The Case When Strange Things Started To Happen When I Reincarnated As A Guy Whose Life Ends After As

Chapter 52: Blank Junior High Days

On a certain day during the continuing summer vacation, it was an unusual day.

“…Only me, huh?”

That’s right, I was the only one in the Hououin household.

Shirayuki had been invited by a friend to go out, and Hisui was at work as usual.

Shirayuki offered to stay behind when she found out that Hisui wasn’t there, but I told her that she should also cherish her time with her friend. She seemed dissatisfied but nodded in agreement.

“I feel like I’ve had exchanges like this with Shirayuki before.”

I feel like something like this happened a little while ago… It might just be my imagination though.

Now that it has come to this, I’m completely alone and bored.

“Hmm, should I do some excercise or something?”

Going to the gym alone is an option, or I could go for a run without going to the gym. I haven’t exercised for a while since I recovered from a cold… Yeah, let’s spend the day exercising.

The current time is 10 in the morning. I’ll exercise outside, finish around noon… and then decide whether to relax at home or continue exercising in the afternoon.

“Alright, let’s get going then.”

I changed into my workout clothes and immediately left the mansion.

This place has already become my own home, but even so, I never think of it as just my house, leaving the others aside. So whenever Shirayuki is not by my side, I make sure to lock the door.

“Alright, that should do it.”

As I mentioned earlier, I still have a weak recognition that this is my own home, so when I’m in a hurry, I’m really prone to forgetting to lock the doors. I’m being cautious about it.

After I moved away from the door, I went back once more just to make sure, as if confirming with a pointed finger, and finally left the spot.

“Huff… Huff… Huff!”

Well, I never thought that exercise, which I initially found so troublesome and exhausting, would become this enjoyable.

If I didn’t see any results after all this effort, I would have been disappointed. But my body has been toned with the help of this summer’s heat.

(I’m almost in the 80-kilogram range… Let’s keep going!)

In my previous life, my weight was in the 60-kilogram range, so aiming for that is a good goal.

However, as Shirayuki and Hisui have both pointed out, rapid weight loss is bad for the body, and there’s a possibility that unsightly belly fat could remain. So I’m being careful not to lose weight too quickly.

(Losing weight isn’t something that happens easily, and losing too much weight too quickly could cause problems… The human body is inconvenient, huh?)

Well, I knew that, and I chuckled.

I wondered if I might run into Shirayuki in town like before and got excited. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy running while finding such pleasures.

And so, while taking breaks and replenishing fluids properly, I sweated profusely as I ran. It was at that moment.

“Huh? Isn’t that Gundo?”

“…!?”

As I passed by a group of people chatting lively, someone called out my last name.

I stopped and turned around, seeing the figures of four boys who didn’t particularly stand out in my memory… No, I vaguely felt like I remembered them… What is this feeling?

I thought it would be impolite to stare at them, but since they called my name, it meant they knew me.

“…”

No matter how hard I tried, their faces and names didn’t ring a bell in Arashi’s memories, so in the end, I had no choice but to fall silent… But that’s when they told me.

“Did you forget or something? We went to the same junior high school, you know.”

“…Ah.”

Upon hearing the words “same junior high school,” everything came flooding back to my mind.

The four boys in front of me were indeed my classmates from junior high school, and we had parted ways when we entered high school.

…However, it seems that these memories aren’t pleasant ones.

To put it simply, I… Arashi was apparently deeply bullied by them during our time in junior high school.

“I never thought that fat Gundo would be exercising… Haha, seeing your face, Gundo, surprised me.”

“Yeah, I was seriously surprised.”

They certainly showed a surprised expression, but I could clearly tell that they were looking down on me.

The memories of being bullied since junior high school, where Arashi didn’t have any reliable friends to rely on, and even the teachers wouldn’t help. 

Instead, even the teachers joined in and said derogatory things to Arashi… It’s definitely not a pleasant memory, and I couldn’t help but give a little praise to Arashi for enduring it.

“Hey, don’t come closer, okay? You seem sweaty and smelly.”

“Actually, I feel like there’s a smell… It stinks!”

“Don’t come near, don’t come near, you stink!”

…I never expected things to turn out like this, especially with classmates from junior high school.

In games, manga, and anime, naturally, there’s not a single fragment of junior high school stories, so that aspect is completely outside the scenario… Well, when it comes to Arashi, they’ll disappear before such things are even discussed.

“Sorry, sorry, no need to worry, I won’t get any closer. Well then, see ya.”

I won’t say that it’s annoying that they think I’ll get closer. 

At this moment, their words have no effect on me whatsoever. Besides, even if they were my junior high school classmates, we just happened to run into each other today, and it’s unlikely that we’ll meet again in the future.

In fact, I’m more curious about whether or not I really smell bad.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Don’t you think you’re being cheeky?”

…Why do they have to react like that?

Arashi in my memories seemed to be timid around them, and it seems that they had developed a sense of dominance over others. 

With no one to reprimand them and adults who should have taken on that role actually supporting them, their egos seem to have grown… Perhaps there are students at their current high school who have become their targets.

As I tried to run away without caring, my shoulder was gripped tightly.

“I told you to wait, didn’t I?”

“Didn’t you say I smell? If it were me, I wouldn’t want to get close to something that stinks.”

As I say that, they clicked their tongue in irritation… What kind of reaction should I give?

Well, even so, from my current perspective, I don’t feel intimidated by them, and I can interact with them as my true self. I have the invincible state of mind that comes from the memories of my past life and the inner peace I’ve gained from spending time with Shirayuki and Hisui.

“Hmph… I’ll show you something good.”

“Something good?”

He said he’d show me something good and revealed the screen of his smartphone.

There, in the photo, were four girls, each making a peace sign while being close to them, the four boys.

“We all have girlfriends, you know? It’s not like a fat guy like you would understand, right?”

“Don’t even say that. No girl would ever like someone like him.”

“No difference!”

“Ahahaha!”

…These guys are seriously annoying. They’re truly irritating.

But well, it’s true that if I hadn’t tried to change, no one… no one would have ever liked Arashi… liked me.

As for Shirayuki and Hisui, they say they love me for who I am on the inside, but there was still a possibility that we would never have met again if I hadn’t made an effort.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing to have a girlfriend. Just make sure you cherish her.”

Alright, with that, it’s finally time to say goodbye.

“What’s some guy without a girlfriend saying?”

“Get lost, fatty.”

These guys… they’ll definitely get what’s coming to them… I hope they do.

I resumed running, distancing myself from the four of them. Even with that exchange, I didn’t feel hurt or affected in any way. Well, if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that none of the girls in that photo could hold a candle to Shirayuki.

“Alright, let’s grab some lunch.”

There happened to be a popular set meal restaurant right in front of me, so I decided to eat there for lunch today. There were many students in their sports uniforms, so my attire didn’t stand out. After satisfying my hunger, I left the restaurant.

“Phew… That was a good meal.”

“Touma-kun?”

“Hohe?”

Why is that voice here…?

I glanced over, and there I saw Shirayuki walking alone.

It felt like a scene from the past, later she told me that she couldn’t stop thinking about me and decided to have lunch separately from her friends.

“…Not that it would have been a problem, but thank you, Shirayuki.”

“No-no. I had a feeling you were doing some exercise after all.”

“Well, because I was alone.”

“Fufu♪”

Well then… I guess it’s time to head back.

As I walked home alongside Shirayuki, by some twist of fate, I encountered them again.

“Oh, Gundo… Huh?”

However, seeing Shirayuki standing next to me, their reaction was exactly what I expected, and I couldn’t help but let out a smile.

Since I had just briefly explained to Shirayuki what had happened, she understood the situation without me having to say anything in advance. And then, without a word, she planted a kiss on my lips.