Shimotsuki-san Likes the Mob

It was December.

This was the time of year when my breath turns white. The wind blowing through me causes my body to tremble, rubbing my arms involuntarily. It was pretty much pointless because I was wearing gloves and a coat, but I suppose it’s human nature to do so reflexively.

“Cold…”

I mumbled and placed my hands inside my pockets.

Walking quickly, I hurried to the school.

I looked around and saw many other students in my situation. There appears to be a large cold wave, and everyone is suffering from it.

It wasn’t as cold to the point of it snowing, but it was still cold. The cold would have been more bearable if it had snowed, but with a light rain falling as an alternative, there was nothing emotional about it.

Because of the slight dampness, the temperature was most likely even lower. What’s worse is that even if we endured this cold, we wouldn’t gain anything out of it. I was bad with the winter season because it’s a season that you were forced to endure.

(Whew… finally here.)

I took a deep breath as I approached the school.

The entrance was far from warm, but the lack of wind and rain was more than enough.

I walked into my classroom, sighing with relief. It was ten minutes before the start of the school day, and roughly 70% of my classmates had already arrived.

As a result, the classroom was very warm. It’s also probably due to the fact that the heating had been turned on for quite sometime. It’s a good thing the temperature was nice, because it would’ve been miserable otherwise.

I removed my coat and placed it in my locker.

I finally took a seat and… The girl next to me smiled and waved as if she had been expecting me.

“Good morning, Kotaro.”

“Yeah. Good morning, Shiho.”

When I greeted her back, she smiled softly. She used to be a shy girl, but she seems to be becoming less self-conscious in class lately. She still gets stiff in front of other people, but in casual situations like this, she can maintain a relatively normal state.

This girl has grown a lot stronger.

I was delighted to see Shiho’s growth.

“Oh my? Kotaro-kun, were you that happy to see me? Ummm, I am a cute girl after all… Alright, I’ll pat your head, so come over here, okay?”

“…No, I’ll save that for later.”

I guess you could say she’s a little easier to get along with.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing, because that part was also adorable.

But yeah, but flirting in public draws attention, so I avoided doing it.

“Maybe later, okay?”

“Yes. I’ll spoil you rotten later. Oh, Kotaro-kun is such a spoiled boy.”

“…I wonder.”

I don’t intend to be a spoiled child.

…On second thought, maybe that aspect is true.

Because my parents didn’t love me much as a child, I couldn’t deny that I was starved for affection.

(PR/N: TrollDespair)

But nowadays, thanks to Shiho, I am full of affection. Rather, she tries to feed me so much to the point where I would vomit, so I wish she would cut back a little.

“Ah, Sensei’s coming, so let’s do an exchange diary afterwards, shall we?”

“Okay.”

The exchange diary was still a thing. Mostly in class, but it was a very fun thing to do.

She simply enjoys talking. She isn’t a great talker, but I enjoy listening to her, so I believe we’re having a productive conversation.

The festival has been over for over a month.

Since then, Shiho and I have grown closer and are having a good time.

However, I had the impression that the atmosphere in the classroom was a little… different.

“Yes, yes. Everyone. I’m sad that work has resumed today, but I’d like to be your homeroom teacher for the sake of my paycheck, so I’ll take attendance for the time being.”

Suzuki-sensei entered the class and began homeroom.

She would always take attendance during this time… But, as well as today, that guy hasn’t shown up to school.

“Ryuzaki-kun… today is another day off for you, isn’t it~?”

Yes. Ryoma Ryuzaki was not present in the class.

To be more specific, he stopped coming to school after the school festival.

The absence of the harem protagonist has drastically altered the atmosphere of the room.

The girls, in particular, appear to be discouraged. Mary, who was once a very active student, has taken a leave of absence and returned to her home country, which may have affected the class.

As a result, the current first-year class was depressed.

To be honest, I’m not particularly concerned with what happens to Ryoma Ryuzaki.

But yeah… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about Azusa, Kirari and Yuzuki’s lack of energy after all.

Ryuzaki… what are you doing?

Don’t put off developing your signature romantic comedy for too long.

Hurting the girls as always… He really is the worst kind of protagonist…