Chapter 4: Do You Like Hachiya Kyoko?　１

On his way to school, a male student walked alone, lost in thought with his hand on his chin.

Akaishi Yuuto — an utterly ordinary student you could find anywhere.

Because the distance between his house and the high school was quite far, he commuted by train. He was currently walking from the nearest station toward the school.

His grades were neither at the absolute top nor at the bottom. If anything, they were above average. He came from an ordinary family, lived an ordinary life, and had a critical way of looking at things.

As he walked slowly while deep in thought, a voice called out from behind him.

“Good morning, Akaishi-kun! How are you?”

Mizushiro trotted up briskly and came alongside him, peering into his face.

“Ah… Mizushiro-san…”

“Come on~ We’re classmates, so no formal speech!”

Mizushiro made an “X” with both hands and held it in front of her mouth. She was the school’s number one beauty, possessing both girlish cuteness and a seductive, mature charm. Mizushiro Shio.

Akaishi acknowledged the beauty in every gesture she made.

“By the way, what were you doing just now?”

“Oh, I was just thinking a little.”

“Heeh~, what were you thinking about?”

“Well…………”

Akaishi didn’t have the confidence or courage to say, “I was wondering why Sakurai is so popular with all of you.”

“Mizushiro—!”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind.

Sakurai had noticed the two of them and came running over.

“Good morning, Mizushiro. And Akaishi… ? Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning Sakurai-kun.”

“…Morning…”

He only called Akaishi’s name as an afterthought. Even then, he didn’t seem entirely sure. In yesterday’s incident too, he had added a question mark after Akaishi’s name. Does this guy not bother remembering people’s names properly? Akaishi thought suspiciously.

“The weather’s nice today, huh Mizushiro~”

“Yeah, the weather really is nice today.”

“Nice weather always puts me in a good mood.”

“I know~ Good weather really improves your mood, right?”

Mizushiro and Sakurai naturally created their own little world, completely excluding Akaishi. Noticing this, Akaishi quietly took a step back and walked behind the two.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Akaishi-kun?”

Mizushiro, noticing him, called out.

“No, you two were talking so I just stepped back.”

“Ehh~ Let’s talk together~ Let’s all three talk~”

“No, I’m fine here.”

“Mizushiro, you shouldn’t force Akaishi. He prefers it this way.”

“Ehh~ Okay~”

Sakurai gently scolded Mizushiro for trying to include Akaishi. In doing so, he unintentionally revealed that he wanted to be alone with Mizushiro and saw Akaishi as an obstacle.

Akaishi still couldn’t understand why Sakurai was popular.

He couldn’t comprehend how a guy who actively tried to exclude other males and create his own ideal paradise with only girls could be so well-liked by them.

“Sousuke, good morning~!”

“Oww!”

Arai sneaked up from behind and smacked Sakurai on the shoulder.

“You look cool again today, Sousuke! Love you!”

“Yeah yeah… seriously, you’re always like this.”

“Ah… ahaha…”

As Arai once again professed her love, Mizushiro could only smile wryly and scratch her cheek.

“My, if it isn’t Sakurai-kun. What are you doing here with flowers in both hands?”

“You idiot! Didn’t you say you were biking to school today!”

“Everyone, let’s calm down!”

Starting with Arai, the rest of Sakurai’s followers gathered one after another.

As the girls swarmed around Sakurai, Akaishi took several steps back, removed himself from the instantly formed utopia, and remained completely uninvolved.

Why is a guy like this so popular? Akaishi thought as he resumed walking to school alone.

When Sakurai and his followers entered the classroom, Akaishi followed a little later.

One male student who spotted Sakurai approaching walked up to him.

“Yo, Sousuke! Heavy executive arrival again today, huh!”

“It’s not that late!”

Sakurai responded to the light jab with a bitter smile.

This was Kirishima Naoto, Sakurai’s only male friend.

He was average in build, had mediocre grades, and had even fewer distinguishing features than Akaishi. He was just another ordinary male student. The only thing that set him apart was:

“Oh, you all commuted with Sousuke again? You girls are cute as always.”

“Shut up, trash.”

“Be quiet.”

“Ahaha, Naoto’s getting roasted again~”

“Man, what harsh treatment… yare yare…”

He constantly poured his never-ending lust toward the female students.

Even though his greetings were met with contempt and mockery, Kirishima didn’t get angry at all and simply shook his head.

Watching this, Akaishi once again felt doubtful.

Why does Sakurai only have one male friend?

He had never seen Sakurai talking to any other boys besides Kirishima. The boys sitting near Akaishi would bite their handkerchiefs and mutter things like “Why only that guy…!” or “Ughhh… so jealous…!”, but they weren’t actually friends with him.

Despite being extremely popular with girls, why did he have so few male friends? Akaishi pondered this absentmindedly while glancing at Sakurai.

After classes ended and it was now after school, one of Sakurai’s followers called out to Akaishi.

“Hey you, show me your face for a sec.”

“Huh?”

Chapter 4_ Do You Like Hachiya Kyoko