Chapter 2: There’s Someone Else!
13: Second Set Begins
My mornings used to be filled with a terrible gloom, but I didn’t want to worry my parents, so I would pretend to be okay and go to school.
They had become quite anxious, especially after what happened with Kouki.
I suppose it was understandable.
Before, my spirits would sink in proportion to the brilliance of the white clouds floating in the summer sky, heralding the arrival of summer.
But today was different.
“I’m strong!”
I have a way to fight back against Aira, the self-proclaimed queen of the class.
I woke up thirty minutes earlier than usual, ate breakfast quickly, brushed my teeth vigorously, sang in the morning bath, and put on my familiar uniform.
“I’m off!”
With my bewildered parents behind me, I left for school in high spirits.
It was when I reached the school gate that I realized the zipper on my crotch was open.
The atmosphere in the classroom was no different.
I had been expecting some kind of positive change after the events of yesterday, but what I found was the same old group of Aira’s friends, chatting away as usual.
They were gathered around a table, laughing raucously and not caring who saw them.
Suddenly, Aira’s gaze met mine.
“…………”
She quickly looked away, so I couldn’t even read her emotions, but had nothing really changed?
This hypnosis app carries over memories.
That means she should remember our date yesterday. I still don’t know for sure what kind of emotions she has about it.
But judging from the way she’s acting, it doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact on her.
What about Misato? I’m still concerned about her strange behavior yesterday, but if I were to be told that she’s back to normal, I’d believe it.
The one I should be most worried about is Makoto, who must be filled with resentment after yesterday’s incident. I can expect him to try to get back at me or take it out on someone else.
After the first period was over, I was paying attention to my surroundings when,
“Hey, Raccoon-kun.”
Enka called out to me.
Today, her long hair was tied up in a side ponytail. Unlike her usual sharp-witted self, she seemed almost lively.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
“What’s up?”
“If we talk here, other people will hear us, so can you come with me?”
I wondered if she had something she didn’t want others to hear.
“Sure.”
Ryugo stood up without hesitation.
She led me to a different building, where an almost eerie silence hung in the air. It was so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop a hundred meters away.
For a moment, I had a wild hope that she was going to confess her feelings to me, but then I came to my senses and realized that it was impossible.
In fact, there was no trace of sweetness in Enka’s delicate features; she only looked concerned for me. Even her sidelong glance seemed hesitant.
“Raccoon-kun, yesterday… you were with Aira-san, right?”
“Uh, yeah… I was.”
I wondered if she had seen me meet up with Aira at the school gate. It was a fairly public place, even though we had gone for a walk, so it wasn’t at all unlikely.
“I was just wondering if… something happened.”
Enka’s beautiful eyes were filled with worry, and Ryugo’s heart ached a little.
She’s always been kind to me, and she’s always willing to help me out. She knows all about Ryugo and Aira’s relationship.
And yet, she would never have dreamed that we had a perfectly normal conversation. And that it was all because of the hypnosis app.
I couldn’t tell her the truth, but I also didn’t want to blame Aira.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. But if she did anything to upset you, please tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
Enka’s words were so sincere that I was almost moved to tears, but I managed to hold them back.
…No, I guess I didn’t.
“Waaah… thaaank yoooooooooooooouuu…!!”
“Are you crying that much!?”
“It’s been so long since anyone said anything so kind to me… there are no decent people in my class…”
“I’m sorry. I’m not good enough…”
“You don’t have to thank me, Maruka. I’m not so rotten that I’d let you shoulder the burden all by yourself.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No, thank you. You’re always helping me.”
It was just a casual expression of gratitude, but Maruka looked down sadly.
“Don’t thank me. I’m not being helpful at all. There’s still bullying going on in the classroom, and it’s not getting any better, no matter how much I tell them off. It’s like the River of Three Crossings.”
I couldn’t find the right words to say to her as she expressed her sense of resignation.
It’s a common story: what can you do when nothing you say seems to get through to someone? In cases like this, even if you try to give advice, they’ve usually already thought of it and tried it themselves. So, there’s nothing outsiders can do but keep their mouths shut.
“I don’t know what to do, but let’s keep trying together.”
“…I hope we can create a peaceful classroom someday.”
“What do you think we should do?”
“The quickest way would be to get rid of the cause. But that would probably be too drastic. I don’t think the peace we’d create by driving out Era and the others would be the right kind of peace.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Even though they’re the scum of the earth, it would be too easy to just beat them down and drive them out.
Of course, if there were no other way, I’d do it without hesitation. But if we did that, we wouldn’t be able to make Era and the others apologize to Koki.
Ugh, this is bad.
I need to clarify my goals. If I don’t decide what to do first, I’ll just end up going with the flow and dealing with whatever comes my way.
“The problem is Era, who’s at the top.
Seito, who follows her.
And the classmates who can’t stand up to them.”
And then there’s the level of the hypnosis app.
I still feel like it’s not enough, but there’s a limit to how much I can do on the side. I might need to focus on it more.
“Hey, Raccoon-kun.”
“What?”
“You know, bullying. It usually starts because people want to exclude someone who doesn’t fit into the group.”
“Yeah…I guess that’s true.”
“So, if you want to solve it, you have to make the bullying group the ones who are disrupting the harmony, and then get the classmates to denounce them.”
“I see. But…”
“Right, what she’s doing is a little different. She’s not thinking about groups at all. She’s just doing whatever she wants because it makes her happy or unhappy. I don’t think she’d stop, even if everyone gave her the cold shoulder.”
She really is a pain in the neck.
“That’s why it’s so hard to stop her.”
“…No, if it was just Era by herself, she wouldn’t be a threat, would she?”
“Huh?”
She’s just a weak girl, after all, and she relies on others to do her dirty work. That means if we can just stop Seito, who’s the one who uses violence, she won’t be able to hurt anyone else. As a result , Era will be isolated and it will be harder for her to bully others.
If the classmates realize that there’s only one enemy, they won’t just be scared, they’ll be able to talk back to her.
“…I’ve got it, Maruka. The divine move that will save the class.”
“Re, really!?”
“Yeah!”
Ryugo put his hand to his chin and proclaimed the one answer he had arrived at.
“Seito and I should become ‘lovers’!!”
“……………………Huh???”
“Huh?”
Hmm?
“U, um… what do you mean?”
“I mean, Makoto is the one actually doing the bullying, so if we can restrain him, it’ll be harder for him to bully others, right?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Makoto and I should just date!!”
“???”
“???”
??????????????????
“I see…?”
“Well, then I’m going to go be a little gay.”
“Take care…? No, wait a minute!!”
Without listening to Enka’s protests, he ran off to the main school building.
As he approached his classroom, he could hear an ominous commotion amidst the noisy cicadas outside.
Ryugo peered through the small window in the sliding door to see what was going on inside, and anger flared within him at the sight that met his eyes.
“Come on~. I’m just asking you to lend me your lunchbox for a bit,” Makoto was intimidating Asami.
He was kicking the leg of her desk aggressively, clearly enjoying the situation as he laughed.
In contrast, the petite Asami was trembling so badly that it was painful to watch.
She was looking down, her somewhat long bangs hanging like a curtain over her eyes.
She was timid, so she was always targeted by Aira and the others when he wasn’t around. It seemed that this time was no exception.
“Well? Your mom makes it for you every morning, doesn’t she?”
“W, why… are you doing this…”
“Hmm? Do I need a reason? Aira said she was a little pissed off by your attitude, so I thought I’d teach you a lesson.”
Makoto seemed to be trying to show Aira how obedient he was in order to make up for yesterday’s blunder. It made Ryugo sick. He was nothing more than a slave being used by her.
That bastard. I’ll teach him what it means to reap what you sow.
He activated the hypnosis app and used it on Makoto.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT
Immediately, an earsplitting electronic sound blared from his phone, and Ryugo’s eyes widened.
It was an unpleasant, high-pitched squeal, like the sound of a buzzer when you get a question wrong on a quiz show or the sound of the doorbell.
“…Huh?”
He looked down at the screen, and it read:
‘The target is already under hypnosis!’
“Wha…?”
LMAO this main character is so good.