Shimotsuki-san Likes the Mob

When I left the empty classroom, it was like I was in a different space.

The school was bustling with activity, and the whole place was filled with the atmosphere of a cultural festival. There were students advertising their classes’ performances and others enjoying the event and making a lot of noise, to the point of being noisy.

Come to think of it, we are in the middle of the festival right now.

I’m not in the mood to make too much noise, but it’s not appropriate to look gloomy.

Chuckling, I lightly slapped my own cheek.

“… Ok.”

If I make a face like this, I’ll make that cute little girl sad.

So I changed my mood and looked up again.

Then I saw Mary in front of me, as I should have, and I sighed involuntarily.

“I just changed my mood… Haa?”

“Oh, well? It’s not good to sigh when you see a beautiful woman’s face. I wonder if it’s because you’ve become a man of color that you’ve become overconfident~?”

“Shut up.”

I can’t afford to go with Mary right now. I tried to shake off the clutter, but it was uncomfortable because she persisted in following me around.

“I wonder why you are so irritated~? Oh, maybe you’re so bitter that you rejected a girl~?”

… I knew she was eavesdropping.

As usual, this person is rotten to the core.

“If it’s so painful, why don’t you just accept it? That would be better! Then everyone will be happy. Don’t you think that would be closer to a happy ending?”

“…That cannot be true.”

There is no way that Shiho’s sad ending is a happy ending.

It’s utter nonsense. I don’t have enough time to deal with nonsense that isn’t worth listening to. I ignored her and quickly tried to return to the classroom.

Mary doesn’t stop talking to me.

She began to talk again, one-sidedly.

“Well, you did your best to reject me this time, but I can’t wait to see what happens next time. This time, Kirari will finally get dumped, you know? I’m looking forward to … seeing if Kotaro will be able to be so heartless in the face of her brokenness. I’m looking forward to it.”

“…”

Suddenly, I almost stopped breathing.

So, in her scenario, Kirari would finally be dumped.

That could probably become a reality.

After being rejected by me, she will probably get desperate and finally confess her feelings to Ryuzaki. And then, when she is rejected and in a bad way, Mary will throw me in the ring again.

I did not want to imagine what would really happen then.

“Well, that’s that then, I’ll look forward to seeing you again later~”

As soon as she said that, we arrived at the classroom and I had nothing to say.

Moreover, Mary-san dared to disturb the place … deliberately and raised her voice.

“Wow! Kotaro, you are so handsome!”

With those words, all my classmates in the classroom looked at me at once.

They were all surprised to see me with makeup on.

“Hm. You look quite different. I’m glad to see that you’ve got the look of a star.”

“Oh, oh… you’re not my Onii-chan!!!!”

Especially Niou-san and Azusa, who interacted with me, called out to me.

Kirari’s makeup skills must be quite good. I was a little uncomfortable with all the other classmates gawking at me.

“Tsk.”

And Ryuzaki was also in a bad mood. Mary made a fuss, and I guess he didn’t find that amusing… This guy just won’t shut up. I’m in trouble too, so don’t stare at me so much.

“… Mmmmmm.”

Then, surprisingly… there was another girl in the classroom who seemed unhappy.

And it was Shiho.

“Come with me for a minute.”

Shiho rushed toward me in an unusual panic and unexpectedly grabbed my arm. As I watched to see what she would do, she was about to drag me straight out of the classroom.

“Where are we going?”

“Just come along.”

Shiho dragged me out of the classroom without a second thought.

We arrived at the back of the school building, where we have been before.

In this quiet place, which has nothing to do with the school festival, she finally stoped.

Then Shiho suddenly took out a handkerchief and began to scrub … my face.

“Wait, why? Shiho, what’s going on?”

Confused by the sudden turn of events, Shiho puffed out her cheeks. Her lips were also pouting, so she was clearly in a foul mood.

“I like you just the way you are, Kotaro-kun, and it kind of pisses me off to see you like this!”

Apparently, Shiho didn’t like my face with makeup on it.