/

Vol. 5 Chapter 2.1




Translated by SoundDestiny Edited by SoundDestiny
THE Busybody
“We will now return the answer sheets! As I call your names, come up to the front and get your papers!”
It was the day before the end term ceremony.
In the morning homeroom, the process of returning the results of the final exams had begun.
Returning the answer sheets was like a death sentence for some and a moment of joy to fulfil their self-esteem for others.
Gorioka-sensei, the homeroom teacher, read the students’ names in alphabetical order, and the reactions of the students who received their answer sheets were a mix of sadness and joy. Watching the expressions of the students as they received and returned their answer sheets gave a rough idea of how well they had done.
The students were called in order by their names. After the names starting with [A] it was time for those with names starting with [Ka] There was no sign of Kasuya-kun, who should have been called just before me. His suspension still hadn’t been lifted.
The soccer club had already been disbanded and if things continued this way, Kasuya-kun would likely end up repeating a year.
By the way, one of the freshmen who had been suspended along with him ran away from home leaving a note behind and is missing. Lily seemed like she might know something, but I didn’t inquire about the details.
So, skipping over Kasuya-kun, my name was called.
As I looked down at my returned answer sheet, a wave of relief washed over me. Thanks to an all-night cram session fueled by a potion from the demon realm, my grades had even improved a bit. Yeah, they were pretty good.
Then, right after me, it was Kurosawa-san’s turn. She maintained her aloof expression, giving nothing away.
‘Was it good or bad…? I can’t quite tell.’
A few people after her were Masaki-chan. She had a big smile on her face. It seemed she had done really well.
And following Masaki-chan was Tashiro-san’s ex-boyfriend and a judo club member, Hiratsuka-kun. He, too, had a completely expressionless face. Lately, he seemed a bit down. I won’t mention the reason for that, though.
Next was Fujiwara-san.
When her name was called, she energetically replied with a [Yes, yes!] and went to get her answer sheet, returning with a cheerful skip.
‘Huh? That’s unexpected…could it be one of those cases where she seemed like a fool but actually has good grades?’
“Did you get a pretty good score?”
“Test scores won’t matter once we graduate from school, you know.”
‘Oh, she’s just brushing it off.’
However, even her happy expression…
“Those who have failing grades will have supplementary lessons.”
…froze at those words from the homeroom teacher.
“For those who have failing grades in even one subject, you will attend supplementary lessons every day until August 10th! We’ll have a makeup test on the 10th, so if you can pass and improve your grades, it might save you from repeating the year!”
“Eeeh, seriously?”
“Give me a break!”
The classroom erupted in an instant commotion. Especially Fujiwara-san, who stood up as if her chair was about to topple and with a voice that resembled a scream, she raised a ruckus.
“This is tyranny, Sensei! It’s tyranny! You’re taking away half of our summer vacation!”
“What tyranny? You fool! You’re getting what you deserve!”
Of course, no matter how much she protested, there was no way the supplementary lessons would be cancelled. Fujiwara-san turned her eyes toward me, seeking salvation.
“Uuu…but if I’m with Fu–min, even during the supplementary lessons…”
“I have scores of 70 or above in all subjects, is there a problem?”
“Uuuu, you traitorrr!”
I’m not even on the line for needing supplementary lessons to begin with.
“We-well, Misuzu… together?”
Then, Kurosawa-san, who was sitting in the front row, turned back and waved her hand goodbye.
“Fueeee… Masaki-chiiii.”
Masaki-chan maintained her smile and made a shooing gesture, as if chasing away a dog.
Lately, Masaki-chan has been acting quite strange. I don’t know who’s influencing her though.
×××
During lunch break, the four of us – Fujiwara-san, Kurosawa-san, Masaki-chan and I, headed up to the rooftop to have lunch.
Along the way, Fujiwara-san clung to my right arm and pouted.
“Why do they have to return the test scores first thing in the morning…Thanks to that, I’m feeling down all day, Mou–.”
But while watching her like that, Masaki-chan, who was clinging to my left arm, cheerfully spoke up.
“Hey, hey, Fumio-kun! Misuzu-chan! Where should we go to play during summer vacation?”
“Wha!? Masaki-chi! Why does it sound like you’re leaving me behind to have fun? Isn’t that mean!?”
Yeah, recently, Masaki-chan has been really difficult. Well, more like dark.
But, despite Fujiwara-san’s protesting voice, Kurosawa-san, who was walking behind us while gently holding the hem of my shirt, showed a thoughtful gesture.
“Maybe… the beach?”
Yeah, Kurosawa-san, I don’t need to answer. Fujiwara-san has teary eyes now.
Just as we were about to climb the stairs leading to the rooftop, we heard a voice calling out, [Ki, Kijima-sama, Masaki-sama].
Turning around, we saw a petite and adorable girl with distinctive golden hair in vertical curls.
The colour of her ribbon indicated that she was a freshman. I vaguely remembered her.
She was one of the track and field club members we recently liberated and left as a semi-petite princess in training.
I believe her name was…Kayama Yui., if I’m not mistaken.
Immediately, Fujiwara-san pulled my arm close and shot her a threatening look.
“Um… what do you want with my Kari-pippi?”
Lately, Fujiwara-san has been quite wary whenever a girl approaches me.
‘Well, I guess I can understand why…’
“Um, well…”
Caught in Fujiwara-san’s intense gaze, Kayama-san stumbled over her words, looking like she was observing a suspicious character.
Taking over for her, Masaki-chan spoke up.
“This girl is a junior I recently met, Yui Kayama-chan. I called her. I wanted to introduce her to Mai-chan.”
“To me? Why?”
“It’s a long story, so let’s talk while we eat.”
“Uh, yeah, got it. Well, let’s head to the rooftop for now.”
And as we started walking, Kayama-san looked perplexed and said,
“Uh, um, where should I be held by Kijima-sama?”
“Yeah, there’s no rule like that.”
I answered with a straight face.
We finally reached the rooftop, spread out a picnic blanket, and sat in a circle.
As everyone unpacked their lunch boxes, it became clear that Kayama-san had nothing with her.
“You didn’t bring lunch?”
When I asked her, she looked troubled.
Then, with a smile, Masaki-chan said,
“I’ll just say it since the conversation’s not moving forward. Yui-chan’s dad had a business failure and they’re super poor.”
“Couldn’t you phrase it differently!?”
‘Super poor… that’s a bit blunt or, well, how should I put it?’
Gradually, Masaki-chan’s severity is becoming hard to hide.
Ignoring my awkwardness, Masaki-chan pulled out another lunchbox from her drawstring bag and offered it to Kayama-san.
“I heard you’re tight on money and skipping lunch, so I made one for you today, Yui-chan. Here you go.”
“Um… M-Masaki-sama, is, is that okay?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Masaki-chan smiled and reassured the bewildered Kayama-san.
When she opened the lid, a cute lunchbox with meatballs and rolled omelettes appeared.
Phew , I’m relieved. Honestly, I was worried that with Masaki-chan’s overly cheerful smile, it might contain dog food or something as part of her sadistic tendencies. It seems I was really overthinking it.
Without noticing my relieved sigh, Masaki-chan turned her attention to Fujiwara-san.
“So, the reason I wanted to introduce her to Mai-chan is because I was wondering if Mai-chan could help her find a part-time job…”
“A part-time job?”
“Yeah, you see, this girl was originally from a well-off family, so she’s really naive about the real world. Yesterday, when we happened to meet, she mentioned she was going for a job interview. She showed me the recruitment details…it’s paying over 20,000 yen per day, with transportation provided. Beginners welcome. It’s an easy, high-paying job, and the place is called 『Chiritsu Cosplay Girls Academy』.”
[TL:Chiritsu Kosupure Jogakuin, students’ academy who wear cosplay to give sex services.]
“Uwaa…”
“I thought she was going for some office job or something…”
It’s quite a coincidence that she ran into Masaki-chan so often. It was a close call.
‘But what the heck is Chiritsu…’
“Mai-chan, your family runs a bunch of companies, right? I was thinking maybe you could help her find a part-time job…”
“Hahaha… I see, I get it now. Well then, I’ll ask my father. Kayama-san, right? Can you give me your contact information?”
“Yes, um, th-thank you very much. Uh, K-Kijima-sama’s Oku-sama!”
“Oku-sama!?”
After a brief surprised expression, Fujiwara-san’s demeanour softened into a more affectionate one.
“Hehe… Is it that obvious? Can you tell?”
“Yes, uh, I apologise. But it seems you two look really good together… even though you’re not married yet.”
“Masaki-chi! This girl is so lovely! I’ll do my best to find a good part-time job for her too!”
Fujiwara-san suddenly became very cheerful.
However, I was watching. Probably, they had planned it out beforehand. Just before Kayama-san could say 『Kijima-sama’s Oku-sama』 Masaki-chan gave her a significant wink.
Despite everything, Masaki-chan really does take care of others.
Kayama-san seems to have warmed up to Masaki-chan as well, so getting along with her wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
×××
“What’s wrong, Shima?”
“No… I overslept a little today, so I didn’t make a bento. I’ll buy some bread from the cafeteria. Feel free to start eating.”
“It’s unusual for Shima to oversleep.”
“Ah, ahaha…”
At home, I had been unable to sleep after witnessing the affair between Hatsune-chan and Kijima. Whenever I closed my eyes, those lascivious scenes would flash behind my eyelids and I would toss and turn all night, helpless to do anything about it.
‘Really… Whose fault is this?’
Muttering so in my heart, I left the classroom. Outside, Takasago, carrying what seemed to be a bento wrapped in a cloth bag, was standing with dropped shoulders in front of the adjacent classroom.
“Nn? What’s up, Takasago?”
“Shima-pai. Kan-chan…wasn’t here. Together…for lunch…”
“Shima-pai… it’s Shima-senpai. But, ah… I see.”
It seemed that she had intended to have lunch together, but Kijima wasn’t in the classroom, so that was apparently what happened.
[Well then, how about having lunch with us?] Just as I was about to say that, someone interjected into the conversation from behind.
“What’s the matter?”
When I turned around, there stood a classmate I’m not particularly fond of.
She currently had her hair in pigtails and wore silver-rimmed glasses that made her seem quite serious.
She can’t ignore someone in trouble, she can’t refrain from picking up trash on the ground and if someone’s shirt is untucked, she’ll definitely tuck it in for them. If there’s a skirt length violation, she’ll accurately detect it with her eyes.
The guardian of pure and righteous student life, famously known as 『THE Busybody』.
She is Takata Takaka, the student council member in charge of discipline. It sounds like a joke, but it’s her real name.
[Kanji; 高田 貴佳]
My honest reaction was that an annoyance had arrived. For now, I decided to respond casually.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really.”
“However, it seems like she’s quite downcast over here?”
Then, Takasago muttered with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
“Kan-chan… wasn’t here.”
“Kan-chan?”
I instinctively scratched my head.
‘Ugh, seriously, this is a pain in the ass. Don’t butt into our business…Well, whatever, it’s not like I have to hide this kind of conversation.’
“Kan-chan is referring to Kijima from the next class. This girl has gotten pretty close to Kijima. It seems like she came to eat lunch together, but Kijima wasn’t here and that’s the whole story.”
“Kijima… you mean Fumio Kijima?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Ahaha…this guy is totally being fed.”
I intended to say it jokingly but for some reason, the busybody’s expression became stern.
“That guy again…to think he’s ensnaring even seemingly quiet girls! He’s the source of disciplinary issues. The girls’ being called the Kijima Harem and seems to be getting carried away, he is probably using those girls’ weaknesses to forcibly establish relationships, isn’t that the case? I’ve been thinking that he needs to be monitored. I will definitely expose his true nature! “
Suddenly, she got excited, but there’s nothing I can do but be troubled by it.
However, even if she’s getting all worked up, picking a fight with him is like jumping into a minefield willingly.
“I think it would be better to leave him alone…”
“Compassion is unnecessary for someone like that!”
“Well, I mean, that’s true…”
‘If she starts poking the bushes, what comes out won’t be just a commotion, but rather a real mess…’
Read only at Travis Translations