festival? It was totally obvious that he was in love with her, but that¡¯s why he told her. I was somewhat surprised because I didn¡¯t know about Kanon¡¯s feelings, but even if I did, as her brother, I would go in the direction of keeping out of it. Yakumo-kun is a good man, and it would be a bad idea to interfere and worsen the family relationship. However, since I don¡¯t know if this is confirmed information or not, I can¡¯t say anything about it. ¡°Calm down for a moment. I can¡¯t make a judgment without hearing the details of the situation, but it hasn¡¯t been decided yet, has it? You shouldn¡¯t speculate about adult staircases or anything like that.¡± ¡°¡­.You are right. I was certainly distraught.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve calmed down. I would appreciate it if you could tell me what happened.¡± I pulled Shirase away from me. Shirase was still lying face down. ¡°It was last night. I received a message from Yakumo, and he sent me a selfie asking me to check his clothes because he was going out with Kanon-san today. From the content of the message, it seems that they promised to go out on the day of the summer festival. They are going to enjoy shopping and a movie, just the two of them.¡± ¡°Fumu fumu¡± So they are definitely going on a date, but it is unclear if they are in a relationship? ¡°Isn¡¯t that great?¡± ¡°¡­.Great?¡± ¡°So spring has come to Yakumo-kun, right? At the pool, I found out that he was in love with Kanon, and I¡¯m glad that it seems to be going well for him.¡± With the pool, I knew that my theory that Shirase might be dating Yakumo-kun was off the mark. Yakumo-kun seemed to be in love with Kanon in a way that was easy to understand. If they had started dating, it would be a happy event, wouldn¡¯t it? As his sister, Shirase should be pleased as well. ¡°Please don¡¯t play games with me!¡± ¡°Heh?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡­¡­, but I¡¯m in love with Yakumo!¡± I froze at the shocking revelation. ¡°You must be surprised, I know you are. You can call me disgusting if you like. I have had special feelings for Yakumo since I was a child. Because of that, I even hurt a man in junior high school. I also knew that he was in love with Kanon-san. I even planned to make Yakumo a male god and have an intimate relationship with me by becoming a goddess myself. But I let my guard down and foolishly allowed him to approach her at the pool, and at the summer festival, I allowed him to set up a date with her!¡± Shirase was breathing heavily as she exploded with emotion. ¡°F-for now, just calm down. Relax¡± ¡°I beg your pardon, I got distra¨C¡° Shirase looked up and her eyes widened as if she had noticed something. Yes, like Shirase, I was caught off guard. When I am at home, I wear glasses instead of contacts. And I didn¡¯t cut my hair even though Akazawa warned me to. I was planning to get a haircut tomorrow. In other words, my hair has grown a lot longer than it was during the first semester. I was now as close to my former self as possible. ¡°¡­.No way, Shota-san?¡± I was exposed. Volume 2 - CH 19 Posted on June 1, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp My mind went blank. Shirase¡¯s voice was not directed at Shota Nijitani, but at Shota Mukawa. She used to call me by my first name, not my last name. I have never been called by my first name since I came back here. I was found out. ¡­¡­ Wait, did she really found out? In an instant, all sorts of thoughts went through my head. I immediately understood that Shirase noticed me because of my glasses and hair. Because in the reflection of me in the portrait mirror at the entrance, I had the face of Shota Mukawa. However, I was still a little too tall. My height has grown a lot since those days, and my body has changed thanks to muscle training. There was no way she could have found out so easily. Shirase, with whom I have the least relationship, has found out about it? ¡°Shota-san¡­.right?¡± She didn¡¯t seem convinced. It was a way of asking that seemed to be laced with some sort of uneasiness. It appeared as if she couldn¡¯t believe it, but had no choice but to believe the scene in front of her. What to do? I don¡¯t even need to think about it. The answer is obvious. ¡°¡­¡­Yur wong¡± Despite the fact that I was so upset that I was speaking in broken Japanese, I had no choice but to deny it. There was no other choice but to deny it with all my might. ¡°No, you are Shota-san.¡± ¡°Yur wong aim Shota Nijitani desu¡± (You¡¯re wrong I¡¯m Shota Nijitani desu) ¡°¡­¡­ your name is Shota-san, right?¡± Damn it, she¡¯s just trying to get me to fry. Surely my name is Shota, so there¡¯s no mistake in calling me that. Is this blurring of the lines a bit of a quandary? ¡°Uhm¡­¡­that. If someone suddenly calls you by your name, you don¡¯t know what it means, right? Our relationship is not that deep. What¡¯s going on all of a sudden?¡± Still, she does not seem to have obtained any proof. I had no choice but to deceive her by force. Shirase was staring at me. Then, after a few moments of thinking, she pulled out her phone. ¡°Then let¡¯s make her see it.¡± ¡°Who is it you want me to show it to? ¡°Akazawa-san.¡± I stopped at that name. ¡°¡­¡­ you don¡¯t get along with her ¡­¡­, but you know her contact information?¡± ¡°There are a lot of things going on at the academy.¡± She knows because they are goddesses? No, don¡¯t even think about it now. It¡¯s not good to have her contact Akazawa here. Of all people, she is the one who should not know about this. If she finds out, my school life will be completely over. I have to stop Shirase somehow. But how can I persuade Shirase? If I try too hard, she¡¯ll suspect me. ¡°You look a little pale.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°I see. Then I will call her as soon as I can.¡± ¡°Wait, slow down. Why Akazawa in the first place? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m Shota Nijitani and I¡¯ve only just met Shirase at Tenkain Academy. We¡¯re just friends, if I may quote you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ friends have no problem calling you by your first name, right?¡± Of course it is. ¡°It would look like intimacy with a goddess. It would end my peaceful life. So let¡¯s keep a certain distance, like we have been doing.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ is fine with me. Can I film you?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I usually wear contact lenses. I don¡¯t like people to see me in glasses.¡± I don¡¯t know what to say. If this image were to be spread, it would be the end. No matter how much my former childhood friend is a heartless person who doesn¡¯t notice me, there is indeed a possibility that she will notice me. Or maybe she won¡¯t notice? ¡­¡­ Is it unreasonable to expect that possibility? ¡°Or rather, Shirase seems to have mistaken me for someone else since a while ago?¡± ¡°Do you remember Shota Mukawa¡­¡­?¡± ¡°W-Who knows. The name Nijitani has been my surname since I was born. The name Shota is not uncommon.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t figure it out, so I asked Shota¡¯s childhood friend, Akazawa-san¨C¡° ¡°How did you know that me and Akazawa were childhood friends?¡± Crap I realized right after I said it. ¡°¡­.You just confirmed it¡± There was no way that I, a transfer student, was Akazawa¡¯s childhood friend. I had dug my own grave. Shirase exhaled heavily. ¡°I should have suspected it from the beginning. I had never heard that Kanon-san had an older brother.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Come to think of it, they went to the same school. Then, she was suspecting it from the beginning. The most likely to be found out was thought to be the least likely, but considering the existence of Kanon, it may have been the most likely. ¡°If you are Shota-san, it makes sense. The reason why you said you didn¡¯t want to be friends with the goddesses, and the nature of the discomfort I felt in some places.¡± I had given up. I¡¯m not going to fool around with this. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡­, I am Shota Mukawa.¡± We moved to my room. It was too hot to be talking at the entrance. Even if it was just a sudden situation, the double punch of the extreme heat would be too much to bear. I prepared barley tea for the two of us in the refrigerator and returned to the room. As I poured myself a cup of barley tea, I thought about what to do, but no good ideas came to mind. I don¡¯t know what Shirase was up to, but she was the one who suggested that we talk. Shirase was sitting in the center of the room. Puzzled by the unrealistic scene, I sat down on the opposite side of the room. After a few seconds of silence. ¡°¡­¡­, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± What am I supposed to do? The relationship between me and Shirase has been going on since the second year of junior high school. And the relationship was very short-lived. I¡¯m not particularly moved or emotional when I see her again like this. I mean, it¡¯s not like that, right? We were originally in different elementary and junior high schools, and the time we spent together was short. We were ex-lovers in the sense of relationship, but it was not a sweet relationship either. She broke my heart. The reason for that was not because she cheated on me, but because she called my relationship with her a game. But now I know that Yakumo-kun is the man I met at that time. I can¡¯t blame her for not feeling any special emotion toward this reunion. I asked her earlier how she feels about Yakumo-kun, and she really doesn¡¯t know what to do. Silence once again takes over the place. ¡°¡­¡­ please listen to what I have to say.¡± Shirase opened her mouth. She began to talk about herself. From childhood, she had had special feelings for her younger brother, Yakumo-kun. That it was by chance that she met me in junior high school. As a transfer student, she approached me because she was trying to become a goddess again this year by attaching herself to other goddesses. I had no idea of her true identity until today. ¡°¡­¡­ I see.¡± That was all that came out of my mouth after hearing everything. I knew most of it, so there was little surprise. And today, when Yakumo and Kanon were suspected of dating, she lost herself and came over to my house and this is what she found. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Only the sound of drinking barley tea echoes in the cold room. ¡°Please tell me about Shota-san too.¡± ¡°Mine?¡± ¡°Yes. After you transferred to a new school. I was wondering what kind of life you had¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I was a little lost, but now that I had been exposed, there was no need to hide it. I told her about my life after I changed schools. Before my third year of junior high school, I transferred to the countryside and lived there. I told her that I had gone on to higher education there and was living a normal life. I told her that I had come back here when my mother remarried. I didn¡¯t mention the reason why I changed schools because she didn¡¯t ask me about it. Because it¡¯s pathetic, isn¡¯t it? I didn¡¯t want to say that I was heartbroken by the attacks from girls. Shirase probably doesn¡¯t even know why I transferred schools. It was better not to give her unnecessary information. ¡± I see. You were leading a normal life, weren¡¯t you?¡± Shirase, looking somewhat relieved, gulped down her barley tea. ¡°I have a question too. How did you know about me and Akazawa?¡± I don¡¯t remember talking to her. When I was meeting with this girl, we just made small talk. I didn¡¯t mention anyone¡¯s name, not even Akazawa¡¯s. I was in a situation where I didn¡¯t want to talk about school or anything. In response to my question, Shirase sat down and slowly bowed her head. ¡°Before that, I would like to apologize first.¡± Volume 2 - CH 20 Posted on June 3, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Shirase bows her head abruptly. ¡°¡­¡­ I am truly sorry for hurting Shota-san and for using you for my own purposes.¡± I watched Shirase apologize with her head on the ground. The past events and memories of the past come to mind. I had been shutting myself away from the world since this girl had put the finishing touches on me, and I had been sitting on the floor in my room and lamenting to myself inside alone. Back then, I would have had all sorts of feelings about this scene. ¡°¡­¡­¡± But not now. To my own surprise, I felt no emotion toward Shirase as she bowed her head. No anger, no sense of accomplishment like I had made her apologize. It was probably because of the first semester and summer vacation during which I had been living in hiding from my true identity. I think I feel this way because I now know everything about her thoughts, actions, and motives. In that sense, it¡¯s a blessing in disguise that I only found out about it now. ¡°All right. I accept your apology.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Eh, are you sure?¡± Shirase was more surprised. ¡°Why are you surprised?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you angry?¡± ¡°I was angry and sad right after that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very sorry¡± But I got over the trauma. ¡°It was certainly very damaging at the time, but that was more than two years ago now. I heard about Shirase¡¯s situation.¡± ¡°But still¡ª-¡° ¡°In general, there¡¯s nothing I can do if I¡¯m angry. The guy at that time was Yakumo-kun, and I know that Yakumo-kun is a good guy. He is crazy about Kanon, so your feelings for him are surely not going to reach him. You are damaged there, and I don¡¯t want to push you any further. You apologized to me like this.¡± I forgive Shirase. Shirase must be serious about her apology and remorse since she even got down on her knees. The fact is, even if I still hold a grudge against Shirase, I don¡¯t have the option of not forgiving her. I wonder if she understands that. ¡°¡­¡­Haven¡¯t you thought about revenge?¡± Apparently she doesn¡¯t understand. ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Why, ¡­¡­ I hurt you.¡± ¡°I have Kanon now. What if I get revenge on you? The most popular goddess in the school. The fans will obviously come to get back at me if I attack you. If I make an enemy of you, Kanon, who has nothing to do with you, might get involved. Ruining a new life because of personal feelings, like a kid.¡± It¡¯s not just Shirase, but the other goddesses as well. If the fans are outraged, Kanon could be the target of their anger. The fact that it happened more than two years ago is not enough to prove anything. They are hiding their true nature. Now that I¡¯m in high school, I¡¯m doing better at socializing with people around me, but I still have a different opinion than the goddess. No one will believe me. Then the only thing I can do is to run away. That is the best self-defense measure. ¡°¡­¡­ so you weren¡¯t hiding your true identity to take revenge when the opportunity arose.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think that. I thought that if anyone found out, they would attack me like they did in the past. If that happened, my family would be harmed. That¡¯s why I hid my true identity.¡± Well, I didn¡¯t want to go back to those days myself. Anyway, for me, a stable life now is far more important than settling past grudges. ¡°Since you apologized, Shirase must be sorry, right?¡± ¡°Of course¡± ¡°Then it is fine. If you feel bad, it would be more helpful if you treated me normally. I¡¯d rather it be that, if you¡¯re willing to apologize, I¡¯d appreciate a lot of help regarding my life in the future. Especially with regard to other goddess measures.¡± Shirase bowed her head again, then gave a small nod. ¡°I understand. I will cooperate with Shota-san as a matter of good faith.¡± ¡°Then we are officially on the same page.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Thus, I made up with Shirase after two years. Perhaps this response is naive. But, I don¡¯t want to lose my life now. I still have mixed emotions, but this is the best thing I could do rather than upset her and have her reveal my identity to the other goddesses. After making up with her safely. ¡°So, how did you know about Akazawa?¡± ¡°I heard from Inuyama-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ From Renji?¡± ¡°Yes. It was about last year¡¯s God Conference.¡± Then Shirase told me what happened. Renji got angry at the meeting after the male god and goddess were decided last year and told the goddesses what they had done to me in the past. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I am ashamed of myself. It seems that the letter I left behind has caused Renji a lot of pain. I knew that after thinking about it for a while. I would have lost my temper if Renji had treated this way too. If I may be excused, at the time I wasn¡¯t in the right frame of mind to be concerned about that. ¡°So ¡­¡­ the other goddesses know about my situation?¡± ¡°They do.¡± That¡¯s not good. I was worried that if they found out, I might be attacked again. It¡¯s dangerous for them to know what¡¯s going on. They might harass me in any way they can. The fact that they all shared what was done to me could mean that the harassment would be more extensive. ¡­¡­ but what¡¯s really going on? It is true that my impression of them has changed a little after spending the first semester and summer vacation with them. Even though they didn¡¯t realize who I was, they seemed to have a good personality. I don¡¯t know how much I can think about that. Well, the only thing that helps is that they don¡¯t get along with each other. At least they shouldn¡¯t be working together. They really don¡¯t get along, do they? ¡°¡­¡­ You know, goddesses don¡¯t get along very well, do they?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t get along. Definitely.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the cause?¡± ¡°I have no idea. Until then, there was no special interference between us, but suddenly they became aggressive. They started to fight and poke at each other. That was right after last year¡¯s God Conference.¡± That part was just as I had heard. The reason for that, I thought it was Renji. I didn¡¯t know about Shirase, but I thought those three were in love with Renji.¡± ¡°Inuyama-san, you mean?¡± ¡°I was thinking that the goddesses were in love with Renji, and that they fought over that guy.¡± There are a few things that make sense when you think about it. The fight between the goddesses and Aoyama¡¯s apology chat. A theory emerges that Aoyama was actually in love with Renji in junior high school and wanted to make an excuse to Renji that she apologized to me, his friend. Well, as for Aoyama, who has been sending me apology chats for a long time since then, he may be seriously sorry. ¡°I think it¡¯s impossible that the cause is Inuyama-san.¡± Impossible? I would have liked to ask her about the basis for her decision, but Shirase was very confident. According to Shirase¡¯s judgment, who was watching them closer than I was, it must be so. I should trust his words here. ¡°¡­¡­ Do you think they are aware of my true identity in the first place?¡± ¡°They definitely don¡¯t realize it.¡± ¡°Definitely?¡± She was very confident. ¡°Yes, absolutely.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because if they knew, they would have taken action.¡± That¡¯s the same conclusion as mine. However, I was curious as to why she was so confident. ¡°It must be a pretty big action. I have a hunch that those people have special feelings for Shota Nijitani. If their true identities were discovered, it would be a terrible thing. After all, those people were the worst abusers of Shota Mukawa.¡± Eeh? Special feelings toward me? That was a word I had not expected at all. Volume 2 - CH 21 Posted on June 6, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp ¡°That ¡­¡­ special feeling?¡± I gulp and ask. ¡°Like romantic feelings,¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about Aoyama-san, but I think at least Akazawa-san and Kuromine-san have feelings similar to that.¡± It was far from unexpected. In the past two years, my appearance has changed. I was confident that I had improved a lot compared to before, and I had been making a lot of effort in running and muscle training. I am honestly happy to receive recognition for that. However, my inner life has not changed that much. I was a spineless man over there, and I still have no experience with women. I have been living under the same roof with my stepsister, Kanon, since I came back here, but I don¡¯t think that has improved my inner self. I am not confident that I can talk in a way that pleases girls, and I don¡¯t even understand how to act like a gentleman. The inside has not changed, but have they jumped up from dislike to love? Does that mean they only see what people look like? I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a goddess thing to do. ¡°¡­¡­, you¡¯re sure you¡¯re not mistaken?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your proof?¡± ¡°Do you remember when I called Shota-san a friend in the conference room?¡± How could I forget? The actuality that the air tingled for a moment at that time is still fresh in my mind. ¡°Akazawa-san¡¯s eyes had turned completely dangerous.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ come to think of it.¡± Indeed, Akazawa at that time was dangerous. ¡°Perhaps it was jealousy.¡± ¡°No, it was simply because she thought that she would lose my vote because I, her classmate, became Shirase¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°Is that all it took for her to have that look in her eyes?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it? That or unusual for just one vote. Seriously, is it jealousy? I¡¯ve never seen that guy jealous in my memory. That¡¯s right. Akazawa used to get along well with Renji. There was no way she could be jealous. They were the most popular couple in school, and there was no room for others to come in. ¡°I can say this because we were childhood friends, but she liked Renji. At least that much I can be sure of.¡± ¡°But two years has passed¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You mean to say that during the two years that Shota-san was away, she had been in love with one man?¡± I see, you hit a sore spot. I don¡¯t know what happened during the blank period. Generally speaking, couples in the world break up after two years. It¡¯s like a student romance or something like that. ¡°As for Kuromine-san, it¡¯s easy to understand. Shota is the only boy on campus that she talks to. I was convinced by her attitude when we went to the pool. She has never been that close to a man before. It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it? Yakumo is a good example. We went out to the pool together, but she didn¡¯t talk, right?¡± Thinking back, I don¡¯t remember her talking to Yakumo-kun. I still couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it because I dispelled the rumor?¡± ¡°Even if that was the trigger, it¡¯s hard to imagine that she would have reacted the way she did just because of your kindness.¡± ¡°What about Kanon being her crony?¡± ¡°That may have been a factor, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough to warrant special treatment.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Actually, Kuromine and I work at the same place.¡± I told her that I work part-time at a bookstore. Midway through the first semester, before the rumors were dispelled, she said we had known each other. ¡°Are you trying to tell me that¡¯s why she was able to talk to you?¡± ¡°Eh¨C¡° ¡°Her guard is not so lenient that she can approach you for that kind of thing. Please think about it. Certainly, having the same part-time job is an approachable factor, but you can also get closer by being in the same class, on the same committee, or in the same club. Has she ever approached anyone other than Shota-san?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± No, she has not. At least I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t think any of the guys at the school know. Certainly not. I had mistakenly thought that the fact that we worked at the same part-time job was a strong reason, but now that being told, I wonder if simply working at the same part-time job would cure her man-hatred. If that were the case, the only reason I could think of was¡­ ¡°She must have fallen in love with you.¡± ¡°S-Seriously¡± It was hard to believe, but the circumstantial evidence was there. ¡°Only Aoyama-san is unknown, but I¡¯ve heard that she and you are gaming buddies.¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± ¡°No ill feelings at least, I suppose.¡± As for Aoyama, I am not sure, but I can certainly conclude that there are no bad feelings from the way we play games. ¡°¡­¡­ So what would happen if they found out who I really am?¡± ¡°I would probably go insane. It¡¯s an act that hurts their pride to fall in love with someone who has mistreated you so much. The love affair will fizzle out and be converted into anger and even murderous intent toward Shota-san.¡± It would be a kind of inverted antagonism in common parlance. It may sound like a joke, but it is possible. If that happened, I would won¡¯t be able to live a peaceful life, but I would be on the receiving end of a bounty. It is possible that I will be hunted down to the point where I will be forced to change schools again. ¡°I will cooperate with you. I¡¯ll help you in any way I can so that your true identity won¡¯t be revealed.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to help me?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m being sincere.¡± ¡°¡­.But maybe they won¡¯t find out. Things have been fine up to this point.¡± I was able to live for a semester without anyone finding out. I got a little closer during the summer break, but even then they didn¡¯t know who I was. ¡°That carelessness is where we are now, you know?¡± ¡°Ugh¡± That¡¯s for sure. I¡¯m in this situation because I was careless. I let my guard down because no one found out about me. ¡°There are numerous events in the second semester. There is the ball game tournament, the sports festival, and the biggest event at Tenkain Academy, the Tenka Festival. The Tenka Festival is Tenkain Academy¡¯s cultural festival, and its centerpiece event is the Tenka Contest, a vote to choose a god. ¡°If these girls are in love with Shota-san, then there will be a lot of contact. The more contact there is, the higher the risk of them discovering your true identity.¡± The second semester is full of events. It would be dangerous to let one¡¯s guard down. Shirase is probably right. But I still couldn¡¯t believe it because of the past incident. There was no hint that she was in love with me. ¡°¡­.I¡¯d like to see some proof.¡± ¡°Proof? ¡°That she likes me is just situational evidence and Shirase¡¯s idea.¡± The distance may be close, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s even romantic. ¡°This is a difficult question. If you ask her directly, she will probably ignore you, and it¡¯s not like Shota-san can ask her.¡± ¡°Right¡± ¡°Hopefully you can meet her after school¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Speaking of which, Akazawa is supposed to come the day after tomorrow.¡± Informing Shirase about the summer festival the other day. ¡°Then we can get her true feelings out of her there.¡± ¡°Does that mean Shirase is coming too?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t?¡± ¡°To be honest, it would be very helpful. She¡¯s my childhood friend even if she¡¯s rotten, and there¡¯s the highest possibility that she¡¯ll find out by some chance.¡± ¡°Then leave it to me.¡± At this point, I had no choice but to trust Shirase. Or rather, once Shirase found out, there was no other choice but to trust her. It will be over when Shirase leaks it to them, and there is no point in worrying about it now. ¡°But is it okay?¡¡You two don¡¯t get along, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering about this myself. Why does she hate me? I thought I would take this opportunity to ask her. If it¡¯s in the house, there¡¯s no way out, right?¡± That¡¯s true too. Shirase herself must have been curious about it. ¡°¡­¡­ Just why did you suddenly decide to get in touch with me?¡± What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden, if you never asked me before? ¡°I say I feel better now that I was able to apologize to Shota-san, but I feel so much clearer now. To be honest, I had mixed feelings toward Kanon-san. Perhaps the reason I came here today is because I wanted to complain to her brother, Shota-san. However, I found out that you are Shota Mukawa. I also understood that you care about Kanon-san. I have come to terms with my own feelings, and I think I should move on.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Shirase¡± At that moment, I heard the front door open. I looked at my watch and saw that the time was still before evening. She said she didn¡¯t want dinner, so it was too early for Kanon to come home. While I was thinking this, I heard the sound of someone going up the stairs. After that, the door suddenly opened without knocking. ¡°I¡¯m home. I need to talk to you about something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you. ¡­¡­ eh sis?¡± Kanon and Yakumo-kun were standing there. Volume 2 - CH 22 Posted on June 7, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Why are these two here? As I was puzzled by the sudden situation, Yakumo-kun hid the bag he was carrying behind his back. ¡°Huh, it¡¯s Shirase-senpai!¡± Kanon spotted Shirase and greeted her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you.¡± ¡°Welcome. I¡¯d like to know what the situation is with you and Shirase. Is it possible that the two of you are having a relationship?¡± Kanon utters with a smirk on her face. She seems to be suspicious of our relationship. Under the circumstances, it¡¯s not unreasonable to assume that I invited Shirase to my house when no one else was home. While I was wondering what to say, Shirase slowly shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, it is not what you are imagining, Kanon-san. I was walking outside earlier when I suddenly got sick and was saved by Sho ¡­¡­ Nijitani-san, who happened to be passing by. Thus I was allowed to rest in a cool room.¡± The first thing that comes to my mind is the fact that she is able to tell a lie so smoothly. ¡°By the way, are you two on a date?¡± Shirase asks with a smile as if to counter. ¡°Kanon and the others were just in the middle of Shirase-senpai¡¯s¨C¡° ¡°Don¡¯t say it, Nijitani-san!¡± I am not that familiar with cosmetics, but I remembered it from the girls in my class who talked about it from time to time. ¡°Hey, Yakumo-kun. What¡¯s that bag?¡± ¡°Eh, uhm, this is ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°This is impossible. There is no fooling around with it anymore. The timing is subtle and unromantic, but it¡¯s dramatic in its own way.¡± Is this the trend of coming out of a relationship? But it was not. Yakumo-kun exhaled deeply as if he had given up on the idea, and held out the bag he was carrying in front of him. ¡°If it were true, I would have given it to you on the day of the event, but I guess it¡¯s inevitable.¡± He handed the bag to Shirase. ¡°¡­¡­ Yakumo?¡± ¡°The day after tomorrow is sister¡¯s birthday, right?¡± ¡°Eh eeh?¡± This year, however, sister is out of the house. So I thought I¡¯d surprise you with a gift anyway. But I didn¡¯t know what to give you, so I asked Nijitani-san to go along with me. I don¡¯t know anything about trends, so I thought it would be best to ask the girls.¡± So he was shopping for Shirase¡¯s birthday present. The reason why he said it to Shirase as if it was a date was so that she wouldn¡¯t know about it. He is a kind brother who loves his sister. Yakumo-kun¡¯s reputation is going up in my mind. Of course, I¡¯m sure he had an ulterior motive of wanting to go out alone with Kanon, but his consideration for his family is one word that I would like to use to describe how wonderful he is. I think I can trust him with Hanane. I looked at Shirase who received the gift. Shirase must have a lot of emotions in her heart. If I were in her shoes, I would be shaking with shock. Shirase had just assumed it was a date, and now this. Her heart is on a roller coaster. But Shirase suppresses her emotions and smiles like a big sister. ¡°Thank you, Yakumo.¡± She hugged the gift tightly, though she didn¡¯t say it out loud or on her face. It was like she couldn¡¯t hold back her happiness. That was good. After that, Kanon and Yakumo-kun came into the room and sat down opposite us. When Kanon saw the barley tea on the table, she ran toward the kitchen and came back with barley tea for the two of them. ¡°WelI, I came home earlier than I expected. Let¡¯s go to a family restaurant for dinner.¡± For some reason, Kanon seemed to be at her ease. ¡°¡­.Oi, don¡¯t suddenly get all mellow. I understand about the dinner, but you said you had something to discuss with me earlier. Spit it out¡± I remember that a while ago Kanon said she had something to discuss with me. ¡°That¡¯s right. I had two things to discuss with you, and one of them has just been resolved.¡± ¡°Solved?¡± ¡°The first is the birthday present. Shirase-kun wants to give it to senpai as a surprise. I was going to ask Onii-chan if you had any good ideas for him to bring a present to her house.¡± That¡¯s why she came back. So, Shirase just happened to be there, so he gave it to her and that problem was solved. It was a surprise in a way, and dramatic to say the least. ¡°What about the other thing you wanted to discuss?¡± ¡°I met Tsukiyo Onee-sama while I was shopping.¡± ¡°Hoo hoo¡± ¡°I invited her to a gathering the day after tomorrow. We talked about what we were going to do.¡± ¡°¡­.Ha?¡± It was as if I had been hit from another dimension. The day after tomorrow, Akazawa is scheduled to come to my house. Akazawa¡¯s coming to my house alone is a terrible thing, but even Kuromine is coming to my house? No, no, no, it¡¯s a problem before that. ¡°¡­¡­ You know that goddesses don¡¯t get along with each other, right?¡± ¡°I know that. It¡¯s well-known.¡± ¡°Then why are you¨C¡° ¡°But Shirase-senpai and Tsukiyo-sama went to the pool and got to know each other a little better, didn¡¯t they?¡± I didn¡¯t feel like they got along with each other at all. They didn¡¯t cause any problems for a time, but they didn¡¯t seem to get along with each other. ¡°At this rate, the day may come when the goddesses join hands with each other. And wouldn¡¯t it be great if the person who played a leading role in that was Kanon?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Everyone would be surprised, wouldn¡¯t they? If we restore the relationship between the goddesses, it could become legendary. If that happened, Tsukiyo Onee-sama would be happy, right?¡± It doesn¡¯t work that way. I wonder if it was because Shirase and Kuromine didn¡¯t cause any problems at the pool that she thought it would be easy to repair their relationship. That was only possible because one of them was Shirase. I can see now that Shirase doesn¡¯t have much ill feeling toward those three. But Akazawa and Kuromine do not. The atmosphere in the meeting room was beyond repair. ¡°Did Kuromine agree?¡± ¡°She accepted after much hesitation.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ seriously¡± She must know that Akazawa is going to participate, but the fact that she¡¯s coming could be an attempt to compromise. If so, would it be surprisingly successful? ¡°¡­¡­About that, I¡¯m going to join you too,¡± Shirase interrupted. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes, your brother just invited me.¡± Kanon was innocently pleased. I moved closer to Shirase¡¯s ear. ¡°Is it okay?¡± ¡°In this case, I will ask from both sides.¡± ¡°¡­.Can you do it?¡± ¡°I have no choice but to do it. If it gets out later that you refused Kuromine-san here, it will be a problem.¡± That¡¯s right. If the story leaks out from Akazawa¡¯s mouth, Kuromine will ask why I rejected her. If that happened, it would be troublesome. ¡°I think it would be better to ask Aoyama-san to join us at this point.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a rare opportunity. If you miss this opportunity, you will never know how those people feel. If you want to make up your mind, now is the time.¡± She might have a point. I want to know the feelings and thoughts of those three people. But that would be too much, no matter how hard I tried. For me, having all the goddesses gather at my house would be more a punishment, than excitement. ¡°Do not worry, I will support you.¡± ¡°¡­.Got it¡± I told that to Kanon. She seemed surprised that I had Aoyama¡¯s contact information, but seemed to be looking forward to the gathering of goddesses and readily agreed. ¡±Then let¡¯s all cook together. It¡¯s a dinner party with the goddesses!¡± Apparently, a dinner party is being planned. It would be a good idea if they were glued to the kitchen so they wouldn¡¯t come to my room. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Shirase-kun, would you like to come?¡± ¡°Eh ¡­¡­ are you sure?¡± That¡¯s a good idea too. I¡¯m glad I have someone to talk to. I put my hand on Yakumo-kun¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Please join us, Yakumo-kun.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Ou. The only male in the house is me, and that makes me feel lonely. Besides, food tastes better when there¡¯s a lot of people around, doesn¡¯t it?¡± How could he refuse? Kanon is going to cook for all of us. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯d be happy to participate.¡± After that, the four of us headed to a family restaurant. I informed Aoyama about the dinner party at the family restaurant and she quickly accepted the invitation. I also contacted Kuromine, who responded that she too was fine with it. Akazawa also agreed, but I was a little concerned that the text was unnatural. Finally, I exchanged contact information with Shirase, and thus ended our reunion. Volume 2 - CH 23 Posted on June 9, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp The dooms day has arrived. After that day, I got a haircut, freshened up my appearance, and revitalized my feckless self. Having rejuvenated myself from the state of limbo I had been in, I greeted that day as if I had just transferred to a new school. I will never let my guard down again. ¡°¡­.Thanks for helping me out.¡± I thanked Shirase, who was sitting opposite me. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Today, we are going to have a dinner party with all the goddesses. The meeting time is in the afternoon, but Shirase arrived before noon. This had been decided beforehand. Having already been exposed, Shirase had something I wanted her to help me with. Yes, I wanted her to help me clean up the things that might lead to me being exposed. We searched the house together and hid things that might lead to my identity. The house was full of dangerous items. The junior high school graduation album that I had shown her at karaoke before had already been taken care of, but the graduation album from elementary school was still there. Other albums containing photos of my childhood were in the living room. Aside from Kuromine, Akazawa and Aoyama know the old days, so if they saw them, they would know. I¡¯m not the only one I should be paying attention to. That girl who was my childhood friend knows my mother¡¯s face, so I have to be extremely careful. One photo could be the source of an accident. Thanks to Shirase¡¯s help, I was saved. ¡°But things have really changed in this way.¡± Shirase took the old photo in her hand and compared it with the one of me now. ¡°¡­¡­I see?¡± ¡°Yeah, I doubt anyone would notice this change.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so different that even my ex-girlfriend didn¡¯t notice it.¡± ¡°Ara, that¡¯s right.¡± We laugh. I wondered what would happen when she found out who I was, but since she started cooperating with me, it¡¯s rather the opposite. I felt most comfortable in front of Shirase. It is mentally great to not have to be nervous. ¡°So today, we¡¯re going to ask them a lot of questions, aren¡¯t we? ¡°That¡¯s what this meeting is for.¡± ¡°But I wonder if it¡¯s really all right. They would not answer honestly even if you asked them. Besides, how can we ask them when they are all here? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have a plan.¡± She seemed very confident. This time, it is not just about inviting the goddesses for a meal. I have questions to ask them. What do they think of me now, and why do they hate each other? ¡°¡­¡­I see. Then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± Since exchanging contact information, Shirase and I have been in touch frequently. Yesterday, Shirase went out with Kanon. It seems that the two are also in contact with each other, and they seem to be moving stealthily. If Shirase is so confident about her plan, I have no choice but to leave it to her. I can¡¯t ask Shirase about this matter. There is nothing else to do but to throw it all to Shirase. Time passed, and it was afternoon. The living room was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. [The four-colored goddesses], the pride of Tenkain Academy, were all gathered in the living room. At first glance, the scene is so glamorous that one could almost mistake it for the dressing room of an idol group. ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± It really is a misunderstanding. There is no conversation between the goddesses. They don¡¯t look at each other, they don¡¯t greet each other. They simply sit next to each other with blank expressions on their faces. It was supposed to be such a grim occasion, and yet Kanon was so excited by the gathering of the goddesses. She seemed restless from a moment ago. Yakumo-kun, who is sitting next to her, seems to be unable to hide his nervousness at the sight of all the goddesses, and his presence has disappeared since a few minutes ago. ¡°¡­¡­ Now, Kanon-chan, I¡¯m going to ask you a question. May I ask why this is happening?¡± It was Akazawa who opened her mouth when everyone was present. It sounded cool, but the tone of her voice sounded like she was already completely piqued. Akazawa probably didn¡¯t know that another goddess was coming until the day before yesterday, and it would be reasonable for her to complain about the situation. And at the time she was invited, I¡¯m sure she didn¡¯t know there were other participants. ¡°I also want to ask. What is the purpose of this gathering?¡± Aoyama joined in the conversation. Aoyama, who had suddenly decided to participate, seemed more puzzled than angry at the situation. ¡°¡­¡­¡± Kuromine was silent. Kuromine, who says she was invited by chance while shopping, has been glancing around since a few minutes ago. ¡°Yes. Shirase-senpai will explain about that.¡± When Kanon said this, all eyes were on Shirase. This gathering started when Kanon invited Akazawa to her house, and when she heard that the goddesses would be gathering there, she asked Shirase to play the role of host. I don¡¯t know the circumstances, so I decided to wait and see what would happen. ¡°First of all, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us.¡± After bowing politely. ¡°I have been lamenting the disagreement between the goddesses for some time. I think it is good for those who live in the same academy to join hands and get along well with each other. That is why I have prepared a dinner party for you today. I asked Kanon-san to help me with this.¡± And so on and so forth. In a sense, this was a convincing reason for gathering the goddesses. I don¡¯t know if they actually want to do that. ¡°We planned to cook and eat a meal together in order to deepen our friendship. But I don¡¯t think it would be possible for us to suddenly join hands with each other. So, let¡¯s have a cooking showdown.¡± Shirase dropped a bomb. The color of the goddesses¡¯ faces changed at her words. ¡°We are often compared to each other. It can be appearance, athletic ability, academic ability, and so on. However, I think the standard of female power is cooking. Today, men also stand in the kitchen, but even so, there will be occasions in the future when we serve our husbands home-cooked meals.¡± ¡­¡­ Is this the plan? I can still understand that she wants to cook together because she wants to get to know each other, but what is she going to do by making it a showdown format? As I was thinking about this, all the other goddesses except Shirase glanced at me. I don¡¯t know what their intention was, but the phrase ¡± they are attracted to you¡± that Shirase had told me made me strangely nervous. ¡°Fuun, a cooking duel. I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to cook?¡± ¡°¡­.That¡¯s okay¡± The three of them showed three different reactions. Akazawa is very good at it and is just waiting for it. Aoyama looks withdrawn. ¡°The judges are these three.¡± The judges are me, Kanon and Yakumo-kun, who are not Gods. Yakumo-kun and Kanon were smiling. Well, they must be excited to have the school¡¯s goddesses cooking for them. Thus, a cooking showdown by the goddesses began in a hurry. Volume 2 - CH 24 Posted on June 10, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Suddenly, a cooking showdown broke out. I couldn¡¯t quite keep up with the sudden development, but the goddesses seemed to be very motivated. It was quite surprising that they accepted the proposal. Perhaps they are confident in their cooking skills? I don¡¯t know, since I had no chance to see their cooking skills from the first semester until now. Unfortunately, I have no memories of their cooking skills, even though I tried to compare them with my past. I¡¯ll just have to wait and see when it¡¯s finished. After the declaration of the showdown, I went back to my room. I was asked not to watch the cooking process and was kicked out of the kitchen. I was a little dissatisfied because Kanon and Yakumo-kun, who were also judges, were helping, but I was left out of the group. Besides, it would be awkward to stay in the place where those people gather. So I went back to my room and started up an app game as usual. Until the summer vacation, I had been advocating the unnecessary use of smartphones, but now I had completely changed my mind. It¡¯s easy to connect to the Internet, and it¡¯s wonderful to be able to operate it from the comfort of my bed. I am becoming a body that can¡¯t live without a smartphone. Humans seem to be creatures that change pretty quickly. When I heard about this gathering, I wondered what would happen, but it¡¯s easy to just eat the finished dish. Despite all the enthusiasm I had put into it, it was a letdown. So far, things are going as Shirase intended. Let¡¯s just leave it at that. After playing for a while, I finished my daily quest. ¡°¡­I have time¡± I muttered to myself and opened the closet. Shirase is a very good friend of mine and I¡¯m very happy to have her as a friend. I had planned to give it to her during the day, but I just missed the opportunity. ¡°Well, maybe later.¡± I was about to put the bag back in the closet again. It was then. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I was about to answer. ¡°It¡¯s Shirase. Kanon-san has given me permission to use your room, so please excuse me. I know that Nijitani-san is out, but I called out to you as a matter of etiquette. Incidentally, I would like to add that when I tried to use Kanon-san¡¯s room, she refused me because her room was dirty.¡± After such an explanation, the door opens. I couldn¡¯t catch up with the sudden understanding and hid in the closet as soon as I could. Shirase enters the room. Akazawa is behind her. ¡°¡­¡­ is this Nijitani¡¯s room?¡± Akazawa looks around the room. ¡°Yes. After we went shopping, Nijitani-san also went out. Kanon-san gave me permission to enter his room.¡± I went out? I sorted out the contents in my head. It was right after the declaration of the cooking showdown earlier. Each of the goddesses went shopping. Since it was a cooking showdown, it was natural for them to go shopping for ingredients. After that, I went outside for a bit. Although I said I went out, I came back immediately after checking the mail. Kanon was in the kitchen preparing the cooking utensils, so she may have heard the front door open and thought I had gone out somewhere. ¡°So what is it that you want to talk to me about¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Well, first of all, thank you for accepting my invitation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be thankful for. If you have something to tell me, could you please do it quickly? I haven¡¯t been able to buy anything yet because you suddenly call me up in the middle of shopping. I don¡¯t want to waste my time and lose to those two.¡± Akazawa looked blatantly displeased. From the way she was talking, I guess Shirase stopped her during when she was shopping to talk to her. And then she borrowed my room. But what is this situation? My childhood friend and my ex-girlfriend are in my room, and I, the owner of the room, am peeping at them from the closet. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a novel situation or what, but it makes me feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong. Akazawa is being salty towards Shirase, but seems to have been curious about what¡¯s inside the room since a while ago and is looking around the room. Akazawa¡¯s gaze goes to the bookshelf and then to the bed. When her gaze is fixed on the bed for a moment, she gulps and clears her throat for some reason. It¡¯s no surprise, but Akazawa used to come to my house a lot in the past. But back then when I was poor, I didn¡¯t have a room of my own. ¡­.Shirase, are you going to hold the discussion here? Here I finally realized Shirase¡¯s aim. The reason she chose to have a cooking showdown was because it would be easy to call each of them out one by one. If the cooking showdown were to turn into an enjoyable cooking session with all the participants, it would be impossible to talk to them individually. Then I can¡¯t leave, can I? I decided to watch closely, holding my breath. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go straight to the point. You remember Shota Mukawa, don¡¯t you? Let me ask you what you think of him, Akazawa-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Oi, oi what the hell is that girl asking? It wasn¡¯t in the discussion to ask that question, was it? My hands were sweating. I wanted to hear the answer myself. Yuuhi Akazawa is my first love. I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t curious. I feel like a defendant waiting for the verdict. ¡°¡­.That person, who¡¯s that?¡± Eh? Seriously? I knew she hated me, but I didn¡¯t think it was at the level of erasing my existence. That¡¯s too much, no matter how much you want to say. ¡°Eh, that ¡­¡­ is your childhood friend.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t remember?¡± Shirase, who asked the question, sounded puzzled. I unintentionally wanted to jump out of the closet and tell the person in question that it was me. But I can¡¯t do that. I had to hold back my feelings. ¡°I forgot about it, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­.¡± ¡°So, is that it?¡± ¡°No, please wait.¡± ¡°What is it this time?¡± ¡°What do you think of Nijitani-san, then?¡± Moving on to the main topic. To be honest, my mental health was already in shambles. ¡°¡­.Like¡± Heh? ¡°¡­¡­ you mean you like him as a man?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± ¡°W-what is the reason?¡± Shirase asked, and she was very eager to know. ¡°The reason?¡¡Because everything about him is wonderful, of course. He has a super handsome face and is very kind. He¡¯s also very athletic, and he¡¯s always working hard in his studies. Whenever I¡¯m in trouble, he always dashingly appears and helps me out, like a real prince. There is no one else like him. There¡¯s no reason not to fall in love with him. I mean, I love him!¡± What the hell. On the level of my Mukawa days, I¡¯m on the level of erasing my existence, and now I¡¯m a prince? ¡­¡­ I mean, to this point, I¡¯m wondering what I did in the past. I remember being mistreated, but I don¡¯t know how much I can think back and see why I¡¯ve been so humiliated. No, no, but this evaluation of me now is too high. The only time I spent with Akazawa as Shota Nijitani was during the first semester and the summer festival the other day. I wonder when did her evaluation of me go up to that level? The kindness and helpfulness are probably Nekoda-related events, and as for athletics, I have always been good at it. I¡¯m certainly doing my best in my studies, but¨C ¡°I-I see¡± Shirase was also astonished at this. She must have been surprised. A goddess who had never had a boyfriend and never talked about her love life, was saying things like ¡°I love him¡± without hiding it. Well, I was the most surprised. ¡°Is that all you have to say?¡± ¡°Wait a minute. Lastly, ¡­¡­can you tell me why the goddesses are hating each other so much?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I was surprised. I had never had any conversation with him before, but all of a sudden I was confronted by a fiercely combative attitude. I thought that Mukawa-san was the most likely reason for this. But from what you just said, it seems that wasn¡¯t the case.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°I would like to be friends with Akazawa-san. If you know the reason, let me know.¡± In the meeting where the problem arose, Renji was pissed off, according to her. I thought, like Shirase, that maybe this is happening because of Mukawa¡¯s involvement, but I guess not. Akazawa doesn¡¯t seem to remember me in the past, so I don¡¯t think I was the cause of the trouble. Then, was it over Renji? But Akazawa made it clear that he likes me. I have no idea. It is said that a woman¡¯s heart is like the autumn sky, and I wonder if there is a deeper reason that men can¡¯t understand. Akazawa let out a big breath. ¡°¡­¡­. I don¡¯t have any particular reason. Goddesses have a nice title, so I thought I¡¯d go for it again next year. Maybe that¡¯s the reason we hate each other.¡± Is that it? She was just obsessed with her status as a goddess, huh? ¡°Uhm, in that case, I think it would be better to play fair and square. I think that would be more like a goddess. If you would like, would you make up with me or become my friend?¡± Shirase said seriously. After a moment of silence. ¡°I understand. White¡­..no, not like this, I will be friends with Shirase-san.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Then Shirase and Akazawa shook hands in my room. Did they understand each other? But I couldn¡¯t congratulate them because the conversation was too shocking in many ways. I was stunned in the closet until they left. Volume 2 - CH 25 Posted on June 13, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp Some time had passed since they had disappeared. I was shocked in many ways, but I finally recovered after accepting the reality. There are many things I want to think about and say after hearing what they just said, but let¡¯s wait until I get out of the closet for a moment. As I was about to reach out my hand, the door to the room suddenly opened. It was Akazawa. This time, she was alone. Entering the room, she quietly closed the door. Then, walking without making a sound, she arrived in front of my bed. She looked suspicious like a thief. The idol of the school looked around in front of the bed. ¨CPoof! Dived into the bed. She wrapped herself in the futon and rolled around on the bed. Then she buried her face in the pillow and flapped her legs. She then hugged the pillow and made a motion as if she was patting the pillow on the head. A glimpse of her face showed that she was in ecstasy. Drool was dripping from her mouth, and her behavior and face were not that of an idol, but simply that of a dangerous person. ¡°¡­¡­¡± What motivation am I supposed to have to watch this spectacle? My former childhood friend, the idol of the school, the woman who treated me the worst, is lying on my bed. Let me also add that she was rubbing her own scent on the sheets of bedding and pillows. A normal boy would be in a situation where he should be happy that a beautiful girl is in love with him. In my case, however, it was not so. In any case, this girl hates the old me to the level of erasing my existence. I had mixed feelings when I looked at the scene, including my past circumstances, my present situation, and various other emotions. Please understand that I have a blank expression on my face, which does not fit into any of the categories of joy, anger, sadness, or pleasure. And so time passed. Suddenly, Akazawa began to shed tears as if she remembered something. ¡­¡­What¡¯s wrong? I have no idea why because she did not speak out loud. Akazawa, who suddenly burst into tears, lingered on the bed for a while and lovingly hugged my favorite pillow. After a few minutes, when the tears stopped, she left the room as if regretting the loss of a loved one. ¡°¡­¡­¡± I would like to say something about what I just saw and what she did, but that¡¯s okay. I opened the closet. But just at that moment, there was a knock at my door. I was startled by the sudden event and went back into the closet. After saying the words about permission in front of the room as before, Shirase entered. Following behind her was Kuromine. Apparently, they thought I was still out. If that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t just go out there. ¡°¡­¡­This is Nijitani¡¯s room.¡± I didn¡¯t expect this girl to come into my room too. Kuromine entered my room and sat down on the opposite side of Shirase. After sitting down, Kuromine is looking around the room as well as Akazawa earlier. Kuromine may be flashy in appearance, but I know that she is not accustomed to men. Perhaps she is interested in men¡¯s rooms. ¡°So, what did you want to talk about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about Shota Mukawa. You remember him, right?¡± Again, that question at the very beginning. Shirase must have been shocked by Akazawa¡¯s response. I can understand why she would want to hear it. I was hoping she would ask about me too. She was a fellow student with the same heartbreak of having her first childhood friend break her heart. I will never forget those days in the library. At that time, Kuromine didn¡¯t have many friends, and I¡¯m sure she considered our relationship important. Kuromine thought for a while and then said. ¡°¡­¡­ who¡¯s that?¡± You as well? I was the only one who thought we were friends, apparently. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that he was the one who helped you, Kuromine-san?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°U-uhm¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± It was confirmed that I was also at the level of being forgotten. The second person, the shock is a little lessened, but still shocking. ¡°T-then,¡­¡­, what do you think, Nijitani-san?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We went to the pool together, remember? I thought that Kuromine-san normally would have refused, but the fact that you came with me made me think that you might have a liking for Nijitani-san. Would you like to comment on that?¡± I listened to the story with shock. ¡°¡­.I think he is nice¡± Ooh? ¡°He¡¯s a nice. His appearance is fresh and clean, he¡¯s not uncomfortable to be with, and unlike other boys, he doesn¡¯t have a dirty look on his face. He¡¯s fun to talk to, and I don¡¯t dislike his meddling and kindness. I think he understands my feelings. So overall, I have a good feeling about him.¡± It was a high praise. ¡°Is it correct to say that you like him?¡± ¡°HAA!?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate him!¡± ¡°Do you like him or not?¡± ¡°¡­¡­, well, I would choose I like him¡± What the hell. Kuromine said as she turned red. I¡¯m not dense. From the way she said it, that¡¯s probably what she meant. This was surprising since I had heard Shirase¡¯s story half-jokingly. ¡­.I mean, what is the reason why your evaluation is so different from my past?¡± You¡¯re right that my appearance has changed, but I wonder if I¡¯ve also changed a lot on the inside, too, I don¡¯t think I have. I don¡¯t know. I have no idea. The reason why my reputation has exploded so far is too mysterious. The only other contact I have with Kuromine is that we work at the same part-time job, but our contact at the school is thin because we are in different classes. Is it because she says I¡¯m meddlesome and kind, or is it because the case that dispelled the rumor is resonating with her? ¡°¡­¡­, I mean, what¡¯s with all this talk all of a sudden?¡± Kuromine¡¯s voice took on a slightly sickly tone. ¡°The reason for this is, as I said earlier, to deepen our friendship.¡± ¡°Friendship, huh?¡± ¡°I thought it would be a good opportunity to ask you a few questions.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I see. Well, I¡¯m free until the kitchen is empty.¡± It seems that the reason Kuromine was mature enough to agree to the discussion was because the kitchen was occupied. ¡°Please tell me why you suddenly became so combative with me.¡± She asked another question, which should have been the main question. ¡°Again, suddenly.¡± ¡°I am curious about it. If I have done something to offend you, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.¡± ¡°Unnecessary.¡± ¡°Then why is it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡ª-¡° That¡¯s? ¡°¡­¡­, no particular reason.¡± What¡¯s that? I felt that Kuromine was about to say something and then stopped. I don¡¯t know what it is. ¡°Then do you know why the relationship between the goddesses has suddenly taken a turn for the worse?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± ¡°Then there is no feud between us. Then let¡¯s be friends. Kuromine-san and I went to the pool together, and I have a feeling we can get along.¡± ¡°¡­¡­No¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°If there is something you don¡¯t like about me, I will improve it. I want to get along with Kuromine-san. Please.¡± Kuromine just said that he had no reason. ¡°¡­¡­. I get it. It is my loss.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s shake hands to make up.¡± Thus, Shirase and Kuromine also made up. It¡¯s good that Shirase is doing well, but it doesn¡¯t clear my mind. No, I¡¯m honestly happy that she likes me. But I can¡¯t overlook the fact that she hates me to the point of erasing my existence. Or, perhaps, she simply forgot about me? That would be a stretch. As for Akazawa, she is my childhood friend, so that line is impossible, and with Kuromine¡¯s memory, there is no way she could have forgotten those days. I¡¯m getting more and more afraid of being exposed. I thought the whole anti-reversal thing was just a joke, but maybe it¡¯s not a joke at all. I can¡¯t help but feel that a terrible situation awaits me if my true identity is discovered. It is quite possible that I will go down the route of going crazy and being outraged. But is there any chance of a counter-intuitive and acceptable development? That¡¯s too risky. At the end, I would continue to breaststroke through the sea of thoughts until they left. TL: We caught up with the raw now time to wait. CH ss - 1 Posted on April 1, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [Yuuhi PoV] ¡°Good morning.¡± First day of summer vacation in my sophomore year of high school. I get up and smile at the pictures on the wall. The sight of him smiling in the picture soothes my heart. There is someone I cannot forget. He is my childhood friend, my first love, and the person I have still been thinking about since I can remember, even now that I am in my second year of high school ¡ª- Sho-chan. Sho-chan is my prince. I was born with a complex about my red hair. I was always bullied because of my hair. Whenever I was sad and shed tears, Sho-chan would always run to me, hug me and say kind words. He was not tall, but he had a well-defined face and beautiful eyes. It was impossible not to fall in love with him. He was good-looking, athletic, and kind, and he was my very ideal. I always thought that I was in love with him. Sho-chan was the perfect match for me. In elementary school, I was always tormented by jealousy and a sense of inferiority. I was neither pretty nor athletic. I had a good face, but because of my hair complex, I was timid and didn¡¯t have many friends. Sho-chan, on the other hand, had many friends besides me. He had many girl friends, and I always felt a thorn in my heart. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t confess my feelings to him. ¡°Yuuhi is cute, so you should always smile like an idol. If you do that, everyone will become your friend.¡± Sho-chan casually said these words to me. I was so happy that I was soaring. I didn¡¯t need friends as long as I had Sho-chan, but Sho-chan complimented me on my cuteness. That day, I decided to become like an idol. I became a junior high school student with my determination and love inside. Somehow I managed to improve myself to match Sho-chan. Thanks to my efforts, people around me began to tell me that I was cute. I became proud to say that I was good at studying, and I could do sports to a certain extent. Little by little, I began to have confidence in myself. Then one day. I was talking with Renji Inuyama, another childhood friend of mine, when I saw Sho-chan with a frustrated look on his face. The expression on his face was similar to the one I had once seen on my own. ¨Cjealousy. I thought there was no way the prince of my dreams would have such feelings for me, but I decided to find out for sure. I went out of my way to make friendly chats with Renji-kun when Sho-chan was around. I glanced at Sho-chan. He was looking at me with an expression that was a mixture of irritation and anxiety. No doubt about it. He is jealous. It was a revolutionary event. The prince is jealous of me. I felt my whole body fill with a kind of superiority. I continued. It felt so good to have that feeling directed at me that I became intoxicated with pleasure of dopamine. Feeling better, I opened the distance between me and Sho-chan for further pleasure. Sho-chan looked more and more pained. When I changed the way I called him, he looked like a discarded cat, which also aroused my emotions. The comparison, Renji-kun, was convenient. For me, he was just a childhood friend with whom I had no special feelings, but Renji-kun is said to have a good face. He is also known for his interesting stories. I know he is smart. He is also good at sports. He was popular with many girls. But from my point of view, Sho-chan is better than him. I did not ask him to be that smart, Sho-chan is more handsome when it comes to face, and from my point of view, his stories are the most interesting. If it¡¯s personality, Sho-chan is by far the best. He always praises Renji even though he¡¯s the one he¡¯s jealous of. If he has a bad personality, he would talk about him behind his back, but he always praises Renji-kun. Do you know that you are a good guy? Sho-chan is a prince, you know? In hindsight, this was the turning point in my life. I should have been honest about my feelings. I should have told him how I felt and what I was thinking and bowed to him and asked him to go out with me. ¡­¡­ but I took a grand wrong turn. I couldn¡¯t escape the pleasure of having the prince of my dreams being jealous. I humiliated Sho-chan to the point where I could clearly see it. Every time I humiliated him, I got excited and was relieved to see Sho-chan waiting for me at the usual place when it was time to go to school. I thought that Sho-chan was interested in me because he always came to school with me. Those days continued. However, one day in my second year of junior high school, something happened that brought me back to myself. A friend of mine had a boyfriend. As I listened to her love story, I began to think that I wanted a boyfriend too, and my body and heart yearned for the love of my life. What was I doing in the first place? I realized that my actions were too trivial. By the time I realized it, it was too late. One morning, Sho-chan did not show up at our usual meeting place. I was anxious and stumbled to school, but Sho-chan was already there. I tried to approach him to see what was wrong, but my friend stopped me. I had heard that rumor. ¡°Shota Mukawa is stalking Yuuhi Akazawa.¡± I had no memory of it. ¡°I heard that Shota Mukawa was stalking Yuuhi Akazawa.¡± ¡°An ambush is said to be waiting at the school gate after school.¡± ¡± I heard he¡¯s been hanging around in front of her house during the night.¡± ¡°I heard he¡¯s been taking a lot of spy photos with his phone.¡± Rumors with tails were spreading. It was nothing but a lie, since Sho-chan does not have a smartphone in the first place. Moreover, it was extreme. ¡°I heard that Yuuhi Akazawa admitted to being stalked.¡¯ According to the rumor I admitted him being my stalking. Sho-chan became the hated person at school. I tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but Sho-chan would run away from me. The reason is simple: just being around me makes him look bad. It was also because I had been acting like an idol and had become well-liked by many people. I am the worst. I am a disgusting woman. I hated to hear rumors that would bring Sho-chan down, but most of all, I was shocked that Sho-chan thought so. Even though I tried to explain the situation, I couldn¡¯t meet Sho-chan on campus. I tried to meet him outside of school, but no matter how many times I headed home, he wouldn¡¯t see me. Impatient, I decided to hurry up and tell people that I and Sho-chan had been childhood friends and had been good friends since we were little. But the rumors didn¡¯t spread well, probably because I had been undermining Sho-chan up to that point. In the midst of all this, rumors about Tsukiyo Kuromine began to circulate as if to follow up. No matter how much I tried to fix it, the bad reputation that I could not wipe out hit Sho-chan. Then came Sho-chan¡¯s birthday. As I was preparing a gift and looking for an opportunity to apologize, I received the news that Sho-chan had fallen down the stairs and injured himself. After that day, Sho-chan stopped coming to class. I visited his house again and again, but he never came to see me. During the spring break just before I entered the third year of junior high school, I was unable to apologize. Sho-chan transferred to another school. He was transferred to a new school without me being informed of anything. At that time, I did not know the circumstances of Sho-chan¡¯s breakdown and was just grieving. I was tormented by a sense of guilt, thinking that the stupid thing I had done might have contributed to it. I had committed a crime, and a number of punishments awaited me. I was unable to recover from the damage of losing someone I loved. I was in shock for a while and couldn¡¯t go to school. When I finally recovered and went to school for the first time in a while, my classmates welcomed me, but Renji-kun was the only one who looked at me as if he was going to shoot me dead. He knew the whole story. Since then, until that day in my first year of high school, I never spoke to Renji-kun again. I lost two childhood friends at the same time. The punishment was not over yet. My younger sister, who attended the same junior high school, found out about the rumor. My sister, after filling me with her hate-filled eyes, reported everything to my parents. I confided in her what I had done. My mother is best friends with Sho-chan¡¯s mother, Yurie. She strongly condemned my actions. That was the first time I learned about it. Sho-chan did not like me, but had no choice but to go to school with me because my mother and Yurie-san had asked him to protect me. I still remember my parents¡¯ stunned eyes and my sister¡¯s mixed look of hatred and disdain. In fact, she stopped thinking of me as her sister after that. We no longer spoke to each other in the house. For about two years, the relationship between us sisters has been cold. My mother took me to Yurie to apologize to her as well. Yurie-san, who had been told about the situation by Sho-chan, knew everything. The only thing she didn¡¯t know was that I loved Sho-chan. She accepted my apology, but I don¡¯t know how she felt inside. When the season turned to summer, I learned another truth. To atone for my sins, I spread rumors about how nice Sho was. I guess I wanted to recover as much as I could at that time. Kuromine denied the rumors about herself, and steadily Sho-chan¡¯s image was restored. ¡°¡­¡­Eh, Yuuhi and Mukawa were childhood friends?¡± It was while talking with my best friend, Hazuki Nekoda. By chance, I learned that Hazuki-chan was the one who spread that rumor. Moreover, Hazuki even lied about me, saying that I had admitted to the stalker rumor and told that to Sho-chan. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­.. I thought Yuuhi didn¡¯t like him.¡± It seemed that my attitude that was fueling his jealousy made her think i hate him and she did that for my sake. It was my fault to begin with. But still¡ª- ¡°F**K YOU!¡± For the first time in my life, I hit someone. It¡¯s disgusting to treat someone like a criminal. On top of that, she even lied about me admitting that Sho-chan was a stalker. I wonder how much those words hurt Sho-chan. I broke off relations with Hazuki. In doing so, I lost the trust of my family, my best friend, my childhood friend, and my beloved. ¡­¡­ But the real punishment was still waiting ahead. CH ss - 2 Posted on April 4, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp I was a slacker, and I enrolled at Tenkain Academy. Despite being mentally damaged, I acted like an idol on the surface. I found myself chosen as a goddess. Tenkain Academy¡¯s god system is well known. I never thought I would be chosen. This year, it seemed to be a close race, and other goddesses were chosen in addition to me. To be honest, I was not interested in the position of goddess. But I was interested in other goddesses. I originally disliked Umi Aoyama. She was the one with whom Sho-chan always played, and I was jealous of her many times. I wasn¡¯t good at sports, so I just watched Sho-chan and her running around in silence. Tsukiyo Kuromine was plain until the middle of junior high school, but now she was quite conspicuous. I wanted to ask about the rumors that circulated during middle school. Although that rumor disappeared before I knew it, Sho-chan suffered because of it. I don¡¯t know about Mayuki Shirase. The only thing I know about her is that she is a young lady who came from Himemiya Jogakuin. She was petite, had a childish face, and looked like a Lolita. The male god was, as expected, Renji-kun. For the first time, a divine meeting was held. While we were discussing future plans and the schedule of events, Renji-kun told me the truth. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­. I knew he couldn¡¯t do it. In the letter, he wrote that he didn¡¯t want to make it important and that he didn¡¯t want revenge, but now that we¡¯re face to face, I can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯m sorry, Shota.¡± After murmuring this, he told us what had happened to Sho-chan with a look of anger on his face. Umi Aoyama, who was Sho-chan¡¯s best friend, had ignored him, talked bad about him, and even pushed him down the stairs and seriously injured him. Tsukiyo Kuromine turned Sho-chan, who protected her, into a criminal. And she used the incident to make herself a friend by inviting the sympathy of those around her. Mayuki Shirase dumped Sho-chan like garbage by dating another handsome guy right after they started dating. He was weak at heart and tore Sho-chan to pieces. And then¨C ¡°Yuuhi, you hurt him by spreading the lie that Shota was stalking you. You were the closest to him, but you betrayed him.¡± I silently accepted Renji-kun¡¯s words. I myself did not spread the rumor, nor did I admit him being a stalker. I could have refuted it, but I didn¡¯t. It is true that I hurt him. And I also used Renji-kun for my own pleasure. Apparently, Renji-kun had received a letter from Sho-chan. It described the treatment he had received, and at the end of the letter, it seems he wrote that he did not want to make this one big deal out of it and did not want revenge. He probably thought that if the problem became bigger, it would cause trouble for his mother, Yurie-san. When Renji received this letter, he had been holding back until then, but now that everyone was together like this, he broke down. Renji-kun was trembling with regret, anger, and sadness. He was his best friend, but he didn¡¯t know what had been done to Sho-chan. Renji-kun was busy with club activities and was also the student body president in junior high school. He was not able to communicate much with Sho-chan, who did not have a cell phone. After that rumor started, he understood Sho-chan¡¯s concern and avoided contact with him at school. He blurted out that he couldn¡¯t see him even when he headed home, and that he was frustrated by the situation he couldn¡¯t do anything about. It was chaos in my heart when I found out everything. However, it was clear to me that I had recognized the ¡°enemy.¡± These people did not argue with Renji when he was furious. That meant it was true. Yes, those demons had destroyed Sho-chan. I was on fire when I recognized the enemy to be defeated in the school. I didn¡¯t like the fact that these demons were called goddesses. I probably didn¡¯t deserve that title either, but I didn¡¯t want to be defeated by those people. I spent my first year of high school with a variety of emotions in my heart. The season was about to start the next spring. One day, I bumped into Yurie-san again. Yurie-san moved out not long after Sho-chan transferred to a new school. She told me she needed to talk to me, so we went into a neighborhood caf¨¦. ¡°I¡¯m getting remarried.¡± ¡°C-congratulations.¡± I was prepared to be stuffed and beaten, but what I was told was that she was talking about remarrying. Yurie then told me her story so far. Yurie had regrets. Having raised Sho by herself, Yurie-san was always away from home for work. She was always away from home for work. She said in tears that she did not give Sho-chan much time for him. Every time I heard about her hardships, my heart ached. ¡°¡ª-Shota is coming back in Spring.¡± My heart jumped. ¡°It¡¯s just that he says he has been reborn now¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She said that Sho-chan would leave the past behind him along with his name. There were many painful events in this community. Sho-chan¡¯s heart must be full of despair, anger, and fear, as I can guess from Renji¡¯s story. ¡°I know very well that Yuuhi-chan wants to apologize, but that boy is about to be reborn. I¡¯ve actually met him, and he doesn¡¯t look the same as he did back then.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ yes.¡± ¡°So I want you to pretend you don¡¯t notice until he tells you himself what he used to be.¡± For me it was a final punishment that was too heavy for me. Finally the day came. Yurie-san had told me that Sho-chan would be attending Tenkain. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that her new younger sister had enrolled in this school and that Renji, his best friend, was also a student there. It seems that academically, they are a perfect match. He used to be bad at studying, but he has become smart enough to come to Tenkain. It really seems like Sho-chan has been reborn. I should be happy, but it was complicated. The people who hurt Sho-chan, including me, are attending here. ¡°I am Shota Nijitani. I moved here from a small house in the countryside. I have been swallowed up by the atmosphere of the city school. Please be gentle with me.¡± His voice was bouncy, drowning out his anxiety. He had taken off his glasses. His hair had changed and looked fresh. He was taller than he had been back then. That was all. There was no way I could have mistaken Sho-chan for someone else. I remember Sho-chan¡¯s appearance when he was not wearing glasses. I know the way he looked before he grew his hair long. There was no way he could fool my eyes when he grew taller. My feelings were quickly rising. I want to apologize for what happened, clear up the misunderstanding, and then tell him how much I like him. ¨CBut this is my punishment. The reborn Sho-chan is trying to hide his past. So I can¡¯t apologize to Shota Mukawa. On the contrary, I have to pretend not to notice and treat Shota Nijitani-kun as if we were meeting for the first time. I want to apologize, but I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t say I love him even though I love him. I have to pretend that I don¡¯t know him even though we have known each other since childhood. ¡°Nice to meet you, Nijitani.¡± I found my voice was coming out of my own mouth. Sho-chan, who was about to walk next to me, was startled by the voice. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I was so happy just to hear his voice back that I jumped up and down. Then the teacher asked me to show him around the school. Sho-chan had a very complicated look on his face. He was somewhat awkward when we talked, and he was fidgeting around while telling me false information about his life. Seeing this, I decided to keep my distance. However, something unplanned happened. For some reason, Sho-chan was getting along with Hazuki. He was talking normally with the person who had wronged him so much. Or rather, Hazuki was unaware of Sho-chan¡¯s true identity? And Nazuka-kun didn¡¯t seem to notice either. Perhaps Nazuka-kun knew Sho-chan since they had been in the same junior high school. But there was no particular reaction. If he had noticed, he would have told me and Hazuki. Am I the only one who realizes that Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani? Then the unexpected continued. After all that had been done to him, Sho-chan tried to reconcile me and Hazuki. To be honest, I still can¡¯t completely forgive Hazuki-chan, but since it was Sho-chan, of all people, who interceded, I decided to forgive her. He really is too kind. His meddlesome figure was the very prince who saved me one day. I don¡¯t want to give up on him after all. After we made up, I talked with Hazuki. ¡°Hey, Hazuki. Will you promise me one thing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If you see Sho-chan again, tell him everything and apologize sincerely.¡± ¡°¡­.Yes. Understood¡± Then I treated Shota Nijitani-kun as a mere classmate. We slowly deepened our relationship, and I hope that someday he would forgive me. I had such naive thoughts. ¡­¡­ things suddenly changed. Those demons approached Shota. The first time I saw Blue suddenly enter the classroom and call out to Sho-chan, I had the urge to kill her. After that, they apparently got into a relationship where they played games together. It still pisses me off. It was complicated when the rumors of daddy¡¯s love and dating started to appear in black. I saw Sho-chan¡¯s face and it hit me. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but Sho-chan knows something about Black rumor. He knows, but he wasn¡¯t sure what to do about it. So I advised him, but he meddled again. ¡°Nijitani-kun, you really are meddlesome, you know that?¡± I was happy to say that. You would even reach your hands out for a demon. I really love that about him. But then, when rumors started to circulate that Black and Sho-chan were dating, my reason overstepped its bounds. I was about to assault Black, even if I could have been arrested. The relief when it turned out to be a lie was tremendous. And finally, White. When she brought him into the conference room, I almost had my hand out until she said he was a friend. To begin with, this girl was unforgivable when she and Sho-chan became lovers, even if only for a moment. I could see that Sho-chan¡¯s complexion gradually clouded over after he got involved with those people. It is likely that he is experiencing a resurgence of past trauma. The gentle Sho-chan is a prime target for those demons. If he just stood there and watched, they would destroy him. The only saving grace is that those demons don¡¯t connect [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. If they were aware of it, they would have taken action. They are the worst kind of scum. After the contest, we went to the karaoke bar. I had been worrying about it for a long time. How can I protect Sho-chan? Would it be okay if we were just classmates? I thought desperately. And then I saw Sho-chan staring sadly at the graduation album. ¡°¡­.I have decided¡± In the karaoke box, I made up my mind. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s perfect.¡± I check my fashionable appearance in front of the mirror. There stood the idol. My red hair, which I am now proud to call my charm point, was flowing in the wind. I have made up my mind. I would continue to accept the punishment as it was. I would never tell Sho-chan that I am aware of it. But I can¡¯t give up on Sho-chan, who I love, so I¡¯m going to press on aggressively. I know I¡¯m at a disadvantage because of the past, but I¡¯m going to push him around and make him fall in love with me. I came up with a stupid conclusion. But that was the only thing I could think of. To protect Sho-chan from the hands of the devil, I would make him fall in love with me and become my boyfriend. Then those demons would not be able to touch him. I would tell them to stay away from my boyfriend and kick them to the curb. And if possible, I would like him to tell me who he really is someday. There is much to be done. I will not let those demons realize that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. I have to keep pretending that I don¡¯t notice Sho-chan. On top of that, I have to make him like me. I know it¡¯s difficult. But I will definitely accomplish it. The summer of my second year in high school, the summer of competition, begins. CH ss - 3 Posted on April 5, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [Umi PoV] ¡°See you on tomorrow¡¯s stream. Bye-bye.¡± I finished my first streaming of the summer vacation. I open the Discordo one last time to check it. Confirming that there were no replies to last night¡¯s messages, I turn off the computer. Lying in bed, thinking. Once upon a time, I had a best friend. I put it in the past tense because I no longer qualify. It¡¯s all because of my weakness and ugliness. I always liked to play with someone. Especially as a child, I loved to move around outside, play dodgeball, tag, and join in with the boys. Since I was masculine looking, the boys were willing to accept me. The one I got along with the best was that guy ¨C Shota. Shota always hit me with everything he had. At first, he didn¡¯t think I was a girl. I had a complicated feeling about that, but even after he found out I was a girl, he would throw dodgeball at me at point-blank range and chase me when we played tag. The other boys were a little more reserved because I was a girl. All of them may have been unaware of it, but it was frustrating to know that they were cutting me some slack. But he was the only one who was serious. He really fought. Thanks to him, I always lost, but I was happy that he was serious about the fight. No matter how many times I lost, I always challenged him. But when we yelled at each other and voiced our dissatisfaction, we made up the next day and played together again. The relationship continued into junior high school. By that time, we were not playing outside, but were into other kinds of fun. Games. I was especially into FPS. I went out and fought on the battlefield every day. When I went online and matched with people from all over the world, they would all seriously fight with me, regardless of whether I was female, male, an adult, or a child. That was the most exciting part. At first I couldn¡¯t win at all, but it was fun and I gradually became addicted to it. When I entered junior high school, I entered puberty. It was common for boys and girls to play separately. Whenever boys and girls talked, they immediately started to make love connections. ¡°Listen?¡¡Friendship doesn¡¯t exist between a man and a woman.¡± One day, a friend let loose on me. I was a little worried and told Shota about it, but he laughed and denied it. ¡°We are friends.¡± I was happy to hear his strong words and said, ¡°We are best friends!¡±. I really thought so back then, and I¡¯m sure Shota felt the same way. Even so, I tried to avoid contact with him at school. I wasn¡¯t very interested or knowledgeable about love, but I did have some common sense. If a boy and a girl in their adolescence were to get along with each other, there would be strange rumors. The most important thing to remember is that you should never be afraid to ask for help. So at school we would say hello to each other, and when we returned home, we would voice chat with each other as we headed off to war. Such days continued for a while. In hindsight, it was the most enjoyable time of my life. I had many friends and good relationships on the track team. I was expected to keep good records in my club activities. However, my head was not as good as I would have liked. The turning point came suddenly. ¡­¡­ I became aware of the betrayal of a friend. One day, I witnessed a group of girls who I thought were my friends, talking about me behind my back. It was too sudden a betrayal. What scared me more than anything was that she acted like a friend in front of me as usual. I was shaken because I didn¡¯t know how to deal with her. In the end, I could not continue the relationship with her. From then on, I was afraid of losing friends. While I was living with a certain anxiety, I heard a strange rumor. Shota Mukawa is stalking Yuuhi Akazawa. Never heard of it before. Shota and Akazawa were supposed to be childhood friends. I know they have been going to school together since elementary school and used to play tag with Akazawa. They stopped playing together in the middle of the school year, though. But when I think about it calmly, I don¡¯t get it. Shota said they were childhood friends, but I don¡¯t know what Akazawa thought of him. Akazawa and I had a relationship where we played together a few times, but it wasn¡¯t enough to call us friends. On the contrary, she didn¡¯t seem to like me and gave me some nasty looks. So I couldn¡¯t answer the question about their relationship. I don¡¯t remember ever seeing the two of them together. In fact, my friends didn¡¯t know that they were childhood friends. I had never been in love before, and I had no ability to recognize such a relationship. So I could neither confirm nor deny the rumors. ¡°That guy in the next class, Mukawa, is a scumbag, you know? I heard the rumor is true.¡± ¡± He looks dark, right? It¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Akazawa-san seems to be the victim.¡± ¡°I heard he stays out late every night watching in front of her house.¡± Yuuhi Akazawa is a popular girl at school. She was considered the school idol and was rumored to be dating Renji Inuyama, a childhood friend at the time. Inuyama had been famous for his good looks since junior high school. In contrast, Shota was ordinary. He was bright in elementary school, but when he entered junior high school, he became a little darker. He grew his hair long and his smile became somewhat shadowy. To me, he was the same as before. He always seemed to be having fun, and he was my partner who got burned when we played games together. ¡°You think he¡¯s creepy too right, Umi?¡± I froze at the question. ¡°Uhm¡­¡­¡­ that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go near that guy.¡± ¡°Yes yes. Umi seems to have a loose guard, and you seem sparse, and come to think of it, you¡¯ve been approached before, right?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re nice to him, you might turn stalked. Ignore him.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re friends with someone like that, you cut them off, usually.¡± I was told a lot of things. There were rumors that he would ambush Akazawa in the morning, talk to Akazawa during recess when she didn¡¯t want to be there, and after school he would keep an eye on her until late at night. The vicious rumors probably spread because Akazawa was an idol of the school. Shota is not such a lousy guy. There is no way that he would do such a thing. I don¡¯t know about an actual romantic relationship or anything, but there is no way he would keep an eye on her late at night. Because he always plays games with me at night. At least as far as the after-school rumors are concerned, I can say with absolute certainty that they are false. I have to say it. But I didn¡¯t want to lose my friend. So I kept quiet. The decision I made that day was everything. From that day on, I started ignoring Shota at school. I didn¡¯t want to lose my friend, so I weighed Shota and my friend in the balance. And I decided to cut Shota out of my life. But that was only at school, and I continued to play the game after returning home. Shota understood that. He also agreed to my proposal because he didn¡¯t want strange rumors to spread. But at that point, our friendship was already broken. After that, I got busy. I received awards in track and field competitions and was praised by my school and peers. My friends started inviting me out more often, and I had fewer opportunities to hang out with Shota. ¨CI¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t be with you for a while. After that chat, our paths diverged. I stopped playing games and started to focus on club activities. Shota, on the other hand, became more and more isolated. The only person he spoke to occasionally was Inuyama. Even in class, Shota¡¯s bad-mouthing is the same as ever. I didn¡¯t want to be isolated, so I went along with the conversation. Another rumor began to circulate at school. Shota Mukawa attacked Tsukiyo Kuromine. It was an unbelievable rumor. By this time, I had never spoken to Shota, but I thought the rumor was also false. He is not the kind of guy who would do anything criminal. I knew that and yet ¡­¡­ Shota¡¯s birthday, which came after the disconnection. That day I was so sick that I felt like I was going to die. I know the cause. It was a combination of my period and a cold. Nausea, headache, and chills attacked me in tandem. I was proud of my record of no lateness and no absences. I had always sold my energy and secretly looked forward to being praised by my teachers for my perfect attendance, so I went to school that day even though I was in the worst shape. But I soon reached my limit. As I was on my way to school, I had a severe headache and nearly blacked out. ¨CDonk. That¡¯s when I felt a jolt in my body. ¡­.Feeling something I was in a daze and didn¡¯t know what it was. ¡°Umi!?¡± I somehow regained consciousness in response to my friend¡¯s voice. Eventually I was carried to the infirmary on my shoulders and driven home in my parents¡¯ car. My mother was furious with me and told me to take the day off if I wasn¡¯t feeling well. That is why I didn¡¯t know. I was walking unsteadily in a daze when I came into contact with Shota, who was coming up the stairs, and I dropped him. I don¡¯t know why, but Shota didn¡¯t report to anyone that he had been hit by me. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t know. Time passed without my knowing. And then Shota moved away. As a ninth grader, I was a little shocked to hear that Shota had moved away. I felt sad that he was gone, even though I was no longer supposed to be involved with him. ¡°Hey ¡­¡­ Umi are you really okay with that?¡± The one who approached me was a fellow member of the track team, the girl who carried me to the infirmary when I was wobbling on the stairs. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I still think it¡¯s a bad idea. No matter how much you dislike him, that was the worst thing you could do. I think it¡¯s because of Umi that Mukawa-kun moved out.¡± For the first time, I knew what I had done. She had seen the scene. The part where I made contact with Shota and pushed him. Afterwards, while carrying me to the infirmary, she reported to the teacher that Shota had fallen down the stairs. She said she had kept quiet about what I had done because we were friends, but she confessed that she had been wondering about it for a long time. ¡°After that, I went to Mukawa-kun¡¯s house. I thought maybe he was in shock from the blow to the head and had forgotten that he had been pushed by Umi. But Mukawa-kun wouldn¡¯t see me. I didn¡¯t know what to do. Hey, did Umi apologize for that?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± When I learned the truth, I moved quickly. I tried to contact him, but I did not have Shota¡¯s contact information. The best I could come up with was on Discordo. I made a series of apologies. I begged for forgiveness, saying I had been a fool. In the days of regret and guilt, the rumors that covered Shota were changing. Shota Mukawa never attacked Tsukiyo Kuromine. Shota Mukawa is not a stalker of Yuuhi Akazawa. Kuromine suddenly changed her appearance and said she was not attacked by Shota. I also heard that she had punched a girl who had said bad things about Shota. Akazawa herself also said that she and Shota were childhood friends and that there was no truth to the rumor. Shota¡¯s innocence was completely proven. ¡°Poor Mukawa-kun.¡± ¡°I know right. Whoever started the rumor really is the worst.¡± ¡°Bullying and all that lame stuff.¡± ¡°I believed Mukawa-kun, though.¡± We talked like that. They treated Shota like he was a bad guy, but it was as if they had believed in him from the beginning. But I had no right to be angry. I was the one who did the worst. I was the one who said we were best friends, but at the most crucial moment, I turned my back on him. I told my teacher everything. The teachers seemed to think that Shota had fallen on his own and were shocked by my confession. That was all. Shota was already gone from the school, and he himself was not suffering from any aftereffects. I told my mother what had happened and went to Shota¡¯s mother to apologize. I apologized again and again. Shota¡¯s mother knew everything. In other words, Shota knew and kept quiet that I had pushed him. He was protecting me because he thought I was one of his friends. Compared to my own lousiness, I began to cry. Shota¡¯s mother forgave me. That was it. ¡­¡­ There was no punishment for me. It was hard. The most important thing to remember is that there is no one to punish me for betraying, humiliating, and even injuring the people I care about. I would have preferred to be scolded by the teacher, reprimanded by Shota¡¯s mother, and cursed by everyone at school. No punishment, but I couldn¡¯t even apologize. In the midst of my days of self-loathing, I inadvertently fell during a club activity and broke my leg. I thought to myself. I thought that I had finally been punished. I just wanted to think so. I was trying to lighten my sin as much as possible by thinking so. I quit track and field because of my injury. I completely lost my motivation. After that, I studied hard. I didn¡¯t really have a goal. I just wanted to devote myself to something and turn away from the hard, dark days. I resumed playing GPEX because I wanted to connect with Shota. My heart remained in the dark for a long time. ¨CBut then my mind became even cloudier. CH ss - 4 Posted on April 7, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp As a high school student, I entered Tenkain Academy. I was surprised at myself, and my teachers and parents were also surprised. I never dreamed that I, who was known for being an idiot, would be able to enter a school of higher education. I had already recovered from my injury, but I had no intention of returning to athletics. There was no reply from Shota on the Discordo. There was no login to GPEX either. I went to Shota¡¯s house again to get his contact information, but he had moved out. I was completely out of ideas. I started playing GPEX again, but now I realize that those days when I was playing while talking nonsense with Shota were the most fun. During those agonizing days, I became a streamer. I had always been interested in it, and since I started playing GPEX again, I watched videos and live broadcasts on a daily basis. I had started to think that I wanted to be a professional gamer or a streamer in the future. Besides, if I became a popular streamer, Shota might watch me. So I didn¡¯t change my account. I started my activities. At first, I wasn¡¯t popular at all, but as I continued, the number of subscribers gradually increased. I also played with my classmates a few times, which led to them knowing that the streamer [Aomi] was me. The number of contacts and subscribers increased, thanks in part to the active spread of the game by enthusiastic fans. However, I didn¡¯t feel comfortable playing with anyone. While focusing on streaming, I was also helping out with club activities at the school. I was good at sports and liked to be physically active. I showed up at various club activities when asked to do so. I kept myself busy like that, and before I knew it, I was chosen as a goddess. The reason I was chosen was as a result of helping out in club activities and communicating with many people by playing games. I was not interested in goddesses, but I was interested in other people who were chosen as goddesses. Yuuhi Akazawa had always been an idol and was as popular in high school as ever. The reason for Shota¡¯s isolation in junior high school was the rumor about this girl. When the rumor first started, this girl admitted that Shota was her stalker. However, after Shota transferred to a new school, she denied the rumor herself. I wanted to ask her how it happened. Tsukiyo Kuromine suddenly changed her look from the third year of junior high school. There were rumors that this girl had something to do with Shota, but I had already cut ties with Shota by the time the rumors started to circulate. So I was wondering if it was true or not. As for Mayuki Shirase, I don¡¯t know her at all. She looks childish. She¡¯s cute, so I can see why she would be popular. It was Inuyama who was elected as the male god. And then I found out everything. Inuyama was furious at the first meeting of the Gods. I still remember that face. Yuuhi Akazawa is the worst. She told her childhood friend Shota that he was a stalker, and she hurt him over the years by saying all kinds of bad things to him to relieve her stress. Tsukiyo Kuromine is also a scum. She turned Shota, who protected her, into a criminal, while she played the victim to gain sympathy from those around her. Mayuki Shirase is irredeemable. She approached a broken-hearted Shota, became his lover, and in no time at all, broke his heart by dating another man. All of the stories I was told were unbelievable and disgusting. But¨C ¡°You said we were best friends, but you ignored Shota, talked bad about him, and hurt him. To top it off, you pushed him down the stairs and seriously injured him!¡± I was also a big part of it. It is true that I ignored Shota, and I also said bad things about him. The incident where he fell down the stairs could have been avoided if I was in good physical condition. So I accepted it in silence. The sight of Inuyama shaking with anger filled me with guilt. He had not betrayed him like I had, and he was a good friend that Shota had given up out of kindness. I couldn¡¯t say anything back to Inuyama when I thought of his feelings. My head was all messed up when I found out everything. What was certain was that I now had an ¡°enemy.¡± They didn¡¯t argue with Inuyama when he was furious. In other words, everything was true. That¡¯s disgusting. They are unforgivable. I was a sophomore in high school. My relationship with those demons was terrible. I was always fighting with them, but now that Inuyama had told them who I was, they didn¡¯t have to hide their true colors anymore, and were always fighting with each other. Thanks to that, the meetings were always rough. Then one day, a new student arrived. According to what everyone around him said, he was a refreshingly good-looking guy. I was not interested in him at all. So when we happened to pass each other in the hallway, I was extremely confused. ¡°¡­¡­ Eh?¡± The transfer student was Shota. A strange voice came out. His appearance had changed and his last name was also different. But there was no way I could have mistaken him for anyone else. He had short hair and no glasses, just like Shota when he was in elementary school. There was no way I could mistake him for the person I remembered most. But I could not be sure. There was a gap of two years and a period of half a year when he did not speak. And if it was the real Shota, there were still doubts. The person next to him was Nazuka. I know Nazuka because I went to Tobu Junior High School. That¡¯s why I feel uncomfortable. Considering what was done to Shota in middle school, he would not want to be reminded of his middle school days. But why would he go out of his way to be friends with Nazuka? I decided to wait and see what would happen, holding back my nostalgia for the reunion and my desire to apologize. One day. He was talking about GPEX. It was my chance. I took a chance and talked to him. ¡°I believe you¡¯re one of the transfer students ¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Nijitani.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. You must be Shota Nijitani. Nice to meet you.¡± I have no acting ability, too much so. My voice was completely shaky. The face I saw up close was Shota himself. He had a puzzled look on his face, but I still pushed through. We promised to play together. That night. As I was streaming as usual, something unusual happened. Suddenly, Shota¡¯s account on GPEX went online. [¡°Eh, are you kidding me?¡±] I couldn¡¯t help but speak out during the streaming. Impatient, I hit invite repeatedly. I was so confused that I didn¡¯t know what I was doing. Shota did not respond to the invitation. But then I was sure. Right after I promised, there was a login. I¡¯m not stupid enough to dismiss this as a coincidence. Shota Nijitani is Shota Mukawa. I ended the stream for that day, and I put my head in the game. The reason why his last name had changed was probably because his parents had remarried. I don¡¯t know how he came back here, but from his personality and Inuyama¡¯s story, I don¡¯t think it was revenge or anything like that. I wonder if the reason he was befriending Nazuka might have been to gather information? I checked out Shota at school to get more information. The biggest point is Akazawa, who is in the same class. Shota and that girl were in the same class. The distance between them is just like classmates. I also heard from people around me that Shota seemed to have reconciled Akazawa and Hazuki Nekoda. ¡­¡­Why? In the first place, does Akazawa realize that Shota Nijitani is Shota Mukawa? It turns out that that girl doesn¡¯t like Shota, even though they were childhood friends. Maybe no one but me is aware that [Shota Mugawa = Shota Nijitani]? Hypothesis. Shota is trying to hide his identity. I don¡¯t know how he transferred to this school, but Shota does not have a good image of this place. So, he transferred to Tenkain by accident. Shota¡¯s mother doesn¡¯t know that I was admitted to Tenkain, and I am sure she doesn¡¯t know where those demons who were involved with Shota went to school either. Shota was in despair as soon as he transferred to Tenkain, but then he realized that his true identity had not been exposed. So he acted like a different person. The reason he made up with Akazawa and Nekoda was camouflage so that he would not be revealed as Shota Mukawa. If it was Shota Mugawa, he would not have done anything to help Akazawa. It made sense. My crazy guess is that he has amnesia and all that, but if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s strange that he logged into GPEX on the day he promised me. ¡°¡­¡­, That¡¯s why you can¡¯t tell me¡± What Shota doesn¡¯t want to be found out is probably the goddesses, including me. If I tell Shota that I am aware of him, he will be shocked and may change schools again. It pains me to say this, but I think it¡¯s what he wants. This time I won¡¯t make a mistake. I¡¯ll keep my mouth shut until he tells me himself someday. A few days later, we played GPEX together. Shota had become a little less skillful, but his favorite weapons and fighting style had not changed. Especially at the end. The part where he lunges and gets hit back is exactly the same as it used to be. He had not grown up at all, but it was so like him that it made me laugh. After the game, I called out to him. I probed him lightly. Maybe I had certain expectations. Maybe if I was alone with him, he might confide in me. But he didn¡¯t reveal himself to me. ¡°A-And our voice?¡± He gave me an interesting reply. Indeed, his voice was different from Shota¡¯s back then. His voice was lower. But if he thought he could fool his best friend¡¯s ears, he was mistaken. The way he talks hasn¡¯t changed, and his style of play is the same. It would be crazy not to notice this. The fact that he thinks he can fake it is what really makes him Shota. The voice is definitely different. He had a higher voice. I made sure to match them up. After I was convinced, Shota and I would play games together from time to time. It was fun as ever. He and I were on the same wavelength. And Nazuka is a nice guy, too, so it feels like old times again. However, things took a turn for the worse. Those demons started to move. Suddenly, there was a rumor that he was dating Kuromine. Then Shirase brought Shota to the meeting saying they became friends. Like Akazawa, they were probably not aware that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. Shota got involved by mere coincidence. Maybe they wanted to stick to their goddess status and wanted the transfer student¡¯s vote. Then it became a contest of tests. I know that I don¡¯t have the best of the best in the test game. Still, I studied harder than I had ever studied in my life. I didn¡¯t care about the closing ceremony speech, but I was annoyed at losing to these girls. The result was defeat. I was shocked beyond belief. Not because I lost the test. It was because I saw Shota on the board. I looked at him and saw Inuyama¡¯s name, who had won the top position in his grade. When Shota saw that name, he looked really happy. I felt the difference between him and me, the traitor. Later, before the closing ceremony, we played GPEX again as a trio. At that time, I heard that he and Akazawa went to karaoke at the launch party, which made me even more impatient. I decided to participate in a GPEX event that I had been invited to for a while and invited Shota and Nazuka to it. And so ended my first semester. I jump out of bed. I¡¯ve been thinking about it ever since. I don¡¯t know what the demons are after. But if I leave it like this, it won¡¯t end well. I¡¯ll leave Black aside since she denied the dating rumors, but I have a feeling that the red and white are aggressively approaching Shota. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve made up my mind!¡± I still want to be friends with Shota again, not just gaming buddies. If possible, I want to go back to the days when we could say anything to each other without hesitation. Above all, I want to protect Shota from those demons. There are a number of missions I have to do from now on. The first step is to make sure they don¡¯t realize that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. I want to protect Shota from their evil hands and become friends with Shota again. Ideally, we should be best friends. Difficult. It¡¯s difficult, but I¡¯ll do it. ¡­¡­,But will it really work out that way? As if to drown out the fears smoldering in my head, I put on my shoes and started to run at a faster pace than usual. CH ss - 5 Posted on April 8, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp On my way home from a part-time job, I passed by a house. The house of someone I used to be very fond of. I caused many problems in the past. Because of that, I hurt many people and lost many things. The same goes for the people who lived in this house. I was a simple child. From an early age, I was not good at standing out, and at school I would read in the corner of the classroom. I didn¡¯t have many friends, and I was never popular with the boys. My appearance was also very plain; I wore glasses and did my hair in pigtails. But I was not always plain and dark. At home, I was cheerful, and in front of my family I was a cheeky little brat. I was shy, or rather, I just didn¡¯t like the way a lot of people looked at me. So I always spoke my true feelings inside without saying them out loud. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡­¡­ Damn it. It¡¯s your fault, you piece of sh*t. It was like that. I was apologizing with fright in my mouth and cursing in my heart. Even so, I hid my true feelings, and I am sure that I appeared to those around me as a dark and unsophisticated child. It is not that I have a dual personality. Just a very intense front and back. A typical small girl who was scared on the outside and was a jerk only on the inside. I hated going to school. I was bullied in elementary school. In the lower grades, when I was getting along like I was at home, the bullies took notice of me. The bullying broke my heart and I missed a lot of school. My daily life was hard. My support was my childhood friend and my first love, my older brother. When I was a child, I adored him as if he were my real brother, and my feelings for him turned into a love affair. I knew that love was not fruitful. It was my sister that my brother was crazy about. I knew they were in love with each other, and it was a battle that was unwinnable from the start. Sister is pretty in my eyes. I was living with smoldering feelings deep in my heart. Although I never made any progress, my brother was my emotional support. One day before I was about to enter junior high school. At a family gathering, a drunken old b*****d touched my breasts. I was shocked. I was well-built, so I had felt the stares of boys at school. I even had a teacher look at me funny. But that was the first time I had ever been touched, and I shivered because I felt so uncomfortable. I developed a hatred of men. Other than my father and brother, I had become averse to men. In junior high school, my classmates who had reached puberty started talking about love and friendship. I was still a stranger to them. Even in the classroom, I was a complete nobody. I was only looking forward to reading books, and I made fun of those who talked about good-looking or beautiful girls. After finishing school lunch, I went to the library in search of my favorite books. No one ever came near here. It was my own private paradise. My life in paradise lasted about a year. When I was in the second year of junior high school, that person started coming in and out of the library. He was a dark, gloomy, and shy boy who wore glasses. I couldn¡¯t speak for others either, but he had a very negative aura around him. I didn¡¯t even know his name at first. While I was reading in the classroom, that boy passed by in the hallway. At that time, a girl in the vicinity started whispering secretly. ¡°Do you know it?¡¡I heard that that Mukawa is stalking Akazawa-san.¡± ¡°Huh, I think that¡¯s a misunderstanding. Yuuhi-chan said they were childhood friends.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡¡I heard he got his heart broken, and then¨C¡° As they talked, the girls headed for the restroom. I wanted them to finish, but they were not talking to me, so I had no choice. A childhood friend with a broken heart? I am in the same situation. That is why I felt a kinship with Shota Mukawa. When I gathered up the courage to talk to him, he was surprisingly normal. He looked gloomy on the outside, but when I talked to him, he was friendly, just like me, and I got excited. Mukawa-kun had the same scars as me. The scar of having had your first childhood friend break your heart. We were very similar, and we became good friends. We got along well with each other, but it was like wounded people sharing their scars. I was originally a shy and man-hating person, so I never developed a romantic relationship with him, and I never looked at him in that way. The conversation was about our childhood friends. It was a little bit funny that we were bragging about each other¡¯s childhood friends even though we were both heartbroken. Mukawa¡¯s childhood friend was Yuuhi Akazawa. Even at the time when I had no friends, I knew her as a famous person. She was an idol at school and was often talked about in my class. It was also a topic of conversation that she had a handsome childhood friend, and as someone with a special attachment to childhood friends, she was a person of interest to me. The mysterious time we spent bragging about our miserable first love was strangely comforting. However, such a comfortable time did not last long. A guy I didn¡¯t know was coming in and out. I didn¡¯t even know his name, but he was apparently active on the soccer team. He was looking at me with a weird look in his eyes. I was uncomfortable because I knew he was looking at my breast, but I didn¡¯t say anything about it. I was thinking that if he tried to touch me, I would yell out and kick him. That day, the incident happened. While I was reading in the library as usual, that guy started talking to me in a friendly manner. He had been quiet until then, but it seemed he was waiting for an opportunity to leave the room empty. He came at me forcefully. He grabbed me by the arm and I went crazy. I saw the old b*****d¡¯s face in my mind, and I shook him off with all my might. I rolled on the ground, hit my head and fainted. ¡°¡­¡­¡± When I woke up, I was in my room. After the incident, I shut myself in. I was scared. When I was grabbed by the arm, I didn¡¯t scream out, but my whole body stiffened and I couldn¡¯t move. I shuddered, thinking that I had been so shallow as to think of kicking him away. After the incident, my brother came to visit me every day. Thanks to him, my heart gradually recovered. My brother was already in a relationship with my sister, so my love for him had almost disappeared, but I was still happy. It was more than a week later that I went back to school after taking care of my heart. ¡°Are you okay?¡± It was a gal-like girl who approached me. ¡°Eh, uhm, ¡­¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°Thank God. We were all worried about you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­ is that so?¡± With her guidance, I was able to integrate into the class. My classmates were kind to me. They began to talk to me and I was no longer isolated in a group setting. For the first time, I felt that school was fun. Then I started spending my lunch break in the classroom. The library was traumatizing, and the classmates talked to me, so I didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable in the classroom. So I didn¡¯t even notice what was going on with Mukawa-kun. I guess my classmates were just being cautious of me. No one mentioned Shota Mukawa¡¯s name. Then there was an accident in which Mukawa-kun fell down the stairs, and soon after, he stopped coming to school. After he stopped coming to school, that was. As expected, the rumor had spread too far and I had heard about it. When I was unconscious, Mukawa-kun was attempting to attack me. At first, I believed the rumor. Since I was unconscious, the only source of information was the voices around me. I was terrified of him. On the first day of school in the third grade, I heard that Mukawa had transferred to another school. I was relieved. However, it was not until a few days after Mukawa-kun transferred to another school that I realized that this was a big mistake. That day, I went to the library. The man who had tried to attack me and Mukawa-kun were gone, so I was able to enter the library. In the library, I bumped into Renji Inuyama. At that time, he radiated a murderous rage. It is only natural now that I think about it, but at the time I was scared because I had no memory of him staring at me. The moment my eyes met Inuyama¡¯s, he opened his mouth as if he couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. Looking back on it now, Inuyama-kun was kind too. I honestly believe that if I had been in the opposite position, I would have reached out and harmed him. Then I learned the truth. That the woman had accused Mukawa-kun of a crime, that the man who had tried to attack me had graduated without punishment, and that the very sight of that woman and I having a good time together had hurt Mukawa-kun. I was shocked. I wanted to know the truth, so I questioned her. Yes, that gal-like girl who made me fit in with the class. ¡°Eh, no, even ¡­¡­ it looked like.¡± When I asked her about it, she said that Mukawa-kun had denied it. He said he was only protecting me from the falling book. The girl said that she had made her own judgment based on Mukawa-kun¡¯s bad reputation and had just said what she thought was appropriate on the spot. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault. I just said what I thought. Everyone believed it, and that¡¯s what you do every day, right? To tell you the truth, I didn¡¯t think he had the guts either.¡± It was at this point. With a snap, a string snapped in my head. It was all my fault. It was my fault he had to move out. After that, it was ¡­¡­ rough. I had a makeover. I went to school with a new look, feeling reborn. ¡°IT¡¯S ALL YOUR FAULT!¡± While everyone was surprised by my changed appearance, I confessed to them the deeds of that person who was my friend. I went to the trouble of confessing in front of many of my classmates. It seems that someone posted the story on social networking sites, and he was slandered by many strangers. He seemed to have lost his mind, became a recluse, and transferred to another school. Then, I found out where the guy who tried to attack me went to school and informed the high school that I was about to be attacked. The man was expelled from the high school he had just entered. After that, the man who complained about the expulsion apparently went on a rampage and the police were involved. On one occasion, I beat up a student who was saying bad things about Mukawa-kun at school. I was willing to use violence to restore his credibility. It was my fault that Tobu Junior High School got a reputation as a rough school. A fistfight, a big accusation to a withdrawal, and then a police action by a graduate¨C It¡¯s all messed up. I did something so spectacular that my family has been informed of my deeds. When I told them what had happened, my parents showed a certain amount of understanding, even though they said violence was wrong. However, my sister, who is basically a good girl, said in a big way that violence is not allowed. It turned out to be a sisters¡¯ fight. My brother was confused, but at that time I didn¡¯t care anymore. ¡°Shut up. You don¡¯t know anything about me, so don¡¯t talk to me like that!¡± I kicked her out of the room. I was bigger than her, so I didn¡¯t feel like I could lose in a fight. ¡°You¡¯re really annoying me. Get lost.¡± She shed tears at my words and attitude. Later, when she became a college student, she started living with my brother. That was the last time I saw her. I don¡¯t regret anything, and I don¡¯t feel like apologizing. However, the last time I saw my brother¡¯s face, it looked very complicated, and that expression stuck in my mind. Somehow, I knew that my relationship with my brother would remain awkward from now on. After that, I finished my retaliation, and I was living my life with a somewhat unfulfilled feeling. I finished my junior high school life with my reversed front and back personality intact. CH ss - 6 Posted on April 11, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp As a high school student, I lived with the personality I thought I was the opposite of. This side of me was easier. I was able to be honest about my true feelings, which I had been hiding until then. ¡°¡ª-You¡¯re in my way. Move¡± That¡¯s all it takes for those around me to get out of the way. I have lived with this since late middle school. My classmates in junior high school were puzzled by the sudden change in my personality and appearance. When I first entered the school, I was sharp. I am aware that I was particularly harsh towards men. I know the cause of what happened to Mukawa-kun. If only I had rejected him when he came to talk to me in the library, it wouldn¡¯t have happened. While I disliked the man more and more, I had other feelings toward Mukawa-kun, the benefactor who saved me. As soon as I entered the school, I was immediately out of place. No wonder. Because a delinquent had entered a progressive school. Even so, I was not bothered by it, and I just went about my life with my hands in my pockets, ignoring the voices of those around me. Even though I was a delinquent, I was a phony. I didn¡¯t dye my hair because I didn¡¯t want to get in trouble, and I didn¡¯t open my earrings because I was scared. Some guys would occasionally confess their feelings for me, but I would just cut them off. ¡°Like me?¡¡I hate you. How could you tell me with that face? Look in the mirror and try again.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me. You¡¯re bothering me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going out with you just to try it out.¡± I really cut them off. But being a small person by nature, I was scared to death as I spat out the strong words. ¡­¡­. I¡¯m sorry. Please don¡¯t get upset and attack me. I used strong words while apologizing in my heart. It was the complete opposite of what I had been doing. It was easy to live my life thinking that it was okay to be hated. However, I had become popular, despite what I thought. For some reason, there were always girls around me. From them I got information, fashion tips, knowledge about clothing, stylish goods, and so on. I was shy, serious, and timid at heart, so I equipped myself with the fashionable items that were recommended to me and learned enough information to be able to keep up with their conversations. I was able to improve myself naturally. When I came to realize it, I was elected as a goddess. I heard that I was very popular among women, let alone men. If I recall, there was always someone around me. I even had a woman confess her feelings for me. I couldn¡¯t use strong words, so I turned her down softly. I wasn¡¯t interested in being a goddess, but I was happy when I saw the people who had become goddesses. Yuuhi Akazawa was an idol. When I was in junior high school, she was not someone I could compare myself to. I was happy that I could now stand shoulder to shoulder with that idol. By the way, I thought Akazawa and Inuyama were dating until then. Umi Aoyama was an all-around athletic beauty. She had been famous in track and field since junior high school, and had even won awards for her performance in competitions. She was bright, cute, and someone I secretly admired. Mayuki Shirase was from a different junior high school, but she was a cute mascot at Tenkain. She was a young lady, yet friendly and loved by many. It was still fresh in my mind that heading to the conference room was complicated by the feeling of honor to be rubbing shoulders with such great people and the feeling of guilt for the things I had done in the past. It all started when Inuyama-kun, now a male god, told me. These guys were not goddesses. Umi Aoyama was a terrible woman. She was best friends with Mukawa-kun, but she ignored him, talked ill of him, pushed him down the stairs, and seriously injured him. Mayuki Shirase is Mukawa-kun¡¯s ex-girlfriend who cheated on him and dumped him shortly after they started dating. Mukawa, who was already hurting, had his heart completely broken by this. The most unforgivable person for me was Yuuhi Akazawa. Even though they had been childhood friends, and despite the fact that Mukawa-kun liked her so much, she trampled on his feelings without a shred of interest in him at all. I could not forgive her. I was annoyed at this woman who seemed uninterested in him despite the fact that he had feelings for her. But¡ª ¡°You treated Shota, who helped you, like a criminal. And then, you played the victim, hoping to draw sympathy from the others.¡± I heard these words in junior high school. To be precise, I knew nothing about it. I didn¡¯t defend Mukawa-kun as if he was being treated like a criminal. And yet, because I was friendly with the person who had wronged him, the people around me concluded that he was as evil as the rumors said. There was no refutation. There was no excuse for not knowing or not noticing. The other party was a close friend of Mukawa-kun¡¯s, someone who truly cared about him. I am not so brazen and shameless as to say ¡°I didn¡¯t know, so I forgive me¡± to such a person. It is meaningless to say that revenge has already been taken and they have been sent to hell. The information would never reach Mukawa-kun, and even if he did know, I doubt he would be happy about it. For me, that meeting was a turning point in many ways. I felt like punching myself in the past for admiring these people even for a moment. I was a sophomore in high school. I was being followed by a certain underclassman. Her name was Kanon Nijitani. She was a gal who told me that she had a crush on me, and she started contacting me the day after I entered school. Apparently, she had been a fan since junior high school. There were several other girls like that, but she was the most aggressive. She had apparently come from Himemiya Jogakuin to meet me. At first I didn¡¯t pay any attention to her, but then Kanon-chan told me that she was going to have a stepbrother to get my attention. ¡°Heeh, at that age you¡¯re going to have a brother?¡± ¡°Yes, Kanon is looking forward to it. He is coming over here next week.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. What¡¯s your brother¡¯s name?¡± I wasn¡¯t that interested. ¡°It¡¯s Shota-san.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What is the last name of your new mother-to-be?¡± ¡°As I recall, it¡¯s ¡®Mukawa¡¯.¡± I thought my heart would skip a beat. Mukawa-kun is coming back. And he will be attending Tenkain Academy. I don¡¯t know what I should look like when I meet him. Even so, the first thing I would have to do is apologize. But I was lost. Was it really an apology? Isn¡¯t it normal to bow and say, ¡°Thank you for helping me.¡± In the first place, I did not personally do anything to him. What should I apologize for? The day came when I was still in doubt. Mukawa-kun did not want an apology. He was about to be reborn. I could see it in his behavior from a distance. He was trying to live a new life in a new place without telling anyone that he was Shota Mukawa. It seemed to me that he was intentionally trying to detach himself from his past. I could understand. Because I myself was like that. If I could, I would have wanted to leave my past self behind too. But I couldn¡¯t do that and stayed in the halfway house. With no intention of moving, and with a distinctive name to begin with, I have no plans to change my surname. He took that chance. His appearance and last name changed, and he lived his life without any information about his past. If so, gratitude and apologies are counterproductive. Mukawa-kun is trying to get rid of Shota Mukawa. If I apologized, I would hurt him. After much consideration, I decided not to contact him. I tried to live my life thanking him in my heart for helping me. I decided that one day, if Mukawa-kun got pissed off at me and demanded an apology, I would try my best to apologize to him. I adored his stepsister, Kanon-chan. It was a shallow attempt to return this feeling of inability to do anything for Mukawa-kun to her, his stepsister. I was working at a bookstore a few stations away, where I was sure know one knows me. I was strangely serious and worked hard in my old appearance, trying to make it different from school because it was my job. One day, a new person came to my office. ¡°¡­¡­¡± It was Mukawa-kun ¡ªno, it was Nijitani-kun. I almost made a funny sound. Compared to the past, he had become a very handsome man. How should I describe his face at that moment? He looked lost looking at me. It was no wonder. When I was working part-time, I was dressed in my old clothes in order not to stand out. ¡°Huh, do you know me?¡± ¡°Eh¨C¡° ¡°We¡¯ve never met before, have we?¡± Crap. I panicked and made up for it. I thought about changing my part-time job, but it would be strange for me to change my part-time job here. I had no choice now that we had met. We were reunited in this way, but we kept our first meeting with each other. I was convinced by his attitude. The reason why he was somewhat awkward was probably because he had hidden something about me. Both of us kept a distance from each other, not mentioning the past, and kept the distance of being part-time friends. A few days later, a rumor circulated at school. It was a nasty rumor that I was ¡°Sugar d*ddy¡± or ¡°compensated dating¡±. Of course, I was not. I have no experience with men, and I still have a fear of men and cannot even touch them. Except for Nijitani. I don¡¯t feel disgusted when I am near him, and I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable when I touch him at my part-time job. From what I heard from the conversation, it was probably when I was out with my father. We went shopping to buy a gift for my mother. I couldn¡¯t decide the first time, so I spent a long time shopping the second time. On the way home, we had dinner at a restaurant. It was just after Nijitani had started working at his new part-time job, so it was as if the timing was perfect. I kept silent about the rumor. Meanwhile, the rumor spread. Nijitani must have heard the rumors as well. I kept silent because I thought it would make him feel better if I suffered the same pain he once experienced. I hoped that this would make me feel the same suffering that Nijitani-kun went through as I did. But it turned out to be an unexpected turn of events. The rumors disappeared. It was Nijitani-kun who dispelled them. Why did you save me that day when I didn¡¯t reach out to you, when you should have hated me? When I asked him about it at his part-time job, he replied. ¡°I don¡¯t like gossip and rumors. I saw Kuromine walking happily with your father before. I know your father¡¯s face because he came here to pick you up. So I just told the girls in the vicinity. I was pissed off that they were talking nonsense.¡± Why are you being so nice? I hated myself for thinking only in the direction of revenge or retaliation. I told Nijitani what was on my mind. And I told him about my past when I was a fool. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it¡¯s not good if you keep on enduring. The longer you endure the pain, the more damage you accumulate, and the worse it will be, the more you will be crushed.¡± Perhaps coming from his own experience, Nijitani¡¯s words sunk in. I then offered to talk to him at school. When I told him I was trying to cure my phobia of men, he reluctantly agreed. A lie. He was kind to me, so I felt inclined to talk to him at school. I wanted to let him know that he was the only special person I could talk to, because everyone around me thought I was a man-hater. When I talked to him at school, it became a rumor that we were dating. I got impatient and convinced Kanon-chan to be my reason. I reflected on the fact that I couldn¡¯t do anything flashy, and continued my relationship with Nijitani as a mere part-time job companion. I thought that relationship would be fine for a while. I thought I would take my time and build a new relationship with him. The peaceful time was soon crushed. Shirase brought Nijitani to the God meeting. And she said they were friends or something. After that, we decided to have a test showdown. I studied hard and came out on top among the goddesses. Inuyama-kun took the game, but I felt good about my victory. Since then, I have been thinking. Those scum must not have been aware that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. His appearance has changed so much. There is no way they would have noticed. Besides, if they had noticed, they would have harassed him again. If they don¡¯t, then everything is fine for now. Which means that those scum have targeted Mukawa-kun with their excellent sense of smell. ¡­¡­ I have no choice but to protect him. I owe him a debt of gratitude. I won¡¯t make a mistake this time. This time I will repay you. I arrived home. I still can¡¯t decide if my feelings are those of love. Maybe I am feeling more like guilt or repaying a favor than liking someone. However, Nijitani¡¯s presence in my life has become bigger than my brother¡¯s. I have decided what direction I should take from now on. First, I will protect him from other goddesses. And I will try not to let anyone notice that [Shota Mukawa = Shota Nijitani]. Finally, I will make sure of my feelings and face him. To do so, I will be actively involved. In a new relationship, separating from the past. I was unsure of what to do, but I made up my mind. I opened the front door with determination in my heart. CH ss - 7 Posted on April 12, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [Shirase PoV] I was staring at a house, feeling happy in the air-conditioned room. There was no particular reason. Even if I had a little contact with the people living in that house, there is only one man who is important to me. My life was smooth sailing. I was born into a rich family and was blessed with good looks. Although I have some complaints about my development, I can now proudly say that it is one of my strengths. After entering Himemiya Jogakuin, I grew up very quickly. As I grew up, the topics of conversation around me gradually became more and more focused on love, and I began to talk about the seniors I admired at school. At school, I stood out a little because of my small size, but other than that, I think it would be safe to say that I was generally normal. I didn¡¯t have any bullying problems, and I had a good number of friends. School was a fun place. One day, however, my life changed drastically. The company that my father was running was going through a difficult time. My parents must have been under a lot of stress at that time, and I could tell even as a child that the house was in a state of panic. My parents left my brother and I in my grandmother¡¯s care. My grandmother was very strict and made us learn various lessons. She also told us to put effort into our studies as well as our lessons, and we were exhausted every day. On the contrary, my younger brother was loved by my grandmother. I learned later that my grandmother did not like my mother. I guess she also disliked me because I looked like her. My life in this house distorted my personality a little. When I became a junior high school student, my grandmother passed away and I was released from the hell of learning. By that time, my parents¡¯ faces had become peaceful. Apparently, the work mess had been cleared up. It was impressive that they looked apologetic, saying they were sorry for being so busy with work. Once freed from the cramped life, I showed interest in girly things such as fashion, dramas, songs, and idols. Among these, I was especially strongly attracted to romance. I won¡¯t deny that I also had a dreamy side, hoping for a fateful encounter with Prince Charming on a white horse. The closest person to me of the opposite sex was my younger brother, Yakumo Shirase. Yakumo attended an elementary school in the neighborhood and went straight to junior high school. He had always been tall and, unlike me, was an athlete. I was the complete opposite of Yakumo, who had attended Himemiya Jogakuin from the elementary school level and had never grown taller and was not very good at sports. ¡°¡­¡­¡± At some point, I began to develop special feelings for Yakumo. However, I was not yet aware of it at that time. I had attended an all-girls school from the elementary level, so I had no experience talking to boys even in junior high school. So I didn¡¯t really know how I felt. As usual, my parents were busy, and I was taking care of Yakumo. I really enjoyed that time. I was tickled by his childlike appearance as he played happily on his own and fell asleep after a long day. The next thing I knew, I felt a desire to monopolize them. I followed Yakumo when he went out to play with his friends and checked out their friendship. When I found out that Yakumo was popular at school, I developed negative feelings inside me. Around that time, I became aware of my love for Yakumo. Simultaneously, I began to want to have Yakumo turn special feelings toward me. I studied magazines and the Internet to find out how to get men to fall in love with me. I got the information that boys like a girl with a hint of mockery, so I took advantage of my short stature and aggressively adopted the upper eye contact and the screwed-up girl elements. Well, as for the screw-ups, I was not really aiming for them, since I originally had no athletic ability. It was all for Yakumo to like me. However, no matter how much I looked up at him, it was pointless. Even if I intentionally fell down to appeal to him as a clumsy girl, his reaction was not good. When I fell down, he worried about me as a relative, but there was no further effect. Maybe I have no sense? One day, while living in a state of frustration and emotional turmoil, I approached Yakumo without hesitation. I lightly grasped his hand and eventually kissed him on the cheek, calling it skinship between sister and brother. When I finally couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and tried to take his lips. ¡°¡­¡­Wait, you¡¯re too close. You and I are brother and sister, aren¡¯t we?¡± I was rejected. I did not tell Yakumo how I felt. I have always said that it was only a skinship between sister and brother. So even then. ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m just kidding, just kidding.¡± I put on a big sister air. But inwardly, I was shocked by Yakumo¡¯s words. It is true. Real siblings cannot get married. Unfortunately, there is a wall of law that cannot be changed unless I become the prime minister. I was so shocked by the rejection that I was blocked up. It was my first setback. I was sulking, and I was mildly desperate. I decided to become a delinquent and took a detour on my way home from school. I stopped at a nearby park. As I wandered around the park, my eyes caught the reflection of a male student of my age. I didn¡¯t even know his name, but when I noticed him, I called out to him. He looked gloomy. I tried to pick up on him with the knowledge I had seen on TV and the Internet, and it worked out well, mysteriously. It was almost my first experience talking to boys. The person said that I was pushy. Apparently, my approach was a bit aggressive. I would like to make an excuse that my experience of talking to men is limited to my family and I did not know how to interact with men. He was a very kind man. He listened to my poor story without making me feel bad. I felt that he was just like Yakumo except for his appearance. When I came home that day, Yakumo was worried about me. ¡°Sis, you seem to be late today.¡± Yakumo¡¯s face clouded over. Jealous? Thinking it might be possible, I continued to see him the next day and beyond. When I returned home, Yakumo had a worried look on his face. I was convinced. I was sure that Yakumo had some special feelings for me. In fact, he did not. However, I misunderstood and came up with a plan. ¡­¡­I¡¯ll use him to deepen my relationship with Yakumo. The moment the devil was in my heart. I went to the park and deepened my relationship with that boy. Naturally, I didn¡¯t tell him about my brother, but I used all the techniques I had developed over the years. Looking back, I see that I was full of holes. At that time, I was always talking about myself, and I never had the consideration to listen to what the other person had to say. On Valentine¡¯s Day, we became lovers. That is when I found out the name of the other person. Shota Mukawa. He was my first boyfriend. However, it was just a cover to make Yakumo have special feelings for me. My strategy was to make Yakumo jealous and make him fall in love with me. If I told him that I had a boyfriend, he would be upset. I was hoping that the feeling of having his sister stolen from him would work. Looking back on it now, it was a very stupid strategy, but at the time I really thought it would work. However, that plan came to nothing when a huge wave of unrelated events occurred. A few days after Shota and I became lovers. ¡°¡­¡­ yes?¡± To my bewildered amazement, my father began to explain. Suddenly, I was advised to go on an arranged marriage. He had received information that a young man from a big company was looking for someone to marry, and he wanted me to marry him. This is a joke. Because I love Yakumo. Is it possible that Father is aware of my feelings? Is that why he treated me so badly? But there was not much I could do at that time. I had feelings of love for my brother, but I had common sense. I cannot marry my brother. After much worrying, I decided to accept my father¡¯s offer. In doing so, a problem arose. It was Shota¡¯s presence. The relationship I had entered into in order to fire up Yakumo, but if I was going to have an arranged marriage, I needed to break up with him. However, I did not know how to break up with him because I had not planned to break up with him. ¡°Yakumo, I have a favor to ask you.¡± ¡°A favor? ¡°Yes, Actually¨C¡° In retrospect, this was a huge mistake. I asked Yakumo to pretend to be my boyfriend and dump Shota-san. As I had hoped, I broke up with Shota-san and succeeded in making out with Yakumo in the hush of the moment. Although we were only playing the role of lovers, I felt like I was going crazy with happiness when I was entangled in Yakumo¡¯s arms. At that time, I didn¡¯t realize how sinful and hurtful it was to my partner. I also had no idea how much it would burn me up to be in love with someone I love, even if it is a fake relationship. Shota-san is a kind person who listened to my problems. I am sure he will meet someone more wonderful soon. That¡¯s what I thought at the time. A few days passed after our breakup, and my father told me a shocking news. The blind date flowed. He said that the other person already had someone in mind. He had originally had a partner in mind and said he wanted to marry that person. I was furious. I swallowed down my various emotions and prepared myself to accept the arranged marriage proposal, but my father did not seem to care about my life at all. After this, my relationship with my father deteriorated. ¡°Sis, wasn¡¯t that man your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­ that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you want to break up with him, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to lie. Don¡¯t use me as leverage.¡± Yakumo was upset that he was being used as a reason to break up with Shota. It is only natural, when you think about it. I never told Yakumo that I was not in love with Shota-san. I felt that saying that would make him hate me even more, so I kept quiet. ¡°I felt sorry for that person because of the way you broke up with him.¡± This one incident was a turning point in my relationship with Yakumo, and it soured it a bit. It was a very painful wound for me. I had grown very attached to Yakumo in that one moment when he pretended to be my lover. I can¡¯t help but feel that he might have disliked me. But at the same time, I felt guilty toward Shota-san. I was troubled by the conflict with my father, my feelings for Yakumo, and the guilt I felt for Shota-san. Furthermore, another problem arose around the time I graduated from junior high school. Yakumo had found someone he liked. Yakumo thought he was hiding it, but I could tell because his attitude was clear. It was as shocking as being hit on the head with a hammer. Somewhere in my mind, I had dreamed that Yakumo and I might be in love with each other. The unforgivable devil is Kanon Nijitani-san¡­¡­. my junior. CH ss - 8 Posted on April 12, 2022by Soafp Translator: Soafp [Shirase PoV] I was staring at a house, feeling happy in the air-conditioned room. There was no particular reason. Even if I had a little contact with the people living in that house, there is only one man who is important to me. My life was smooth sailing. I was born into a rich family and was blessed with good looks. Although I have some complaints about my development, I can now proudly say that it is one of my strengths. After entering Himemiya Jogakuin, I grew up very quickly. As I grew up, the topics of conversation around me gradually became more and more focused on love, and I began to talk about the seniors I admired at school. At school, I stood out a little because of my small size, but other than that, I think it would be safe to say that I was generally normal. I didn¡¯t have any bullying problems, and I had a good number of friends. School was a fun place. One day, however, my life changed drastically. The company that my father was running was going through a difficult time. My parents must have been under a lot of stress at that time, and I could tell even as a child that the house was in a state of panic. My parents left my brother and I in my grandmother¡¯s care. My grandmother was very strict and made us learn various lessons. She also told us to put effort into our studies as well as our lessons, and we were exhausted every day. On the contrary, my younger brother was loved by my grandmother. I learned later that my grandmother did not like my mother. I guess she also disliked me because I looked like her. My life in this house distorted my personality a little. When I became a junior high school student, my grandmother passed away and I was released from the hell of learning. By that time, my parents¡¯ faces had become peaceful. Apparently, the work mess had been cleared up. It was impressive that they looked apologetic, saying they were sorry for being so busy with work. Once freed from the cramped life, I showed interest in girly things such as fashion, dramas, songs, and idols. Among these, I was especially strongly attracted to romance. I won¡¯t deny that I also had a dreamy side, hoping for a fateful encounter with Prince Charming on a white horse. The closest person to me of the opposite sex was my younger brother, Yakumo Shirase. Yakumo attended an elementary school in the neighborhood and went straight to junior high school. He had always been tall and, unlike me, was an athlete. I was the complete opposite of Yakumo, who had attended Himemiya Jogakuin from the elementary school level and had never grown taller and was not very good at sports. ¡°¡­¡­¡± At some point, I began to develop special feelings for Yakumo. However, I was not yet aware of it at that time. I had attended an all-girls school from the elementary level, so I had no experience talking to boys even in junior high school. So I didn¡¯t really know how I felt. As usual, my parents were busy, and I was taking care of Yakumo. I really enjoyed that time. I was tickled by his childlike appearance as he played happily on his own and fell asleep after a long day. The next thing I knew, I felt a desire to monopolize them. I followed Yakumo when he went out to play with his friends and checked out their friendship. When I found out that Yakumo was popular at school, I developed negative feelings inside me. Around that time, I became aware of my love for Yakumo. Simultaneously, I began to want to have Yakumo turn special feelings toward me. I studied magazines and the Internet to find out how to get men to fall in love with me. I got the information that boys like a girl with a hint of mockery, so I took advantage of my short stature and aggressively adopted the upper eye contact and the screwed-up girl elements. Well, as for the screw-ups, I was not really aiming for them, since I originally had no athletic ability. It was all for Yakumo to like me. However, no matter how much I looked up at him, it was pointless. Even if I intentionally fell down to appeal to him as a clumsy girl, his reaction was not good. When I fell down, he worried about me as a relative, but there was no further effect. Maybe I have no sense? One day, while living in a state of frustration and emotional turmoil, I approached Yakumo without hesitation. I lightly grasped his hand and eventually kissed him on the cheek, calling it skinship between sister and brother. When I finally couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and tried to take his lips. ¡°¡­¡­Wait, you¡¯re too close. You and I are brother and sister, aren¡¯t we?¡± I was rejected. I did not tell Yakumo how I felt. I have always said that it was only a skinship between sister and brother. So even then. ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯m just kidding, just kidding.¡± I put on a big sister air. But inwardly, I was shocked by Yakumo¡¯s words. It is true. Real siblings cannot get married. Unfortunately, there is a wall of law that cannot be changed unless I become the prime minister. I was so shocked by the rejection that I was blocked up. It was my first setback. I was sulking, and I was mildly desperate. I decided to become a delinquent and took a detour on my way home from school. I stopped at a nearby park. As I wandered around the park, my eyes caught the reflection of a male student of my age. I didn¡¯t even know his name, but when I noticed him, I called out to him. He looked gloomy. I tried to pick up on him with the knowledge I had seen on TV and the Internet, and it worked out well, mysteriously. It was almost my first experience talking to boys. The person said that I was pushy. Apparently, my approach was a bit aggressive. I would like to make an excuse that my experience of talking to men is limited to my family and I did not know how to interact with men. He was a very kind man. He listened to my poor story without making me feel bad. I felt that he was just like Yakumo except for his appearance. When I came home that day, Yakumo was worried about me. ¡°Sis, you seem to be late today.¡± Yakumo¡¯s face clouded over. Jealous? Thinking it might be possible, I continued to see him the next day and beyond. When I returned home, Yakumo had a worried look on his face. I was convinced. I was sure that Yakumo had some special feelings for me. In fact, he did not. However, I misunderstood and came up with a plan. ¡­¡­I¡¯ll use him to deepen my relationship with Yakumo. The moment the devil was in my heart. I went to the park and deepened my relationship with that boy. Naturally, I didn¡¯t tell him about my brother, but I used all the techniques I had developed over the years. Looking back, I see that I was full of holes. At that time, I was always talking about myself, and I never had the consideration to listen to what the other person had to say. On Valentine¡¯s Day, we became lovers. That is when I found out the name of the other person. Shota Mukawa. He was my first boyfriend. However, it was just a cover to make Yakumo have special feelings for me. My strategy was to make Yakumo jealous and make him fall in love with me. If I told him that I had a boyfriend, he would be upset. I was hoping that the feeling of having his sister stolen from him would work. Looking back on it now, it was a very stupid strategy, but at the time I really thought it would work. However, that plan came to nothing when a huge wave of unrelated events occurred. A few days after Shota and I became lovers. ¡°¡­¡­ yes?¡± To my bewildered amazement, my father began to explain. Suddenly, I was advised to go on an arranged marriage. He had received information that a young man from a big company was looking for someone to marry, and he wanted me to marry him. This is a joke. Because I love Yakumo. Is it possible that Father is aware of my feelings? Is that why he treated me so badly? But there was not much I could do at that time. I had feelings of love for my brother, but I had common sense. I cannot marry my brother. After much worrying, I decided to accept my father¡¯s offer. In doing so, a problem arose. It was Shota¡¯s presence. The relationship I had entered into in order to fire up Yakumo, but if I was going to have an arranged marriage, I needed to break up with him. However, I did not know how to break up with him because I had not planned to break up with him. ¡°Yakumo, I have a favor to ask you.¡± ¡°A favor? ¡°Yes, Actually¨C¡° In retrospect, this was a huge mistake. I asked Yakumo to pretend to be my boyfriend and dump Shota-san. As I had hoped, I broke up with Shota-san and succeeded in making out with Yakumo in the hush of the moment. Although we were only playing the role of lovers, I felt like I was going crazy with happiness when I was entangled in Yakumo¡¯s arms. At that time, I didn¡¯t realize how sinful and hurtful it was to my partner. I also had no idea how much it would burn me up to be in love with someone I love, even if it is a fake relationship. Shota-san is a kind person who listened to my problems. I am sure he will meet someone more wonderful soon. That¡¯s what I thought at the time. A few days passed after our breakup, and my father told me a shocking news. The blind date flowed. He said that the other person already had someone in mind. He had originally had a partner in mind and said he wanted to marry that person. I was furious. I swallowed down my various emotions and prepared myself to accept the arranged marriage proposal, but my father did not seem to care about my life at all. After this, my relationship with my father deteriorated. ¡°Sis, wasn¡¯t that man your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Uhm, ¡­¡­ that.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you want to break up with him, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to lie. Don¡¯t use me as leverage.¡± Yakumo was upset that he was being used as a reason to break up with Shota. It is only natural, when you think about it. I never told Yakumo that I was not in love with Shota-san. I felt that saying that would make him hate me even more, so I kept quiet. ¡°I felt sorry for that person because of the way you broke up with him.¡± This one incident was a turning point in my relationship with Yakumo, and it soured it a bit. It was a very painful wound for me. I had grown very attached to Yakumo in that one moment when he pretended to be my lover. I can¡¯t help but feel that he might have disliked me. But at the same time, I felt guilty toward Shota-san. I was troubled by the conflict with my father, my feelings for Yakumo, and the guilt I felt for Shota-san. Furthermore, another problem arose around the time I graduated from junior high school. Yakumo had found someone he liked. Yakumo thought he was hiding it, but I could tell because his attitude was clear. It was as shocking as being hit on the head with a hammer. Somewhere in my mind, I had dreamed that Yakumo and I might be in love with each other. The unforgivable devil is Kanon Nijitani-san¡­¡­. my junior.