Chapter 25: I’m Back! (Souta’s Point of View)
It’s been about half a month since I went abroad for my short-term study program.
It’s not like Yukiya told me to, but I’ve been telling various people about how my life overseas has been going.
“Oh, it’s from Rinka.”
Looks like a reply just came in.
[Souta-senpai, you’ve gotten really fat lol.]
Hey, seriously? That’s your takeaway after I reported my elegant solo time at a stylish open cafe with scenery you could never imitate in Japan?
“Well, I guess when you’re holed up in Japan, you start caring about tiny things like that. Good grief.”
It’s true that in the half month since I got here, I got hooked on authentic junk food and gained about eight kilos. Being back under my parents’ roof and not having to worry about daily chores probably played a role too.
[That’s unhealthy! Are you really gonna be okay over there like that?]
“Sigh… what is Azaka-senpai even saying?”
I muttered that to myself with a wry smile.
In the first place, this study abroad thing is just until things cool down. It’s only temporary, until the bad reputation I got from that incident in front of the shoe lockers, stuff like “the guy who got publicly rejected” or “the delusional guy,” fades away.
On top of that, by deliberately removing myself, there’s also the aim of making everyone realize my importance.
For example, it seems my stepsister Chris took my place on the student council, but can the council really function without me?
[There’s no problem at all.]
That’s what Chris says, but well, I’ll leave that as something to look forward to when I get back.
And as for the most important person, Kanae, I’ve deliberately barely contacted her.
That’s because I want Kanae more than anyone else to realize how big my presence is.
Using Rinka’s and Azaka-senpai’s goodwill in that incident in front of the shoe lockers, I failed to make Kanae realize her true feelings, her feelings for me. But this time, since I’m actually gone, the effect should be tremendous.
By the way, when Chris grilled me about that whole line of thinking after the commotion…
“Huh, what are you talking about…? You thought Kanae-san had romantic feelings for you just because you walked to and from school together and spent lunch together…? Kanae-san didn’t even join in the morning fooling around, and I don’t think she ever did anything that would normally make you misunderstand…”
She looked at me like she was looking at a stalker, which is really offensive. So I told her she should think about what it means for a girl that age to always be with the same guy. I’m not some dense protagonist type… or so I said.
“Sigh… fine, let’s say Kanae-san did have some feelings for you at one point…”
Chris said that with an exaggerated sigh, and I couldn’t help letting out an exasperated sigh myself.
“But she never confessed to you, and you never confessed to her, right? Then that’s the end of it, isn’t it? People’s feelings change, and it’s also Kanae-san’s freedom to accept someone else’s feelings.”
I immediately lectured her that once someone has feelings, then as a childhood friend, continuing to think about them is the proper path.
“What is that supposed to be…? Your judgment of her feelings is one-sided and vague. There was no confession, but you say it’s right for her to keep thinking about you… that’s completely the mindset of a mentally unstable stalker…”
Phew… this is going nowhere. That’s why I keep saying she should think about what it means for a girl that age to always be with the same guy, but it’s an endless loop.
“If you like Kanae-san that much, then you should just confess.”
This is really pointless. It’s not that I like Kanae. It’s that Kanae likes me.
But when I said that, my parents got called in, and for now it ended up with me going on a short-term study abroad.
Well, given the bad reputation issue, the timing worked out for me too.
And like this, I gained study abroad experience from the whole thing. In the light novels I like, it’s a common trope for a gloomy loner to turn out to be a returnee or secretly fluent in English.
I’ve probably gotten one step closer to being that kind of “gloomy loner.”
What’s really lamentable, though, is that even here, no one understands that at all.
When classmates seriously told me things like “You should face reality, Souta,” or “You watch too much anime where nerds get their moment,” or “The only reason you were popular was because of your looks, not what’s inside,” even my convictions wavered.
But during times like that, there was something I gradually came to understand through keeping in touch with my comrades back in Japan.
Apparently, the bad reputation I was worried about, from the misunderstanding surrounding that public confession near the shoe lockers, was dealt with early thanks to Azaka-senpai’s efforts. And the bomb I left behind at the end, the on-campus kissing photos of Yukiya and Kanae, worked just as I calculated. It seems I’ve been almost completely forgotten now.
You fight a scandal with an even bigger scandal. It turned out exactly the way I predicted.
If that’s the case, then maybe it wouldn’t be bad to go back and check on things a bit.
When I tried saying that to Yukiya, he showed his true colors and told me not to come back.
“If possible, it’d be better if you didn’t come back right now. If you absolutely have to return, don’t go near the school. For some reason, with the photo thing of me and Kanae that I explained before, people are suspecting you. Kanae and I don’t really care, but the school seems to be taking it pretty seriously.”
That school is strict in weird ways, after all. For Yukiya, that’s a pretty well thought-out story.
Well, I get why he wants to stop me from coming back. Now I’m a “gloomy loner” with overseas experience. Even if I don’t want it, in the end, everyone will gather around me, and my childhood friend Kanae will choose me.
In fact, in the light novels I like, all the gloomy loners succeed. With their carefully hidden good looks and their further hidden abundance of talent, they solve everything, earn everyone’s respect, and build a heroine harem.
At this point, “gloomy loner” isn’t really a gloomy loner. “Gloomy loner” is a euphemism for a cheat character.
And I am a gloomy loner, which means Yukiya’s little tricks won’t work on me.
I immediately asked my parents and got permission for a brief return home for a few days.
Of course, they told me that if I caused trouble again, I’d be living here permanently, but well, I’ll manage.
And then…
I temporarily returned to my hometown, and in order to expose Yukiya’s scheme to keep me away from school, I deliberately came to the school.
A school after classes, for the first time in half a month.
After contacting my three female comrades, I stepped onto the school grounds.
Then I suddenly felt someone’s gaze and turned to look…
Azaka-senpai and my stepsister Chris came running toward me, accompanied by the familiar members of the student council.
As expected, it seems everyone was waiting for me. Too bad, Yukiya.
I whispered boldly to my stepsister and my senior.
“I have been back.”
…That’s what I said.
And then, I got caught.