Chapter 23: Do You Like Suda Toki? 3

“Ah, Mizushiro-san…………”

“Yahhoo~!”

Mizushiro raised her hand and tilted her upper body slightly.

Hachiya widened her eyes in surprise upon realizing that Mizushiro and Akaishi knew each other. She looked back and forth between them.

“Eh… you know Shiorin too…?”

“What are you talking about? I went to the broadcasting club with Mizushiro-san before, remember?”

“That’s right, Kyoko-chan! I went to the broadcasting club with Akaishi-kun! You didn’t notice!?”

“Eh… no way? I didn’t notice at all. He was completely out of my sight…”

Akaishi understood that she had been so focused on Sakurai that she hadn’t noticed him. In truth, when he entered the broadcasting club room, he had hidden behind Mizushiro as much as possible to avoid attention.

“Mizushiro-san, what brings you here?”

“Mou~ Akaishi-kun! We’re classmates, so no more polite speech!”

Mizushiro made an “X” with her fingers and held it to her mouth.

Akaishi felt a jolt because he harbored feelings of admiration, inferiority, and indebtedness toward Mizushiro.

“So you can speak politely…………”

“Anyone can do that.”

“You didn’t use polite speech with me from the start!”

“That’s because I judged you as someone not worthy of polite speech.”

“What’s with you!”

“You two get along so well~.”

Mizushiro watched the exchange between Akaishi and Hachiya with a gentle smile.

Being told they got along well made Akaishi recall the rumor that he and Hachiya were dating.

“No no no no no no, not at all! We’re not close at all! Really!”

Hachiya’s face turned red instantly as she waved her hands wildly in denial. After what she had said yesterday about Akaishi possibly seeing her as a girl, this wasn’t something she could even joke about.

“Eh, but you two…”

Mizushiro stopped mid-sentence.

So this rumor has reached Mizushiro too…? Akaishi thought with a dubious expression. He tried to figure out who started it, but no culprit came to mind.

“N……No no no! There’s really nothing between us! Really! By the way, what about you, Shiorin!”

Fearing that further pursuit of the topic might reveal that she admired Sakurai and was making Akaishi help her, Hachiya quickly changed the subject to Mizushiro.

“Ehh………… me!? Well, I……”

Mizushiro fidgeted, twisting her upper body, blushed, and looked down slightly while playing with her fingertips. Akaishi found his gaze drawn to her behavior.

“Actually, a little while ago, I confessed to the person I like!”

“Kyaaaaa—————! No wayyyyyy!”

Hachiya turned bright red and screamed at Mizushiro’s confession.

The person Mizushiro confessed to was almost certainly Sakurai.

Akaishi realized that Hachiya apparently didn’t know who Mizushiro liked. But if Mizushiro had confessed to Sakurai, it might change Hachiya’s situation… As he was thinking this, Mizushiro continued.

“But it didn’t work out.”

“No way!? Shiorin got rejected!? Is that even possible!?”

“Well, I confessed at school, but right at that moment the bell rang and it seemed like he didn’t hear my confession. So unfortunate.”

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhh———! That’s so saaad—————!”

Hachiya gently stroked the dejected Mizushiro’s head.

Akaishi recalled that the day Mizushiro confessed to Sakurai at school was the same day Hachiya couldn’t go home with him.

But Mizushiro’s confession was drowned out by the sound of the bell.

It was simply overlapped by the school’s inorganic bell sound and went unheard.

Could something like that really happen?

Akaishi understood that the bell ringing at that exact moment was likely influenced by Sakurai’s rom-com protagonist power.

But could the sound of a bell really make the four characters “I like you” completely inaudible?

Moreover, why would Mizushiro stop after realizing it wasn’t heard and not continue?

“Wa……”

Akaishi was about to speak but stopped himself.

Why didn’t Mizushiro continue after her confession wasn’t heard? Why did Sakurai act like he didn’t hear it because of the bell?

Even if he said that, there was no benefit to Akaishi. Since he kept others at a distance, there was no reason for him to say anything.

So Akaishi stayed silent, but his thoughts continued.

Sakurai had pretended (・・) not to hear Mizushiro’s confession.

Once she confessed, he would either have to focus solely on her or lose one of his followers. He would be forced to choose one or the other. Akaishi felt utterly exasperated as he realized Sakurai’s true intention.

It was probably the same principle as when he went to the family restaurant with Hachiya.

If his guess was wrong, it would mean Sakurai genuinely hadn’t noticed any of his followers’ feelings — something that seemed impossibly abnormal in that situation.

Akaishi continued listening to Mizushiro without interrupting.

“That’s too bad, Shiorin. There will be a next time.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thank you.”

Hachiya gently comforted Mizushiro.

While looking at Mizushiro, Akaishi tried to read her emotions.

It might just be a baseless suspicion, but he organized the dark thought that had formed in his mind.

Why (・・) did Mizushiro choose this exact place to publicly announce that she had confessed and failed?

This was right in front of the staff room — a place with a very high chance of being overheard by others. It was possible others had already heard. At the very least, both Hachiya and Akaishi had heard it.

Yet she deliberately chose this location.

Could it be that she expected Hachiya to already realize she liked Sakurai, and wanted to confront her with the fact that she had confessed?

Unfortunately, Hachiya seemed to possess an abnormally dense rom-com heroine-level obliviousness and hadn’t noticed the other followers’ feelings. But beneath Mizushiro’s words, there might have been such a shallow plan.

If Hachiya understood that Mizushiro had confessed to Sakurai, she would inevitably hesitate to confess herself.

If Hachiya confessed, she would be seen as knowing Mizushiro’s feelings and trying to get the jump on her.

But if she didn’t confess, her chances of dating Sakurai would drop dramatically.

In either case, the goal of dating Sakurai would become impossible — a double bind.

Akaishi wondered if she had revealed the confession to restrain Hachiya.

Looking at Mizushiro being comforted right now, Akaishi didn’t want to think that. He wanted to believe it wasn’t true.

He held admiration and a sense of indebtedness toward Mizushiro. He didn’t want to believe she would use such a dark plan to target Hachiya, who was currently isolated among the followers. That she found the other followers annoying and was trying to eliminate them one by one.

He didn’t want to think that. He sincerely wished it wasn’t the case.

But situationally, this was the most effective moment for one follower to be removed, and if Hachiya knew of Mizushiro’s feelings, it could serve as a warning shot.

Mizushiro…… Mizushiro wouldn’t do that, right?

Holding onto that hope, Akaishi looked at her.

“Yeah, by the way, why did you come here, Shiorin?”

“Ah, that’s because I needed something from Kanna-sensei……”

“Shut the hell up you two ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Just as Mizushiro and Hachiya were talking in front of the staff room, Kanna came shouting.

Kanna’s sudden intrusion interrupted Akaishi’s train of thought and completely changed the atmosphere.

“It’s Shio and Kyoko! You two have been so damn loud in front of the staff room! There are other people trying to study here!”

“Se… Sensei! Other people…? There’s no one else studying…”

When Hachiya looked to the side, she saw Akaishi wearing earplugs and solving math problems.

“…………Eh?”

Hachiya was stunned by Akaishi’s betrayal.

“Akaishi is studying right there! Even without that, you’re being too loud in front of the staff room!”

“Ah, Kanna-sensei, I came to borrow a CD for the broadcasting club……”

“Then hurry up and come!”

“Kanna-sensei, your language is……”

“Hurry up!”

Kanna and Mizushiro talked about the broadcasting club matter. As usual, another teacher warned Kanna about her wording.

Mizushiro received the CD from Kanna.

“Well…… then, Kyoko-chan, shall we go?”

“Eh… o… okay.”

Hachiya was led away by Mizushiro toward the broadcasting club. Akaishi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling he had somehow avoided trouble. (Technically he hadn’t spoken, so it might not have mattered anyway.)

The tiny, almost invisible seed of distrust toward Mizushiro that was born in Akaishi at this moment could never be completely wiped away.

Chapter 23_ Do You Like Suda Toki